I was at a meeting tonight and the topic was hope. \u00a0It’s a certainty that everyone \u00a0who comes to any 12 step group for the first time is bereft of hope. And we seldom even realize that to be the case. \u00a0We just know that we are terrified and sick of being sick and confused.<\/p>\n
In my case I went to Al-Anon first. \u00a0I was looking for a shorthand way to control the crazy, alcoholic man in my life. \u00a0I wasn’t impressed with the steps that were hanging on the wall. \u00a0I wanted steps to tell me how to control him. \u00a0And others too. \u00a0Alas. \u00a0That’s not what I learned. \u00a0In fact, I learned just the opposite, eventually. \u00a0I doubt that I would have gone to that first meeting had I understood the real purpose of Al-Anon.<\/p>\n
I really don’t know why I kept going. \u00a0Desperation, I guess. \u00a0And the friendliness of the people in the group. \u00a0Every one talked so openly about their struggles within their own lives. \u00a0They talked, too, about how much their perspectives had changed about the disease of alcoholism since coming to the meetings. \u00a0What they didn’t talk about was the alcoholic<\/strong>. \u00a0That surprised me. \u00a0I actually thought that’s why we were there. \u00a0I heard them say in the welcome that was read at every meeting, “we are here for ourselves, not the alcoholic,” but that phrase flew right over my head, unheard I think.<\/p>\n It’s not easy to be a newcomer in any thing, is it? \u00a0But being a newcomer in 12 step rooms is comforting. \u00a0No one places any expectation on you and every one offers you the hand of hope. \u00a0I simply kept going and eventually found my way into “the other room too.” \u00a0Being a “double winner,” has blessed me so much. At the meeting last night, a number of us shared about being a double winner. Not every one in an AA group is open to Al-Anon as a path that might ease their life. \u00a0And yet, I have not met any one who goes to both meetings who doesn’t exclaim, vehemently, that their lives are doubly blessed.<\/p>\n Going to two programs means I get a double dipping of hope. \u00a0In fact, because I go to five meetings a week, on average, I get an infusion of hope, which means experiencing “peace that passeth all understanding<\/em><\/strong>,” \u00a0almost every day. It’s like receiving free medicine.<\/p>\n A woman who goes to one of my meetings says, nearly every meeting, “Meetings are my medicine.” \u00a0And we all helped her celebrate 41 years of sobriety last week. \u00a0That’s the kind of life that’s in store for us when we share our hope with others. \u00a0What a journey we have discovered. \u00a0Lucky us!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was at a meeting tonight and the topic was hope. \u00a0It’s a certainty that everyone \u00a0who comes to any 12 step group for the first time is bereft of hope. And we seldom even realize that to be the case. \u00a0We just know that we are terrified and sick of being sick and confused. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-your-experience-strength-and-hope"],"yoast_head":"\n