Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the
Road of Happy Destiny – Friday, 24 January 2014 and Saturday, 25 January 2014 -
Daily Reflections “GETTING INVOLVED” and “WHAT WE NEED --- EACH OTHER”
There is action and more action. "Faith without works is
dead." . . . To be helpful is our only aim.--ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pages
88-89
I understand that service is a vital part of recovery but I
often wonder, "What I can do?" Simply start with what I have today! I
look around to see where there is a need. Are the ashtrays full? Suddenly I'm
involved! The best speaker may make the worst coffee, the member who's best
with the newcomers may be unable to read; the one willing to clean up may make
a mess of the bank account --- yet every one of these people and jobs is
essential to an active group. The miracle of service is this: when I use what I
have, I find there is more available to me than I realized before.--From the
book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services,
Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
Alcoholics who are living in a blind alley refuse to be really
honest with themselves or with other people. They're running away from life and
won't face things as they are. They won't give up their resentments. They're
too sensitive and too easily hurt. They refuse to try to be unselfish. They
still want everything for themselves. And no matter how many disastrous
experiences they have had with drinking, they still do it over and over again.
There's only one way to get out of that blind alley way of living and that's to
change your thinking. Have I changed my thinking?
Meditation for the Day
I know that the vision and power that I receive from God are
limitless, as far as spiritual things are concerned. But in temporal and
material things, I must submit to limitations. I know that I cannot see the
road ahead. I must go just one step at a time, because God does not grant me a
longer view. I am in uncharted waters, limited by my temporal and spatial life,
but unlimited in my spiritual life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that, in spite of my material limitations, I may follow
God's way. I pray that I may learn that trying to do His will is perfect
freedom.--From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden
Foundation
NA - Just for Today
From isolation to connection
“Our disease isolated us... Hostile, resentful, self-centered,
and self-seeking, we cut ourselves off from the outside world.”--Basic Text, page
4
Addiction is an isolating disease, closing us off from society,
family, and self. We hid. We lied. We scorned the lives we saw others living,
surely beyond our grasp. Worst of all, we told ourselves there was nothing
wrong with us, even though we knew we were desperately ill. Our connection with
the world, and with reality itself, was severed. Our lives lost meaning, and we
withdrew further and further from reality.
The NA program is designed especially for people like us. It
helps reconnect us to the life we were meant to live, drawing us out of our
isolation. We stop lying to ourselves about our condition; we admit our
powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives. We develop faith that our
lives can improve, that recovery is possible, and that happiness is not
permanently beyond our grasp. We get honest; we stop hiding; we “show up and
tell the truth,” no matter what. And as we do, we establish the ties that
connect our individual lives to the larger life around us.
We addicts need not live lives of isolation. The Twelve Steps
can restore our connection to life and living—if we work them.
Just for today: I am a part of the life around me. I will
practice my program to strengthen my connection to my world.--From the book
Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services,
Inc.
Thought for Today
"Gratitude releases us from the 'Gimmies'. If there is to
be any peace, it will come through being, not having.--Henry Miller
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
"Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.--Lao-tzu
Native American
"Always listen to what the Elders say."--Dona Josefa
Medrano, HUICHOL, SIERRA MADRE, MEXICO
In school we have been taught to go to the encyclopedia when we
need information about certain subjects. From the time we are little, we have a
natural tendency to seek out role models. When we need information about living
we tend to seek out books about living. These maybe self help books! The world
is full of information. For the Native people, we have our Elders. All races
have Elders. Our lives will run much smoother when we listen to the Elders. They
don't always tell us what we want to hear but they always tell us what we need
to hear. The Elders have the ability to make the truth sweet.
Creator, thank You for the Elders! Help me this day to listen to
them.
Keep It Simple
Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person,
nation, or creed.--Bertand Russell
In recovery learn to give up hate. We must stand for justice,
not for hate. We must learn to respect people. They, in turn, will respect us
in most cases. We begin to see how important it is to give up hate--if we want
others to care for us. Hate is often our secret. Hate is found deep in our
hearts and minds. It eats at our souls. It hurts our spiritual growth.
Sometimes people are public about their hate. There are even dangerous groups
based on hate. But, the most dangerous hate is the private and unspoken. Do I
have public hates? Do I have secret hates?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, search my hearts and show me
any hates I have. Help me rid myself of them.
Action for the Day: I'll list any people, nations, or creeds I
hate. I'll pray to have this hate removed. I'll pray for these people, nations,
or creeds.
Big Book
"In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may
not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration,
an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't
struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried
this for a while."--Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, page
86
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Mr. X and Alcoholics Anonymous © (thanks Don F.) by Rev.
Dilworth Lupton
This was a sermon preached on November 26, 1939 by Dilworth
Lupton at the First Unitarian Church (Universalist - Unitarian), Euclid at East
82nd Street, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. X was Clarence H. Snyder. This was turned
into one of the first pamphlets concerning A.A. and was used by A.A. members in
Cleveland in the late 1930's and early 1940's. Mr. X and Alcoholics Anonymous
My friend, Mr. X, is a young man with a family.
For five years, to use his own words, Mr. X did not "draw a
sober breath." His over-patient wife was about to sue him for divorce. Now
for over two years, he has not had a single drink. He maintains that his
"cure" is due to the efforts of a group of "ex-drunks"
(their own term) who call themselves Alcoholics Anonymous. I have had several
opportunities to meet members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Not long ago I accepted
an invitation from Mr. X to attend one of their meetings, held in a private home.
They are simple affairs: First a brief prayer, then four or five give public
testimony to their experiences, refreshments are served, and there is general
fellowship. They call themselves religious, but I find no sign of excessive
piety, sensationalism, or fanaticism. Furthermore they have a sense of humor,
somewhat of a rarity in religious circles.
They are not trying to make other people or the country into
"dries." They merely say, "We are the type that can't take it,
and we have found a way of leaving it alone." In my own home recently nine
members of this group submitted themselves to questions for four hours from a
prominent physician and a psychiatrist. Both were impressed by the trim
appearance, sincerity, manliness of the ex-victims, and by the seeming efficacy
of their methods. As the physician said to me privately, "These boys have
got something!" Thank God someone is throwing light on the problem of the
chronic alcoholic, a problem that has perplexed men for centuries. There may be
a million victims in the United States.
Chronic alcoholism is not a vice but a disease. Its victims know
that the habit is exceedingly harmful - as one of them graphically expressed it
to me, "I was staring into a pine box" - but they are driven toward
drink by an uncontrollable desire, by what psychologists call a compulsive
psychosis. Complete abstinence appears the only way out, but except in rare
cases that has been impossible of attainment. Religion, psychiatry, and
medicine have been tried, but with only sporadic success. The members of
Alcoholics Anonymous, however, appear to have found an answer, for they claim
that at least fifty per cent of those they interest have stopped drinking
completely. From conversations with my friend, Mr. X, and with members of the
Cleveland group, I am convinced that this success comes through the application
of four religious principles that are as old as the Ten Commandments.
1. The principle of spiritual dependence! Mr. X, who had been
drinking excessively for years, found that he couldn't summon enough will power
to stop even for a single day. Finally in desperation he consented to a week of
hospital treatment. During this time he received frequent visits from members
of Alcoholics Anonymous. They told him that he must stop trying to use his will
and trust in a Power greater than himself. Such trust had saved them from the
abyss and could save him. Believe or perish! Mr. X chose to believe. Within a
few days he lost all desire for alcohol. Trust in God seems to be the heart of the
whole movement. Religion must be more than a mere set of beliefs; it must be a
profound inner experience, faith in a Presence to which one may go for strength
in time of weakness. This fact is made quite clear in the book ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS©, which gives the philosophy behind the movement and also the
testimony of thirty of those who have benefited. Although written by laymen it
contains more psychological and religious common-sense than one often reads in
volumes by religious professionals. The book is free from can’t, from archaic
phraseology. It gives with skill and intelligence an inside view of the alcohol
problem and the technique through which these men have found their freedom. I
will let "Bill," one of the contributors to ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS©, describe
his own experience. He had been drinking in his kitchen - there was enough gin
in the house to carry him through that night and the next day. An old friend
came to see him. They had often been drunk together, but now he refused to
drink! He had "got religion." He talked for hours...it all seemed
impossible, and yet there he was, sober. But let me quote from the book: God
had done for him what he could not do for himself. His human will had failed.
Doctors had pronounced him incurable. Society was about to lock him up. Like
myself, he had admitted complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised
from the dead, suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better
than the best he had ever known! Had this power originated in him? Obviously it
had not. There had been no more power in him than there was in me at that
moment, and this was none at all. That floored me. It began to look as though
religious people were right after all. Here was something at work in a human
heart which had done the impossible. My ideas about miracles were drastically
revised right then. Never mind the musty past; here sat a miracle directly
across the kitchen table. He shouted great tidings.* *Alcoholics Anonymous©
(New York, AAWS, Inc., 1976), page 11. How hard is it for us moderns to concede
- much less express it as our deep conviction - that our inner lives ultimately
are dependent upon a power-not-ourselves. Such an attitude seems weak and
cowardly. But we go even farther; we suspect that faith in a spiritual Presence
outside ourselves is absurd. Why absurd? Our bodies are dependent ultimately
upon the physical cosmos, upon air and sunlight, and upon this strange planet
that bears us up. Why is it absurd then, to think of our spiritual selves - our
souls, psyches, call them what you will - as being dependent upon a spiritual
cosmos? Is it not absurd, rather to conceive that the material side of us is
part of a material universe, but that our nature is isolated, alone,
independent? Is not such an attitude a kind of megalomania? At any rate these
ex-alcoholics declare that only when they recognized their spiritual dependence
was their obsession broken.
2. The principle of universality! In our great museums one
usually finds paintings covering several ages of art, often brought together
from widely separated localities - the primitive, medieval and modern periods;
products of French, American, English, and Dutch masters; treasures from China,
Japan, and India. Yet as one looks at these productions he instinctively feels that
a universal beauty runs through them all. Beauty knows no particular age or
school. Beauty is never exclusive and provincial; it is inclusive and universal,
so, too, in the field of religion. We are beginning to recognize the
substantial unity of all religious faiths. Back of all religions is religion
itself. Religion appears in differing types, but they are all expressions of
one great impulse to live nobly and to adore the highest. This universality of
religion is recognized by the Alcoholics Anonymous. Their meetings are attended
by Catholics, Protestants, Jews, near-agnostics, and near-atheists. There is
the utmost tolerance. It seems of no concern to the group with what religious
bodies non-church-going members eventually identify themselves; indeed there is
no pressure to join any church whatever. What particularly impresses me is the
fact that each individual can conceive of the Power-not-himself in whatever
terms he pleases. "Bill" - the writer already quoted in ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS© - makes this tolerance clear when he further narrates his
conversation with his ex-alcoholic friend: My friend suggested what then seemed
a novel idea, he said, 'Why don't you choose your own conception of God?' That
statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow
I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was
only a matter of being willing to believe in a power greater than myself.
Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start
from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I
saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!* *Alcoholics Anonymous©
(New York, AAWS, Inc., 1976), page 12. Perhaps these laymen in Alcoholics
Anonymous are laying foundations for a new universal movement in religion.
Surely the conventional conceptions of religion have been too narrow. Religion,
itself, is far bigger and broader than we thought. It is something we can no
more capture through rigid dogmas than we can squeeze all the sunshine in the
world through one window.
3. The principle of mutual aid! Consider again the case of Mr.
X. When he was being hospitalized eighteen laymen visitors called on him within
the brief space of five days. These men were willing to give their valuable
time in trying to help a man they had never seen before. To Mr. X they related
their own dramatic experiences in being saved from slavery to alcohol, and
offered their assistance. Upon leaving the hospital Mr. X began attending the weekly
meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. (Editor's note- these were actually meetings
of the Oxford Group as Alcoholics Anonymous was not officially named in 1938)!
Before long he was following the example of the men who had so generously given
him of their help. From what I know of the practices of these members of
Alcoholics Anonymous, I feel quite confident that Mr. X this very day is using
virtually every hour of his spare time to assist other victims in getting on
their feet. As he said to me recently, "Only an alcoholic can help an
alcoholic. If a victim of chronic alcoholism goes to a doctor, psychiatrist, or
a minister, he feels the listener cannot possibly understand what it means to
be afflicted with a compulsion psychosis. But when he talks with an ex-alcoholic,
who has probably been in a worse fix than himself and has found the way out, he
immediately gains a confidence in himself that he hasn't had in years. He says,
to himself, in substance, 'If this fellow has been saved from disaster I can be
too'." The weekly meetings of the Alcoholics Anonymous operate on this
same principal of mutual aid. The ex-victims bolster up each other's morale
through comradeship. Like ship-wrecked sailors on a raft headed for the shore,
the bond that holds them together is the same that they have escaped from a
common peril. Upon each newcomer is impressed the, necessity, of helping other
alcoholics obtain the freedom he has attained. They believe they gain strength
from expenditure - not expenditure of money, of which most of them have but
little, but of themselves. Said one of them to me, "What I have is no good
unless I give it away." There are no dues, no fees, just the sheer
pleasure and, in this case, moral profit, that comes from helping the other
fellow. This mutual aid acts as a sort of endless chain. Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr.
C help Mr. X out of the frightful mess hi is in; then Mr. X turns around and
helps Mr. Y and Mr. Z. These in turn help other victims. As "Bill"
writes in ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS©: My wife and I abandoned ourselves with
enthusiasm to the idea of helping other alcoholics to a solution of their
problems. It was fortunate, for my old business associates remained skeptical
for a year and a half, during which I found little work. I was not too well at
the time, and was plagued by waves of self-pity and resentment. This sometimes
nearly drove me back to drink. I soon found that when all other measures
failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day. Many times I have gone
to my old hospital in despair. On talking to a man there, I would be amazingly
uplifted and set on my feet. It is a design for living that works in rough
going.* * Alcoholics Anonymous© (New York, AAWS, Inc., 1976), page 15.
4. The principle of transformation! During the last half century,
many able psychologists have turned the searchlight of their investigations on
"religious experience." It seems quite clear from these studies that
religion consists not primarily in the intellectual acceptance of certain
beliefs. It involves even more the transformation of human character. Such
transformations have taken place not only in the lives of saints and religious
leaders, but in the souls of multitudes of common folk as well. It is a
scientific fact, through religious faith people are sometimes suddenly, and
sometimes gradually aroused to a new set of interests, are raised from lower to
higher levels of existence. Life and its duties take on new meaning, and
selfishness (half-conscious often) is displaced by the conscious desire to help
other people. If any human being needs such a transformation, it is the chronic
alcoholic. He may not be at the point where he is willing to admit that, but
his family and friends are! Alcoholism is a sickness, to be sure, but it is
unlike any other malady in certain fundamental aspects. Compare for example,
the case of the alcoholic with that of a tubercular patient. Everybody is sorry
for the "T. B." and wants to help. He is surrounded by friendliness
and love. But in all likelihood, the alcoholic has made a perfect hell of his
home and has destroyed his friendships one by one. He has drawn to himself not
compassion and love, but misunderstanding, resentment, and hate. There seems to
be that there is every evidence, the Alcoholics Anonymous group has been
amazingly successful in bringing about religious transformation. Note how a
doctor describes the effect of this technique on one of his patients: He had
lost everything worthwhile in his life and was only living, one might say, to
drink. He frankly admitted and believed that for him there was no hope.
Following the elimination of alcohol, there was found to be no permanent brain
injury. He accepted the plan outlined in this book (ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS©). One
year later he called to see me, and I experienced a very strange sensation. I
knew this man by name, and partly recognized his features, but there all
resemblance ended. From a trembling, despairing and nervous wreck had emerged a
man brimming over with self-reliance and contentment. I talked with him for
some time, but was not able to bring myself to feel that I had known him
before. To me he was a stranger, and so he left me. More than three years have
now passed with no return to alcohol.* * Alcoholics Anonymous©, "The
Doctor's Opinion" (New York, AAWS, Inc., 1976), page xxix. Every member of
this movement declares that since he has come to believe in a
Power-greater-than-himself a revolutionary change has taken place in his life;
even his acquaintances note a marked change. He has radically altered his
attitudes and outlooks, his habits of thought. In the face of despair and
impending collapse, he has gained a new sense of direction, new power. I have
seen these things with my own eyes. They are convincing, dramatic, moving.
One final word to the members of Alcoholics Anonymous!
Go back to your synagogues and churches; they need you and you
need them.
Preserve your principle of Universality, your faith that all
religion is one.
Never allow yourselves to be absorbed by any single church or
sect.
Keep your movement what you call it now, a "layman's
outfit."
Avoid over-organization for religious organizations always tend
to follow the letter rather than the spirit, finally crushing the spirit.
Remember that early Christianity was promoted not by highly
involved organization, but by the contagion of souls fired with enthusiasm for
their cause.
And keep your sense of humor! So far you do not seem afflicted
with the curse of over-seriousness.
To doctors and psychiatrists I would say; Be skeptical,
investigate this movement with an open mind. If you become convinced of their
sincerity and the efficacy of their methods, give these men your approval and
open support. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS© ought to have a wide reading by the general
public. For one thing the public ought to learn, first hand, the chronic
alcoholic is suffering not from a vice, but from a disease; that it is
impossible for him to "drink like a gentleman." Moderation for him is
out of the question. For him there is no such thing as the single drink. It is
one taste, and then the deluge.
Certainly every victim of alcoholism and every friend of victims
ought to buy or borrow and read this book, then seek to get in touch with some
member of the movement.
The writer of this article will be glad to furnish addresses of the
Cleveland leaders.
Or communicate with Alcoholics Anonymous, Box 658, Church Street
Annex, New York City.--From the book "How It Worked - The Story of
Clarence H. Snyder© and the Early Days of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland,
Ohio©" by Mitchell K.
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WHAT WE NEED --- EACH OTHER
. . . A.A. is really saying to the serious drinker, "You
are an A.A. member if you say so . . . nobody can keep you out."--WELVE
STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, page. 139
For years, whenever I reflected on Tradition Three ("The
only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking"), I
thought it valuable only to newcomers. It was their guarantee that no one could
bar them from A.A. Today I feel enduring gratitude for the spiritual
development the tradition has brought me. I don't seek out people obviously
different from myself. Tradition Three, concentrating on the one way I am
similar to others, brought me to know and help every kind of alcoholic, just as
they have helped me. Charlotte, the atheist, showed me higher standards of
ethics and honor; Clay, of another race, taught me patience; Winslow, who is
gay, led me by example into true compassion; Young Megan says that seeing me at
meetings, sober thirty years, keeps her coming back. Tradition Three insured
that we would get what we need --- each other.--From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
We used to depend on drinking for a lot of things. We depended
on drinking to help us enjoy things. It gave us a "kick." It broke
down our shyness and helped us to have a "good time." We depended on
drinking to help us when we felt low physically. If we had a toothache or just
a hangover, we felt better after a few drinks. We depended on drinking to help
us when we felt low mentally. If we had a tough day at work or if we'd had a
fight with our loved one, or if things just seemed against us, we felt better
under the influence of alcohol. For us alcoholics, it got so that we depended
on drinking for almost everything. Have I gotten over that dependence on
drinking?
Meditation for the Day
I believe that complete surrender of my life to God is the
foundation of serenity. God has prepared for us many mansions. I do not look
upon that promise as referring only to the afterlife. I do not look upon this
life as something to be struggled through, in order to get the rewards of the
next life. I believe that the Kingdom of God is within us and we can enjoy
"eternal life' here and now.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to do God's will. I pray that such
understanding, insight, and vision shall be mine as shall make my life eternal,
here and now.--From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by
Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
An added gift
“We see it happening among us every day. This miraculous
turnabout is evidence of a spiritual awakening.”--Basic Text, page 51
We watch them walk in to their first meeting defeated, their
spirits broken. Their suffering is obvious, and their desire for help even more
apparent. They collect a welcome chip and go back to their seats, shaken by the
effort.
We see them again, and they seem a little more comfortable.
They’ve found a sponsor and are attending meetings every night. They still
won’t meet our glance, but they nod their heads in recognition as we share. We
notice a spark of hope in their eyes, and they smile uncertainly when we
encourage them to keep coming back.
A few months later, they are standing straight. They’ve learned
how to make eye contact. They’re working the steps with their sponsor and are
healing as a result. We listen to them sharing at meetings. We stack chairs
with them afterward.
A few years later, they are speaking at a convention workshop.
They’ve got a wonderful, humorous personality. They smile when they see us,
they hug us, and they tell us they could never have done it without us. They understand
when we say, “nor could we, without you.”
Just for today: I will find joy in witnessing the recovery of
another.--From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics
Anonymous World Services, Inc.!
Thought for Today
"Pleasure is a by-product of doing something that is worth
doing.
Therefore, do not seek pleasure as such. Pleasure comes of seeking
something else, and comes by the way."--A. Lawrence Lowell
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Your search among books, word upon word, may lead you to the
depths of knowledge, but it is not the way to receive the reflection of your
true self.
When you have thrown off your ideas as to mind and body, the
original truth will fully appear. Zen is simply the expression of truth;
therefore longing and striving are not the true attitudes of Zen.--Dogen,
"The Practice of Meditation"
Native American
"Also ask your heart to purify and cleanse this defect and
harmful desire. Ask also the help of the inner father and mother. Every time we
eliminate a defect, we build our soul, our inner temple. We ascend like going
up a stairway."--Willaru Huayata, QUECHUA NATION, PERU
The building blocks to knowledge and wisdom are constructed
through the lessons of our character defects if we constructively review our
conduct each day, asking where we are resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid.
Remember, we need to review constructively, not destructively. Destructive
review is when we ask, "what's the matter with me anyway." or
"how could I be so stupid?" These question lead to morbid reflection
or remorse and seriously affect our self esteem. In constructive review we ask,
"What will I do next time?" With constructive review we progressively
eliminate the defect and replace it with wisdom.
My Creator, allow me to have my defects because through them I
gain in knowledge of YOUR will.
Keep It Simple
The best way to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm!--Swedish
proverb.
During our illness, we hurt others. We hurt ourselves. We messed
up a lot.
So, a lot of us come to recovery not trusting ourselves very
much. The truth is, as addicts, we couldn't be trusted.
But in recovery, we can be trusted again. We can again live and
love ourselves. We do this by finding our spiritual center. This is the place
inside of us where our Higher Power lives. We turn our will and our lives over
to this spiritual center. We do as our spiritual center tells us. And from our
spiritual center, we'll find our values. We'll live better lives. We'll come to
trust ourselves again.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for helping me Believe
in myself again. I'll treat myself with love and kindness. I know YOU want me
to.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four ways I couldn't be
trusted during my addiction. I'll also list four ways I can now be trusted.
Big Book
"We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline
us..."--Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, page 88
----------------------------------------
Which Wolf Do You Feed?
An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren
about life.
He said to them, a fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible
fight, and it is between two wolves.
One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, pride, and superiority.
The other wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion, and faith.
This same fight is going on inside of you and every other person.
The children thought about it for a minute and then one child asked
his grandfather, which wolf will win?
The old Cherokee simply replied: The one I feed.
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If you're not enjoying your sobriety it's your own damn fault
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