kobe-ja/AsBillSeesIt · Datasets at Hugging Face

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elsewho will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is we
must be hard on ourselves, but always considerate of others.
Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time in
making amends to our families. It may be unwise at first to
rehash certain harrowing episodes. While we may be quite
willing to reveal the very worst, we must be sure to
remember that we cannotbuy our own peace of mind at the
expense of others.
Middle of the Road
"In some sections of A.A., anonymity is carried to the point
of real absurdity. Members are on such a poor basis of
communication that they don't even know each other's last
names or where each lives. It's like the cell of an
underground.
"In other sections, we see exactly the revers. It is difficult to
restrain A.A.'s from shouting too much before the whole
public, by going on spectacular `lecture tours' to play the big
shot.
"However, I know that from these extremes we slowly pull
ourselves onto a middle ground. Most lecture-giving
members do not last too long, and the superanonymous
people are apt to come out of hiding respecting their A.A.
friends, business associates, and the like. I think the longtime trend is toward the middle of the road -- which is
probably where we should be."
Let Go Absolutely
After failure on my part to dry up any drunks, Dr. Silkworth
reminded me of Professor William James's observation that
truly transforming spiritual experiencesare nearly always
founded on calamity and collapse. "Stop preaching at them,"
Dr. Silkworth said, "and give them the hard medical facts
first. This may soften them up at depth so that they will be
willing to do anything to get well. Then they may accept
those spiritual ideas of yours, and even a Higher Power."
We beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very
start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and
the result was nil -- until we let go absolutely.
Morning Thoughts
On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours
ahead. We ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking
that it be divorced from self-pity and from dishonest or selfseeking motives. Free from these, we can employ our mental
faculties with assurance, for God gave us brains to use. Our
thought-life will be on a higher plane when our thinking
begins to be cleared of wrong motives.
If we determine which of two courses to take, we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought, or a decision. Then we relax
and take it easy, and we are often surprised how the right
answers come after we have tried this for a while.
We usually conclude our meditation with a prayer that we be
shown all through the day what our next step is to be, asking
especially for freedom from damaging self-will.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP. 86, 87
Toward Maturity
Many oldsters who have put our A.A. "booze cure" to severe
but successful tests still find they often lack emotional
sobriety. To attain this, we must develop real maturity and
balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations with
ourselves, with our fellows, and with God.
Let A.A. never be a closed corporation; let us never deny our
experience, for whatever it may be worth, to the world around
us. Let our individual members heed the call to every field of
human endeavor. Let them carry the experience and spirit of
A.A. into all these affairs, for whatever good they may
accomplish. For not only has God saved us from alcoholism;
the world has received us back into its citizenship.
Singlehanded Combat
Few indeed are those who, assailed by the tyrant alcohol,
have ever won through in singlehanded combat. It is a
statistical fact that alcoholics almost never recover on their
personal resources alone.
'Way up toward Point Barrow in Alaska, a couple of
prospectors got themselves a cabin and a case of Scotch.
The weather turned bitter, fifty below, and they got so drunk
they let the fire go out. Barely escaping death by freezing,
one of them woke up in time to rekindle the fire. He was
prowling around outside for fuel, and he looked into an
empty oil drum filled with frozen water. Down in the ice cake
he saw a reddish-yellow object. When thawed out, it was
seen to be an A.A. book. One of the pair read the book and
sobered up. Legend has it that he became the founder of one
of our farthest north groups.
Instinct to Live
When men and women pour so much alcohol into
themselves that they destroy their lives, they commit a most
unnatural act. Defying their instinctive desire for selfpreservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. They
work against their own deepest instinct.
As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating
administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them
and expel their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live
can cooperate fully with their Creator's desire to give them
new life.
"The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that
it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all
proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.
"These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are
a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity."
Have You Experimented?
"Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed
to be the indispensable attributes of our `scientific'
civilisation, it seems strange that so many scientist are
reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came

elsewho will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is we

must be hard on ourselves, but always considerate of others.

Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time in

making amends to our families. It may be unwise at first to

rehash certain harrowing episodes. While we may be quite

willing to reveal the very worst, we must be sure to

remember that we cannotbuy our own peace of mind at the

expense of others.

Middle of the Road

"In some sections of A.A., anonymity is carried to the point

of real absurdity. Members are on such a poor basis of

communication that they don't even know each other's last

names or where each lives. It's like the cell of an

underground.

"In other sections, we see exactly the revers. It is difficult to

restrain A.A.'s from shouting too much before the whole

public, by going on spectacular `lecture tours' to play the big

shot.

"However, I know that from these extremes we slowly pull

ourselves onto a middle ground. Most lecture-giving

members do not last too long, and the superanonymous

people are apt to come out of hiding respecting their A.A.

friends, business associates, and the like. I think the longtime trend is toward the middle of the road -- which is

probably where we should be."

Let Go Absolutely

After failure on my part to dry up any drunks, Dr. Silkworth

reminded me of Professor William James's observation that

truly transforming spiritual experiencesare nearly always

founded on calamity and collapse. "Stop preaching at them,"

Dr. Silkworth said, "and give them the hard medical facts

first. This may soften them up at depth so that they will be

willing to do anything to get well. Then they may accept

those spiritual ideas of yours, and even a Higher Power."

We beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very

start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and

the result was nil -- until we let go absolutely.

Morning Thoughts

On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours

ahead. We ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking

that it be divorced from self-pity and from dishonest or selfseeking motives. Free from these, we can employ our mental

faculties with assurance, for God gave us brains to use. Our

thought-life will be on a higher plane when our thinking

begins to be cleared of wrong motives.

If we determine which of two courses to take, we ask God for

inspiration, an intuitive thought, or a decision. Then we relax

and take it easy, and we are often surprised how the right

answers come after we have tried this for a while.

We usually conclude our meditation with a prayer that we be

shown all through the day what our next step is to be, asking

especially for freedom from damaging self-will.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP. 86, 87

Toward Maturity

Many oldsters who have put our A.A. "booze cure" to severe

but successful tests still find they often lack emotional

sobriety. To attain this, we must develop real maturity and

balance (which is to say, humility) in our relations with

ourselves, with our fellows, and with God.

Let A.A. never be a closed corporation; let us never deny our

experience, for whatever it may be worth, to the world around

us. Let our individual members heed the call to every field of

human endeavor. Let them carry the experience and spirit of

A.A. into all these affairs, for whatever good they may

accomplish. For not only has God saved us from alcoholism;

the world has received us back into its citizenship.

Singlehanded Combat

Few indeed are those who, assailed by the tyrant alcohol,

have ever won through in singlehanded combat. It is a

statistical fact that alcoholics almost never recover on their

personal resources alone.

'Way up toward Point Barrow in Alaska, a couple of

prospectors got themselves a cabin and a case of Scotch.

The weather turned bitter, fifty below, and they got so drunk

they let the fire go out. Barely escaping death by freezing,

one of them woke up in time to rekindle the fire. He was

prowling around outside for fuel, and he looked into an

empty oil drum filled with frozen water. Down in the ice cake

he saw a reddish-yellow object. When thawed out, it was

seen to be an A.A. book. One of the pair read the book and

sobered up. Legend has it that he became the founder of one

of our farthest north groups.

Instinct to Live

When men and women pour so much alcohol into

themselves that they destroy their lives, they commit a most

unnatural act. Defying their instinctive desire for selfpreservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. They

work against their own deepest instinct.

As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating

administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them

and expel their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live

can cooperate fully with their Creator's desire to give them

new life.

"The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that

it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all

proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.

"These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are

a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity."

Have You Experimented?

"Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed

to be the indispensable attributes of our `scientific'

civilisation, it seems strange that so many scientist are

reluctant to try out personally the hypothesis that God came