Thoughts For The Day~*~Ground Zero ^*^*^ October 4
TransitionsDaily
~A.A.
Thoughts
For
The Day~
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Ground Zero
"War fever ran high in the New England town to
which we new, young officers from Plattsburg were assigned, and we were
flattered when the first citizens took us to their homes, making us feel
heroic. Here was love, applause, war; moments sublime with intervals
hilarious. I was part of life at last, and in the midst of the
excitement I discovered liquor. I forgot the strong warnings and the
prejudices of my people concerning drink. In time we sailed for 'Over
There.' We landed in England. I visited Winchester Cathedral. Much
moved, I wandered outside. My attention was caught by a doggerel on an old
tombstone: 'Here lies a Hampshire Grenadier Who caught his death
Drinking cold small beer . . .' Ominous warning - which I failed to
heed."
Bill W., c.1976AAWS
Alcoholics
Anonymous p. 1
Thought
to Consider . . .
I have
learned what the Grace of God feels like.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
H E A R T
Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together
Endorsement
"The news wires carried the
news of Mr. Rockefeller's [1940] dinner [planned by John D., Jr., but attended
and moderated by his son, Nelson] all over the world. A few of the stories that
appeared were somewhat lurid and ran under startling headlines. One headline
informed the public: 'John D. Rockefeller dines tosspots.' But all the stories
plugged A.A. just the same; even the tabloids gave us the glad hand. The total
effect was to give Alcoholics Anonymous a public status of dignity and worth.
Thus encouraged, considerable numbers of people went to their bookstores to buy
the A.A. book. Orders poured in and our financial difficulties were much eased.
Hundreds of requests for help came from alcoholics and their families all over
the nation."
2001 AAWS Inc.
Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 185-86
A NECESSARY PRUNING
. . . we know that the pains of drinking had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 94
I love spending time in my garden feeding and pruning my beautiful flowers. One day, as I was busily snipping away, a neighbor stopped by. She commented, "Oh! Your plants are so beautiful, it seems such a shame to cut them back." I replied, "I know how you feel, but the excess must be removed so they can grow stronger and healthier." Later I thought that perhaps my plants feel pain, but God and I know it's part of the plan and I've seen the results. I was quickly reminded of my precious A.A. program and how we all grow through pain. I ask God to prune me when it's time, so I can grow.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
To Lighten Our Burden
Only one consideration should qualify our desire for a complete disclosure of the damage we have done. That will arise where a full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we are making amends. Or - quite as important - other people. We cannot, for example, unload a detailed account of extramarital adventuring upon the shoulders of our unsuspecting wife or husband. It does not lighten our burden when we recklessly make the crosses of others heavier.
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In making amends, we should be sensible, tactful, considerate, and humble without being servile or scraping. As God's people, we stand on our feet; we don't crawl before anyone.
1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 86
2. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 83
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
We Agnostics, pg. 55
*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*
A.A. Thought For The Day
Am I
critical of other members of A.A. or of new prospects? Do I ever say about
other members: "I don't think they're sincere, I think they're bluffing, or
I think they're taking a few drinks on the quiet?" Do I realize that my
doubtful and skeptical attitude is hurting those members, if only in my
attitude toward them, which they cannot help sensing? Do I say about new
prospects: "They'll never make the program," or do I say: "They'll only last
a few months?" If I take this attitude, I am unconsciously hurting
those prospects' chances. Is my attitude always constructive and never
destructive?
Meditation For The Day
To be attracted toward God and a better life, you
must be spirit-guided. There is wonderful illumination of thought given to
those who are spirit-guided. To those who are material-guided, there is
nothing in God or a finer life to appeal to them or to attract them. But
to those who are spirit-guided there is strength and peace and calm to be
found in communion with an Unseen Lord. To those who believe in this God
they cannot see but whose power they can feel, life has a meaning and
purpose. They are children of the Unseen Lord, and all human beings are
their brothers and sisters.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be spirit-guided. I pray
that I may feel God's presence and power in my life.
Hazelden
Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012
click here to join.
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