I don’t particularly like failing. I don’t like being wrong. I don’t like discovering that I’ve hurt somebody. I don’t like having to admit that something I was absolutely certain about turned out to be absolutely wrong. I don’t like rejection. I don’t like finding out that despite my best efforts, something simply didn’t work.Continue reading “Don’t Waste the Failure – Take The 12 Blog August 2026 By Rick W”
Category Archives: Choice
Guide to a Better Way – As Bill Sees It #149
Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the Steps require. But we saw that the program really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those inContinue reading “Guide to a Better Way – As Bill Sees It #149”
Learn To Use Misfortune – Grapevine Article April 1984 By W.J.
The best illustration of gratitude I know lies in the story of Louis Braille. Louis was the son of a French shoemaker. One day, his father, working at his bench with Louis underfoot, dropped a sharp instrument known as an awl from the table. It hit the boy in the eye and caused him toContinue reading “Learn To Use Misfortune – Grapevine Article April 1984 By W.J.”
Spiritual Discipline Builds Good Character – A Spiritual Principle A Day August 6th
“My parents sacrificed to send me away to school when I was a kid. They were at their wits’ end and hoped that this school could drill some discipline into me,” a member shared. “They said it would build character. It toughened me up, all right, and made me even more rebellious. It would beContinue reading “Spiritual Discipline Builds Good Character – A Spiritual Principle A Day August 6th”
Learning To Support Not Punish Ourselves By Dr. Kristin Neff
The most important boundary I have is with myself. It is not OK for me to condemn or hate myself. Instead of believing and accepting that judgment; I can pause and gets curious about this reaction of so much hate and disgust for myself. What I usually find is that I’m believing a bunch ofContinue reading “Learning To Support Not Punish Ourselves By Dr. Kristin Neff”
What If Pressure Isn’t Punishment? – Take The 12 Blog May 2026 By Rick W.
There’s a moment in recovery where life starts pressing in from every side and it feels like everything is falling apart. The relationship is strained. The finances are tight.The emotions are raw. The character defects are impossible to ignore. The loneliness feels louder now that the noise of alcohol, chaos, or compulsions has been turned down. And somewhereContinue reading “What If Pressure Isn’t Punishment? – Take The 12 Blog May 2026 By Rick W.”
Don’t Hand Them the Steering Wheel – Take The 12 Blog June 2026 By Rick W
One of the greatest freedoms recovery offers is the ability to stop letting other people decide who we’re going to be. Most of us arrived in Alcoholics Anonymous with a long list of reasons why we drank, acted out, exploded, withdrew, lied, manipulated, or held resentments. We became experts at pointing to what someone elseContinue reading “Don’t Hand Them the Steering Wheel – Take The 12 Blog June 2026 By Rick W”
Practicing Surrender – Extract From Progloue/Epilogue Of Surrender To Love By David Benner
How does surrender address the fundamental reality of ‘lack of power, that was our dilemma’ (BB p.45) ? What is the dynamic between the surrender of offering myself or abandoning myself and finding who I really am … my true self … distinguishing the true from the false ? Is it possible that to “thineContinue reading “Practicing Surrender – Extract From Progloue/Epilogue Of Surrender To Love By David Benner”
Thy Will, Not Mine – Grapevine Article October 1978 By C.C.
Her father’s death taught her the true meaning of acceptance FOUR WORDS have kept coming into my mind ever since I lost my father, a few short days ago. “Shall we dance, Daddy?” That’s what I often used to say to my alcoholic father to get him to bed. I couldn’t carry him, and heContinue reading “Thy Will, Not Mine – Grapevine Article October 1978 By C.C.”
Look Before You Leap – As Bill Sees It #253
Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of prudence. They know that without this all important attribute little wisdom is to be had. Mere ‘looking before we leap’ is not enough. If our looking is charged with fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked or acted atContinue reading “Look Before You Leap – As Bill Sees It #253”