Topic of the Week, words that begin with the letter "R"

[MajestyJo]

R is for Run. Run to the nearest meeting, don't walk. When you get those using thoughts, run before they become a reality.

Run to the phone and call your sponsor, if he/she isn't available, call someone else in your fellowship, instead of your dealer. Hope you have a little black book full of recovery people's names and numbers.

Hugs not drugs.

[MajestyJo]

R is for Respect. Respect yourself and you will find people will have more respect for you. Respect is earned, not something to be taken for granted.

Quote:
For everyone there is a way to serve and honor God in this life on earth. Lord, let me seize every opportunity, no matter how small, to glorify You, make you better known and always bring myself and others closer to You.

from Spiritual Thoughts

[MajestyJo]

R is for Recovery from the beginning. It was a work in progress and I truly believe it was divinely inspired. It took two and lead to Bill and Dr. Bob and 100 men and women to compile the Big Book. So grateful that AA was willing to share the 12 Steps with others.

I just finished reading Bill W's autobiography. My first 40 Years. Towards the very end in Towns Hospital Ebby gave him a book titled " The Varieties of Religious Experience " by William James. He was an intellectual, called by some the father of modern psychology. Bill began to see that all the experiences cited had certain common denominators, despite the ways they manifested themselves. The first common denominator was calamity. Nearly every recipient described had met utter defeat in some controlling area of life. Every resource of courage, understanding, and will had failed. the next condition was the admission from the very depths of being that defeat was utter and absolute. the third condition was an appeal to a higher power for help. It did not matter what form or channel this higher power was, more importantly seemed the appeal. Utter defeat, the complete mission of helplessness and the appeal. These were the essential things. The bearer of this message was Ebby with whom Bill shared the common experience of alcoholism and who'd related this same form of transformation on a more gradual basis than Bill had just experienced himself.

Received from a good friend in NA

[MajestyJo]

R is for Recover. Do you wish to recover? This is a post from another site on this topic.

It doesn't really matter what you desire to achieve. The thing that truly makes a difference is what you're willing to do to reach that desired achievement. Your willingness to do what is necessary makes the critical difference between merely wishing and actually making it happen. The strength of your desire matters only to the degree that it motivates you to take action.
If every wish was immediately and completely fulfilled, with no effort whatsoever, imagine how tiresome that would soon become. Think of how completely unfulfilling such a life would be.

The real value of any achievement depends on the challenges that must be overcome to reach that achievement. To shortcut the process, even if it was possible, would leave you feeling empty and cheated.

What a blessing it is that achievement requires effort, and that significant achievement requires significant, dedicated effort. The necessity of making it happen is what brings the possibility of making it great, and valuable, and truly magnificent.

-- Ralph Marston

This was written by an "Earthling" as far as I know but he captures the spirit of the program very well.

Step One:

Powerless seems like such a negative word, yet on the whole, it is one of the most powerful and positive places we can be.

When we admit we are powerless over people, places and things, then we are empowered to make some changes in our lives.

When we can see that we can't control another person's thought, actions, feelings; a vehicles preformance, reliability, or its parts; a place where we always go to feel safe may not always be there, be available, because it can be shut down, shut up, closed, etc.

When I drank, I couldn't guarantee my actions, whether I would go home for supper let alone be able to cook it. A lot of it was about. who came into the Legion, if I found a dart partner, a cribbage game, or the pleasure of someone's company, especially if they were buying me drinks or I was playing for drinks. So even when it came to my alcoholism, I am powerless over people, places and things.

When I surrender and ask the God of my understanding for help, He empowers me to do what I need to do for myself. I no longer have to go to people, places and things to fulfill my need. He is the Great Supplier, and He in today, often utilizes people, places and things to show me a better way of living.

ARE YOU AN ALOCHOLIC?

The Five stages of drunkenness

Stage 1 - SMART- This is when you suddenly become an expert on every subject in the known Universe. You know you know everything and want to pass on your knowledge to anyone who will listen. At this stage you are always RIGHT. And of course the person you are talking to is very WRONG. This makes for an interesting argument when both parties are SMART.

Stage 2 - GOOD LOOKING- This is when you realize that you are the BEST LOOKING person in the entire bar and that people fancy you. You can go up to a perfect stranger knowing they fancy you and really want to talk to you. Bear in mind that you are still SMART, so you can talk to this person about any subject under the sun.


Stage 3 - RICH- This is when you suddenly become the richest person in the world. You can buy drinks for the entire bar because you have an armoured truck full of money parked behind the bar. You can also make bets at this stage, because of course, you are still SMART, so naturally you win all your bets. It doesn't matter how much you bet 'cos you are RICH. You will also buy drinks for everyone that you fancy, because now you are the BEST LOOKING person in the world.

Stage 4 - BULLET PROOF- You are now ready to pick fights with anyone and everyone especially those with whom you have been betting or arguing. This is because nothing can hurt you. At this point you can also go up to the partners of the people who you fancy and challenge to a battle of wits or money. You have no fear of losing this battle because you are SMART, you are RICH and hell, you're BETTER LOOKING than they are anyway!

Stage 5 - INVISIBLE- This is the Final Stage of Drunkenness.
At this point you can do anything because NO ONE CAN SEE YOU. You dance on a table to impress the people who you fancy because the rest of the people in the room cannot see you. You are also invisible to the person who wants to fight you. You can walk through the street singing at the top of your lungs because no one can see or hear you and because you're still SMART you know all the words.

[MajestyJo]

R is for Remember When. Remember what it was like when you were using. Remember what it was like when you were detoxing. Remember what it was like the first few weeks of recovery. I remember when, and I never want to go back there, so I keep trying to remember to not pick up in today, stay clean and sober, and I won't have to.

Remember those old habits, behaviours and actions that are better left behind.

[MajestyJo]

R is for Rumours. Don't listen to them, don't feed into them, don't repeat them, go to the source and verify them.

Gossip almost drove me out of the rooms of recovery. Jealousy and envy were almost the death of me. I had to come to a decision to face it, ignore it, let it go. I let it go because I could make things right with my God, and He knew me and helped me to find myself.

Just because I was 50+ and looked 40+, was one of the guys, and was honest and open and shared accordingly, they trusted me. I wasn't looking for a relationship, the last thing on my mind, it took me seven years in recovery to take a risk and get into one.

My service sponsor said, after I had moved to a new apartment, "Did you put a mat beside your bed to muffle the sound of the men, jumping in and out of it." I was really hurt and called her on it. She said, "I was only kidding, it was just a joke." I said, "You had to think it in order to say it." I let her go as my sponsor, and yet later years, she called me (something she said she never did, and in the end, I was sponsoring her until her death. It was really sad that someone who have over 20 years sober could say something like that. I had five years of sobriety.

She said, "You are always surrounded by men." I said, "That is because I am not threatening, and they see me as a friend, someone who they can be with and be themselves. Can't see guys in their 20s and 30s, having romantic thoughts about someone who is 50-70 years of age.

She wasn't the only one. As they said in the Women's Group that I belonged to, "We are not in competition." I joined the Women's group because I didn't like women and had to learn to get along with them and accept them. I was angry at men and didn't have much use for them. I had to have a change in attitude. I use to say, "If I have to look down on a man, I LOOK DOWN ON A MAN." Recovery is a change of thinking and practicing the principles of the program. Principles before personalities, just glad that I didn't have to walk in their shoes.

Sorry, this is so long, guess it needed to be said. It is generally my anger that needs to be dealt with.

p.s. Sorry if this is a rerun.

[MajestyJo]

R is for Rest and Relaxation. Rest and take a time out. Have you own space where you can be alone and talk with your God. A place you can be alone or invite your friends to share it with you, by invitation only.

We need to restore ourselves so we have the energy to continue giving to others.