Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

[Cinders]

I was looking for this week's thread and it didn't exist yet. What is up with that??

Anyway, one good thing about hubby going out of town while I am in town for once is that I can go to my 6:30 pm AA meetings. He gets a little irritated when I go to those meetings because it is right after he gets home. By the time I get back, he is usually ready for bed.

I am excited about going tonight. It is a small group and I like the women that go there. I am on the prowl for a new sponsor.

I'll let you all know how it went when I get back.

Love,
Cindi

[cpn1004]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Good luck on the sponsor Cindi. I'm finally on board with one and it feels really good.
Love and Peace,
Phil

[Cinders]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

It was a great meeting. We talked about the 4th and 5th steps and willingness.

I casually mentioned to someone I feel would be a good sponsor that I am looking. She didn't offer but I still have hope.

I will be going again tomorrow night. This group is a block away and most of the same people plus some more.

I will again casually mention...

When the time is right and the person is right, it will happen.

Love,
Cindi

[cpn1004]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Cindi, indeed it will. I was attending two different groups and thought I had the right person for a sponsor. However, my HP kept placing this other person in front of me, and I ignored it for about a week and then all of sudden...boom...oh, this is the direction.
It will work out.
Love and Peace,
Phil

[Preciouspinot]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Good luck on your sponsor search Cindi! I went to a really good women's meeting Monday night. I have to get to more of those and I hit a Steps meeting this morning that was run by my sponsor. She went over the 5th step and I learned alot. The more meetings I am able to attend the better I feel. I sometimes forget that little fact

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Hi Everyone: I'm back from FL...taking care of some things for my mother & father. I've done these trips sober & I've done these trips drinking, & sober is much better. I spoke to the nursing home directors, shopped for my mother, filled her freezer, took her to docs, etc. etc. I still found time to have quality time & energy to be w/her. I did miss my meetings, but I carried the program w/me throughout the week. I'm happy to be home & will resume my meetings. Tomorrow is my 6 month anni, & I couldn't be more proud of myself.

It is so good to see you here Cindi, Phil, & PP. I agree that the right sponsor is important. I really hope you find one ASAP Cindi. It's such a great help to have a guide through the steps & the program in general.

Take care one & all.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Mary

[Cinders]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Good to see you back, Mary!!

It is also good to see you doing well PP and Phil.

Thank you to everyone for your wishes on my sponsor quest. I ended up calling my "old" sponsor today, I will explain in a second, and we may be back "on" as it were. We shall see. She helped me a huge amount today.

I just wanted to share that some of AA's Step teachings helped me today beyond what I would have ever expected. I got hit with some news today out of the blue that hurt like nothing has done for a very long time. I started into a panic attack, I could barely see and my heart was pounding so loudly in my own ears, I thought my heart was going to come jumping out of my chest.

Then I started thinking about what AA has taught me. I said the Serenity Prayer, I took deep gulping breaths and I sat down to think. I realized that there was very little I could do about the situation except confront the person involved directly, calmly and soberly.

That is what I did. I also recognized that the prayer was meant for situations like this very one. I have no control over what someone else does or thinks. I just don't. In the past, I could not have stood that at all. Today, I just accepted it.

No, things are not well. Life threw me a huge curve ball. I am praying, thinking of my part in the situation and what the next right steps are. I called my sponsor and we talked for about two hours. It was very cathartic.

Tonight, while very sad, I am calm and I STAYED SOBER through the whole ordeal. I will stay sober as I work through this, too.

Without MWO, AA and my friends, I would have ended up in a bottle and I hesitate to even consider what I would've done once I was drunk.

Tonight, when I go to bed, I will say a heartfelt prayer of thanks to God.

Cindi

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Cindi: What a great story & message! I too used the Serenity Prayer a few times during difficulties. I think I too used AL to blunt what seemed like overwhelming emotions. I now know through talking w/you & going to AA that my emotions don't have to overtake me. I can get through them, & calm is so much better than frantic or drunk. I try to think that a year from now this might not seem quite as catastrophic as it does right now. Good luck w/this problem Cindi. Most importantly, do not drink. Call your sponsor. Go to meetings. Love, Mary

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Hello everyone! Cindi, thank you for getting the thread going this week and Mary, welcome back! Good to see you Phil and PP.

Cindi, I am sorry that you are going through a difficult situation but I am so HAPPY for you in the way your are handling it. Many of us who develop alcohol dependency use AL to avoid or try drowning our problems and just never learn mature and effective ways to just handle the problems that life inevitably dishes out. I love the way your described using the tools that AA teaches. The process of learning all that AA espouses is not always easy or pleasant. But in a pinch, the tools seem to work...a lot better than a pity party would work, drunk OR sober. I hope that things work out soon in terms of putting whatever it is behind you. I'm also glad to hear that your sponsor situation might work itself out. In any case, it sounds like in THIS hour of need, an AA was there to help another AA and that's what it's all about.

Mary you touched on a point that I like. I too find I have MUCH more time to deal with the stuff of life now that I am sober. It sounds like you were able to do a lot for your parents in addition to having good visiting time. I think we are much more limited when we are trying to plan drinking, drink, and get over drinking while also trying to do the life things that need to be done.

PP, I too feel good when I go to meetings and less good (grammar horrors!) when I don't. The meetings somehow keep me feeling centered, regardless of the topic or size.

Phil, it's great to hear that you have a sponsor situation that is working!

My own sponsor journey has taken a lot of twists and turns but I have learned a lot from the the experience. I will never be afraid to change sponsors or add additional sponsors if I believe that is what I need to continue growing in my sobriety. Both my "step coach" and my sponsor are agreed as temporary but I'm hoping to keep this program going as is until I work my way through the rest of the steps.

Today's meeting was a Daily Reflections meeting and I really loved todays DF reading.

He [Bill W.] said to me, gently and simply, ?Do you think that you are one of us?? ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 413

During my drinking life I was convinced I was an exception. I thought I was beyond petty requirements and had the right to be excused. I never realized that the dark counterbalance of my attitude was the constant feeling that I did not ?belong.? At first, in A.A., I identified with others only as an alcoholic. What a wonderful awakening for me it has been to realize that, if human beings were doing the best they could, then so was I! All of the pains, confusions and joys they feel are not exceptional, but part of my life, just as much as anybody?s.

That first line is from one of the stories in the 3rd edition of the Big Book. I was fortunate in a meeting yesterday that someone HAD a 3rd edition so I could read the story. It was about a woman who was born into wealth. On the surface she had "everything" but was never comfortable in her own skin and ultimately turned to alcohol as her solution - first to enjoy the "social" lubricant type benefits but ultimately the bad solution to everything. (sound familiar???? LOL - rang my bell that's for sure!) She was deemed "hopeless" by the psychiatric and medical communities until her last psychiatrist heard something about a relatively new program called AA that was showing some promise in "hopeless" cases.

She was in NY at the time, and made an appointment with Bill W. She went there expecting to be given a lot of questions or some evaluation process. Instead, she was met with a very simple..."are you one of us?" I really really identified with so much of this story (well, except for the wealth part LOL!) and I bet a lot of women here would as well. If you ever come across a 3rd edition, the story starts on page 400.

Anyway...I realized in reading it that I too never completely felt like I "belonged" and this goes WAY back even into my pre-teen years. But there is no question that when I am at AA meetings, I feel comfortable there and am glad to be around people who I know can understand me. And I understand them. The discussion surrounding the idea of "belonging" was really uplifting today. For me, it doesn't matter what these people do (or not) for a living or where they live (even if urban camping) or what they drive (a rolls or a bike). I see and feel the love around the tables and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I guess this is also a commercial for finding a home group that you feel good about. Goes well with the sponsor recommendations???

Anyway, a sappy message from the heart today. I'm thinking of all of you and hoping you are having a wonderful sober day.

DG

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

DG: I would call your message RIGHT ON! Is that expression still in use? Anyhow, I too feel like I belong when I'm in an AA meeting. I always remember the 3rd tradition. The ONLY requirement for membership in AA is a "desire to stop drinking." You don't even have to admit to being an alcoholic. You just have to want to stop drinking. That's why the meetings are so important...everyone is there for the same reason. And yes, there is such a diverse group at AA meetings. It makes me smile sometimes, because I'm often the mom figure in a group of very tough looking guys. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to my Thurs. night meeting that I like so much (Step/Tradition). Mary

[okydoky]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

HAPPY 6 MONTHS MARY!!
Wish I could of been there when you received your coin....I love those moments!
You all sound like you are doing so well. Phil, I remember when I first announced I was going to AA but afraid to tell my kids and you said I should be proud because it takes courage to do the right thing...or something like that. And Cindi, I'm sorry you are going through a tough time but happy you are using the tools...they do work...don't they. Precious...I'm with you...if I'm feeling down...a meeting has been the cure. I always hear something I need and hopefully am able to be helpful to others. DG...I have never felt like I fit in anywhere like I do in AA. I love my "homies" (The gals in my home group and they love me back. I'm on step 9 and looking forward to a trip home for Thanksgiving. I'll be making amends to some family members that weekend and will hopefully be on to step 10 shortly thereafter.

[Winefree]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

DG we also read the daily reflections today, but I did not know it's origin. Will try to get the 3rd edition to read that story. I do enjoy relating to others in the readings and wish there were more to read. Truly a good discussion today.

Thanks all for sharing your insight. I enjoy reading everyone's input. Cindi, I hope everything works out. Keep up using the tools of the program and you will do fine. I too have used the serenity prayer on difficult occasions to get me over a tough situation. It helps keep me focused.

Mary, glad you are back safely and returning to meetings. I have been away twice recently and although I attended a mtg in each area, I missed my regular meetings.

Winefree

[retteacher]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Okey: I'm getting my 6 month chip tonight at my home meeting. It's amazing how a little chip of aluminum, applause, & affirmation can mean so much. I really understand that I'm doing the next right thing. I've been working on the 10th step every day. Yes, it involves saying I'm sorry when I get impatient or judgemental or whatever my character defects lead me to do. It also involves backtracking & telling people the truth about what I'm feeling or thinking ("mean what you say, say what you mean, but don't say it mean"). That's something that doesn't come naturally to me. I tend to keep things in & let them fester until they come out inappropriately.

WF: I too miss my home meetings when I'm away but do carry the program w/me wherever I go.

Take care one & all. In spite of feeling like I have a lot on my shoulders in terms of family responsibilities, I now know I can't do everything for everyone. Life should be taken one day at a time. Easy does it & first things first. Those hokey-sounding slogans really apply.

Mary

[Preciouspinot]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27

Happy six months Mary



:grouptrophy::grouptrophy::grouptrophy:

[Doggygirl]

Weekly AA Thread 9/21-9/27


:yougo::yougo:Congrats Mary on Six Months Sober!!!:yougo::yougo:


Mary, I am so happy for you!!!!! Your story here is so amazing and inspiring. I wish I could be there at your home group meeting tonight!! I'm sure I'm not the only one who will be with you in spirit as an MWO friend in sobriety. Thanks for all that you share around here that is so valuable to us!

DG