I am what I am

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have learned how to be honest. What a relief! No more ducking or dodging. No more tall tales. No more pretending to be what I am not. My cards are on the table for the entire world to see. "I am what I am," as Popeye used to say in the comics. I have had an unsavory past. I am sorry, yet. But it cannot be changed now. All that is yesterday and is done. But now my life is an open book. Come and look at it, if you want to. I'm trying to do the best I can. I will fail often, but I won't make excuses. I will face things as they are and not run away. Am I really honest?

Meditation for the Day

EXACTLY ALIKE

A man came to the meeting drunk, interrupted the speakers, stood up and took his shirt off, staggered loudly back and forth for coffee, demanded to talk, and eventually called the group's secretary an unquotable name and walked out.
 
I was glad he was there - once again I saw what I still could be. I don't have to be drunk to want to be the exception and the center of attention. I have often felt abused and responded abusively when I was simply being treated as a garden variety human being.
 
The more the man tried to insist he was different, the more I realized that he and I were exactly alike.

Roots

Deep roots offer strength and stability to an organism. They nourish it plentifully. They anchor it when the fierce winds blow. We each are offered the gifts of roots when we give ourselves fully to the program.

We are never going to face, alone, any difficult situation after discovering recovery. Never again need we make any decision in isolation. Help is constant. Guidance through companionship with others and our contacts with God will always be as close as our requests. The program anchors us; every prayer we make, every step we take, nourishes the roots we are developing.

LIGHTENING THE BURDEN

Since I have been sober, I have been healed of many pains: deceiving my partner, deserting my best friend, and spoiling my mother's hopes for my life.

In each case someone in the program told me of a similar problem, and I was able to share what happened to me. When my story was told, both of us got up with lighter hearts.Daily Reflections

FINDING "A REASON TO BELIEVE"

A line from a song goes, " . . . and I look to find a reason to believe . . ." It reminds me that at one time I was not able to find a reason to believe that my life was all right. Even though my life had been saved by my coming to A. A., three months later I went out and drank again. Someone told me: "You don't have to believe. Aren't you willing to believe that there is a reason for your life, even though you may not know yourself what that reason is, or that you may not sometimes know the right way to behave?"

When I saw how willing I was to believe there was a reason for my life, then I could start to work on the Steps. Now when I begin with, "I am willing. . .", I am using the key that leads to action, honesty, and an openness to a Higher Power moving through my life.

WE ASKED HIS PROTECTION

I could not manage life alone. I had tried that road and failed. My "ultimate sin" dragged me down to the lowest level I have ever reached and, unable even to function, I accepted the fact that I desperately needed help. I stopped fighting and surrendered entirely to God. Only then did I start growing! God forgave me.
 
 A Higher Power had to have saved me, because the doctors doubted that I would survive. I have forgiven myself now and I enjoy a freedom I have never before experienced. I've opened my heart and mind to Him.

Fear is a Liar

Bill W. Plant - Passin’ It On

Did you know that the fellowship of AA has it’s own plant?

If you are in recovery, you may have heard of, or seen a certain little green plant making its way around the rooms of your twelve step program. Maybe you have seen a little plant being given as a gift at a sobriety anniversary. Maybe your sponsor has one, or your sponsor's sponsor. Maybe you even have one, and have shared it with your sponsees.
.Do you have one yet?

The Bill W. Plant

Also known as Swedish Ivy, the Bill W. plant comes with a great story to share. That is what recovery is all about, one alcoholic sharing with another.

Bill W. passed away on January 24, 1971 in Miami, Florida. When his wife, Lois, returned to their home in New York, now known as Stepping Stones, she brought home the plant that had been in Bill's Florida hospital room.

Serenity

From "Happiness":

"The second tenet of the Serenity Prayer is too frequently slurred over. I am constantly amazed at the number of so-called obstacles I have overcome after giving them a second look, mustering what meager resources I have, then taking the hoe in hand.

Serenity to me, therefore, is the absence of insoluble conflict. And it is up to me first to determine whether, after an honest look at myself, I can cope with the problem, then to decide whether it is to be tackled, passed over to another day, or dismissed forever."

New Hartford, New York, USA
1973 AAWS Inc.

A RIDDLE THAT WORKS

I had a profound spiritual experience during an open A.A. meeting, which led me to blurt out. "I'm an alcoholic!" I have not had a drink since that day. I can tell you the words I heard just prior to my admission, and how those words affected me, but as to why it happened, I do not know.

I believe a power greater than myself chose me to recover, yet I do not know why.

Simple Beauty

From "A Prayer for All Seasons:"

"The power of [The Serenity Prayer] is overwhelming in that its simple beauty parallels the A.A. Fellowship. There are times when I get stuck while reciting it, but if I examine the section which is troubling me, I find the answer to my problem . . . By accepting life as it is, I gain serenity. By taking action, I gain courage and I thank God for the ability to distinguish between those situations I can work on, and those I must turn over. All that I have now is a gift from God: my life, my usefulness, my contentment, and this program.

Alcoholics Anonymous IS the easier, softer way."

1990, Daily Reflections, page 221

A LOOK BACKWARD

As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery, I experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear and bright, rather than obscure and dim. Reviewing my life to discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and dangerous task. It was painful to pause and look backward.
 
 I was afraid I might stumble! Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and just live in my new golden present? I realized that those in the past whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my movement toward serenity.