SUNDAY GRATITUDE EXTRAVAGANZA: OFFICIAL XMAS EDITION
XMAS, XMAS, XMAS, and then a little more XMAS
I’m grateful it’s Christmas Eve and for my lovely, little tree. I’m grateful for a life I couldn’t imagine. I’m grateful that what I need, finds me. I’m grateful for every lesson. I’m grateful for pretty excellent coffee. I’m grateful for love, hope and kindness. I’m grateful to be sober today.
For the Alcoholic/Addict in Your Life (it is officially the holidays):
Or, if you’ve been looking everywhere to find this little gem (currently among the top 3.3 million books on Amazon)
It’s December 24th and I’m settling in for a quiet, cozy Christmas, and hope that, whatever your holiday situation is, that it’s nice. That’s a pretty mealy-mouthed way to say it, but I can remember plenty of holidays where I was alone and just the constant refrains of semi-mandatory “Happy Holidays!” and the obligatory, cheerful “You, too!” Things do get better and we do recover.
Since it’s the holiday and all, and I’m not feeling terribly interested in being terribly productive, your TFLMS holiday feast goes right to the best part, the leftovers. That’s not quite the right word, but if I go for the “previously enjoyed,” and I’m using the eating metaphor, then that’s not right either. Here are some things that we’ve published here in the past, think of them as our gift of xmases past.
Happy Holidays! (I actually mean it!)
In accordance with the pre-generated leftovers approach, and with the intention of this being a shout-out to those who might be looking for a respite from the holiday cheer and the celebration of the baby Jesus and whatnot.
1. If Satan Wrote a Song…
It would probably be this one. Also, that makes me think that Satan probably really, really gets into the whole air guitar thing.
2. It 100% Wouldn’t Be This One…
This song was unavoidable when I was a youth and like pretty much everything else in the 1970’s just sent some really weird confusing messages. Or were the chickens allegorical? Also, it does tend to support they hypothesis advanced in Number 1 (directly above, just look up). Also, Nickelback covered it. Think we’re done with this one.
3. If Satan were a Game Show Host…
Yes. Not many kids ended up in the 7th Grade Quiet Study Hall for daring to say their dream aloud, but I did. Mr. Conway, the guidance counselor, thought it was disrespectful. He had a point. How does that make you feel?
4. If You Wanted to “Visit” Satan…
Assuming you had the choice of transport and the “visit” was definitely temporary, I think you’d choose this.
5. New Ouija Board, Who’s This?
Bill W. didn’t want to see dead people, he wanted to talk to them. He thought this worked. I guess the reason it’s not employed more widely as a recovery tool is the part where it literally opens the gates of Hell.
The TFLMS Pyramid of Support
Perhaps you enjoy reading what we write or the podcast or whatever, and maybe you were even thinking, “Gee, I wonder if there is something I could do to help. The good news is that there is. Like the famed game show of legend, “The $20,000 Dollar Pyramid,” there is something similar at work here. If you really like us and read us every day, maybe it would be cool to upgrade your subscription, or you can get your friends to pay, or you can just share what share with you. It’s all cool and it’s all very much appreciated, and without further ado:
It’s the TFLMS Pyramid of Support:
For us, reading and writing have been a big part of recovery and sobriety. We thought we’d start sharing some of our favorite books on the topic of recovery, addiction and general happiness and telling you how they helped us! If you have ideas, thoughts, comments, suggestions or if there are some books that you’d like to chat about, well, we’d love to do that with you. 1
Now, here’s something new. You may have heard me mention something about writing your story in the style of Bill W’s: and this is where we are going to do it. If you want to write your story and share it, I’ll be happy to put it here for other folks to read. If you’d like to record yourself reading your own story (I highly, highly recommend this), I’ll put it here, too:
The “Anyone Anywhere” Meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous
It’s the “Anyone Anywhere” meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, this Tuesday evening at 7pm. We’re ready to go and hope you can join us this Tuesday! It’s 1/2 AA Meeting, 1/2 Alcoholic Book Club and 1/2 something else we haven’t figured out yet. We’ve been reading the “Stories from the Back of the Book,” and they are all so great. It’s a fun way to learn more about the Big Book and reading these stories out loud is a little like listening to the legends of AA share.
We are meeting on 12.26 and hope you can join us!
Seriously, write a book review (or we might expand into movies!) and we’ll probably put it up.