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This Page Last Updated: 05/01/08 |
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High
Praise for the Charm of Recovering Alcoholics
By Fulton Oursler There are times when I wish I were an alcoholic. I mean I wish I were a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. The reason is that I consider the AA people the most charming in the world. Such is my considered opinion. As a journalist, it has been my privilege to meet many people who are considered charming. I number among my friends stars and lesser lights on stage and cinema; writers are my daily diet; I know ladies and gentlemen of both political parties; I have been entertained in the White House; I've broken bread with kings, ambassadors and ministers; and I say that I would prefer an evening with my AA friends to any person I've indicated. I asked myself why I considered so charming these alcoholic caterpillars who have found their butterfly wings in AA. There are more reasons than one, but I can name a few. The AA people are what they are, and they are what they were, because they are sensitive, imaginative, possessed of a sense of humor, an awareness of the universal truth. They are sensitive, which means they are hurt easily, and that helped them become alcoholics. But when they found their restoration they are as sensitive as ever; responsive to the beauty and the truth and eager about the intangible glories of this life. That makes them charming companions. They are possessed of a sense of universal truth, that is often new in their heart. This fact that this at-one moment with God's universe had never been awakened within them is the reason they drink. They have found a power greater than themselves which they diligently serve. And that gives them a charm that never was elsewhere on the land and sea; it makes you know that God is charming, because the AA people reflect his mercy and forgiveness. They are imaginative, and that helped make them alcoholics. Some of them drank to flog their imaginations onto greater efforts. Others guzzled only to block out unendurable visions that arose in their imaginations. But when they found their restorations, their imagination is responsive to new incantations and their talk abounds with color and might, and that makes them charming companions, too. They are possessed a sense of humor. Even in their cups they have known to be damnably funny. Often it was being forced to take seriously the little and mean things of life that made them seek their escape in the bottle. But when they found their restoration, their sense of humor finds a blessed freedom and they are able to laugh at themselves, the very height of self-conquest. Go to their meetings and listen to their laughter. At what are they laughing? At ghoulish memories over which weaker souls would cringe in useless remorse. And that makes them wonderful people to be with by candlelight. Thanks Jeff B for E-mailing this to me ******************************************************************* ALCOHOL ALWAYS LIED TO ME I Drank for Courage... and woke up night after night horrified. I Drank for Sophistication... and became crude. I Drank to find Peace... and ignited a war within myself. I Drank to be Friendly... and became argumentative and nasty. I Drank to be Sexy... and turned people off. I Drank so that I could Relate to Others... and I babbled. I Drank to put down Loneliness... and found myself retreating more and more into my shell. I Drank to Relax... and woke up tense. I Drank to be Entertaining... and became an obnoxious clown. I Drank to Live More Fully... and contemplated suicide. I Drank for Adventure... and discovered disaster. I Drank to be more Honest... and insulted my friends. I Drank to Quiet my Nerves... and woke up with hangover jangles. I Drank to Feel Better... and ended up sick and throwing up. I Drank to have Fun... and passed out in the middle of the party. I Drank to Pep Myself Up... and ended up exhausted. I Drank to feel Successful... a Big Shot... but ended up a failure. I Drank for Security... and became afraid of my shadow. I Drank to Feel Better about Myself... and ended up hating me. I Drank to prove I could handle Alcohol... and ended up knowing it controlled me. A Friend asked... "But surely, now that you've been Sober awhile, it would take a lot of alcohol to put you back in that condition." "Just One Drink," I answered! ~Author Unknown ******************************************************************************************** 
Minimalism is born from a lack of
passion for the things we do
Quote from:
The Rhythm of Life, by Matthew Kelly
***************************************************************************************************
Myself
I have to live with myself, and so
I want to be fit for myself to know
I want to be able, as days go by,
Always to look myself straight in the
eye,
I don't want to stand, with the setting
sun,
and hate myself for the things I've
done.
I want to go out with my head erect,
I want to deserve all men's respect:
For here in the struggle for fame and
self
I want to be able to like myself.
I don't want to look at myself and know
That I'm bluster and bluff, an empty
show.
I never can hide myself from me
I see what others may never see
I know what others may never know
I never can fool myself, and so,
Whatever happens I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free.
Sister Stanislaus
Charity Hospital, New Orleans, LA.
Died June 8, 1949
*********************************************************************************************************
Contentment
There is a little saying that my wife
Madonna taught me. I try to remember it quite often.
It says, "Contentment is not the fulfillment of what I want but rather the realization of what I already have." Each day that I wake up, on the green side of the grass, as I like to say, is a good day. If I can just be grateful I will know contentment and peace.
from Eagle Wings Vol.13, Number
7, June 2007
published by Father Bernie Flynn M.S., M.Div. ****************************************************************************************************************************
Anyway
People are unreasonable, illogical, and
self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you
of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win
false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten
tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you
vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be
destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack
you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and
you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.
Meditations From A Simple Path
by Mother Teresa
***************************************************************************************************************The Importance of Retreats |
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A good analogy to remember when we’re stewing over the small stuff: A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress." "Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups & and then began eyeing each other's cups." "Now consider this: Life is the coffee. The jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just used to hold and contain life. The type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups . . . Enjoy your coffee. "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections." Thanks Jeff B for E-mailing this to me |
This site was last updated 04/29/08