I'm Lori and I am an alcoholic.

I was talking to a friend recently and he was saying how he felt so overloaded with AA "stuff," and that although he has been to meeting after meeting, talked to person after person, read lots and lots of AA literature, he feels confused about where to go with all of this. I understood that feeling because I had done it too. It's as if we are all learning to walk again when we first get sober, and we are advised what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. And then comes the time we just need to get out there, apply the principles, and give back what we have received. I told him that it appears his cup has run over, and now it's time to share some of the knowledge and experience he has gained. And I realized I needed to do that too. In just that experience and that conversation, I was helping. But I also gained insight into my own direction: If I keep filling my cup and not pouring some out (unselfishly), then it does me no good. I learn every time I help someone.

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