Thoughts For The Day~*~Grandiosity ^*^*^ December 2
Transitions Daily
~*~A.A.
Thoughts
For
The
Day~*~
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( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Grandiosity
"In my
teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an athlete. I had to be a
musician because I could not carry a tune. I had to be first in
everything because in my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God's
creatures. I could not accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I
strove to become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play the
fiddle. Lead I must -- or else. This was the 'all or nothing' kind of
demand that later did me in."
- Bill W., AA Comes of Age, p. 53
1967AAWS,
As Bill Sees It, p. 214
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Thought
to Consider . . .
We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual
perfection.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
N U T S =
Not Using The Steps.
*~*^Just
For
Today!^*~*
AA History
The New York World-Telegram reported on the dinner held in honor of the tenth anniversary of Bill W's sobriety (December 11, 1934). That newspaper erroneously called it the 10th anniversary of the founding of AA. There were 1500 members in attendance that night at the Commodore Hotel.
The New York Herald Tribune recounted that Bill's report of AA's 10 year history was impressive. AA went from 15 alcoholics released from the "drinking habit" in the first year to 40 "conversions" after 3 years. At the end of 4 years there were 100 members, and the book Alcoholics Anonymous had been written. After nearly 10 years there were more than 12,000 members in 370 groups throughout the United States and Canada and a "new unit" functioning successfully in Hawaii (Hawaii would not become a state for another 15 years - in August of 1959).
SERENITY
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
As I continued to go to meetings and work the Steps, something began to happen to me. I felt confused because I wasn't sure what it was that I was feeling, and then I realized I was experiencing serenity. It was a good feeling, but where had it come from? Then I realized it had come ". . .as the result of these steps." The program may not always be easy to practice, but I had to acknowledge that my serenity had come to me after working the Steps. As I work the Steps in everything I do, practicing these principles in all my affairs, now I find that I am awake to God, to others, and to myself. The spiritual awakening I have enjoyed as the result of working the Steps is the awareness that I am no longer alone.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As
Bill
Sees
It^*~*
Random Quote - Freedom through
Acceptance
We
admitted we couldn't lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, and so we
accepted the further fact that dependence upon a Higher Power (if only our A.A.
group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment we were able to accept
these facts fully, our release from the alcohol compulsion had begun. For
most of us, this pair of acceptances had required a lot of exertion to achieve.
Our whole treasured a lot of exertion to achieve. Our whole treasured philosophy
of self-sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been done with sheer will
power; it came instead as the result of developing the willingness to accept
these new facts of living. We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And
then we began to be free.
GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962
*~*^Big
Book
Quote^*~*
"Although financial recovery
is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For
us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never
preceded."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family
Afterward, pg. 127
"If there be divorce or separation, there should be no
undue haste for the couple to get together. The man should be sure of
his recovery. The wife should fully understand his new way of life.
If their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better
basis, since the former did not work. This means a new attitude and
spirit all around. Sometimes it is to the best interests of all
concerned that a couple remain apart. Obviously, no rule can be laid
down. Let the alcoholic continue his program day by day. When the time
for living together has come, it will be apparent to both
parties."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, Page
99
*~*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
The thoughts that come before
having a slip seem to be partly subconscious. And yet it is likely that at least
part of these thoughts get into our consciousness. An idle thought connected
with drinking casualty pops into our mind. That is the crucial moment. Will I
harbor that thought even for one minute or will I banish it from my mind at
once? If I let it stay, it may develop into a daydream. I may begin to see a
cool glass of beer or a Manhattan cocktail in my mind's eye. If I allow the
daydream to stay in my mind, it may lead to a decision, however unconscious, to
take a drink. Then I am headed for a slip. Do I let myself
daydream?
Meditation for the Day
Many of us have a sort of vision of the kind of
person God wants us to be. We must be true to that vision, whatever it is, and
we must try to live up to it, by living the way we believe we should live. We
can all believe that God has a vision of what He wants us to be like. In all
people there is a good person whom God sees in us, the person we could be and
that God would like us to be. But many a person fails to fulfill that promise
and God's disappointments must be many.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may strive to be the kind of a
person that God would have me be. I pray that I may try to fulfill God's vision
of what I could be.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center
City, MN 55012