2+9=11

arrival of a cold front

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for almost infinite patience that I didn't used to have; I'm not sure where it came from, but it seems to coincide with my level of spiritual fitness. hmmmmmmmmm...

that I don't have to wear a flat-top in order to have a level head

that an old friend showed up at Lambda yesterday and we got to spend the afternoon together

for healthy relationships - something pretty much unknown to me before I got sober

that my significant other returns from overseas today. He's been away for a month. nuff said.


Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Disturbed

For the rest of this week, I'll be posting some rather weird (disturbing?) advertisements from days gone by.
Why?
Because I can.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that even though I am going through a rough patch in my relationship, I have 12 steps to keep me centered

I've used those steps and little sayings enough that they often seems second-nature

that my sponsors (AA & Al Anon) are there when I need them, and I need them lately

that most of my "problems" are minor and would be considered "high class"


Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.
- Eskimo saying

it's never the same

He may have a tough time finding a buyer.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that we read a few pages from Chapter 11 of the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous) yesterday.
These words mean so much to me because I absolutely identify with them ...

"He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it.
Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end."


that I have so many opportunities to pass along my experience, strength and hope

for discussions about the infinite number of types of relationships

that my life will never be the same

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
- Kahlil Gibran

Answer to No Place Like Home -- John Travolta

strummin'

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my Higher Power (a power I stay in frequent contact with) makes it so damn easy to stay sober and in recovery

to get to listen to Tracey R. relate some of her experience, strength and hope yesterday; she really is a miracle!

that although I (we) are going through some difficult personal issues right now, I know that things will work out just the way they should

that Kenny (Recovery Road) celebrates 5 years of continuous sobriety today. Kenny has endured numerous health problems since he stopped drinking and now he's getting married. He is a wonderful example of living life on life's terms. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Kenny about 3 years ago while I was in London. We rendezvoused at a pub, for convenience sake. Happy Anniversary Kenny!!!

I published this early due to a scheduled Blogger outage


Worry is as useless as a handle on a snowball.
-Mitzi Chandler

More is being revealed

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I am still sober after a wonderful weekend. More is being revealed.

that I sat in on a meeting where the topic was sponsorship. I learned some things, including the fact that some of the people to whom I really look up to in recovery have not had a sponsor for many years. I was surprised. More is being revealed.

for my relationship with my partner -- we are both very independent people and we give each other plenty of space -- I have only recently realised the extent of the freedom that he allows me within our relationship. Previously, I tended to focus more just on the freedom I give him. I actually feel that I've had another awakening - a relationship awakening. More is being revealed.

that the regular baseball season begins today! I don't know how my beloved Houston Astros will do. We'll just have to wait and see.
More is being revealed.


The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.
-Corrie Ten Boom

on the fence

todAAy i AAM grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have fewer expectations as I continue into my sobriety, albeit with a few exceptions

for the 20 year-old woman who told her story of unmanagebility yesterday

that I have several gardens to maintain, but haven't planted a tree (yet)

that my partner and I usually find ways to make up quickly after an argument -- it's almost always my responsibility to initiate making up because it's almost always my faulty thinking that starts a negative discussion. Without my recovery program, I'd be single.

If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree.
-English Proverb

I am learning

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a very powerful noon meeting yesterday -- a good friend lost him Mom after her long battle with Alzheimer's; he shared about his loss which prompted many shares about those who are at various stages of losing a parent to illness, so the meeting was essentially about grief and how to handle it

that we will see how our experience will benefit others

that I can often be of help to others just by being present

that I actually remembered to do the next right thing that I'd rather be happy than right and avoided a big argument difference of opinion


It's never crowded along the extra mile.
-Wayne Dyer

Pumpkin burger

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have so much, actually more than I ever imagined

that Steps 8 & 9 require me to make a commitment to myself to change my behavior

that I don't ever have to get too old to learn

for my life-partner and our cats (in that order)

that my wrist is much much better now -- it healed quickly


I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have.
-Coleman Cox

Promptly

Bar Sues Local Church

In a small Texas town, a bar began construction on a new building to increase their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers. Work progressed right up till the week before opening when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise in its reply to the court.
As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing he commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not."


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I can only live my life One Day at a Time

for a beneficial Step 2 meeting yesterday -- this question was posed ... "What does insanity look like in your life today, now that you're sober?"

that I am still an infant at relationships but don't have any temptation to drink when I temporarily fail

that I received my 150,000th hit on this blog overnight

That they may have a little peace, even the best dogs are compelled to snarl occasionally.
-William Feather

Sugar & Spice

We spent time over the weekend preparing our current townhouse for staging (click for an explanation). Most of the personal touches are now gone or will be by tomorrow.

I don't much care for the way it looks. I like those icons that set me apart from others.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for another realization -- my entire adult life, until I got sober, centered around my relationships with people who drank. I only knew how to relate to those who drank. Some drank as much as I did, or more. But all my personal friends were drinkers. I didn't know how to connect with sober people. Today, all my relationships center around people who don't drink (except my life partner). I don't know how to relate to inebriated folks.
What I am trying to get across to you is that I do not comprehend how to have a proper social relationship with another human.

for the possibility of one day having some social skills

for a really groovy AA Birthday Night @ Lambda

that when my mind began making up untruths yesterday afternoon, I went to an AA meeting. It provided just the relief I needed, as advertised.

for progress on the home front

Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly hard for them.
-Chaim Weizmann

Peace & Quiet

WARNING: you may find some of the language on this video offensive familiar

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a very peaceful day yesterday; I needed one

that I can sit quietly in an AA meeting and find serenity even when the people talking may have none

for the role in my life that moments of prayer have become

for the days that I don't beat myself over the head every time I make a mistake; this has always been one of my favorite destructive hobbies

for lots of progress on the home front (relationship stuff, ya know)

that Castro finally resigned his office

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
-Socrates

No problems to speak of

"The problem is not that there are problems.

The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem." -- Theodore Rubin

"Problems are good, not bad. Welcome them and become the solution. When you have solved enough problems, people will thank you."
-- Mark Victor Hansen


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have very few problems today

that most of the problems I have today are high-class ones

that someone needed to "vent" about their relationship yesterday in the midday AA meeting; that person has one month in the program, in their mid-20's, and is in an abusive relationship. She does not yet understand that she's most likely going to have to let that person go their own way. Certainly at this point, sobriety must come first, no matter what it may take or look like.
That concept will serve her well for a lifetime.

that my new gym opened yesterday. It's new, spacious, smells good and has brand new equipment.

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
~~ anonymous

Carrying on ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I can be responsible and accountable without any resentments

that I am in a relationship that requires patience in so many areas of my thinking; it has been the biggest and most profound learning experience of my 53 years -- and worth every minute (almost LOL)

for the Marines -- I totally know what they're talking about when they say they get more done by 9am than most people do in a whole day

that I could get up at 3:30am today to take a friend to the airport

It takes a real storm in the average person's life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.
-Unknown

Humility ...

is the seventh principle behind the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

My favorite mantra since I entered the world of recovery is found on page 58 of the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. It reads ...


"Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility -- a word often misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be."

Nuff said.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my Mom's health remains stable 23 months after a major stroke -- she is not able to eat or speak, however (howz that Liz?)

that we read the Forewords to the Big Book (4th edition) yesterday at the 6:30am meeting

that when I don't get my way, I tend to experience life's necessary lessons

that I have finally realized this ... half of my problems are how I relate to other people; the other half of my problems are how I don't relate to other people

that Pam reminded me yesterday to work on my own character defects and not anyone else's

that my next-door neighbor knew who to call when I had a plumbing leak at 10pm last night

It is human to think wisely and act in an absurd fashion.
-Anatole France

Social Insecurity

"But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers. When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, page 53

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my Mom has enough snap left to remember birthdays and other important dates; ie: tomorrow is my sister's 55th b-day and she continues to remain 21 months older than me

that I am still in a sort of feeling-good-in-recovery-zone -- it's like whatever happens just doesn't seem to matter because I know it will be OK and I don't need to worry about it or try to change it -- I also know this is temporary and I should enjoy it while it lasts - LOL

that my prostate exam was negative and the doctor used a glove; I did not, however, get a date or even a free dinner out of the experience; I may have to change doctors

for a phone call from a newcomer on his 4th day sober; this rarely seems to happen even though I give out a self-made business-type card with my picture and contact info on it to many newcomers

that I'll actually get in 3 official workouts with my trainer this week

that I may never learn to never say never

that this is my 1500th post since I began blogging in December 2004

I am trying this litle piece of software today.
Give it a try if you are willing ...

more at twiigs.com...

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
-Oscar Wilde