“but there was a strange new component – HOPE- hope that things could change.”

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.

It has been my experience that, when all human resources appear to have failed, there is always One who will never desert me. Moreover, He is always there to share my joy, to steer me down the right path, and to confide in when no one else will do. While my well-being and happiness can be added to, or diminished, by human efforts, only God can provide the loving nourishment upon which I depend for my daily spiritual health.

There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long But now, I think I'm able To carry on It's been a long A long time coming, but I know A change gon' come Oh yes, it will

Just as the Milky Way is the universe in the form of a galaxy, and an orchid is the universe in the form of a flower, we are the universe in the form of a human. Science tells us that the universe is not simply a place, but a story—a story in which we are immersed, to which we belong, and out of which we arose. What began as a single immense energy event has unfolded over time to become galaxies and stars, palms and pelicans, the music of Bach. There is a Spirit underlying evolution. We are alive today; recovery proves that the universe is for us rather than against us! Today, we ask for strength and courage to explore, expand and live from the wisdom of Spirit deep within each of us.