Little Fists Solution
Little Fists happen when I start to criticize myself.
Little Fists happen when I start to criticize myself.
So what do we do if we can’t trust our thinking?
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents absorbing survival skills: some good, some bad.
Putting out of our minds the wrongs other had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes.
I’m a Fighter from a long line of Fighters. I don’t know what happens to you when you’re angry…
Now that we have the first column naming people, institutions and principles we can move on to the second column. (Refer to the Not Scary Resentments Worksheet of Step 4 in […]
Take a good look at anything that riles you. What are your pet peeves?
What keeps you awake at night?
Step 3 is not the action of turning our will and lives over, it’s deciding to do so. Let’s get specific. Which decision making elements do you usually use?
Do I miss drinking? Sometimes. I miss it to the extent that I’m still insane. I was not created for self-destruction but alcohol is a one way ticket to that insanity. It waits.
The question I should have asked when I dropped into AA was, Is there a difference between step 3 and salvation for a Christian?
Before I got sober at the age of 55, I was trapped by an ice storm at an abbey near Dubuque, in NE Iowa. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. […]
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. That’s Step 4, perhaps the scariest few words Bill W strung together in this 12 Step program. It seems to me […]
My addiction started harmlessly.
You call it love. For years, all I wrote was bad, tragic and tearful poetry. Then life got better because I got sober and I gave up poetry. Suddenly, this […]
The truth will set you free, to the extent that you recognize it and cooperate with it.
Discerning reality is no easy task for addicts. Here’s a hint: Listen with your eyes. It works. When a person or activity is pulling me back into romancing of the […]
The following comment from Resentment Rats is too wonderful to leave in the archives of comments: So much lays beneath what we can easily see in ourselves. And how many […]
The above picture is from a recent trip to Scotland. The gate makes me think of how my old thinking has kept me imprisoned. I took this picture during a […]
I had an epiphany yesterday. I’ve recently bought a new fifth wheel and requisite dually. Along with that comes more room to live and more financial pressure. (Did you catch […]
I don’t feel like writing today so I’m going to. I’m going to write. I didn’t feel like walking this morning either, so I did. I walked. I’ve been doing […]
If rejection were a mask it would be cruel, soulless and rigid: dead eyes and a mouth locked into a sneer.
I’m an HFA (High-Functioning Alcoholic). Who knew? No one. Sometimes that’s the point. Secrecy, silent suffering, and deadly choices all whirl towards the alcoholic drain that becomes the high-functioning alcoholic’s […]
Let’s compare the Angry Blue Bird to the negative personality. The Blue Bird is capable of scatter-shot attacks. Tapping this bird during its trajectory, splits it into three. This allows […]
There’s a ‘Love Detector’ application for my smart phone. It took 20 seconds to have it downloaded and ready to use. A red screen appears and asks, “Are you in […]
So when AA suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do. Both his pride and his […]
I’m a recovered alcoholic, living full-time in an RV and have a bread machine in the Jeep. Why would anyone listen to me?
Given that the word why is used over 90 times in the Big Book of AA and in the 12×12, I assume it’s a big question for a lot of us.
Can I even think my way out of a paper bag? Nope.
I was focusing on the problem, not the solution.
I was deceived by the Little Engine That Could!
When I was little there was a book and a song about the Little Engine That Could. I realize the intent was to eliminate negative self-talk. But AA has taught […]
B. You accept who you are by beginning to find your unique self Yesterday we looked at some questions to help us learn a bit more about our unique identity. […]
What do you want to be remembered for when you die?
I watched What About Bob? The very well-delivered line ‘I want, I want, I want…I need, I need, I need’ struck home with me.
I desperately wanted answers to life. I knew only God had them but how would I get them?
I don’t think it matters whether your life path winds between empty bottles, baggies and syringes or is decorated by framed degrees and certificates of completion—or both. The message of […]
During my entire life I asked, “What’s wrong with me?”
A. You accept where you are by facing the reality of your situation. Do you agree that facing reality can be like grieving? I’ve had friends grieve the loss of […]
Our homes have been battle grounds many an evening. ~ AA p 105 As I stated previously, besides being an alcoholic in recovery, I am a survivor of abuse. Therefore, […]
When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God. Our ideas did not […]
Lies and deceitful games have nothing to do with the shared reality and richness of intimacy. True intimacy in relationships is reserved for people who are determined to hear and […]
I then did what any self-respecting mom would do. I called the kid.
This picture is one Debbie took at OLM in Iowa while she was on retreat at the Stone House. Once you’ve located your retreat spot and made reservations, there are […]
I’ve been talking to someone who just got out of an abusive relationship. What amazes me is that she’s out because she finally stopped listening to paid professionals, stopped listening […]
Don’t mess with me, buddy!
I realize now that picking up a drink isn’t where the relapse starts.
The program works. It really does. It works even when I’m not doing it perfectly.
I’m not going to write about this. Am I? I
I can choose to let people say things that I don’t agree with or I don’t like and just let it go.
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