Service

Since my first days in AA, I have heard about service work. It's one of the 3 arms of the AA logo. Recovering alcoholics told me it would be a necessity for me. I needed to help others in order for me to remain sober. "Carry the message," they said. They told me I might be able to stop drinking, but I would never realize the full benefits of sobriety unless I helped others.

My experience has thus far shown this to be the truth. I am fortunate enough to be a member of a large recovery center in a large city. We have about 150 paying members with another 500-600 people in recovery coming through the doors each week. The center currently is landlord to 45 AA, Al-Anon and CMA groups each week. There are monthly fundraisers and other activities to keep us all busy.

If we want to.

Many choose not to, unfortunately.

As a retired person, I have the time to be active at Lambda Center. Besides being on the Board of Directors, I am a member of the Fundraising Committee. I create a quarterly newsletter and print flyers and announcements. I go to many meetings each week and share my experience, strength and hope when asked (and sometimes not when asked). I have one sponsee now and have had a few others in the past. I have participated in meetings at homes of people who could not come to the center due to health problems. I welcome recovering friends into my home for coffee and chat.

I do these things to keep my mind and my time occupied. Otherwise, I know that I can and probably will be back in the bars. So, when looked at in that way, I do these things selfishly. But as a result of the things I do, hopefully someone else can benefit in some small way.

It saddens me when I see people relapse. A large percentage of those who relapse, or slip, do very little or no service work. They provide me with a window into how this program does not work. For that I am grateful.

For as long as I am willing and able, I will continue to do the things I'm doing. It works for me. It's worked for many thousands before me.

And it helps to keep my insane mind from taking control of me.