Aha!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have to live by the basic teachings from my first months in sobriety

for another one of those AHA! moments that came to me during an AA meeting this weekend.
I know now that when I was hitting my alcoholic bottom 8 years ago, there was actually nothing wrong.  I thought my world was falling apart, yet now I know that nothing was really wrong.  I thought the whole world hated me and despised me, yet now I know that nothing was really wrong.  I thought I was having a mental breakdown and told people that, yet now I know that nothing was really wrong.
All I had to do was stop drinking.  I did.  And then, nothing was wrong.

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because
you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson