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

[DarkSkies]

December 16, 2008

Tolerance

Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober,
but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
Experience shows that few alcoholics will long stay away from a group
just because they don't like the way it is run.
Most return and adjust themselves to whatever conditions they must.
Some go to a different group, or form a new one.
In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes he cannot get well alone,
he will somehow find a way to get well and stay well in the company of others.
It has been that way from the beginning of AA and probably always will be so.





That's one of the biggest complaints I have heard from newcomers at meetings. They don't like this, that, the cliques in that group are stupid, the speaker curses too much, etc, etc. I think we sometimes make excuses when we don't want to participate in something and don't want to tell people the reasl truth why. So we cover with bs, something we alcoholics and addicts are good at.

That's ok, everyone is entitled to their opinion. One of my biggest gripes was at the meetings I used to go to, people smoked like chimneys, and my eyes hurt after sitting in there for up to 1 1/2 hours. Wanting recovery is going after it like your life depends on it, because it does. All you have to do is look at the examples of those who don't make it. I know plenty of people who are now buried in the cemetary.

I had a friend who told me once - "I can't be an alcoholic like you, you grew up in the street culture, I wenty to better schools and surrounded myself with different people than you did. We had entirely different lives, you and me, so what you look at as important doesn't apply to me."

That friend is dead now, he couldn't deal with working out his problems, and kept it all inside.

We can all try to be more tolerant. The differences among us are on the outside. Focusing on them stops us from focusing on our recovery.

[jonthepain]

One of my biggest gripes was at the meetings I used to go to, people smoked like chimneys, and my eyes hurt after sitting in there for up to 1 1/2 hours.

yup that's what killed it for me. went to a meeting, couldn't take the smoke, ended up getting hammered for another 10 yrs.

[DarkSkies]

A.A. Thought For The Day

The way of faith is of course not confined to A.A. It is
the way for everybody who wants to really live. But many
people can go through life without much of it. Many are
doing so, to their own sorrow. The world is full of lack
of faith. Many people have lost confidence in any meaning
in the universe. Many are wondering if it has any meaning
at all. Many are at loose ends. Life has no goal for many.
They are strangers in the land. They are not at home. But
for us in A.A. the way of faith is the way of life. We
have proved by our past lives that we could not live
without it. Do I think I could live happily without faith?

"Life will take on a new meaning," as the Big Book says
(p. 89) This promise has helped me to avoid self-seeking
and self-pity. To watch others grow in this wonderful
program, to see them improve the quality of their lives,
is a priceless reward for my effort to help others.
Self-examination is yet another reward for an ongoing
recovery, as are serenity, peace and contentment. The
energy derived from seeing others on a successful path,
of sharing with them the joys of the journey, gives to
my life a new meaning.





Faith, and helping others. I know how to help others, and do it when I canm or if they ask. Faith is the issue I still struggle with. Like many recovering people, I look at the state of the world, and seen the cruelty and meanness from people who aren't happy with their own lives and need to victimize others.

The NJ case of Sara Parks comes to mind. She never harmed anyone, and was killed in an brutal way by someone whe trusted. So you ask yourself, where was God when this was happening? I guess God can't be everywhere, but these are the kinds of things that go through my head when I think of having faith.

I think the best way for me to understand this is that there will always be evil in the world. We just have to do the best we can in our corner if it, and try to make it a better place, leading by example. There are a lot of people who I think have made better examples of how to live their lives than I have, I am still trying.

[jimmy z]

If I dwell on the negative aspects of the world, the positive is not in focus.
I want what I have, today. The world is what it is. I believe I can make a difference, if I am doing good.

[DarkSkies]

Jimmy, when I first met you, in my mind that phrase "it is what it is" became one of your trademarks. Others may use it, but I always think of you when I hear it. I heard that you had many ups and downs in life, yet you always try to maintain an even keel. I kinda admire you for that. My keel is not always so even... "it is what it is"

[DarkSkies]

December 18, 2008

Not-worrying

None of us has to understand God or worry about things beyond our control.
We can indulge ourselves in the luxury of not-worrying. . .
We simply stop messing in God's business.
And in my opinion, when we stop messing and stop worrying,
we have turned out will and our lives over to God (or Good)
as we understand (or don't understand) Him.

Thought to Ponder....

Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with serenity.









That's one of the good things I like about the AA/NA readings.

They talk about not worrying. (Yeah that's great, I'm a type A personality, I overanalyze everything, I feel comfortable in a worried atmosphere)

They talk about turning our will and our lives over to God.
(well what if I don't want to do that completely? what if Im still struggling with turning it over to God?)

as we understand (or don't understand) Him
This is the saving grace here, the one thing that helped a wretch like me reach for salvation. Even though I was cynical, mistrusting, and generally not believing anything unless I saw it proved to me, here was something I could wrap my head around. It was the reallization the Higher power could be anything I wanted it to be - God, church, or people and healthy relationships that would help keep me sober.

And you can turn your will over to Good, at first, if you're not comfortable with religion. Eventually, God will find a way in there, but only if you want him to.

[jimmy z]

I struggled with turning my will over to God, in early recovery. When I tried, I didn't know what to do next.
What I realized over time, and learning, was that as I got rid of my stinkin' thinkin', I had to fill in that void with positive thinking.

The Big Book was the first choice, than a daily devotional, and now the Bible.
God's will and intent for me, today. Do what is good and pure and true, is God's will for me, and not my will for myself.