Month: February 2020

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“If you want to feel better, go to meetings, if you want to recover, work the steps.” (Anonymous)

Quote #2

“I am responsible…when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I AM RESPONSIBLE.” (Alcoholics Anonymous)

Quote #3

“I hate it when people tell me I don’t need those meetings to stay sober. Well I don’t need shoes to walk down a gravel road, but it sure freaking helps!” (Anonymous)

Bonus Quote

After a newcomer has made it through those difficult first three months, the importance of meetings doesn’t stop there. Going to meetings on a regular basis (perhaps not every day, but preferably weekly or as often as a person can), helps AA members stay strong and committed to their recovery. It helps members maintain a network of support within the rooms of AA, and it allows them to continue to grow and learn from the “experiences, strength, and hope” of others. Recovery is a lifelong process. Many people find that AA gives them stability and helps keep them sober, especially when life gets particularly stressful. Meetings keep them connected to their recovery, so that they stay grateful for their sober lifestyles and on the right path. Going to AA on a long-term basis also gives members the opportunity to help and support newcomers who are in the positions they used to be in, and helping others stay sober is one of the best ways to stay sober yourself.” (Sober Nation)

Peace, love, light and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Why Long Sober Individuals Need To Keep Regularly Attending 12 Step Meetings…

12 Step Recovery is most definitely a program of “We, Us, and Our” that totally relies on all of us being there for each other, and going to meetings regularly is a big part of that. But sadly, people tend to forget about that once they have some sobriety time under their belt, which is why I think many 12 Step meetings are getting fewer and fewer attendance.

Granted, there is a lot more to recovery than just attending 12 Step meetings, but it’s the meetings themselves that truly are at the very core where sobriety and recovery usually begin. And once a person is brought through the 12 Steps by a sponsor, it’s their responsibility to continue to show up and do their best to help others, just as their sponsor guided them. Yet, if everyone began to hold the attitude that it wasn’t that big of a deal to show up to meetings anymore, there’s a good chance there’d be plenty of addicts who never found their way simply because there weren’t enough places for them to go and find connection to those just like them.

I always find it funny that people were willing to go to any lengths when they were active in their addiction, staying up to all hours of the night engaging in it, even driving through fierce weather at times, all the while avoiding sleep many-a-times and not taking care of their overall health either. Yet, once sober and through the 12 Step process, once sobriety feels stable to them, they become unwilling to go to any lengths to get to those meetings, citing fatigue, scheduling issues, and plenty of other things as excuses to not show up, when all of that was never an issue when they were active in their addiction. There was nothing at all, not even terrible sickness, that usually kept us from engaging in our disease.

The fact is, newcomers rely on those meetings. They rely on the people who attend them, on those friendly hands being outstretched to them welcoming them there. They rely on hearing the attendees to share their experience, strength, and hope, which helps them to keep coming back until they find their own way into sobriety and recovery.

Thus, when sober and recovering individuals make decisions to not attend meetings because they feel it’s not necessary, or really helping them anymore, or frankly just because they’re inconvenient on some level to their own lives, it’s frankly selfish and self-centered, the two very character defects that drove all of us into our addictions in the first place.

In the end, it’s a safe bet that if one keeps skipping meetings and finding excuses to not go to them, that they will eventually find their way back into their original addiction or another one. But, it’s also a safe bet that if they keep showing up, not so much for themselves, but more so for the newcomers, for the suffering, and even for those who’ve been around for a while that may be going through those storms of life, that they’ll probably remain sober and feel a whole lot better too!

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

A driver tucked a note under the windshield wiper of his automobile saying, “I’ve circled this block for 20 minutes. I’m late for an appointment, and if I don’t park in this no-parking zone I’ll lose my job. Forgive us our trespasses.” When he came back, he found a parking ticket and this note: “I’ve circled this block for 20 years, and if I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.”

Silly Joke #2

The patient was lying in bed, still groggy from the effects of the recent operation. His doctor came in, looking very glum. “I can’t be sure what’s wrong with you,” the doctor said. “But I think it may be related to drinking.” “Okay,” the patient said. “Can we get an opinion from a doctor who’s sober?”

Silly Joke #3

An elementary school class goes on a field trip to the police station. An officer there pointed to the 10 MOST WANTED list and told them all that these are the most wanted fugitives in the USA. Little Johnnie said ” He is the MOST WANTED in the USA?!” The officer responded, ”Yep!”. Little Johnnie then asked, “Why didn’t you just keep him when you took his picture?!”

Bonus Silly Joke

Three travelers, an American, a Russian, and an Egyptian, were circumnavigating the globe a la Jules Verne. The Russian man put his hand out and reached down into the clouds. “Aaah!” he said. “We’re right over my homeland.” “How can you tell?” asked the American. “I can feel the cold air.” he replied. A few days later the African man put his hand through the clouds. “Aah we’re right over my homeland.” he said. “How do you know that?” asked the Russian. “I can feel the heat of the desert.” Several more days later the American put his hand through the clouds. “Aaah! We’re right over New York.” The Russian and the African were amazed. “How do you know all of that?!” they exclaimed. The American pulled his hand in and held it up for them to see. “My watch is missing.”

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson