Three hours of dancing without shame, without a concern about how we looked out there on the dance floor. . . . just hundreds of people thrilled to alive and able to enjoy music.
About 1,200 OA members from around the world met in early September 2016 to celebrate recovery with four days of festivities in Boston. Several folks from Alaska USA made the trip, and what a wonderful experience it was! There were seventy-two workshops, skits (with a revolutionary theme), and keynote speakers. Hospitality and fellowship abounded.
It was sometimes hard to decide what to do next: attend one of the hourly OA meetings, go to a workshop on abstinence, visit a special focus meeting (anorexia/bulimia, men’s issues, LGBTQ), or investigate the bookstore, where the new Twelve Step Workshop and Study Guide quickly sold out and a new book of stories, Taste of Lifeline, was available. In the hallways and lounges, OA members were meeting and making friends and exchanging contact information. As a fundraiser, baskets were raffled off, and two Alaskans were winners!
The hotel was right downtown, across the street from a very popular salad bar. Between sessions, and before and after Convention, we rode boats right into the Charles River, walked the Freedom Trail, and visited art museums and historical sites. I was able to visit a former sponsee who lived nearby and also caught up with another Alaskan who had moved south some years ago.
For me, Convention was a badly needed “shot in the arm,” and the workshops on body image and relationships and conceptions of a Higher Power were very powerful. I was able to room with my sponsor from out-of-state, and it was a luxury to do my Tenth Step in person!
Surprisingly, one of the most powerful parts of Convention was the dance. Three hours of dancing without shame, without concern about how we looked out there on the dance floor. Even people who have physical changes as a result of our disease—just hundreds of people thrilled to be alive and able to enjoy music.
It’s the most amazing feeling to say “I put my hand in yours . . .” and be standing in a circle of over a thousand people saying the same thing. My sponsor and I agreed we will meet again at World Service Convention (HP willing) in Orlando, Florida USA in August 2025. Hope you can join us!
—Anonymous
Edited from the February 2017 issue of Lifeline.
