Fellowship
I've said it before but it bears repeating; you can learn so much about people you work for and work with without even realizing it. If you think this world is doomed, everybody's going to hell or there's just no hope left in the world, then this is for you today. I hope that it encourages you and redeems a modicum of dignity and respect for mankind.
One of the fundamental principles of Alcoholics Anonymous is that once you begin to open yourself up to a group of other recovering alcoholics, you become part of the fellowship. The fellowship that entails that no matter you end up in the world, you're bound by your struggles, victories, and of course by the power of God. You become a family, really. And this past weekend, I saw several instances of just that; my patients treating each other like family. One patient said they wanted to get up early and go to all the groups, since they had a tendency to sleep in late. So another patient took it upon themselves to wake them up before breakfast so everyone could eat together. I encouraged another patient, who had been feeling rather poorly to try and attend one group during the day, just to see how it went. Went to the first group, sat quietly and listened, slept through the second one, went to lunch, then went to our community group. The group is called bridge the gap, and that means that someone, or a few folks, who are recovering alcoholics or users come onto the unit and talk to everybody. Usually one of the guys there runs the AA/NA meetings that are held in the cafeteria during the week. Anyway, this patient went to that group and was really into it and was talking to the two guys at the end. During the weekend that's my favorite group; it gives the patients an opportunity to make some sort of connections for the outside world. Often it's how they find a sponsor too if they don't have one. This last part leads into the last mini story.
When our numbers are low and when the numbers on my former unit are low as well, the two units are combined (which in my opinion is not a good idea....but I digress). This past week they were combined, and there was a patient who was really psychotic. But two of my patients looked past that and noticed that something needed to be done. Before I left yesterday, one of them came up to me and said that the patient's clothes were in the washing machine from when everyone was over there and they got all mildewy. So the two of them re-washed them, dried them and folded them so this patient would have clean clothes to wear.
I don't care what your stereotypes are about alcoholics or drug abusers. If you have some of the same mindsets after reading this post, I suggest you re-evaluate your psyche and take a good look at what you're really afraid of, because that's what it is. When we don't understand someone or something, we make fun of it, because deep down there's an underlying fear of some issue that has yet to be addressed. Like a mental illness, an addiction is an illness too. These people are sick, too. The last thing they need is another pointing finger, passing along pointless judgment. I mentioned something similar in a post a while back; I've included it here for reference. I know it's hard to do sometimes, but it's not only a Godly thing to do; it's just a good rule of thumb in general. But for now, bygones will be bygones. I just really wanted to share this not only for us but for me, too. If you or I are convinced this country is just a doomed race, look for acts like this. And if you can't find any good people around you, be that good person.
One of the fundamental principles of Alcoholics Anonymous is that once you begin to open yourself up to a group of other recovering alcoholics, you become part of the fellowship. The fellowship that entails that no matter you end up in the world, you're bound by your struggles, victories, and of course by the power of God. You become a family, really. And this past weekend, I saw several instances of just that; my patients treating each other like family. One patient said they wanted to get up early and go to all the groups, since they had a tendency to sleep in late. So another patient took it upon themselves to wake them up before breakfast so everyone could eat together. I encouraged another patient, who had been feeling rather poorly to try and attend one group during the day, just to see how it went. Went to the first group, sat quietly and listened, slept through the second one, went to lunch, then went to our community group. The group is called bridge the gap, and that means that someone, or a few folks, who are recovering alcoholics or users come onto the unit and talk to everybody. Usually one of the guys there runs the AA/NA meetings that are held in the cafeteria during the week. Anyway, this patient went to that group and was really into it and was talking to the two guys at the end. During the weekend that's my favorite group; it gives the patients an opportunity to make some sort of connections for the outside world. Often it's how they find a sponsor too if they don't have one. This last part leads into the last mini story.
When our numbers are low and when the numbers on my former unit are low as well, the two units are combined (which in my opinion is not a good idea....but I digress). This past week they were combined, and there was a patient who was really psychotic. But two of my patients looked past that and noticed that something needed to be done. Before I left yesterday, one of them came up to me and said that the patient's clothes were in the washing machine from when everyone was over there and they got all mildewy. So the two of them re-washed them, dried them and folded them so this patient would have clean clothes to wear.
I don't care what your stereotypes are about alcoholics or drug abusers. If you have some of the same mindsets after reading this post, I suggest you re-evaluate your psyche and take a good look at what you're really afraid of, because that's what it is. When we don't understand someone or something, we make fun of it, because deep down there's an underlying fear of some issue that has yet to be addressed. Like a mental illness, an addiction is an illness too. These people are sick, too. The last thing they need is another pointing finger, passing along pointless judgment. I mentioned something similar in a post a while back; I've included it here for reference. I know it's hard to do sometimes, but it's not only a Godly thing to do; it's just a good rule of thumb in general. But for now, bygones will be bygones. I just really wanted to share this not only for us but for me, too. If you or I are convinced this country is just a doomed race, look for acts like this. And if you can't find any good people around you, be that good person.
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