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Dianne’s Missives Jun 27

Thought to Consider…

Let us always love the best in others – and never fear their worst.
There is no progress without change.
It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them.

“When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn’t.”

AACRONYMS

E G O = Easing God Out
D E A D = Drinking Ends All Dreams

Egomania

“Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist on dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our own incessant demands . . . We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of society.”

This Matter of Honesty

“‘Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is. Therefore, each of us has to conceive what this great ideal may be – to the best or our ability.’ Fallible as we all are, and will be in this life, it would be presumption to suppose that we could ever really achieve absolute honesty. The best we can do is to strive for a better quality of honesty. Sometimes we need to place love ahead of indiscriminate ‘factual honesty.’ We cannot, under the guise of ‘perfect honesty,’ cruelly and unnecessarily hurt others. Always one must ask, ‘What is the best and most loving thing I can do?'”

Spirituality

“Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we wished to grow, we had to begin somewhere. So, we used our own conception, however limited it was.”

Obedience

“We of A.A. obey spiritual principles, at first because we must, then because we ought to, and ultimately because we love the kind of life such obedience brings. Great suffering and great love are A.A.’s disciplinarians; we need no others.”
“Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worthwhile to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have – the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.”

Friendship

“Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill. Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up around you, to have a host of friends – this is an experience you must not miss. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.”

Progress

Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

“If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.”

Dianne
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Episode 0025 Not a Glum Lot

Members of the tribe chat about having a good life in recovery:

In this roundtable episode titled “We Are Not a Glum Lot,” Bob “the Old Rucker” gathers with fellow recovery brothers Sloan, Tony, and Pat for a candid, unscripted conversation about the joy, connection, and growth found in sobriety. They reflect on the struggles of early recovery, the transformative power of showing up and embracing the program, and the deep bonds they’ve built through shared service, road trips, laughter, and vulnerability. From moving into new homes and picking up sponsees, to hilarious misadventures at Broadway plays and weed shops in NYC, the guys illustrate how sobriety isn’t just about abstaining from alcohol—it’s about reclaiming life with gratitude, humor, and purpose. The group emphasizes the importance of fellowship, leaning into discomfort, and keeping service at the core. The episode ends with each member sharing tools for staying sober and joyful, especially while on the road, and a reminder that no one walks this path alone.

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Dianne’s Missives Jun 20

Thought to Consider . . .

There are only two things an alcoholic doesn’t like – the way things are, and change.
The depth of our anxiety measures the distance we are from God.
If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day

Resentment

“Resentment is the ‘number one’ offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.”
When we came into A.A., we made a tremendous discovery. We found that we were sick persons rather than moral lepers. We were not such odd ducks as we thought we were. We found other people who had the same illness that we had, who had been through the same experiences that we had been through. They had recovered. If they could do it, we could do it.
“Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that.”
In A.A. we have to reeducate our minds. We have to learn to think differently. We have to take a long view of drinking instead of a short view. We have to look through the glass to what lies beyond it. We have to look through the night before to the morning after. No matter how good liquor looks from the short view, we must realize that in the long run it is poison to us.
“Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.”

Neighbors

“Near you, alcoholics are dying helplessly like people on a sinking ship. If you live in a large place, there are hundreds. High and low, rich and poor, these are future fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous. Among them you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your common journey. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life. You will learn the full meaning of ‘Love they neighbor as thyself.'”
We in A.A. have the privilege of living two lives in one lifetime. One life of drunkenness, failure, and defeat. Then, through A.A., another life of sobriety, peace of mind, and usefulness. We who have recovered our sobriety are modern miracles. And were living on borrowed time. Some of us might have been dead long ago. But we have been given another chance to live.
Dianne
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Episode 0024 Couples in Recovery

Couples in Recovery: Stephanie and Preston—Team G—sit down with Mandy and the Old Rucker to talk about the real, messy journey of getting sober and staying that way as a couple. Bob “the Old Rucker” and Mandy crack open an old recording and reintroduce Stephanie, who’s now eight years sober after losing custody of her son and bottoming out, and Preston, who spiraled hard into drinking during his military years and barely made it through withdrawal.

They each had their own wake-up call—Stephanie realizing her drinking was behind every problem in her life, Preston learning the hard truth about post-acute withdrawal. They share how they each found their footing with AA and intensive outpatient programs. It’s raw and honest—from the complications of dating in recovery to the baggage of childhood trauma and family friction. But what stands out is how they both did the hard work first—on themselves—before figuring out how to show up for each other. It’s a reminder that recovery isn’t just about quitting alcohol. It’s about rebuilding your life—and doing it with honesty, grit, and a little help from your people.

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Episode 0023 Sponsorship Relations

Republishing to correct the feed, the wrong episode got attached to the original

Charlie and Nathan sit down to share what it’s really like between a sponsor and a sponsee—pulling from their raw, personal journeys through addiction and recovery. Charlie, who’s been in this game a long time and is as real as they come, lays out why walking someone through the 12 steps matters: it’s about building a relationship with your higher power through honesty, surrender, and actually living the work. Nathan, still early in the process, opens up about the hard hits—alcohol, denial, loss—and how connecting with someone like Charlie, who’s walked the walk, gave him real hope. Their bond is rooted in mutual respect, shared purpose, and spiritual growth. This conversation isn’t polished or sugarcoated—it’s honest, human, and filled with the kind of hope that only comes from people helping each other find their footing in recovery.

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Dianne’s Missives Jun 6

Thought to Consider…

Every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour.
“When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.”
Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.
Alcohol gave me wings to fly, and then it took away the sky.
The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride.

Humility

STEP FIVE: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
“Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility – a word often misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be. Therefore, our first practical move toward humility must consist of recognizing our deficiencies.”

In A.A. we learn that since we are alcoholics, we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The A.A.s are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics.

Four Horsemen

“The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society, from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did – then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen – Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair.”

“We used to amuse ourselves by cynically dissecting spiritual beliefs and practices when we might have observed that many spiritually-minded persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree of stability, happiness and usefulness which we should have sought ourselves. Instead, we looked at the human defects of these people and sometimes used their shortcomings as a basis of wholesale condemnation. We talked of intolerance, while we were intolerant ourselves. We missed the reality and the beauty of the forest because we were diverted by the ugliness of some of its trees. We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing.”

“A.A. is no success story in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a story of suffering transmuted, under grace, into spiritual progress.”

Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
“It is plain for everybody to see that each sober A.A. member has been granted a release from this very obstinate and potentially fatal obsession. So in a very complete and literal way, all A.A.’s have ‘become entirely ready’ to have God remove the mania for alcohol from their lives. And God has proceeded to do exactly that. “Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn’t we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect? This is a riddle of our existence, the full answer to which may be only in the mind of God”.

Dianne

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Dianne’s Missives May 9

Thought to Consider…

“As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.”
I must walk into darkness to find the light and walk into fear to find peace.
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
When a person tries to control their drinking, they have already lost control.

AACRONYMS

F E A R = False Evidence Appearing Real

ST E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in

The A.A. program is one of charity because the real meaning of the word charity is to care enough about other people to really want to help them. To get the full benefit of the program, we must try to help other alcoholics. We may try to help somebody and think we have failed, but the seed we have planted may bear fruit some time. We never know the results even a word of ours might have. But the main thing is to have charity for others, a real desire to help them, whether we succeed or not.

LIGHTING THE DARK PAST

Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have – the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. No longer is my past an autobiography; it is a reference book to be taken down, opened and shared.

A.A. Thought for the Day

In A.A., we often hear the slogan “Easy Does It.” Alcoholics always do everything to excess. They drink too much. They worry too much. They have too many resentments. They hurt themselves physically and mentally by too much of everything. So, when they come into A.A., they have to learn to take it easy. None of us knows how much longer we have to live. It’s probable that we wouldn’t have lived very long if we had continued to drink the way we used to. By stopping drinking, we have increased our chances of living for a while longer.

Troubles

“So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! Many of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying our own power. We had to have God’s help.”

CLEANING HOUSE

Somehow, being alone with God doesn’t seem as embarrassing as facing up to another person. Until we actually sit down and talk aloud about what we have so long hidden, our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical.

Control

“Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control AND enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.”
“The HONESTY expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the flow of energy that HONESTY carries with it. The only obstacle to this flow of energy is inebriation, but even then, no one will find a closed door if he or she has left and chooses to return. Once he or she has received the gift of sobriety, each A.A. member is challenged on a daily basis to accept a program of HONESTY.”
Dianne
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Dianne’s Missives Apr 04

Thought to Consider…

“I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.”

“Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.”
Trying to pray is praying.

ACRONYMS

S L I P = Sobriety Loses Its Priority

The Past

“Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worthwhile to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have – the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.”

Life Is Not a Dead End

“When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.”

“He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not something to be endured or mastered. In a very real sense he has been transformed, because he has laid hold of a source of strength which he had hitherto denied himself.”

Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence, we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.

“We had to quit playing God. It didn’t work. We decided that hereafter, in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He would be the Principal; we, His agents. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new triumphal arch through which we passed to freedom.”

“The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.”

Prayer

“In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and experience. All those who have persisted have found strength not ordinarily their own. They have found wisdom beyond their usual capability. And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand firm in the face of difficult circumstances.”

Dianne

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Dianne’s Missives Mar 21

Thought to Consider…

Procrastination is really sloth in five syllables.
“The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all.”
It has been well said that “almost the only scoffers at prayer are those who never tried it enough.”

AACRONYMS

D E N I A L = Don’t Even Notice I Am Lying

We’ve gotten rid of our false, drinking selves and found our real, sober selves. And we turn to God, our Father, for help, just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his father. At the end of the story, the father of the Prodigal Son says: “He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.” We alcoholics who have found sobriety in A.A. were certainly dead and are alive again. We were lost and are found

“Thousands of Founders:”

A.A. was not invented! Its basics were brought to us through the experience and wisdom of many great friends. We simply borrowed and adapted their ideas. Thankfully, we have accepted the devoted services of many non-alcoholics. We owe our very lives to the men and women of medicine and religion.

“The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.’s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’t much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.”

Honesty

“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.”

Only God Is Unchanging

“Change is the characteristic of all growth. From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from conflict to serenity, from hate to love, from childish dependence to adult responsibility -all this and infinitely more represent change for the better. Such changes are accomplished by a belief in and a practice of sound principles. Here we must discard bad or ineffective principles in favor of good ones that work. Even good principles can sometimes be displaced by the discovery of still better ones. Only God is unchanging; only He has all the truth there is.”

Step Three: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

“‘If I keep on turning my life and my will over to the care of Something or Somebody else, what will become of me? I’ll look like the hole in the doughnut.’ This, of course, is the process by which instinct and logic always seek to bolster egotism and so frustrate spiritual development. The trouble is that this kind of thinking takes no real account of the facts. And the facts seem to be these: The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are. Therefore dependence, as A.A. practices it, is really a means to gaining true independence of the spirit.”

Dianne

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