"past" in the Big Book

I could almost hear the sound of the preacher’s voice as I sat, on still Sundays, way over there on the hillside; there was that proffered temperance pledge I never signed; my grandfather’s good natured contempt of some church folk and their doings; his insistence that the spheres really had their music; but his denial of the preacher’s right to tell him how he must listen; his fearlessness as he spoke of these things just before he died; these recollections welled up from the past.

Never mind the musty past; here sat a miracle directly across the kitchen table.

This should be an entirely personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of past associations, or his present choice.

Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

We reviewed our own conduct over the years past.

We have listed the people we have hurt by our conduct, and are willing to straighten out the past if we can.

We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past.

Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past.

Simply we tell him that we will never get over drinking until we have done our utmost to straighten out the past.

We ought to sit down with the family and frankly analyze the past as we now see it, being very careful not to criticize them.

We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past.

Outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him.

Now and then the family will be plagued by spectres from the past, for the drinking career of almost every alcoholic has been marked by escapades, funny, humiliating, shameful or tragic.

that future happiness can be based only upon forgetfulness of the past.

That is true only if one is willing to turn the past to good account.

The alcoholic’s past thus becomes the principal asset of the family and frequently it is almost the only one!

This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem.

Cling to the thought that, in God’s hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others.

It is possible to dig up past misdeeds so they become a blight, a veritable plague.

So we think that unless some good and useful purpose is to be served, past occurrences should not be discussed.

Having been neglected and misused in the past, they think father owes them more than they are getting.

If he means to right his past wrongs, why all this concern for everyone in the world but his family?

For his sake, we do recount and almost relive the horrors of our past.

Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past.

If you concede that your employee is ill, can he be forgiven for what he has done in the past?

Can his past absurdities be forgotten?

You are willing to overlook his past performances.

If you take it, your past will be forgotten

Never could we recapture the great moments of the past.

Clear away the wreckage of your past.