AN INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT

From my 1880s meditation book: "When we do our work in the great present...we are like to Him with whom there is no past or future...We walk without fear, full of hope and courage and strength to do His will, waiting for the endless good which He is always giving as fast as He can get us able to take it in." G. Mc Donald .....sent by 12 Step Jan
To our Readers: If you would like to share an inspirational thought or a saying that perked your ears at a meeting and helped your recovery, please send it to hngbook@gmail.com .

Sunday, June 28, 2009

It's in the Trip


A close friend and I were moaning about surviving another June in Tucson, with no relief from the flat sky days and single digit humidity, when we were given the idea of putting together a women's getaway at her 3 acres in the White Mountains. And...it happened last weekend. We drove up the weekend before to clean, throw together some tables and build a safe firepit.
Abut 20 program gals drove up, bringing sleeping bags, tents, camping chairs and FOOD. We had campfire meetings under awesome starry skies, celebrated some June sobriety birthdays and returned to the desert floor Sunday afternoon, proclaiming we'd do it again soon.
I don't know which was better, the planning and work before the event or the weekend itself. Even had we been rained out, the trip was worth it. One of my favorite things were the six mornings I got to watch the very first hints of dawn grow into new days.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

"When Times Get Tough"

It has been a week now since my surgery on my knee for a torn miniscus. Recovery isn't going like I anticipated. There aren't any problems other than I am impatient. Typical Alcoholic thinking . . . I thought I'd be better than I am. How bad could arthroscopic surgery be? Three little 1/2" incisions? I am trying to work my program but must admit I am struggling. I have a group of my AA women friends coming to the house tomorrow for a meeting. I am in a lot of pain but am using my pain medication sparingly. Trying to do it with Tylenol rather than the Percoset that was prescribed. I never had been addicted to prescription drugs and don't want to start now. I keep telling myself that this too shall pass. I am trying to work the 1st step with this for I am definitely am "powerless". Being laid up is not good for this Alcoholic. Gives me too much time to think. It is too easy for me to slip into "stinking thinking". I need to turn this all over to the God of my understanding and let him work things out. Well, thanks alot and I am going to get back to taking it "one day at a time." Maybe 5 minutes at a time.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Open Invitation

This past weekend the Akron (Ohio) Intergroup Council hosted the annual Founders' Day Celebration, which this year marked the 74th birthday of Alcoholics Anonymous.
And what a celebration it was! Over 11,000 attended from all over the world!

I always feel especially blessed because I live nearby and have been able to attend ten out of the last twelve years.

This year we were a Crew of 7: with sobriety ranging from almost 2 years to almost 2 decades; 4 gals and 3 guys; two from out of state; and three first time attendees.

Come and join us next June to celebrate AA's 75th. Complete info can be found at akronaa.org.
Just click on Founders Day.

The event is truly a spiritual experience.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

GIFTS


We arrived to thigh high grass, a neglected garden of blossomed perenniels tumbling over each other to greet us, another garden begging to be tilled, bags to unpack, and a house sorely in need of a good dusting. Our semi-yearly migration leaves us pulled in two directions. We sadly miss the mountains and desert and our western family and many dear AA friends yet we anticipate a joyous reunion with our northern family and friends, and happily return to our roots where we first got sober and started on our journey of new beginnings. Initially we are overwhelmed by the green. Trees, grass...even the rain seems green. We feel disorientated in a house we have lived in for over twenty years. There is so much work to be done and so many loving demands on our time. Within two weeks, in different states, a wedding, an interrment, a granddaughter's dance recital, another's graduation, and a grandson being honored as an Eagle Scout. "Well," some might say, "That's just life. Enjoy." But we are alcoholics, out of our routines, and down on our regular AA meetings. Our first inclination is to panic and try to do ten things at once. Habit saves us, though. Go to an AA meeting, prioritize, take one day at a time, breathe.

Two weeks later we are home again, the loved ones are honored, the grass is cut (a baler would have been a help), and the garden is planted. This morning we woke to this little fellow deposited under our window and our rent-a-rooster crowing in the chicken coop. Everything is right with our world thanks to the sanity AA gives us.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Gratitude

At times my gratitude for being sober is overflowing. Friday night my grandson graduated from high school. He is a great kid, or I should say man, and has chosen not to drink because of the disease of Alcoholism being in the family. I hope he can keep this commitment. I pray for him every day and have for years. One of the things I pray for him is not to have to experience this awful disease. I will continue to pray for him. Anyway, the graduation was wonderful! When he walked down the aisle in his cap and gown I cried tears of gratitude. I am also grateful that I was sober well before he was born and that he never had to experience a Gramy that was drinking and drunk. I am grateful everyday for my sobriety. It is times likes this that my sobriety means even more to me. My Higher Power is awesome!
Sandy K.