OTHERWISE, SELF-WILL ENDS & COMPULSION BEGINS –
“Like self-starvation
with food or compul-
sive debting or hoard-
ing with money, depriva-
tion with sex can make
one feel powerful and
defended against all
hurts.” (Sexual Anor-
exia, p. 1)
“By bringing about a change in our outlook toward things and events, all phenomena can become sources of happiness.” – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama (1935 – ) On being happy
“Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.” – Paulo Coelho (1947 – ) Brazilian novelist/lyricist on paying the price
“Honesty is
the first chapter
of the book of wisdom.”
– Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) U.S. President
“This is the bitterest pain among men [and women], to have much knowledge but no power.” Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) Greek, Historian
GIVING COMFORT AND UNDERSTANDING – “He thought it better to give comfort than to receive it; better to understand than to be understood; better to forgive than to be forgiven.” (12 & 12, p. 101)
“But we need not fear that we can lose anything by the progress of the soul. The soul may be trusted to the end.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) U.S. Poet, Transcendentalist and lecturer on the unknown
“The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities … . It is best to win without fighting.”- Sun-tzu (~400 BC) Chinese general & military strategist on how best to achieve a surrender
Today’s SFZ
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)
NO NEED TO KNOW IT ALL RIGHT NOW – “In realizing that we don’t have all the answers, we begin to find some humility. We may not grasp the full impact of what being humble means, but our open-mindedness assures us that we have found and have begun to demonstrate this valuable quality.” (It Works, How & Why, p. 16)