Category Archives: 2023 Meeting Topics

Topic for the week:    “Daily Resolutions”

DAILY RESOLUTIONS

December 31

The idea of “twenty-four-hour living” applies primarily to the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 284

A New Year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes — a time to consider directions, goals, and actions. I must make some plans to live a normal life, but also I must live emotionally within a twenty-four-hour frame, for if I do, I don’t have to make New Year’s resolutions! I can make every day a New Year’s day! I can decide, “Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that.” Each day I can measure my life by trying to do a little better, by deciding to follow God’s will and by making an effort to put the principles of our A.A. program into action.

From the book Daily Reflections.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

As we approach the New Year, I am always tempted to get carried away and make crazy resolutions to change my entire life overnight. I will get almost obsessive the last week of the year about all the ways this coming year is going to be better than the last. But what usually happens? I commit to such large sweeping changes that I can never keep up with it, and give up within a couple months, couple weeks, honestly, even sometimes after just a couple days or couple hours.

So this year, I’m going to follow the directions of today’s Daily Reflection and just aim to during these 24 hours ahead of me to be the best sober Emily I can be by applying the Steps, Traditions, and Concepts of this program to my daily life. I will each day start by being willing to be a beginner and to have a new experience. I will each day put down my will and pick up my Higher Power’s will for me. I will strive to Keep It Simple, and take the prescription Dr. Bob often wrote on his prescription pad, “Trust God, Clean House, Help Others.” I am going to trust that we really do have a program for living that works, even in rough going, and work that program to the best of my ability each day. Because I have found over the last 5+ years that I’ve been working an actual active AA program, it really does 100% work if I work it.

Over this last year, I focused on just one word as my…idk…”guiding light” for my spiritual path…”surrender”. The main thing was to do it every morning, just a simple “God, you’re in charge, not me, guide me from here” upon awakening.

In the past year, I have been brought to the end of myself in so many areas and really been able to let go of control, worry, fear, attachment, dependency, even in my closest relationships and even in my most challenging areas. Don’t get me wrong, it was painful, it was hard work, and I have to continue the work everyday. But the more 24 hours in a row I practice these principles, the better I feel inside and the more effective and useful I can be to my Creator.

What have Daily Resolutions done to enhance your recovery and overall life?

Thank you for the honor of leading this meeting. The floor is now open for sharing.

Topic for the week:

“…As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn.”

From page 63 of Alcoholics Anonymous (4th edition.)

When I first got sober, I had a friend scoff and say to be “Don’t tell me you’re born again.” I laughed it off because that sounded super religious and I wasn’t about that.

But as I reflect on my journey in recovery, the above reading and today, on Christmas Eve, I have to say that I am reborn.

I no longer need to be consumed with fear. I trust God and the plan for my life. My faith may waiver time to time but I have you women, my sponsor, my God to get me back on track.

I know there is nothing that can happen to me that will make me think a drink is the answer. That’s just for today. I’m grateful to be mentally and spiritually prepared for the holidays. I’m grateful to be in my right mind.

I also know that this is a gift that I have been given one day at a time. I must continue to do the work to stay connected to the source. The power I feel through me is not mine for ever. Just for today.

Additionally, as we are getting into the holidays. Please know you’re not alone. We are all here for you. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s, they’re just like any other day. Please don’t let the hustle and bustle of the coming days distract you from what works. We recover together. One day at a time.

Please feel free to share on the lead or anything on your heart. Also, please be sure to reach out to the group in the coming days whenever you need to. Just put off topic in the subject line and let us know what’s going on.

Julie Kreun

5/17/12

Topic for the week:  Listen, Share and Pray

Thank you for allowing me to be of service. My name is Teresa S., I am a grateful recovering alcoholic. I am grateful for the GROW community of women who continue to support each other in our journey to, in and through recovery of the disease of alcoholism.

My life began to change the day I came to my first meeting of AA on December 21,1993. It was my mother’s birthday and right before the holidays. If I had it my way, I would have waited until after the fun drinking holidays!  Little did I know then, there was a HP taking care of me and running the show, I thought I was in charge of.

For almost 30 years, I have not taken a drink and yet, I did not have serenity or peace. I was not living happy, joyous and free. Most of the promises of each step had not become a reality in my life. I was sober, yes, free from alcohol but not free from the real disease and its symptoms: fears, ego, anger, resentments and self centeredness and self pity. I did not have contact with a HP/God.

The topic I chose for this week “Listen, Share and Pray” comes from the AA Daily Reflection on 12.21. my AA birthday. I believe my HP, who I call God most of the time, leads me to messages like this one.  I have been transformed and I can honestly say, I know what peace and serenity feel like today. I live a life of joy and gratitude and I am free from the obsessions, the self- centeredness, self-pity and the resentments that kept me sick, even without alcohol.

Over the years and most recently, working the steps again with a new sponsor, I have re-learned how to “Listen, Share and Pray” in new ways.  These are the three things that have brought me back to life, the life that my HP created me to live. I am becoming the person God knows.

Is my sober life free from pain, sadness, frustrations, disappointments and even anger and resentment?  NO WAY!  I am living in difficult times, my granddaughter is in the hospital, my husband and I are in marriage counseling healing our broken marriage of 21 years, I see people almost daily who have betrayed me…and on and on as life is life.

The difference now from then is that I know there is nobody or situation that can take away what God has given me. Today, I can listen and learn, listen to my HP/God, listen to my sponsor, listen to life’s lessons and listen to the shares of my fellow AA members.  I can share honestly and openly my own experiences, strength, weakness and hope. Finally, I can pray directly to my HP/God, my prayers are real conversations from my heart and soul to God. I can pray for you, for me, for my family, my dear granddaughter, my kids, my friends, my sponsor and sponsee…and the most amazing thing…I can pray for the people who hurt me! I am willinging to change. “Bless them, change me”

If you are new or “old”, trying to get and stay sober, or want to feel peace and joy in the midst of life’s craziness, I highly recommend and suggest: “Stop drinking, go to meetings, get a sponsor, work the steps, (you will meet your HP) help another alcoholic.” Learn how to and practice “Listening, Sharing and Praying” 

Thank you for allowing me to lead this week. I am looking forward to reading about what you learn when you listen, share and pray. How have these actions helped you in your personal recovery?

With sisterly love,

Teresa S.

Topic for the week: How It Works

“Rarely have we seen a person fail…” At this stage in my sobriety, I find these words so comforting and reassuring. This was not always the case – for the longest time, not only did most of How It Works scare me, I also found a lot of it offensive. Looking back, I can see how that kind of thinking was a symptom of my disease. I realize now that I was fighting the idea that I truly was (and am) an alcoholic. Until I admitted, on a cellular level, that I am an alcoholic, I couldn’t truly begin to reap the benefits that AA has to offer. It is the first step, after all …

What is the “It” of How It Works? For me, it has changed over time. In the early days, I thought “it” meant I was supposed to get the entire program all at once, which was quite overwhelming. I was terrified by the demand for rigorous honesty, the threat of failure, the willingness to go to any lengths, the need to let go of old ideas absolutely, being fearless and thorough – all in pursuit of the mysterious and elusive “it”. I knew AA folks had something I wanted, but what was it exactly? I suspected it was more than mere sobriety – I already had stopped drinking but was more miserable and nasty than I’d ever been in my life. Then the chapter says, “Do not be discouraged.” Actual people were reaching out to me with all the earnestness at their command to bring me into the fold. And they offered help, the kind of help I didn’t even know I needed. God saved my life by removing the obsession to drink, but thank heavens I didn’t get my old life back. You AA folks gave me the means to a new life by sharing your experience, strength and hope and being there for me and with me through thick and thin.

One thing you had was patience…and I sure needed that!

I chose this topic because I realized the other day that I’ve been skipping right over How It Works in the weekly lead and going right to the chair’s share. If I were in a face-to-face meeting, I would listen as How It Works was read aloud. It occurred to me that I was doing that thing again – that thing where if something is working, I stop doing it. What’s up with that?? I’ve been missing the main part of the instruction book!

A few years ago, when I traveled abroad without my husband or family and couldn’t find any meetings I could attend, I made it a point to get up early, take a walk, and recite How It Works to myself. I’ve started doing that again, whenever I take a walk – I find it meditative and soothing. Those words work along with other recited prayers to keep me centered and focused on what really matters.

I don’t want to take anything about sobriety and recovery for granted. Skipping over any part of the program is a slippery slope for me – I could lose it all in a nanosecond. So I think I’ll be sure now to read every word of the weekly topic, starting with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer and going all the way through to the Promises and anonymity statement. Oh, and respond to the topic!

For me, “it” really is the whole program and all the people in it. One step at a time, it leads to a life I didn’t know was possible. No matter what “it” means, I’m pretty sure it works when I work it.

Please feel free to share what “it” means to you, or anything else that you may be going through. We are all here for you!

Thank you for the honor of chairing and for letting me share.

Topic for the week:

Being the beginning of the 12^th month, I would like to share on the 12^th Step:

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

I like emphasizing different parts when I share the steps. The promise is right there, a spiritual awakening. Mine wasn’t like Bill’s p.14), A spiritual awakening means many things to many people. When I was new I expected something mind blowing like Bill had but mine was more gradual as explained on p.567

Carrying the message has meant many things over the years. My exuberance in the beginning only put people off. I have learned I am more effective if I lead by example—attraction rather than promotion. I also have to remember the step only talks about carrying the message, not converting the masses, I don’t have the special touch, where I can tap you HEALED.

So, tell me what does the step mean to you? How has it changed your life?

The meeting is now open you can share on the topic or anything else you need to share about. Don’t leave without sharing your burden, someone amongst us has been where you are and would be happy to share their ESH.

Topic for the week:

Keep Coming Back, it works if you work it. what does this mean to you?  How do you work your program? I assume this changes over time and adjusts are made as life happens.

From day 1 when I began this program and meetings I felt like I finally found a place where I was understood.  I didn’t have to feel the shame of my prior way of living. I knew I had to keep coming back, and I loved the slogan. In the beginning I thought ‘keep coming back’ was meant for the newcomers.  If you aren’t sure on day 1 you should keep coming for some time. But as I just celebrated 5 months sober, the slogan means something different to me. I need to keep coming back. When we say this as a group at the end of a meeting, it has power. We know we will not have to feel alone if we keep coming back. We attend meetings to share our experience, strength and hope. Our shares give others hope. This is how we work it.

Topic for the week: Step 11

We are all invited to share on Step 11. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 11 ***
“Sought through prayer and meditation to increase our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting at the bottom of p. 85. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Thank you for the honor of chairing this meeting, Theresa, alcoholic, welcome newcomers.

For me Step 11 has been my refuge. When I do it daily my life is simpler and when I don’t the old ISMs seem to crop up unmercifully. If I don’t get back into the grove, it gets messy. I know when my thinking gets sticky I’ve taken back the reins and I am in trouble. Those old character defects start popping up until I remember I am not in charge and fall into line. The show runs much better when I let my higher power be in charge.

When I was new, I was challenged by this step so I started doing research on the topic, I’d go to seminars trying to find the combination that worked for me–it was a non-conference-approved book. “Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they have to offer.” Alcoholics Anonymous, p.87

It is no accident that the prayer of St. Francis is tied to this step, for if we can live by its tenets this little part of my world is better served. When I remember to add “if it be thy will” (12×12 p.102) to each and every prayer it reminds me who is in charge and that I have turned my will over to s/he/it.

We live our lives forward, trying to do the next right thing but if we look back at our lives we can see “that God ‘moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.'” (12×12 p. 105)

So, how does Step 11 work in your life? What have you learned from practicing this step? Or whatever is on your heart today.

The meeting is now open, I look forward to your shares.

Topic for the week: Relationships

I wasn’t very good at dealing with people prior to getting sober. I still have some difficulty at times, especially with particular personalities, but I’m much improved and most of that improvement is due to working the AA program (therapy has also helped).

As an active alcoholic I would either be a people-pleaser or if I didn’t like someone, I’d ignore/be obnoxiously passive-aggressive to them in social settings. I didn’t know how to deal with anger so I’d just blow up at someone, I didn’t know how to say “no” so I’d get a major resentment toward someone and never tell them why, I didn’t know how to set boundaries regarding personal information or physical space so I’d say and do embarrassing stuff sometimes, especially when drinking, and I had no idea how to apologize and repair a broken relationship (and didn’t make any attempt to find out how to do that).

I stole from family and friends, I slept with boyfriends or husbands of friends, I wasn’t faithful to guys I was seeing, I used people to get what I wanted, and I rarely thought of what I could do for others – it was all about me and what I wanted or needed.

All of this behavior fed into my alcoholism; the shame, anger, resentments, guilt, sadness, and frustration surrounding my inability to create and maintain healthy, loving relationships drove me to drink more and more often. I had a few long-term female friends throughout this time but family, work, and social relationships were strained, for the most part.

I gave birth to two sons during this time – one in Nov. 1982 and one in Sept. 1986. I wasn’t in a committed relationship with either of their fathers, I didn’t have the support of my family, and I didn’t know I was an alcoholic and drug addict but knew I didn’t want the responsibility of a child or children so I gave my sons up for adoption (the adoption in 1982 was open so when I found myself pregnant in 1986, I contacted the couple who adopted my older son and they adopted my younger son). It was both a selfish and self-less act, as incongruent as that may seem. I’ve dealt with a lot of sorrow, grief, and loss as the result of giving them up, but have never regretted my decisions as I firmly believe my alcoholism would have destroyed my relationship with them, and I might well have had my sons taken from me by state welfare authorities because once I started drinking, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be a responsible parent and am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been. I’ve heard stories from other women in AA who’ve said they’d leave their children at home and stay out all night, or be at home but drink until in a blackout, or do any number of the other things we do once we start drinking and can’t stop.

Repairing relationships and/or maintaining good relationships is a crucial aspect of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s written into the Steps, and the Traditions place great importance on maintaining good relationships among AA’s Trusted Servants, our own group’s members, and society in general. For me, a good barometer of my sobriety is how well I deal with others, especially those I find it difficult to understand or accept. In all interactions I try to remember to put the principles of AA into practice and to really listen as others are speaking, to ask questions before assuming an answer, to know when to walk away, respectfully, when it’s clear we must agree to disagree, and to “err on the side of compassion” as I heard at a meeting long ago. These are my guidelines in relationships, and I’m acquiring other helpful ones as I go through each sober day.

Having spent so many years unable to create and maintain good relationships, I treasure the healthy relationships I have today. It’s taken a lot of work with some of them – getting over past difficulties and establishing better communication – and it’s a work-in-progress with all relationships as people change, life happens, and so on. But the fact that I have useful tools, the willingness to do the work, and I’ve received positive encouragement in the form of acceptance, forgiveness, invitations, fun shared memories, etc., has helped demonstrate to me that I have the power to change how I interact with others, how I interpret my interactions with others, and what I want to get from my interactions with others.

Finally, regarding my sons, I was able to meet them for a number of years, together and separately, starting in 1996. I was invited to my older son’s high school graduation, which I attended, I had lunch with my younger son several times once he was older, and I was invited to and attended my older son’s wedding in 2011. However, it was at that event that I was made aware that our relationship had changed and I’m still not sure why. Both of my sons fairly avoided me during the wedding and I haven’t heard from either of them since then, with my younger son unfriending me on Facebook. It’s frustrating to not understand what has happened, and I feel I can do little about the situation other than continue to remain in touch via Facebook with my older son (he doesn’t respond to my posts, but at least he knows I’m still here) and I’m also in touch with my sons’ adoptive father and his (second) wife via email. I hold my sons in my heart and am willing to wait to see if they want to re-establish a connection, but it’s like losing them all over again only this time it wasn’t my choice.

Relationships are really hard sometimes, loving people is really hard sometimes, forgiving people is really hard sometimes, and accepting people is really hard sometimes. But I believe my HP is always with me, helping me navigate life and my relationships, and that I’ll be okay as long as I stay sober, help others, and stay grateful for the many gifts I’ve received in sobriety.

The meeting is now open to anyone who would like to share on any of the following: (1) how you’ve repaired relationships, (2) how you’ve changed your behavior in dealing with others, or (3) what you do when it’s clear a relationship (family, friend, romantic partner) isn’t able to be repaired.

Thanks for letting me chair this meeting.

Michele R.

Topic for the week:

A surprising ‘GIFT’ in sobriety.

I frequently introduce myself in f2f meetings as ‘I am Cheryl B, alcoholic who was given the gift of desperation on April 30th, 2013’.

When I first entered the rooms of AA I was desperate to learn how to live without needing to drink alcohol. I had come to that awful point in my life where I couldn’t live without drinking but I certainly wasn’t living in any true sense of the word. I was defeated, beaten down to the point I wanted to die, to end the pain. When I wasn’t successful at ending my life it was suggested I go to rehab. I was willing to do anything suggested to me that might help me learn how to live without alcohol.

Today, I only have to think about that period of my life, the desperation I felt, the utter isolation I endured, to remind me of what I would be going back to if I ever picked up that first drink! Knowing I don’t ever want to be in that place again keeps me from picking up. That knowledge is the ‘gift’  desperation gives me.

I understand now, that AA is about so much more than not drinking. It has utterly changed my life in ways I never could have imagined. I like to think I am a better person than the one who first walked into the rooms yet I know the work will never be done. AA is a lifelong commitment.  As a sober woman, I look forward to whatever time I have on this earth trudging this road of happy destiny. I hope all of you will continue on this path with me.

The meeting is now open.

Please feel free to share on ‘a gift’ you have received in sobriety or on any topic you need to help you stay on your sober path.

Thank you for allowing me to be of service by chairing this week’s meeting,

Cheryl B

Topic for the week:   Voluntary “MUSTS”

I am grateful for this opportunity to lead our GROW weekly meeting. My name is Teresa, I am an alcoholic, gratefully recovering one day at a time. If you are new to this group or to AA, welcome!  If you stay close to the program and the women who have recovered, you will be amazed and never regret the changes in your life. Thank you all for being here.

I am in the process of writing my fourth step under the guidance of my sponsor and my HP. I really believe that my HP/God guides her to guide me because she could not be that good on her own! 😉  She is an example of how the program works and reminds me that my disease is always waiting for me to fall into self pity, remorse, anger, or fear. When I “dwarf parts of our program to suit our (my) own distorted viewpoint” I can become just as physically, mentally and spiritually ill as I was when I started, 29 years ago.

Thus, the solution, for all of us:  stay connected to our HP, whom I call God most of the time, go to meetings, and use the 12 Steps as a way of living each day of our lives.  “It works if we live it.”

My topic comes from “The Little Red Book” , published in 1970 as a study of the 12 Steps of AA and a way to carry the message to other alcoholics.  I will quote parts of page 172:

“We Don’t Have To…But!”
In desperation we joined AA for one purpose, namely: to get sober. …our 12 Step recovery program was entirely suggestive. 

Living the 12 Steps was not compulsory, yet as we grew in understanding our new way of life, we realized that it embraced many voluntary “MUSTS”. 

It is interesting to note the “musts” found in the Big Book, requisites for successful (sane, peaceful, free) sober living. These are some of my “musts”.

2. I must remain spiritually connected to my HP
3. I must pray and meditate every day
4. I must make amends when I am wrong
5. I must be grateful
6. I must let go of old ways
7. I must trust my HP to care for me, my family, friends, the world
8. I must admit when I am wrong, promptly!

If you are inspired to share some of yours, I’m sure it will help me and others.

Thank you!

Teresa S. 12.21.93

Topic for the week: Chairing & Sharing

As I was struggling over this meeting topic, my husband came in from his outside chores and asked how it was going. [Side note: He is celebrating one month of sobriety today whoop!!! whoop!!!] I told him I was struggling to come up with something to share. I talked about how, after a while in the Program, it seems that all possible topics have been covered up one side and down the other, many times over. I talked about having nothing to talk about. He told me that he’s been speaking up more at meetings because he’d had an interesting insight. He said we struggle because we think we have to come up with some genius insight the likes of which have never been heard before by civilized man. Like, as an English major and a lover of words, I’ve always wanted to write and/or illustrate a children’s book, or a devotional, or really the next great American novel. As a former professional musician and one half of the writing duo and lead singer, he was always trying to come up with the next rock-n-roll record-breaking, platinum-selling song. But remembering that axiom, “Keep it simple, sweetie” (I prefer ‘sweetie’ to some of the common alternates – silencing that critical inner voice, ya know?) he reminded me that there are people with more time in than me, but lots of folks with less, and for whom anything said might be the very thing they need to hear. I might say something in a way that gives even an old-timer pause to think. My ho-hum might be someone else’s ta-dah! I can only honestly share from my own experience, and while there have been many ta-dahs, there have been many, many more ho-hums where life is simply putting one foot in front of the other right where I’m at and doing the next indicated right thing. So, this is me putting one foot in front of the other and sharing the challenge of sharing after having been in Program a while!

What prompts you to want to share with the group?

What keeps you from chairing/sharing?

Does sharing seem like a burden? something that’s “just not for you?”

Does sharing seem like a blessing, that you both give and receive?

Do you hesitate to share because you believe you have nothing to say?

Do you hesitate because you trust that someone else will?

Thank you for the opportunity and privilege of chairing and sharing!

Julie K <3

Topic for the week: Step 10

We are all invited to share on Step 10. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 10 ***
“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting in the middle of page 84. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week beginning Sunday, October 1st – Step 10

Topic for the week:  Peace in the Pause and Silence

Growing up as a teen in the 1960’s, one of the messages I took from the culture and my own therapeutic experiences was I should always express my feelings, regardless of the impacts to others or whether it was an appropriate response in the given situation. As long as I was completely open in this way all would be well.

I gave it a try, but this transparency did not serve me well.  When I did express feelings to family, friends, acquaintances, it was often from a place of anger in attack mode, leading to more relationship problems, not less.  I truly didn’t have insight or skills to deal with my emotions and selfish was my middle name.  This is one of the reasons I turned to alcohol when the going got rough and I indulged in a new pattern:  numb the painful thoughts and feelings with alcohol, lose my verbal filter along with rational thought, decide to ‘express myself’ with this newfound liquid courage, wake up the next day with feelings of regret/remorse/shame/guilt for whatever emotional mess was on display the night before.  Rinse and repeat.

Fast forward to my early days in AA… one of the phrases I heard often was ‘peace in the pause and silence’.  I became curious to this contrary idea, paying attention to how others utilized this approach.  In the past it never occurred to me that being quiet, not always expressing every thought on my mind just might be a better response.  I didn’t realize that during difficult situations, sometimes being quiet and listening is more appropriate, peaceful, kind, and dignified.  I didn’t recognize that the pause and silence allows time for needed perspective, hearing God’s will for me, and an opportunity to be a better listener.

There are definitely times when self-expression is important, but I’ve discovered it’s usually best to pause first, then consider my audience and timing carefully.  For example… a couple of nights ago I got into a heated discussion with my husband on a very sensitive topic about our daughter and grandchildren.  This was definitely an opportunity to put duct tape on my mouth and just listen.  But instead my emotions got the better of me.  I did not pause, I kept arguing my differing position, discounting his valid perspective.  This created an uncomfortable divide between us, I was upset and later very frustrated with my response.  Amends are now in order, and I regret how I handled the conversation.

I’ve learned that there are ways to express my feelings at the appropriate time without alienating others, from a place of vulnerability.  Being vulnerable requires courage, I no longer see it as a sign of weakness. I’m grateful for these lessons, it’s been a significant factor in my sobriety and has brought added peace to my relationships.

Please feel free to share your perspective and ESH on this topic, and thank you for being here!

Susan P.

Topic for the week: Triggers

The meeting topic from last week (to relax and take it easy), got me thinking about the types of things that could threaten my sobriety. Being stressed, overly busy, caught up in drama, are things that I can work on daily to better manage my response and avoid relapse.

However, sometimes we’re hit with bigger things to manage. When things happen unexpectedly like illness, job loss, death of a loved one– really any negative event, I know that staying sober would become even more important. In the times I’ve been sober, I haven’t yet dealt with something like that. So sometimes it makes me wonder what it will be like when it happens. Am I vulnerable to potential triggers, could something get thrown at me that could spin me out of control?

As I come up on the anniversary of my father’s suicide, I’m reminded of how I responded to his death — years of harmful drinking to try to numb the pain, which didn’t help at all.

Since then, I’ve gained knowledge from this program that shows me, my actions/response are my choice under my control, with the help of my Higher Power, regardless of external factors, triggers, or “excuses” to drink.

In the AA Big Book, Appendices II, Spiritual Experience, it says, “Most emphatically we wish to say that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance
or belligerent denial.
We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty, and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable.” (pg. 568)

Today I believe I’m strong enough to handle anything life throws at me as a sober woman. I don’t need alcohol to deal with emotions. I have ways to deal with life other than drinking, and having a plan in mind for when bad things happen can help me feel prepared.

Ultimately, even though there will always be potential triggers to relapse, I’m responsible for working daily on my emotional state with help from my Higher Power, to get me through.

What are your thoughts on triggers to relapse? How have you handled unexpected events in your life to maintain sobriety? How do you prepare for this and strengthen yourself in daily life?

Thank you,

Katie

Topic for the week:

We relax and take it easy.

My first AA sponsor, Suzanne, told me early on, when I was still freaking out a lot of the time, that AA took the urgency out of living for her.

I had no idea what she was talking about.

At the time I didn’t understand that my old habits and patterns that predated my alcohol abuse still ruled my life. Chief among these habits was and is exposing myself to drama.

These days it’s not the drinking drama: not being able to work due to hangovers, not being able to remember what I did the night before, lying about everything followed by full-time lie tracking.

I can still generate this kind of stress with overworking, overdoing, watching the news, seeing my family of origin, or calling friends who are still generating drama in their personal lives.

Which is not what Bill and the writers of AA’s Big Book wanted for me. Suzanne also asked me to read page 86 of the Big Book each morning. This part was my favorite:

“In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while.”

We don’t struggle. Ten years on, I realize that almost all struggle and internal stress and strain I feel in my body comes when I am trying to do more than I have time to do, get someone to see things my way, make someone do something they can’t do, or acquire something my higher power doesn’t want for me.

When I feel that struggle I try to surrender. Relax. Remember that I have a higher power who will not drop me on my head.

How has your relationship with struggle changed in sobriety? What challenges remain?

How do you find ways to be gentle with yourself and trust your higher power? Are there other passages in AA literature that you draw on?

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this or whatever is on your heart to share this week.

Kirsten

Topic for the week: Step 9

We are all invited to share on Step 9. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 9 ***
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s much more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting in the middle of page 76. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org

Today I would like to share the reading from our daily readers, Daily Reflections:

BUILDING A NEW LIFE

September 03

We feel a man is unthinking when he says sobriety is enough.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 82

When I reflect on Step Nine, I see that physical sobriety must be enough for me. I need to remember the hopelessness I felt before I found sobriety, and how I was willing to go to any lengths for it. Physical sobriety is not enough for those around me, however, since I must see that God’s gift is used to build a new life for my family and loved ones. Just as importantly, I must be available to help others who want the A.A. way of life.

I ask God to help me share the gift of sobriety so that its benefits may be shown to those I know and love.

From the book Daily Reflections.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

My share:

I was physically sober for 8 years, and that was my whole program other than praying to God like he was Santa Claus and trying to be a decent person.

It wasn’t enough at all. And only through working the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have I found any real ability at all to have healthy and loving relationships with other human beings.

All the steps up to this need to be thorough and complete, and then this one rockets us into the fourth dimension once we walk through it with good judgement, courage and prudence.

Thank you for the honor of chairing this meeting the floor is now open for sharing.

Topic for the week:  Service

Hello, my friends.  This week has been set aside as a service topic meeting.  I understand that to mean that I am to share on what service in AA means to me.

So, here we go.  When I came into AA, I came in from Al-Anon so I already had an idea of what service meant.  For me, it was essentially the same in both programs, so I already knew where many of my strengths would be.  I learned what service meant, what tasks could and would be involved, and that many, many things can be service to AA.

First, I learned that helping with the physical tasks in face-to-face (in-person) meetings such as setting up/taking down chairs, preparing/clearing up coffee, greeting people as they came into the room, chairing meetings, reading in front of the group, giving my interpretation of slogans, handing out sobriety chips (my first home group had chips, rocks, and marbles for sobriety, having a rocky day, and when we’ve lost some of our marbles and need replacements), and many other tasks.

Then it was taking on roles in the group, being the secretary, treasurer, intergroup representative in urban areas, group service rep, or any other group level job. I wasn’t group treasurer, but did hold the other positions at one time or another.  After that came service at the district level.  I acted as treatment chair for the district for one two-year term.  I am currently secretary for a two-year term.  In GROW I act as topic archivist, and like many, I take on a week’s topic from time to time.  In one zoom group I am involved with I regularly Host meetings and sometimes chair.

I often thought that sponsorship was a main goal of service, but that is something I haven’t actually done.  I am willing to listen and talk, but I have doubts about my ability to mentor someone in the program.  Maybe I’m complicating it too much for me to do.  My interpersonal skills need some work.

I know that there is much more than this with respect to service.  I would like to hear what you have done or are doing in the form of service to AA and your fellow/sister alcoholic.  Small task or large, it all counts and helps another alcoholic with their sobriety.

Please share on service in your AA journey.

Topic for the week: Powerlessness

In the last week of living on life’s terms I have been reminded about being powerless over my alcoholism as well as people places and things. 

Prior to recovery I thought I was in control of my drinking as well as every other dimension of my life. I even tried to control the outcomes of various situations and how people would respond-it worked out-go figure right

I once saw or thought being powerless as weak but today when I am feeling powerlessness I have learned it is an opportunity to make sure I am using the tools of the program, to grow at a deeper level, to heal and/or see which character defect may have resurfaced only in a different way.

How do you deal with powerlessness? What does be powerlessness over people , places and things mean to you? Or what is on your heart today?

Thank you ladies for letting me lead this meeting.

Be well

Mary O

Topic for the week:   Acceptance. 

Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book), 4th Edition, P. 417

“When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away. From that moment on, I have not had a single compulsion to drink. And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me. I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.” 

By the grace of God I have been sober one day at a time since December 21st 1993 and for this I live with gratitude every day. My HP put people in my life who got me here, showed me how to live sober and what it means to love and serve others by living the 12 steps of AA. I reach out for help when I need it and read, pray and meditate every day so that I can remember where I came from and how I have changed and am STILL changing. This is truly a program of progress, not perfection. I write a daily (almost) gratitude list with my sponsee. Today, I will reflect and write an “acceptance list”:

What is on your “acceptance list:? How does acceptance fit into your life right now? How does it help keep you sober, make you happy, bring you serenity or struggles?

If you are new or coming back to start again, thank you for being here for all of us. Thank you for allowing me to serve as lead this week.

Topic for the week: Step 8

We are all invited to share on Step 8. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 8 ***
“Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting in the middle of page 76. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

Theresa, alcoholic, the first time I did step 8 I was handicapped as I had burned my fourth step. If I had kept my 4th step I could just go off that to make my list of persons I had harmed. I have since warned sponsees to keep their fourth as it comes in handy down the road.

When I thought back to my fourth and was able to make a list of those I had harmed. The ones I forgot, I dealt with as they came up. My sponsor told me to put my name on the top of the list, and when I did that it required a lot of soul searching to come to terms with my actions. By seeing my character defects I realised that a living amends was my only course of action. To be a little nicer to myself was a good start.

Making a list is not so hard, becoming willing is the key to most of the steps for me. Then honesty about my part in each situation, and then openness.

The meeting is now open and I look forward to you shares.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week:  The F.D.I. Index

Although my life has been happy and even joyful for the most part, Fear, Doubt and Insecurity sometimes sends me reeling. An F.D.I. attack can start if I step too far out of my comfort zone, or if I feel belittled or rejected by someone I trusted. Sometimes I don’t know where it comes from….

I started using alcohol to calm emotional discomfort in my early thirties, and within three or four years, I was drinking myself into oblivion daily. I was hooked. I reached out for help and found it quickly in Alcoholics Anonymous. What a miracle!

Fear is often mentioned in our Big Book.

How has AA helped you manage fear or other negative emotions? 

Topic for the week:  Tolerance, from p. 203, in ‘As Bill Sees It’ 

‘Gradually we began to be able to accept the other fellow’s sins as well as his virtues.We coined the potent and meaningful expression “Let us always love the best in others – and never fear their worst.” Grapevine, Jan. 1962

‘Finally, we began to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong. When this happens, we approach true tolerance and we see what real love for our fellows actually means.” 12&12, p. 92

I have been an intolerant and judgmental person for most of my life. The long-term and often subtle messages on this from AA have slowly brought me to a feeling of acceptance for most of the human race. I’m not perfect! But I’ve learned that every person comes to their opinions and world view honestly, based upon their personal and family experience, cultural training, education and other reasons. This change has helped me see the real people behind the masks that we wear to fit in with other people in the world.

Please share your experiences of how AA has helped you become more tolerant of those different from yourself, or just in general about your experiences with becoming more tolerant of just about anything!

The Power of the Serenity Prayer 

I distinctly remember the first day in rehab, sitting in the dining hall. I was scared but I was grateful to be there. I was trying to not feel so alone but also trying to keep my head down and blend in to the background. No one else was seated at my table yet so I stared at this little placard on the table. On one side it had some statistic  about what % of people that went to rehab maintained long term sobriety. I took note of that fact, feeling better about where I was. On the other side was the Serenity Prayer. I had seen the Serenity Prayer before but on this day, in this place it took on a whole new meaning and importance for me! It spoke to my heart. This was the first of many ‘God shot’ moments I experienced in early sobriety. 

As the days went by I found myself repeatedly using the Serenity Prayer to ‘evaluate’ the challenges I confronted. It had a way of making things crystal clear for me. Was this situation something I could change? Was it something I should change? Was it something I needed to ‘let go and let God’? It became the ‘touchstone’ I used anytime something disturbed me.

Today, I still find solace in that prayer. It is the ‘Benchmark’ for me when I am questioning how I am handling any given situation. It reminds me that I am powerless over people, places and things.  It reminds me where my responsibility is in a given situation.  I am not the one in control. I am not God! It has taught me to ask for help and then trust the process. It has also brought me closer to my Higher Power. 

The Serenity Prayer is a tool I have found useful in nearly every situation life has thrown at me.  It helps by returning me to a feeling of peace so I can focus on what really matters in the present moment. The 3 lines in that one short prayer have altered my life in ways I never could have imagined!

Do you have a particular tool or prayer that has been significant in working your program? You are invited to share on that or any other topic that will help keep you on the road to recovery.

Thank you for letting me be of service this week.

Cheryl Baughman

Topic for the week:

“Peace is possible for me only when I let go of expectations. When I’m trapped in thoughts about what I want and what should be coming to me, I’m in a state of fear or anxious anticipation and this is not conducive to emotional sobriety. I must surrender – over and over – to the reality of my dependence on God, for then I find peace, gratitude and spiritual security.” Daily Reflections, p. 197, And Letting Go of It.

Or anger or frustration or contempt or despair. When I’m trapped in thoughts about I/me/my wants/needs/deserves/entitled to’s…well, I’m miserable. And chances are good my misery will slop out onto you. Self-centeredness is sloppy stuff. It complicates everything, doesn’t it? It’s a fascinating thing, having been in the program for a while now, to be able to recognize this about myself thanks to the Steps, not wanting to be mired in my ego pit, and yet, there I be. Eventually, sometimes quickly sometimes slowly, I realize that I’m trying to tread water in quicksand, and I holler for help. Friends in the program, my sponsor, anything from the archives of AA, but the ultimate authority in these situations is always HP, my God.

Example in point: my husband is a depressed, active alcoholic; my sister, for whom I am guardian, is mentally ill and in declining health; my daughter is getting married in September, a ‘destination wedding’ here in WI from their home base of San Diego, CA. Lots of fragile plates spinning on the top ends of thin sticks like some kind of magic trick. It’s my job to keep them spinning or they’ll surely come crashing down and shatter, so spin I must. Right?

Well, no actually, Julie, neither the plates nor the sticks nor the spinning are your job. These are real life people with real life challenges in a spinning, often off-kilter world. My job is to recognize that God’s in charge, not me. My job is to come alongside my husband and love him in the midst of his disease and depression. Come alongside, not push or pull or persuade, but be present and patient, as God is with me. My job is to love my sister just as she is, same as she has always loved me, just as God has and does. My job is to step aside as my daughter and her fiance plan the wedding of their dreams, not mine, hoping only that God’s invited to the ceremony.

When I let go of expectations, when I stop trying to control people or outcomes, which is impossible anyway, and let it, and them, be, I stay out of God’s way. I stay out of my husband’s, my sister’s, my daughter’s way, and leave room for what will be, despite myself. I respect and honor their individual journeys. When I loosen my grip and let go, the tension and stress and anxiety and fear can slip from my grasp. I’m free to pick up hope, trust, and to hold faith that the same God who carries me has the people I love in his strong arms, too. If I pay attention, watch and listen to what He’s doing, I may even get the opportunity to contribute, if He allows it. But I can’t do that if my eyes are always on me, myself, and I.

Let go + Let God = Peace. A simple formula that proves out every time. Please share your experience, strength, and hope on this or anything that’s part of your sober road journey right now. Thank you for the opportunity to chair this week’s meeting.

Gratefully,

Julie K

Topic for the week: Step 7
We are all invited to share on Step 7. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 7 ***
“Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”

By the time I finished my 4th and 5th Steps, I was more than ready to change, to have my character defects removed. Without knowing it, I had done Step 6, but I didn’t think I could make the changes that were so obviously needed. Thankfully, the Big Book contained the 7th Step Prayer, and that explained a lot. It was a great relief to know that my Higher Power would remove my defects. What I didn’t realize is that it would be in HP’s time, not mine.

Another thing I didn’t notice right away is that HP would remove those defects that were a barrier to my service to God. HP wasn’t going to remove something just because I wanted it gone. HP would make me useful to other alcoholics first and other human beings second. I learned to rely on that prayer to help me heal and become whole.

Celebrating 27 years means nothing. I still say the 7th Step Prayer every day: “My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do Your bidding.” Of course, I say it in my own words, but the sentiment is the same.

A wise old man in my Virginia meetings pointed out to me that the word “remove” does not mean a defect will be taken away forever. He said it would be set aside. I could have that character defect back anytime I wanted. All I had to do is stop working the program and stop striving to be of service. Soon, I would find myself repeating old behaviors and making the same old mistakes. I might relapse. (Someone else suggested that HP would remove them in the order in which they were killing me.)

When I ask in prayer that HP remove my character defects, I trust that it will happen. But I have to do some footwork. I have to stay aware of what I’m saying and doing. I have to continue to apply these principles in all my affairs. I need to be aware of what others might need that I can give, and I have to give it with love. I have tried to do all of these things since I put down that last drink. I haven’t been perfect, but I have changed. Most of that is due, I believe, to Step 7 and my HP’s willingness to help me a better person.

I’d love to hear about your experience with Step 7. What does the 7th Step Prayer mean to you? What have you done to make change real in your life? Have your character defects been “removed?”

*****************************************************************

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting at the top of page 76. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week:

Resentments / Acceptance – how they go together.

Struggling today.  I know everyone has life stuff that happens, and I know things happen.  I just am a bit bogged down on doing what you say and saying what you do.  I get angry when others don’t do what they say they will do.  Even though I am sure I do it too.

I can either hold on to the resentment or accept and move forward and do the next right thing.   I have to let go, accept what I can and take action to resolve the situation.  Struggling between these two right now.

I would love to hear from all of you on this topic.

Topic for the week: Obsession

For many years I didn’t realize I was an alcoholic. I thought I abused alcohol, used it to self-medicate, ended up binging because I’m not good at moderation, etc. This program has shown me how wrong I was. When I read the Big Book, I felt like it was written about me.

Something that especially stood out was the great obsession of every abnormal drinker being, “somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking” (AA Big Book, page 30). The methods described on page 31 to try to control it, like limiting to beer, never drinking in the morning, taking more physical exercise, I related to so much. I had tried most of those things! (unsuccessfully)

The mental obsession around alcohol was not something I could get rid of on my own. But I didn’t believe at first that a higher power could actually help me to remove this obsession. Regardless, I worked through the steps of AA and tried to trust the process of honesty and spiritual action.

Slowly, I started to feel differently. I never thought I could hang around with people who were drinking and not drink myself. But to my surprise, I have actually been able to do this when I have to. I am no longer fighting to keep myself from drinking, because I just don’t want it.

In the description of step 10, the Big Book says, “by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part” (page 85).

The obsession is no longer with me and I am so grateful for this. I have no interest in picking up that first drink, even when it’s sitting right in front of me. It amazes me. I know that I need to work daily on the program in order to keep this miracle. It is worth working for.

Please share your thoughts or experience with the struggle and/or relief of the mental obsession of alcohol from your higher power and spiritual awakening. Thank you for letting me chair this meeting.

Topic for the week: Step 6

We are all invited to share on Step 6. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 6 ***
“Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous” (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting about page 75. And there’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Link to Step Six in the 12 X 12:  https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/en_step6.pdf **

Hi ladies, my name is Emily M., and I am honored to lead us today in our Step Six meeting.

For this meeting, I would like to “read” Step Six in the 12 and 12 together and share what most stands out to each of us, whether it’s quotes from the reading or our ESH around what we are reading or questions we have about the reading. 

These are the quotes/passages that most stand out to me: 

“when I became willing to clean house and then asked a Higher Power, God as I understood Him, to give me release, my obsession to drink vanished. It was lifted right out of me.” — pg 63

This is what helps me understand God has the power to remove my defects if I have the willingness to be rid of them.

“So far as we know, it is nowhere on the record that God has completely removed from any human being all his natural drives.” — pg 65

“When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth.” — pg 65 

This helps me determine what’s an outright defect, what I just take a little too far, and what a natural and ok human desire is.

“If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.” — pg 65

So it isn’t just *poof* they’re gone and no work on my part…I need to become willing to “act as if” and practice the opposite of my character defects.

“No matter how far we have progressed, desires will always be found which oppose the grace of God.” — pg 66

I am reminded of how the Big Book tells us that we are not saints, that the point is to aim for spiritual progress rather than perfection. I am also reminded that one of the major shifts in recovery is a shift toward humility. 

“What we must recognize now is that we exult in some of our defects. We really love them.” — pg 66

This is what makes Step 6 a step of its own. We have to become “entirely ready” to be rid of even our most cherished character defects, and this takes some work from my experience. 

“Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. In a perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the fact that many people annoy us, for it brings a comfortable feeling of superiority.” — pg 67

This is one of my “favorite” defects, absolutely, one I really do have to watch for each day.

“few of us can quickly or easily become ready to aim at spiritual and moral perfection; we want to settle for only as much perfection as will get us by in life, according, of course, to our various and sundry ideas of what will get us by. So the difference between “the boys and the men” is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God.” — pg 67-68

This “only as much as will get me by” mindset is a big part of what got me wasted. Just do as little life as humanly possible to get on with the party. I have found numerous times, this does not do me any favors, drunk or sober. The time has passed for half-measures, after all, “they avail us nothing” and this applies to our choosing character assets over character defects, one choice at a time.

“The only urgent thing is that we make a beginning, and keep trying.” — pg 68

Immediately getting “into action” does not mean being perfect at it from the beginning, it means finding the willingness to take baby steps in the right direction, the direction we feel would be cooperating versus fighting against the will and designs of our Higher Power.

“At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can.” — pg 69

Many of our defects, we do wish to immediately be rid of. If we are having a difficult time becoming willing to be rid of all of them, it’s at least a good start to start embracing character assets where we can as quickly as possible. 

“Delay is dangerous, and rebellion may be fatal.” — pg 69

It is essential to remember why we are doing this: when running the show ourselves, acting from our egos and our disease, the show never came off as planned, our lives were unmanageable and we had realized only a power greater than ourselves would restore us to sanity. This Sixth Step is vital part of that restoration process we are allowing our Higher Power to perform. 

Please share what most stands out to you as you read Step 6 in the 12 and 12, whether it’s quotes from the reading or  ESH around what you are reading or questions you have about the reading. 

Thank you for the honor of chairing this meeting. The floor is now open for sharing.

Topic for the week: The Waltz

Hello ladies, TheresaB alcoholic, I was in a meeting recently when several newcomers shared about difficulties they were having. One of our sisters wrapped it up nicely by reminding us of the need to practise steps 1-3 whenever we are faced with an objectionable person, place or thing. It is the foundation of our program.

Steps 1, 2 and 3 are our lifeblood. In Step One, reminds me that complete surrender is necessary, I am powerless over, followed by the admission that our life has become unmanageable, even though I would go down kicking and screaming that it wasn’t my fault, if only …

In Step Two I have to admit that there is a power greater than me. Then I have to admit that I need to be restored to sanity–my alcoholic life certainly was insane, no normal person would live that way.

All that is left is a decision to let God take over. It seems so simple! But I am continually reminded that everything that seems so simple, often requires a fair amount of work on my part. As we say, of course I’ll let go of it but there will be claw marks to prove it.

When I first heard the first three steps referred to as the waltz, it was somewhat disparaging, about being stuck on 1-3. Further down the road, I see it differently now. Just like a waltz, there is comfort in the simplicity of it, surrender, acceptance and action. When I remember to keep it that simple, my life works much easier, I don’t have the resentments or the anger.

How do Steps 1-3 fit into your life today?

Thank you for allowing me the honor of chairing the meeting this week. May you all have a Blessed week.

TheresaB

Topic for the week: Care

I’m Sophie and I’m an alcoholic, here to lead our weekly topic meeting this week.

Thank you all who are here, to listen or share or be of service in anyway here or to another alcoholic or AA group.

Care, in the form of the loving care and loving kindness I’ve found in AA, is our topic this week. But you are of course welcome to share off topic also, the group just asks it be on matters relevant to an AA meeting and sobriety and alcoholism when sharing to the group.

I’m grateful this week to have celebrated a milestone and have been feeling the closeness of all my sponsor’s words and pearls of wisdom.

The idea of taking care of myself or trusting anything to the care of anyone else let alone a god I didn’t believe in, well those were alien concepts prior to being in AA and my sobriety.

A dear lady called Shirley was my sponsor in NZ for 4 years. She was a huge part of our NZ lives and my sobriety journey whilst there. A longtimer who found AA and got sober in her 50’s, found god eight years later on the surgeon’s operating table during her cancer surgery and died over 40 years sober a few months ago age 97 (she always said she didn’t want to live to 100, and I know she was peaceful and ready to be with her loving god and her dear departed husband). She was Kiwi-Nana to my son who was born in NZ. Her granddaughter was my age, born with a Learning Disability and opened my eyes to life as an adult with an LD. I now work with a group of adults with LD’s.

I wanted to share something Shirley talked about, that was a key to her peace and serenity and her long term sobriety. She showed me her god of loving kindness. The loving care of her god was in her veins. She was a living breathing example of turning each day over to the loving care of a loving god. Every day she thanked that loving god for another day of life and she lived it.

I learned so much from Shirley.

I never have known who or what is around the corner and seeing her live in the loving care of her god is one of the most beautiful eye openers for me in my sobriety.

I wonder what kind of loving care or loving kindness or loving god you may have experienced in your sobriety?

AA has pulled me close and wrapped me in the wings of angel’s when times have been bumpy. The little things; an offer of a cup of tea at a meeting, the offer of a chat over coffee afterwards, the phone call midweek, the emails of support or encouragement or thanks, the sharing with my gratitude gals, the demonstration of how a particular principle or step or page or paragraph from the book might help.

The big things; members walking with me through the really bumpy times, the women in my closer circle, the ones who’ve let me stay at their home when I had nowhere safe to be because I was in yet another destructive relationship but this time sober, the ones who’ve been at the end of the phone or email when I’ve really needed that… so many examples of loving kindness along the way.

If you’re out there somewhere in Grow and haven’t yet felt the loving care of AA I encourage you to be brave and reach out either individually or to the group.

I am constantly amazed at the love there is, I just have to remember to turn towards instead of turn away.

Turning has been a theme of my sobriety. Turning towards is my lifeline.

Loving care for me has been about finding the god of my understanding. And I’ve only found that and continue to find it because I’m sober and participating in AA.

Finding the silver linings, continuing to trust god’s got me no matter what, that the care of god will hold me and my needs will always be met no matter what.

Finding god in the detail, those incredible god-incidences.

The times when I’ve looked back and can see the footprints in the sand or feel that loving angel’s wing.

I’ve included below my favourite lines from our AA literature that to me demonstrate the power that loving care has in individual sobriety, the AA 12 Step program and in this incredible fellowship itself.

“Isn’t it true that in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection and guidance of Alcoholics Anonymous?” 12&12 Step Three p.35

“I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction.” BB Bill’s Story p.13

“the lawyer gave his life to the care and direction of his Creator, and said he was perfectly willing to do anything necessary.” BB A Vision For You p.158

“In fact, the effectiveness of the whole AA program will rest upon how well and how earnestly we have tried to come to “a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood him.”” 12&12 Step Three p.34-35

“If I keep on turning my life and my will over to the care of Something or Somebody else, what will become of me?” 12&12 Step Three p.36

“We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems.” BB Into Action p.87

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood him.”” 12&12 Step Three

“We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.” BB How It Works p.59

“We believe there isn’t a fellowship on earth which lavishes more devoted care upon it’s individual members; surely there is none which more jealously guards the individual’s right to think, talk and act as he wishes.” 12&12 Tradition One p.129

“Concept XII. The conference shall observe the spirit of AA tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power, that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, wherever possible, by substantial unanimity; that it’s actions be never personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.” BB Appendix, Twelve Concepts short form p.575

Thank you for having me be of service today and this week.

When I got here I was the hole in the doughnut. I trusted enough to copy others in turning my will and life over to the care of god and today, whilst not always easy or smooth, the path lies before me and I get to walk it knowing and feeling I’m cared for and sending that care outwards and onwards to others.

The meeting is now open.

Topic for the week: Making comparisons

I was reading in the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy and came across this quote: “Comparisons are odious.” Comparing ourselves to others is something we start doing at an early age. At school we become accustomed to comparing ourselves to others regarding our academic and sports abilities and as adults advertisers love to have us comparing ourselves to others with regard to our looks, weight, possessions, and much more.

In sobriety we might want to compare our progress with others’ progress; it seems especially easy to fall prey to this in the early stages of getting sober – I know I did. I was newly sober in Miami Beach and would be at a meeting wondering how so-and-so could seem SO together when she or he had the same or even less time in the program than I had! I’d get depressed thinking about this, comparing every facet of their appearance, shares, and AA social life to mine, often finding myself coming up short. I’d talk to my sponsor and she would tell me to stop “shoulding” on myself, e.g., stop telling myself I should be x, I should do y, I should have z. Comparing my journey in sobriety to others’ journeys was a complete waste of time, I eventually came to understand, because their sober journey wasn’t mine (and vice versa), and my life prior to sobriety wasn’t theirs (and vice versa).

We share our experience, strength, and hope because as active alcoholics we did a lot of the same things. But even if we didn’t, we certainly felt a lot of the same feelings, e.g., guilt, remorse, embarrassment, hopelessness, and so on. However, even though we share some of the same experiences and feelings, we still have our own path in sobriety. Getting sober seems to me to be a very personal experience even when it’s done the same way, for example, going to rehab. We can relate to one another’s stories of drinking, getting sober, and working the program of AA because there are similarities, but out journeys are each our own. No one has lived the same life I’ve lived, had the same parents, had exactly the same personal interactions I’ve had, just as I’ve not lived anyone else’s life and therefore can’t know 100% accurately what they’ve been through, what life is like for them now, and how they’re managing their sobriety.

A quote by Theodore Roosevelt is apt: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I know this is true for me because so often it’s a case of comparing my “insides” with someone else’s “outsides”. Social media is a prime source for this…people posting their best photos, best meals, best holidays, best besties, and on and on….ugh!! I have to remember that even though others have some of the things I’d like to have but don’t, that doesn’t mean I’m any less. I’m okay as I am, right now, and am grateful for what I do have, especially my sobriety. There are those who would give anything to get sober but for whatever reason, they can’t. I’ve been given the best gift anyone like me, i.e., an alcoholic, can be given…truly, I wouldn’t be alive if I had not gotten sober – I’m sure of it!

So, when I start down that road of comparing myself to others I remind myself that I’m sober, I’m healthy, I’m not incarcerated (I could’ve been arrested for any number of things I did while drinking), and I have the love of family and friends (more so since getting sober). I’m extremely fortunate to be where I am considering the life I’ve had and some of the choices I’ve made. And maybe that person I’ve been comparing myself to is also fortunate, or maybe not. Either way, I need to focus on my life, my behavior, my choices, and my attitude. I can live and let live, and leave making comparisons to others as it does me no good.

The meeting is now open. Please share on your experiences of making comparisons. Thank you for letting me share.

Expectations.

Prior to getting sober, I did not even understand that my expectations were causing me harm.  I wanted what I wanted and did not care who or what the consequences were, until I did.  Then the self loathing and the pain of my actions weighed me down so badly, I wanted to die.

AA has taught me that my expectations, when not centered with my HP’s will, cause me pain.  Most recently, I realize that my put HUGE expectations on ME.  What I should be doing, how far in my recoveryI should be, how quickly I accept my part and how connected I am with my HP.  My expectations of what I can control and how I can “fix” them are off.  I feel judged by my sponsor.  I feel “wrong” for not simply letting things go and giving them to HP.

I have moments of peace though when I realize that I am exactly where I need to be.  Talking to other women in the program, seeking outside help from professionals and talking to my HP, are helping me get back on track to loving myself AS I AM.

I would love to hear your ESH on this topic.

Topic for the week: Step 5  Admitted to God, ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

I worried a lot about Step 4, mainly because of how hard I heard it would be.  Of course, it was not easy, but it was incredibly freeing.  My early Steps were done with my most sincere effort and awareness, mixed I can admit, with fear.  I wanted to stay sober and I was determined to do what it takes.

I really hadn’t realized that Step 5 was scary too!  I was told that I am as sick as my secrets and since I buried so many of them so deep, I wasn’t really aware of all of their nature.  But I did know, ‘soul sickness’ as the Big Book calls it.  Such spiritual sickness, fear, isolation from my fellows, and shame were quite apt to make me drink rather than look squarely at myself.  It kept me from exercising the honesty I needed to advance in sobriety.  Once again, I was afraid.  I’d chosen a loving God but my resistance blocked out His love.

I think of Step 5 as the application of the character defects I uncovered in Step 4.  For me, not making the connection allowed me to imagine that I might own the defects, but surely I hadn’t acted on them!  Examples were the way I became enlightened.  I did need the ‘coaching’ of a sponsor with whom I was doing my Step 5 to be assured I was not unique, not the worst, and I could allow myself to recall and say out loud what I’d done in my past.  We are not bad people getting good, but sick people getting well.

I had another misconception.  I assumed that the fifth step referred only to those missteps I’d taken when I was drinking.  That belief would have cut my list in half if I hadn’t learned that the ‘ism of my alcoholism had affected my behavior from early on, way before I picked up a drink.

I came to the rooms very short on trust.  I was sure I was the worst, I was sure that anyone I told the exact nature of my wrongs would blab it all over the neighborhood, and my admission would just send me home feeling worse for even opening my mouth.  It didn’t happen that way.

The quality of my Step 4 and Step 5 improved over the years.  These steps are not one-and-done and support my sobriety all through my life.  Some ‘wrongs’ were not available to my conscious mind for many years.  Some I’d rationalized and left off the list.  And lo and behold, I’d created some new ones along the way!  The 10th Step can keep me out of that muck and mire if I am faithful to examining my actions of the day before I go to sleep.  And owning them.

An example:  It wasn’t so many years ago that I became aware of the need to do a 4th and 5th step on some behavior of the past that had come to my consciousness and began to bedevil me.  It started to make me sullen, depressed, fearful and angry.  I knew it was going to cause me a lot of trouble unless I took action.  That soul-sickness I spoke of.

I had just moved to a new area and had no one to talk to.  I chose a priest whose spirituality matched mine and made an appointment.  My idea, yes, but the closer the appointment came, the colder my feet became.  But I prevailed. I needed help to get out the details, time to cry, time to feel shame. In the process the priest revealed that he too was in AA and was well able to help.  I cried some more.  A huge burden was lifted from my soul.  I was ready to start anew and once again felt the love of my Higher Power who put this person in my life.

When I got home, I was so ecstatic that my husband believed I was having an affair. Never did. In fact, he believes that even today and I have not been able to persuade him otherwise.  The irony of that makes me laugh so hard!  In a certain way it is once again my Higher Power’s sense of humor.  hgz, b.  9/21/84

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

We are all invited to share, at any time this month, on Step 5 and Tradition 5. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives. The traditions are what guide most AA groups. The traditions certainly inform our group conscience decisions and the original structure for GROW. We look forward to your shares.

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous” (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 6, starting on p. 72. And there’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week: My AA ‘Savings Account’

I was given the gift of desperation 10 years ago on April 30th of 2013. I say desperation was a gift because that feeling of desperation is one of the main things that keeps me sober and in my seat in AA.

Now that I have a few 24 hours under my belt it would be easy to let up on my program. It might seem like I’ve ‘got this’ sobriety thing down. I can afford to go to less meetings… I don’t need to be as intense about working my program. That would be my disease talking though! My disease that is just waiting for me to give it an opening back into my life.

As I’ve approached my sober anniversary this year I have been especially focused on re-energizing my program. I was taught  early in sobriety that 5, 10, and 15 years sober can be dangerous year’s for an alcoholic. We get comfortable with sobriety. We get bored and start taking it for granted. If we aren’t careful a relapse might be just around the corner. Because that seed was planted I find myself evaluating my program on a regular basis. I ‘qualified’ once for a seat in the rooms. I don’t want to repeat that process!

Recovery is not a straight line. There will be hard times in our program and there will be hard times in our lives. That’s the way life is. It helps if we accept this and prepare for those hard times. Even after 10 years, I make it a habit to put time into my recovery every day. Developing good habits is like having a ‘savings account’. When hard times come, and they will, I can take the investment I’ve made and work through my problems.

My daily deposits into my ‘savings account’ help build up my faith. I know my faith is weak so I work at strengthening and building up my faith, increasing the deposits into my ‘savings account’. I do this in several ways. I have daily habits I follow. Prayer, meditation and checking in with GROW are the way I start each day. Having daily habits assures me I have something to fall back on in my ‘savings account’. I share regularly in meetings and I do Service when I can. I invest time each day building up strength for the times when temptation comes.

AA isn’t something that you ‘join like I once thought. It is a way of life. If I want to continue to live this life, free from alcohol, I have to work at it each day.

Sobriety isn’t an object that we acquire and then put on a shelf. It’s a never ending journey, one day at a time! I have to take care of it because permanent sobriety is something I will NEVER possess. The quality of my sobriety will always depend on today’s thinking, behavior and my continual deposits into my AA ‘savings account’.

Thank you for allowing me to lead the meeting this week. The meeting is now open for you to share.

Topic for the week:

Introduce the Topic of the Week – AA is not a Cure-ALL as Bill See it page 285

I thought that our meeting this week could be from AA Daily Reflection which is the following:

A.A. IS NOT A CURE-ALL

April 23

It would be a product of false pride to claim that A.A. is a cure-all, even for alcoholism.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 285

In my early years of sobriety I was full of pride, thinking that A.A. was the only source of treatment for a good and happy life. It certainly was the basic ingredient for my sobriety and even today, with over twelve years in the program, I am very involved in meetings, sponsorship and service. During the first four years of my recovery, I found it necessary to seek professional help, since my emotional health was extremely poor. There are those folks too, who have found sobriety and happiness in other organizations. A.A. taught me that I had a choice: to go to any lengths to enhance my sobriety. A.A. may not be a cure-all for everything, but it is the center of my sober living.

I have been in the room’s of AA for quite a for years and I can recall that many people would say that all the answers of recovery are in the Big Book. There was a person who said to me all you have to do is read and live the Big Book-you don’t need to spend the money on therapy, just work the steps and talk with others.

Well, I wish my path was like the path she suggested. It was not, I love this reading by Bill. Why? Because it helped me feel that I was not the only one integrating support/resources to continue on the road of recovery. Being a recovering survivor of sexual abuse and a child of an alcholic home created a walls of protection around me as well as a deep disconnection that took many years to work through. Without the help of a skilled therapist I would not have been able to heal my inner child and learn about other survivorial patterns that I have carried with me for many years- which served me to get through my trauma, and today are being “unlearned” as I learn to connect and care for myself in healthy ways.

As Bill mentioned, being in therapy enhanced his emotional health. I have learned that being in therapy was the first step in learning to take care of myself and has brought me to a place where I can hear that wisdom and gifts that are present in the Big Book of AA (as well as other books related to recovery). I have also come to understand that my practice of yoga, walking my pup, going to meetings, using HALT on a regular basis, and working at connecting with others are all components of a recovery program.

Thank you for attending the meeting and please share what this reflection means to you or what are your thoughts about using additional resources besides the 12 steps of AA to enhance your recovery or talk about what is on your heart today.

Have a good day, and I wish you all another 24 hours of sobriety,

Mary o

Topic for the week:  Peace and Serenity

My name is Statia and I am an alcoholic.  My life was riddled with fear and anxiety from the age of 6.  Growing up in a split family with alcohol  being abused heavily, my little brain and body were on constant high alert.  Unfortunately, I continued the cycle for 15 years of my adult life.  I felt like I was in a pinball machine most of my life.  Today, by God’s grace, I celebrate 13 years without alcohol.  I can sit still and just be.  That is a miracle!  What a blessing to learn a better way of living that encompasses all aspects of life.  Who knew?

Peace and serenity to all!

Statia 💜

Topic for the week: An Aspect of Life on Life’s Terms

For my topic this week I want to remind myself and you wonderful ladies:
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. As I write this I am at a crossroads. I am working towards a promotion but the stress levels and current workload are extreme, when I ask for help from multiple sources within the organisation, I get brick walls. I feel stressed and without support. My Ego wanted the promotion, but my body and soul want peace. I know what I need to do… Ive done it before for my drinking. This current path is not my friend. I need to acknowledge the problem and recognise life –  ON life’s terms. Its a get busy living or get busy dying moment here.

I remember the day I knew enough was enough. It was my inner trusted voice. That inner child had reached her limit and cried for help. My first day of self respect. No one else could do it for me. I had to forge my own path. When I was finally in control of my destiny, the results were amazing. No lie, it wasn’t easy…. But…. Its a beaut now.

This current crossroads hasn’t revealed itself fully but I know I need to change something and I trust my inner voice to lead me to something greater.

So Ladies- Over to you… Since you quit alcohol, what else have you been brave enough to undertake?

Thank you for the privilege of chairing this meeting.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week: Step 4

We are all invited to share on Step 4. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 4 ***
“Made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous” (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s a lot more in Chapter 5, starting on p. 64. And there’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

I’m currently on my second time through the Steps, and I’m finding it much less intimidating than the first time around. Before I got sober, I wouldn’t let my brain go to scary places to do scary things like inventorying my flaws and weaknesses, my resentments and anger. That’s what drinking was for! When I did Step 4 the first time, I was afraid – a fairly permanent state of being for me then – that I’d (a.) forget something and it had to be perfect (of course) or I’d flunk, and (b.) I’d shock the sh*t out of my sponsor and she’d run for the hills screaming. Neither of these things happened. My list wasn’t perfect, (of course,) and I had to fill in some gaps as I reviewed my inventory with my sponsor, including one of the most heinous of my crimes against humanity which I guess my mind suppressed subconsciously at first. And my sponsor didn’t run for the hills, screaming or otherwise! Instead she graciously shared much of her Step Four with me. I was the one who was shocked, because of our many shared or similar experiences. It reinforced for me that I’d found my people, my tribe, the ones who “get” me. Finally, I belong.

This second time through the Steps, I have far fewer qualms about seeking out my flaws, weaknesses, resentments, and anger. Instead of my brain bouncing off these uglies, I’m able to engage and think through them to find understanding and, more importantly, the antidote to the poison they can brew, turning them over to my HP to do with what He will, and making appropriate amends. It’s a cleansing, and ultimately a refreshing, process that will last a lifetime. A prayer that I’ve been saying daily lately asks my HP to illuminate the darkness within me and around me. Where before I preferred to keep the lights off and just fly blind, now I choose to invite the light to see the tangle of cobwebs and the sticky corners so that we, my HP and I, can get to work scrubbing and cleaning, chasing the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, and heart and soul, too. Through the filter of the HP of my understanding and some kind of amazing AA alchemy, those dark places and ugly cancers within me are spun into gold to be shared with other folks. It magically multiplies when I give it away!

What was your greatest fear about Step 4? What has been your greatest satisfaction as a result of it? Please share your experience, strength, and hope around Step 4.

Thank you for the privilege of chairing this meeting.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week:  Life on life’s terms

The first topic for me that came to mind was ‘life on life’s terms’ and it’s taken from Dr Paul’s chapter from the Big Book – which is chapter 16 entitled, Acceptance was the Answer.  Here is an excerpt from this chapter:

“For years I was sure the worst thing that could happen to a nice guy like me would be that I would turn out to be an alcoholic. Today I find it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. This proves I don’t know what’s good for me. And if I don’t know what’s good for me, then I don’t know what’s good or bad for you or for anyone. So I’m better off if I don’t give advice, don’t figure I know what’s best, and just accept life on life’s terms, as it is today—especially my own life, as it actually is. Before A.A. I judged myself by my intentions, while the world was judging me by my actions.” 

This is one chapter that always resonates with me in my life which is my sober life now.  Grateful to have just celebrated 36 years of continuous sobriety but it is one day at a time.  I also trudge a lot at times.  I have been sober since my late teens so I have grown up in AA – worts and all.  I have had to go through things without a drink or drug to soothe or compensate or reward me.  Drink was my go-to and living life sober is living life on life’s terms (not mine).  It’s hard sometimes – sometimes hard but I get through it by reaching out to friends in the fellowship and connecting.  I still go to meetings, have a sponsor, and try and be of service whenever I can.  I love AA because it offers the solution and not just about putting down the drink (which of course had to happen first) but AA gives me a solution for living if I choose to show up, work the steps and be of service.

I always tend to share what’s going on with me today as that’s all I have is today.

This month has been very busy with work and life on life’s terms.  I have been dealing with a lot of emotions in particular grief.  My mom passed away from cancer last July.  It was this time last year that we only found out she was ill.  We found out she was terminal in May and then she deteriorated quickly and passed away on July 9^th.  My sister and I took care of her in her home the two months before she died and it was really difficult but grateful I was sober and was able to be there.

Life has lots of ups and downs and life is full of new beginnings and deaths and closures.  Grateful to have AA and the tools to always meet me when life delivers ups and downs.  Acceptance was a new concept to me when I came into the rooms and now grateful that it is part of my vocabulary and toolbox.   Look forward to hearing about your experience with life on life’s terms.

Topic for the week:  Willingness

My name is Alison B. and I am an alcoholic.  Welcome new gals & congratulations to anyone celebrating a milestone this week.  I actually turn 30 years sober on Monday and I for one, am flabbergasted at this development.  It is almost as if it is someone else’s birthday, not mine.  A different Alison that is somehow connected to me.  (Never mind that I have been hauling her butt to meetings for 30+ years, lol.)

I have been mulling over a topic for a while now.  What popped up for me today is the topic of Willingness.  When I was new to sobriety my sponsor used to say things like;  “Willingness is the key that unlocks the doors for you.”  “Just be willing to try on new ideas.”  “Honesty, Open-mindedness, and Willingness are all you need to make this program work.”

What was that???  What did she just say?  I’m so confused by all of this………that was my take on this AA stuff all those years ago.  It was a bit like listening to someone babble in a foreign language that I did not know!  So, I just kept showing up and not drinking in between meetings.  I trusted in the process.  I have shared in the past how I used to sleep with the Big Book hoping that I might somehow assimilate some of the magical information during my resting hours, as I could not comprehend the stuff I read.  I simply could not focus on the material.  When I was really struggling, my sponsor used to suggest that I pray for the willingness to…………………..fill in the blank for yourself here.

From the Cambridge English Dictionary:

the quality of being happy to do something if it is needed: [ + to infinitive ] She shows a willingness to work on her own initiative.

Throughout his career he has demonstrated a willingness to compromise. Synonyms. desire (WANT)

For me the happy part came later in sobriety, lol.  I was not happy when I first walked into AA.  So, I became willing to take direction, willing to do the work, willing to make amends, willing to clean house, willing to believe in a Power greater than myself, willing to sacrifice, willing to move forward, willing to take inventory, willing to be honest with myself and others, willing to show up, willing to grow, etc.

And my doors opened, and the light came in.  Here I am nearly 30 years later, and I have been given the gifts of sobriety.  I can say that I am Happy, Joyous & Free today.  Happy to seek God’s Will for me.  Joyous at the life I have been given.  Free from alcohol.  There is a solution for any problem that comes up.  And that my friends, is the most freeing of all.  Thank you to all the women who have come before me and illuminated my path to spirituality.  Because, the point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines, and willingness is the key!  It unlocks the door to a new way of life.

Blessings,

Alison B.

Topic for the week:

“A DAY’S PLAN March 12

On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

Every day I ask God to kindle within me the fire of His love, so that love, burning bright and clear, will illuminate my thinking and permit me to better do His will. Throughout the day, as I allow outside circumstances to dampen my spirits, I ask God to sear my consciousness with the awareness that I can start my day over any time I choose; a hundred times, if necessary.”

From the book Daily Reflections. Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Everyday for some time now, I have started the day with taking my dog outside. I used to see this as a bothersome chore, especially in winter months. A few years ago, I decided to change my perspective and look at it as a time to get into conscious contact with my creator and make it into a walking meditation.

Starting my day this way gives me appreciation for small things like the sun, sky, trees, plants, and animals around me. I notice all of God’s creation and that I am a part of that creation and from that space, facing the day seems more manageable. And if my day starts to go south, I’ve realized I can step outside again, immersing myself in Gods creation once again and come back to that peace.

What kind of morning routine do you practice? How do you start your day over if you need to? Where are you able to find conscious contact with your creator when you need it? Or anything else that’s on your heart in relation to this reading or your sobriety, please share.

Topic for the week: Step 3

Hello again, I’m Sophie and an alcoholic.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me serve as your Chairperson this week.

We are all invited to share on Step 3. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 3 ***
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous” (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more in Chapter 5, starting on p. 60. And there’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

Starting with the 3 pertinent ideas on page 60, the a,b,c’s, I became convinced to my innermost self and at depth that I cannot safely drink, that I cannot take that first drink, that I am bodily and mentally different in the way I react to alcohol, that nothing I’ve tried in the past got me or kept me sober and that finding a god of my understanding is my only solution. This was pretty much my learning from the first two steps and the chaos of my life and drinking before AA. These are my foundations to my new sober life. So now at Step Three, where was I? How was I to do this “turning over” business? What was I actually turning over?

My experience is that this step is daily. But that it means I continue to turn to the solution in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous – the 12 steps. Once I start thinking I know best again or that I have to create an outcome or control a person or situation I know I’m back in Sophie’s will. It’s uncomfortable and it leads me into the spiritual malady of restless, irritable and discontent.

But the hope is I can start again at any point. I can reaffirm my desire to stay stopped and to continue to grow in my sobriety. I have reached that turning point so many times in my sobriety in pretty much every area of my life. Sometimes I write to God. Sometimes I get down on my knees. Often I pray sitting down with my arms and hands open. Or I talk to God in the pause before I tackle something new. Or I reach out to another AA or another person. I need to check my thinking and my actions. As my disease of alcoholism lives in my head it doesn’t help to try to do this alone. Better I pray or talk to someone in the program.

I’ve heard the first 3 steps distilled into I can’t, He can, so let Him. If the male word for god doesn’t work I can replace it with my own Them, She, It.

Step Three is me getting out of the way. Me taking my place alongside the god of my understanding. Stepping back to allow that “good orderly direction” to flow through me. Consciously pausing or waiting to allow my Higher Power in before me. Gosh, how many times have I rushed into the day and been coming up against everything and everyone then realising I’ve jumped in the driver’s seat, opened my Book of Complaints Against The World and been hurt or caused hurt.

Today I have AA that gives me choices.

I can say the prayer but it’s the actions I take that show I’m actually letting go of my old ideas, my old thinking and willing to continue learning and growing and practicing in the 12 steps. I can make the decision but without acting differently this step for me becomes lip service and an intellectual neck up exercise.  I want the freedom AA has given others so for me I want to continue to take the actions of the rest of the program.

Before Step Three I needed to have admitted my powerlessness over alcohol, to begin accepting this as a fact about myself and to have something I could understand as a power greater than myself. I couldn’t do that alone. I needed to hear it shared about in meetings by other alcoholics. I needed to ask questions, to read AA literature, to find a sponsor to walk with me.

Saying the Third Step Prayer for the first time with my sponsor was not a blaze of trumpets and angels. It was a turning point. I was doing something I’d never done before. I was seeking and accepting help and guidance from someone in my sobriety journey. I was saying alone I can’t.

I know I’ve turned my will over today when I’m not full of fear, when I’m in the flow of trusting all is well and my needs are met. Often the big things (the elephants) I find easier to turn over whereas the smaller day to day things (the bunny rabbits) can have me tripping over into impatience and anger and self justification or self pity. Watch out for the bunnies!

A program friend stayed with us recently. He used this phrase his sponsor used with him… “have you turned your will and life over to god today? Then what are you worrying about?”. What I loved about this is that it reminded me, in my first two years of sobriety I faced redundancy twice in the same organisation. Even though I was a relative beginner at practising this 3rd Step principle of trust, I had turned my will and life over to my HP, and when the news arrived I was filled with calm rather than dread, with the feeling of being held and looked after rather than cast off into the abyss to fend for myself. And both times things happened that were better than anything I could have dreamt of for myself. Sure it wasn’t all plain sailing but I had program friends, meetings, my sponsor, the steps, god, and I got to experience new things that wouldn’t have happened had I got in the way of god’s will for me. I always say, thank God for AA and thank AA for God. I get carried, held, loved, guided, nourished and all when I trust and get out of the way.

The words of the Third Step Prayer (page 63 of the Big Book) continue to be a core of my daily connection with my God;

If you wish to say them with me I’m including them here.

God I offer myself to Thee 

To Build with me and to do with me as Thou Wilt.

Relieve me of the Bondage of Self, that I may better do Thy Will.

Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of Life.

May I do Thy Will always. 

Amen

I open the weekly meeting for all who wish to share on topic on the Third Step, and off topic for anyone needing to share on anything else related to alcoholism or sobriety. Third Step in the third month…. step shares always welcome, if you miss this week just post your share as off topic. Or if you have a question,  post it as off topic and members will reply to you personally.

Thank you for having me be of service.Growing and loving in Grow, in AA and in life.

Sending out love and prayers and hugs to all my Grow sisters.

Sophie

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read for free online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/

Topic for the week: Service in AA

While I was an active alcoholic I didn’t do much for others or if I did, I expected something in return. When I came into AA my sponsor told me I needed to get involved in AA and doing service was an ideal way to do that. I wanted to stay sober and was willing to do what I was told would keep me sober so I started my service in AA, as many of us have, by making coffee. It was a great way to get out of my shell and actually talk to others instead of hiding in the back of the room, and as I attended more meetings, listened to what was being said, and started to understand the program more, my service commitments expanded to leading meetings, taking part in a local conference, and just about anything else I was capable of doing. Along with not drinking, doing AA service was just as important for this alcoholic as far as staying sober as it got me to meetings, got me to open up a bit about myself, got me listening to others – I found I didn’t know it all 🙂 – and got me to finally feel a part of something that was good for me, that would help me change the deeply unhappy, destructive life I led as an active alcoholic.

There are several reasons service is an integral part of the AA program…why service is one of the three Legacies of AA. For one, Alcoholics Anonymous wouldn’t survive if we didn’t have volunteers and “special workers” to do the work that’s needed to keep the program going, i.e., from organizing a meeting place, paying the bills, coordinating with hospitals and prisons, publishing approved materials, and so much more. In addition, as AA’s co-founders showed, we have to “give it away in order to keep it”, meaning that as members of AA we cannot stay sober unless we give of ourselves – our experience, our time, our effort – to others. As it states in the Big Book on page 89, “To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends – this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot in our lives.”

Through the years I have always aimed to do something for AA which includes not only overt service work but also talking with others after a meeting, especially newcomers, or in the case of this online group, responding privately to a member’s share. And I still enjoy making coffee/tea at meetings as I get to meet just about everyone and chat with them for a bit…for me, it’s AA at its most basic. Service has been and I trust will continue to be a fundamental part of my sobriety…there is no AA without it and I know I can’t stay sober without AA. I need AA because sobriety is much more than just not drinking – it’s a way of life that I want to maintain and the only way to do that is to practice the program and take an active role in it, i.e., make service part of my recovery.

Service work may seem burdensome but speaking for myself, my sobriety has been enriched and strengthened by the service work I’ve done as a member of GROW. It does take time, which some of us may feel we don’t have, and other things such as effort, patience, etc. which some members may also feel they don’t have but as with so much in AA, when we give, we get something in return.

Here is the link to ‘AA’s Legacy of Service’, by Bill W. It’s an excellent read and will, I hope, inspire you to consider increasing your service to GROW and AA as a whole.

https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/assets/p-44_AAWSlegacy.pdf

For this week’s meeting, please share on your experience of service in AA.

Thanks for letting me chair the meeting.

Michele R. (former GROW secretary)

Topic for the week: Prayer

Over the last couple years in this program, I’ve learned how important prayer is–part of the 12 steps, a way to surrender and let go of control, ask for guidance from a Higher Power, quiet the mind and focus on gratitude. When life gets so busy and my brain gets crazy, I need to remind myself to continue taking care of my spiritual self. When I get stressed out, I tend to only think about my mental and physical issues. The AA Big Book (page 64) says we have not only been mentally and physically ill, but we’ve also been spiritually sick. “When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.” The spiritual does not come easy to me, I need to work at it.

Prayer is the way I’ve stayed connected to my Higher Power and stayed sane while being sober, and the meeting topics the last couple weeks (step 2, letting go) helped me realize that I haven’t been spending as much time on prayer lately as I should. Besides the Serenity Prayer that I can use anytime throughout the day, I had created a morning/evening routine of prayers to keep myself grounded and connected. I’ve been making more of an effort to keep to that routine.

One of the prayers on my list that I find helpful is, “God, please direct my thinking today so that it’s divorced from self-pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking, and fear. Guide me through the day and show me my next step. Give me what I need to relax and take care of any problems. I ask these things so I’m of maximum service to You and to the people around me. Amen.”

How do you use prayer in your recovery and in your daily life? I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for letting me share,
Katie

Topic for the week: Letting go

I’ve never been good at letting go of what I want, what I (think I) need, and what I love. Alcohol was something I wanted, felt I needed, and loved because it made me forget my life, at least for a little while. When I was told I was an alcoholic and that I would need to give up alcohol in order to get sober, I was aghast…I had never, ever, contemplated life without alcohol.

However, when alcohol took so much more from me than it gave, when it made me want to kill myself rather than face my life each day, when it made my life so very unmanageable, I was finally willing to let it go. I’d got to the point where, if I continued to drink, I was going to die (I’d fallen down stairs more than once and had driven in a blackout), I’d end up in prison (I’d already been arrested once and spent a few days in jail), or I’d end up in a psychiatric ward with a mind so totally gone I’d probably never be released.

As it turned out, giving up alcohol saved my life; it actually gave me a life worth living. But it was scary letting go of something I relied on so much, which is why I started to rely on my Higher Power rather than my own self-will. I couldn’t have let go of alcohol without turning to my Higher Power, and then AA, for comfort, strength, sanity (little by little), and much more.

Even so, letting go of alcohol was only the beginning of letting go of the other things in my life that made it unmanageable and stressful. In order to gain some sanity and serenity I had to learn to let go of some people in my life who didn’t want what was best for me, some places that made me think it might be okay to take a drink/drug, situations I had no control over, and everyday stuff that just wasn’t worth getting stressed out about (I’m still working on this!).

I’ve found that letting go of alcohol (& drugs) and what I can’t control eases my mind and soul, makes me more loving to others, and aligns me more closely with what I believe my HP wants for me and wants me to be. Letting go gives me so much!

Please share on your experiences of letting go, or whatever is on your mind regarding sobriety.

Thanks for letting me share.

Michele

Topic for the week: Step 2

We are all invited to share on Step 2. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 2 ***
“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

Hello Ladies of GROW, Welcome to our newcomers and congratulations to those who have celebrated a sobriety birthday to this date. Today’ our meeting is on Step Two. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

When I was re-reading step two there are three words that stand out as I read about the step in this moment.  The first word is CAME. I would like to talk about this word at the end of my share. The second word is POWER. I believe when we talk about a POWER greater than us refers to someone or some force that is much wiser than I am and provides guidance to the elements for the universe. In addition, when I ask my HP for the strength, grace, and guidance he does. Furthermore, my HP helps to keep, maintain my level of sanity so I can be of service to those who need it as well as keep me living a sober life. Yes, I must do the leg work, but my HP is always with me.

The third word is SANITY.  I know when I read the word sanity, I immediately thought about insanity which I was taught as doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Like going out to drink and thinking that I would not black out or get drunk-I think we all know how the evening went, right. Or turning to my biological family thinking that this time they would be there for me which never happened – it was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. For years my kid within keeps thinking and feeling that this time would be different. Today I understand that they are who they are, and they are not able to connect as a family and this inner wound has healed over time.  So today when I say the word sanity, I think of peace with oneself, with the trauma of the past, a connection with my HP and/or a sense of harmony with my program.

The first word CAME TO I would love to end this share by saying that I simply came to believe that my HP could restore me to sanity the first time I read this step. When I came to recovery/AA, I believed that there was a HP who I call God. Where my block was thinking and feeling that he had it out for me. That I was on his I will mess with you list. It has taken time but deep within my heart I believe my God never wanted to mess with me, life happens, and he has always been there leading me back to a life of sanity, a life of recovery.

Please share how step two works in your program today? What does Power mean to you? What does Sanity mean to you?  Or share what is on your heart.

Thank you for listening and attending today’s meetings.

Hugs

Mary O

Topic: One day, One Hour, One Moment at a Time

In just a few days (God willing!) I will be celebrating 8 years of sobriety.  When I think back to the very beginning of this journey, I recall being a white knuckler – i.e., it was a struggle to just get through the day.  Between 4pm and dinnertime was the hardest because this was when I would normally dive into my liquid serenity, just to ‘take the edge off’.  For many years, I would only skip this ritual if I was in a place where alcohol just wasn’t available.  By design, I didn’t let that happen often.

So these 2-3 hours every day were challenging to say the least, the ‘edge of life’ was very hard to deal with booze-free.  Going out for dinners with family members that made me anxious and reaching for the drink was especially challenging.  I would watch everyone order their drinks and have myself an inner pity party, green with envy.

What got me through that first year was two things. First, I kept my hands busy with a hot cup of tea instead of a wine glass, and second was the expression that I read and heard a lot: take it one day at a time.  I had to dig a little deeper during the rough hours, telling myself if I can just get through this one hour or this one moment, I could make it to dinner and then eventually to bed without alcohol.  Honestly, if I had to accept that I would never be able to drink again I’m not sure I would have stuck with it.

AA is filled with so many helpful people and tools, but I’m so grateful that I had the sense to focus on this concept of time in the early days.  That is truly how I managed to stay sober. I’ve learned so much more on this rich journey, but were it not for the simple basic lessons learned at the beginning I might not be here today. And, I’m happy to report that with enough days, hours, moments of sobriety, my knucles eventually returned to a healthy skin tone 😊.

Wherever you are in your sobriety journey, how important is taking life one day, one hour, one moment at a time?  I’m ready for your stories ladies!

Grateful for all of you,

Susan P.

Topic for the week: Personality Change

“It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound personality change.” [As Bill Sees It; p. 1]

I have two daughters, both grown now. When my youngest was in college, and before I was scheduled to arrive for a visit, she was describing me to a friend and said, “Mom can be … “‘extra’.” (I know this because her friend is now my friend, too, and she told me!) I, of course, thought: “Oh, like, extra fun, extra cool, extra sweet!?” Came to find out that “extra” meant “over the top,” as in “buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

My emotional life before sobriety was a roller coaster, for me and anyone who breathed in my general vicinity. I felt my feelings screaming out loud and flapping my arms in the air. Sobriety has gifted me with the temperance of my emotions. Sober, I have the bandwidth to feel my feelings rather than zoom past them in a blur, process them from the stable foothold of the Steps, and to respond rather than react. I’m off the emotional carnival ride!

My youngest and I were looking at her sister’s wedding pictures recently, and she said, “Mom, you look like a completely different person now.” That’s because I am a different person – not completely, but I’m on my way.

What has been the most profound personality change that sobriety has gifted you? Thank you for the opportunity to chair and share.

Gratefully,

Julie K

Topic for the week: Connections / Passing It On

Hi again, I’m still Mari Ann and I am an alcoholic.

I woke up in the middle of the night last Monday filled with awe and gratitude at being 35 years sober and that it has been connections with other women in the program that made it possible.

I was a loner my whole life. Growing up I waited for the spaceship from my home planet to swing down and retrieve me because I sure didn’t belong wherever I was.  Once I went out on my own, I learned to like being independent and alone.  Fast forward to decades later when I was in treatment. The topic in one of the group sessions was the slogans. The one I was given said “you never have to be alone again”. Yeah, right.   I preferred being alone, I wanted nothing to do with you people.

That was then. Two events in recent months made visible to me just how different my life is today.  Last October I attended a dinner/meeting where one of my sponsees spoke on her actual 25^th soberversary.

One of her sponsees caught my eye and gestured from me to my sponsee, then to herself, then to her sponsee who then pointed to her sponsee and ultimately to that one’s sponsee. Six levels of sponsoring at one large table. Six levels of one woman passing her experience, strength and hope to the next in the desire to stay sober herself!   It still gives me goosebumps.

The second event was this week when a local woman celebrated 45 years the day after my 35. I wrote a card to her in which I explained that she, at about 5 years sober, attended a meeting crying about how awful she felt because her son had been killed in an accident and she wanted to drink so badly that she came to a meeting instead.

I wrote how her example – at that meeting – inspired my own sponsor (who was newly in the program) to stay sober too. As my sponsor said, “If that woman could stay sober after her son was killed, I had absolutely no reason to justify ever picking up a drink again.”

My sponsor celebrated 40 years last October also.  It was only after listening to her share at a lot of meetings, I came to the conclusion that she had probably faced all the same kind of demons that I was facing and she stayed sober so maybe she could show me how to do it. At which time I asked her to be mine.

Putting all that in the card made me shiver with awe and gratitude again for the miracle of one woman, daring to be honest and share her truth at meetings to save her own sobriety, actually wound up saving many more.

I am richly blessed with a host of women I can call on locally, across the country, and a few who’ve been godsends from overseas. Every single share I read or hear adds something to my own recovery. Every phone call, WhatsApp text or call strengthens another connection.  You may not know me personally, but you have enhanced my own program and recovery every time you share.

One of my wise women said she really liked a hardware store ad because of how well it fit the AA program. The ad said “You can do it; we can help”.

May Serendipity bless all of you for all of you helping me.

<done>  <=== from the old chat room meetings

Topic for the week: Practicing Gratitude

My name is Karen and I’m an alcoholic, sober today through the grace of God and AA. Welcome to all.

My efforts to incorporate a daily practice of gratitude ebb and flow. My life feels particularly challenging right now and I know it’s a time I need to be vigilant in my sobriety. Practicing gratitude is something I can do every day and even though it seems such a simple thing, I know that when I’m in a state of gratitude I’m not going to dark places in my head.

Like many of the tools we learn about in AA—aren’t we the lucky ones😊—practicing gratitude can be a powerful tool for anyone. Studies have shown that people who tend to be more grateful have more brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the area associated with learning and decision making. The effects can be long lasting and people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed. A focus on gratitude can take the focus off those toxic emotions of resentment and envy that this alcoholic tends to gravitate towards.

I love this quote from author Melody Beattie ~ “ Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity … it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

I struggle with keeping up a conscious gratitude practice. I know that it’s a journey, not a destination. I know that real gratitude is feeling the emotion, not just saying “thank you” or “I’m thankful for” without any real feeling attached. I’ve tried to keep a gratitude journal and will keep it up for a while, but it can start to feel rote.

In the past months I’ve realized that for this alcoholic it was time to put a gratitude practice front and center. I’ll share a few things I’m trying to help me consciously bring more gratitude into my life.

Sometimes I read what I have written in my gratitude journal aloud. Just as writing it in the journal helps me FEEL it more than just thinking it, saying aloud what I am grateful seems to help me be more present with the practice.

I like to meditate and find the ambience I create can really add to the practice—lighting, a candle, music. I’ve tried this with my gratitude practice a couple of times when I’ve needed something more and it’s been powerful. Kind of a meditative mantra of gratitude.

My children are grown and when we are together at Thanksgiving we spend some time saying what we are most grateful for in the past year. This idea came from the kids and it’s something we all love; the sharing is heartfelt. When we share our gratitude with others it helps us feel connected. For me, that helps with both acknowledging that yes, sometimes my life is tough but I’m part of the shared experience of humanity. Expressing gratitude for what I have to others and expressing gratitude for what they give me helps me to feel connected and I know isolating in grief is not a good place for me to be. I hope to make this practice more than an annual one and am thinking of all the people that are important to me and how much I have to thank each of them for. My goal is to send a couple of these hand-written expressions of gratitude in the mail each month. For me that extra step of making it more than a text or email will help me really think about what they have brought to my life.

Ladies, thank you for listening to me. I would love to hear from each of you on how you practice gratitude.

Tight hugs,

Karen H

Topic for the week: Step 1

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

I was in complete denial until the very end of my drinking even though there was ample evidence demonstrating my complete powerlessness over alcohol. I believe I was an alcoholic from the first drink; I was a prime candidate considering I had a strong desire to escape reality as often as I could starting at about age 12. I turned to drugs first as they were, oddly enough, easier to get. But by the age of 17 I could pass for 21 – the legal age to drink in Pennsylvania in the late ’70s – so I started hanging out in bars with people (most of whom were a lot older than I was) who drank like I did.

I liked alcohol because it allowed me to come out of my shell and “be myself”, or so I thought. I cultivated the image of a bad-ass who was reckless, refused to obey authority, and could out-drink anyone. The reality of the situation was that I slept with friends’ boyfriends, I stole items from friends and stores (and got arrested for that once), I had no plan for my life so I drifted from job to job and place to place, I wallowed in self-pity most of the time and when really drunk I often cried, and I had almost no people/social skills, which was most evident when I was drinking. I was filled with remorse, embarrassment, shame, and unhappiness most days so I drank to make it all go away, not seeing that I was only making matters worse.

I remember once sitting in a bar, alone, looking at all the bottles behind the bartender and the thought came to me that I wanted to have them ALL…all of the 70 or so bottles of alcohol that were in front of me! It didn’t occur to me that it wasn’t normal to think that way. I remained in denial for about ten years, until the day I woke up/came to one morning after blacking out – again – and heard a voice in my head that said, “That’s it.” I’d woken up not knowing where I was and was trying to get dressed when I heard this voice. I thought, what does “That’s it” mean? I heard it again, in the same measured tone, and knew instantaneously that I was an alcoholic and that if I continued to drink I’d end up in a morgue, jail, or some kind of institution. After figuring out where I was, I took the train home and within a few days called George, a guy my mother had been seeing who just happened to have six years of sobriety. I’d been to an AA meeting with him two months prior to this but it had had no noticeable affect on me. But the voice did, and I can only think it was my HP doing for me what I could not do for myself.

From that day in August 1989 until now I’ve never doubted I’m an alcoholic, thankfully. My sobriety date is April 8, 1991 though because I continued to use drugs until April 7th; it wasn’t until I eliminated all mind- and mood-altering substances that I truly got sober so I changed my sobriety date to reflect this.

My life was unmanageable for a long time and a severe case of denial prevented me from seeing the cause – alcohol. Accepting Step One was such a relief; I finally knew what the problem was! And knowing the misery, confusion, and difficulties alcohol causes in my life has made it relatively easy to refrain from picking up a drink. Once in a while I get flashbacks regarding things I did while drunk and I inevitably shake my head and wonder how I could have done such a thing…that wasn’t the “real me”, it was the “drunk me” and I don’t want to be that woman again. Starting with Step One, I’ve learned who I really am, I’ve learned to live life on life’s terms, I’ve learned to think more of others than of myself, and so much more. Alcohol took so many things from me, important things, but sobriety has given me some of those things back. But I could never have started on this road to recovery if I hadn’t accepted my powerlessness over alcohol – this was the key to everything as far as my sobriety and following the AA program.

We are all invited to share on Step 1. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.

*** Step 1 ***
“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s more – the Big Book opens with Bill’s Story (which details how one of the A.A. founders found that he was powerless over alcohol and that his life was unmanageable) and I think Chapter 3, “More About Alcoholism” talks about this in detail. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***

You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org/