June 30 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 6 Spiritual Willingness Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "sacrifice, unity and survival" the attraction of having a wonderful gift to share! How to live sober and never drink again… Nearly put me back in the driving seat in my early days with grandiose plans to help people with my own brand of AA. Alcoholics Anonymous works because everyone in fellowship works together to keep sober one day at a time…
As you can see, I do feel part of something bigger than me, which is why I share my experience strength and hope, writing it down and opening the door hopefully in a helpful way. Attraction and not promotion and not about making anything out of sharing experience strength and hope. Simply one voice of the many voices in recovery, no better or worse than anyone else. In fellowship, it is always what you see which will help you learn how to get sober one day at a time…
AA remains autonomous on a daily basis because of the way fellowship works. The fellowship and who we encounter day-to-day is the real backbone of recovery. Face-to-face is the reality of recovery, no amount of words here will ever replace fellowship. The power of the fellowship always resides in the groups and not in the hands of a few. We may take up administrative and service positions, we are always trusted servants without power of position today and every day…
We all come to believe that there is a power far bigger than us, in the fellowship and in life. What you choose a higher power to be or what you understand that higher power to be will be your understanding. My higher power works through people, the collective wisdom and the collective conscience of humanity, which reads as a bit grandiose! My higher power can be, "the man or woman on the Clapham omnibus." Or the man or woman sitting next to me one day at a time…
AA Daily Reflections ~ "Sacrifice Unity Survival: June 30 ~ the unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A. A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice means unity and survival for the group and for A. A.'s entire Fellowship. [As Bill sees it]
I have learned that I must sacrifice some of my personality traits for the good of A. A. and, as a result, I have been rewarded with many gifts. False pride can be inflated through prestige but, by living Tradition Six, I receive the gift of humility instead. Cooperation without affiliation is often deceiving. If I remain unrelated to outside interest, I am free to keep A. A. autonomous. Then the Fellowship will be here, healthy and strong for generations to come.
DonInLondon 2005-2011
AA is all about inclusion to help those with a desire to stop drinking find a path to sober living. The more we can include everyone, the more we are enriched with experience, strength and hope. Humans are unique and authentic; in AA one similarity holds us together always respecting diversity…
I took a trip down memory lane to a meeting I attended about eight years ago. Some new faces and some old faces still sober today. Respect for newcomers and smiles with old timers, we are all sober one day at a time. It is good to be a “Day-Timer”, equal in the moment of now…
Keeping our side of the street clean... Part of the promises is we clean house every day with step ten. Step eight and nine is letting go old behaviour and the insanity of keeping secrets and telling lies, nurturing anger and resentments. Open, honest and willing we make progress today?
Life and coping strategies... In recovery our life plan can be what we choose. Step ten, daily inventory of what worked and blocks. Step 11 daily meditation as simple as the serenity prayer, Step 12, all the steps in practice daily and sharing the message. Less coping and more living, NOW!
We all need our outside interests or life would have no meaning. Our self-opinion and self-belief, faith, all unique to each of us need be honoured. Twelve steps to work, twelve traditions offer sanctuary and spiritual living. Fellowship prevails in unity and service, our primary purpose is sobriety.
June 30 2007
Back in the Day - DonInLondon ‘Day In The Life’
Back in what day you may well ask. I have been around in London from the beginning of the eighties. Seems just like yesterday. I suppose for me the truth is back in the day and being one of the lads, we all had pretty interesting times. As long as it involved fun, girls and parties. And nothing wrong in that. It was fun and they were carefree days alright! And of course we worked hard and played hard and lived live as fast as life would go.
Nowadays
I have accepted to a certain degree that life has necessarily slowed in pace. The get up and go we all have is worn as we weather more years and amble into new living and ways to make my life work. And it seems to me we do burn as bright as we may.
It’s been an odd day all around.
London
A bomb defused in the Haymarket this morning and the whole area sealed as forensic and all elements of law and order make sure life can return to safe, as safe we may be. I recollect worse times when bombs went off and caused catastrophe these past decades in many places in the UK. This is not new to us, ever since the seventies, we have faced some terror from somewhere.
A legacy of imperial imperious perils made possible by old ideas and worn out notions of how to make peace led to more and ever more frustrating times.
As things are we are very diverse here in London, and it takes a mind of singularity to make war on innocents who happen to pass by. And those who cause the conflict? It seems never intended but here we are and we have a day of chaos.
Who knows and notices?
As I had to be in Soho today to join a group of comrades in sobriety, I found myself late. Showers and rain deluged everyone mid-day. And then I was in two minds to go or not. I went shopping and bought nothing, and my walking has been pretty hard today. So in many ways I went for one reason only.
A friend of mine had asked me to pass on a message to someone and it made me go, rather than stay home and rest as good sense had kicked in. I make the effort and go and pass on a message which may help. As with all things fellowship the detail is not for here, just the intent, and I made sure the message was delivered.
So in the centre of town, traffic in chaos and people seem oblivious to the problems of earlier and the Haymarket still closed all day.
As it seems the disruption made no difference to most who had no clue or even worried that we are again facing a real attack and the bomb was real too.
Reality
The chances are most people are unaffected by these serious and perilous incidents. Yet I and many who have seen awful destruction know only too well, we need be in the wrong place and time and be caught in something we neither want or had much to do with starting.
When life is as precious can be, when we need to make the best of what we have, and share and share again where we can and make aid possible in this impossible world, the intent to harm is a tragic testimony to how unbalanced our world has become.
Sunshine
Bright sunshine and all manner of people out and about, living and being, just getting on as people do, and only those few knew of the chaos about.
I took a lot of photos of ordinary people doing ordinary things. Along the way miscreants found police on their tail and some skulduggery here and there. And still in comparison to other events it seemed little or of no significance, yet for those involved as serious can be.
And most people today as the weather turned bright saw the spectacle of humanity doing what humanity can do best. Simply living and doing and being.
How
The how we do and what we do, as we face perils in just waking and making our way. Well the day felt better than yesterday for sure.
Last night and today
As a way to cope with difficult news and keep ourselves going we get busy and keep to normal and do what we can, just to be safe in a bubble and then it can burst. But then this can happen anytime we might never know when.
Living each day as we may
Tonight I am pleased to have bumped into an old friend in recovery, we are both in our fourth year of sobriety. And I was happy to hear they are settled and getting married. Good news indeed and made me realise good things can happen to good people, well some of the time.
As we see the happy and sad of life, the big issues and the small issues. We make our way as we can and try make sense of all we encounter. In truth it’s hard to square everything ever in this world.
As new lives begin and as others have less time than maybe envisaged it’s all about living and making the best of where we are and keeping courage and faith, some confidence going.
I caught the end of an interview with Pete Doherty, a man in need of help if ever there was. I have great empathy for his plight and realise a fellow who is caught in the trap where addiction takes hold. There is nothing to slow him till he finds a key, to making the plan and just for one day…
I can see the problem and he needs a solution, it’s there if he heeds it and can find just enough courage and conviction to make those few steps. And one day maybe. Or he is lost to time.
And in good company tonight at a meeting long neglected by me, I was so pleased to see and hear good news at last.
And a step one chair, just right for me to realise always how powerless we all can be in the face of happenstance and timing. There is no rhyme or reason to patters so random. Maybe in truth I am finding acceptance is the key. Hard learned lessons and wisdom comes as it may, happiness as always a possibility as we make good journeymen when time enables.
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AA Official Online Site: Daily Reflections
AA Official Online Site: Big Book And Twelve And Twelve
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Step 6 "Spiritual Willingness" Reading Video Link:
wrongs. Chapter 6, Into Action, Big Book From: Page 72 Thru: Page 75, the bottom of the page. 12 And 12 Step 5."
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June ~ Video Reading Chapter Six Into Action Link:
I do not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous I speak for myself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of unique and authentic people who speak for themselves where they will to share experience, strength and hope about recovery on a daily basis. Anonymity affords sanctuary to find how to live sober and be open, honest and willing to learn life day by day. For me "truth," "love" and "wisdom" offer the best spiritual experience by living reality today. Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the Traditions: steps to be open, honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity, service and recovery.
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Spiritual principles ~ Forgiveness Acceptance Surrender Faith Open-mindedness Honesty Willingness Moral-inventory Amends Humility Persistence Spiritual-growth Service
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