IT MIGHT TAKE UP TO 10 YEARS JUST TO MASTER THE BASIC PROGRAM –
“When our lives
seem to be falling apart,
we reapply ourselves to
the basics of the … program.
We stay in close contact with
our sponsor, work the steps,
and go to meetings. We sur-
render again, knowing that
victory lies in the ad-
mission of defeat.”
(It Works, How &
Why, p. 10)
HOW POWERLESSNESS MAKES ROOM FOR GRACE -“We are not cured … . What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” (The Big Book, p. 85)
CUZ “PNP” (PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION) GETS US WHERE WE NEED TO BE –
“The point is, that
we are willing to grow
along spiritual lines. The
principles we have set down
are guides to progress. We
claim spiritual progress ra
ther than spiritual per
fection.” (The Big
Book, p. 60)
AND A SIMPLER UNIVERSE WILL UNFOLD – “Our groups work as well as they do because they keep it simple, lest anything get in the way of carrying our message as simply and directly as possible, one addict to another.” (It Works. How & Why p. 139)
“In a country that was built on a protest.” “You say to protest is wrong because you spoke out of turn. Because you spoke up for people that were marginalized.” “You spoke up for people that we don’t want to care about. In a country built on people who speak out of turn, who spoke out of turn, who thought out of turn, to build a nation. I come from a long line of people who have resisted.”
– Rep. Justin J. Pearson on protest desire (1994 – ). Expelled from the Tennessee State House on 4/6/2023. The first since the Civil War.
“A friend should be one in whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity.” – Robert Hall (1764 – 1831) British clergyman (on friendships w/ an addict)
“The exodus
from Egypt occurs
in every human being,
in every era, in every
year, and in every
day.”
– Rabbi Nachman Breslov (1772 – 1810) Ukrainian Rabbi who revived the Hasidic movement
“All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals– usually brief–were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization.” “Over any considerable period, we get worse, never better.” (The Big Book, p. 30)
“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” – Bernard Bailey (1916 – 1996) U.S. comic book founding-father
HAPPY, SLAPPY JOY & FUN CAN BE CONTAGIOUS – “… we are not a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t, want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life.” (Life with Hope, p. 162)