Program

I am not in charge of the time thing anymore.
Sometimes, it is like am so deeply unsettled, that I find myself looking for a hook upon which I can hang my anxiety.
I am not over-burdened or under-burdened. I am unburdened.
The 12 Steps are the heart and soul of my program. The meetings, sponsorship, slogans, phone calls, literature and all the rest, are there to help me work the steps.
What you think of me is really none of my business.
What Amazing Grace it was that my Higher Power got me to my program.
My time should be far too valuable to me to waste it working on someone else’s program.
The only serenity I know anything about comes as I accept the world as it is and
Alcoholism is the family disease that keeps on giving…me trouble.
My disease is making other people’s problems my entire life.
Trying to emotionally force other people to do my will was a part of my mother’s disease. The damage she did to me that way was just her doing what people like her do because of their disease. It was not personal.
My nose is the part of me that sticks out the most.
Duty is wonderful, obligation is horrid.
Thanks to my 12-step program, I have graduated from the DSM.
I don’t always know when I am powerless in a situation. Sometimes I only notice my powerlessness when I notice my life is unmanageable.
I know I am “in pride” when I want people to notice how humble I am.
If a program request is reasonable, I should seriously consider saying yes, for sake of my own recovery.
I love change…provided the change is my idea.
surrender myself to the will my Higher Power.
If I fail a million times, I will get up a million and one times. [Bad math but a good resolve.]
The value of my mistakes comes to me when I refuse remorse and opt to change my behavior instead.
””””’
Alcoholism is the family disease that keeps on giving…me trouble.
My disease is making other people’s problems my entire life.
Trying to emotionally force other people to do my will was a part of my mother’s disease. The damage she did to me that way was just her doing what people like her do because of their disease. It was not personal.
My nose is the part of me that sticks out the most.
Duty is wonderful, obligation is horrid.
Thanks to my 12-step program, I have graduated from the DSM.
I don’t always know when I am powerless in a situation. Sometimes I only notice my powerlessness when I notice my life is unmanageable.
I know I am “in pride” when I want people to notice how humble I am.
If a program request is reasonable, I should seriously consider saying yes, for sake of my own recovery.
I love change…provided the change is my idea.
……….
The price I pay for the privilege I have of living in this incredibly enjoyable world, is the work I have to do to make the bad stuff work for me.

I am in the world to care, not to cure.

There is a difference between being childlike and being childish.

In childhood, there here is a difference between responsibility and maturity. The fact that I carried huge responsibilities as a boy, inhibited my normal maturation process.

There is a difference between between being judgmental and having good judgement.

When I am anxious, the thoughts I hear at a meeting are healthier than the thoughts circling in my head.

Since God created the material world and the spiritual world, God is neither material or spiritual and above both. That suggests that we can be above both the spiritual and material world. We can be godly. The way godliness works out for me, is the 11th step.

When I am with my three year old Granddaughter, the first thing she usually says is,”Let’s have fun!” That sounds like a very powerful life goal for me.

”I am stuck” is both untrue and damaging for me. I always have alternatives.

Saying “I am stuck” tells me I am not living one day at a time. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. If I live the spiritual life consistently, I could be living in London next year for all I know

…………

Thanks to my program, my reality is:

I am loved and valued.

Well cared for financially.

Quite healthy and evolved emotionally.

Well able to get the rest I need.

Loved and respected by women.

Noticed by my family and friends, when I walk into a room.

My great fears are I will:

Be rejected.

Be very poor.

Go insane.

End up totally exhausted and burnt out.

Not be desirable to women.

Be invisible.

-The tools of my disease are buried anger, suppressed desire and anxiety.

-Nature is such a source of wonder and the divine, that I feel sure that, along with man, nature was created in the image of God.

-Sometimes my Higher Power seems hidden to me and must be energetically sought. Sometimes God’s nearness to me is so obvious that God seems to be blatantly revealing Herself.

-That God would be distant when I am trying to enjoy conscious contact with Her seems ludicrous to me. Therefore when I am meditating and feel nothing emotionally I assume God has chosen to work with me at the subconscious level.

-I do not go to church anymore, but when I think of the many of the things said by me and others in sermons, I am embarrassed.

-The idea that I can be happy even if my alcoholic is still drinking is important to me. It reminds me that I have no promise that I will be spared the hardships of human life. What I do have is God’s reassurance that She will be with me to help me deal with the hardships in a way that allows me to grow steadily toward serenity no matter how difficult things are for me in the current moment.

-When I was young, I felt totally alone. That sounds terrifying and in fact it was terrible. However, my loneliness was well compensated for by the face to face contact I had with God that was a necessity for me if I was going to survive.

-Sometimes, when I feel anxious, I turn to my God Cheeseburger and my Higher Power Chocolate Malt.

…….

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”

When I am a martyr, there is no room in my heart for my legitimate pain.

I don’t try to balance my black and white thinking into gray. Instead, I turn on the light and enjoy the nuances.

My knuckles are pink with scar tissue from putting my fists through walls, showing that at one time, I was full of rage. At the time, I did not know I was angry. I thought that all I needed was to get rid of the jerks with whom I was surrounded, then my anger problem would be solved.

…………

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”

When I am a martyr, there is no room in my heart for my legitimate pain.

I don’t try to balance my black and white thinking into gray. Instead, I turn on the light and enjoy the nuances.

My knuckles are pink with scar tissue from putting my fists through walls, showing that at one time, I was full of rage. At the time, I did not know I was angry. I thought that all I needed was to get rid of the jerks with whom I was surrounded, then my anger problem would be solved.

………

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”

When I am a martyr, there is no room in my heart for my legitimate pain.

I don’t try to balance my black and white thinking into gray. Instead, I turn on the light and enjoy the nuances.

My knuckles are pink with scar tissue from putting my fists through walls, showing that at one time, I was full of rage. At the time, I did not know I was angry. I thought that all I needed was to get rid of the jerks with whom I was surrounded, then my anger problem would be solved.

………..

-When God wants me to know something, I will know it.

-In AA, the only thing you must not do is drink. If you don’t drink, you have a chance. In Al-Anon The only thing you must not do is to quit coming back. If you keep coming back, you have a chance.

-I make the choice of staying in recovery every morning.

-When I am caught the trap of my obsessive thinking, I need to do three things.

* 1. Admit I have been here before.

* 2.Tell God I no longer want to live here.

* 3. Ask God to help me move out.

– When I walked into program, I did not trust men or women, which did not leave me many alternatives.

-Growing up, I was taught to trust everyone, that is unless they were male or female.

-I do not ever need to criticize myself or anyone else.

-”I was a workaholic. I made myself responsible for the welfare of my husband. When I retired, I said, ‘I will now have more time to get my husband sober’. It sure didn’t work.”

-When I am angry, I say it at my meeting. That way I can say it at home without the anger.

-”I need to not call my 41 year old son “My Baby”.

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George Caywood

My life experience, my family, my lessons learned.

Alcoholism is the family disease that keeps on giving…me trouble.

My disease is making other people’s problems my entire life.

Trying to emotionally force other people to do my will was a part of my mother’s disease. The damage she did to me that way was just her doing what people like her do because of their disease. It was not personal.

My nose is the part of me that sticks out the most.

Duty is wonderful, obligation is horrid.

Thanks to my 12-step program, I have graduated from the DSM.

I don’t always know when I am powerless in a situation. Sometimes I only notice my powerlessness when I notice my life is unmanageable.

I know I am “in pride” when I want people to notice how humble I am.

If a program request is reasonable, I should seriously consider saying yes, for sake of my own recovery.

I love change…provided the change is my idea.

Alcoholism is the family disease that keeps on giving…me trouble.

My disease is making other people’s problems my entire life.

Trying to emotionally force other people to do my will was a part of my mother’s disease. The damage she did to me that way was just her doing what people like her do because of their disease. It was not personal.

My nose is the part of me that sticks out the most.

Duty is wonderful, obligation is horrid.

Thanks to my 12-step program, I have graduated from the DSM.

I don’t always know when I am powerless in a situation. Sometimes I only notice my powerlessness when I notice my life is unmanageable.

I know I am “in pride” when I want people to notice how humble I am.

If a program request is reasonable, I should seriously consider saying yes, for sake of my own recovery.

I love change…provided the change is my idea.

The price I pay for the privilege I have of living in this incredibly enjoyable world, is the work I have to do to make the bad stuff work for me.

I am in the world to care, not to cure.

There is a difference between being childlike and being childish.

In childhood, there here is a difference between responsibility and maturity. The fact that I carried huge responsibilities as a boy, inhibited my normal maturation process.

There is a difference between between being judgmental and having good judgement.

When I am anxious, the thoughts I hear at a meeting are healthier than the thoughts circling in my head.

Since God created the material world and the spiritual world, God is neither material or spiritual and above both. That suggests that we can be above both the spiritual and material world. We can be godly. The way godliness works out for me, is the 11th step.

When I am with my three year old Granddaughter, the first thing she usually says is,”Let’s have fun!” That sounds like a very powerful life goal for me.

”I am stuck” is both untrue and damaging for me. I always have alternatives.

Saying “I am stuck” tells me I am not living one day at a time. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. If I live the spiritual life consistently, I could be living in London next year for all I know

Thanks to my program, my reality is:

I am loved and valued.

Well cared for financially.

Quite healthy and evolved emotionally.

Well able to get the rest I need.

Loved and respected by women.

Noticed by my family and friends, when I walk into a room.

My great fears are I will:

Be rejected.

Be very poor.

Go insane.

End up totally exhausted and burnt out.

Not be desirable to women.

Be invisible.

-The tools of my disease are buried anger, suppressed desire and anxiety.

-Nature is such a source of wonder and the divine, that I feel sure that, along with man, nature was created in the image of God.

-Sometimes my Higher Power seems hidden to me and must be energetically sought. Sometimes God’s nearness to me is so obvious that God seems to be blatantly revealing Herself.

-That God would be distant when I am trying to enjoy conscious contact with Her seems ludicrous to me. Therefore when I am meditating and feel nothing emotionally I assume God has chosen to work with me at the subconscious level.

-I do not go to church anymore, but when I think of the many of the things said by me and others in sermons, I am embarrassed.

-When I was young, I felt totally alone. That sounds terrifying and in fact it was terrible. However, my loneliness was well compensated for by the face to face contact I had with God that was a necessity for me if I was going to survive.

-Sometimes, when I feel anxious, I turn to my God Cheeseburger and my Higher Power Chocolate Malt.

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”

When I am a martyr, there is no room in my heart for my legitimate pain.

I don’t try to balance my black and white thinking into gray. Instead, I turn on the light and enjoy the nuances.

My knuckles are pink with scar tissue from putting my fists through walls, showing that at one time, I was full of rage. At the time, I did not know I was angry. I thought that all I needed was to get rid of the jerks with whom I was surrounded, then my anger problem would be solved.

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”

When I am a martyr, there is no room in my heart for my legitimate pain.

I don’t try to balance my black and white thinking into gray. Instead, I turn on the light and enjoy the nuances.

My knuckles are pink with scar tissue from putting my fists through walls, showing that at one time, I was full of rage. At the time, I did not know I was angry. I thought that all I needed was to get rid of the jerks with whom I was surrounded, then my anger problem would be solved.

When I am overwhelmed by my shortcomings, I have two choices. I can turn to despair. However, despair is strictly counter-productive. The other choice is to see in my shortcomings the very things I can and will overcome, if I keep working my program.

I don’t need a watch. [Am I growing as fast as I can?] I need a compass. [Am I going the right direction?]

Recovery is a journey not a destination.

”She doesn’t like it therefore I have to change” is a very destructive idea for me.

My pain is sometimes an indication that I am capable of deeply loving other people.

It is a relief to me that I don’t have to constantly be driving myself relentlessly in an effort to be accepted.

”I soak up guilt like a dry sponge.”