Thoughts For The Day~*~Freedom ^*^*^ May 29
TransitionsDaily
"So far, upon the total problem of several million actual and potential alcoholics in the world, we have made only a scratch. In all probability, we shall never be able to touch more than a fair fraction of the alcohol problem in all its ramifications. Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself, we surely have no monopoly. Yet it is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the highroad to a new freedom."
Foreword to Second Edition Alcoholics Anonymous
pp. xx-xxi
Thought to Consider . . .
"Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession."
Bill W.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 139
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
S O B R I E T Y
Stay Off Booze Recovery Is Everything To You
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
"In medicine, we have learned a great deal about the physical treatment of the alcoholic. We have learned about nutrition and the importance of a fully rounded diet, and vitamins and minerals. But we do know that these things are necessary in the physical treatment and rehabilitation of the alcoholic. We know also that various kinds of drying out and other forms of therapy have failed. They are not enough by themselves. We need something more.
We know also that religious exhortation has failed, as has exhortation from people who have no grasp of the problem, who oversimplify, people in whose view an alcoholic is a person who is perpetually thirsty with a fierce craving for alcohol, people who do not know that a great many alcoholics hate alcohol worse than poison when they are sober, because they know that it is poison.
As time went on, I became less and less astonished as I saw the effectiveness of your work, as I saw a man of great talent, a close friend of mine, a man who was almost on the verge of genius. I saw alcohol make its insidious inroads upon his career, upon his relationships with his family and children, upon his standing in the community. I saw him on the verge of losing his job, and I saw him lose his job; and then I saw him surrender. I saw him throw up his hands and quit, saying, 'I can't do it by myself. I've got to have help.' And with the spiritual help of his clergyman and A.A., I have seen that man come back to a commanding position in his field, a man who is as sober today, as clear-eyed and bright, as any person in this audience."
Dr. W. W. Bauer, 1955
2001 AAWS Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 241-243
*^Daily Reflections^*
TRUE TOLERANCE
The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139
I
first heard the short form of the Third Tradition in the Preamble.
When I came to A.A., I could not accept myself, my alcoholism, or a
Higher Power. If there had been any physical, mental, moral, or
religious requirements for membership, I would be dead today. Bill W.
said in his tape on the Traditions that the Third Tradition is a charter
for individual freedom. The most impressive thing to me was the
feeling of acceptance from members who were practicing the Third
Tradition by tolerating and accepting me. I feel acceptance is love and
love is God's will for us.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Guide to a Better Way
<<< >>>
"Implicit throughout A.A.'s Traditions is the confession that our Fellowship has its sins. We admit that we have character defects as a society and that these defects threaten us continually. Our Traditions are a guide to better ways of working and living, and they are to group survival and harmony what A.A.'s Twelve Steps are to each member's sobriety and peace of mind."
1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 25
2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 96
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"We
are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make
alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every imaginable
remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always
by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism
agree there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an
alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so
yet."
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition
More About Alcoholism, pg. 30
*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
We
who have learned to put our drink problem in God's hands can help
others to do so. We can be used as a connection between an alcoholic's
need and God's supply of strength. We in Alcoholics Anonymous can be
uniquely useful, just because we have the misfortune or fortune to be
alcoholics ourselves. Do I want to be a uniquely useful person? Will I
use my own greatest defeat and failure and sickness as a weapon to
help others?
Meditation for the Day
I
will try to help others. I will try not to let a day pass without
reaching out an arm of love to someone. Each day I will try to do
something to lift another human being out of the sea of discouragement
into which he or she has fallen. My helping hand is needed to raise the
helpless to courage, to strength, to faith, to health. In my own
gratitude, I will turn and help other alcoholics with the burden that
is pressing too heavily upon them.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be used by God to lighten many burdens. I pray that many souls may be helped through my efforts.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012
The members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.
2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group: send an email to Transiti...@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.