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A Host of Friends

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish,....To have a host of friends -- this is an experience you must not miss.   ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS P. 89

I'm so grateful to have read this early in my recovery. I needed reassurance that I wasn't going to miss out on life by giving up my old haunts and playmates. I wasn't focused on the "others" benefit, at the time, so much as "what was in it for me". Relinquishing, or more accurately, lessening my selfishness came later, after working the ninth step (a few times).

It was and is, a pleasure to watch others "get it" and embark on their own path to recovery. When they do that, they bolster my recovery and ensure the survival of our fellowship.

From my first days in the rooms, people told their stories and reached out to connect with me. There were many meetings, service positions, alano clubs, and sober activities. Lots of opportunities to watch the loneliness vanish. As a result of working the program to the best of my ability, and due to the passage of time staying sober, I have met many wonderful people.Some being lessons and some being blessings as they say. However, I collect vastly more blessings.

Who knew that years after getting sober I would be diagnosed with ALS (also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The day I found out I had this rare and deadly disease, I went to my host of friends and shared from the heart. They have been with me ever since. I never had the width or depth of friends in my friendship pool when I was a practicing alcoholic. Three years into this disease and I still have a host of friends. I'm only as lonely as I choose to be. I still enjoy reaching out to the newcomer, and I'm doubly grateful that I did not miss the experience.

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Location: University of Washington Medical Center, University of Washington, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

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