Carrying The Message
The following article talks about a recovering drug addict who has dedicated his life to helping others that struggle with addiction. The principle of one addict helping another addict is part of the 12 Step Recovery approach that we use at Gatehouse Academy. This is because carrying the message of recovery is as equally beneficial to the person carrying it as it is to the person receiving it.
Probation officer Mike Carley said, “It’s absolutely fantastic for me to see somebody who’s been through the mill with drugs coming out the other end and doing something really positive like this.
November 15th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Addicts spend so much of our lives consumed by self, it is no surprise that when we get sober we have to do a 180 and get tapped into service work. Carrying the message to other alcholics, both in recovery and still using, is the cornerstone to my program. With Gatehouse being a long term facility the residents really get to put this into practice during their stay. Learning to incorporate service work into their programs so early on really ensures that they are heading down the right path.
Reading stories like Hugh’s remind me of what a large piece this is to maintain contented long-term sobriety.
December 8th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
The Big Book of AA states, “PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE shows that nothing will so much insure immunity form drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.(p.89)” This is why I continue to help others work the steps and find a solution. For a long time I was fearful about the program’s 12th step because I thought I was too young and too inexperienced to help another alcoholic achieve sobriety. After gathering up some courage and faith, I leapt into unknown territory and gave it a shot. The reward of seeing another alocoholic “get it” is indescribable. It is the most uplifting feeling ever, and I hope everyone gets the opportunity to experience it.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:15 am
AA states that if we want to keep it, we must give it away. This I believe holds true in my own experience in recovery. I came to these rooms a total mess. Fellow AA’s selflessly gave to me their experience strenght and hope and expected nothing in return. Now that I am in a place in my own recovery where i have some experience I give freely of what was given to me. I do this to help others but to also help myself stay sober one day at a time.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:39 am
I often wondered what the purpose of my life was besides what I learned the cowboy environment that I grew up in, and in finding recovery and people that believed in me told me that I had the ability to help others. That became the secret in helping myself and to try to be an example for others. There is no better feeling than knowing that we all have the ability to help someone else make change for the good.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
For years I tried different schools, different majors in college and different jobs trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life. I could never find exactly the right thing. After completing the Gatehouse program and working here, I realized that I had found what was missing in all those other things. I had no idea how rewarding it would be to help others find a new way to life.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Carrying the Message is what keeps me sober today. I have been given a gold mine for which I can kept if I give it away. It is the bright spot of my life. I get to see guys recover from a hopeless state of body and mind. Its the good I can do in this world. I cant prevent the rain forrest from being destroyed or stop world hunger but I can show someone else How to stay sober one day at a time.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
It is wonderful to look in the mirror and say “I’m going to be okay.” Believing in myself and knowing that it wil be okay. Understanding individuals and leading by example.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Carrying the message is essential today and in my life of a program of recovery. I feel no one can understand the alcoholic or addict better than one who has been there and found a new way to live.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I get so much back from working with people helping them recovery. My self will wanted to be famous in the movies driving nice cars living in big houses. God had another plan for me. He got me down to right size through a series of unfortunate, which now are fortunate, events. Thank god for all those hard times or else I would not be the man I am today.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
What is the message? What message is there to carry? Well, the message is just this, that there is hope at the end of tunnel. That Alcoholic’s Anonymous is here for you, when and if you decide to make a decision and take the necessary action to stop drinking and using. It is easy to say what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now, but to say it with depth and weight is what makes us alcoholic’s so special. To relate to another struggling alcoholic, who is in dire need of someone who can help, or at the least inspire, is what carrying the message is all about. They say that you have to give it away to keep it and that is my aim in life today. If it were not for the person who carried the message on to me I would not be where I am today. I was very fortunate to have had this person in my life when they were because it was just what I needed to get my life back on track. Then again, it is only wise to practice what you preach. It is said that you cannot give away something you haven’t got. I believe this to be true. This is why I continue to work the program as best I can and it has been working because I have been working it.
December 10th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
The 12th step is really what keeps me going on a daily basis, giving back what was so freely givin to me is why i choose to work here at Gatehouse, it has been a lesson and life experience that i wouldnt trade for anything, i remember about 27 months into my recovery life i was sitting outside a bar wanting to drink and the only thing that got my head back straight was reaching out to another drunk and passing on the message of recovery, through this i heard what i needed to to stay sober
December 10th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Giving away what i have been given is an essential part of my life today. I always wanted to help but never could before because of my addiction(s). I’m grateful for the oppurtunity today to be able to help people out in the same way others helped me.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
I have been in recovery from Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Codependency for over 26 years and have been in the wonderful position of sponsoring many women in working the 12 Steps of recovery. This experience has definitely move me along my spiritual path. Carrying the message is really a very self-interested thing to do. We always gain from passing on what we have received.
Recovery coaching is an additional venue for people in a recovery process to access real-time support.
I have also seen wonderful progress working as a Recovery and Life Coach. It’s another way to give back in a more formal way. While very different from sponsorship, Coaching works well to enhance communications, sobriety, relationships and goal setting.
Recovery is an eclectic prospect. As an old friend says, “We never know who Higher Power will be dressed up as today”
Addiction is not cured by the treatment process. Treatment provides the missing information and structure that can propel an addict/alcoholic into another dimension of living never dreamed of. I am grateful for the people that went before me to pave the path with wisdom, failures and successes.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Nothing keeps me sober like working with another alcoholic. No matter what’s going on in my world, carrying the message puts everything in perspective. There are so many of us who are alive and shouldn’t be . . .
December 12th, 2007 at 11:31 am
I love that quote from the article:
“I can’t remember what they were but they weren’t aspirin”.
My using was like that too.
I really love working in the recovery field. Keeps me on my toes and gets me out of myself.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I never believed that I could get sober and live a productive life. I thought I would just eventually die with drugs and alcohol by my side. When I first came into these rooms I saw alot of smiling faces, I thought to myself “How is it possible if these people are like me for them to be happy with out drugs and alcohol?”. During the first few months of my early recovery i discovered that these people had found fellowship and had found out that they didn’t have to be alone in their struggles. That whatever problems they may currently be facing have been faced and solved by those who came before them in this program. And that’s what I found, that I was not alone, that I really wasn’t that different, that those who have come before me in this program have encountered all the same problems that I have and that they are more than willing to help me with them. Today I try to return the favor that I was given when i first came into these rooms and provide help for those that are new to these struggles.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:07 am
“It is the great paradox of A.A. that we know we can seldom keep the precious gift of sobriety unless we give it away.” Twelve and Twelve page 151.
Carrying the message is the spirit of the program. When I turn my self to help another suffering alcoholic I find the volume on my own problems gets turned down, and I see the value that my personal experiences hold for someone else. After all, when I was active in my disease, thinking about me and my own problems never really worked, since they stem from just that, ALWAYS thinking about myself ALL THE TIME; selfishness and self-centeredness ARE my problems. It’s a great feeling to have something worthwhile enough to pass on to someone else. I also believe it is the natural course of action if someone has had that complete personality change that is sufficient enough to help them recover from alcoholism. I can honestly say that seeing the lights turn on in someone else and seeing them “all lit up”, showing someone else how to have that experience is one of the best, maybe the best feeling I know.
December 13th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Early on my sponsor reminded me that when I am carrying the message to another alcoholic, I need him as much as he needs me. He may not make it this time, but by humbly giving of myself without pretense and on equal footing, the spiritual message of AA is communicated in ways that words fall short of describing. The hope that God uses me to plant a seed in others was all I needed to get through the discouraging times when watching chronic relapsers go back to insanity.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Twenty-three years ago, two men took the time to carry the AA message to me. I still practice what these men taught me. Every day I try to pass on what they gave to me so freely. It is the least I can do for the many gifts I have received by being in recovery.
January 8th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I believe that it is so important for people that are in recovery to share thier stories. You might think nobody is listening, but one day your story could change someone else’s life. I love the inspiration here at gatehouse. It is an amazing place for a young person to be able to come to. The employees carry the message to help these young adults get through thier first year of recovery.
January 18th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
For me carrying the message, that was so freely given to me, is one of the most important parts of my sobriety. Not only am I helping someone out but I am also reinforcing my own sobriety. I have had a really good chance to put this into my program here at Gatehouse. Carrying the message to other alcoholics has helped me so much with my program, that it is an essential part of my program.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
So theres this riddle that through my expirience in AA I have come to understand and love. I feel it truly applies to this topic so HERE WE GO:
This guy is walking down the beach, and as cliche as it sounds he trips and falls over a lantern. Surprised and curious the man picks it up, and begins to dust the sand off to see what sort of hidden treasure he’s found. And…BOOM! A genie appears, and says “Alright bud, you’ve got one wish and one wish only. What do you desire?” The man replies that he wishes to see the difference between heaven and hell. So POOF! Suddenly the man is in hell, and before him are millions of people sitting at a table filled with delicious looking food. However, in order to eat the people must eat with 5 foot long chop sticks. Each person is struggling for food, fighting, and basically leaves starving and even more miserable. “Ok, now lets see heaven.” says the guy. And BANG! Suddenly he’s in heaven, and its pretty much the same deal. Millions of people sitting in front of a dinner table with the most amazing dinner in front of them. Here they are also forced to eat with 5 foot long chop sticks but each person leaves stuffed and serene. Smiling the guy is transported back to the beach, and continues along his walk.
So the riddle is: Whats the difference between heaven and hell?
Ready for the answer?
Sure?
Ok: The difference between heaven and hell, is that in heaven people are feeding each other. This is the best way I can describe the feeling I get when carrying the message. If I help someone else, I help myself. Its hard to explain but the best way to explain it is simply that I get a feeling of self-worth. I realize that I have something to offer, a purpose if you will. And for me thats huge, for I’ve spent my life singing along to songs I never had enough courage to write. Totally insecure, felt alone, and for lack of a better word, like a piece of shit.
So carrying the message = Totally Righteous!