Help someone grow

Plants grow best when we pay attention to them. That means watering, touching them, putting them in places where they will receive good light. They need people around them to notice if they are drooping at the edges or looking particularly happy in the sunlight. The more attention a plant receives, the better it will grow.
We need to be noticed in the same way. If we notice a family member or friend is drooping, perhaps we can pay some special attention to him or her. All of us need someone to care about how we are and to truly listen to us.
 

Sharing

In our fellowship, we share our troubles and we share our joys - our faults as well as our assets. We will be accepted and understood, because we are with people who are like us. We may seem very different on the surface, but underneath we are all amazingly alike.

Someone has said, "I can only know that much of myself which I have had the courage to confide to you." As we reveal ourselves to others, they act as mirrors so that we may see and understand who we are.

My Story

Hi everyone Donna S alcoholic

 I remember anger well, it was all i knew for so long. I didn't know how to handle life's situations, and my anger became rage and i took it out on myself ( Self Harm) plus break things, living recklessly. Drinking and drugging would numb how i felt about life, about my anger and eventually turned into depression. 

I came to AA when i was 28, as my husband had enough of me and was going leave with my sons. I have 2 sons, my oldest was 5 , youngest 3, I walked around town drunk and disorderly and in blackouts, with my sons thinking I was a great mom HA. So off to to rehab  I went. I didn't drive at this time, as i lost my license years before so I had to get rides to meetings, which caused more issues as i didn't come home until very late at night.

Big Book Meeting Step 11

StepChat Big Book Meeting 8:30 am EST

 Page 86 big book

When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life? But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. After making our review we ask God's forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.

Big Book Step 12

Donna S alcoholic.....

I cant help everyone, it is sad some don't get it..but i was told they are my reminders of what is still out there. I  never give up though, i let them know i am here for them and my door is always open ( cell phone as well).  I remember when i was new and how hard it was... not know what to think, how to act, and all these people saying different things, read this, read that, do this, do that, argggg slow down please!! BUT, I learned a lot though from those people.
The main thing i heard is don't take it to heart as everyone has an opinion and we all know what that means. lol My sponsor told me, if u don't like what someone says, it means YOU need to hear it!!!  It took  time for me to get that message, but i did over time.

I've seen people come and go over the years since I've been in recovery. Some passed away sober, some not. The book says we not only help the alkie who is suffering but we can be of service to there family. 

Is not drinking enough?

 Donna S alcoholic from NJ 

 Happy, Joyful & Free due to the grace of God.

"Is not drinking enough?"
......for me i had to learn the hard way. I found out there's more to it then not drinking, There's more to it then just showing up, there's more to it then fellowship, there more to it them the 12 Steps, and giving  back. I have to get up everyday and work on my spiritual condition as it is the only way for me to stay Happy, Joyous and Free. I have to ask God, my Higher Power, to help me. Anyone can go thru the steps, I did and I didn't follow thru.  I still have to open that book that collects dust, that's on  many people shelves, i know mine did for years.  I left it in the car so i wouldn't forget it. Well I almost drank in my 6th  year because i didn't take it all that seriously and didn't continue to  read the big book or the other AA material that's out there. It is there for a reason! I speak for myself, and if I continue to work on my self , I have to as I get complacent easily. I don't want to go back to being depressed  and into self as hard as it is some day's.  So I  read the meditations,  I talk to God, I talk to other alcoholics, go to meetings and give back and I continue to seek spiritual sobriety.
I just bought another book to read about the 12 Steps by Joe McQ,  and I read one awhile back on Spiritual Recovery. 
I  went to  ANY LENGTHS  when I was in my addiction, so now I  go to ANY LENGTHS for my recovery!!  I  am at peace with myself, most the time and that I thought was never going to be possible.
So to answer the question, Is not drinking enough? NO,I have to go to any lengths every day to keep Spiritually Fit!
I love reading new things and learning more about life and what I can use to further my Spiritual being.
I need u all , so please keep coming.  If you are new, Just keep coming, One day at a time
Love & Blessings

Step 3

 "So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so...."

That sentence says it all!. That was ME!!  I thought it was everyone else for the way I was. From the first incident that happened to me as a kid and from there out I thought everyone and everything was the reason my life was so out of control. , So many people told me so, even my boyfriend (who is my husband now). Man that made me even more angry and full of self, but but but but but HA!
After I resigned that I was an alcoholic... I thought hey now life will change... people will change towards me,  they didn't change!! dang-it!!  I wasn't drinking any more and  I was going to a lot AA meetings and they still felt ill towards me.  I so didn't get it so I relapsed.

Lighting The Dark Past

Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have- the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert misery and death for them.

Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 124

No longer is my past an autobiography; it is a reference book to be taken down, opened and shared. Today as I report for duty, the most wonderful picture comes through. For, though this day be dark-as some days must be- the stars will shine even brighter later. My witness that they do shine will be called for in the very near future. All my past will this day be a part of me, because it is the key, not the lock.

© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services

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Topics are 1) friendship in AA 2) gratitude 3) staying sober through grief

  Donna S grateful recovering alcoholic   NJ
 
Gratitude.... I have such gratitude for the time I had with Mae ♥
She was an inspiration to me and so many others in this room...
She was always there for me ... such a giving lady who taught me mpre
 about patience and tolerance she showed me and others that it IS possible to get and stay sober in this room she was a big part of our Big Book Study Meeting and she is SO missed...but she WILL live forever in my heart!!!! ♥
Thank you Tina for ur tribute to Mae on ur blog ♥

Unity , Into Action

For me without the Unity of the fellowship I wouldn't be able to take the proper action needed to change and find freedom of self. It isn't easy, but I find with out Unity we have no meetings, no fellowship,  and I would probably  be dead.