The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Some believe this is an unlucky day, but to me it is a lucky day because... well, I only have to live this one day today, and I feel very blessed.
In today's ODAAT page, the writer expresses gratitude for being led to Al-Anon and receiving the sharing and comfort of others. To show gratitude, the writer promises to fully participate in the program, which means studying the principles for the benefit of self and others, helping others solve their problems spiritually, and when speaking at a meeting to always bring in an Al-Anon teaching that will be meaningful to those listening.
Today's reminder: Attending a good Al-Anon meeting is a satisfying experience. Its purpose is far more than just "an evening out." I will prepare myself for these meetings by reading Al-Anon literature so I can pass on something of value. The net result of such full participation will be a better way of life for me.
Quote: "We cannot drop out of human involvement without endangering our spiritual health."
I am profoundly grateful for all I have received from Al-Anon, and I try to repay that through service. But this page gave me a new insight into how I participate at meetings. The idea of directly preparing for a meeting by reading some literature and selecting something valuable to share -- I had been resistant to that because I thought it would seem like I was trying too hard, trying to show everyone what a good student I was, and that ... the other kids wouldn't like me! How silly is that? I always appreciate it when other members thoughtfully bring in passages from our literature to share. So why not me? I am a serious student of Al-Anon, so why not use that to help others when sharing in my meetings? I think I'm going to try that.
-- Edited by Freetime on Thursday 12th of July 2018 11:03:11 PM
It took me a long time to feel grateful, and then to express gratitude. My mantra was- I didn't ask to be born! Now I am glad.
In the early days there was an older member there- with her ODAT. It was in bad repair with pages falling out. Like a ragged teddy bear.
I paid close attention to this member- because it was evident she was doing the work.
In the middle years, and middle steps I was often confused about what to discuss at a meeting. I was scared to say the wrong thing. I assumed other, and newer members felt the same way. After all- all of our daily readers contain quotes from here there and everywhere!
But sticking to conference approved literature- goes without saying. it is a very simple balance.
Depending on the programmes we have been in- emotional maturity, emotional sobriety, and the famous serenity I felt to be the same thing- the same goal. And I believed that all our 12 step groups had similar goals and approaches.
Our local group always had a close bond with AA- and we often have assemblies together. Tradition 6 holds for me.
As we begin to bloom and to blossom- the boundaries are much easier to understand- and to observe. Without much anxiety.
Today i can communicate a whole lot better. I can ask around. Keep it simple.
Good Morning Freetime Love his reminder When i entered program, I did not "Feel"gratitude. in fact it was a foriegn concept to my being. Working the Steps, sharing and letting go of my many defects provided me with the abii lityto feel all my positive feelings, including gratitude--n I am oh so grateful l to program for this gift.
David as for Tradition 6 I do believe that it is a sound Tradition as they all are. It does seem to acknowledge our tendencies and recognizes the potential difficulites that can arise when we mix and match
Thank you for posting this this morning! đ
When I first entered alanon I was very overwhelmed with the whole program. I didn't know where to start and I didn't know what to do. What I did know was that I needed the program and it was at some point be very hard to get past some things. It's not easy for me since there are no meetings where I am so I attend online and use this forum.
I do admit I get lax with the reading of my books but I realized that I was being lazy on my part and that's a character defect I wish to change. I had a little crisis last night when a friends daughter showed up but thanks to the program and my husband I was able to overcome.
Thank you Freetime for your service and the daily. Thanks to all above for your shares and ESH...this day has been a bit different for me as I've been of service to a dear friend - today was her son's birthday and he took his own life 1.5 years ago. We golfed, laughed, cried, ate, laughed, cried....
I had no idea what gratitude truly was when I arrived. I felt I'd been dealt a crappy hand and enduring was such a huge burden. I was a huge drama queen and always extremely negative. I believe I did a bunch of isolating but in hindsight, I also drove people away because I was a bit toxic. I also felt terribly alone and was angry at God, the world, the disease, and most of those I love.
It is in recovery that I also learned about service. I learned to just be there for others, offer what I can and not preach, coach, direct, manage, etc. I was a bit concerned last night about how today would go, and prayed to God to just show me how to be of service. Again, I was not let down. I'm grateful that I could help her get through a difficult day.
We used to actually do topic meetings and a different member would volunteer to lead the meeting. Topics were generated in advance, so you could actually pick a topic you wanted to know more about and then bring 'that' to the group. It was a great way to digest the literature in relation to specific topics - gratitude, service, denial, resentments, etc. I loved how we did that! Our group got larger though and some of the summaries were very long so group conscious decided to change up the format some.
I am very grateful that we have indexes in the back of our literature - I can flip to the back, search for my 'issue' or 'need' and read ESH from others or our literature. This has been an awesome way for me to regroup in moments of turmoil and pain.
Happy Friday all - hope it's been a good one! Our 'heat wave' is hopefully ending today - grateful for that....golf has been fun this week but hotter than desired! (((Hugs))) to all.
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
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