AA

Remember these? High school gym shorts from the 1980’s. Wow. At the time I thought they were pretty hot, at least on certain guys. You had to have pretty great legs to pul[ this look off, but there were always a couple of guys in gym class who fit the bill. I think the poly-knit [...]

Tommy: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour? Hedwig: No, but I… I love his work. John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch I don’t want to make this about religion because it isn’t about religion. It’s about the same thing everything else here is about. Me. It’s what it [...]

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The light is not an illusion. The tunnel is. -unknown I noticed this sign above the door of a meeting I occasionally go to and it just struck me. It seemed profound enough, but it wasn’t till I woke up this morning and read Sweet Pea’s post where [...]

This post was originally published Feb. 10, 2008 and was taken down pending adjudication of another case. Now that has been done and I am restoring the post. To choose what is difficult all one’s days, as if it were easy, that is faith. W. H. Auden They tell me I seemed relaxed; that I did not [...]

“You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your common journey. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life.” Alcoholics Anonymous, page 152-3 It is very strange to suddenly have [...]

Yield and overcome; bend and be straight; empty and be full; wear out and be new; have little and gain; have much and be confused. Therefore wise men embrace the one and set an example to all. Not putting on a display, they shine forth. Not justifying themselves, they are distinguished. Not boasting, they receive [...]

I am a head injury patient. I am. There is hardly another explanation. I sat in a meeting and shared about it and of course I was told to work the steps. Of course there is some truth in that, truth I sometimes ignore out of an objective bias against people [...]

I am a creature of habit. I am not as flexible as I imagine myself to be. I am not unique. Sometimes I am able don a guise of pliancy convincing enough to fool everyone, including me, but it is made of denial and pride. Underneath that guise I find myself [...]

We should learn just to stick our hand out and whoever it touches that is alone, engage them, in whatever way is helpful. There is joy to be had, in that. - Anonymous It’s not surprising that with the new year there are an unusual number of ‘newcomers’ in the rooms of AA and other [...]

“Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” - Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 77 .flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } I don’t mean to sound like I’m bragging here [...]

I went to Gooding recently to speak at the treatment center I went to, which in and of itself was really cool. Even cooler is the fact that out of that someone decided that they wanted me to show them how I’ve stayed sober. And even cooler than that, the coolest thing, something [...]

But sometimes, in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, the discussion of finding a relationship with a Higher Power that can support and sustain one in the certain low spots that lie ahead, is not only frowned upon, but actively discouraged. As AA has grown, more and more people pass into (and back out of) ‘the rooms’ [...]