“Learning is the very essence of humility. The two walk hand in hand. Humility, as I see it, grows out of an urge to learn from everyone and everything.”

“I, too, have tried a hand at governing AA. Each time I have strenuously tried it I have been shouted down; so loudly, in fact, that on several occasions it looked as though I was due for swift and certain excommunication!”

“Taking the Steps let me free my mind of the myriad troubles and concerns that we all have. I was able to quiet the incessant voices so that God could enter and start to solve my problems. I paid every bill I could -- not just financial bills but emotional and spiritual ones as well. By taking care of my debts, I've been able to remove them from my mind; they no longer occupy that space and control my thoughts. The Steps also show me that today, I must live up to own standards, not anyone else's. If I can live up to my own code, I can be comfortable with me.”

"My emotional bottom came in sobriety ... I actually had to sit and feel all those feelings I had worked so hard to drown out with alcohol."

“Despite the happy transcendence of the difficulties of yesterday and of today, we nevertheless deeply realize that our negative traits are still with us, and always will be. Therefore our constant responsibility should be that of taking a fearless inventory of our defects as we go along, the better to undertake their mending.”

“For all the slow mornings, there are just as many when I arise with an open mind, willing to see what God has in store for me that day. Every chapter of self-pity ends when I am willing to abandon my pride and reach out to another alcoholic.”

“In AA ... I was once again able to hear the sounds of nature. I looked at a pine tree one day and began to cry at how beautiful it was. I learned to laugh again.”

“I am responsible as a trusted servant to be informed -- my group expects and deserves that. That responsibility requires me to take action, to do some reading, and to find out what the principles say -- not what I think ... The beautiful thing about AA is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We have directions and guidelines that we can follow; they were hammered out on the anvil of experience by those who have gone before us.”

“My basic flaw had always been dependence -- almost absolute dependence -- on people or circumstances to supply me with prestige, security, and the like. Failing to get these things according to my perfectionist dreams and specifications, I had fought for them. And when defeat came, so did my depression.”

“The good news is that anyone can become an old-timer if they’re willing to be willing to change and follow some direction.”

“May those who come to know the truth never forget it.”

“Awareness is the most accessible doorway to spirituality.”

“Success is more a state of heart and mind than a sum total of material assets.”

“Finally came April 1939. The book was done. Tales of recovery for its story section had been supplied by Dr. Bob and his Akron brethren. Others were supplied by New Yorkers, New Jerseyites. One came in from Cleveland and another from Maryland. Chapters had been read and discussed at meetings. I had thought myself the author of the text until I discovered I was just the umpire of the differences of opinion. After endless voting on a title for the new work we had decided to call it The Way Out. But inquiry by Fitz M., our Maryland alcoholic, at The Library of Congress disclosed the fact that 12 books already bore that title. Surely we couldn't make our book the 13th. So we named it Alcoholics Anonymous instead! Though we didn't know it, our movement then got its name -- a name which because of the implication of humility and modesty has given us our treasured spiritual principle of anonymity.”

“I cannot afford to take sobriety for granted ... I count my blessings and enjoy them all, large and small.”