Today and tonight a few things are running through my head. One is how fortunate we all are that we found what we have found. A way out of alcoholism and all of its effects on our lives.
A friend of mine and I were having lunch and talking about this very thing today. We talked about how we degenerated down into the muck, which had become our lives. We talked about how it was as we neared the end of our drinking. Then we talked about the end and our bottoms and what it was like after we fell asleep the night of our last drinks, having reached out to God and asked for help. We both could describe that moment of falling asleep in peace for the first time in years. We talked about waking up free from the burden of our obsession and not desiring a drink.
I remember reading that same thing in the BB, where, when a man said he found the AA solution and suddenly had the thought that his problem with alcohol had been solved, which indeed proved true. That was my experience. I also thought about The Man Who Overcame Fear. His story was one, where he fell out of bed and asked God to take his problem. He said he fell asleep again and when he awoke he found that everything had changed, but nothing was changed. That, too, was my experience.
Finally, I was thinking about my first AA meeting. I remember almost everything about that night. I remember it was in Jan. and it was cold. We drove up to this dark conclave of large buildings at the old DC TB Hospital out in Glendale, Md. Since it was now defunct, there was only one building open and it had one old fashioned light on the front porch. I remember going down this rickety old elevator and stepping into this gray, dimly lit hallway, and seeing a light coming from a room down the hall. Walking down that hallway toward the light and stepping into the room and there was AA.
I was thinking about all of this because tomorrow I celebrate my anniversary. Thirty-five years of freedom. I owe so much to so many. God especially. I’m not seeking attention or kudos. Just expressing gratitude. Like I said, just thinking.c
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