Recently, Howard, an AA friend, retired and soon will be heading to Florida. I will remember him because he always said there is a way for a person to tell if his alcohol consumption was out of balance. And yes, Howard, an attorney, also always said that his attorney fee for defense of a DUI charge is “around six figures.”
Wait a minute! I stopped writing this meditation and asked myself: “Isn’t there much delightful worth-while ‘AA stuff’ one experiences at every AA meeting?”
There you listen to others talking and working the Program. You’ve heard their stories, their difficulties, and those who have been “inners” then “outers” then hopefully “backers.” You’ve given leads at your home group. There’s talking with new people, enjoying the laughter, and providing aid for others at the meeting, and more.
And every AA meeting is a place where only one subject is discussed - how to live life soberly, positively, spiritually, and how to carry that message to others.
Just stop and think - for isn’t there always a self-appointed clown of sorts, maybe one who has been sober for 27 years, who for all to hear, says something for discussion just to let everyone know the person is still there working the Steps.
Often at AA meetings you laugh with folks speaking their leads with comments of their drunken craziness and “close calls.” Mini-leads provide short comments, no extra words, just right to the point, and usually humor is involved.
Every meeting you are reliving your own experiences with the Program. You note an effective comment by someone that made sense, and you made a mental note to use it sometime.
We see people reaching out to folks who are struggling, others working on mundane needs such as making coffee, working with the owners of the facilities, the behind the scenes and necessary stuff. leads are given by people from other AA groups and some real long-timers, a person who is part of the committee for the coming Thanksgiving dinner. In my city there are several hundred “AA-ers” gathered for thanks giving for Bill and Dr. Bob and the many before the crowd each offering help to all as needed.
One pleasurable encounter comes when you are traveling. You feel a “meeting need,” it’s a faraway city but you will find one and go. You are welcome and invited to return. People have attended meetings in all manner of countries and found that even if English is not the language of choice, you can “hear” AA language maybe even in faraway Timbuktu in Mali. Your heart really skips a beat on those occasions.
I felt the AA voices and joy in Akron when I visited Dr. Bob’s very small home on a corner in Akron. Bill W and Dr. Bob spent goodly time there discussing what turned out to be the AA concept and start of its organization. I was told by folks at the Doctor’s home that Dr. Bob’s empty bottles of liquor were still being found in the walls of his home, some also buried in the tiny yard. As Bill W. did, I went and stood in the entry hall of Akron’s The Mayflower Hotel. I stood where he stood. As Bill had done, I looked one way into its classy hotel bar, then the other direction, this time to another telephone booth. Bill went to that booth to find Dr. Bob.
For me, the most effective reminder of the AA Program is its emphasis on the Higher Power of our Lord. When the minister’s sermon turns to the Holy Spirit, I turn to connect with an AA meeting and its people, the lead, the undertaken efforts to assist new people, and seek aid as needed. We see this very thought in the Big Book’s Twelfth Step:
“Having had a spiritual awakening, as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Jim A, St X Noon, Cincinnati
