^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Honesty
"Rarely have we seen a person fail
who has thoroughly followed our path.
Those who do not recover are people
who cannot or will not give themselves
to this simple program,
usually men and women who are
constitutionally incapable of
being honest with themselves.
There are such unfortunates.
They are not at fault;
they seem to have been born that way.
They are naturally incapable of
grasping and developing a manner of living
which demands rigorous honesty.
Their chances are less than average.
There are those, too, who suffer from
grave emotional and mental disorders,
but many of them do recover
if they have the capacity to be honest."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58
Thought to Consider . . .
Every recovery from alcoholism
began with one sober hour.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
GOD
Give Others Dignity
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
"This is perhaps difficult especially discussing our defects with another person. We think we have done well enough in admitting these things to ourselves. In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient. Many of us thought it necessary to go much further. We will be more reconciled to discussing ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so. The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else all their life story."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 72-73
TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE
Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind, I think that your slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 184
In keeping with the pain and adversity which our founders encountered and overcame in establishing A.A., Bill W. sent us a clear message: a relapse can provide a positive experience toward abstinence and a lifetime of recovery. A relapse brings truth to what we hear repeatedly in meetings -- "Don't take that first drink!" It reinforces the belief in the progressive nature of the disease, and it drives home the need for, and beauty of, humility in our spiritual program. Simple truths come in complicated ways to me when I become ego driven.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"Do as I Do..."
Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at depth with alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no faith.
Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness, pride, and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is something we too often forget.
In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking with this sort of unconscious arrogance. God as I understood Him had to be for everybody. Sometimes my aggression was subtle and sometimes it was crude. But either way it was damaging--perhaps fatally so--to numbers of nonbelievers.
Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step work. It is very apt to leak out into our relations with everybody. Even now, I catch myself chanting that same old barrier-building refrain: "Do as I do, believe as I do--or else!"
GRAPEVINE, APRIL 1961
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and
attitude. We all had to place recovery above everything, for without
recovery we would have lost both home and business."
Alcoholics Anonymous, To Employers, pg. 143
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
In twelfth-step work, the fourth thing is conversion. Conversion means change. Prospects must learn to change their way of thinking. Until now, everything they've done has been connected with drinking. Now they must face a new kind of life, without liquor. They must see and admit that they cannot overcome drinking by their own willpower, so they must turn to a Higher Power for help. They must start each day by asking this Higher Power for the strength to stay sober. This conversion to belief in a Higher Power comes
gradually, as they try it and find that it works. Do I care enough about
other alcoholics to help them to make this conversion?
Meditation for the Day
Discipline of yourself is absolutely necessary before the power of God is given to you. When you see others manifesting the power of God, you probably have not seen the discipline that went before. They made themselves ready. All your life is a preparation for more good to be accomplished when God knows that you are ready for it. So keep disciplining yourself in the spiritual life every day. Learn so much of the spiritual laws that your life cannot again be a failure. Others will see the outward manifestation of the inward discipline in your daily living.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may manifest God's power in my daily living. I pray that I may discipline myself so as to be ready to meet every opportunity.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012
