One of my biggest problems, when I came into this program, was that of learning how to listen. Listen to what? Listen to the solutions to my problems.
The first thing I had to do was to listen to the solution to my problem with my drinking alcohol. I did listen and I learned how to stay sober. I learned that it would come if I worked the steps. I did and I was able to stay sober.
But what about my other problems in life. I listened and learned how to live my life. I learned how to make my life more manageable. How did that come about? By working the steps.
That all came about by listening to the sober members talk about their experiences in working the steps into their own lives. It came about by not only reading the BB and the 12&12, but going to step meetings and listening as to what each step was about.
I was told that all the answers to my life and all my problems were in the BB. I listened to that and studied the BB. I went to BB meetings and listened. The old timers were right.
But the BB and the old timers told me that when it came to specific problems like finances, health, relationships, housing, and more, that I would have to seek others outside of AA. It suggests doctors, psychiatrists, priests, ministers, and other experts in fields outside of AA. How did I learn that? I listened and studied, as I was told to do.
AA does not have the answer to everything. Nor are these other things the subject of AA meetings. They are outside issues. How did I learn that? I listened. I didn’t come here to fix anything other than my alcohol problem. I didn’t want to drink again. My problem with my stomach wasn’t even discussed. I had to go to a doctor to fix that.
Guess what? Because I listened, my life got better. In here I found a new freedom and a new happiness. It was something I didn’t know. It was new. I got a new set of principles. I got a new attitude. New motives. New ideas. All because I listened.
I didn’t come here to fix my marital problems. I came here to stop drinking. AA helped me to do that, when I would listen. I didn’t come here to solve my tax problems or my debts. I came here because I had a problem with alcohol. I didn’t come here for anything else. I learned to listen to find out what was wrong with me. I found out, when I listened.
I had all the desperation of a drowning man. But a drowning man doesn’t necessarily listen. He grabs on to the nearest thing to save his life. Then and only then does he learn to listen on how not to get himself in that same situation he found himself in, when he was drowning.
I went to a meeting today and did what I learned to do at the beginning. I listened. The answer to my day came in the form of a person coming back. I listened to what this person was told. They were talking to me, because I wasn’t sure this person was listening. But I was.