JUNE 1
A CHANGED OUTLOOK
Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
When I was drinking, my attitude was totally selfish, totally self-centered; my pleasure and my comfort came first. Now that I am sober, self-seeking has started to slip away. My whole attitude toward life and other people is changing. For me, the first “A” in our name stands for attitude. My attitude is changed by the second “A” in our name, which stands for action. By working the Steps, attending meetings, and carrying the message, I can be restored to sanity. Action is the magic word! With a positive, helpful attitude and regular A.A. action, I can stay sober and help others to achieve sobriety. My attitude now is that I am willing to go to any length to stay sober!June Birthdays… IF They Make It!
June 6th… Mark Q. celebrates 4 years
June 10th… Brian B. celebrates 10 years
June 16th… Jeremy R. celebrates 4 years
June 21st… Matt E. celebrates 9 years
June 22nd… Pat R. celebrates 4 years
June 24th… Mark W. celebrates 40 years
June 25th… Dan G. celebrates 2 years
If your birthday has been missed…. fill out the birthday form.
We really want to celebrate your AA anniversary because your birthday made ours possible!
Thanks everybody and apologies to you if you were missed or incorrectly noted.
First Wednesday… June 4th
Come join a review of Step 6 on June 4th (First Wednesday). “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”
John reviews the step corresponding to the number of that month on each first Wednesday. It’s a rewarding meeting with John outlining the step of the month, how he was challenged by it and how we tackle it ourselves, with and without success! Look for his monthly contribution in this edition!
Step Six Reflections
Oh Lord, won’tcha buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Joplin, Neurworth and McClure.
For some reason that song comes to mind when I think of Step six. I suppose the main reason is I did not think of myself as all that religious before studying the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The only time I pledged to turn myself, my thinking, and actions over to God or a higher Power was when I was sitting in some jail cell and bargaining with God or a Higher Power to get me out of said trouble and I would do anything .
I remember in Rehab, a counselor telling me, “Just let it all go, turn your life to God”. That did not seem possible. I had some legal issues going at the time. I considered it. I was being sued and I tried to settle. The Judge would not settle the case. It was a cash cow to the legal profession. It took a long time to get over.
If I did.
Over time, I did learn how to turn some things over to the care of God. My children and X wife were spoiled rotten long ago. I stopped fighting it.
I stopped lying, as best I could. Unconsciously I still apparently like to stretch a tale into a good story but… I dunno. Most importantly, I stopped lying to myself and accepted my fate as not being the smartest person in the room. ChatGPT and other programs like them I am convinced came from God so I could say> “According to these guys… “and when I was wrong I don’t say anything at all .
I have some friends from college, and we have this text thread that has an entry or two every day. The Subjects are usually sports, politics and food. I don’t usually discuss to have the last word… but sometimes I unnecessarily keep the discussion going because I know half of that group HAS to have the last word. Just a game I play and it helps with vocabulary.
I met this very wise man early in my present recovery. He told me the only Step I had to perfect was Step 1. The rest he said, I could work on. Such as it is with my Step 6.
Contributed by John M.
Step 6
“Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character”
The One Thing I Need To Know About Step 6:
Willingness is the Key
Step Summary
Let us start off with a really bold statement….
“All 12 Steps are important – but Six & Seven ARE the meat and substance of our program! We must have an extremely healthy and personal relationship with them, else we are likely to drink again.”
Let me ask you a question – have you ever been driving a car and saw a light come on your dashboard, have the car start spittering and sputtering, then die, then you coast over to the side of the road, put the car in park, get out and walk around to the front of the car, open the hood – and realize you have absolutely no friggin’ idea what to do with what you see in front of you?!?!?!?!
That was much the experience many members had when they finished their first official 5th Step and realized just exactly the mess that had been laid before them which they had built their whole entire lives upon. Up to the point that they’d walked through their 4th Step, they thought they’d lived fairly successful lives (one of the 100 forms of self-delusion). In walking through the inventory process, we uncover a plethora of shortcomings; faults and imperfections that we finally had to begin looking at that for years, had created the outline to our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and finally – our actions. What do we do with what we uncovered? Little did we know that a good hard look at, and a letting go of those things were going to eventually give us a life beyond our wildest dreams.
We were so ill-prepared and highly untrained to not only see, but understand how our pride, anger, greed, gluttony, lust, envy and sloth (our P.A.G.G.L.E.S.), all founded in fear (fear of not getting something we demand or of losing something we possess), were the components that kept leading us to the only solution that seemingly worked every time – alcohol.
The purpose of Step 6 is to become fully prepared to rid ourselves of the flaws we listed in Step 4, to become willing to let our Higher Power remove our defects, and to stop pursuing whatever our idea of perfection is. The sixth step is a call to perfection. It separates those who are working the program and those who drift through the program. “The difference between ‘the boys and the men’ is the difference between striving for a self determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God.” (“12 & 12,” p. 68).
Additional Suggested Reading: “The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety“
Myths About This Step
We can do this on our own. One of the biggest misconceptions about this Step is that we have the ability to become less of these things on our own. We do not have the skill set to become less of the flaws in our character that have caused our failure. It is way above our pay grade. We strengthen our faith in a Power greater than ourselves and allow God to remove them from us.
List of Defects / Assets
While this is by no means a complete list of defects of character, it is a great place to start for us to begin to see the things in our lives that have caused our failure.
From an idea by George T.
“Mouse’s Corner”
A.A. member Dave Mc. curates a few selected readings from a variety of A.A. related publications each month.
We thought “conditions” drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these conditions and found that we couldn’t do so to our entire satisfaction, our drinking went out of hand and we became alcoholics. It never ocurred to us that we needed to change ourselves to meet conditions, whatever they were.
As Bill sees it page 1
We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. All of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator, with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.
As Bill sees it page 91
Contributed by Dave Mc.
My First Meeting
Please be “of service.” If you’ve never contributed a “My First Meeting”, please help to keep this column going…we need you! What do you remember most of your first meeting? It can be one sentence; it can be up to two paragraphs. Could be funny, poignant or strictly “clinical”. Write what you want…you might have enjoy writing it!
Our Trusted Servants Continue to Be:
The current Step 2 Men’s Group meeting schedule is Monday, Wednesday & Friday at Tim’s (3809 J St), Tuesday & Thursday online, Saturday in the park is “Daily Reflections” and Sunday is our Rogue meeting in the park. Each gathering is one hour. Great job men!
- Monday: Tim C.
- Tuesday: Mark C.
- Wednesday: John M.
- Thursday: Sean F.
- Friday: Jon B.
- Saturday: Dave M.
- Sunday: Mark C.
Want to add your name to the “Back-up-Help-Substitute Secretary List”? Just contact Group GS, John M., Treasurer Mark W. or any of our other Secretaries and let them know!
Funny Pages
Step 2 Men’s Group Believes…
“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
We’d never presume that the 12 Steps are not clear. Nor would we imply that they need ‘improvement’. However…for purposes of assisting to keep the meeting pointed in an important direction each day, the “Step 2 Men’s Group Statement” is read as follows:
Step 2 Men’s Group is founded on the belief that spirituality is essential to our sobriety.
Our group is non-religious, but we do not oppose anyone’s religious beliefs. We believe that respect for others and their beliefs is essential to our spiritual development.
Accordingly we ask that avoid criticism of others or of their religion or lack of religion, their race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance, trade or profession, length of sobriety, or personal beliefs.
Our goal is to further our spirituality, our sobriety and our personal development, not to confront or belittle others. Always remember to be kind to others.
Extra Special Thanks Dept:
Thanks to our General Secretary John M. for “Step 6 Reflections”, Dave Mc. for “Mouse’s Corner”, Tom W for comics, and our Treasurer Mark W. for all your contributions. We’re still waiting for YOU gentle reader…Why don’t YOU contribute a short “something?” Any length, most any AA related topic. Reply now and it will get included next month!
Men’s Gazette – April 2025