Thoughts For The Day~*~New Life ^*^*^ July 25, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
New Life
^*^*^
"We die to live.
That is a beautiful paradox straight out of the Biblical idea of being "born again" or "in losing one's life to find it."
When we work at our Twelve Steps,
the old life of guzzling and fuzzy thinking,
and all that goes with it, gradually dies,
and we acquire a different and a better way of life.
As our shortcomings are removed, one life of us dies,
and another life of us lives.
We in AA die to live."
1955AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd edition., pp. 341-2
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

Life didn't end when I got sober -- it started.

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

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Accept My Humanness

From: "A Nourishing Ingredient 

Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 74 

How often do I focus on my problems and frustrations? When I am having a "good day" these same problems shrink in importance and my preoccupation with them dwindles. Wouldn't it be better if I could find a key to unlock the "magic" of my "good days" for use on the woes of my "bad days"?

I already have the solution! Instead of trying to run away from my pain and wish my problems away, I can pray for humility! Humility will heal the pain. Humility will take me out of myself. Humility, that strength granted to me by that "power greater than myself," is mine for the asking! Humility will bring balance back into my life. Humility will allow me to accept my humanness joyously. 

1990, AAWS, Inc., Daily Reflections, page 204

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER

For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity.               
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151

I know the torment of drinking compulsively to quiet my nerves and my fears.  I also know the pain of white-knuckled sobriety.  Today, I do not forget the unknown person who suffers quietly, withdrawn and hiding in the desperate relief of drinking.  I ask my Higher Power to give me His guidance and the courage to be willing to be His instrument to carry within me compassion and unselfish actions.  Let the group continue to give me the strength to do with others what I cannot do alone.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Praying for Others

While praying sincerely, we still may fall into temptation. We form ideas as to what we think God's will is for other people. We say to ourselves, "This one ought to be cured of his fatal malady" or "That one ought to be relieved of his emotional pain," and we pray for these specific things.
Such prayers, of course, are fundamentally good acts, but often they are
based upon a supposition that we know God's will for the person for whom we pray. This means that side by side with an earnest prayer there can be a certain amount of presumption and conceit in us.
It is A.A.'s experience that particularly in these cases we ought to pray
that God's will, whatever it is, be done for others as well as for ourselves.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 104
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We
consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to
direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-
pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we
can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God
gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much
higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 86~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We are living on borrowed time. We are living today because of A.A. and the grace of God. And what there is left of our lives we owe to A.A. and to God. We should make the best use we can of our borrowed time and in some small measure pay back for that part of our lives which we wasted before we came into A.A. Our lives from now on are not our own. We hold them in trust for God and A.A. And we must do all we can to forward the great movement that has given us a new lease on life. Am I holding my life in trust for AA.?

Meditation for the Day

You should hold your life in trust for God. Think deeply on what that means. Is anything too much to expect from such a life? Do you begin to see how dedicated a life in trust for God can be? In such a life miracles can happen. if you are faithful, you can believe that God has many good things in store for you. God can be Lord of your life, controller of your days, of your present and your future. Try to act as God guides and leave all results to Him. Do not hold back, but go all out for God and the better life. Make good your trust.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may hold my life in trust for God. I pray that I may no longer consider my life as all my own.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will ^*^*^ July 24, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Self-will
^*^*^
"The first requirement is that we be convinced
that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.  
On that basis we are almost always
in collision with something or somebody,
even though our motives are good. 
Most people try to live by self-propulsion. 
Each person is like an actor who wants
to run the whole show;
is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet,
the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way. 
If his arrangements would only stay put,
if only people would do as he wished,
the show would be great. 
Everybody, including himself, would be pleased. 
Life would be wonderful."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 60-1
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

It's not making a mistake that will kill me. 
It's defending it that does the damage.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
N U T S  =  Not Using The Steps

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

Orderly Transfer

From: "When AA Came of Age" 

The full attendance of thousands of A.A.s at St. Louis, representing an accurate cross-section of A.A. opinion, now sat in convention before us. On the auditorium stage was the Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous, about a hundred men and women who were the named and chosen representatives of the whole fellowship. The Conference, having completed the fifth year of its experimental period with a record of high success, was no longer an experiment. It was the instrument destined to become the heart of A.A.'s Third Legacy of Service and the whole of A.A.'s conscience, world-wide.

In the simple ceremony that followed, I offered a resolution to the effect that our society should now take its affairs into its own hands and that its Conference ought to become the permanent successor to the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. 

Amid a roar of acclamation from the floor, the Convention carried that resolution. There was silence, and then we heard chairman Smith offer the resolution to the Conference for its confirmation. A simple show of hands expressed the consent of the Conference and marked the exact moment when A.A. came of age. It was four o'clock. [July 3, 1955] 

1985, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 47

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
HELPING OTHERS

Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our
constant thought of others and how we may help meet their
needs.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 20

Self-centeredness was my problem. All my life people had
been doing things for me and I not only expected it but I
was ungrateful and resentful they didn't do more. Why
should I help others, when they were supposed to help me?
If others had troubles, didn't they deserve them? I was
filled with self-pity, anger and resentment. Then I
learned that by helping others, with no thought of return,
I could overcome this obsession with selfishness, and if
I understood humility, I would know peace and serenity.
No longer do I need to drink.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Virtue and Self-Deception

I used to take comfort from an exaggerated belief in my own honesty. My New England kinfolk had taught me the sanctity of all business commitments and contracts, saying, "A man's word is his bond." After this rigorous conditioning, business honesty always came easy; I never flim-flammed anyone. However, this small fragment of readily won virtue did produce some interesting liabilities. I never failed to whip up a fine contempt for those of my fellow Wall Streeters who were prone to shortchange their customers. This was arrogant enough, but the ensuing self-deception proved even worse. My prized business honesty was presently converted into a comfortable cloak under which I could hide the many serious flaws that beset other departments of my life. Being certain of this one virtue, it was easy to conclude that I had them all. For years on end, this prevented me from taking a good look at myself.

GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961

"The Great Fact"

"We realize we know only a little.
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 you 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, p. 164
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or
other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55

"We have three little mottoes which are apropos.
Here they are:

First Things First
Live and Let Live
Easy Does It."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 135~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

A.A. is like a dike, holding back the ocean of liquor. If
we take one glass of liquor, it is like making a small hole
in the dike and once such a hole has been made, the whole
ocean of alcohol may rush in upon us. By practicing the A.A.
principles we keep the dike strong and in repair. We spot
any weakness or crack in that dike and make the necessary
repairs before any damage is done. Outside the dike is
the whole ocean of alcohol, waiting to engulf us again in
despair. Am I keeping the dike strong?

Meditation for the Day

Keep as close as you can to the Higher Power. Try to think,
act, live as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping
close to a Power greater than your-self is the solution to
most of the earth's problems. Try to practice the presence of
God in the things you think and do. That is the secret of
personal power. It is the thing that influences the lives of
others for good. Abide in the Lord and rejoice in His love.
Keep close to the Divine Spirit in the universe. Keep God
close behind your thoughts.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may keep close to the Mind of God. I pray that
I may live with Him in my heart and mind.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Ambition ^*^*^ July 23, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Ambition
^*^*^
" . . . the certainty that we are no longer isolated
in self-constructed prisons,
the surety that we need no longer be
square pegs in round holes
but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things -
these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of
right living for which no amount of pomp and
circumstance,
no heap of material possessions,
could possibly be substitutes.
True ambition is not what we thought it was.
True ambition is the deep desire
to live usefully and walk humbly under
the grace of God."
1953AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 124-5
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

The mighty oak tree was once a little nut
that held its ground.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F I T  =  Faith, Intuition, and Trust

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

Small Miracles

From: "A Late Start" 

Small miracles keep offering new opportunities just when I need change and growth. New friends have shown me hidden truths in those sayings that I once found so shallow. The lessons of tolerance and acceptance have taught me to look beyond exterior appearances to find the help and wisdom so often lurking beneath the surface. All my sobriety and growth, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, are dependent upon my willingness to listen, understand, and change.

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 542

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
I ASK GOD TO DECIDE

"I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows."                   
       
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand  Him, I don't decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask God to decide which defects stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and to others, and them I humbly ask Him to remove them.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Building of Character

Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't
strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our Sins. If we ask, God will certainly forgive our dereliction's. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks  only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 65
*~*~*~*~*^ 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~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We should remember that all A.A.'s have "clay feet." We should not set any member upon a pedestal and mark her or him out as a perfect A.A. Its not fair to the person to be singled out in this fashion and if the person is wise she or he will not wish it. if the person we single out as an ideal A.A. has a fall, we are in danger of falling, too. Without exception, we are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long we have been in A.A. Nobody is entirely safe. A.A. itself should be our ideal, not any particular member of it. Am I putting my trust in A.A. principles and not in any one member of the group?

Meditation for the Day

The inward peace that comes from trust in God truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world's worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not allow those about me to spoil my peace of mind. I pray that I may keep a deep inner calm throughout the day.

 

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Obsession ^*^*^ July 22, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Obsession
^*^*^
"Most of us have been unwilling to admit
we were real alcoholics.
No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different
from his fellows.
Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers
have been characterized by countless vain attempts
to prove we could drink like other people.
The idea that somehow, someday he will control
and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession
of every abnormal drinker.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity and death.
We learned that we had to fully concede
to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics.
This is the first step to recovery."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30
^*^*^*^*^*

Thought to Consider . . .

An obsession:

A persistent, recurring idea
that does not respond to reason.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T R U S T  =  Try Relying Upon Steps and Traditions

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

Almost

Tradition Ten: Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 

The Washingtonian Society, a movement among alcoholics which started in Baltimore a century ago, almost discovered the answer to alcoholism. At first, the society was composed entirely of alcoholics trying to help one another. The early members foresaw that they should dedicate themselves to this sole aim. In many respects, the Washingtonians were akin to A.A. of today. Their membership passed the hundred thousand mark. Had they been left to themselves, and had they stuck to their one goal, they might have found the rest of the answer. But this didn't happen. Instead, the Washingtonians permitted politicians and reformers, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, to use the society for their own purposes. Abolition of slavery, for example, was a stormy political issue then. Soon, Washingtonian speakers violently and publicly took sides on this question. Maybe the society could have survived the abolition controversy, but it didn't have a chance from the moment it determined to reform America's drinking habits. When the Washingtonians became temperance crusaders, within a very few years they had completely lost their effectiveness in helping alcoholics. 

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 178

*~*~*~* ~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
"THE GOOD AND THE BAD"

"My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me,  good and bad."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My shortcomings can be humbly placed in God's loving care and be removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better way to seek humility than by giving all of myself -- good and bad -- to God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good.

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

Gradually we began to be able to accept the other fellow's sins as well as
his virtues. We coined the potent and meaningful expression "Let us always love the best in others -- and never fear their worst."

<<<>>>

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some
extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong. When this happens, we approach true tolerance and we see what real love for our fellows actually means.

1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 92

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time
to outgrow that serious handicap."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

One of the finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its
membership. We come from all walls and stations of life. All
types and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group.
Being different from each other in certain ways, we can each
make a different contribution to the whole. Some of us are
weak in one respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the
strong points of all its members and can disregard their
weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not only because we all have the
same problem, but also because of the diversified talents of
its members. Each person can contribute part. Do I recognize
the good points of all my group's members?

Meditation for the Day

"And greater works than these shall ye do." Each individual
has the ability to do good works through the power of God's
spirit. This is the wonder of the world, the miracle of the
earth, that God's power goes out to bless the human race
through the agency of so many people who are actuated by His
grace. We need not be held back by doubt, despondency, and
fear. A wonderful future can lie before any person who
depends on God's power, a future of unlimited power to do
good works.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I
may have confidence that I can be effective for good.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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