A Note from Bill W.

To what extent I was personally responsible for my drinking, I don't know.
Yet I'm not one to take complete refuge in the idea that I was a sick man only.
In earlier years I certainly had some degree of free will.
That free will I used badly, to the great misery of my mother and countless others.
I am deeply ashamed.
As one who knows me a little, you may have heard how, ten years ago, a friend, himself a liberated alcoholic, came to me bearing the light which finally led me out of the toils.
There will come a day like that for you and yours -- I'm so confident!
-- The Language of the Heart, p. 102


The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)

Embracing Reality

Above all, we reject fantasizing and accept reality.
The more I drank, the more I fantasized everything.
I imagined getting even for hurts and rejections.
In my mind's eye, I played and re-played scenes in which I was plucked magically from the bar where I stood nursing a drink and was instantly exalted to some position of power and prestige.
I lived in a dream world.
AA led me gently from this fantasizing to embrace reality with open arms.
And I found it beautiful! For, at last, I was at peace with myself.
And with others. And with God.
-- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 559


Few people have the imagination to see reality.


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)

Powerlessness

I knew I had to admit I was powerless over other people.
I had to admit this just as, in order to keep sober, I had to admit I was powerless over alcohol.
I cannot make anyone love me, or even like me. . .
All I can do is work to make myself worthy of love.
-- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 104


When we love, we see in others what we wish to have in ourselves.


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)

The Solution

The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.
We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree. . .
This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.
-- Alcoholics Anonymous, p.17


The solution is simple; the solution is spiritual.


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)

Self-will Run Riot

Selfishness -- self-centeredness!
That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. . .
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making.
They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so.
-- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 62


Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)

A Ditty On Weiner

There once was a pervert named Weiner
Who had a depraved demeanor
Forced from the Hill
For acting like Bill
Now Congress is one weiner leaner

Attitudes

We find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions. . .
We have learned that the satisfaction of instincts cannot be the sole end and aim of our lives.
If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse; we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first -- then and only then do we have a real chance.
-- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 114


Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?


We cannot change the directions of the wind, but we can adjust our sails. Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass. Have a beautiful day unless you plan otherwise. ... B-)