Well it is New Year's Eve Day and it IS also the final hurrah for the year 2020 Holiday Season beginning with Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas and now to New Year's Eve.
Ah The Holidays and the stress and emotions that come part and parcel with them. We all can tell our tales thereof. Some of us have many challenging memories of holidays past.
Hopefully all of you reading these few words had a good holiday experience this year. At best year 2020 has been a challenge.
One year ago tomorrow, January the 1st, 2020, I wonder how many of you had ever in this lifetime heard the phrase .. 'Zoom Meetings'? I know for a fact that I sure had not. What a learning experience life is for us all! It never stops until we (literally) stop at the end of our lifetime. After experience dating back to March of this year, with many challenges along the way, I am a firm supporter of Zoom Meetings. For me the bottom line is : Zoom Meetings allow all of us to do 12th Step work and to carry the message of hope and recovery.
Speaking of the 12th Step, since it IS the 12th month of the year, at a Zoom Meeting a week or so ago, the topic was HOPE.
Back in January of 2017 I did a Post about this word HOPE.
http://aaphotoshere.blogspot.com/2017/01/
Hearing Other People's Experience can give us HOPE.
While listening to the sharing I came up with another acronym for the word HOPE. The emphasis being on the 12th step.
Helping Other People Excel is, in one way, the heart of 12th step work.
TO FEEL GOOD .. DO GOOD. When we help others Voila! WE feel good about ourselves and that is what the 12th step is all about. The Doctor's opinion in the Big Book tells us that .. "Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol." We drink to change how we feel. IF we feel good about ourselves by working the steps, we don't have to drink to change how we feel, do we?
My wife and I are going to stay home and enjoy a very quiet New Year's Eve tonight. More we can not wish for all of you.