I was at a recovery meeting recently where the topic posed was “What brought you to AA?” My answer might have sounded a little strange when I shared it there, but it made total sense to me and still does. Frankly, it’s because I tried everything else to no avail.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life through alcohol and drugs. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life through sex and relationships. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life through gambling. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life through spending the money my parents left me upon passing. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life by changing job after job after job. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life by buying a bed and breakfast. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life by living on an island completely surrounded by water. It never worked.
I tried to find the solution to my misery in life by looking outside of myself time and time and time again. In doing so, it never worked.
What brought me to AA was because of all this. It’s because of going down all these dead-end paths that I came to AA and stayed ever since. It is in AA that I learned the 12 Steps, which I continue to practice each and every day, because frankly, they’re the only thing that have ever helped me to remove any the misery I felt within. I think that’s because the 12 Steps aren’t about looking outside of myself for the answer, they’re about looking for it within. So I think I’ll continue to keep coming back, because it does work if you work it, and truly it’s the only solution to any of the misery I’ve ever felt in life that has ever worked at permanently removing it…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson