Thoughts For The Day~*~ Trudging ^*^*^*^*^ October 31, 2009

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Trudging
^*^*^*^*^
"Abandon yourself to God as you understand God.
Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows.
Clear away the wreckage of your past.
Give freely of what you find and join us.
We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit,
and you will surely meet some of us as you
trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
May God bless you and keep you -- until then."
c.1976AAWS, Alcohlics Anonymous, p. 164
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

I didn't know how sick I was until I started getting better.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H =  Fantastic Adventures In Trusting Him

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
 

How Often We Tried

From: "Remembering your last drunk" 

One AA member says that “a drink†makes him almost taste pizza with a brew. A 78-year-old widow among us is inevitably reminded of the sherry eggnogs she began to like at bedtime in a nursing home. 

Although perfectly natural, such mental images are now, for us, misleading. Those were the ways some of us began to drink, and if that had been the whole truth of our drinking history, it is unlikely that we could have developed much of a drinking problem. 

A searching, fearless look at our complete drinking record, however, shows that in the last years and months our drinking never created those perfect, magic moments again, no matter how often we tried for them. 

1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 51
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AVOIDING CONTROVERSY

All history affords us the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for, or tempted into, controversy. Others fell apart because of sheer self--righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specification.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176

As an A.A. member and sponsor, I know I can cause real damage if I yield to temptation and give opinions and advice on another's medical, marital, or religious problems. I am not a doctor, counselor, or lawyer. I cannot tell anyone how he or she should live; however, I can share how I came through similar situations without drinking, and how A.A.'s Steps and Traditions help me in dealing with my life.

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

There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well prove to be a heady drink for most of us - that is, if we really came to believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to behave accordingly.
Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose: the carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 232
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and
fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We
discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we
have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone
we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84
~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I have more peace and contentment. Life has fallen into place. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have found their correct position. Life is whole, all of one piece. I am not cast hither and yon on every wind of circumstance or fancy. I am no longer a dry leaf cast up and away by the breeze. I have found my place of rest, my place where I belong. I am content. I do not vainly wish for things I cannot have. I have "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Have I found contentment in A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

In all of us there is an inner consciousness that tells of God, an inner voice that speaks to our hearts. It is a voice that speaks to us intimately, personally, in a time of quiet meditation. It is like a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We can reach out into the darkness and figuratively touch the hand of God. As the Big Book puts it: "Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. We can find the Great Reality deep down within us. And when we find it, it changes our whole attitude toward life."

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may follow the leading of the inner voice. I pray that I may not turn a deaf ear to the urging of my conscience.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Principles ^*^*^*^*^ October 30, 2009

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Principles
^*^*^*^*^
"Experience shows that few alcoholics
will long stay away from a group
just because they don't like the way it is run.
Most return and adjust themselves
to whatever conditions they must.
Some go to a different group, or form a new one.
In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes
that he cannot get well alone,
he will somehow find a way to get well and stay well
in the company of others."
Bill W., Letter, 1943
c.1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 312
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill
- just add a little dirt.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T  =  Honestly, Actively, Lovingly, Tolerant.

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

Grim Routine

From: "Chapter 7: Make it snappy" 

During this 17-year period [1918-1935], Dr. Bob had worked out a grim routine that permitted him to drink and somehow still maintain his medical practice. Careful never to go near the hospital while he was drinking, he would stay sober until four o'clock in the afternoon. It was really a horrible nightmare, this earning money, getting liquor, smuggling it home, getting drunk, morning jitters, taking large doses of sedatives to make it possible for me to earn more money, and so on ad nauseum, he wrote. I used to promise my wife, my friends, and my children that I would drink no more - promises which seldom kept me sober through the day, though I was very sincere when I made them. 

1984, AAWS, Inc., "PASS IT ON", page 140

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
LIVE AND LET LIVE

Never since it began has Alcoholics Anonymous been divided by a major controversial issue. Nor has our Fellowship ever publicly taken sides on any question in an embattled world. This, however, has been no earned virtue. It could almost be said that we were born with it. . . .  "So long as we don't argue these matters privately, it's a cinch we never shall publicly. "

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176

Do I remember that I have a right to my opinion but that others don't have to share it?  That's the spirit of "Live and Let Live."  The Serenity Prayer reminds me, with God's help, to "Accept the things I cannot change."  Am I still trying to change others?  When it comes to "Courage to change the things I can," do I remember that my opinions are mine, and yours are yours?  Am I still afraid to be me?  When it comes to "Wisdom to know the difference," do I remember that my opinions come from my experience? If I have a know-it-all attitude, aren't I being deliberately controversial?

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

Had I not been blessed with wise and loving advisers, I might have cracked up long ago. A doctor once saved me from death by alcoholism because he obliged me to face up to the deadliness of that malady. Another doctor, a psychiatrist, later on helped me save my sanity because he led me to ferret out some of my deep-lying defects. From a clergyman I acquired the truthful principles by which we A.A.'s now try to live.
But these precious friends did far more than supply me with their professional skills. I learned that I could go to them with any problem whatever. Their wisdom and their integrity were mine for the asking.
Many of my dearest A.A. friends have stood with me in exactly this same relation. Oftentimes they could help where others could not, simply because they were A.A.'s.

GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost
the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes
practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring
into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the
suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are
without defense against the first drink."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 24~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I have real friends where I had none before. My drinking companions could hardly be called my real friends, though when drunk we seemed to have the closest kind of friendship. My idea of friendship has changed. Friends are no longer people whom I can use for my own pleasure or profit. Friends are now people who understand me and I them, whom I can help and who can help me to live a better life. I have learned not to hold back and wait for friends to come to me, but to go halfway and to be met halfway, openly and freely. Does friendship have a new meaning for me?

Meditation for the Day

There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to have them, before we have earned the right to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may learn the lesson of waiting patiently I pray that I may not expect things until I have earned the right to have them.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Touchstones ^*^*^*^*^October 29, 2009

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
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(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
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Touchstones
^*^*^*^*^
"All AA progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility.
Our whole spiritual development can be accurately
measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.
Ever deepening humility,
accompanied by an ever greater willingness
to accept and act upon clear-cut obligations --
these are truly our touchstones
for all growth in the life of the spirit.
They hold up to us the very essence
of right being and right doing.
It is by them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Bill W., Talk, 1965
c.1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 271^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

The solution is simple. 
The solution is spiritual.

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

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

Focus

From: "Acceptance Was the Answer" 

I can do the same thing with an AA meeting. The more I focus my mind on its defects - late start, long drunkalogs, cigarette smoke - the worse the meeting becomes. But when I try to see what I can add to the meeting, rather than what I can get out of it, and when I focus my mind on what's good about it, rather than what's wrong with it, the meeting keeps getting better and better. When I focus on what's good today, I have a good day, and when I focus on what's bad, I have a bad day. If I focus on a problem, the problem increases; if I focus on the answer, the answer increases.

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 419

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
OUR SURVIVAL

Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

The honesty expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the flow of energy that honesty carries with it.  The only obstacle to this flow of energy is inebriation, but even then, no one will find a closed door if he or she has left and chooses to return.  Once he or she has received the gift of sobriety, each A.A. member is challenged on a daily basis to accept a program of honesty.

My Higher Power created me for a purpose in life.  I ask him to accept my honest efforts to continue on my journey in the spiritual way of life.  I call on Him for strength to know and seek His will.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Comradeship in Peril

We A.A.'s are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck, when camaraderie, joyousness, and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to captain's table.
Unlike the feelings of the ship's passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of sharing in a common peril - relapse into alcoholism - continues to be an important element in the powerful cement which binds us of A.A. together.

<<<>>>

Our first woman alcoholic had been a patient of Dr. Harry Tiebout's, and he had handed her a prepublication manuscript copy of the Big Book. The first reading made her rebellious, but the second convinced her. Presently she came to a meeting held in our living room, and from there she returned to the sanitarium carrying this classic message to a fellow patient: "We aren't alone any more."

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 17 - 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 18
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to
Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give
freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the
Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you
trudge the Road of Happy Destiny."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me, have turned to me in confidence and trust and have forgotten the past as best they could. They have given me a chance for companionship that I had completely missed. I am their father or their mother now. Not just "that person that Mom or Dad married and God knows why." I am a part of my home now. Have I found something that I had lost?

Meditation for the Day

Our true measure of success in life is the measure of spiritual progress that we have revealed in our lives. Others should be able to see a demonstration of God's will in our lives. The measure of His will that those around us have seen worked out in our daily living is the measure of our true success. We can do our best to be a demonstration each day of the power of God in human lives, an example of the working out of the grace of God in the hearts of men and women.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may so live that others will see in me something of the working out of the will of God. I pray that my life may be a demonstration of what the grace of God can do.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Loneliness ^*^*^*^*^ October 28, 2009

 ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\    ~~  /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
  /AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Loneliness
^*^*^*^*^
"Almost without exception,
alcoholics are tortured by loneliness.
Even before our drinking got bad
and people began to cut us off,
nearly all of us suffered the feeling we didn't quite belong.
Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others,
or we were apt to be noisy good fellows
craving attention and companionship,
but never getting it -- at least to our way of thinking.
There was always that mysterious barrier
we could neither surmount nor understand. . .
That's one reason we loved alcohol too well.
It did let us act extemporaneously.
But even Bacchus boomeranged on us;
we were finally struck down and left
in terrified loneliness."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 57
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

Isolation is a darkroom where we develop negatives.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T =  Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

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

Forgiveness

Step Eight: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

These obstacles, however, are very real. The first, and one of the most difficult has to do with forgiveness. The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong that he has done us. This is especially true if he has, in fact, behaved badly at all. Triumphantly we seize upon his misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 78

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AN UNBROKEN TRADITION

We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob.  How much more grounded I feel to be in a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging.  I am grateful that the energies of A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual sobriety.

My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.'s purpose -- so clearly stated fifty years ago -- is for me to keep sober.  That purpose has promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of inter-group and central service offices, with their thousands of volunteers.  Like the sun focused through a magnifying glass, A.A.'s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts, including mine.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
To Rebuild Security

In our behavior respecting financial and emotional security, fear, greed, possessiveness, and pride have too often done their worst. Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability? Did fear and inferiority about my fitness for my job destroy my confidence and fill me with conflict? Or did I overvalue myself and play the big shot?
Businesswomen in A.A. will find that these questions often apply to them, too, and the alcoholic housewife can also make the family financially insecure. Indeed, all alcoholics need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have demolished their security.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 51-52
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to
find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and
direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal
consequences may be."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 79~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my spouse or companion is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding, recriminations, bickering, and resentment. A new companionship has developed which bodes well for the future. "There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope, with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope. Have I come home?

Meditation for the Day

We can bow to God's will in anticipation of the thing happening that will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.

 

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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