One Day at a Time - Do You Know Bill W?

[DarkSkies]

December 10, 2008

Humility

On his desk, Dr. Bob had a plaque defining humility:
"Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble.
It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore;
to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me.
It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised,
it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door
and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness,
when all around and about is seeming trouble."

Thought to Ponder....

The storm has passed. I've learned a little more about peace.
It was inside all the time.


"Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble.
It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore;
to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me...


I would say that the above quote is what I have had the most difficulty with. It's better for me now than it once was, but it's still a struggle sometimes. Never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore... wow what a concept! The people I admire the most have a good handle on humility. They lead their lives by example, and I admire that example. As for me, I would say I am able to achieve that maybe 50% of the time. This is one area where I definitely need work.

[DarkSkies]

A friend sent me this yesterday



DID YOU READ YOUR JUST FOR TODAY ?
are you living in the problem today?
try living in the solution !, if you dont Know how find
a winner and stick to him till the change from being an
alcoholic changes to being a recovering alcoholic ,enjoying life as god intended

Tru Humility-
is there realy GOOD and BAD ?
no
only lessons.

[DarkSkies]

December 11, 2008

Instincts

Our desires for emotional security and wealth, for personal prestige and power,
for romance, and family satisfactions --
all these have to be tempered and redirected. . .
If we place instincts first, we have got the cart before the horse;
we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first --
then and only then do we have a real chance.



Thought to Ponder....

Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional,
growing spiritually is up to you.





I don't know about you others out there, but this is a tough one for me. My whole life, personal and business, has been based on instincts. I meet someone, and have about 5 minutes to size them up. This is important when you are hiring someone for a job or thinking which relationships might develop into friendships. It's a survival tool to help avoid mistakes. So it's tough to read this here, and they talk about putting those instincts aside in favor of spirituality, or at least that's how I read it.


There are some people who have more spirituality than me, who I look up to. These peole seem to be able to weather any storm, and are on a more even keel than I am. I admire that, and try to emulate it as best I can.

But I fail, I can't seem to jump that bridge of faith. The lesssons of me growing up have taught me that instincts is the first thing I reach for, I feel they help keep me centered and prevent disappointment.


I always had a problem with putting blind faith in anything. If anyone out there feels that way or can shed some light on how this works for them, I would appreciate hearing about it. I still have much to learn.

[jimmy z]

Two words come to mind. I believe.
Now the rest is up to me. Eleven plus years ago, I learned that a baby has to crawl, before it can walk. Today, I believe.

[DarkSkies]

AA Thought for the Day

December 12, 2008

The Merry-Go-Round

I began to feel like a clown juggling too many balls.
Each ball represented a problem I was keeping up in the air.
My arms were weary and I knew I couldn't keep up much longer,
but I was not about to give up. My pride and ego wouldn't let me.
Bosses, judges, co-workers, lawyers, car notes, bar tabs, loan sharks,
utility payments, landlords, my girlfriend, people I had double-crossed --
I looked to all these as the source of my problems,
while overlooking the most basic problem; my drinking and myself.
I'd known for a long time that I desperately wanted off this merry-go-round,
but I had no idea how to do it.



Thought to Ponder....

I can't start doing what's right until I stop doing what's wrong.





I can definitely identify with that. I felt I was on a merry go round that wouldn't stop. The same behavior yeilded the same results. I kept promising myself I would quit, usually after something bad happen. I would crash a car, get into some trouble and wake up with steel bracelets on, fight with my family or girlfriend and have no memory of it when I woke up, only to have the night's events repeated to me, and thinking I was finally fed up with my behavior.

This time I would quit! I would really do it, I was finally motivated! Then 2 weeks later I would be doing the same thing, disappointing family, frieeds, and ruining the relationships that mattered the most to me.

I couldn't get off the merry go round till I was ready to surrender. This was a very difficult concept for me - what the eff was I surrendering to? Only losers surrendered, I was a man, in charge of my life, no way I would surrender to some stupid brainwashing!

As things got worse, and I became more beaten down from all the bad things I was doing, I hit bottom and came to a realization that I couldn't live my life that way anymore. It was too painful, too embarassing, and the pain became too great. Alcohol or drugs couldn't deaden it anymore, I was miserable every day with or without the marsmallow cushion.

So I gave up,, and said, let me at least try this thing "surrender". I was tired, sick, and sick of being sick and tired. It was time to try something else. I'm glad I did, or I wouldn't be here today.

[dogfish]

I know that merry go round, It's not fun.

[DarkSkies]

Merry go round - went to a new meeting last night, an old friend runs it. Some newcomers came up to me after, and we talked about them coming in and out, they're having trouble with surrender. I felt bad for them,. but at the same time asked them if they hadn't had enough pain yet. They were talking about the same merry go reound the daily thought referenced above.

If they want help it's there, all you gotta do is ask. Some of us are too proud to ask, because alcohol and drugs are fun. Even when they're not fun anymore, they're comfortable, and some people keep hanging on and beating their heads against the wall.

I can't do anything about that, becasue I did the same thing for years. Everyone gets sober in their own time, keep comin back.