Sometimes it's just a kind of cruddy day. Life overall definitely gets better once we find a higher power we can believe in, and my HP for sure shows up when I genuinely need help. But sometimes I'm just tired, and what there is to do is be grateful that the day wasn't all that bad and then go to bed. Big Book pages 498-499.

Steps one through nine prepare us for sober living, and steps ten through twelve help us live that life - in fair weather or foul. It's some foul weather right now for a lot of us, but "can we stay sober, keep in emotional balance, and live to good purpose under all conditions?" I think so. 12x12 page 88.

Turns out, bombarding our problems with our willpower doesn't usually work out well. Or get the desired results. Instead, what there is to do is get quiet and check in with our Higher Power's will for us. 12x12 pages 40-41.

Tradition 6 - basically that AA is super great, and we are prone to think that the world would be better if everybody would just get on board with our solution! But it's helpful to reign it in and remember that we can't be all things to all people and shouldn't try. 12x12 pages 156-157.

Removing alcohol from the equation is just the start - 'cause we have so many other issues to work through. And they don't get fixed overnight - no matter how much we want them to. Daily Reflection, April 6.

Because we are largely a band of ego-driven individualists... we're gonna come up with a whole bunch of rules about how we think things ought to be! 12x12 page 146.

Over-dependence on other people will always get us into trouble. Because people are only human, and they're gonna let us down sometimes. And we can't make other people responsible for our feelings. It just doesn't work. 12x12 page 115.

The book says in a number of different places that we get to pick our own conception of God. And sometimes that feels true - it depends a lot on the meetings I go to and the sponsor I've got. But I'm real glad that today I get to pick my Higher Power, 'cause it's working pretty well for me. Big Book page 93.

Each group is autonomous - meaning that to a certain extent, each group gets to do recovery however it sees fit. And that's the awesome and also sometimes exasperating thing about AA. Everybody does it different, and wherever you get sober is the place that does it "right." But you can find the message anywhere if you want it. From "The AA Group... Where It All Begins" page 8.

The twelve steps are designed to get me sober and keep me sober. They aren't necessarily a catch-all solution for all of my emotional issues. they can do pretty amazing things on a lot of stuff, but for most of us, there's stuff we need professional help with, too. Living Sober page 57.