AL ANON: I BELIEVE

     I did not want to go!  I've been feeling poorly ever since Park threatened me, and I had that terrible reaction to his words, which almost sent me packing for the great green pastures in the skies. I'm not kidding, it was that serious! At least - it seemed so. So, today I decided to take it easy. I already skipped going to Kaiser for my weekly weigh in. Today I wanted to just stay home and watch TV or play Scrabble with unknown to me, but dreadfully skillful internet partners. 
     I was in no hurry, therefore, to make dinner and get ready to leave for the Al Anon meeting. The phone rang. I was glad to hear friend's, Doris' Yorkshire accent: "Are you going to the meeting? I hope so, because Teresa [another lady friend] is sick, and I don't want to drive alone!"
     Like I said, going there was the last thing that I wanted to do. I gave her all my reasons, but Doris was not to be deterred: "That means that you should go! Come on, you'll feel better, once you unburden yourself!"
     To make the long story short, - I went. By the time we pulled up to the Burger King, where the meeting was going to take place, I already felt steadier. As we sat around the circle and people shared about the Third Tradition of Al Anon, which is: 
     The relatives of alcoholics, when gathered together for mutual aid, may call themselves an Al-Anon Family Group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend, (by the way, people who go to Al Anon meetings are not all relatives or friends of alcoholics. Substitute any dysfunction for alcoholism, and you can be sure to find peace and recovery in Al Anon).
      I also looked through a book left on a table. It fell open on a page that was not about the Third Tradition, but spoke to me in another, very distinctive, way. It said that, although there are many terrible things that we go through in life, the world also has much beauty and wisdom to share. I remember one sentence in particular: "The water in a quiet pond is not concerned about the turbulence it encountered two miles away."

     What does it have to do with anything that I experienced? Even though I didn't realize it when I started to share the page with the group, it talked to me of the necessity to worry about the present day, and not past problems! One day at a time - this is the motto of Al Anon and AAA. One day at a time, one step at a time - we can recover from the traumas of the past and become healthier individuals. Do you believe me? More importantly: do I believe it myself? Yes, I do!