Less than 2 weeks remaining in 2010

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for another recovery/birthday night at Lambda Center, followed by our little Christmas gift exchange event

that I still feel the need to stay on top of my gratitude via this list, using this medium

for other ways of expressing my recovery gratitude

for Step 12 and that I try to carry this message to alcoholics (this message being that of the first 164 pages of the Big book of Alcoholics Anonymous)

that I got my computer repaired - $200 but cheaper than getting a new one


Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain.
- Vivian Greene

Helping others / Being of service

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a good Tradition Twelve meeting - principles over personalities, anonymity, humility. You know. The good stuff.

that I have a whole lot better grasp on twelfth step calls -- I was involved in one yesterday and was able to help guide another person how NOT to enable the using addict. Allowing a user to hit their bottom is a significant step for this people pleaser.

that I really got a lot done yesterday - very productive day

that I get to go to my 3 Friday meetings today

Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
- William Faulkner

Step Twelve "Having had a spiritual awakening ...

as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

I had a spiritual awakening as the result of the first 3 steps AND because I had no where else to turn AND because I had become honest, open-minded and willing to change. Ever so slowly.

Service. Carry the message. So many ways. An infinite number of ways to carry the message. From attending meetings, being a sponsee and sponsor, chairing meetings, preparing rooms for AA meetings and cleaning them, joining in the fellowship before and after meetings, making phone calls. To name just a few.

Practice these principles. Whew! What an order! Learning how to live sober (and in recovery) every minute of every day will take a lifetime. Life is dynamic. Things change, often daily. Responding and reacting to life as it happens in a spiritual manner has become my goal.

Soon, I'll write a little bit on the principles (as I understand them).
This stuff -- recovery -- never stops. I hope.
Thank God.


today i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I act as a sort of backup chairperson if/when the regular chair doesn't show up at the 6:30am meeting. This happens a lot.

that I hand out business cards (made especially for AA meetings) to newcomers. My card has my photo on it so that person can put a face to the name. I like this.

that I know how important it is for me to stay in the center of my program. If I were to ride on the edge, the centrifugal force would toss me out.


Often the difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one consists of leaving about three or four things a day unsaid.
- Harlan Miller

Yea! It's Friday!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I recognize the undeniable fact that I'm different, have always wanted to be different, and enjoy being different. There. I said it.

that I don't need to rule the world any more; the burden just became too great.

that my first 49 years prepared me well for a life of recovery

for my own ways of carrying the message and hopefully, not the mess

for breakfast with my sponsor this morning


The beaten path is the safest, but the traffic's terrible.
- Jeff Taylor

a busy day past

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my yesterday morning did not go as I had it planned; instead, it was better

for Step 3 and the infinite ways it has changed my life

that I got involved in 2 twelfth step calls yesterday (a rather rare thing for me)

for up-close and vivid reminders of the disease of alcoholism and how cunning, baffling and powerful it is. A good friend decided to end his life yesterday. We had talked just a couple of days ago and he seemed ok. Another friend slipped (again) after 4+ years of being clean and sober. I hope she makes it back (again). Those dice can only be rolled so many times for many of us.


Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points.
- Knute Rockne

Omniscient NOT!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for reminders how just the littlest thing can make a difference to someone; this may be something I share in a meeting or just a greeting at the door to an AA meeting. The moral to this story is that I just need to continue to be the best I can be -- at all times.

that Step Twelve reminds me to practice these principle in ALL my affairs

that I will substitute-chair an AA meeting this morning -- as a group, we will read, then discuss several pages of the Big Book

that I don't know what may happen today, but I'm pretty sure what won't happen.


Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.
- Mark Twain

well-balanced?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the summary of the Twelve Steps found on pages 107-109 of TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS.

that I can be of help without even trying

that I have to be on constant guard to be weary of my instincts and motives

that I'm becoming less and less likely to get involved in your insanity

that I try to make my life balanced by diversifying my interests and activities

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
- Epictetus

part of the journey

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the gift of living another day as a sober alcoholic

that I have learned from the experience of others, not to offer a spare bed to a newcomer. I know 3 people who have done so in the past month. This has resulted in a stolen car, stolen jewelry and a severe beating.

that Step Twelve shows me how to carry the message and not the mess!

that I am not a taxi driver, a banker, a landlord or a marriage/relationship counsellor


Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.
- Mark Twain

forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!!

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for people who care and take action

for the infinite number of ways to carry the message

that I can usually carry the message rather than the mess

that I don't try to practice recovery; I try to live it


Show me a guy who's afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time.
-Lou Brock

no quick fix

Two fishermen were in a boat by the lake, when one of them stood to catch a fish in a net. As he scooped up the carp, his wallet fell out of his back pocket. As the seemingly doomed billfold started to sink to the lake bottom, the carp slipped out of the net and swam after it, re-emerging with it on his nose.
However, instead of returning it, he tossed it to one of his fish buddies, who balanced it on his nose. More and more fish-buddies emerged from the water, and all of them played this strange game of keep-away with the man’s billfold.
The first man watched, slackjawed. He said to the other “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
The second man answered “Sure I have. Haven’t you heard of carp-to-carp walleting?”


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Step 12 and the infinite number of ways to give back to this program

for a clever concept that is new to me -- when I pray to my HP, I am NOT reminding him/her/it of the things I want done or people I want helped. I am reminding myself.

that the next right thing just sorta happens these days with little thought on my part

that I play by the rules

that I am one lucky SOB


Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway.
-Harper Lee

Success

the picture is of the neighboring city to Chernobyl, USSR, taken a couple of years after the nuclear accident

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I understand the importance of being a meeting maker (for my own personal recovery)

that I never tried Crystal Meth

that Lambda Center has Crystal Meth Anonymous meetings 4 days per week

for the inspiration given me by AA's Step 12


It takes as much stress to be a success as it does to be a failure.
-Emilio James Trujillo

NOTE: I lost misplaced the camera-to-computer cable that I use to download pictures. As soon as I get it replaced, I'll share some pix with you guys. I know some of you are holding your breath. Please exhale.

my shoe is untied

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that we read "Acceptance was the Answer" from the Big Book yesterday and then discussed it. That's one of my favorite stories.

at my 2nd meeting of the day, we discussed Step 12. I think many of us could speak forever about the ways this step can be practiced. Always provides for an insightful meeting.

that my nephew came over and did a little electrical work for us (yes, he's licensed)


The mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work unless it's open.
-Unknown

I'm not the lush I used to be

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for constant, conscious effort to practice Step 12; it goes against all my instincts

that I don't regret my past nor do I wish to shut the door on it

that my experiences, before and since sobriety, can be of help to another

for a really beautiful day in Houston, weather-wise and life-wise

that I have always been a very responsible person; Syd mentioned this yesterday and I certainly identified with it (check out his list of characteristics)

"Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory."
-- General George S. Patton

"Winners are people with a definite purpose in life."
-- Denis Waitley

"It seems to me that it's actually harder to invent excuses than it is to be successful."
-- Jeffrey Gitomer

"Don’t be content with doing only you duty. Do more than you duty. It’s the horse that finishes a neck ahead that wins the race."
-- Andrew Carnegie

With a smile on my face

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for more opportunities to carry the message

for new behavior that I've learned in the rooms

that my Mom should finally have her surgery this morning

that I have a nice, warm home to sleep in and running water to wash with

"Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity."
-- Albert Einstein

See below ...

for all cat lovers ...



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the many interpretations of "practice these principles in all our affairs"

for possibilities, then choices and the resulting consequences

for the healthy discussion in our blogging community regarding Tradition Eleven

that although I whine and complain about being too busy, all of my days are full of productive stuff

for some (admittedly very cute) newcomers at Lambda

that I have no need nor desire to practice Step 13 with the above persons (I only mention this because it goes against my lifelong instincts)

that there's only 66 shopping days left before Christmas

Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one's ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.
-- Andre Malraux

A Spiritual Awakening

"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

The joy of living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step,

and action is its key word.

When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone.

We may often pass through Twelfth Step experiences where we will seem to be temporarily off the beam. These will appear as big setbacks at the time, but will be seen later as stepping-stones to better things.

All of the above sentences are from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Twelve.

I'm just reminding myself of what they have to say.

Service

is the principle behind Step 12 of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The happiest people I know are those who have learned to live beyond their own special interests by discovering the rewards that come from giving of themselves.
Winfield C. Dunn

Recovery-related service comes in an infinite number of forms. If one can do nothing more than show up at a meeting, that is probably some of the greatest service we can give to one another.

After all, if no one came to meetings ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to spend quality time with friends

that I am as honest with other humans as I can possibly be -- the rewards are certainly worth the effort

that tomorrow is Boston's 2-year sobriety birthday --

drop by and tell her howdy and wish her well!!

that tomorrow is birthday night @ Lambda Center -- we'll get to see Pam again and for the first time, Hayden will be here to join me on my birthday celebration (I'm afraid I will lose it when I speak; oh well, it won't be the first time)

that Hayden returns from Atlanta today and we can spend a few days together before he goes back home

It is a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.
-Somerset Maugham

Faith ...

is the principle behind Step Two of Alcoholics Anonymous.

When I read Step 2 on the wall at the first AA meeting or maybe my second meeting, I was about ready to get up and walk out. I wanted nothing to do with a Higher Power. I had not been to church in 30 years and wasn't about to start now.

Three months and about 100 meetings later, I was finally able to muster the bravado to admit that you guys -- the people in the meetings - could be my Higher Power. I was having none of this God stuff!

I put my faith in you guys because you said I could. You said it would suffice. For now.

You were right.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I am not going to write about 9/11 - I will leave that to others

that I much prefer to take action rather than think about it

for a wonderful meeting on Step 12 and input from many on numerous avenues of carrying the message

for the Twelve Steps of AA and an almost infinite number of recovery tools to help me get through the bad times ---

AND the good times too!

for the luxuries in my life, not highlighted by anger or resentment

for Johnny Depp

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
-Will Rogers

It's come to this ...

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.

P.J. O'Rourke



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the infinite number of topics covered by AA's Step 12

that I can enjoy myself today but not at the expense of others

that tomorrow night is Birthday Night @ Lambda Center

that, HP willing, several of us Houston bloggers will meet up with a visiting Colorado blogger on Sunday

that today I will not loan Sheryl Crow a square no matter how much she begs for one

that I have never found it necessary to hold a press conference (yet)

for a really informative session with my therapist - gosh, I hope he's gonna be OK

that I am not sure if I am in a groove or a rut

for the many lifetime contributions of JACK VALENTI, who died yesterday

that today is

Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't.
-Pete Seeger

NOTE: What has happened to lash/coffee bitch ?