Oct 01: Looking for Similarities

Looking for Similarities

Hi! My name is Julie and I’m a grateful alcoholic. Thank you for allowing me to be of service this week.

When I first came into the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, I was overwhelmed with how much I could relate to the people that I heard speak in my face-to-face meetings.

In the first few weeks, though, I started to focus on the differences. I think I was in denial that I truly was an alcoholic.

My sponsor and many people in the rooms after the meetings would encourage me to look for the similarities.

It was a challenge to push myself, but I’m so glad that I did it.

Looking at our similarities has allowed me to be more patient, tolerant, loving and kind not only to my family but to people out in the world.

I say I’m grateful to be an alcoholic because I finally have a program, a design for a living, that truly helps me live my best life.

I feel we are all brothers and sisters walking on this planet. It has taken me a long time to come to this point. But today I believe that looking at each other and looking at our similarities, it allows me to be a kinder and gentler person. It also reminds me of the insanity that I existed in before getting sober.

No, I never had a dui, I didn’t go to jail. I didn’t lose my job or my family. But I lost myself to this disease. And should I decide one day that maybe I’m not alcoholic, these are things that could happen. I have a healthy fear of that happening!

I hope that this topic resonates in some way. I wanted to share this topic specifically because I’m happy to have many new ladies join our group this week.

If you think you have a problem with alcohol, you’re in the right place. There is a lot of great sobriety in this group. I encourage you to try and stay open to growing, learning, and changing. It’s amazing what following some suggestions and looking at the similarities has done for me in my life in such a short amount of time.

Please share on this or anything that’s on your mind.

Julie K
5/17/12