kobe-ja/AsBillSeesIt · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Why, at this particular point in history, has God chosen to
communicate His healing grace to so many of us? Every
aspect of this global unfoldment can be related to a single
crucial word. The word is "communication". There has been
a lifesaving communication among ourselves, with the world
around us, and with God.
>From the beginning, communication in A.A. has been no
ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes.
Because our common means of deliverance are effective for
ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our
channels of contact have always charged with the language
of the heart.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, PP. 7-8
Antidote for Fear
When our failings generate fear, we then have soul-sickness.
This sickness, in turn, generates still more character defects.
Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied
drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex
and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands
are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others
seem to be realized while ours are not. We eat, drink, and
grab for more of everything than we need, fearing we shall
never have enough. And, with genuine alarm at the prospect
at work, we stay lazy. We loaf and procrastinate, or at best
work grudgingly and under half steam.
These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the
foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build.
As faith grows, so does inner security. The vast underlying
fear of nothingness commences to subside. We of A.A. find
that our basic antidote for fear is a spiritual awakening.
Where Rationalizing Leads
"You know what our genius for rationalization is. If, to
ourselves, we fully justify one slip, then our rationalizing
propensities are almost sure to justify another one, perhaps
with a different set of excuses. But one justification leads to
another and presently we are back on the bottle full-time."
Experience shows, all too often, that even the "controlled"
pill-taker may get out of control. The same crazy
rationalizations that once characterized his drinking begin to
blight his existence. He thinks that if pills can cure insomnia
so may they cure his worry.
Our friends the doctors are seldom directly to blame for the
dire results we so often experience. It is much too easy for
alcoholics to buy these dangerous drugs, and once
possessed of them the drinker is often likely to use them
without any judgement whatever.
Tell the Public?
"A.A.'s of worldly prominence sometimes say, `If I tell the
public that I am in Alcoholics Anonymous, then that will
bring in many others.' Thus they express the belief that our
anonymity Tradition is wrong -- at least for them.
"They forget that, during their drinking days, prestige and the
achievement of worldly ambition were their principal aims.
They do not realize that, by breaking anonymity, they are
unconsciously pursuing those old and perilous illusions
once more. They forget that the keeping of one's anonymity
often means a sacrifice of one's desire for power, prestige,
and money. They do not see that if these strivings became
general in A.A., the course of our whole history would be
changed; that we would be sowing the seeds of our own
destruction as a society.
"Yet I can happily report that while many of us are tempted --
and I have been one -- few of us in America actually break
our anonymity at the public-media level."
Arrogance and Its Opposite
A very tough-minded prospect was taken to his first A.A.
meeting, where two speakers (or maybe lecturers) themed
their talks on "God as I understand Him." Their attitude
oozed arrogance. In fact, the final speaker got far overboard
on his personal theological convictions.
Both were repeating my performance of years before. Implicit
in everything they said was the same idea: "Folks, listen to
us. We have the only true brand of A.A. -- and you'd better
get it!"
The new prospect said he'd had it -- and he had. His sponsor
protested that this wasn't real A.A. But it was to late; nobody
could touch him after that.
I see "humility for today" as a safe and secure stance
midway between violent emotional extremes. It is a quiet
place where I can keep enough perspective and enough
balance to take my next small step up the clearly marked
road that points toward eternal values.
GRAPEVINE
Source of Strength
When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a
Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the
services and were scattered all over the world.
Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire,
and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind
of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through?
Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or
emotional binges than A.A.'s safe at home did. They were
just as capable of endurance and valor as any other soldiers.
Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead, their
dependence upon a Higher Power worked.
Far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief
source of strength.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 38-39
Unlimited Choice
Any number of alcoholics are bedeviled by the dire

Why, at this particular point in history, has God chosen to

communicate His healing grace to so many of us? Every

aspect of this global unfoldment can be related to a single

crucial word. The word is "communication". There has been

a lifesaving communication among ourselves, with the world

around us, and with God.

>From the beginning, communication in A.A. has been no

ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes.

Because our common means of deliverance are effective for

ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our

channels of contact have always charged with the language

of the heart.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, PP. 7-8

Antidote for Fear

When our failings generate fear, we then have soul-sickness.

This sickness, in turn, generates still more character defects.

Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied

drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex

and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands

are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others

seem to be realized while ours are not. We eat, drink, and

grab for more of everything than we need, fearing we shall

never have enough. And, with genuine alarm at the prospect

at work, we stay lazy. We loaf and procrastinate, or at best

work grudgingly and under half steam.

These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the

foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build.

As faith grows, so does inner security. The vast underlying

fear of nothingness commences to subside. We of A.A. find

that our basic antidote for fear is a spiritual awakening.

Where Rationalizing Leads

"You know what our genius for rationalization is. If, to

ourselves, we fully justify one slip, then our rationalizing

propensities are almost sure to justify another one, perhaps

with a different set of excuses. But one justification leads to

another and presently we are back on the bottle full-time."

Experience shows, all too often, that even the "controlled"

pill-taker may get out of control. The same crazy

rationalizations that once characterized his drinking begin to

blight his existence. He thinks that if pills can cure insomnia

so may they cure his worry.

Our friends the doctors are seldom directly to blame for the

dire results we so often experience. It is much too easy for

alcoholics to buy these dangerous drugs, and once

possessed of them the drinker is often likely to use them

without any judgement whatever.

Tell the Public?

"A.A.'s of worldly prominence sometimes say, `If I tell the

public that I am in Alcoholics Anonymous, then that will

bring in many others.' Thus they express the belief that our

anonymity Tradition is wrong -- at least for them.

"They forget that, during their drinking days, prestige and the

achievement of worldly ambition were their principal aims.

They do not realize that, by breaking anonymity, they are

unconsciously pursuing those old and perilous illusions

once more. They forget that the keeping of one's anonymity

often means a sacrifice of one's desire for power, prestige,

and money. They do not see that if these strivings became

general in A.A., the course of our whole history would be

changed; that we would be sowing the seeds of our own

destruction as a society.

"Yet I can happily report that while many of us are tempted --

and I have been one -- few of us in America actually break

our anonymity at the public-media level."

Arrogance and Its Opposite

A very tough-minded prospect was taken to his first A.A.

meeting, where two speakers (or maybe lecturers) themed

their talks on "God as I understand Him." Their attitude

oozed arrogance. In fact, the final speaker got far overboard

on his personal theological convictions.

Both were repeating my performance of years before. Implicit

in everything they said was the same idea: "Folks, listen to

us. We have the only true brand of A.A. -- and you'd better

get it!"

The new prospect said he'd had it -- and he had. His sponsor

protested that this wasn't real A.A. But it was to late; nobody

could touch him after that.

I see "humility for today" as a safe and secure stance

midway between violent emotional extremes. It is a quiet

place where I can keep enough perspective and enough

balance to take my next small step up the clearly marked

road that points toward eternal values.

GRAPEVINE

Source of Strength

When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a

Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the

services and were scattered all over the world.

Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire,

and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind

of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through?

Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or

emotional binges than A.A.'s safe at home did. They were

just as capable of endurance and valor as any other soldiers.

Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead, their

dependence upon a Higher Power worked.

Far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief

source of strength.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 38-39

Unlimited Choice

Any number of alcoholics are bedeviled by the dire