Meetings

It was my first day of treatment. I sat in a small circle with five or six other newbies. The counselor said, “to graduate from this program you need to attend a minimum of three AA meetings a week. Except for you Jeff, because you are not working, you need to attend a meeting every day.” I was pissed off by being singled out, but I kept my mouth shut. As it turned out going to meetings every day was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I went to over 400 meetings in my first year. It was the first time in my life I felt like I fit in anywhere. Besides I was afraid to sit at home alone with nothing better to do than watch reruns of stupid television programs. Meetings have been the centerpiece of my recovery ever since.

AA is my church. It’s the only place I can stop thinking about me. I get to experience the spiritual love then we alcoholics have for one another. I laugh at your wacky solutions because they make perfect sense to me. Meetings are where I gain the courage to walk through the dark days from those who came before me. There is no were else I would rather be then in a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.

I find a healing power in meetings that I can’t find elsewhere. I like the line in the other big book, “where more than one are gathered in my name, I am present.” Sometimes, when my mind is not racing a mile a minute in judgment, I actually sense the healing presence of God.

I am just now finishing up a three month holiday in a little coastal town in Thailand. Warm  sea, great food and the laid-back friendly attitude of the Thai people is a wonderful combination. But I wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t an AA group and five meetings a week. I simply don’t go anywhere for any length of time where there are not meetings.

I read many spiritual books toward the end of my drinking trying to discover what was wrong with me. One of the books suggested that I live a God centered life. It sounded like a good idea, but I had no idea how to do it. I still do not know how to live a God centered life, but I do know how to live in AA centered life. When I put myself in the center of Alcoholics Anonymous by attending meetings frequently, God is there.