Avoid the Battle

"Part

of the

happiness

of life

consists

not in

fighting

battles,

but in avoiding them.

A masterly retreat is in itself a victory." ~ Norman Vincent Peale


God said other people will be just as other people want to be.

God said this world will be just as He/She wants it to be and your

vote will eventually become a footnote in a long forgotten history

book, if it is even remembered at all.

Today, avoid the battle, work with God, not against God,

to make this world a better, happier place for yourself,

others and the God of your understanding.

Acceptance will be the answer to all of your problems today.

Happiness is not keeping a count of who wins or who loses.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

United

"Our soul

is not

united

to our

body

in the

ordinary

sense of these terms.

It is immediately and directly united to God alone."

~ Nicolas Malebranche

To be spiritual is not to be united; body, mind and soul, but to

be conscious of each element of your being and give it the time,

care and respect that each part of your existance is due.

Being conscious allows one to keep a balance in your life.

Drunks and addicts know unconscious, only too well.

Keep the body healthy, the mind filled with kind thoughts and

a soul that is united with the God of your understanding and

you will be the person the Great Creator wants you to be.

Happiness is a soul that is united with the Spirit of the Universe.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

We Love to Love

"Love is

always

bestowed

as a gift -

freely,

willingly

and without

expectation.

We don't love

to be loved; we love to love." ~ Leo Buscaglia


If no one has told you yet today, God loves you and so do I.

It is so easy to say I love you, but to have a kind

and loving heart and to mean what you say, only you

and your Higher Power will truly know how you feel.

Have patience and tolerance for the soul sick and the emotional

needy who demand love, but really just need attention.

Today, express your love, tell yourself, tell everyone you meet,

tell the Spirit of the Universe how much you love life.

Happiness is knowing how to love to love.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Nature's Purpose

"Cats

are

intended

to teach

us

that not

everything

in nature

has a

purpose. " ~ Garrison Keillor


God's will for this world is or will be revealed to man

when and if God wants man to know.

Making assumptions that we know who or what God is or is not

is the domain of the philosophers and the preachers who cannot

tell the difference between a cat and a dog.

Be kind, be loving, don't think, do not drink and go to meetings

where you can share the love.

Today, know that your purpose is to make this world

a better place for all cats, dogs, trees, people and the rest

of Mother Natures domain.

Happiness is a cat nap.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Conquer

"He who

conquers

others

is strong;

He who

conquers

himself

is mighty."

~ Lao Tzu


God grant me the serenity to accept those who I cannot control,

and the courage to conquer myself and my demons.

Strength eventually grows old, but courage never dies.

Do not point fingers, do not blamer others for your demons,

a Higher Power made you uniquely capable to do his will,

if you will only choose to do the next right thing.

To conquer your demons find a friend,

a person who has been there and done that,

a person who can show you how honesty, open-mindedness

and willingness to do the will of a loving Higher Power

can conquer all fears.

Happiness is an ego that has been conquered by the Spirit of Love.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Stressless

"The

greatest

weapon

against

stress

is our

ability

to choose

one thought

over another." ~ William James


I think I will have another drink, I think I will not.

I think I will have another doughnut, I think I will not.

I think I will bet on one more chance, I think I will not.

I think I will go shopping for something I must have, not today.

Choose to do the next right thing.

Choose to have faith that the result of good choices is no stress.

Choose to have a Higher Power whose will it is for you to be kind,

loving, patient and tolerant and stress-less.

Happiness is choosing the stressless thought.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Fill'er Up

"Empty

pockets

never held

anyone

back.

Only

empty heads

and

empty hearts

can do that. " ~ Norman Vincent Peale

When it is the will of a Higher Power you can always find a way.

Kind thoughts take up very little space.

Loving hearts are lighter than prayer.

With love, all things are possible.

Patience and tolerance for those who are trying to do their best

in service to self, others and their Great Creator will fill your head

and heart with all that is needed to keep you going.

Today, keep the tank full and give the rat race a dose of your best.

Happiness is never being held back.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Grace

"Laughter

is the

closest

thing

to the

grace

of God." ~ Karl Barth

The definition of grace as given by Merriam:

"unmerited divine assistance given humans

for their regeneration or sanctification."

Laughter gives a meaning to life.

Laughter renews the reason to live.

Laughter is a free gift from your Higher Power, use it

every day to spread the will of a loving Higher Power.

Learn to laugh at yourself, but only with others.

Laugh often, sing loud, and dance when you get the chance!

Happiness is knowing that all of life is grace.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Complicated?

"Life

is really

simple,

but we

insist on

making it

complicated."

~ Confucius


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

Be kind.

Be loving.

Be patient and tolerant.

Be the person that your Higher Power wants you to be.

Avoid mean people.

Do not go to evil places.

Do not do those things which cause guilt and shame.

Happiness is Keeping It Simple in Sobriety.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Perceive Differently

"If you

change

the way

you look

at things,

the things

you look at

change."

~ Wayne Dyer

The benefit of doing the fourth step of the twelve steps

of AA is that we are given a chance to see ourselves differently.

We learn to see what part we had to play in our actions and how

much the alcoholic addiction had to do with making our decisions.

Stress, anxiety, fear and anger are but a few of the misguided

emotions we used to justify our behaviors, to enable alcohol

to control our lives.

The difference is kindness, love, patience and tolerance and a

dependence on a faith in a Higher Power to enjoy an emotionally

serene life that is beyond our wildest dreams.

Same life, same you, different perspective.

Happiness is learning to perceive differently.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Be Believable

"A liar

will not

be

believed,

even

when

he

speaks

the truth." ~ Aesop

Family, friends, acquaintances, employers and everyone

who has been lied to by a drunk will have a hard time

ever believing anything they may say.

Those who have been lied to may have become deaf, they

no longer want to hear the words, they want to see the actions.

Be patient, ten years of drunken lying will usually take

ten years of sober truth to become believable.

Some may never want to believe you again.

Only you and your Higher Power know if what you speak

comes from a heart that is honest and true.

Happiness is knowing that you are believable.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Utopia

"It is

not

talking

but

walking

that will

bring us

to heaven. "

~ Matthew Henry

The story goes that Bill W. was out voted by the committee

who helped write the Big Book and therefore the word Utopia

replaced the word Heaven on page 16.

Bill noted that the good life is right here on Earth for those

who know sobriety.

Call the good life whatever you may , Heaven, Utopia, Eden,

or Jan-nah, however, you must know it is not the word but

the action that will have the greatest meaning.

Today, act kind, act loving, act like the person the God of your

understanding wants you to act.

Happiness is making this life the best life.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Essentially

"The grand

essentials of

happiness

are:

something to do,

something to love,

and

something to hope for."

~ Allan K. Chalmers

What the alcoholic essentially needs to do is to stop drinking.

Something to do is to be kind, loving, patient and tolerant,

and be the person your Higher Power expects you to be.

Something to love is yourself, others and this beautiful world

give to all by the Great Creator.

Something to hope for is a better world, happy, joyous and free

because you are willing to do the next right thing in service to

yourself, others and the Spirit of the Universe.

Happiness is essentially an inside job.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Winning Attitude

"When

you are

thwarted,

it is

your own

attitude

that is

out of order. "

~ Meister Eckhart


Learn to live life on God's terms.

God said so, therefore, if you agree with God

you will never be thwarted.

God will grant you the serenity, the peace of mind and a happy,

joyous and free life if your attitudes come from a kind heart.

Have faith that the courage needed to change the things

that you can will be there when your attitude improves.

Have a winning attitude, the one that can best be of loving

service to self, others and the God of your understanding.

Happiness is never being thwarted.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Put Love First

"Put love

first.

Entertain

thoughts

that give life.

And when a

thought of

resentment,

or hurt,

or fear

comes your way,

have another thought that is more powerful -

- a thought that is love." ~ Mary Manin Morrissey

Believe in yourself, your thoughts are powerful.

Believe in yourself, your words are powerful.

Believe in yourself, your actions are your character.

Believe that if you do the will of a loving Higher Power

you can change the world, one person at a time,

beginning with yourself.

Resentments are poison, hurts will heal, and fear is a lack

of knowing which can be chased away by the truth,

if you can only believe in yourself.

Happiness is first believing in and loving yourself.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

The Soul

"The soul

can split

the sky

in two

and let

the face

of God

shine through."

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay


We may think with our heads, we may feel with our hearts,

but only with a soul that is guided by the intuition provided by

the Great Creator can we live a life that is happy, joyous and free.

Pray that your soul will have the strength and courage

to do the next right thing.

Meditate to learn the will of your loving Higher Power.

Be kind, be loving, be patient and tolerant and be the person

that the Spirit of the Universe expects you to be.

Happiness is a soul that loves.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

First Things First

'The place

to improve

the world

is first

in one's

own heart

and head

and hands."

~ Robert M. Pirsig

The world cannot know love until you first teach it.

The world cannot know peace until you first experience it.

The world cannot know prosperity until first you earn it.

When you are of service to a loving Higher Power you first

become the person whose attitude will change the world.

The first choice is to do good.

Those who know evil must first change,

and then the world will improve.

Happiness is first improving ones-self,

and then watching the world change because of you.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Imagination

"Happiness

is not

an ideal

of reason,

but of

imagination."


Immanuel Kant


Imagine the calm, the serene.

Imagine the laughter, the joy.

Imagine the peace, the contentment.

Imagine the freedom from guilt and remorse.

That which is good, that which you can dream,

that which is not beyond hope, that is your happiness,

imagine that.

Know that a Higher Power imagined this for all of us,

learn to share that image and let it be your happiness.

Happiness is having a vivid imagination.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Be Rational

"The

irrational

in the

human

has

something

about it

altogether

repulsive and terrible,

as we see in the maniac, the miser, the drunkard or the ape."

~ George Santayana

Be rational, have friends and family be the mirror of your soul.

Learn to listen to those who want the best for you and themselves.

Learn that the repulsive and the terrible are just emotional signs

that changes must be made.

You can only change you, you may change your attitude, you may

change the people you congregate with, you may change the places

you go and you may change the things you chose to do.

Today, make changes to avoid being repulsive and terrible.

Today, do what your rational Higher Power expects you to do.

Happiness is knowing your rational self.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Blame Yourself

"A great

many people

think they

are thinking

when they

are merely

rearranging

their prejudices. " ~ William James

You cannot blame your family, blame your teachers, or blame

those who did or do not like you for any of your problems.

Problems are caused by attitudes, your attitudes.

Be kind, be loving, be the person God wants you to be and

most of your problems will go away.

Avoid mean and ignorant people, do not go to evil places,

do not do anything that you cannot tell your mother and

most of your problems will go away.

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

Happiness is thanking God for the chance to live well.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Willing Butterfly

"How does

one

become a

butterfly?

You must

want to fly

so much

that you

are willing

to give up being a caterpillar.'' ~ Trina Paulus


How does an alcoholic / addict, the person with the bad habit

become a well person ? They must be willing to change.

Not only must the addicted change their attitude, they must

also change the people, places and things in their lives.

If it has anything to do with the addiction or the habit,

be willing to give it up.

Find a friend, the family, a teacher, a preacher or the book

of your choice, a someone or something that can lead you

to the spiritual path.

If you are willing, the change will materialize.

Happiness is being the willing butterfly.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

A Kind Heart

"A kind

heart

is a

fountain

of gladness,

making

everything

in its

vicinity

freshen into smiles." ~ Washington Irving

Think kindness, think love, remember patience and tolerance,

and strive to be the person that the Great Creator,

the Spirit of the Universe, your Higher Power wants you to be.

Today, be the metaphor, allow your heart to gush forth with kindness,

give all who are in your vicinity a smile of warm friendship.

Remember those who have passed from this life and give thanks

for their memories, but live now with a glad heart to build better

memories for those we meet today.

Happiness is having a kind heart that creates smiles.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Playing God

"It is

very

lonely

sometimes,

trying

to play

God."


~ Oliver Wendell Holmes


If you would like to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

To play God you must know how to make the sun to rise,

the moon to set, the tides to come and go and to make

your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to do exactly

as you want them to do.

The wisest know that all that is required to be happy is to try

your hardest to do your best to be of service to yourself, others

and the Higher Power of your understanding.

Today, be wise enough to let others be others and God to be God.

Happiness is just being yourself.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Measure Up

"To

measure

the man,

measure

his heart."

Malcolm Forbes



Looks can be deceiving.

Thinking can be confusing.

Doing the wrong thing leads to misery.

The soul that lives with a loving heart is never deceiving,

rarely confused and is always happy.

A Higher Power made every heart different so that we can

all contribute to making this world a better place to live.

In God's eye everything is beautiful, nothing is confusing and a

mistake is just another way of learning to do the next right thing.

Accept life on God's terms and you to can be happy.

Happiness is a heart that measures up.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Your Problems

"The best

years of

your life

are the

ones in which

you decide

your problems

are your own.

You realize that you control your own destiny. " ~ Albert Ellis

If you think you have a problem, solve it.

Family, friends, neighbors, God or aliens cannot be blamed for

your attitudes or your current living conditions, they only

contributed to the chances, you made the choices.

Be happy, try harder, reach out for guidance, but know in your

heart that you control your own destiny.

Find a balance in your life, the middle of the road which you chose

to travel, a direction that is the will of a loving Higher Power.

Learn to look for all the positives in every situation and create a life

for yourself that is full of exciting challenges that come from being

of service to self, others and the God of your understanding.

Happiness is being in control of only yourself.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Smile

"Smile,

it is

the key

that fits

the lock

of

everybody's

heart."

~ Anthony J. D'Angelo


Happy is an attitude and attitudes are easily spotted by the look

on one's face.

Wear a good attitude on your face and in your posture, it can turn

ugly into beautiful as quick as you can turn a frown into a smile.

There are times when a smile seems impossible, do not force the

smile, look for the positive that will bring on the happy smile.

Smiles are contagious, it is more fun to be in a room full of

potential friends than a room full of possible enemies.

A great smile is a sign that you are grateful for living the

life that your Higher Power has willed for you.

Happiness is a smile caused by a loving heart.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Spiritual Humility

"Spiritual

power

begins by

directing

animal

power

to other

than

egoistic ends."

~ John Ruskin

Man oh man, is the world all about man ??

There is a Higher Power who; does not look like a man,

does not think like a man and does not act like a

man or woman, the definition of true spiritual humility,

I am not God.

As man has evolved we have become a little more aware

of how insignificant our speck of mud is in this universe.

The strongest will survive.

Strength is having the faith to believe that by doing the will

of a loving Great Creator you can make this world

a better place for all to live in.

Live and let live, enjoy this spiritual existence that is cloaked

in this human body, and give thanks to the God of your understanding

for giving you the chance to have the experience.

Enjoy today, the meaning of yesterday and tomorrow will be

revealed in God's time, not man's.

Happiness is feeling the Spirit of the Universe within you.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Courage Counts

"Success

is never

final.

Failure

is never

fatal.

It is

courage

that counts."

~ Winston Churchill

Today is a new day, set your goals and try to do your best.

Remember yesterdays successes were done yesterday

and try to repeat them today.

We cannot live on our past laurels, to get a reward today,

achieve a goal today.

Remember yesterdays failures and try not to repeat them.

A failure is an opportunity to learn what does no work.

Have the courage to face today and learn to accept that

life will go on and we must learn to keep up with it.

Keep it simple, be kind, smile, be loving, say please and thank you,

be the person your Higher Power wants you to be.

Happiness is having the courage to live in reality.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Make Music

"Of

all the

music

that

reached

farthest

into heaven,

it is the beating of a loving heart." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

The rhythm of the loving heart is in sync with the

Spirit of the Universe.

A loving heart beats much louder than the guilty heart.

The loving heart creates harmonious echoes that will be heard

for many generations to come.

The best loving heart is attached to a kind mind.

Today, allow your actions to teach by good example that

happy, joyous and free lives are the rewards of the loving heart

that makes beautiful music with the God of your understanding.

Happiness is feeling the contented beat of a loving heart.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss

Perfect Change

"To live

is to

change,

and

to be

perfect

is to

have

changed

often."

~ John Henry Newman

Perfect is between you and your Higher Power.

Perfect is using the talents and skills given to you by a loving

Great Creator to be capable of doing his will.

To do something that no one can find fault with is impossible,

therefore, do not worry about all others, concern yourself

only with those who can help you make your life better.

To become perfect, change if you must, avoid mean people,

do not go to evil places, and stop bad habits.

Perfect is trying your hardest to be kind, to be loving,

to be patient and tolerant and most importantly, to change what

you must to do the will of your Higher Power.

Happiness is simply trying to change for the better, often.

Happiness is helping someone help themselves.

ME and the Boss