M(3), 6/23: The Most Important Person in the Room

 

It’s the first official day of summer in our house, and so far, so good… some chores were done in my absence, and I’m even getting some quiet time to write this blog before we head off to the pool!

No matter what I assume about the attendance of my meeting, I am incorrect.  I assumed that I would have lower numbers due to the summer season; in fact, I had a record high of 15 attendees!  Exciting stuff, except that I didn’t have enough handouts, but I suppose there are worse inconveniences in life than to share reading materials.

As it is the fourth Monday of the month, we continued with the series from Back to Basics; this week’s selection covered steps 3 and 4.  Quickly I will mention my personal take-away from today’s reading.  Last week, an attendee mentioned the idea of looking at your assets, as well as your liabilities, when you are looking to complete a personal inventory.  He offered some compelling reasons for doing so that really stuck with me.  In the past week,  I came across two separate references to the same concept, and today a solid 4 pages of the reading talked about the same thing.  I am clearly meant to hear the message that I need to consider my strengths, rather than solely focus on my weaknesses!

One of the 15 attendees was new to my meeting, and new to sobriety (she announced that she is 75 days sober).  As such, she seemed to be unaware of the general protocol that is followed, and was a slight bit disruptive.  My initial fear, as the chair, was that I would have to correct her, which always strikes terror in my soul, but as I looked around at all the familiar faces, I saw only one emotion:  compassion.  She was the first to speak, and rather than talk about the reading, she shared about some of the day-to-day struggles in her life.  Every subsequent share after her dealt solely with the issues she faces and how each person dealt with similar issues in their recovery.

Today’s meeting was the best example of why I continue to attend 12-step meetings:  people gathering together with the sole purpose of helping another.  And in helping another, they are helping themselves.  Altruism at its finest, and I’m proud and humbled to be part of such an amazing group of people.

Another woman, newer to recovery though certainly not as new as 75 days, in addition to helping the newcomer, shared an issue she is facing:  her family has decided it’s time for her to “get over it” and be comfortable at alcohol-fueled events.  Again, the group came to her rescue and assured her that her job is putting her sobriety first; it is not her job to convince family and friends why she can’t be around alcohol.

I’m so grateful, and think it not at all a coincidence, that on a day where I had not one, but two women in need of assistance, that I had a record number of attendees, both genders, and with loads of quality sober time to empathize and support them. God moments abounded today.

The woman with 75 days came up to me at the break and asked me to be her temporary sponsor; I agreed.  What’s nice this time around is that I have learned quite a bit about what to do, and, more importantly, what not to do.  I was able to give her some specific directions to follow, and arrange a meeting time that is mutually beneficial.  I’m sure I will have more to post on the subject as events unfold… or not, that is the nature of the beast with sponsor/sponsee relationships.  We will just have to wait and see.

I guess I’ve left these kids to their own devices long enough… time to hit the pool.  Life is good!

Today’s Miracle:

I get spend time with an amazing group this morning, time to sit down and share my experience with an amazing group in the blogosphere, and then spend time relaxing with the kiddies, who have coexisted peacefully all morning.  Miracles are everywhere today!