Anger is another topic that has received little play in meetings in this locale in recent memory. A lot can be written and said about anger by alcoholics. I am in full agreement with Mel B.;
“What really is behind a temper outburst? A temper explosion is not something that just blows up out of nowhere, a storm without a cause. It is actually a surface manifestation of inner hostility, of the emotions we often call ‘resentments’ in AA. I’ve learned that I am subject to moments of rage only if I allow myself to wallow around in a swamp of …read more

Old-Timers Prayer
God, keep me from thinking I must share in every meeting, no matter the topic. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details and give me wings to get to the point. Remind me to guard confidences and to keep still when I feel it is necessary to speak up for someone’s own good.
Release me from the need to straighten out everybody else’s thinking and program. God, I ask for the grace to listen to newcomers. Please help me to remember the patience with which others listened to me when I was new.
Please seal my lips to …read more

We sit in meetings, we offer others our experience, strength and hope, we share the stories of our lives.
Why?
I think the last paragraph of the preface of the Fourth Edition says it well;
“All changes made over the years in the Big Book (A.A. members’ fond nickname for this volume) have had the same purpose: to represent the current membership of Alcoholics Anonymous more accurately, and thereby to reach more alcoholics. If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: “Yes, that happened to me”; or, more important, …read more

Earthlings will not be able to understand this…
From Chap. 11 “A Vision For You”
“For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.
It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good. But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never could we recapture the past. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There …read more

This really hasn’t changed except for the physical location, which is now on my hip!
9) “Keep that phone running hot. Other alkies are feeling as restless as you during the festive season. They will appreciate a ‘how are you doing?’ call just as much as you will appreciate talking to them.”
Please, make sure you put them on silent mode or vibrate during meetings, okay? But keep your phone charged at all times for the next week or so!
Funny – I never thought I’d be hooked up to the world 24/7 yet I am today. And it can be irritating especially …read more

Pay Attention…
If you do attend a drinking occasion, watch your drink. People who do not understand alcoholism may think it is “funny” to put something in your drink. Hold onto it or keep it where you can see it. After a few years of practice, I have finally discovered that I can actually survive for long periods at a party without having a drink of any sort in my hand! These days, I get a drink if I am thirsty, drink it, and put the glass down. I do not have to wander round holding the damn glass …read more

Don’t forget – your life depends on it…
7) You may need more meetings in the festive season than you ordinarily do to remain on an even keel. I certainly do. Plan this ahead, particularly if you are traveling to somewhere you do not ordinarily attend meetings. Know ahead of time where the meetings are, have a detailed map that shows the location of the meeting, and know how you are going to get there. Don’t bet your life on a meeting that may be closed on Christmas Day. If you are going from the city to a country town, obtain …read more

Oh really?
Would you like some kind of special recognition? Allow someone to clue you in (because obviously you don’t have a clue), you’re simply not that important!
That’s right! If you noticed, as you strolled into the meeting, we’d already begun without you… so, no, we didn’t need your presence in order to start this meeting.
Now that you’re here – do the newcomer a huge favor, okay? Don’t shuffle your chair around or whisper to your buddy. The readings are being read and the newcomer is trying to listen. You wouldn’t want the newcomer to miss something that might help them …read more

This is for that pest who hangs around holidays like a dark cloud…
6) The only people who will persist with offers of drinks are people who have a problem. Often, it is the problem that you and I know a bit about. Try this four-stage fall-back when someone persists:

“No thanks”
“No thanks, I don’t want one.”
“Look, I have told you twice already I do not want a drink.”
“I can’t understand why you are so interested in whether or not I am drinking-you don’t have a problem with the booze, do you?”

Trust me, that will be the last you hear of them. …read more

There is no need to justify your current actions – they are keeping you alive…
5) You do not have to EXPLAIN that you are not drinking. After a few years now, I am getting quite good at this. At the works Christmas party, only ONE person asked me if I would like a drink (he was on his way to the bar and offered to get me one). I said “No thanks” and he carried on without another word. The trick is to say “No thanks” in a firm, neutral voice. If you sound nervous or uncertain, social drinkers think …read more