..."What does it truly mean to have heart? Heart is the intangible; the invisible ingredient that is difficult to explain and measure to the average person. Heart is the magic, the juice, the stuff, fifth gear, the overdrive that great achievers in life tap into when challenges and obstacles appear. Heart is making a conscious choice to live an exceptional life rather than an average one. Average people (about 97% of society) let events shape their lives, while exceptional people are able to change their perceptions of challenging events and overcome them." ...

..."Learning to live in the moment, the present, is also where heart begins. This means making your move before you are ready, challenging yourself and the beliefs that limit you, standing tall in the face of adversity, and taking on life's challenges without having to prove that you are good enough. Having heart means you possess a quality called courage, which there is always a market for and never goes out of fashion. Exceptional people tap into their courage when faced with adversity and step immediately into the solution, even when the solution takes them into unfamiliar territory. Average people typically choose to remain in the problem simply because it is familiar and they fear being vulnerable when facing the possibility of not performing perfectly in the solution."


Taken from ...More Heart than Talent by Jeffery Combs

I read today that we all make our own mazes and only we know our way out. How true that is for me. When I was young and something traumatic would happen I would put up a wall within my mind and go a different way. When I sobered up it was like standing in the middle of this huge maze ... trapped within the very walls I put up. Without this program I am sure I would have died there in the center of my maze. Little by little I have been able to gather courage and step out in faith to find my way back out of the maze. Sure there have been times of going in circles and running into the same walls and corners. How blessed am I to have a fellowship that I hear cheering on my every step... friends that take my hand when the journey gets long. Where else in the world would I find a home like the one I have found in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous?

"Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A.A.'s speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity." ~Big Book page xxiv