Practicing...repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency

Whoa...Saturday I went to my meetings and to Birthday Night celebrations which was powerful, lovely, humbling.  I'm glad I went.  There was a woman who received her 37th year of sobriety chip and it was so heart-warming as she stood there, a trembling age-weakened hand on her cane.  She said she remembered there were so many who helped her along the path and they're all dead but not gone, as she pointed to her heart.  I'd never seen her before but I loved her deeply.  After the meeting I went to give her a hug and thanked her.  She asked me who I was as if it mattered, then an AA woman approached and asked if I was Carol. She wanted me to meet a Hispanic woman looking for help in Al-Anon.  The AA women were instrumental in linking, networking in helping a suffering Al-Anon woman...dear GOD, I'm truly humbled and touched by this all because at no time did I doubt what to do.  Lord, I might never see her again...I listened to her, gave her a How Al-Anon Works book, invited her to the Saturday morning meeting, encouraged her to get phone numbers and write them in her book---call me anytime, to start from page 1, 2, 3 and listen to Al-Anon Salvador Valades on YOUTUBE.  Jeesh.  I haven't heard from her since.  Well, this happened Saturday night about 9:15pm and it's Monday morning.  Let Go and Let GOD, Carol.  It's all seedwork, anywhooo.  LOL

Anyway, I didn't blog on Saturday or Sunday.  Although I did the readings and spent quiet time on Saturday, not so on Sunday and oh, Lord Almighty...I can tell the difference.  I saw a TV program where there is a perilous, moss-covered, slippery cliff slope.  Occasionally people and animals get too close, then slid off into great danger, sometimes landing on a ledge then rescuers try to haul them back up.  Uh-huh.  When I fail to do my morning spiritual hygiene it's like that.  I just get too damn close to the slope to Hell.  Jeesh.  My rescuer is my Higher Power.  So far, so good.  Thank YOU, GOD.  I need YOU.

Day by Day, 7-7, titled Being a good 12 Stepper, "...danger...try to impress rather than carry the message, and when we get grandiose or mysterious...not our power or shining personalities that aid people...GOD's love and beauty shining through us provides the real help...our steady hands, clear minds, and GOD's works that others respond to...We only carry the message---GOD delivers it...Lord, YOUR Work is not my power or my glory---Let me be grateful to be one of YOUR instruments.

7-8, Getting Rid of Anger, "...masks that anger hides behind are gossip, slander, backstabbing, profanity, faultfinding, resentment, quarrelsomeness, impatience, mockery, and irritability....an old pattern that we need to break to make any progress...shed anger by inventorying it, praying to be rid of it and practicing not to get angry...GOD help me today to practice the virtues of patience and love, for if I am loving I cannot be angry."

Daily Reflections, p. 196, A quote from AA's 12 Steps & 12 Traditions, p.76, "The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear..." "...When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depressed...look for fear.  This "evil and corroding thread" is the root...fear of failure, fear of others' opinions; fear of harm, and many other fears....Step 7 is my vehicle to freedom from these defects.  I pray for help in identifying the fear underlying the defect, and then I ask GOD to relive me of that fear.  This method works for me without fail and is one of the great miracles of my life..."

p.197,  a quote from AA's 12 Steps & 12 Traditions, p.76, "...primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded.  Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration.  Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands.  The difference between a demand and a simple request is plain to anyone."  "Peace is possible for me only when I let go of expectations.  When I'm trapped in the thoughts about what I want and what should be coming to me...in a state of fear or anxious anticipation...not conducive to emotional sobriety....must surrender---over and over---to the reality of my dependence on GOD, for then I find peace, gratitude, and spiritual security."

p. 198, a quote from AA's 12 Steps & 12 Traditions, p.76, "The 7th Step is where we make the change in our attitude which permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from ourselves toward others and toward GOD."  "When I finally asked GOD to remove those things blocking me from Him and the Sunlight of the Spirit...embarked on a journey more glorious ..a freedom from those characteristics that had me wrapped up in myself...now able to be useful to GOD and to my fellows..has granted me strength to do His bidding...prepared me for anyone and any thing, that comes my way today...truly in His Hands...give thanks for the joy that I can be useful today."

One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, p.189, "What's so important about being right?...complicate our lives and aggravate our difficulties by insisting our views be accepted...In the tensions that are a part of living...this attitude can make trouble for us...Why don't I just Let Go and Let GOD?...apply Easy Does It to every incident that might increase the tension and cause an explosion...realize that an exchange of hostile words will not help me to find the serenity I want.  Why should I react to criticism and accusation, justified or not?  What can i gain by heated denials and irrationl discussions? In a neurotic environment, anything can start a row....need not take part...ignore it---cheerfully if I can...excellent technique for avoiding dissension."  "To withdraw from an argument may not make you a winner, but what you have saved is your own dignity and grace."

p.190, "The way I speak often reveals more than what I say.  To make the program work for me, it is important to be living it.  This will reveal itself in everything I do or say.  "By listening to more than mere words, I can learn much more than mere words can teach."

Courage to Change, p.189, "...thought...essential to assign blame...a chronic scorekeeper...consumed by guilt and anger.  Defensive and anxious... own back was always covered...disputes come up even when everyone is doing their best.  Obsessively reviewing everyone's behavior focuses my attention where it doesn't belong...keeps me too busy to have any serenity.  instead...consider the part I have played.  If I made mistakes...free to make amends...conflict is not necessarily an indication that someone is wrong.  Difficulties may just arise.  Sometimes people just disagree...can consider the possibility that everything is happening exactly as it should...blame is just an excuse to keep busy so I don't have to feel the discomfort of my powerlessness."

p.190, "...basic principles is living "One Day at a Time, and nature surrounds me with wonderful role models...All of creation is going about the business of living.  If I keep my eyes open, I can learn to do the same."  "I discovered the secret of the sea in meditation upon a dewdrop."---Kahlil Gibran

As We Understood, p.248, His wife said it was time they talked.  They went for a walk.  He started repeating the Serenity Prayer  and "Let Go and Let GOD" to himself, turned over the results, whatever they might be, over to his Higher Power, and asked for acceptance.  The result was the end of their marriage...not what he wanted to hear, wanted to hear they were in love and would live happily ever after.  Later met someone, mutual love, etc.  So they married.

In All Our Affairs, p. 173, titled Doing What's Right for Me, "...been on my own...the freedom I feel in my inner person is indescribable.  It's so good not to be struggling to survive the fear of the emotional and physical abuse...She said, "Mom, you are a big girl, and you can do what you want; you don't owe me an explanation."...both partners have to be willing to do the hard work it takes for each to become healthy individuals, and then to work together and support each other in building a healthy relationship."

Dear Lord GOD  Creator Almighty, You're awesomely amazing!  Please help me be of maximum service to YOU and my brothers and sisters.  Love, Carol xoxox