anonymous – Shoutout From The Pit

2026-08-212026-08-22

Dianne’s Missives August 21, 2026

Thought to Consider…

Minds are like parachutes – they won’t work unless they’re open.
You cannot grasp what is new until you let go of what has already died.
Progress always involves risk. You can’t steal second base w

AACRONYMS

H O P E = Helping Other People Every day
A N O N Y M O U S = Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service

“The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.”

is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worthwhile. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.

We SURRENDER TO WIN. On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in A.A. Only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit “bottom” in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.

“To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic, a spiritual experience seems impossible, but to continue as he is means disaster. To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face. But we have to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life – or else. Lack of power is our dilemma. We have to find a power by which we can live, and it has to be a power greater than ourselves.” Before AA Alcohol was the Power greater than myself.

Step 8

As I faced the Eighth Step, everything that was required for successful completion of the previous seven Steps came together: courage, honesty, sincerity, willingness and thoroughness. I could not muster the strength required for this task at the beginning, which is why this Step reads “Became willing . . .”
I needed to develop the courage to begin, the honesty to see where I was wrong, a sincere desire to set things right, thoroughness in making a list, and willingness to take the risks required for true humility. With the help of my Higher Power in developing these virtues, I completed this Step and continued to move forward in my quest for spiritual growth.

“We had but two alternatives; one was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could, and the other was to accept spiritual help. We became willing to maintain a certain simple attitude toward life. What seemed at first a flimsy reed has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us, a design for living that really works. All of us establish in our own individual way our personal relationship with God.”

Hangovers

“When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday’s and sometimes today’s excesses of negative emotion – anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers.”

Defiance

“As psychiatrists have often observed, defiance is the outstanding characteristic of many an alcoholic . . . When we encountered A.A., the fallacy of our defiance was revealed. At no time had we asked what God’s will was for us; instead, we had been telling Him what it ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol’s final catastrophe.”

Dianne

2026-08-212026-08-21

Episode 0083 Sponsorship Part 2

This episode continues the sponsorship series with Bob, Jeremy, Ralph, Cherie, and Mandy digging into what makes a good sponsor, how people choose one, and how sponsorship changes as both people grow in recovery. The conversation explores honesty, humility, boundaries, flexibility, service, faith, and the importance of adapting the approach to the individual rather than treating recovery like a one size fits all program. They share candid stories about being fired as sponsors, recognizing when friendship and sponsorship create conflicts, learning when to step back, and putting another person’s sobriety ahead of ego. The group also discusses how lessons learned through sponsorship carry into parenting, friendships, and military and workplace leadership, especially communication, patience, listening, discernment, and learning to respond instead of react.

Cabot Group 44th Birthday August 21st

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2026-02-13

Dianne’s Missives February 13, 2026

Thought to Consider…

Life didn’t end when I got sober – it started.
Resentment is like acid, eating away at the vessel it is stored in.
Many people haven’t even a nodding acquaintance with humility as a way of life.
Always remember you’re unique… just like everyone else.

AACRONYMS

A N O N Y M O U S = Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service

“In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim and utterly hopeless cases, almost without exception. But now younger folks began to appear. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs and homes and health and even good social standing. These in their turn were able to persuade others like themselves of the need for A.A. Of course, it was necessary for these types of newcomers to hit bottom emotionally. But we found they did not have to hit every possible bottom there was in order to admit that they were licked. When one of these mild cases arrived at the conviction that he already had the principal symptoms of alcoholism that was usually enough. He ‘hit bottom’ then and there and so was spared years of anguish.”

An alcoholic life isn’t a happy life. Drinking cuts you off from other people and from God. One of the worst things about drinking is the loneliness. And one of the best things about A.A. is the fellowship. Drinking cuts you off from other people, at least from the people who really matter to you, your family, your coworkers, and your real friends. No matter how much you love them, you build up a wall between you and them by your drinking. You’re cut off from any real companionship with them. As a result, you’re terribly lonely.

“In God’s economy, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is.”

“Some A.A. speakers say, ‘A.A. is a selfish program.’ The word ‘selfish’ ordinarily implies that one is acquisitive, demanding, and thoughtless of the welfare of others. Of course, the A.A. way of life does not at all imply such undesirable traits
If we cannot or will not achieve sobriety, then we become truly lost, right in the here and now. Therefore, our own recovery and spiritual growth have to come first – a right and necessary kind of self-concern.”

Growth

Letting go of everything at once was both painful and terrifying. I could never have accomplished this alone. It took the help, understanding, and wonderful companionship that was given so freely to me by my ex-alkie friends – this and the program of recovery embodied in the Twelve Steps. In learning to practice these steps in my daily living, I began to acquire faith and a philosophy to live by. Whole new vistas were opened up for me, new avenues of experience to be explored, and life began to take on color and interest. In time, I found myself looking forward to each new day with pleasurable anticipation.”

Surrender

On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in A.A. only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit “bottom” in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.

The great mystery is: “Why do some of us die alcoholic deaths, fighting to preserve the ‘independence’ of our ego, while others seem to sober up effortlessly in A.A.?” Help from a Higher Power, the gift of sobriety, came to me when an otherwise unexplained desire to stop drinking coincided with my willingness to accept the suggestions of the men and women of A.A. I had to surrender, for only by reaching out to God and my fellows could I be rescued.

Dianne