Friends of Bill W.

[LeftWriteFemme]

May 3

REALLY RAINING



“Why do people ask if someone is really sober?”
“They’re checking for the winners, I guess,” responded my sponsor.
“But what does that mean?”
“Well, when the clouds roll in and the next thing you know it’s really raining, you can clearly discern the difference between that and just a shower. The commitment of water saturates the atmosphere and the rain is the undeniable certainty. That is what people are looking for and they ask to discover if the person even comprehends the concept.”
“What do they do if the person is really sober?”
“Stand next to them and soak it all in.”


Have double paned windows to insulate you from cosmic rays or constant criticism.
*



With and Without


With my sponsor-
Without my drinking buddies

With my Big Book-
Without my contrived dogma

With my home group-
Without my dysfunctional family

With my step work-
Without my mental masturbation

With my sobriety-
Without my insanity

With all this I can live-
Without all that



You are reading selections from Sober on the Way to Sane and More Lines From My Life by Sherrie Theriault

[LeftWriteFemme]

May 4

DESSERT

I have to be my own appetizer; I have to be the thing that entices and intrigues me. I must be the roughage, the salad full of color and variety. The entree must be me, as well. The things that sustain me, the meat of my life, I have to supply and swallow down. I can be all this. I run to the sweetness of others but this cannot be my source of sustenance. The greater part of me needs to derive from me. I can set the table and fill it with the fullness of who I am. I am enough and others are dessert. Twinkies will never be sufficient. They can only be a treat.


Make sure your work area is well ventilated.
*
Yield Don’t Stop


If I let amazement stop my progress
I will become landlocked instead of becoming free.
Picture wagon wheels planted in Kansas
when the destination had been California.

Yes, the plains are great,
but if that was not my aim it is a far cry from heaven.
Arriving at any haven is tempting;
when it crosses to captivating then to captivation,
here is where the problem lay.

Steps six and seven changed me and this is good.
If I allow this to halt me this is disaster.
If the wheels fall off the wagon I walk.
If I grow too tired to walk I pant with my friends
and we carry each other, we don’t stop.

You are reading selections from Sober on the Way to Sane and More Lines From My Life by Sherrie Theriault

[LeftWriteFemme]

May 5

TRANSITIONS


During the months of winter, the trees stand tall and leafless---static in their appearance, frozen in direction. The insurgence of spring brings to life the truth. The buds and flowers show the draw of their owners---the pull of life from the earth and sky. Other trees have begun to restore the gifts so graciously given. These leafless giants open themselves as home and sustenance to the surrounding community---returning favors and flavors, coming to terms with wholeness. Celebrations of all I have call for me to give it all back, even during the time when we all look the same.


Always step out of the spotlight before it burns you.
*




Pinocchio as a Girl



I should be painting today
instead of reframing the future,
an unnecessary and ephemeral job at best.
Kind of like lassoing an unborn colt,
I try to put a rope around something that cannot get away.

Outcome hasn’t much to do with foregone conclusion
and wouldn’t I be better mixing colors and wetting brushes
than cutting slices from a pie in the sky?

But tomorrow seems more spacious than this crowded present
and I con myself into believing this is a harmless trip to the fair.
I lose my light, my thought, my sight with these thieving sojourns;
leaving me to creak around because all that is left is wood.


You are reading selections from Sober on the Way to Sane and More Lines From My Life by Sherrie Theriault