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AA Thought For Today - August
AA Thought for the Day
August 1 Fellowship In AA, afflicted men and woman have recaptured the lost art of fellowship. We came together because we were in trouble. We leave our references and credentials at the door. We learn that we can recover from this trouble through the most powerful remedy in the world for sick souls -- the face-to-face relation, respect for one another as human beings, and the right to live well as complete persons. - Thank You For Sharing, p. 58 Thought to Ponder . . . Together we can do what we could never do alone. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Wonders "Out of every season of grief or suffering, when the hand of God seemed heavy or even unjust, new lessons for living were learned, new resources of courage were uncovered, and that finally, inescapably, the conviction came that God does 'move in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.' " 1953AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 105 Thought to Consider . . . Joy is the infallible presence of God. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* G O D = Good Orderly Direction *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* School Vacation From: "Building a New Life" The next summer I began working construction during school vacation. I was working with the older men, and at the end of the day, I went to the bar with them. The bartender would put the beer in front of the man next to me, but it was intended for me. I loved Fridays - payday - when we went out and got loaded. I started getting liquor on weekends so I could go to dances. I was hanging around with guys who drank like me. We'd put our money together to get enough booze for the night, and because I looked older, I bought the liquor. I could talk to the girls. I was a big shot with the guys because I had the booze and the girls. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 477 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The grace of the Fellowship and the principles of the program carry us through the tough spots as well as the times of joy. Whether we are sober 33 days or 33 years, we each receive our daily reprieve from active alcoholism by working this program to the best of our ability, one day at a time." Providence, R.I., March 2009 "The Bottom of the Glass" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152 "The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17 "These were revolutionary and drastic proposals, but the moment I fully accepted them, the effect was electric." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 14 (Bill's Story) "So in a very complete and literal way, all A.A.'s have "become entirely ready" to have God remove the mania for alcohol from their lives." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 64 (Step Six) Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to fully surrender my life today and accept what must be done. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 2 A New Beginning I knew I had to have a new beginning, and this beginning had to be here. I could not start anywhere else. I had to let go of the past and forget the future. As long as I held on to the past with one hand and grabbed at the future with the other hand, I had nothing to hold on to today with. So I had to begin here, now. - Came To Believe . . ., p. 46 Thought to Ponder . . . If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A B C = Accept, Begin, Continue. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Responsibility "Our spiritual way of life is safe for future generations if, as a Society, we resist the temptation to receive money from the outside world. But this leaves us with a responsibility - one that every member ought to understand. We cannot skimp when the treasurer of our group passes the hat. Our groups, our areas, and AA as a whole will not function unless our services are sufficient and their bills are paid. When we meet and defeat the temptation to take large gifts, we are only being prudent. But when we are generous with the hat we give a token that we are grateful for our blessings and evidence that we are eager to share what we have found with all those who still suffer." Bill W., November 1957 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 221 Thought to Consider . . . The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Name >From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "The Akron and New York groups had been voting for months on possible titles [for the Big Book]. This had become an after-the-meeting form of amusement and interest. The title 'Alcoholics Anonymous' had appeared very early in the discussion, probably in October, 1938. We do not know who first used these words. After we New Yorkers had left the Oxford Groups in 1937 we often described ourselves as a 'nameless bunch of alcoholics.' From this phrase it was only a step to the idea of 'Alcoholics Anonymous.' This was its actual derivation." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 165 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Spirituality is not based on logic, it is faith-driven. Faith makes the impossible possible." Sacramento, Calif, September 2005 "Skating Through Life" In Our Own Words: Stories of Young AAs in Recovery *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~ "When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 51~ "We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 133 (The Family Afterward) "In 2003, it is estimated that over two million have recovered through A.A." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 15 (Foreword) Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank you for allowing me to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Please give me the compassion to carry my experience, strength, and hope to others today. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 3 Faith If all I have is a dollar in my pocket and I'm at a meeting, logic tells me to save it for myself for later. If I give it to AA, and have faith in the process, it will come back to me in ways I can't even imagine. Spirituality is not based on logic, it is faith-driven. Faith makes the impossible possible. The AA Grapevine, September 2005 Thought to Ponder . . . Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Vigilance "Now that we're in AA and sober, and winning back the esteem of our friends and business associates, we find that we still need to exercise special vigilance. As an insurance against 'big-shot-ism' we can often check ourselves by remembering that we are today sober only by the grace of God and that any success we may be having is far more His success than ours." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 92 Thought to Consider . . . The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing ... my sobriety. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* P U T = Patience, Understanding, Tolerance *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Change >From "A New Man": "But the real miracle was what happened to him in the next ten years. He began helping people. I mean helping! No call has been too hard, too inconvenient, too 'hopeless.' He founded the A.A. group in his town, and he is embarrassed if you mention this to others or comment on the amount of A.A. work he is doing. "He is not the same man I was trying to twelfth-step. I failed in all my efforts to help the man I knew. And then Someone else provided a new man. - Bernardsville, New Jersey, USA" 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 15 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "I think my Higher Power stepped in and started leading me out of the alcoholic life, as I seemed incapable of doing it on my own." Alexandria, Va., April 2002 "A Real War Story" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends ,this is an experience you must not miss." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~ "Much has already been said about receiving strength, inspiration, and direction from Him who has all knowledge and power. If we have carefully followed directions, we have begun to sense the flow of His Spirit into us. To some extent we have become God-conscious. We have begun to develop this vital sixth sense. But we must go further and that means more action." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~ "Offer him friendship and fellowship." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 95 (Working With Others) "The intense relief on my friend's face warmed my heart." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 162 (Tradition Seven) Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to be friendly toward all those I meet today. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 4 Change The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails. - As Bill Sees It, p. 115 Thought to Ponder . . . In order to change the way I feel, I need to change the way I act. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F E E L = Feel, Experience, Express, Let go. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Resentment "If you have a resentment you want to be rid of, if you will pray for the person or the thing you resent, you will be free. If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free. Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness, and you will be free. Even when you don't really want it for them, and your prayers are only words and you don't mean it, go ahead and do it anyway. Do it every day for two weeks and you will find you have come to mean it and to want it for them, and you will realize that where you used to feel bitterness and resentment and hatred, you now feel compassionate understanding and love." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 552 Thought to Consider . . . An expectation is a premeditated resentment. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* F E A R = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* No Control Whatever From: "More About Alcoholism" A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and quieted himself with more liquor. He was ambitious to succeed in business, but saw that he would get nowhere if he drank at all. Once he started, he had no control whatever. He made up his mind that until he had been successful in business and had retired, he would not touch another drop. An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career. Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has - that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces, he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not. Every means of solving his problem which money could buy was at his disposal. Every attempt failed. Though a robust man at retirement, he went to pieces quickly and was dead within four years 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 32-33 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "We are privileged to communicate with each other to a degree and in a manner not very often surpassed among our nonalcoholic friends in the world around us." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., October 1959 "AA Communication Can Cross All Boundaries" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47 "Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions. Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~ "This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 (Into Action) "Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 76 (Step Seven) Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, as my behavior propels me to continue to move, allow me to move forward and up. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 5 Paradox #1 On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in AA. Only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety, which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win. - Experience, Strength and Hope, pp. 155-156 Thought to Ponder . . . We surrender to win. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . K I S S = Keep It Simple; Surrender. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Fellowship "The fellowship I found in AA enabled me to face my problem honestly and squarely. I couldn't do it among my relatives, I couldn't do it among my friends. No one likes to admit they're a drunk, that they can't control this thing. But when we come into AA, we can face our problem honestly and openly. I went to closed meetings and open meetings. And I took everything that AA had to give me. It was at that point I reached surrender." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 340 Thought to Consider . . . We honor the spirit in other people when we listen to them. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Everybody Gains Tradition Eight: Alcoholics Anonymous should remain nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. It is significant, now that almost no A.A. in our Fellowship breaks anonymity at the public level, that nearly all these fears have subsided. We see that we have no right or need to discourage A.A.'s who wish to work as individuals in these wider fields. It would be actually antisocial were we to forbid them. We cannot declare A.A. such a closed corporation that we keep our knowledge and experience top secret. If an A.A. member acting as a citizen can become a better researcher, educator, personnel officer, then why not? Everybody gains, and we have lost nothing. True, some of the projects to which A.A.'s have attached themselves have been ill-conceived, but that makes not the slightest difference with the principle involved. 1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 171 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Nobody argued about whose Higher Power was higher." Riverside, Ill., September 2007 "It Works for Me" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~ “Whatever our ideal turns out to be, we must be willing to grow toward it. We must be willing to make amends where we have done harm, provided that we do not bring about still more harm in so doing.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 69 “Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn’t we be able to achieve by the same means a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect? This is a riddle of our existence, the full answer to which may be only in the mind of God.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 64 Prayer for the Day: "God, I admit my powerlessness and the unmanageability of my life. Help me live with others as an equal, dependent upon you for direction and strength." |
AA Thought for the Day
August 6 Paradox #2 How can you keep anything if you give it away? It seems absurd and untrue. But in order to keep whatever it is we get in AA, we must go about giving it away to others, for no fee or rewards of any kind. When we cannot afford to give away what we have received so freely in AA, we had better get ready for our next "drunk." It will happen every time. We've got to continue giving it away in order to keep it. - Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 156 Thought to Ponder . . . I keep my sobriety by giving it away. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Altruisic Action. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Fact "The explanation that alcoholism was a disease of a two fold nature, an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind, cleared up a number of puzzling questions for me. The allergy we could do nothing about. Somehow our bodies had reached the point where we could no longer absorb alcohol in our systems. The why is not important; the fact is that one drink will set up a reaction in our system which requires more; that one drink was too much and one hundred drinks were not enough." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 380 Thought to Consider . . . I've only given up one drink ... the next one. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* B O G G L E = Bad Or Good, God Loves Everyone *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Life on Life's Terms From: "Grounded" I was found guilty and sentenced to sixteen months in federal prison. My two codefendants received twelve-month sentences and chose to remain free pending appeals, while I chose to go into prison and get it over. I had learned how to live life on life's terms and not my own. From somewhere back in my high school days, I remembered a poem that says something to the effect of, "Cowards die a thousand deaths, a brave man only once," and I wanted to do what had to be done. I was terrified of walking into prison but told my children that I could not come out the back door until I walked through the front. I remembered that courage was not the absence of fear; it was the ability to continue in the face of it. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 526 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Forgiveness seems to depend more on the love of the one who does the forgiving than on the lovability of the one being forgiven." West Henrietta, N.Y., September 1997 "The Fire Has Gone Out" AA Grapevine *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked ourselves why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships,(including sex) were hurt or threatened." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ "All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence. This immediately precipitates us into a seething caldron of debate. Much has been written pro and con, but among physicians, the general opinion seems to be that most chronic alcoholics are doomed." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor's Opinion, pg. xxx~ "Patience and good temper are most necessary." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 111 (To Wives) "Could we then foresee that troublesome people were to become our principal teachers of patience and tolerance?" -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 141 (Tradition Three) Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, let me work in Your will today, on Your time. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 7 Principles Before Personalities We of AA believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 192 Thought to Ponder . . . The Steps are there to protect me from myself; the Traditions are there to protect AA from me. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . O D A A T = One Day At A Time. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Tolerance "Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way. Experience shows that few alcoholics will long stay away from a group because they don't like the way it is run. Most return and adjust themselves to whatever conditions they must. Some go to a different group, or form a new one. In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes that he cannot get well alone, he will somehow find a way to get well and stay well in the company of others. It has been that way from the beginning of AA and probably always will be so." Bill W., Letter, 1943 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 312 Thought to Consider . . . What does it benefit me to not like another human being? *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Conviction >From "How It Works": "We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them. We asked ourselves why we had them. Wasn't it because self-reliance had failed us? Self-reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn't go far enough. . . . "Perhaps there is a better way -- we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 68 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Many ask 'What is anonymity?' and 'What is humility?' To me, they are almost the same thing. They are devoid of prestige; they demand nothing; they don't ask to be 'right'; they simply suggest that the icy egocentric elements in all of us retire into the background and that we wear the warm cloak of anonymity and humility and therefore, spirituality." Walnut Creek, Calif., March 2000 "The Quest for Spirituality" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came back too soon." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~ "But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable. Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead, suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than the best he had ever known!" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 11~ “Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration. -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 87 “Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not delaying because we are afraid. For the readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 87 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which had seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth. But if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So at first we used our own conceptions of God, however limited they were. We needed to ask ourselves but one short question: 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?'' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, even in this small degree, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. Prayer for the Day: God help me to become willing to sweep away the debris of self will and self reliant living. Thy will be done for this person as well as for me. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 8 Paradox #3 There is no way to escape the terrible suffering of remorse and regret and shame and embarrassment which starts us on the road to getting well from our affliction. There is no new way to shake off a hangover. It's painful. And for us, necessarily so. . . . We suffer to get well. - Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 156 Thought to Ponder . . . We suffer to get well. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . N O W = No Other Way. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Growth "Regardless of worldly success or failure, regardless of pain or joy, regardless of sickness or health or even of death itself, a new life of endless possibilities can be lived if we are willing to continue our awakening, through the practice of AA's Twelve Steps." Bill W., AAGrapevine, December 1957 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 8 Thought to Consider . . . AA is not something you join, it's a way of life. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* G I F T S = Getting It From The Steps. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Criticize Neither From: "Word of Mouth" In my view, there isn't the slightest objection to groups who wish to remain strictly anonymous, or to people who think they would not like their membership in A.A. known at all. That is their business, and this is a very natural reaction However, most people find that anonymity to this degree is not necessary, or even desirable. Once one is fairly sober, and sure of this, there seems no reason for failing to talk about A.A. membership in the right places. This has a tendency to bring in other people. Word of mouth is one of our most important communications. So we should criticize neither the people who wish to remain silent, nor even the people who wish to talk too much about belonging to A.A., provided they do not do so at the public level and thus compromise our whole Society Letter, 1962 1967, AAWS, Inc., As Bill Sees It, page 120 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "In examining the precision and aptness of the small, I can be more appreciative of the large." Vancouver, B.C., January 1994 "A High Class Drunk" AA Grapevine *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance that principle is contempt prior to investigation.'" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Appendice II, Spiritual Experience, pg. 568~ "I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 16~ “The Wright brothers’ almost childish faith that they could build a machine which would fly was the mainspring of their accomplishment. Without that, nothing could have happened.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 52 “Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn’t strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, our sins” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 65 Misc. AA Literature - Quote As we made spiritual progress, it became clear that, if we ever were to feel emotionally secure, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. We saw that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demand for repayment. When we persistently did this, we gradually found that people were attracted to us as never before. And even if they failed us, we could be understanding and not too seriously affected. The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival A.A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice mean unity and survival for the group and for A.A.'s entire Fellowship. Prayer for the Day: God, I'm standing at the turning point right now. Give me Your protection and care as I abandon myself to you and give up my old ways and my old ideas just for today. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 9 Paradox #4 When we work at our Twelve Steps, the old life of guzzling and fuzzy thinking, and all that goes with it, gradually dies, and we acquire a different and better way of life. As our shortcomings are removed, one life of us dies, and another life of us lives. We in AA die to live. - Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 156 Thought to Ponder . . . We surrender to win; we give away to keep; we suffer to get well; we die to live. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Always Alive. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Service "Service gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things - these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition is not what we thought it was." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 124 Thought to Consider . . . Service is love in work clothes. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* G O D = Group Of Drunks *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Ego From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "At the beginning I had liked this title very much. But as the book-naming discussion went on, I began to have certain doubts and temptations. From the start the title 'The Way Out' was popular. If we gave the book this name, then I could add my signature, 'By Bill W.'! After all why shouldn't an author sign his book? I began to forget that this was everybody's book and that I had been mostly the umpire of the discussions that had created it. In one dark moment I even considered calling the book 'The B.W. Movement.' I whispered these ideas to a few friends and promptly got slapped down. Then I saw the temptation for what it was, a shameless piece of egotism. So once more I began to vote for the title 'Alcoholics Anonymous.'" 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 165-66 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Often in the past, my prayers for help have been answered in ways that I have not recognized as answers. Indeed, I have cursed my fate instead of thanking God." New Canaan, Conn., September 1979 "Gratitude" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn't." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~ "We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn't work." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87~ “We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 68 “There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwove, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 98 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in adversity - this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so inspiringly giving to us all. You will be glad to know that A.A.'s have an almost unfailing record in this respect. This, I think, is because we are so aware that God will not desert us when the chips are down; indeed, He did not when we were drinking. And so it should be with the remainder of life. Certainly, He does not plan to save us from all troubles and adversity. Nor, in the end, does He save us from so-called death - since this is but an opening of a door into a new life, where we shall dwell among His many mansions. Touching these things I know you have a most confident faith. Prayer for the Day: Lord, show me the way and I will follow. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 10 Gratitude Sometimes, I've lacked the discernment to be grateful, and I see this now. . . Often in the past, my prayers for help have been answered in ways that I have not recognized as answers. Indeed, I have cursed my fate instead of thanking God. I have prayed and prayed, sometimes in desperation, but I haven't thanked Him as much as I've implored Him. The AA Grapevine, September, 1979 Thought to Ponder . . . Gratitude has to be practiced. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A S A P = Always Say A Prayer. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Higher Power "My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, 'Why don't you choose your own conception of God?' That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning." - Bill W. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12 Thought to Consider . . . Willpower ... our will-ingness to use a Higher Power. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Solo From "Source of Strength": "I would tell a friend of mine, who was having the same problems, that I prayed to God not to take a drink today and not to get married today. It was a sort of pact. I was very serious about this. I couldn't seem to handle romance and God too well at the same time. And God did start to give me the strength that I had always thought would come from the man in my life. "New York, New York, USA" 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 102-03 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "As a fellowship we ask nothing of wealth or power." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1960 "AA Tomorrow" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ 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 our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. If the alcoholic tries to shield himself he may succeed for a time, but usually winds up with a bigger explosion than ever. We have tried these methods. These attempts to do the impossible have always failed." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 101~ “Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 63 “Having so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 95 Misc. AA Literature - Quote At Step Four we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? Though a given situation had not been entirely our fault, we often tried to cast the whole blame on the other person involved. We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man's. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and became willing to set these matters straight. Prayer for the Day: God, Take my will and my life. Guide me in my recovery. Show me how to live. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 11 A New Attitude We have ceased fighting anything or anyone -- even alcohol. For by this time sanity has returned. We can now react sanely and normally, and we find that this new attitude toward liquor is really a gift of God. - As Bill Sees It, p. 121 Thought to Ponder . . . Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching? AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Altered Attitudes. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Self-Restraint "We enjoy certain inherent advantages which should make our task of self-restraint relatively easy. There is no really good reason for anyone to object if a great many drunks get sober. Nearly everyone can agree that this is a good thing. If, in the process, we are forced to develop a certain amount of honesty, humility, and tolerance, who is going to kick about that? If we recognize that religion is the province of the clergy and the practice of medicine is for doctors, we can helpfully cooperate with both. Certainly there is little basis for controversy in these areas. It is a fact that AA has not the slightest reform or political complexion. We try to pay our own expenses, and we strictly mind our single purpose." - Bill W. 1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th Printing, p. 69 Thought to Consider . . . We are not living just to be sober; we are living to learn, to serve, and to love. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, and Trust *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* So Touchy From: "We Agnostics" Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, we often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference to spiritual things made us bristle with antagonism. This sort of thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings. Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process; we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 47-48 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Sober now, there was this tug at my heart, the love of one alcoholic for another." Lafayette, Calif., June 1995 "From Wagon Trains to Jets" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~ "We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain's table. Unlike the feelings of the ship's passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17~ “We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.”" -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 87 “Everywhere we saw failure and miser transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 75 Misc. AA Literature - Quote As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that every one of A.A.'s principles has been borrowed from ancient sources. A minister in Thailand wrote, 'We took A.A.'s Twelve Steps to the largest Buddhist monastery in this province, and the head priest said, 'Why, these Steps are fine! For us as Buddhists, it might be slightly more acceptable if you had inserted the word 'good' in your Steps instead of 'God.' Nevertheless, you say that it is God as you understand Him, and that must certainly include the good. Yes, A.A.'s Twelve Steps will surely be accepted by the Buddhists around here.' St. Louis oldtimers recall how Father Edward Dowling helped start their group; it turned out to be largely Protestant, but this fazed him not a bit. Prayer for the Day: God, please lead me so I may serve You better. I am yours, and I am ready God. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 12 Release Joining AA released me from my most self-destructive patterns and gave me direction in day-to-day living. AA encouraged me to continually seek growth in maturity, improve my relations with others, and seek God's will for me. - Thank You For Sharing, p. 170 Thought to Ponder . . . I listen for direction now. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Always Awesome. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Growing Pains "How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result, and so into easy, happy, and good living - well, that's not only the neurotic's problem, it's the problem of life itself for all of us who have got to the point of real willingness to hew to right principles. Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy may still elude us. That's the place so many of us AA oldsters have come to. And it's a hell of a spot, literally." - Bill W. 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 237 Thought to Consider . . . Minds are like parachutes - they won't work unless they're open. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* S O B E R = Simply Observe Bill's Exemplary Recovery *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Reactions to Money Tradition Seven: Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Alcoholics are certainly all-or-nothing people. Our reactions to money prove this. As A.A. emerged from its infancy into adolescence, we swung from the idea that we needed vast sums of money to the notion that A.A. shouldn't have any. On every lip were the words You can't mix A.A. and money. We shall have to separate the spiritual from the material. We took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we'd be exploited. Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed clubhouses, and as a result there was sometimes outside interference in our affairs. We had been presented with a hospital, and almost immediately the donor's son became its principal patient and would-be manager. One A.A. group was given five thousand dollars to do with what it would. The hassle over that chunk of money played havoc for years. Frightened by these complications, some groups refused to have a cent in their treasuries. 1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 161 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Concerning any given service, we pose but one question: 'Is this service really needed?' If it is, then maintain it we must, or fail in our mission to those who seek AA." The Language of the Heart Click to learn more AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1955 "What Is the Third Legacy?" he Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 24~ “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” Alcoholics Anonymous p. 77 “In the morning we think of the hours to come. Perhaps we think of our day’s work and the chances it may afford us to be useful and helpful, or of some special problem that it may bring. Possibly today will see a continuation of a serious and as yet unresolved problem left over from yesterday. Our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider each request carefully to see what its real merit is. Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification: “…if it be Thy will.” We ask simply that throughout the day God place in us the best understanding of His will that we can have for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we may carry it out.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 102 Misc. AA Literature - Quote No society can function well without able leadership at all its levels, and A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes cherish the thought that we can do without much personal leadership at all. We are apt to warp the traditional idea of 'principles before personalities' around to such a point that there would be no 'personality' in leadership whatever. This would imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody. A leader in A.A. service is a man (or woman) who can personally put principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him with his job. When a leader powerdrives us badly, we rebel; but when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no judgment of his own - well, he really isn't a leader at all. Prayer for the Day: God, Direct my attention to what You would have me be. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 13 Forgiveness I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart. I do this not for the other persons' sake, but for my own sake. Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things that rot my soul. Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains. - Daily Reflections, p. 88 Thought to Ponder . . . Forgiveness is the final form of love. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . T G I F = Thank God I'm Forgiven. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Reprieve "It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85 Thought to Consider . . . This is a program of limitless expansion. The gate is wide but the road is narrow. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Not for Nothing From: "Empty on the Inside" When I was two weeks sober, a man's nine-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver, and three days later he was at a meeting saying he had to believe it wasn't for nothing. That maybe one alcoholic would get sober because of it. As I left that day, I found myself wondering what would have happened if that had been my kids, or me? What would they remember about me? A feeling came over me (I know now it was gratitude), and I realized that I could call my children right then and tell them I loved them. That I could show up when I said I would. That my word could be worth something to them. That even though I might always just be "mom who comes over on the weekends," I could be a good weekend mom. I had a chance to move forward with them, forging a relationship built on a foundation of God and Alcoholics Anonymous, rather than always trying to make up for the past. One year later I was able to share with that man that maybe it hadn't been for nothing, because my life changed that day. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 520 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "As with all things in life, there is growth and growth brings change. One thing remains constant: Sobriety is a gift, a treasure to be cherished." La Mesa, Calif, July 2006 "Sober in the Sixties" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Everybody knows that those in bad health, and those who seldom play, do not laugh much. So let each family play together or separately as much as their circumstances warrant. We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~ “Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!” Alcoholics Anonymous p. 100 “Having reduced us to a state of absolute helplessness, you now declare that none but a Higher Power can remove our obsession.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 25 Misc. AA Literature - Quote While drinking, we were certain that our intelligence, backed by will power, could rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world around us. This brave philosophy, wherein each man played God, sounded good in the speaking, but it still had to meet the acid test: How well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough. My spiritual awakening was electrically sudden and absolutely convincing. At once I became a part - if only a tiny part - of a cosmos that was ruled by justice and love in the person of God. No matter what had been the consequences of my own willfulness and ignorance, or those of my fellow travelers on earth, this was still the truth. Such was the new and positive assurance, and this has never left me. Prayer for the Day: God, Help me to see myself as I truly am. I know I won't always like what I see, so give me the courage to keep going. Grant me understanding, as I need to figure out why I feel the way I do sometimes God, please fill my heart with compassion. I need forgiveness, but I also need to forgive, and that just doesn’t come easily to me. Please Lord, fill my heart with love. Let me love as You do, so that I may get better and serve You. God, I want to do this right and I need your help today. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 14 Good Idea The first step toward feeling better, and getting over our sickness is quite simply not drinking. Try the idea on for size. Wouldn't you rather have a health condition which can be successfully treated, than spend a lot of time miserably wondering what's wrong with you? - Living Sober, p. 10 Thought to Ponder . . . Make a change, move a muscle. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Achieve Anything. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Hangovers "When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion - anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 88 Thought to Consider . . . I'd rather be better than bitter. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A A = Altered Attitudes *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Joker in the Glass "Chapter XXIII: His prescriptions for sobriety You know, Dan, he [Dr. Bob] told me, many people coming into A.A. get the wrong conception of "Easy Does It, and I hope you don't. It doesn't mean that you sit on your fanny, stay home from meetings and let other people work the program for you. It doesn't mean you have an easy life without drinking. Easy Does It means you take it a day at a time. He told me that before I could be honest with him or my sponsor or anyone else, I had to get honest with that joker in the glass. I didn't know what he meant by that joker in the glass. He told me that was the man in the looking glass. When you shave tomorrow, get honest with the man who looks back at you from the looking glass. 1980, AAWS, Inc., Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, page 282 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Ours is a Fellowship of suggestions and not demands. In my 35 years, I have found answers for me but have not acquired the ability to live another person's life." West Dennis, Mass., October 1993 "Know Thyself" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. His recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God, however he may define him. Alcoholics Anonymous p. 99,100 "My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, 'Why don't you choose your own conception of God?' That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 12~ “We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone.” Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 “We needn’t wallow in excessive remorse before those we have harmed, but amends at this level should always be forthright and generous.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 86 Misc. AA Literature - Quote We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to, but because we had to. Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance. But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us. Prayer for the Day: God I thank you from the bottom of my heart that I know you better. Help me become aware of anything I have omitted discussing with another person. Help me to do what is necessary to walk a free man at last. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 15 Discovery The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries for those who suffer from alcoholism. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17 Thought to Ponder . . . The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Defiance " 'As psychiatrists have often observed, defiance is the outstanding characteristic of many an alcoholic. . . When we encountered AA, the fallacy of our defiance was revealed. At no time had we asked what God's will was for us; instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be. No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too. Belief meant reliance, not defiance. In AA we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe.' " 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 31 Thought to Consider . . . God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* The Paradoxes From: "The Professor and the Paradox" 1. We SURRENDER TO WIN. On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in A.A.. Only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go no further; only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win. 2. We GIVE AWAY TO KEEP. That seems absurd and untrue. How can you keep anything if you give it away? But in order to keep whatever it is we get in A.A., we must go about giving it away to others, for no fees or rewards of any kind. When we cannot afford to give away what we have received so freely in A.A., we had better get ready for our next "drunk." It will happen every time. We've got to continue to give it away in order to keep it. 3. We SUFFER TO GET WELL. There is no way to escape the terrible suffering of remorse and regret and shame and embarrassment which starts us on the road to getting well from our affliction. There is no new way to shake out a hangover. It's painful. And for us, necessarily so. I told this to a friend of mine as he sat weaving to and fro on the side of the bed, in terrible shape, about to die for some paraldehyde. I said, "Lost John" - that's his nickname - "Lost John, you know you're going to have to do a certain amount of shaking sooner or later." "Well," he said, "for God's sake let's make it later!" We suffer to get well. 4. We DIE TO LIVE. That is a beautiful paradox straight out of the Biblical idea of being "born again" or "losing one's life to find it". When we work at our Twelve Steps, the old life of guzzling and fuzzy thinking, and all that goes with it, gradually dies, and we acquire a different and a better way of life. As our shortcomings are removed, one life of us dies, and another life of us lives. We in A.A. die to live. 2003, AAWS, Inc., Experience, Strength & Hope, pages 155-156 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The only way I ever found to displace a thought was to put another thought in its stead." Alexandria, Va., August 1950 "We Must Banish Fear!" AA Grapevine *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "...we then look at Step Six. We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? Can He now take them all-every one? If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 76~ "We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well. Established on such a footing we became less and less interested in ourselves, our little plans and designs. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~ “We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 561 “The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 129 Misc. AA Literature - Quote The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, 'Don't see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain't it grand the wind stopped blowin'?' We ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have 'harmed' other people. What kinds of 'harm' do people do one another, anyway? To define the word 'harm' in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to those about us. Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, When I do wrong, help me admit to it. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to leave nothing out. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to swallow my pride. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to do right. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 16 24-Hour Plan If the desire to drink is really strong, many of us chop the 24 hours down into smaller parts. We decide not to drink for, say, at least one hour. We can endure the temporary discomfort of not drinking for just one more hour; then one more, and so on. Many of us began our recovery in just this way. In fact, every recovery from alcoholism began with one sober hour. - Living Sober, p. 6 Thought to Ponder . . . I have learned that I did not get here a day early or a drink short. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . O D A A T = One Day At A Time. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Friends "You are going to meet these new friends in your own community. Near you, alcoholics are dying helplessly like people in a sinking ship. If you live in a large place, there are hundreds. High and low, rich and poor, these are future fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous. Among them you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your common journey. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life. You will learn a full meaning of 'Love thy neighbor as thyself.' " 1976 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 152-3 Thought to Consider . . . When we love, we see in others what we wish to have in ourselves. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* B O G G L E = Bad Or Good, God Loves Everyone *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Equals From "What is sponsorship?" "Alcoholics Anonymous began with sponsorship. When Bill W., only a few months sober, was stricken with a powerful urge to drink, this thought came to him: 'You need another alcoholic to talk to. You need another alcoholic just as much as he needs you!' "He found Dr. Bob, who had been trying desperately and unsuccessfully to stop drinking, and out of their common need A.A. was born. The word 'sponsor' was not used then; the Twelve Steps had not been written; but Bill carried the message to Dr. Bob, who in turn safeguarded his own sobriety by sponsoring countless other alcoholics." "In A.A., sponsor and sponsored meet as equals, just as Bill and Dr. Bob did." 1983, Questions & Answers on Sponsorship (A.A. Pamphlet P-15), page 7 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The temporary or seeming good can often be the deadly enemy of the permanent best." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1955 "Why Alcoholics Anonymous is Anonymous" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "...I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 13 "We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 30~ “We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 19 “The minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 27 Misc. AA Literature - Quote When we reached A.A., and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was tremendously exciting. We thought the isolation problem had been solved. But we soon discovered that, while we weren't alone any more in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong. Step Five was the answer. It was the beginning of true kinship with man and God. Prayer for the Day: God help me become willing to let go of all the things to which I still cling. Help me to be ready to let You remove all of these defects, that Your will and purpose may take their place. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 17 Anonymity Experiences taught us that anonymity is real humility at work. It is an all-pervading spiritual quality which keynotes AA life everywhere. Moved by the spirit of anonymity, we try to give up our natural desires for personal distinction as AA members both among fellow alcoholics and the general public. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 187 Thought to Ponder . . . I asked God to make me famous. Instead, he made me anonymous. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Adventurers Anonymous. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Paradox "2. We GIVE AWAY TO KEEP. That seems absurd and untrue. How can you keep anything if you give it away? But in order to keep whatever it is we get in AA, we must go about giving it away to others, for no fees or rewards of any kind. When we cannot afford to give away what we have received so freely in AA, we had better get ready for our next 'drunk.' It will happen every time. We've got to continue to give it away in order to keep it." The Professor and the Paradox. 1955AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 341 Thought to Consider . . . I keep my sobriety by giving it away. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* H O P E = Helping Other People Every day. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Simple Beauty From "A Prayer for All Seasons:" "The power of [The Serenity Prayer] is overwhelming in that its simple beauty parallels the A.A. Fellowship. There are times when I get stuck while reciting it, but if I examine the section which is troubling me, I find the answer to my problem....By accepting life as it is, I gain serenity. By taking action, I gain courage and I thank God for the ability to distinguish between those situations I can work on, and those I must turn over. All that I have now is a gift from God: my life, my usefulness, my contentment, and this program. "Alcoholics Anonymous IS the easier, softer way." 1990, Daily Reflections, page 221 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "No generation is a carbon copy of the previous one ... Young people in the meetings today are in many respects luckier: They have learned more in less time. If they seem to dwell at length on how they are feeling at the moment, it doesn't mean they are less dedicated to stopping drinking one day at a time and practicing the Steps of the program. Nor does less shame, brought about by less stigma, mean less dedication." New York, N.Y., June 1994 "...And the Wisdom to Know the Difference" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~ "If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 44~ Continue to watch for selflessness, dishonesty, resentment and fear. When they crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turned our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. - Alcoholics Anonymous, PG 84 “There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 25 “For it is only by accepting and solving our problem that we can begin to get right with ourselves and with the world about us, and with Him who presides over us all. Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 125 Misc. AA Literature - Quote 'As sobriety means long life and happiness for the individual, so does unity mean exactly the same thing to our Society as a whole. Unified we live; disunited we shall perish.' 'We must think deeply of all those sick ones still to come to A.A. As they try to make their return to faith and to life, we want them to find everything in A.A. that we have found, and yet more, if that be possible. No care, no vigilance, no effort to preserve A.A.'s constant effectiveness and spiritual strength will ever be too great to hold us in full readiness for the day of their homecoming. Prayer for the Day: God, thank you for helping me realize what I am and thank you for helping me realize how much I need You. God, I'm going to try to do better, but I need your help. Help me to live better for You. Help me to see my wrongs and faults, at all times and help me to overcome my weak and sinful nature. God, I've been away for too long. Help me to stay with You, for You, and for always. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 18 Freedom from Fear For all its usual destructiveness, we have found that fear can be the starting point to prudence and to a decent respect for others. . . The more we have of respect and justice, the more we can begin to find the love which can suffer much, and yet be freely given. - The Language of the Heart, p. 265 Thought to Ponder . . . Let us always love the best in others -- and never fear their worst. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F E A R = Forgetting Everything's All Right. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Anonymity "And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all." Tradition Twelve - the Long Form 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 567-8 Thought to Consider . . . Walk softly and carry a Big Book. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A N O N Y M O U S = Actions, Not Our Names, Yield Maintenance Of Unity and Service. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Fatal From: "How It Works" It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, 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. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 66 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "An old-timer spoke about the danger of becoming complacent and explained the need for the Steps in her life. 'The way I see it,' she said, 'I might have gotten the monkey off my back, but the circus is still in town.'" New York, N.Y., September 2005 "Ham on Wry" AA Grapevine *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47 "Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people's shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others." Alcoholics Anonymous p.19 “Many could recover if they had the opportunity we have enjoyed.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 19 “There are many opportunities even for those of us who feel unable to speak at meetings or who are so situated that we cannot do much face-to-face Twelfth Step work.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 110 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Not many people can truthfully assert that they love everybody. Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have been quite indifferent to the many. As for the remainder - well, we have really disliked or hated them. We A.A.'s find we need something much better than this in order to keep our balance. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody at all, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time. We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had formerly shown none. With those we dislike we can at least begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way at times to understand and help them. Prayer for the Day: My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 19 Willingness When I entered the doors of AA, alone and desperate, I had been beaten into willingness to believe anything I heard. One of the things I heard was, "This could be your last hangover, or you could keep going round and round." . . . My heart heard what my mind never could: "Being powerless over alcohol is no big deal." I'm free and I'm grateful! - Daily Reflections, p. 124 Thought to Ponder . . . An open heart is never a lonely one. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Progress "Many of us exclaimed, 'What an order! I can't go through with it.' Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 60 Thought to Consider . . . Progress always involves risk. You can't steal second base with your foot on first. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*-- Things We Dreamed Tradition Six: An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill AA into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem. 1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages 155-156 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The first thing that captured me at my very first meeting was the way AA members talked with one another. There was a genuineness, something real there, that I wanted ... I saw they were sober and that they were honest with each other." New York, N.Y., February 2001 "The Real Thing" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, Page 30~ "Perhaps there is a better way--we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~ "Our liquor was but a symptom." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ "Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~ “We relax and take it easy.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 86 “It will help if we can drop all resistance to what our friend says.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 100 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Everyone must agree that we A.A.'s are unbelievably fortunate people; fortunate that we have suffered so much; fortunate that we can know, understand, and love each other so supremely well. These attributes and virtues are scarcely of the earned variety. Indeed, most of us are well aware that these are rare gifts which have their true origin in our kinship born of a common suffering and a common deliverance by the grace of God. Thereby we are privileged to communicate with each other to a degree and in a manner not very often surpassed among our nonalcoholic friends in the world around us. 'I used to be ashamed of my condition and so didn't talk about it. But nowadays I freely confess I am a depressive, and this has attracted other depressives to me. Working with them has helped a great deal. Prayer for the Day: God, I'm tired of what I was, and how I was. I've thought real hard on this, and I've prayed too. I'm ready to live a new kind of life, a life for You. I know now more than ever that I need your help in this and all things and I'm asking for it with an open heart. Take away all of my defects, and replace them with your love and strength. Fill my heart with the desire to serve only You. Thy will be done. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 20 Faith Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 55 Thought to Ponder . . . Faith dares the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F A I T H = Facing An Inner Truth Heals. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Newcomers "Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you - until then." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 164 Thought to Consider . . . Newcomers are the lifeblood of the program. But our oldtimers are the arteries. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Impatient From: "Gutter Bravado" Still very impatient, I wanted the whole deal right away. That's why I related so well to the story about a wide-eyed new person and an oldtimer. When the newcomer approached the oldtimer, envying his accomplishments and many years of sobriety, the oldtimer slapped down his hand like a gavel and said, "I'll trade you even! My thirty years for your thirty days - right now!" He knew what the newcomer had yet to find out: that true happiness is found in the journey, not the destination. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 510-511 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Although I have a lot of 'yets' out there, I have true friends who love me. All I need to do is call them and go to meetings Raleigh, N.C., August 1999 "Haven't You Had Enough?" In Our Own Words: Stories of Young AAs in Recovery *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43 "Most alcoholics owe money. We do not dodge our creditors. Telling them what we are trying to do, we make no bones about our drinking; they usually know it anyway, whether we think so or not. Nor are we afraid of disclosing our alcoholism on the theory it may cause financial harm. Approached in this way, the most ruthless creditor will sometimes surprise us. Arranging the best deal we can we let these people know we are sorry. Our drinking has made us slow to pay. We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 78~ “What is this power that A.A. possesses? This curative power? I don’t know what it is. I suppose the doctor might say, ‘This is psychosomatic medicine.’ I suppose the psychiatrist might say, ‘This is benevolent interpersonal relations.’ I suppose others would say, ‘This is group psychotherapy.’ To me it is God.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 352 “As psychiatrists have often observed, defiance is the outstanding characteristic of many an alcoholic. So it’s not strange that lots of us have had our day at defying God Himself. Sometimes it’s because God has not delivered us the good things of life which we specified, as a greedy child makes an impossible list for Santa Claus. More often, though, we had met up with some major calamity, and to our way of thinking lost out because God deserted us.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 31 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Many newcomers, having experienced little but constant deflation, feel a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, sometimes rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered only by the individual's will. However, there are certain things which the individual alone can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can then make the decision to exert himself along spiritual lines. Trying to do this is actually an act of his own will. It is a right use of this faculty. Indeed, all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps require our sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. Prayer for the Day: God help me to become willing to sweep away the debris of self will and self reliant living. Thy will be done. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 21 Reprieve We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent upon the maintenance of our spiritual condition. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85 Thought to Ponder . . . The alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . J F T = Just For Today. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Fear "The practice of AA's Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in our personal lives also brought incredible releases from fear of every description, despite the wide prevalence of formidable personal problems. When fear did persist, we knew it for what it was, and under God's grace we became able to handle it. We began to see each adversity as a God-given opportunity to develop the kind of courage which is born of humility, rather than bravado. Thus we were enabled to accept ourselves, our circumstances, and our fellows." Bill W., January 1962 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 268 Thought to Consider . . . Courage is the willingness to accept fear and act anyway. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* F E A R = Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Bill's Adolescent Depression From: "Chapter One" With the onset of depression, his academic performance dropped. The upshot was that I failed German and, for that reason, could not graduate. Here I was, president of my senior class and they wouldn't give me a diploma! My mother arrived, extremely angry, from Boston. A stormy scene took place in the principal's office. Still, I didn't get that diploma. He failed to graduate with his class (although school records now list him with the group). Following a summer of agonizing depression, he went to live with his mother near Boston and completed makeup work that qualified him for college. What had caused Bill to change from high achiever to a helpless depressive? As he saw it, the major problem was the he could no longer be Number One. I could not be anybody at all. I could not win, because the adversary was death. So my life, I thought, had ended then and there. 1984, AAWS, Inc., Pass It On The story of Bill Wilson and how the AA message reached the world, pages 36-37 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The more I change, the more I hope the Traditions and principles of AA don't change." San Mateo, Calif., December 1995 "Ten Minutes of Oneness" In Our Own Words: Stories of Young AAs in Recovery *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked ourselves why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships,(including sex) were hurt or threatened." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ “We had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn't. What was our choice to be?” ~Alcoholics Anonymous page 53 “We thank God from the bottom of our heart that we know Him better.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 75 “This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 192 (Tradition Twelve Long Version) Misc. AA Literature - Quote The A.A. emphasis on personal inventory is heavy because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal. Once this healthy practice has become a habit, it will prove so interesting and profitable that the time it takes won't be missed. For these minutes and often hours spent in self-examination are bound to make all the other hours of our day better and happier. At length, our inventories become a necessity of everyday living, rather than something unusual or set apart. Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, I've been in the driver's seat but I sure am a bad driver! I've caused more than a few "accidents" along the way. You'd better take the wheel from here on in. Let's go back from where I came and you can help me make things right. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 22 Progress As I peel away the layers of day-to-day expediency, I realize that my zigzag, erratic, and inconsistent course was in the direction of progress all the time. That's good. What right do I have to expect perfection in my spiritual growth when the rest of my life is so full of ups and downs, ins and outs, and backs and forths? Throughout this whole adventure, the only consistency I have maintained is an absolute and total faith in AA, come what may. - The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], p. 187 Thought to Ponder . . . The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Adventurers Anonymous. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Guidance "I am a firm believer in both guidance and prayer. But I am fully aware, and humble enough, I hope, to see there may be nothing infallible about my guidance. The minute I figure I have got a perfectly clear pipeline to God, I have become egotistical enough to get into real trouble. Nobody can cause more needless grief than a power-driver who thinks he's got it straight from God." Bill W., Letter, 1950 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 38 Thought to Consider . . . It's not making a mistake that will kill me. It's defending it that does the damage. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A S A P = Always Say A Prayer *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Only One Tool From: "Availing yourself of a sponsor" An AA sponsor is not a professional caseworker or counselor of any sort. A sponsor is not someone to borrow money from, nor get clothes, jobs, or food from. A sponsor is not a medical expert, nor qualified to give religious, legal, domestic or psychiatric advice, although a good sponsor is usually willing to discuss such matters confidentially, and often can suggest where the appropriate professional assistance can be obtained. A sponsor is simply a sober alcoholic who can help solve only one problem: how to stay sober. And the sponsor has only one tool to use - personal experience, not scientific wisdom. Sponsors have been there, and often have more concern, hope, compassion, and confidence for us than we have for ourselves. They certainly have had more experience. Remembering their own condition, they reach out to help, not down. 1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page 27 *~*~*~*~*^Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Nothing ever falls out of the universe." New York, N.Y., February 2001 "The Real Thing" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came back too soon." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~ "Here are thousands of men and women, worldly indeed. They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things. There has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking. In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure of their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and sense of direction flowed into them." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 50~ “We found ourselves accepting many things which then seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth, but if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 47 “You are and A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter who you are, no matter how low you’ve gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications – even your crimes – we still can’t deny you A.A. We don’t want to keep you out. We aren’t a bit afraid you’ll harm us, never mind how twisted or violent you may be. We just want to be sure that you get the same great chance for sobriety that we’ve had. So you’re an A.A. member the minute you declare yourself.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 139 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Letter to a prison group: 'Every A.A. has been, in a sense, a prisoner. Each of us has walled himself out of society; each has known social stigma. The lot of you folks has been even more difficult: In your case, society has also built a wall around you. But there isn't any really essential difference, a fact that practically all A.A.'s now know. 'Therefore, when you members come into the world of A.A. on the outside, you can be sure that no one will care a fig that you have done time. What you are trying to be - not what you were - is all that counts with us.' 'Mental and emotional difficulties are sometimes very hard to take while we are trying to maintain sobriety. Yet we do see, in the long run, that transcendence over such problems is the real test of the A.A. way of living. Adversity gives us more opportunity to grow than does comfort or success. Prayer for the Day: God give me the strength and direction to do the right thing no matter what the consequences may be. Help me to consider others and not harm them in any way. Help me to consult with others before I take any actions that would cause me to be sorry. Help me to not repeat such behaviors. Show me the way of Patience, Tolerance, Kindliness, and Love and help me live the spiritual life. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 23 H.O.W. The AA members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said that if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question -- the H is for honesty, the O is for open-mindedness and the W is for willingness; these our Book calls the essentials of recovery. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 550 Thought to Ponder . . . It works -- it really does. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Solution "There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confessions of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 25 Thought to Consider . . . The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* H O P E = Heart Open; Please Enter. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Serenity From "Happiness": "The second tenet of the Serenity Prayer is too frequently slurred over. I am constantly amazed at the number of so-called obstacles I have overcome after giving them a second look, mustering what meager resources I have, then taking the hoe in hand. "Serenity to me, therefore, is the absence of insoluble conflict. And it is up to me first to determine whether, after an honest look at myself, I can cope with the problem, then to decide whether it is to be tackled, passed over to another day, or dismissed forever. "New Hartford, New York, USA" 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 111 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "We are again citizens of the world. It is a distraught world, very tired, very uncertain. It has worshiped its own self-sufficiency - and that has failed. We AAs are a people who once did that very thing. That philosophy failed us, too. So perhaps, here and there, our example of recovery can help." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., October 1944 "A Date With Destiny" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self- pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong motives." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 86~ "Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, we often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference to spiritual things make us bristle with antagonism. This sort of thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings. Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47~ “We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 88 “So, practicing these Steps, we had a spiritual awakening about which finally there was no question.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 109 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Any number of A.A.'s can say, 'We were diverted from our childhood faith. As material success began to come, we felt we were winning at the game of life. This was exhilarating, and it made us happy. 'Why should we be bothered with theological abstractions and religious duties, or with the state of our souls, here or hereafter? The will to win should carry us through. 'But then alcohol began to have its way with us. Finally, when all our score cards read 'zero,' and we saw that one more strike would put us out of the game forever, we had to look for our lost faith. It was in A.A. that we rediscovered it. Prayer for the Day: Dear Heavenly Father, Where I have done wrong, help me do right. I have done enough harm, and I ask Your help, so that I may do no more. I'll need more courage than I've got, help me be strong. I've been selfish, help me be selfless. Come what may, help me bear it. As I have in past harmed completely, help me to finish this, completely. I have been willful and hurtful; please grant me humility and humanity. Lord, help me be better. Better for You. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 24 Suggestions I remember my sponsor's answer when I told him the Steps were "suggested." He replied that they are "suggested" in the same way that, if you were to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, it is "suggested" that you pull the ripcord to save your life. - Daily Reflections, p. 344 Thought to Ponder . . . All of AA's suggestions are free. The ones I don't take are the ones I end up paying for. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Positive Step. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Jittery "We believe and hope this book contains all you will need to begin. We know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself: 'I'm jittery and alone. I couldn't do that.' But you can. You forget that you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself. To duplicate, with such backing, what we have accomplished is only a matter of willingness, patience and labor." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 163 Thought to Consider . . . It's kind of fun to do the impossible. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* W H O M E ? = Willingness, Honesty, Openmindedness, Must Exist *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* HP From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "We were still arguing about the Twelve Steps. All this time I had refused to budge on these steps. I would not change a word of the original draft, in which I had consistently used the word 'God,' and in one place the expression 'on our knees' was used. Praying to God on one's knees was still a big affront to Henry. He was positive we would scare off alcoholics by the thousands when they read those Twelve Steps. Though at first I would have none of it, we finally began to talk about the possibility of compromise. Who first suggested the actual compromise words I do not know, but they are words well known throughout the length and breadth of A.A. today: In Step Two we decided to describe God as a 'Power greater than ourselves.' In Steps Three and Eleven we inserted the words 'God as we understood Him.' From Step Seven we deleted the expression 'on our knees.' And, as a lead-in sentence to all the steps we wrote these words: 'Here are the steps we took which are suggested as a Program of Recovery.' A.A.'s Twelve Steps were to be suggestions only." 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 166-67 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Everyone around me said, 'Quit drinking,' but no one was able to tell me how." Austin, Texas, November 2004 "The Perfect Curve" Voices of Long-Term 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~ "Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 32 “There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 58 “When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 60 (Step Five) Misc. AA Literature - Quote There can be no absolute humility for us humans. At best, we can merely glimpse the meaning and splendor of such a perfect ideal. Only God himself can manifest in the absolute; we human beings must needs live and grow in the domain of the relative. So we seek progress in humility for today. Few of us can quickly or easily become ready even to look at spiritual and moral perfection; we want to settle for only as much development as may get us by in life, according, of course, to our various and sundry ideas of what will get us by. Mistakenly, we strive for a self-determined objective, rather than for the perfect objective which is of God. Prayer for the Day: God remove the Selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear that has cropped up in my life right now. Help me to discuss this with someone immediately and make amends quickly if I have harmed anyone. Help me to cease fighting anything and anyone. Show me where I may be helpful to someone else. Help me react sanely; not cocky or afraid. How can I best serve You - Your will, not mine be done. Amen |
AA Thought for the Day
August 25 Sharing To know that each newcomer with whom I share has the same opportunity to experience the relief that I have found in this Fellowship fills me with joy and gratitude. I feel that all the things described in AA will come to pass for them, as they have for me, if they seize the opportunity and embrace the program fully. - Daily Reflections, p. 37 Thought to Ponder . . . The ankle-biters of everyday struggles will eat away at me unless I go to meetings and share. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . E S H = Experience, Strength and Hope. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Peace of Mind "AA has taught me that I will have peace of mind in exact proportion to the peace of mind I bring into the lives of other people, and it has taught me the true meaning of the admonition 'happy are ye who know these things and do them.' For the only problems I have now are those I create when I break out in a rash of self-will." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 551 Thought to Consider . . . I never imagined that the greatest achievement of my life would be peace of mind. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* P E A C E = Providing Experienced Attitude Changes Every day. *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Agreed at the Beginning From: "Into Action" Now we need more action, without which we find that Faith without works is dead. Let's look at Steps Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took our inventory. We subjected ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal. Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 76 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The AA message is a message from one amateur to another." Riverside, Ill., September 2007 "It Works for Me" Voices of Long-Term Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "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." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~ "...we tried to shape a sane and sound ideal for our future sex life. We subjected each relation to this test - was it selfish or not? We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 69 “If he is to find God, the desire must come from within.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 95 “Both his pride and his fear beat him back every time he tries to look within himself.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 49 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Neither the A.A. General Service Conference, its Board of Trustees, nor the humblest group committee can issue a single directive to an A.A. member and make it stick, let alone mete out any punishment. We've tried this lots of times, but utter failure is always the result. Groups have sometimes tried to expel members, but the banished have come back to sit in the meeting place, saying, 'This is life for us; you can't keep us out.' Committees have instructed many an A.A. to stop working on a chronic backslider, only to be told: 'How I do my Twelfth Step work is my business. Who are you to judge?' This doesn't mean that an A.A. won't take good advice or suggestions from more experienced members. He simply objects to taking orders. Prayer for the Day: My life is for you Lord, help me to be worthy of your Love. Help me to do better. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 26 The Right Thing Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be. We may lose our position or reputation or face jail, but we are willing. We have to be. We must not shrink at anything. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 79 Thought to Ponder . . . Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Accountable Actions. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Change "How many of us would presume to declare, 'Well, I'm sober and I'm happy. What more can I want or do? I'm fine the way I am.' We know that the price of such self-satisfaction is an inevitable backslide, punctuated at some point by a very rude awakening. We have to grow or else deteriorate. For us, the status quo can only be for today, never for tomorrow. Change we must; we cannot stand still." Bill W., AAGrapevine, February 1961 As Bill Sees It, p. 25 Thought to Consider . . . There is no progress without change. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* P A C E = Positive Attitudes Change Everything *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Didn't Look Good Tradition Five: Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. I was soon sitting beside a big hulk of a man. Decidedly unfriendly, he stared at me out of eyes which were slits in his red and swollen face. I had to agree with the doctor - he certainly didn't look good. But I told him my own story. I explained what a wonderful Fellowship we had, how well we understood each other. I bore down hard on the hopelessness of the drunk's dilemma. I insisted that few drunks could ever get well on their own steam, but that in our groups we could do together what we could not do separately. He interrupted to scoff at this and asserted he'd fix his wife, his partner, and his alcoholism by himself. 1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 152 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Ego was being replaced with self-respect ... resentment and hatred were being replaced with tolerance and understanding ... fear was being replaced with trust ... loneliness and self-pity were being replaced with gratitude and love -- all because I was working the program to the best of my ability and wasn't drinking." Toledo, Ohio, September 1982 "Above All, an Alcoholic" In Our Own Words: Stories of Young AAs in Recovery *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "For the type of alcoholic who is able and willing to get well, little charity, in the ordinary sense of the word, is needed or wanted. The men who cry for money and shelter before conquering alcohol, are on the wrong track." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 97~ "Without knowing it, had we not been brought to where we stood by a certain kind of faith? For did we not believe in our own reasoning? Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What was that but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful, abjectly faithful to the God of Reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time!" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~ “Love and tolerance of others is our code.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 “Almost any experienced A.A. will tell how his affairs have taken remarkable and unexpected turns for the better as he tried to improve his conscious contact with God.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 104-105 Misc. AA Literature - Quote 'Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy. It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford. 'The remedy? Well, let's have a hard look at ourselves, and a still harder one at A.A.'s Twelve Steps to recovery. When we see how many of our fellow A.A.'s have used the Steps to transcend great pain and adversity, we shall be inspired to try these life-giving principles for ourselves. Prayer for the Day: God, we pray for faith and spiritual courage to face our problems. Grant us wisdom to know our weakness and strength to rebuild our lives. - From Stools & Bottles |
AA Thought for the Day
August 27 Humility Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised, it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and about is seeming trouble. - Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 222 Thought to Ponder . . . The storm has passed. I've learned a little more about peace. It was inside all the time. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . H O P E = Hang On! Peace Exists. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Vision "Vision is, I think, the ability to make good estimates, both for the immediate and for the more distant future. Some might feel this sort of striving to be a sort of heresy, because we AA's are constantly telling ourselves, 'One day at a time.' But that valuable principle really refers to our mental and emotional lives and means chiefly that we are not foolishly to repine over the past nor wishfully to day-dream about the future. . . Vision is therefore the very essence of prudence, an essential virtue if ever there was one." Bill W., 1962 1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th Printing, p. 40 Thought to Consider . . . The road to recovery is always under construction. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* O D A A T = One Day At A Time *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* All I Could Think Of From: "A Vision of Recovery" While in a juvenile detention center about 500 miles from my home, I received word that my mother was dying of cancer. I was able to get a pass and return home to spend time with her. One evening my family asked me if I would stay home with my mother and give her the medicine she was required to take. I had already had a few drinks and was anxious to get out and party with my friends, but I reluctantly agreed to stay. Self-pity set in, and all I could think of was the good time I could have been having. I got very impatient with my mother, and when she refused to take her medicine, I almost forced it into her mouth; then I left to join my friends. The next morning I woke up in county jail, about 100 miles from home. I had attempted a break-and-enter, and was caught by the police. That very evening, as I sat in jail, my mother died. 2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 495-496 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "AA membership cannot depend upon any particular belief whatever ... our Twelve Steps contain no article of religious faith except faith in God - as each of us understands him." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., September 1950 "We Came of Age" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks, drinks which they see others taking with impunity." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor's Opinion, pg. xxviii~ "We commenced to make many fast friends and a fellowship has grown up among us of which it is a wonderful thing to feel a part. The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 15~ “To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and attitude.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 143 “Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 75 Misc. AA Literature - Quote Men who cry for money and shelter as a condition of their sobriety are on the wrong track. Yet we sometimes do provide a new prospect with these very things - when it becomes clear that he is willing to place his recovery first. It is not whether we shall give that is the question, but when and how to give. Whenever we put our work on a material plane, the alcoholic commences to rely upon alms rather than upon a Higher Power and the A.A. group. He continues to insist that he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for. Nonsense! Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: that, job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place material dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God. Prayer for the Day: God, Help me to stop and remember that I've made a decision to let You be my God. Give me the right thoughts and actions. God save me from fear, anger, worry, self-pity or foolish decisions that Your will not mine be done. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 28 Letting Go Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable? Can He now take them all -- every one? If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 76 Thought to Ponder . . . Fear not for the future, weep not for the past. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F E A R = Future Events Appearing Real. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Self-appraisal "I used to be a champ at unrealistic self-appraisal. I wanted to look only at the part of my life which seemed good. Then I would greatly exaggerate whatever virtues I supposed I had attained. Next I would congratulate myself on the grand job I was doing. So my unconscious self-deception never failed to turn my few good assets into serious liabilities. This astonishing process was always a pleasant one. . . I was falling straight back into the pattern of my drinking days. . . I shall forever regret the damage I did to people around me. Indeed, I still tremble when I realize what I might have done to AA and to its future." Bill W., June 1961 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, pp. 256-7 Thought to Consider . . . When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A A = Altered Attitudes *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Tornado Technique From: "When AA Came of Age" Still another famous early itinerant was Irwin M., a Cleveland AA who had become a champion salesman of Venetian blinds to department stores in the deep South. He used to range a territory bounded by Atlanta and Jacksonville on one side and Indianapolis, Birmingham, and New Orleans on the other. Irwin weighed 250 pounds and was full of energy and gusto. The prospect of Irwin, as a missionary, scared us rather badly. At the New York Headquarters we had on file a long list of topers in many a Southern city and town, people who had not been personally visited. Irwin had long since broken all the rules of caution and discreet approach to newcomers, so it was with reluctance that we gave him the list. Then we waited - but not for long. Irwin ran them down, every single one, with his home-crashing tornado technique. Day and night, besides, he wrote letters to his prospects and got them to writing each other. Stunned but happy Southerners began to send their thanks to Headquarters. As Irwin himself reported, many a first family of the South had been an easy pushover. He had cracked the territory wide open and had started or stimulated many an original group. 1985, AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 25 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Not drinking is the first requirement for joy; the second requirement is gratitude." Lombard, Ill., Feb. 1995 "The Most Beautiful Word in the English Language" In Our Own Words: Stories of Young AAs in Recovery *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Everybody knows that those in bad health, and those who seldom play, do not laugh much. So let each family play together or separately as much as their circumstances warrant. We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~ "Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power. We had to have God's help." Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62 “Returning home we find a place where we can be a quiet for an hour, carefully reviewing what we have done.” -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 75 “A quiet, objective view will be our steadfast aim.” -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 82 (Step Eight) Misc. AA Literature - Quote We cannot disclose anything to our wives or our parents which will hurt them and make them unhappy. We have no right to save our own skins at their expense. Such damaging parts of our story we tell to someone else who will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is, we must be hard on ourselves, but always considerate of others. Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time in making amends to our families. It may be unwise at first to rehash certain harrowing episodes. While we may be quite willing to reveal the very worst, we must be sure to remember that we cannot buy our own peace of mind at the expense of others. Prayer for the Day: (Prayer of St Francis of Assisi) —"Lord, make me a channel of thy peace - that where there is hatred, I may bring love - that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness - that where there is discord, I may bring harmony - that where there is error, I may bring truth - that where there is doubt, I may bring faith - that where there is despair, I may bring hope - that where there are shadows, I may bring light - that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted - to understand, than to be understood - to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life. Amen." |
AA Thought for the Day
August 29 Gratitude It took several years, but I learned to be grateful for my alcoholism and the program of recovery it forced me into, for all the things that had happened to me and for me, for a life that transcends and far exceeds anything I had previously known. I could not have that today had I not experienced all the yesterdays. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 529 Thought to Ponder . . . I am grateful for this minute. My eternity may be in it. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Always Awesome. ~*~A.A. Thought For The Day~*~ Step One "No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us all of self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands. Once this stark fact is accepted, our bankruptcy as going human concerns is complete. But upon entering AA we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 21 Thought to Consider . . . Once we clear a hurdle, it doesn't seem so high. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Reality I Had Feared From: "No Man Is An Island" I was spiritually bankrupt long before AA entered my life and long before alcoholism took over like a parasite under my skin. I had nothing, no faith at all to cling to. I had no faith in man, because along with my drinking I had lost faith in myself. I trusted no one, for others were but a mere reflection of my own self, and I could not trust me. I got sober in AA, and, like a miracle, the warm flood of reality I had feared for so long flowed over me, and I was no longer afraid. I began to wonder why. Along with sobriety, something new had come into my life. I began to have concern for others. This word concern, along with its sister consideration, was an alien thing to me. I had believed myself capable of falling in love; I had thought myself a loving mother; but these emotions, I now perceive, had been reflections of my own self-interest. Nothing penetrated beyond my self. I began, in early sobriety, to feel compassion for other drunks, then for my children, then for my ex-husband. This compassion, a feeling accompanied later by love, opened the door to a huge fortress within me which had been forever locked. 1973, AAWS, Inc., Came to Believe, pages 118-119. *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Not only ... could spiritual experiences make people saner, they could transform men and women so that they could do, feel, and believe what had hitherto been impossible to them. It mattered little whether these awakenings were sudden or gradual; their variety could be almost infinite." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1953 "A Fragment of History: Origin of the Twelve Steps" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ 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~ "We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes!" ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84 "We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 "To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety -- in other words, to all of us -- this newfound peace is a priceless gift." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 74 Misc. AA Literature - Quote 'In some sections of A.A., anonymity is carried to the point of real absurdity. Members are on such a poor basis of communication that they don't even know each other's last names or where each lives. It's like the cell of an underground. 'In other sections, we see exactly the reverse. It is difficult to restrain A.A.'s from shouting too much before the whole public, by going on spectacular 'lecture tours' to play the big shot. 'However, I know that from these extremes we slowly pull ourselves onto a middle ground. Most lecture-giving members do not last too long, and the superanonymous people are apt to come out of hiding respecting their A.A. friends, business associates, and the like. I think the long-time trend is toward the middle of the road - which is probably where we should be. Prayer for the Day: Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me know the magical restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations of slowing down, to look at a flower, to chat with an old friend or make a new one, to pat a stray dog, to watch a spider build a web, to smile at a child, or to read from a good book. Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift, that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward at the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Lord, slow me down. Inspire me to send my own roots down deep into the soil of life's endearing values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny. Amen. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 30 Honesty I always thought honesty had something to do with telling other people the truth. I learned that it had to do first with telling myself the truth. I spent most of my life worrying about myself, thinking that I was unwanted, that I was unloved. I've learned since being in AA that the more I worry about me loving you, and the less I worry about you loving me, the happier I will be. - Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 218 Thought to Ponder . . . Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Fear "When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 122 Thought to Consider . . . Courage is the willingness to accept fear and act anyway. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* F E A R = Face Everything And Recover *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Others >From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "A group of laymen whose combined religious training and experience had been small indeed had produced a volume which described release from alcoholism by spiritual means. What would our Catholic friends think? We had not the slightest inkling. "Then the good news came. By messenger we had sent the book Alcoholics Anonymous to the Catholic Committee on Publications in the New York Archdiocese. Our messenger was Morgan R., released only a few weeks before from Greystone asylum and himself the first Catholic to put in an appearance in New York [A.A.]. Not long after he returned with wonderful things to tell us. "The Committee, he said, had nothing but the best to say of our efforts. From their point of view the book was perfectly all right " 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 168-69 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "Happiness or tragedy might just depend upon a slight sign of recognition, a nod of the head or perhaps a friendly smile." Chappaqua, N.Y., December 1947 "Recognition" AA Grapevine *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "...I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 13~ "We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with us." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 95~ "In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 101 “When we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to step back and think. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 91 Misc. AA Literature - Quote After failure on my part to dry up any drunks, Dr. Silkworth reminded me of Professor William James's observation that truly transforming spiritual experiences are nearly always rounded on calamity and collapse. 'Stop preaching at them,' Dr. Silkworth said, 'and give them the hard medical facts first. This may soften them up at depth so that they will be willing to do anything to get well. Then they may accept those spiritual ideas of yours, and even a Higher Power.' We beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas, and the result was nil - until we let go absolutely. Prayer for the Day: Thank You, dear God, for another day, The chance to live in a decent way, To feel again the joy of living and happiness that comes from giving. Thank You for friends who can understand and the peace that flows from Your loving hand. Help me to wake with the morning sun, With the prayer today, "Thy will be done." For with Your help I will find the way. Thank You again, dear God, for another day. |
AA Thought for the Day
August 31 Obsession The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death. . . The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30 Thought to Ponder . . . When we try to control our drinking, we have already lost control. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . A A = Absolute Abstinence. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ A New World "We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help." 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 84 Thought to Consider . . . Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* F I T = Faith, Intuition, and Trust *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Pathway From "He Had Been Listening": "In thinking all this over, it finally became obvious to me that the God I thought had judged and damned me had done nothing of the sort. He had been listening, and in His own good time His answer came. His answer was threefold: the opportunity for a life of sobriety; Twelve Steps to practice, in order to attain and maintain that life of sobriety; fellowship within the program, ever ready to sustain and help me each twenty-four- hour day. "St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada" 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 11 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "My past sobriety is not a ticket to future sobriety. I have to pay that fare and make the decision to recover daily." AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1953 "A Fragment of History: Origin of the Twelve Steps" The Language of the Heart *~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg.76~ "We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33~ "If you both show a willingness to remedy your own defects, there will be little need to criticize each other." -Alcoholics Anonymous p. 118 (To Wives) "To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 78 (Step Eight) Misc. AA Literature - Quote Many newcomers, having experienced little but constant deflation, feel a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, sometimes rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered only by the individual's will. However, there are certain things which the individual alone can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can then make the decision to exert himself along spiritual lines. Trying to do this is actually an act of his own will. It is a right use of this faculty. Indeed, all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps require our sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. Prayer for the Day: Tomorrow is yet to be, but should God grant me another day, the hope, courage, and strength, through the working of the Twelve Steps and the Serenity Prayer, I shall be sufficiently provided for to meet my every need. This I believe. |
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