Thoughts For The Day~*~Vision ^*^*^ November 25
Transitions Daily
~*~A.A.Thoughts For The Day~*~
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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 to foolishly repine over the past nor wishfully
day-dream about the future. . .Vision is therefore the very essence of
prudence, an essential virtue if ever there was one. Of course we shall
often miscalculate the future in whole or in part, but that is better
than
to refuse to think at all."
Bill W., 1962
c. 1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for
World Service, 26th printing, p. 40
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Thought
to Consider . . .
Right actions for the future are the best
apologies for wrong ones in the past.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
T I M E = Things I Must
Earn
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
Step Four is
our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each
of us have been, and are. We want to find exactly how, when, and where our
natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this
has caused others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities
are, we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent
effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a
searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith
which really works in daily living is still out of
reach.
1981, AAWS,
Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages
42-43
*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*
A POWERFUL TRADITION
In the years before the publication of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," we had no name. . .by a narrow majority the verdict was for naming our book "The Way Out." . . .One of our early lone members. . . found exactly twelve books already titled "The Way Out.". . . So "Alcoholics Anonymous" became first choice. That's how we got a name for our book of experience, a name for our movement and, as we are now beginning to see, a tradition of the greatest spiritual import.
"A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED." pp. 35-36
Beginning with Bill's momentous decision in Akron to make a telephone call rather than a visit to the hotel bar, how often has a Higher Power made itself felt at crucial moments in our history! The eventual importance that the principle of anonymity would acquire was but dimly perceived, if at all, in those early days. There seems to have been an element of chance even in the choice of a name for our Fellowship.
God is no stranger to anonymity and often appears in human affairs in the guises of "luck", "chance," or "coincidence." If anonymity, somewhat fortuitously, became the spiritual basis for all of our Traditions, perhaps God was acting anonymously on our behalf.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Do It Our Way?
In praying, 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."
TWELVE AND TWELVE, p.
102
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"Selfishness self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root
of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion,
self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and
they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but
we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based
on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg.
62~
*~*^Twenty Four Hours
A Day^*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
I am not so envious of other
people, nor am I so jealous of other people's possessions and talents. When I
was drinking, I was secretly full of jealousy and envy of those people who could
drink normally, who had the love and respect of their families, who lived a
normal life and were accepted as equals by their friends. I pretended to myself
that I was as good as they were, but I knew it wasn't so. Now I don't have to be
envious any more. I try not to want what I don't deserve. I'm content with what
I have earned by my efforts to live the right way. More power to those who have
what I have not. At least, I'm trying. Have I got rid of the poison of
envy?
Meditation for the Day
"My soul is
restless till it finds its rest in Thee." A river flows on, until it loses
itself in the sea. Our spirits long for rest in the spirit of God. We yearn to
realize a peace, a rest, a satisfaction that we have never found in the world or
its pursuits. Some are not conscious of their need, and shut the doors of their
spirits against the spirit of God. They are unable to have true
peace.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel the divine unrest. I pray that my soul may
find its rest in God.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN
55012