Three little words, one big difference My loneliness was a ceaseless, tangible thing, which gnawed away at my guts like a particularly nasty form of cancer. The cause of all this loneliness was that something inside me, beyond my control, made me vicious and frequently violent. I drank heavily every day in an effort toContinue reading “Small But Mighty – Grapevine Article March 2006 by Jack H.”
Category Archives: Wisdom
Forgiveness – As Bill Sees It #318
Through the vital Fifth Step, we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done. Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they hadContinue reading “Forgiveness – As Bill Sees It #318”
The Green Demon – Grapevine Article May 1962 by M.D.B.
Jealousy is poisonous – but this AA member found an effective antidote I CAN mark one thing well, in looking back at my whirling nightmare of drinking, it was the only time I was ever completely jealous of total strangers! It amazes me now to remember that I had ugly and envious thoughts about innocentContinue reading “The Green Demon – Grapevine Article May 1962 by M.D.B.”
‘How It Works’ Works For Me – Grapevine Article October 2003 by Diane S.
As a newcomer, I first heard “How It Works” before I ever picked up a Big Book. It conveyed the essence of the program in a couple of minutes. Its repetition over the years has served as a general reminder. After all, alcoholics have short memories. Legend has it that Bill W. wrote “How ItContinue reading “‘How It Works’ Works For Me – Grapevine Article October 2003 by Diane S.”
Seeing & Accepting Our Reality – 12 & 12 pages 122 -125
This extract from Step 12 can be thought of as a high level roadmap for helping us understand our ongoing journey toward emotional sobriety as we grow in maturity and balance. This journey has no ceiling ; we can always be in a mode of expansion. Bill W more deeply explored these themes in hisContinue reading “Seeing & Accepting Our Reality – 12 & 12 pages 122 -125”
The Experiment And Experience Of A New Way Of Living – Mashup Of Meditation and Grapevine Article
This mashup may be useful in helping us realize how the truth of our experience is both deeply held and transformed by what we do. The mashup begins with a powerful meditation asking the question of where do those truths we hold deepest in our hearts come from. Next, the Grapevine article may help usContinue reading “The Experiment And Experience Of A New Way Of Living – Mashup Of Meditation and Grapevine Article”
What Is Freedom in AA? – Grapevine Article May 1960 by Bill W
THE TRADITIONS and customs of Alcoholics Anonymous reveal a charter for individual and group freedom, the like of which history has never before produced. We have no humanly administered government whatever. Once upon a time, there was an AA member who got the notion that his own group was a little too stuffy, respectable, andContinue reading “What Is Freedom in AA? – Grapevine Article May 1960 by Bill W”
Fear of FAILURE – Grapevine Article February 2009 by Anonymous
In a phone call on New Year’s Day, a college professor told me she’d failed my final paper for her course. I could rewrite the paper, she said, correcting the shortcomings, possibly retaining my overall A for the course. Or I could let it go and accept the B average my failure to follow directionsContinue reading “Fear of FAILURE – Grapevine Article February 2009 by Anonymous”
How 14 groups grew to 22 – Grapevine Article January 1945 by Frank S.
This article was reprinted in the the November 2018 Grapevine that focused on AA History. In 1944, AA’s cofounder, Bill W., swings through California to lend a helping hand to the new groups Just over one year ago, Bill made a two-month visit to the West Coast, one month of which was spent in LosContinue reading “How 14 groups grew to 22 – Grapevine Article January 1945 by Frank S.”
I Am Thankful – Grapevine Article August 1949 by Anonymous
I am thankful to be free from the undefined fears with which I traveled, but I am more thankful to walk in the shadow of known fears today. I am thankful to be released from spiteful envy of the talents of others, but I am more thankful to be desirous of even meagerly emulating thoseContinue reading “I Am Thankful – Grapevine Article August 1949 by Anonymous”