some reality

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for Bill W's definition of humility which is found on page 58 of the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

"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."


I use this as a guide to daily living. And it seems that the more I learn about myself, the more work I have to do to become whom I should be. Unless I'm mistaken, this is going to last a lifetime.

that I attended the graduation of a friend last night. He has been in IOP (intensive outpatient) treatment for alcoholism and volunteered for this program after a number of relapses. He's a member of my early morning home group and we were there in force to support him. I am really proud of him. Especially for someone who is only 30 years old.

for my Higher Power, without which I would not be here writing this to you


Hate is never conquered by hate,
Hate is only conquered by love.
- The Buddha

Setting the tone for the week

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for spiritual progress, not spiritual perfection .........

I hear some people (in recovery) use this phrase as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. Their thinking seems to be that it's OK to do the next wrong thing because their behavior is not as bad as it was when they were drinking.

I could not disagree more. I do not believe this is what Bill W. had in mind when he wrote this phrase. I think we're supposed to be the best we can be and not beat up on ourselves when we fall short. Today, I strive for excellence, knowing I am not a perfect human being. No one is.

My own spiritual progress has been amazing, considering I had virtually no idea of a spititual life in 2003 when I stopped drinking. Today, I do my best to follow a set of spiritual principles every day of my life.


Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.
- John F. Kennedy

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

Happy Joyous and Free

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a heightened sense of the importance of humility as I understand it

that Ginger S related some of her dramatic story of experience yesterday

for peace in my little corner of the world

that my co-chair and I have begun some serious planning for the 2011 Houston Roundup, scheduled for late November.



It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
- J. K. Rowling

Cold?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


for an awareness that I don't always know what's best for me. If I feel a need to doubt this, all I have to do is look at my track record for the past 50+ years.

for a good meeting about Step 7 - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

that if I am to acheive some progress towards humility, Steps 6 & 7 must be part of my daily life

that the coffee shop at which I'm a regular is frequented by many other recovering alkies where we can sit back and relax and talk about our lives


Forgiving is not a gift to someone else - Forgiving is your gift to yourself.
~~ unknown

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

Learning about life

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that sometimes I'm a fast learner; sometimes a slow learner. I don't know why or when either of those will be dominant.

for some awareness that much of my learning took place before I was 8 years old

that bad habits can be broken and new habits can be formed

that by being the best person I can be, I will remain teachable


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

Going, going ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I woke up sober this morning, again

that I'm teachable, still

that I taught middle school for my first year out of college. I was 22 years old. My students were 12-14 years old. Hell, I was only 8 years older than they were. I'm glad it was only a year. I went on to bigger and better things and found a career in the oil & gas industry.

for a nice, really productive day yesterday

that one of my cars, the 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz pictured above, is in an auction later today with 400 other collector autos. I bought this car last October in Denver. It's beautiful and in excellent condition. I just don't have the space for it any longer.


The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.
- Tom Bodett

Courage to begin

Russia's finance minister has urged his countrymen and women to support the country - by drinking and smoking more.

Alexei Kudrin called for increased consumption of tobacco and alcohol in a bid to boost the state's revenues, reports Metro.
"If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems," commented Kudrin.
"People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state."
Russia, noted for its high consumptions of both cigarettes and alcohol, has among the lowest duties on cigarettes in Europe.
In June, plans to double the excise duty on cigarettes from 250 roubles, roughly £5 per 1,000 cigarettes, to 590 roubles (£12.49) by 2013 were outlined.
The comments by the minister seem to contradict recent government moves to control Russia's excessive nature and improve its life expectancy rates.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I had the balls to go to my second AA meeting, 7 years ago. I went alone. I had no intention of ever stopping drinking though.

for the courage to step outside my comfort zone occassionally

that my friend Gavin H. told his AA story with gobs of humility

that I am not in denial about my lack of knowledge regarding relationships; there's so much to learn and it's rarely fun


Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.
- Billy Graham

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

another foot forward

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that we got to hear the story of someone relatively new to us at Lambda; she spoke with candor, humility and humor

that I've been able to reach out a little more lately; I hope this continues

that Hayden is back home safely after 6 weeks in the UK

for a nice, clean house home

that we now go to the 2nd half of the baseball season


Never argue at the dinner table, for the one who is not hungry always gets the best of the argument.
- Voltaire

humility

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for another day of sober growth

for those who step up to the plate when asked

for the different concepts of humility. My personal feeling is that I must be teachable to new concepts which will help me to become the best person I can be.
What is your definition or understanding?


Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
- The Buddha

Now you see it ...

rust. under the black vinyl top.



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I learned another good lesson yesterday. I had to humble myself and become honest. During a meeting in which the topic was honesty, I realized I was being less than honest in the description of the car I'm selling on eBay. It has a rust issue but I had purposely neglected to mention that. Obviously, the rust may well affect the value of the car as I try to sell it.
I admitted that I would want this information if I were buying the car and would feel cheated if the seller did not mention it. So, I had to come clean and when I got home, I amended the vehicle description, both in words and pictures.

that sometimes it's really tough to practice these principles in all my affairs, but it's worth it because I keep a clean mind

that I'm able to help others, even when I don't feel like it

The only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them.
- Unknown

balancing act

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that today is the first day of summer, and the longest day of the year, AND my sister's birthday (she'll always be older than me HAHA)

for the small things in life that I remember to not take for granted

for some balance in my life

for the teachers I had in my 12 years of public school; I can look back and tell you that they were all very good at what they did

that I'm really enjoying the path I'm on

for Betty White -- unbelievable talent AND humility


Two things a man should never be angry at: what he can help, and what he cannot help.
- Thomas Fuller

a few little tidbits ...

PHONE REPAIR

A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions, when it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.

The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog or senile lady. He climbed a telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialled the subscriber's house.

The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned and the telephone began to ring.

Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1 . The dog was tied to the telephone system'sground wire with a steel chain and collar.

2. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signalling current when the number was called.

4.. After a couple of jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate.

5. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring.

Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.

Thought you'd like to know.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a good night's sleep


for many different ways to learn, the least of which is to be teachable

that I don't always have to understand why people act the way they do, but it behooves me to know why I react the way I do

that I found myself watching America's Got Talent last night and actually enjoyed it!

Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble.
- Arabic Proverb

Step Seven

"Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

The literature tells me that the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of the steps. Bill W. defines humility as a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be.
I ask for this every morning in my attempt at an early conscious contact with my HP.

If I am practicing Step 6 as suggested and then forget or just don't practice this step, I've done little to improve myself. Character building is imperative if I am to grow spiritually. This doesn't seem to happen by osmosis or by inaction. And I can't seem to do it by myself.
I need my HP, AA and you guys to show me and guide me and remind me.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a really good discussion meeting about Step 6 on the same morning I blog-posted about Step 6.

for Step 3 and the chance to use it throughout my day - every day

that my HP puts people in front of me who can use my listening ears; it often requires me to put my compassion to work, but I always learn something, both about others and myself


You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
- Dale Carnegie

So, you wanna live in the big city?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that yesterday, I was teachable and learned something. Today, I'm gonna do that again.

that Scott W. is doing just fine in his new life-without-blogging

that I get to vote today; a privilege that I embrace as an American

for the year I taught school (I was 22 years old). I'm sure I learned a whole lot more than the 12-14 year-old kids I taught. They already knew everything.

We only go around once. There's really no time to be afraid. So stop. Try something you've never tried. Teach it. Do it. Risk it.
- Jon Blais

I know Who Dat now

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for opportunities to be of service

for the lack of drama in my life

for all the people who continue to teach me

that I picked up another sponsee although having 4 of them may be too much for me to handle

that I got to watch that excellent football game with some friends. Congrats to the City of New Orleans; they deserve something like this. But I'm glad I'm not there for the next 10 days, what with a Super Bowl victory celebration coinciding with Mardi Gras.


He who forgives ends the quarrel.
- African proverb

no foolin'

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

the we read "SAFE HAVEN" yesterday from the Big Book;
... that the process of discovering who he really was began with knowing who he didn't want to be

for being rigorously honest -- those little white lies I used to tell you just don't work anymore

that a few of us (4, actually) took an AA meeting to a Chicago friend who's here for cancer treatment. Actually, he had a stem cell transplant a few weeks ago and is not allowed to spend much time in public yet. He's still very susceptible to infection. It was special to all of us and I know he appreciated it very much.

that my friend Jamie R. celebrates 1000 days of continuous sobriety today!

Let us so live that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.
- Mark Twain

Gift Idea

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I don't know what today will bring -- I enjoy the surprises

for those who teach me by example

that I remain teachable (most of the time)

that my friend Mary Christine celebrates another birthday today -- I'm glad!

that we're having winter weather without the cold temps. I guess that would make it Autumn, or Spring. Never mind.


To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.
- Johannes A. Gaertner