Dec. 31, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Don’t brood on what’s past, but never forget it either. — Thomas H. Raddall

When we make big changes in our lives for the better, as we have all done, we naturally grieve the time we lost by not learning our lessons sooner. There’s no way to avoid that grief, but there’s no point in dwelling on it. Some of us get hooked by feelings of regret. We brood over the ways we let others down, and we wish we could relive certain events and do better with them this time. It is important for us all to release the past — let it go.

Our life is now. If we spend our conscious moments living in the past and regretting our mistakes, we never get on with living a good life in the present. A truly humble man accepts the forgiveness of others and the forgiveness of his Higher Power. He accepts the universal truth that we are all broken in some ways, and our self-acceptance isn’t based on what we did or didn’t do in the past, but on how we live today.

Today, I look back at where I have come from and feel grateful for a new life.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 31, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

Today, I need not fear anything for I have endured and survived the horror of active alcoholism and, by the grace of AA and a Higher Power to which it led me, I have emerged not only intact but -- hopefully -- a better person. I have kept the faith in the Program, in its Steps and Principles, in the Power stronger than me, and I found faith in myself that I never had before. My gift has been sobriety the last 24 Hours. Having vested not only my heart and soul but my very life in this Program, I faced few terrors other than those within myself but met them with the guidance of the Steps. Now, nothing can compare and any fear from any source is something I know I can face responsibly, with faith and sobriety. Today, I have nothing to fear except the ghosts of my drinking past, and my Program has strengthened me to move beyond them, to leave the fear behind. Yet I do not take for granted the gift of sobriety as something I am owed or even deserve. I have an obligation to it, and that obligation begins with  gratitude and carrying the message. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2021

Dec. 31, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give AA my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion and, most of all, myself. The Lord’s Prayer has become part of my AA thoughts for each day: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Have I given myself?

Meditation for the Day

As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the extent that we have put good thoughts, good words and good deeds into it. None of what we have thought, said or done need be wasted. Both the good and the bad experiences can be profited by. In a sense, the past is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or evil, is with us at the present moment. We can only learn by experience and none of our experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good things of the year that has gone.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I may carry on with faith, with prayer and with hope.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 31, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

Reflection for the Day

God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change; COURAGE to change the things I can; and WISDOM to know the difference – living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it: Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.

Today I Pray

May I look back at this past year as a good one, in that nothing I did or said was wasted. No experience – however insignificant it may have seemed – was worthless. Hurt gave me the capacity to feel happiness; bad times made me appreciate the good ones; what I regarded as my weaknesses became my greatest strengths. I thank God for a year of growing.

Today I Will Remember

Hope is my “balance brought forward” – into a new year’s ledger.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 31, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

Every man at some time arrives at a place where the course of his entire future rests upon a decision. Judas was one day a saint and the next the betrayer of the Lord.

We members of AA also had our moment of great decision. Many more days of decision will probably be our lot, but by the Grace of God and our new-found sobriety, we can meet any situation by reliance on God’s Will rather than our own.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 31, 2021 - Good morning and let's do the last Friday of the year proud

 

Good morning to this, the last Friday of the year and, as we prepare for the new year, let's keep today safe and clean, make it productive and vow not to allow anyone the control to make it less

Dec. 31, 2021 - Good morning and make it a clean and safe New Year's Eve

 

Good morning to the last day of 2021 ...it's New Year's Eve and, if you plan to usher in the new year, please keep it clean and safe for yourself and everyone else

Dec. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Helping Others

We can arm ourselves with facts about mind-altering substances to share with addicts, but just hearing the information will not necessarily convince anyone of their addiction. We cannot prance around diagnosing people, but we can make suggestions that encourage users to diagnose themselves.

We can propose the “controlled using for thirty days” test or one of the several written self-tests. If they pass the tests, then their problem is probably not like ours. We are not doctors or demigods, but we can carry the message. When our Higher Power sees fit, there are those we can aid.

Do I try to help others diagnose themselves?

Higher Power, may your love and light shine forth through me, but may I not set myself up to do your job.

Today I will carry the message to…

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

Today, I awaken without a hangover and with full memory of last night but, if not, this new day offers a chance for another beginning. Grant me the wisdom and courage to seize the opportunity to continue or begin the work toward something better, something I thirst and hunger for – sobriety, serenity, peace, calm, a worthy self-image, and a sense of gratitude that I am here and have been given yet another second chance. My best hope for what I seek is AA and its Steps and Principles and, today, may I finally decide that enough is enough of the alcoholic hangover and all the garbage that comes with it. But let me be disciplined enough to understand that what sobriety and recovery offer comes with a price – to be of service to anyone who needs and wants the message. Today, I have a chance for another new beginning. Don’t let the lifeboat go without me on board. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2021

Dec. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, AA fails. To the extent that I succeed, AA succeeds. Every failure of mine will set back AA work to that extent. Every success of mine will put AA ahead to that extent. I shall not wait to be drafted for service to others, but I shall volunteer. I shall accept every opportunity to work for AA as a challenge, and I shall do my best to accept every challenge and perform my task as best I can.

Will I accept every challenge gladly?

Meditation for the Day

People are failures in the deepest sense when they seek to live without God’s sustaining power. Many people try to be self-sufficient and seek selfish pleasure and find that it does not work too well. No matter how much material wealth they acquire, no matter how much fame and material power, the time of disillusionment and futility usually comes. Death is ahead, and they cannot take any material thing with them when they go. What matters is if I have gained the whole world, but lost my own soul.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I will not come empty to the end of the my life. I pray that I may so live that I will not be afraid to die.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

Reflection for the Day

My life before coming to The Program was not unlike the lives of so many of us who were cruelly buffeted and tormented by the power of our addictions. For years, I had been sick and tired. When I became sick and tired of being sick and tired, I finally surrendered and came to The Program. Now I realize that I had been helped all along by a Higher Power; it was He, indeed, who allowed me to live so that I could eventually find a new way of life.

Since my awakening, have I found a measure of serenity previously unknown in my life?

Today I Pray

May I realize that my Higher Power has not suddenly come into my life like a stranger opening a door when I knocked. The Power has been there all along, if I will just remember how many brushes with disaster I have survived by a fraction of time or distance. Now that I have come to know my Higher Power better, I realize that I must have been saved for something – for helping others like me.

Today I Will Remember

I am grateful to be alive and recovering.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021

If man was created by God in the image of God and did not possess human frailties, he would be God. All men would then be perfect and Heaven would exist here on earth. There would be no logical reason for it to operate simply as a branch of Heaven.

With our limited understanding of God’s purpose, we must suppose that man was intended from the very first to work out his own evolution. The reason this process has required so many centuries has been man’s persistence in the exercise of his puny little will as opposed to the Will of God. That we are less than God is due to our freedom of choice between being one with God and our attempt to play God.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 30, 2021 - Good morning and let's go for a rousing but worthwhile and fabulous Thursday

 

Good morning with hopes for a terrific and productive Thursday for everyone ...make it a truly great day, and avoid people and things out to mess it up

Dec. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

The tremor of awe is best in man. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We have a spiritual experience in knowing and being touched by something much larger than us, something beyond what we understand, something of mysterious dimensions. It can happen as we stand on the banks of an ageless river, listen to beautiful music, read scripture, or say a prayer with a friend. When we set aside defiance, willfulness, and our demands to subdue whatever we meet, we become receptive to a larger reality. The experience of awe brings out the best in a man because it instills a spirit of respect and gratitude. It inspires humility and expands our minds into realms we can’t express in words.

The sense of awe is a kind of reverence. After we learn where our personal awe is inspired, we can return to it again and again. As we feel it more, we become more open to it in the mundane parts of our daily lives. Today, we might feel the spirit in the visit of a wild bird on a branch, the spontaneous “Hi” from a small child, or the stillness before prayer at the dinner table.

Today, I will look for moments of awe in my life.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021

Today, when resolutions for the coming new year are in vogue, I will make none because to do so skirts the Program’s suggestion to take life one day at a time. Further, I have no guarantee that an entire year is promised me, and I cannot live for a day in the future because, in doing that, I am neglecting today. Recovery discourages us from looking too far ahead if today is sacrificed and encourages us to make our resolutions daily. Today, awakening to a new day, my resolution is to adhere to the Steps and Principles of the Program and not drink and, further, to grow in sobriety - one day at a time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2021

Dec. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

Participating in the privileges of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly but joyfully. I am deeply grateful for the privileges I enjoy because of my membership in this great movement. They put an obligation upon me which I will not shirk. I will gladly carry my fair share of the burdens. Because of the joy of doing them, they will no longer be burdens, but opportunities.

Will I accept every opportunity gladly?

Meditation for the Day

Work and prayer are the two forces which are gradually making a better world. We must work for the betterment of ourselves and other people. Faith without works is dead. But all work with people should be based on prayer. If we say a little prayer before we speak or try to help, it will make us more effective. Prayer is the force behind the work. Prayer is based on faith that God is working with us and through us. We can believe that nothing is impossible in human relationships, if we depend on the help of God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my life may be balanced between prayer and work. I pray that I may not work without prayer or pray without work.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021

Reflection for the Day

The success of The Program, I’ve been taught, lies in large measure in the readiness and willingness of its members to go to any lengths to help others tyrannized by their addictions. If my readiness and willingness cools, then I stand in danger of losing all that I’ve gained. I must never become unwilling to give away what I have, for only by so doing will I be privileged to keep it.

Do I take to heart the saying, “Out of self into God into others …?”

Today I Pray

May I never be too busy to answer a fellow addict’s call for help. May I never become so wound up in my pursuits that I forget that my own continuing recovery depends on that helping – a half-hour or so on the telephone, a call in person, a lunch date, whatever the situation calls for. May I know what my priorities must be.

Today I Will Remember

Helping helps me.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021

Is someone happier, better or braver because of some act of yours today? If you can answer yes to any or all of them, then you can feel rather confident that you are progressing in the AA way of living.

If you can’t – then you are not giving it the old College try and you are cheating yourself out of a lot of happiness that could have been yours.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 29, 2021 - Good morning and here's your wake-up call to a fabulous Wednesday

 

Good morning and let's commit to a stress- and worry-free Wednesday, meaning we don't waste time on people wanting to bring us down ...have a truly great but productive and safe Hump Day

Dec. 28, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Alcoholism isn’t a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play. — Joyce Rebeta-Burditt

One of the biggest lies addicts can tell themselves is “I’m not hurting anyone but myself.” This is just another way we don’t see how important we are to others. During our using, love was a burden. When anyone showed love for us, we turned away. They hurt. And we hurt.

In recovery, when ready, we try to help our families heal. We listen as they speak of how our illness has hurt them. We comfort them as they tell their stories. Remember, our illness hurt them. Remember, our recovery will help them heal.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me face the pain my illness has brought to others. Let me know their pain. Let it help me stay sober.

Action for the Day

I will list all persons my illness has hurt. I will say a prayer for them, even if they have harmed me.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 28, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021

Today, loosen my grip on my perspective that the Program hammers what I cannot do and, instead, what it enables me to do. While I cannot continue in futile endeavor to regain control over alcohol, I can control it by not feeding it. While I cannot continue to engage in conduct that injures myself and others, I can chart a 180-degree course change and start to give something nurturing instead of something destructive. And while I cannot always make direct amends for whatever reason, I can make indirect amends by working a Program in which my sobriety is its own amend. AA is not a Program of cannot; it is, instead, a Program of can. Today the first word in can’t is can. And I can. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M, 2021

Dec. 28, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

AA may be human in its organization, but it is divine in its purpose. The purpose is to point me toward God and the good life. My feet have been set upon the right path. I feel it in the depths of my being. I am going in the right direction. The future can be safely left to God. Whatever the future holds, it cannot be too much for me to bear. I have the Divine Power with me to carry me through everything that may happen.

Am I pointed toward God and the good life?

Meditation for the Day

Although unseen, the Lord is always near to those who believe in Him and trust Him and depend on Him for the strength to meet the challenges of life. Although veiled from mortal sight, the Higher Power is always available to us whenever we humbly ask for it. The feeling that God is with us should not depend on any passing mood of ours; we should try to be always conscious of His power and love in the background of our lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may feel that God is not too far away to depend on for help. I pray that I may feel confident of His readiness to give me the power that I need.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 28, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021

Reflection for the Day

The Program, for me, is not a place nor a philosophy, but a highway to freedom. The highway leads me toward the goal of a “spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps.” The highway doesn’t get me to the goal as quickly as I sometimes wish, but I try to remember that God and I work from different timetables. But the goal is there, and I know that the Twelve Steps will help me reach it.

Have I come to the realization that I – and anyone – can now do what I had always thought impossible?

Today I Pray

As I live The Program, may I realize more and more that it is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. May I keep in mind that the kind of spirituality it calls for is never complete, but is the essence of change and growth, a drawing nearer to an ideal state. May I be wary of setting time-oriented goals for myself to measure my spiritual progress.

Today I Will Remember

Timetables are human inventions.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 28, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021

It is very often easier to identify an alcoholic by his hang-over than by his drinking pattern. Alcoholics, for the most part, resemble the non-alcoholics when they have a load aboard, but in the morning, when the sweats and the shakes set in, then the alcoholic can be identified by the degree of his suffering. The alcoholic’s hang-over cannot be gotten rid of by 10:30 simply with aspirin or Bromos.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 28, 2021 - Good morning and let's aim for a fantastic Tuesday

 

Good morning and here's your wakeup call for a gorgeous Tuesday ...strive for a really worthwhile and productive but safe day, and none of us needs anyone thinking they can ruin it

Dec. 27, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Monday, Dec. 27, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

One is happy as a result of one’s own efforts, tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and, above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream; of that I now feel certain. — George Sand

“We always go get a hot fudge sundae after the school choir concert,” the girl said. Her parents laughed because their daughter said always, and they had gone to a school choir concert only once. Then the parents realized that the girl really had a great idea. “Yes,” the mother said, “we always get a sundae because we like to make up new traditions. We’ll have to be sure and do it tonight so we don’t let the tradition fall apart before it even gets started!”

They all laughed together and started debating which restaurant had the best hot fudge sundae.

We all need to have special traditions with our families. We need celebrations that have nothing to do with official holidays. Family holidays can mean so much more to us sometimes because they celebrate our shared experiences in life and become the source of happy memories for a lifetime.

What tradition can I start today?

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 27, 2021 - Readings in Recovery; Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Monday, Dec. 27, 2021

Today, the first word in hopeless is hope; the first word in helpless is help; the first word in senseless is sense; the first word in powerless is power. Within insanity is sanity; within fear, fearlessness; within pain, strength; within anger, reconciliation. This is our Program: from hopeless, hope; from helpless, help; from senseless, sense; from powerless, power; from insanity, sanity; from fear, courage; from pain, strength; from anger, forgiveness. And from them – recovery. It’s that simple. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2021

Dec. 27, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Monday, Dec. 27, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

I need the AA principles for the development of the buried life within me, that good life which I had misplaced but which I found again in this fellowship. This life within me is developing slowly but surely, with many setbacks, many mistakes, many failures, but still developing. As long as I stick close to AA, my life will go on developing, and I cannot yet know what it will be, but I know that it will be good. That’s all I want to know. It will be good.

Am I thanking God for AA?

Meditation for the Day

Build your life on the firm foundation of true gratitude to God for all His blessings and true humility because of your unworthiness of these blessings. Build the frame of your life out of self-discipline; never let yourself get selfish or lazy or contented with yourself. Build the walls of your life out of service to others, helping them to find the way to live. Build the roof of your life out of prayer and quiet times, waiting for God’s guidance from above. Build a garden around your life out of peace of mind and serenity and a sure faith.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may build my life on AA principles. I pray that it may be a good building when my work is finished.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 27, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Monday, Dec. 27, 2021

Reflection for the Day

“The central characteristic of the spiritual experience,” wrote AA co-founder Bill W., “is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion to any process or discipline, belief or faith. These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.”

Do I see my assets as God’s gifts, which have been in part matched by an increasing willingness on my part to find and do His will for me?

Today I Pray

I pray for the wholeness of purpose that can only come through spiritual experience. No amount of intellectual theory, pep-talking to myself, disciplined deprivation, “doing it for” somebody else can accomplish the same results. May I pray for spiritual enlightenment, not only in order to recover, but for itself.

Today I Will Remember

Total motivation through spiritual wholeness.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 27, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Monday, Dec. 27, 2021

The average person has so much trouble in finding a satisfactory faith simply because the mind has difficulty visualizing a force so powerful as anything but a very complex thing. He thinks he must understand it in order to acquire it and use it.

When we eat a meal, we believe that we shall digest it and that we will be strengthened and sustained by it. Yet few of us know the mysteries of the digestive functions, but we get just as much sustenance from our meals as those who do.

We, therefore, eat our meals on faith, and we would probably ruin our digestion if we tried to figure it out.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 27, 2021 - Good morning and let's show Monday who's running the show

 

Good morning and no need to fret another Monday and new week ...make it a truly fabulous but productive and safe day, and don't empower anyone to screw it all up

Dec. 26, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

AA Thought for the Day

In the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous there were only two persons. Now there are many groups and thousands of members. True, the surface has only been scratched. There are probably ten million or more persons in America alone who need our help. More and more people are making a start in AA each day. In the case of individual members, the beginning has been accomplished when they admit they are powerless and turn to a Power greater than themselves, admitting that their lives have become unmanageable. Our Higher Power works for good in all things and helps us to accomplish much in individual growth and in the growth of AA groups.

Am I doing my part in helping AA to grow?

Meditation for the Day

“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Only in the fullness of faith can the heart-sick and faint and weary be satisfied, healed, and rested. Think of the wonderful spiritual revelations still to be found by those who are trying to live the spiritual life. Much of life is spiritually unexplored country. Only to the consecrated and loving people who walk with God in spirit can these great spiritual discoveries be revealed. Keep going forward, and keep growing in righteousness.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not be held back by the material things of the world. I pray that I may let God lead me forward.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 26, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step

Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021

“When I try to reconstruct what my life was ‘before,’ I see a coin with two faces.

“One, the side I turned to myself and the world, was respectable …

“The other side …was sinister, baffling. I was inwardly unhappy most of the time. There would be times when the life of respectability and achievement seemed insufferably dull – I had to break out. This I would do by going completely ‘bohemian’ for a night, getting drunk and rolling home with the dawn. Next day remorse would be on me like a tiger. I’d claw my way back to ‘respectability’ and stay there – until the inevitable next time.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Stopped in Time,” Ch 16 (“Me an Alcoholic?”), p 432. 

Today, faith and security in recovery to know that there does not have to be “the inevitable next time.” Recovery encourages us to live in the solution of sobriety and not in the problem of alcoholism, and I am in the latter if my focus is on fighting off "the inevitable next time.” The threat of a “next time” is weakened if I practice with diligence and integrity the Program’s Steps and Principles and accept intuitively that drinking now, for me, is a choice and that I will be held responsible to the consequences of that choice. Today, “the inevitable next time” may be less so if I stick to the Program and the understand that I have a choice and the choice I make will have consequences. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2021