BROTHERS IN OUR DEFECTS
We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue
as we are brothers in our defects, and in our common
strivings to overcome them.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 167
The identification that one alcoholic has with another is
mysterious, spiritual--almost incomprehensible. But it is
there. I "feel" it. Today I feel that I can help people
and that they can help me.
It is a new and exciting feeling for me to care for someone;
to care what they are feeling, hoping for, praying for; to
know their sadness, joy, horror, sorrow, grief; to want to
share those feelings so that someone can have relief. I
never knew how to do this--or how to try. I never even cared.
The Fellowship of A.A., and God, are teaching me how to care
about others.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Since I've been putting sobriety into my life, I've been
taking out a lot of good things. I can describe it best as
a kind of quiet satisfaction. I feel good. I feel right with
the world, on the right side of the fence. As long as I put
sobriety into my life, almost everything I take out is good.
The satisfaction you get out of living a sober life is made
up of a lot of little things. You have the ambition to do
things you didn't feel like doing when you were drinking.
Am I getting satisfaction out of living a sober life?
Meditation For The Day
It is a glorious way - the upward way. There are wonderful
discoveries in the realm of the spirit. There are tender
intimacies in the quiet times of communion with God. There
is an amazing, almost incomprehensible understanding of the
other person. On the upward way, you can have all the
strength you need from that Higher Power. You cannot make
too many demands on Him for strength. He gives you all the
power you need, as long as you are moving along the upward
way.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may see the beautiful horizons ahead on the
upward way. I pray that I may keep going forward to the more
abundant life.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Trouble:
Constructive or Destructive?, p. 110
"There was a time when we ignored trouble, hoping it would go
away. Or, in fear and in depression, we ran from it, but found it was
still with us. Often, full of unreason, bitterness, and blame, we fought
back. These mistaken attitudes, powered by alcohol, guaranteed our
destruction, unless they were altered.
"Then came A.A. Here we learned that trouble was really a fact of
life for everybody--a fact that had to be understood and dealt with.
Surprisingly, we found that our troubles could, under God's grace, be
converted into unimagined blessings.
"Indeed, that was the essence of A.A. itself: trouble accepted,
trouble squarely faced with calm courage, trouble lessened and often
transcended. This was the A.A. story, and we became a part of it.
Such demonstrations became our stock in trade for the next
sufferer."
Letter, 1966
***********************************************************
Walk in Dry Places
Who pushes my buttons?
Personal Relations
AA old-timers would be mystified today to hear program members talk
about people “pushing their buttons.” (They can't get your
goat if they don't know where it is tied) This expression
wasn't around when the early AA members pulled themselves out of the
swamp and began their long journey to sobriety.
But they had their buttons pushed aplenty. Dr. Bob, treating
alcoholics at St. Thomas Hospital; heard snide comments from other
physicians who resented giving bed space to drunks. Bill W.
struggling to launch a worldwide movement, took most every alcoholic,
then and now, gets some heavy kidding from the world of drinkers.
What is the real problem in these instances? Are others pushing
our buttons, or do we set ourselves up for this by being sensitive and
vulnerable? Nobody could push our buttons if we didn't have
buttons to push.
We no longer have to worry about button-pushers if we accept them as
they are, realizing that we don't need their approval and can't really
be hurt by anything they do or say. Our serenity in the face of
such problems may actually serve to attract people to AA.
Nobody can push my buttons unless I let them. Today I'll be
serene and clam no matter what others say and do. Thanks to the
program, I'll not worry about certain individuals who try to get under
my skin.
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
In the process of defining myself, I have a tendency to set up rules
and boundaries and then forget that rules are made to be broken, as are
boundaries to be expanded and crossed. --Kathleen Casey Theisen
Recovery has given us the freedom to address life honestly, with
forethought and a certainty about the rightness of our actions. We need
be mindful that what is right today may not be right tomorrow or
thereafter. As we move through our experiences, we are changed, and
then we look with a new perspective on old conditions. Our new
perspective hones our value systems, and yesterday's rules and
boundaries no longer fit today's situations.
Our growth as women is an unending process. What we confront today with
assurance, we prepared for yesterday. And tomorrow will be eased by our
definition of today. The program has gifted us with clarity - clarity
about ourselves, clarity regarding others, and clarity on how to
continue our growth.
My value system awaits finer definition, and every experience, today,
presents me with an opportunity for that definition.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
We give thanks for unknown
blessings already on their way. Sacred
ritual
chant.
Good things keep happening to us. We are sober. We can think clearly.
We
can see progress on how we handle our problems. We have friends. We
have
love. We have hope.
We are starting to feel joy. Our fears are getting smaller. We are
starting to trust our new way of life. Our new life brings good things
to
us. It brings blessings every day. We are beginning to expect them. But
we’re still surprised at how good life can be. What a difference from
the
days before we entered our program!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for the blessings You
keep
on giving. And thanks
for whatever today will bring.
Action for the Day: One way to give thanks for my blessings is to
share them with others. How
can I share my recovery today?
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
Chapter 5 - HOW IT WORKS
Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. we
asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of
recovery:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives had
become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than our-selves could restore
us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of
God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to
do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong
promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious
contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of
His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we
tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these
principles in all our affairs.
pp. 59-60
***********************************************************
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.
The truth is, most of my drinking
was done at home alone. I would call people and talk, and the
following mornings were awful, trying to piece together what I had
said. I would say things to my husband like, "Wasn't that an
interesting call last night, " hoping he would volunteer
information. My hands were beginning to shake without the
alcohol, yet when I got to A.A., I wasn't sure I belonged because my
drinkalog was not exciting.
p. 378
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Ten - "Continued to
take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
We "constructively criticized" someone who needed it, when our real
motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned not
being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him,
when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him
down. We sometimes hurt those we love because they need to be "taught a
lesson," when we really want to punish. We were depressed and
complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy
and attention. This odd trait of mind and emotion, this perverse wish
to hide a bad motive underneath a good one, permeates human affairs
from top to bottom. This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness
can underlie the smallest act or thought. Learning daily to spot,
admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building and
good living. An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for
blessings received, and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow
will be the permanent assets we shall seek.
pp. 94-95
***********************************************************
Time
is
the
greatest
gift
of all.
--Cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES
Gifts are for giving.
--Ian and Sylvia Tyson
"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way
things turn out."
--John Wooden
"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but
rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."
-Scottish Proverb
My sponsor pointed out that now that I've been around the program
for awhile there is no denial . . . there is only refusal.
--Anonymous
With accepting God in my life each day, Through the trials and
triumphs, I rest in comfort knowing God is leading me to Him.
--Tammy B.
You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
--Irish Proverb
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FREEDOM
"Freedom is the right to choose:
the right to create for yourself the
alternatives of choice. Without the
possibility of choice and the
exercise of choice a man is not a
man but a member, an instrument,
a thing ..."
--Archibald MacLeish
Spirituality involves the freedom to change; it requires the variety of
choice in order to grow.
My past addiction was a life of slavery because it removed from me
creative choice and left me obsessing about drugs and alcohol. My life,
conversation and thoughts revolved around the bottle, and I was
oblivious to the true meaning of life. I could not "do better" in my
life
because I was addicted not only to drugs but to the destructive
lifestyle that goes with them. My freedom to experience the spiritual
power of God's creativity was lost to a mindless craving for drugs; in
this sense, drug addiction is slavery.
Today I am free to see God's world in people, places and things and I
make a choice to live, love and laugh.
I am growing in the awareness of Your multifaceted love for me.
***********************************************************
Be of
good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that
hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is
perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far
more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For
the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not
seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Peace is one of our greatest needs because it
provides for the strength we need in times of turmoil. Lord, I turn to
You because You are my source of peace.
Stand tall and smile often and it will be very difficult to be unhappy.
Lord, may my disposition reflect the joy and peace that is Your Will.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Footwork
"So many times, addicts have sought
the rewards of hard work without the labor."
Basic Text, p. 33
When we first came to NA, some of us
wanted everything, and right away. We wanted the serenity, the cars,
the happy relationships, the friends, the closeness with our
sponsor—all the things other people had gotten after months and years
of working the steps and living life on life's terms.
We learned the hard way that serenity
comes only from working the steps. A new car comes from showing up on
the job every day and trying to "practice these principles in all our
affairs;' including our employment. Healthy relationships come as a
result of lots of hard work and a new willingness to communicate.
Friendship with our sponsor comes as a result of reaching out during
the good times as well as the bad.
In Narcotics Anonymous, we have found
the path to a better way of life. To reach our destination, however, we
must do the footwork.
Just for today: I want a better life.
I will make an inventory of what I want, find out how to get it, talk
with my sponsor about it, and do the necessary footwork.
pg. 113
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Inch by inch, row by row Someone bless
these seeds I sow. . . 'Til the rain comes tumblin' down. --David
Mallett
We plant a garden with faith, never
knowing exactly what the harvest will bring. We attend to those aspects
of gardening which we have some control over, planting good seeds in
rich soil, in straight rows, the right distance apart. We weed and
fertilize, and we tie up our tomato plants.
We may pray for rain, but we never
know if we'll get too much or too little. We can't control the wind or
rabbits or bugs or the strongest strains of weeds. Yet most of us don't
let these things keep us from planting.
With this same sort of faith we can
tend to ourselves. Though we don't know what each day will bring, we
can plant the seeds in ourselves to meet most anything. We can rise
each morning determined to give what we have. We can't plant the seeds
for others, and we can't keep the storms from coming. The beauty is, we
don't have to.
What seeds of joy can I plant today?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
Some of us, observing that ideals are
rarely achieved, proceed to the error of considering them worthless.
Such an error is greatly harmful. True North cannot be reached either,
since it is an abstraction, but it is of enormous importance, as all
the world's travelers can attest. --Steve Allen
How many of us, seeing others who
failed to live fully by their ideals, cried, "Hypocrite!" Perhaps we
even pointed to others' shortcomings to excuse our own. Now, in this
program, we may be tempted to swing like a pendulum to the other
extreme. We may hold to our values and principles so tightly that we
are perfectionistic.
The idea that True North cannot ever
be reached is very useful. If we don't achieve True North, even though
we establish it as our standard, we will generally be heading in the
right direction. Although we never perfectly achieve our ideals, they
remain our standards today for orienting our lives.
I do accept standards for my life. I
will not beat on myself for my imperfections.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
In the process of defining myself, I
have a tendency to set up rules and boundaries and then forget that
rules are made to be broken, as are boundaries to be expanded and
crossed. --Kathleen Casey Theisen
Recovery has given us the freedom to
address life honestly, with forethought and a certainty about the
rightness of our actions. We need be mindful that what is right today
may not be right tomorrow or thereafter. As we move through our
experiences, we are changed, and then we look with a new perspective on
old conditions. Our new perspective hones our value systems, and
yesterday's rules and boundaries no longer fit today's situations.
Our growth as women is an unending
process. What we confront today with assurance, we prepared for
yesterday. And tomorrow will be eased by our definition of today. The
program has gifted us with clarity - clarity about ourselves, clarity
regarding others, and clarity on how to continue our growth.
My value system awaits finer
definition, and every experience, today, presents me with an
opportunity for that definition.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Accepting Change
The winds of change blow through our
life, sometimes gently, sometimes like a tropical storm. Yes, we have
resting places - time to adjust to another level of living, time to get
our balance, time to enjoy the rewards. We have time to catch our
breath.
But change is inevitable, and
desirable.
Sometimes, when the winds of change
begin to rustle, were not certain the change is for the better. We may
call it stress or a temporary condition, certain well be restored to
normal. Sometimes, we resist. We tuck our head down and buck the wind,
hoping that things will quickly calm down, get back to the way things
were. Is it possible were being prepared for a new normal?
Change will sweep through our life, as
needed, to take us where were going. We can trust that our Higher Power
has a plan in mind, even when we don't know where the changes are
leading.
We can trust that the change-taking
place is good. The wind will take us where we need to go.
Today, help me, God, to let go of my
resistance to change. Help me be open to the process. Help me believe
that the place Ill be dropped off will be better than the place where I
was picked up. Help me surrender, trust, and accept, even if I don't
understand.
Today I will let my Higher Power
handle my worry so I can be free, I choose to be alive in this moment
and not blocked by the conversations that go on over and over in my
head. I will stop trying to figure everything out and will trust that I
will get the right answers at the right time. --Ruth Fishel
******************************************
Journey To The Heart
Release Old Emotions
Our emotions and experiences sometimes
lead us out of the present moment. Something happens– someone says
something, we hear something– and a feeling crops up. Often, underneath
it is an old feeling, a feeling from the past, an old chunk of energy
that’s hidden in our soul, stored in our body.
We aren’t off track when that happens.
We’re right where we need to be: off center and out of the present
moment. We can use moments like these to heal ourselves.
Let yourself feel the feeling. Let
yourself release the energy. Talk it out. Jog it out. Do what your
heart leads you to do to release that bubble of emotion from your soul.
Take as much time as you need– an hour, a day, a month.
When it’s gone, you’ll find a
surprise. You’ve advanced on your path. You’ve learned something new. A
new cycle has begun. An issue arose that provided an opportunity for
healing and growth, and that healing and growth turned into a pleasant
and welcome surprise.
Yes, sometimes experiences lead us out
of the present moment. But if we stay present for ourselves, we’ll
always come back. Changed. Lighter. Healed. And more ready to love.
******************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Say what you don’t know
One day, I was at a restaurant with
friends. Now, my friends knew– particularly one of my friends– that I
don’t eat pork. It’s not a religious thing. I just get sick from pork,
even the tiniest bit will give me a headache, and sometimes nausea. So
no matter how good that bacon looks, or how much my mouth waters about
pork chops frying in the pan, I stay away from pig.
So we’re at the restaurant. I’ve
looked at the menu. And the waiter comes over and rattles off the
specials of the evening to us. The torteliini sounded pretty tasty. I
knew he had used another to describe the tortelini– prosciutto– but I
skimmed over the word. The whole dish sounded interesting to me.
We sit and have small talk. Then, the
meal comes. The waiter puts my dish down in front of me. I pick up my
fork and begin eating.
“Do you know what prosciutto is?” my
friend asked.
“Yes,” I said lying.
“Point to the prosciutto,” he said.
I picked out a vegetable that kind of
looked like celery and stabbed at it with my fork. “There,” I said,
“that’s it.”
“You’re kidding around now, aren’t
you?” he said. “Point to the prosciutto!”
I felt my face redden. “I don’t like
being tested this way,” I said. “I know what prosciutto is.”
“This,” he said, stabbing a piece of
something on the plate, “is prosciutto. It’s ham. Italian ham. I just
thought you’d like to know, being as you don’t eat pork.”
“Oh,” I said, pushing my plate back.
“I don’t think I’m that hungry after all.”
I know this is an old lesson I’ve
talked about before. I had to learn it again. Sometimes, we feel
inadequate, but what we don’t know can hurt us. And besides, if we say
we don’t know when that’s the honest answer, we just might learn
something new.
Today, if the true and correct answer
is “I don’t know,” that’s the reply I’ll use.
God, help me let go of my belief that
I have to know something I don’t.
******************************************
In God’s Care
To think you are separate from God is
to remain separate from your own being.
~~D. M. Street
God has taken up residence within us
as our guide and in the world as our companion. Everywhere we cast our
gaze, we will see other homes of God. We are never really separated
from God even though we often feel disconnected.
As children, many of us dreamed of God
as separate and very far away in heaven. To accept the knowledge that
God is everywhere and is within us is perhaps strange at first. But as
our acceptance grows through working our program, we are comforted by
the knowledge that we travel no path alone.
We can harbor no thoughts or desires
or prayers in secret. Our constant companion knows us fully, hears our
every need, cares for us deeply, and will ensure our safety every step
of the way. We only need to remember to extend our hand to God for
surefootedness.
Let me remember God is my guide and
constant companion.
******************************************
Embracing the Disinherited
The Elderly Population
by Madisyn Taylor
An important part of our culture, our
elderly, are almost always undervalued and underutilized - for they
have much to offer.
In tribal cultures, the elderly play
an important role. They are the keepers of the tribe’s memories and the
holders of wisdom. As such, the elderly are honored and respected
members of tribes. In many modern cultures, however, this is often not
the case. Many elderly people say that they feel ignored, left out, and
disrespected. This is a sad commentary on modernization, but it doesn’t
have to be this way. We can change this situation by taking the time to
examine our attitudes about the elderly and taking action.
Modern societies tend to be obsessed
with the ideas of newness, youth, and progress. Scientific studies tell
us how to do everything – from the way we should raise our kids to what
we need to eat for breakfast. As a result, the wisdom that is passed
down from older generations is often disregarded. Of course,
grandparents and retired persons have more than information to offer
the world. Their maturity and experience allows for a larger
perspective of life, and we can learn a lot from talking to elderly
people. It’s a shame that society doesn’t do more to allow our older
population to continue to feel productive for the rest of their lives,
but you can help to make change. Perhaps you could help facilitate a
mentorship program that would allow children to be tutored by the
elderly in retirement homes. The elderly make wonderful storytellers,
and creating programs where they could share their real life
experiences with others is another way to educate and inspire other
genera! tions.
Take stock of your relationships with
the elderly population. Maybe you don’t really listen to them because
you hold the belief that their time has passed and they are too old to
understand what you are going through. You may even realize that you
don’t have any relationships with older people. Try to understand why
and how our cultural perception of the elderly influences the way you
perceive them. Look around you and reach out to someone who is elderly
– even if you are just saying hello and making small talk. Resolve to
be more aware of the elderly. They are our mentors, wise folk, and the
pioneers that came before us and paved the way for our future.
******************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
As we continue to make thees vital
choices and so move toward these high aspirations, our sanity returns
and the compulsion of our former addictions vanishes. We learn, in the
words of Plutarch, that, “A pleasant and happy life does not come from
external things. Man draws from within himself, as from a sprig,
pleasure and joy.” Am I learning to “travel first class” inside?
Today I Pray
The grace of God has showed me how to
be happy again. May the wisdom of God teach me that the source of that
happiness is within me, i my new values,k my new sense of self-worth,
my new and open sense of self-worth, my new and open communication with
my Higher Power.
Today I Will Remember
Happiness comes from within.
******************************************
One More Day
The only courage that matters is the
kind that gets you from one moment to the next.
– Mignon McLaughlin
Morning sounds and sights filter in
through the bedroom window as we lie awake wondering, once again, if we
can get started for the day. Oh, we think to ourselves, can I make
these tired and weary bones and those sore and aching muscles do what I
command them to do one more time?
We need strength to begin, to face
each day, to start working our joints so we can face another day. A
silent prayer may rush from our lips as we gather all our resources. We
are extraordinarily strong poeple. Having a health problem makes us
aware of a source of strength previously left untapped. We open
ourselves to that strength — within ourselves, our doctors, our Higher
Power. We rise and get on with our lives.
I have two gifts right now — this day
and the strength to meet the challenges and demands.
************************************
Food For Thought
Perseverance
We all go through periods when we seem to be standing still or slipping
backwards. It is often difficult to stay with our food plan when weight
loss slows or stops. We may become bored with the program if our
understanding of it is superficial. There are many times when things do
not go the way we would like, and we may be tempted to give up.
Let's remember where we began and how miserable we were before we found
OA. If there are times when abstinence does not seem so great, let's
remember how much worse the alternative is. We have been down in the
depths of despair before, and we do not choose to go back there.
One day at a time, we can keep moving forward. Even when we see no
signs of progress, we can know that our Higher Power is now in charge
of our recovery and that His purposes never fail.
Lord, give us strength to persevere.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
~ HAPPINESS ~
The greatest happiness you can have
is knowing that you do not necessarily
require happiness.
William Saroyan
How many times during my life have I
said that all I want is "just to be happy." We are told early on that
our legacy is "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Did you
notice that our forefathers used the word "pursuit?" How very wise they
were.
Happiness is not automatic. Life is
difficult and it's supposed to be that way. If we expect happiness and
we expect life to be easy, at some point in time we are going to be
very disappointed. I thought eating food made me happy and it did ...
for a short time. There were other temporary compulsions in my life
that made me think I was happy ~ but again for only a short time.
As I began to work the Steps, I began
to desire something other than happiness. I found myself yearning for
serenity ... and I found it. The way I found it was by not expecting
the world and everyone in it to make me happy. I learned that life was
more of an adventure than a bowl of cherries. I learned that the more I
expected from people, places and things, the more disappointed I was
... and the more disappointed I became, the less happy I was.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will not require happiness. But when
I least expect it .... happiness will find me.
~ Mari ~
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Now we go out to our fellows and
repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris
which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run
the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it
comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning WE WOULD GO TO ANY
LENGTHS FOR VICTORY OVER ALCOHOL.' - Pg. 76 - Into Action
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
Keeping life simple right now is
imperative. You need to learn how not to use mind-affecting chemicals.
You do this by following instructions. That's all. Your family
problems, job instability, or other concerns must take a back seat
until you stabilize yourself.
Let me realize that my thinking is not
balanced enough now to solve past problems. May I stow away my concerns
until my Higher Power shows me the way.
Living Truly
Today I will live the life I wish to
have. If I want not be manipulative or deceitful in my relationships, I
will be an honest person. If I want goodness and decency surrounding
me, I will be good and decent. If I want to feel love coming towards
me, I will love others. Today I won't ask life to be something I'm not
willing to be. Today, I accept that what I put out, comes back to me.
I live the life I want to have
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Although romance and relationships are
an important aspect of balance in our lives--it is never the solution
to drinking and other drug taking. It is sometimes easier to focus on
passion, rather than trudge through the steps!
I practice these principles in all my
affairs, (pun intended).
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
We believe in 'Living' amends not 'I'm
sorry' amends.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
If negative feelings are triggered in
me today, I will not act on my first impulse or desire. I will stop and
get in touch with my breathing and my connections with the universe. I
will take time to remember the other person's point of view.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
If you hate the whole human race yet
demand it's approval at the same time...Welcome to Alcoholics
Anonymous. - Charlie C.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
April 19
Inventory
When AA suggests a fearless moral
inventory,
it must seem to every newcomer that
more is being asked of him than he can do.
Both his pride and his fear beat him
back every time he tries to look inside himself.
Pride says, "You need not pass this
way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!"
But the testimony of AA's who have
really tried a moral inventory
is that pride and fear of this sort
turn out to be bogeymen, nothing else.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
p. 48
Thought to Ponder . . .
All of AA's suggestions are free.
The ones I don't take are the ones I
end up paying for.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness,
Willingness.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Obsession
"The alcoholic has obsessions
to an exaggerated degree.
Over a period of time he has built up
self-pity,
resentments toward anyone or anything
that interferes with his drinking.
Dishonest thinking, prejudice, ego,
antagonism toward anyone and everyone
who dares to cross him,
vanity and a critical attitude are
character defects
that gradually creep in and become a
part of his life.
Living with fear and tension
inevitably results
in wanting to ease that tension,
which alcohol seems to do temporarily.
It took me some time to realize
that the Twelve Steps of AA were
designed
to help correct these defects of
character
and so help remove the obsession to
drink."
Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 380-1
Thought to Consider . . .
"Within our wonderful new world,
we have found freedom from our fatal
obsession."
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p.
139
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
BS
Before Sobriety
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Organizing
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics
Anonymous":
"By the spring of 1938 a definite
program of action took shape. It was agreed that we needed a tax-free
charitable trust
or foundation. Wealthy contributors
could then deduct gifts from their tax returns. "The first move was to
choose a
name for the new outfit. After long
discussion we decided to call it the Alcoholic Foundation. This seemed
like a
resounding title, one that could
create an impression of large importance. Still swayed by big ideas, we
thought our
trusteeship ought to be chartered to
do just about anything within the field of alcohol or alcoholism except
lobby for
Prohibition. We intended an
arrangement by which we could research, educate, and do a lot of other
things. Attention to
our membership would be only one of
many functions.
"It was thought that the Board of
Trustees should consist of alcoholics and nonalcoholics. The latter
were always to be
in the majority by a margin of one.
This would assure our membership and other contributors that
nonalcoholics would
be holding the purse strings."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age, pgs. 151-52
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"I am learning how to be a better son,
brother, friend, and boyfriend. These things may not be a big deal for
some, but
they are completely foreign to me.
What I found in AA was something I had been looking for my whole life,
and I didn't
even know it."
Summer, Washington, April 2011
"Notes from an Alkie,"
AA Grapevine
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"We have learned that whatever the
human frailties of various faiths
may be, those faiths have given
purpose and direction to millions.
People of faith have a logical idea of
what life is all about."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We
Agnostics, pg. 49
"Those having religious affiliations
will find here nothing
disturbing to their beliefs or
ceremonies. There is no friction
among us over such matters."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
There Is A Solution, Page 28~
Calm, thoughtful reflection upon
personal relations can deepen our insight.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
80
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Freedom through Acceptance
We admitted we couldn't lick alcohol
with our own remaining resources, and so we accepted the further fact
that
dependence upon a Higher Power (if
only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment
we were
able to accept these facts fully, our
release from the alcohol compulsion had begun.
For most of us, this pair of
acceptances had required a lot of exertion to achieve. Our whole
treasured a lot of exertion
to achieve. Our whole treasured
philosophy of self-sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been
done with sheer
will power; it came instead as the
result of developing the willingness to accept these new facts of
living.
We neither ran nor fought. But accept
we did. And then we began to be free.
GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962
Prayer For The Day: Father, I belong to You. I place myself
anew in Your hands and acknowledge You as Master and
Lord of my life. Grant me the gift of
a forgiving heart and cleanse me of any anger, hostility, or revenge.
Heal my hurts
and teach me to rely on Your love.
Grant me wisdom of heart and strengthen me by Your grace to move on in
faith, in
trust, and in love. Thank You, Lord,
for Your love in my life.