~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

^*^*^*^*^
Growing Pains
^*^*^
"How to translate a right mental conviction into
a right emotional result,
and so into easy, happy, and good living -
well, that's not only the neurotics problem,
it's the problem of life itself for all of us who have got
to the point of real willingness to hew to right principles.
Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy may still elude us.
That's the place so many of us AA oldsters have come to.
And it's a hell of a spot, literally."
- Bill W.
©1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 237
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

Minds are like parachutes -
they won't work unless they're open.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S O B E R  =  Simply Observe Bill's Exemplary Recovery

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Ourselves

From "Getting out of the 'if' trap:"

 

"We drunks are very 'iffy' people. 
During our drinking days, we were often
full of ifs, as well as liquor.  A lot
of our dreams started out, 'IF only...'

"Over and over, we have found we cannot
stay sober long just for the sake of
wife, husband, children, lover, parents,
other relative, or friend, nor for the
sake of a job, nor to please a boss (or
doctor or judge or creditor) -- not for
ANYONE other than ourselves."

 

c. 1998, Living Sober - pages 63 & 64

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A LOOK BACKWARD

First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77

As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery,  I experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear and bright, rather than obscure and dim.  Reviewing my life to discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and dangerous task.  It was painful to pause and look backward.  I was afraid I might stumble!  Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and just live in my new golden present?  I realized that those in the past whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my movement toward serenity.  I had to ask for courage to face those persons from my life who still lived in my conscience, to recognize and deal with the guilt that their presence produced in me.  I had to look at the damage I had done, and become willing to make amends.  Only then could my journey of the spirit resume.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Leadership in A.A.

No society can function well without able leadership at all its levels, and
A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes cherish the thought that we can do without much personal leadership at all. We are apt to warp the
traditional idea of "principles before personalities" around to such a point
that there would be no "personality" in leadership whatever. This would imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody.
A leader in A.A. service is a man (or woman) who can personally put
principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective action that
the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him with his job. When
a leader powerdrives us badly, we rebel; but when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no judgment of his own -- well, he really isn't
a leader at all.

TWELVE CONCEPTS, pp. 39, 40
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the
past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out
of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we
haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was
agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over
alcohol."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg.76
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

"There was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual
tools laid at our feet by Alcoholics Anonymous. By doing so, we have a
spiritual experience which revolutionizes our whole attitude toward life,
toward others, and toward God's universe. The central fact of our lives today
is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and
lives there in a way that is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to
accomplish those things for us that we could never do for ourselves." Have I
let God come into my life?

Meditation for the Day

The moment a thing seems wrong to you or a person's actions to be not what
you think they should be, at that moment begins your obligation and
responsibility to pray for those wrongs to be righted or that person to be
changed. What is wrong in your surroundings or in the people you know? Think about these things and make these matters your responsibility. Not to
interfere or be a busybody, but to pray that a change may come through your
influence. You may see lives altered and evils banished in time. You can
become a force for good wherever you are.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be a co-worker with God. I pray  that I may help people by
my example.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

 

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~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

^*^*^*^*^
Self-Restraint
^*^*^
"We enjoy certain inherent advantages
which should make our task of self-restraint
relatively easy.
There is no really good reason for anyone to object
if a great many drunks get sober.
Nearly everyone can agree that this is a good thing.
If, in the process, we are forced to develop
a certain amount of honesty, humility, and tolerance,
who is going to kick about that?
If we recognize that religion is the province of the clergy
and the practice of medicine is for doctors,
we can helpfully cooperate with both.
Certainly there is little basis for controversy in these areas.
It is a fact that AA has not the slightest reform
or political complexion.
We try to pay our own expenses,
and we strictly mind our single purpose."
- Bill W.
©1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th Printing, p. 69
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

We are not living just to be sober;
we are living to learn, to serve, and to love.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S W A T  =  Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, and Trust

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Continually

From "For Emergencies Only?":

"Whether we had been believers or unbelievers, we began to get over the idea that the Higher Power was a sort of bush-league pinch hitter [sic], to be called upon only in an emergency.

"The notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate. Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help.

"But now the words 'Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works' began to carry bright purpose and meaning." – adapted from the 12 and 12, pg. 75

© 1990 AAWS, Inc.; As Bill Sees It; pg. 66

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
REMOVING "THE GROUND GLASS"

The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true perspective.  This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 140

My Eighth Step list used to drag me into a whirlpool of resentment.  After four years of sobriety, I was blocked by denial connected with an ongoing abusive relationship.  The argument between fear and pride eased as the words of the Step moved from my head to my heart.  For the first time in years I opened my box of paints and poured out an honest rage, an explosion of reds and blacks and yellows.  As I looked at the drawing, tears of joy and relief flowed down my cheeks.  In my disease, I had given up my art, a self-inflicted punishment far greater than any imposed from outside.  In my recovery, I learned that the pain of my defects is the very substance God uses to cleanse my character and to set me free.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
One Fellowship - Many Faiths

As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that every one of A.A.'s principles has been borrowed from ancient sources.

<<<>>>

A minister in Thailand wrote, "We took A.A.'s Twelve Steps to the largest
Buddhist monastery in this province, and the head priest said, 'Why, these
Steps are fine! For us as Buddhists, it might be slightly more acceptable if
you had inserted the word 'good' in your Steps instead of 'God.'
Nevertheless, you say that it is God as you understand Him, and that must
certainly include the good. Yes, A.A.'s Twelve Steps will surely be accepted
by the Buddhists around here."

<<<>>>

St. Louis oldtimers recall how Father Edward Dowling helped start their
group; it turned out to be largely Protestant, but this fazed him not a bit.

A.A. COMES OF AGE - 1. p. 231 - 2. p. 81 - 3. p. 37
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a
seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we
laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

"While alcoholics keep strictly away from drink, they react
to life much like other people. But the first drink sets
the terrible cycle in motion. Alcoholics usually have no
idea why they take the first drink. Some drinkers have
excuses with which they are satisfied, but in their hearts
they really do not know why they do it. The truth is that
at some point in their drinking they have passed into a
state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is
of no avail." Am I satisfied that I have passed my tolerance
point for alcohol?

Meditation for the Day

He who made the ordered world out of chaos and set the stars
in their courses and made each plant to know its season, He
can bring peace and order out of your private chaos if you
will let Him. God is watching over you, too, to bless you and
care for you. Out of the darkness He is leading you to light,
out of unrest to rest, out of disorder to order, out of
faults and failure to success. You belong to God and your
affairs are His affairs and can be ordered by Him if you
are willing.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be led out of disorder into order. I pray
that I may be led out of failure into success.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
Higher Power
^*^*^
"My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea.
He said,
'Why don't you choose your own conception of God?'
That statement hit me hard.
It melted the icy intellectual mountain
in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years.
I stood in the sunlight at last.
It was only a matter of being willing to believe
in a Power greater than myself.
Nothing more was required of me
to make my beginning."
- Bill W.
©1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

Willpower ... our will-ingness to use a Higher Power.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B I G   B O O K  =  Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Families

From "When A.A. Came of Age":

"No one knows exactly when the first Family Group as such started. One of the largest, most vigorous, and best accepted of the early family centers developed in Toronto, Canada. . . . By 1950, the Toronto Family Group had created such a wide and deep impression that their speakers were featured at the Cleveland International A.A. Convention of that year. . . . In any case it is sure that Anne [Smith], Lois [Wilson], and Katie long ago planted the ideas which have since flowered into hundreds of Al-Anon Family Groups, one of the most encouraging developments in the whole A.A. picture in recent years [mid-1950s]."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 23-24

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*

REDOUBLING OUR EFFORTS

To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts to see how many people he has hurt, and in what ways.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77

As I continue to grow in sobriety, I become more aware of myself as a person of worth.  In the process, I am better able to see others as persons, and with this comes the realization that these were people whom I had hurt in my drinking days.  I didn't just lie, I lied about Tom.  I didn't just cheat, I cheated Joe.  What were seemingly impersonal acts, were really personal affronts, because it was people - people of worth - whom I had harmed.  I need to do something about the people I have hurt so that I may enjoy a peaceful sobriety.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Who Is to Blame

At Step Four we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been
selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? Though a given situation
had not been entirely our fault, we often tried to cast the whole blame on
the other person involved.
We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man's. So we
admitted our wrongs honestly and became willing to set these matters straight.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 67

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show,
humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We
are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-
pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do
not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we
did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have
discovered a common solution. We who have found this
solution to our alcoholic problem, we who are properly armed
with the facts about ourselves, can generally win the
entire confidence of another alcoholic. We who are making
the approach to new prospects have had the same difficulty
they have had. We obviously know what we are talking about.
Our whole deportment shouts at new prospects that we are
people with a real answer." Am I a person with the real
answer to the alcoholic problems of others?

Meditation for the Day

For straying from the right way there is no cure except to
keep so close to the thought of God that nothing, no other
interest, can seriously come between you and God. Sure of
that, you can stay on God's side. Knowing the way, nothing
can prevent your staying in the way and nothing can cause
you to seriously stray from it. God has promised peace if
you stay close to Him, but not leisure. You still have to
carry on in the world. He has promised heart-rest and
comfort, but not pleasure in the ordinary sense. Peace and
comfort bring real inward happiness.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may keep my feet on the way. I pray that I
may stay on God's side.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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