kobe-ja/AsBillSeesIt · Datasets at Hugging Face

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to better jobs when we deserved them; we forgot the actual
or potential financial insecurity of every human being in the
world. And, worst of all, we forgot God. In money matters we
had faith only in ourselves, and not too much of that.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 120-121
To Be Fair-Minded
Too often, I think, we have deprecated and even derided
projects of our friends in the field of alcoholism just because
we do not always see eye to eye with them.
We should very seriously ask ourselves how many
alcoholics have gone on drinking simply because we have
failed to cooperate in good spirit with these many agencies --
whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. No alcoholic
should go mad or die merely because he did not come
straight to A.A. at the beginning.
Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint.
This carries a top-priority rating. When we speak or act
hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant
evaporates on the spot.
No Personal Power
"At first, the remedy for my personal difficulties seemed so
obvious that I could not imagine any alcoholic turning the
proposition down were it properly presented to him.
Believing so firmly that Christ can do anything, I had the
unconscious conceit to suppose that He would do everything
through me -- right thenand in the manner I chose. After six
long months, I had to admit that not a soul had surely laid
hold of the Master -- not excepting myself.
"This brought me to the good healthy realization that there
were plenty of situations left in the world over whichI had no
personal power -- that if I was so ready to admit that to be the
case with alcohol, so I must make the same admission with
respect to much else. I would have to be still and know that
He, not I, was God."
Essence of Growth
Let us never fear needed change. Certainly we have to
discriminate between changes for worse and changes for
better. But once a need becomes clearly apparent in an
individual, in a group, or in A.A. as a whole, it has long since
been found out that we cannot stand still and look the other
way.
The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the
better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder
whatever responsibilty this entails.
GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965
Each Man's Vision
"Beyond a Higher Power, as each of us may vision Him, A.A.
must never, as a society, enter the field of dogma or
theology. We can never become a religion in that sense, lest
we kill our usefulness by getting bogged down in theological
contention."
"The really amazing fact about A.A. is that all religions see in
our program a resemblance to themselves. For example,
Catholic theologians declare our Twelth Step to be in exact
accord with their Ignatian Exercises for Retreat, and, though
our book reeks of sin, sickness, and death, the Christian
Science Monitor has often praised it editorially.
"Now, looking through Quaker eyes, you, too, see us
favorably. What happy circumstances, these!"
The Sense of Belonging
Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer
is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live
in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and
frightened and purposeless.
The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the
moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real
and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed
by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds
us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly
watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will
be well with us, here and hereafter.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 105
Prelude to the Program
Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program
unless they have "hit bottom", for practicing A.A.'s Steps
means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no
alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. The
average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care
for this prospect -- unless he has to do these things in order
to stay alive himself.
We know that the newcomer has to "hit bottom"; otherwise,
not much can happen. Because we are drunks who
understand him, we can use at depth the nutcracker of theobsession-plus-the-allergy as a tool of such power that it can
shatter his ego. Only thus can he be convinced that on his
own unaided resources he has little or no chance.
On The Broad Highway
"I now realize that my former prejudice against clergymen
was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the
centuries a faith which might have been extinguished
entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even
look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern.
"When I did open my eyes, it was because I had to. And the
man who showed me the truth was a fellow sufferer and a
layman. Through him, I saw at last, and I stepped from the
abyss to solid ground, knowing at once that my feet were on
the broad highway ifI chose to walk."
Word of Mouth
"In my view, there isn't the slightest objection to groups who
wish to remain strictly anonymous, or to people who think
they would not like their membership in A.A. known at all.

to better jobs when we deserved them; we forgot the actual

or potential financial insecurity of every human being in the

world. And, worst of all, we forgot God. In money matters we

had faith only in ourselves, and not too much of that.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 120-121

To Be Fair-Minded

Too often, I think, we have deprecated and even derided

projects of our friends in the field of alcoholism just because

we do not always see eye to eye with them.

We should very seriously ask ourselves how many

alcoholics have gone on drinking simply because we have

failed to cooperate in good spirit with these many agencies --

whether they be good, bad, or indifferent. No alcoholic

should go mad or die merely because he did not come

straight to A.A. at the beginning.

Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint.

This carries a top-priority rating. When we speak or act

hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant

evaporates on the spot.

No Personal Power

"At first, the remedy for my personal difficulties seemed so

obvious that I could not imagine any alcoholic turning the

proposition down were it properly presented to him.

Believing so firmly that Christ can do anything, I had the

unconscious conceit to suppose that He would do everything

through me -- right thenand in the manner I chose. After six

long months, I had to admit that not a soul had surely laid

hold of the Master -- not excepting myself.

"This brought me to the good healthy realization that there

were plenty of situations left in the world over whichI had no

personal power -- that if I was so ready to admit that to be the

case with alcohol, so I must make the same admission with

respect to much else. I would have to be still and know that

He, not I, was God."

Essence of Growth

Let us never fear needed change. Certainly we have to

discriminate between changes for worse and changes for

better. But once a need becomes clearly apparent in an

individual, in a group, or in A.A. as a whole, it has long since

been found out that we cannot stand still and look the other

way.

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the

better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder

whatever responsibilty this entails.

GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965

Each Man's Vision

"Beyond a Higher Power, as each of us may vision Him, A.A.

must never, as a society, enter the field of dogma or

theology. We can never become a religion in that sense, lest

we kill our usefulness by getting bogged down in theological

contention."

"The really amazing fact about A.A. is that all religions see in

our program a resemblance to themselves. For example,

Catholic theologians declare our Twelth Step to be in exact

accord with their Ignatian Exercises for Retreat, and, though

our book reeks of sin, sickness, and death, the Christian

Science Monitor has often praised it editorially.

"Now, looking through Quaker eyes, you, too, see us

favorably. What happy circumstances, these!"

The Sense of Belonging

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer

is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live

in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and

frightened and purposeless.

The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the

moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real

and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed

by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds

us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly

watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will

be well with us, here and hereafter.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 105

Prelude to the Program

Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program

unless they have "hit bottom", for practicing A.A.'s Steps

means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no

alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. The

average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care

for this prospect -- unless he has to do these things in order

to stay alive himself.

We know that the newcomer has to "hit bottom"; otherwise,

not much can happen. Because we are drunks who

understand him, we can use at depth the nutcracker of theobsession-plus-the-allergy as a tool of such power that it can

shatter his ego. Only thus can he be convinced that on his

own unaided resources he has little or no chance.

On The Broad Highway

"I now realize that my former prejudice against clergymen

was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the

centuries a faith which might have been extinguished

entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even

look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern.

"When I did open my eyes, it was because I had to. And the

man who showed me the truth was a fellow sufferer and a

layman. Through him, I saw at last, and I stepped from the

abyss to solid ground, knowing at once that my feet were on

the broad highway ifI chose to walk."

Word of Mouth

"In my view, there isn't the slightest objection to groups who

wish to remain strictly anonymous, or to people who think

they would not like their membership in A.A. known at all.