EVERYONE NEEDS A PROGRAM

I wish everyone had a program like AA where they could share in meetings where the purpose is solely this and the others don’t judge. Unfortunately most people don’t. So instead they foist their opinions on other innocent bystanders who may or may not want to hear what they have to say. Many of the opinions I hear make absolutely no difference to me—and are things I’d actually rather not hear at all. But this doesn’t stop people from telling me, so I have to listen.

I’d like it to be a law that what one person can tell another must be done by permission only. Before speaking a person should be required to gain the consent of the listener. It should probably be done in writing so there will be no doubt after the fact.

Or maybe I just need to tell people to shut up more often; to stop being so god-awful polite and pretending that I care when sometimes I don’t!

The thing I like about AA is that the things that are said—usually, not always—are of consequence. The reason for this is most people are sharing their feelings about life and death circumstances. They come to meetings because they are trying to heal themselves and at the same time, share their experience, strength and hope with everyone there. It is an amazing process that almost always energizes and enriches.

Carl Jung actually called AA the most significant movement in the 20th Century. I certainly agree. I only wish it somehow could reach others that are not necessarily alcoholics but are in just as much need of a program of recovery.