FREE AT LAST

Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects
to another human being is humility - a word often
misunderstood. . . . it amounts to a clear recognition of
what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to
become what we could be.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58

I knew deep inside that if I were ever to be joyous, happy and
free, I had to share my past life with some other individual.
The joy and relief I experienced after doing so were beyond
description. Almost immediately after taking the Fifth Step,
I felt free from the bondage of self and the bondage of
alcohol. That freedom remains after 36 years, a day at a
time. I found that God could do for me what I couldn't do
for myself. ***********************************************************

As Bill Sees It

Our Problem Centers In The Mind, p. 130

We know that as long as the alcoholic keeps away from drink, he
usually reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that
once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something
happens, in both the bodily and the mental sense, which makes it
virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic
will abundantly confirm this.

These observations would be academic and pointless if our friend
never took the first drink, thereby setting the terrible cycle in
motion. Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his
mind, rather than in his body.

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 22-23

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

Walk In Dry Places

Doing the impossible things
Achievements.
One of our friends became critical of our AA group, suggesting that we were limiting ourselves by focusing solely on recovery when so many other accomplishments waited on the horizon.  After all, isn't it written that "with God, all things are possible?"
It is indeed true that we should place no limits at all on our Higher Power. Even nonbelievers will admit that nature and the universe show power and intelligence that are far beyond our understanding.
What limits us is our own ability to receive and use our Higher Power in proper ways. Even if our journey in the program gives us boundless self-confidence, we must always deal with our own selfish tendencies and the temptation to seek personal gain rather than personal improvement.  Certain kinds of success can be fully as toxic as any drug. Some of us, in fact, can deal with disappointments more effectively than we can with too much success.
The Idea of  "doing impossible things" is fully covered in the Steps. We seek knowledge of "God's will for us and the Power to carry that out." This means that we'll find the where-withdrawal to do anything that belongs in our lives. Anything else is needless and perhaps even dangerous.
I'll not feel that I lack faith simply because I haven't been able to reach certain goals.  My Higher Power will show me how to balance my life so I can accept what is rightfully mine.  There is no need to do the seemingly "impossible" unless it is in the order of things.

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

Keep It Simple

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.---Andrew Carnegie
Doing something with our lives, not just talking about it, is important. When we were sick with our addiction, what we did was drink or use other drugs. We only talked about what we wanted to do. Now that we are sober, we can really live our lives.
We've already done a lot. we've gotten help for our chemical dependency.  We've facing the harm we did to our families. We've let other people into our lives.
Before recovery, we didn't have to tell people we were alcoholics and addicts. Our actions showed it, if people knew what to look for. Now we don't have to tell people we were recovering, because our actions will show it.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, let my actions show that I am getting better every day.
Action for the Day:  Today, I'll let my actions speak louder than words. I'll do one thing that I have been saying I want to do.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

To wait for someone else, or to expect someone else to make my life richer, or fuller, or more satisfying, puts me in a constant state of suspension; and I miss all those moments that pass. They never come back to be experienced again.  --Kathleen Tierney Crilly
The steps we are taking today will never again be taken in exactly the same way. The thoughts we are thinking are fresh, never to be repeated. All that these moments offer will never pass our way again.
We each have to grab our own happiness, create our own richness through experiences. We may share what we capture with loved ones, but like us, they too must search their own avenues for the satisfaction that lasts. We can neither give happiness to another, like a gift, nor expect it in return.
The fullness of life we all long for is the natural byproduct of living every moment as fully as possible. Our higher power will never direct us into waters too deep. When we have willingly turned our lives and our wills over, we'll find an abundance of the rich, the full, the satisfying. Faith in God answers all questions, solves all problems.
I will cherish every moment today. Each one is special and will not visit me again.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 5 - HOW IT WORKS

If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.

p. 66

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

ME AN ALCOHOLIC? - Alcohol's wringer squeezed this author--but he escaped quite whole.

After my last binge I came home and smashed my dining room furniture to splinters, kicked out six windows and two balustrades.  When I woke up sober, my handiwork confronted me.  It is impossible for me to reproduce my despair.

p. 385

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eleven - "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."

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us, here and hereafter.

p. 105

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

The bonds of matrimony aren't worth much unless the interest is kept up.
--Cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES

No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

If I had my life to live over, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I
would relax, I would limber up, I would be crazier than I've been on this
trip. I know very few things I'd take seriously any more. I'd certainly be
less hygienic... I would take more chances, I would take more trips, I
would scale more mountains, I would swim more rivers, and I would
watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans. I
would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. Oh, I've had
my moments, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have many more of
them, in fact I'd try not to have anything else, just moments, one after
another, instead of living so many years ahead of my day. If I had it to do
all over again, I'd travel lighter, much lighter than I have. I would start
barefoot earlier in the spring, and I'd stay that way later in the fall. and I
would ride more merry-go-rounds, and catch more gold rings, and greet
more people and pick more flowers and dance more often...
--Jose Luis Borges

"Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift
whatever the day brings forth."
--Horace

Today, I will have some fun with life, with recovery, with people, and
with my day.
--The Language Of Letting Go

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CREATIVITY

"When one is painting, one does
not think."
--Raphael Sanzio

An artist is predominantly a person who feels rather than thinks; he is
molding his most inner experiences into the finished product.

I am doing the same in my sobriety. Today I am molding something good
and wholesome from a life that was negative and destructive. I am
rediscovering God, not just in thoughts and ideas, but in the daily
happenings of my life. God is not only an idea but He is alive in my
relationships, behavior and daily acts of kindness.

God is a process in which I am involved. He is at the center of my life,
regardless of the ordinariness of the event. Art is part of my life because
I am a creative human being.

Teach me to look beyond the painting into myself.

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

Do everything without complaining or arguing. . .
Phillipians 2:14

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Colossians 4:2

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to
uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time
to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time
to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to
embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a
time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to
mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to
hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

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

Daily Inspiration

If you find only defects when you look into a mirror, you are definately missing something. Lord, may I take comfort in my good points and use them as a foundation to grow.

God did not talk about how much He loves us. He showed us by sending us His Son. Lord, may I learn to love selflessly and speak through my actions.

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

NA Just For Today

Becoming Entirely Ready

"We... get a good look at what these defects are doing to our lives. We begin to long for freedom from these defects."
Basic Text, p. 33

Becoming entirely ready to have our defects of character removed can be a long process, often taking place over the course of a lifetime. Our state of readiness grows in direct proportion to our awareness of these defects and the destruction they cause.

We may have trouble seeing the devastation our defects are inflicting on our lives and the lives of those around us. If this is the case, we would do well to ask our Higher Power to reveal those flaws which stand in the way of our progress.

As we let go of our shortcomings and find their influence waning, we'll notice that a loving God replaces those defects with quality attributes. Where we were fearful, we find courage. Where we were selfish, we find generosity. Our delusions about ourselves will disappear to be replaced by self-honesty and self-acceptance.

Yes, becoming entirely ready means we will change. Each new level of readiness brings new gifts. Our basic nature changes, and we soon find our readiness is no longer sparked only by pain but by a desire to grow spiritually.

Just for today: I will increase my state of readiness by becoming more aware of my shortcomings.

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
To apologize: to lay the foundation for a future offense. --Ambrose Bierce
"I'm sorry," said the blind man as he whipped the mare. "I'm sorry," said the mare, as she kicked the blind man in return.
"We're sorry," they assured themselves, as they pushed each other around again and again. Often, we push our troubles with other people around, creeping along in the old rough way, refusing to change because we're too involved to see another choice.
There's little sorrow in being sorry all the time. A true apology doesn't try to explain. Sometimes a true apology just breaks down and cries. Then maybe we're ready to go on--take someone by the hand, tell the whole sad truth, and work to find a better way.
Are my apologies excuses, or requests to be forgiven?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
"You are accepted!" ... accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask the name now, perhaps you will know it later. Do not try to do anything, perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything, do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact you are accepted. --Paul Tillich
New possibilities opened up when we accepted our powerlessness. These possibilities came to us from beyond ourselves. We can open ourselves to acceptance by being responsible for ourselves and practicing the Twelve Steps. We can't improve upon the message that we are accepted, nor can we nail it down. In fact, the very moment we try to impose our control over it, it begins to evaporate.
We can receive this message of acceptance only when we are humble and open to it. After learning to surrender in the First Step of this program, we are ready to yield to messages of acceptance.
I am grateful for the acceptance which has come my way.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
To wait for someone else, or to expect someone else to make my life richer, or fuller, or more satisfying, puts me in a constant state of suspension; and I miss all those moments that pass. They never come back to be experienced again. --Kathleen Tierney Crilly
The steps we are taking today will never again be taken in exactly the same way. The thoughts we are thinking are fresh, never to be repeated. All that these moments offer will never pass our way again.
We each have to grab our own happiness, create our own richness through experiences. We may share what we capture with loved ones, but like us, they too must search their own avenues for the satisfaction that lasts. We can neither give happiness to another, like a gift, nor expect it in return.
The fullness of life we all long for is the natural byproduct of living every moment as fully as possible. Our higher power will never direct us into waters too deep. When we have willingly turned our lives and our wills over, we'll find an abundance of the rich, the full, the satisfying. Faith in God answers all questions, solves all problems.
I will cherish every moment today. Each one is special and will not visit me again.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Enjoying the Good Days
Good feelings can become a habitual part of our life.
There is absolutely no virtue in the unnecessary suffering, which many of us have felt for much of our life. We don't have to allow others to make us miserable, and we don't have to make ourselves miserable.
A good day does not have to be the calm before the storm. That's an old way of thinking we learned in dysfunctional systems.
In recovery, a good day or a good feeling doesn't mean were in denial. We don't have to wreck our good times by obsessively searching for or creating a problem.
Enjoying our good days doesn't mean we're being disloyal to loved ones who are having problems. We don't have to make ourselves feel guilty because other people aren't having a good day. We don't have to make ourselves miserable to be like them. They can have their day and their feelings; we can have ours.
A good feeling is to be enjoyed. More than we can imagine, good days are ours for the asking.
Today, I will let myself enjoy what is good. I don't have to wreck my good day or good feeling; I don't have to let others spoil it either.


Today I am letting a power greater than myself remove all my fear. I am now free to look within for my answers. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey to the Heart

Go for the Ride

Not all sections of the road we travel are smooth, paved, easy riding. We may prefer the smooth sections of highway, but sometimes the road gets rough. And the rough section can go on for miles and miles.

That’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your way. It doesn’t mean the rough section and bumpy spots will lasr forever. You’re still on your path.

Relax. Wiggle your shoulders a bit. Get ready, for you just may be in for the ride of your life. Don’t try to ignore the bumps or pretend they’re not there. Not all roads are paved and smooth. Not all roads are meant to be. Slow down a bit if you need to, but don’t stop.

Accept each part of the journey as it comes. Let each stretch of your path be what it needs to be.

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

More language of letting go

Say when it’s time to stop sabotaging yourself

Jenny sat down in the comfortable armchair in the small, pleasantly lit office. The man sitting across from her looked like a normal, friendly man– not at all like she imagined a psychic would look. She relaxed and began to tell him why she was there.

“I don’t usually visit psychics, but I’d like some information and guidance about the relationship I’m in now,” she said. “The guy I’m seeing is a great guy. I’m really in love with him.”

The psychic didn’t have to be psychic to know that a “but” was coming next. He had heard the story many times before.

“But,” Jenny said, “he’s a drug dealer. But it’s only marijuana. And he doesn’t use himself. And he’s just doing it long enough to make enough money to start his own business. Go legitimate, you know.”

After rambling for a while, she stopped. “So,” she asked the psychic,” what do you think?”

“You don’t need a psychic to tell you to get out as fast as you can,” he said, giving her money back. “It’s obvious. The relationship is doomed.”

As in Jenny’s situation, it’s easy to see the ridiculously obvious faulty thinking in our friends and people we’re close to. Sometimes it’s harder to see our own faulty thinking and blind spots.

“I love her, but she’s married.” “I love him, but he’s a cocaine addict.” “I love him, but I know he sleeps around a lot.”

While many people enjoy the benefits of seeking intuitive spiritual guidance at some time in their lives, there are many times we can easily tell our own future. Stop sabotaging yourself. Listen to what you’re saying. Listen to the but’s, to the words that come out of your own mouth. Yes, some drug dealers do reform. Yes, people recover from cocaine addiction every day. Yes, people with long histories of infidelity do stop sleeping around. And some married people do get divorced and marry those with whom they had affairs.

Some people win the lottery– every day. But more people never win the lottery.

Sometimes we’re blindsided by events that couldn’t possibly be foreseen. Sometimes it’s easy to predict trouble. Whenever possible, save yourself the pain and heartache inevitably coming around the bend.

Stop sabotaging yourself. Be your own psychic. Listen to what you’re saying, and give yourself the same basic advice you’d give a friend. You may be the exception to the rule, but probably not.

God, help me let go of my blind spots, the ones that cause me to sabotage my own happiness and well-being.

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

Healing What Hurts
Freeing Up Energy by Madisyn Taylor

The longer we sit on pain the harder it is to allow it to surface and begin healing.

Many of us are going through our lives aware of a well of pain underlying our daily awareness that we’ve felt for so long we aren’t even sure where it comes from. It almost seems as if it’s part of who we are, or the way we see the world, but it’s important to realize that this pain is something that needs to be acknowledged and processed. The longer we sit on it, the harder it is to work through, and the more likely it is that we will be forced to acknowledge it as it makes itself known to us in ways we can’t predict. Rather than waiting for this to happen, we can empower ourselves by identifying the pain and resolving to take action toward healing it.

The very thought of this brings up feelings of resistance in most of us, especially if, on the surface, our lives seem to be in order. It’s difficult to dig up the past and go into it unless we are being seriously inconvenienced by the hurt. The thing is, when we are carrying the burden of our unprocessed pain, sooner or later, it will inconvenience us. If we can be brave and proactive, we can save ourselves a lot of future suffering and free up the energy that is tied up in keeping the pain down.

There are many ways to do this, but the first step is to recognize the pain and honor it by moving our awareness into it. In this process, even if it’s just five minutes during meditation, we will begin to have a sense of what the pain is made of. It might be fear of abandonment, childhood abuse, anger at being mistreated, or some other long held wound. As we sit with the pain, we will also have a sense of whether we can deal with it by ourselves, or not. It may be time to work with a counselor, or form a healing circle with close friends. Whatever path you choose, resolve to go deep into the pain, so that you can release it fully, and set yourself free. Remember, it is never too late in life to heal what hurts, and there is never a better time than now. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

As the doubter tries to process of prayer, he would do well to add up the results. If he persists, he’ll almost surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger. He’ll acquire a quiet courage — the kind that isn’t tension-ridden. He’ll be able to look at “failure” and “success” for what they really are. Problems and calamity will begin to mean his instruction, instead of his destruction. He’ll feel freer and saner. Have wonderful and unaccountable things begun to happen to me in my new life?

Today I Pray

Through prayer, communion with a Higher Power, may I begin to see my lfie sort itself out. May I become less tense, more sane, more open, more courageous, more loving, less tangled in problems, less afraid of losing, less afraid of living. May I know that God, too, wants these things for me. May His will be done.

Today I Will Remember

Be still and know that He is God.

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

One More Day

Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.
– Mark Twain

It isn’t until we add many years to our lives that we realized just how good most of us had it at eighteen. We were, by and large, only responsible for ourselves. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.

How nice for us that the hindsight we have developed over the years can be used to our own benefit now. We understand that it’s natural for older people to lead and to teach the younger ones. Paying for life’s experiences — joys and sorrows — hasn’t all been easy. We have earned the wisdom we have now.

Since I could not be wise when I was young, the wisdom I have gained with maturity will serve me well as I get older.

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

Food For Thought

Habits

Habit can work for us or against us. We have given up a set of eating habits, which were counterproductive, and we are learning new ones which will work to our benefit. Some of us require more time than others to make the shift.

Each time we act according to the old, destructive pattern, we reactivate those negative habits. We need to abandon them completely so that they will atrophy from disuse.

Each time we practice a constructive eating habit, we reinforce our new pattern. Writing out a food plan, weighing and measuring the food, eating slowly, and saying no thank you to seconds and binge foods are a few parts of the new pattern. When these actions become habitual, we do not have to think consciously about them, since we perform them automatically. Our mental efforts may then be devoted to something else.

Appetite is largely a function of habit. The more wrong foods we eat, the more wrong foods we want to eat. The longer we follow a healthy, sensible plan, the more it satisfies us.

Teach me to build constructive habits.

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

One Day At A Time

GOOD DAYS
BAD DAYS
Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank You, God, for always loving and accepting me right where I am, and working with me, even when I am not willing to give You much to work with. It is so comforting to know that wherever I am, whether I am willing and open, or have once again shut myself off from the Light of Your Spirit, You will meet me there and provide whatever is necessary for me to keep on.

Thank You for forgiving me those times when I am not willing enough to put forth any effort--some days I just want to skate, God--some days I just want to wallow in it. Why else would I resist changing into what You would have me be? Some days I am lazy and comfortable just where I am.

One Day at a Time . . .
God, Help me to be willing to reach out to You, good day or bad. Keep me mindful that my conscious contact with You makes even the best day better, and the worst day tolerable.
~ Jeanine ~

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes you might feel spiritually dead or emotionally empty. No matter how dead or empty you sometimes feel, believe us when we say if you keep coming back, you will feel alive and full once again!

Whether or not I believe in a Higher Power, I will practice believing by praying anyway--the worst it can do is teach me discipline, the best it can do is work!

Being Authentic

I will stop fighting with myself and give my mind, body and heart the rest and inner quiet that they are craving. I'm not going to rush myself into wellness or force my thoughts into a phony sort of gaiety. I will accept myself as I am and feel what I feel. Thoughts and feelings won't kill me. Resisting the ones I don't want to experience puts me in a constant struggle with my own insides. My random thoughts and feelings are trying to tell me something. If I turn away and refuse to listen, I only hurt myself. Instead I will let the adult in me listen to those younger, fearful or anxious selves that are bubbling up inside of me just as a loving parent would allow a child who is hurt to pour out all of their feelings knowing that the simple act of pouring, it in itself, the cure.

I am willing to know myself

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If you rely on meetings alone to keep you sober, then you must find a 24 hour meeting. Meetings are for identifying and sharing. People in the meetings will tell you what they did and suggest what you can do, but they can't do it for you.

I can pray for a good harvest, but I still have to plow.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The first year is free.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will look for opportunities to continue to grow through seeing the beauty around me and in me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Between any two alcoholics there's probably one good brain left. - Doug D.

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

AA Thought for the Day

May 10

New Habits
Our drinking was connected with many habits -- big and little.
Some of them were thinking habits, or things we felt inside ourselves.
Others were doing habits -- things we did, actions we took.
In getting used to not drinking, we have found that we needed new habits
to take the place of the old ones.
- Living Sober, Preface

Thought to Ponder . . .
Habits are like cork or lead -- they tend to keep you up or hold you down.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Altered Attitudes.

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

Sunlight
"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 worthwhile.
This business of resentment is infinitely grave.
We found that it is fatal.
For when harboring such feelings
we shut ourselves off from
the sunlight of the Spirit.
The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again.
And with us, to drink is to die."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 66

Thought to Consider . . .
"I have been given a quiet place in bright sunshine."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, Jan. 1958.
The Language of the Heart, p. 238

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
CALM
Can Anger Leave Me

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

From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"But at one of these [Trustee] meetings in the early fall of 1938, Frank Amos popped up with an idea which opened the
door upon our real future. Frank said, 'One of my friends, Eugene Exman, is Religious Editor of Harper. Perhaps he
would be interested in your [Bill W.'s] new book. Why don't you go down there and show him the few chapters you have
done? I'll fix it up for you.'
"So down I went to meet Gene Exman, another wonderful friend-to-be of our society. I related the tale of our struggles
and handed over to him my first attempt at authorship. While I waited Gene thoughtfully scanned the two chapters. Then
he asked, 'Could you do a whole book in this style? And how many months would it take you?' I was shaking, but I had
an answer ready: 'I believe I can do it. It will probably take nine or ten months.' Thereupon he made a proposal that was
surprising. 'If it would help things along,' he said, 'I think Harper might be willing to advance you $1,500 in royalties. This
amount would be deducted from your account when the book is finished in 1939.'
"Again in the clouds, I left Harper to break the great news to the gang."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 153-54

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

"AA works on all kinds of nuts (including myself). I just needed to find the right wrench."
Oceanside, Calif., November 2013
"The Right Wrench,"
AA Grapevine

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

"Many of us felt that we had plenty of character. There was a
tremendous urge to cease forever. Yet we found it impossible. This
is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it this utter
inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the
wish."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 34~

"We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members
identify themselves with as individuals. This should be an entirely
personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of
past associations, or his present choice."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 28~

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can, And wisdom to know the difference.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 125

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Our Problem Centers in the Mind
We know as long as the alcoholic keeps away from drink, he usually reacts much like other men. We are equally
positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, in both the bodily and the mental
sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this.
These observations would be academic and pointless if our friend never took the first drink, thereby setting the terrible
cycle in motion. Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in his body.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP. 22-23

Prayer For The Day: We know, Lord, that throughout our lives each of us will experience problems and difficulties. Give us courage and strength at those times and prevent us then from looking only at ourselves. Keep our vision wide so that, even in times of difficulty, we may still be of help to others. Help us not to be bitter towards people or situations, but empower us to take the initiative and break the cycle of hatred, bitterness, and evil actions. Help us to transform the difficulties that come our way into opportunities for personal growth and service of others. Amen.