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Hi all - just a word of encouragement for us all..... if at all possible, please get yourself to face-to-face Al-Anon meetings - they really are amazing, and such an important piece of our respective recoveries....
MIP, reading books, talking to others - are all really important, but are really 'supplements' to our recovery programs - there is something different, and more powerful, about actual human interaction.... Walking through those doors of Al-Anon, scary as it is for many of us, is a huge step towards us finding the peace, love, and serenity that we are all looking for.... If need be, just listen - there will be no pressure for you to share/speak, unless you want to..... In time, you'll feel more comfortable in sharing.... General rule of thumb is to try 6 meetings, to give them a chance..... There is an unbelievable relief available, when you meet real people, and find out that you are no longer alone in all of this.... there is also the honesty factor, as when we get better, we get honest (with ourselves, others) - something that we may "try" to do online, but it is far too easy for us to put on a brave face online, or not come here when we don't feel up to it, etc.....
For those of you who say you cannot get to Al-Anon meetings, please challenge yourself as to whether or not that is actually true, or whether that is an excuse.... Try to consider it as you would your A, if he/she was choosing NOT to go to AA, because he/she was too busy, didn't have time, it was inconvenient, etc..... Our program is so much centered around valuing and honoring US, and one of the very best ways we can do that is to prioritize ourselves, and choose to make the time and priority of getting our butts into a seat at a meeting.
To everyone who shares and/or reads at MIP - please give yourself a hug, and a big pat on the back - you are truly trying to 'break the cycle' and wanting a better life for yourself.... Meetings will help that even more, and they very quickly change from where you are fearing the idea of going, to a point where you don't want a life without them....
Have a great day, and post to us all about how great that meeting is!! :)
Tom
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"He is either gonna drink, or he won't.... what are YOU gonna do?"
"What you think of me is none of my business"
"If you knew the answer to what you are worrying about, would it REALLY change anything?"
Tom, I have said it before and I will say it again, I can't say enough how much meetings have changed me for the better. I now have someone I can call when I need to get out of my head, because I went to a meeting. I know that there are people who can talk with me in real time and answer my questions after the meetings. I can be of service to the group, by getting literature out, helping to put it away and talking with anyone new that may come in. I am not alone in my town :) And now because of going to meetings I have a real time face to face sponsor helping me out. Meetings are where the "stuff" is. I need to be there and at this board and reading my literature. I am glad to be here and in my meetings :) I will keep coming ;) Thanks Tom!
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-youfoundme
Let go and let God...Let it be... let it begin with me...
Thanks for your post. I have been attending two f2f meeting for the past six years. I go to my meetings for myself first and second to hopefully give back to others what the program has given me. I can't express in words the feeling I get being around other members of kindred spirit who understand and accept me as perhaps no one else can. For many years I was the only man in attendance, so the ladies in my groups raised me in the program.
I never look for an excuse not to go to my meetings. I first went because I had no where else to turn. I continued to go because my life was changing for the good. I go now because I made my meetings a regular part of my life.
True powerful words!!! I have been attending alanon face to face meetings every week for the past 28 years. In the beginning I attended a meeting a day for over 2 years .
I am now down to 2 metings a week. Connecting, living by spiritual principles, continuing this jojurney with equals is so very important.
Thank you Tom. Face 2 face meetings are amazing. I started going in october, the difference in me is huge and people I have met there are my friends now. The meetings are part of my life.
Just got back from my usual Thursday night meeting. Cried from the second I got in the car to go there until mostly to the end...but by the end, I was smiling and laughing. I am truly grateful and to have a room full of people, some of which are going through almost my same exact scenarios, encourage me has given me the strength to get through the next few hours until I (hopefully) sleep through the night...
After living with alcoholism for most of my married life (36 years) I finally dragged myself to an Al-Anon meeting. That was 5 months ago.
I came into the program "pregnant" with many of the principles that the program teaches. Prior to Al-Anon, I read lots of books on alcoholism, many self-help books, and gone to private counseling for years. However, until Al-Anon I couldn't really give birth to these principles. It took listening and sharing with others in Al-Anon.
For me, I needed others. I couldn't do it on my own. Seeing that others understood and had experienced similar things made me feel not so crazy and alone. Seeing that they too had lived through similar experiences and had applied the principles and are now relatively at peace was and is so inspiring.
At first, I didn't get the program, but now I get enough of it to know it works. I'm eager to learn more and be of service to others.
I'm so grateful the members of MIP and my home group.
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You have to go through the darkness to truly know the light. Lama Surya Das
Resentment is like taking poison & waiting for the other person to die. Malachy McCourt
You are so right!! F2F meetings are so where it is at especially for healing and moving forward. I love MIP and it keeps me grounded until I can get to my next meeting. I upped my meetings to all of them at the moment. For me, I would not have made it through this week. I'm a little wobbly, I'm not down and out. That's a huge difference for me than where I was this time last year.
Hugs and thank you, P :)
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Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.- Maya Angelo
Thanks Tom... I have been Here at MIP going on Three Yrs this Year, after the Loss of my AFather to this Disease, and when I Found MIP I Felt I was Home! I Managed to "Make it" Here for a Couple Weeks before I was brave enough Or Dragged to my 1st Meeting! It was Scary & I"m Pretty Sure I Cried thru most of it, and wasn't judged in the end, I was Hugged & told to Keep Coming Back!!! And I Did Take the Advise of all there that told me to Make 6 Meetings before I Made the decission to Stay Or Go, and I have to say, on that Very Meeting #6... I knew I was IN!
There is Only 3 Meeting in my Local Area, and Currently I Attend 2 of them, If I wanted to Travel a Little Further I also have others I have not yet check out, but hope to sometime in the future... Saying that I do have to say that the meeting that I Now Attend, I have Found they Greatest Support System... Not all Grew up in Alcoholic Homes, but their A's still effect their life as mine did me! Knowing that I have a "Local" Friend/System that I can call and Meet for Tea/Coffee or a walk even, when I am Having a Struggling Day... Is Amazing... And yet I Still Find myself HERE about everyday... I have made So Many Friends Since Entering this Program, I Now see them as Family, the Loving Family I had So Longed to Have for So Long...
I Believe that the More Support I can Find for myself the Better I will be, and the better I Can Bring to Others deserving of me...
So YES... Find those F2F Meetings.... Don't find Excuses Not to... We Can ALL do that... It is Worth it & So Are You!!!
Keep Coming Back.... Thanks again Tom for your Post :)
THANKS FOR SHARING ALL THIS WITH US WHO NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT THE F2F MEETINGS ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE: TO ME THEY MEAN GETTING HONEST & WORKING THE FULL PROGRAM!
I NEED TO BE AT A MEETING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO I CAN GET BACK ON TRACK! AFTER SO MANY YEARS IN THE PROGRAM; I AM SLACKING & LACKING SERENITY AT TIMES. I OWE MY LIFE TO THIS PROGRAM & REMEMBER THE FIRST MEETING AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY! THANK GOD FOR ALANON!
