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

As Bill Sees It

A.A. In Two Words, p.271

"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can
be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.

"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater
willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations--these are
truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They
hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by
them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Talk, 1965 (Printed In Grapevine, January 1966)

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

Walk In Dry Places
 
When should I be Grateful?
Gratitude
One spiritual writer believed that our only reason for gratitude should
be that we are part of God's universe. Others point out that gratitude
helps us, not God or the other people to whom we are grateful.
Their point is that it's not very uplifting simply to tie our gratitude to
certain gifts or benefits. Such gratitude is fairly shallow and is almost
no more than good manners. As recovering alcoholics, we need more
than that.
The best reason for gratitude is the outlook it creates as we cultivate it
within ourselves. We will actually feel mentally and physically uplifted if
we know true gratitude. This is the true spiritual outlook alcoholics seek
in the bottle but can find only in the new way of life.
I'll find ways to practice gratitude today without letting others know what
I'm doing.

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

Keep It Simple
 
Al didn’t smile for forty years. You’ve got to admire a man like that.
From the TV show, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”
Remember how we used to live? We were always trying to cover up some
lie or mistake.
We were all like Al. Our energy was going into our illness, not into living.
Gratitude is the key word in the program. Gratitude is being thankful for
the getting to know our Higher Power. Remember what it was like to not
smile for all those years?
Recovery has given us back our smiles. What a relief! We can relax and
enjoy our new life.
Prayer for the Day:  I pray that I’ll always remember what is was like when
I was using. I pray that I’ll not take my recovery for granted. I pray for gratitude.
Action For the Day:  I will list all the things the program and recovery have
given me. I will smile about them today.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Female friendships that work are relationships in which women help each
other to belong to themselves.  --Louise Bernikow
To have anything worth giving to a friend, we must belong to ourselves. Are
we someone we like? Does our behavior agree with our beliefs? Do our
friends share our values, and when we are together do we support one another?
If we don't like our own company, we will try to hide our real selves. The more
we hide, the further we are running from wholeness and health. We can assess
ourselves, calmly and lovingly, so that we can keep on becoming the women we
want to be. The more congruent are our behavior and our beliefs, the more we
belong to ourselves. The better we like ourselves, the better friends we can be.
The love and sympathy of my women friends can help me in my spiritual journey
toward serenity, and I can help theirs. Today, I will accompany others on their
journey, and thus find company for my own.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword to First Edition

This is the Foreword as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

We are not an organization in the conventional sense of the word. There are no fees or dues whatsoever. The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking. We are not allied with any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone. We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted.

pp. xiii-xiv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

It was never my intention to end up in A.A.  If someone mentioned perhaps I drank too much, I laughed at them,  I didn't drink any more than my friends.  I never got drunk when I didn't want to--never mind that I always wanted to.  I couldn't be an alcoholic.  I was too young.  Life was my problem.  If I could just get a handle on things, then I could drink.

pp. 312-313

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Twelve - "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

When the Big Book appeared in 1939, we called it "Alcoholics Anonymous." Its foreword mad this revealing statement: "It is important that we remain anonymous because are too few, at present, to handle the overwhelming number of personal appeals which may result from this publication. Being mostly business or professional folk, we could not well carry on our occupations in such an event." Between these lines, it is easy to read our fear that large numbers of incoming people might break our anonymity wide open.

pp. 184-185

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

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
--Hyman Judah Schactel

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
--Mother Theresa

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in
your years."
--Abraham Lincoln

"Being rich isn't about money. Being rich is a state of mind. Some of
us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to
take time to stop and eat the heart of the watermelon. And some of us
will be rich without ever being more than a paycheck ahead of the
game."
--Harvey B. Mackay

"If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty of the sunset."
--Krishnamurti

"Sometimes you have to get to rock bottom in order to see the right way back up."
--Kate Bell

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BLACKOUTS

"It is human nature to think
wisely and act foolishly."
-- Anatole France

I experienced blackouts in my drinking. Often I would wake up and not
know where I had been, what I had said or what I had done. I would
awake to peer through windows searching for my car. I would
telephone to find out what time I had left the party and if anything had
happened. Often as I bathed I would discover bruises or bleeding from
an unremembered incident.

There were other times I knew what I had done, knew what I had said,
remembered how I behaved -- and yet still I went back for more. I
drank alcoholically for years because my pride would not allow me to
be alcoholic. I created the wisest excuses for staying sick!

Today my sobriety requires a wisdom that is based on reality.

Lord of action, teach me to place my feet alongside my best thinking.

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

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me."
Luke 9:23

A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 16:1

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

Daily Inspiration

Start something you've been putting off or finish something you've started
so that you can remove the frustration that comes with procrastination.
Lord, help me in my little way to do my little part to make this day a little better.

With our blessings come responsibilities. Much is required of those to whom much
has been given. Lord, may I use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

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

NA Just For Today

Just For Today

"When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably."
Basic Text, p.96

"Just for today" - it's a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for recovery. Living in tomorrow means moving in with fear.

We cannot see the shape of the secret future, and uncertainty brings worry. Our lives look overwhelming when we lose the focus of today.

Living in the moment offers freedom. In this moment, we know that we are safe. We are not using, and we have everything we need. What's more, life is happening in the here and now. The past is gone and the future has yet to arrive; our worrying won't change any of it. Today, we can enjoy our recovery, this very minute.

Just for today: I will stay in the here and now. Today - this moment - I am free.
pg. 283

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
When people envy me I think, Oh God, don't envy me, I have my own pains. --Barbra Streisand
A forest is full of many different kinds of trees--they are all sizes and shapes and shades of color. It is hard to imagine a pine tree wishing it was an oak. Or a fir tree envying the birch its white bark. Instead, each tree catches raindrops and reflects the sunshine in its own way.
We often find ourselves envying someone else. We think they have more money or more friends. We see them as better looking or luckier in some way than we are.
It is so easy to overlook our own gifts when we do this. We get fooled by what looks good and forget that all human beings have some weaknesses and pain, just like we do. Like the trees in the forest, we each have our own unique beauty and talents to offer. If we believe in ourselves, rather than envy those around us, we will grow green and tall in our own way.
What qualities do I have that someone might envy?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Life without idealism is empty indeed. We must have hope or starve to death. --Pearl Buck
Our ideals, the principles that order our lives, are essential to a healing life. Some of us have lived a pattern in which we did not know what we believed. If someone we liked stated a viewpoint, we might wear it for a while like a new shirt - but with no personal commitment. Others of us have indulged in negativism and hopelessness. Life is more fulfilling when we assert our beliefs and give ourselves to them. As human beings, we are unable to perfectly live out our beliefs, but we become whole men by giving our energies to the attempt.
Is beauty in music, art, and nature a worthwhile ideal for us? Are fairness and justice for all people what we value? Are love and brotherhood ideals we hold dear? When we dare assert these values in our lives, they are life giving to us. They mature us. Reaching for what is worthwhile, rather than cursing what is not, gives us a design for making all our choices, and we have hope.
I will dare to meet my negativism with my ideals. My spiritual health will give me life.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Female friendships that work are relationships in which women help each other to belong to themselves. --Louise Bernikow
To have anything worth giving to a friend, we must belong to ourselves. Are we someone we like? Does our behavior agree with our beliefs? Do our friends share our values, and when we are together do we support one another?
If we don't like our own company, we will try to hide our real selves. The more we hide, the further we are running from wholeness and health. We can assess ourselves, calmly and lovingly, so that we can keep on becoming the women we want to be. The more congruent are our behavior and our beliefs, the more we belong to ourselves. The better we like ourselves, the better friends we can be.
The love and sympathy of my women friends can help me in my spiritual journey toward serenity, and I can help theirs. Today, I will accompany others on their journey, and thus find company for my own.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
The Importance of Money
We cannot afford to allow our focus in life to be money. That will not lead us into the abundance we're seeking. Usually, it will not even lead to financial stability.
Money is important. We deserve to be paid what we're worth. We will be paid what we're worth when we believe we deserve to be. But often your plans fail when our primary consideration is money.
What do we really want to do? What do we feel led to do? What are our instincts telling us? What do we feel guided to do? What are we excited about doing? Seek to find a way to do that, without worrying about the money.
Consider the financial aspects. Set boundaries about what you need to be paid. Be reasonable. Expect to start at the bottom, and work up. But if you feel led toward a job, go for it.
Is there something we truly don't want to do, something that goes against our grain, but we are trying to force ourselves into it "for the money?" Usually, that's a behavior that backfires. It doesn't work. We make ourselves miserable, and the money usually goes wrong too.
I have learned that when I am true to myself about work and what I need to be doing, the money will follow. Sometimes it's not as much as I want; sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, and it's more. But I'm content, and I have enough.
Money is a consideration, but it cannot be our primary consideration if we are seeking spiritual security and peace of mind.
Today, I will make money a consideration, but I will not allow it to become my primary consideration. God, help me be true to myself and trust that the money will follow.


I love myself and all that I am today. My fears are just one part of all that I am. I am a human being on a progressive path to recovery and every part of me is important in the making up of who I am. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Journey to the Heart
Do Something Nice for Someone Today

Why wait for Christmas? Do something nice for someone today. Give a gift, even when it isn't someone's birthday. Give a gift of love and joy.

Feeling down? Frustrated? Instead of depriving yourself when you already feel bad enough, do something nice for yourself. Love yourself. Be kind, gentle, and nurturing to yourself. Treat yourself to a new book, a bouquet of flowers, a sweater, or a hat-- something that will bring you joy. Take yourself to a movie. Or give yourself a free gift of love-- a walk, a bath, a relaxing afternoon in the sun. Send a card to yourself. Give yourself comforting, encouraging words. Tell yourself how well you've done and that you've done your best.

Give words of love and encouragement to others,too. Tell them you appreciate them. Tell them you think they're wonderful. Tell them they're perfect. When you give gifts of love to others, you give them to yourself.

Sometimes, the gift people need is words of love. "I pray for you every morning," my friend told me. "I ask God to bless you and help you. Then I talk to your angels. I tell them to take special care of you all day long and bring you lots of joy." That's one of the nicest gifts I've ever received.

You don't have to wait for Christmas to give gifts of love and joy. Give that love to others and yourself. Give it often. Give it freely. Give it all year round.

*****

more language of letting go
Remember to take care of yourself

Jenna started dating a new man. Like many women, she was a little frustrated with all the losers that had come along before. She thought she'd put this one to the test. She wanted to see how good he'd be to her.

So when he called her up and asked her what she wanted to do, she told him she thought he should take her on a little trip.

"Hawaii would be nice," she said. "You get us the tickets. And find someplace nice for us to stay when we get there. I don't want to be in a cheesy hotel."

He had enough money in the bank. The trip, she thought, would be exquisite and luxurious. She envisioned the first-class air travel, the limos, and the home he'd rent complete with maid service and a cook.

When the day of the trip arrived, they took a taxi, not a limo, to the airport. And when she boarded the airplane, he led her back to coach. When the flight attendant came around asking if people wanted to rent movies, her boyfriend shook his head and went back to reading his book. She had to dig out the four dollars to pay for the movie.

She sat scrunched up in her seat, all the way to Hawaii. When they got there, he took her to a time-share condo. Then he drove her in the rental car to the grocery store and said, "Pick out what you want to cook."

Throughout the vacation she spent a lot of time stewing in her head, but when they got home, she decided to give him one more chance.

So when he called her up and asked her what she wanted to do Friday night, she said she thought a movie would be nice. She hung up the phone, then dressed up and did her hair. She thought maybe he'd take her to a nice theater.

He picked her up, then drove to the nearest Blockbuster. "Go in and pick out whatever video you'd like to rent," he said. "Do you want to watch it at your place or mine?

The moral of this story is twofold and simple. The first lesson is if you know exactly what you want, you need to spell it out clearly. The second is that it's better not to expect people to take care of us. Even if they agree to do it, we might not like how they do the job.

While it's nice to have people love us and do things for us, it's better to plan on taking care of ourselves.

God, help me remember that it's my job to take care of myself.

*****

The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Nothing Is Insurmountable

When our next best course of action seems unclear, any dilemmas we face can appear insurmountable. Yet there is nothing we cannot overcome with time, persistence, focused thought, help, and faith. Whatever the situation or problem, there is always a solution. And if you remember to look within, even as you search around you for the “right” course of action, you will be able to center yourself, clear your mind, and see that nothing has to be impossible.

The first step in overcoming any obstacle is to believe that it can be overcome. Doing so will give you the strength and courage to move through any crisis. The second step is to make a resolution that you can prevail over any chaos. Enlist your support network of family and friends if necessary. The more minds there are to consider a problem, the more solutions can be found. Don’t discount ideas just because they seem impractical or “unrealistic,” and don’t keep searching for the “best” alternative. Often there is no “best” choice, there is only a choice to make so we can begin moving beyond whatever is obstructing our path. At the very least, making a choice, even if isn’t the ideal one, can give you a sense of peace before you have to figure out what your next course of action will be.

If you feel overwhelmed by the scope of your troubles, you may want to think of other people who have turned adversity into triumph. We often gain a fresh perspective when we remember others who have overcome larger obstacles. It can be inspiring to hear of their victories, helping us remember that there is always light at the end of every tunnel. It is during our darkest hours that we sometimes need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to feel helpless. You have within and around you the resources to find a solution to any problem. And remember that if a solution or choice you make doesn’t work, you are always free to try another. Believe that you can get through anything, and you will always prevail. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

In our first weeks or months in The Program, our shaky emotional condition sometimes affects our feelings toward old friends and family. For many of us, these relationships heal quickly in the initial stages of our recovery. For others, a time of “touchiness” seems to persist; now that we’re no longer drinking or using other chemicals, we have to sort out our feelings about spouse, children, relatives, employer, fellow workers, and even neighbors. Experience in The Program over the years has taught that we should avoid making important decisions early in our recovery — especially emotion-charged decisions about people. Am I becoming better equipped to relate maturely to other people?

Today I Pray

May God help me through the edginess, the confusion of re-feeling and re-thinking my relationships, the “getting-it-all-together” stages of my recovery. May I not rush into new relationships or new situations that demand and investment of my emotions — not yet.

Today I Will Remember

No entangling alliances too soon.

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

One More Day

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our culture encourages a quest for outer beauty, even though we know it is more important to have inner beauty. This is the beauty truly valued by others. We can live joyfully; we can delight in discovering and enjoying beauty. We are surrounded with loveliness in nature and in people’s thoughts, words, and deeds. To accept that beauty, we must carry within ourselves a sensitivity, an appreciation for what is offered, and that sensitivity is a large part of the beauty we carry within us.

Life is full of beauty. I will keep my eyes open to the beauty that is in others, in nature, and in myself.

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

Food For Thought

The Satisfaction of Work

Using our God-given talents and abilities to do the work He assigns us brings deep satisfaction. Many of us used to eat a lot of “idle bread” which we did not need. Now that we are eating less, we find that we derive satisfaction from working more.

Work is an opportunity to give away the gifts we are given. It is sharing which requires effort and discipline. If we do not work up to our maximum level of ability, our satisfaction is reduced. As we give away our gifts, we are given more.

Maintaining abstinence improves the quality of our work and increases our output. Instead of doing just enough to get by, we are challenged to give the best that we have. Abstaining from compulsive overeating can give us the courage and confidence to change jobs when necessary.

When we are emotionally upset, turning to a task, which absorbs us physically or mentally, or both can have a healing effect. Rather than a curse, work can be a blessing, especially when we realize that ultimately we are working with and for our Higher Power.

We give thanks for the satisfaction of work.

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

One Day At A Time

Togetherness
“Take my hand, and no matter how dark the night,
the light of day will come, and we will share the tomorrow.”
Ken Grant

When we first walk into our recovery rooms, we are all afraid: afraid of more rejection, afraid of more failure, and afraid of more loneliness. Once we sit and listen, we realize that we are not much different than the other people there. We ease up, start sharing, begin trusting our Higher Power and ourselves more.

Our darkness of the past is drawn out by our sharing with other addicts. We realize our deep, dark secrets are not as bad as we thought.

We are not alone! Then hand-in-hand, we begin climbing the ladder of recovery and the light of day begins to shine brighter and brighter.

One Day at a Time . . .
When we let our guard down and let Higher Power
and other people in, we learn that at the end of a
dark day is the light of our next today. We learn
that together we can do what we can never do alone.
~ Jeanette

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and no one is angry or hurt. But not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation of all things worth while in life. It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer's. It brings misunderstanding, fierce resentment, financial insecurity, disgusted friends and employers, warped lives of blameless children, sad wives and parents - anyone can increase the list. - Pg. 18 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now you don't have to pretend to be someone you are not. You don't have to pretend to be strong (if you're a man) or weak (if you're a woman). You don't have to pretend that you don't want to use, if you do--share what is real. We can't help if we don't know the truth.

Grant me the courage to simply be who I am, say what is real in my gut, and respond genuinely to others.

Hypervigilance

Living with this disease has been traumatic for me and for those I love. All of the symptoms of trauma have become a part of who we are. That's why we need to do so much work to recover. We're not just recovering from the disease of addiction, we're recovering from the symptoms of emotional and psychological trauma. My fear apparatus got very much overused in my family. I was constantly geared up for fight or flight. And when I couldn't do either of those I froze in my tracks, I went numb inside, I shut down. But all of that pain that I shut down stayed inside of me. It show up in my life as a delayed reaction, even though I am not still living under the same kind of stress as I did surrounded by active addiction, my body and mind carry the imprint of that trauma and over react. I live as if the stressor is still present. My old pain and anger are surfacing after the fact in a post traumatic stress reaction.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

You spend more time with yourself than with anyone else. Doesn't it make sense to put something into that relationship?

I am my own best friend and value my own companionship.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Few of us realize that God is all we need until God is all we have.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am one of the miracles of this universe and I am connected to everything that was ever created.

I can pick up the phone or sit in quiet meditation, choosing to make a contact with a friend or with my Higher Power or with both.

Today I know that I am never alone.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm not one who says that sobriety is a life beyond my wildest dreams - I could have dreamed up something far wilder than this. - Lorna K.

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

AA Thought for the Day

September 29

One Day At A Time
The 24-hour plan is very flexible. We can start it afresh at any time, wherever we are.
At home, at work, in a bar or in a hospital room, at 4:00 p.m. or at 3:00 a.m.,
we can decide right then not to take a drink during the forthcoming 24 hours or five minutes. . .
But today is always here. Life is daily; today is all we have; and anybody can go one day without drinking.
- Living Sober, p. 7

Thought to Ponder . . .
If I don't drink today, I have the hope of a tomorrow.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.

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

Booby Traps
"We must avoid quick-tempered criticism
and furious, power-driven argument.
The same goes for sulking and silent scorn.
These are emotional booby traps baited with pride
and vengefulness.
Our first job is to sidestep the traps.
When we are tempted by the bait,
we should train ourselves to step back and think.
For we can neither think nor act to good purpose
until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 91

Thought to Consider . . .
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits

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

Greatest Possession
From: "The Family Afterward"
This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have - the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 124

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

"I've never taken my sobriety for granted because I know I'm only one drink away from ruining my life."
Jamaica Plain, Mass., May 1997
"The Littlest Things"
No Matter What: Dealing with Adversity in Sobriety

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

"If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to
let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct
continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not
theorizing. These are facts out of our experience."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~

"Remember that we deal with alcohol- cunning, baffling, powerful!
Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all
power- that One is God. May you find Him now!"
Alcoholics Anonymous p.58-59

We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.17

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 105

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!

Prayer for the Day: The Right Road - Dear God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself...and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe this: I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. I hope I have that desire in everything I do. I hope I never persist in anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it at the time. Therefore I will trust You always, for though I may be lost - and in the shadow of death - I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles all alone. --Thomas Merton