"We learn to be in the moment and to be present in our bodies. We learn that our thoughts can end." BRB p. 266

When we got to ACA we may have never felt what it was like to be in our bodies and experience our feelings. We may have had extreme emotion, but we didn't know how to feel our feelings. The sense of panic that often washed over us seemed so familiar we may not have noticed it for what it was.

As we became full participants in our meetings, learning to bare our souls, we began to crack. Sometimes this was painful, but we knew we didn't have to go through the pain alone. We made phone calls and did the work. We asked a fellow traveler to work the Steps with us. We believed other ACAs when they said we were not alone.

We gathered the courage to sit through the pain of withdrawal from what was keeping us tied up inside. Maybe for the first time we felt the shame and abandonment from our childhood  - they were like ticking time bombs inside of us. As our bodies unwound, we learned not to panic.

We gained trust in ourselves and our Higher Power. We moved out of our pain and the mental and physical lethargy that may have held us down. We accepted that we weren't perfect and life got better. We became authentic in our words and actions.

On this day I will not travel this journey alone. When I need help, I know I have my fellow ACAs and my Higher Power.