Thoughts For The Day~*~Earnestness^*^*^*^*^ April 10, 2011

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

Earnestness

"An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature.
Our struggles with them are variously
strenuous, comic, and tragic.
One poor chap committed suicide in my home.
He could not, or would not, see our way of life.
There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all.
I suppose some would be shocked at our
seeming worldliness and levity.
But just underneath there is
deadly earnestness.
Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day
in and through us,
or we perish."
Bill W., Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 92

Thought to Consider....

Laughter is the sound effect of recovery.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
DEAD
Drinking Ends All Dreams

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

Message

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":

"Three blocks away from the main office we have a good-sized loft space where all shipping and mailing is done. This activity now runs into tons of material a month. Six busy lads spend full time at it. Last year they shipped about 40,000 books and hundreds of thousands of pamphlets, many of them newly designed and edited largely through the work of Ralph, our consultant on pamphlet literature. They mailed about 30,000 letters and bulletins and did huge quantities of mimeographing. [c. 1959]"

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 207

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
GROWING UP

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  115

Sometimes when I've become willing to do what I should have been doing all along, I want praise and recognition.  I don't realize that the more I'm willing to act differently, the more exciting my life is.  The more I am willing to help others, the more rewards I receive.  That's what practicing the principles means to me.  Fun and benefits for me are in the willingness to do the actions, not to get immediate results.  Being a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving makes my life better day by day. 

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Forgotten Mountain

When I was a child, I acquired some of the traits that had a lot to do with my insatiable craving for alcohol. I was brought up in a little town in Vermont, under the shadow of Mount Aeolus. An early recollection is that of looking up at this vast and mysterious mountain, wondering what it meant and whether I could ever climb that high. But I was presently distracted by my aunt who, as a fourth-birthday present, made me a plate of fudge. For the next thirty-five years I pursued the fudge of life and quite forgot about the mountain.
<<< >>>
When self-indulgence is less than ruinous, we have a milder word for it. We call it "taking our comfort."

1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, PP. 52-53
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 67
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want
Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and
prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 12~

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

When I came into A.A., I came into a new world. A sober world. A world of sobriety, peace, serenity, and happiness. But I know that if I take just one drink, I'll go right back into that old world. That alcoholic world. That world of drunkenness, conflict, and misery. That alcoholic world is not a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Looking at the world through the bottom of a whiskey glass is no fun after you've become an alcoholic. Do I want to go back to that alcoholic world?

Meditation for the Day

Pride stands sentinel at the door of the heart and shuts out the love of God. God can only dwell with the humble and the obedient. Obedience to God's will is the key unlocking the door to God's kingdom. You cannot obey God to the best of your ability without in time realizing God's love and responding to that love. The rough stone steps of obedience lead up to where the mosaic floor of love and joy is laid. Where God's spirit is, there is your home. There is heaven for you.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God may make His home in my humble and obedient heart. I pray that I may obey His guidance to the best of my ability.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Vigilance ^*^*^*^*^ April 9, 2011

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

Vigilance

"Now that we're in AA and sober,
winning back the esteem of our friends
and business associates,
we find that we still need to
exercise special vigilance.
As an insurance against
the dangers of big-shot-ism,
we can often check ourselves by remembering
that we are today sober only by
the grace of God
and that any success we may be having
is far more His success than ours."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 92
As Bill Sees It, p. 19

Thought to Consider . . .

"Vigilance will always be the price of survival."

Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, November 1960.
The Language of the Heart, p. 317

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BUT
Being Unconvinced Totally

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

ODAAT

From "The Missing Link":

"Exactly how was I supposed to not drink if my girlfriend breaks up with me, or if my best friend dies, or even through happy times like graduations, weddings, and birthdays. They suggested I could just stay sober one day at a time. They explained that it might be easier to set my sights on the twenty-four hours in front of me and to take on these other situations when and if they ever arrived. I decided to give sobriety a try, one day at a time, and I've done it that way ever since."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 286-87

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FREEDOM FROM "KING ALCOHOL"

        . . . let us not suppose even for an instant that we are not under constraint...  Our former tyrant, King Alcohol, always stands ready again to clutch us to him.  Therefore, freedom from alcohol is the great "must" that has to be achieved, else we go mad or die.

AS BILL SEES IT, p.  134

When drinking, I lived in spiritual, emotional, and sometimes, physical confinement.  I had constructed my prison with bars of self-will and self-indulgence, from which I could not escape.  Occasional dry spells that seemed to promise freedom would turn out to be little more than hopes of a reprieve.  True escape required a willingness to follow whatever right actions were needed to turn the lock.  With that willingness and action, both the lock and the bars themselves opened for me.  Continued willingness and action keep me free -- in a kind of extended daily probation -- that need never end.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The "Slipper" Needs Understanding

"Slips can often be charged to rebellion; some of us are more rebellious than others. Slips may be due to the illusion that one can be 'cured' of alcoholism. Slips can also be charged to carelessness and complacency. Many of us fail to ride out these periods sober. Things go fine for two or three years--then the member is seen no more. Some of us suffer extreme guilt because of vices or practices that we can't or won't let go of. Too little self-forgiveness and too little prayer--well, this combination adds up to slips.
"Then some of us are far more alcohol-damaged than others. Still others encounter a series of calamities and cannot seem to find the spiritual resources to meet them. There are those of us who are physically ill. Others are subject to more or less continuous exhaustion, anxiety, and depression. These conditions often play a part in slips--sometimes they are utterly controlling."

TALK, 1960
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be
able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take
it easy. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right
answers come after we have tried this for a while."

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

Third, alcoholics recover their proper relationship with other people. They think less about themselves and more about others. They try to help other alcoholics. They make new friends so that they're no longer lonely. They try to live a life of service instead of selfishness. All their relationships with other people are improved. They solve their personality problems by recovering their personal integrity, their faith in a Higher Power, and their way of fellowship and service to others. is my drink problem solved as long as my personality problem is solved?

Meditation for the Day

All that depresses you, all that you fear, is really powerless to harm you. These things are but phantoms. So arise from earth's bonds, from depression, distrust, fear, and all that hinders your new life. Arise to beauty, joy, peace, and work inspired by love. Rise from death to life. You do not even need to fear death. All past sins are forgiven if you live and love and work with God. Let nothing hinder your new life. Seek to know more and more of that new way of living.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for Him. I pray that I may go out into the sunlight and work with God.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Change ^*^*^*^*^ April 8, 2011

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

"Let us never fear needed change.
Certainly we have to discriminate between
changes for worse and changes for better.
But once a need becomes clearly apparent in an individual,
in a group, or in AA as a whole,
it has long since been found out
that we cannot stand still and look the other way."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, July 1965
As Bill Sees It, p. 115

Thought to Consider . . .

We're responsible for the effort - not the outcome.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E
Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Everyday.

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

Objectivity

Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

"They comfort the melancholy one by first showing him that his case is not strange or different, that his character defects are probably not more numerous or worse than those of anyone else in A.A. This the sponsor promptly proves by talking freely and easily, and without exhibitionism, about his own defects, past and present. This calm, yet realistic, stocktaking is immensely reassuring. The sponsor probably points out that the newcomer has some assets which can be noted along with his liabilities. This tends to clear away morbidity and encourage balance. As soon as he begins to be more objective, the newcomer can fearlessly, rather than fearfully, look at his own defects."

1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 46

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AN INSIDE LOOK

We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us.  We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves.  By discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  43

Today I am no longer a slave to alcohol, yet in so many ways enslavement still threatens-my self, my desires, even my dreams.  Yet without dreams I cannot exist; without dreams there is nothing to keep me moving forward.

I must look inside myself, to free myself I must call upon God's power to face the person I've feared the most, the true me, the person God created me to be.  Unless I can or until I do, I will always be running, and never be truly free.  I ask God daily to show me such a freedom!

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Anger--Personal and Group Enemy

"As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the Number One offender,' It is a primary cause of relapses into drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is eventually to go mad or die.'
"Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more 'righteous' indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.
"Punishment never heals. Only love can heal."

LETTER, 1966
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.

- Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater than themselves. They admit that they're helpless by themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help. They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him. They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can help them. Have I recovered my faith?

Meditation for the Day

You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith. You must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and customs of the world go by, when God's purposes are thereby forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish a believer in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness, love, gratitude, and humility.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

Thoughts For The Day~*~Fear ^*^*^*^*^ April 7, 2011

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

"At heart we had all been abnormally fearful.
It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life
drinking ourselves into forgetfulness
or had plunged in recklessly and willfully
beyond our depth and ability.
The result was the same -
all of us had nearly perished
in a sea of alcohol."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 123-4

Thought to Consider . . .

I didn't make it all the way to the beach
to drown in the sand.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F E A R
Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly.

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

Choices

From "The Family Afterward":

"Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes. At the beginning of recovery a man will take, as a rule, one of two directions. He may either plunge into a frantic attempt to get on his feet in business, or he may be so enthralled by his new life that he talks or thinks of little else. In either case certain family problems will arise."

2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 126-26

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A WIDE ARC OF GRATITUDE

And, speaking for Dr.  Bob and myself, I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.'s beginning.

THE A.A. WAY OF LIFE, p.  67

Am I capable of such generous tribute and gratitude to my wife, parents and friends, without whose support I might never have survived to reach A.A.'s doors?  I will work on this and try to see the plan my Higher Power is showing me which links our lives together.

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Self-Respect Through Sacrifice

At the beginning we sacrificed alcohol. We had to, or it would have killed us. But we couldn't get rid of alcohol unless we made other sacrifices. We had to toss self-justification, self-pity, and anger right out the window. We had to quit the crazy contest for personal prestige and big bank balances. We had to take personal responsibility for our sorry state and quit blaming others for it.
Were these sacrifices? Yes, they were. To gain enough humility and self-respect to stay alive at all, we had to give up what had really been our dearest possessions--our ambition and our illegitimate pride.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 287
*~*~*~*~*^ 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

In A.A. alcoholics find a way to solve their personality problems. They do this by recovering three things. First, they recover their personal integrity. They pull themselves together. They get honest with themselves and with other people. They face themselves and their problems honestly, instead of running away. They take a personal inventory of themselves to see where they really stand. Then they face the facts instead of making excuses for themselves. Have I recovered my integrity?

Meditation for the Day

When trouble comes, do not say: "Why should this happen to me?" Leave yourself out of the picture. Think of other people and their troubles and you will forget about your own. Gradually get away from yourself and you will know the consolation of unselfish service to others. After a while, it will not matter so much what happens to you. It is not so important any more, except as your experience can be used to help others who are in the same kind of trouble.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may become more unselfish. I pray that I may not be thrown off the track by letting the old selfishness creep back into my life.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012