Thoughts For The Day~*~Fear ^*^*^ August 21
Transitions Daily
~*~A.A.
Thoughts
For
The Day~*~
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Fear
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"The practice of AA's Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions in our personal lives also brought incredible releases from
fear of every description, despite the wide prevalence of formidable
personal problems. When fear did persist, we knew it for what it was,
and under God's grace 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 bravado. Thus we were enabled to
accept ourselves, our circumstances, and our fellows."
Bill
W., January 1962
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the
Heart, p. 268
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Thought
to Consider . . .
Courage is the willingness to accept fear and act
anyway.
F E A R = Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
With the onset of depression, his academic performance dropped. The upshot was that I failed German and, for that reason, could not graduate. Here I was, president of my senior class and they wouldn't give me a diploma! My mother arrived, extremely angry, from Boston. A stormy scene took place in the principal's office. Still, I didn't get that diploma.
He failed to graduate with his class (although school records now list him with the group). Following a summer of agonizing depression, he went to live with his mother near Boston and completed makeup work that qualified him for college.
What had caused
Bill to change from high achiever to a helpless depressive? As he saw it, the
major problem was the he could no longer be Number One. I could not be
anybody at all. I could not win, because the adversary was death. So my
life, I thought, had ended then and there.
1984, AAWS, Inc.,
Pass It On The story of Bill Wilson and how the AA message reached the
world, pages
36-37
WE JUST TRY
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive.
THE BEST OF BILL, p. 46-47
As long as I try, with all my heart and soul, to pass along to others what has been passed along to me, and do not demand anything in return, life is good to me. Before entering this program of Alcoholics Anonymous I was never able to give without demanding something in return. Little did I know that, once I began to give freely of myself, I would begin to receive, without ever expecting or demanding anything at all. What I receive today is the gift of "stability", as Bill did; stability in my A.A. program; within myself; but most of all, in my relationship with my Higher Power, whom I choose to call God.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*
Everyday Living
The A.A. emphasis on personal inventory is heavy because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal. Once this healthy practice has become a habit, it will prove so interesting and profitable that the time it takes won't be missed. For these minutes and often hours spent in self-examination are bound to make all the other hours of our day better and happier. At length, our inventories become a necessity of everyday living, rather than something unusual or set apart.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 89-90
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked ourselves why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal relationships,(including sex) were hurt or threatened."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~ *~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
"Who are you to say there is no God? This challenge comes to all of us. Are we capable of denying that there is a design and purpose in all of life as we know it? Or are we willing to admit that faith in some kind of Divine Principle is a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend? We find a great Reality deep down within us, if we face ourselves as we really are. In the last analysis, it is only there that God may be found. When we find this Reality within us, we are restored to our right minds." Have I found the great Reality?
Meditation for the Day
"Behold, I make all things new." When you change to a new way of life, you leave many things behind you. It is only the earth-bound spirit that cannot soar. Loosen somewhat the strands that tie you to the earth. It is only the earthly desires that bind you. Your new freedom will depend on your ability to rise above earthly things. Clipped wings can grow again. Broken wings can regain a strength and beauty unknown before. if you will, you can be released and free.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be freed from things that hold me down. I pray that my spirit may soar in freedom.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012