I went to a AA meeting last evening and once again I felt that warmth, love, acceptance, openness and welcome from one alcoholic to another.
The feeling of being part of a group of men and women, that are prepared to accept personal responsibility and be accountable to their behaviours, feelings, emotions and thoughts, for me is a major reason why I continue to embrace the people and principles of Alcoholics Anomynous.
Walking my personal road of recovery has included addressing the issue of what am i personally responsibile for as opposed to what another person is responsible for.
Clawing my way through the fog of manipulation, denial, and grief and loss issues to workout what belongs to whom has been one of my greatest challenges in sobriety.
The issuse of defining what i was responsible for and what i was not responsible for has been a difficult area to come to terms with. Given that as a child I was grooomed to accept that whatever happen in our family life i was responsbile for. Hence being responsbile for all others became my 'norm'.
A 'norm' that I have struggled with for most of my life. For me the burden of being responsibile for others and myself led me to find an easier and softer way out of my prediciment, which included drinking, running and remaining in a child like state of emotional inmaturity.
However, my desire not to return back to where i have come from has been stronger that my desire to return back to my drink, running and remain emotionally inmature.
Hence the importance of the welcoming hand, the sense of belonging to a group of people who are willing to address their issues, make strong their vulnerabilites and be accountable for thier behaviour, thinking and emotions, is welcomed by me.
thanks for allowing me to share my journey of recovery with you.
Hi there two worlds. It is still the night before here on the other side of the big blue marble. It's good to know there can be a good "morning after" as opposed to those old nasty ones I used to have, and that it all depends on what I do the night before. Simple as that.
Thanks for the great message that I only have to be accountable for my behaviour and not for anyone else's. And that by staying with my AA friends, I will be stronger in my ability to remember this.
Have a great day in Australia, and I promise to try to have pleasant dreams here on the moonlit side of the planet.
Thanks for a lovely post. I loved how you described the feelings when walking into a meeting that one gives and receives to another recovering alcoholic.
I needed the reminder that I can only be accountable for my own actions and not for other peoples. One of my character defects is to try and take everybody else's actions on board and somehow feel that I was responsible for their behavior. In a 'sensible' mood, I know that it isn't like that, but I need the reminder every now and again. Thank you.
Take care,
Carol
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss
Hi all, Very moody today but wanted to check in...Hope all is well. Everyone sounds like so far so good...Lets keep it that way>> Anyways, to grumpy to respond other than this, Hi.... Lani
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"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. "
