~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA/ )
( /AA\ )
/AA\
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Amends
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"This is a very large order.
It is a task which we may perform with increasing skill,
but we never really finish.
Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership,
and brotherhood with all men and women,
of whatever description,
is a moving and fascinating adventure.
Every AA has found that he can make little headway
in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks
and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey
of the human wreckage he has left in his wake."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 77
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Thought to Consider . . .
It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes
and to make amends for them.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T I M E = Things I Must Earn
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Right Acceptance
From "More than Comfort:"
"When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements
such as these: 'Pain is the touchstone of progress.' . . . 'Fear no
evil.' . . . 'This, too, will pass.' . . . 'This experience can be
turned to benefit.'
"These fragments of prayer bring far more than mere comfort.
They keep me on the track of right acceptance; they break up my
compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and
sometimes they endow me with the courage to change the things
I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 148
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
TRUE TOLERANCE
Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 92
The thought occurred to me that all people are emotionally ill to some extent. How could we not be? Who among us is spiritually perfect? Who among us is physically perfect? How could any of us be emotionally perfect? Therefore, what else are we to do but bear with one another and treat each other as we would be treated in similar circumstances? That is what love really is.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Praying Rightly
We thought we had been deeply serious about religious practices. However, upon honest appraisal we found that we had been most superficial. Or sometimes, going to extremes, we had wallowed in emotionalism and had also mistaken this for true religious feeling. In both cases, we had been asking something for nothing.
We had not prayed rightly. We had always said, "Grant me my wishes," instead of "Thy will be done." The love of God and man we understood not at all. Therefore we remained self-deceived, and so incapable of receiving enough grace to restore us to sanity.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 32
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period
of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Second, I am content to face the rest of my life without alcohol. I have made the great decision once and for all. I have surrendered as gracefully as possible to the inevitable. I hope I have no more reservations. I hope that nothing can happen to me now that would justify my taking a drink. No death of a dear one. No great calamity in any area of my life should justify me in drinking. Even if I were on some desert isle, far from the rest of the world, but not far from God, should I ever feel it right to drink. For me, alcohol is out-period. I will always be safe unless I take that first drink. Am I fully resigned to this fact?
Meditation for the Day
Day by day we should slowly build up an unshakable faith in a Higher Power and in that Power's ability to give us all the help we need. By having these quiet times each morning, we start each day with a renewing of our faith, until it becomes almost a part of us and is a strong habit. We should keep furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture of faith. We should try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is harmonious and good, beautiful and enduring.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may build a house in my soul for the spirit of God to dwell in. I pray that I may come at last to an unshakable faith.
©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Thoughts For The Day~*~Amends ^*^*^*^*^October 22, 2006
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Thoughts For The Day~*~Humility ^*^*^*^*^October 21, 2006
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Humility
^*^*^*^*^
"The attainment of greater humility
is the foundation principle of each of AA's Twelve Steps.
For without some degree of humility,
no alcoholic can stay sober at all.
Nearly all AA's have found, too, that unless they develop
much more of this precious quality
than may be required just for sobriety,
they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy.
Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose,
or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith
that can meet any emergency."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 70
^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Consider . . .
I didn't learn humility with my head.
I learned humility with my heart.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T R U S T = Try Relying Upon Steps and Traditions
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Realism
From "Using the 24-hour plan:"
"Although we realize that alcoholism is a
permanent, irreversible condition, our
experience has taught us to make no
long-term promises about staying sober.
We have found it more realistic -- and
more successful -- to say, "I am not
taking a drink JUST FOR TODAY."
c. 1975, Living Sober, page 6
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
NOTHING GROWS IN THE DARK
We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10
With the self-discipline and insight gained from practicing Step Ten, I begin to know the gratifications of sobriety -- not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as recovery in every department of my life.
I renew hope, regenerate faith, and regain the dignity of self-respect. I discover the word "and" in the phrase "and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it."
Reassured that I am no longer always wrong, I learn to accept myself as I am, with a new sense of the miracles of sobriety and serenity.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Love + Rationality = Growth
"It seems to me that the primary object of any human being is to grow, as God intended, that being the nature of all growing things.
"Our search must be for what reality we can find, which includes the best definition and feeling of love that we can acquire. If the capability of loving is in the human being, then it must surely be in his Creator.
"Theology helps me in that many of its concepts cause me to believe that I live in a rational universe under a loving God, and that my own irrationality can be chipped away, little by little. This is, I suppose, the process of growth for which we are intended."
LETTER, 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Psychologists are inclined to agree with us. We have spent
thousands of dollars for examinations. We know but few instances
where we have given these doctors a fair break. We have seldom told
them the whole truth nor have we followed their advice. Unwilling to
be honest with these sympathetic men, we were honest with no one
else. Small wonder many in the medical profession have a low opinion
of alcoholics and their chance for recovery!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Now that we have considered the obligations of real, working members of A.A., let us examine what the rewards are that have come to us as a result of our new way of living. First, I understand myself more than I ever did before. I have leamed what was the matter with me and I know now a lot of what makes me tick. I will never be alone again. I am just one of many who have the illness of alcoholism and one of many who have leamed what to do about it. I am not an odd fISh or a square peg in a round hole. I seem to have found my right place in the world. Am I beginning to understand myself?
Meditation for the Day
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will remain with him and him with me." The knocking of God's spirit, asking to come into your life, is due to no merit of yours, though it is in response to the longing of your heart. Keep a listening ear, an ear bent to catch the sound of the gentle knocking at the door of your heart by the spirit of God. Then open the door of your heart and let God's spirit come in.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may let God's spirit come into my heart. I pray that it may fill me with an abiding peace.
©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©
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Friday, October 20, 2006
Thoughts For The Day~*~Change ^*^*^*^*^October 20, 2006
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Change
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"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 been found out that we cannot stand still
and look the other way.
The essence of all growth is a willingness
to change for the better
and then an unremitting willingness
to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails."
Bill W., July 1965
c.1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 115
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Thought to Consider . . .
Not to change is not to adapt;
not to adapt is to become extinct.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Everyday
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
"I have more problems than alcohol . . . alcohol is only a symptom of a more pervasive disease. When I stopped drinking I began a lifetime process of recovery from unruly emotions, painful relationships, and unmanageable situations. This process is too much for most of us without help from a Higher Power and our friends in the Fellowship. . . . One day at a time, almost imperceptibly, I healed."
© 1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 105
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*SOLACE FOR CONFUSION
Obviously, the dilemma of the wanderer from faith is that of profound confusion. He thinks himself lost to the comfort of any conviction at all. He cannot attain in even a small degree the assurance of the believer, the agnostic, or the atheist. He is the bewildered one.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28
The concept of God was one that I struggled with during my early years of sobriety. The images that came to me, conjured from my past, were heavy with fear, rejection and condemnation. Then I heard my friend Ed's image of a Higher Power: As a boy he had been allowed a litter of puppies, provided that he assume responsibility for their care. Each morning he would find the unavoidable "byproducts" of the puppies on the kitchen floor. Despite frustration, Ed said he couldn't get angry because "that's the nature of puppies." Ed felt that God viewed our defects and shortcomings with a similar understanding and warmth. I've often found solace from my personal confusion in Ed's calming concept of God.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Rebellion or Acceptance
All of us pass through times when we can pray only with the greatest exertion. Occasionally we go even further than this. We are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things happen, we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.
<<<>>>
A man who persists in prayer finds himself in possession of great gifts. When he has to deal with hard circumstances, he finds he can face them. He can accept himself and the world around him.
He can do this because he now accepts a God who is All - and who loves all. When he says, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," he deeply and humbly means it. When in good meditation and thus freed from the clamors of the world, he knows that he is in God's hands, that his own ultimate destiny is really secure, here and hereafter, come what may.
1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 105 - 2. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by
which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than
ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
Well, that's exactly what this book is about."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 45
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
For the past few weeks we have been asking ourselves some searching questions. We have not been able to answer them all as we would like. But on the right answers to these questions will depend the usefulness and effectiveness of our lives and to some extent the usefulness and effectiveness of the whole A.A. movement. It all boils down to this: I owe a deep debt to A.A. and to the grace of God. Am I going to do all I can to repay that debt? Let us search our souls, make our decisions, and act accordingly. Any real success we have in life will depend on that. Now is the time to put our conclusions into effect. What am I going to do about it?
"Our Lord and our God, be it done unto us according to Thy will." Simple acceptance of God's will in whatever happens is the key to abundant living. We must continue to pray. ..Not my will but Thy will be done." It may not turn out the way you want it to, but it will be the best way in the long run, because it is God's way. If you decide to accept whatever happens as God's will for yourself, whatever it may be, your burdens will be lighter. Try to see in all things some fulfillment of the Divine Intent.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may see the working out of God's will in my life.
I pray that I may be content with whatever He wills for me.
©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©
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