GIVING UP INSANITY
. . . where alcohol has been involved, we have been
strangely insane.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 38
Alcoholism required me to drink, whether I wanted to or
not. Insanity dominated my life and was the essence of
my disease. It robbed me of the freedom of choice over
drinking and, therefore, robbed me of all other choices.
When I drank, I was unable to make effective choices in
any part of my life and life became unmanageable. I ask
God to help me understand and accept the full meaning of
the disease of alcoholism.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
This sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to
live in. Once you've gotten out of your alcoholic fog, you
find that the world looks good. You find real friends in
A.A. You get a job. You feel good in the morning. You eat
a good breakfast and you do a good day's work at home or
outside. And your family loves you and welcomes you because
you're sober. Am I convinced that this sober world is a
pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in?
Meditation For The Day
Our need is God's opportunity. First we must recognize our
need. Often this means helplessness before some weakness or
sickness and an admission of our need for help. Next comes
faith in the power of God's spirit, available to us to meet
that need. Before any need can be met, our faith must find
expression. That expression of faith is all God needs to
manifest His power in our lives. Faith is the key that
unlocks the storehouse of God's resources.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may first admit my needs. I pray that then
I may have faith that God will meet those needs, in the
way which is best for me.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Healing Talk,
p. 102
When we consult an A.A. friend, we should not be reluctant to remind
him of our need for full privacy. Intimate communication is normally
so free and easy among us that an A.A. adviser may sometimes forget
when we expect him to remain silent. The protective sanctity of this
most healing of human relations ought never be violated.
Such privileged communications have priceless advantages. We find
in them the perfect opportunity to be as honest as we know how to
be. We do not have to think of the possibility of damage to other
people, nor need we fear ridicule or condemnation. Here, too, we
have the best possible chance of spotting self-deception.
Grapevine, August 1961
***********************************************************
Walk in Dry Places
Beating Depression_____ Emotional
Fortitude
If you're seeking a lively meeting discussion topic, bring up
depression. It's so closely tied to alcoholism that some people even
think alcoholics are attempting to "treat" depression when they drink.
Others feel that depression shows they're not "working" the
program.
Overcoming depression is a monumental undertaking, but that doesn't
mean it cannot be done. The dearly mistake is that believe your
circumstances are so hopeless that there's no solution. Sometimes, as
AA co-founder Bill Wilson contended (based on personal experience),
depression actually corrects itself in time. Stay sober, live rightly,
keep physically and mentally active, and in time some depressive mood
swings will ease. Even more serious clinical depression can be treated.
It's human to be temporarily depressed about a terrible failure or
setback. The Twelve Steps are tools for coping with unpleasant
situations, but we still might feel bad about tem for a time. The
really good news is that enough fortitude will see us through for the
long term. We have much experience to show that this is true.
Whether today's mood is up or down, I'll hold to the view that the
Twelve Steps will help me defeat mental depression in time. My
Higher
Power assures me that joy and peace are my rightful state of mind.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
Life I love you, all is groovy.---Paul Simon
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me let go of my fears and
enjoy
life. I haven't
always known how to enjoy life, but Working the Twelve Steps is more
than
recovery from alcohol or other drug addiction. It's also about how to
enjoy life. Our illness pulled us toward death. Our spirits were dying,
and maybe our bodies were dying. Now our spirits are coming to life. We
feel more alive than ever before. Our feelings are coming alive. We
feel
hope and faith, love, and joy, and even hurt and fear. We notice the
sunshine as well as the clouds. We know life needs both sunshine and
rain, both joy and pain. We are alive. You can teach me. All life is
from
You, so teach me to be free in Your light and love.
Action for the Day: Right now, I can think of at least three
things in
life that make me
feel like sunshine. What are they?
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back
just might pull someone back from the edge.
--Carmelia Elliott
Someone will be helped today by our kindness. Compassionate attention
assures others that they do matter, and every one of us needs that
reassurance occasionally. The program has given us the vehicle for
giving and seeking the help we need--it's sponsorship.
Not all of the people we encounter share our program, however.
Sponsorship as we know it isn't a reality in their lives. Offering
words of encouragement to them, or a willing ear, can be unexpected
gifts. They will be deeply appreciated.
The real gift, though, is to ourselves. Helping someone in need
benefits the helper even more. Our own closeness to God and thus
assurance about our own being is strengthened each time we do God's
work--each time we do what our hearts direct.
We are healed in our healing of others. God speaks to us through our
words to others. Our own well-being is enhanced each time we put
someone else's well-being first.
We're all on a trip, following different road maps, but to the same
destination. I will be ready to lend a helping hand to a troubled
traveler today. It will breathe new life into my own trip.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
WE AGNOSTICS
We can only clear the ground a bit. If our testimony helps sweep away
prejudice, enables you to think honestly, encourages you to search
diligently within yourself, then, if you wish, you can join us on the
Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot fail. the consciousness of
your belief is sure to come to you.
p. 55
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition Stories
WINNER TAKES ALL - Legally
blind but no longer alone, she found a way to stay sober, raise a
family, and turn her life over to the care of God.
Special education was mostly for the
mentally retarded, so I did not get much support from my teachers,
though there were two teachers who made a difference in my life.
One was a third-grade teacher who got me large-print books. It
felt so good that someone understood I had a problem, but that was
overruled by the embarrassment I felt trying to carry those big books
around. The other teacher was a freshman high school teacher who
flunked me. It was as if I heard her say, "You can do
better." All the other teachers just let me pass, whether I knew
the material or not. When I got out of high school, I felt as if
I had gotten out of some kind of prison. I graduated 150th out of
a class of 152, and I felt that I was dumb.
p. 376
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Ten - "Continued to
take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
Now that we're in A.A. and sober, and winning back the esteem of our
friends and business associates, we find that we still need to exercise
special vigilance. As an insurance against "big-shot-ism" we can often
check ourselves by remembering that we are today sober only by the
grace of God and that any success we may be having is far more His
success than ours.
p. 92
***********************************************************
What
matters
is
what's
in
our
hearts.
"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly,"
G. K. Chesterton once wrote:
Once you stop taking yourself so seriously and let go of the gravity of
all that you do, you can learn to fly, too.
God, help me lighten up.
--Melody Beattie
"Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form
of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them."
--John (Jay) McCloy
Learning is an upward, ever-evolving process. We will never reach the
point where we've learned all we need to know. Every aspect of life
contains lessons. We can choose to discard them or to embrace them.
Lessons embraced lead to wisdom.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
We can stop waiting for others to give us what we need and take
responsibility for ourselves. When we do, the gates to freedom will
swing wide. Walk through.
--Melody Beattie
Believe and the healing will come.
--Gary Barnes
Each of us is a unique expression of God's beauty.
--Jane F. Maxwell
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SUFFERING
"Every man, on the foundation of
his own sufferings and joys, builds
for all. "
--Albert Camus
In my pain I am able to reach out to others. When I share my pain, I
not only understand but I am understood. It is my pain and suffering
that unites me with others. Other people become a part of my life and
are involved in who I am.
Through my shared feelings, other people begin to share. Trust
develops across this bridge of understanding. Feelings unite the world.
Lord, You created us in ONENESS - help us in our struggle to unite.
***********************************************************
Beloved,
let
us
love
one
another:
for
love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:7
"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3
Pleasant words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the
bones.
Proverbs 16:24
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Forget the hurts and unkindnesses of all yesterdays
so that today you will have room to be joyful and at peace. Lord, bless
me with the ability to let go of that which causes me pain so that I
may not miss the great joys that today will bring.
Small acts of kindness make lasting memories. Lord, help me to remember
that it is a privilege to pause for those moment in which I can really
make a difference.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
The Big Picture
"All spiritual awakenings have some
things in common. Common elements include an end to loneliness and a
sense of direction in our lives."
Basic Text p. 48
Some kinds of spiritual experiences
take place when we confront something larger than we are. We suspect
that forces beyond our understanding are operating. We see a fleeting
glimpse of the big picture and find humility in that moment.
Our journey through the Twelve Steps
will bring about a spiritual experience of the same nature, only more
profound and lasting. We undergo a continual process of ego-deflation,
while at the same time we become more conscious of the larger
perspective. Our view of the world expands to the point where we no
longer possess an exaggerated sense of our own importance.
Through our new awareness, we no
longer feel isolated from the rest of the human race. We may not
understand why the world is the way it is or why people sometimes treat
one another so savagely. But we do understand suffering and, in
recovery, we can do our best to alleviate it. When our individual
contribution is combined with others, we become an essential part of a
grand design. We are connected at last.
Just for today: I am but one person in
the entire scheme of things. I humbly accept my place in the big
picture.
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. --Wendell Berry
Blessed are all birds and animals, the
wildest beasts, and, yes, all serpents, too, for they live in nature,
in a state of natural grace. They live beyond the rules of evil and
good. Their instincts are obedient only to the laws of survival,
growth, and health. And as their lives unfurl in obedience to these
laws, they suffer no shame, regret, or sin. Nor do they curse their
failures, or themselves.
We can learn much from them. They
harbor no evil toward one another, and they trust their own inner sense
of how to live, and that their Higher Power makes sure everything which
befalls them is for the best. Yes, they are blessed, and so are we, the
highest animal.
What guilt can I free myself from
today, just by letting go?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
Anyone who lives art knows that
psychoanalysis has no monopoly on the power to heal.... Art and poetry
have always been altering our ways of sensing and feeling - that is to
say, altering the human body. --Norman 0. Brown
A man can lead a healing life on many
levels. On one level, many of us have turned to healing professionals
for help. That may strengthen our program and be very beneficial for
many of our problems.
Relationships heal when they are
loving, affirming, reliable, committed, and loyal. Nature heals: a
tree, a walk through tall grass, a dry seedpod, or a potted plant gives
life when we turn in its direction. Beauty heals: music, a poem, a
novel, or a picture may move us to another plane and teach us about
life. Meditation heals: solitude, quiet relaxation, prayer, and cosmic
consciousness bring an inner peace. Laughter heals. Physical activity
heals. Doing something for others helps us. At the basic level,
accepting ourselves as lovable men, just as we are, is the foundation
for all healing.
The forces for renewal and wholeness
are varied. May I reach out to them and be healed by them.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
Make yourself a blessing to someone.
Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from
the edge.
--Carmelia Elliott
Someone will be helped today by our
kindness. Compassionate attention assures others that they do matter,
and every one of us needs that reassurance occasionally. The program
has given us the vehicle for giving and seeking the help we need--it's
sponsorship.
Not all of the people we encounter
share our program, however. Sponsorship as we know it isn't a reality
in their lives. Offering words of encouragement to them, or a willing
ear, can be unexpected gifts. They will be deeply appreciated.
The real gift, though, is to
ourselves. Helping someone in need benefits the helper even more. Our
own closeness to God and thus assurance about our own being is
strengthened each time we do God's work--each time we do what our
hearts direct.
We are healed in our healing of
others. God speaks to us through our words to others. Our own
well-being is enhanced each time we put someone else's well-being first.
We're all on a trip, following
different road maps, but to the same destination. I will be ready to
lend a helping hand to a troubled traveler today. It will breathe new
life into my own trip.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Fear
Picture yourself swimming floating -
peacefully down a gentle stream. All you need to do is breathe, relax,
and go with the flow.
Suddenly, you become conscious of your
situation. Frightened, overwhelmed with what ifs? your body tenses. You
begin to thrash around, frantically looking for something to grab on to.
You panic so hard you start to go
under. Then you remember - you're working too hard at this. You don't
need to panic. All you need to do is breathe, relax, and go with the
flow. You wont drown.
Panic is our great enemy.
We don't need to become desperate. If
overwhelming problems appear in our life, we need to stop struggling.
We can tread water for a bit, until our equilibrium returns. Then we
can go back to floating peacefully down the gentle stream. It is our
stream. It is a safe stream. Our course has been charted. All is well.
Today, I will relax, breathe, and go
with the flow.
Today I know that every time I inhale,
I am breathing in powerful healing energy. And every time I exhale I am
letting go. I am letting go of all anxiety and stress, all negativity
that is standing in the way of my feeling good about myself. --Ruth
Fishel
*******************************************
Journey To The Heart
Open Yourself to the Wealth of the
Universe
We all have sources we turn to for
support. We may turn to special people in our lives– family members,
friends, a lover. We may turn to nature– the mountains, trees, oceans,
rivers, sun, moon, and stars. But we no longer have to limit ourselves
to just one person, one source for love, energy, comfort, and guidance.
Certain people come into our lives for
a short while to help us through particular times. Other people come to
stay for a longer time. Sometimes we love people and are so deeply
committed to them that they will be sources of energy and love for us,
and we for them, for most of our lives. That’s good. That’s how it
should be.
But while it’s good to have people who
are special sources of support for us, allowing one person to be our
sole support can mean trouble. We may begin to drain that person. We
may become overly dependent. He or she may move away from us. Or we may
become angry, as we usually do, at whomever or whatever we are
dependent on. For many reasons, we may find ourselves in conflict with
the one we have deemed our source. Something may happen that causes our
source to no longer be available to us. It’s important to be conscious
of what our needs are and to get our needs met. But it’s also important
not to make one person responsible for doing that.
Open to a larger, more abundant
source. That source is God. And God’s supply is the universe. When we
look to God and the universe, we open ourselves to a never-ending
supply of what we need– love, energy, teaching, support, information,
guidance, and nurturing. Certain people and places may help us along
our way, but God is our source for love.
*******************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Is it what you really want?
“Are you still in that relationship?”
I asked a friend one day.
“If I were really sick, I could be,”
my friend said. “But I’ve decided not to do that to myself anymore.”
Sometimes, a door is open. We can walk
through it and into that room. We can stay there as long as we want and
as long as we can stand being in that room. Many of us have learned to
take care of ourselves so well that we can be in extremely
uncomfortable situations and still comfortably take care of ourselves.
The question then becomes not “Can I?”
but, “Do I want to?”
There are many situations in life
where we can insist on having our will and way, sometimes for an
extended period of time. Stubbornness and persistence can be good
qualities. We can stay with a thing until we learn it well. But we can
also take that too far and stick with a thing– a project or
relationship– when other weaker and wiser souls might have given up.
Instead of asking yourself if you can,
ask yourself something different. If you’ve been hanging in there,
trying harder, and diligently taking care of yourself, back off. Stop
asking yourself if you’re good enough to handle the situation. Ask
yourself if the situation is good for you.
God, help me take the time to ask
myself, “Is this what I really want?”
*******************************************
Creative Cuts
Editing Your Life
by Madisyn Taylor
Cutting out what isn't working in your
life is a bold first step to creating the life that does work for you.
Our lives can be compared to an
ongoing movie script over which we have complete creative control.
Within us lies the power to examine what works or isn’t working in our
lives and make “edits” to our life’s script, accordingly. Choosing to
actively edit your life can be incredibly empowering. As you evolve,
you have the choice to accept the script you’ve written thus far or
edit it so you can create a life that fulfills you. You can cut out
from your life’s script what is no longer working for you.
Acknowledging that you are responsible for the experience you create
gives you the ability to create the life you’ve always longed for.
Granted, editing your real life isn’t
always as easy as erasing a line of text. If you’ve carried emotional
baggage or held on to an unhealthy relationship for a long time, these
may be difficult to edit out. But when you do cut out what isn’t
working from your life, you’ll feel lighter and more alive. Editing out
activities that you find stressful, disassociating yourself from people
that drain your energy, and letting go of your emotional baggage are
all beneficial cuts you can make. In the empty spaces that are left
behind, you can add in anything you like. Just as you have the power to
edit out negative situations or beliefs that you no longer wish to have
as part of your life, you can now include the kinds of positive
experiences, people, and beliefs that you would like to fill your life
with. The manifestation of these thoughts and images as realities in
your life will inevitably follow. As you make changes to your life, you
can also add in the bits where you choose mo! re intimate, healthier
relationships, seek out adventure over tedium, and are no longer
negatively impacted by old experiences.
To begin editing your life, simply
think about your positive and negative experiences. When you determine
what parts of your life are no longer serving you, make the commitment
to remove them – though, it is important to remember that there is no
proper timing or way to do this, and patience and compassion for
yourself are always important during this process. Then, ask yourself
what has brought you profound bliss and consider how you can make those
experiences and beliefs part of your life now. With a little editing,
you’ll be able to clear out what is no longer serving you and make room
in your life for more happiness, love, and wisdom. Published with
permission from Daily OM
*******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
If we attempt to understand rather
than to be understood, we can more quickly assure a newcomer that we
have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which
faith can be acquired. All of us, whatever our race, creed, color or
ethnic heritage are the children of a living Creator, which whom we may
form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms — as soon as
we are willing and honest enough to try. Do I know the difference
between sympathy and empathy? Can I put myself in the newcomer’s shoes?
Today I Pray
May I try to love all humanity as
children of a living God. May I respect the different ways through
which they find and worship Him. May I respect the different ways
through which they find and worship Him. May I never be so rigid as to
discount another’s path to God or so insensitive that I use the
fellowship of the group as a preaching ground to extol my religion
beliefs as the only way. I can only know what works for me.
Today I Will Remember
We are all children of God.
*******************************************
One More Day
A crisis event often explodes the
illusions that … anchor our lives.
– Robert Veninga
Chronic illness an become so
common-place for us that we lull ourselves into thinking we’ve become
the best we can be and believing we can handle everything. When another
crisis occurs — family problems, financial setbacks, or loss of friends
— we may stubbornly try to fix the situation, only to be rewarded with
self-pity or anger or sadness.
In time, we usually realize that we
don’t have to carry every burden or solve every problem. sometimes
there is no answer other than acceptance of a situation as being
unchangeable. What can be changed is our reaction to this fact. We can,
as we have before, build our lives around the new situation. We can
allow ourselves to grow into a greater maturity.
Every day, every experience is an
opportunity to grow.
************************************
Food For Thought
Compulsive Means My Will
When I am compulsive about something, I "have to" have it or see that
it is done. I am insisting on my will, my way. I forget that the world
does not revolve around me.
Going against the laws of the universe inevitably brings trouble. I
cannot willfully consume everything my uncontrolled appetite demands
without hurting myself and others. I cannot arrange other people's
lives to suit my time schedule. I cannot adjust the world to me; I can
adjust myself to what is, to reality.
Giving up my selfish, egocentric desires is probably the most difficult
task I have. "He who masters himself is greater than he who conquers a
city." I cannot do it alone. Through the fellowship of OA, with the
help of the program, and by the grace of my Higher Power, I seek to
turn from my will to His will.
Thy will be done.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ Recovery ~
I'm sick and tired of being sick and
tired.
Fannie Lou Hamer
I used to get so disgusted with
myself. I was sick and tired of trying to lose weight because I always
failed. I had lost weight several times but I would still feel ugly,
fat and unacceptable to everybody else. The sickness and tiredness
remained because I had not changed anything inside my head, just my
body size! My past was still there and it continued to haunt me, and I
was filled with the guilt and shame of the past.
A friend told me about this great
program where I could discover what was really making me sick and how I
could recover. She said, "You will have someone with you to help
continually 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
"How can this be?" I asked.
She said, "Well, this wonderful
program helps you recover by teaching you what really has been
bothering you. Maybe it's things you are sorry you did or didn't do in
the past, people you've hurt or who have hurt you."
"Do I need to leave home or pay a lot
of money?" I asked.
She said, "No. You work it at home, at
work and everywhere you go. The cost is nothing, except a desire to
stop eating compulsively. Your continual help is your Higher Power and
he never goes to sleep, he listens and helps you when you ask for his
help."
"Wow, you mean I don't have to be sick
and tired any more?"
"That's right and all it takes is
Twelve small but important Steps, a lot of love, hugs, acceptance,
trust and sincere honesty. It's easy and works as long as you work it."
One Day at a Time . . .
I don't need to be sick and tired of
myself any more. I have a wonderful program with a lot of tools,
friends and my Higher Power to help me. I can achieve recovery one day
at a time ... it's a matter of progress, not perfection.
~ Jeanette ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
When, therefore, we speak to you of
God, we mean your own conception of God. This applies, too, to other
spiritual expressions which you find in this book. - Pg. 47 - We
Agnostics
Little Dreams
Today I will do some small thing to
make my day more beautiful and positive. I only need to do a little
better. I don't need to reach for the moon or become the perfect
anything. Achieving little dreams will enhance my sense of self and
move me a bit forward. They will add up. They give me something
positive to imagine. Little dreams are manageable, they don't overwhelm
me and make me feel like I am constantly failing or running in place.
They let me feel like I've achieved something real and purposeful. They
give my day a positive focus. I will dream a little dream today. I will
do something positive that gets me closer to a goal or makes a
contribution to my world. Rather than complain about what isn't here
that I want, I will take baby steps to create something.
I will take one small step
- Tian Dayton PhD
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Suit up, Show up, Sit up, and Speak up!
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I know that every time I inhale,
I am breathing in powerful healing energy. And every time I exhale I am
letting go. I am letting go of all anxiety and stress, all negativity
that is standing in the way of my feeling good about myself.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
My drinking had so isolated me that it
was as if I was in a cave. And my family, over the years, and my wife
in particular, had stood outside that cave asking me to come out, and I
couldn't find my way out. Finally Ebby showed up outside the cave, and
after being captive in a similar cave, he entered mine - he knew the
way - and he took me by the hand and led me out. One cave-dweller
helping another. And I knew that's what I wanted to do; I wanted to
help other people like myself. - Bill W.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
April 12
Inventory
We want to find exactly how, when, and
where our natural desires have warped us.
We wish to look squarely at the
unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves.
By discovering what our emotional
deformities are, we can move toward their correction.
Without a willing and persistent
effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
p. 43
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trust God. Clean house. Help others.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Accept, Begin, Continue.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Sharing
"In spite of the great increase in the
size
and the span of this Fellowship,
at its core it remains simple and
personal.
Each day, somewhere in the world,
recovery begins when one alcoholic
talks
with another alcoholic,
sharing experience, strength, and
hope."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. xxii
Thought to Consider . . .
We need each other's experience,
strength, and hope,
regardless of age or length of
sobriety.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E
Help Open People's Eyes
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Money
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics
Anonymous":
An aide "quickly took the glowing
report to his friend, Mr. Rockefeller, who we thought would surely be
interested. Here
was medicine, here was religion, and
here was a great good work, all in one package. Mr. Rockefeller
listened intently.
He was tremendously impressed and said
so. He has repeatedly stated that his connection with Alcoholics
Anonymous is numbered among the finest
and most moving experiences of his life.
"Nevertheless, Mr. Rockefeller flatly
turned down this plea for a large sum [$50,000], despite the fact that
the project
appealed to his every charitable
inclination. After a rereading of [the aide's] report, he said 'I am
afraid that money will
spoil this thing.' When he gave his
reasons, they were identical with those advanced by the Akron group's
minority [at
an earlier meeting]. John D.
Rockefeller, Jr., was guided then and there to save the A.A. fellowship
from itself and from
unnecessary hazards of money,
property, and professionalism. It was one of the turning points in
A.A.'s history.
"[The aide then] described the
desperate financial plight of Dr. Bob and myself. On hearing of this,
Mr. Rockefeller said,
'I will place $5,000 for their use in
the treasury of the Riverside Church [NYC, NY]. You may draw on this as
you like.
This will give these men some
temporary assistance. But this fellowship should soon become
self-supporting.'" An
account by Bill W. of events which
took place in December, 1937
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age, pgs. 150-51
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"I am not my disease; I just have it."
San Jose, California, December 2010
"Four Years,"
Emotional Sobriety II: The Next
Frontier
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"To get over drinking will require a
transformation of thought and
attitude. We all had to place recovery
above everything, for without
recovery we would have lost both home
and business."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, To
Employers, pg. 143~
"Follow the dictates of a Higher
Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter
what your present circumstances!"
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Working With Others, pg. 100
Everywhere we saw failure and misery
transformed by humility into priceless assets.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
75
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Healing Talk
When we consult an A.A. friend, we
should not be reluctant to remind him of our need for full privacy.
Intimate
communication is normally so free and
easy among us that an A.A. adviser may sometimes forget when we expect
him
to remain silent. The protective
sanctity of this most healing of human relations ought never be
violated.
Such privileged communications have
priceless advantages. We find in them the perfect opportunity to be as
honest as
we know how to be. We do not have to
think of the possibility of damage to other people, nor need we fear
ridicule or
condemnation. Here, too. we have the
best possible chance of spotting self-deception. GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961
Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, thank you for the love you have
shown me. Help me carry that love to others so they may benefit from
your love.