AA teaches us not to “let someone live rent-free in our head.” Resentments will kill us – or drive us to drink. As one friend put it, a resentment is “like a rusty nail in my soul.” I must look at my part, how I am contributing to the problem. I must “pause when agitated” …
It’s almost funny now to think about how many times and how many ways I could/would shift the blame for anything and everything to someone or something else. That false sense of superiority about myself always allowed me to be able to blame the world and not myself. It became a habit that was hard …
Throughout the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. made a number of construction references which eventually lead to the building of an archway. The archway to freedom is complete after finishing the fifth step. The Bedrock: We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and …
These are the words I heard at my DUI bootcamp. It was in the late 80’s and I got the DUI from a nice officer from Green Township. The equally nice judge gave me a 3 day vacation at a resort known as Drake hospital along with another 50 or so other offenders. Included at …
If the shoe fits wear it. If is doesn’t, don’t force it on. Read More »
I spent 50 years of my life with the mantra “What’s in it for me.” By my father’s actions, I was taught to look at life through these glasses and yes, he was an alcohol- ic. This is a sad way to go through life.The secondary issue is, “If I’m living my life that way” then I believe everyone else is also looking at life that way. With that attitude, you are always looking for the real agenda knowing that there is always a catch. That there is something more going on that I have overlooked and because of that, trust in another human is non-existent. It is impossible to trust when you are looking at every situation with a “Me Attitude.” My wife is a trusting person and until I got in AA, I made fun of her trusting attitude knowing she was going to get burned.
“Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams.”
That doesn’t sound like something from a top 40 song or a Valentine’s card, does it? But isn’t it true?
As an active alcoholic, didn’t I get irritated with my loved ones and hold onto hurts? How often did I think of their needs or put myself out to do some little kindness? Love only meant making myself happy.
When I came into the program tweets just came from birds and cell numbers were for people in jail. People are more inter- ested in game day, not God’s day. When I was young drinking one beer and trying to tell everyone I had twelve. Then drinking 12 trying to convince people I only had …
Sleep, beautiful sleep. In these winter months with the electric blanket on or in the summer nights with hardly anything. After a hard day at work or on vacation with nothing accomplished. Being able to close my eyes and drift off to the incredible world of sleep can be so extremly satisfying to me. You …
How many times while still drinking, disgusted with myself, did I go through the house and pour out all the booze I had stashed away? How many times did I swear I was done for good? But inevitably I’d soon start to come unglued and scramble off to the store to replace what I’d just …
The famous statement that says “You don’t know what you don’t know, until you know” is on point when you examine the thought – Living One Day at a Time”. Of course, you only live one day at a time since that’s all anyone really has but do you really? Before sobriety, I spent an …