Thoughts For The Day~*~Prayer ^*^*^ November 18
TransitionsDaily
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Prayer
"As the alcoholic goes along with his process of
prayer, he begins to add up the results. If he persists, he will almost
surely find more serenity, more tolerance, less fear, and less anger. He
will acquire a quiet courage, the kind that doesn't strain him. He can look
at so-called failure and success for what they really are. Problems and
calamity will begin to mean instruction, rather than destruction. He will
feel freer and saner . . . Wonderful and unaccountable things will start to
happen. Twisted relations with family and on the outside will
unaccountably improve."
Bill W., June 1958
c. 1988 AAGrapevine
The
Language of the Heart, p. 241
Thought
to Consider . . .
Trying
to pray is praying.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
H O P E
Heart Open; Please Enter
*~*^Just
For
Today!^*~*
More realism and therefore
more honesty about ourselves are the great gains we make under the influence of
Step Five. As we took inventory, we began to suspect how much trouble
self-delusion had been causing us. This had brought a disturbing reflection. If
all our lives we had more or less fooled ourselves, how could we now be so sure
that we weren't still self-deceived? How could we be certain that we had made a
true catalog of our defects and had really admitted them, even to ourselves?
Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was
probable we couldn't appraise ourselves fairly at all. Too much guilt and
remorse might cause us to dramatize and exaggerate our shortcomings. Or anger
and hurt pride might be the smoke screen under which we were hiding some of our
defects while we blamed others for them. Possibly, too, we were still
handicapped by many liabilities, great and small, we never knew we
had.
1981 AAWS Inc.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
pages
58-59
A SAFETY NET
Occasionally . . . We are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 105
Sometimes I scream, stomp my feet, and turn my back on my Higher Power. Then my disease tells me that I am a failure, and that if I stay angry I'll surely get drunk. In those moments of self-will it's as if I've slipped over a cliff and am hanging by one hand. The above passage is my safety net, in that it urges me to try some new behavior, such as being kind and patient with myself. It assures me that my Higher Power will wait until I am willing once again to risk letting go, to land in the net, and to pray.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As
Bill
Sees
It^*~*
Easy Does It - but Do It
Procrastination is really sloth in five
syllables.
<<< >>>
"My
observation is that some people can get by with a certain amount of
postponement, but few can live with outright
rebellion."
<<< >>>
"We
have succeeded in confronting many a problem drinker with that awful
alternative, This we A.A.'s do, or we die. Once this much is firmly in his
mind, more drinking only turns the coil tighter. As many an alcoholic has
said, 'I came to the place where it was either into A.A. or out the window. So
here I am!'"
1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 67
2. LETTER, 1952 - 3. LETTER,
1950
*~*^Big
Book
Quote^*~*
"Now we go out to our fellows and repair
the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has
accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show
ourselves. If we haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember
it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory
over alcohol."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
Edition
Into Action, pg.76
*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
I have gotten over my procrastination. I was
always putting things off till tomorrow and as a result they never got done.
"There is always another day" was my motto instead of "Do it now." Under the
influence of alcohol, I had grandiose plans. When I was sober I was too busy
getting over my drunk to start anything. "Someday I'll do that"- but I never did
it. In A.A. I have teamed that it's better to make a mistake once in a while
than to never do anything at all. We learn by trial and error. But we must act
now and not put it off until tomorrow. Have I learned to do it now?
Meditation for the Day
"Do not hide your light under a bushel. Arise and
shine, for the light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen in thee." The
glory of the Lord shines in the beauty of your character. It is risen in you,
even though you can realize it only in part. "Now you see as in a glass darkly,
but later you will see face to face." The glory of the Lord is too dazzling for
mortals to see fully on earth. But some of this glory is risen in you when you
try to reflect that light in your life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to be a reflection of the
Divine Light. I pray that some of its rays may shine in my
life.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN
55012
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