“As I crossed the threshold of the dining room, the thought came to mind that it would be nice to have a couple of cocktails with dinner. That was all. Nothing more. I ordered a cocktail and my meal.” (Page 41, Big Book)
The mental obsession is not my preoccupation with alcohol. It is the thought of a drink hijacking of my day. It need not be dramatic.
“Thus started one more journey to the asylum for Jim.” (Page 36, Big Book)
Once I’m hijacked, the physical craving ensures that I’m now in a hostage situation. I cannot release myself.
“At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time.” (Page 13, Big Book)
Only God can.
“Save for a few brief moments of temptation the thought of drink has never returned; and at such times a great revulsion has risen up in him. Seemingly he could not drink even if he would. God had restored his sanity.” (Page 57, Big Book)
God keeps the hijackers off the plane, as it were: the thought of a drink rarely occurs. But God also keeps an FBI agent on the plane ready to take out any hijacker who slips through the net.