"The double standard that
held me captive as an active alcoholic also filled me with terror and confusion:
'If I don't get a drink I'm going to die,' competed with 'If I continue drinking
it's going to kill me.' Both compulsive thoughts pushed me ever closer to the
bottom. That bottom produced a total acceptance of my alcoholism
with no reservations whatsoever and one that was absolutely essential for
my recovery. It was a dilemma unlike anything I had ever faced, but as I found
out later on, a necessary one if I was to succeed in this
program."
1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily
Reflections, pg. 13
*^Daily
Reflections^*
RIGOROUS HONESTY
Who wishes to be
rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and
make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let
alone meditation and prayer? Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to
carry A.A.'s message to the next sufferer? No, the average alcoholic,
self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect --- unless he has
to do these things in order to stay alive himself.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS p.
24
I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what power, energy,
and emotion this simple statement generates in me! But it's really all I need to
know for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I willing to stay sober
today? Am I willing to ask for help and am I willing to be a help to another
suffering alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of my situation?
What must I do, today, to stay sober?
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES,
INC.
*~*^As
Bill
Sees
It^*~*
Courage and Prudence
When fear persisted, we knew it for what it was and
we became able to handle it. We began to see each adversity as a God-given
opportunity to develop the kind of courage which is born of humility, rather
than of bravado.
<<< >>>
Prudence is a workable middle
ground, a channel of clear sailing between the obstacles of fear on the one side
and of recklessness on the other. Prudence in practice creates a definite
climate, the only climate in which harmony, effectiveness, and consistent
spiritual progress can be achieved.
<<< >>>
"Prudence is
rational concern without worry."
1. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962
2. TWELVE CONCEPTS, P.
65
3.TALK, 1966
*~*^Big
Book
Quote^*~*
"Our description of the
alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventure before
and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic
and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power
could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He
were sought."
Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th Edition
How It Works, Page 60
*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*
A.A. Thought for the
Day
As we became alcoholics, the bad effects of drinking
came more and more to outweigh the good effects. But the strange part of it is
that, no matter what drinking did to us, loss of our health, our jobs, our
money, and our homes, we still stuck to it and depended on it. Our dependence on
drinking became an obsession. In A.A., we find a new outlook on life. We learn
how to change from alcoholic thinking to sober thinking. And we find out that we
can no longer depend on drinking for anything. We depend on a Higher Power
instead. Have I entirely given up that dependence on drinking?
Meditation for the
Day
I will try to
keep my life calm and unruffled. This is my great task, to find peace and
acquire serenity. I must not harbor disturbing thoughts. No matter what fears,
worries, and resentments I may have, I must try to think of constructive things,
until calmness comes. Only when I am calm can I act as a channel for God's
spirit.
Prayer for the
Day
I pray that I may build
up instead of tearing down. I pray that I may be constructive and not
destructive.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City,
MN 55012