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Attitudes
"We find that our old attitudes toward our instincts
need to undergo drastic revisions.
Our desires for emotional security and wealth,
for personal prestige and power,
for romance, and for family satisfactions -
all these have to be tempered and redirected.
If we place instincts first,
we have got the cart before the horse;
we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment.
But when we are willing to place
spiritual growth first -
then and only then do we have a real chance."
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 114
Thought to Consider . . .
I have learned that my actions are far more important than my thoughts.
EGO
Easing God Out
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
"If something does come along that sort of upsets me, instead of walking in and throwing a buck at the barman and asking for a drink, I walk into a telephone booth, drop a dime in the box, and call somebody who was so kind as to give me his name and telephone number to meet such an emergency. I don't have any resentments. I had a rough lot, but I don't worry about that, after hearing the stories of many others. I think I am very lucky that there are people like A.A.'s [sic] and an A.A. program to hang on to and carry me through."
(c) 2003, AAWS, Inc.; Experience, Strength & Hope, pg. 393
GIVING WITHOUT STRINGS
And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69
The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to help me. I thought, "What do they want in return?" But I soon learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Give Thanks
Though I still find it difficult to accept today's pain and anxiety with any great degree of serenity - as those more advanced in the spiritual life seem able to do - I can give thanks for present pain nevertheless.
I find the willingness to do this by contemplating the lessons learned from past suffering - lessons which have led to the blessings I now enjoy. I can remember how the agonies of alcoholism, the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride, have often led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom.
GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration
that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His
human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable.
Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted
complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead,
suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than
the best he had ever known!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 11~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Fellowship is a big part of staying sober. The doctors call it group therapy. We never go to an A.A. meeting without taking something out of it. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting and we think of excuses for not going. But we usually end up by going anyway and we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute something to it. Am I contributing my share at meetings?
Meditation for the Day
"He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings." The first part, "He brought me up out of a horrible pit," means that by turning to God and putting my problems in His hands, I am able to overcome my sins and temptations. "He set my feet upon a rock" means that when I trust God in all things, I have true security. "He established my goings" means that if I honestly try to live the way God wants me to live, I will have God's guidance in my daily living.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that my feet may be set upon a rock. I pray that I may rely on God to guide my comings and goings.
©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©
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