(from the Eye Opener Meeting)
Don’t drink. You don’t have to anymore, even if you want to
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who strive for total abstinence from alcohol one day at a time as a way to keep the disease of alcoholism in remission. In the rooms of AA, much support and direction are accessible. You don’t have to struggle alone. Others are happy to join you in your journey of recovery and help you stay away from a drink. AA is a program of progress, not perfection. The first step is to not drink. This is the foundational step upon which everything else rests. Future recovery is a gradual and ongoing process. The obsession can be alleviated and the compulsion will fade as sober time accumulated and the steps are implemented.
Go to 90 meetings in 90 days
90 meetings in 90 days is a suggestion for the motivated and willing. At first, going to so many meetings seems impossible, When we hear this suggestion, we may resist. This seems too much to tackle. If we apply the slogan one day at a time, it is easier to accomplish. Adopt the mindset, that each day you will go to a meeting. This gets you into a good routine. Explore your options. Find different types of meetings. Some of them include speaker, discussion, step meetings, and gender-specific meetings. Get a sense of what types of meetings are available and what is comfortable and convenient for you. We live in a time and place when more than one meeting each day can be located and attended.
Get a sponsor
A sponsor is someone who is sober and practicing the program of recovery. A sponsor will help you by sharing their experience strength and hope. They are available on the telephone as well as frequent companions at meetings. You can share things with them you might not want to share at a meeting. A sponsor can listen and be objective. A sponsor will be direct, honest, and supportive. Find someone you can trust and confide in. Find someone who is active in their sobriety and seems to be content in their life. Your sponsor need not share similar life experiences to be effective; just a working knowledge of the steps and the willingness to share what works for them
Work the steps with that sponsor
A sponsor will guide you through each of the 12 steps. You will learn how to live sober by learning about the 12 steps, working them, and applying them in your life. Try not to wait too long to ask someone to help you. Many people would be honored to share the steps of recovery with you and want you to be successful. Attending Alcoholics Anonymous without working the steps is a recipe for restlessness, irritability, and discontentedness. The steps provide relief from the obsession and compulsion to drink.
Get a homegroup
A homegroup is a place where people know you by name. Your connection with them is deepened by your ongoing presence. When you feel included in a group, a positive step in maintaining your sobriety occurs. A network of people who care about you brings you out of isolation. The loneliness gives way to a sense of community and belonging. People who stay toward the middle of the pack are in less danger of slipping away from the meetings and their commitment to recovery. Nobody ever fell out of the middle of the bed.
Get involved and do some service work for that group
Service for your home group means you offer to contribute in some way. A variety of ways exist. Meetings need coffee makers and greeters. The chairs need to be straightened or stacked. Garbage needs to be gathered and removed. Coffee makers, cookie bringers, someone to help put away books if the group uses literature. Many jobs are available. If you want to follow this suggestion ask one of the members of the group how you might lend a hand. Some groups are active outside of their immediate surroundings. Groups of people or individuals take speaking engagements into treatment centers or into correctional facilities. Some groups take part in area AA events and activities like picnics, dinners, bowling for Big Books, the list goes on. Being a contributing member of a homegroup can boost your recovery to a new level. Many people proclaim service work is the key to their strong and stable recovery.
