Humour at my Home Group

Humour at my Home Group

I have just returned from the Friday night meeting of my home group, its what we call the 'biggie'. On average there are 100 of us there, different ages, different backgrounds and different personalities. We all share one common item, we are all alcoholics in different stages of recovery.

I always arrive early and mix with the other members of the group, chatting about how our week has gone, humorous stories are told, and around the meeting venue you can see everyone busy carrying the message of recovery.

Before I came into recovery I had drunk myself into a state of numbness, my life was at its end. My sense of humour had disappeared a long time back. I once was full of fun and laughter. I had nothing to laugh about anymore, I was sick and dying on the inside.

When I attended my first AA meeting 9 years ago, I remember seeing this happy crowd of alcoholics enjoying their recovery together. This to me added to the attraction to what they had. Put it this way: if I'd walked into a meeting that had grumpy unhappy people I would not have stayed for long.

At my home group last night we had 3 guys who shared for 10 minutes, and a girl who shared for 25 minutes. They all carried the message of recovery to the group, sponsorship, Steps, higher power, service. Any newcomer would have heard precisely how to recover. They would have also heard the whole group laughing together at some of the things said by our sharers.

A line that epitomises this for me from the chapter 'A Vision for You' is 'he succumbed to that gay crowd inside, who laughed at their own misfortunes and understood his.'

As alcoholics we absolutely insist on enjoying recovery, humour plays a big part in my life today. I had fallen into that way of laughing at other peoples' misfortunes, if someone told me a joke I wouldn't laugh even if it was funny. Today – with the spiritual awakening I have had as the result of taking the 12 steps with my sponsor – I am able to laugh with the world. I have my sense of humour back and am happier then I have ever been.

Andy P, Road To Recovery Group, Plymouth, Jan 2012