Thoughts For The Day~*~Gratitude^*^*^*^*^ November 22, 2008

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Gratitude

"A complete change takes place in our approach to life.
Where we used to run from responsibility,
we find ourselves accepting it
with gratitude that we can successfully shoulder it.
Instead of wanting to escape some perplexing problem,
we experience a thrill of challenge
in the opportunity it affords for another application
of AA techniques,
and we find ourselves tackling it with surprising vigor."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 311-12
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love,
the finest emotion we can ever know. 
Bill W., March 1962

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T H I N K  =  The Happiness I Never Knew

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Awareness

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"The [Saturday Evening Post] article appeared in the March 1, 1941, issue. Jack's [Alexander] extensive investigation and his remarkable capacity for sympathy and rapport with us produced a piece which had immense impact. By mail and telegram a deluge of pleas for help and orders for the book Alcoholics Anonymous, first in hundreds and then in thousands, hit Box 658.  Pawing at random through the incoming mass of heartbreaking appeals, we found ourselves crying. What on earth could we do with them? We were really swamped.

"We saw that we must have help. So we rounded up every A.A. woman and every A.A. wife who could use a typewriter. The upper floor of the Twenty-Fourth Street Club was converted into an emergency headquarters. For days [A.A. office manager] Ruth and the volunteers tried to answer the ever increasing tide of mail. They were almost tempted into using form letters. But experience had shown that this would not do at all. A warm personal communication must be sent to every prospect and his family."

 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 191

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
ONLY TWO SINS

. . .there are only two sins; the first is to interfere with the growth of another human being, and the second is to interfere with one's own growth.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 542

Happiness is such an elusive state.  How often do my "prayers" for others involve "hidden" prayers for my own agenda?  How often is my search for happiness a boulder in the path of growth for another, or even myself?  Seeking growth through humility and acceptance brings things that appear to be anything but good, wholesome and vital.  Yet in looking back, I can see that pain, struggles and setbacks have all contributed eventually to serenity through growth in the program.

I ask my Higher Power to help me not cause another's lack of growth today -- or my own.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Welcome Criticism

"Thanks much for your letter of criticism. I'm certain that had it not been for its strong critics, A.A. would have made slower progress.
"For myself, I have come to set a high value on the people who have criticized me, whether they have seemed reasonable critics or unreasonable ones. Both have often restrained me from doing much worse than I actually have done. The unreasonable ones have taught me, I hope, a little patience. But the reasonable ones have always done a great job for all of A.A.-and have taught me many a valuable lesson."

LETTER, 1955
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor
do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders. When we see a man
sinking into the mire that is alcoholism, we give him first aid and
place what we have at his disposal."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132
~
"It works - it really does."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 88~

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

I have gotten rid of most of my boredom. One of the hardest things that a new member of A.A. has to understand is how to stay sober and not be bored. Drinking was always the answer to all kinds of boring people or boring situations. But once you have taken up the interest of A.A., once you have given it your time and enthusiasm, boredom should not be a problem to you. A new life opens up before you that can be always interesting. Sobriety should give you so many new interests in life that you shouldn't have time to be bored. Have I gotten rid of the fear of being bored?

Meditation for the Day

"If I have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." Charity means to care enough about other people to really want to do something for them. A smile, a word of encouragement, a word of love, goes winged on its way, simple though it may seem, while the mighty words of an orator fall on deaf ears. Use up the odd moments of your day in trying to do some little thing to cheer up another person. Boredom comes from thinking too much about yourself.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my day may be brightened by some little act of charity. I pray that I may try today to overcome the self-centeredness that makes me bored.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Unity ^*^*^*^*^ November 21, 2008

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Unity

"The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous
is the most cherished quality our Society has.
Our lives, the lives of all to come,
depend squarely upon it.
We stay whole, or AA dies.
Without unity, the heart of AA would cease to beat;
our world arteries would no longer carry
the life-giving grace of God;
His gift to us would be spent aimlessly.
Back again in their caves, alcoholics would reproach us
and say, 'What a great thing AA might have been!' "
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 129
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

AA is not something you join, it's a way of life.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T E A M  =  Together Everyone Achieves More

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Complete Defeat

From:  "From the Taproot" 

The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.

Twelve and Twelve, pages 21-22 

Every newcomer is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward liberation from its paralyzing grip. 

So it is that we first see humility as a necessity. But this is the barest beginning. To get completely away from our aversion to the idea of being humble, to gain a vision of humility as the avenue to true freedom of the human spirit, to be willing to work for humility as something to be desired for itself, takes most of us a long, long time. A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once.

Twelve and Twelve, pages 72-73 

1967, AAWS, Inc., As Bill Sees It, page 305

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A CLASSIC PRAYER

Lord, make me a channel for thy peace -- that where there is hatred, I may bring love -- that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness -- that where there is discord, I may bring harmony -- that where there is error, I may bring truth -- that where there is doubt, I may bring faith -- that where there is despair, I may bring hope -- that where there are shadows, I may bring light - that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted - to understand, than to be understood - to love, than to be loved.  For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.  It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.  It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.  Amen.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 99

No matter where I am in my spiritual growth, the St. Francis prayer helps me improve my conscious contact with the God of my understanding.  I think that one of the great advantages of my faith in God is that I do not understand Him, or Her, or It.  It may be that my relationship with my Higher Power is so fruitful that I do not have to understand.  All that I am certain of is that if I work the Eleventh Step regularly, as best I can, I will continue to improve my conscious contact, I will know His will for me, and I will have the power to carry it out.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Humility Brings Hope

Now that we no longer patronize bars and bordellos, now that we bring home the pay checks, now that we are so very active in A.A., and now that people congratulate us on these signs of progress - well, we naturally proceed to congratulate ourselves. Of course, we are not yet within hailing distance of humility.

<<<>>>

We ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings, just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. If humility could enable us to find the grace by which the deadly alcohol obsession could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other problem we can possibly have.

1. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 76
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us
a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is
indescribably wonderful."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17~

"We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us..."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 88~

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

I no longer waste money, but try to put it to good use. Like all of us, when I was drunk, I threw money around like I really had it. It gave me a feeling of importance-a millionaire for a day. But the morning after, with an empty wallet and perhaps also some indecipherable checks, was a sad awakening. How could I have been such a fool? How will I ever make it up? Thoughts like these get you down. When we are sober, we spend our hard earned money as it should be spent. Although perhaps some of us could be more generous in our A.A. giving, at least we do not throw it away. Am I making good use of my money?

Meditation for the Day

You were meant to be at home and comfortable in the world. Yet some people live a life of quiet desperation. This is the opposite of being at home and at peace in the world. Let your peace of mind be evident to those around you. Let others see that you are comfortable, and seeing it, know that it springs from your trust in a Higher Power. The dull, hard way of resignation is not God's way. Faith takes the sting out of the winds of adversity and brings peace even in the midst of struggle.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be more comfortable in my way of living. I pray that I may feel more at home and at peace within myself.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Honesty ^*^*^*^*^ November 20, 2008

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Honesty

"I know the biggest word for me in AA is 'honesty.'
I don't believe this program would work for me
if I didn't get honest with myself about everything.
Honesty is the easiest word for me to understand
because it is the exact opposite of what I've been doing
all my life.
Therefore, it will be the hardest to work on.
But I will never be totally honest -- that would make me perfect,
and none of us can claim to be perfect.
Only God is.
If I work on it every day, it will be easier
to be honest with myself.
Then getting and staying honest with other people
will come automatically.
I know I will be grateful for a chance to make amends
to everybody I have hurt in the past."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 482
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

Honesty is the absence of the intent to deceive.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E =  Honest, Open, Positive, Environment

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

Structure of Service

From: Concept V:

Throughout our world service structure, a traditional "Right of Appeal" ought to prevail, thus assuring us that minority opinion will be heard and that petitions for the redress of personal grievances will be carefully considered." 

We believe that the spirit of democracy in our Fellowship and in our world service structure will always survive, despite the counter forces which will no doubt continue to beat upon us. Fortunately we are not obliged to maintain a government that enforces conformity by inflicting punishments. We need to maintain only a structure of service that holds aloft our Traditions, that forms and executes our policies thereunder, and so steadily carries our message to those who suffer. 

Hence we believe that we shall never be subjected to the tyranny of either the majority or the minority, provided we carefully define the relations between them and forthwith tread the path of world service in the spirit of our Twelve Steps, our Twelve Traditions, and our Conference Charter - in which I trust that we shall one day inscribe these traditional Rights of "Appeal" and "Petition." 

1962, AAWS, Twelve Concepts of World Service, pages 24-25

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"THY WILL, NOT MINE"

. . . when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification. ". . . if it be Thy will. "

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 102

I ask simply that throughout the day God place in me the best understanding of His will that I can have for that day, and that I be given the grace by which I may carry it out. As the day goes on, I can pause when facing situations that must be met and decisions that must be made, and renew the simple request: "Thy will, not mine, be done."

I must always keep in mind that in every situation I am responsible for the effort and God is responsible for the outcome. I can "Let Go and Let God" by humbly repeating: "Thy will, not mine, be done." Patience and persistence in seeking His will for me will free me from the pain of selfish expectations.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Spirituality and Money

Some of us still ask, "Just what is this Third Legacy business anyhow? And just how much territory does 'service' take in?"
Let's begin with my own sponsor, Ebby. When Ebby heard how serious my drinking was, he resolved to visit me. He was in New York; I was in Brooklyn. His resolve was not enough; he had to take action and he had to spend money.
He called me on the phone and then got into the subway; total cost, ten cents. At the level of the telephone booth and subway turnstile, spirituality and money began to mix. One without the other would have amounted to nothing at all.
Right then and there, Ebby established the principle that A.A. in action calls for the sacrifice of much time and a little money.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, pp. 140-141
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental
defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither
he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense
must come from a Higher Power."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I no longer try to escape life through alcoholism. Drinking built up an unreal world for me and I tried to live in it. But in the morning light the real life was back again and facing it was harder than ever, because I had less resources with which to meet it. Each attempt at escape weakened my personality by the very attempt. Everyone knows that alcohol, by relaxing inhibitions, permits a flight from reality. Alcohol deadens the brain cells that preside over our highest faculties and we are off to the unreal world of drunkenness. A.A. taught me not to run away, but to face reality. Have I given up trying to escape life?

Meditation for the Day

In these times of quiet meditation, try more and more to set your hopes on the grace of God. Know that whatever the future may hold, it will hold more and more of good. Do not set all your hopes and desires on material things. There is weariness in an abundance of things. Set your hopes on spiritual things so that you may grow spiritually. Learn to rely on God's power more and more and in that reliance you will have an insight into the greater value of the things of the spirit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not be overwhelmed by material things. I pray that I may realize the higher value of spiritual things.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Commitment ^*^*^*^*^ November 19, 2008

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

"No matter how much one wishes to try,
how can he turn his own will and his own life
over to the care of whatever God he thinks there is?
A beginning, even the smallest, is all that is needed.
Once we have placed the key of willingness in the lock,
and have the door ever so slightly open,
we find that we can always open it some more."
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 122
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

If you always do what you've always done,
you will always be where you've always been.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W  =  Honest, Open, Willing

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

Ingredient

From: "Me An Alcoholic?" 

Here I found an ingredient that had been lacking in any other effort I had made to save myself. Here was - power! Here was power to live to the end of any given day, power to have the courage to face the next day, power to have friends, power to help people, power to be sane, power to stay sober. That was seven years ago - and many AA meetings ago - and I haven't had a drink during those seven years. Moreover, I am deeply convinced that so long as I continue to strive, in my bumbling way, toward the principles I first encountered in the earlier chapters of this book, this remarkable power will continue to flow through me. What is this power? With my AA friends, all I can say is that it's a Power greater than myself. If pressed, all I can do is follow the psalmist who said it long before me: "Be still, and know that I am God." 

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 386-387

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"I WAS SLIPPING FAST"

We A.A.'s are active folk enjoying the satisfactions of dealing with the realities of life, . . . So it isn't surprising that we often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as something not really necessary.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96

I had been slipping away from the program for some time, but it took a death threat from a terminal disease to bring me back, and particularly to the practice of the Eleventh Step of our blessed Fellowship.  Although I had fifteen years of sobriety and was still very active in the program, I knew that the quality of my sobriety had slipped badly.  Eighteen months later, a checkup revealed a malignant tumor and a prognosis of certain death within six months.  Despair settled in when I enrolled in a rehab program, after which I suffered two small strokes which revealed two large brain tumors.  As I kept hitting new bottoms I had to ask myself why this was happening to me.  God allowed me to recognize my dishonesty and to become teachable again.  Miracles began to happen.  But primarily I relearned the whole meaning of the Eleventh Step.  My physical condition has improved dramatically, but my illness is minor compared to what I almost lost completely.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Groping toward God

"More than most people, I think, alcoholics want to know who they are, what this life is about,, whether they have a divine origin and an appointed destiny, and whether there is a system of cosmic justice and love.
"It is the experience of many of us in the early stages of drinking to feel that we have had glimpses of the Absolute and a heightened feeling of identification with the cosmos. While these glimpses and feelings doubtless have a validity, they are deformed and finally swept away in the chemical, spiritual, and emotional damage wrought by the alcohol itself.
"In A.A., and in many religious approaches, alcoholics find a great deal more of what they merely glimpsed and felt while trying to grope their way toward God in alcohol."

LETTER, 1960
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your
morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still
sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But
obviously you cannot transmit something you haven't got. See to it
that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come
to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~

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

In A.A. we do not speak much of sex. And yet putting sex in its proper place in our lives is one of the rewards that has come to us as a result of our new way of living. The Big Book says that many of us needed an overhauling there. It also says that we subjected each sex relation to this test-was it selfish or not? "We remembered always that our sex powers were God given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly, nor to be despised or loathed." We can ask God to mold our ideals and to help us to live up to them. We can act accordingly. Have I got my sex life under proper control?

Meditation for the Day

"I will lift up my eyes unto the heights whence cometh my help." Try to raise your thoughts from the depths of the sordid and mean and impure things of the earth to the heights of goodness and decency and beauty. Train your insight by trying to take the higher view. Train it more and more until distant heights become more familiar. The heights of the Lord, whence cometh your help, will become nearer and dearer and the false values of the earth will seem farther away.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not keep my eyes forever downcast. I pray that I may set my sights on higher things.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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