TOPICS – 8 / 23 / 2025
1) BRINGING THE MESSAGE HOME
Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A. group?
My family members suffer from the effects of my disease. Loving and accepting them as they are just as I love and accept A.A. members—fosters a return of love, tolerance and harmony to my life. Using common courtesy and respecting others’ personal boundaries are necessary practices for all areas of my life.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp.111-12
2) “PEOPLE ADDICT”
All my life I depended on people for my emotional needs and security, but today I cannot live that way anymore. By the grace of God, I have admitted my powerlessness over people, places and things. I had been a real “people addict”; wherever I went there had to be someone who would pay some kind of attention to me.
3) SHARING IS HEALING
It’s not easy to share the intimate details of our lives. We have guarded our secrets for years. But now it’s suggested that we tell our secrets to people whose names we barely know. The magic in sharing our experience, strength, and hope with others is hard to define. We simply know that when we do it, we feel relieved of our burden and we help someone else feel less isolated. We have come together because we want to get well.
4) AVAILING YOURSELF TO A SPONSOR
A sponsor is simply a sober alcoholic who can help solve only one problem: how to stay sober. And the sponsor has only one tool to use – personal experience, not scientific wisdom. Sponsors have been there, and often have more concern, hope, compassion, and confidence for us than we have for ourselves. They certainly have had more experience. Remembering their own condition, they reach out to help, not down.