A Program of Suggestions

A.A. was describe to me as a "program of suggestions" by the people who took me to meetings and taught me about the program.  There seemed to be a keen awareness that we alcoholics had been told, confronted, before, and that others had tried to regulate our behavior unsuccessfully.  In the program there was an insistence that the program seem to work best by doing certain things.  By following some simple suggestions, I could reduce the pain I was experiencing and learn to live happily without alcohol or other drugs.  There was a calm sense that if I didn't follow the suggestions I could have more of the bitter experience that had brought me to A.A. in the first place.  On a daily basis, I could see the effects of following the suggestions in my life and the lives of those around me.  It was equally true that I could se what happened when individuals failed to follow the suggestions.