Inspiration for Recovery

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah’s Ark .

ONE: Don’t miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR: Stay fit. When you’re 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety’s sake, travel in pairs..
EIGHT: Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you’re stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.

1. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

2. Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion, and the romance in a relationship and find out that you still care for that person.

3. When the door of happiness closes, another opens but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don’t see the one which has been opened for us.

4. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch with and swing, never saying a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.

5. It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

6. There are things you’d love to hear that you would never hear from the person who you would like to hear them from, but don’t be so deaf as not to hear it from the one who says it from their heart.

7. Don’t go for looks, they can deceive. Don’t go for wealth, in the end it fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

8. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

9. A careless word may kindle strife, a cruel word may wreck a life, a timely word may level stress, a loving word may heal and bless.

10. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

11. Happiness is here for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

12. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heart-aches.

Author: Unknown

There was a small boy who when walking down the street one day found a bright copper penny. He was so excited that he found money and it didn’t cost him anything. This experience led him to spend the rest of his days walking with his head down, eyes wide open, looking for treasure.

During his lifetime he found 296 pennies, 48 nickels, 19 dimes, 16 quarters, 2 half dollars and one crinkled dollar bill. For a total of $13.96.

He got money for nothing. Except that he missed the breathless beauty of 31,369 sunsets, the colorful splendor of 157 rainbows, the fiery beauty of hundreds of maples nipped by autumn’s frost. He never saw white clouds drifting across blue skies, shifting into various wondrous formations. Birds flying, sun shining, and the smiles of a thousand passing people are not a part of his memory.

Who do you know that is living like this?: Head is bent down burdened with trivial things afraid of pain and criticism and fear of things that never happen hoping to find that copper penny…for nothing.

Author: Unknown

Ruth O’N. got sober on 4/14/48. Within a few months, at a meeting in Brooklyn NY, she was given a business card by another AA member. On one side of the card was the Four Absolutes of the Oxford Group (Absolute Honesty, Absolute Unselfishness, Absolute Love, and Absolute Purity) and on the other side of the card was the following prayer. She still recites it daily and shares it when she speaks. It has come to be know as “Ruth’s Prayer”.

Thank You, dear God, for another day,

The chance to live in a decent way,

To feel again the joy of living

and happiness that comes from giving.

Thank You for friends who can understand

and the peace that flows from Your loving hand.

Help me to wake with the morning sun,

With the prayer today, “Thy will be done.”

For with Your help I will find the way.

Thank You again, dear God, for AA.

I’ve searched,

I’ve searched the avenues of life,

the pristine chapels, the Bowery flophouses.

I’ve searched the Halls of Justice, on both sides.

I’ve looked under the leaves and behind the clouds.

I’ve searched through the rain and pain of forgotten memories,

broken promises and shattered dreams.

I’ve yearned for the answers to all the questions,

some as yet unasked.

I’ve loved,

the earth, the sky, and all the animals,

and,

I’ve hated myself!

I’ve dreamed,

I’ve dreamed of dancing on moonlight and traveling to the stars.

I’ve dreamed of worldly delights, while searching through the bars.

I’ve dreamed of better worlds, with peace and tranquillity.

I’ve seen the cold shoulder of inhumanity,

and,

Sometimes I’ve found it to be mine.

I’ve been,

I’ve been in and out of jails, in and out of Hell.

I’ve been ostracized, penalized, deluded, denuded,

and institutionalized.

I’ve seen,

I’ve seen the deathly gray pall of time passing uselessly by.

I’ve seen the fire of a new dawn,

when,

Through an alcoholics’ haze,

I witnessed the birth of a new life,

My own!

And now,

I have seen –GOD– and –MYSELF–,

and,

I am FREE,

FREE to be ME

This poem, “The Quest”, was written by a drunk, a sober drunk, who was sober about 5 days. I had twelve stepped Paul out of the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1985. He was a sad case. Boy, was he a sad case. We got him to the Camel Club in Gretna, filled him with coffee, orange juice and honey, got him sobered up in about 36 hours, got him somewhat settled down and into the Bridge Step House located just under the Greater New Orleans Bridge. I came into the club about 4 days later and Paul was at the coffee bar writing. I asked if he was writing a 4th step and he said “No, I’m writing a poem.” I said “Oh, okay” and went over to talk with some other fellows, Joe B. and Merle. After 5 or 10 minutes had passed, Paul asked if we wanted to hear his poem, and we all waited. I said “Sure”.  Paul was formerly a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford in England, came to this country to make his living in literature, got into a bottle, made it to the French Quarter, to the Camel Club, to this poem, and SOBRIETY! What a Gift! ( From Barefoot at www.barefootsworld.com)

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.” He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box “She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on! , was saving it for a special occasion. Well,guess this is it. He got near the bed and  put it with the things for the funereal home , his wife had just  died. He turned to me and said :”Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion”.

I still think those words changed my life. Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything I spend more time with my family, and less at work. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.  I no longer keep anything.  I use crystal glasses every day.  I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if ieel like it. I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it  whenever  I want to.  The words “Someday…” and “One Day…” are fading away from my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come I would regret it, because I would no  longer see the friends I would  meet, letters… that I wanted to write “One of these days” I would regret and feel sad, because I didn’t say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not times enough at least, how muchI love them. Now, ! I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives.And, on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. When you say  “One of these days”, remember that “One day” is far away… or might never come…

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, “I love you,” mean it.

FIVE. When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realized you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

There is a legend that has often been told

Of the boy who searched for the Windows of Gold.

The beautiful windows he saw far away

When he looked in the valley at sunrise each day.

And he yearned to go down to the valley below

But lived on a mountain covered with snow,

And he knew it would be a difficult trek,

But that was a journey he wanted to make.

So he planned by day and he dreamed by night

Of how he could reach The Great Shining Light.

And one golden morning when dawn broke through

And the valley sparkled with diamonds of dew.

He started to climb down the mountainside

With the Windows of Gold as his goal and his guide.

He traveled all day and weary and worn,

With bleeding feet and clothes that were torn.

He entered the peaceful valley town

Just as the Golden Sun went down.

But he seemed to have lost his “Guiding Light,”

The windows were dark that had once been bright.

And hungry and tired and lonely and cold

He cried, “Won’t You Show Me The Windows of Gold?”

And a kind hand touched him and said, “Behold!

High On The Mountain Are The Windows of Gold.”

For the sun going down in a great golden ball

Had burnished the windows of his cabin so small,

And the Kingdom of God with its Great Shining light,

Like the Golden Windows that shone so bright,

Is not a far distant place, somewhere.

It’s as close to you as a silent prayer,

And your search for God will end and begin

When you look for Him and find Him within.

Author: Helen Steiner Rice

1. Conscious Contact

(a) Did I start my day with a conscious contact with God as               I understand Him?

(b) Did I start my day with “Please”?

(c) Did I start my day asking for sobriety and guidance?

2. Did I try to be pleasant to everyone?

3. Did I go out of my way to be kind or to do a good deed for someone?

4. Did I demonstrate gratitude in my life?

5. Did I totally reject resentment?

6. Did I resist the “PLOMS”? (Poor Little Old Me)

7. Did I indulge in _______________? (Your favorite character defect)

8. Did I resist the temptation to gossip or criticize?

9. Did I have an A.A. contact today?

10. Did I renew at any time during the day my conscious contact with God as I understand Him? {A quiet time, a meditation break.)

11. Will I close my day with “Thanks”?

12. Fill in your own or another person’s favorite daily aid to sobriety.

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These Two Items ComeFrom The Website Of:

BALTIMORE INTERGROUP COUNCIL OF

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, INC.

8635 Loch Raven Boulevard

Baltimore, Maryland 21286

http://www.a-1associates.com/AA/index.html

1. I will not help you to stay and wallow in limbo.

2. I will help you to grow, to become more productive, by your definition.

3. I will help you become more autonomous, more loving of yourself, more excited, less sensitive, more free to become the authority for your own living.

4. I can not give you dreams or “fix you up” simply because I can not.

5. I can not give you growth, or grow for you. You must grow for yourself by facing reality, grim as it may be at times.

6. I can not take away your loneliness or your pain.

7. I can not sense your world for you, evaluate your goals for you, tell you what is best for your world; because you have your own world in which you must live.

8. I can not convince you of the necessity to make the vital decision of choosing the frightening uncertainty of growing over the safe misery of remaining static.

9. I want to be with you and know you as a rich and growing friend; yet I can not get close to you when you choose not to grow.

10. When I begin to care for you out of pity or when I begin to lose faith in you, then I am inhibiting both for you and for me.

11. You must know and understand my help is conditional. I will be with you and “hang in there” with you so long as I continue to get even the slightest hint that you are still trying to grow.

1. If you can accept this, then perhaps we can help each other to become what God meant us to be, mature adults, leaving childishness forever to the little children of the world.