EXPERIENCE: THE BEST TEACHER Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87 Some say that experience is the best teacher, but I believe that experience is the only teacher. I have been able to learn of God's love for me only by the experience of my dependence on that love. At first I could not be sure of His direction in my...
THE HEART OF TRUE SOBRIETY We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 568 Am I honest enough to accept myself as I am and let this be the "me" that I let others see? Do I have the willingness to go to any length, to do whatever is necessary to stay sober? Do I have the...
THE BEST FOR TODAY The principles we have set down are guides to progress. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 60 Just as a sculptor will use different tools to achieve desired effects in creating a work of art, in Alcoholics Anonymous the Twelve Steps are used to bring about results in my own life. I do not overwhelm myself with life's problems, and how much more work needs to be done. I let myself be comforted in knowing that my life is now in the hands...
SACRIFICE = UNITY = SURVIVAL The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A.A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice mean unity and survival for the group and for A.A.'s entire Fellowship. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 220 I have learned that I must sacrifice some of...
A RIPPLING EFFECT Having learned to live so happily, we'd show everyone else how. . . . Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists. . . . So why shouldn't we share our way of life with everyone? TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 156 The great discovery of sobriety led me to feel the need to spread the "good news" to the world around me. The grandiose thoughts of my drinking...
