Most of us don’t realize to what extent we are defiant.
I first published this two years ago and I’d like to refer to it again. It feels very appropriate considering some of the folks who’ve displayed their own recently…
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It surprised me when I discovered how defiant I had been toward God in my drinking days and for quite some time after He helped me sober up.
Small, simple things like, “no, I’ll do it my way, thank you.” Do you have any idea how often and to what degree we do this?
There’s an old “story” I wish I could relate about …read more

“We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness.”

We have a good friend who asks this question at meetings – “how do I know that AA is working?” The answer?
I’ve never had it so good!
There are times like right now that I must bring this to the forefront of my mind. I’m on the right track. God has me exactly where he wants me. How do I know? Because I’ve never had it so good!
I could spend hours …read more

Doesn’t [always] mean I am guilty…
Listening to newcomers at today’s Noon meeting I heard it again. What I sounded like with the same amount of “sober” time. Especially when I attempted to speak about what my father “did” to me to make me drink. That is until an oldtimer asked me if my father poured any booze down my throat.
From today’s Daily Reflections;
I Am Responsible
“For the readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.”
“The very thing I fear …read more

From today’s Daily Reflection;
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible”
This reflection speaks of not being able to make amends to those folks who were casual acquaintances. People who passed through our lives briefly or barely. Like those neighbors I used to live near who no doubt heard my late night yelling…
“The only amends I can make to those untraceable individuals, the only ‘changes for the better’ I can offer, are indirect amends made to other people, whose paths briefly cross mine. Courtesy and kindness, regularly practiced, help me to live in emotional balance, at peace with myself.”
Just a personal …read more

Alex has done it again
How Bill W. explained what was meant by the saying that
“A.A. is a SELFISH program.”
…. Another correspondent complained directly that he had been ‘disturbed to hear some A.A. speakers say, ‘A.A. is a selfish program.’” The co-founder’s response was eventually published in “The A.A. Way of Life”:
I can see why you are disturbed…. The word ’selfish’ ordinarily implies that one is acquisitive, demanding, and thoughtless of the welfare of others. Of course, the A.A. way of life does not at all imply such undesirable traits.
What do these speakers mean? Well, any theologian will tell …read more

Knowing I’m not alone, it was part and parcel of the deal – from today’s reading;
Didn’t We Hurt Anybody?
“Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.”
Wow, were we ever self-centered??? Yet, that was what I believed and it was the point! Though I wasn’t up to task. When the time came (and it did often) I couldn’t pull the final “plug.” Thank God…
“My parents, who had been deeply hurt by my isolation from them, my employer, who worried about my absences, my memory lapses, …read more

No, this is not about a bar fight anymore…
And it will eliminate the “easier, softer way” the Internet offers.
“When listing the people we have harmed, most of us hit another solid obstacle. We got a pretty severe shock when we realized that we were preparing to make a face-to-face admission of our wretched conduct to those we had hurt.”
I love the way Bill calls things – “wretched conduct.” He pulls no punches with his words.
“It had been embarrassing enough when in confidence we had admitted these things to God, to ourselves, and to another human being.”
I’d wonder about that. Was …read more

Don’t bet your life on it…
“Every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake.”
Accurate and unsparing! Do you now know why the Fourth Step said “Searching and Fearless?” Oh, BTW – note it says the human wreckage we left behind. There are no mistakes. It is time to stand up and accept responsibility.
“To a degree, he has already done this when taking a moral inventory, but now the time has come …read more

That’s right – “Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relationships.”
Thought – if you’re new and having troubles with your personal relationships and thinking of drinking, don’t keep it to yourself and think perhaps you can solve it on your own! Meetings, sponsor, oldtimers.
Make note – From the 12&12, page 77;
“First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, …read more

Once upon a time when I was a car salesman I lost jobs because I was told I was too honest. Then, and now, I still see polls that show that one of the Top Ten Most Dishonest jobs is a car salesman. So, I’m grateful.
Naturally, I consider that, in “those days,” I was drinking so how honest could I have been? I suppose only my customers could say…
When working an Eighth and Ninth Step there is a lengthy discussion in the Big Book about just exactly how honest we ought to be. The answer, for me, is on page …read more