Smile!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I can choose to NOT be part of the drama; I prefer comedies anyway

that I know what I did last night, last week and last year

that I don't know how much I don't know

that I get to see what happens when the program of AA is not being practiced (by someone who usually practices it)


Gratitude in advance is the most powerful
creative force in the universe.
- Neale Donald Walsch

Going into the weekend .......

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that some of the things that seemed so important just a few years ago (before I stopped drinking) rarely even cross my mind these days

that my life is no longer about drinking OR not drinking; it's about living sober

for the new challenges that pop up, often without my asking

for The Promises on pages 83 and 84 of The Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)


The greatest discovery of any generation
is that a human being can alter his life by
altering his attitude.
- William James

Life as I understand it

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the cool and unexpected experiences that I've had while praying and as a result of praying

for my AA home group and its spiritual health

that I feel very comfortable sharing many of my more embarrassing experiences with sponsees

that the Houston area finally got some significant rain yesterday. The best rainfall since January. But we're still in a record-setting drought.


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

Progress, Not Perfection

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm not crazy, just a bit weird at times

for the Memorial Day picnice yesterday sponsored by Lambda Center; there were about 60-70 of us and waaaaaaaaay too much food

that most AA events have more than enough food

that I get more and more fixed, almost every day


Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.
- Leo Buscaglia

Today, ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. They are commonly called a design for living, and I totally agree with that.

for Step 3 -- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. This step plays a constant part in my every day life (usually). It automatically releases me of the heavy burden of controlling and running the world about me. All I have to do is participate.

for Step 10 -- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Practicing this concept allows me to monitro my behavior throughout the day. I dislike needing to make amends and this step helps me to prevent my instinctively bad behavior.

that I'm gonna have a nice weekend and hope you do too!



If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax.
- Abraham Lincoln

The life.

There. It's fixed.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for The Doctor's Opinion in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Someone pointed out how important it is that it's at the beginning of the book instead of at the end. We continue into the book knowing that alcoholism is considered a disease. Very important.


that I got to have a nice conversation with a recovery friend who is moving to California this weekend. Five of my friends have moved there in the past few months. I'm staying in Houston, thank you.

for love and tolerance; a fine code to have!

to those who give tirelessly to organizations, not just recovery. I always avoided giving my time until I stopped drinking. Now, I have many examples and teachers.


Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.
- Dan Millman

I'm NOT fixed yet

There. It's fixed.




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that today is Monday and I don't have to go to a job

that I got to hear Kevin C. tell his story on Saturday. Kevin got sober here in Houston and now travels to AA Roundups and conferences to speak. His story is not unlike yours or mine, but the way he tells it is quite entertaining. But his messages are even better.

for patience. I put this on my list often, but it's one of the most spiritual tools I have acquired since getting sober. It really serves me well. When I'm not patient, I know there's something wrong.

that I do my best to follow life's rules -- the big ones and the little ones



If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.

- Henry Ford

here, here

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my home group finished reading through the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous) for the 5th time in 7+ years. We read a few pages every Tuesday morning and then discuss what we've read.

that I don't "buy in to" so much of the rubbish I hear every day

but, I do keep an open mind to the opinions and thoughts of others

that my parents did the very best job they could do when raising my sister and I. I bet that most parents do the same.

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Humility is the key

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that sobriety and recovery are so popular amongst the crowd of people with whom I choose to associate

for all the jobs I had in my younger days, which provided me with a solid foundation to live a full life and experience things I never expected to experience

yesterday, our 6:30am group read Gutter Bravado from the 4th edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. I love these quotes ... "planned abstinence was extrememly stressful." ..... "the downward spiral of my life began making smaller circles." ... " I began to feel like a clown juggling too many balls." I really identify with these.

that I keep trying to do and be my best; when I fail, I learn a lesson


Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
- Helen Keller

I'm so glad we have this time together ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for dinner last night with a friend; we had a good chat, one that we both needed

that I feel comfortable with life and with all those about me

for those times during they day (any day, every day) when I recognize that the steps of A.A. are working me

that I survived my drinking days to become what I am supposed to be


The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal.
The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.
- Benjamin Mays

Smart cat and some butterflies

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that the Promises listed on pages 83/84 of Alcoholics Anonymous are mostly true for me, most of the time

for hope and faith in my life today

that my HP has no limits except for those that I place on him/her/it/whatever

for a day without pressing projects -- this is really rare for this retired guy



There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.
- Richard Buckminster Fuller

'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly, 'one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.'
- Hans Christian Anderson

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
- Richard Bach

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Bye Bye Brougham

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


for some closer-than-usual and more personal fellowship this past week or so

for Tradition One of Alcoholics Anonymous --- "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity." We spent an hour discussing that yesterday morning at the 6:30am meeting I attend.

that I'm getting to know the guy inside me a bit better each day

that I sold one of my fine cars yesterday. I'm gonna miss it. I over-extended a bit last year and am needing to downsize. I paid a pretty hefty price for driving the pictured car for only 4 months. I'm not a very good car guy as I buy with emotion instead of practical sense. Oh well.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.
- Zhuangzi

today's potpourri

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the 3rd tradition ... "The only requirement for membership in AA is the desire to stop drinking." It doesn't say quit drinking or to do something about your drinking; it says stop drinking.

that my physical health didn't suffer too much from my drinking. I had progressively worse DT's ove rthe last 10 years I drank, but it disappeared within a week of stopping

for my spiritual life; it's mine and NO ONE can take it away. But alcohol can.

for someone who returned to the rooms of AA yesterday after a relapse after 8 years of being sober

that I watched the President last night so I could get the message from the horse's mouth instead of hearing some reporter's opinion of what he said


Begin each day as if it were on purpose.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Tools

"What NOT to do on your lunch break today."



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to remember that I didn't get sober until I had a Higher Power to surrender to. I can't be in recovery from my alcoholism unless I practice the 12 steps and 12 traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous each and every day.

for all of the spiritual tools I've been offered in recovery

for acceptance of others as doing the best they know how

that the Truxillo House, a 3/4 house for recovering alkies/addicts, has finally reopened after a serious fire 13 months ago. They rebuilt with private donations. No insurance. No government funding.


Too many people grow up. That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget.
- Walt Disney

Big things, Small things

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for some awareness of patterns of my thinking and my behavior that comes to me because of Step 4 inventories

for day long calmness (serenity)

for knowledge that things will be OK as long as I closely follow the design for living that comes to me as a result of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

that answers will come but I must be more open-minded if I am going to appreciate them

for those who gave their lives 69 years ago at Pearl Harbor


We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
- George Bernard Shaw

A full weekend. Check.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I no longer think about drinking and I no longer think about not drinking

that I survived 3+ days of 24/7 AA-related activities in damn good shape, albeit a bit worn out

that we had 287 registered participants in the Houston Roundup

that I was elected to co-chair the 2011 Houston Roundup; this is a big deal for me as it will sorta be like having a real job

for a little reminder that I am constantly working the steps when I have sponsees that I'm working the steps with. Make sense?


A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
- Joseph Joubert

I'm very lucky .......

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful



to be a novice at this recovery thing; I have SO much to learn

that I stuck around the rooms of AA long enough to begin to develop a Higher Power

that my HP has evolved into a concept that I'm very comfortable with; it continues to evolve and I think it will continue as long as I don't start drinking again

that I have a formidable defense against taking that first drink -- my Higher Power!

that sometimes this sober thing seems pretty damn easy


You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

bright & shiny

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I have not had a drink in over 7 years, no matter what!

that I'm accountable; to myself mainly and to others as well

for those who make it back to AA after a relapse; they teach me a lot

that I lived through another baseball season; I've been a Houston Astros fan since their inception in 1962. It's been a lifelong lesson in loyalty and patience.

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.
- Yogi Berra

Have a lovely weekend

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm gonna be my best today, no matter what my instincts want me to do

that I attended a good Tradition Four meeting yesterday morning. Some good reminders about not taking myself too seriously. And some good information about how an AA group works; that it's OK to let our format evolve and it can be a little different than the norm. It's still AA and we're all sober when we leave.

that sometimes, all it takes to help someone is to say HI

that I'm able to continue making my living amends to the world and to the earth


The path to happiness is forgiveness of everyone and gratitude for everything.
- jonathon lockwood

Ready. Set. Action!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my brain cell has been treating me well these past few days

for the bonding that happened with my sponsor after I did my initial 5th step with him

that for today, I don't care about getting drunk nor high

for the chapter entitled "Into Action" in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. There's not a chapter called "Into Thinking".


Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
- Dale Carnegie