A UNIQUE STABILITY

Where does A.A. get its direction? . . . These practical
folk then read Tradition Two, and learn that the sole
authority in A.A. is a loving God as He may express
Himself in the group conscience. . . The elder statesman
is the one who sees the wisdom of the group's decision,
who holds no resentment over his reduced status, whose
judgment, fortified by considerable experience, is
sound, and who is willing to sit quietly on the sidelines
patiently awaiting developments.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 132, 135

Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven
the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions. As my
recovery progressed, I realized that the new mantle was
tailor made for me. The elders of the group gently
offered suggestions when change seemed impossible.
Everyone's shared experiences became the substance for
treasured friendships. I know that the Fellowship is
ready and equipped to aid each suffering alcoholic at
all crossroads in life. In a world beset by many
problems, I find this assurance a unique stability.
I cherish the gift of sobriety. I offer my gratitude
for the strength I receive in a Fellowship that truly
exists for the good of all members.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we first came into A.A., the first thing we did was
to admit that we couldn't do anything about our drinking.
We admitted that alcohol had us licked and that we were
helpless against it. We never could decide whether or not
to take a drink. We always took the drink. And since we
couldn't do anything about it ourselves, we put our whole
drink problem into the hands of God. We turned the whole
thing over to that Power greater than ourselves. And we
have nothing more to do about it, except to trust God to
take care of the problem for us. Have I done this honestly
and fully?

Meditation For The Day

This is the time for my spirit to touch the spirit of God.
I know that the feeling of the spirit-touch is more
important than all the sensations of material things. I
must seek a silence of spirit-touching with God. Just a
moment's contact and all the fever of life leaves me. Then
I am well, whole, calm and able to arise and minister to
others. God's touch is a potent healer. I must feel that
touch and sense God's presence.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that the fever of resentment, worry and fear may
melt into nothingness. I pray that health, joy, peace and
serenity may take its place.

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

As Bill Sees It

Righteous Indignation, p. 58

"The positive value of righteous indignation is theoretical--especially
for alcoholics. It leaves every one of us open to the rationalization
that we may be as angry as we like provided we can claim to be
righteous about it."

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

When we harbored grudges and planned revenge for defeats, we
were really beating ourselves with the club of anger we had intended
to use on others. We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our
very first need was to quiet that disturbance, regardless of who or
what we thought caused it.

1. Letter, 1954
2. 12 & 12, p. 47

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

Walk In Dry Places
 
Selling myself____ Personal Relations
Thoughtful people tell us that every person has to "sell" himself or herself in daily work.  As alcoholics, we can find that threatening. Uncertainty and the fear of rejection or failure put us under stress.
We can avoid this stress and tension by putting all responsibility for results in God's hands.  While it is true that we want to succeed and to be accepted, we can never be sure that our idea of success is the right one.  There are times when our strong determination to succeed at all costs makes us overbearing and demanding in our approach. We may be so anxious to appear competent and knowledgeable that we overreach our selves and make stupid blunders.
God can show us how to handle each day's affairs in an orderly, reasonable way. It is not necessary to win every argument or to make every sale.  We can sell ourselves mor effectively when we go through the day calmly and take a genuine interest in the ideas and concerns of others.
I will look upon my customers and fellow workers as friends and allies. I don't have to bludgeon every person into accepting my point of view.  If I am sincerely trying to follow God's will in all my affairs, others will sense my sincerity and will be glad to consider what I have to say.

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

Keep It Simple

Without work all life goes rotten.---Albert Camus
Work is more than earning money. Work means using our time and skills to make life better for those around us. Our work can be our hobbies. Growing food or growing flowers can be our work.
Raising children or caring for older people who need help can be our work. Building homes or helping people live in them can be our work. Thanks to our program of recovery, we can do our best work again. What a change from the drugged-up and hung over days when we didn't do anything well. We are sober, and we have something to offer.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me see that work makes me part of the human family. Help me do Your will in my work today.
Action for the Day:  Good work teaches us good habits. How do the things I've learned in my work help me in my recovery program? I'll list five ways.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Being alone and feeling vulnerable. Like two separate themes, these two parts of myself unite in my being and sow the seeds of my longing for unconditional love.  --Mary Casey
How easily we slip into self-doubt, fearing we're incapable or unlovable, perhaps both. How common for us to look into the faces of our friends and lovers in search of affirmation and love.
Our alienation from ourselves, from one another, from God's Spirit which exists everywhere causes our discontent. It is our discontent. When souls touch, love is born, love of self and love of the other. Our aloneness exists when we create barriers that keep us separate from our friends, our family. Only we can reach over or around the barriers to offer love, to receive love.
Recovery offers us the tools for loving, but we must dare to pick them up. Listening to others and sharing ourselves begins the process of loving. Risking to offer love before receiving it will free us from the continual search for love in the faces of others.
I won't wait to be loved today. I will love someone else, fully. I won't doubt that I, too, am loved. I will feel it. I will find unconditional love.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS

He may be broke and homeless. If he is, you might try to help him about getting a job, or give him a little financial assistance. But you should not deprive your family or creditors of money they should have. Perhaps you will want to take the man into your home for a few days. But be sure you use discretion. Be certain he will be welcomed by your family, and that he is not trying to impose upon you for money, connections, or shelter. Permit that and you only harm him. You will be making it possible for him to be insincere. You may be aiding in his destruction rather than his recovery.

pp. 96-97

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Jim's Story

This physician, one of the earliest members of A.A.'s first black group, tells of how freedom came as he worked among his people.

My mother had been recently converted and, actually, had become a religious fanatic.  That was her main neurotic manifestation.  She was very possessive with us children.  Mother drilled into me a very Puritanical point of view as to sex relations, as well as to motherhood and womanhood.  I'm sure ideas as to what life should be like were quite different from that of the average person with whom I associated.  Later on in life that took its toll.  I realize that now.

p. 232

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have "harmed" other people. What kinds of "harm" do people do one another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people. If our tempers are consistently bad, we arouse anger in others. If we lie or cheat, we deprive others not only of their worldly goods, but of their emotional security and peace of mind. We really issue them an invitation to become contemptuous and vengeful. If our sex conduct is selfish, we may excite jealousy, misery, and a strong desire to retaliate in kind.

p. 80

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

The road to recovery is always under construction.

A cool head keeps you out of hot water.

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without
forgetting.
--Elizabeth Bibesco

God, help me take a deep breath and holler woohoo.
--Melody Beattie

A deeper bonding with one's spirit and with others at an essence level is
the spiritual opportunity of the new millennium, yet the first step is an
inside job -- starting with oneself. People have an innate desire to bond
with others in the spirit of love, but an essential first step is rolling up
our sleeves and applying some elbow grease toward managing attitudes
and emotions that are not in line with our heart or authentic self.
Then bonding becomes not an action you do but a way of being, the
way of love.
--Doc Childre

When the storms clouds threaten
And on the sea of life we're tossed,
When we don't know where we are going,
Feeling all alone and lost.......
There is a friend to turn to.
A calming hand to guide your way
He will make the dark clouds scatter
and brighter grows the day.
--Gloria Hall Wood

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FACTS

"To treat your facts with
imagination is one thing, but to
imagine your facts is another."
-- John Burroughs

When I was drinking, I was always confusing fantasy with reality. Lies
got mingled with the facts and the facts became exaggerated. It was
almost impossible for me to distinguish between reality and fantasy,
imagination and fact. My life was a complicated lie.

Today I have a program of "rigorous" honesty; I must be rigorous and
stop the game before it starts. I need to practice the principles of
recovery in every area of my life. The spiritual road involves a
comprehensive journey and nothing need be left out.

God, who created the mountains, help me to take responsibility for the
grit between my toes.

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

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My
heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."
Psalm 28:7

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither
you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on
every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."
Deuteronomy 8:3

"Come to me all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept
my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find
rest for your lives. The teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is
light."
Matthew 11:28-30

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

Daily Inspiration

Time passes too quickly so waste none of it on anger, self-pity or the irritations of life. Lord, may my choices remove stress and free me to enjoy the goodness of today.

In your pursuit of happiness, pause to relax and be happy. Lord, slow me down just enough to enjoy all that You have given to me.

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

NA Just For Today

"Pure Motives"

"We examine our actions, reactions, and motives. We often find that we've been doing better than we've been feeling."
Basic Text, p. 42

Imagine a daily meditation book with this kind of message: "When you wake up in the morning, before you rise from your bed, take a moment for reflection. Lie back, gather your thoughts, and consider your plans for the day. One by one, review the motives behind those plans. If your motives are not entirely pure, roll over and go back to sleep." Nonsense, isn't it?

No matter how long we've been clean, almost all of us have mixed motives behind almost everything we do. However, that's no reason to put our lives on hold. We don't have to wait for our motives to become perfectly pure before we can start living our recovery.

As the program works its way into our lives, we begin acting less frequently on our more questionable motives. We regularly examine ourselves, and we talk with our sponsor about what we find. We pray for knowledge of our Higher Power's will for us, and we seek the power to act on the knowledge we're given. The result? We don't get perfect, but we do get better.

We've begun working a spiritual program. We won't ever become spiritual giants. But if we look at ourselves realistically, we'll probably realize that we've been doing better than we've been feeling.

Just for today: I will examine myself realistically. I will seek the power to act on my best motives, and not to act on my worst.

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. --Walter Babehot
Everyone knew Jacob was a bitter old hermit who hated people. He lived by himself in a cabin in the woods. He never came to town, never talked to anyone, and never put up a mailbox or put in a phone. But he had one thing the townsfolk wanted--the very first Bible brought by a preacher when the town was first settled. They wanted it for their centennial celebration.
Little Tom listened as the townsfolk complained daily about how much they wanted the old book to put on display. One day, he walked on out to the little cabin and just asked the old man if he could borrow the book, just for a week. Imagine the surprise on the faces of the people when the boy wandered back to town with the old dusty book in hand.
Are we like the townspeople sometimes? Do we assume things won't work out without even trying? Sometimes help is there, just waiting to be asked. What have we got to lose?
What can I request today that I have been afraid to ask for?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender. --Henri Amiel
When we were lost in our addictive ways, we were driven by self-interest. We didn't necessarily like ourselves or want to be so self centered. But we had no inner resources to help us escape the trap of our egos. When we were there, we could not see outside ourselves well enough to ask for help. Surrender, we thought, brought only defeat and humiliation.
The inspiration of this program brings us possibilities that cannot originate from within. When we surrender, we are no longer captives within our skins. We are actually restored to a more natural state as men in community with others, who literally cannot survive as isolated individuals. We must be a part of the give and take within the group, just as it has been for human beings since the beginning of time.
Today, I surrender my self-interest again, knowing I must do it over and over.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
People Pleasers
Have you ever been around people pleasers? They tend to be displeasing. Being around someone who is turned inside out to please another is often irritating and anxiety producing.
People-pleasing is a behavior we may have adapted to survive in our family. We may not have been able to get the love and attention we deserved. We may not have been given permission to please ourselves, to trust ourselves, and to choose a course of action that demonstrated self-trust.
People pleasing can be overt or covert. We may run around fussing over others, chattering a mile a minute when what we are really saying is, "I hope I'm pleasing you." Or, we may be more covert, quietly going through life making important decisions based on pleasing others.
Taking other people's wants and needs into consideration is an important part of our relationships. We have responsibilities to friends and family and employers. We have a strong inner responsibility to be loving and caring. But, people pleasing backfires. Not only do others get annoyed with us, we often get annoyed when our efforts to please do not work as we planned. The most comfortable people to be around are those who are considerate of others but ultimately please themselves.
Help me, God, work through my fears and begin to please myself.


Today I will trust myself when something does not feel smooth and flowing. I will begin to look around for alternatives for anything that feels rough and irritating. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey to the Heart

Open to Life’s Magic

“I will never forget my mother’s words to me the first time she took me to the Hob rain forest,” a woman told me, when she learned I was going there. “We were at the edge of the forest, about to enter. My mother stopped walking and turned to me. “There’s magic here,” she said. It wasn’t her words that impressed me. What struck me was the absolute certainty and matter-of-fact way she said it. It was like she had just told me, ‘Dinner’s ready,’”

There’s magic in the air. It’s the next place on the journey. It’s inevitable. We have been clearing the path so we could do more than merely trudge down the road. The road leads to magic– a magical way of living. A magical way of being here. The magic in the air isn’t an illusion, isn’t a trick. You have done your work. You have stuck with the journey. Now is the time for fun,the time to see and know more of life’s magical ways.

Walk lightly. Enter the enchanted forest. Look around. Keep your eyes and ears open. Tell others what you see. The journey to the heart is a journey of wonder and awe.

“The ancient ones, the trees, are waiting for you,” the woman said. “When you get there, tell them I said hi.” Open to life’s magic. It’s been waiting for your call.

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

More Language Of Letting Go

Live your life

A painting of a rice cake does not satisfy hunger.
–Ancient saying

An old man was telling his grandson about how poor he was when he was younger. “Why when I was a kid, we couldn’t even afford cheese for the mousetraps,” he said. “We had to cut out pictures of cheese and use that.”

“Wow, did you catch anything gramps?”

“Yes. We caught pictures of mice.”

I have a picture in my house of a Buddhist ceremony in Tibet. The picture was taken by a photographer who lives close to the Blue Sky Lodge. She told me all about the picture when I bought it from her– told me about the smells in the air, the temperature, the crush of the people around her, the tastes, smells, and sights of that place. When I close my eyes and remember her words, I can almost go there. Almost, but not quite. I hope to travel there sometime, to see those things and to feel my soul filled with the spirituality of a monastery high on a hill. The picture is like a menu. It sits on the counter, tempting me with all that is offered in it. But it doesn’t satisfy my hunger.

We can share our experience, strength, and hope with each other. But I can’t learn your lessons and you can’t learn mine.

I’m planning my trip to Tibet, as I write this book. Will it all work out like the trip in the picture? I don’t know. I do know that I won’t get the experience– the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and the impact on my soul– from looking at the picture on my wall.

Have you been trying to gain sustenance from looking at a picture of an experience– reading books, taking classes, going to seminars, listening to mentors– instead of going out and living life for yourself? Take another look at your menu, the list you wrote at the beginning of the year. Order something from it.

Stop looking at the picture and go live for yourself.

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

Short Getaways
Taking a Day Trip

by Madisyn Taylor

We need not go on an expensive vacation to feel we have had time off as your local park or beach can offer a blissful refuge.


We tend to think of a vacation as something that requires an enormous amount of preparation, but small daylong excursions can be just as refreshing and fulfilling as their lengthier counterparts. A short drive can be the channel that transports you into a world of novel experiences and blissful relaxation. Solo day trips can be a wonderful way to unwind from the stresses of routine existence while simultaneously feeding the soul. And when you choose to share your day trip with someone you care about, a leisurely drive becomes a chance to talk about childhood, recall favorite songs, or simply spend time enjoying one another's presence.

You may be surprised to see how many day-trip possibilities exist within a mere hour's time from your home. Forests, beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers, and deserts can serve as the perfect spot for a mini-vacation. The physical and mental rejuvenation you experience in an unfamiliar and engaging setting are enhanced by meditation, journaling, deep breathing, or just being still with nature. Though the cost of gasoline can make taking a day trip seem frivolous, and our commitment to environmental well-being may cause us to hesitate before utilizing our cars in this manner, there are numerous ways we can effectively offset our carbon signature while still seeing to the needs of ourselves on a soul level.

Since day trips tend to require much smaller investments of time and money than traditional outings, you can enjoy a diverse range of experiences day by day. On one weekend, you may be motivated by a need to connect with your natural heritage to explore a vast state park or nature preserve. On another, your curiosity can inspire you to visit a historical site that has long piqued your interest. In the end, where you go will often be less important than your willingness to broaden your horizons by removing yourself from the environment already so familiar to you. Each mini-getaway you take will imbue your existence with a sensation of renewal that prepares you for whatever lies ahead. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

If I live just one day at a time, I won’t so quickly entertain fears of what might happen tomorrow. As long as I’m concentrating on today’s activities, there won’t be room in my mind for worrying. I’ll try to fill every minute of this day with something. Then, when the day is ended, I’ll be able to look back on it with satisfaction, serenity and gratitude. Do I sometimes cherish bad feeling so that I can feel sorry for myself?

Today I Pray

That I will get out of the self-pity act and live for today. May I notice the good things from dawn to nightfall, learn to talk about them and thank God for them. May I catch myself if I seem to be relishing my moans and complaints more often than appreciating the goodness of my life.

Today I Will Remember

Today is good.

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

One More Day

I shall not pass this way again;
Then let me now relieve some pain,
Remove some barrier from the road,
Or brighten someone’s heavy load.
– Eva Rose York

Sometimes we help other through – neighborhood clean-up committees, recycling stations, and paint-a-tons. Maybe we’ve volunteered through school or church or community organizations.

Illness has helped us better understand the relationship between those who help and those who need help. Loving help is not prompted by pity or superiority, but by empathy and shared humanness. Also, we’ve learned that no one is always the helper or always the one needing help. We are both. We are bonded to others through what we give — and what we receive.

I will show my love by helping and being willing to be helped.

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

Food For Thought

No Standing Still

Life is movement, and to be alive is to change. There is no standing still. Either we are making progress in the control of our disease, or we are getting worse.

Progress forward is an upward climb. To look back with longing at a time which in retrospect seems easier, or to think about the so-called pleasure we once got from food, is to invite disaster. We have long passed the point of being satisfied with a small amount of uncontrolled eating. Now, a small amount will inevitably become a large amount, and instead of pleasure we will eventually feel much physical and emotional pain.

If we are making progress, let's keep at it and not be deluded into going backwards. If we are losing control and slipping, let's recognize that we are on a downward course and that our disease is getting worse. Let's stop rationalizing and making excuses. Right now we can turn around and start climbing.

May I keep climbing.

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

One Day At A Time

~ FIGHTING ~

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone ...
The Big Book, page 84

When one goes through life at full speed ahead as I have done, it's hard to really step back and look at one's life. Everything is happening too fast and each day seems to blend into the next and, before you know it, the next segment of life seems to take over.

When I began my Twelve Step recovery program, I found myself slowing down ... examining my life ... observing those around me ... and reflecting on my past. I began to know who I was and I didn't like one of the things I discovered: I was a fighter. I didn't accept people, places or things unless and until they met my expectations of what they should be. I tried to control situations that I should have walked away from. I clung to people I should have distanced myself from. I tried to manipulate things that were toxic to me, and make them un-toxic ... and, in the process, did myself great harm.

When I first read those words from the AABB, "We have ceased fighting anything or anyone," I felt it didn't apply to me ... because at that point, I hadn't categorized myself as a fighter. It took living and working the Steps to realize that. And it took living and working the Steps to take the action necessary to stop being a fighter.

Life is calmer now. Relationships are smoother. I sometimes miss the excitement of going through like as though I were on a roller coaster ... but I won't go back there. Serenity means too much to me. Fighting is something I have put away forever.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will direct my thinking and doing to those things in my life which will contribute to a meaningful and pleasant journey.
~ Mari ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists, and practitioners of various kinds. Do not hesitate to take your health problems to such persons. - Pg. 133 - The Family Afterwards

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes you won't be able to trust that all will be well. You'll think 'it isn't well' and 'I don't want to hear others telling me it will be all right.' OK. Be angry. Now go do something that is suggested to you today. Make a phone call to your sponsor, make a meeting, help another in early recovery. Channel your anger toward action.

Grant me the strength to do one activity today that is suggested in the books or by a fellow member in recovery.

Unseen Hands

There are forces in this ever alive and vibrating universe that want to help me if I can let them. I will pray to unseen hands to guide me toward wellness, to lift me towards God. If I am low, I will allow this legion of tiny hands to lift me in the blink of an eye. I will ask and trust that help is at hand. I will free my mind so that it can include more experience that it normally does. I will allow the veil to be lifted so that I can see this spiritual and alive universe for what it is and people for the tender and vulnerable creatures that we all are.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

It's a very interesting thing about human nature, when you stop treating yourself poorly, it will become unacceptable for others to do so.

If I don't take care of myself, why should anyone else?

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Daily meditation for about 20 minutes is recommended for all in recovery; unless, of course, you're very busy, then you should meditate for an hour.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will trust myself when something does not feel smooth and flowing. I will begin to look around for alternatives for anything that feels rough and irritating.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

This is a disease of insight. I could see the filth, the deceit, the ugliness, the infidelity. The pain of alcoholism and me. It was all very clear. I could see through myself like glass - As Socrates said: 'The unexamined life is not worth living.' - Tom M.

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

AA Thought for the Day

February 27

Rallying Point
Step Two is the rallying point for all of us.
Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step.
True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith,
and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity
if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 33

Thought to Ponder . . .
I sit at a meeting until the bus of sanity comes by; then, I climb aboard.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
W E = Walls Evaporate.

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

Foundation
There is a direct linkage among self-examination,
meditation, and prayer.
Taken separately, these practices can bring
much relief and benefit.
but when they are logically related and interwoven,
the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
c. 1952 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 98

Thought to Consider . . .
Prayer is asking a question.
Meditation is listening for the answer.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A S A P = Always Say A Prayer.

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

Hope
>From "Tightrope":
"He put me in contact with an individual who took me to my first meeting. Although I can barely recall anything about that
meeting, I heard two things I have never forgotten. The first was 'You don't have to drink again.' This was a total
revelation to me. For a long time I had believed that alcohol was one of the few positive things left in my life. I looked
forward to my first drink every evening and thought that alcohol was holding my life together. I had to drink to survive, let
alone to have any comfort. Yet here, people who had been in the same boat were telling me that I didn't have to drink. I
don't think I believed them that night, but it gave me enough hope to avoid drinking the rest of the day."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 364-65

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

"Today, I don't have the home, the husband, the three cars in the garage. I have one old clunker that takes me to
meetings. I am not financially well off, but I have a peace of mind I never dreamed possible. My needs are always met --
and even some of my wishes. I am truly happy for the first time in my life. Thank you AA."
Milwaukie, Ore., June 1999
From: "A Lady After All"
Beginner's Book: Getting and Staying Sober in AA

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

"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

"Much to our relief, we discovered we did not need to consider
another's conception of God. Our own conception, however inadequate,
was sufficient to make the approach and to effect a contact with
Him. As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative
Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of
things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and
direction, provided we took other simple steps."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 46~

"Perhaps we shall need to share with this person facts about ourselves which no others ought to know.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 61

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Righteous Indignation
'The positive value of righteous indignation is theoretical - especially for alcoholics. It leaves every one of us open to the
rationalization that we may be as angry as we like provided we can claim to be righteous about it.'
When we harbored grudges and planned revenge for defeats, we were really beating ourselves with the club of anger
we had intended to use on others. We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our very first need was to quiet that
disturbance, regardless of who or what we thought caused it. 1. LETTER, 1954 - 2 .TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 47

Prayer for the Day: God, I pray that I may not neglect my soul in trying to fathom immortal life. If I may be hesitating
between comfort and work, remind me of the greatness of the place which I started to reach. May I not grow weary of
climbing and falter on the stair. Breathe upon me thy inspiration and love, that I may continue in faith all the way. Amen.