~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~
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Sacrifices
"At
the beginning we sacrificed alcohol. We had to, or it would have
killed us. But we couldn't get rid of alcohol unless we made other
sacrifices. Big-shotism
and phony thinking had to go. We had to toss self-justification,
self-pity, and anger right out the window. We had to quit the crazy
contest for personal prestige and big bank balances. We had to take
personal responsibility for our sorry state and quit blaming others for
it. Were these sacrifices? Yes, they were. To gain enough humility
and self-respect to stay alive at all we had to give up what had really
been our dearest possessions - our ambitions and our illegitimate
pride."
Bill W., January 1955
1988 AA Grapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 210
Thought to Consider . . .
Sobriety is a journey, not a destination
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
Y E T
You're Eligible Too
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
Core From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"On
many a day I felt like throwing the book out the window. I was in
this anything-but-spiritual mood on the night when the Twelve Steps of
Alcoholics Anonymous were written. I was sore and tired clear through. I
lay in bed at 182 Clinton Street with pencil in hand and with a tablet
of scratch paper on my knee. I could not get my mind on the job, much
less put my heart in it. But here was one of those things that had to be
done. Slowly my mind came into some kind of focus.
Since Ebby's
visit to me in the fall of 1934 we had gradually evolved what we called
'the word-of-mouth program.' Most of the basic ideas had come from the
Oxford Groups, William James, and Dr. Silkworth."
2001 AAWS, Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 160*^Daily Reflections^*
FORMING TRUE PARTNERSHIPS
But
it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at
large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially
stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to
recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another
human being.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53
Can
these words apply to me, am I still unable to form a true partnership
with another human being? What a terrible handicap that would be for me
to carry into my sober life! In my sobriety I will meditate and pray to
discover how I may be a trusted friend and companion.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Release and Joy
"Who
can render an account of all the miseries that once were ours, and who
can estimate the release and joy that the later years have brought to
us? Who can possibly tell the vast consequences of what God's work
through A.A. has already set in motion? And who can penetrate the deeper
mystery of our wholesale deliverance from slavery, a bondage to a most
hopeless and fatal obsession which for centuries possessed the minds and
bodies of men and women like ourselves?"
<<< >>>
"We think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. 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 helped others to recover. What greater cause could there be for
rejoicing than this?"
1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, PP. 44-45
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 132
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"Faith
without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the
alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his
spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not
survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he
would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then
faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that."
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition
Bill's Story, pg. 14
*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
When
we came into A.A., we made a tremendous discovery. We found that we
were sick persons rather than moral lepers. We were not such odd ducks
as we thought we were. We found other people who had the same illness
that we had, who had been through the same experiences that we had been
through. They had recovered. If they could do it, we could do it. Was
hope born in me the day I walked into A.A.?
Meditation for the Day
"He
that heareth these sayings and doeth them is like unto a man who built
his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the
wind blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded
upon a rock." When your life is built
upon obedience to God and upon doing His will as you understand it, you
will be steadfast and unmovable even in the midst of storms. The
serene, steadfast, unmovable life - the rock home - is laid stone by
stone - foundation, walls, and roof - by acts of obedience to the
heavenly vision. The daily following of God's guidance and the daily
doing of His will shall build your house upon a rock.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that my life may be founded upon the rock of faith. I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012