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.
We sometimes avoid these steps in our groups. The too-hard basket.
My personal opinion is that- in a mature group members might to these in a group, long before they pick up a sponsor.
Tradition 10 is a great one for all twelve step groups. Our old timers were non-believers, hebrews, catholics and protestants. It's a really funny thing- outsiders might think we [12 Steppers] are a secret society. But, hey! inside our meetings there are few secrets. We have all been to hell and back several times. And this is a part of our bond.
Although our groups, as such, have no opinion on outside issues, our members certainly do. Hmmm... so maybe we don't bring in party political divisions. But hey we have members from all shades of the political spectrum.
With our higher power views- and our journey of discovery we can travel very lightly. The old-timers used to say- "Half measures avail us nothing."
Jerry, here has links to northern polynesia. And me- to the far south. He says ohana, for whanau; and aloha for aroha. But we both speak the same language. In Alanon we do have a whole heap of acronyms and buzz-words we have to get our heads around.
Like A. for alcoholic and SO, and so on...
which we all like to explain to newcomers. ...
Are we all one big happy family? Not always... but we do have the tools and traditions... to make things work. To manage our way through issues. Part of our recovery journey. ...
Actually last week we had thanksgiving in our community. Organised by my dear ol' SO. With kids and grand-kids running around outside. With three or four Americans and one Canadian. This was my first ever thanksgiving!
And Christmas is big here- because this is our family time- or it is supposed to be. Sometimes a tough time for family members to navigate. Old memories and present circumstances.
So this is my "Christmas card"- and I hope it plays outside of NZ. You might recall that it is the same card I sent last year, re-cycled. ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSRAFe6WwLA
-- Edited by DavidG on Sunday 1st of December 2019 04:41:26 PM
I'm so glad for you that you are on the other side now--away from so much of the pain from the past.
We went to a Gathering of the Clans outside San Francisco once. A band from New Zealand was there and they seemed to be the most hospitable people I've ever met. They had rosy cheeks--almost as red as their uniforms. We got so many invitations to visit New Zealand.
It must be a treat to celebrate Christmas in the summertime. The closest I came to it was in Houston, driving around listening to Tejano music, in a car with unreliable air conditioning when Hubs had moved there before I did on a Christmas Day that was unseasonably warm, even for Houston.
You pwehPA don't stuff yourselves with heavy food, as we tend to do. Probably a lot more fruit than starchy vegetables.
Liked what you said about AlAnon--got hijacked by holiday thoughts.
Hugs,
Temple
__________________
It's easy to be graceful until someone steals your cornbread. --Gray Charles
We sometimes avoid these steps in our groups. The too-hard basket.
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