What a great meeting today. It was filled with people just like myself. Alcoholics, who told their stories in fine detail to demonstrate just how grateful they were for what they had found in here.
I have to hear this kind of praise and thanks for all that we have been given from time to time to remind myself of just what they said. I mean, here were people, who had all kinds of problems, when they were out there drinking and got rescued by old timers. People, who were willing to help them regardless of who or what they were. Helped get them back on their feet and back into life itself. Despite all their resistance or whatever it was. Depression, despair, anger, insanity, and everything else people like us can drag into these rooms.
Most of them spoke about what they had to face back in those early days and how the groups reached out and supported them despite some of their resistance to the help. How they were shown what it was that they needed to do to recover from what had happened to them. Alcohol. And a few of them related how this was a family disease. Genetic to say the least. How some in the family had recovered also and gave them the example they needed. How others never found what they found and died as a result.
It was another monthly “chip” day. Anniversaries for a number of people. Some with a few years and others with long term sobriety. Meetings like these always brings out the need for gratitude. However I would be short on the real terms behind all of this. There was a lot of mention of how they had all changed with the help of their introduction to the spiritual Steps in this program. How they had not only received love and support from the people in these rooms on their arrival, but how what they discovered they needed spiritually began to change their lives. Their living and their way of thinking.
And, of course, the Twelfth Step played a big part in their stories. Not just that they were Twelve Stepped themselves, but how over time they learned to return this to so many others. To freely give what was so freely given to them.
Anyway I talked to a number of people after and they all mentioned how grateful they were to be able to witness the recipients of the chips and their celebration of their anniversaries. I know that I felt gratitude and had experienced an opening of my heart and mind today. Glad I was able to be there.