Dear Grapevine

Light & hope    

I was so lonely when I finally made it to my first AA meeting in Philadelphia in October of 1983. I was 22 and so shot out that I was hearing music. I asked an old-timer if he heard the music too. I thought for sure he was going to say, “My young friend, you have more problems than what we can deal with here.” Instead, much to my surprise, he looked around the room and said, “Go sit next to Tommy. He thinks he sees things.” That was over 33 years ago. 

Gratefully, the only music I hear now is the laughter of my fellow home group members. Together, as a group, we recover. 

Although many of us have decades of recovery, we still look for the new member who is looking for a way out. Once a newcomer appears on our doorstep, we say, “Welcome, would you like to hang out with us? We’re all going to a water park and would love for you to join us!”

I believe we are given a flickering candle by our creator when we arrive in AA. My job is to find others holding those candles and stay close. Today, I stay close to my home group and join my fellow sober mates so our candles can become a huge flame, so the newcomer can see hope.