Bill W. Quotes

#1. Honesty with ourselves & others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.

Bill W.

#2. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development.

Bill W.

#3. It must never be forgotten that the purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to sober up alcoholics. There is no religious or spiritual requirement for membership. No demands are made on anyone. An experience is offered which members may accept or reject. That is up to them.

Bill W.

#4. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom from fear.

Bill W.

#5. You are asking yourself, as all of us must: 'Who am I?' ... 'Where am I?' ... 'Whence do I go?' The process of enlightenment is usually slow. But, in the end, our seeking always brings a finding. These great mysteries are, after all, enshrined in complete simplicity.

Bill W.

#6. In God's economy, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is.

Bill W.

#7. Step One is about recognizing our brokenness.

Bill W.

#8. We know that permanent sobriety can be attained only by a most revolutionary change in the life and outlook of the individual ...

Bill W.

#9. Because of our kinship in suffering, our channels of contact have always been charged with the language of the heart.

Bill W.

#10. We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small; as we realize that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience.

Bill W.

#11. Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure.

Bill W.

#12. Each day my friend's simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men.

Bill W.

#13. God is either everything, or He is nothing.

Bill W.

#14. I have become a pupil of the AA movement rather than the teacher.

Bill W.

#15. The deception of others is almost always rooted in the deception of ourselves.

Bill W.

#16. Nowadays my brain no longer races compulsively in either elation, grandiosity, or depression. I have been given a quiet place in bright sunshine.

Bill W.

#17. AA is no success story in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a story of suffering transmuted, under grace, into spiritual progress.

Bill W.

#18. In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics.

Bill W.

#19. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves would restore us to sanity.

Bill W.

#20. I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain great conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion we can ever know.

Bill W.

#21. Pain is the touchstone of all growth

Bill W.

#22. More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor

Bill W.

#23. The temporary good is enemy to the permanent best.

Bill W.

#24. Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us.

Bill W.

#25. Years ago I used to commiserate with all people who suffered. Now I commiserate only with those who suffer in ignorance, who do not understand the purpose and ultimate utility of pain

Bill W.

#26. No personal calamity is so crushing that something true and great can't be made of it

Bill W.

#27. The good is the enemy of the best.

Bill W.

#28. Nothing matters more to AA's future welfare than the manner in which we use the colossus of modern communication. Used unselfishly and well, it can produce results surpassing our present imagination.

Bill W.

#29. How dark it is before the dawn! In reality that was the beginning of my last debauch. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence. I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time passes.

Bill W.