Thoughts For The Day~*~Growing Pains ^*^*^ August 12
TransitionsDaily
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Growing Pains
"How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result, and so into easy, happy, and good living - well, that's not only the neurotic's problem, it's the problem of life itself for all of us who have got to the point of real willingness to hew to right principles. Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy may still elude us. That's the place so many of us A.A. oldsters have come to. And it's a hell of a spot, literally."
Bill W.
1988 AAGrapevine, The Language of the
Heart, p. 237
Thought to Consider . . .
Minds are like parachutes - they won't work unless they're open.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*S O B E R
Staying Off Booze Enjoying Recovery
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
ought to be fully self-supporting,
declining outside contributions.
Alcoholics are certainly all-or-nothing people. Our reactions to money prove this. As A.A. emerged from its infancy into adolescence, we swung from the idea that we needed vast sums of money to the notion that A.A. shouldn't have any. On every lip were the words, "You can't mix A.A. and money". We shall have to separate the spiritual from the material. We took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we'd be exploited. Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed clubhouses, and as a result there was sometimes outside interference in our affairs. We had been presented with a hospital, and almost immediately the donor's son became its principal patient and would-be manager. One A.A. group was given five thousand dollars to do with what it would. The hassle over that chunk of money played havoc for years. Frightened by these complications, some groups refused to have a cent in their treasuries.
1981 AAWS Inc.
Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions, page
161
A LOOK BACKWARD
First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 77
As a traveler on a fresh and exciting A.A. journey of recovery, I experienced a newfound peace of mind and the horizon appeared clear and bright, rather than obscure and dim. Reviewing my life to discover where I had been at fault seemed to be such an arduous and dangerous task. It was painful to pause and look backward. I was afraid I might stumble! Couldn't I put the past out of my mind and just live in my new golden present? I realized that those in the past whom I had harmed stood between me and my desire to continue my movement toward serenity. I had to ask for courage to face those persons from my life who still lived in my conscience, to recognize and deal with the guilt that their presence produced in me. I had to look at the damage I had done, and become willing to make amends. Only then could my journey of the spirit resume.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Leadership in A.A.
"No society can function well without able leadership at all its levels, and A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes cherish the thought that we can do without much personal leadership at all. We are apt to warp the traditional idea of 'principles before personalities' around to such a point that there would be no 'personality' in leadership whatever. This would imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody. A leader in A.A. service is a man (or woman) who can personally put principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him with his job. When a leader power-drives us badly, we rebel; but when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no judgment of his own - well, he really isn't a leader at all."
TWELVE CONCEPTS, pp. 39-40
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink."
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition
There Is A Solution, pg. 24
*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
"There was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet by Alcoholics Anonymous. By doing so, we have a spiritual experience which revolutionizes our whole attitude toward life, toward others, and toward God's universe. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives there in a way that is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us that we could never do for ourselves." Have I let God come into my life?
Meditation for the Day
The moment a thing seems wrong to you or a person's actions to be not what you think they should be, at that moment begins your obligation and responsibility to pray for those wrongs to be righted or that person to be changed. What is wrong in your surroundings or in the people you know? Think about these things and make these matters your responsibility. Not to interfere or be a busybody, but to pray that a change may come through your influence. You may see lives altered and evils banished in time. You can become a force for good wherever you are.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be a co-worker with God. I pray that I may help people by my example.
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