AA Thread - May

[retteacher]

Everyone: I thought I'd start the May thread a day early. It feels a little like a fresh start. I'm actually in need of a little rejuvenation.

BG: I'm so glad you reminded me that I don't have to solve ALL the problems of my home groups. I'm keeping the Serenity Prayer in mind. We're going through changes, but that's how I learn. Everything doesn't stay static in life. People are disgruntled & leaving certain meetings...that's the choice they're making. In fact, I've been going to some different meetings as well. There's a lot of value in doing that.

So, I'm keeping myself in today. I know what I'm going to do today & tomorrow will unfold the way it's supposed to.

Take care one & all.

Mary

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - May

you can only do what you can do...sounds like you are doing fine, eh? life on life's terms and whatnot!
yeah, I need to get my butt to some different meetings occasionally! the sunday night meeting I go to is pretty varied, so that's cool.
on that note, i'm off to my usual morning meeting! I can walk to it, so I like to start my day there creature of habit, I am!

peace

[retteacher]

AA Thread - May

BG: We all are. I still love the meetings where I first got sober. They hold a lot of memories for me. I'm doing fine. In addition to AA meetings, i have plenty of other stuff in my life that is rewarding: non-AA friends, grandchildren, husband (sometimes), etc. M

[cpn1004]

AA Thread - May

Hey Mary and BG. Good to see y'all here.
Have you heard the old AA story that all it takes to start a new group is a "resentment and a pot of coffee"?
I'm home this week and attending meetings. It feels good to be part of my home group.
Happy Wednesday to everyone.

[retteacher]

AA Thread - May

Phil: I have heard that but forgot! It's so true that change doesn't happen when we feel comfortable & content. It's only when some kind of issue arises that we ask ourselves what we can to do make things better. Sometimes it is a new meeting. In the case of our weekend meetings, all will work out OK. I forget that the groups are made up of a bunch of alcoholics (myself included). That makes for plenty of volatility. It'll all work out the way it's supposed to. There's a HP involved. M

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - May

good to see you phil! I watched Anthony bourdain's new show on cnn called "parts unknown" and he was in Colombia, and it made me think of you (what with your bogota visits) and wish I could visit there. seems like the people are lovely and the country is incredibly beautiful and diverse.

mary, hope you are well today! is it spring out your way yet?

it is supposed to be in the 80's and low 90's here this weekend! I live in the pacific northwest, but where I am is east of the cascade mountains and we are an arid desert area, so we get a lot of sunshine and high temps! I love it!

so I have been feeling weird about something that happened at a couple of meetings I have been to. there is a guy who has been there from the start with me in aa, and he is a great person and I am really comfortable around him, so I tend to joke a bit when he shares, but I think I went too far and might have hurt his feelings a little bit. its a long story, but I am going to make sure to apologize and make amends the very next time I see him. I am on step 10 after all, it is what I need/want to do! I would do it anyway, with or without the steps, but they are a good reminder!

anyway, meetings have been really deep lately, and I like that. a couple of them have been almost too intense, which is a new feeling at meetings for me. I don't mind, I learn every time, but it adds a whole new twist to the education I am lucky to receive in aa.

take care all!

peace

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - May

just wanted to add that I weighed myself today and have lost 44 lbs since getting sober. I absolutely could not have done that while drinking! I weigh almost 20 lbs less than I did when I graduated high school! another good reason to get sober and STAY sober!

[cpn1004]

AA Thread - May

Good for you BG. One of the many benefits of not drinking.....yeah, we get healthy.
I go too far in meetings with my humor occasionally. Yep, it is best to apologize immediately and try to improve, for me anyway.

[retteacher]

AA Thread - May

BG: Goodness! All that weight! Yours is an incredible story of change, both inside & out.

One of the most wonderful aspects of AA is that of cleaning house...our internal house. When we do that, we clear up any misunderstandings. Rigorous honesty is a way of life in AA but isn't easy. In AA, we see people almost every day. So, if we do offend or are offended about something, we must clear it up. There's no avoiding people or issues. Good for you for being honest w/us, yourself, & eventually your friend.

Yes, we are finally experiencing Spring. The New England winters are long & harsh, so we all really appreciate fine weather when it comes to us.

Take care one & all. Tonight, I'm going to Alanon w/my husband & will probably meet some of my AA friends there...people who are experiencing the effects of alcoholism in their lives. We're called "double-winners." I love that!

Mary

[Cinders]

AA Thread - May

Hello friends,

It sounds like good meetings and continued personal inventory abounds.

As most of you know, I have been one of those for whom the 9th Step Promises:

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.
is happening very slowly. :-)

The good news is, as long as I work for them, they will materialize. :-)

My all women's meeting yesterday was perfect in every way. The group is small, varying in sobriety from short termers like myself to one who has 25 years. The topic was about how women tend to deal with our regrets differently than men and we have to learn how to let go of them in order to create new pathways in our lives for better and happier living.

Each person shared this topic from their own perspective and just sitting there listening gave me peace.

One of my meeting places has a sign that says: Please, Lord, teach us to laugh again; but, God, don't ever let us forget that we cried.

A quote from Bill W. I think this sums up the topic of regrets very well.

In the last few weeks I have listened to people share about fears, gratitude, attitude and dealing with regrets. All these topics have been an enormous help in my early sobriety.

Hope all have a wonderful day and I am glad all of you are here!!

Love,
Cindi

[retteacher]

AA Thread - May

cindi: I'm glad you're here too. I find it so important to get to meetings on an almost daily basis. I'm going to as many different meetings as I can. I too fall into the "sometimes slowly" category. My relapse of last summer really shook my confidence. I think I'll feel like I've accomplished something big when I reach the one year point again. Until then, I'll still work my program the best I can. I might see about going to a completely different meeting tonight. Mary

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - May

what is it about meetings? I swear I could do AA with only meetings...there is nothing in "real life" like them. a group of folks getting together to talk about the most secret shameful parts of themselves, only to be met with the laughter of understanding! what an awesome thing.

good to see you cindy...progress, not perfection, eh?

it's all good, if we work for/towards it...and it is whatever we want our lives to be sober, right? good stuff.

I made an amend(s)? to the guy I mentioned in a past post...he was totally cool and didn't feel bad about the situation at all. he told me he has enjoyed watching me grow in the "program" (I hate that word!), and that if he ever feels anything weird about our interactions, he'll tell me...I said same here and we hugged it out. good stuff, he was the first person that made me see that the fellowship was such an important part of AA. we were walking out of one of my first month's meetings and I told him his share blew my mind because he said he was a mean person, but I saw him as a gentle soul (no kidding, he is now, but before he wasn't), and he teared up and thanked me for saying that. now where in life does something that intimate and intense happen as you are walking to your car? I don't know about you, but it doesn't happen to me everyday. I LOVE those connections with people, and especially with folks who get where I've come from. I still have great connections with other people, but there is something special about an AA's connection to another AA...it's a club of misfits and seekers. I like that in a person.

peace!

[bettygirl]

AA Thread - May

ps, finished up reading the 10th step with my sponsor...it might be my favorite step so far. I love the 12x12's chapter on the 10th step...anyone read it?

adios!

[Determinator]

AA Thread - May

now where in life does something that intimate and intense happen as you are walking to your car?

Betty, so true! it's really an interesting social anomaly and I'm really liking my time there.

Cindi, good to see you

got a meeting with my sponsor tomorrow, will be good. working step 4 still. interesting (and painful at times) journey indeed.

gnight loves

[retteacher]

AA Thread - May

BG: You are so right about the uniqueness of AA. There is absolutely nowhere that I know of where that kind of communication exists. I've been in group therapy groups, but that's not the same: none of the humor, lack of judgment, honesty, etc. The 10th step is such a great one. It "clears the deck" so to speak. We don't have to carry anything around that we might drink over. For me, the 10th means asking myself: is there anything I need to say or do in order to achieve serenity? Usually yes. And often it works out as your situation did, BG, where the other person says: "No offense taken." But, we did our part which is what mature living is all about.

Last night I strayed from my usual Sat. night meeting & went to a speaker meeting out of town. It was an awesome meeting, & I'm so glad I went. I saw a few people I'd seen around the rooms, but most of the crowd was completely new to me. I have such a feeling of accomplishment when I step out of my comfort zone.

Mary