TRUSTING
OTHERS
But does trust require that we be blind to other people's motives or,
indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, we
should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good
in every person that we would trust. Such a private inventory can
reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given
situation.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 144
I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my expectations,
choices and dishonesty. When I expect others to be what I want them
to be and not who they are, when they fail to meet my expectations, I
am hurt. When my choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am
lonely and distrustful. I gain confidence in myself, however, when I
practice honesty in all my affairs. When I search my motives and am
honest and trusting, I am aware of the capacity for harm in situations
and can avoid those that are harmful.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
No chain is stronger than its weakest link. Likewise, if you fail in the
day-by-day program, in all probability it will be your weakest point.
Great faith and constant contact with God's power can help you
discover, guard, and undergird your weakest point with a strength not
your own. Intelligent faith in God's power can be counted on to help
you master your emotions, help you to think kindly of others, and help
you with any task that you undertake, no matter how difficult. Am I
master of my emotions?
Meditation For The Day
You need to be constantly recharged by the power of the spirit of
God. Continue with God in quiet times until the life from God, the
Divine life, by that very contact, flows into your being and revises
your
fainting spirit. When weary, take time out and rest. Rest and gain
power and strength from God, and then you will be ready to meet
whatever opportunities come your way. Rest until every care and
worry and fear have gone and then the tide of peace and serenity, love
and joy, will flow into your consciousness.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may rest and become recharged. I pray that I may pause
and wait for the renewing of my strength.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Constructive
Forces, p. 174
Mine was exactly the kind of deep-seated block we so often see today in
new people who
say they are atheistic or agnostic. Their will to disbelieve is so
powerful that apparently
they prefer a date with the undertaker to an open-minded and
experimental quest for God.
Happily for me, and for most of my kind who have since come along in
A.A., the
constructive forces brought to bear in our Fellowship have nearly
always overcome
this colossal obstinacy. Beaten into complete defeat by alcohol,
confronted by the living
proof of release, and surrounded by those who can speak to us from the
heart, we have
finally surrendered.
And then, paradoxically, we have found ourselves in a new dimension,
the real world of
spirit and faith. Enough willingness, enough open-mindedness--and there
it is!
A.A. Today, p. 9
***********************************************************
Walk In Dry Places
Walk in Dry Places
The ONLY reason to drink
Staying Sober
There's only one real reason I can ever have for taking a drink, ant
that's because I want to.
This remark at a meeting sums up AA's position on why we drink. We
never really drink because of pressures and troubles. We
drink because we want to, because we feel like taking a drink.
It's true that a serious crisis, like going into bankruptcy may make us
conscious of an urge to drink. But we know that we're also likely to
have such urges in the face of good fortune. The alcoholic who would
drink over a bankruptcy would also probably get drunk if he or she won
the lottery.
By refusing to accept all of these alleged reasons for drinking, AA
simplified our problem so we can deal with it. We either want to
drink or we don't want to drink, period. Even if we want to
drink..... and some members do.... AA can show us how to stay sober and
eventually lose such desires.
Nothing has the power to make me drink today. It is only my own
willfulness that can destroy my sobriety.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
Words are sacred, we must use them wisely. . . . They are a gift from
God.
Burton Pretty-On-Top
We use words to bring peace to others. We can use words to tell God and
others how much we care. Or we can use words to hurt others. We can
curse
them and scare them away. We often did when we used alcohol and other
drugs.
In recovery, we learn to use words in a kind, wise way. We treat words
as
a gift from God. We use words to build our relationships.
Do I always use words in a kind way? Do I treat words as a powerful
gift
from God? Do my words make the world better or worse for those who hear
me speak?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, when I speak words, help me
think
about their power. Help
me speak to others in a kind way.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll speak to others with respect. My
words
will add a little
kindness, honesty, and love to the world today.
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
. . . How much bondage and suffering a woman escapes when she takes the
liberty of being her own physician of both body and soul.
--Elizabeth Cady Stanton
If we listen to ourselves, to the innermost voice of our Spirits, we
know that we have the power to heal ourselves. Self-healing begins with
making our own decisions--about what we wear, what we do, who we
are--and deciding that we will be true to ourselves. With the help of
our spiritual guide, we can resist the temptations to betray ourselves,
for these temptations are born of fear; the fear that we are not good
enough to be our "own physicians."
To give away our powers bind us and cause us to suffer. But we can go
to others for help without losing our own strength.
Today and every day, I will pray for the wisdom to choose wise
counselors and the strength to love and heal myself.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward
In time they will see that he is a new man and in their own way they
will let him know it. When this happens, they can be invited to join in
morning meditation and then they can take part in the daily discussion
without rancor or bias. From that point on, progress will be rapid.
Marvelous results often follow such a reunion.
p. 134
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition Stories
The
Keys Of The Kingdom
This
worldly lady helped to develop A.A. in Chicago and thus passed her keys
to many.
Now there is a
sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed and loved. In
return for a bottle and a hangover, we have been given the Keys of the
Kingdom.
p. 276
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition
Three - "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop
drinking."
This Tradition is packed with meaning. For A.A. is really saying to
every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can
declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter who you are, no
matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional
complications - even your crimes - we still can't deny you A.A. We
don't want to keep you out. We aren't a bit afraid you'll harm us,
never mind how twisted or violent you may be. We just want to be sure
that you get the same great chance for sobriety that we've had. So
you're an A.A. member the minute you declare yourself."
p. 139
***********************************************************
Remember how we'd talk every night at bedtime? I miss that.
--God
If you think clothes make no difference, try walking down the street
without any.
--unknown
"The greatest treasures of your life are associated with the people
you love and who love you in return."
--Brian Tracy
Half the failures of this world arise from pulling in one's horse as he
is
leaping.
--Augustus Hare
The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called
love and feel the depth and delight, the ecstasy of it, you will
discover that
your world is transformed.
-- Krishnamurti
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the
past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but
to live
the present moment wisely and earnestly.
--Buddha
"Tis grace that brought me safe thus far.
Tis grace will lead me home."
--John Newton ("Amazing Grace")
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
REALITY
"Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it
alive."
--Elbert Hubbard
When I used to take life too seriously, I was always miserable. I
missed so much. I placed a disproportionate amount of energy on my
own importance. I am not saying that I am not important, but I must
learn to live within the structures of this imperfect world.
For so long I made myself the "victim" of this world. Every airplane I
missed was seen as a personal abuse. I could not wait in a line without
getting angry and developing a resentment to everybody around.
Everybody was expected to revolve around my world and I felt the
world owed me a living! The result: unhappiness.
I needed to change or remain unhappy. Today I am learning to change
and I am working on patience.
Thank You for the spiritual gift of balance in my life.
***********************************************************
The
LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in
green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my
head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow
me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Psalms 23:1-6
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting
God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or
weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to
the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow
tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope
in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be
faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Integrity is one of our most valuable assets. Lord,
may I live responsibly and never have the need to make excuses for my
behavior.
Kindness can accomplish that which force won't. Lord, may I pause when
I am about to react to irritations and respond as though it is You to
whom I speak.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Surrender
"We didn't stumble into this
fellowship brimming with love, honesty, open-mindedness, or
willingness....When we were beaten, we became willing."
Basic Text, p. 20
Surrender may be the necessary
foundation for recovery, but sometimes we fight it. Most of us look
back after some clean time and wonder why on earth we fought so hard to
deny our powerlessness when surrender is what finally saved our lives.
As we recover, new opportunities to
surrender present themselves. We can either struggle with everyone and
everything we encounter or we can recall the benefits of our first
surrender and stop fighting.
Most of the pain we experience comes
from fighting, not surrendering. In fact, when we surrender, the pain
ends and hope takes its place. We begin to believe that all will be
well and, after some time, realize that our lives are much better as a
result. We feel the same way we did when we gave up the illusion that
we could control our using-relieved, free, and filled with fresh hope.
Just for today: Is there a surrender I
need to make today? I will remember my first surrender and remind
myself that I don't need to fight anymore.
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Real friends are those who, when
you've made a fool of yourself, don't feel that you've done a permanent
job. --Erwin T. Randall
What kind of friends do we have? Are
they people who complain a lot? Are they people who laugh at us or put
others down?
The kind of people we want to be will
decide what kind of friends we have. If we want to feel sorry for
ourselves, we will choose friends who will tell us how rotten their
lives are. If we want to think we're better than others, we will hang
around people who laugh at others' mistakes.
But if we want to be the best we can
be, we will pick friends who see the good in life, people who will
encourage us to be ourselves and who will help us try harder at things
that are difficult for us.
How can I be a better friend today?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
He who conceals his disease cannot
expect to be cured. --Ethiopian proverb
Concealment and secrecy have been
second nature to some of us. We may have felt that our masculinity kept
us loners. Perhaps we said we were covering the truth for someone
else's good. Maybe we could not bear to expose the truth because we
feared the consequences. For some of us a lie came more automatically
than the truth. Now we are learning to be open with our friends, and we
are finding the healing effect of fresh air for our secrets.
Although it's frightening to stop
tampering with the truth, it's also exciting to feel the power of
honesty and to deal with the consequences of uncovering it. Perhaps we
still have some secrets that erode our wellbeing. If so, we need to
bring them into the open so we can live completely honest lives. When
we let others know us as we really are, we are casting our lot with
good health and recovery.
Today, I will make progress in my
recovery by letting myself be fully known.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
. . . How much bondage and suffering a
woman escapes when she takes the liberty of being her own physician of
both body and soul. --Elizabeth Cady Stanton
If we listen to ourselves, to the
innermost voice of our Spirits, we know that we have the power to heal
ourselves. Self-healing begins with making our own decisions--about
what we wear, what we do, who we are--and deciding that we will be true
to ourselves. With the help of our spiritual guide, we can resist the
temptations to betray ourselves, for these temptations are born of
fear; the fear that we are not good enough to be our "own physicians."
To give away our powers bind us and
cause us to suffer. But we can go to others for help without losing our
own strength.
Today and every day, I will pray for
the wisdom to choose wise counselors and the strength to love and heal
myself.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of Old Beliefs
Try harder. Do better. Be perfect.
These messages are tricks that people
have played on us. No matter how hard we try, we think we have to do
better. Perfection always eludes us and keeps us unhappy with the good
we've done.
Messages of perfectionism are tricks
because we can never achieve their goal. We cannot feel good about
ourselves or what we have done while these messages are driving us. We
will never be good enough until we change the messages and tell
ourselves we are good enough now.
We can start approving of and
accepting ourselves. Who we are is good enough. Our best yesterday was
good enough; our best today is plenty good too.
We can be who we are, and do it the
way we do it - today. That is the essence of avoiding perfection.
God, help me let go of the messages
that drive me into the crazies. I will give myself permission to be who
I am and let that be good enough.
Today I'm learning to release my
stress and anxiety in positive and healthy ways. My body is becoming
free from all negative experiences. My past no longer lives in my body.
--Ruth Fishel
**************************************************
Journey To The Heart
Discover the Power of Stillness
I will forever remember Yellowstone
Glacier Lake at midnight. A large full moon– the biggest I have ever
seen– was resting atop the lake. The lake was frozen over, a still
mirror between the mountains. Even the pines stood motionless. At that
moment, I saw stillness– quiet, motionless stillness– I began to
understand its power.
Be still and know that I am God. How
often I heard that verse from the Bible. How well I knew it, but how
little I understood stillness. Stillness is different from aloneness,
different from turning off the stereo or speaking softly.
Stillness is a place. You can find it
in the desert or in the mountains. You can find it when you’re alone or
when you’re in the midst of people. You can find stillness wherever you
are, whatever you’re going through. Stillness is a place within you.
Slow down. Breathe deeply. Get quiet. Become familiar with stillness.
Take time to learn its power.
From that place of stillness, the
right action will emerge and you will find your next step. From that
place of stillness, you can move into the present moment. There you
will find your power, and there God will find you.
**************************************************
More Language Of Letting Go
Relax and enjoy the ride
One of the good things about jumping
out of airplanes is that there is at least one aspect of the sport that
is impossible to mess up. When you choose to open the door and get out
of the plane, one thing is certain. You will fall. There will be wind
that you can use to control your movement through the air, and you will
get back to the ground. So relax. Enjoy the ride.
Some things in life are that way,too.
We can be as tense or as relaxed as we want to and the thing will not
change– other people, the weather, the driver in front of you on the
freeway. Often there is nothing that we can do to affect a situation,
and yet we will fight with the universe, tense up, and try to control
things rather than just relaxing and learning to use what is to the
best of our ability.
There is no need to change the
universe. It was before this lifetime, and it will be long after you
have passed. You can choose to spend your life fighting it, or you can
relax, let go of your control, and learn to work with and within it.
Have you been fighting against
gravity, trying to get back into the plane? Let go of the
uncontrollable situations in your life. Let them be what they are.
Relax and learn to work with them rather than against them. You will
have more strength and success when you do. You might even have some
fun.
God, show me the areas of my life
where I’m still trying to exert control over the impossible. Help me
let go and enjoy the ride.
**************************************************
In God’s Care
Someone who knew what he was talking
about once remarked that pain is the touchstone of all spiritual
progress.
~~Bill W.
It’s perplexing that we don’t always
seem able to live up to our own expectations. When we find ourselves
snapping at our loved ones, belittling our friends, insulting
strangers, or generally withholding our love, we can’t understand what
came over us. It’s painful to realize that, even with the best
intentions, we are hurting others.
Perhaps, though, this pain we feel is
exactly what we need to bring us to our senses. God gave us the help we
needed when our addictions had us licked, but not until we were really
hurting. The help didn’t come until we hit bottom and surrendered. Our
harmful character defects couldn’t be removed until we were ready to
admit that our own efforts failed and we need God to show us the way.
If I feel mental pain today, I may
need to take inventory and humbly ask God to remove my character
defects.
**************************************************
Day By Day
Becoming patient
Let us not rush and demand perfection
all at once; it would only blind us. If we are impatient, it is
impossible to work a daily program; but if we are patient, we can learn
to see our daily opportunities for growth.
We can’t develop a new relationship
with our Higher Power overnight. It is worth waiting for, striving for.
Let us not go too fast but simply count each day as an opportunity.
Am I learning patience?
Higher Power, I pray that I may be
patient as I work my program and develop a relationship with you.
Today I will practice patience with…
**************************************************
**************
Food for Thought
The Everlasting Arms
God moves, and yet He is always here.
“Underneath are the everlasting arms.” Our former support systems
failed us or proved inadequate. We overate because we had no firm
ground of support to rely on.
Now we see that since our lives belong
to a Higher Power, there is nothing temporal which can remove us from
His care and protection. Whatever happens, the everlasting arms are
there to uphold us. Knowing that, we no longer need to overeat. We are
able to endure whatever comes, whether it is physical hunger, emotional
anguish, or spiritual depression.
To experience God’s support, all we
need to do is admit that we are powerless to sustain ourselves by our
own efforts. What a relief not to have to depend on our own ego! If,
when we are perplexed and upset, we will stop struggling and take time
to be quiet, we will feel the inner peace and support which comes from
our Higher Power. The everlasting arms are always here, underneath us.
I need You, Lord.
**************************************************
**************
Gut Response
In Touch with True Emotions
Our bellies can be wonderful monitors
of our emotional health and the truth can always be found there.
So often, emotions that we long to
express get stored in our bodies instead. The space where this most
often happens is in our bellies. Rather than telling people, our even
ourselves, the way we truly feel, we may stuff our true feelings deep
inside of us, where they take up space until we are ready to let them
go. Stuffing our feelings in our bellies may feel like the “safe”
response, since we then don’t really have to deal with our emotions.
Yet, doing so can actually be detrimental to our emotional well-being
and physical health.
One way to connect with and release
your emotions is to do a focused exercise with your stomach area. Take
a moment to center yourself with some deep breathing and quiet
meditation, relaxing your body fully and turning off the chatter in
your brain. With your right hand on your stomach, tell yourself three
times: “Please reveal to me my true emotions.” Listen for the answers.
Repeat the exercise as many times as you would like, allowing yourself
to drop deeper into your body each time. Notice any physical response
in the stomach area, whether you have a warm, relaxed feeling in the
middle of your body or if you feel tight knots in response to any
emotions that do come up. You may even want to write down any answers
that come to you. Remember that the body doesn’t lie.
Releasing our pent up feelings from
our bellies can prevent disease and allow us to live more authentic and
expressive lives. Sometimes, if too much emotional energy builds up
inside of us, a blowout can result that can cause discomfort. You can
help to alleviate this compression by doing the same exercise and
adding sound to your emotional release. The more guttural the sounds
released through your mouth, the more emotions you are likely letting
go. Releasing your emotions from your belly doesn’t have to be painful
and hard; rather, it can be organic and effortless. It’s important not
to judge whatever comes up for you. We tend to stuff our feelings in
our bellies when we are ashamed of them or not ready to express them.
There is nothing wrong with having feelings, whatever they may be. You
can’t help your feelings; if anything, you can help yourself by
acknowledging the truth of your emotions so you can set yourself free.
Published with permission from Daily OM
**************************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Complacency is my enemy, easy to
recognize in others, but difficult to identify and accept in myself.
Complacency simply means being sure we’re right — taking it for granted
that we couldn’t possibly be wrong. It means, moreover, judging others
by what we think is right. It blocks out understanding and kindness,
and seems to justify qualities in ourselves that we’d find wholly
intolerable in others. Do I tend to assume that my views are always
correct?
Today I Pray
God, please steer me past complacency,
that state of being on dead center. When I am smug, I am no longer a
seeker. If I assume I am always right, I am never on guard for my own
mistakes, which can run away with me. Keep me teachable. Keep me
growing, in heart, mind and spirit.
Today I Will Remember
Complacency stunts growth.
**************************************************
One More Day
Quote: The degree and kind of
sexuality of a human being reaches up into the ultimate principle of
his spirit.
– Friedrich Nietzsche
Having a long-term medical problem
presents new problems, which we have to cope with as part of our total
picture. One area that may present difficulties is sexuality.
Sexuality is how we think about
ourselves, of how we present ourselves, of all that makes us unique.
Our self-image may bottom out as we undergo the daily rigors of a
medical problem, and we may for a time feel unsexual and unsensual. It
takes us a while to realize that we still have the same needs we always
had — to be touched and to feel good about ourselves. We don’t have to
be silent or passive. We need love and support, and sometimes we have
to ask before our needs can be met.
I will remember that the quality of a
relationship depends on both people involved.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
MIRACLES
“Miracles are instantaneous,
they cannot be summoned but come of
themselves,
usually at unlikely moments and to
those who least expect them.”
Katherine Ann Porter
I never believed that we live in an
age of miracles. As far as I was concerned, those happened only in the
days of the Bible -- with burning bushes and the red sea opening up.
When I first came into the program and heard people talking about
miracles, I was skeptical. As I became more open to the possibility,
things began to happen which I can only consider to be miracles. They
may not have seemed large to my old closed mind, but being able to give
up certain trigger foods -- or having a fellow member in the program
call me when I most needed a call -- have become miracles in my life
today.
Being able to maintain my weight,
rather than losing and gaining weight every few months, is a miracle.
Most importantly, my transformed relationships with my children and
other loved ones are miracles.
One day at a time...
I will open my mind to the possibility
of miracles occurring in my life…and they will come.
~ Sharon
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
I will never know all the people I
hurt, all the friends I abused, the humiliation of my family, the worry
of my business associates, or how far reaching it was. I continue to be
surprised by the people I meet who say,'You haven't had a drink for a
long time, have you?' The surprise to me is the fact that I didn't know
that they knew my drinking had gotten out of control. That is where we
are really fooled. We think we can drink to excess without anyone's
knowing it. Everyone knows it. The only one we are fooling is
ourselves. We rationalize and excuse our conduct beyond reason. - Pg.
351 - 4th. Edition - Personal Stories - It Might Have Been Worse
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
The world is not consistent, you are
not consistent, and those around you will not always be consistent. We
don't have to be. We only have to remember not to use mind-affecting
chemicals right now and our world will improve.
When inconsistency scares or annoys
me, let me understand that to remain always constant would be like a
plastic plant, never to grow and change!
Higher Power Within Me
Today, I recognize that a Higher Power
lives and breathes inside me, through me, as me. I used to think that
God was the chairperson of somebody else's board, and I spent my time
in search of another person's version of a Higher Power. But really,
there is no searching - it is more like an acceptance. That is the
well-kept secret: that God lives, not in the heavens or inside special
buildings, but within my very self. My direct access to myself is my
direct access to my Higher Power, and my estrangement from myself is my
estrangement from my Higher Power. We are co-creators, hand-in-glove, a
team. Today, I see allowing God into my life as an act of surrender,
acceptance and love.I love my Higher Power and my Higher Power loves me
- we are one.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
There may be some people who want you
to be perfect. But thanks to our fellowship, to God, and the Twelve
Steps, you don't have to be one of them!
I claim progress, not perfection.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
Don't put a question mark where your
sponsor puts a period.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I'm learning to release my
stress and anxiety in positive and healthy ways. My body is becoming
free from all negative experiences. My past no longer lives in my body.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Weird things they tell you; 'How do
you do this?'
'Hold on.'
'How do you surrender?'
'Just let go.' - Bea.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
June 23
Inner Resource
I promise to watch for every
opportunity to turn toward my Higher Power for guidance.
I know where this power is: it resides
within me,
as clear as a mountain brook, hidden
in the hills -- it is the un-suspected Inner Resource. . .
I trust it today and hope it trusts me
to make all effort to find the right thought or action today.
- Daily Reflections, p. 28
Thought to Ponder . . .
I asked from the heart, and I received.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F A I T H = Found Always In Trusting
Him.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Obedience
"We of AA obey spiritual principles,
at first because we must,
then because we ought to,
and ultimately because we love the
kind of life
such obedience brings.
Great suffering and great love
are AA's disciplinarians;
we need no others."
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 27
Thought to Consider . . .
The spiritual approach to recovery
is not about relinquishing
responsibility for our lives
to some Cosmic Butler.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T = Hope, Acceptance, Love,
Tolerance
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Before
>From "The Family Afterward":
"This painful past may be of infinite
value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think
each family which
has been relieved owes something to
those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it
should
be only too willing to bring former
mistakes, no matter how grievous out of their hiding places. Showing
others who
suffer how we were given help is the
very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the
thought
that, in God's hands, the dark past is
the greatest possession you have the key to life and happiness for
others. With it
you can avert death and misery for
them."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 124
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"I am still amazed at the aura around
AA meetings ... No matter what our immediate problems, fears, or
resentments,
we come to a halt when the meeting
begins and focus on our primary purpose."
Pittsburgh, Penn., September 1991
"A Beacon in the Dark"
The Home Group: Heartbeat of AA
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N'
Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"It is plain that a life which
includes deep resentment leads only to
futility and unhappiness. To the
precise extent that we permit
these, do we squander the hours that
might have been worth while."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How
It Works, pg. 66
"When we became alcoholics, crushed by
a self-imposed crisis we could
not postpone or evade, we had to
fearlessly face the proposition that
either God is everything or else He is
nothing. God either is or He isn't."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We
Agnostics, pg. 53~
"There may be some wrongs we can
never fully right. We don't worry about them if
we can honestly say to ourselves that
we would right them if we could."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Into Action, pg 83
“During this process of learning more
about humility, the most profound result of all was the changein our
attitude toward God.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
75 (Step Seven)
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Mine was exactly the kind of
deep-seated block we so often see today in new people who say they are
atheistic or agnostic. Their will to disbelieve is so powerful that
apparently they prefer a date with the undertaker to an open-minded and
experimental quest for God.
Happily for me, and for most of my
kind who have since come along in A.A., the constructive forces brought
to bear in our Fellowship have nearly always overcome this colossal
obstinacy. Beaten into complete defeat by alcohol, confronted by the
living proof of release, and surrounded by those who can speak to us
from the heart, we have finally surrendered.
And then, paradoxically, we have found
ourselves in a new dimension, the real world of spirit and faith.
Enough willingness, enough open-mindedness--and there it is!
Prayer for the Day: God, direct my thinking today so that it
be empty of self pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking and fear.
God, inspire my thinking, decisions and intuitions. Help me to relax
and take it easy. Free me from doubt and indecision. Guide me through
this day and show me my next step. God, show me what I need to do to
take care of any problems. I ask all these things that I may be of
maximum service to you and my fellow man. In the spirit of the Steps I
pray. AMEN