Thoughts For The Day~*~Emotional Sobriety ^*^*^ October 9
Transitions Daily
www.Transitionsdaily.org/Donate.htm
~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~
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Emotional Sobriety
"If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help, continually surrender these hobbling liabilities. Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to twelfth-step ourselves, as well as others, into emotional sobriety."
Bill. W., AA Grapevine, January 1958
c.1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 288
Thought to Consider . . .
Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
A A = Altered Attitudes
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
Although we realize that alcoholism is a permanent, irreversible condition, our experience has taught us to make no long-term promises about staying sober. We have found it more realistic - and more successful - to say, "I am not taking a drink just for today."
Even if we drank yesterday, we can plan not to drink today. We
may drink tomorrow "who knows whether we'll even be alive then? but
for this 24 hours, we decide not to drink. No matter what the temptation
or provocation, we determine to go to any extremes necessary to avoid a drink
today.
1998, AAWS, Inc., Living Sober, page
6
A SPIRITUAL AXIOM
It is a spiritual axiom that very time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 90
I never truly understood the Tenth Step's spiritual axiom until I had the following experience. I was sitting in my bedroom, reading into the wee hours, when suddenly I heard my dogs barking in the back yard. My neighbors frown on this kind of disturbance so, with mixed feelings of anger and shame, as well as fear of my neighbor's disapproval, I immediately called in my dog's. Several weeks later the exact situation repeated itself but this time, because I was feeling more at peace with myself, I was able to accept the situation--dogs will bark--and I calmly called in the dogs. Both incidents taught me that when a person experiences nearly identical events and reacts two different ways, then it is not the event which is of prime importance, but the person's spiritual condition. Feelings come from inside, not from outward circumstances. When my spiritual condition is positive, I react positively.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Instincts Run Wild
Every time a person imposes his instincts unreasonably upon others, unhappiness follows. If the pursuit of wealth tramples upon people who happen to be in the way, then anger, jealousy, and revenge are likely to be aroused. If sex runs riot, there is a similar uproar. Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can invite only domination or revulsion in the protectors themselves - two emotions quite as unhealthy as the demands which evoked them. When an individual's desire for prestige becomes uncontrollable, whether in the sewing circle or at the international conference table, other people suffer and often revolt. This collision of instincts can produce anything from a cold snub to a blazing revolution.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 44
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"In this
book you read again and again that faith did for us what we could not do for
ourselves. We hope you are convinced now that God can remove whatever
self-will has blocked you off from Him. If you have already made a decision,
and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning.
That being so you have swallowed and digested some big chunks of truth about
yourself."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
How It Works, pg.
70
*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Am I willing to be bored sometimes at meetings? Am I willing to
listen to much repetition of A.A. principles? Am I willing to hear the
same thing over and over again? Am I willing to listen to a long
blow-by-blow personal story, because it might help some new member? Am I
willing to sit quietly and listen to long-winded members go into every
detail of their past? Am I willing to take it, because it is doing them good
to get it off their chest? My feelings are not too important. The good of
A.A. comes first, even if it is not always comfortable for me. Have I
learned to take it?
Meditation for the Day
God would draw us
all closer to Him in the bonds of the spirit. He would have all people drawn
closer to each other in the bonds of the spirit. God, the great Spirit of
the universe, of which each of our own spirits is a small part, must want
unity between Himself and all His children. "Unity of the spirit in the
bonds of peace." Each experience of our life, of joy, of sorrow, of
danger, of safety, of difficulty, of success, of hardship, of ease, each
should be accepted as part of our common lot, in the bonds of the
spirit.
Prayer for the
Day
I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true
fellowship. I pray that I may be brought closer to unity with God and other
people.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012
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