“Host of Friends” is defined as an expression that means to have many friends. That has been my experience as a participant in AA General Service.
Despite spending many nights alone in my cups, I was primarily a social drinker. I made the alcohol industry my career; it paid my bills. On holidays I hosted parties. After work, I moved in a swarm of fellow drinkers down ‘bar alley’. Sporting events were about the party bus, weddings the open bar, road trips the newest brewery—the idea of not drinking filled me with instant loneliness. I couldn’t imagine a happy life without it.
Fortunately, I found a handful of women who invited me to fellowship and a taste for General Service. It started with joining a homegroup member at a local detox center and then attending a district meeting where I was elected to a chair position. The quarterlies have influenced me the most. I befriended a man who was serving in the same role but in a different district. We started carpooling to the quarterlies, stopping for meals, chatting about service and sobriety. For many years we held the same positions, in different districts, so we could keep carpooling. Today that man is one of my closest friends.
I’ve traveled, explored, learned, laughed, and cried with a host of friends I’ve met putting myself out there in service. Learning to interact with others in a healthy, honest, and authentic effort has been the keystone of a happy, fulfilling life for me. Today my friendships are affectionate, reliable, and meaningful because we have a mutual bond.
Go to a quarterly. In person. Come alone or throw someone in the car with you. Something is happening every month! You don’t have to take a commitment or have a reason to be there. Just say yes. I’d love to meet you. We’ll do this together.
