A GLORIOUS RELEASE

"The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel.  Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life.  I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power Greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now.  To acquire it, I had only to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.'s program as enthusiastically as I could."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 27

After years of indulging in a "self-will run riot," Step Two became for me a glorious release from being all alone.  Nothing is so painful or insurmountable in my journey now.  Someone is always there to share life's burdens with me.  Step Two became a reinforcement with God, and now I realize that my insanity and ego were curiously linked.  To rid myself of the former, I must give up the latter to one with far broader shoulders than my own. 

Come share your story and your suggested solutions at Friendship House

******************************************************

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

One thing we learn in A.A. is to take a long view of drinking instead of a short view.  When we were drinking we thought more about the pleasure or release that a drink would give us than we did about the consequences that would result from our taking that drink.  Liquor looks good from the short view.  When we look in a package store window, we see liquor dressed up in its best wrappings, with fancy labels and decorations.  They look swell.  But have I learned that what's inside those beautiful bottles is just plain poison to me?

Meditation for the Day

I believe that life is a school in which I must learn spiritual things.  I must trust in God and He will teach me. I must listen to God and He will speak through my mind.  I must commune with Him in spite of all opposition and every obstacle.  There will be days when I will hear no voice in my mind and when there will come no intimate heart-to-heart communion.  But if I persist, and make a life habit of schooling myself in spiritual things, God will reveal Himself to me in many ways.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may regularly go to school in things of the spirit.  I pray that I may grow spiritually by making a practice of these things.
*************************************

Thought for Today

"Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way.
Stay away from what might have been, and look
at what can be."

--Marsha Petrie Sue (The CEO of You)

***************************************************

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

***************************************************
Native American

"Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of humor."

--Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa), SANTEE SIOUX

"It is better to give than receive." But it doesn't really matter if we are giving or receiving. There is an identical feeling associated with both. We get this feeling every time we receive. We can't control when we receive gifts but we can control when we give gifts. Therefore, the more we give, the better we feel. When we are given gifts, or someone does something for us, it is the Indian way to honor this person.

Great Spirit, let me honor and be respectful to those who are good to me today.

***************************************************

Keep It Simple

 Don't bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it.  ---  Thomas Jefferson

Pleasure is important in recovery. But at times we think pleasure is the answer to life's pains. Alcohol and other drugs were what we liked best. We need to watch out so we don't switch to another addiction--such as gambling, food, sex, or work. The real answer to life's pains is in having a strong spiritual center. It is also our best way to avoid another addiction. Recovery lets us turn our pain over to the care of our Higher Power. Our Higher Power can handle any problem we may have. Our program can help us with our problems too. Recovery is a three-way deal. Higher Power, program, and us.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me avoid another addiction. When I have problems, have me come to You and to my program before anything else.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll set aside time and ask the question, "Am I headed for another addiction/" I'll also ask my sponsor what he or she thinks.

Inner Peace

FAMILY OBLIGATIONS
....a spiritual life which does not include .....family obligations may not be so perfect after all.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129
I can be doing great in the program--applying it at meetings, at work, and in service activities--and find that things have gone to pieces at home. I expect my loved ones to understand, but they cannot. I expect them to see and value my progress, but they don’t--unless I show them. Do I neglect their needs and desires for my attention and concern? When I'm around them, am I irritable or boring? Are my "amends" a mumbled "Sorry," or do they take the form of patience and tolerance? Do I preach to them, trying to reform or "fix" them? Have I ever really cleaned house with them? The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it." (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83)





Come live it at Friendship House
**************************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
We alcoholics have to believe in some Power greater than ourselves. Yes, we have to believe in God. Not to believe in Higher Power drives us to atheism. Atheism, it has been said before, is blind faith in the strange proposition that this universe originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere. That's practically impossible to believe. So we turn to that Divine Principle in the universe that we call God. Have I stopped trying to run my own life?

Meditation for the Day
"Lord, we thank Thee for the great gift of peace, that peace which passeth all understanding, that peace which the world can neither give nor take away." That is the peace that only God can give in the midst of a restless world and surrounded by trouble and difficulty. To know that peace is to have received the stamp of the kingdom of God. When you have earned that peace, you are fit to judge between true and false values, between the values of the kingdom of God and the values of all that the world has to offer.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that today I may have inner peace. I pray that today I may be at peace with myself.
**************************************************************
Thought For Today

SOLITUDE
        Greta Garbo was reported to have said, "I want to be alone." Life
        brings its pressures, but we all need to find a place where we can be
        "alone".  Alone - not to "think" or "do" - simply to be. We need time to simply
        rest in our lives. A time in the day which we can call our own, to have a
        visit with the most important person we have got in our lives -
        ourselves.
        To rest in self is to experience "spiritual selfishness" - the joy of
        self-love.
         And how much we look forward to setting aside a time just for heart
        and mind to center on the pathway to listening to God.

Loneliness - the pain of being alone.

Solitude - the joy of being alone.
*********************************************************************************************
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
 The most dangerous thing in the world is to think you understand something.

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Native American
"When you go inside that power, there's no fear. It's so beautiful!! There's no fear there. There's no pain."
---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

Imagine you are standing on the edge of a stage. In the center of the stage is a spotlight shining from above. If you stand anyplace outside the spotlight, in the darkness, you will experience fear. But as soon as you step into the light in the center of the stage, all fear and pain go away. When we stand in the power, fear cannot exist. How do we find this place of power? We pray our way into it. We ask the Creator to take our hand and help us. When we get to that place, we will feel the fear go away.
Great Spirit, hold my hand and guide me today.

***************************************
Keep It Simple
 Who is the bravest hero? He who turns his enemy into a friend.  ---  Hebrew Proverb
In recovery we take our worst enemy, addiction, and turn it around. We were ashamed of our addiction. Over time we become proud of our recovery. We were our own worst enemy. Now we're our own best friend. We are brave people.

Being brave is about facing our fears. Often we think brave people don't get afraid, but this isn't true. Brave people learn to stay put, even when their knees are shaking. Many times in recovery, we will want to run when we should stay put. We may even think about using chemicals again.
We need to remember our bravery and how we turned our worst enemy into a friend.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, teach me when to run and when to stay put. Help me be brave.
Action for the Day:  I will claim bravery today. I'll hold my head up high and be proud of how far I've come. I now have nothing to be ashamed of.

 

CHARACTER BUILDING

Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion.  .  .  .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44

When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step, I didn't think it should rank as a character defect.  I wanted to think of it more of an asset (that is, the desire to please people).  It was quickly pointed out to me that this "need" can be very crippling.  Today I still enjoy getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to pay the price I used to pay to get it.  I will not bend myself into a pretzel to get others to like me.  If I get your approval, that's fine; but if I don't, I will survive without it.  I am responsible for speaking what I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may want to hear.

     

Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly concerned about my reputation.  Since being enlightened in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

A.A. Thought for the Day

Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward becoming more loving to my family and friends? Do I visit my parents? Am I more appreciative of my spouse than I was before? Am I grateful to my family for having put up with me? Have I found real understanding with my children? Do I feel that the friends I've found in A.A. are real friends? Do I believe that they are always ready to help me and do I want to help them if I can? Do I really care now about other people?

Meditation for the Day

Not what you do so much as what you are, that is the miracle-working power. You can be a force for good, with the help of God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to company with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God's grace, you shed one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time, you throw that one aside for a yet finer one. And so from character to character, you are gradually transformed.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may accept every challenge. I pray that each acceptance of a challenge may make me grow into a better person.
***********************************************

Thought for Today

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

--Will Rogers

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

So much fear and desire come from that commitment to 'I am'--to being somebody. Eventually they take us to anxiety and despair; life seems much more difficult and painful than it really is.

But when we just observe life for what it is, then it's all right: the delights, the beauty, the pleasures are just that.

-Ajahn Sumedho, "Seeing the Way"

*****************************************************

Native American

"With children we always have to think about seven generations to come but yet unborn."

--Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA

What we do today will effect the children seven generations form now. How we treat the Mother Earth will affect the children yet to be born. If we poison the water today, our children's children will be affected by the decision we made. Our children are the gateway to the future. Let us conscientiously think about the children and the seven generations to come.

My Creator, I thank you for my ancestors, seven generations ago.

*****************************************************

Keep It Simple

To know all things is not permitted.   ---  Horace

In recovery, we give up trying to be perfect. We give up trying to know
everything. We work at coming to know and accept our short-comings.  In
Step Four and Five, we look at our good points and our bad points. In Step
Six, we become ready to have our Higher Power remove our "defects of
character." Then in Step Seven we ask our Higher Power to remove our
"shortcomings."
Recovery is about coming to accept that we're not prefect. We admit that
trying to be perfect got in the way of being useful to ourselves, our
Higher Power, and those around us. Pretending to be prefect doesn't allow
us to be real. It's also boring and no fun---you never get to mess up.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, You will let me know what I need to know. Allow me to claim
my mistakes and shortcomings.

Action for the Day:  I will work at being okay today. Not prefect, just okay.

In Nashville, come by for a visit. Check out our website and visit us at 202.

Acceptance Is The Answer To.......

ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES

Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility without which no genuine advance can even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to that unflattering point of departure. This is an exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice every day of our lives. Provided we strenuously avoid turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life into unrealistic alibis for apathy of defeatism, they can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional health and therefore spiritual progress can be built.
                                                                                                                          AS BILL SEES IT p. 44

When I am having a difficult time accepting people, places or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves me of many an underlying fear regarding others, or situations life presents me. The thought allows me to be human and not perfect, and to regain my peace of mind.

 ******************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
The longer we're in A.A., the more natural this way of life seems. Our old drinking lives were a very unnatural way of living. Our present sober lives are the most natural way we could possibly live. During the early years of our drinking, our lives weren't so different from the lives of a lot of other people. But as we gradually became problem drinkers, our lives became more and more unnatural. Do I realize now that the things I did were far from natural?

Meditation for the Day
I will say thank you to God for everything, even the seeming trials and worries. I will strive to be grateful and humble. My whole attitude toward the Higher Power will be one of gratitude. I will be glad for the things I have received. I will pass on what God reveals to me. I believe that more truths will flow in, as I go along in the new way of life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be grateful for the things I have received and do not deserve. I pray that this gratitude will make me truly humble.
***********************************
Thought for Today

"It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it."

--Hans Selye

*******************************************************
Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Someone who is about to admonish another must realize within himself five qualities before doing so [that he may be able to say], thus:

"In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth I will speak, not in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To his profit will I speak, not to his loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger."

-"Vinaya Pitaka," translated by F.S. Woodward

*******************************************************
Native American

"From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things-the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals-and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery."

Chief Luther Standing Bear, SIOUX

The Great Spirit has six things that make up this life force. They are life, love, intelligence, soul, principle, and truth. These are the reasons the life cycle continues. None of this can be altered by man, but we can have access to these powers any time we wish. Just think about it-anytime I have a need I can access one or more of these powers."

Oh Great Mystery, let me know how to use these powers. Today, let me love life, let me know truth, let me live by principle, and let me follow Your intelligence.

*******************************************************
Keep It Simple

Remember always that you have not only the right to be individual, you have an obligation to be one.
Eleanor Roosevelt

When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we often thought that we were different from others. We secretly thought that no one could understand us. Maybe we tried to be one of the group, but we were lonely. Now we know for sure--we are different from others. Everyone's  unique. We all have this in common. Being like others helps us feel safe and normal. But we need to feel good about the ways we're different from others too. We think a little different, act a little different, and look a little different from anyone else. We each have our own way to make life better for others.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me be an individual. Help me use my special gifts, not hide them.

Action for the Day:  Today, I'll make a list of the things I'm good at. I'll think about how I can use these gifts.

Come visit us at Friendship House

OPENING UP TO CHANGE

Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures.  With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God's help.  .  .  .  we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life---the one that did not work---for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever.

AS BILL SEES IT, pp. 10, 8

I have been given a daily reprieve contingent upon my spiritual condition, provided I seek progress, not perfection.  To become ready to change, I practice willingness, opening myself to possibilities of change.  If I realize there are defects that hinder my usefulness in A.A. and toward others, I become ready by meditating and receiving direction.  "Some of us have tried to hold on to our own ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely"  (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58).  To let go and let God, I need only surrender my old ways to Him; I no longer fight nor do I try to control, but simply believe that, with God's help, I am changed and affirming this belief makes me ready.  I empty myself to be full of awareness, light, and love, and am ready to face each day with hope.

********************************************

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

A.A. Thought for the Day

Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. We always get worse, never better. We are never cured. Our alcoholism can only be arrested. No matter how long we have been sober, if we try liquor again, we're as bad or worse than we ever were. There is no exception to this rule in the whole history of A.A. We can never recapture the good times of the past. They are gone forever. Will I try to recapture them?

Meditation for the Day

Your life has been given to you mainly for the purpose of training your soul. This life we live is not so much for the body as for the soul. We often choose the way of life that best suits the body, not the way that best suits the soul. God wants you to choose what suits the soul as well as the body. Accept this belief and a wonderful molding of character is the result. Reject it and God's purpose for your life is frustrated, and your spiritual progress is delayed. Your soul is being trained by the good you choose. Thus the purpose of your life is being accomplished.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose what is good for my soul. I pray that I may realize God's purpose for my life.
******************************************

Thought for Today

Reality
The more I drank,
the more I fantasized everything.
I imagined getting even for hurts and rejections.
In my mind's eye I played and replayed scenes
in which I was plucked magically from the bar
where I stood nursing a drink
and was instantly exalted to some position of power
and prestige. I lived in a dream world.
AA led me from this fantasizing to embrace reality
with open arms.
And I found it beautiful!
I was at peace with myself. And with others.
And with God.

Thought to Ponder . . .
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S O B E R = Son Of A Basket, Everything's Real.

******************************************************

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
there is no objection to anything in the world;
and when there is no objection to anything,
things cease to be—in the old way.
When no discriminating attachment arises,
the old mind ceases to exist.
Let go of things as separate existences
and mind too vanishes.
Likewise when the thinking subject vanishes
so too do the objects created by mind.

******************************************************

Native American

"So we are connected to the moon. That gives us power, a connection to the earth and the moon, men don't know about."

--Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK

The Elders tell us that the Woman has access to special powers. The Earth Mother gives her love in a special way to the Woman. The Moon also gives special powers to the Woman. She uses these powers to nurture, heal and guide the people.

Great Spirit, today, give a special Blessing to our Women.

***************************************************
Keep It Simple
 It's not enough to talk to plants, you also have to listen.  ---  David Bergman
Sometimes, we find ourselves doing all the talking. When this happens, we need to stop, think, and listen.
When we do all the talking, we're trying to control what happens. But when we listen, we get better results. No one has to be in control. What a relief!
And we're learning to listen better every day. It's great---the care, love, and help we find---just by listening.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me learn the "give-and-take" of talking and listening.
Action for the Day:  Today, I'll focus on listening, not only to other people but to my Higher Power's voice.

Join us at Friendship House and check out our website.

My Aim Is To Improve My Character

CHARACTER BUILDING

Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion.  .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44

When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step, I didn't think it should rank as a character defect.  I wanted to think of it more of an asset (that is, the desire to please people).  It was quickly pointed out to me that this "need" can be very crippling.  Today I still enjoy getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to pay the price I used to pay to get it.  I will not bend myself into a pretzel to get others to like me.  

If I get your approval, that's fine; but if I don't, I will survive without it.  I am responsible for speaking what I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may want to hear.

     

Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly concerned about my reputation.  Since being enlightened in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.

********************************************************************

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

A.A. Thought for the Day

Since I've been in A.A., have I made a start toward becoming more loving to my family and friends? Do I visit my parents? Am I more appreciative of my spouse than I was before? Am I grateful to my family for having put up with me? Have I found real understanding with my children? Do I feel that the friends I've found in A.A. are real friends? Do I believe that they are always ready to help me and do I want to help them if I can? Do I really care now about other people?

Meditation for the Day

Not what you do so much as what you are, that is the miracle-working power. You can be a force for good, with the help of God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to company with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God's grace, you shed one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time, you throw that one aside for a yet finer one. And so from character to character, you are gradually transformed.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may accept every challenge. I pray that each acceptance of a challenge may make me grow into a better person.

***********************************************

Thought for Today

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

--Will Rogers

*******************************************************************************

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

So much fear and desire come from that commitment to 'I am'--to being somebody. Eventually they take us to anxiety and despair; life seems much more difficult and painful than it really is.

But when we just observe life for what it is, then it's all right: the delights, the beauty, the pleasures are just that.

-Ajahn Sumedho, "Seeing the Way"

*****************************************************

Native American

"With children we always have to think about seven generations to come but yet unborn."

--Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA

What we do today will effect the children seven generations form now. How we treat the Mother Earth will affect the children yet to be born. If we poison the water today, our children's children will be affected by the decision we made. Our children are the gateway to the future. Let us conscientiously think about the children and the seven generations to come.

My Creator, I thank you for my ancestors, seven generations ago.

*****************************************************

Keep It Simple

To know all things is not permitted.   ---  Horace

In recovery, we give up trying to be perfect. We give up trying to know
everything. We work at coming to know and accept our short-comings.  In
Step Four and Five, we look at our good points and our bad points. In Step
Six, we become ready to have our Higher Power remove our "defects of
character." Then in Step Seven we ask our Higher Power to remove our
"shortcomings."
Recovery is about coming to accept that we're not prefect. We admit that
trying to be perfect got in the way of being useful to ourselves, our
Higher Power, and those around us. Pretending to be prefect doesn't allow
us to be real. It's also boring and no fun---you never get to mess up.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, You will let me know what I need to know. Allow me to claim
my mistakes and shortcomings.

Action for the Day:  I will work at being okay today. Not prefect, just okay.

Come join us at Friendship House

Ask yourself: Have you been kind today?

NO MORE STRUGGLE

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone — even alcohol.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

When A.A. found me, I thought I was in for a struggle, and that A.A. might provide the strength I needed to beat alcohol.  Victorious in that fight, who knows what other battles I could win.  I would need to be strong, though.  All my previous experience with life proved that.  Today I do not have to struggle or exert my will.  If I take those Twelve Steps and let my Higher Power do the real work, my alcohol problem disappears all by itself.  My living problems also cease to be struggles.  I just have to ask whether acceptance—or change—is required.  It is not my will, but His, that needs doing.

*************************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day

We're all looking for the power to overcome drinking. When we alcoholics come into A.A., our first question is: "How do I get the strength to quit?"  At first it seems to us that we will never get the necessary strength.  We see older members who have found the power we are looking for, but we don't know the process by which they got it. This necessary strength comes in many ways.  Have I found all the strength I need?

Meditation for the Day

You cannot have a spiritual need that God cannot supply. Your fundamental need is a spiritual need, the need for power to live the good life.  The best spiritual supply is received by you when you want it to pass on to other people.  You get it largely by giving it away.  God gives you strength as you pass it on to another person.  That strength means increased health; increased health means more good work, and more good work means more people helped.  And so it goes on, a constant supply to meet all spiritual needs.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my every spiritual need will be supplied by God.  I pray that I may use the power I receive to help others.

************************************************

Thought for Today

"Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world."

--Annie Lennox


*********************************************************************

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

If happiness hasn't been recognized when alone, a group of people will be a cause of distraction.

-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

**********************************
Native American

"Everything's so simple, and we make everything so complicated. That's why we're confused."
--Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo
The Creator designed a very simple set of Laws for us to follow. If we follow these simple things, we'll be happy. If we don't follow these simple things, our lives become complicated. For example:
Respect Mother Earth
Love one another
Be truthful
Give to your brother and sisters
Be gentle with each other
Be happy
Following these simple Laws will have great rewards.
Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.

**********************************
Keep It Simple

If anything, we have tended to be people who wanted it all now. To hope is not to demand.  --- On Hope

Maybe we were a bit demanding. Maybe we were a bit impatient. Maybe that’s why we had such little hope.
Hope is believing good will come even in bad time. Hope is knowing that “this, too, shall pass.”
Hope is knowing that no matter how afraid we are, God will be with us. Hope is knowing we never
have to be alone again. It is knowing that time that time is on our side. Hope is giving up control. Hope is knowing we never had control in the first place. Hope is believing in ourselves. Hope is what our program is all about.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, in our program we share our experiences, our strengths, and our hopes. Thank you for giving all three of these to me to share.

Action for the Day:  I will share my hope for the future with myself, my Higher Power, and my friends. I also will share this with someone who has lost hope.

Visit us at Friendship House.
 

BROTHERS IN OUR DEFECTS

We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects, and in our common strivings to overcome them.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 167

The identification that one alcoholic has with another is mysterious, spiritual---almost incomprehensible.  But it is there.  I "feel" it.  Today I feel that I can help people and that they can help me.
   
It is a new and exciting feeling for me to care for someone; to care what they are feeling, hoping for, praying for; to know their sadness, joy, horror, sorrow, grief; to want to share those feelings so that someone can have relief.  I never knew how to do this---or how to try.  I never even cared.  The Fellowship of A.A., and God are teaching me how to care about others.

Drinking And Drugging

As Blog administrator I don't often post articles but this one from Frank Bruni at the New York Times is a must read for people like us. I hope you find it as interesting as I did, and if you do please share it with your friends.

Drinking and Drugging

By FRANK BRUNI

New York Times

Published: February 19, 2012

"CRACK is wack."

Remember that phrase? I heard many people repeat it last week as they appraised the waste of Whitney Houston's later years and flashed back to her 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, when she uttered those immortal words. She was bristling not at rumors that she abused drugs but at insinuations that she turned to cheap ones. With album sales like hers, you didn't have to suck on a pipe.

Sawyer wanted to know what Houston was on. Everyone wanted to know what Houston was on, and news reports after her death took unconfirmed inventory of the pills in her hotel suite, wondering if they represented the extent of her indulgences.

No. By many accounts, Houston also drank. More than a little. In fact one early, leading theory about the cause of her death, which won't be known until toxicology tests are finished, was that a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol did her in.

We Forgive

Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us.  Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58

What a great feeling forgiveness is!  What a revelation about my emotional, psychological and spiritual nature.  All it takes is willingness to forgive; God will do the rest.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?

Meditation for the Day

Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion.

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Thought for Today

"After you ask for guidance--Listen!"

--Barbara Ann Kipfer
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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Patience is the sprouting of religion, firmness its root, good conduct is the flower, the enlightened heart the boughs and branches, wisdom supreme the entire tree, the "transcendent law" the fruit, its shade protects all living things. Say then! Why would you cut it down?

-Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king

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Native American

"It's time. If you are to walk the path of heart, then it is time..."
--Nippawanock, ARAPAHOE
If not now, when? If not me, who? To walk the path of the heart is a great honor. Every human has the choice to walk this path, but very few will decide to make it. Why? Well, because you can't act and behave like everyone else behaves. You must be the person who will learn to look within. You must be the person who will be fully accountable for yourself. You must be the person who prays and meditates. You must be the person who will sacrifice. You must decide to be a Peaceful Warrior. What will you decide today?
Oh, Great Mystery, lead me on the path of the heart.



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Keep It Simple

 The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.---Sydney J. Harris
Come relax at Friendship House

Relaxing is one of the little joys of life. We can learn to take time from our busy day to chat with a friend, take a hot bath, or spend a few moments sitting alone under a tree. The busier we are, the more we need to take time to relax.
When we rest, we stop fussing about the outside world. We find out how we're doing inside. While relaxing, we can best listen to our Higher Power. Our minds calm down. We put busy thoughts aside. Sometimes, we can almost hear our Higher Power say, "Stay quiet and listen! I have something to tell you!"
 

What Does God Think Of Me?

One of the assignments that we get quite often in this program is to write down the words that best describe our understanding of God. The ones we choose can tell us a great deal about our current spirituality. For many of us, however, the issue is not just what we think of God, but what we imagine God thinks of us.

In other words, if someone asked God for the five words that describe you, what do you think those words would be? Would they be positive? Or do you imagine that God thinks of you in a negative way? If that is what you believe, then your ability to pray will be adversely affected. The problem is that many of us were told that God judges and disdains us because of the kinds of things we’ve done. That belief will keep us from getting the benefits of this program. Our ability to pray and work the Steps improves when we believe that God always regards our persons in very positive and caring ways despite the worst things we’ve done.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will come to believe that God sees me in positive ways and regards my person with genuine care. I ask my Higher Power to relieve me of negative beliefs that would keep me from having positive experiences in my daily prayer.

Come by Friendship House in Nashville, Tennessee and share your experience, strength and hope.

From our friend Jayne C

This Is How It Started For Me

As I work through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with sponsors and sponsees, I often think back to my childhood and the roll alcohol played in my early life. One of the things I remember about my old neighborhood in North St. Louis is that there was a tavern on just about every corner.

In the evening the families in the neighborhood would migrate to the stoop or front porch and social interaction of an urban area would begin. When I was at the home of my Grandparent's, which was just down the street from my own home, I found a way to put money in my pocket. The local men would pay me to walk to the corner bar and get the bartender to fill their beer buckets. If I made it back without spilling any of the precious liquid I got a nice tip.

In order to avoid spilling the beer I learned to sip the foam (head) off the bucket before I crossed the street. There was never a time that I did this that I didn't love the taste of the beer. I also liked the way it made me feel. I was somehow changed from being shy and introverted to being a teller of stories. In my Irish hood many people, especially the old ones, still spoke the old language and my Grandmother began to call me scéalaí (storyteller). I later learned that she may have been calling me a liar, an early indication of things to come.

By the time I was 9-years-old I had become an altar boy at my Parish church. My serving partner was the head Grandson of a St. Louis Mafia family Capo and we both learned about the perks of his status. We would get out of school to serve at funerals and we were the regular crew for the 6 A.M. weekday mass both of which took us out of class and the funeral tips were serious moneymakers for the time.

It was during this period that I started hitting the church wine every day. As I look back on it I see that it made life with the Nuns at school somewhat easier. This was the path I chose, the make it easy path, the try not to feel path, the path that I followed for the next 50 or so years until I walked into Friendship House and was ready to change and willing to do whatever it took to do to it. 

What's your story? If you would like to share it please do, we'd love to hear it.

HONESTY WITH THE NEWCOMER

Friendship House is the place for new comers, old timers and all those in between.

Tell him exactly what happened to you. Stress the spiritual feature freely.                                 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pg. 93

The marvel of A.A. is that I tell only what happened to me. I don't waste time offering advice to potential newcomers, for if advice worked, nobody would get to A.A. All I have to do is show what has brought me sobriety and what has changed my life. If I fail to stress the spiritual feature of A.A.'s program, I am, being dishonest. The newcomer should not be given a false impression of sobriety. I am sober only thought the grace of my Higher Power, and that makes it possible for me to share with others.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day
Unless we have the key of faith to unlock the meaning of life, we are lost. We do not choose faith because it is one way for us, but because it is the only way. Many have failed and will fail. For we cannot live victoriously without faith; we are at sea without a rudder or an anchor, drifting on the sea of life. Wayfarers without a home. Our souls are restless until they find rest in God. Without faith, our lives are a meaningless succession of unrelated happenings, without rhyme or reason. Have I come to rest in faith?

Meditation for the Day
This vast universe around us, including this wonderful earth on which we live, was once perhaps only a thought in the mind of God. The nearer the astronomers and the physicists get to the ultimate composition of all things, the nearer the universe approaches a mathematical formula, which is thought. The universe may be the thought of the Great Thinker. We must try to think God's thoughts after Him. We must try to get guidance from the Divine Mind as to what His intention is for the world and what part we can have in carrying out that intention.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not worry over the limitations of my human mind. I pray that I may live as though my mind were a reflection of the Divine Mind.

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Thought for Today

"While troubles will come, they are always temporary --
nothing lasts forever. Thus, there is the famous legend
that King Solomon, the wisest man of all times, had a
ring inscribed with the words, "This too shall pass".

--Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan


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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

The one whose mind knows the clarity of perfect wisdom is never afraid or even anxious. Why? Because when being at one with the living power of wisdom, the mother of all the buddhas, that person has the strength to remain in a state of undivided contemplation even while ceaselessly and skillfully engaging in compassionate action. The wise one is enabled to act because of concentration on a single prayer: "May all beings never leave the path of enlightenment, which is their own true nature and is empty of separate self-existence."

-Prajnaparamita

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Native American

"Parents have to demonstrate the value of trust, respect and honor."
--Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
Children learn more by watching than by listening. If we want our children to understand and value trust, they know it by watching how adults live their lives! If we want the children to be respectful, they will observe what the adults do and say to each other. We need to walk our talk. We need to remember the children are watching.
Grandfather, help me learn these important values: Trust, Respect and Honor.
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Walk In Dry Places

Deadlines

Facing delays

The procrastination of our drinking years caused some of us to become compulsive and fearful about meeting deadlines. We fret and stew if we're unable to get things done when we think they should be completed.

Without being careless or irresponsible, we should remember that we're really living in a spiritual world on a spiritual basis. There are times when a delay even turns out to be beneficial because additional information or assistance turns up later on to ensure the success of a project.

It is part of mature living to keep promises and to meet the proper deadlines. Let's be sure, however, that we're not simply meeting unrealistic deadlines of our own making. We don't have to do this to atone for any failures of the past.

I'll look over my plans today to make sure that I haven't set any unrealistic deadlines for myself. I may be trying too much, too soon.

The Third Tradition

 

THE ONLY REQUIREMENT

Visit us at Friendship House

"At one time  .  .  .  every A.A. group had many membership rules.  Everybody was scared witless that something or somebody would capsize the boat.  .  .  The total list was a mile long.  If all those rules had been in effect everywhere, nobody could have possibly joined A.A. at all,  .  .  ."

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 139-40

I'm grateful that the Third Tradition only requires of me a desire to stop drinking.  I had been breaking promises for years.  In the Fellowship I didn't have to make promises, I didn't have to concentrate.  It only required my attending one meeting, in a foggy condition, to know I was home.

I didn't have to pledge undying love.  Here, strangers hugged me.  "It gets better," they said, and "one day at a time, you can do it."  They were no longer strangers, but caring friends.  I ask God to help me reach out to people desiring sobriety, and to, please, keep me grateful!

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure

immunity from drinking as extensive work with other alcoholics.

Carry the message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one

else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Life

will take on new meaning for you. To watch people recover, to see

them help others in turn, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a

fellowship grow about you, to have a host of friends, this is an

experience you must not miss." Am I always ready and willing to help

other alcoholics?

Meditation For The Day

One secret of abundant living is the art of giving. The paradox of

life is that the more you give, the more you have. If you loose your

life in the service of others, you will save it. You can give

abundantly and still live abundantly. You are rich in one respect – you

have a spirit that is inexhaustible. Let no mean or selfish thought

keep you from sharing this spirit. Of love, of help, of

understanding, and of sympathy, give and keep giving. Give your

personal ease and comfort, your time, your money, and most of all,

yourself. And you will be living abundantly.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live to give. I pray that I may learn this secret of

abundant living.

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Thought for Today

"Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional

acceptance of life and what it brings."

--Arthur Rubinstein

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

We have a saying in Tibet. "If you lose your temper and get angry, bite your knuckles." This means that if you lose your temper, do not show it to others. Rather, say to yourself, "Leave it."

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

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Native American

"I started drinking more seriously, seeking refuge, seeking death actually, from a world that was feeling more and more unnatural to me. Following a painful accident related to drinking, I finally realized that I must decide whether I want to follow my grandparents or truly take up this life. Circumstances that followed led me to choose life."

--Barney Bush, SHAWNEE

My life is run by choices and decisions. Every choice I make today will carry with it the consequences of that choice. Every decision I make today will carry with it the consequences of that decision. The question I will ask myself today is, "Do I want to be happy or do I want to be right?" Which ever one I choose will have a lot to do with the consequences I will experience today. If today was the last day of my life, what choices and what decisions would I make?

Oh Great Spirit, guide my path today and help me see the value of choosing the Red Road.

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Keep It Simple

 Love is something if you give away, you end up having more.  ---  Malvina Reynolds

Service is how we give love away. It’s the “self” of self-help. Service is not a duty; a gift that’s been given to us. We help ourselves by helping others. It’s how we make sure the program will be here tomorrow. We “carry the message.” It’s just one way we see how important we are to others. The world needs us. The world needs our love.

Prayer for the Day:  I pray for help in making service a big part of my program. Higher Power, help me to “carry the message.”

Action for the Day:  Which people could use a kind word and a little love? I will go visit them or give them a call.