Some wonder why the same thought that we had come across in our religious studies couldn't help us overcome our alcoholism, but when heard spoken by another alcoholic, had a profound effect...
To believe that the world is something separate, an entity unto itself, would be to accept that G‑d is not really everything. This would assume that He is one thing and that the world is another thing.
We must never forget that life started to become more manageable only after we admitted that we were powerless. If any good has happened since then, it is not as a result of anything we have done...
In choosing recovery over active addiction, we are not battling between two equal opposing forces. It's nothing more than a choice that exists in order to give meaning to our lives as sober people.
If we cannot give up our worries about the future, then our trust in Him is tenuous, conditional and half-hearted. What we are really telling G‑d is that our relationship with Him is conditional.
Certain opportunities exist that are so sublime that they cannot be evoked through a conscious act. They are so holy that we do not have the power to make them happen. They have to come along on their own.
But is being unhappy a sin? How can one be punished for a thing like that? If G‑d punishes people for being unhappy, that would rather seem like kicking a man when he's down.
Every individual possesses some unique advantage over every other. Each member of the nation has some positive quality that is unique to him or her. Every individual is uniquely needed and indispensable.
When we were humiliated and dejected, we accepted that we would have to change ourselves. But when life starts to return to normalcy, we lose the sense of urgency we so keenly felt at first...
Our spiritual awakening in Step 12 takes us back to the very First Step; it reminds us how the spiritual lives we now have began out of darkness, chaos and void. It is now our job to once again transform our lives with light, order and fulfillment.
It takes courage and strength to change the course of generations.
Seven times the Torah warns the Jews who have left Egypt, “Quit it with the animal blood already!” To this second generation Moses says, “Be strong, and don’t consume blood.”