Step by Step - May 28 2026

Today, I realize that my moral inventory in the Fourth and amends of the Eighth are not confined to my wrongs of commission but also apply to my wrongful acts of omission. With that awakening, my Fourth and Eighth Steps, hopefully, will be more honest. My moral inventory and amends I have tried have focused on things I have done or said, but they have not included my wrongs of having not said or done what I should have. Maybe I neglected or refused to return love or support that someone showed me in my darkest days, or maybe I didn’t answer someone’s call for help for whatever reason. Today, I return to my Fourth and Eighth Steps to decide if I owe restitution not for what I did, but for what I didn’t do. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M., 2013

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #BillW #Responsibility

Page 32

Moral Responsibility

“Some strongly object to the A.A. position that alcoholism is an illness. This concept, they feel, removes moral responsibility from alcoholics. As any A.A. knows, this is far from true. We do not use the concept of sickness to absolve our members from responsibility. On the contrary, we use the fact of fatal illness to clamp the heaviest kind of moral obligation onto the sufferer, the obligation to use A.A.’s Twelve Steps to get well.

“In the early days of his drinking, the alcoholic is often guilty of irresponsibility. But once the time of compulsive drinking has arrived, he can’t very well be held fully accountable for his conduct. He then has an obsession that condemns him to drink, and a bodily sensitivity to alcohol that guarantees his final madness and death.

“But when he is made aware of this condition, he is under pressure to accept A.A.’s program of moral regeneration.”

~ TALK, 1960 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

 Page 32 ~

Moral Responsibility

“Some strongly object to the A.A. position that alcoholism is an illness. This concept, they feel, removes moral responsibility from alcoholics. As any A.A. knows, this is far from true. We do not use the concept of sickness to absolve our members from responsibility. On the contrary, we use the fact of fatal illness to clamp the heaviest kind of moral obligation onto the sufferer, the obligation to use A.A.’s Twelve Steps to get well.

“In the early days of his drinking, the alcoholic is often guilty of irresponsibility. But once the time of compulsive drinking has arrived, he can’t very well be held fully accountable for his conduct. He then has an obsession that condemns him to drink, and a bodily sensitivity to alcohol that guarantees his final madness and death.

“But when he is made aware of this condition, he is under pressure to accept A.A.’s program of moral regeneration.”

~ TALK, 1960 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

Page 315 

Greater than Ourselves

If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the power needed for change wasn’t there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

Lack of power: That was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live — and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP.44-45 

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Morals

A.A. Thought For The Day

If we have had some moral, religious, or spiritual training, we’re better prospects for A.A. When we reach the bottom, at this crucial moment when we’re thoroughly licked, we turn instinctively to whatever decency is left in us. We call upon whatever reserves of morality and faith are left down deep in our heart. Have I had this spiritual experience?

Meditation For The Day

The world wonders when it sees a person who can unexpectedly draw large and unsuspected sums from the bank for some emergency. But what the world has not seen are the countless small sums paid into that bank, earned by faithful work over a long time. And so is the bank of the spirit. The world sees the person of faith make a demand on God’s stores of power and the demand is met. The world does not see what that person has been putting in, in thanks and praise, in prayer and communion, in small good deeds done faithfully, steadily over the years.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may keep making deposits in God’s bank. I pray that in my hour of need, I may call upon these.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

ELDER'S MEDITATION OF THE DAY #essentialsofrec # PENOBSCOT #Elders #Native

“So, with the Native way, it’s not whether people find out about what you've done or not … that’s not nearly as strong as having your source of morality within you, having your morality arise out of an inner perception of what is wrong, ridiculous, or shameful. You are your own judge.”

~ Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT 

Inside each of us is a voice. It is a quiet voice. It is a guiding voice. If we listen for it, it will guide us, and help us avoid disaster. It is especially active when we are afraid, when we are in doubt, when we are scared, when we need help, and when we get angry. If we are excited emotionally, it is hard to hear this voice. If we are angry, it’s hard to hear this voice because it is usually quiet. The best thing we can do is to practice getting quiet. If we don’t get quiet, there is another voice called the judge. It tells us to attack or say bad things to other people or to judge ourselves. This voice is loud and usually gets us into trouble.

Creator, Great Mystery, help me listen for the quiet voice. Let me know this voice of Yours. Your ways are gentle. Guide me with this voice. Thank you.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #BillW

 11
November

Greater than Ourselves

If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the power needed for change wasn’t there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

Lack of power: That was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live — and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP.44-45 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Morality #Thought

  5
August

THOUGHT


“Thought makes the whole dignity of man; therefore endeavor to think well, that is the only morality.”

– Blaise Pascal

I think that human beings are very imitative creatures; we imitate clothes, hair styles, mannerisms and lifestyles. A man’s mind will be influenced by what he listens to and what he reads. And what we think is very important to sobriety.

Today I make an effort to examine my thinking and check it out with a sponsor or in a support group. I know that my dignity in sobriety is connected not only with what I do but also with my attitudes and thoughts — when my thinking begins to go crazy, I know I am in a dangerous place and I need to talk. God created me with the ability to think, therefore, I need to safeguard the information I put in my mind.

Let me learn to develop morality of mind.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Responsibility #FrLeo #Recovery

12
 May 

RESPONSIBILITY


“Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment and learn again to exercise his will, his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals.”

–Albert Schweitzer

God has created me to be a responsible human being and that means that I must seriously consider the choices and decisions that could affect my life and the lives of others. Today I understand that true freedom can only be experienced within the restraints of a responsible life.

For years I blamed other people for my drunken behavior – family, bishops, job, world situations – even God! But the truth was that I lived an irresponsible life around alcohol. I ignored the facts that surrounded my drinking.

Today I make a responsible decision not to drink, and I also take responsibility for my life. I cannot blame other people for the mistakes that I made. My real freedom is experienced in my responsibility.

Give me the freedom to impose my own constraints.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?