Please, I pray I don’t go to that place where I believe I can live on yesterday’s sobriety…
Borrowed from last year;
Constant = Unchanged, Consistently recurring over time, persistent…
Page 20: “Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.”
Page 73: “But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone all their story… He is under constant fear and tension – that makes for more drinking.”
Page 155: “He told me how he lived in constant worry about …read more

TO ALL MEMBERS
Greetings On Our 10th Christmas
1944
Yes, it’s in the air! The spirit of Christmas once more warms this poor distraught world. Over the whole globe millions are looking forward to that one day when strife can be forgotten, when it will be remembered that all human beings, even the least are loved by God, when men will hope for the coming of the Prince of Peace as they never hoped before.
But there is another world which is not poor. Neither is it distraught. It is the world of Alcoholics Anonymous, where thousands dwell happily and secure. Secure because …read more

Service work will guarantee you another 24 hours will it? And you’re telling this to newcomers? Well, I think two-stepping usually carries an opportunity to get drunk along with it! That might be why they speak of it in the Twelve and Twelve…
Page 113;
“We temporarily cease to grow because we feel satisfied that there is no need for all of A.A.’s Twelve Steps for us. We are doing fine on a few of them, the First Step and that part of the Twelfth where we “carry the message.” In A.A. slang, that blissful state is known as ‘two-stepping.’ And it …read more

For those who are new to Alcoholics Anonymous…
You’re going to hear from folks who are called “chronic slippers.” They are not bedtime shoes, they are people who come and go, stay sober for a short time, relapse, come back etc. etc. etc.
Rob the Hat and old man Charlie used to tell a story about, of all names, a fellow named Mark who’d come into one of the Centereach groups. Mark would shake and bake for a while, stay sober for about three months, get to feeling better and then start to share about how he was thinking about drinking again. …read more

Thanks For The Direction Frank D.! Coincidence? I think not…
From Barefoot’s World;
Personal Gains Of Being A Sponsor
No one reaps full benefit from any fellowship he is connected with unless he wholeheartedly engages in its important activities. The expansion of Alcoholics Anonymous to wider fields of greater benefit to more people results directly from the addition of new, worth-while members or associates.
Any A.A. who has not experienced the joys and satisfaction of helping another alcoholic regain his place in life has not yet fully realized the complete benefits of this fellowship. On the other hand, it must be clearly kept in …read more

I received a comment into moderation the other day relating to an older post on Clubs In AA. I haven’t approved it because I doubt its sincerity. It says: “Recently a AA club moved into a building that has a bar on the second floor. This to me is completely unacceptable.”
Really??? Think about this. Unacceptable to you??? I thought we stopped playing God in recovery.
From page 100;
“Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it …read more

Constant = Unchanged, Consistently recurring over time, persistent…
Page 20: “Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.”
Once again I’m reading your blogs, especially Mary Christine, because, for me, it is a way of reaching out for information and experience and to motivate the thinker.
I wanted, originally, to find where our book said “Constant vigilance is the watch word,” looked through the online index and concordance but couldn’t find the phrase. MC is speaking of someone who seems to be doing some living in yesterday. I thought about …read more

Heard it at a meeting tonight… perception deception – defect.

From page 129;
“If the family cooperates, dad will soon see that he is suffering from a distortion of values.”
A Distortion of Values
Distortion is a misrepresentation of the truth. That certainly works for me!
“He will perceive that his spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like himself, a spiritual life which does not include his family obligations may not be so perfect after all.”
True – so true…
“If the family will appreciate that dad’s current behavior is but a phase of his development, all will be well.”
Possibly, unless, through him, the …read more

I think Bill W. “happened” on something very important, to me at least, with what he speaks of here. He begins by saying that without freedom from alcohol, “we have nothing at all.”

From The Language of the Heart: Bill W’s Grapevine Writings, page 315;
“Paradoxically, though, we can achieve no liberation from the alcohol obsession until we have become willing to deal with those character defects which have landed us in that helpless condition.”

From today’s Daily Reflection;
“In A.A. we aim not only for sobriety – we try again to become citizens of the world that we rejected, and of the world that once rejected us.”
Aiming and trying… it does not say that we hit the final mark or find success. It also doesn’t say that the world welcomes us back with open arms.

“The old line says, ‘Suit up and show up.’ That action is so important that I like to think of it as my motto. I can choose each day to suit up and show up, or not.”
Hmmm – or not? Really? …read more