It has been a while since I have been here and a lot has happened.
I have broken up with my three year, very angry, partner and am on my own.
I decided to do the facilitators course at SMART recovery and am two days away from finishing it. It has been a case of "if you would truly know something, teach it!" I have learnt a huge amount from the material - particularly "motivational interviewing" and the insights it has broke to me about myself.
In particular, NO-ONE wants to be told! Everyone wants to be acknowledged as an individual and a person.
There are people I LOVE in AA.
I spent Xmas day, Xmas dinner, at an AA function with about 70 people - SMART Recovery had no such thing. I spent Xmas day with my mate from AA, Desmond.
However, I see a lot of 10 and 20 year AA people who are not well in themselves and who struggle as people.
Perhaps the fault is not AA - perhaps it is humanness.
AA helped me get myself Sober. It gave me the regular meetings and some people who cared about me to get my life back on track.
SMART Recovery has given me my sense of self back. Purpose and direction.
I believe that the combination of the two is essential for the beginning of total wellbeing.
Oh, there are people in SMART Recovery who are stuck and who struggle.
I would love all people in and out of AA and SMART Recovery to be at peace and live self-determining, full lives.
That's good to hear that you've taken up the SMART facilitators course and that it is giving you a deeper understanding of the system - I hope that also means that it is working even more effectively for you. I definitely agree with you that it doesn't have to be cut and dried, one system only. Sometimes the first system allows the potential in us to grow, and make us more agreeable to considering the second (or subsequent ones). I read through that pdf you sent, with a day's reading relating to the big book or some other associated reading, but didn't get too much out of it myself. Too much on the spiritual for me, but there were a few sections that resonated. I hope it was valuable for you mate.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to this (audio books that aren't fiction don't do it for me) but I thought of you when I found it stumbling round the net http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guQI7Ieek_Q it's the full audiobook of think and grow rich. If you go to snipmp3.com and put in that address, it'll let you save it to your computer which you can then stick on an mp3 player, phone, CD, etc.
Great to see you're making progress mate, and I hope 2014 and beyond is even better for you
Ta very much Snellopy :)
DeleteThe further I get along in the process, the more I find what you say is true.
I needed the first lesson to be open to and learn the second lesson.
"What got me here, won't get me there!" LOL
All the best to you too mate and I trust you are going really well :)