Principles

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I got to see my good friend, Jessie J. yesterday morning after about a month of absences from our morning meeting. He is to undergo major surgery today but the prognosis is good. He's a fine example of recovery and this experience will add to his 29 years of sobriety.

for Step 1 and all its implications; it's amazing how long it took me to recognize how unmanageable my life had become during my 33 years of alcoholic drinking.

for the principles of honesty, faith, integrity and compassion. Now, if I can just remember to practice them.

for others


Real excellence and humility are not incompatible one with the other, on the contrary they are twin sisters.
- Jean Baptiste Lacordaire

Staying clean

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my sponsees are really keeping me on my toes

for some meeting/discussion about the concept of fight or flight. I can somehow identify with this but have not yet given it the thought it deserves. Do you have some experience to share on this?

that I seem to stay so damn busy on any given day, even when I have no plans

for Step 3


If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
- Mother Teresa

The Unseen Sea

Just enjoy this for the next 3 minutes.

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

Hollywood Squares revisited

Friday morning stuff

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a great! Step 8 meeting yesterday. There can be soooooooo much more to the steps than just the words as they're written.

That I got to work with 2 of my sponsees yesterday. They keep me straight.
Wait. Maybe I should re-word that.

that strange words come from my mouth when I work with another alcoholic one-on-one. Ideas, suggestions and overall comments that come from somewhere deep inside of me. Does this happen with you too?

that this seems to have been a very productive week. I am due to close the deal on my home re-finance this afternoon. Over the course of my mortgage, I would save over $100K.
We'll see how that works out.


To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.
- Kofi Annan

Broiled chicken breast

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for some awareness of how easy it is to fool myself into wrongful thinking -- otherwise, called a mis-perception

that I have been pretty damn forthcoming in a couple of meetings about my domestic problems; I've probably said enough though

that solutions to just about anything is in the Big Book

that my friend Jessie seems to have a pretty good attitude about some new, serious health problems -- Love ya Jessie!!

for the efforts and sacrifices of all servicemen and women throughout our history without whom I would not have had the freedom to drink in all the bars that I drank in


Those who believe they can do something and those who believe they can't are both right.
- Henry Ford

Nasty Peach!

todAAy i AAm grAAtful & thAAnkful

that doing the next right thing never involves hurting someone and rarely involves criticising them either

that my home life is challenging me to practice these principles in ALL my affairs and that is a good thang!! Very difficult too.

for the continuing evolution of my higher power

that if you're going to talk badly about me behind my back, you're in the perfect position to kiss my a_ _.


Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.
- Lao Tzu

I'd rather be happy than right.

I'd rather be right. Which probably explains why I'm so miserable today.






todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the slogans I've learned in recovery. Today's title hits me between the eyes because I am currently taking some drastic action regarding my partner and my home. I'm not particularly happy about these actions, but I know I'm doing the right things.

I guess it will all come full circle.

I know this -- I have absolute faith that everything will work out the way it is supposed to work out. Of this, I have no doubt.


It is hard to do what you fear, but harder to keep thinking about it.
~~ unknown

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

When did YOU choose?

Old vs New

CRASH OF 1959 Chevy With 2009 Chevy




Stay with this 'til the end as there are several camera views.... A 2009 car vs. a 1959 car in a crash test.... Guess which one wins. No sound but the video is enough.

How many times have you heard: "I wish they would make cars the way they did in the old days."

This video dispels that myth.

You know how we always think about what big huge tanks the old cars of the 50's and 60's were for size?

And how we talk about how there is so much plastic on the new cars that if one of the old tanks ever collided with a new car, the new car would be demolished?

Well, someone in the insurance industry put that theory to the test. Be sure to watch toward the end to see the overhead view - and the assessment of driver injury.

end of week

I hope you like Johnny Carson.





todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that it's not my job to keep you sober, or anybody else sober

to be reminded that life is not getting any shorter

that I got a second chance to do my life and I'd better not waste it

for AA's Tradition 7 -- it's not just about finances but about service to one's group as well


Gardening is all about optimism.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

it passed

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my sobriety opens me up to so many possibilities and opportunities

that I'm not stuck on a barstool, wondering when tonight's blackout will begin

for the years I spent travelling, living and working in Europe and Africa. I could never duplicate those experiences as a tourist. My exposure to so many cultures has provided me with a unique (I think) perspective on the human condition.

that I have something to offer when I'm willing to give it


The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.
- Benjamin Disraeli

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

Gratitude -- what a concept!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I got to substitute-chair the 6:30am meeting yesterday and started the new month of November with a gratitude meeting. I'm sure it's the first of numerous ones this month and that's a good thang!

that I picked up on the tools to stay sober after about 6 months in the program. First, I had to develop some honesty I didn't want to face, then I had to become open-minded enough to allow the concept of a higher power into my life and finally I had to become willing to try something different.

for all those people who just keep coming back, for whatever reason

for some rain here in Houston - finally! It's been a record-breaking dry run here - 41 days without measureable rainfall.


Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect.
It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.
- Anonymous

Back to ...

adversity


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for another day to practice the principles, as I understand them

for hope and faith, in everything. Well, I wish I had it all the time, but it may always be a work-in-progress.

for a nice weekend, weather-wise and recovery-wise

that my little game show project was successful; but mainly that it's finished. It was something in planning for almost 2 years (in my mind).


Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.
- Epicurus

Pumpkins galore!

Happy Halloween!!

Click HERE

Step 7

I'll post some great! photos of Halloween pumpkins this weekend. Drop by and see 'em.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for those days when I remember to actively practice Steps 6 & 7. We read and discussed Step 7 yesterday. Here's a few of my favorite parts ......

... the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. for without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all.

... never was there enough of what we thought we wanted

... we never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.

... The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear, primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded.

the quote below. My kind of humor.

In order to fly, all one must do is simply miss the ground.
- Douglas Adams

change & awareness

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that it's OK to be angry and that I know a method to prevent that anger from becoming a major resentment

for Step 4 and the freedom it gives me -- awareness

that I finally learned last night in my Al Anon meeting that I don't need to keep protecting my partner from his own behavior. I allow him to make his mistakes and live his life, but I have always tried to keep those things a secret and I am the one who suffers when I do that.
Hopefully, I can remember to stop protecting him. (this is HUGE for me)

that I'm so blessed and fortunate -- I must always remember to pay it forward.


To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.
- Elbert Hubbard