AA Grapevine from February 1953 - Clancy I. Article

This is the February 1953, issue of the AA Grapevine. This issue features the article “A Portable Sanctuary” which was written by Clancy I. This was when Clancy first achieved sobriety but was followed by a relapse before finding sobriety again in 1958.

This issue also features ”Washington, Lincoln & Temperance in Their Times”, “Sponsorship-A Dying Art”, and much more.

Here you can read the entire Clancy I. article:

A PORTABLE SANCTUARY

“ONE of the unique privileges of the Church during the Middle Ages was its right to grant "sanctuary," a form of immunity from civil authority. In practice, any person fleeing from the wrath of the law could receive full protection for as long as he remained within the physical walls of the cathedral buildings.

The drawback was, of course, that the outcast, unless taking the vows of the Church and becoming a Brother, was eventually forced to return to the world of his pursuers and face the punishment from which he had fled.

It is in much the same fashion that our present-day AA offers to pursued victims of alcoholic failure a refuge from the wrongdoings of our past. Our pursuers are not necessarily the arms of civil authority (although sometimes this is the case); usually, the pursuit is maintained by the tortures of mind and body which force us to the terribleness of complete defeat.

The first physical AA surroundings to which we are exposed, whether they be a sponsor's home or elaborate clubrooms, grant us a "sanctuary" in which to "escape." Most alcoholics grasp at it in the same manner that the victim of the Middle Ages clutched at the doors of the cathedral. For the first time in years we are able to find relief from the wreckage we have made of our lives; we are able to "unload" our stored-up confessions of despair and failure without being greeted by reactions of contempt or patronizing dis-gust. In the process of this primary "confession and absolution" phase, we begin to get a faint touch of the peace which had for so long escaped us.

Like the cathedral, however, the physical sanctuary of AA is valueless once we have left the actual walls within which we found it. The return to the world again brings us face-to-face with the same "insoluble" problems and "insurmountable" dilemmas from which we had fled. Thus, the physical sanctuary can serve only as a brief respite from the terrors of our existence.

But, and this is the most important but" of our lives, we discover something our medieval counterparts never knew—a "sanctuary" that can be taken with us, a permanent refuge from our hunters! This "portable sanctuary" is, very simply, the peace of mind granted us if we choose to accept and practice the AA principles of living. Although a few of us may say, "If it's that easy, I don't need help..." (and go out and get drunk to prove it), most of us use the discovery as the convincing factor in making our decision to attempt the new life which the AA program extends to the alcoholic.

When we first utilize AA in revising our patterns of conduct, we actually begin, in effect, the construction of the sanctuary of mind and body which enables us to endure, and eventually even enjoy, the physical problems that once sent us cringing to the bottle for relief. As the benefits of this new personal approach to living gradually make themselves felt in our homes, jobs, and friendships, we make further additions to the mental walls of our individual sanctuaries, building stronger and stronger ramparts between ourselves and our enemies. At long last the day comes when, after constant effort, we are able to put our pursuers out of conscious sight and mind. And what a glorious day it is!

It's extremely ironic that this very time of "release" can become the end of our AA sobriety. Believing ourselves secure, we leave the sanctuary as represented by the program. Under the delusion that the spectres of our past no longer exist, we attempt to "do it alone" as we had done before AA came into our lives. It is a most bitter lesson we learn-that the spectres were waiting for us, just as surely as if we had never experienced sobriety.

A SECOND CHANCE

If we retain enough sanity to recognize our "slip," we begin laboriously to refortify our lives, thanking a Higher Power that we were given another chance. We may rebuild our foundations on cynicism or resentment and inevitably "slip" again, perhaps to insanity and death. Or, utilizing the knowledge so painfully acquired, we can rebuild our sanctuary on AA bedrock to a strength that will never be allowed to crumble. If we choose the latter, we shall put the past out of mind but not to the point of total forget-fulness. We shall not brood over the wasted years, but we will remember that we are much too close to them to allow ourselves ever again the fatal indulgence of complacency.

Now, as each twenty-four-hour period of sobriety merges from present to past, we ourselves must determine whether our program of recovery is worth the effort to keep our defenses secure. If it is, we will continue to climb the AA steps and, most important, will share what we have found with those who still flee.

We will, indeed, build a "cathedral" in our minds, and thereby find the only possible peace in our alcoholic lives.”

C. A. I., Beloit, Wisc.

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This Grapevine is in very good condition for its age. There is light edge wear to the cover and rubbing marks to the spine.

Please view all of the photos for the conditions.