AA Thoughts For Today - September

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AA Thought for the Day

September 19

Inventory
When AA suggests a fearless moral inventory,
it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do.
Both his pride and his fear beat him back every time he tries to look inside himself.
Pride says, "You need not pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!"
But the testimony of AA's who have really tried a moral inventory
is that pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogeymen, nothing else.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 48

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' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

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

Working With Others
"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.
We know you will not want to miss it."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89

Thought to Consider . . .
Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together

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

Re-examination
From: "Educated Agnostic"
That was with me the beginning of a new life. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to put into words the change that has taken place in me. I have since learned that with many members the change has been almost instantaneous. This was not the case with me. I was tremendously inspired at first, but my basic thinking was not altered that evening nor did I expect any profound change. I felt that while the spiritual aspect of what these men had was not for me, I did believe strongly in the emphasis they put on the need to help others. I felt that if I could have the inspiration of these gatherings and if I could have an opportunity to try to help others that the two together would reinforce my own will power and thus be of tremendous assistance. But gradually, in a manner I cannot explain, I began to re-examine the beliefs I had thought beyond criticism. Almost imperceptibly my whole attitude toward life underwent a silent revolution. I lost many worries and gained confidence. I found myself saying and thinking things that a short time ago I would have condemned as platitudes! A belief in the basic spirituality of life has grown and with it belief in a supreme and guiding power for good.
2003, AAWS, Inc., Experience, Strength & Hope - Stories from the first three editions of Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 106-107

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

"One day, after sitting alone, soaked in tears and feeling empty, worthless, and crippled in the smallest task, I reached out and gave my phone number to someone else – they were hurting, too. In that simplest of acts, my world changed."
Salt Lake City, Utah, July 2007
"Life, Not Regrets"
Spiritual Awakenings II

*~*~*~*~*^ 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~

When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us
when
we put ourselves in Gods hands were better than anything we could
have planned.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others pg. 100~

We grow by our willingness to face and rectify errors and convert them into assets.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 124

Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 75

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Let us emphasize that our reluctance to fight one another, or anybody else, is not counted as some special virtue which entitles us A.A.'s to feel superior to other people. Nor does this reluctance mean that the members of A.A. are going to back away from their individual responsibilities as citizens. Here they should feel free to act as they see the right upon the public issues of our times.
But when it comes to A.A. as a whole, that's quite a different matter. As a group we do not enter into public controversy, because we are sure that our Society will perish if we do.

Prayer for the Day: The Victims of Addiction - O blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: Look with compassion upon all who through addiction have lost their health and freedom. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy; remove from them the fears that beset them; strengthen them in the work of their recovery; and to those who care for them, give patient understanding and persevering love.