ehBeth, that's actually three - knowing, believing and accepting!
Kinda goes with:
I came,
I came to,
I came to believe!
Thanks/BW
I see what you mean, BillW.
Given my mindset, i'd kind of stuck the last 2 together - if i believe, i accept. Of course, getting me to believe something is often the tricky bit.
Truly applicable to so many things in life.
I'll try to remember the 3-way application.
Count me in as one of Bill W's friends. I am glad to have found this thread and look forward to participating in others.
"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
Welcome aboard wh3. We're kinda haphazard. I try to monitor for my own sake as much as I can and put new items up from time to time.
I would just like to say that without the will of my HP and this program I would not be able to enjoy this Forum or A2K, much less anything else in this good life. Good to see you aboard - and treat this site in any manner you wish. It is an open, continuous meeting. If needed - TM is available to us - you can contact me or anyone else if needed. And, we have had a User Group setup for Chat, etc. Though, I don't really understand exactly how or when it works. That I know of, there hasn't been a meeting there yet-that meeting can be made closed!
Enjoy life, it is but a short trip - BW
williamhenry3 good to see you here.
This is incredible. I was just thinking a few hours ago how nice it would be to have an online meeting, at A2k, and voila, I stumble across this. Glad you guys are here.
Booman<
It's good to see another online friend here!
JoanneDorel<[/i]
I appreciate your welcome! I claim progress, not perfection. Thank you.
Hey WH,no wonder we sorta' drifted together online, we're fellow tough guys!*
...*As was explained once in a rehab; when you have been through years of active addiction, and make it to recovery, never consider yourself weak. To get this far you've got to be a tough, cunning, mother____ . So many didn't make it.
Thought for the Day, January 9, 2003
AN ACT OF PROVIDENCE
It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21
My act of Providence, (a manifestation of divine care and direction), came as I experienced the total bankruptcy of active alcoholism --- everything meaningful in my life was gone. I telephoned Alcoholics Anonymous and, from that instant, my life has never been the same. When I reflect on that very special moment, I know God was working in my life long before I was able to acknowledge and accept spiritual concepts. The glass was put down through this one act of Providence and my journey into sobriety began. My life continues to unfold with divine care and direction. Step One, in which I admitted I was powerless over alcohol, that my life had become unmanageable, takes on more meaning for me --- one day at a time --- in the life saving, life-giving Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
BillW<
Thanks for the thought; very helpful.
It reminds me that I need to do some reading in my Big Book.
I have the "old" version. Have you read the new one, and if so, what do you think?
18 years and counting. (Though more and more I actually have to count to figure out how long it's been.)
I suppose it doesn't get much more anonymous than this... :wink:
Your response, trespasser, just gave me the idea: 20 years this month - and not anonymous at all.
Good morning all and what a good day it is here in Texas. Bright sunshine, warm weather, and a great nights sleep behind me. Welcome to A2k Trepassers will and congratualations on your 18 and counting. Walter is already 20 wow lots of sobriety here. And that is good for me.
There is a lot of wonderful sobriety here.
I will be celebrating 22 years come St. Paddy's day here on the Big Hill in La La Land. Everyone is invited. I just finished baking 6 dozen peanut butter cookies (Reeses') for my Big Book meeting tonight.
I'm asking special prayers for my good friend Charlie Hurley, formely of Las Vegas and Providene RI who is 35 years sober in the program. He has lung cancer and was admitted to the hospital last night in bad shape - I don't even want to answer the phone if it rings - but Charlie has been there for thousands of drunks over the years - a poweful example.
please say a prayer for Charlie - - - -
Here's a little story:
...Over ten years ago, when I was in my first month of sobriety, I happened across a guy who had spoken at the rehab, I had been in. We were walking to a meeting, when we passeed by a few men on the street sharing a bottle. He says to me, "Look at 'em, I hate their guts!" When I asked if he knew them, he said, "No, ...it's just that they can drink, and I can't."
Sigh,
Oh dear Booman, didn't that poor man realize that they were drinking for him?
I conduct a weekly substance abuse/alcohol meeting here in LaLa Land at the women's prison and the one thing I always try to remember is that they are doing my time. There but for the grace of God go I.
You New York man? I used to do meetings at the Mustard Seed, and a gynasium with an Irish/Scottish name. I forget.
Regards from LaLa Land where the moon is always full, the women beautiful and the men are handsome - and life goes on a day at a time.
seaglass
Hi. My name is Merry Andrew and I am an alcoholic.
Just found this thread. Didn't know it existed before. Thank you, Babs, for starting this wonderful meeting. It's nice to know I'm not the only fool on A2K. Heven't had a drink since I got up this morning and that's almost 12 hours now. Not bad for an old fool who was drunk for 40 years of his life.
I do it strictly one day at a time, exactly the way I used to drink -- one day at a time. The most recent drunk I had was back in 1995, Sept. 29. But what matters is that today I've been up all these hours and haven't even given a thought to pouring one on the rocks or popping a cold one or taking a walk down to the neighborhood watering hole.
I always say that that day in Sept. of 1995 was my "most recent" drunk, not my "last one," because I can't possibly know that. If I start worrying about tomorrow or next week, I won't get anywhere. It's only the time left between right now and beddy-bye that is of any importance. If I go to bed sober tonight, I'll wake up feeling just fine tomorow morning and tomorrow will take care of itself.
Thank you for being here, friends.
Booman's story reminded me of this one.
Very early in my recovery, I saw another AA member in a local supermarket near the meeting site. She was standing in front of the beer cooler.
As I approached her, I could see there were tears in her eyes. These tears shortly became a full-blown crying session. Soon, she was hysterical. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm so f--king mad because I can't drink this beer any more. I'm mad as hell and can't take being without this s--t."
I hugged her and told her that if she wanted beer to buy it and take it home and drink it. "The only requirement for AA membership," I remembered, "is the desire to stop drinking. Come to the next meeting drunk or hung-over if you must. If you still have the desire not to drink, AA will always be there for you."
With these words, she sobbed some more, resting her head on my shoulder in the middle of the supermarket aisle. "I couldn't face an AA meeting if I slipped and got drunk again," she said. "It took me too long to get here, and I'm staying!"
This lady and I are still friends today, 15 years after her sobriety date. She has not had a drink even during the memorable night we passed each other in the grocery store.
