kobe-ja/AsBillSeesIt · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 4 128
In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an
athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a
tune. I had to be the president of my class in boarding
school. I had to be first in everything because in my perverse
heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not
accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to
become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play
the fiddle. Lead I must -- or else. This was the "all or nothing"
kind of demand that later did me in.
"I'm glad you are going to try that new job. But make sure
that you are only going to `try'. If you approach the project in
the attitude that `I must succeed, I must not fail, I cannot fail,'
then you guarantee a drinking relapse. But if you look at the
venture as a constructive experiment only, then all should go
well."
Constructive Workouts
There are those in A.A. whom we call "destructive" critics.
They power-drive, they are "politickers," theymake
accusation to gain their ends -- all for the good of A.A., of
course! But we have learned that these folks need not be
really destructive.
We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes
they are telling the whole truth; at other times, a little truth. If
we are within their range, the whole truth, the half truth, or no
truth at all can prove equally unpleasant to us. If they have
got the whole truth, or even little truth, then we had better
thank them and get on withour respective inventories,
admitting we were wrong. If they are talking nonsense, we
can ignoreit, or else try to persuade them. Failing this, we
can be sorry they are too sick to listen, and we can try to
forget the whole business.
There are few better means of self-survey and of developing
patience than the workouts these usually well-meaning but
erratic members so often afford us.
TWELVE CONCEPTS, P. 43
After the "Honeymoon"
"For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a
honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive,
joyful activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the
main life problems. That is all to the good.
"But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to
take our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing
starts. Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines.
Maybe difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world
outside. Then theold behavior patterns reappear. How well
we recognize and deal with them reveals the extent of our
progress."
The wise have always known that no one can make much of
his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he
is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he
patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.
Hope Born from Hopelessness
"Most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do
have a common denominator of ego collapse at depth. The
individual faces an impossible dilemma.
"In my case the dilemma had been created by my compulsive
drinking, and the deep feeling of hopelessness had been
vastly deepened by my doctor. It was deepened still more by
my alcoholic friend when he acquainted me with your verdict
of hopelessness respecting Rowland H.
<note: the following is "The Message" !!!>
"In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision
of a society of alcoholics. If each sufferer were to carry the
news of the scientifc hopelessness of alcoholism to each
new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide
open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept
proved to be the foundation of such success as A.A. has
since achieved."
GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1963
Happy -- When We're Free
For most normal folks, drinking means release from care,
boredom and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends
and a feeling that life is good.
But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The
old pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning to
enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that
some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There
was always one more attempt -- and one more failure.
We are sure God would like us to be happy, joyous, and free.
Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life
necessarily has to be a vale of tears, though it once was just
that for many of us. But it became clear that most of the time
we had madeour own misery.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Willing to Believe
Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms
deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might
mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to
commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious
relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we
found ourselves accepting many things which had seemed
entirely out of reach. That was growth. But if we wished to
grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own
conceptions of God, however limited they were.
Weneeded to ask ourselves but one short question: "Do I
now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a
Power greater than myself?" As soon as a man can say that
he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically
assure him that he ison his way.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 47

In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an

athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a

tune. I had to be the president of my class in boarding

school. I had to be first in everything because in my perverse

heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not

accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to

become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play

the fiddle. Lead I must -- or else. This was the "all or nothing"

kind of demand that later did me in.

"I'm glad you are going to try that new job. But make sure

that you are only going to `try'. If you approach the project in

the attitude that `I must succeed, I must not fail, I cannot fail,'

then you guarantee a drinking relapse. But if you look at the

venture as a constructive experiment only, then all should go

well."

Constructive Workouts

There are those in A.A. whom we call "destructive" critics.

They power-drive, they are "politickers," theymake

accusation to gain their ends -- all for the good of A.A., of

course! But we have learned that these folks need not be

really destructive.

We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes

they are telling the whole truth; at other times, a little truth. If

we are within their range, the whole truth, the half truth, or no

truth at all can prove equally unpleasant to us. If they have

got the whole truth, or even little truth, then we had better

thank them and get on withour respective inventories,

admitting we were wrong. If they are talking nonsense, we

can ignoreit, or else try to persuade them. Failing this, we

can be sorry they are too sick to listen, and we can try to

forget the whole business.

There are few better means of self-survey and of developing

patience than the workouts these usually well-meaning but

erratic members so often afford us.

TWELVE CONCEPTS, P. 43

After the "Honeymoon"

"For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a

honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive,

joyful activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the

main life problems. That is all to the good.

"But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to

take our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing

starts. Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines.

Maybe difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world

outside. Then theold behavior patterns reappear. How well

we recognize and deal with them reveals the extent of our

progress."

The wise have always known that no one can make much of

his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he

is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he

patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

Hope Born from Hopelessness

"Most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do

have a common denominator of ego collapse at depth. The

individual faces an impossible dilemma.

"In my case the dilemma had been created by my compulsive

drinking, and the deep feeling of hopelessness had been

vastly deepened by my doctor. It was deepened still more by

my alcoholic friend when he acquainted me with your verdict

of hopelessness respecting Rowland H.

<note: the following is "The Message" !!!>

"In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision

of a society of alcoholics. If each sufferer were to carry the

news of the scientifc hopelessness of alcoholism to each

new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide

open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept

proved to be the foundation of such success as A.A. has

since achieved."

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1963

Happy -- When We're Free

For most normal folks, drinking means release from care,

boredom and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends

and a feeling that life is good.

But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The

old pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning to

enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that

some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There

was always one more attempt -- and one more failure.

We are sure God would like us to be happy, joyous, and free.

Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life

necessarily has to be a vale of tears, though it once was just

that for many of us. But it became clear that most of the time

we had madeour own misery.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Willing to Believe

Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms

deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might

mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to

commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious

relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we

found ourselves accepting many things which had seemed

entirely out of reach. That was growth. But if we wished to

grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own

conceptions of God, however limited they were.

Weneeded to ask ourselves but one short question: "Do I

now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a

Power greater than myself?" As soon as a man can say that

he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically

assure him that he ison his way.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 47