LIVING IN THE SOLUTION No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. – Promise Five page 84-85 the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Years ago when I was relatively new, I was sitting in a meeting listening to an older man named George ramble […]
LIVING IN THE SOLUTION Read More »
FOR KEEPS When I started coming to meetings, there were certain things I embraced, and other stuff I just ignored. For starters, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. This was for keeps. To that end, I stopped wearing anything with booze-based logos (I sacrificed my baseball shirt collection featuring beer logos), and I immediately tossed
If you’re anything like me (and you probably are), you’ve become very adept at hiding in plain sight. I always hid behind sarcasm, raunchy humor, exaggeration and anything else to avoid honest to goodness communication with another human being. My drinking and drugging began in earnest by the time I was 13. Starting then, I
SOMEONE TO TALK TO Read More »
No doubt about it, I am my own worst critic.The only person who expects perfection from me is me. News Flash: I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect. I show up, do the best I can, and leave the results to God. That’s all there is to it.It’s a tall order for a controlling type A perfectionist.Hell,
PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION Read More »
There’s one topic we’re all very familiar with.I’ll go out on a limb and proclaim it AA’s most frequently discussed, and most popular topic:I’m talking about Gratitude, of course. It never fails. If a chairperson is at a loss, and casting about for a topic, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts Gratitude will wind up
THE MOST POPULAR TOPIC Read More »
The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. Tradition #3 The miracle of Alcoholics Anonymous is its sheer simplicity. You want to quit drinking? You’re in.I promise, you will never get turned away because of crappy health insurance.We have no slickly produced commercials or catchy jingles. We’re above that.However:Once you
WHAT GOES ON THE SCOREBOARD Read More »
Every alcoholic is familiar with the phrase, “To thine own self be true.”It sounds meaningful, and looks great on our medallions.But it’s so much more than a snappy sounding tagline that makes great key chains.Over the years I’ve been oblivious to its meaning. I’ve already established here that I suffer from OCD, and the older
TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE Read More »
Not everyone in Alcoholics Anonymous is a “One Chip Wonder”. Your sobriety isn’t any less valid because you’ve had a slip. A major contributing factor to my being a “One chip wonder” are those folks who went out, came back, and told us about it. They spoke about what they did or failed to do,
Let it go We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. Promise #3, Alcoholics Anonymous p83-84 One of the first things that attracted me to Alcoholics Anonymous was the level playing field. No matter how old or cultured or educated or successful anyone there was, they all made unfortunate
NEVER GIVE UP During my sixth year of sobriety I slid into a depression that could best be characterized as, “Not of the garden variety.” I knew people who committed suicide because of depression, and I could never understand the rationale. My attitude had always been, “What’s the matter with you? Walk it off!” After
