it's the tail end of june
cold and rainy, full of gloom
please tell me mr. gore
when your global warming
will kick in.
i guess you made some bucks
off the big scare
but your logic still sucks
try to stick with what you
know best...
conning the public, selling yourself
and as a public servant
failing the test.
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
- Charles Darwin
Each time dawn appears, the mystery is there in its entirety.
- Reni Daumal
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
- Jimmy Dean
By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.
- Jack Dempsey
We cannot become what we need to be, remaining what we are.
- Max Depree
There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.
- Charles Dickens
Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong.
- John Diefenbaker
We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.
- Phyllis Diller
A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
- Hugh Downs
You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with.
- Wayne Dyer
Keep true, never be ashamed of doing right; decide on what you think is right and stick to it.
- George Eliot
It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
- Epictetus
Yesterday is ashes; tomorrow is wood. Only today does the fire burn brightly.
- Old Eskimo saying
it's going to be an interesting
father's day.
my son is bringing my dad to
the house today. the 3 of us have
not been together since a wedding
many years ago.
deb's girls will also come by to wish
me a happy father's day as they
have done for years; the daughters
that have become part of my life.
just another reminder to me that
first and foremost i am a father,
a son, and a partner.
what's the point of all this time
and effort, if you aren't having fun?
we've already seen and heard the
doom & gloom of addiction; there
comes a time to experience the joy
and freedom of clean living.
the concept of sober fun was foreign
to me at first.
how can i possibly have a good time
at parties, sporting events, or after
work, without drinking?
it certainly didn't happen overnight.
it's taken some time to be comfortable
around friends without a buzz.
now i enjoy the company of a mix
of sober and social drinkers.
there is a place for sober events,
especially early on, but most of
the world is not in recovery.
i can now really feel relaxed
interacting with folks who can
drink safely, yet respect my
decision to abstain.
Vision enables you to glimpse into the future, to sense its hope and power, because you yourself are the means for that future's creation.
- Sara Paddison
If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future, look into your present action.
- Padmisambha
Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.
- Satchel Paige
If I have inside of me the stuff to make cocoons, maybe the stuff of butterflies is there, too.
- Trina Paulus
Until you value yourself you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.
- M. Scott Peck
Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.
- Pericles
You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.
- Michael D. Perry
Live in the present. Do the things that need to be done. Do all the good you can each day. The future will unfold.
- Peace Pilgrim
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
- John Enoch Powell
If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.
- J.M. Power
You can't turn back the clock. But you can wind it up again.
- Bonnie Prudden
Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.
- Lauren Bacall
There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you - if you don't repeat it.
- Pearl Bailey
do you have any summer vacation plans?
how do you handle stressful situations?
do family or friends ever ask if you're
cured yet?
ever find that you can handle serious
issues better now, yet still sweat the
small stuff?
if you have children, do you discuss
the subject of addiction with them?
who inspires you today?
why is it easier to stay sober, than
to get sober?
what is your favorite time of day?
personality traits;
insecurity, desire for instant gratification
and self-indulgence.
genetics;
the jury is still out on this one.
experts can't confirm the precise way
alcoholism can be passed on.
biochemistry;
various races process alcohol differently.
women lack a stomach enzyme that
processes alcohol, making them more
easily intoxicated.
mental health;
many substance abusers suffer from
depression and anxiety.
socio-economic;
peer pressure, chaotic homes, traumatic
events and ethnic background.
euphoric recall;
a biggie for me; having so many enjoyable
experiences for many years, it is easy
to dismiss the eventual hell and misery
it eventually became.
for many of us the bottom line became;
what used to turn us on-
turned on us.
Fall seven times, stand up eight.
- Japanese proverb
We can only teach that which we are.
- Jean Jaurès
Truth is the safest lie.
- Jewish Proverb
An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.
- Lynn Johnston
To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have.
- Ken Keyes Jr.
The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.
- Edward Koch
The basic principle of spiritual life is that our problems become the very place to discover wisdom and love.
- Jack Kornfield
If there is no wind, row.
Latin proverb
Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.
- Ursula K. LeGuin
Most of us are pretty good at keeping promises to others and pretty bad at keeping promises to ourselves.
- Lawrence LeShan
I envy people who drink - at least they know what to blame everything on.
- Oscar Levant
Happiness adds and multiplies, as we divide it with others.
- A. NielsenI
I always try to turn my personal struggles into something helpful for others.
- Henri Nouwen
The bigger you make your God, the smaller you make your problems.
- Joel Osteen
You're never really alone if you have yourself and your spirituality.
- Susan Ott-Lin
how long before you began a 4th step?
do you believe sobriety really changes
people?
have you learned the practice of
meditation?
do you prefer the company of folks in
recovery, or a mix of sober and social
drinkers?
how long, if at all, did it take to
experience a spiritual awakening?
do you agree or disagree that there
comes a "got it" stage in recovery?
is there anything you miss about
your drinking days?
why do think long term recovery
is so elusive for many?
is happiness a result of sobriety,
or a choice?
from About.com/alcoholism;
Federal, state and local governments together spend almost a half of a trillion dollars each year cleaning up crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction. Meanwhile, government spending on prevention and treatment of substance abuse amounts to less than 2% of that $467.7 billion annual expenditure.These figures were revealed in a 287-page report from the The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
We must be grateful for our mistakes, without them we wouldn't know any better.
- Ayash Sabbagh
It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Failures are divided into two classes -- those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought.
- John Charles Salak
I glory in this world of men and women, torn with troubles, yet living on to love and laugh through it all.
- Carl Sandburg
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
- Jean-Paul Sartre
Some people change their ways when they see the light; others when they feel the heat.
- Caroline Schoeder
Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action.
- David J. Schwartz
The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.
- General Schwarzkopf
Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
- Frank Scully
Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.
- Peter Sellers
Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
- Maurice Setter
Happiness is not in our circumstances, but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.
- John B. Sheerin
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
- Sicilian Proverb
I'm not happy, I'm cheerful. There's a difference. A happy woman has no cares at all. A cheerful woman has cares but has learned how to deal with them.
- Beverly Sills
Experience is the comb life gives you after you lose your hair.
- Judith Stearn
