Category: Recovery From Addictions

March 17th is coming up this weekend. It’s been a long time that I celebrated any type of St. Patty’s Day celebration. I’m not Irish nor do I drink alcohol, but it’s a holiday for many of us in the AA realm, that’s deadly. I was at a meeting last night that many people spoke of the horrors of that holiday and how much green beer they drank. They spoke of how they don’t remember the parades or even of the bars they visited on that day. The last St. Patty’s Day that I celebrated would have been in March of 1995 and I only would have celebrated it just to say I had some green beer and got drunk. This Sunday, when the day actually is St. Patty’s Day, I’ll probably wear green just to stay in the fun spirit of it all, and that will be the extent of it. I don’t miss drinking at all nor my actions that I had on holidays such as this one. And just recently when I was on my cruise, I remembered why I don’t miss all those years that I spent getting drunk.

In the last year or so, cruise ships have added packages that a person can purchase for their voyage. There are the all you can drink soda packages and there are the all you can drink alcohol packages. On this past cruise, I had the premium soda package which allowed me unlimited Perrier, San Pellegrino, decaf lattes, and smoothies. Because I’m a curious person, even though I haven’t had a drink in over 17 years, I inquired on how much the alcohol package was. For $400, one could drink all the beer, wine, and mixed drinks they wanted for the cruise. I figured it out in my head with the prices they charged on the ship for a drink, that a person would need to consume at least 6 alcoholic beverages a day just to break even. What was even crazier was how many people had done that on the ship during my cruise.

I’m grateful I never did a cruise nor had a package like that back when I was drinking. I would have spent my money on it, probably had no more than 4 drinks each day because of being a lightweight, and I would have missed my whole vacation being passed out and blacked out. On one of the nights of my cruise, one of those people that I could safely assume had that alcohol package, got on the elevator around 10pm just after I finished dinner. He stumbled over himself and slurred his words asking where the party was on the ship as the elevator ascended upward. I felt sad for him. The truth is that he was me many years ago. I saw that same guy on the ship every day for the rest of the cruise and not once did I see him sober. Not once. That would have been me.

I loved the all you can drink specials at bars all those years ago. It justified my alcoholism and gave me a reason to celebrate holidays like St. Patty’s Day even though I wasn’t Irish. I’m grateful that I have a God centered life today and a strong recovery program because I know that I most likely would have been drunk on that all you can drink alcohol package on my cruise and would probably be stumbling out of a bar in Boston this Sunday and into the middle of the big parade on St. Patty’s Day.

I’m so grateful to be sober today.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

One of the things I like best about my home group in AA is that when I show up early, I get to set up the meeting which I enjoy doing. But there is another reason why I show up earlier that is much more important. There always seems to be at least one person who shows up just as early as me that is relatively brand new to the program who I get to say hello to.

I imagine sometimes the founders of AA, Bill and Bob, walking into a meeting in the early stages of the program, and going up to everyone present and introducing themselves and establishing a connection, especially to the newcomers. Sadly today, I have found that at many AA meetings, people show up that have been around for awhile and just socialize with those that they know and ignore those they don’t. While being social with other fellow alcoholics is important, I try to believe that Bill and Bob’s original intention was to help out every newcomer by initially making them feel welcome.

Walking into an AA meeting for the very first time or maybe even for the first few times is overwhelming. Those that have been around for awhile always seem so happy, smiling, and socializing, while the newcomer generally sits alone and is scared, angry, afraid, or one of any other number of emotions that can overwhelm their psyche. My first reaction in my early experiences with AA was to run out the back door. Having had someone come up to me and shake my hand and then tell me that they were glad I was there was key to keeping me from doing just that.

At this week’s home group, after I had set up the room, I saw a person sitting there by himself looking down at the ground. I’m not sure if it was the lost look he was portraying or if it was just the fact that I had never seen him before, but nonetheless I felt compelled to go up and say hello. After introducing myself, I asked if he was new and he replied it was his second day of sobriety and his second meeting. I gave him a friendly welcome and spoke about home groups in AA and told him if he had any questions at all about anything to just ask. I hope I see him next week but either way, I believe that I did what Bill and Bob probably would have all those years ago when AA first began. I made a newcomer feel welcomed and outstretched a friendly hand letting that person know they were not alone.

All of us in AA were at one point a newcomer and I know in my case, because of someone who welcomed me there, I stayed and I’m glad I did. AA has saved my life, brought me closer to God, and shown me how to help someone just like me who is trying to recover as well.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

I’ve come to understand that when I live selflessly, seeking to have God run the show in my life, that I can be used as an instrument of love and light anywhere and anytime. One of those times came on my recent travels.

On my week long cruise, the ship I was on stopped at an island named St. Kitts. I had scheduled for that day an excursion over to its sister island, Nevis, for a tour and beach getaway. While I had been to St. Kitts before on a previous cruise, never had I been over to Nevis which was only accessible by boat. Upon arriving at Nevis, all of us on the tour were ushered into an open air bus that took us on a ride around the island.

I really love the island life, especially in the tropics, and could see myself living on one some day. Between the amazing weather, tropical flora, unique animals, and good natured people, I continue to be drawn to going to the Caribbean islands year after year. As I admired all of God’s beauty around me, the tour headed up the mountain side with the guide proceeding to provide a wealth of information about everything Nevis related. His energy was very bright and upbeat, and I found myself asking several questions related to things I was listening to or seeing on the tour.

Our first official stop was at a resort in the mountains that was quite exclusive. There were photo ops and time set aside to walk the grounds or purchase a drink. For some reason I was drawn to talk more to this tour guide instead. I asked him if this was his primary job and he said he was also an inspirational speaker. While he talked more on this, for some reason I felt compelled to tell him that I also speak inspirationally back at home about my recovery from alcohol and drugs. Upon mentioning that, he immediately pulled me aside quietly and whispered to me that he too suffered from addiction issues and while he had heard of AA, he had never been to a meeting and wasn’t aware of any on the island. In between tour stops and breaks, I spoke to this man about my own experience, strength, and hope, only to provide him a light to know there is recovery from all addictions.

When the day ended, and the tour was over, he said just a few words to me as we hugged. He told me that I was a blessing to him that day and that he believed God had used me as an instrument to show him the way back to the light. I gave him my contact information including my e-mail address, told him I’d be praying for him, and as the boat pulled away from the dock, I told him to never give up hope and that everything will be ok if placed in God’s hands. Sadly, I didn’t get his contact information and haven’t heard from him since but I continue to pray that God guides him into recovery. As the old saying goes, God brings people into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. If this tour guide was for the sole purpose to spread hope about a life free of addiction, I’m grateful to God for being used in that way.

God can use any one of us anytime, anywhere, and in any place. The more that I head forward in my journey to a completely God-centered life, the more that I know I will be a healthy enough vessel to have things like this happen each and every day of my life.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson