LIVING IN THE NOW

First, we try living in the now just in order to stay sober -- and it
works. Once the idea has become a part of our thinking, we find that
living life in 24 hour segments is an effective and satisfying way to
handle many other matters as well.
LIVING SOBER, p. 7

"One Day At A Time." To a newcomer this and other one-liners of
A.A. may seem ridiculous. The passwords of the A.A. Fellowship can
become lifelines in moments of stress. Each day can be like a rose
unfurling according to the plan of a Power greater than myself. My
program should be planted in the right location, just as it will need to be
groomed, nourished, and protected from disease. My planting will
require patience, and my realizing that some flowers will be more
perfect than others. Each stage of the petals' unfolding can bring
wonder and delight if I do not interfere or let my expectations override my
acceptance -- and this brings serenity.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We finally came to the bottom. We did not have to be financially
broke, although many of us were. But we were spiritually bankrupt.
We had a soul-sickness, a revulsion against ourselves and against our way of
living. Life had become impossible for us. We had to end it all or do
something about it. Am I glad I did something about it?

Meditation For The Day

Faith is not seeing, but believing. I am in a box of space and time and
cannot see spacelessness or eternity. But God is not within the shell of
time and space. He is timeless and spaceless. He cannot be fully
comprehended by our finite minds. But we must try to make a union
between our purposes and the purposes of God. By trying to merge
our minds with the mind of God, a oneness of purpose results. This
oneness of purpose puts us in harmony with God and others. Evil
comes from being in disharmony with God and good comes from being
in harmony with Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be in harmony with God. I pray that I may get into
the stream of goodness in the universe.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Rationalizers and the Self-Effacing, p. 160

We alcoholics are the biggest rationalizers in the world. Fortified with the excuse
that we are doing great things for A.A., we can, through broken anonymity, resume
our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and
money--the same implacable urges that, when frustrated, once caused us to drink.

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

Dr. Bob was essentially a far more humble person than I, and anonymity came rather
easily to him. When it was sure that he was mortally afflicted, some of his friends
suggested that there should be a monument erected in honor of him and his wife,
Anne--befitting a founder and his lady. Telling me about this, Dr. Bob grinned
broadly and said, "God bless 'em. They mean well. But let's you and me get
buried just like other folks."

In the Akron cemetery where Dr. Bob and Anne lie, the simple stone says not a word
about A.A. This final example of self-effacement is of more permanent worth to A.A.
than any amount of public attention or any great monument.

A.A. Comes Of Age
1. pp. 292-293
2. pp. 136-137

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

Walk in Dry Places
 
Do I feel uneasy?         Serenity
When facing difficult situations, we can expect to feel a certain amount of discomfort. What's more often a problem for compulsive people is being tense and apprehensive even when things seem to be going well.
Although many explanations are offered for this unpleasant feeling, the solution is to be found in the 12 Steps.  The more secure we feel in our program, the less apprehension we'll have in facing the problems of living. With the program as our foundation, we will continue to develop more self-assurance as we go along.
We may not immediately find this self-assurance, yet we should not hold back from normal duties and responsibilities. Most of the world's work and accomplishments are undertaken by people who do not necessarily feel confident and self-assured all the time.  Why should it be any different for us?
Whether I feel confident or not, I'll do my best today.  I know that my fellowship, my program, and my Higher Power are fully supporting me.

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

Keep It Simple

Anyone can blame; it takes a specialist to praise.---Konstantin Stanislawski
Are we blamers? We sure were blamers when we were using alcohol and other drugs. Then everything was someone's fault. Some of us did our blaming out loud. And some of us blamed others silently.
It's harder to praise than to blame people. Faults stand out like street
signs, but the good things about people may be harder to see. We can see the good in people when we slow down, watch, and listen.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me pay attention to people around me. Help me praise them.
Action for the Day:  Today, I'll list three people who mean a lot to me. I'll write what I like about each of them. I'll talk to them and tell them what I wrote.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. For every gain there is a setback. For every success, a failure. For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. For every hope realized, one is dashed.  --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
The balance of events in our lives is much like the balance of nature. The pendulum swings; every extreme condition is offset by its opposite, and we learn to appreciate the gifts . . . of the bad times as well as the periods of rest.
On occasion we'll discover that our course in life has changed direction. We need not be alarmed. Step Three has promised that we are in caring hands. Our every concern, every detail of our lives will be taken care of, in the right way, at the right time.
We can develop gratitude for all conditions, good or bad. Each has its necessary place in our development as healthy, happy women. We need the sorrows along with the joys if we are to gain new insights. Our failures keep us humble; they remind us of our need for the care and guidance of others. And for every hope dashed, we can remember, one will be realized.
Life is a process. I will accept the variations with gratitude. Each, in its own way, blesses me.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward

Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives. We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done. These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.

p. 130

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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.

"But, of course," he continued, "eventually the alcoholic loses all of his capacities as his disease gets progressively worse, and this is a tragedy that is painful to watch:  the disintegration of a sound mind and body."

p. 272

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition One - "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. Unity."

Countless times, in as many cities and hamlets, we reenacted the story of Eddie Rickenbacker and his courageous company when their plane crashed in the Pacific. Like us, they had suddenly found themselves saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea. How well they saw that their common welfare came first. None might become selfish of water or bread. Each needed to consider the others, and in abiding faith they knew they must find their real strength. And as they did find, in measure to transcend all the defects of their frail craft, every test of uncertainty, pain, fear, and despair, and even the death of one.

p. 131

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

Love should never be a conditional emotion. It should be a gift where
you expect nothing in return.
--unknown

Take the program seriously, not yourself.
--unknown

We all have within us the capacity to be happy and to suffer. It all
depends on which one our mind chooses to feed.
--unknown

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be
changed until it is faced."
--James Baldwin

"There is no greater treasure than the respect and love of a true
friend."
--Anonymous

"Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with
what you have."
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IDEALS

"Every dogma has its day, but
ideals are eternal."
--Israel Zangwill

For too long I lived in a box of rules and dogma. Life had to have
definable answers and everything needed to be structured. Then the
answers didn't seem to work. Nobody seemed interested in the
answers I was giving. The world had moved on!

I realized that life had to be lived, not simply talked about. Having the
answers to questions that nobody was asking (including myself)
seemed a waste of time. I was uncomfortable. I was living in the past.

Spirituality is reality. It is okay to benefit from a tradition and then
move on. I was not disloyal or a traitor because I had changed my
mind. God and truth live in a changing world and if we are to grow, our
perception of ourselves and life must change. Today I can accept this.

Give me the willingness to change in my life.

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

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God.
Romans 12:1-2

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

"I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with
your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD."
Jeremiah 39:18

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:37-39

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

Daily Inspiration

Seek God's guidance, but know that the responsibility to act on it is yours. Lord, may I not be lazy because I have prayed and expect You to do everything for me.

It is a bigger mistake to fear making a mistake than to actually make one. Lord, give me the confidence to live a full life and the ability to try again if I stumble.

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

NA Just For Today

Old Dreams Needn't Die

"Lost dreams awaken and new possibilities arise."
Basic Text, p. 88

Most of us had dreams when we were young. Whether we dreamed of a dynamic career, a large and loving family, or travels abroad, our dreams died when our addiction took hold. Anything we ever wanted for ourselves was cast away in our pursuit of drugs. Our dreams didn't go beyond the next drug and the euphoria we hoped it would bring.

Now in recovery, we find a reason to hope that our lost dreams could still come true. No matter how old we are, how much our addiction has taken from us, or how unlikely it may seem, our freedom from active addiction gives us the freedom to pursue our ambitions. We may discover that we're very talented at something, or find a hobby we love, or learn that continuing our education can bring remarkable rewards.

We used to put most of our energy into spinning excuses and rationalizations for our failures. Today, we go forward and make use of the many opportunities life presents to us. We may be amazed at what we're capable of. With our foundation of recovery, success, fulfillment, and satisfaction are within our reach at last.

Just for today: Starting today, I'll do whatever I can to realize my dreams.

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

You are reading from the book  Today's Gift.
We never know how high we are 'Til we are called to rise; And then, if we are true to plan, Our statures touch the skies.
--Emily Dickinson
We are all capable of far more than we think we are. It's in the tough times, however, that we discover the depths of our strength, and it's then that we know that some power has enabled us to do what we thought we could not. Whatever we call that power, it is there for us when we need it.
To do what seems impossible, all we need to do is ask for the help we think we need. And we can look within, too, and summon our whole selves to the task at hand. With all that going for us, how can we fail? And when the tough work is over, we'll look back and know we've grown from the experience. And yes, our statures will have touched the skies.
When I am faced with a tough task, how do I respond?


You are reading from the book  Touchstones.
I believe our concept of romantic love is irrational, impossible to fulfill, and the cause of many broken homes. No human being can maintain that rarified atmosphere of "true love."  --Rita Mae Brown
What the popular media teach us about marriage and love is poor preparation for the real thing. When we enter a relationship we may be filled with a feeling of magic and excitement of new love. But that is not a good basis for a lifelong commitment. Love at first sight is no reason for marriage. Many of us, upon meeting difficulties in our relationships, said to ourselves, "Maybe it wasn't true love after all, because now I don't feel in love with my mate anymore."
Honesty and learning how to resolve difficulties provide a solid foundation for durable love. Some relationships do not survive the honesty of recovery. Sometimes the development of honest love only begins with recovery. The love that endures, the love of real intimacy, comes when we know the real person. Loyalty to our loved ones may deepen as we deal more and more with reality.
As I grow in this program, married or single, I become more able to have an enduring love.


You are reading from the book  Each Day a New Beginning.
Many of us achieve only the semblance of communication with others; what we say is often not contingent on what the other has just said, and neither of us is aware that we are not communicating.  --Desy Safn-Gerard
When we don't listen fully to each other, when we don't revere the Spirit within others that's trying to talk to us, we destroy the connection that wants to be made between our Spirits. Our inner selves have messages to give and messages to receive for the good of all. Our ego selves often keep us from hearing the very words that would unravel a problem in our lives.
How hard it is, how often, to be still and to fully listen to the words, rather than the person. How much more familiar it is to filter the message with our own ongoing inner dialogue--our own ongoing continual assessment of another's personhood at the very time our higher power is trying to reach us through them.
There really are no wasted words. Messages are everywhere. We can learn to listen.
I will hear just what I need to hear today. I will open myself fully to the words.


You are reading from the book  The Language of Letting Go.
Panic
Few situations - no matter how greatly they appear to demand it - can be bettered by us going berserk.  --Codependent No More
Don't panic!
If a swimmer was crossing a great lake, then suddenly focused too heavily on the distance remaining, he might start to flounder and go under--not because he couldn't swim, but because he became overwhelmed by panic.
Panic, not the task, is the enemy.
Many of us have moments when we feel crowded and overwhelmed. We have times when we feel like we cannot possibly accomplish all that needs to be done.
We may be facing a task at work, an improvement in ourselves, or change in our family life.
For a moment, it is helpful to look forward and envision the project. It is normal, when we look ahead at what need to be done, to have moments of panic. Feel the fear, then let it go. Take our eyes off the future and the enormity of the task. If we have envisioned the goal, it will be ours. We do not have to do everything today, or at once.
Focus on today. Focus on the belief that all is well. All we need to do to reach our goal is to focus on what presents itself naturally, and in an orderly way, to us today. We shall be empowered to accomplish, peacefully, what we need to get where we want to be tomorrow.
Panic will stop this process. Trust and guided action will further it. Breathe deeply. Get peaceful. Trust. Act as guided, today.
We can get back on track by treading water until we regain our composure. Once we feel peaceful, we can begin swimming again, with confidence. Keep the focus simple, on one stroke, one movement at a time. If we can make one movement, we have progressed. If we get tired, we can float - but only if we are relaxed. Before we know it, we shall reach the shore.
Today, I will believe that all is well. I am being led, but I shall only be led one day at a time. I will focus my energy on living this day to the best of my ability. If panic arises, I will stop all activity and deal with panic as a separate issue.


I am discovering who I am with joy today!  --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart

Believe in Life, Not Loss

Believing in life means we can trust– trust in the nature and rhythm of life with all its constant change. We believe in transformation, change, and purpose.

Believing in life means we’re not in bondage to the past. No matter what we’ve done, what decisions we’ve made, we set ourselves free to trust ourselves now. We trust what we feel, we trust what we know, we trust what we think we need to do next. Belieivng in life means we trust that the lessons we’re learning are real. They’re valuable and Divinely ordained– even when learning a lesson means feeling pain.

Believing in loss means we focus on the grief, on the pain, on the tragedy, on the inescapable reality of certain events. Belieivng in loss means we get fixated on what was taken from us, what we did wrong. We judge ourselves and our lives harshly. Believing in loss often means we stay stuck. We’re afraid to let go of a person, place, or thing that’s no longer right for us because we’re afraid to lose anything more.

Do you believe in loss? Or do you believe in life?

Believing in life means it’s okay to let go. We can trust where we’ve been. We trust where we’re going. And we’re right where we need to be now. Believe in life.

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

More Language Of Letting Go

Manifest your life

Today, try this activity. Go down to the local harware store and buy a patio stone. Get one of the nice flat round ones, one that will fit into your briefcase or backpack. Take that patio stone home and look at it. Then take out a marker and start to think about one of your goals that you wrote on the list at the start of the year. Think about all that is keeping you from reaching that goal– all your fears, excuses, and prerequisites. Each time you think of a reason why you are not walking down that path, write it on the stone in marker. Keep writing until you can’t think of another reason.

Then carry the stone with you. You did write down a fear of looking ridiculous, didn’t you? Carry the stone to dinner– hold it on your lap while you eat. Hold it while you watch TV, while you go to the bathroom, in the shower, and even to bed this evening. Tomorrow, spend the day with your stone. Let it be a reminder of both your dream and your fear. Feel how rough, heavy, cumbersome it is. Makes it kind of difficult to get anything done, doesn’t it? Now, at the end of the day, sit down again with your stone. Look at all of your excuses written there. Make a conscious decision to let them go. Put down the stone– put it right next to the front door. Feel how much lighter your step is, how much easier it is to do things. Now, as you leave for your day each morning, look at the stone sitting there on the step– heavy, rough, cumbersome– and leave it there. Let life and the elements wear your fears away.

You have dreams, hopes, ambitions. All of your fears and excuses are stones, which fill your hands and weigh you down. Leave them behind. Start to manifest your dreams in your life.

God, help me let go of everything that is blocking me from fully and joyfully living my life today.

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

Generosity of Spirit
Being Happy for Others

We all want to be the kind of people who are happy for others when they experience success or a cause for celebration in their lives, but it isn’t always easy. Sometimes powerful, dark feelings come up at times when decorum dictates that we should be feeling the opposite. Instead of reaching out and celebrating for our loved one, we may feel the rising up of our own pain. This pain may arise because we feel jealous of our friend for having something we don’t have. It may arise because our friend’s success will lead to us losing them in some way. And it may arise for reasons we don’t yet understand. The important thing is not to brush it under the rug, but to take it seriously and look at it; suppressing it will only make it worse. At the same time, we need to be sure to find a way to congratulate our friends and celebrate their successes as if they were our own.

The struggle with being happy for others presents itself early in life. If a child wants a toy and another child has it, the child will try to get it or will break down in tears. Those primal feelings are still present in most of us, and we have to acknowledge them when they arise. At the same time, it is when we care enough for someone to let go of what we want for ourselves that we grow as people. It can be a difficult dance to find ourselves suspended between wanting the toy and throwing a party for our friend who got the toy. Yet, it is in throwing the party that we share in the joy—and, to some extent, the toy—rather than cutting ourselves out of it.

Extending ourselves to celebrate the happiness of others requires a generosity of spirit that we sometimes find only in the process of doing it. So when your best friend moves to Spain with the person you had a crush on, tend to your broken heart but throw them a going away party too. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Some of us, new in The Program, couldn’t resist telling anyone who would listen just how “terrible” we were. Just as we often exaggerated our mdest accomplishments by pride, so we exaggerated our defects through guilt. Facing about and “confessing all,” we somehow considered the widespread exposure of our sins to be true humility, considering it a great spiritual asset. Only as we grew in The Program did we realize that our theatrics and storytelling were merely forms of exhibitionism. And with that realization came the beginning of a certain amount of humility. Am I starting to become aware that I’m not so important after all?

Today I Pray

May I learn that there is a chasm of difference between real humility and the dramatic self-put-down. May I be confronted if I unconsciously demand center-stage to out-do and “out-drunk” others with my “adventrue” stories. May I be cautious that the accounts of my addictive misdeeds do not take on the epic grandeur of heroic exploits.

Today I Will Remember

I will not star in my own drunkologue (or junkologue).

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

One More Day

No man is an island, entire of itself.
John Donne

It’s sometimes easy to develop a sense of aloneness. During our emotional an physical lows, we might sadly or bitterly isolate from other people because we feel so different from them. Our lives seem so much more complicated than theirs.

Usually, though, we do not choose to be completely independent of others. As we go through the motions of our day, our lives are touched by many people. They are part of the normal rhythm and flow of our experience.

And we are part of theirs. In hundreds of ways, we all support and nurture each other. We share their joys and pains because we care, because we’re human.

When I am in need, caring people surround me. I will make sure that I am available for others when they need me too.

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

Food For Thought

Greedy Thinking, Greedy Eating

Contentment comes from being satisfied with what we have. Since "bread" is a symbol for material things, it is easy to use food as a substitute for the money and possessions we may avidly desire. Overeating can be a form of compensation for the enticing worldly wealth, which seems so attractive, yet is out of our grasp.

When we desire abstinence more than we desire material things, we are able to maintain it. When we allow material cares and concerns to obscure our spiritual goals, then our abstinence is in danger! Each of us is confronted with the choice of striving to satisfy physical cravings or working toward spiritual ideals. We cannot serve two masters.

We may have thought that we could get rid of our greed for food and continue to indulge our greed for other material things. Our Higher Power does not work that way. He demands nothing less than complete allegiance.

May I serve You without reservations.

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

One Day At A Time

PROMISES
"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."
Oscar Wilde

Before program, I would dwell in my mistakes. Experience, feh! I was all about self-abuse and feeling rotten about mistakes. My mistakes would certainly lead to overeating, since there was no other option in my mind. Even with years of therapy – with the same therapist – I still used eating as a soothing tool for those times when the mistake was enough to send me into a tailspin. Time and time again people would tell me I was too hard on myself, or that I should just relax and smile. Another mistake for me to internalize -- I couldn't even make a mistake right. I wonder now if I sometimes looked for things to call mistakes so I’d have a reason to feel as rotten as I did most of the time. Having been abused as a child wasn't enough, blaming other people for my pain never satiated me.

In my first OA meeting, I heard the promises and I started to feel something melt away. Some of the shame and self-pity evaporated into the room of men and women who also felt this lack of satisfaction. A room of men and women loved me because I struggled with the same addictive behaviors. I don't think I'd ever been loved for my weakness, and there is something powerful in that. When I make a mistake, I can think about my friends in OA who tell me that there is no wrong way, just another way.

One day at a time...
I can know that there are people who love me because I share in their weakness, and I can read the promises to realize that recovery is possible.
~ AJ

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Perhaps you have a husband who is at large, but who should be committed. Some men cannot or will not get over alcoholism. When they become too dangerous, we think the kind thing is to lock them up, but of course a good doctor should always be consulted. The wives and children of such men suffer horribly, but not more than the men themselves.

But sometimes you must start life anew. We know women who have done it. If such women adopt a spiritual way of life their road will be smoother. - Pg. 114 - To Wives

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. We are not suggesting we are stupid, but our disease is. It will do anything it can to keep us using even though it ultimately means death of itself along with the body. But through following a few SIMPLE suggestions we can release ourselves from the stupidity.

May I understand that my stupid disease will argue and complicate simple procedures so it can gain a foothold in the confusion it creates. KISS off addiction.

Freeing Me

Today, I understand that in forgiving someone else I free myself. I held back on forgiveness because it seemed too kind an act for those who had hurt me. Why should I make them feel good? Why should I let them off the hook? I understand now that forgiving someone else and letting go - when I am truly ready - dissolves the resentment that is stored within me. I will not jump to forgiveness too quickly, forcing myself to do what I am not sincerely able to do. I will not forgive because it is the right thing to do. I will fully feel and acknowledge all that blocks me, and I will give myself the time I need to do this. When I do forgive, it will be to set myself free, to let go of the past and move on.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

People in our fellowships who think they are too big to do little things are perhaps too little to be asked to do big things.

I remember where I came from.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You can't be fired for on-the-job sobriety.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am discovering who I am with joy today!

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

When I was new, I was sure that what was wrong with me was that I was not loved enough. A lot of people tried but what I didn't know about me, is that there isn't enough. I'm the Black Hole of Lovedom. My little sponsor knew that my problem was I never loved enough. And he knew that I didn't know how to start to love. So he made me do loving things; go pick up members, stand at the door and greet everybody: 'Hi there, I'm Cliff. What's your name - (under breath) like I really give a ...' And somewhere along the way I learned to love newcomers. - Cliff R.

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AA Thought for the Day

June 9

Responsibility
We found that all progress, material or spiritual,
consisted of finding out what our responsibilities actually were
and then proceeding to do something about them. These activities began to pay off.
We found that we didn't always have to be driven by our own discomforts as, more willingly,
we picked up the burdens of living and growing.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 329

Thought to Ponder . . .
I am responsible for the effort -- not the outcome.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A G O = Another Growth Opportunity.

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

Wants or Needs?
"We are taught to differentiate between our wants
(which are never satisfied)
and our needs (which are always provided for).
We cast off the burdens of the past
and the anxieties of the future,
as we begin to live in the present, one day at a time.
We are granted
'the serenity to accept the things we cannot change'
- and thus lose our quickness to anger
and our sensitivity to criticism."
1976 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 560

Thought to consider ...
Don't give up before the miracle happens.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

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

Doubt
>From "We Agnostics":
"Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem. That means we
have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk
about God. Here difficulty arises with agnostics. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we
discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. But his face falls when we speak of spiritual matters,
especially when we mention God, for we have re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or
entirely ignored. "We know how he feels. We have shared his honest doubt and prejudice."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 44

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

"I can change my viewpoint anytime I want to. I can look at things from down, by lying back and waiting for someone to
rescue me. Or I can stand tall and look at the way things are as the way they're meant to be."
York Harbor, Maine, September 1994
"Attitude Adjustment,"
AA Grapevine

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

"We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and
express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than
ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible
for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 46~

"Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family
back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come
back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his
recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his
relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have
not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came
back too soon."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~

We had lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material
satisfactions were not the purpose of living.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 71

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

We alcoholics are the biggest rationalizers in the world. Fortified with the excuse that we are doing great things for A.A.,
we can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public
honors, and money--the same implacable urges that, when frustrated, once caused us to drink.
Dr. Bob was essentially a far more humble person than I, and anonymity came rather easily to him. When it was sure
that he was mortally afflicted, some of his friends suggested that there should be a monument erected in honor of him
and his wife, Anne--befitting a founder and his lady. Telling me about this, Dr. Bob grinned broadly and said, 'God bless
'em. They mean well. But let's you and me get buried just like other folks.'
In the Akron cemetery where Dr. Bob and Anne lie, the simple stone says not a word about A.A. This final example of
self-effacement is of more permanent worth to A.A. than any amount of public attention or any great monument.

Prayer For The Day: Lord our God, may I learn to treat others generously, with respect, and with care and understanding, that we may all bring out the best in one another. Amen.