~*~A.A. Thoughts
For
The Day~*~
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(\ ~~
/)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Diagnosis
^*^*^
"We do
not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly
diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some
controlled drinking. Try a drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than
once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with
yourself about it. It may be worth a case of the jitters if you get a
full knowledge of your condition."
c.
1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp.
31-2
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Thought
to Consider . . .
I have learned that I did not get here a day early
or a drink short.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
But when it comes to the actual spending of cash, particularly for A.A. service overhead, many of us are apt to turn a bit reluctant. We think of the loss of all that earning power in our drinking years, of those sums we might have laid by for emergencies or for education of the kids. We find, too, that when we drop money in the meeting hat there is no such bang as when we talk for hours to a newcomer. There is not much romance in paying the landlord. Sometimes we hold off when we are asked to meet area or Intergroup service expenses. As to world services, we may remark, Well, those activities are a long way off, and our group does not really need them. Maybe nobody needs them. These are very natural and understandable reactions, easy to justify. We can say, "Let's not spoil A.A. with money and service organization. Let's separate the material from the spiritual. That will really keep things simple.
Bill
W.
1962, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Concepts for World Service, page
65
*~*^Daily
Reflections^*~*
MAKING AMENDS
Above all, we should try
to be absolutely sure that we are not delaying because we are afraid.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 87
To have courage, to be unafraid, are gifts of my recovery. They
empower me to ask for help and to go forth in making my amends with a sense of
dignity and humility. Making amends may require a certain amount of
honesty that I feel I lack, yet with the help of God and the wisdom of others, I
can reach within and find the strength to act. My amends may be accepted,
or they may not, but after they are completed I can walk with a sense of freedom
and know that, for today, I am
responsible.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES,
INC.
*~*^As
Bill
Sees
It^*~*
Satisfactions of Right
Living
How wonderful is the feeling that we
do not have to be specially distinguished among our fellows in order to be
useful and profoundly happy. Not many of us can be leaders of prominence,
nor do we wish to be. 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 fact that in God's
sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given brings a
full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in
self-constructed prisons, the surety that we can fit and belong in God's scheme
of things - these are the satisfactions of right living for which no pomp and
circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 124
*~*^Big
Book Quote^*~*
"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~
*~*^Twenty
Four Hours A
Day^*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Continuing the answers to the question of how a person can live
without liquor and be happy, we say: "You will be bound to the other
A.A.s with new and wonderful ties, for you and they will escape disaster
together and all will commence shoulder to shoulder the common journey to a
better and more satisfactory life. You will know what it means to give of
yourself that others may survive and rediscover life. You will become happy,
respected, and useful once more. Since these things have happened to us,
they can happen to you." Have these things happened to me?
Meditation for the Day
God
manifests Himself in human lives as strength to overcome evil and power to
resist temptation. The grace of God is that power which enables a human
being to change from a useless, hopeless individual to a useful, normal
person. God also manifests Himself as love-love for other people, compassion
for their problems, and a real willingness to help them. The grace of God
also manifests itself as peace of mind and serenity of character. We can
have plenty of power, love, and serenity in our lives if we are willing to
ask God for these things each day.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may see God's grace in the
strength I receive, the love I know, and the peace I have. I pray that I may
be grateful for the things I have received through the grace of
God.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN
55012