from A State of Grace
CARRYING THE MESSAGE
[The] “carrying the message” principle of the Twelfth Step of recovery insures that lonely sex and love addicts, desperate for recovery... will have the opportunity to find that special friendship and fellowship with others which is so vital — so life-giving. — SLAA Basic Text, Page viii
I always thought carrying the message meant doing the lead share in a meeting. But it’s based on the beginnings of AA when the founders went to the hospital or friends of friends and talked one on one to the alcoholic. I’m carrying the message when I sit quietly in my home group each week and do my treasurer commitment. When I live my recovery, and stay sober, people can see that the Program works. Sharing experience, strength, and hope comes in many forms: Talking with sponsees, showing the people close to us how we have changed, being quiet when another member is sharing, being kind, having the strength to get through hard times, etc. There are many ways to help the newcomer. I can’t count how many times that life threw me a curveball and I met with a sponsee or went to a meeting anyway and was so grateful for the strength I pulled from those interactions. Contact with another SLAA member and the reminders of our addiction that carrying the message brings, have taken me out of my depression countless times.
I will do my best to live my recovery and carry the message today.
From Answers in the Heart
There’s always an easy solution to every human problem — neat, plausible and wrong.
— H. L. Mencken
How can I recover from my addiction? What must I do to get well? These are the basic questions we ask ourselves as we struggle with our illness.
The questions are obvious, once we have taken the time to really think about what is going on in our lives. And the answers are just as simple — stop acting out, keep working the program.
But it’s not enough just to come to meetings and put in time. Easy solutions may seem plausible, but just mouthing the words isn’t going to do the job. We have been sick people, very sick at times, and we are going to need to struggle sometimes to see things straight again, to get back on course. The route is charted by our program and we have good counselors and friends as guides. But when all is said and done, we have to make the choice to accept the answers and help that will bring us renewal and health.
I know the way forward to health isn’t easy, but I have confidence in myself and in the program. I will come through.
Daily Meditation Books
Answers in the Heart - daily meditations for people recovering from sex addiction
Touchstones - daily meditations for recovering men A State of Grace - daily meditations by SLAA members
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