His Imprint on SA Will Last Forever
Two oldtimers who knew Jess L. personally share some of their personal experiences about this very inspiring member in this ESSAY interview.
Two oldtimers who knew Jess L. personally share some of their personal experiences about this very inspiring member in this ESSAY interview.
Jim Egan played a big role in my early SA years. I loved his shares, which were always a loving, humble meander. I’m grateful to have learned from his shares to be loving and humble myself. Always with a smile on his face, he also helped me feel comfortable at the SA International Conventions I attended.
I am an SA member and have been for some time a reserve soldier in one of the many warring countries on this planet. Often I get woken up by alarms. Sometimes I see rockets in the air. Friends of mine have been killed. Everything is scary and weird, surrealistic.
My name is David, I am a sexaholic. And by the grace of my Higher Power, my sobriety date is August 2, 1988, for which I can never be sufficiently grateful. That credit goes to my Higher Power, that's for sure. I was sitting at dinner and was figuring it's been thirty-one years, five months, and eight days. And every one of those in their own way has been a miracle. And that's a little bit of what I'd like to share tonight. I was told after my first year of sobriety that it keeps getting better. And that has been the simple description of my experience in Sexaholics Anonymous, that it keeps getting better.
At some point in 2011 I remember hearing about this fellow named David who was sober 25 years and could quote the Big Book, chapter and verse, and worked with a bunch of people as a counselor and as a sponsor. I got online and found a website where I could purchase old recordings from past SA conventions.
There is a saying that goes something like this, “Not by argument will you change a person’s mind but by telling them a good story.” How true this is when speaking of Dave T. when he shared his experience, strength, and hope.
The author of this article knew Roy personally. He describes how he learned a lot from directly associating with him and helping him with service.
One of the early members of the Correctional Facilities Committee (CFC) was Ray S. from Tucson, Arizona, who is better known in our program as “Tucson Ray.” He started the Sponsors-by-Mail (SbM) program in Arizona by “offering it single-handedly for some seven years.” He developed a format for this outreach to people in prison that is still used today by those who write to men and women in prison.
اولین احساس خوبی که در زندگی به یاد میآورم، زمانی بود که من پنج ساله بودم و پدرم یک بطری آبجو رولینگ راک به من داد. وقتی در گوشه ای نشسته بودم و در حال نوشیدن بودم، تأثیر الکل را احساس کردم. وقتی از آن طرف اتاق به پدرم نگاه می کردم، فقط به او عشق می ورزیدم. حس فوق العاده ای بود. حس خوب بعدی که به یاد دارم تقریباً در همان زمان بود و مربوط به دختری به نام نانسی بود که او نیز حدوداً پنج ساله بود. یک روز گرم تابستانی بود، و من نانسی کوچک را در آغوشم گرفتم، او را نزد مادرم بردم و گفتم: "من و نانسی قرار است ازدواج کنیم." شادی و لذتی را که در درونم احساس می کردم به یاد می آورم. تا شانزده سال دیگر آن احساس را نداشتم.
درحالی که هفته پیش دریک کارگاه دوازده قدمی شرکت میکردم،فرصت این را داشتم که تجربه نیرو وامیدم را درباره موضوع بخشش به اشتراک بگذارم.پس از کارگاه،ازمن خواسته شدکه مشارکتم رابرای مجلهessay بنویسم،که درادامه این متن برایتان آورده ام: