Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Good morning all! I came across this web site while googling recently. Now I can't remember if I already shared the link here or not. But in case not... A.A. Way of Life - Working Step 1" I like the study guides for the steps. They include all the references related to that step back in the big book - it's the most detailed study guide I've come across so far. I'm going through the step 1 material and finding some points of interest that I really didn't catch the first time around. Just wanted to share in case anyone else finds it of interest.

Have a great day all!

DG

[cymru]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

A very good afternoon all.
DG..I used drugs socially, but weed and booze were my main vices. I quit drinking for a lenghy period of time, and in that time, I would smoke weed every day, and all day if I could. One thing replacing another. I quit weed last August, but my drinking just seemed to get worse and worse after that. If that was possible!!
Thanks for the link.

[cymru]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

You should put that in the toolbox. Its good stuff for people to read.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Thank you for the link DG. I'll have to read it later when I have more time. Mary

[Popeye]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Hi Guys,

I've been going to a meeting every Monday for several months now. I'm beginning to feel comfortable with sharing a little. I used to shake like a leaf whenever I got up to speak, but I've overcome that now. I've met a lot of good people there and I always leave a meeting humbled and inspired.
I've been thinking about asking for a sponsor and getting more involved; to do it properly and maybe attending more meetings in different venues. I live in a fairly big town and there are meetings every day of the week within a couple of miles from my house, and I have plenty of time on my hands. Only last week I wasn't sure what I wanted from AA. Just to take what I can use to stay dry. But I'm coming to see that it's not just about me. It's a fellowship. It's about helping other alcoholics too.
I'm doing well staying dry and I want to keep on the right path. I am comfortable with my sobriety and I don't feel any pressure from people or from life to drink any more, but I know that I'm only just starting out. I've been 4 months sober and I'm loving it but that could all change, even though I can't imagine wanting to drink again.
I was talking to a guy on Monday night and he asked how long I'd stopped drinking and I told him. His friend came along and he introduced me and told his friend that I had four months under my belt. They went on to say that they had 23 and 38 years respectively which kind of put my effort into the shade, and then he added that it's not your total that matters so much, it's the fact that you're sober today.
When I had my last drink, 4 months sober seemed a lifetime away. Well I've managed that and I'm happy to be sober today.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Popeye: What a lovely heart-felt sharing! In the meetings I go to, they give chips each month for the first 11 months of sobriety. I've only gotten one so far, because I've only been sober since March 23. Whenever we newcomers go up to the front of the meeting to collect our chip, there's a big round of applause. It might sound corny, but it means a lot. It's another way to stay sober.

I go to meetings about 5X per week...sometimes more. I'm starting to get to know people & am leading my first meeting tomorrow night. I'm pretty excited. It's a step meeting, & all I have to do is read the preamble. I'm trying to be more visible. I went to a small women's meeting Mon. night & was comfortable enough to share my experience, strength, & hope...such as it is.

Thank you so much for coming here. I love hearing about other folk's meetings.

Mary

[Popeye]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Good luck tomorrow Mary.

[AAthlete]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Mary, good luck at your meeting tomorrow, and Popeye glad to hear that you are doing well but I hope you do get a sponsor and work the steps! You'll be amazed at the changes....

[Preciouspinot]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Hi everyone! I am still here and still going to AA. I go to 7-10 meetings a week and now have a solid home room. I am getting to know lots of great people and am enjoying going. I have a new sponsor...a woman I really connected with and has a story very similar to mine. I love that this thread exists on MWO and I love reading about everyones' experiences. This is the longest I have been sober since I did the initial 30 days when I started MWO and I have a sneeky suspicion I cheated when I did that.

[Popeye]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Thanks AA. I think I'll do just that.
PP. I think I may have cheated once or twice in the past, but don't let on I told you.

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Popeye, it's great to hear that you are doing so well. I love your story about the 20 and 30+ years of sobriety, and how that really puts our shorter terms in a whole different perspective. I find it so comforting to be surrounded with people who have walked the walk for so long. It certainly says "it can be done!"

Mary, your heartfelt sincerity comes through in all your posts, and I just know it also comes through as you have started to speak up more in meetings. That is so valuable to others I think - regardless of whether it's someone new to sobriety or with many years under their belts. I just know you will do great leading the meeting!

Cy, I found that same thing to be true when I quite smoking cigarettes. When I gave up one addiction the other one just accelerated at an alarming pace. I was already seriously bad with the booze and when I gave up cigarettes in when I stopped even trying to wait for "noon somewhere" to pour that first one. It seems like pot is a lot like alcohol where some people are wired to get very addicted to it, and others are not. Mr. Doggy was a daily pot smoker and once he exited corporate life, he found plenty of "excuses" to make it an all day thing. (we quit pot / booze on the same day last year) Amazing the lies we tell ourselves, and even try to believe.... (booze/pot motivates me....gets my creative juices flowing....makes me more focused and productive....blah blah blah. Emphasis on the blah part!) I'm glad we are both done with our respective addictions.

Hello also to PP!!! Sounds like things are going great with a sponsor you can relate to, longest stretch of sobriety, etc. etc. Life is good!

Todays meeting was really awesome sharing. This 7AM group is really awesome. Our topic today was about the perceived "easier, softer way" of avoiding things, v. the TRUE "easier softer way" of just facing things head on and dealing with them - whether that's an AA step (the reference in the Daily Reflections was to step 5) or whether it's the the stuff of life such as dealing with a bill we cannot pay. (i.e. avoiding dealing with it at all v. calling the creditor to fess up and try to work something out...) As a drinker, my entire lifestyle was all about avoiding things, procrastinating, etc. Seems "easier and softer" at the time, but sure can cause bigger problems later on. There are also things I would avoid because they are unpleasant in the moment, but I couldn't be free and happy until I dealty with it. So avoidance just prolonged the agony. ( a GREAT example of this is my lack of willingness to face up to, and deal with my alcoholism. That was YEARS of misery between the time I "knew in my heart" and the time I was willing to confront it.)

Anyway...As Pamina put it so wonderfully in her "Year later.." message, I felt quite empowered by AFness when I left the meeting today!! I am so grateful to be sober.

There was a man who came this morning who relapsed over the weekend and had been on a multiple day bender. Of course the physical signs of how rotten he felt were all right there in the light of day. I'm glad I don't feel that way every morning any more. He described what so many have described...the path to relapse was laid well ahead of time. He gradually stopped going to meetings (I don't need those any more..), started hanging around with drinking friends, etc. He was welcomed back with open arms. With empathy but not sympathy. No room for pity parties - those are dangerous to an alcoholic - at least that's what they say where I go. I don't want to go there.

Anyway...enough of my ramble. Now I'm back to trying to figure out an iPod. For someone who has been involved with computers to make a living my whole life, I am woefully inadequate with high tech devices, including computers. (living proof one does not have to know about them to sell them for a living!)

DG

[Cinders]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Hi Everyone,

It is still painful to type and will be for a long time but I had to emphasize something Popeye said:

But I'm coming to see that it's not just about me. It's a fellowship. It's about helping other alcoholics too.

Bill W makes it abundantly clear that a huge part of our recovery is helping each other.

We must get out of the "me" and into the "we" of recovery.

That is why AA and MWO are both powerful tools for us.

Mary, good luck!!

Popeye, get a sponsor and start working the steps.

I have a great sponsor and my phone is light as a feather whenever I need to call her or talk to her. It is amazing.

Love,
Cindi

ps I did relapse. I admitted it on the AF thread BUT I relapsed for one day. I did not go on a bender. I got into the "me" thing of pain and anguish over my SIL. Just one more tool in my toolbox, now. No more "me" when I hurt because there is a "we" that cares and will come to my aid. I want to be there for others, too. Drinking only makes things worse, even if it does numb the pain for a bit.

More love,
Cindi

[AAthlete]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Just had a wonderful example of how working the AA program can change us. My son had been home sick from school on Monday and Tuesday because he had thrown up each morning. As many of you know he has had stomach/allergy issues in the past that caused that to happen frequently so we normally tread lightly around those symptoms. Today he admitted that he had made himself throw up so that he could stay home with Mom, and because school was supposedly boring.

God, in my drinking days this would have been a great reason to get absolutely blasted tonight!! I'd be thinking that I was a failure as a parent, that my son was headed down a path of failure in school, etc.... Of course, the anxiety generated over those thoughts would have carried me through days and days of followup drinking as well.

Now, my first thought is to ask my HP for help in approaching this situation, and you know what? I realize that he is only 9, and although a certain amount of innocence is now gone there are lots of kids that ditch school and don't end up as truants. There is no anger on my part, only a desire to make sure that he realizes the importance of school and a good education. What would have been a perceived failure on my part is now a teaching lesson for him and an opportunity for growth for all of us.

We talked about appreciating all the little things a sober life brings us in my meeting this morning and this is a perfect example. The very fact that I can look at the situation for what it is, and have absolutely no desire to drink over it, shows that the promises in AA really do come true.

[Preciouspinot]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Love the story AA. You kind of have to admire that the little guy was crafty enough to get what he wanted...very smart kid. And be appreciative that he "confessed" to you.

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread - Week of May 11 - May 17

Such wonderful sharings...thank you one & all!

DG: First, that wasn't a ramble...it made perfect sense to me. Ah, the "easier, softer way." I've been reading about the 5th step in prep for doing it. The BBook is very hardline about rigorous honesty. There is no "easier/softer." It states that unless it's thorough, we will drink again.

I have to make this short. My husb had a renal tumor last year which was cancer. It's been removed, but I have to take him for an MRI this AM...just to make sure it's completely gone. I feel pretty confident it is. Say a little prayer...he's very dear to me.

I'll be back. Mary