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How to Change

True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and each A.A. Meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity, if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.  -- TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33

In my case, first came humiliation. I was in agony over concious and unconcious choices I'd been making as a result of my drinking. Regrettably, on occasion, I would awaken to a face I barely recognized. I had the act of brazen false bravado down. My fragile ego required that I lie to myself. "Hell yes, I meant to go home with him!" instead of "Sweet Jesus, what have I done?"

By God's grace and thanks to Alcoholics Anonymous, I don't have to do that anymore. Upon arrival, I learned that I was alcoholic like everyone else in the room. I was humble enough and open-minded enough to hear the message in the room that night and found my Higher Power anew.  That night, my life started over again and each subsequent meeting after that was a reinforcement or a new lesson to help me down my path of recovery. .

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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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