“We can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money -- the same implacable urges that when frustrated once caused us to drink; the same forces that are today ripping the globe apart at its seams.”
“When I was drinking, I was afraid I was not achieving my potential. Now that I’m sober, I worry that maybe I am.”
“To know yourself is not done just by reviewing your ‘misdeeds’; they are not you ... Your doubts, fears, and apprehensions, your immature cravings, your self-indulgence ... they are all committed by your physical body, guided by false instincts and imagination, instead of by your real self, which is the soul – the spirit within. That is where your conscience is, and your wisdom and your strength – which no one can hurt but you.”
“Things haven’t been all roses but they are certainly not comparable to the way they were. God has blessed me with a vivid memory of my pain, which has helped me ... when the thought of escaping popped into my head.”
“I realize now that most of the problems in my life were a direct result of my attempts to handle my own life, to be in control of my own destiny. I am grateful that today, sober, I can still say my life has ‘become unmanageable.’”
“Let us not be afraid of unsettling or boring our comrades by talking about our reactions to whatever is bothering us at a given moment; for this is how we learn to live.”
“Tolerance ... promotes an open-mindedness that is vastly important -- is, in fact, a prerequisite to the successful termination of any line of search, whether it be scientific or spiritual.”
“I pray that I will stay humble and not forget that I am just a drunk, sober today through the grace of God and the program of AA.”
“Once the alcoholic understands the desirability of accepting reality, to the best of his ability and within the limits which we all have, he has taken a step toward maturity. The difference between the mentally healthy person and the unhealthy one is the ability to face the realities of life.”
“Open-mindedness seems to me a core spiritual principle of the program ... Without it I cannot change.”
“Whether I conceive of God as a set of immutable cosmic laws or as an old man with a white robe and matching beard is totally and gloriously irrelevant. All that matters are my values and attitudes and how I act upon them.”
“It has been the actions of others that has given me unfailing support throughout my sobriety. It also shows how I am to respond to those whom I can help. I am responsible to see that the hand of AA is available to anyone.”
“It isn’t possible for all of us to be loners.”
“In AA’s Eleventh Step I find that I build today the road I travel tomorrow.”
“We've resolved never to allow either money or the management of our necessary affairs to obscure our spiritual aims.”
