Alcoholics Anonymous – Why?

Everyone hearing the words, “Alcoholics Anonymous” will immediately have some preconceived connotation, on a scale of 0 – 10, of exactly what AA is (ranging from 0 – 10). So what, exactly, “IS” Alcoholics Anonymous, what does it do for anyone and “WHY” would a person go there?

The first imagine many people have of an AA meeting is that of a “gloomy and depressing” place where only “losers” go and nothing very positive happens. Some people even mistakenly believe it is a place where alcoholics go to learn “how to drink”. Others think it to be a place where certain questions can get answered like, “How did I get this”, “How do I get rid of it”, “How do I get my life back”, or “When can I stop coming here”?

The truth of the matter is that Alcoholics Anonymous is like so many other things in life, “it is simply whatever one wants to make of it”. In other words, an individual can put into AA very little or a great deal and in the end, that same person will probably realize either a very little, or a great deal.

Just like every church, school or hospital is not satisfactory to everybody, different AA groups seem to “fit” individuals differently. Sometimes a person simply needs to experiment with different groups before determining whether they actually “like” AA or not.

As for AA being a “gloomy” place? Well….. is it really the AA meeting or is it a time in ones life where the experiences are simply “depressing”? Wouldn’t this period of time be “gloomy” regardless of AA?

This examiner can never really “tell” anyone anything but can only relay their on personal experiences. Ten years ago, in 2001 when this examiner needed an AA group to attend, it just so happened he was living in a very rural place in Alabama where the nearest AA group was thirty minutes away by car. Events just happened to fall in such a way that a new AA group sprouted up in that location. Now, ten years later and moved on to a completely different life in ColumbiaSC, this small AA group has invited this examiner to be their guest speaker this coming Saturday evening celebrating their ten year anniversary. The absolute joy this honor brings is indescribable and could have never been anticipated. All I had to do was simply “Be There”.