THE JOY OF LIVING
. . . . therefore the joy of good living is the theme
of A.A.'s Twelfth Step.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125
A.A. is a joyful program! Even so, I occasionally balk
at taking the necessary steps to move ahead, and find
myself resisting the very actions that could bring about
the joy I want. I would not resist if those actions did
not touch some vulnerable area of my life, an area that
needs hope and fulfillment. Repeated exposure to
joyfulness has a way of softening the hard, outer edges
of my ego. Therein lies the power of joyfulness to help
all members of A.A.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Participating in the privileges of the movement, I shall
share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to
carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly but
joyfully. I am deeply grateful for the privileges I
enjoy because of my membership in this great movement.
They put an obligation upon me which I will not shirk.
I will gladly carry my fair share of the burdens.
Because of the joy of doing them, they will no longer be
burdens, but opportunities. Will I accept every opportunity
gladly?
Meditation For The Day
Work and prayer are the two forces which are gradually
making a better world. We must work for the betterment of
ourselves and our fellow men. Faith without works is dead.
But all work with people should be based on prayer. If we
say a little prayer before we speak or try to help, it
will make us more effective. Prayer is the force behind
the work. Prayer is based on faith that God is working
with us and through us. We can believe that nothing is
impossible in human relationships, if we depend on the
help of God.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my life may be balanced between prayer and
work. I pray that I may not work without prayer or pray
without work.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Unlimited
Choice, p. 201
Any number of alcoholics are bedeviled by the dire conviction that if
they ever go near A.A. they will be pressured to conform to some
particular brand of faith or theology.
They just don't realize that faith is never an imperative for A.A.
membership. That sobriety can be achieved with an easily acceptable
minimum of it, and that our concepts of a Higher Power and God--as
we understand Him--afford everyone a nearly unlimited choice of
spiritual belief and action.
********************************
In talking to a prospect, stress the spiritual feature freely. If the
man
be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to
agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he
likes, provided it makes sense to him.
The main thing is that he is willing to believe in a Power greater than
himself and that he live by spiritual principles.
1. Grapevine, April 1961
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 93
***********************************************************
Walk In Dry Places
Mending
the
past
No Regrets of the Past
"The past is best mended by living so fully today that its errors have
no place in our lives." These words by an AA member suggest an approach
for healing from the past.
All of us would benefit to use today's knowledge to deal with
situations we mishandled in the past. But we must remember that
whatever mistakes we made, we had available only the knowledge and
resources we possessed the, and we may have done about as well as we
possibly could at this time.
We should also remember that active alcoholism is a crippling and ugly
disease with many terrible consequences. It's not surprising that bad
things happened to others and us when we were drinking. We can only be
grateful that we are now recovering and that matters are better, not
worse, than they once were.
I'll live fully today, allowing no thoughts of regret from my past to
intrude.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
Many
people
are
living
in
an
emotional jail without recognizing it.
Virginia Satir.
Our disease was our jail. We felt so bad that we were sure we must have
done something awful. But we didn't cause our disease. We have done
nothing to deserve our disease. We aren't responsible for the fact that
we have a disease. But we ARE responsible for our recovery. We have
been
granted probation. The terms of our probation are simple: don't drink
or
use other drugs, and work the Steps. If we follow these simple rules,
we'll be free. And it will be clear to us that only a Power greater
than
ourselves could give us this freedom.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to stay free. For this
next twenty-four - hour
period, take from me any urge to drink or use other drugs. With Your
help, I'll be free.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll think about my disease. I am not
morally weak. I have a
dangerous illness. What can keep me free from my disease?
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
Kindness and intelligence don't always deliver us from the pitfalls and
traps. There is no way to take the danger out of human
relationships. --Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Relationships with other people are necessary to escape loneliness;
however, relationships do not guarantee freedom from pain. Nurturing a
meaningful relationship with another human being takes patience, even
when we don't have any. It takes tolerance, even if we don't feel it.
It takes selflessness, at those very moments our own ego is crying for
attention.
Yet, we need relationships with others; they inspire us. We learn who
we are and who we can become through relationships. They precipitate
our accomplishments. Our creativity is encouraged by them, and so is
our emotional and spiritual development.
We can look around us, attentively. We can feel blessed, even when it's
a negative situation. Every situation is capable of inspiring a
positive step forward. Every situation is meant for our good.
There's risk in human relationships, and it's often accompanied by
pain. But I am guaranteed growth, and I will find the happiness I seek.
I will reach out to someone today.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
BILL'S STORY
We commenced to make many fast friends and a fellowship has grown up
among us of which it is a wonderful thing to feel a part. The joy of
living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty. I have seen
hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes
somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic situations righted;
feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I have seen men come out
of asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and
communities. Business and professional men have regained their
standing. There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has
not been overcome among us. In one western city and its environs there
are one thousand of us and our families. We meet frequently so that
newcomers may find the fellowship they seek. At these informal
gatherings one may often see from 50 to 200 persons. We are growing in
numbers and power.*
* In 2001, A.A. is composed of over 100,000 groups.
pp. 15-16
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition Stories
Because I'm An
Alcoholic
This drinker finally found the answer to her nagging question,
"Why?"
The therapist told me then and there to call someone who had been in
our therapy group, a doctor on the staff of a hospital alcoholism
service. "I'll call her tomorrow," I said.
"Call her now." He handed me the phone.
p. 343
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching
and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Since Step Four is but the beginning of a lifetime practice, it can be
suggested that he first have a look at those personal flaws which are
acutely troublesome and fairly obvious. Using his best judgment of what
has been right and what has been wrong, he might make a rough survey of
his conduct with respect to his primary instincts for sex, security,
and society. Looking back over his life, he can readily get under way
by consideration of questions such as these:
When, and how, and in just what instances did my selfish pursuit of the
sex relation damage other people and me? What people were hurt, and how
badly? Did I spoil my marriage and injure my children? Did I jeopardize
my standing in the community? Just how did I react to these situations
at the time? Did I burn with a guilt that nothing could extinguish? Or
did I insist that I was the pursued and not the pursuer, and thus
absolve myself? How have I reacted to frustration in sexual matters?
When denied, did I become vengeful or depressed? Did I take it out on
other people? If there was rejection or coldness at home, did I use
this as a reason for promiscuity?
pp. 50-51
***********************************************************
Keep
your sobriety first to make it
last.
--unknown
Having the world's best idea will do you no good unless you act on it.
People who want
milk shouldn't sit on a stool in the middle of a field in hopes that a
cow will back up to
them.
--Curtis Grant
When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat
crow while
it's still warm.
--Sherrie R.
"When nobody around you measures up, it's time to check your yardstick."
--Bill Lemly
Without God's inner source of enlightenment and refreshment, I would
soon stagnate
and feel despair.
--Shelley
The heart of AA is the act of one person giving to another.
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
MADNESS
"The madman who knows that he
is mad is close to sanity."
-- Juan Ruiz de Alarcon
An alcoholic who continues to drink is committing suicide. An addict
who continues to
use is committing suicide. An overeater who continues to eat
compulsively and
destructively is committing suicide. Madness.
It is like a man standing in the town square stabbing himself with a
knife and asking
the passer-by, "Why am I bleeding?"
Today I accept my past destructive behavior and try to change it on a
daily basis.
Spirituality is loving yourself enough to "see" the writing on the wall
and do something
about it. Change is sanity for the madman!
God, You seem to have given me a dose of insanity. Let me use it to
Your glory.
***********************************************************
"Behold,
I
stand
at
the
door
and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
Revelation 3:20
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
let each of you
regard one another as more important than himself.
Philippians 2:3
"Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he
stands or falls;
and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand."
Romans 14:4
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take
great delight in
you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with
singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Today picture yourself as the happiest person that you know and watch
how contagious this enthusiasm for life is. Lord, may I bring out the
best in those with whom I share today so they can in turn bring out
more of my best.
Choose God instead of choosing to worry. Lord, in Your justice, rescue
and deliver me.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Through Others' Eyes
"When someone points out a
shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive....[But] if we truly
want to be free, we will take a good look at input from fellow addicts."
Basic Text pg. 35
At some point in our recovery, we come
to the awkward realization that the way we see ourselves is not
necessarily the way others do. We are probably neither as bad, as good,
as beautiful, or as ugly as we think we are - but we are too close to
ourselves to really tell for sure. That's where our friends in the
program come in, caring enough to share with us what they see when they
look in our direction. They tell us the good things about ourselves we
might not know - and they tell us the hard things, too, that we might
not be able to see.
We may react defensively to such
"help" and, in some cases, justly so. However, even malicious remarks
about our supposed shortcomings can shed light on aspects of our
recovery that we cannot see ourselves. Wherever a useful insight comes
from, for whatever reason it is offered, we cannot afford to discount
it.
We don't need to wait for others to
spontaneously offer their insight. When we spend time with our sponsor
or other NA members we trust, we can make the first move and ask them
to tell us what they see about particular areas of our lives to which
we are blind. We want a broader vision of our life than just our own;
we can have that vision by seeing ourselves through the eyes of others.
Just for today: I seek to see myself
as I truly am. I will listen to what others say about me, and see
myself through their eyes.
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's
Gift.
The price of dishonesty is
self-destruction. --Rita Mae Brown
There once was a woman who told her
husband what she thought he wanted to hear. She told him she was happy
when she wasn't. She told him she liked his friends when she didn't.
She tried to figure out what he wanted so she could do it for him. She
felt hurt when he didn't do the same for her. She felt he should also
try to read her mind and do what she wanted without her having to
express it. She was scared to tell him how she really felt.
However, her pain and resentment grew
so much she couldn't stand it any longer, so she told him her true
feelings. He was so used to hearing her lies that he called her a liar
when she told the truth. Now she knew how much she had hurt herself by
trying to please him at the cost of her own honesty and needs.
Honesty is necessary for a good
relationship with anyone. When we lie to ourselves, we cannot tell the
truth to others. By being honest, we open our doors to others, we trust
them with our true feelings, and they love us for who we really are.
Who can I tell how I really feel
today?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
Our greatest glory consists not in
never falling, but in rising every time we fall. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
After we get a new understanding about
ourselves we think, "Now I will never have to make the same mistake
again!" But our lessons are usually not that easily learned. We have to
get them into our muscles and bones as well as our heads. Some of us
have to learn how to be kind; others, how to be good listeners or how
to stand up for ourselves in many different ways. Every new situation
calls on a little different way of knowing, and perhaps we have to fall
a few times in the learning.
The most important asset in our lives
is the faith to get up again and continue. We must accept our
imperfections. Each time we fall and with each mistake we make, we're
vulnerable to doubting and losing faith. By rising again, we make
progress in our learning and continue to become better men.
Today, I will have faith, even in the
midst of my mistakes.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
Kindness and intelligence don't always
deliver us from the pitfalls and traps. There is no way to take the
danger out of human relationships. --Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Relationships with other people are
necessary to escape loneliness; however, relationships do not guarantee
freedom from pain. Nurturing a meaningful relationship with another
human being takes patience, even when we don't have any. It takes
tolerance, even if we don't feel it. It takes selflessness, at those
very moments our own ego is crying for attention.
Yet, we need relationships with
others; they inspire us. We learn who we are and who we can become
through relationships. They precipitate our accomplishments. Our
creativity is encouraged by them, and so is our emotional and spiritual
development.
We can look around us, attentively. We
can feel blessed, even when it's a negative situation. Every situation
is capable of inspiring a positive step forward. Every situation is
meant for our good.
There's risk in human relationships,
and it's often accompanied by pain. But I am guaranteed growth, and I
will find the happiness I seek. I will reach out to someone today.
You are reading from the book The
Language Of Letting Go.
Moving On
Learn the art of acceptance. It's a
lot of grief. --Codependent No More
Sometimes, as part of taking care of
ourselves, it becomes time to end certain relationships. Sometimes, it
comes time to change the parameters of a particular relationship.
This is true in love, in friendships,
with family, and on the job.
Endings and changes in relationships
are not easy. But often, they are necessary.
Sometimes, we linger in relationships
that are dead, out of fear of being alone or to postpone the inevitable
grieving process that accompanies endings. Sometimes, we need to linger
for a while, to prepare ourselves, to get strong and ready enough to
handle the change.
If that is what we are doing, we can
be gentle with ourselves. It is better to wait until that moment when
it feels solid, clear, and consistent to act.
We will know. We will know. We can
trust ourselves.
Knowing that a relationship is
changing or is about to end is a difficult place to be in, especially
when it is not yet time to act but we know the time is drawing near. It
can be awkward and uncomfortable, as the lesson draws to a close. We
may become impatient to put closure on it, but not yet feel empowered
to do that. That's okay. The time is not yet right. Something important
is still happening. When the time is right, we can trust that it will
happen. We will receive the power and the ability to do what we need to
do.
Ending relationships or changing the
boundaries of a particular relationship is not easy. It requires
courage and faith. It requires a willingness on our part to take care
of ourselves and, sometimes, to stand-alone for a while.
Let go of fear. Understand that change
is an important part of recovery. Love yourself enough to do what you
need to do to take care of yourself, and find enough confidence to
believe that you will love again.
We are never starting over. In
recovery, we are moving forward in a perfectly planned progression of
lessons. We will find ourselves with certain people - in love, family,
friendships, and work - when we need to be with them. When the lesson
has been mastered, we will move on. We will find ourselves in a new
place, learning new lessons, with new people.
No, the lessons are not all painful.
We will arrive at that place where we can learn, not from pain, but
from joy and love.
Our needs will get met.
Today, I will accept where I am in my
relationships, even if that place is awkward and uncomfortable. If I am
in the midst of endings, I will face and accept my grief. God, help me
trust that the path I am on has been perfectly and lovingly planned for
me. Help me believe that my relationships are teaching me important
lessons. Help me accept and be grateful for middles, endings, and new
beginnings.
Through prayer and meditation God
guides me to the appropriate people for guidance in the important
decisions I must make in my life. I trust my answers to be there when
the time is right. --Ruth Fishel
***************************************
Journey To The Heart
Experience the Thrill of the Climb
Don’t stop now. You’re almost there.
You’ve worked so hard to climb this
mountain. In the beginning, you were excited. Exhilarated at the
prospect of the mountain you were about to climb.
Now you are almost to the top. You’ve
struggled, gotten weary, and kept going. Now, your goal is in sight.
Keep going. Guidance is still there to
help you. The life force, the one that keeps you going, keeps you
moving forward, is still there too, burning brightly within you,
charging all that you do with its energy. It is more difficult for you
to feel it, but that is only because you’re tired.
See the mountain climber as he climbs
the mountain. There are dangers and precipices and challenges along the
way. But the higher he climbs, the steeper it gets. The more tired he
is, the more energy he has to put into the climb. Don’t tell yourself
that the way you feel is an indication you should stop. The way you
feel now is the way anyone would feel who was so deeply committed to
life. It’s the way anyone would feel who had committed to climbing that
mountain.
Don’t stop now. Relax as much as you
can. Knowing that the rhythm of life is still there, moving you
forward. Don’t look back. Focus intently on each step. Soon you will
reach the top. Soon you will reach your goal. Soon you will experience
the victory. Keep your eyes focused on the path, look straight ahead.
Embrace the thrill of the climb.
***************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Let the adventure consume you
The spirit of adventure settles over
us slowly sometimes. In the beginning, when those old winds of change
blow, we turn our backs, fight, and resist. We just want things to stay
the same. Gradually we let go of the need to control. We allow things
to change and us to change with them.
We accept the change.
Then we round the corner and find a
wonderful lesson there, and then another, and another. Soon we find
ourselves looking forward to taking the next step, anxious to see what
lies in front of us today. Where will my path lead? Who will I meet?
What will I learn? What wonderful lesson is taking place right now?
And the adventure begins to consume us.
The steps that you have been taking
have been slowly leading you down a path with more wonder and goodness
at every turn of the road. You learned to tolerate change. Now learn to
embrace it.
Adventure isn’t something you do. The
adventure is your life. Recognize how sweet it is. Let those winds of
change blow.
God, help me cultivate a spirit of
adventure in my life.
***************************************
A Self-Created State
Worry
We have all had the experience of
worrying about something at some point in our lives. Some of us have a
habitual tendency to worry, and all of us have known someone who is a
chronic worrier. Worry is an extension of fear and can be a very
draining experience. In order for worry to exist, we have to imagine
that something bad might happen. What we are worrying about has not
happened yet, however, so this bad thing is by definition a fantasy.
Understood this way, worry is a self-created state of needless fear.
Still, most of us worry.
One reason we worry is because we feel
like we’re not in control. For example, you might worry about your
loved ones driving home in bad weather. There is nothing you can do to
guarantee their safe passage, but you worry until you find out they
have reached their destination unharmed. In this instance, worry is an
attempt to feel useful and in control. However, worrying does nothing
to ensure a positive outcome and it has an unpleasant effect on your
body, mind, and spirit. The good news is that there are ways to
transform this kind of worry so that it has a healing effect. Just as
worry uses the imagination, so does the antidote to worry. Next time
you find that you are worrying, imagine the best result instead of
anticipating the worst outcome. Visualize your loved ones’ path bathed
in white light and clearly see in your mind’s eye their safe arrival.
Imagine angels or guides watching over them as they make their way
home. Generate peace and well-being instead of nervousn! ess and unease
within yourself.
Another reason we worry is that
something that we know is pending but are avoiding is nagging us—an
unpaid parking ticket, an upcoming test, an issue with a friend. In
these cases, acknowledging that we are worried and taking action is the
best solution. If you can confront the situation and own your power to
change it, you’ll have no reason to worry. Published with permission
from Daily OM
***************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
The success of The Program, i’ve been
taught, lies in large measure in the readiness and willingness of its
members to go to any lengths to help others tyrannized by their
addictions. If my readiness and willingness cools, then I stand in
danger of losing all that I’ve gained. I must never become unwilling to
give away what I have, for only by so doing will I be privileged to
keep it. Do I take to heart the saying, “Out of self into God into
others…”?
Today I Pray
May I never be too busy to answer a
fellow addict’s call for help. May I never become so wound up in my
pursuits that I forget that my own continuing recovery depends on that
helping — a half-hour or so on the telephone, a call in person, a lunch
date, whatever the situation calls for. May I know what my priorities
must be.
Today I Will Remember
Helping helps me.
***************************************
One More Day
The proper function of man is to
live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
– Jack London
We are on a remarkable journey that
holds wonderful possibilities. Sometimes people who have undergone a
crisis think they have arrived at the end of the journey. The
excitement of living decreases each day.
Surrounding ourselves with loving,
caring people gives us the greatest chance of coming out of the
depression caused by our problems. Also, treating ourselves gently can
improve our outlook. When we show loving care for others and ourselves,
we will once again be moving back into the mainstream of life. We will
be filled once again with the excitement and joy of the journey that
lies ahead.
I owe myself the excitement of each
day to come. Today, I will savor my life.
************************************
Food For Thought
Working Compulsively
We do not want to turn from compulsive overeating to compulsive
working. This, too, is an attempt to escape reality. Compulsive working
holds a particular danger for us, since when we allow ourselves to get
overtired, we run the risk of breaking our abstinence.
Working compulsively includes the fear that what we do will not be good
enough. It is when we are unsure of our self worth that we have to
continually prove how much we can accomplish. Compulsive work is also a
way to avoid meaningful relationships with family and friends. If we
fear intimacy and exposure, we sometimes try to hide behind a facade of
busyness.
When God controls our will and our lives, we work according to His
direction. We have the faith that what we do will be acceptable and
enough. Believing that God cares for us, we do not rely only on our own
abilities. Working for a Higher Power means that we work with serenity
and confidence, knowing that He directs and sustains our efforts.
Teach me how to work productively for You.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~GRATITUDE FOR ADVERSITY ~
He was my greatest teacher.
He taught me patience.
The Dalai Lama on Mao Tse Tung
Whenever I feel downtrodden or
disappointed by the hand that life has dealt me, I often think of this
quote. It moves me beyond speech. Here was a man who had lost his
homeland to communist China, yet he still had a good thing to say about
the man who started it all. It forces me to come to a realization that
what has happened to me is peanuts!
Too often I am caught up with feeling
sorry for myself because of my disease, while ignoring the fact that I
am so fortunate to have found recovery. Sometimes I feel so poor, yet I
live in a large home with a wonderful spouse and delightful pets. I
have a car, and enough food to eat every day. I have the luxury of
obtaining my degree. Most of all, though I often complain about how
unfair it all is, I am even fortunate to have an eating disorder.
Because it is through admitting I have a problem that I am beginning to
taste recovery, and it is sweeter than any binge item. And it has
taught me that it is through our adversities that we learn compassion
and patience.
I have to realize that life just isn't
fair. If it were, how boring it would be! Nothing worthwhile is easy to
obtain, and that includes recovery. What would it be worth if there was
no effort going into it? Sometimes bad things happen, and they are
unfortunate. But that's the end of it. I cannot make things be the way
I want them to be. I cannot change life. I must accept life on life's
terms, and learn the art of patience, so well demonstrated by the above
quote. How fortunate that I have the opportunity to learn these
precious skills in the safety and security of my own home, with my
wonderful friends, spouse, and my program family!
One Day at a Time . . .
I will avoid dwelling on the misery
that accompanies hardship. I will develop the willingness to be
grateful for the opportunity for me to learn compassion and patience.
Claire
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
However intelligent we may have been
in other respects, where alcohol has been involved, we have been
strangely insane. It's strong language - but isn't it true? - Pg. 38 -
More About Alcoholism
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
You will probably misjudge and
misunderstand many people and their motives for a time. The muddled
thinking of early recovery has a way of making us take things the wrong
way. Remember your vulnerability and that withdrawal distorts thinking.
Don't be hard on yourself or those around you. Do nothing permanent for
eight months to a year. This way your regrets will be minimized.
God, as I understand You, hold my
tongue from uttering words and restrain my steps from moving in
directions that I may one day regret.
Body Memories
Understanding and thought are
distributed throughout all the cells in my body. Who I am is stored in
my physical self. My body carries memory and knowledge about how I have
responded to the circumstances of my life, about what I brought into
this world to begin with.. Today when I think positively, I will allow
and invite my entire body to carry a positive thought. I will instruct
each cell within me to be active, healthy and vibrant. Each time that I
feel I am getting low on reserves, I will open all of my body to
receiving uplifting light and energy from the universe. I am not a
talking head. I am a body, mind and spirit, alive in all of me.
I ask my body to wake up and live.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
If you are clean and sober, the
miracle has already happened. Stick around, the impossibilities take a
little longer.
Nothing is impossible in God's world.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Prevent truth decay-read your Big Book.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Through prayer and meditation God
guides me to the appropriate people for guidance in the important
decisions I must make in my life. I trust my answers to be there when
the time is right.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Give me your hand o brother mine and
even I may help you up. - Henry Lawson.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
December 29
Pickles
We are convinced, after the countless
attempts we made to prove otherwise, that alcoholism in incurable --
just like some other illnesses. It
cannot be "cured" in this sense: We cannot change our body chemistry
and go back to being the normal,
moderate social drinkers lots of us seemed to be in our youth.
As some of us put it, we can no more
make that change than a pickle can change itself back into a cucumber.
- Living Sober, p. 8
Thought to Ponder . . .
If you think you are an alcoholic,
chances are you are.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K C B = Keep Coming Back.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Motives
We were depressed and complained we
felt bad,
when in fact we were mainly asking
for sympathy and attention.
This odd trait of mind and emotion,
this perverse wish to hide a bad motive
underneath a good one,
permeates human affairs from top to
bottom.
This subtle and elusive kind of
self-righteousness
can underlie the smallest act or
thought.
Learning daily to spot, admit, and
correct these flaws
is the essence of character building
and good living.
An honest regret for harms done,
a genuine gratitude for blessings
received,
and a willingness to try for better
things tomorrow
will be the permanent assets we shall
seek.
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, pp. 94-5
Thought to Consider . . .
The best things in life aren't things.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P U T = Patience, Understanding,
Tolerance
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Pleasure
>From "The Joy of Living":
"A.A. *is* a joyful program! Even so,
I occasionally balk at taking the necessary steps to move ahead, and
find myself
resisting the very actions that could
bring about the joy I want. I would not resist if those actions did not
touch some
vulnerable area of my life, an area
that needs hope and fulfillment. Repeated exposure to joyfulness has a
way of
softening the hard, outer edges of my
ego. Therein lies the power of joyfulness to help all members of A.A."
1990 AAWS, Inc. Daily Reflections, pg.
372
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Serenity is not the absence of
conflict, but the ability to cope with it."
Tacoma, Wash., April 1984
"Short Takes"
AA Grapevine
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"Suppose we fall short of the chosen
ideal and stumble? Does this
mean we are going to get drunk. Some
people tell us so. But this is
only a half-truth. It depends on us
and on our motives."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
How It Works, Page 70~
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?
page 45 Alcoholics Anonymous
A continuous look at our assets and
liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are
necessities for us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
p.88
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Change is the characteristic of all
growth. From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from
conflict to serenity, from hate to love, from childish dependence to
adult responsibility - all this and infinitely more represent change
for the better.
Such changes are accomplished by a
belief in and a practice of sound principles. Here we must needs
discard bad or ineffective principles in favor of good ones that work.
Even good principles can sometimes be displaced by the discovery of
still better ones.
Only God is unchanging; only He has
all the truth there is.
Prayer for the Day: God created me to express a full and happy
life. Every second of every day spiritual energy flows through every
cell, organ, muscle, tissue and fiber of my being, revitalizing and
renewing me. I do not allow symptoms or medical terms to alarm me. I am
filled with the spirit of health. I make positive statements about my
health. I am complete and whole because the spirit of God fills me with
ever-renewing life.
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