THE BONDAGE OF RESENTMENTS
. . . harboring resentment is infinitely grave. For then
we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the spirit.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 5
It has been said, "Anger is a luxury I cannot afford."
Does this suggest I ignore this human emotion? I believe
not. Before I learned of the A.A. program, I was a slave
to the behavior patterns of alcoholism. I was chained to
negativity, with no hope of cutting loose.
The Steps offered me an alternative. Step Four was the
beginning of the end of my bondage. The process of
"letting go" started with an inventory. I needed not be
frightened, for the previous Steps assured me I was not
alone. My Higher Power led me to this door and gave me
the gift of choice. Today I can choose to open the door
to freedom and rejoice in the sunlight of the Steps, as
they cleanse the spirit within me.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Terrible things could have happened to any one of us. We
never will know what might have happened to us when we
were drunk. We usually thought: "That couldn't happen to
me." But any one of us could have killed somebody or have
been killed ourselves, if we were drunk enough. But fear
of these things never kept us from drinking. Do I believe
that in A.A. we have something more effective than fear?
Meditation For The Day
I must keep calm and unmoved in the vicissitudes of life.
I must go back into the silence of communion with God to
recover this calm when it is lost even for one moment. I
will accomplish more by this calmness than by all the
activities of a long day. At all cost I will keep calm.
I can solve nothing when I am agitated. I should keep
away from things that are upsetting emotionally. I should
run on an even keel and not get tipped over by emotional
upsets. I should seek for things that are calm and good
and true and stick to those things.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not argue nor contend, but merely state
calmly what I believe to be true. I pray that I may keep
myself in that state of calmness that comes from faith in
God's purpose for the world.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Move Ahead,
p. 105
To spend too much time on any one alcoholic is to deny some other an
opportunity to live and be happy. One of our Fellowship failed entirely
with his first half-dozen prospects. He often says that if he had
continued to work on them, he might have deprived many others, who
have since recovered, of their chance.
<< << << >> >> >>
"Our chief responsibility to the newcomer is an adequate presentation
of the program. If he does nothing or argues, we do nothing but
maintain our own sobriety. If he starts to move ahead, even a little,
with an open mind, we then break our necks to help in every way we
can."
1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 96
2. Letter, 1942
***********************************************************
Walk in Dry Places
When Things are Not humanly possible._____
Facing Difficulties
We're reminded again and again that "No human power could have relieved
our alcoholism." Whatever it is that keeps us sober must come
from a
Higher Power … God as we understand Him.
This fact about our alcoholism also has broader application to the
general conditions of life. There's an almost endless list of
conditions that are not humanly possible to change. Some of these
conditions apply only to us; others, such as war and disease, cruelly
afflict all of humankind. Looking at this sorry picture, many of us
wish we had the power to apply Twelve Step principles to all human
problems.
While we don't have such power at the moment, we do have the power to
take a spiritual view of all seemingly hopeless conditions. This
includes trying to do whatever we can about any problem, while
recognizing that the real solution must eventually come from a Higher
Power. We must never lose hope that God will cork with us and through
us to create a better world. In a small way, we can help by
sharing
what happened to us in our recovery from alcoholism. No human
power
could have relieved our alcoholism, but God could and did.
Though
I live and work with people who may be frightened and cynical, I'll
hold to the idea that a Higher Power is working ceaselessly to improve
the human condition in general. There is no reason why the
miraculous
healing power that relieved my alcoholism should not apply to other
problems in my life.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
That day is lost on which one has not laughed. ---French proverb
For a long time, we didn't really laugh. It's surprising when we think
about it: We hadn't really laughed for so long . . . we almost forgot
how
good we could feel. It feels so good to laugh again!
Now our spirits come more alive each day. Now we feel what alcohol and
other drugs stuffed deep inside us. Pain, fear and anger come up.
But so do happiness and joy, thankfulness and a sense of humor. In
early
recovery, we work through the hard feelings. As we grow in the program,
we have more and more room for happiness.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, wake me up to the joy and
laughter
that today holds for me.
Don't let me miss it!
Action for the Day: Today, I'll spread some laughter. I will
learn a
joke and tell it to
three people.
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
It seems to me that I have always been waiting for something better -
sometimes to see the best I had snatched from me.
--Dorothy Reed Mendenhall
Gratitude for what is prepares us for the blessings just around the
corner. What is so necessary to understand is that our wait for what's
around the corner closes our eyes to the joys of the present moment. We
have only the 24 hours ahead of us. In fact, all we can be certain of
having is the moment we are presently experiencing. And it is a gift to
be enjoyed. There is no better gift just right for us than this moment,
at this time.
We can, each of us, look back on former days, realizing that we learned
too late the value of a friend or an experience. Both are now gone.
With practice and a commitment to ourselves, we can learn to reap the
benefits of today, hour by hour. When we detach from the present and
wait for tomorrow, or next week, or look to next year, we are stunting
our spiritual growth. Life can only bless us now, one breath at a time.
I can live in the present if I choose to. Gentle reminders are often
necessary, however. I will step into my life, today. It can become a
habit, one I will never want to break.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
WE AGNOSTICS
What is this but a miracle of healing? Yet its elements are simple.
Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to
his Maker—then he knew.
Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. To this man, the
revelation was sudden. Some of us grow into it more slowly. But He has
come to all who have honestly sought Him.
When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us!
p. 57
***********************************************************
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.
Several years later alcohol had
control over my life. I had a tee shirt that I just loved; it
said, "I used to hate myself in the morning. Now I sleep till
noon." That described my feelings totally.
p. 377
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Ten -
"Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it."
We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We
can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can
begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to
understand and help them.
Whenever we fail any of these people, we can promptly admit it--to
ourselves always, and to them also, when the admission would be
helpful. Courtesy, kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes by
which we may come into harmony with practically anybody. When in doubt
we can always pause, saying, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." And we
can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do
to me--today?"
p. 93
***********************************************************
To
give
without
any
reward,
or
any
notice, has a special
quality of its
own.
--Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Listen to your feelings. They tell you when you need to take care of
yourself, like finding a friend if you feel lonely, crying if you feel
sad,
singing and smiling if you feel happy, and acting frisky if you feel
good.
--Pat Palmer
Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've
decided to see beyond the imperfections.
"The spiritual journey, the path of recovery and personal growth,
is a detoxification process in which we bring up and out the negative
beliefs we have carried with us from the past and that now poison the
present."
--Marianne Williamson
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way
things turn out."
--Art Linkletter
As long as you're recreating yourself, why not start by simply being
GLAD! to be alive?
--LUMPYSEZ
"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself
away."
--Raymond Hull
"God doesn't play dice."
--Albert Einstein
God always leads us toward life.
--Gracie M. Willingham
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SOLITUDE
"People who take time to be
alone usually have depth,
originality and quiet reserve."
--John Miller
I need to be alone. I need time to listen to my thoughts, consider my
opinions and strengthen my body. I need to pull away from my hectic
life to be alone with me.
As a drinking alcoholic I hated to be alone. I became paranoiac about
"leaving the fort" - today I accept that nobody is indispensable and
that the world will still be there when I return from the desert!
Today I grow in the stillness of solitude. I can rest in that "still"
part
of me that is the essential me.
God is very close to me in the silence of self.
Lord, in the stillness of Your life, I am healed and rejuvenated.
***********************************************************
"He
who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness
until now."
1 John 2:9
"Whoever trusts in the Lord will be enriched."
Proverbs 28:25
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Never give up on yourself because God never gives up on you. Lord, You
forgive me. Who am I not to forgive myself too?
God is always doing new things in our lives. Lord, help me to close the
door to my past and take the time to notice and enjoy the newness I am
experiencing right now.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Keep Coming Back
"We have come to enjoy living clean
and want more of the good things that the NA fellowship holds for us"
Basic Text p. 26
Can you remember a time when you
looked at the addicts recovering in NA and wondered, "If they aren't
using drugs what on earth do they have to laugh about?" Did you believe
that the fun stoped when the using stopped? So many of us did. We were
certain that we were leaving the good life behind. Today many of us can
laugh at that misconception because we know how full our life in
recovery can be.
Many of the things we enjoy so much in
recovery are gained by actively participating in the fellowship of NA.
We begin to find true companionship, friends who understand and care
about us just for ouselves. We find a place where we can be useful to
others. There are recovery meetings, service activities, and fellowship
gatherings to fill out time and accupy our interests. The fellowship
can be a mirror to reflect back to us a more acurate imagine of who we
are. We find teachers, helpers, friends, love, care,and support. The
fellowship always has more to offer us, as long as we keep coming back.
Just for today: I know where the good
life is. I'll keep coming back.
pg. 109
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
If I have freedom in my life, And in
my soul am free, Angels alone that soar above Enjoy such liberty.
--Richard Lovelace
When a cow decides to stop nursing her
calf, she isn't rejecting it. She knows it's time for the calf to be on
its own. Although the calf might feel rejected and puzzled at first, it
soon adapts to its new independence and freedom.
When we feel rejected, it's useful to
remember that whatever has caused us to feel this way might have
nothing to do with us. It might be a reflection of what's happening
with someone else, or just the end of a natural stage in life, as with
the calf.
When we understand that others'
actions toward us come from their own feelings, and that we don't cause
their feelings any more than they control ours, we can free ourselves
from a little bit of fear and self-hate. We can see what seems to be
rejection as an open door, with our freedom on the other side.
What rejections have set me free?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
Just be what you are and speak from
your guts and heart - it's all a man has. --Hubert Humphrey
Some of us have doubted our inner
voice so completely that we abandoned it totally. Many of us have
discovered in recovery that by our denial we had violated our inner
voice with lies, even to ourselves. Now we question whether we can
trust our instincts, and we may not know what we feel.
Masculine spiritual recovery is a
return to our guts and our heart. Standing up and speaking from our
hearts may be difficult at times, but our self-respect rises as we do.
That is where we go for our final decision-making. We develop better
reception for the inner voice as we live this program. We accept that
we are never absolutely right. We continue with humility, knowing we
may be wrong and listening to others and our Higher Power. Yet we must
live with our choices.
I will seek the courage to be faithful
to my own instincts.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
It seems to me that I have always been
waiting for something better - sometimes to see the best I had snatched
from me.
--Dorothy Reed Mendenhall
Gratitude for what is prepares us for
the blessings just around the corner. What is so necessary to
understand is that our wait for what's around the corner closes our
eyes to the joys of the present moment. We have only the 24 hours ahead
of us. In fact, all we can be certain of having is the moment we are
presently experiencing. And it is a gift to be enjoyed. There is no
better gift just right for us than this moment, at this time.
We can, each of us, look back on
former days, realizing that we learned too late the value of a friend
or an experience. Both are now gone. With practice and a commitment to
ourselves, we can learn to reap the benefits of today, hour by hour.
When we detach from the present and wait for tomorrow, or next week, or
look to next year, we are stunting our spiritual growth. Life can only
bless us now, one breath at a time.
I can live in the present if I choose
to. Gentle reminders are often necessary, however. I will step into my
life, today. It can become a habit, one I will never want to break.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Communication
Part of owning our power is learning
to communicate clearly, directly, and assertively. We don't have to
beat around the bush in our conversations to control the reactions of
others. Guilt producing comments only produce guilt. We don't have to
fix or take care of people with our words; we cant expect others to
take care of us with words either. We can settle for being heard and
accepted. And we can respectfully listen to what others have to say.
Hinting at what we need doesn't work.
Others cant read our mind, and they're likely to resent our
indirectness. The best way to take responsibility for what we want is
to ask for it directly. And, we can insist on directness from others.
If we need to say no to a particular request, we can. If someone is
trying to control us through a conversation, we can refuse to
participate.
Acknowledging feelings such as
disappointment or anger directly, instead of making others guess at our
feelings or having our feelings come out in other ways, is part of
responsible communication. If we don't know what we want to say, we can
say that too.
We can ask for information and use
words to forge a closer connection, but we don't have to take people
around the block with our conversations. We don't have to listen to, or
participate in, nonsense. We can say what we want and stop when were
done.
Today, I will communicate clearly and
directly in my conversations with others. I will strive to avoid
manipulative, indirect, or guilt producing statements. I can be tactful
and gentle whenever possible. And I can be assertive if necessary.
It is beautiful to know that I am the
creator of how I think and feel today, that I can choose my now. Today
I choose to feel joy and I will do all that I have to do to make that
possible. --Ruth Fishel
*******************************************
Journey To The Heart
Imagine What You Want
What do you want? What do you want to
create in your life? What situation do you want to live in? Describe
the scenario. Imagine it. We can often have what we want, but we rarely
take the time to imagine it. And imagination is the first step toward
creativity.
What do you want? What would it look
like, feel like? Is what you’re working so hard on what you really
want? That relationship? That job? That home? If it is, go for it. If
it’s not, imagine and create something different.
Begin with imagination. Imagine what
you really want in your mind, and you’ve taken the first step toward
creating it. If you don’t know what you want, that’s okay too. Ask the
universe for help. Ask God and the universe to bring you your highest
good.
Ask the universe to help you create
exactly what you want and need. Trust the universe, and you will be
trusting an honorable and benevolent friend.
*******************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Say what you can’t have
“Why is it,” one man asked, “that if I
walk into a room with one hundred women, the one I’m attracted to will
either be engaged to someone else or live across the country? Will
someone please explain that to me?”
I laughed when he asked the question,
although he wasn’t trying to be funny. Many people find themselves
enamored with what they can’t have. His question struck a cord because
I’m one of them. Unavailability– and not being able to have what you
want– although painful, can be deliciously enticing in many ways.
That miserable, deprived place feels
so comfy and familiar to us. Even though we know where it leads– to
letdown, loneliness, sitting by the phone– we’ll let that feeling lead
us around by the nose.
Wanting what we can’t have is a
universal dilemma. It’s so easy to conjure up fantasies about how
delicious it would be if we could only have that, even though we know
we never could. Then we don’t have to deal with what we have. And we
don’t have to face issues like intimacy, commitment, and love.
Learn to recognize longing and
yearning for what we can’t have. And ask for the courage and wisdom to
learn about the true delights of available, requited love.
If we begin yearning for something we
can’t have, we don’t have to take ourselves so seriously. We can see it
for what it is and just enjoy a good laugh at ourselves.
God, help me stop sabotaging myself.
*******************************************
Creating What We Don’t Want
When Worry becomes A Prayer
If prayer is an intention that we
announce to the universe in order to create a desired outcome, then our
every thought is a prayer. This includes thoughts of worry as well as
of hope. All thoughts are subtle creative energy. Some thoughts are
more focused or repeated more often, gathering strength. Some are
written down or spoken, giving them even greater power. Every thought
we have is part of a process whereby we cocreate our experience and our
reality with the universe. When we use our creative energy
unconsciously, we create what is commonly known as self-fulfilling
prophecy. In essence, when we worry, we are repeatedly praying and
lending our energy to the creation of something we don’t want.
The good news is that we can retrain
our minds and thoughts to focus our energy on what we do desire to
bring into our lives. Since most worry is repetitive, it will take more
than one positive thought to counteract the energy we’ve created. The
simplest antidote to worry is affirmations. When we hold these positive
thoughts, repeat them often, speak them and write them and refer to
them throughout our day, we are using focused energy to create positive
results.
We can start right away, together: I
am a creative being, using my energy to cocreate a wonderful world. I
know that I create my experience of life from within, and as I do so, I
also create ripples of energy around me that echo into the world. My
positive thoughts gather together with the thoughts and prayers of
others, and together we create enough positive energy to heal not only
our own lives but the world we share. I am grateful for the ability to
cocreate good in my life and in the world.
A lot of times we have concerned loved
ones that worry about us. When this happens they are also sending out a
worry prayer to the world. A loving conversation letting them know what
is happening is the easiest solution. Also, ask them to send you
positive affirmations rather than worry about you. After all, worry
doesn’t do them any good either. Explain to them that worry can
actually be energetically harmful to you and that wishing good things
for you is much more beneficial and much more fun too. Published with
permission from Daily OM
*******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Rare are the practicing alcoholics who
have any idea how irrational they are, or, seeing their irrationality,
can bear to face it. One reason is that they are abetted in their
blindness by a world which doesn’t yet understand the difference
between sane drinking and alcoholism. The dictionary defines sanity as
“soundness of mind.” Yet no alcoholics, soberly analyzing his or her
destructive behavior, can truly claim soundness of mind. Have I come to
believe, as the Second Step suggests, that a Power greater than myself
can restore me to sanity?
Today I Pray
May I see that my own behavior as a
practicing alcoholic, a drug-user or a compulsive over-eater, could be
described as “insane.” For those still actively addicted, admitting to
“”insane” behavior is well-nigh impossible. I pray that I may continue
to abhor the insanities and inanities of my addictive days. May others
like me recognize their problems of addiction, find help in treatment
and in The Program, and come to believe that a Higher Power can restore
them to sanity.
Today I Will Remember
He restoreth my soul.
*******************************************
One More Day
Just because everything is different
doesn’t mean anything has changed.
– Irene Peter
Chance may happen gradually without
our being aware of it. A sudden event may force us to recognize how
different our lives have become. Yet even when the details or
circumstances have changed, we may discover that the real meaning of
our lives has remained the same.
We still carry many of the same values
as before. We are thankful for the stable relationships that have grown
as we have become stronger. We still strive to succeed in the goals
we’ve set. We continue to look for — and to find — meaning in our life
experiences. Certainly, we’ve changed and many things are different,
but we continue to carry within ourselves the unique person we each
are, the person we’ve always been.
I have always been a person capable of
tremendous growth. I’m thankful that I can make changes that will help
me grow.
************************************
Food For Thought
A Daily Reprieve
Through the grace of our Higher Power and by means of the OA program,
we compulsive overeaters are given a daily reprieve from our disease.
This reprieve, however, is dependent on our spiritual condition. If we
do not stay in touch with our Higher Power and if we do not practice
the OA principles each day, we lose the reprieve and fall into
compulsive overeating.
Our program comes first; other concerns are secondary. OA is not
something which we can tack on to our schedule when it is convenient.
To be effective, it requires top priority. This does not mean that we
spend all of our time involved in OA activities. It does mean that all
of our activities are guided by spiritual principles.
Impossible? Only if we refuse to turn our lives over to our Higher
Power. When He is in control, our work, recreation, and rest all come
under His direction. We are spiritually in tune each day and safe from
our disease.
Thank You for saving me from my disease today.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ Success ~
I have begun everything with the idea
that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes
of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed. I
have always had a high regard for the man who could tell me how to
succeed.
Booker T. Washington
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
is my main source of inspiration when it comes to recovery issues. It's
proven to be a valuable asset to my program.
I've learned from the Big Book that
recovery from any compulsive disease is possible. We are given Twelve
Steps to follow, and told that if we do what our predecessors did, then
we WILL recover. We have to be willing to go to any length to succeed.
We have to do the footwork. The people who don't succeed in this
program are the ones who don't avail themselves of all the help that's
available to them. They don't read the literature, they don't go to
meetings, they don't do service ... they don't do what those who have
gone before have done. So they wallow in their disease instead of
recovering.
There's a reason why we're told,
"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our
path." That means the program works IF you work it. Those who don't
work the program don't recover. That's a pretty powerful statement, but
it's true, and for some reason, a lot of compulsive people just don't
get it. They keep doing the same old things and getting the same old
results. In the process, they remain fully in the grip of their
disease. Sure, recovery is a miracle, but it won't fall into your lap.
You need to work for it, and by the grace of the God of your
understanding, you'll receive the miracle.
One Day at a Time . . .
I remember that it's not enough to
talk the talk; I need to walk the walk if I want to recover.
~ Jeff ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Another principle we observe carefully
is that we do not relate intimate experiences of another person unless
we are sure he would approve. We find it better, when possible, to
stick to our own stories. - Pg. 125 - The Family Afterward
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Frequently, in our first hours and
days of giving up using mind-affecting chemicals, our tricky thoughts
begin to question, 'Are we really so bad off that we have to stop using
right now?' We will want to say, 'Well, no. We're not that bad off.'
But how bad do we have to get? Dead?
May I not play any head games with
myself for this one hour. This hour I am not going to use.
The Creative Power of My Thoughts
Today, I recognize that I tend to
produce in my life what I feel is true for myself. Thoughts have a
creative power of their own. If I look closely, I can see my thoughts
come to life. I create the possibility of what I would like by first
experiencing it in my mind. I will visualize what I would like to have
in my life in my mind's eye. I will accept what I see in my inner eye
as being available for me, and I will fully participate in my vision as
if it were already mine. I will be specific about what I see in my
mind's creative eye and I will accept my inner vision as fully
possible. I will see it, sense, taste it and see it as already
happening. What I believe can be true for me, can be true for me. I
block things form happening with my own doubt and disbelief. Today, I
will imagine that I can live the life I am able to hold as a steady
vision. If I can see it, I can move toward it, I can accept it, I can
crate it.
All good things are possible for me
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
You must learn to pick up a program,
not just set down a drink! They call this foot work. Your Higher Power
wants to make a deal with you. You do the foot work and He'll take care
of the results.
If I have one hand in the fellowship
and one hand in God's, I can't pick up today.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Responsibility: Your response to God's
ability.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
I will put aside all judgments and
accept each and every situation with openness and trust today. Only
then will I discover the joy that lies beyond my fear.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
I sat on the steps of that liquor
store, with my broken jaw, raccoon eyes, unwashed, uncombed hair. And I
sat there waiting for.. I don't know what. And this VW pulls up, and
these beautiful Californian AA's; bright smiles, bright eyes - I
immediately hated them - got out and walked toward me, like I was a
piece of gold, like I was an emerald sitting there on that sidewalk. -
Sharon B.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
April 15
Pride
Some see pride as just a minor issue.
I see pride, and resistance to change,
as the deadliest character flaw every
alcoholic deals with on a daily basis.
The only answer I've ever found in
dealing with such a high level of denial,
is written about in the Big Book,
and can be found in action at just
about any AA meeting in the world.
The AA Grapevine, April 2014
Thought to Ponder . . .
Into action, out of self.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
P R I D E = Personal Recovery Involves
Deflating Ego.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Intoxication
"As newcomers, many of us have indulged
in spiritual intoxication.
Like a prospector,
belt drawn in over the last ounce of
food,
we saw our pick strike gold.
Joy at our release from a lifetime
of frustration knew no bounds.
The newcomer feels he has struck
something better than gold.
He may not see at once
that he has barely scratched a
limitless lode
which will pay dividends
only if he mines it for the rest of
his life
and insists on giving away
the entire product."
Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 128-9
As Bill Sees It, p. 57
Thought to Consider . . .
We give it away to keep it.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Excuses
Step Four: Made a searching and
fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
"The majority of A.A. members have
suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days.
For most of us,
self-justification was the maker of
excuses; excuses, of course, for drinking, and for all kinds of crazy
and damaging
conduct. We had made the invention of
alibis a fine art. We had to drink because times were hard or times
were good.
We had to drink because at home we
were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at
work we
were great successes or dismal
failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a
peace. And so it went, ad infinitum."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 46-47
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Every day will bring me challenges,
but now I have the spiritual tools to cope with life on life's terms. I
am no longer the
prisoner of my past, my wants, my
sorrows, my addictions"
October 2002
"On My Knees into the World Wide Web
of Recovery,"
Spiritual Awakenings II
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"When we decide who is to hear our
story, we waste no time. We have
a written inventory and we are
prepared for a long talk. We explain
to our partner what we are about to do
and why we have to do it. He
should realize that we are engaged
upon a life-and-death errand.
Most people approached in this way
will be glad to help; they will be
honored by our confidence."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Into Action, pg. 75
"Our description of the alcoholic,
the chapter to the agnostic, and
our personal adventure before and
after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could
not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could
have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He
were sought."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
How It Works, Page 60~
We A.A.‘s cannot pretend to offer full
answers to age-old perplexities, but our own experience does provide
certain answers that work for us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
117
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Move Ahead
To spend too much time on any one
alcoholic is to deny some other an opportunity to live and be happy.
One of our
Fellowship failed entirely with his
first half-dozen prospects. He often says that if he had continued to
work on them, he
might have deprived many others, who
have since recovered, of their chance.
'Our chief responsibility to the
newcomer is an adequate presentation of the program. If he does nothing
or argues, we
do nothing but maintain our own
sobriety. If he starts to move ahead, even a little, with an open mind,
we then break our
necks to help in every way we can.'
1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 96
2. LETTER, 1942
Prayer For The Day: Let me not forget you as I go forth into
the world this day, blessed Lord; may my every word be a prayer, and my
every act be testimony to your love and truth, and my I know your
presence every second of this day. Amen.