Change.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that we made a large amount of money in our last fundraiser for the Houston Roundup.  This will be a tremendous help in covering costs. 

for those who live through their alcoholic bottom.  Some aren't so lucky.  The rest of us have a chance.

for the way my recovery is evolving.  One day at a time.  I don't think I could handle two days at a time.

that I know so little.  Otherwise, I might be dangerous.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

on this Friday morning ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I attended my 2nd yoga class last night; I'll keep going back

that I have so much less resistance to change as compared to previous years

for miracles, honesty, faith and hope


Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset.
- Saint Francis de Sales

Changing

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for all of the things I no longer participate in

for the aging process; it's amazing how one's priorities change just by adding some chronology

for the significance of perseverance; this came up in a discussion regarding Step 10. Speaking of Step 10, I am much better about not continuing to take your inventory and then pointing it out to you. Still happens occasionally though.

that we may get some nice rainfall this weekend from Don, the Tropical Storm


Wherever there is a human being,
there is an opportunity for a kindness.
- Seneca

something new

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I made my first-ever attempt at Yoga last night. We have a combination yoga/A.A. meeting at my recovery center. One hour of simple yoga stretching and then 1/2 hour of an A.A. meeting. The facilitator had us go round the circle and pick a letter of the alphabet and come up with a word beginning with that letter and then talk for a minute or two about that word and its relation to recovery. Comprehend? Very interesting.

that I'm changing as a person; not sure how or where it will take me, but I know I'm changing. For the better, I hope.


Forgiveness does not change the past,
but it does enlarge the future.
- Paul Boese

But seriously folks ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have not relapsed (yet) from my sober life

for many frequent reminders that I have a deadly disease; something I can easily take for granted

that I have a treatment for that disease but it must be applied continuously

for the times when people tell me about how they have seen me change. I guess Ineed that validation from time to time because I just don't recognize it all the time.



The greatest mistake you can make in life
is to be continually fearing you will make one.
- Elbert Hubbard

this is a test

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that there's always a next right thing and a next wrong thing for me to do. It's my choice.

for the ability of Mr SponsorPants to put his experience, strength and hope into words that I can understand and identify with

for change -- in all its forms

for the truth


Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

change

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I get to learn more about people and friends every day, especially when they relate their experience, strength and hope in AA meetings

that I have changed so much since September 2003 (my sobriety date).

for some patience in dealing with some important life decisions

that my sponsor is right on top of things (in my life)

that I don't live in Mexico nor do I need an armoured vehicle just to feel safe when travelling


Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

I've had better days, but I'm still sober

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the practice of pause when agitated AND restraint of tongue and pen.

I was told, in no uncertain terms, to go f _ _ k myself when I defended my right to anonymity on Facebook as regards the program of A.A. This was from a person who just got out of rehab after 6 months in prison from dealing drugs.

that my home life sucks right now, so I'm hoping that this too shall pass

for friends (besides my sponsor) who will listen to me when I need to vent

for the concept of courage to change the things I can


It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.
- Dale Carnegie

staying current

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Step 10

for the little, but noticeable, changes occurring during my 8th year of recovery

for the preparations I'm making for a fundraiser this weekend. It's a local version of the old TV show, Let's Make a Deal. I am playing the host.

for my mother -- she taught me so much without really trying. She's been on my mind a lot lately and I miss her. She died back in August 2008 from the effects of a major stroke. I was able to be with her during her last 3 years on Earth as her health gradually declined.
A few of you guys travelled this part of my journey with me and for that, I am grateful too.
If you still have your parents, cherish them if you can. There won't be another chance.


Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
- Thomas Jefferson

a few quips, here and there

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

A.A. is not a plan for recovery that can be finished and done with. It is a way of life. page 275*

in return for a bottle and a hangover, I have been given the Keys of the Kingdom. page 276*

that the alcoholic has to continue to take inventory every day if he expects to get well and stay well. page 265*

a complete change takes place in our approach to life. page 275*

* The previous statements are from ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, 4th edition.


Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

changes

men can fix anything!
(one in a series)




todAAy i AAM grAAteful & thAAnkful
that I don't regret the past; I cherish it because it is what got me to today

that I have absolutely no desire to go to bars any more; in my first 49 years on this planet, I lived to be in bars

to know that my problems are of my own making and I've pretty much stopped fighting anybody or anything


We can never live in the past as if it were our true home. And it is a good thing that God draws this veil over the past even without our asking. In so doing, He allows us to live today for tomorrow with just the few memories we need of what was.
- Karl Barth

change

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have found the Courage to Change, although it's rarely easy

that I've been blessed with a full life, most of it very enjoyable

to know I still need a lot of emotional development, but it won't all come today

for the Al Anon meeting I attended last night. I was reminded to see the patterns of behavior that can be a trigger for my reactions.


Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
- Richard Bach

reading between the lines

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my attitude seems to have returned (the good and positive one)

for all my blogger and personal friends who have decided to stop writing their blogs; I will stop someday too, I just don't know when

for the changes that just seem to naturally happen when I work the recovery program I'm learning in Alcoholics Anonymous

Some pursue happiness, others create it.

gifts, sacrifices and changes

Here's a solution to all the controversy over full-body scanners at the airports.

Have a heavy solid steel booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on you. It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be none of this crap about racial profiling, and this method would eliminate a long and expensive trial. Case Closed!



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that my sobriety is not on loan. It's a gift and I don't have to give it back.

for the sacrifices a few people made to continue to be my friend as I was hitting my alcoholic bottom

for the changes that occur in my life just as a result from not drinking

that I get to substitute-chair the noon meeting today


It takes courage to show your dreams to someone else.
- Erma Bombeck

changes

This bicycle was at my local Starbucks yesterday. Click on the picture to enlarge and appreciate.

Note: the headlight, the exhaust pipe, and the aluminum plates on the wheels


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my friend Jim N. had the opportunity to share his recovery experience with us before he returns to Chicago; he has been in Houston for 8 months undergoing a stem-cell transplant

that it's so much easier to know the next right thing -- when I have some clarity of thought!

(see above) -- someone asked me to participate in something that made me very uncomfortable and I immediately said NO!

You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
- Christopher Robin to Pooh

overheard in a meeting ...

The more I miss meetings, the more I miss drinking.








todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for laughter in AA meetings

that I have never texted during an AA meeting

that my (projected) schedule can be flexible without me going nuts when there's unexpected changes

that I got this new deodorant and the instructions said….remove cap and push up bottom. I can barely walk but when I fart it smells amazing.

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.
- Basil King

cleaning and changing

CLICK HERE for detailed instructions as to the correct method to clean your monitor's screen.



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to see people change

that I had and continue to have the courage to change

that I've never cared to be popular, but I've always liked to be liked


In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
- Deepak Chopra

Winning the lottery ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

we read from the Big Book yesterday in the Tuesday 6:30am meeting. Our reading was from the 4th edition, pages 268-276, entitled "The Keys of the Kingdom." One of my favorites.

"We watch the alcoholic performing in a position of responsibility, and we know that because he is drinking heavily and daily, he has cut his capacities by 50 percent, and still he seems able to do a satisfactory job."

This concept kept me from ever wanting to modify or moderate my drinking. I was the "functional" alkie who didn't need to stop. Thus, I was 49 years old before any change took place. (So was this guy, but he can tell you about that.)

"A.A. is not a plan for recovery that can be finished and done with. It is a way of life, and the challenge contained in its principles is great enough to keep any human being striving for as long as he lives. We do not, cannot, outgrow this plan. As arrested alcoholics, we must have a program for living that allows for limitless expansion. Keeping one foot in front of the other is essential for maintaining our arrestment."

I love this concept that A.A. is a design for living, custom-tailored just for me.

"A complete change takes place in our approach to life. Where we used to run from responsibility, we find ourselves accepting it with gratitude that we can successfully shoulder it. Instead of wanting to escape some perplexing problem, we experience the thrill of challenge in the opportunity it affords for another application of A.A. techniques, and we find ourselves tackling it with surprising vigor."

"In return for a bottle and a hangover, we have been given the Keys of the Kingdom."



When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall, always.
- Mahatma Gandhi

changes

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that by the end of my first year of sobriety, I had made the necessary changes to help build a strong recovery foundation

that I've been able to modify my life to fit my recovery

that Scott W. filled in at the last minute when my scheduled speaker could not appear; Scott does/did an amazing job of explaining his feelings behind his drinking

that I laid some paving flagstone all by myself (in this damn heat!)


Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
- Theodore Roosevelt

Addendum --- I was outside in my hot tub at 5am (after publishing this post) as I am every morning before jumping in the shower. At the same moment I looked skyward I witnessed a beautiful meteorite burning up in the atmosphere, leaving its long trail. It was a lovely God shot and a great way to begin my day.

on the freeway ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the constant reminders around me that my alcoholism is alive and waiting

for the changes that have occurred in my life due to becoming a more responsible person

that I carry absolutely no resentments towards people, or groups of people, with whom I disagree on a political or social basis (this is pretty big for me)

that I had the opportunity to witness another fascinating day in court yesterday; a friend accused of sexual abuse of a child. While that charge sounds very ugly, there are extinuating circumstances that brought the jury to a deadlock during the late afternoon, but the judge directed them to continue deliberating.


He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.
-Persian Proverb

If you don't have the time to do something right, where are you going to find the time to fix it?
-Stephen King