Life on Life's Terms

AA Thought for the Day

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done."

Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous [First Edition], p. 100

Thought to Ponder...

Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it.

Todays Tool Don't Drink, Just for Today!

Don't Take A Drink, No Matter What, Just for Today.

I have seen many people relapse, including myself, in the rooms. I had 7 years, and then drank for 7 more before coming back. I just celebrated my year June 7th.

I have seen people relapse with all different stories - went to meetings all the time and still drank, stopped going to meetings and drank. Drank because it was a sunny/not sunny day. Had/didn't have money. Was/wasn't a secretary of a meeting. Had a resentment against a friend/meeting/coffee maker/ dog/cat/ car/leaf. Had 89 days/ 30 years/13 years.

The one common denominator in all the people that have relapsed -myself included - is the day they drank, they had not asked their higher power for help staying sober all day that day, no matter what.

So if you haven't yet, thank God for letting you stay sober today, and ask for help staying sober the rest of the day NO MATTER WHAT.

- Happy holidays from our treatment center to your home.

Sobriety for a Day

Just For Today! -- Daily Reprieve

"How do I maintain my spiritual condition? For me it's quite simple: on
a daily basis I ask my Higher Power to grant me the gift of sobriety for that
day! I have talked to many alcoholics who have gone back to drinking and I
always ask them: "Did you pray for sobriety the day you took your first
drink?" Not one of them said yes. As I practice Step Ten and try to keep my
house in order on a daily basis, I have the knowledge that if I
ask for a daily reprieve, it will be granted."

From "A Daily Tune-up:"

Thought to Ponder . . .
Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour.

Tool for Recovery - Walk in Dry Places

Walk In Dry Places
Different routes to alcoholism
Understanding powerlessness

While alcoholics have much in common, the personal stories heard at AA open meetings show that we took different routes to alcoholism. Some became out-of-control drinkers almost from the beginning. Others lost control slowly after years of seemingly moderate drinking.

These differences are underscored by the fact that we also differ in physical and emotional traits. Some alcoholics, for example, were so emotionally disturbed that they became problem drinkers from the very start. Some appeared to "have it all together," yet became alcoholics after retirement or some other change in life patterns.

Whatever the route taken, we share in common our individual powerlessness at the time we knocked on AA's door. And the solution for each of us was the same: sobriety in AA.

The risk in listening to such different personal accounts is that some of us twist these differences into "proof" that we are not alcoholics.  The reward of such sharing , however, is learning that we do have a common problem and that there is a solution that fits everyone, in spite of our differences.

I'll remember today that I came to AA because I was powerless over alcohol.  That has not changed.

- Happy Holidays from  our Treatment Center to Your Home!

Alcoholism is Permanent - But That is Not Discouraging

Many of the men and women who come to our drug rehab for help struggle with the permanent nature of alcoholism.  Surprisingly, the loved ones (ie. parents and husbands/wives) are particularly defensive when being told that the person in treatment needs to plan for permanent lifestyle change to ensure long term recovery.

It should not be so discouraging.  The lifestyle of recovery leads one to feel strong and happy.  There is more time than ever to do whatever the recovering person wants to do  (because little to no time is lost in a drug or alcohol induced stupor).

Here is a cool quote from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous:

"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing
to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time
as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking, there
must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion
that someday we will be immune to alcohol."

A Look at Step Five of the 12-Step Program of A.A.

When men and women come to our drug rehab, we place a strong emphasis on working the 12-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Some people claim that an intense spiritual occurrence happens to them around the process of completing the 4th and 5th step.  This makes sense because we think that cataloging our  faults and wrongs and then addressing and making amends is an incredibly positive thing to do.


STEP FIVE:  Admitted to God, to ourselves,
and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.

     "All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us
to go contrary to our natural desires;
they all deflate our egos.  When it comes
to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to
take than the Fifth.  Scarcely any Step is
more necessary to long-time sobriety and
peace of mind.
     "A good adviser will...help to eliminate
fear, expediency, and self-deception, so
enabling us to make choices which are
loving, wise, and honest."

Working With Others Big Book Quote

"If he is sincerely interested and wants to see you again,
ask him to read this book in the interval. After doing that,
he must decide for himself whether he wants to go on. He
should not be pushed or prodded by you, his wife, or his
friends. If he is to find God, the desire must come from within."
 - From the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Too many times the family and loved ones try to get the man or woman help before he or she is ready. Contact a professional interventionist for assistance in learning about healthy boundaries and communication.

Tool For Recovery - Higher Power, Lack of Power

If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with a all our might, but the needed power wasn’t there. Our human resources, as marshaled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
Well, that’s exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater that yourself which will solve your problem.” (bb pp. 44-45)

I relate deeply with this passage. I wanted to be good, moral, do the right thing and thought that was where I was heading. But as the years rolled by and my drinking got worse, I certainly was doing a lot of things that were not good. And no matter what I tried, I could not control my drinking. I didn’t realize at the time, but now looking back I know that I had partially surrendered and was willing to get some outside help. Through AA, and working the steps, I have tapped into a Power greater than myself. I am staying sober and making better decisions. I pray to God and never get so full of myself that I one day completely believe I can run my own life.
Tool for today: seek your Higher Power.

Brought to you by our treatment center in Southern California

Todays AA Meditation

Day by day we should slowly build up an unshakable faith in a Higher Power
and in that Power's ability to give us all the help we need.  By having
these quiet times each morning, we start each day with renewing of our
faith, until it becomes almost a part of us and is a strong habit.  We
should keep furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture
of faith.  We should try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is
harmonious and good, beautiful, and enduring.
- Good Luck to you from our Southern California Treatment Center.

A Program of Action

Becoming a member of AA is important in recovery. Making that first step to admitting you have a problem is one of the hardest steps you will ever have to take. And then there are twelve more? The pressures can be unbearable, but it gets a lot easier knowing you don’t have to do it alone. There is help and hope for you; you just have to be willing to accept it.

From "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?"

"Our AA door stands wide open, and if he passes through it and commences to do
anything at all about his problem, he is considered a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.
He signs nothing, agrees to nothing, promises nothing. We demand nothing...

"We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be
just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive."

c. 1988, The Language of the Heart, page 39

Today's Quotable:
The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.

Alcoholics Anonymous - Motives in recovery

Motives
There are cases where our ancient enemy, rationalization,
has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong.
The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons
when we really didn't. . . .
We were depressed and complained we felt bad,
when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention.
This odd trait of mind and emotion, this perverse wish
to hide a bad motive underneath a good one,
permeates human affairs from top to bottom. . .
An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received,
and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow
will be the permanent assets we shall seek. 

May you work the program that allows you to straighten out your motives and life a life more rewarding than your wildest dreams.

 - Sober Living by the Sea Treatment Centers