A Step Toward Healing at the Bogotá Conference On December 14–15, 2024, Bogotá, Colombia hosted SA members under the inspiring slogan: “Recovering Together, Men and Women in SA.” The event brought together 39 participants—31 men and 8 women—united in their journey of recovery.
A Fun Take on the Business of Local Meetings If you’ve attended any business meetings at your local home group, you know they can be pretty dull and uninteresting as a few restless addicts monotonously dot all the I’s, cross all the T’s, and measure out the red tape. Sometimes, this can be downright annoying and frustrating as members debate unimportant nuances of every motion or haggle over whether a surplus of $9 should be spent on tea or cookies.
How lightheartedness and a little perspective can turn self-pity into self-awareness. A few days ago, one of my friends came up to me with good news. “I have a boyfriend!” she said. I was so happy for her. Then it struck me—I was (and still am) the only single girl among my various groups of friends.
Hi, I’m Eugene K., a sexaholic. I’m 22 years old and came to SA in September 2024. When I saw the theme about Rule 62 (don’t take yourself too seriously), it reminded me of how I found my SA sponsor. Back when I was new, I had my eye on this one guy I thought would be a great sponsor. He’d been in the newcomers’ breakout meeting, and I thought, “This is the guy.” A few meetings later, I finally decided I should probably get a sponsor, so I started looking for him after the meeting.
Seeing My Part Without Taking Blame Step Four was eye-opening for me. It was also hard to look at, written on paper, what I had done and who I was. I just didn’t want to be that person anymore.
Overcoming Addiction and Betrayal to Rebuild Love, Trust, and Purpose. When I attended my first SA meeting in May 2021, I was totally immersed in lust and had already lost almost everything.
Higher Power’s guidance in both struggle and service. Step into Action (p. 67) tells us that “There are many good ways to do a Fourth Step inventory.” It recommends listing and describing our resentments, fears, and the selfish nature of our sexual behavior, but it also mentions identifying our positive attributes and recognizing what “God would have us be.” This can also be found in our personal history of other, more positive, behaviors—especially in actions that stand in direct contrast to our defects, like opposite ends of a pendulum’s swing.
How the Steps, Higher Power, and the Fellowship helped this member find his path to recovery, one day at a time. Tonight, a tragic plane crash dominates every news network. The world is in shock. Why? Because plane crashes are rare—they don’t happen often, so when they do, it’s overwhelming.
Finding Strength in Higher Power and Self-Discovery My name is Aaron M., and I’m a lust addict. One of the biggest parts of self-discovery in my recovery is the vast gulf that exists between who I am when I’m practicing sobriety and who I am when I’m in active addiction. They’re almost (but not quite!) two different people, with their own personalities and motivations. My sober self goes completely out the window whenever I take that first lust drink and the “other guy” kicks in.
Making recovery artwork helps my own recovery. This piece represents the journey of recovery as described in the Big Book. The figure in the center symbolizes a recovered individual with his own unique light and color. As each recovered member crosses through the gate of freedom, he carries his own colorful light, contributing to the collective glow of our souls.
