Saturday, July 30, 2011

Tomorrow - 30 July 2011


“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
~ Leo F. Buscaglia 


A.A. Thought for the Day


The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. Do I still worry too much about tomorrow.


The AA Big Book tells us about the promises we can all expect if we stick with this program. I can tell you that for me the promises came true - I found that my new attitude allows me to live more in the present than ever before. I can't say that I am completely free of regret for yesterday or worry for tomorrow but I live in the moment now more than ever. My life is immeasurably better for it.
~ Mike

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Resolve - July 28th

“Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”
~ Eric Zorn 


A.A. Thought for the Day


To continue the paraphrase of the psalm: "The judgments of the twelve steps are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than whiskey, yea, than much fine whiskey, sweeter also than wine. Moreover, they warn alcoholics and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand our alcoholism? Cleanse us from secret faults, Keep us from presumptuous resentments. Let them not have dominion over us. Then shall we be upright and free of the great transgression." Am I resolved that liquor will never again have dominion over me?


I resolved not to drink ever again (at least that is my plan) but for the longest time afterwards was at a loss as to how to replace it in my thinking. Over time I have come to look forward to spending time with friends in the program and making my daily contact with my higher power. These new motivations have fully displaced my obsession with drinking. 
~ Mike

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Inner Asshole - July 27th

“If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.”

~ Chinese Proverb


My inner "asshole" is the outward reflection of my worst personality traits. The impatient, ego-driven, self-righteous jerk who leaps into the room anytime my base sense of entitlement or fear of dismissal or rejection is triggered. How I wish that I had the presence of mind to let life's petty confrontations slide by without comment, without judgement. Why is it I cannot ignore rudeness and inappropriate behaviour in others. In my need to be right and to seek out the moral high ground I swallow the poison that is my anger directed at others. But they may or may not ever be aware of the anger, may not care, will not necessarily even change if they were aware. And worse - there are times when they are not even wrong. So why let the barking dog of my anger free? I must remember to dial 3 - 11 when my anger threatens to become public. 

~Mike


Step 3:   Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
 Step 11: Sought, through prayer and meditation, to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Priorities - July 26th

Good things happen when you get your priorities straight.
~ Scott Caan

A.A. Thought for the Day

When we come to the end of our lives on earth, we will take no material thing with us. We will not take one cent in our cold, dead hands. The only things that we may take are the things we have given away. If we have helped others, we may take that with us; if we have given of our time and money for the good of A.A., we may take that with us. Looking back over our lives, what are we proud of? Not what we have gained for ourselves, but what few good deeds we have done. Those are the things that really matter in the long run. What will I take with me when I go?

I hope to take with me the knowledge that my AA fellows could count on me and that I made the difference for the better in someone else's life.
~ Mike

Friday, July 22, 2011

Diversity - July 22nd


Diversity: the art of thinking independently together. 
Malcolm Forbes


A.A. Thought for the Day


One of finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its membership. We come from all walks and stations of life. All types and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group. Being different from each other in certain ways, we can each make a different contribution to the whole. Some of us are weak in one respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the strong points of all its members and can disregard their weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not only because we all have the same problem, but also because of the diversified talents of its members. Each person can contribute part. Do I recognize the good points of all my group's members?


In measuring myself against other men I am either diminishing them in my mind, or diminishing myself if I feel inferior. These are both negative actions. It is only when I put my ego to rest and see my fellow without the need to compare that I can truly be his friend and to hear his message.
~ Mike

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Tolerance - July 21st

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”
~ Peace Pilgrim


A.A. Thought for the Day

If we feel the need of saying something to put another member on the right track, we should try to say it with understanding and sympathy, not with a critical attitude. We should keep everything out in the open and aboveboard. The A.A. program is wonderful, but we must really follow it. We must all pull together or we'll all be sunk. We enjoy the privilege of being associated with A.A. and we are entitled to all its benefits. But gossip and criticism are not tolerance, and tolerance is an A.A. principle that is absolutely necessary to group unity. Am I truly tolerant of all my group's members?

Living with others in the program didn't come easily to me. My need to measure myself against my fellows controlled most of my interactions with others for a very long time. A good friend shared an idea with my men's group last night about how with true humility we can come to accept a sense of "healthy insignificance". When I let go of my ego I find it much easier to tolerate and accept my fellows.
~ Mike

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Loyalty - July 20th


“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”
Napoleon Hill 


A.A. Thought for the Day


We must be loyal to the group and to each member of it. We must never accuse members behind their backs or even to their faces. It's up to them to tell us themselves if anything is wrong. More than that, we must try not to think bad things about any members, because if we do, we're consciously or unconsciously hurting that person. We must be loyal to each other if A.A. is going to be successful. While we're in this lifeboat, trying to save each other and ourselves from alcoholism, we must be truly and sincerely helpful to each other. Am I a loyal member of my group?


Change we must! One of my chief personality defects was to criticize and find fault with everyone. This defect didn't correct itself just by my quitting drinking. I had to learn loyalty and to look for the good in all people. It took a long time in recovery before I learned to love the group and to have loyalty for my fellows.
~ Mike

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Criticism - July 19th


“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.”
Dale Carnegie 


A.A. Thought for the Day


Gossip about or criticism of personalities has no place in an A.A. clubroom. Every man in A.A. is a brother and every woman is a sister, as long as he or she is a member of A.A. We ought not to gossip about the relationships of any man or woman in the group. And if we say about another member, "I think she or he is taking a few drinks on the side," it's the worst thing we could do to that person. If a woman or a man is not living up to A.A. principles or has a slip, it's up to her or him to stand up in a meeting and say so. If they don't do that, they are only hurting themselves. Do I talk about other members behind their backs?


I have been critical of others at times in the program. Learning to accept people as they are and to take them at their word has been difficult. I do a much better job today than when I first came into AA - and I see my acceptance of others as a very good gauge of my progress in recovery.
~ Mike

Monday, July 18, 2011

Gossip - July 18th

“In our appetite for gossip, we tend to gobble down everything before us, only to find, too late, that it is our ideals we have consumed, and we have not been enlarged by the feasts but only diminished”
~ Pico Iyer


A.A. Thought for the Day


Two things can spoil group unity-gossip and criticism. To avoid these divisive things, we must realize that we're all in the same boat. We're like a group of people in a lifeboat after the steamer has sunk. If we're going to be saved, we've got to pull together. It's a matter of life or death for us. Gossip and criticism are sure ways of disrupting any A.A. group. We're all in A.A. to keep sober ourselves and to help each other to keep sober. And neither gossip nor criticism helps anyone to stay sober. Am I often guilty of gossip or criticism?


What is it about gossip that so fascinates? I'm guilty of enjoying it occasionally myself. I have to work at seeing the best in everyone, to "Live and Let Live". 
~ Mike

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Shared Happiness - July 17th


“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

~Buddha


A.A. Thought for the Day

The new life of sobriety we are learning to live in A.A. is slowly growing on us and we are beginning to get some of that deep peace of mind and serenity that we never thought were possible. At first we may have doubted that this could happen to us, but after any considerable length of time in A.A., looking at the happy faces around us, we know that somehow it is happening to us. In fact, it cannot help happening to anyone who takes the A.A. program seriously day by day. Can I see my own happiness reflected in the faces of others?

Happiness is definitely an emotion that has to be shared. By isolating we cut ourselves off from the happiness of our fellows and if we don't drink and go to meetings then our happiness is rejuvenated by our friends in recovery.

~ Mike

Friday, July 15, 2011

Calm - July 15




“It is the nature of a great mind to be calm and undisturbed.”
Seneca

A.A. Thought for the Day

After we had sobered up through the A.A. program, we gradually began to get a peace of mind and serenity, which we never thought were possible. This peace of mind is based on a feeling that fundamentally all is well. That does not mean that all is well on the surface of things. Little things can keep going wrong and big things can keep on upsetting us. But deep down in our hearts we know that everything is eventually going to be all right, now that we are living sober lives. Have I achieved a deep down, inner calm?

I used to be very wary of calm - because calm always preceded the storm. My addiction was a storm and any moment of calm felt as though I were in the eye of the storm awaiting the next bit of drama. Today calm is welcomed and sought after and I have faith that it can be lasting and only periodically be disrupted by stormy events.
~ Mike

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Serenity - July 14th

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm”
A.A. Thought for the Day

One of the best things about the A.A. program is the peace of mind and serenity that it can bring us. In our drinking days, we had no peace of mind or serenity. We had the exact opposite, a kind of turmoil and that "quiet desperation" we knew so well. The turmoil of our drinking days was caused partly by our physical suffering, the terrible hangovers, the cold sweats, the shakes and the jitters. But it was caused even more by our mental suffering, the loneliness, the feeling of inferiority, the lying, and the remorse that every alcoholic understands. Have I achieved more peace of mind?



Serenity and Peace of Mind were only ever abstract concepts to me while I was active in my alcoholism - and for much of the time I've been sober. I am grateful for my sobriety and even more grateful for the moments of serenity that this sobriety provides me.
~ Mike

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Goals - July 13th

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

Albert Einstein


A.A. Thought for the Day

Before alcoholics come into A.A., they are "flying blind." But A.A. gives them a directed beam in the A.A. program. As long as they keep on this beam, the signal of sobriety keeps coming through. If they have a slip, the signal is broken. If they swing off course into drunkenness, the signal stops. Unless they regain the A.A. directed beam, they are in danger of crashing against the mountain peak of despair. Am I on the beam?


I spent most of my pre-AA life just wandering with no specific goals. I had vague notions of what is expected of a man - to work, to marry, to father, but I never laid out any plan or set any goals. My first goal in AA was to get sober - and I learned to quit drinking and to go to meetings. As I worked the steps I came to find other goals for personal development and now there is no looking back.
~ Mike

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A Higher Power - July 12th

My trust in a higher power that wants me to survive and have love in my life, is what keeps me moving forward.
~ Kenny Loggins


A.A. Thought for the Day
Today is ours. Let us live today, as we believe God wants us to live. Each day will have a new pattern, which we cannot foresee. But we can open each day with a quiet period in which we say a little prayer, asking God to help us through the day. Personal contact with God, as we understand Him, will from day to day bring us nearer to an understanding of His will for us. At the close of the day, we offer Him thanks for another day of sobriety. A full, constructive day has been lived and we are grateful. Am I asking God each day for strength and thanking Him each night?

Belief in a Higher Power is just about the most difficult part of this program. I don't know what it is about belief in God or some other Higher Power that makes us so uncomfortable. I have seen some members, new to the program, walk away from AA to escape the discomfort of having to come to terms with a God of their understanding. Once I opened my mind to the existence of a Higher Power I never gave another thought to whether or not it existed. I believe in a Higher Power that very simply wants what is best for me and asks for my best in return.
~ Mike

Monday, July 11, 2011

Goodness - July 11th



"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.”



A.A. Thought for the Day


We in Alcoholics Anonymous do not try to chart the path for the human soul or try to lay out a blueprint of the working of faith, as one might plan a charity drive. We do tell the newcomer that we have renewed our faith in a Higher Power. In the telling, our faith is further renewed. We believe that faith is always close at hand, waiting for those who will listen to the heartbeat of the spirit. We believe there is a force for good in the universe and that if we link up with this force, we are carried onward to a new life. Am I in this stream of goodness?

The worst aspect of my alcoholism was my lack of faith in people and in the existence of a Higher Power. A return to believing in both marked a turning point in my recovery. I now believe that my Higher Power wants only good for all people.
~ Mike

Friday, July 8, 2011

Acceptance - July 8th

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

~ William James



A.A. Thought for the Day

A.A. members will tell you that they can look back and clearly see that they were out of control long before they finally admitted it. Every one of us has gone through that stage when we wouldn't admit that we were alcoholics. It takes a lot of punishment to convince us, but one thing is certain. We all know from actual experience that when it comes to dishing out punishment, John Barleycorn has no equal. Have I any reservations as to my status as an alcoholic?


When I came to accept the truth of my alcoholism it would only be a few months before I took action. Even when doubts about AA rose up in my mind the truth that I was an alcoholic, and my complete acceptance of this truth, kept me going back to meetings. Don't drink and go to meetings.

~ Mike

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Insight - July 7th


“It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes... we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones.”


A.A. Thought for the Day

We had become hopelessly sick people, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The power that controlled us was greater than ourselves - it was John Barleycorn. Many drinkers have said: "I hadn't gone that far; I hadn't lost my job on account of drink; I still had my family; I managed to keep out of jail. True, I took too much sometimes and I guess I managed to make quite an ass of myself when I did, but I still thought I could control my drinking. I didn't really believe that I was an alcoholic." If I was one of these, have I fully changed my mind?

For the longest time my most closely held “insights” were simply ideas I had constructed to validate my alcoholic ways. Having honest insights takes much work and I must remain vigilant to ensure that I do not return to my self-serving ways.
~ Mike

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Release - July 6th


“In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics, each identifying with and transmitting his experience to the next -- chain style. If each sufferer were to carry the news of the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept proved to be the foundation of such success as Alcoholics Anonymous has since achieved.”

~ Bill Wilson


A.A. Thought for the Day

We tried to study our alcoholic problem, wondering what was the cause of our strange obsession. Many of us took special treatments, hospitalization, even confinement in institutions. In every case, the relief was only temporary. We tried through crazy excuses to convince ourselves that we knew why we drank, but we went on regardless. Finally drinking had gone far beyond even a habit. We had become alcoholics, men and women who had been destroying themselves against their own will. Am I completely free from my alcoholic obsession?


For the longest time before I quit drinking I was convinced that drinking, though a problem, was only a symptom of the underlying cause. This idea had me feeling very clever and served to authorize my blackouts and antisocial behaviour. I would never have freed myself from the obsession to drink with out the strength, support and example provided by my fellow AA members.
~ Mike

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Excuses - July 5th


“Don't make excuses--make good.”

   ~ Elbert Hubbard


A.A. Thought for the Day

Until we came into A.A. most of us had tried desperately to stop drinking. We were filled with the delusion that we could drink like our friends. We tried time and again to take it or leave it, but we could do neither. We always lapsed into ceaseless, unhappy drinking. Wives or husbands, families, friends, and employers threw up their hands in hurt bewilderment, in despair, and finally in disgust. We wanted to stop. We realized that every reason for drinking was only a crazy excuse. Have I given up every excuse for drinking?

I had alienated my friends, family and colleagues and by the time I was ready to take a serious stab at quitting I was drinking with strangers or drinking alone. When I stopped making excuses and accepted that my drinking was out of control I had unknowingly taken my first step back towards sanity.
~ Mike

Monday, July 4, 2011

Service - July 4th


“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.”
 ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.


A.A. Thought for the Day


In Alcoholics Anonymous there is no thought of individual profit. No greed or gain. No membership fees, no dues. Only voluntary contributions of our money and ourselves. All that we hope for is sobriety and regeneration, so that we can live normal, respectable lives and can be recognized by others as men and women willing to do unto others as we would be done by. These things we accomplish by the help of each other, by following the twelve steps and by the grace of God. Am I willing to work for A.A. without material gain to myself?


When I first came to AA I was concerned that it may be a cult. After a few months I realized that nobody was benefiting financially through belonging to AA. That realization alone provided me with the reassurance I needed to gain trust in the program. I enjoy working for AA and find ways to be of service as often as possible.
~ Mike