'Off duty' and 'On duty': Being able to HAVE A LAUGH when not 'Prescribing verbally'

When I'm delivering information to Sponsees/newcomers, I often have to adopt a 'No messing' tone as SO many people think drinking is a 'bit of a joke'. But I LOVE being 'off duty' and just having pointless fun. Once one of my Sponsees really 'gets' the gravity of the situation, only THEN do I start having a laugh with them and being foolish. The monks taught me a LOT about being playful. 'Childlike not childish' seemed to be the rule. Humor really helps, and I think JJ's and Daaves humor comes across very well in their blogs,

But it's a BIG responsibility to help other alcoholics by verbally depositing so much information in an AA context. As Sponsors we 'prescribe' via our speech. It's HARD work. If I wasn't playful and irreverent as often as I got the chance to be, I think all the mental deterioration I am exposed to on a regular basis would bring me down to that level. It would all just get FAR too heavy..

I get a bit annoyed that people who I relate to in an aa context (unless they know me pretty well) only get to see me in a more ''serious' tone. But when it comes to AA I am 'on duty'. I only 'relax' in AA with men and women who are around a long time and are pretty happy, but even then, conversations are pretty INTENSE by 'normal' standards. Lots of complex personal analysis of situations!

The moral of the story is that by and large, although I am ENDLESSLY fascinated by the conversations I have with other alcoholics new or long time, I COULDN'T have those kinds of conversations ALL the time (or even most of the time!) or I would go MAD! I NEED time out to 'recharge' and have FAR less draining and PLAYFUL conversations with NON alcoholics when I am 'off duty'. I can just HAVE FUN FOR FUN'S SAKE. In fact when I am at work, it feels like a 'holiday' compared to the intensity of the kind of work I do in an AA capacity. That's not good is it? Well I would say my job is a comfortable rut, so it is far from challenging. So perhaps its not THAT bad!

So really I do NOT have a 'sense of humor failure'. It might look like that sometimes in AA! But it's just because when I am in AA I am VERY focused on dishing out information instead of just 'kicking my heels', as I would when I DON'T have to contend with the possibility of the people I am talking to, possibly experiencing insanity and death as a direct consequence of untreated alcoholism. It kind of puts a damper of things, and changes the focus of the conversation!