Akron InterGroup News August 2021 75¢ Honesty ⬧ Purity ⬧ Unselfishness ⬧ Love Volume 68 Publishing Since November 1954 Issue 10 Serving Holmes, Medina, Portage, Summit, Wayne Counties Why? Step Eight Keep The Focus, Jeff A. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to George Orwell said ‘Happiness can exist only in acceptance’. Michael J. Fox said make amends to ‘Acceptance does not mean resignation. It means understanding that something is them all. what it is and there has to be a way through it. My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations.’ We in AA have always known this. Step one is acceptance for a reason. Until we accept that we have no power over alcohol, we can make no progress. I have seen so Tradition Eight many people try and skip step one and then say AA didn’t work for them. We Alcoholics would be like the guy who walked into a bar and Anonymous should ordered two shots. He poured the first on the floor “At some point we remain forever and drank the second. The bar tender asked him have to stop asking nonprofessional, but what he was doing and the guy said he had learned why am I an our service centers in AA never to take the first drink. He never alcoholic or why do may employ special accepted what it means to understand that the first I need all 12 steps workers. drink meant any drink. He continued to ask why. or why do I need to Many of us who have had children know the why accept life on life’s Concept Eight game. I vividly remember lying on my back on the basement floor trying to fix a water softener while terms and accept The trustees are the my five year old daughter quizzed me on how a that life just is and principal planners and water softener worked … It went on for a while administrators of overall get on with it. “ policy and finance. They because I’m a patient father but by the time I got to have custodial oversight of the ionization ratios of salt, I was looking for some acceptance. At some point we the separately incorporated have to stop asking why am I an alcoholic or why do I need all 12 steps or why do I and constantly active need to accept life on life’s terms and accept that life just is and get on with it. In services, exercising this the serenity prayer we’re asked to accept the things we cannot change and through their ability to elect without that acceptance there can be no serenity. For me, acceptance has been all the directors of these one of the hardest lesson to learn but when I did, it was a life changing event. entities. (Continued on page 3) From the IGNews Committee... Inside This Issue Welcome to your August IGNewsletter! We have Article—Why ........................... 3 Article—Acceptance ................ 4 an exciting collection of articles and Article– Why We ...................... 5 announcements for you this month. Article— We Must ................... 6 Hopefully you have had a great summer and Article- Step Eight………………….7 Council Minutes ....................... 8 enjoyed some sober, holiday fun! Kid will soon be Council Minutes Cont. ............. 9 going back to school and the old routine is about Council Minutes Cont. ............. 10 to pick up again. So give yourself a break to sit Sober Fun ................................. 11 Announcements ...................... 12 back and relax with this newest edition of the Information .............................. 13 IGNEWS Group Donations ..................... 14 Yours in service, Calendar ................................... 15 Subscription Form.................... 16 IGNEWS COMMITTEE Akron InterGroup News 775 N Main St Akron, OH 44310 330-253-8181❖ Fax: 330-253-8292 ❖Toll Free in NE Ohio: 800-897-6737 Website: www.akronaa.org ❖Email: [email protected] Akron IGNews is a monthly newsletter of the Akron Area Intergroup Council of Alcoholics Anonymous. First publication was November, 1954. It is about, by and for the members of the Fellowship of AA. Opinions expressed herein are NOT to be attributed to AA as a whole, nor does publication of information imply any endorsement by either AA or the Akron Intergroup Council. Quotations and artwork from AA literature are reprinted with permission from AA World Service, Inc. and/or The AA Grapevine, Inc. Contributions from our readers are encouraged! Submissions are edited for space and clarity ONLY. Contact information is required and anonymity is respected. In keeping with our goal of being self-supporting, your subscription is appreciated. Akron InterGroup News publication. At times, the committee must walk a tightrope in making decisions on what is printed and what is not. As a general guideline, any letter or article Statement of Purpose that is of interest to members of AA and in good taste, is worthy of publication. However, an article or letter that advocates ignoring or violating the Traditions, The Akron InterGroup News, as a standing committee of the Akron Intergroup Concepts or General Service Conference actions will not be considered for Council of Alcoholics Anonymous, is bound by the Twelve Traditions and the publication. Our Higher Power guides us through our Group conscience. Twelve Concepts. Our primary purpose is the same as any AA group: to carry the AA message to the still suffering alcoholic. Our secondary purpose is to keep “No AA group or member should ever, in such a way as to implicate AA, the Akron Intergroup area of Holmes, Medina, Portage, Summit & Wayne express any opinion on outside controversial issues particularly those of counties informed as to events, meeting changes, Council decisions, and other politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion. The Alcoholics Anonymous news of interest to AAs in the Akron area. groups oppose no one. Concerning such matters they can express no views As a newsletter and voice of and for the AA community, we have an additional whatsoever.” purpose. We provide a forum for the broad spectrum of views held by our — Tradition Ten, Long Form members. A controversial subject, as long as it does not concern an out-side issue and involves principles and not personalities, will be considered for © Akron InterGroup News. We grant any AA publication permission to reprint articles from the Akron InterGroup News with the following attribution: © Akron InterGroup News; Month, Year Akron InterGroup News - 2 - August, 2021 (Continued from page 1) Why is it life changing? Because it has taken away all of my fears and resentments. Those who practice acceptance on a daily basis will understand what I mean. Others may need me to explain some things. Acceptance has allowed me to more than not be bothered about situations, I no longer recognize those situations in the same way. I no longer recognize that the person in front of me at the 10 items or less checkout line has 12 items. I wonder if I need to offer to pay their bill. I no longer look in front of the car ahead of me to see what the holdup is because I know they’re doing the best they can no matter what the situation is. I no longer fear because I accept things as they are. My Higher Power wants the best for me no matter if I fear it or not. I know I’m not that serene all the time but most of the time I am. And I’m not proud of that, I am however very thankful. Acceptance is not a goal, it’s a lifestyle. Try and expand your acceptance daily and you’ll be surprised how much it contributes to your serenity. Just don’t ask why. Promises, Promises Since we are so changed by not having the scourge of alcohol in our lives, our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. We will find everything in our world becomes more pleasant and we will get pleasure from sources we didn’t have while we were still drinking. It can’t be helped. When you’re not poisoning your mind and body, how could you NOT have a good attitude? When you’re not spending a lot of time planning how to get more booze, you have time to enjoy everything else about life. And don’t get me started about hangovers. Getting up and retching like a cat with a fur ball and then feeling terrible until noon is bound to sour our mood. But the real ringer is your spirituality. Knowing my higher power and growing my spirit daily has given me an attitude of thankfulness so much different from my attitude when I was drinking. I can’t say I jump out of bed every day ready to take the world by storm, but it sure is a better outlook than when I was still drunk in the morning from the night before. So in my case, my attitude and outlook upon life is a quantum leap better. But that’s not what the promise says. It says your whole attitude and outlook will CHANGE. That doesn’t mean you’ll have a great attitude and rosy outlook from when you start the program for the rest of your life. It might but that shouldn’t be your expectation. The change referred to is at once more satisfying and attainable. You look to helping other people with a joy. You understand your place in the universe and are ecstatic about it. It’s so much more fun to see other people smile at you rather than shake their heads and turn away. It’s almost like life gifts you a new attitude and outlook.