Determination—our clenched-jaw resolve that we can do something about everything—is perhaps the greatest hindrance to achieving serenity. Our old tapes tell us, The difficult can be done immediately; the impossible will take a little longer. So we tighten up and prepare ourselves for battle, even though we know from long experience that our own will dooms us …
When I first read the Serenity Prayer, the word serenity itself seemed like an impossibility. At the time, the word conjured up images of lethargy, apathy, resignation, or grim-faced endurance; it hardly seemed a desirable goal. But I’ve since found that serenity means none of those things. Serenity for me today is simply a clear-eyed and realistic …
As we Keep Coming Back to meetings, we’re able to recognize those who have an abundance of serenity. We are drawn to these people. To our surprise, we sometimes find that those who seem most grateful for today’s blessings are the very ones who have the most serious and continuing problems at home or at work. Yet …
Soon after I came to Gamblers Anonymous, I found a Higher Power whom I choose to call God. I’ve come to believe that He has all power; if I stay close to Him and do His work well, He provides me not with what I think I want, but with what I need. Gradually, I’m …
We are powerless over gambling; that admission brought us to the Gamblers Anonymous Program, where we learn through unconditional surrender that there is victory in defeat. After a time, we learn in Twelfth Step work that we’re not only powerless over our own addiction, but over the addiction of others. We cannot will another person to abstinence …
I’ve learned in Gamblers Anonymous that I am wholly powerless over my compulsion. At long last, I’ve conceded my powerlessness; as a result, my life has taken a 180-degree turn for the better. However, I do have a power, derived from God, to change my own life. I’ve learned that acceptance does not mean submission to an unpleasant or degrading situation. …
An entire philosophy of life is condensed in the slogan Live and Let Live. First we’re urged to live fully, richly, and happily—to fulfill our destiny with the joy that comes from doing well whatever we do. Then comes a more difficult challenge: let live. This means accepting the right of every other person to live as …
We can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. We can be all by ourselves and still feel happy and content. What makes the difference? We feel lonely if we look to other people for something they really can’t provide. No one else can give US peace of mind, an inner sense of acceptance, …
No matter what other people do or don’t do, for ourselves we have to remain abstinent from gambling. When our program of recovery becomes contingent on the actions or inactions of another person—especially someone with whom we’re emotionally involved—the results are invariably disastrous. We also need to remember that intense dislike is as much an …
In our first weeks or months in Gamblers Anonymous, our shaky emotional condition sometimes affects our feelings toward old friends and family. For many of us, these relationships heal quickly in the initial stages of our recovery. For others, a time of touchiness seems to persist; now that we’re no longer gambling compulsively, we have to sort …