Participation:

Xvxn though my typxwritxr is an old modxl, it works quitx wxll xxcxpt for onx of thx kxys. . .
It is trux that thxrx arx forty-six kxys that function wxll enough, but just onx kxy not working makxs thx diffxrxnce.
Somxtimxs it sxxms to mx that our AA program is somxwhat likx my typxwritxr . . . not all thx kxy pxoplx arx working propxrly.
You may say to yoursxlf, "Wxll, I am only onx pxrson.
What if I miss a mxxting or two?"
But it doxs makx a diffxrxncx bxcausx thx AA program, to bx xffxctivx, nxxds thx activx participation of xvxry mxmbxr.

Meetings: a check-up from the neck up.

Attitude Adjustment

Accepting my Higher Power did not fully change my attitude of resistance.
It just made yielding to instruction a more rational and acceptable mode of behavior.
For each Step, I still had to go through the process of recognizing that I had no control over my drinking. -- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 541


Thought to Ponder . . . We are in charge of our attitudes.

My Thinking

Heard in the rooms at 123 Linden St:

• I came to AA to correct my drinking. I stayed to correct my thinking.
  


• My mind is out to get my ass drunk.
  


• My best thinking got me into the rooms of AA.
  


• My mind is the most dangerous place on earth to be alone.

Cocaine In Red Bull?

From Drug Counselor:

Cocaine in Red Bull?
http://abuseaddiction.com/?p=523

Moving Violation

Now here's a hard core drinker and one tough Dodge truck.
The driver hit the left turn light and sheared off the light post at the base, and then kept driving on about 2 miles to Squires Four Pub, where he stopped for more beer!!

How impaired do you have to be to NOT notice that you are carrying a stop light? (I Wonder if the light was green?)

The truck was towed about 2.5 miles to the Vernon towing yard, with the light still pinched between the two tow hooks and the bumper bent around it.

It took several good hard pulls with a backhoe to get the pole free.

I Did Not Know

I did not know that it was physically impossible for me to drink moderately.
I did not know that my body's drinking machinery had worn out, and that the parts could not be replaced.
I did not know that just one drink made it impossible for me to control my behavior and conduct and my future drinking.
I did not know, in short, that I was powerless over alcohol.

Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 153

Cease To Believe

God does not die on the day
when we cease to believe in a personal deity,
but we die on the day
when our lives cease to be
illuminated by the steady radiance,
renewed daily,
of a wonder,
the source of which is beyond all reason.

Dag Hammarskjold

Acceptance

It was a matter of developing the willingness to accept these new facts of living.
We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we were free.
There had been no irretrievable disaster.

- Bill W., AA Grapevine, September, 1975

My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.

Words For The Day

Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.
John Quincy Adams

May those whose hell it is to hate and hurt be turned into lovers bringing flowers.
Shantideva, 8th century Buddhist teacher

In the end we will conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught.
Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist (b. 1937)

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Audrey Hepburn

All good things are wild, and free.
Henry David Thoreau

Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.
Thomas Merton
Thoughts in Solitude

Life is an opportunity given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Bowl of Saki

Although all men share a common destiny, each individual also has to work out his personal salvation for himself.
We can help each other find the meaning of life, but in the last analysis, each is responsible for finding himself.
Thomas Merton

Dare to be empty.
Dare to let go.
Dare to believe.
Elisabeth L.

Irrationality

If you think you are an alcoholic, chances are you are.

N U T S = Not Using The Steps.

Daily Surrender - No Regrets

This I pray, Higher Power: I will surrender to Your will today, which brings me peace and joy that makes all things new.

I no longer have that trampled look of someone forced to remember every mistake he or she has made.

I no longer hide under that blanket of regrets.

My daily surrender to You and the Fellowship that surrounds me leads me away from darkness and into the wonderful light of Your wisdom.

 

The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D.

May You Live All The Days Of Your Life

Happy New Year!

Tonight, at midnight, a new year will begin.

None of us know what the new year will hold.

But I can trust myself to hold on to the spirit of my daily reprieve as I go through the year.

As a new year is about to begin, I can rejoice in my new way of life.

I can give my will and my life to my God.

By doing these things, I will be ready for the new year.

My Creator, I pray that I'll start the new year safe in Your loving arms.

Tonight, at midnight, I'll say the Serenity Prayer.

I will think of all the others who will join me in my prayer.

Learn To Sail

I am not afraid of storms, 

for I am learning how to sail my ship.

Louisa May Alcott

You feel the way you do right now because of 

the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.
David D. Burns

Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour. 

Meeting Makers Make It

I am still amazed, after years of recovering, at how easily I can begin to talk myself out of attending meetings. I am also still amazed at how good I feel when I go.

--Anonymous

 

There are 168 hours in each week.

Taking 1 or 2 hours a week for a meeting can maximize the potential of the remaining 166 hours.

There is nothing as invigorating as getting back on track.

Going to a meeting can accomplish that.

Today, I will remember that going to meetings helps.

Why Pumpkins Should Not Drink

Happy Halloween!

Go to a meeting before your mind 

tricks you into that first drink.

My mind is out to get my ass drunk!

Patience With My Unsolved Questions

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

 

 

I am on a journey and, in some ways, this journey is a quest for answers.

The questions give energy and direction to my seeking.

I cannot expect to get quick or easy answers.

And some questions will always remain just that: questions.

But I can learn to be patient with ourselves, tolerant of our incompleteness, and always curious about how it will all turn out.

 

Today I will practice patience with myself and

embrace my unsolved questions

as crucial elements in my quest.

Power Of Personal Salvation

The salvation of man is through love and in love.

--Viktor Frankl

 

The tragedy is that so few of us have experienced whole and unconditional love from the significant people in our lives.

It's difficult to give away what I fear I don't have; yet, paradoxically, that's the key to my salvation.

As I give others my love, I will likewise experience a greater measure of it.

And it need not come from outside.

It will, instead, well up from within.

We each have the power of personal salvation. All I must do is love.

One Of Life's Paradoxes

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
--The Serenity Prayer

 

One of life's paradoxes is that in order to change an unwanted situation, we must first accept it the way it is.

If you wish to move forward in your life, first make peace with what you are presently experiencing.

Accepting people as they are is also transformational.

If there is some area of your life that you are seeking to change, first practice acceptance.

By acknowledging where you are and giving thanks for the good that you have received, you will release an energy that will transform you and your present circumstances.

 

Relationships That Work

Recovery is about more than walking away.  

Sometimes it means learning to stay and deal. 

It's about building and maintaining relationships that work.

--Beyond Codependency

Step One

Take the first step in faith.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.