Thoughts For The Day~*~Alternatives ^*^*^*^*^ December 19, 2009

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

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were,
we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution.
We were in a position where life was becoming impossible,
and if we had passed into the region
from which there is no return through human aid,
we had but two alternatives.
One was to go on to the bitter end,
blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation
as best we could, and the other,
to accept spiritual help.
This we did because we honestly wanted to,
and were willing to make the effort.    
c. 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous,  pp. 25-6
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Thought to Consider . . .

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

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C  = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

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

Simple

From "Freedom from Bondage":

"The A.A. members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question the 'H' is for honesty, the 'O' is for open-mindedness, and the 'W' is for willingness; these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 549-50

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
UNDERSTANDING THE MALADY

When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible. Even when you understand the malady better, you may feel this feeling rising.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 139

Having suffered from alcoholism, I should understand the illness, but sometimes I feel annoyance, even contempt, toward a person who cannot make it in A.A. When I feel that way, I am satisfying my false sense of superiority and I must remember, but for the grace of God, there go I.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - God's Gifts

We see that the sun never sets upon A.A.'s Fellowship; that more than three hundred and fifty thousand of us have now recovered from our malady; that we have everywhere begun to transcend the formidable barriers of race, creed, and nationality. This assurance that so many of us have been able to meet our responsibilities for sobriety and for growth and effectiveness in the troubled world where we live, will surely fill us with the deepest joy and satisfaction.
But, as a people who have nearly always learned the hard way, we shall certainly not congratulate ourselves. We shall perceive these assets to be God's gifts, which have been in part matched by an increasing willingness on our part to find and do His will for us.

GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"...I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do
with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and
direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was
nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and
became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and
branch."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 13~

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

The skeptic and the agnostic say it is impossible for us to find the answer to life. Many have tried and failed. But many more have put aside intellectual pride and have said to themselves: Who am I to say there is no God? Who am I to say there is no purpose in life? The atheist makes a declaration: "The world originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere." Others live for the moment and do not even think about why they are here or where they are going. They might as well be clams on the bottom of the ocean, protected by their hard shells of indifference. They are going nowhere and they do not care. Do I care where I am going?

Meditation for the Day

We may consider the material world as the clay which the artist works with, to make of it something beautiful or ugly. We need not fear material things, which are neither good nor bad in the moral sense. There seems to be no active force for evil- outside of human beings themselves. Humans alone can have either evil intentions-resentments, malevolence, hate, and revenge-or good intentions-love and goodwill, They can make something ugly or something beautiful out of the clay of their lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may make something good out of my life. I pray that I may be a good artisan with the materials that I have been given to use.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Miracle ^*^*^*^*^ December 18, 2009

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

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone --
even alcohol.
For by this time sanity will have returned.
We will seldom be interested in liquor.
If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame.
We react sanely and normally,
and we will find that this has happened automatically.
We will see that our new attitude toward liquor
has been given us without any thought or effort on our part.
It just comes! That is the miracle of it.    
c. 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous,  pp. 84-5
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Thought to Consider . . .

Don't give up before the miracle happens.

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

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

Bill Undercover

AA History 

Among the odd jobs that Bill cited in “Bill’s Story†was his mention of working on a farm for a month. During 1925, Bill and Lois took off on a trip down the east coast inspecting companies to see if their stock might be good Wall Street investments. They camped up and down the coast and carried all of their belongings in the Harley-Davidson motorcycle and sidecar that Bill had purchased. 

At the end of April 1925, they stopped at the Goldfoot family dairy farm in Scotia, New York near Schenectady. Mr. Goldfoot had two sons, both of whom worked for General Electric, a company that Bill was able to penetrate for investment investigation by befriending some of their employees during that month. They also worked for the Goldfoots to earn some money to continue on this most successful trip. Lois later acknowledged that she hadn't cared if they earned a cent on the trip. She had been hoping the fresh air and the hobo lifestyle would help Bill slow up on his drinking. 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
HONESTY WITH NEWCOMERS

Tell him exactly what happened to you. Stress the spiritual feature freely.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 93

The marvel of A.A. is that I tell only what happened to me.  I don't waste time offering advice to potential newcomers, for if advice worked, nobody would get to A.A.  All I have to do is show what has brought me sobriety and what has changed my life.  If I fail to stress the spiritual feature of A.A.'s program, I am being dishonest.  The newcomer should not be given a false impression of sobriety.  I am sober only through the grace of my Higher Power, and that makes it possible for me to share with others.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - Troubles of Our Own Making

Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p- 62
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for
the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his
spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could
not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not
work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely
die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 14~

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

Unless we have the key of faith to unlock the meaning of life, we are lost. We do not choose faith because it is one way for us, but because it is the only way. Many have failed and will fail. For we cannot live victoriously without faith; we are at sea without a rudder or an anchor, drifting on the sea of life. Wayfarers without a home. Our souls are restless until they find rest in God. Without faith, our lives are a meaningless succession of unrelated happenings, without rhyme or reason. Have I come to rest in faith?

Meditation for the Day

This vast universe around us, including this wonderful earth on which we live, was once perhaps only a thought in the mind of God. The nearer the astronomers and the physicists get to the ultimate composition of all things, the nearer the universe approaches a mathematical formula, which is thought. The universe may be the thought of the Great Thinker. We must try to think God's thoughts after Him. We must try to get guidance from the Divine Mind as to what His intention is for the world and what part we can have in carrying out that intention.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not worry over the limitations of my human mind. I pray that I may live as though my mind were a reflection of the Divine Mind.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Meetings ^*^*^*^*^ December 17, 2009

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

Through going to meetings and listening,
and occasionally speaking,
through doing Twelfth Step work,
whereby in helping others you are both the teacher
and the student,
by making many wonderful AA friends,
I have been taught all the things in life that are worth having.
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, (3rd Edition), p. 416

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Thought to Consider . . .

Meetings:  A checkup from the neck up

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H E A R T =  Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together

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

 Expansion

From "A Vision for You":

"Every few days this doctor suggests our approach to one of his patients. Understanding our work, he can do this with an eye to selecting those who are willing and able to recover on a spiritual basis. Many of us, former patients, go there to help. Then, in this eastern city, there are informal meetings such as we have described to you, where you may now see scores of members. There are the same fast friendships, there is the same helpfulness to one another"

 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 163

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A PRICELESS REWARD

. . . work with other alcoholics. . . It works when other activities fail.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89

"Life will take on new meaning,-- as the Big Book says (p. 89).  This promise has helped me to avoid self-seeking and self-pity.  To watch others grow in this wonderful program, to see them improve the quality of their lives, is a priceless reward for my effort to help others.  Self-examination is yet another reward for an ongoing recovery, as are serenity, peace and contentment.  The energy derived from seeing others on a successful path, of sharing with them the joys of the journey, gives to my life a new meaning.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - The Value of Human Will

Many newcomers, having experienced little but constant deflation, feel a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, sometimes rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered only by the individual's will.
However, there are certain things which the individual alone can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can then make the decision to exert himself along spiritual lines. Trying to do this is actually an act of his own will. It is a right use of this faculty.
Indeed, all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps require our sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 40
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"If there be divorce or separation, there should be no undue haste
for the couple to get together. The man should be sure of his
recovery. The wife should fully understand his new way of life. If
their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better basis,
since the former did not work. This means a new attitude and spirit
all around. Sometimes it is to the best interests of all concerned
that a couple remain apart. Obviously, no rule can be laid down.
Let the alcoholic continue his program day by day. When the time for
living together has come, it will be apparent to both parties."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, Page 99
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

The way of faith is, of course, not confined to A.A. it is for everybody who really wants to live. But many people can go through life without much of it. Many are doing so, to their own sorrow. The world is full of lack of faith. Many people have lost confidence in any meaning in the universe. Many are wondering if it has any meaning at all. Many are at loose ends. Life has no goal for many. They are strangers in the land. They are not at home. But for us in A.A., the way of faith is the way of life. We have proved by our past lives that we could not live without it. Do I think I could live happily without faith?

Meditation for the Day

"He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends the rain on the just and the unjust." God does not interfere with the working of natural laws. The laws of nature are unchangeable, otherwise we could not depend on them. As far as natural laws are concerned, God makes no distinction between good and bad people. Sickness or death may strike anywhere. But spiritual laws are also made to be obeyed. Our choice of good or evil depends on whether we go upward to true success and victory in life or downward to loss and defeat.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose today the way of the spiritual life. I pray that I may live today with faith and hope and love.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012