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

[mick2360]

Hey Dark, Thanks for getting this started. When I first came across a thread like this on another site, I thought it might help. That thread has thousands of posts and many, many guys have been helped. Coming to grips with a problem means knowing that alcohol or drugs are hurting your life, health and relationships. Maybe this is a place people can come to check out their thoughts. We drunks come with many backgrounds and stories. Some of mine make me laugh when I tell them but there is a sad ache of the life I missed living in a haze. Recovery started with a couple of simple words. "My name is Mick and I'm an alcoholic".

[DarkSkies]

Yup, Mick, my name is Dark, and I'm a recovering alcoholic.

Found this cool online site with thoughts for the day:

November 27, 2008

Thankfulness

How thankful I am today, to know that all my past failures
were necessary for me to be where I am now.
Through much pain came experience and, in suffering, I became obedient.
When I sought God, as I understand Him, He shared His treasured gifts.
Through experience and obedience, growth started,
followed by gratitude.
Yes, then came peace of mind -- living in and sharing sobriety.




For today, I am thankful for all the people who extended their hand to me in the beginning years. I was lost, and had no idea where to begin. I have gone back to those rooms from time to time, and many are no longer there. There's a completely new crop of people, like the new session of school in the fall.

But it's a lifelong "school" and learning experience for us. We can always learn from others.

I wanted to wish all the members here and their families a great Thanksgiving and Holiday Season! This time of year I seem to notice others who are less fortunate. With the way the economy is going, I seem to see mopre people down on their luck. You can't help everyone, but a few words of kindness can go a long way. It feels good, and your kindness might be the spark that other person needed.

Just the other day, I was talking about some people who helped me years ago when I was down on my luck, One of them was in LE, Mr B. Those were some dark days back then, and he pulled me aside and said, Rich, you screwed up, but you'll make it out of this. Life goes on.

And it does, so I wanted to try and put some words out there for the people who may be suffering this Holiday Season. If your life looks like it can't get any worse, talk to someone, try to listen to the advice of others.

It can get better, and it will, if you work it. Don't give up, think of the people who will miss you if you're gone.

[mick2360]

Lots of wisdom in understanding how addiction and mistakes helped make us the men that we are today. If you are suffering today, please believe me that it can get better. I remember the feeling of hopelessness and I expected it to change immediately when I tried to stop drinking. Sometimes I would fail and start to drink all over again; sometimes for a year, then a few months and gradually with longer periods of abstinence in between. AA was always an open door. People would show me the steps, encourage questions and provide guidance. Those of you who are fellow drunks probably know how I reacted to guidance but eventually, I was able to stop altogether. It has been sixteen years. The life that I have today is beyond my wildest dreams and I am very, very grateful for the chance for a life.

No matter where you are today, if you are doing things that hurt yourself and those that you love there is help. Jump on, make yourself known we can talk about the journey we know as recovery. There is no shame in recognizing that your life needs to change. Happy Thanksgiving. May your life get better from this day forward.

[DarkSkies]

Thought for the day:

November 28, 2008

On The Edge

No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning
and says: Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in.
I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted,
and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore.
What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon
thinking I'd never see the sun again.
AA didn't pull me out of that hole.
It did give me the tools to construct a ladder with Twelve Steps.






People talk about hitting bottom. I hit bottom many times, only I convinced myself each time it wasn't the bottom. I would screw up, feel terrible about it, and rationalize it wasn't that bad. People talk about banging your head against the wall and achieving the same results. I had to have my head smashed against a wall, and face death, before it was enough to scare me straight.

Words and logic from others did nothing, no matter how well-meaning they were. I had to learn life's hard lessons by myself. Remembering where I came from, and how hard it was to get out of there, helps me to keep my memory green and to stay sober today.

[DarkSkies]

November 29, 2008

Escape Act

I was at a dead halt - spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Depression smothered my muffled thinking even more. . .
Thank God I never gave up on meetings,
so my Higher Power finally got through to me.
I realized I'd been playing the great escape act all this time.
I know now I have a lot of work to do.





I knew that routine well. The good thing was that meetings were kind of the thing that saved me from further trouble. At first people said make 90 in 90 days. So many people have trouble with that, they think: How the heck can I make so many, I have a life to live, I'm busy, dammit!

Letting something or someone take priority over out sobriety is part of the cunning, baffling, and powerful nature of our addictions.

There are times when meetings don't fit the person - guys will say to me, yeah I know I should be going, but the people at that one I go to down the street are a'holes.

Well, find another street, and another meeting.

[DarkSkies]

November 30, 2008

Seeking Serenity

The program may not always be easy to practice,
but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me
after working the Steps.
As I work the Steps in everything I do,
practicing these principles in all my affairs,
now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself.


Thought to Ponder....

Serenity isn't freedom from the storm;
it is peace within the storm.






The thing about serenity for me, is that I don't view it as a goal or milestone. Otherwise it's too difficult. Instead I look at it as a gradual process.

The stuff about God I have been reading in the AA site I am doing the c&p from is a little heavy. Honestly, some of ythat turns me off at times. The way I look at these readings is to take what you want from them, and kind of minimize the rest.

I remember on another site there was a guy who was against the concept of meetings and God. He was so strongly set in his thinking, calling the meetings "brainwashing sessions". He was viewing people in recovery as being under some kind of mind control, so he naturally was against it. I think some of his resistance was hurting him in a negative sense because he closed his mind to all of the possibilities.

The cool thing about meetings and trying to recover is no one tells you exactly what to do unless you ask for advice. Just take what you want, leave the rest, that's what works for me.

[mick2360]

There's a lot to be said for taking what you can and leaving the rest; except that alcoholics and addicts are notoriously willful men and women. It took me awhile to humble myself enough to put myself under the guidance of another person who had been successful in achieving sobriety. Mustering up that level of trust was difficult, just not as difficult as dealing with the wreckage caused by my ongoing drinking.

As far as the thought to ponder, now, fifteen years later, i know that I am not immune to the troubles of life. I do know to keep calm, do not drink and keep taking appropriate steps to whatever I am dealing with. Life gets better and when there is a loss to be dealt with, I know that I am in a better place to deal with it. When I was drinking, honor and dignity were about not losing face and never, never taking a step back. Now they mean showing up, doing my level best and treating others fairly no matter what the situation. Honor and dignity come from meeting the standards I have set for my life, not meeting the expectations of others.

[DarkSkies]

Some of mine make me laugh when I tell them but there is a sad ache of the life I missed living in a haze.

I couldn't have said that any better, Mick. We all have some outrageous war stories. I know the focus is on today, but when I think of all the quality time that I threw away living in that haze, wow. Good to keep the memory green.