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alcoholism. "Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind". Yet
no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior,
whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or
his own moral fiber, can claim "soundness of mind" for
himself.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 32-33
God-Given Instincts
Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we
wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women
didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made
no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be
no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be
populated. If there were no social instinct, there would be no
society.
Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far
exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many
times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon
ruling our lives.
We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We
subjected each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We
asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them.
We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given
and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor
to be despised and loathed.
A.A.'s School of Life
Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit.
Mostly, I think, about how to do the greatest good for the
greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats
and snits over small questions of money management and
who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any
bunch of growing children (and that is what we are) would
hardly be in character if they did less.
These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually
thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather
rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 233
Blind Trust?
"Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love,
nor can be real love where distrust holds malign sway.
"But does trust require that we be blind to other people's
motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly.
Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as
well as the capability for good in every person that we would
trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of
confidence we should extend in any given situation.
"However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of
understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our
judgment as the negative emotions of suspicion, jealousy, or
anger.
"Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought
to let him know of our full support. Because of this, more
often than not he will respond magnificently, and far beyond
our first expectations."
To Take Responsibility
Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and
brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever
description, is a moving and fascinating adventure.
But every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in
this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and
really makes an accurate and unsparingsurvey of the human
wreckage he has left in his wake.
The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts,
and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the
same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.
TWELVE AND TWELVE
"Do as I Do . . ."
Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at
depth with alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no
faith.
Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness,
pride, and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is
something we too often forget.
In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking
with this sort of unconscious arrogance. God as I
understood Him had to be for everybody. Sometimes my
aggression was subtle and sometimes it was crude. But
either way it was damaging -- perhaps fatally so -- to
numbers of nonbelievers.
Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step
work. It is very apt to leak out into our relations with
everybody. Even now, I catch myself chanting that same old
barrier-building refrain: "Do as I do, believe as I do -- or
else!"
GRAPEVINE, APRIL 1961
A.A. -- the Lodestar
We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to
solve the problem of alcoholism -- whether of medicine,
religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded
toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the
ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for
years on "trial and error."
As individuals, we can and should work with those that
promise success -- even a little success.
Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will
generously say that had it not been for the living proof of
recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the
lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.
GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1958
More than Comfort
When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements

alcoholism. "Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind". Yet

no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior,

whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or

his own moral fiber, can claim "soundness of mind" for

himself.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 32-33

God-Given Instincts

Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we

wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women

didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made

no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be

no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be

populated. If there were no social instinct, there would be no

society.

Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far

exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many

times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon

ruling our lives.

We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We

subjected each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We

asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them.

We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given

and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor

to be despised and loathed.

A.A.'s School of Life

Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit.

Mostly, I think, about how to do the greatest good for the

greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats

and snits over small questions of money management and

who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any

bunch of growing children (and that is what we are) would

hardly be in character if they did less.

These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually

thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather

rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 233

Blind Trust?

"Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love,

nor can be real love where distrust holds malign sway.

"But does trust require that we be blind to other people's

motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly.

Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as

well as the capability for good in every person that we would

trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of

confidence we should extend in any given situation.

"However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of

understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our

judgment as the negative emotions of suspicion, jealousy, or

anger.

"Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought

to let him know of our full support. Because of this, more

often than not he will respond magnificently, and far beyond

our first expectations."

To Take Responsibility

Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and

brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever

description, is a moving and fascinating adventure.

But every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in

this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and

really makes an accurate and unsparingsurvey of the human

wreckage he has left in his wake.

The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts,

and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the

same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.

TWELVE AND TWELVE

"Do as I Do . . ."

Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at

depth with alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no

faith.

Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness,

pride, and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is

something we too often forget.

In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking

with this sort of unconscious arrogance. God as I

understood Him had to be for everybody. Sometimes my

aggression was subtle and sometimes it was crude. But

either way it was damaging -- perhaps fatally so -- to

numbers of nonbelievers.

Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step

work. It is very apt to leak out into our relations with

everybody. Even now, I catch myself chanting that same old

barrier-building refrain: "Do as I do, believe as I do -- or

else!"

GRAPEVINE, APRIL 1961

A.A. -- the Lodestar

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to

solve the problem of alcoholism -- whether of medicine,

religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded

toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the

ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for

years on "trial and error."

As individuals, we can and should work with those that

promise success -- even a little success.

Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will

generously say that had it not been for the living proof of

recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the

lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.

GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1958

More than Comfort

When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements