Tuesday, February 6, 2007

My sponsor

Anyone who regularly goes to AA or Al-Anon meetings has heard about having a sponsor, someone who will work with you and guide you through the 12 steps. I think that it's a good idea to have a sponsor because they are not only your friend and confidante but have been in the program for a long time and have gathered a lot of wisdom over those years.

Yesterday when I was feeling down, I called my sponsor, A., and expressed how tired I felt. My sponsor thought that I needed to get to a meeting but I was just too beat to make the drive. I knew that it would have helped me to go but instead I just talked to A. for a while and got some good feedback.

I think that it's important to find a sponsor that you can relate to. A. is very similar to my personality and is thoughtful but not demanding. We have a friendship, and I always know who to call when I just want to feel some serenity. Maybe some people would want to have someone who dominated and was parental but that is far from what I like in a person. I want to listen and think about what A. says and then sift through to reach my own conclusions. I know that I don't want someone pushing or controlling me.

I am grateful to have someone to turn to who knows the path that I've been down and who knows how to get out of the mire of self-pity, resentment, and insanity.

2 comments:

  1. I agree! I'm still new in the program, but I'm finding my sponsor to be a wealth of information.

    I told him I was "picking his spirit" instead of picking his brain. :)

    T.K.
    My blog: http://www.sobertoday.org

    ReplyDelete
  2. T.K.
    Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you are in AA. You'll be happier than you can imagine if you stick with the program. Your sponsor and the steps will be a comfort.

    ReplyDelete

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