***********************************************************

As Bill Sees It

True Ambition--and False, p. 46

We have had a much keener look at ourselves and those about us. We
have seen that we were prodded by unreasonable fears or anxieties
into making a life business of winning fame, money, and what we
thought was leadership. So false pride became the reverse side of that
ruinous coin marked "Fear." We simply had to be Number One
people to cover up our deep-lying inferiorities.

<< << << >> >> >>

True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the
profound desire to live usefully and walk humbly under the grace of
God.

12 & 12
1. p. 123
2. pp. 124-125

***********************************************************

Walk In Dry Places
 
AA is an Automatic Sprinkler System
Emotional Emergencies
Wise managers install automatic sprinkler systems to protect their businesses. The system's great value is that it goers into action during the first few minutes of a fire, before it gets out of control. This gives the fire department precious time to arrive and put the fire out.
Our AA program gives us something like a sprinkler system. We never know when the flames of resentment might leap up, seemingly out of nowhere. If we've been working our program, something takes over automatically to begin dealing with resentment.
This gives us time to bring more of our valuable spiritual tools into use. Knowing that resentment is burning away, we can try one thing and then another until it is brought to rest. Perhaps we will try prayer. We might also discuss our problem with a close friend or sponsor. Maybe we'll attend a meeting and lay the mater out for the group attention.  We may help somebody, even in a small way. An amazing healing of resentment can come from any helpful action.  Even a simple action like helping a person in a stalled automobile can work wonders in deflecting the pain of ongoing resentment.
I need not fear the sudden appearance of resentment if I have been following my program.

***********************************************************

Keep It Simple

Easy Does It.---Twelve Steps slogan
We are people who push ourselves to hard. We try to be perfect. Well, we need to lighten up. Easy Does It.
We need to slow down our pace. Why? Because our program teaches us to give up trying to be perfect.
We begin to love ourselves for who we are. We are enough. Over and over we hear this as we live the Steps. It's the message of God's love. Our Higher Power want us to live at a pace that's not fast and hard, so we always know we're loved. Remember, we've turned our life over to the care of God. And our life is a wonderful gift. As recovering people, we may know better than others.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, teach me to live at Your pace, not mine. Help me keep in mind that life isn't a race. It's a spiritual journey. Walk with me.
Action for the Day:  Today, I'll take two hours just to relax and do loving things for myself. I'll take time to count my blessings.

***********************************************************

Each Day a New Beginning

Fortuitous circumstances constitute the moulds that shape the majority of human lives.  --Augusta Evans
Being in the right place at the right time is how we generally explain our good fortune or the good fortune of a friend. But it's to our advantage to understand how we managed to be in the right place at just the right moment.
We have probably heard many times at meetings that God's timetable is not necessarily the same as our timetable. That events will happen as scheduled to fit a picture bigger than the picture encompassed by our egos. And frequently our patience wears thin because we aren't privy to God's timetable. But we can trust, today and always, that doors open on time. Opportunities are offered when we are ready for them. Nary a moment passes that doesn't invite us to both give and receive a special message--a particular lesson. We are always in God's care, and every circumstance of our lives is helping to mold the women we are meant to be.
I will take a long look at where I am today and be grateful for my place. It's right for me, now, and is preparing me for the adventure ahead.

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS

When he sees you know all about the drinking game, commence to describe yourself as an alcoholic. Tell him how baffled you were, how you finally learned that you were sick. Give him an account of the struggles you made to stop. Show him the mental twist which leads to the first drink of a spree. We suggest you do this as we have done it in the chapter on alcoholism. If he is alcoholic, he will understand you at once. He will match your mental inconsistencies with some of his own.

pp. 91-92

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - First Edition Stories

The Vicious Cycle

How it finally broke a Southerner's obstinacy and destined this salesman to start A.A. at Philadelphia.

After the tire job came the thirties, the Depression, and the downhill road.  In the eight years before A.A. found me, I had over forty jobs--selling and traveling--one thing after another, and the same old routine.  I'd work like mad for three or four weeks without a single drink, save my money, pay a few bills, and then "reward" myself with alcohol.  Then I'd be broke again, hiding out in cheap hotels all over the country, having one-night jail stands here and there, and always that horrible feeling "What's the use--nothing is worthwhile."  Every time I blacked out, and that was every time I drank, there was always that gnawing fear, "What did I do this time?"  Once I found out.  Many alcoholics have learned they can bring their bottle to a cheap movie theater and drink, sleep, wake up, and drink again in the darkness.  I had repaired to one of these one morning with my jug, and, when I left late in the afternoon, I picked up a newspaper on the way home.  Imagine my surprise when I read in a page-one "box" that I had been taken from the theater unconscious around noon that day, removed by ambulance to a hospital and stomach-pumped, and then released.  Evidently I had gone right back to the movie with a bottle, stayed there several hours, and started home with no recollection of what had happened.

p. 225

***********************************************************

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. "

As we approach the actual taking of Step Seven, it might be well if we A.A.'s inquire once more just what our deeper objectives are. Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.

p. 76

***********************************************************

We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.

Better the foot slip than the tongue.  --French Proverb

"The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy."  --Jim Rohn

"You must look into people, as well as at them."  --Lord Chesterfield

God, help me recognize that I am a part of your creation and don't need to fight it. Help me live in peace and celebration of life.  --Melody Beattie

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HUMILITY

"I am a man; nothing human is
alien to me."
-- Terence

Humility is not so much about trying to be "good" as accepting that I
am imperfect. For too long I thought that humility was "keeping the
peace", appearing to be "perfect", bottling up my anger and
resentments --- living a life of "people-pleasing".

Today I understand that humility is being real. It is accepting my
humanity and being honest in my relationships. Humility is respecting
the lives of others but also respecting my own. Humility is seeking to
reveal that divinity that God has given to my life. Humility is knowing
that in the lives of my fellow man --- the good and the bad --- is me.

Master, let me have the humility to be real.

***********************************************************

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."  John 14:1

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Proverbs 3:6-5

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Daily Inspiration

Hide your troubles and disappointments and you will find that they grow much smaller from neglect. Lord, help me to direct my focus so that I can make a difference today with a smile and a kind word.

Prayer may not always change a situation, but it will always change us. Lord, I accept Your answers to my prayers because I know that they will always be right and, in Your wisdom, best for me.

***********************************************************

NA Just For Today

An Awakening Of The Spirit

"The last thing we expected was an awakening of the spirit"

Basic Text, p. 48

Few of us came to our first Narcotics Anonymous meeting aching to take a personal inventory or believing that a spiritual void existed in our souls. We had no inkling that we were about to embark on a journey which would awaken our sleeping spirits.

Like a loud alarm clock, the First Step brings us to semiconsciousness—although at this point, we may not be sure whether we want to climb out of bed or maybe sleep for just five more minutes. The gentle hand shaking our shoulders as we apply the Second and Third Steps causes us to stand up, stretch, and yawn. We need to wipe the sleep from our eyes to write the Fourth Step and share our Fifth. But as we work the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Steps, we begin noticing a spring in our step and the start of a smile on our lips. Our spirits sing in the shower as we take the Tenth and Eleventh Steps. And then we practice the Twelfth, leaving the house in search of others to awaken.

We don't have to spend the rest of our lives in a spiritual coma. We may not like to get up in the morning but, once out of bed, we're almost always glad we did.

Just for today: To awaken my sleepy spirit, I will use the Twelve Steps.

***********************************************************

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
It is always a mistake not to close one's eyes, whether to forgive or to look better into oneself. --Maurice Maeterlinck
It is easy to look outward and find faults with the world and people around us. We criticize family members or complain about our friends. We always notice disease in the trees around us.
But if we take time to be quiet, to sit alone in a tree or by a lake, we become more aware of how connected we are to the life around us. We are part of the beauty and the imperfection. When we notice our own tree is not perfect, it becomes easier to forgive the blights of those around us. It is also important to forgive ourselves our faults. Though all the trees are beautiful, they each have their scars. Being human means we are, like all humanity, both beautiful and imperfect.
Will I see through the flaws to anther's beauty today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If I truly showed my feelings, the other guys would eat me alive. It's too dog eat dog out there to be honest about the things that really count to you. You can't leave yourself wide open like that. --Michael E. McGill
As we deepen our commitment to strong and mature manhood, we see a conflict between this program and much of what we learned as young men. When we drop our defenses and are honest, we take the chance of getting hurt. Many of us learned long ago that when we became vulnerable, others became abusive. It is difficult to abandon everything we learned about being nobody's fool and staying safe.
In fact, we don't have to leave ourselves wide open. We can be selective about how open we will be and whom we will trust. But for our spiritual growth to continue, we must be an open book to ourselves, to our Higher Power, and to a few friends. We must face the fear of being open to others in this program. Developing true friends is part of the change, which the program brings.
I pray for the courage to be honest with myself and to stand up for who I truly am with my friends.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Fortuitous circumstances constitute the moulds that shape the majority of human lives. --Augusta Evans
Being in the right place at the right time is how we generally explain our good fortune or the good fortune of a friend. But it's to our advantage to understand how we managed to be in the right place at just the right moment.
We have probably heard many times at meetings that God's timetable is not necessarily the same as our timetable. That events will happen as scheduled to fit a picture bigger than the picture encompassed by our egos. And frequently our patience wears thin because we aren't privy to God's timetable. But we can trust, today and always, that doors open on time. Opportunities are offered when we are ready for them. Nary a moment passes that doesn't invite us to both give and receive a special message--a particular lesson. We are always in God's care, and every circumstance of our lives is helping to mold the women we are meant to be.
I will take a long look at where I am today and be grateful for my place. It's right for me, now, and is preparing me for the adventure ahead.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Control
Sometimes, the gray days scare us. Those are the days when the old feelings come rushing back. We may feel needy, scared, ashamed, and unable to care for ourselves.
When this happens, it's hard to trust ourselves, others, the goodness of life, and the good intentions of our Higher Power. Problems seem overwhelming. The past seems senseless; the future, bleak. We feel certain the things we want in life will never happen.
In those moments, we may become convinced that things and people outside of ourselves hold the key to our happiness. That's when we may try to control people and situations to mask our pain. When these "codependent crazies" strike, others often begin to react negatively to our controlling.
When we're in a frenzied state, searching for happiness outside ourselves and looking to others to provide our peace and stability, remember this: Even if we could control things and people, even if we got what we wanted, we would still be ourselves. Our emotional state would still be in turmoil.
People and things don't stop our pain or heal us. In recovery, we learn that this is our job, and we can do it by using our resources: our Higher Power, our support systems, our recovery program, and ourselves.
Often, after we've become peaceful, trusting, and accepting, what we want comes to us - with ease and naturalness.
The sun begins to shine again. Isn't it funny, and isn't it true, how all change really does begin with us?
I can let go of things and people and my need to control today. I can deal with my feelings. I can get peaceful. I can get calm. I can get back on track and find the true key to happiness - myself. I mil remember that a gray day is just that - one gray day.


Today I will "act as if" I am worth loving. I am beginning to tell myself that I am worthy of loving myself. I will acknowledge all the good and lovable things about me. I will "act as if" until I know that it is true. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey to the Heart

Ask the Universe for Help

You have come so far. You have learned to ask for help from people when you need it. You have learned to ask God. God as you understand God, for help,too. Now you’re entering into a relationship with the universe, an active, vital, living relationship. Now you can learn to ask the universe for help as well.

Talk to the universe. Talk aloud if you can. Say: Show me, guide me, lead me, help me. This is what I want, this is what I need. Say: Show me which road to follow, where to go, and what to do. Yes, talk to people. Talk to God. They are part of the universe and world we live in. But talk aloud to the universe,too.

Then listen to your inner voice. hear what it says and trust what you hear. Answers come in many ways, from many sources, many places. But if the answer is right for you, your heart will know, and it will feel true.

Talk to the universe. Ask it for help. Then listen to your heart. Because that quiet voice, the one in your heart, is how the universe talks to you.

****************************************

More Language Of Letting Go

Let a friend be there for you

I was at a carnival somewhere, sitting on a bench, eating blue cotton candy and experiencing the noise and color and the big carousel. Garishly colored horses bounced up and down, round and round, lights flashed; people whirred past. The little girl was on the verge of tears as her mother brought her up to the gate. She stalled, trying desperately to convince her mom, that no, she really didn’t want to go on the merry-go-round after all. Mom was reassuring but firm, and finally a deal was reached. Daughter would go on the big ride if her Mom would go,too.

They gave the man their tickets and walked around, the little one in awe of the multihued beasts that surrounded her. Finally, she settled on a white one with a gold mane and tail, and directed her mom to sit on the blue one next to her. Mom smiled, a little embarrassed, but complied with her daughter’s request.

Then the music started. And suddenly, they were both five years old, shrieking and laughing as their horses bounded away. I laughed,too, watching from my bench. They raced around an imaginary track through valleys, over rivers, across plains. The music screamed, the lights flashed, and for a few minutes, they could fly.

They were still laughing when the ride ended. “Again Mommy. Let’s go again!” laughed the girl excitedly. So they turned and got back in line. In letting go of her fear, that little girl was able to feel the wonder and excitement of a new experience, and in helping her daughter to overcome fear, the mother was able to recapture some of that thrill, as well. In our everyday lives, there are times when we are frightened, times when we need a friend to give us courage, and times when we can be a friend giving courage to someone else. Be grateful for those who have helped you find strength. Be grateful for the times when you have helped your friends find courage of their own.

Both sides of the coin are winners, and sometimes, experience is sweetest when shared.

God, help me reach out my hand in friendship and strength to those I meet along the way. And when I’m scared, help me give up my pride and ask a friend to stand by my side.

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

When I become angry, can I admit to it and state it as a fact without allowing it to build up and burst out in inappropriate ways? Pent-up anger, I’ve finally begun to learn, quickly shatters the peace of mind that’s so critical to my on-going recovery. When I become enraged and lose control, I unwittingly handover control to the person, place, or thing with which I am enraged. When I’m angry will I tr to remember that I am endangering myself? Will I “count to ten” by calling a friend in The Program and say the Serenity Prayer aloud?

Today I Pray

May I recognize angry feelings and let them out a little a time, stating my anger as a fat, instead of allowing it to fester into rage and explode uncontrollable.

Today I Will Remember

Anger is. Rage need not be.

****************************************

One More Day

Reality is a staircase going neither up nor down, we don’t move, today is today, always is today.
–Octavio Paz

Reality is a harsh word and can invade our everyday lives. When we are struggling to cope with the physical changes which occur with long-term medical problems, reality becomes our constant companion. No longer can we deny anxiety or discomfort.

Our self-imposed rules might be the framework of our lives, but we can build a new structure which accepts illness as part of the reality of our lives. This new structure can have much more depth and greater dimension than the original, for we are older and wiser. Part of the framework which gives our days meaning is our love for friends and family, and recognition of our spiritual capacity. These, too, become our new reality.

I no longer expect perfect health, but I can minimize my complaining and maximize my efforts to live a meaningful life.

************************************

Food For Thought

Beginnings

Each day is a new start. Each moment is a beginning.

We do not have to wait until Monday to get back on the program or clean a closet or tackle a difficult report. We do not have to wait until tomorrow morning, either. Now is the moment to stop eating, to make a phone call, to begin whatever project we have been putting off.

There is no way we can change what we did five minutes ago, nor can we predict what will happen half an hour from now. We can only deal with now.

By doing what needs to be done right now, we make the most of each present moment. As long as we are alive, we are always free to begin again. Instead of following an old, worn out habit, make a fresh start this moment on the rest of your life.

Give me grace, Lord, to begin again.

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One Day At A Time

SETTING EXAMPLES

"Don't worry that children never listen to you;
worry that they are always watching you.
Robert Fulgham

How many overweight people blame their size on genes? My whole family had weight problems. Everywhere I turn I see obese families. In my house we were taught that it is a sin to waste food. After all, there are starving people in the world. As if my cleaning my plate would really help a starving child. How many times was I rewarded with a sweet treat instead of a hug and a "Gee you did good - I'm really proud of you." A scraped knee always felt better if you put a candy on it. I could eat the treat after the pain was gone, so of course eating made you feel better fast. My parents didn't actually teach me that food would give me instant gratification in so many words, but I learned those lessons from observation. Food helped me get through some very difficult years. I never realized that there were tools that could help through them. Unfortunately, I only found OA after my children were grown up and had watched their coe mother make the same mistakes that her parents taught her. I am trying to set a better example now. I no longer have a pantry full of junk food and when I give my grandchildren treats, it's books, stickers, hairclips, toys, anything non-edible.

God, I realize that my parents unintentionally taught me bad eating habits and I forgive them. Please let my children forgive me for making the same mistakes. Help me to set a better example for the next generation. Please be with me when I buy groceries and let me bring only healthy food into my house. Help me to be satisfied with my abstinent meals so that I won't be tempted to binge and graze with little eyes upon me. I am so grateful for Your presence in my life, because I can't do this alone.

One day at a time . . .
Please remind me that there are tools I can use instead of slipping into my old eating habits and let me be an example of the miracles that come with abstinence.
Jeanette

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish. - Pg. 16 - Bill's Story

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Family and fellowship, sponsors and counselors are our source of strength and good feelings today, not Jim Beam and Mary Jane.

May I try not to control the people who help long enough to listen to their words of guidance.

Appreciating Life

I have the gift of life. I am here. I am alive, with all of my senses and able to experience the magic of this incredible world. Whatever this day has in store for me, I am open to receive. I will act on my day and allow my day to act on me. I am open. I will take steps that I know will make my day feel good, productive and pleasurable, and then I will let the rest happen. Each day presents me with gifts and surprises, if I know how to unwrap the present, if I remember how to be astonished or pleased.

Life itself is the gift.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Often the difference between a bad attitude and a good one is simply what you call it. You can be lonely or enjoy blessed solitude. You can be burdened or building strength. People can use you or you can be of use to others.

Whether it is AA for 'Altered Attitude,' NA for 'New Attitude,' or CDA for 'Change'D Attitude,' my attitude today is a direct reflection of my personal growth.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Misery is an option. But acceptance and gratitude did not come as standard equipment either.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will 'act as if' I am worth loving. I am beginning to tell myself that I am worthy of loving myself. I will acknowledge all the good and lovable things about me. I will 'act as if' until I know that it is true.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'd called AA and they sent this fella Kevin around. He came into my office, put his hand out and asked how I was. I said my standard 'Great'. And he kept hold of my hand pulled me up close, eye-balled me and said; 'Bull s...' - He was my sponsor from that day. - Dave B.

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AA Thought for the Day

February 15

Change
It never occurred to us that we needed to change ourselves
to meet conditions, whatever they were.
In AA, we slowly learned that something had to be done about our vengeful resentments,
self-pity, and unwarranted pride. . .
We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our first need was to quiet that disturbance,
regardless of who or what we thought caused it.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 47

Thought to Ponder . . .
If I don't change, my sobriety date will.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Gifts and Energy.

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

Children of Chaos
Over the years, every conceivable deviation
from our Twelve Steps and Traditions has been tried.
That was sure to be,
since we are largely a band of ego-driven individuals.
Children of chaos, we have definitely played
with every brand of fire,
only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser.
These very deviations created a vast process
of trial and error which, under the grace of God,
has brought us to where we stand today.
c. 1952 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 146

Thought to Consider . . .
Once we clear a hurdle, it doesn't seem so high

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A O S = Can't Handle Another Overwhelming Situation

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

Accept
>From "'The Belief Will Come'":
"I don't recall any immediate, dramatic change in my life. I began rereading the Big Book and the Twelve Steps, and
now I found in these much that I had never found before. I didn't reject any of it. I accepted it just as it was written. Nor
did I read into it anything that wasn't there.
"Again, nothing changed overnight. But, as time has passed, I have acquired a blind and, yes, childlike faith that, by
accepting a God I don't understand and the program of A.A. just as it is written, I can maintain my sobriety one day at a time."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 47

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote^*~*~*~*~*

"One night after a Step Two meeting, I decided to find out what those courageous early members who put our Twelve
Steps together really meant by sanity. I was a little surprised to find that my dictionary defined it as the quality of being
sound of mind, sound of judgment, reasonable and rational in one's thoughts ... As I sat there mulling over the definition,
an idea occurred to me: 'This is what I'm to be restored to -- sound, reasonable, rational thinking.'"
Shenandoah, Iowa, February 1982
From: "Sanity Clause"
Step By Step

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form
or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~

"There is action and more action. 'Faith without works is dead.'"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 88~

It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 75

Misc. AA Literature - Quote
We have had a much keener look at ourselves and those about us. We have seen that we were prodded by
unreasonable fears or anxieties into making a life business of winning fame, money, and what we thought was
leadership. So false pride became the reverse side of that ruinous coin marked 'Fear.' We simply had to be Number
One people to cover up our deep-lying inferiorities.
True ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition is the profound desire to live usefully and walk humbly under
the grace of God.

Prayer for the Day: God, There are many difficulties and challenges in life, and we see or experience more of them
each day we live. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may have courage and determination, and may live in
such a way that we encourage one another. Enable us to transform whatever is negative, and remain positive in attitude
throughout our lives. Lighten our darkness and keep us safe. Amen.