A New Beginning
I went to a new meeting last night, a beginner's meeting. It started about a month ago and has strong support; there were probably about 50 people there. I hadn't even thought about going to it, but I found out a friend was picking up his 90-day chip there and I chose to go.
The meeting was run differently from any I've attended. Two moderators started us off with the tools and then we went around the room introducing ourselves and stating our sobriety dates. It was an interesting exercise, for in this area, we don't include our DOS when introducing ourselves, unless we're telling our stories. It took awhile and many of us kinda stumbled in our delivery because of the unfamiliarity of doing it. I liked it. Also, in this meeting, we raise our hand to request to share; something else new for our area that messed up more than one person. [chuckle] The moderators spoke a little and then requested shares on a specific idea, the first being, "What is it that makes one an alcoholic?" After a few shares, the moderators spoke more and queried about using our tools to arrest the obsession to take a drink. A few more shares and the topic moved into prayer. It was a refreshing change of pace. There were many people there I knew and many more faces I recognized and several I'd never seen. Though I've been in meetings with many of these people, what was shared in this one was different, more different than the regular meeting-to-meeting getting to know a little about someone. More so like everyone was new, not to the program, but to the area. All the sharing was fresh and real and unprepared, uncrafted - authentic.
At the end of the meeting, my friend and another fellow picked up their 3-month chips. It was great to see. Another change this meeting has incorporated is chips for every month of one's first year of sobriety. I like that, too. It's encouraging, I think, to recognize the monthly progress for newcomers and retreads. I know the 30-day chips I got were milestone markers and that, though trying to go one day at a time, the idea of going two more months 'til another chip seemed huge. Then going three more months to get another and three more months and three more months to get that brass ring (uh, bronze token) seemed like interminable expanses of time. Still, I got there, though it did take a few start-over, 30-day and 90-day chips to get there. (BTW: The "standard" chip scheme for our area is: aluminum for start or start over, green for 30 days, red for 90 days, blue for 6 months, yellow for nine months and bronze for each year.) On December 22, I'll have (hopefully) 2 years and 6 months of sobriety. Yes, the months still matter (and the days, hours and minutes, too), just like when we're little, we don't go from 5 years old to 6 years old, it's 5, 5 and a half, almost 6 and finally 6. :-P
All in all, I was very refreshed and recharged and am looking forward to attending next week's meeting. It's a shame it's parallel to one of the gay meetings I'm fond of, but shaking up my meeting schedule is a good thing. I'll still get to the gay one from time to time.
The meeting was run differently from any I've attended. Two moderators started us off with the tools and then we went around the room introducing ourselves and stating our sobriety dates. It was an interesting exercise, for in this area, we don't include our DOS when introducing ourselves, unless we're telling our stories. It took awhile and many of us kinda stumbled in our delivery because of the unfamiliarity of doing it. I liked it. Also, in this meeting, we raise our hand to request to share; something else new for our area that messed up more than one person. [chuckle] The moderators spoke a little and then requested shares on a specific idea, the first being, "What is it that makes one an alcoholic?" After a few shares, the moderators spoke more and queried about using our tools to arrest the obsession to take a drink. A few more shares and the topic moved into prayer. It was a refreshing change of pace. There were many people there I knew and many more faces I recognized and several I'd never seen. Though I've been in meetings with many of these people, what was shared in this one was different, more different than the regular meeting-to-meeting getting to know a little about someone. More so like everyone was new, not to the program, but to the area. All the sharing was fresh and real and unprepared, uncrafted - authentic.
At the end of the meeting, my friend and another fellow picked up their 3-month chips. It was great to see. Another change this meeting has incorporated is chips for every month of one's first year of sobriety. I like that, too. It's encouraging, I think, to recognize the monthly progress for newcomers and retreads. I know the 30-day chips I got were milestone markers and that, though trying to go one day at a time, the idea of going two more months 'til another chip seemed huge. Then going three more months to get another and three more months and three more months to get that brass ring (uh, bronze token) seemed like interminable expanses of time. Still, I got there, though it did take a few start-over, 30-day and 90-day chips to get there. (BTW: The "standard" chip scheme for our area is: aluminum for start or start over, green for 30 days, red for 90 days, blue for 6 months, yellow for nine months and bronze for each year.) On December 22, I'll have (hopefully) 2 years and 6 months of sobriety. Yes, the months still matter (and the days, hours and minutes, too), just like when we're little, we don't go from 5 years old to 6 years old, it's 5, 5 and a half, almost 6 and finally 6. :-P
All in all, I was very refreshed and recharged and am looking forward to attending next week's meeting. It's a shame it's parallel to one of the gay meetings I'm fond of, but shaking up my meeting schedule is a good thing. I'll still get to the gay one from time to time.
