No doubt about that. It is hard to find fault anywhere in you
You are probably right. AA has some fundamental basics common to every meeting. But beyond that each meeting is tailored to meet the quirks and eccentricities of various folks. Sometimes a meeting is set up- each usually needs just a hall and coffee machine
- maybe because a group of folks just want a relaxed or tighter environment. Some people visit various halls and are familiar with the prevailing atmosphere at each. That was never my thing. I only ever was part of two. In two different cities. Mainly because I moved. In the second location I was told half the members moved and set up a meeting not too far away. It seems those who left wanted a more hip kind of atmosphere. Some at my new hall thought maybe I belonged to that hip hall LOL No, the last thing I wanted was something like that. I liked the down to earth folks at my new hall just fine.
So, yes I can understand that some hall may have taken to the evangelism you describe.
I have not been there for years. But it did the trick for me. It works if you make it work, is one of the slogans there
Thank you for the kind words, Juin.
I indeed have experience with The Big Book. One of my close family members, someone I love very much, 12 Stepped their way to sobriety at a young age.
I read the Book myself, and came to the conclusion that I too was going down the wrong path in my own drinking. I literally walked away from drinking then & there, and never looked back. That was so long ago, that my years of not drinking are longer than my years from the cradle to the time of giving it up!
This I can say: I don't know exactly where I was in my drinking career. But I do know I saw myself in far too many of the stories in the Big Book. It scared me in a good way, enough to say I was no longer going to put myself at risk. I saw enough, that I knew I didn't want to chance living out the rest! This was helped along by my having just done a terribly stupid thing under the influence of alcohol, that could have had extremely dire consequences (but didn't).
I was pushed to walk away from drinking by the stories in the big book, particularly the revelation that alcoholism runs in families and is hereditary. I have another older close relative that had given up the bottle when I was a kid, so that meant I had two family members close to me with alcohol problems.
In addition - a big driver to walk away was the lack of judgment I used my recent problematic drinking incident, an incident that could have had serious lifechanging consequences for myself and others around me. The next day trying to resolve the aftermath, I asked myself, "How could I have had such a serious lapse of judgment?". Of course we know how - the booze!
That lapse of judgement was the scariest element of the whole ordeal. That I had acted in a seriously foolish manner I never would otherwise have. It cause me to become too afraid to drink again, and possibly have another judgement error. There's nothing scarier in life than to think you could lose your judgement. Without one's judgement, you have nothing. It's who we are.
Anyway, thanks for sharing this with me. I'm glad you found a tool that works for you. It's why I'm a huge proponent of AA. I've seen it literally save lives, including two very beloved family members.
--
Oh, one last thing. The Steps. They're excellent! I loved them. As a Catholic we work those same steps every day in our daily lives, as we go about living our Faith. Reading the Steps, I saw the similarity to the tenets of my Catholic Faith. They reawakened and rekindled my interest in my Faith, bringing me closer to the Church. For that, I am grateful.
I wouldn't doubt the spiritual aspect is one of the reasons for AA's success. Never underestimate the power of Faith! It can literally move mountains, and empower us to battle our biggest demons. Demons both within, and without!
And here's a secret: Our biggest demons reside within! Our fate is not determined as much by external events, as it is by how we live within ourselves, thereby determining how we deal with the external world.
