Time does matter

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for many birthday greetings yesterday -- somehow, I've now managed to live for over 57 years

for Step 5 - "Admitted to God, to ouselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." When I first did this with my sponsor at about 8 months sober, it taught me about being open and frank with someone. As rigorously honest as I could be. I learned about trust. And I attempt to continue that trust with the people with whom I work.

for the text on step 5 in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. It talks about the relationship between isolation and loneliness on page 57. I really identify with this writing.

for a long, slow recovery

A person acting from a motivation of contribution and service rises to such a level of moral authority that worldly success is a natural result.
- Marianne Williamson

Transparency

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm focused on what I do; I just don't know what's coming next (usually)

that I have no particular secrets; I just don't tell everything to everybody

for a fun and busy weekend. Saturday was all about recovery and putting on a talent show. I was just the emcee so I didn't have to perform, but I had to know a few details about the 19 different performers. It went almost flawless and I believe everyone enjoyed the show. We have a lot of talent. Alcoholics are definitely over-achievers.

that some people seem to trust me enough to seek advice (or maybe just my opinion) LOL

that my partner is OK. He's quite ill in London with a virus that's going around. He's lucky in that he's staying with a relative who happens to be a nurse.


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

Honesty -- really?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I had a full weekend of fellowship -- both with friends in and out of the program

that people trust me enough to handle large amounts of cash -- unsupervised! LOL

that I can resist almost everything, except temptation

that my Corvette actually won 1st place in its category (1970-1979 vintage cars) at a local car show


I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
- Thomas Jefferson

God could and did ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that most people trust me (I think)

for my Big Book. My mother gave it to me about 1 week after I went to my first AA meeting. I had no idea there was such a thing as a Big book. It was the first one I had seen (noticed). She got it at a second-hand store where she volunteered and told me that she paid one dollar for it. It was/is all marked up and highlighted and has many names and some phone numbers on the inside of the front and back covers. As things have turned out in my life, it is one of the most precious gifts she (or anyone else) has ever given me. Every time I use it, I think of her.

that we read Chapter 5 in the Big Book yesterday at the 6:30am meeting I regularly attend.

that my troubles are basically of my own making.

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.
- Collette

one of those days ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that my spiritual awakening happened like a flash, although it took decades of drinking and months of AA education to get there

that I do my best to remain learnable

for people I can confide in with trust

that I'm not a violent person now or in the past

that I rarely have one of those days any more because I possess the tools to make things right

Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn

on a cloudy day ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that as I come to, the insanity seems to decrease

that some people trust me enough to confide in me

that Rodney and I went to see Vantage Point last night; I recommend it

that I'll never be a Governor caught in a scandal;
I don't care for politics

for another successful Shuttle launch early this morning

Don't regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.
~ unknown

Big foot Friday

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for meeting topics yesterday of: Tradition 7 and Honesty -- a nice combination (I may try to begin putting the meeting topics from the previous day's meetings here, just to see what comes up)

that the words "may" and "try" are both legal loopholes, or other ways to describe my inaction

that I picked up the phone to call Hayden yesterday (an international call) and he was already on the other end, calling me (to be fair, we were working out some travel arrangements, but it was just very strange that we would be calling each other at exactly the same moment since we had not spoken since the day before)

that my therapist has pinpointed my fear of abandonment and fear of trust in others as probably my most prominent fears - they seem to be at the root of many of my defects of character (behaviour)

for awareness, which is how recovery progresses

for a reminder from Pam that today I get to choose how I will treat people - it's my decision and mine alone

for another nice turnout at HNT yesterday - I wish all of you guys would link back to your blogs

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
-Paul Boese