Blog entry for:
Sun, Sep 6, 2015 10:44:15 AM
♦ regular meeting attendance ♦
posted: Sun, Sep 6, 2015 10:44:15 AM
once again it comes down to this.
last night i got a txt from a friend, and when i asked them if they were doing what they oughta, i got crickets. you know the sound. when you txt someone and get nothing back. there is no need for me to explain any further, as it rarely means things are going swimmingly but i have been wrong in the past, and certainly will be again in the future.
what does that have to do with “regular meeting attendance?” certainly not much, based on my history. i spent the greater part of the first seven months around the rooms, using when i could get away with it, whilst attending meetings on a daily basis, and doing group level service. so for me, the number of meetings i attend on a weekly basis is hardly a appropriate measure of my spiritual fitness or at least it was not back in the day.
today i go to meetings as a choice. i choose to go to meetings for a couple of reasons, first and foremost, because that is what i have always done, since i got clean, finally wo0rked a first step and became a member of the fellowship that has given me this new manner of living. i could and have gone a week or more without a meeting and i am still a me3meber of the No Matter What Club, but that does not mean that i have the desire to make that a habit. meeting attendance, even with all its attendant drama, trauma, hypocrisy, insanity, cliquishness and judementalness, is still something i intend to keep choosing to do, because after all, recovery is all about me. i go to meetings despite all the evils listed above, because it is where i connect with those who know me best. it is there where i get living examples of how to live a life of recovery and practice these principles in all my affairs. it is only there where my peers understand what goes on behind my eyes and can draw me out of the isolation that i am more than a little prone to.
yes meetings are far from perfect, and are filled with flawed human beings, BIG FVCKING DEAL! i am one of those flawed beings and it is only through living the program i have any HOPE of getting less flawed and closer to the person i have always wanted to be. anyhow the morning has escaped me, and what i need to do just got a bit bigger. it is a great day to be clean and yes i can roll with the punches and alter my plan of action, which BTW does include a meeting later today.
last night i got a txt from a friend, and when i asked them if they were doing what they oughta, i got crickets. you know the sound. when you txt someone and get nothing back. there is no need for me to explain any further, as it rarely means things are going swimmingly but i have been wrong in the past, and certainly will be again in the future.
what does that have to do with “regular meeting attendance?” certainly not much, based on my history. i spent the greater part of the first seven months around the rooms, using when i could get away with it, whilst attending meetings on a daily basis, and doing group level service. so for me, the number of meetings i attend on a weekly basis is hardly a appropriate measure of my spiritual fitness or at least it was not back in the day.
today i go to meetings as a choice. i choose to go to meetings for a couple of reasons, first and foremost, because that is what i have always done, since i got clean, finally wo0rked a first step and became a member of the fellowship that has given me this new manner of living. i could and have gone a week or more without a meeting and i am still a me3meber of the No Matter What Club, but that does not mean that i have the desire to make that a habit. meeting attendance, even with all its attendant drama, trauma, hypocrisy, insanity, cliquishness and judementalness, is still something i intend to keep choosing to do, because after all, recovery is all about me. i go to meetings despite all the evils listed above, because it is where i connect with those who know me best. it is there where i get living examples of how to live a life of recovery and practice these principles in all my affairs. it is only there where my peers understand what goes on behind my eyes and can draw me out of the isolation that i am more than a little prone to.
yes meetings are far from perfect, and are filled with flawed human beings, BIG FVCKING DEAL! i am one of those flawed beings and it is only through living the program i have any HOPE of getting less flawed and closer to the person i have always wanted to be. anyhow the morning has escaped me, and what i need to do just got a bit bigger. it is a great day to be clean and yes i can roll with the punches and alter my plan of action, which BTW does include a meeting later today.
∞ DT ∞
The views expressed on this page are solely the opinion of the author.
While the author is a member of a 12 Step recovery fellowship, these writings are not intended to endorse or express the published wisdom of any fellowship.
These writings are not meant to be socially or politically correct, and if you take issue with any opinions expressed, please seek the guidance of someone wiser than me.
While the author is a member of a 12 Step recovery fellowship, these writings are not intended to endorse or express the published wisdom of any fellowship.
These writings are not meant to be socially or politically correct, and if you take issue with any opinions expressed, please seek the guidance of someone wiser than me.
Another Look!
regular??? 336 words ➥ Monday, September 6, 2004 by: donnot↔ regardless of how long i have been clean, i never stop being an addict ↔ 267 words ➥ Wednesday, September 6, 2006 by: donnot
α but the more regularly i attend i meetings, the more i reinforce my identity ω 421 words ➥ Thursday, September 6, 2007 by: donnot
± it may be true, i probably will not immediately start using mass quantities of drugs ± 397 words ➥ Sunday, September 6, 2009 by: donnot
ℜ those who keep coming to meetings of this 12 STEP program, regularly stay clean ℜ 826 words ➥ Monday, September 6, 2010 by: donnot
⌈ each meeting i attend, helps put me ⌋ 408 words ➥ Tuesday, September 6, 2011 by: donnot
“ we have learned from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean. ” 621 words ➥ Thursday, September 6, 2012 by: donnot
ℜ one of the basic elements of this new pattern of living, ℜ 395 words ➥ Friday, September 6, 2013 by: donnot
¢ i will CONTINUE to include ¢ 414 words ➥ Saturday, September 6, 2014 by: donnot
🌇 the basic elements 🌆 570 words ➥ Tuesday, September 6, 2016 by: donnot
🎈 meetings help 🎈 336 words ➥ Wednesday, September 6, 2017 by: donnot
📡 my new pattern 💨 689 words ➥ Thursday, September 6, 2018 by: donnot
🚽 i have yet 🚽 560 words ➥ Friday, September 6, 2019 by: donnot
😎 reinforcing 😎 330 words ➥ Sunday, September 6, 2020 by: donnot
🌬 living clean 🌫 475 words ➥ Monday, September 6, 2021 by: donnot
😒 i will never 😒 409 words ➥ Tuesday, September 6, 2022 by: donnot
🤐 anonymity 🤫 658 words ➥ Wednesday, September 6, 2023 by: donnot
🚪 it is what i do 🚪 437 words ➥ Friday, September 6, 2024 by: donnot
☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge
Book 2
2) The sage does not accumulate (for himself). The more that he expends
for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he
gives to others, the more does he have himself.