DEAR FELLOW AL-ANON MEMBERS:
Starting in November 2022, the World Service Organization (WSO) is providing content to Al-Anon Areas that will be suitable for posting on Area Al-Anon websites and including in either print or digital newsletters for the upcoming month. What better way to share this information with our Michigan members than adding this under our Literature Spotlight section!
The content will consist of the following:
Taking a Beauty Break
“I stop whatever I’m doing at sunset to sit with my husband and talk.”
I’ve learned so much about how to apply Al‑Anon’s tools and spiritual principles by listening to members share their experience, strength, and hope at meetings. I’ve also encountered lessons in unexpected places.
While hiking through the Grand Canyon a few years ago, I stopped at a ranger station to refill my water and read some flyers with hiking tips. One of them recommended that hikers rest for ten minutes every hour and elevate their feet to clear the lactic acid buildup in their legs. The flyer said most hikers don’t do that because they’re afraid it will slow them down. But, in fact, those who do make better time because they hike with renewed strength and energy.
When I read this, I thought of the slogan “Easy Does It.” I had been in Al‑Anon for some time at that point, but I hadn’t paid much attention to that slogan. Being gentle with myself was a foreign concept. I always pushed myself to finish everything that needed to be done before sitting down at the end of the day.
But a few days after my Grand Canyon hike, I looked out the window while washing dishes and saw my husband watching the sunset. Instead of feeling envious or resentful, I decided to follow his example and practice “Easy Does It.” I took a break from the dishes and joined him. The sunset that evening was magnificent, but our conversation was even better.
Previously, by the time I finished all the household chores and finally sat down, my husband would have been watching TV and not feeling very talkative. I realized I’d been missing more than sunsets. I had been missing a daily opportunity to connect. Since then, I’ve made it a point to practice “Easy Does It.” I stop whatever I’m doing at sunset to sit with my husband and talk. I’ve also learned to take breaks at other times rather than running myself ragged. It’s made my life more enjoyable.
Likewise, practicing “First Things First,” I found that everything that needs to get done usually does. The things that don’t are generally not that important. They certainly aren’t as important as the awe I feel when I stop to marvel at the beauty of my Higher Power’s creation or the increased intimacy that has come from spending more quality time with the man I love.
By Kathy M., Arizona
Feel free to reprint this article on your service arm website or newsletter, along with this credit line: Reprinted with permission of The Forum, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.
Connecting around the World
“Living on different continents is not even an obstacle anymore!”
Three years ago, as March 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic roared in with a vengeance, my beloved Al‑Anon meetings were threatened. Soon, I learned about an electronic platform that enabled face-to-face meetings via my computer. I looked up the Al‑Anon website for my Area and found some local groups that were meeting electronically. I attended some of these meetings and saw some familiar faces that I had not seen in years.
Along the way, I heard about a group in London, England, that was meeting online. I had spent some time in England as a child and was intrigued, so, through the magic of technology, I visited. The group was welcoming, and friendships began to flourish.
Before long, I embarked on a Step study with 12 other women—American, British, German, and Dutch. I was amazed at how deep and vulnerable we all got during this Step study. We became as involved in each other’s lives as I was with my Al‑Anon friends here in my hometown. When my new friends or their parents fell ill, we used an app to call and comfort each other. We joked about each other’s accents.
Two years into these friendships, one of my British friends made the trip to New York City and then down to the Carolinas where I live! The tears flowed for a solid week—happy tears, loving tears. During her visit, I was struck by how universal Al‑Anon is, and I am filled with gratitude for our precious program. We all speak the same Al‑Anon language, just with different accents. I belong in my London group, and they belong in my home group as well as in other meetings here in the United States. Living on different continents is not even an obstacle anymore! We all belong to this wonderful family of our choosing. This experience has proven to me that Al‑Anon is indeed a worldwide fellowship.
By Lynda S., North Carolina
Feel free to reprint this article on your service arm website or newsletter, along with this credit line: Reprinted with permission of The Forum, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.
Building My Castle on High Ground
“I can watch the sandcastles go up and the waves come in from a distance.”
The main drinker in my life has many wonderful attributes. One evening when he was drunk, however, he picked a meaningless argument with me that was useless and destructive. I used the tool of detachment that I learned in Al‑Anon and quietly got up and walked into another room. As I walked away, he called out to remind me of all the caring and kind things he had done for me the past week.
It was true. He had done many nice things for me and our family that week. He was also capable of becoming irrational and belligerent with the help of alcohol. I could feel all the nice things wash away with his drunkenness that night. It was like I had built a beautiful sandcastle on the beach—each tower and moat constructed from his kind deeds, thoughtful gestures, and responsible actions—only to have it wash away when the inevitable drunken tide came in. How easy it used to be for me to put all my effort into building and believing in sandcastles, only to be devastated when they were predictably destroyed by the alcoholic tide.
After six years in Al‑Anon, I am learning to build my castle on high ground. The foundation and structure I build by going to meetings, working the Steps, talking to my Sponsor, sponsoring others, and engaging in service give me stability and resilience. I can watch the sandcastles go up and the waves come in from a distance, knowing that whatever happens with the tides of alcoholism, I am in a structure that can never be washed away, built with the help of my Higher Power and the support of a loving fellowship.
By Kelly M., Utah
Feel free to reprint this article on your service arm website or newsletter, along with this credit line: Reprinted with permission of The Forum, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.
New Topic for the Member Blog
June’s topic is, “Share your experience, strength, and hope about attending electronic meetings.”
As always, you can also write about Al‑Anon’s three Legacies. This month features Step Six, Tradition Six, and Concept Six.
Please share with us at al-anon.org/member-blog
Sharings on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
New topics are being added each month!
You may explore Al-Anon's Conference Approved Literature (CAL) at the World Service Office (WSO) website and/or order CAL from a Literature Distribution Center (LDC) such as those listed below.
Detroit Metro Literature Distribution Center
(313) 242-0300
Lansing Area (Central Michigan)
(517) 484-1977
Oakland Literature Distribution Center
(248) 706-1020
Michigan Thumb Area
(989) 912-5478
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