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“When we meet and defeat the temptation to take large gifts, we are only being prudent. But when we are generous with the hat we give a token that we are grateful for our blessings and evidence that we are eager to share what we have found with all those who still suffer”

“Thank God for all the wonderful people, professional and otherwise, who have helped me or tried to. Even when the help has not succeeded, it has kept me going, kept me trying.”

“When life presents us with a racking conflict ... we cannot be altogether blamed if we are confused. In fact, our very first responsibility is to admit that we are confused.”

“Truth is not an immutable absolute, a granite peak, eternal, unmoving, hiding its head in a nimbus of clouds. Truth is a ballerina tracing arabesques in a pattern of color and music, ever-changing, harmonious.”

“The most important factor in eliminating resentments is to know you have them. You can’t fix something if you don’t know what’s wrong.”

“By 1937, some of us realized that AA needed a standard literature. There would have to be a book ... Well, we did quarrel violently over the preparation and distribution of that book. In fact, it took five years for the clamor to die down. Should any AAs dream that the old-timers who put the book together went about in serene meditation and white robes, then they had best forget it.”

“There have been dark days where a will infinitely greater than my own has been responsible for my sobriety.”

“The reason we try to carry the message is so that we stay sober. If the person we are helping stays sober, that’s an extra bonus.”

“If we can stop this frantic drive to prove that we are remarkable people, it is quite likely that we will settle down and really enjoy whatever life has to offer us.”

“Happiness is a by-product – the extra dividend of giving without any demand for a return.”

“I have a way to live that fills every hole my gut ever had.”

“In AA we have no VIPs, nor have we need of any. Our organization needs no title-holders nor grandiose buildings ... Experience has taught us that simplicity is basic in preservation of our personal sobriety and helping those in need.”

“A fine plan or idea can come from anybody, anywhere. Consequently, good leadership will often discard its own cherished plans for others that are better, and it will give credit to the source.”

“What I’ve been willing to give to AA, most often through my home group, I’ve gotten back tenfold in peace of mind.”

“Feed your faith and starve your doubt.”