Posts by: Rick W.

What If Pressure Isn’t Punishment?

What If Pressure Isn’t Punishment?

There’s a moment in recovery where life starts pressing in from every side and it feels like everything is falling apart. The relationship is strained. The finances are tight. The emotions are raw. The character defects are impossible to ignore. The loneliness feels louder now that the noise of alcohol, chaos, or compulsions has been …

When Words Are Not Enough

When Words Are Not Enough

There comes a point in recovery when the question is no longer, “Am I sober?” but instead, “What kind of witness (example) is my life becoming?” Not a witness in the courtroom sense. Not someone standing on a stage preaching to others. But a living, breathing example that change is possible. A person whose life …

What Sobriety Actually Is

What Sobriety Actually Is

Recovery is not just about stopping a behavior. It’s about becoming a different person. Too often, people think sobriety simply means not drinking alcohol or avoiding destructive behaviors. While abstinence may be the beginning, it is not the whole journey. Real sobriety is much deeper. It is emotional, spiritual, relational, and personal transformation. Sobriety is …

When We Stop Negotiating With Reality

When We Stop Negotiating With Reality

Step One, Acceptance, and the Freedom Found in Surrender One of the most exhausting things an alcoholic ever does is negotiate with reality. We negotiate with consequences. We negotiate with truth. We negotiate with our own patterns, our own pain, our own powerlessness. We say things like: “Maybe this time will be different.” “I can …

Evidence Journal

Evidence Journal

Evidence Journal: Training Your Eyes to See God at Work Bill W. wrote in Concept Nine’s essay, “Leadership in A.A. – Ever a Vital Need” that a good idea can come from anywhere. The key to allowing that to be true in ones life is when we can sit back and listen, truly listen to …

The Recovery of Paradise

The Recovery of Paradise

There is something in us that knows we were made for more. Not more excitement. Not more drama. Not more chaos. More peace. More alignment. More wholeness. In A.A., we talk about being “restored to sanity.” We talk about living “in the sunlight of the Spirit.” We talk about “conscious contact with God.” If you ...

NEW BOOK: “The Prep Steps”

NEW BOOK: “The Prep Steps”

On this cold and wintery day here in Texas, I wanted to share a new book I just finished titled, “The Prep Steps – Setting Up Action in A.A.” I will be publishing it and making it available here on this site in the LIBRARY section early this week, but I wanted to share a …

I Should Be Dead

I Should Be Dead

Tonight at my home group, the chair chose to read from page 161 of the Big Book to remind us all that we have much to be grateful for. He closed his share before opening it up by saying, “I should be dead.”  I was really glad he did because I’ve seen so much apathy …