God Given

"Find out

how much

God

has given

you and

from it

take what

you need;

the remainder is needed by others." ~ Saint Augustine

When given sobriety the alcoholic must be grateful

to a Higher Power for their second chance to live a life

that is happy, joyous and free.

To pass along their experience, strength and hope to another

sufferer allows one to grow in honesty, open-mindedness

and willingness, the three principles of spirituality.

If you do not have it, you cannot give it.

If you do not give it, you cannot keep it.

Happiness is giving as much as you can,

knowing you will get more in return.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Fairy Tales

"Every

man's

life

is a

fairy tale

written

by

God's fingers." ~ Hans Christian Andersen

"The Ugly Duckling," is Andersen's metaphor for the alcoholic

who is able to find recovery, one day at a time.

From the sot that no one wants to associate with, the one who

is scorned by others and the one who has no self confidence,

God's fingers work their magic and the sot becomes a useful

and beautiful example of God's handiwork.

Happiness is growing to fulfill God's promise for being you.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Problem Solved

"If

the only

tool

you have

is a

hammer,

you tend

to see

every problem

as a nail." ~ Abraham Maslow

To the alcoholic, drinking is the hammer to solve all problems.

To the recovering ex-drinker, a problem is just a new

opportunity to make this world a better place for all.

To recover from chaos and dilemma learn to be kind,

loving, patient and tolerant and the person your

Higher Power expects you to be.

If you do not have the right tool for the job, ask a friend to help,

learn that life is not a choice between the lesser of two evils

but a chance to choose between the better of two goods.

Happiness is knowing which is the right tool for the job at hand.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

Me and the Boss

To Tell the Truth

"A

harmful

truth

is

better

than

a

useful lie." ~ Thomas Mann

God, or the Higher Power of your understanding,

created every one of us to do His/Her will, which is

to make this world a better place for us having been here.

A lie only prolongs the agony while the world waits to find

the real truth.

Today, be the person your Higher Power expects you to be,

sober, kind, loving, patient and tolerant and one who always

tells the truth.

Happiness is doing the right thing so that you do not have to lie

to cover up the fact that you did the wrong thing.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Be Wise

"It requires

wisdom to

understand

wisdom:

the music

is nothing

if the audience is deaf." ~ Walter Lippmann

Wisdom is knowledge, insight and judgment learned

from those who have gone before us.

A smart person learns from their own mistakes,

a wise person learns from the mistakes of others.

Better yet, learn from the successes of others.

Insight and judgment come from choosing to do the next

right thing and by following the will of a loving Higher Power.

The lesson is in vain if you turn a deaf ear to the teacher.

Happiness is being willing to hear the wisdom of God.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Wrong or Right

"No persons

are more

frequently

wrong,

than those

who will

not admit

they are wrong." ~ Francois De La Rochefoucauld

It is O.K. to be wrong, some of the time, otherwise we would not

know what to change to try to improve our lives.

It is O.K. to be right, most of the time, which means you have

learned that the will of your Higher Power is to love and share.

Wrong or right, which is better??

The best is to know the difference between right and wrong

and be willing to honestly admit when you have done either.

Happiness is being right most of the time.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

No Problem

"Life

is not a

problem

to be

solved,

but a

reality

to be experienced." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality is to make the right choices.

Choose to do the next right thing in service to self, others

and a Higher Power who is Love.

Choose to be kind, lovable, sweet and generous to a fault,

the more you give away the more you receive.

Are you and your bad habits, your addictive behaviors,

and your negative attitudes the problems in your life??

Time to choose a better reality, an experience to be enjoyed.

Happiness is choosing to surround yourself in a marvelous reality.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Can You Think

"I'm

not

so

think

as you

drunk

I am."

~ John Squire


Physically, morally, emotionally and spiritually,

the inverted thinking of the alcoholic has upset many lives.

Alcoholic stinking thinking has ruined many things;

families, jobs, relationships, and possessions to name a few.

Don't think, don't drink, go to meetings and

don't drink between meetings.

With the help of the fellowship and a sponsor learn to guide the

thinking in the direction of doing the will of your Higher Power.

Happiness is no denial thinking.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Laughter

"It is more

fitting

for a man

to laugh

at life

than to

lament

over it." ~ Seneca

Too many people take life much too seriously.

Too many people struggle to make life what

they perceive to be perfect.

Don't worry, don't fight it, go with the flow and

learn to laugh.

Look for people, places and things that make you feel good

and ask for help, reach out and ask to be included.

When invited to join the crowd, be patient, don't try so hard to fit in,

learn to ride the train before you ask to run it.

Happiness is learning what makes you feel good.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Good Directions

"It takes

little talent

to see

clearly

what lies

under

one's nose,

but a good

deal of talent

to know in which direction to point that organ." ~ W. H. Auden

Most people know which way their nose is pointed,

except for the drunk or the emotionally unbalanced

who get their direction from their addiction.

The sufferer usually can't believe or do not want to believe

what lies right under their nose.

Seek direction from family, the functional ones, friends,

the sober ones, and a Higher Power, the one whose directions

everyone should be following.

Happiness is not in where we stand, but in what direction

we are moving, we must sail sometimes with the wind

and sometimes against it.

Happiness is clearly seeing good in the direction one is headed.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

No Sin

"I count

religion

but a

childish

toy,

and hold

there is

no sin

but ignorance." ~Christopher Marlowe

The sins against God, the sins against humanity, the sins

of self abuse are thoughts and actions which cause remorse

and regret.

Learn to be kind, learn to be loving, learn to be the person

your Higher Power expects you to be, the person who seeks

to do the next right thing.

Happiness is having no regrets.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Small Miracles

A

coincidence

is a

small miracle

in which

God chooses

to remain

anonymous.

" When we do the best that we can,
we never know what miracle is wrought in our life,
or in the life of another." ~ Helen Keller

A Higher Power, the Great Creator, the Spirit of the Universe,

the God of your understanding, has created us, a breathing,

walking, talking, thinking, feeling miracle that is designed

to perform His will to the best of our abilities.

Being at the right place at the right time to perform a miracle

is the coincidence, the chance, that God will provide,

that you choose to do the next right thing is your choice.

Showing kindness and unconditional love

are the right things to do.

Happiness is recognizing the magnitude of God's miracles.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

The Nearest and Dearest

God

will give

you

the chance,

who

you keep

as a

friend

is your choice.


"Yes, we must ever be friends;
and of all who offer you friendship
Let me be ever the first, the truest,
the nearest and dearest!" ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

You must first be a friend to have a friend.

If you want nice friends, be a nice person.

If you can trust yourself, you can trust a friend.

Mothers can become best friends to their children,

only after the child has learned the lesson.

Friendship is mutually earned by sharing common interests,

similar feelings and a desire to share the spiritual principles

of honesty, open mindedness and willingness.

Share with a friend today how near and dear they are to you.

Happiness is being the nearest and dearest friend to a nice person.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Change the Eyes

"Since

we

cannot

change

reality,

let us

change

the eyes

which see reality." ~ Nikos Kazantzakis

What a constant theme in our lives, look for the change,

accept the change and better yet, try to change to make

this world a better place for all .

Today, try to see what part you play in the problems of your

life, the reality, or are you blaming others, finding excuses,

being selfish and self-centered, living in the fantasy world

your addictive behaviors have created.

Today, start looking for a way to be a part of the solution.

Happiness is seeing reality as God's will.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Drunkenness

"If merely

''feeling good''

could decide,

drunkenness

would be

the supremely

valid human experience."

~ William James


Physically, drunkenness produces hangovers and dead brain cells.

Emotionally, drunkenness is selfish and self-centered.

Morally, drunkenness makes one do anything for love.

Spiritually, drunkenness hides the will of a loving Higher Power.

The supremely valid human experience is to learn and enjoy success,

a success that is the result of doing the will of a loving Divine Creator.

Happiness is learning that "feeling good" comes from success.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Live in the Present

"..as you

live

in the

present

to the best

of your

ability,

you create

the future

you are meant to have." ~ Lolly Daskal

Ask for help to the best of your ability.

Ask family, ask a friend, ask a professional, ask Gary,

look it up in a book, look it up on the internet, there

are billions of sets of directions on how to live life,

just choose what fits your talents and skills and ask God

to help you apply the lessons to your life.

Self will run riot is the direction of gloom and doom.

Today is different, the world has changed, others have changed,

and you must also change if you want to do the will of your

Higher Power, to the best of your ability.

Have faith,

the future you are meant to have is happy, joyous and free.

Happiness is enjoying changes for the better.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Happy Is As Happy Does

An

attitude

of

gratitude

is the

start

to being

Happy.


"Happiness is the only good.
The time to be happy is now.
The place to be happy is here.
The way to be happy is to make others so." ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

The coin has two sides and the odds are that when flipped

the coin will land on one side or the other 50% of the time.

Such is life, we can believe in God's odds

or we can make our own odds.

Those who choose the odds provided by the Divine Master

will find gratitude on both sides of the coin,

if they just have the right attitude.

Today, begin every deep breath with hope, faith and a

spirit of happy gratitude that you must share with a friend.

Happiness is having a grateful attitude 100% of the time.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Look and Think First

"I have

noticed

even people

who claim

everything

is predestined,

and that we

can do nothing

to change it,

look before they cross the road." ~ Stephen Hawking

You can choose chaos or you can choose serenity.

Chaos is alcoholic stinking thinking, self will run riot,

trying to change God's world by brute force,

not looking before you leap and not thinking before you speak.

Serenity is accepting life on God's terms, doing the will of a loving

Great Creator, being kind, being loving, being patient and tolerant

and looking out for and thinking about others.

Happiness is choosing to look and think first

and then do the next right thing.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Have a Heart

"It is

better

in prayer

to have

a heart

without

words

than words

without a heart." ~ Mohandas Gandhi

Talking without thinking, talking to hear yourself talk,

talking to say what you think someone else wants to hear

are words that are wasted.

Do not talk about it, show the world that you are kind,

loving, patient and tolerant, the person your Higher Power

expects you to be.

In your prayers today, discuss with the Great Maker

how you can have this world be a better place for all.

Happiness is a heart that knows that love is not just a word,

but an action.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and theBoss

See No Evil

"Faith

does not

deny the

evil,

but

it sees

around it."



Source Unknown


Thankfully, no one must live in the past.

Make amends, make restitution, change the errors of your ways,

and give today the best effort you can.

Have faith that a loving Higher Power has given

you all the tools you need to be of maximum service to self,

others and the Spirit of the Universe.

Have faith that the God of your understanding will steer you

around the temptations of evil.

Happiness is to know that you are able to see beyond the evil

while having the faith to believe that there is good on the other side.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

The Worst Man

"The worst

thing about

some men

is that

when they

are not

drunk,

they are sober." ~ William Butler Yeats

What is the use of sobering up if you are going to be

a mean, stupid and ugly person.

Learn to use sobriety as a way to find the kind, loving,

patient and tolerant person that is hiding in your heart,

the person your Higher Power wants you to be.

Stop the pretensions, drop the grandiose, stuff the arrogance

and let the fun and laughter of family and friends allow

you to become an enjoyable sober person that makes

others want what you have.

Peace of mind and serenity are attitudes that are learned and

earned by those who wish to do the will of a loving Higher Power.

Happiness is sobering up to find that a nice person lives in there.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Grow Up

"You're

only

young

once,

but you

can be

immature

forever." ~ Germaine Greer

When the alcoholic/addict uses mind altering poisons

they emotional , mentally, morally and spiritually cease

growing and return to childish behaviors to justify their actions.

When the physical compulsion of the addiction is in control,

the abuser does not even bother to seek justifiable reasons

for their immaturity.

Growing up is hard to do, especially for the drunk.

Don't drink, don't use, don't abuse and find a friend or two who

can guide you towards a path of living that is happy, joyous and free.

Find a Higher Power who will give you the strength to do the adult

next right thing.

Happiness is acting your age.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and theBoss.

Short Drive

"It was

a woman

who drove

me

to drink,

and I never

had the courtesy to thank her for it. " ~ W. C. Fields

Excuses, excuses, excuses, there are none.

The man took a drink, then the drink took a drink,

and finally, the drink took the man.

Driving is not the problem,

it is the final destination that creates the dilemma.

To commence the drive back to sanity the alcoholic drinker

must practice complete abstinence and to correct the

stinking thinking that drove them to the edge of desperation.

Happiness is being driven by the love of a Higher Power.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

What Do I See ?

"The eye

with which

I see

God

is the

same eye

with which

God sees me." ~ Meister Eckhart

Everything we see, think or feel is a gift from a Higher Power.

Remember, as you see God, you see yourself, and vise versa.

You are worthy, you have a reason for being,

do the best you can with what you have and accept the

consequences as being the will of your Higher Power.

See kind, see love and see tolerance and patience and you

will see the person your Higher Power wants you to see.

Happiness is knowing that the soul is a two way mirror.

Happiness is being on the inside, God's side, looking out,

not on the outside, the Devil's side, trying to see in.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Bewitching Smiles

"Laughter

is day,

and

sobriety

is night;

a smile

is the

twilight

that hovers gently between both,

more bewitching than either." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Hovering in balance between laughter and somber solace

is not only bewitching and beautiful, but it is also one of

the greatest emotional joys that can be had.

No rage, no anger, no angst, no guilt , no shame or no reason other

than to enjoy the Spirit of the Universe flowing through your heart,

making life as enjoyable as heaven is perceived to be.

Laugh at yourself, laugh with others but do not laugh at those

who are suffering the misfortune of not meeting your standards.

Allow your thoughts to smile as you try to grow in the

understanding of the will of your loving Higher Power.

Happiness is the bewitched feeling of hovering

between good and better.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Come To Love

"We come

to love

not by

finding a

perfect person

but by

learning

to see

an imperfect person perfectly." ~ Sam Keen

A Higher Power has made something to love in everyone,

sometimes it is something that only a Mother could love,

but usually it is something that God wants to be shared with others.

No one is perfect, but there may be someone

who is perfectly suited for you to love, provided you can be

patient and tolerant of their imperfections.

Active alcoholism, drug addictions, rage and abuse

are not imperfections, they are diseases that must be treated

before the user can be loved.

Ask the family or a friend and pray to your Higher Power for

the strength and the courage to see the difference between

imperfections and diseases.

Happiness is knowing that God has blessed us

with the ability to come to love.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Be An Artist

"The more

I think

about it,

the more

I realize

there is

nothing

more artistic

than to love others."

~ Vincent Van Gogh

Unlimited thinking is the key to being artistic.

Use the key that your Higher Power has given you

and unlock the love that is in your heart.

Love the colours that God has put into this world.

Love the sounds that Mother Nature uses to entertain.

Love all the living creatures

that the Spirit of the Universe dwells within.

Love yourself, love others and love the God of your understanding

so that the pictures and sounds you help create today will be

unlimited in their artistic appeal.

Happiness is unlimited artistic thinking.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Be Led

“Don’t

be pushed

by your

problems;

be led

by your

dreams.”

~Anonymous


Being pushed usually results in resentments against the

pusher, even if the direction one is being pushed towards

is paradise.

Family and friends are there to help you dream, give you

suggestions, point out the potholes in the your path of life,

not to dash your dreams or push you into the swamp of despair.

Today, be led by the dreams of doing the will of a loving

Higher Power, dreams that will lead you to the promised land,

the Heaven that exists right here on Earth.

Happiness is being led by your dreams.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss