Thoughts For The Day~*~Daily Inventory ^*^*^*^*^ October 8, 2006

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

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
DAILY INVENTORY

. . . and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

I was beginning to approach my new life of sobriety with unaccustomed enthusiasm. New friends were cropping up and some of my battered friendships had begun to be repaired. Life was exciting, and I even began to enjoy my work, becoming so bold as to issue a report on the lack of proper care for some of our clients. One day a co-worker informed me that my boss was really sore because a complaint, submitted over his head, had caused him much discomfort at the hands of his superiors. I knew that my report had created the problem, and began to feel responsible for my boss's difficulty. In discussing the affair, my co-worker tried to reassure me that an apology was not necessary, but I soon became convinced that I had to do something, regardless of how it might turn out. When I approached my boss and owned up to my hand in his difficulties, he was surprised. But unexpected things came out of our encounter, and my boss and I were able to agree to interact more directly and effectively in the future.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Ourselves as Individuals

There is only one sure test of all spiritual experiences: "By their fruits, ye shall know them."
This is why I think we should question no one's transformation - whether it be sudden or gradual. Nor should we demand anyone's special type for ourselves, because experience suggests that we are apt to receive whatever may be the most useful for our own needs.

<<<>>>

Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right track.

1. GRAPEVINE, JULY 1962 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 48
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our
drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the
difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while
there is yet time."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 32
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

There is such a thing as being too loyal to any one group. Do I feel put out when another group starts and some members of my group leave it and branch out into new territory Or do I send them out with my blessing? Do I visit that new offshoot group and help it alone? Or do I sulk in my own tent? A.A. grows by the starting of new groups all the time. I must realize that ifs a good thing for a large group to split up into smaller ones, even if it means that the large group-my own group- becomes smaller. Am I always ready to help new groups?

Meditation for the Day

Pray and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a feeling of communion with One who is near and ready to help. The thought of God is balm for our hates and fears. In praying to God, we find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In thinking of God, doubts and fears leave us. Instead of those doubts and fears, there will flow into our hearts such faith and love as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have the tolerance to live and let live.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that I may keep striving for these difficult things.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Gratitude ^*^*^*^*^ October 7, 2006

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

"Another exercise that I practice is to try for a
full inventory of my blessings and then
for a right acceptance of the many gifts that are mine --
both temporal and spiritual. . .
I try to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart
cannot entertain great conceits.
When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know."
Bill. W., March 1962
c.1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 271
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

I have learned what a heart full of gratitude feels like.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H J F  =  Happy, Joyous, and Free

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

Now 

From "Using the 24-hour plan:"

 

"Today is always here.  Life IS daily; today
is all we have; and anybody can go one day
without drinking.
"First, we try living in the now just in order to
stay sober -- and it works.  Once the idea has
become a part of our thinking, we find that
living life in 24-hour segments is an effective
and satisfying way to handle many other
matters as well."

 

c. 1998, Living Sober, pages 6-7

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
DAILY MONITORING

Continued to take personal inventory . . .

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 88

        The spiritual axiom referred to in the Tenth Step -- "every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us" -- also tells me that there are no exceptions to it. No matter how unreasonable others may seem, I am responsible for not reacting negatively. Regardless of what is happening around me I will always have the prerogative, and the responsibility, of choosing what happens within me. I am the creator of my own reality.

        When I take my daily inventory, I know that I must stop judging others. If I judge others, I am probably judging myself. Whoever is upsetting me most is my best teacher. I have much to learn from him or her, and in my heart, I should thank that person.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Spiritually Fit

Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things alcoholics are not supposed to do. People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all. Our experience shows that this is not necessarily so.
We meet these conditions every day. An alcoholic who cannot meet them still has an alcoholic mind; there is something the matter with his spiritual status. His only chance for sobriety would be some place like the Greenland icecap, and even there an Eskimo might turn up with a bottle of Scotch and ruin everything!

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 100-101
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Do I put too much reliance on any one member of the group? That
is, do I make a tin god out of some one person? Do I set that
person on a pedestal? If I do, I am building my house on sand.
A.A. members have "clay feet." They are all only one drink away
from a drunk, no matter how long they have been in A.A. This has
been proved to be true more than once. It's not fair to any member
to be singled out as a leader in A A. and to always quote that
member on the A.A. program. If that person should fail, where
would I be?

Meditation For The Day

You must always remember that you are weak but that God is strong.
God knows all about your weakness. He hears every cry for mercy,
every sign of weakness, every plea for help, every sorrow over
failure, every weakness felt and expressed. We only fail when we
trust too much to our own strength. Do not feel bad about your
weakness. When you are weak, that is when God is strong to help
you. Trust God enough, and your weakness will not matter. God
is always strong to save.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may learn to lean on God's strength. I pray that I
may know that my weakness is God's opportunity.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

 

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Self-will ^*^*^*^*^ October 6, 2006

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
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  /AA\
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Self-will

"The first requirement is that we be convinced
that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.   
On that basis we are almost always in collision
with something or somebody,
even though our motives are good.  
Most people try to live by self-propulsion.  
Each person is like an actor
who wants to run the whole show;
is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery
and the rest of the players in his own way.  
If his arrangements would only stay put,
if only people would do as he wished,
the show would be great.  
Everybody, including himself, would be pleased.  
Life would be wonderful."
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 60-1
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . .

Rule 62:  "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R I D E  =  Pretty Ridiculous Individual Directing Everything

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

Home

From "Equality":

"Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn't 'fit in' with the people around me. Usually 'they' had more/less money than I did, and my points of view didn't jibe with 'theirs.' The amount of prejudice I had experienced in society only proved to me just how phony some self-righteous people were. After joining A.A., I found the way of life I had been searching for. In A.A. no member is better than any other member; we're just alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism."

© 1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 96

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FACING OURSELVES

. . . . and Fear says, "You dare not look!"

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 49

How often I avoided a task in my drinking days, just because it
appeared so large! Is it any wonder even if I have been sober for
some time, that I will act that same way when faced with what
appears to be a monumental job, such as a searching and fearless
moral inventory of myself? What I discover after I have arrived
at the other side--when my inventory is completed--is that the
illusion was greater than the reality. The fear of facing myself
kept me at a standstill and, until I became willing to put
pencil to paper, I was arresting my growth based on an intangible.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Fine Art of Alibis

The majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days. For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses for drinking and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct. We had made the invention of alibis a fine art.
We had to drink because times were hard or times were good. We had to drink because at home we were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at work we were great successes or dismal failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a peace. And so it went, ad infinitum.

<<<>>>

To see how our own erratic emotions victimized us often took a long time. Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our speech and thought.

TWELVE AND TWELVE 1. pp. 46-47 - 2. p. 47
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally
and physically."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Is it my desire to be a big shot in A.A.? Do I always want to be
up front in the limelight? Do I feel that nobody else can do as
good a job as I can? Or am I willing to take a seat in the back
row once in a while and let somebody else carry the ball? Part
of the effectiveness of any A.A. group is the development of new
members to carry on, to take over, from the older members. Am I
reluctant to give up authority? Do I try to carry the load for
the whole group? If so, I am not being fair to the newer members.
Do I realize that no one person is essential?   Do I know that
A.A. could carry on without me, if it had to?

Meditation For The Day

The Unseen God can help to make us truly grateful and humble.
Since we cannot see God, we must believe in Him without seeing.
What we can see clearly is the change in a human being, when he
sincerely asks God for the strength to change. We should cling
to faith in God and in His power to change our faith in God and
in His power to change our ways. Our faith in all Unseen God
will be rewarded by a useful and serviceable life. God will not
fail to show us the way we should live. When in real gratitude
and true humility we turn to Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may believe that God can change me. I pray that
I may be always willing to be changed for the better.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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Thoughts For The Day~*~Virtues ^*^*^*^*^ October 5, 2006

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

"We of AA are apt to brag of the virtues of our fellowship.
Let us remember that none of these are earned virtues.
We have been forced into them, to begin with,
by the cruel lash of John Barleycorn.
We have adopted these attitudes, these practices,
this structure, not at first because we wished to
but because we had to.
And then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness
of our basic principles,
we began to conform because it was right to do so."
Bill W.,
c.1957AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 224
^*^*^*^*^

Thought to Consider . . . 

Life didn't end when I got sober -- it started

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R O G R A M =  People Relying On God Relay A Message

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

Open 

From "When A.A. Came of Age":

"Dr. Jim S., the A.A. speaker, told of his life experience and the serious drinking that led to the crisis which had brought about his spiritual awakening. He re-enacted for us his struggle to start the very first group among Negroes, his own people. Aided by a tireless and eager wife, he had turned his home into a combined hospital and A.A. meeting place, free to all. As he told how early failure had finally been transformed under God's grace into amazing success, we who listened [at the 1955 Convention] realized that A.A. not only could cross seas and mountains and boundaries of language and nation but could surmount obstacles of race and creed as well."

© 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 37

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
YESTERDAY'S BAGGAGE

For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 88

I have more than enough to handle today, without dragging along yesterday's baggage too.  I must balance today's books, if I am to have a chance tomorrow.  So I ask myself if I have erred and how I can avoid repeating that particular behavior.  Did I hurt anyone, did I help anyone, and why?  Some of today is bound to spill over into tomorrow, but most of it need not if I make an honest daily inventory.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Speak Up Without Fear

Few of us are anonymous so far as our daily contacts go. We have dropped anonymity at this level because we think our friends and associates ought to know about A.A. and what it has done for us. We also wish to lose the fear of admitting that we are alcoholics. Though we earnestly request reporters not to disclose our identities, we frequently speak before semipublic gatherings. We wish to convince audiences that our alcoholism is a sickness we no longer fear to discuss before anyone.
If, however, we venture beyond this limit, we shall surely lose the principle of anonymity forever. If every A.A. felt free to publish his own name, picture, and story, we would soon be launched upon a vast orgy of personal publicity.

<<<>>>

"While the so-called public meeting is questioned by many A.A. members, I favor it myself providing only that anonymity is respected in press reports and that we ask nothing for ourselves except understanding."

1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1946 - 2. LETTER, 1949
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Most alcoholics owe money. We do not dodge our creditors. Telling
them what we are trying to do, we make no bones about our drinking;
they usually know it anyway, whether we think so or not. Nor are we
afraid of disclosing our alcoholism on the theory it may cause
financial harm. Approached in this way, the most ruthless creditor
will sometimes surprise us. Arranging the best deal we can we let
these people know we are sorry. Our drinking has made us slow to
pay.
We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go,
for we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 78~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Do I have any hard feelings about other group members or for any        
other A.A. group? Am I critical of the way a group member thinks or     
acts? Do I feel that another group is operating in the wrong way and     
do I broadcast it?   Or do I realize that all A.A. members, no matter       
what their limitations, have something to offer, some good, however       
little, that they can do for A.A. in spite of their handicaps? Do I       
believe that there is a place for all kinds of groups in A.A., provided     
they are following A.A. traditions, and that they can be effective even   
if I do not agree with their procedure?   Am I tolerant of people and       
groups?

Meditation For The Day

"The Lord shall preserve Thy going out and Thy coming in, from this       
time forth and even forever more." All your movements, your goings     
and comings can be guided by the Unseen Spirit. Every visit to help       
another, every unselfish effort to assist, can be blessed by that Unseen  
Spirit. There can be a blessing on all you do, on every interview with     
one who is suffering. Every meeting of a need may not be a chance       
meeting, but it may have been planned by the Unseen Spirit. Led by       
the Spirit of the Lord, you can be tolerant, sympathetic, and       
understanding of others and so accomplish much.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be led by the spirit of God. I pray that the Lord
will preserve my goings and my comings.

©Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012©

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