THE PAST IS OVER
A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing
problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If
. . . Step Four . . . has revealed in stark relief those experiences
we'd
rather not remember . . . then the need to quit living by ourselves
with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than
ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 55
Whatever is done is over. It cannot be changed. But my attitude
about it can be changed through talking with those who have gone
before and with sponsors. I can wish the past never was, but if I
change my actions in regard to what I have done, my attitude will
change. I won't have to wish the past away. I can change my feelings
and attitudes, but only through my actions and the help of my fellow
alcoholics.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When we come into A.A., looking for a way out of drinking, we really
need a lot more than that. We need fellowship. We need to get the
things that are troubling us out into the open. We need a new outlet
for our energies and we need a new strength beyond ourselves that
will help us face life instead of running away from it. In A.A. we find
these things that we need. Have I found the things that I need?
Meditation For The Day
Turn out all thoughts of doubt and fear and resentment. Never
tolerate them if you can help it. Bar the windows and doors of your
mind against them, as you would bar your home against a thief who would
steal in to take away your treasures. What greater treasures can you
have
than faith and courage and love? All these are stolen from you by doubt
and
fear and resentment. Face each day with peace and hope. They are
results of true faith in God. Faith gives you a feeling of protection
and
safety that you can get in no other way.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may feel protected and safe, but not only when I am in the
harbor. I pray that I may have protection and safety even in the midst
of the storms of life.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Spot-Checking,
p.
132
A spot-check inventory taken in the midst of disturbances can be of
very great help in quieting stormy emotions. Today's spot check
finds its chief application to situations which arise in each day's
march. The consideration of long-standing difficulties had better be
postponed, when possible, to times deliberately set aside for that
purpose.
The quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs, especially
those where people or new events throw us off balance and tempt us
to make mistakes.
12 & 12, pp. 90-91
***********************************************************
Walk in Dry Places
Repeating
the old hurts
Serenity
It's been pointed out that the real meaning of resentment is to
"re-feel" an old injury. This means that we let
ourselves feel again the pain we had when we were previously wronged.
Common sense tells us that this is a foolish practice. But with
emotions like resentment, common sense can be crowded out. It is a rare
person who can avoid resentment about matters that caused deep injury.
Resentment is so much a part of everyday life. In fact, that it's
considered abnormal not to resent a real wrong.
We've also been conditioned to believe that we're being spineless and
wimpy if we don't become outraged by certain injustices and wrongs.
There's a difference, however, between feeling strongly that something
is wrong and being sullen and resentful about it. The first kind of
feeling helps us remedy the problem; the second feeling simply
intensifies our hurt. Under no circumstances can we afford resentment.
I'll
make this day resentment-free, despite the currents of feeling and
bitterness around me. "Re-feeling" old injuries is not the way to
the
happier life I seek.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
You can observe a lot just by watching. Yogi Berra
When we watch others, we learn how to "act as if." We watch a
patient person, and then we "act as if we're a patient person. The
result? Over time, we'll become a patient person. We watch how good
listeners listen, and we "act as if" we know how to listen.
Then one day, we realize we're really listening! We watch people who
have
faith, and we "act as if" we have it. Then over time, we become
spiritual people!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me find You in the people
and events of my day.
Action for the Day: I will "act as if" my Higher Power is
standing next to me all
through the Day.
***********************************************************
Each Day a New Beginning
Every human being has, like Socrates, an attendant spirit; and wise are
they who obey its signals. If it does not always tell us what to do, it
always cautions us what not to do. --Lydia M. Child
Our Spirit is our inner guide. And our Spirit never, never, gives us
wrong directions. Because we're human, it's all too easy to deny the
voice from within. Some call it conscience. And our behavior, maybe
frequently, maybe occasionally, belies what our conscience knows is
right. We suffer for it.
We are trying to be healthy, emotionally, spiritually, physically. Each
day we can make progress. With each action we take, we have a choice.
Our Spirit, our conscience, should be consulted. Right choices make for
right actions that will emotionally and spiritually benefit us and the
other persons close to us.
It's comforting to rely on the inner voice. It assures us we're never
alone. No decision has to be made alone. No wrong action need ever be
taken. A sense of security accompanies the partnership between each of
us and our Spirit.
I will let the partnership work for me today.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition
Chapter 5 - HOW IT WORKS
This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were
perhaps spiritually sick. Though we did not like their symptoms
and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We
asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience
that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended we
said to ourselves, “This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him?
God save me from being angry. Thy will be done.”
p. 66-67
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth
Edition Stories
ME AN ALCOHOLIC? -
Alcohol's wringer squeezed this author--but he escaped quite whole.
After talking with him for a time, I
heard myself saying, "Doc, I think I'm an alcoholic."
"Yes," he said, surprisingly, "you are."
"Then why in God's name haven't you told me so during all these
years?"
"Two reasons," he said. "First, I couldn't be sure. The
line between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic is not always
clear. It wasn't until just lately that, in your case, I could
draw it. Second, you wouldn't have believed me even if I had told
you."
p. 385
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual
awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message
to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
Our Twelfth Step also says that as a result of practicing all the
Steps, we have each found something called a spiritual awakening. To
new A.A.'s, this often seems like a very dubious and improbable state
of affairs. "What do you mean when you talk about a `spiritual
awakening'?" they ask.
p. 106
***********************************************************
Life
is
like
a
taxi.
The meter just keeps a-ticking whether
you are
getting somewhere or just standing still.
--Lou Erickson
"Stop worrying. The bridges you cross before you come to them are
almost always over rivers that aren't there."
A person desperately searching for God is like a fish desperately
searching for water.
Principles of the Twelve Concepts
1. Responsibility
2. Reliance
3. Trust
4. Participation
5. Democracy
6. Accountability
7. Balance
8. Consistency
9. Vision
10. Clarity
11. Respect
12. Spirituality
"The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and
encouragement."
--Charles Schwab
***********************************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
RESPONSIBILITY
"Man must cease attributing his
problems to his environment and
learn again to exercise his will, his
personal responsibility in the
realm of faith and morals."
--Albert Schweitzer
God has created me to be a responsible human being and that means
that I must seriously consider the choices and decisions that could
affect my life and the lives of others. Today I understand that true
freedom can only be experienced within the restraints of a responsible
life.
For years I blamed other people for my drunken behavior - family,
bishops, job, world situations - even God! But the truth was that I
lived an irresponsible life around alcohol. I ignored the facts that
surrounded my drinking.
Today I make a responsible decision not to drink, and I also take
responsibility for my life. I cannot blame other people for the mistakes
that I made. My real freedom is experienced in my responsibility.
Give me the freedom to impose my own constraints.
***********************************************************
"Finally,
my
brethren,
be
strong
in the Lord and in the power of His
might."
Ephesians 6:10
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside
still waters. He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:2-3
Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say
to
this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it shall move; and
nothing shall be impossible to you.
Matthew 17:20
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt
you.
James 4:10
"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your
wings."
Psalm 17:8
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Today do what you can and expect no more of yourself.
Lord, I will feel joy in my accomplishments today and gratitude for the
things I have to do tomorrow.
Praise accomplishes great things. Lord, let me be your instrument in
touching lives and changing hearts.
***********************************************************
NA Just For Today
Living With Spiritual Experiences
"For meditation to be of value, the
results must show in our daily lives."
Basic Text, pp. 45-46
In working our program, we are given
many indirect indications of a Higher Power's presence in our lives:
the clean feeling that comes to so many of us in taking our Fifth Step;
the sense that we are finally on the right track when we make amends;
the satisfaction we get from helping another addict. Meditation,
however, occasionally brings us extraordinary indications of God's
presence in our lives. These experiences do not mean we have become
perfect or that we are "cured." They are tastes given us of the source
of our recovery itself, reminding us of the true nature of the thing we
are pursuing in Narcotics Anonymous and encouraging us to continue
walking our spiritual path.
Such experiences demonstrate, in no
uncertain terms, that we have tapped a Power far greater than our own.
But how do we incorporate that extraordinary Power into our ordinary
lives? Our NA friends, our sponsor, and others in our communities may
be more seasoned in spiritual matters than we are. If we ask, they can
help us fit our spiritual experiences into the natural pattern of
recovery and spiritual growth.
Just for today: I will seek whatever
answers I may need to understand my spiritual experiences and
incorporate them into my daily life.
***********************************************************
You are reading from the book Today's
Gift.
I would be honest, for there are those
who trust me. --Howard Arnold Walter
Some of those around us seem to see
only the good in us. They trust and respect us, even when we ourselves
may not feel we deserve it.
A young girl once talked about her
grandfather. She said, "He was the only person in my life who saw the
good in me." She mentioned that she sought to please her grandfather
and not disappoint the trust which he placed in her. He brought out the
best in her because of the way that he looked at her. Each of us can be
like this grandfather by focusing on the good in other people. We can
use our spiritual eyes to see love, honesty, trustworthiness, and
unselfishness in the heart of another. As we look for the good, we are
doing our part to help create it.
Do I see the good in those around me
right now?
You are reading from the book
Touchstones.
In my friend, I find a second self.
--Isabel Norton
Our mates and close friends present us
with another view on what it is to be a human being. In being close we
lower our barriers and get a feeling for what life is like from that
person's perspective. We develop a feeling of empathy for him or her,
and we multiply our life experiences by participating with others.
Through our closeness to someone, we
might be confronted by a new awareness of ourselves. We may see
something about ourselves we don't like and could never have seen on
our own. We may see how similar we are to our friends, or how
different, or how common and human our problems are. While each man
lives his own life, through empathy we are given another window on the
experience of living. Having a friend is a rich experience which
increases our wisdom about life.
I am thankful for relationships. I
feel grateful that I am not alone.
You are reading from the book Each Day
a New Beginning.
Every human being has, like Socrates,
an attendant spirit; and wise are they who obey its signals. If it does
not always tell us what to do, it always cautions us what not to do.
--Lydia M. Child
Our Spirit is our inner guide. And our
Spirit never, never, gives us wrong directions. Because we're human,
it's all too easy to deny the voice from within. Some call it
conscience. And our behavior, maybe frequently, maybe occasionally,
belies what our conscience knows is right. We suffer for it.
We are trying to be healthy,
emotionally, spiritually, physically. Each day we can make progress.
With each action we take, we have a choice. Our Spirit, our conscience,
should be consulted. Right choices make for right actions that will
emotionally and spiritually benefit us and the other persons close to
us.
It's comforting to rely on the inner
voice. It assures us we're never alone. No decision has to be made
alone. No wrong action need ever be taken. A sense of security
accompanies the partnership between each of us and our Spirit.
I will let the partnership work for me
today.
You are reading from the book The
Language of Letting Go.
Intimacy
We can let ourselves be close to
people.
Many of us have deeply ingrained
patterns for sabotaging relationships. Some of us may instinctively
terminate a relationship once it moves to a certain level of closeness
and intimacy.
When we start to feel close to
someone, we may zero in on one of the persons character defects, and
then make it so big its all we can see. We may withdraw, or push the
person away to create distance. We may start criticizing the other
person, a behavior sure to create distance.
We may start trying to control the
person, a behavior that prevents intimacy.
We may tell ourselves we don't want or
need another person, or smother the person with our needs.
Sometimes, we defeat ourselves by
trying to be close to people who aren't available for intimacy - people
with active addictions, or people who don't choose to be close to us.
Sometimes, we choose people with particular faults so that when it
comes time to be close, we have an escape hatch.
Were afraid, and we fear losing
ourselves. Were afraid that closeness means we wont be able to own our
power to take care of ourselves.
In recovery, were learning that its
okay to let ourselves be close to people. Were choosing to relate to
safe, healthy people, so closeness is a possibility. Closeness doesn't
mean we have to lose ourselves, or our life. As one man said, were
learning that we can own our power with people, even when were close,
even when the other person has something we need.
Today, I will be available for
closeness and intimacy with people, when that's appropriate. Whenever
possible, I will let myself be who I am, let others be who they are,
and enjoy the bond and good feelings between us.
When I place myself in the hands and
heart of my Higher Power today, I know that I will get my needs met.
Only then do I trust that I will come from good and love, keeping the
good of others in my mind and my heart. --Ruth Fishel
**************************************************
Journey to the Heart
Discover Inspiration Points
Sometimes, we become so caught up in
the daily grind that we forget how much beauty and inspiration our
world offers. We forget about the power of inspiration.
My favorite inspiration point in
Colorado is a small stand next to the Royal Gorge Bridge, the highest
suspension bridge in the world. The stand overlooks the gorge, offering
a magnificent overview of canyons, mountains, peaks, and plains. In
Bryce Canyon, the place called Inspiration Point overlooks massive
canyons. From that vantage point, you can see delicately shaped
spirals, in the orange iron color so prominent in the canyon,
surrounded by the lighter sandstone and sulfur peaks.
What inspires you? Discover
inspiration points– those high places of the spirit from which you can
see more, see more clearly, see more beautifully. Spend time taking in
a grander view of life. See how calming and inspiring it is. See how
you return to life with vigor, enthusiasm, and passion.
Visit places that invigorate your
soul, help you see the larger picture. Find places in your home, your
community, your state. Look for that place in yourself, that sacred
inspiration point within you, where your soul and heart see the larger
picture, where you and your ideas come to life, where you make the
connection between your soul and the world around you. Seek the power
of inspiration.
Inspiration points abound. Open up.
Look around. When you seek inspiration, it will come to you.
**************************************************
More language of letting go
Say when it’s time to save your own
life
I jumped out of the plane, and my jump
master followed close behind. This was going to be a fun jump. We were
going to play Simon Says in the air.
He did a 360-degree turn to the right.
I turned,too. He turned to the left, and I did the same. Then he did a
back loop. Okay, I thought. Here I go. I jerked my knees up, but
instead of back looping, I rolled onto my side and went into a spin.
With each spin, I whirled faster and faster.
I tried to arch, the body position
that would get me falling belly down and stable, and make it safe to
pull my parachute, but my body movements weren’t working the way they
were supposed to work. Maybe if I push my right arm out further, or
maybe it’s my left leg, I thought.
My jump master watched me whirling
like a fan blade. He tried to catch me each time I whirled around, but
he couldn’t get ahold. I kept focusing on trying to stop my spin.
Finally, he yanked my hand, pointing to my altimeter.
My God, I was getting low. In less
then thirty seconds, I’d hit the ground and my life would be done. I’d
be dead.
The moral of this story is simple. I
learned it when I joined my jump master back on the ground. “What are
you going to do,” he asked, “spend the rest of your life trying to gain
control?”
Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up
in a situation. We get so focused on the details of figuring out how to
solve a problem that we can’t fix, that we lose sight of the time. Our
lives are whizzing by, and the ground is coming close.
Have you gotten caught up in trying to
control something you can’t? If you have, maybe it’s time to stop
trying to fix it and instead save your own life.
God, grant me awareness of what I meed
to do to take care of myself.
**************************************************
The Power Within
Energy 101 by Madisyn Taylor
Energy cannot be destroyed, but it be
changed and transformed.
There is an undercurrent of energy
thrumming through the Universe. Like the wind or a whisper, we can
sometimes hear it and often feel it. Most of the time, we sense this
energy unconsciously without any tangible proof it is really there.
Thoughts, emotions, and the life force in all living things are forms
of this kind of energy. So are creativity, growth, and change. The
impressions, images, and vague premonitions we get about people and
situations are other examples of formless energy. When you enter a
space and feel an “intangible tension” in the air that gives you a
sense of foreboding in your gut, what you are likely experiencing is
energy.
Energy cannot be destroyed, but it can
be transformed or transferred from one person, thing, or source to
another. Though energy is formless, it does take form and shape in the
way it flows and resides within all things: a grain of sand, a bird, a
stone, and an ocean wave. Living things radiate complex vibrations
while nonliving things’ vibrations are simpler. Energy is a magnifier
that can attract like energies while repelling disparate ones. Many of
our reactions to people and circumstances are based on unconscious
reactions to their energies. We may even intuitively tune into the
energy of a situation we are facing when making a decision about how to
proceed. With careful practice and meditation, we can learn to sense
the energy within other living things and ourselves. We can also become
more attuned to how we are impacted by different kinds of energy. For
instance, being around too many energies can leave one person feeling
edgy or excited, while another person will fe! el tired and drained.
While some people feel that energy can
be controlled, others see it is as the unknowable force that moves
through all things. The combined energy in all things plays a hand in
birth, death, growth, movement, and stillness. Practitioners of Aikido
believe that all living beings share a common energy source that is our
life force. Whatever your beliefs, it is worthwhile to explore the
roles energy plays in your life so you can understand it more fully.
Published with permission from Daily OM
**************************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
My courage must come each day, as does
my desire to avoid a single drink, a single tranquilizer, a single
addictive act. It must be a continuing courage, without deviations and
procrastination, without rashness, and without fear of obstacles. This
would seem like a large order indeed, were it not for the fact that it
is confined to this one day, and that within this day much power is
given to me. Do I extend the Serenity Prayer to my entire life.
Today I Pray
May each new morning offer me a supply
of courage to last me during the day. If my courage is renewed each day
and I know that I need just a day’s worth, that courage will always be
fresh and the supply will not run out. May I realize, as days pass,
that what I feared during the earliest days of my recovery I no longer
fear, that my daily courage is now helping me cope with bigger problems.
Today I Will Remember
God Give Me Courage – Just For Today.
**************************************************
One More Day
Every day cannot be a feast of
lanterns. – Chinese Proverb
Many of us sometimes feel as though
our lives are boring, as though each day is too predictable and
routine. I’m missing something, we may think to ourselves, or there has
to be more to life than this.
It’s those times that we can remind
ourselves to think of life as a journey. As with any lengthy trip, this
one, too, has days in which the scenery is monotonous and uninspiring.
But we’re moving; we’re making progress in our personal growth, an dour
attitudes are improving. Routine is not a bad thing, and it can be a
good element of our lives when it gives form and balance to our days.
Routine is often what gives us the time and energy to tackle new
projects or to make changes.
Today, I will enjoy the calmness of my
life. Within this calmness, I will dream and make plans for making my
life even fuller.
************************************
Food For Thought
People Pleasing
If we are too intent on pleasing others, we may lose ourselves. All of
us want and need approval from other people, but sometimes we work too
hard for external admiration and not hard enough for our own
self-regard. If we spend all of our time and energy trying to please
others, we never find out who we are and what pleases us.
When we were overeating and felt guilty about that, we may have thought
that we needed to do what others wanted us to do in order to somehow
make up for overeating. If we didn't look attractive, we could at least
be pleasing in other ways!
People pleasing, however, is not confined to those who are overweight.
Many people try to find their self-worth and reason for existence in
the impression they think they are making on the outside world. It is
an easy trap for all of us to fall into.
When we find our center in the life of the Spirit, we become less
concerned about pleasing others. As we grow emotionally and
spiritually, we begin to discover our giant Self. Through this program,
we can find out who we are and what is pleasing to the best that is in
us.
May I first seek to please You.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
WORRY
Don't worry about the world coming to
an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia.
Charles Schultz
Worry...that's a topic I'm really good
at! Since working the Twelve Steps, however, I am beginning to see some
things about worry that, hopefully, will soon make it a thing of the
past in my life. After all, why should I worry? What has worry ever
done for me, except mess up my life?
I am seeing that when I am worrying
about something, I have not turned it over to my Higher Power, and I am
continuing to act from my own self-will. Or, I did turn it over to my
Higher Power, but didn't really trust Him to take care of it, and so I
took it back!
I had a breakthrough, just a couple of
days ago, concerning worry. I was concerned about a decision my husband
and I had to make and it was so far beyond my ability to see into the
future that I gave up and prayed for help. Somehow I let go and let
God. Suddenly a beautiful stillness and peace came over me. I felt
calmer than I had in years ... very calm and still and at peace. I felt
completely reassured that God was handling my "decision" and that God
was completely competent to do so.
One Day at a Time . . .
I abandon worry. I let go and let God,
and enjoy the serenity and peace of trust in God.
~ Lynne T.
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
To be doomed to an alcoholic death or
to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face.
- Pg. 44 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
You will probably misjudge and
misunderstand many people and their motives for a time. The muddled
thinking of early recovery has a way of making us take things the wrong
way. Remember your vulnerability and that withdrawal distorts thinking.
Don't be hard on yourself or those around you. Do nothing permanent for
eight months to a year. This way your regrets will be minimized.
God, as I understand You, hold my
tongue from uttering words and restrain my steps from moving in
directions that I may one day regret.
Recall a Pleasant Moment: Soothe the
Heart and You Soothe the Self
You can calm and nourish your heart by
regularly meditating or praying. These activities produce the
'relaxation response' - a physiological state that is exactly the
opposite of stress, a state that reduces blood pressure and increases
blood flow to the heart. Many forms of meditation and prayer
organically incorporate feelings of love, appreciation and forgiveness.
Some traditional Buddhist practice use 'loving-kindness meditation,'
during which they focus their attention on the heart and generate
feelings of loving kindness for others and themselves. Not only does
this create the feelings in your mind, but it creates them in the body
as well. A form of such 'intentional heart focus' has been found by the
HeartMath researchers to create greater coherence in the heart in as
little as one minute. To experience the benefits of this 'intentional
heart focus,' try the following next time you're feeling stressed: Take
a break and mentally disengage from the situation. Bring your attention
to the area of your heart. Recall an experience with a loved one in
which you felt happiness, love or appreciation or just meditate for a
moment on those kinds of thoughts and feelings.
Re-experience these feelings while
keeping your attention on your heart. Let your breathing be relaxed and
regular.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
'When one is a stranger to oneself
then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with
oneself, then one cannot touch others.' ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gifts
From the Sea 1955
I cannot touch others if I am not in
touch with myself. I keep in touch with myself through Step Ten.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
The best things in life aren't things.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
When I place myself in the hands and
heart of my Higher Power today, I know that I will get my needs met.
Only then do I trust that I will come from good and love, keeping the
good of others in my mind and my heart.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Say what you mean, but don't say it
mean. - Anon.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
May 12
Absolute Certainty
The central part 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.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 25
Thought to Ponder . . .
Life is an ongoing miracle.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
G I F T = God Is Forever There.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Forgiveness
"The moment we ponder a twisted or
broken relationship
with another person,
our emotions go on the defensive.
To escape looking at the wrongs we
have done another,
we resentfully focus
on the wrong he has done us.
This is especially true if he has, in
fact,
behaved badly at all.
Triumphantly, we seize upon his
misbehavior
as the perfect excuse for minimizing
or forgetting our own.
If we are now about to ask forgiveness
for ourselves,
why shouldn't we start out by
forgiving them, one and all?"
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, p. 78
Thought to Consider . . .
We are prisoners of our own
resentments.
Forgiveness unlocks the door and sets
us free.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
KISS
Keep It Simple, Surrender
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Reborn
From "Bill's Story":
"Trembling, I stepped from the
hospital a broken man. Fear sobered me for a bit. Then came the
insidious insanity of
that first drink, and on Armistice Day
1934, I was off again. Everyone became resigned to the certainty that I
would have
to be shut up somewhere, or would
stumble along to a miserable end. How dark it is before the dawn! In
reality that was
the beginning of my last debauch. I
was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension
of existence. I
was to know happiness, peace, and
usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time
passes."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 8
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"I'm still mystified by how I got
sober, and the only answer that makes sense is that I stopped drinking
through the grace
of God. I was thinking about the
difference between those of us who get sober and those who are still
drinking, and I
believe the difference is that we have
accepted the grace that was offered. Every day, my Higher Power gives
me the
grace to be sober, and every day I
make the choice not to drink, to accept the grace."
La Crescenta, Calif., February 1993
"The Gift of Sobriety,"
AA Grapevine
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve
Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"We constantly remind ourselves we are
no longer running the show,
humbly saying to ourselves many times
each day "Thy will be done." We
are then in much less danger of
excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-
pity, or foolish decisions. We become
much more efficient. We do
not tire so easily, for we are not
burning up energy foolishly as we
did when we were trying to arrange
life to suit ourselves."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Into Action, pg. 87~
"In thinking about our day we may
face indecision. We may not be
able to determine which course to
take. Here we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought or a
decision. We relax and take
it easy. We don't struggle. We are
often surprised how the right
answers come after we have tried this
for a while."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition,
Into Action, pg. 86
Practically every A.A. member declares
that no satisfaction has been deeper and no joy greater than in a
Twelfth Step job well done.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.
110
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Spot-Checking
A spot-check inventory taken in the
midst of disturbances can be of very great help in quieting stormy
emotions.
Today's spot check finds its chief
application to situations which arise in each day's march. The
consideration of long-
standing difficulties had better be
postponed, when possible, to times deliberately set aside for that
purpose.
The quick inventory is aimed at our
daily ups and downs, especially those where people or new events throw
us off
balance and tempt us to make mistakes.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 90-91
Prayer For The Day: The night has passed, the sun shines its
light upon us, and the day lies open before me. As I rejoice in the
gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence fill me with
love for you and my fellow man, holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Abide with me, I pray, now and forever. Amen.