Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Cats & People

My cats in 2004.





todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Step 12 -- "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these prinicples in all our affairs."  Once I understood what this really means, it became clear that it summarized the design for living I had been given.  The difficult part is living it.  I do my best and I believe that most of my recovery friends do, as well.

for my cats.  I haven't mentioned them in a while.  They're still around; mother and her 2 daughters.  As they get older, they have changed.  They seem much more affectionate than when they were younger.  hmmmmmmmm..........

for the huge collection of people I worked for and with in the offshore oil exploration industry.  People from over 25 countries, including Mississippi.   Some spoke english, some didn't.  But they all (almost) taught me some life lessons.  If I had been sober during all those years, I'd probably remember more of those life lessons.  LOL 

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow."

- Mary Anne Radmacher

Monday, January 30, 2012

You can get there from here ...



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a meeting yesterday about forgiveness.  I heard some very intersting takes on this.  For this alkie, forgiveness is no longer an issue.  It happens without conscious thought (almost always).  I can't afford NOT to be forgiving because the result will be a resentment.  I don't want a resentment.  I am learning to deal with it and then just let go. 
LET GO!! LET GO!!

that we celebrated January sobriety birthdays at Lambda Center on Saturday.  Typically, the month of January has the most people with sobriety dates.  This year, we had 41 people celebrating with a total of 628 years of being sober.  There were over 150 family and friends on hand to support them. 
It was a wonderful night (took about 2.5 hours to hear everyone share).   

for gorgeous weather over the weekend.

I went to the annual Houston International Auto Show.  I'll post a few photos during the week.

Since you are the one who has to live with your choices, be sure they are your own.
- Alan Cohen

Sunday, January 29, 2012

I've been there before ...

Places I have been .....
I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane and have run in to a lot of my friends while there. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.
I have also been in Doubt far too many times to count. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
I may have been in Continent, but I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing. 

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The 60's

This is a good presentation of the 1960's.  Sit back and enjoy.
If you weren't born until after then, sit back and be jealous.

click HERE

Friday, January 27, 2012

Happy Friday!



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that we're all in the same boat together

for the freedom to make better choices than I used to make

that my blogger friend, Mary Christine, has embarked on a new job

for David Blaine, the magician.  I cannot figure him out.

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't
appreciate kindness and compassion.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Thursday, January 26, 2012

potpourri ...



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for this, from my Al Anon meeting last night ...
"Finally, it's all about me!"

for sunshine (during the day)

for common sense.  However, it seems to become less common as I get older.

for those little holes they put in the middle of donuts

You cannot do a kindness too soon,
for you never know how soon it will be too late.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

round and round



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I love being sober

that it's good to be in recovery

that I really enjoy listening

that I really like being in the middle of things

Revenge... is like a rolling stone,
which, when a man hath forced up a hill, will return upon him with a greater violence, and break those bones whose sinews gave it motion.
- Albert Schweitzer

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Conscious Contact



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Step 11.  "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

"Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine.  And for the same reason.  When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers."

Before I came into the rooms of recovery, I never prayed.  I had no Higher Power to pray to.  It took some conscious effort at first to get into a habit of daily, scheduled contact with my HP. Today, I can't imagine doing without it.  At least, as long as I stay sober.  If I begin drinking again, there will be no room for a HP other than alcohol.  For me, it's one or the other.
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
– Joseph Campbell

Monday, January 23, 2012

Going my way?



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I got to hear one of my favorite recovery speakers on Saturday.  He has a way of relating his story of alcoholism in a funny, entertaining and very, very real way.  It was the 3rd or 4th time I've had this opportunity and it is still fresh.

that I can find ways to carry the message just by being present

that I own fewer resentments than ever

for the incredible, life-long efforts of Jane Goodall (seen on 60 Minutes last night)

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
- Winston Churchill

Sunday, January 22, 2012

BFF



Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting there appears to be a need for a STC (Senior Texting Code). If you qualify for Senior Discounts this is the code for you.
Please pass this on to your children and grandchildren so they can understand your texts.
ATD:
At The Doctor's
BFF:
Best Friend Fainted
BTW:
Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT:
Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM:
Covered By Medicare
CGU:
Can't get up
CUATSC:
See You At The Senior Center
DWI:
Driving While Incontinent
FWB:
Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW:
Forgot Where I Was
FYI:
Found Your Insulin
GGPBL:
Gotta Go Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA:
Got Heartburn Again
HGBM:
Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO:
Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO:
Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL:
Living On Lipitor
LWO:
Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR:
On My Massage Recliner
OMSG:
Oh My! Sorry Gas.
ROFL... CGU:
Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
TTYL:
Talk To You Louder
WAITT:
Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA:
Wet The Furniture Again
WTP:
Where's The Prunes?
WWNO:
Walker Wheels Need Oil
GGLKI:
(Gotta Go Laxative Kicking In)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Dog Who Came toDinner

The Dog Who Came to Dinner

A very devout man had the practice of praying each day, and having long conversations with God. Longing to meet God in person, one day he invited God to join him for a meal. To the man's great surprise, God accepted, and an appointment time was set.

The man shopped for the very finest foods and prepared them with a skilled and patient hand. Then he washed himself, put on his finest clothes, and sat in his comfortable chair waiting for God.

At exactly the appointed time, there was a thump at the door. When the man opened the door, a black dog raced past him, leapt onto the table, and began devouring the food the man had so carefully prepared for God. Enraged that the dog was spoiling his dinner with God, the man grabbed a stick and began beating the dog. The dog howled at the blows, then ran out the door whimpering.

The man did his best to repair the table and the fine food. He waited for the rest of the day, but there was no knock on the door. Finally the man gave up waiting. He was certain that God had not come because the dinner had been spoiled by the dog.

The man prayed to God, "I am so sorry the dinner was ruined by that wretched dog. Please, please come to dine with me tomorrow. I will prepare all new and wonderful food." The image of God appeared before the man. Cuts and bruises were on God's head and side. "I came to your house today at the appointed time. I was very hungry, so I came in the form of a dog in order to best enjoy your fine food, but you beat me and chased me away."

Moral: God lives in the least of us.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Finite Friday








todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to be sober (always)
to be serene (usually)
to be at peace (most of the time)
to have a partner (almost 10 years)
to belong to a recovery center (8 years)
to have many friends in recovery (too many to count)
to have a new home (3 years old)
to have 3 cats (1 mother + 2 kids)
to know that there's not enough space to complete this list ('nuff said)

A person without a sense of humor
is like a wagon without springs.
It's jolted by every pebble on the road.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Thursday, January 19, 2012

remember when ...



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the freshness of another day

that I can understand and empathize the pain that friends are experiencing without letting it get me down

that we all get to live in this ever-changing world

Pammie - I'm still not able to post comments on your blog.  The screen just goes blank.

Happiness lies in accepting everyone
in our lives EXACTLY as they are.
We cause ourselves untold misery whenever we believe others to be imperfect and try to change them.
This is the number one rule for a happy relationship.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

moving right along ...



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I am what I am.  If I were any different, I wouldn't be me. (huh?)

for the help that comes my way when I'm able to lower my defenses

for the story from the Big Book, titled "Acceptance Was the Answer."  I know some of you have met and listened to the author of this story.  Maybe I will have that privilege someday too.  His story is chocked full of wisdom. 
Here's a favorite quote ...

"For years I was sure the worst thing that could happen to a nice guy like me would be that I would turn out to be an alcoholic.  Today I find it's the best thing that has ever happened to me.  This proves I  don't know what's good for me.  And if I don't know what's good for me, then I don't know what's good or bad for you or for anyone. So I'm better off if I don't give advice, don't figure I know what's best, and just accept life on life's terms, as it is today."


that I have jury duty today

Laugh when you can,
apologize when you should,
and let go of what you can't change.
Life's too short to be anything... but happy.
- Anonymous

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hey! You're back!





todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Step 10.  Perseverance.  Self examination.  Humility.

that I understand the difference between an apology and an amends.  I heard somone share yesterday (someone with 30+ years recovery) that they make amends daily.  I tell my sponsees that if you're not ready to change your behavior, just apologize; don't claim to make an amends.

for Betty White.  I watched her 90th birthday party last night on the telly.  She's a national treasure.
Change your thoughts, change your life.
- James Allen

Monday, January 16, 2012

Moving on .......


A picture from the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon.  It was run yesterday under clear skies and 45-50 degree temperatures.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


to be constantly reminded how powerless I am over just about everything.  Especially when it comes to changing others.

for the hour and a half I got to spend with friends while we watched the Houston Marathon yesterday.  We had a few friends to cheer as they passed by.  Gorgeous weather for a little 26 mile run.

that my NFL team, The Texans, did their best but came up short in the 2nd round of the playoffs.  They can hold their (now more experienced) heads high.


Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill



Sunday, January 15, 2012

Secret to a GREAT Relationship?

by Jonathon Huie

Behind all the issues that separate an ordinary relationship from a great one, is one common factor. Behind all the truly helpful advice on improving your life together, there lies one key to a great relationship.

Many different kinds of problems can cause a relationship to fall apart. Physical or emotional abuse, addictions, cheating, jealousy, and neediness are just a few of the issues that can destroy a relationship. But once the many potentially disastrous problems have been avoided, what have you got? Perhaps a relationship that qualifies only as "pretty good." But what creates a really great relationship?

At the beginning, we are in relationship because we are attracted to the other person - we think they are sexy, smart, funny, whatever it is that we find appealing. But very quickly, the focus of the relationship turns to whether we feel appreciated. If we don't feel appreciated, we don't feel loved.

It is common for those entering into a relationship to hold an idealized image of how a perfect partner is supposed to act. Perhaps a man is supposed to open car doors. Perhaps a woman is supposed to wear a certain kind of underwear. The internal dialog goes something like this, "Jim (or Sally) is a wonderful person and loves me. After we're together, he will change because he loves me so much. He will stop wanting to hang out with his friends, watch football games, whatever." How can anyone feel appreciated when their loved one is wishing or hoping for them to change.

The greatest roadblock to a great relationship is trying to force a partner to change through bribes or threats. This classic human tendency is lampooned in the long-running off-Broadway musical comedy "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change." It's funny to watch other people go through the cycle of searching for the perfect mate, believing they have found that person, and than gradually attempting to remold the supposedly perfect partner. Unfortunately, in real life, this pattern is a cause of immense suffering.

I Love You Just the Way You Are
The number one secret of a great relationship is accepting our partner EXACTLY as they are. We cause ourselves untold misery whenever we believe our loved ones to be imperfect and try to change them.

To create a great relationship, say and mean, "I love you just the way you are." No pretense. No hoping for change. No thought that it used to be better, or might get better. Follow through by living into that sentiment every day.

Falling into the trap of thinking, "I wish you were different" or "Please change." is no way to show your love. Happiness lies in this number one rule of great relationships: Love and accept your partner exactly the way they are.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Wrong!

FALSE PREDICTIONS

These quotes show that it’s risky to say that something can’t or won’t be done, especially when technology is concerned and it’s the right thing to do. I hope it inspires others to do the right thing.
  • PHONOGRAPH – “The phonograph has no commercial value at all.” (Thomas Edison)
  • TELEGRAPH – “I watched his countenance closely, to see if he was not deranged … and I was assured by other senators after he left the room that they had no confidence in it.” (U.S. Senator Smith of Indiana, after witnessing a demonstration of Samuel Morse’s telegraph, 1842)
  • TELEPHONE – “Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.” (Boston Post, on the telephone, 1865)
  • TELEPHONE – “This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” (Western Union internal memo, 1876)
  • TELEPHONE – “The Americans think we need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” (Sir William Preece, chief engineer of Britain’s Post Office, 1876)
  • ELECTRICITY – “Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever.” (Thomas Edison, 1889)
  • CARS – “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty–a fad.” (President of the Michigan Savings Bank, speaking to Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham. Rackham ignored the advice, invested $5000 in Ford stock, and sold it later for $12.5 million.)
  • PLANES – “Heavier-than-air flying machines are fantasy. Simple laws of physics make them impossible.” (Lord Kelvin, president, British Royal Society, 1895)
  • INVENTION – “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” (Charles H. Duell, commissioner of the US Patent Office, recommending that his office should be abolished, 1899)
  • PLANES – “Man will not fly for 50 years.” (Wilbur Wright, to brother Orville after a disappointing flying experiment in 1901. Their first successful flight was in 1903.)
  • PLANES – “There will never be a bigger plane built.” (A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin-engine plane that holds ten people)
  • RADIO – “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” (David Sarnoff’s associates responding to his urgings for investment in radio, 1912)
  • TANKS – “Caterpillar land ships are idiotic and useless. Those officers and men are wasting their time and are not pulling their proper weight in the war” (Fourth Lord of the British Admiralty, regarding the introduction of tanks in war, 1915)
  • TANKS – “The idea that cavalry will be replaced by these iron coaches is absurd. It is little short of treasonous.” (ADC to Field Marshal Haig, at tank demonstration, 1916)
  • MOVIES – “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” (H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927)
  • NUCLEAR – “There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” (Albert Einstein, 1932)
  • NUCLEAR – “That is the biggest fool thing we have ever done. The bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.” (Admiral William Leahy, when President Truman asked for his opinion on the project to build an atomic bomb)
  • SPACE – “A rocket will never be able to leave the earth’s atmosphere.” (New York Times, 1936)
  • COMPUTERS – “I think there is a world market for about five computers.” (Thomas J. Watson Jr., chairman of IBM, 1943)
  • TELEVISION – “Television won’t last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” (Darryl Zanuck, Movie Producer, 20th Century Fox, 1946)
  • TELEVISION – “The problem with television is that the people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; The average American family hasn’t time for it.” (New York Times, 1949)
  • SPACE – “Space travel is bunk.” (Sir Harold Spencer Jones, Astronomer Royal of the UK, 1957, two weeks before Sputnik orbited the Earth)
  • COPIERS – “The world potential market for copying machines is 5000 at most.” (IBM to the founders of Xerox as it turned down their proposal, 1959)
  • SPACE – “There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.” (T. Craven, FCC Commissioner, 1961)
  • MUSIC – “Guitar music is on the way out.” (Decca Records, declining to record a new group called The Beatles, 1962)
  • COMPUTERS – “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” (Kenneth Olson, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977)
  • COMPUTERS – “So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t gone through college yet.‘” (Steve Jobs, founder of Apple)
  • COMPUTERS – “640 K [of computer memory] ought to be enough for anybody.” (Bill Gates, founder and CEO of Microsoft, 1981)
  • COMPUTERS – “We see a corporate market of maybe 15,000 PCs a year by 1990.” (DataQuest, 1984)
  • COMPUTERS – “By 1990 75-80 percent of IBM compatible computers will be sold with OS/2.” (Bill Gates, founder and CEO of Microsoft, 1988)
  • COMPUTERS – “I predict that the last mainframe will be unplugged on March 15, 1996.” (Stewart Alsop, InfoWorld columnist, 1991)
  • INTERNET – “I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” (Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com and inventor of Ethernet, 1995)

Friday, January 13, 2012

FRI the 13th


Citroen 2CV and a 1958 Renault

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for A.A.'s Tradition One.  "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity."
I attend a Twelve and Twelve study each week.  Yesterday we read and discussed Tradition One.  I know this much ... if this tradition was not in place and observed, A.A. would never have lasted as long as it has.  If you want to know more about it, read it for yourself.

that I seem to become more passive as I grow older and soberer.  Things that used to bother me don't bother me nearly as much.  Things that I used to jump into the middle of, I can now just sit back and watch.

for advanced sobriety.  I define that as more than a day sober.


Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

- Anonymous

Thursday, January 12, 2012

today's report .....

1966 AMC Marlin

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I got to spend some time with one of my favorite new-in-recovery people yesterday.  I am always amazed at the honesty and frankness of some people.  I guess when we have hit bottom and there's nowhere else to go, honesty and frankness are a bit easier to come by.  Regardless, it's fresh and I'm grateful to be a part of it.


for the camaraderie we experience in recovery; ie: some of the things we laugh at that "normal" people might frown upon.  LOL

that no amount of money can buy "the desire to stop drinking"

that I don't have to be the "boss" any more.  I like just being a follower.

We can always choose to perceive things differently.
You can focus on what's wrong in your life, or you can focus on what's right.
- Marianne Williamson



Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Taking nothing for granted


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for great weather
for rain
for gravity
for politeness
for friendship
for the shelter over my head
for a fat tummy

But most of all, I'm grateful for my sobriety, without which, I would have been sprinkled over the ground somewhere. 

It is never too late to become what you might have been.
- George Eliot

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

8 & 9


1956 Cadillac convertible



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the really good AA meeting yesterday about steps 8 & 9.   It occurred to me that before I can make a list of people I've harmed, first I have to define "harmed".  Then, before I can become willing to make amends, first I must define "amends".  I shared these two thoughts and then, of course, stressed the importance of working these steps with a sponsor who can be objective.  Left to my own thinking, I may think I've never harmed anyone or that I have harmed everyone with whom I've ever come into contact.  I need my sponsors' guidance on this.

for the wisdom of folks who have been there and done that

that I watched the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora!" last night.  It's been many years since I've seen it and I really enjoy the film.  This Saturday, I plan on going to see the new movie "The Iron Lady" with some movie-buff recovery friends.


The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

Monday, January 09, 2012

Back to writin'

1954 Corvette

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to see some of the changes that occur in newly-sober people

for the return-on-investment I receive in recovery

that I am back on the Board of Directors of Lambda Center after a 3 year absence (it will be my fourth stint as Secretary)

for a lovely weekend of 70+ degree temperatures in H-town; came in real handy at the car show I was at on Saturday.  I'm gonna post a few pictures this week.

The full measure of a man is
not to be found in the man himself,
but in the colors and textures that
come alive in others because of him.
- Albert Schweitzer

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Me? A Versatile Blogger?

A few days ago, Mary Christine at BEING SOBER (see the link on my sidebar) chose me as someone she'd like to give this in-house blogger award.  I'm supposed to list 7 things about me that I have not yet revealed.  There's a link on my sidebar called "100 things about me" that I wrote many years ago when I began this blog.  I don't know what I can add to that.  I'm also supposed to tag 3 others to do the same.
I'll try to find those 7 things and list them here, but I'm not gonna tag anyone.  If you'd like to make such a list for yourself, go for it.
OK.  Let's see what comes out ...........

1. I'm a car afficionado.  Since I was a small child I've loved cars. Now, at 57, I have 4 cars, 2 of them so-called collector cars.  I occasionally enter them in car shows.

2.  I've always collected things.  Nothing big.  Nothing important.  Just things.

3.  I'm afraid of heights in some cases.  But I've flown in many helicopters and even sky-dived with no fear at all.  That seems kinda weird to me.

4.  I'm a weather watcher.  I actually understand how weather systems work.

5.  I don't need an alarm clock.  I've always been an early riser, even when I drank to oblivion the night before.

6.  Sometimes I have a need to be in the middle of things.  Other times, I'd prefer to just be in the background.   This seems to work well for me as a recovering alcoholic.

7.  I enjoy working in my yard.  Raking leaves and pulling weeds.  Keeping the grass trimmed and neat.  Pulling weeds?  You gotta be kidding!

Cheers. 

note: I attended the Houston Texans playoff games yesterday and was one of over 71,000 fans on hand.  It was a great experience. (we won)

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Feeling Sad?

It is surprisingly common for people to feel sad for long periods of time without knowing the reason for their sadness. If your aunt, or your pet goldfish, died recently, or your boyfriend dumped you, at least you know why you are sad. You may not like the feeling, but at least you know the cause and have a specific issue to deal with.

However, when your sadness is generalized, continuing, and has no obvious cause, you need to look deeper at what is going on. Ask yourself these five questions.

1. Have you ever considered suicide or harming yourself in any way? If you have, you must get professional help at once. This is more than a casual sadness and a skilled professional can help.

2. What activities bring you joy? If you can't write down at least several activities you enjoy, your sadness probably relates to an emptiness - a need to have an enjoyable focus to your life.

3. How often do you engage in activities that bring you joy? If you can identify activities that you enjoy, but seldom spend time in those activities, your sadness again is an emptiness, being unfulfilled.

4. What are you committed to? What do you fervently believe in? The absence of a strong commitment to a cause or a set of ideals can lead to continuing sadness. A fulfilling commitment could be a dedication to your Higher Power, but it could also be a commitment to world peace, ending hunger in your own town, or becoming a concert pianist.

5. Who are you committed to helping? The path to happiness is usually found in helping others. Compassion and generosity of your time and love lead out of sadness into happiness.

by Jonathan Huie

Friday, January 06, 2012

Continued to take personal inventory


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thaAnkful

that I will go to 3 AA meetings today as I do every Friday

for these goodies from Step 10 of the book known as the 12 X 12 ......

... "a continuous look at our assets and liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are necessities for us."

... "it is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us."

... "we have found that justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it."

... "nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen."

Have a GREAT weekend!

It is not the man who has too little,
but the man who craves more, that is poor.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Some things go without saying (you won't find them here)



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for people who stick to their values

that my recovery is all about me

to be reminded (often) that I can't change anyone but myself

that you have taken some valuable time out of your day to read this stuff

that there are only 353 shopping days until Christmas

 
The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.
- Sydney Harris

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Important stuff



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

it passed (see yesterday's post)

for sober experience
that I continue to listen to everyone who shares in an AA meeting.  Sometimes (often) I don't understand or really even care what they have to say.  But if I choose to not listen, I will undoubtedly miss something I need to hear.

When I am able to resist the temptation to judge others, I can see them as teachers.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Feelings. Ugh!




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a new year and the things that I absolutely know I'll learn; I just don't know what those things are (yet)


that I can stay sober through some (hopefully) minor depression that I'm going through.  I am doing my best to stay positive, but my home life really sucks right now.  When I'm away from home and able to be around others in recovery, things get much better.  I know this will pass, but it would be great if it would just hurry up.

I'm not very comfortable putting this out on the internet, so it's about all I'll say about it in this forum.

Success comes from knowing that
you did your best to become the best
that you are capable of becoming.
- John Wooden

Monday, January 02, 2012

Here we go .........



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I made it through another new year's eve without drinking; that makes 9 in-a-row

for solutions to my problems.  Those problems this past week have involved wanting to isolate.  The solution has been to stick to my program closely and to share with a few people what's going on inside this head.  I know I have to remain accountable.

for an even-numbered year -- 2012.  I like them better than odd-numbered ones.


At all times and under all circumstances, we have the power to transform the quality of our lives.
- Werner Erhard

Sunday, January 01, 2012

My Wish For You in 2012 ...

This is my wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
Smiles when sadness intrudes,
Rainbows to follow the clouds,
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Hugs when spirits sag,
Beauty for your eyes to see,
Friendships to brighten your being,
Faith so that you can believe,
Confidence for when you doubt,
Courage to know yourself,
Patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.
- Anonymous