I'm just a grateful old ....

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I attended 2 meetings yesterday that centered on Step 1. "We were powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable." It took a few months of a clearing detoxing brain before I realized that alcohol had been my master, had managed my life for many years. I had conveniently overlooked that part of my drinking life. I thought I had been a functional alcoholic since I held a good job and was financially responsible.

that today, as I type this, I AM a functional alcoholic.

that a few friends of mine offer such hope and inspiration to so many of us. I have 2 friends who are both 33 years old, one with terminal colon cancer (he will die any day) and another who was just diagnosed with lymphoma and began chemotherapy this week. Another friend who's about 50 is going through a second round of colo-rectal cancer and just came out of major surgery. All these people are sober and recovering alcoholics and show me how to act when the times get really tough. Whew!

that my problems ain't shit!


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

Steps 1, 2 & 3

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

to know that I'm powerless over just about everything that happens

that my faith and trust in a HP brings me comfort, which in turn offers me some serenity and sanity

that I don't have to control anything except my behavior

I think you'll enjoy THIS.

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

Only $20 for Answers & Solutions

todAAy i Am grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my circumstances leave no doubt of my powerlessness over alcohol
and everything else)

that I was able to conceive of a Higher Power

that when I surrender, I find serenity

that if I could remove all my character defects and grind them up, they could provide enough power to illuminate a small city for a month (what?)

that I'm going to the Astros game tonight with a friend in recovery

ATTITUDE

"A positive attitude is perhaps more important at home than anywhere else. As spouses and parents, one of our most vital roles is to help those we love feel good about themselves."
-- Keith Harrell

"We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these assumptions."
-- Stephen Covey

"…look at that word blame. It's just a coincidence that the last two letters spell the word me. But that coincidence is worth thinking about. Other people or unfortunate circumstances may have caused you to feel pain, but only you control whether you allow that pain to go on. If you want those feelings to go away, you have to say: 'It's up to me."
-- Arthur Freeman

"Optimists are right. So are pessimists. It's up to you to choose which you will be."
-- Harvey Mackay

Progress

This is the ferry that runs between Trinidad and Tobago each day. The distance is about 50 miles or about 2 1/2 hours.
It holds approximately 200 automobiles and 1000 passengers. The cost is $9 per person each way.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a good 1st step meeting yesterday - I'm grateful that I could not only admit my powerlessness over alcohol but also accept that fact

for an AA newcomer to our early morning meetings who celebrated 10 days sober today on his 54th birthday

that I will not feel the need to be perfect today, but I can be excellent

that a friend at Lambda with many years of recovery under her belt will not be moving away from Houston as she and her family were planning to do; we need her here and obviously, her HP knew that

that I'm a successful quitter (drinking, smoking, etc...)

for some nice shopping therapy yesterday, including a new cell phone. I had the previous phone (my first in sobriety) for 1 1/2 years, longest I've ever had a cell phone. When I was drinking, I had at least 12 phones but was always losing them or they got stolen. In 2002 at the beginning of my last year of drinking, I had 4 phones in a 4-month period (in Morocco).

"Most people seem to want tremendous improvement, instantly. But you'll probably find it's the little things you do that eventually add up to big results."
-- Joel Weldon