Day 16 - The Waves of Grief and Memories

Day 19 - Honest Abe on Honesty

January 26 RIGOROUS HONESTY Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer? Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to carry A.A.'s message to the next sufferer? No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect — unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24 I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what power, energy, and emotion this simple statement generates in me! But it's really all I need to know for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I willing to stay sober today? Am I willing to ask for help and am I willing to be a help to another suffering alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of my situation? What must I do, today, to stay sober?

Day 18 - Do We Need Each Other?

January 25 WHAT WE NEED-EACH OTHER . . . A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so . . . nobody can keep you out." TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139 For years, whenever I reflected on Tradition Three ("The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking"), I thought it valuable only to newcomers. It was their guarantee that no one could bar them from A.A. Today I feel enduring gratitude for the spiritual development the Tradition has brought me. I don't seek out people obviously different from myself. Tradition Three, concentrating on the one way I am similar to others, brought me to know and help every kind of alcoholic, just as they have helped me. Charlotte, the atheist, showed me higher standards of ethics and honor; Clay, of another race, taught me patience; Winslow, who is gay, led me by example into true compassion; Young Megan says that seeing me at meetings, sober thirty years, keeps her coming back. Tradition Three insured that we would get what we need — each other.

Day 17 - "Faith" and "Works" Are In Cahoots

GETTING INVOLVED There is action and more action. "Faith without works is dead." . . . To be helpful is our only aim. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 88-89  I understand that service is a vital part of recovery but I often wonder, "What can I do?" Simply start with what I have today! I look around to see where there is a need. Are the ashtrays full? Do I have hands and feet to empty them? Suddenly I'm involved! The best speaker may make the worst coffee; the member who's best with newcomers may be unable to read; the one willing to clean up may make a mess of the bank account—yet every one of these people and jobs is essential to an active group. The miracle of service is this: when I use what I have, I find there is more available to me than I realized before.

Day 16 - The Waves of Grief and Memories

The Waves of Grief and Memories When you are mourning, emotions and memories come in waves. Ocean waves come and leave of their own accord. You cannot control them. Neither can you control the waves of emotions (or memories) when you are mourning.  At times, emotions will be overwhelming and take you without warning. You won’t be done until they are done.  It’s the same with memories. Memories you didn’t even know you had may arrive, seemingly from nowhere, and, again like waves, you are not in control of them. These waves will come and go according to their own course of time, heavier and harder now, and lighter in the future; but for today, you do not need to look to be anywhere but where you are. * Rabbi Brian (https://rotb.org/)

Day 15 - FAFO Friday feat. Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro, whatever you might think about him, is extremely intelligent. I’ve seen him provide what on the surface seem like valid arguments that back up his political leanings. I say that it’s surface level genius, because with a little deeper probing, the fallacy in many of his arguments are reasonably apparent. In this short video pulled directly from his YouTube channel, Ben says that the San Fran Gay Mens Choir did a song that was all about how they were going to take away your children, that they were going to endoctrinate them. He goes on to say that the proof is in the lyrics. He then refers to the line “We will convert your children.” Here’s that video: https://youtube.com/shorts/x9Zl8JKXbp8?feature=share [https://youtube.com/shorts/x9Zl8JKXbp8?feature=share] His initial claim: “they were going to take away your children, that they were going to endoctrinate them” is, in my opinion, potentially misleading. Let’s put aside Ben’s view on homosexuality for this. I have learned a little bit about his philosophy (I don’t agree with it, but no matter) so I think I know better why he is saying this. However, I want to keep this rather simple and since his views often evoke lots of emotion, I’d rather just stick with commentary on this one video. Now why do I say this short video is potentially misleading? 1. The lyrics he’s referring do in fact say that they will convert your children. But upon pulling up the full lyrics, it’s clear the context is such that by “convert”, they simply mean they will show them that there’s nothing to fear from gay people and thus convert to become gay-friendly. 2. Ben does not disclose the full content of the lyrics but rather leaves it to the viewer to make their own conclusion based on his commentary and a few seconds of the song. 3. It’s my opinion that this scenario fits the definition of misleading if the video was edited with the full context having been known. The reason why I said the phrase “potentially misleading”, is because the only person that knows if Ben’s words were absolutely misleading is not anyone probably ever watching this video. Summary It’s because of fear-motivated content like this one by Ben and his organization, that I could imagine some individuals are feeling emboldened to take certain intolerable and in some cases violent actions. {maybe show scenes from homophobic violence}. And since I believe in unconditional love for others, I not only disagree with Ben’s assessment of a society wide evil conversion of your children to homosexuality, but I think his organization is sensationalizing intolerance. I don’t typically watch videos with Ben Shapiro talking, but every so often they make their way into my YouTube recommendation queue and so I get exposed to some of his content. I certainly don’t agree with his logic on most things and especially on this topic. I will continue to preach love over fear, and inclusion and connectedness over separateness. And this short-video is a violation of that basic principle that I wish to hold.