Trataré de compartir mi experiencia, fortaleza y esperanza, ya que toca el rol que desempeñó mi padre Roy K. tanto en mi adicción como en mi recuperación. Ha sido un camino lleno de baches para los dos, gracias a nuestra adicción y defectos de carácter.
Cuando comencé mi viaje de recuperación, estaba plagado del habitual zumbido incesante dentro de mi cabeza con el que solo los adictos y los neuróticos compulsivos pueden identificarse:
La diversión en la recuperación era lo último que tenía en mente cuando entré por primera vez en las salas. Estaba en el fondo y pensé que mi vida nunca volvería a ver la alegría, y mucho menos la diversión. Me descubrieron y posteriormente destruí mi matrimonio y las relaciones con mis hijos adolescentes. Nunca pensé que 6 años después, redescubriría la alegría en mi vida y me divertiría en mi recuperación.
Antes de unirme a SA, realizaba actividades con un objetivo enmascarado: encontrar o ser encontrada por un "marido potencial". Me estremezco cuando pienso en estas locas motivaciones. Mientras hacía el cuarto paso, mi madrina me preguntó si aceptaría la vida si nunca me casaba. Fue una pregunta muy dura y me vi justificando mi sueño de casarme algún día.
SA as an organization stays strong. We have face-to-face meetings in over 70 countries where newcomers can find recovery to change their lives. We also have hordes of online meetings, so that any of us can find a live meeting at any time of the day. We are indeed fulfilling our goal to “be there” whenever someone needs us.
The ongoing, ten-year Census of Sexaholics Anonymous is progressing. Regional Representatives are disseminating information on how to access and complete the Meeting Registration Form. Completed Meeting Registrations are being shared with members of the GDA (General Delegate Assembly) and other trusted servants every fifteen days. This feedback process assists all trusted servants in reaching out to areas that have not participated in the Census.
When I heard the 2022 EMER Regional Convention was going to be held in Armenia, I immediately asked at work to have two weeks off in October. I knew from the past how refreshing and strengthening conventions and after-convention fellowship are, and didn't want to miss the fun. It really exceeded my highest expectations!
When I first came to SA I did not know how fast to leave after the meeting. I did not want to be there. I did not believe it to be fun at all! That was more than 4 years ago. Since then a lot has changed. I frequently crack up before, after or even during a meeting. There are some real jokesters here in SA Amsterdam. Especially jokes about recovery or the struggles we are going through make me laugh. But it doesn't stop there.
This morning I was praying. During my prayer ritual I received a message from an SA fellow. He asked me to write an article for Essay on the topic of Fun in Recovery. It was surprising to me, because at that very moment I was thanking God for my friends and for the fun we have when we spend time together.
“If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t want it.” (AA 132) Such was my experience when I attended my first SA meeting in Manchester, UK, back in the winter of 2003. SA was still very new here, and there were very few members, hardly any of them sober. There was no welcome, no joy, no message of a positive and joyful sobriety. “And this is what SA is all about?”, I thought.
