Isn’t it ironic: in our disease, we had no choice but to act out; we simply had to; but in recovery, our hearts change and we have no choice but to reach out—we simply have to. Everyone who gets sober, who begins to experience the fruits of recovery wants, as a natural consequence, to help others get sober, especially newcomers.
Most people take vacation during the months of July and August. Some take short city breaks; others go for lazy beach holidays; still others prefer weeks of hiking and trekking. Of course, people travel for a whole variety of reasons and at any time of the year—work, to visit family and friends, for religious or other personal reasons.
In this month’s issue, members share the miracles of their recovery, enjoying freedom from the toxic power of lust by the humble working of this program. A Ukrainian lady shares how sobriety helped her to overcome crippling defects of character.
Many of us first experienced the joy of service in early recovery when we started giving back to our home group—turning up on time, sharing respectfully and honestly, helping set up the room and welcoming newcomers.
“Fun in Recovery”—it sounded most unrealistic at first. But we kept coming back and over time, we developed a liking for meetings and for connection with other members. By working our program we came to see the positives in every situation and even started to enjoy life’s rainy days. We, who used to be habitual moaners, now actively looked about us for reasons to be cheerful and grateful.
A good deal of us came in through professionals of various kinds, whether they were therapists, helpline workers, psychiatrists, life coaches, or clergy members. The AA Big Book gives a clear recommendation not to disregard human health measures: “God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists, and practitioners of various kinds.
The Slogans are snippets of wisdom designed to be short and memorable enough to lodge in our forgetful and stubborn minds as we trudge the road of recovery.
I recently listened to a recording where Mike C. talked about the gift of recovery and what it looks like now. It was powerful to hear him share some of the things he had been able to do since getting sober that he would never have been able to do before. It was beautiful.
The road of our recovery started when a more experienced member accepted entry into a very special relationship with us: the relationship of one reco- vering sexaholic helping another recovering sexaholic. We can’t make it on our own.
I am happy to have Essay magazine feature the work of the SA Correctional Facilities Committee (CFC) in this February 2022 issue. It is by the hard work of many SA members that this program has been so successful over the past ten years.
