bluidkiti
05-10-2023, 06:29 AM
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
May 11
Daily Reflections
A NEW SENSE OF BELONGING
Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had
listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 57
After four years in A.A. I was able to discover the freedom from the
burden of buried emotions that had caused me so much pain. With the
help of A.A., and extra counseling, the pain was released and I felt a
complete sense of belonging and peace. I also felt a joy and a love of
God that I had never experienced before. I am in awe of the power of
Step Five.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We can depend on those members of any group who have gone all out
for the program. They come to meetings. They work with other
alcoholics. We don't have to worry about their slipping. They're loyal
members of the group. I'm trying to be a loyal member of the group.
When I'm tempted to take a drink, I tell myself that if I did I'd be letting
down the other members who are the best friends I have. Am I going to
let them down, if I can help it?
Meditation For The Day
Wherever there is true fellowship and love between people, God's spirit
is always there as the Divine Third. In all human relationships, the
Divine Spirit is what brings them together. When a life is changed
through the channel of another person, it is God, the Divine Third, who
always makes the change, using the person as a means. The moving
power behind all spiritual things, all personal relationships between
people is God, the Divine Third, who is always there. No personal
relationships can be entirely right without the presence of God's spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be used as a channel by God's spirit. I pray that I may
feel that the Divine Third is always there to help me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Obstacles in Our Path, p. 131
We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or lesser degree,
everybody is infected with it. From this defect we must surely get a
warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume so
much time wishing for what we have not, rather than working for it,
or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of
adjusting to the fact, and accepting it?
<< << << >> >> >>
Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his
fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do
for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or
unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these
objectives. We now see clearly that we have been making
unreasonable demands upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
12 & 12
1. p. 67
2. p. 76
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Unfair People
Relations
Now and then, we encounter people who are almost blatant in their unfairness to others. We may make a 200-mile drive to a customer who is completely unprepared to see us, despite having had advanced notice. Or we may have a friend who is openly critical of our shortcomings while completely overlooking his or her own.
Unfair though these people may be, they give us the opportunity to exercise spiritual muscles. We can improve ourselves and the world by refusing to retaliate when such unfairness occurs.
The long-term benefit is that many of these unfair people change or fade out of our lives. As we handle such things spiritually, we recall times when we too were unfair, and we realize that such faults are part of the human condition. We are lucky people because we're being given the opportunity to raise the human condition to a higher level. We also hear that "life's isn't fair", it's just there" Not understanding life completely , we're not sure about its fairness. What we are sure about is that we value fairness and can show more of it now that we're sober.
I will not seek out unfair treatment today, but neither will I be upset if it occurs. If it does, I'll deal with it as another lesson in my spiritual growth.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
An honest man's the noblest work of God.--- Alexander Pope
Step five says," Admitted to God, to ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." When we did this Step, the person we admitted our wrongs to didn't run away or reject us. That person stuck with us. Chances are, we were told that we are quite human. And working Step Five helped us to see that we can change, now that we're sober.
The most important part of Step five is the act of being totally honest about ourselves. Then we know that relationships---with our Higher Power, ourselves, and others---can be built. We have faced the truth. Now we know we never have to lie.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I know no Fifth Step is perfect. Please help me be as honest as I can in doing my Fifth Step and at other times.
Action for the Day: If I’ve avoided doing a Fifth Step, I'll talk to my sponsor about it today.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
Bad moments, like good ones, tend to be grouped together. --Edna O'Brien
Rough times may be pouring in on us at the moment, and they may seem unending. Difficulties appear to attract more difficulties, problems with loved ones, problems at work, problems with our appearance. A negative attitude, something that we all struggle with at times (some of us more than others), is the culprit.
When the good times come, as they always do, they are accompanied by a positive attitude. We do find what we look for.
Our attitude is crucial. It determines our experiences. A trying situation can be tolerated with relative ease when we have a positive, trusting attitude. We forget, generally, that we have an inner source of strength to meet every situation. We forget the simple truth--all is well, at this moment, and at every moment. When the moments feel good, our presence is light, cheery. When the moments are heavy, so are we.
I can turn my day around. I can change the flavor of today's experiences. I can lift my spirits and know all is well.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreword To Second Edition
Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.
While the internal difficulties of our adolescent period were being ironed out, public acceptance of A.A. grew by leaps and bounds. For this there were two principal reasons: the large numbers of recoveries and reunited homes. These made their impressions everywhere. Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement. Other thousands came to a few A.A. meetings and at first decided they didn't want the program. But great numbers of these—about two out of three—began to return as time passed.
pp. xix-xx
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
On the day I entered prison, nine of my fellow pilots began making our family's house payments, which they did for nearly four years. After my release from prison, I made four attempts to get the to let us take over, and they refused each time. So many came to help us from places we could never have imagined.
p. 526
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
But today, in well-matured A.A.'s, these distorted drives have been restored to something like their true purpose and direction. We no longer strive to dominate or rule those about us in order to gain self-importance. We no longer seek fame and honor in order to be praised. When by devoted service to family, friends, business, or community we attract widespread affection and are sometimes singled out for posts of greater responsibility and trust, we try to be humbly grateful and exert ourselves the more in a spirit of love and service. True leadership, we find, depends upon able example and not upon vain displays of power or glory.
p. 124
************************************************** *********
"The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keep out the
joy."
--Jim Rohn
What men and women need is encouragement. . . Instead of always
harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out
of his rut of bad habits.
--Eleanor H. Porter
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred
days of sorrow.
--Chinese Proverb
An airport is where you go to waste time waiting that you're going to
save flying.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES
I know that what comes to me today is a tiny part of God's big plan for
my life. I am not alone.
--A Woman's Spirit
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PROCRASTINATION
"Procrastination - the art of
keeping up with yesterday."
--Don Marquis
Today I try to do all that I have set myself to do in a given day. I make a
list of things that I need to do and a list of those things that I want to do -
the things I "need" to do usually take priority.
This was not always the case. As a drinking alcoholic my life was
littered with promises that were never kept, intentions that were never
honored, appointments and meetings that did not happen. I pushed
everything into tomorrow - and tomorrow never came.
My understanding of spirituality involves a responsibility for those things
that I need to do. When I awake, I thank God for my sleep and I make a
silent intention not to drink today; then I face my responsibilities. I
separate my "needs" from my "wants" and I remember that I have a
responsibility to other people: family, friends and colleagues. Today I am
learning to live in my day.
Lord, may I do the things I should do and may I find time for those
things I want to do.
************************************************** *********
"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body
so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is
patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the
truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will
come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it
will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophecy only in
part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to
childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see
face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as
I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these
three; and the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Stand tall and smile often and it will be very difficult to be unhappy. Lord, may my disposition reflect the joy and peace that is Your Will.
When we give in to fears and worries they will take charge of our lives. Lord, I place my trust in You so that I may experience every opportunity and not miss in life that which is meant for me.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Balancing The Scales
"A lot of our chief concerns and major difficulties come from our inexperience with living without drugs. Often when we ask an old timer what to do, we are amazed at the simplicity of the answer."
Basic Text, pp. 41-42
Finding balance in recovery is quite a bit like sitting down with a set of scales and a pile of sand. The goal is to have an equal amount of sand on each side of the scales, achieving a balance of weight.
We do the same thing in recovery. We sit down with the foundation of our clean time and the Twelve Steps, then attempt to add employment, household responsibilities, friends, sponsees, relationships, meetings, and service in equal weights so that the scales balance. Our first try may throw our personal scales out of kilter. We may find that, because of our over-involvement in service, we have upset our employer or our family. But when we try to correct this problem by resigning from NA service altogether, the other side of the scales go out of balance.
We can ask for help from members who have stabilized their scales. These people are easy to recognize. They appear serene, composed, and self-assured. They'll smile in recognition at our dilemma and share how they slowed down, added only a few grains of sand at a time to either side of the scales, and were rewarded with balance in recovery.
Just for today: I seek balance in my life. Today, I will ask others to share their experience in finding that balance.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I'm delighted that the future is unsure. That's the way it should be. --William Sloane Coffin
Some of life's richest moments are the most unexpected: the old friend met by chance, or the new one discovered when neither of us were really looking; the toy at the bottom of the toy box, rediscovered and loved anew; the book, the flower, the shaft of light we were in the right place at the right time to notice and embrace.
It is important to dream and plan, to work toward goals, to mark the milestones we pass on life's journey. No less important, though, is to open ourselves to the unexpected joys awaiting us every day.
Am I ready, today, to expect the unexpected?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
There is no shortcut to life. To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned. --Harrison E. Salisbury
There are no perfect days. We have struggled hard against this truth. In our demanding ways, we haven't wanted life to be a process; we have wanted to reach a secure point of arrival. We have struggled against the dialogue and learning process of experience. We've looked for a "fix" and for perfection. Even now in recovery we long to "get it right." We continue to learn and to grow, but the lessons we learn are not the things we expected. We grieve the lateness of our learning, and then we go on to learn more.
As we grow in this program, we learn how to learn. We become more accepting of life as a process with no shortcut to the truth. We learn to engage in the process and accept that there usually is no right or wrong answer at the end of our search.
Today, may I accept the truth which comes from the lessons of my experience - and be tolerant of its incompleteness.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Bad moments, like good ones, tend to be grouped together. --Edna O'Brien
Rough times may be pouring in on us at the moment, and they may seem unending. Difficulties appear to attract more difficulties, problems with loved ones, problems at work, problems with our appearance. A negative attitude, something that we all struggle with at times (some of us more than others), is the culprit.
When the good times come, as they always do, they are accompanied by a positive attitude. We do find what we look for.
Our attitude is crucial. It determines our experiences. A trying situation can be tolerated with relative ease when we have a positive, trusting attitude. We forget, generally, that we have an inner source of strength to meet every situation. We forget the simple truth--all is well, at this moment, and at every moment. When the moments feel good, our presence is light, cheery. When the moments are heavy, so are we.
I can turn my day around. I can change the flavor of today's experiences. I can lift my spirits and know all is well.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Perfection
Many of us picked on ourselves unmercifully before recovery. We may also have a tendency too pick on ourselves after we begin recovery.
If I was really recovering, I wouldn't be doing that again . . .. I should be further along than I am. These are statements that we indulge in when were feeling shame. We don't need to treat ourselves that way. There is no benefit.
Remember, shame blocks us. But self-love and acceptance enable us to grow and change. If we truly have done something we feel guilty about, we can correct it with an amend and an attitude of self-acceptance and love.
Even if we slip back to our old, codependent ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, we do not need to be ashamed. We all regress from time to time. That's how we learn and grow. Relapse, or recycling, is an important and necessary part of recovery. And the way out of recycling is not by shaming ourselves. That leads us deeper into codependency.
Much pain comes from trying to be perfect. Perfection is impossible unless we think of it in a new way: Perfection is being who and where we are today; its accepting and loving ourselves just as we are. We are each right where we need to be in our recovery.
Today, I will love and accept myself for who I am and where I am in my recovery process. I am right where I need to be to get to where Im going tomorrow.
Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me. --Ruth Fishel
**************************************************
Journey to the Heart
Love Yourself Enough to Relax
Our bodies react to the world around us– and within us– in many ways. Our bodies act like sponges– they can soak up healing energy or they can absorb and trap the negative energy of stress and tension. Some of us are so used to keeping our body tense and bound up we don’t even notice how much they hurt, how strained and tight our muscles are.
Connect with your body. Learn to tell how tense it is. Take a few moments throughout the day to see what hurts, what aches, what muscles are being strained. Although tension can affect the entire body, many of us have favorite places in our body to store stress, places that usually become tense, rigid, and full of aches. Necks, shoulders, lower backs are favorite traps. Become familiar with your body and where it stores stress and tension.
Then, learn to relax. Explore different options. Therapeutic massage. Self-hynosis. Meditation. Soaking in a hot bath. Sitting in the steam room. Exercise. Visualization. Taking time to do activities that bring you pleasure. If you make the effort to explore relaxation techniques, you will find ways to relax that you like and can afford.
If you’ve been soaking up too much stress, give yourself a break. Let your body start soaking up some healing energy,too. Love yourself enough to help your body relax.
**************************************************
More language of letting go
Say when it’s time to disengage
“Run, duck, hide.”
It’s a motto that has served me well, particularly since I moved to California. “It takes money and a car to live here,” a friend told me once. He was right. And those who don’t have money or a car may try to take yours, I learned soon after that.
Manipulations, scams, and disturbed people abound.
They can be found anywhere. And sometimes these people are not all that disturbed. They’re just going through their stuff, and it doesn’t involve or pertain to us.
Sometimes, it doesn’t make any sense to be therapeutic, helpful, or nice when other people are trying to dump their insanity on you. It will only get you in deeper. Using any rules of engagement will simply mean you’re engaged. Disengage immediately.
Learn when to use your social skills. And learn when it’s time to run, duck, or hide.
God, help me detach when immediate disengagement is what’s required.
**************************************************
Rain
Cleansing Nature by Madisyn Taylor
On the next rainy day, imagine the rain washing away and cleansing your emotional body.
There are times when we might feel the need to wash away all of our troubles and call forth freshness into our lives. Since perhaps the most cleansing substance on this earth is water, we can think of the joy rain brings as an energetic bath, rejuvenating our minds, bodies and souls. Just being able to spend a few moments every time it rains to become aware of the healing powers water brings to us can renew us in so many ways. As we do this we will find that the more we appreciate the universe’s gift to us in the form of rain, the more we can see that a gentle rain shower is a strong reflective tool that has the ability to cleanse our entire being.
The next time it rains might be a good chance to experience the rain through all of your senses, allowing you to truly understand just how truly important each and every drop of water is. First, take a few minutes to look outside and notice how each individual raindrop seems to come down in a continual stream. By noticing this you can contemplate how it takes many small accomplishments to create the whole of your existence, for nothing exists in isolation. Then you might wish to focus your attention on the sound of the rainfall, letting the sounds of drops penetrate into the innermost recesses of your self. Listening in this way may bring you a greater sense of connection with nature and the world around you, knowing that the sounds you hear are an integral part of not just the physical sustenance you require but also nourish your spirit as well.
Consciously using our senses to feel nature’s healing energy as it comes to us in the form of rain is an act of internal cleansing. Just as the rain physically washes over the earth and rinses out any impurities and imperfections, so it also bathes our spirit in the joy that comes from knowing that we are in fact one with the world around us. Published with permission from Daily OM
**************************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Now that I know I can’t use bottled courage, I seek and pray for 24-hour courage to change the things I can. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of courage that will make me a strong and brave person for life, able to handle any and all situations courageously. Rather, what I need is a persistent and intelligent courage, continuing each day into the next one — but doing today only what can be done today and avoiding all fear and worry with regard to the final results. What does courage mean to me today?
Today I Pray
May I tackle only those things which I have a chance of changing. And change must start with me, a day at a time. May I know that acceptance often is a form of courage. I pray not for super-bravery, but just for persistence to meet what life brings to me without being overcome by it.
Today I Will Remember
Courage is meeting A Day At A Time.
**************************************************
One More Day
The emotions may be endless. The more we express them, the more we may have to express.
E. M. Foster
Like layers of paint, our resistance to expressing our emotions can be peeled away. Poor health may make us feel as though we don’t want to expend the effort anymore. We may have withdrawn within ourselves, isolated our feelings from risk or hurt or disappointment.
Right now might be a good time to take a long, hard look at ourselves. Are we protecting ourselves by not discussing our feelings or sharing our emotions with others? Not until those outer layers of fear, loneliness, and pain are stripped away can we get in touch with our emotions. Surprising as it seems, when we let go of our feelings and start to be totally honest with ourselves, we find greater and deeper and lovelier emotions to express.
I can openly express my feelings to those closest to me.
************************************
Food For Thought
Body Signals
When we were overeating compulsively, our bodies seemed to signal constant craving. Now that we are practicing a sane way of eating, we find that our bodies are more responsive to what we put into them.
We discover that we are more satisfied with small amounts of high quality food than we were with vast quantities of junk. Our bodies function better and we begin to hunger for wholesome, natural food rather than the refined sugars and starches we formerly craved.
Before, we never had enough. Now, we eat slowly and give our bodies time to signal cessation of hunger. We finish a meal feeling replete and energized, rather than overstuffed and sluggish. We wake up refreshed after fewer hours of sleep.
Now we can accept periods of hunger before meals as good, rather than something to be feared and avoided at all costs. There is no law against being hungry at times - it adds to the enjoyment of our meals. As our bodies become healthier, we experience them with greater awareness and pleasure.
Make me responsive to the signals of my body.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
COURAGE
“The courage of life is often less a dramatic spectacle
than the courage of the final moment;
but it is no less than a magnificent mixture
of triumph and tragedy.”
John F. Kennedy
As a little girl, I often daydreamed of a knight in shining armor who would ride bravely into my life and rescue me from my fears and insecurities. This knight would be fearless; un-phased by fire-breathing dragons, deep dark caves, or howling winds. He would have courage where I had only fear.
The knight never came. I began to look for other rescuers in my friends, rolemodels, teachers, and church. Still I could not find what I sought. My fears continued to scream in my soul ... and I felt so weak. I turned to food in an attempt to silence the monsters in my belly.
Sometimes my fear and hopelessness were so desperate that I almost ended my life – yet something inside of myself stopped me from doing so. Something inside of me clung to life and eventually brought me to The Recovery Group.
In this group of amazing people I immediately noticed the courage they exhibited in confronting the challenges in their lives and in choosing to learn and grow from every failure and every success. I marvel at the courage with which they keep moving towards more and more healing, in spite of their fears.
They have courage in spite of their fears.
The open, honest sharing of dear friends in recovery has taught me that even I had courage all along. Courage is not the absence of fear;
if there were no fear, there’d be no need for courage.
Courage means making the choice to move forward in spite of our fears.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will honor the courage I have. I will thank God for giving me the strength to move forward in spite of fear. I will celebrate the courage I see in my friends and I will encourage them on their journey.
~ Lisa V.
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends. They need your companionship and your help. It is possible to have a full and useful life, though your husband continues to drink. We know women who are unafraid, even happy under these conditions. Do not set your heart on reforming your husband. You may be unable to do so, no matter how hard you try. - Pg. 111 - To Wives
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
There is a certain universality to the truths taught in our 12 step programs. They are nothing new. These principles are derived from eons of experience and spirituality. What is new is our personal understanding that living these principles gives us a reprieve from our addiction.
Thank you God, as I understand You, for my daily reprieve from addiction based on my sincere attempt to practice these principles.
Accepting Caring from Others
I will soak up any extra attention that I get while I'm not feeling up to par. Even if I don't need it at the moment, I will soak it into my pores and store it up for a time when I do need it. I will let the attention feel good. I will allow it to restore my faith in and affection for people. I enjoy the little things people are willing to do for me, going a bit out of their way, worrying about how I'm doing. It feels good if I let it. It restores me if I willing to feel good.
Feeling grateful for what is coming my way has a healing power all its own.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Don't let your starting point in recovery ever discourage you. Don't let your starting point today put a frown on your face. Anyone who gets to be an old-timer had to be a newcomer first. Smile and start.
My journey of a thousand smiles begins with the First Step.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
You can change any thought that hurts into a reality that hurts even more.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
No matter how bad things are, eventually drinking will make them worse. That's a flat out guarantee. - Cubby S.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
May 11
Steps Four and Five
If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over our careers,
and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather not remember, . .
then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday
gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 55
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trust God. Clean house. Help others.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Powerful Step.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Maturity
"Many oldsters who have put our AA 'booze cure'
to severe but successful tests
still find they often lack emotional sobriety.
To attain this,
we must develop a real maturity and balance
(which is to say humility)
in our relations with ourselves,
with our fellows,
and with God."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, January 1958
As Bill Sees It, p. 244
Thought to Consider . . .
"We must find a spiritual basis of life -- or else."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 44
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
AA
Attitude Adjustment
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Inspiration
From "This Spirit Touch":
"At some time, perhaps in a more moderate way, nearly everyone has experienced this spirit touch of God" the fleeting
feeling of insight, love, joy, and 'The world is right.' Once, I thought that only unusual circumstances made these
moments possible. Actually, I now think, they are forecasts of what one can have if one is willing to take the time and
make the effort. Peace, love, and joy can be sought through quiet thinking and honest prayer. The wholeness, the new
awareness, that is produced affects one's relationship with God and man to a degree greater than would seem possible
in ordinary life."
AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 65
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The AA program does not recognize walls. It is immune to the conditions which break down an individual relationship,
the difference in social levels, of intellect, of experience. AA takes no heed of this. It has one primary law, help your
fellow man and do it by example rather than by instruction."
Walla Walla,Wash., February 1955
"Prisoner AA,"
AA Grapevine
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can
quickly diagnose yourself, Step over to the nearest barroom and try
some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it
more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are
honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters
if you get a full knowledge of your condition."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 31~
"Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. We shouldn't be shy
on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are using it constantly."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85
It is worth noting that people of very high spiritual development almost always insist on checking with friends or spiritual
advisers the guidance they feel they have received from God.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 60
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Obstacles in Our Path
We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or lesser degree, everybody is infected with it. From this defect we
must surely get a warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume so much time wishing for what we have
not, rather than working for it, or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of adjusting to the fact, and
accepting it?
Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of
God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our
path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands upon ourselves,
upon others, and upon God.
TWELVE AND TWELVE
1. P. 67
2. P. 76
Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, no matter how old I get I still feel young and niave. Grant me the wisdom to chose the right path. Guide me for I do not know the way.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
May 11
Daily Reflections
A NEW SENSE OF BELONGING
Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had
listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 57
After four years in A.A. I was able to discover the freedom from the
burden of buried emotions that had caused me so much pain. With the
help of A.A., and extra counseling, the pain was released and I felt a
complete sense of belonging and peace. I also felt a joy and a love of
God that I had never experienced before. I am in awe of the power of
Step Five.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We can depend on those members of any group who have gone all out
for the program. They come to meetings. They work with other
alcoholics. We don't have to worry about their slipping. They're loyal
members of the group. I'm trying to be a loyal member of the group.
When I'm tempted to take a drink, I tell myself that if I did I'd be letting
down the other members who are the best friends I have. Am I going to
let them down, if I can help it?
Meditation For The Day
Wherever there is true fellowship and love between people, God's spirit
is always there as the Divine Third. In all human relationships, the
Divine Spirit is what brings them together. When a life is changed
through the channel of another person, it is God, the Divine Third, who
always makes the change, using the person as a means. The moving
power behind all spiritual things, all personal relationships between
people is God, the Divine Third, who is always there. No personal
relationships can be entirely right without the presence of God's spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be used as a channel by God's spirit. I pray that I may
feel that the Divine Third is always there to help me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Obstacles in Our Path, p. 131
We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or lesser degree,
everybody is infected with it. From this defect we must surely get a
warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume so
much time wishing for what we have not, rather than working for it,
or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of
adjusting to the fact, and accepting it?
<< << << >> >> >>
Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his
fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do
for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or
unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these
objectives. We now see clearly that we have been making
unreasonable demands upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
12 & 12
1. p. 67
2. p. 76
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Unfair People
Relations
Now and then, we encounter people who are almost blatant in their unfairness to others. We may make a 200-mile drive to a customer who is completely unprepared to see us, despite having had advanced notice. Or we may have a friend who is openly critical of our shortcomings while completely overlooking his or her own.
Unfair though these people may be, they give us the opportunity to exercise spiritual muscles. We can improve ourselves and the world by refusing to retaliate when such unfairness occurs.
The long-term benefit is that many of these unfair people change or fade out of our lives. As we handle such things spiritually, we recall times when we too were unfair, and we realize that such faults are part of the human condition. We are lucky people because we're being given the opportunity to raise the human condition to a higher level. We also hear that "life's isn't fair", it's just there" Not understanding life completely , we're not sure about its fairness. What we are sure about is that we value fairness and can show more of it now that we're sober.
I will not seek out unfair treatment today, but neither will I be upset if it occurs. If it does, I'll deal with it as another lesson in my spiritual growth.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
An honest man's the noblest work of God.--- Alexander Pope
Step five says," Admitted to God, to ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." When we did this Step, the person we admitted our wrongs to didn't run away or reject us. That person stuck with us. Chances are, we were told that we are quite human. And working Step Five helped us to see that we can change, now that we're sober.
The most important part of Step five is the act of being totally honest about ourselves. Then we know that relationships---with our Higher Power, ourselves, and others---can be built. We have faced the truth. Now we know we never have to lie.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I know no Fifth Step is perfect. Please help me be as honest as I can in doing my Fifth Step and at other times.
Action for the Day: If I’ve avoided doing a Fifth Step, I'll talk to my sponsor about it today.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
Bad moments, like good ones, tend to be grouped together. --Edna O'Brien
Rough times may be pouring in on us at the moment, and they may seem unending. Difficulties appear to attract more difficulties, problems with loved ones, problems at work, problems with our appearance. A negative attitude, something that we all struggle with at times (some of us more than others), is the culprit.
When the good times come, as they always do, they are accompanied by a positive attitude. We do find what we look for.
Our attitude is crucial. It determines our experiences. A trying situation can be tolerated with relative ease when we have a positive, trusting attitude. We forget, generally, that we have an inner source of strength to meet every situation. We forget the simple truth--all is well, at this moment, and at every moment. When the moments feel good, our presence is light, cheery. When the moments are heavy, so are we.
I can turn my day around. I can change the flavor of today's experiences. I can lift my spirits and know all is well.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreword To Second Edition
Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.
While the internal difficulties of our adolescent period were being ironed out, public acceptance of A.A. grew by leaps and bounds. For this there were two principal reasons: the large numbers of recoveries and reunited homes. These made their impressions everywhere. Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement. Other thousands came to a few A.A. meetings and at first decided they didn't want the program. But great numbers of these—about two out of three—began to return as time passed.
pp. xix-xx
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
On the day I entered prison, nine of my fellow pilots began making our family's house payments, which they did for nearly four years. After my release from prison, I made four attempts to get the to let us take over, and they refused each time. So many came to help us from places we could never have imagined.
p. 526
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
But today, in well-matured A.A.'s, these distorted drives have been restored to something like their true purpose and direction. We no longer strive to dominate or rule those about us in order to gain self-importance. We no longer seek fame and honor in order to be praised. When by devoted service to family, friends, business, or community we attract widespread affection and are sometimes singled out for posts of greater responsibility and trust, we try to be humbly grateful and exert ourselves the more in a spirit of love and service. True leadership, we find, depends upon able example and not upon vain displays of power or glory.
p. 124
************************************************** *********
"The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keep out the
joy."
--Jim Rohn
What men and women need is encouragement. . . Instead of always
harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out
of his rut of bad habits.
--Eleanor H. Porter
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred
days of sorrow.
--Chinese Proverb
An airport is where you go to waste time waiting that you're going to
save flying.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES
I know that what comes to me today is a tiny part of God's big plan for
my life. I am not alone.
--A Woman's Spirit
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PROCRASTINATION
"Procrastination - the art of
keeping up with yesterday."
--Don Marquis
Today I try to do all that I have set myself to do in a given day. I make a
list of things that I need to do and a list of those things that I want to do -
the things I "need" to do usually take priority.
This was not always the case. As a drinking alcoholic my life was
littered with promises that were never kept, intentions that were never
honored, appointments and meetings that did not happen. I pushed
everything into tomorrow - and tomorrow never came.
My understanding of spirituality involves a responsibility for those things
that I need to do. When I awake, I thank God for my sleep and I make a
silent intention not to drink today; then I face my responsibilities. I
separate my "needs" from my "wants" and I remember that I have a
responsibility to other people: family, friends and colleagues. Today I am
learning to live in my day.
Lord, may I do the things I should do and may I find time for those
things I want to do.
************************************************** *********
"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body
so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is
patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the
truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will
come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it
will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophecy only in
part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to
childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see
face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as
I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these
three; and the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Stand tall and smile often and it will be very difficult to be unhappy. Lord, may my disposition reflect the joy and peace that is Your Will.
When we give in to fears and worries they will take charge of our lives. Lord, I place my trust in You so that I may experience every opportunity and not miss in life that which is meant for me.
************************************************** *********
NA Just For Today
Balancing The Scales
"A lot of our chief concerns and major difficulties come from our inexperience with living without drugs. Often when we ask an old timer what to do, we are amazed at the simplicity of the answer."
Basic Text, pp. 41-42
Finding balance in recovery is quite a bit like sitting down with a set of scales and a pile of sand. The goal is to have an equal amount of sand on each side of the scales, achieving a balance of weight.
We do the same thing in recovery. We sit down with the foundation of our clean time and the Twelve Steps, then attempt to add employment, household responsibilities, friends, sponsees, relationships, meetings, and service in equal weights so that the scales balance. Our first try may throw our personal scales out of kilter. We may find that, because of our over-involvement in service, we have upset our employer or our family. But when we try to correct this problem by resigning from NA service altogether, the other side of the scales go out of balance.
We can ask for help from members who have stabilized their scales. These people are easy to recognize. They appear serene, composed, and self-assured. They'll smile in recognition at our dilemma and share how they slowed down, added only a few grains of sand at a time to either side of the scales, and were rewarded with balance in recovery.
Just for today: I seek balance in my life. Today, I will ask others to share their experience in finding that balance.
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I'm delighted that the future is unsure. That's the way it should be. --William Sloane Coffin
Some of life's richest moments are the most unexpected: the old friend met by chance, or the new one discovered when neither of us were really looking; the toy at the bottom of the toy box, rediscovered and loved anew; the book, the flower, the shaft of light we were in the right place at the right time to notice and embrace.
It is important to dream and plan, to work toward goals, to mark the milestones we pass on life's journey. No less important, though, is to open ourselves to the unexpected joys awaiting us every day.
Am I ready, today, to expect the unexpected?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
There is no shortcut to life. To the end of our days, life is a lesson imperfectly learned. --Harrison E. Salisbury
There are no perfect days. We have struggled hard against this truth. In our demanding ways, we haven't wanted life to be a process; we have wanted to reach a secure point of arrival. We have struggled against the dialogue and learning process of experience. We've looked for a "fix" and for perfection. Even now in recovery we long to "get it right." We continue to learn and to grow, but the lessons we learn are not the things we expected. We grieve the lateness of our learning, and then we go on to learn more.
As we grow in this program, we learn how to learn. We become more accepting of life as a process with no shortcut to the truth. We learn to engage in the process and accept that there usually is no right or wrong answer at the end of our search.
Today, may I accept the truth which comes from the lessons of my experience - and be tolerant of its incompleteness.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Bad moments, like good ones, tend to be grouped together. --Edna O'Brien
Rough times may be pouring in on us at the moment, and they may seem unending. Difficulties appear to attract more difficulties, problems with loved ones, problems at work, problems with our appearance. A negative attitude, something that we all struggle with at times (some of us more than others), is the culprit.
When the good times come, as they always do, they are accompanied by a positive attitude. We do find what we look for.
Our attitude is crucial. It determines our experiences. A trying situation can be tolerated with relative ease when we have a positive, trusting attitude. We forget, generally, that we have an inner source of strength to meet every situation. We forget the simple truth--all is well, at this moment, and at every moment. When the moments feel good, our presence is light, cheery. When the moments are heavy, so are we.
I can turn my day around. I can change the flavor of today's experiences. I can lift my spirits and know all is well.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Perfection
Many of us picked on ourselves unmercifully before recovery. We may also have a tendency too pick on ourselves after we begin recovery.
If I was really recovering, I wouldn't be doing that again . . .. I should be further along than I am. These are statements that we indulge in when were feeling shame. We don't need to treat ourselves that way. There is no benefit.
Remember, shame blocks us. But self-love and acceptance enable us to grow and change. If we truly have done something we feel guilty about, we can correct it with an amend and an attitude of self-acceptance and love.
Even if we slip back to our old, codependent ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, we do not need to be ashamed. We all regress from time to time. That's how we learn and grow. Relapse, or recycling, is an important and necessary part of recovery. And the way out of recycling is not by shaming ourselves. That leads us deeper into codependency.
Much pain comes from trying to be perfect. Perfection is impossible unless we think of it in a new way: Perfection is being who and where we are today; its accepting and loving ourselves just as we are. We are each right where we need to be in our recovery.
Today, I will love and accept myself for who I am and where I am in my recovery process. I am right where I need to be to get to where Im going tomorrow.
Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me. --Ruth Fishel
**************************************************
Journey to the Heart
Love Yourself Enough to Relax
Our bodies react to the world around us– and within us– in many ways. Our bodies act like sponges– they can soak up healing energy or they can absorb and trap the negative energy of stress and tension. Some of us are so used to keeping our body tense and bound up we don’t even notice how much they hurt, how strained and tight our muscles are.
Connect with your body. Learn to tell how tense it is. Take a few moments throughout the day to see what hurts, what aches, what muscles are being strained. Although tension can affect the entire body, many of us have favorite places in our body to store stress, places that usually become tense, rigid, and full of aches. Necks, shoulders, lower backs are favorite traps. Become familiar with your body and where it stores stress and tension.
Then, learn to relax. Explore different options. Therapeutic massage. Self-hynosis. Meditation. Soaking in a hot bath. Sitting in the steam room. Exercise. Visualization. Taking time to do activities that bring you pleasure. If you make the effort to explore relaxation techniques, you will find ways to relax that you like and can afford.
If you’ve been soaking up too much stress, give yourself a break. Let your body start soaking up some healing energy,too. Love yourself enough to help your body relax.
**************************************************
More language of letting go
Say when it’s time to disengage
“Run, duck, hide.”
It’s a motto that has served me well, particularly since I moved to California. “It takes money and a car to live here,” a friend told me once. He was right. And those who don’t have money or a car may try to take yours, I learned soon after that.
Manipulations, scams, and disturbed people abound.
They can be found anywhere. And sometimes these people are not all that disturbed. They’re just going through their stuff, and it doesn’t involve or pertain to us.
Sometimes, it doesn’t make any sense to be therapeutic, helpful, or nice when other people are trying to dump their insanity on you. It will only get you in deeper. Using any rules of engagement will simply mean you’re engaged. Disengage immediately.
Learn when to use your social skills. And learn when it’s time to run, duck, or hide.
God, help me detach when immediate disengagement is what’s required.
**************************************************
Rain
Cleansing Nature by Madisyn Taylor
On the next rainy day, imagine the rain washing away and cleansing your emotional body.
There are times when we might feel the need to wash away all of our troubles and call forth freshness into our lives. Since perhaps the most cleansing substance on this earth is water, we can think of the joy rain brings as an energetic bath, rejuvenating our minds, bodies and souls. Just being able to spend a few moments every time it rains to become aware of the healing powers water brings to us can renew us in so many ways. As we do this we will find that the more we appreciate the universe’s gift to us in the form of rain, the more we can see that a gentle rain shower is a strong reflective tool that has the ability to cleanse our entire being.
The next time it rains might be a good chance to experience the rain through all of your senses, allowing you to truly understand just how truly important each and every drop of water is. First, take a few minutes to look outside and notice how each individual raindrop seems to come down in a continual stream. By noticing this you can contemplate how it takes many small accomplishments to create the whole of your existence, for nothing exists in isolation. Then you might wish to focus your attention on the sound of the rainfall, letting the sounds of drops penetrate into the innermost recesses of your self. Listening in this way may bring you a greater sense of connection with nature and the world around you, knowing that the sounds you hear are an integral part of not just the physical sustenance you require but also nourish your spirit as well.
Consciously using our senses to feel nature’s healing energy as it comes to us in the form of rain is an act of internal cleansing. Just as the rain physically washes over the earth and rinses out any impurities and imperfections, so it also bathes our spirit in the joy that comes from knowing that we are in fact one with the world around us. Published with permission from Daily OM
**************************************************
A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Now that I know I can’t use bottled courage, I seek and pray for 24-hour courage to change the things I can. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of courage that will make me a strong and brave person for life, able to handle any and all situations courageously. Rather, what I need is a persistent and intelligent courage, continuing each day into the next one — but doing today only what can be done today and avoiding all fear and worry with regard to the final results. What does courage mean to me today?
Today I Pray
May I tackle only those things which I have a chance of changing. And change must start with me, a day at a time. May I know that acceptance often is a form of courage. I pray not for super-bravery, but just for persistence to meet what life brings to me without being overcome by it.
Today I Will Remember
Courage is meeting A Day At A Time.
**************************************************
One More Day
The emotions may be endless. The more we express them, the more we may have to express.
E. M. Foster
Like layers of paint, our resistance to expressing our emotions can be peeled away. Poor health may make us feel as though we don’t want to expend the effort anymore. We may have withdrawn within ourselves, isolated our feelings from risk or hurt or disappointment.
Right now might be a good time to take a long, hard look at ourselves. Are we protecting ourselves by not discussing our feelings or sharing our emotions with others? Not until those outer layers of fear, loneliness, and pain are stripped away can we get in touch with our emotions. Surprising as it seems, when we let go of our feelings and start to be totally honest with ourselves, we find greater and deeper and lovelier emotions to express.
I can openly express my feelings to those closest to me.
************************************
Food For Thought
Body Signals
When we were overeating compulsively, our bodies seemed to signal constant craving. Now that we are practicing a sane way of eating, we find that our bodies are more responsive to what we put into them.
We discover that we are more satisfied with small amounts of high quality food than we were with vast quantities of junk. Our bodies function better and we begin to hunger for wholesome, natural food rather than the refined sugars and starches we formerly craved.
Before, we never had enough. Now, we eat slowly and give our bodies time to signal cessation of hunger. We finish a meal feeling replete and energized, rather than overstuffed and sluggish. We wake up refreshed after fewer hours of sleep.
Now we can accept periods of hunger before meals as good, rather than something to be feared and avoided at all costs. There is no law against being hungry at times - it adds to the enjoyment of our meals. As our bodies become healthier, we experience them with greater awareness and pleasure.
Make me responsive to the signals of my body.
*****************************************
One Day At A Time
COURAGE
“The courage of life is often less a dramatic spectacle
than the courage of the final moment;
but it is no less than a magnificent mixture
of triumph and tragedy.”
John F. Kennedy
As a little girl, I often daydreamed of a knight in shining armor who would ride bravely into my life and rescue me from my fears and insecurities. This knight would be fearless; un-phased by fire-breathing dragons, deep dark caves, or howling winds. He would have courage where I had only fear.
The knight never came. I began to look for other rescuers in my friends, rolemodels, teachers, and church. Still I could not find what I sought. My fears continued to scream in my soul ... and I felt so weak. I turned to food in an attempt to silence the monsters in my belly.
Sometimes my fear and hopelessness were so desperate that I almost ended my life – yet something inside of myself stopped me from doing so. Something inside of me clung to life and eventually brought me to The Recovery Group.
In this group of amazing people I immediately noticed the courage they exhibited in confronting the challenges in their lives and in choosing to learn and grow from every failure and every success. I marvel at the courage with which they keep moving towards more and more healing, in spite of their fears.
They have courage in spite of their fears.
The open, honest sharing of dear friends in recovery has taught me that even I had courage all along. Courage is not the absence of fear;
if there were no fear, there’d be no need for courage.
Courage means making the choice to move forward in spite of our fears.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will honor the courage I have. I will thank God for giving me the strength to move forward in spite of fear. I will celebrate the courage I see in my friends and I will encourage them on their journey.
~ Lisa V.
*****************************************
AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends. They need your companionship and your help. It is possible to have a full and useful life, though your husband continues to drink. We know women who are unafraid, even happy under these conditions. Do not set your heart on reforming your husband. You may be unable to do so, no matter how hard you try. - Pg. 111 - To Wives
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
There is a certain universality to the truths taught in our 12 step programs. They are nothing new. These principles are derived from eons of experience and spirituality. What is new is our personal understanding that living these principles gives us a reprieve from our addiction.
Thank you God, as I understand You, for my daily reprieve from addiction based on my sincere attempt to practice these principles.
Accepting Caring from Others
I will soak up any extra attention that I get while I'm not feeling up to par. Even if I don't need it at the moment, I will soak it into my pores and store it up for a time when I do need it. I will let the attention feel good. I will allow it to restore my faith in and affection for people. I enjoy the little things people are willing to do for me, going a bit out of their way, worrying about how I'm doing. It feels good if I let it. It restores me if I willing to feel good.
Feeling grateful for what is coming my way has a healing power all its own.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
Don't let your starting point in recovery ever discourage you. Don't let your starting point today put a frown on your face. Anyone who gets to be an old-timer had to be a newcomer first. Smile and start.
My journey of a thousand smiles begins with the First Step.
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
You can change any thought that hurts into a reality that hurts even more.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
No matter how bad things are, eventually drinking will make them worse. That's a flat out guarantee. - Cubby S.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
May 11
Steps Four and Five
If we have swept the searchlight of Step Four back and forth over our careers,
and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we'd rather not remember, . .
then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday
gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 55
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trust God. Clean house. Help others.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Powerful Step.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Maturity
"Many oldsters who have put our AA 'booze cure'
to severe but successful tests
still find they often lack emotional sobriety.
To attain this,
we must develop a real maturity and balance
(which is to say humility)
in our relations with ourselves,
with our fellows,
and with God."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, January 1958
As Bill Sees It, p. 244
Thought to Consider . . .
"We must find a spiritual basis of life -- or else."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 44
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
AA
Attitude Adjustment
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Inspiration
From "This Spirit Touch":
"At some time, perhaps in a more moderate way, nearly everyone has experienced this spirit touch of God" the fleeting
feeling of insight, love, joy, and 'The world is right.' Once, I thought that only unusual circumstances made these
moments possible. Actually, I now think, they are forecasts of what one can have if one is willing to take the time and
make the effort. Peace, love, and joy can be sought through quiet thinking and honest prayer. The wholeness, the new
awareness, that is produced affects one's relationship with God and man to a degree greater than would seem possible
in ordinary life."
AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 65
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The AA program does not recognize walls. It is immune to the conditions which break down an individual relationship,
the difference in social levels, of intellect, of experience. AA takes no heed of this. It has one primary law, help your
fellow man and do it by example rather than by instruction."
Walla Walla,Wash., February 1955
"Prisoner AA,"
AA Grapevine
~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can
quickly diagnose yourself, Step over to the nearest barroom and try
some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it
more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are
honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters
if you get a full knowledge of your condition."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 31~
"Step Eleven suggests prayer and meditation. We shouldn't be shy
on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are using it constantly."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85
It is worth noting that people of very high spiritual development almost always insist on checking with friends or spiritual
advisers the guidance they feel they have received from God.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 60
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Obstacles in Our Path
We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or lesser degree, everybody is infected with it. From this defect we
must surely get a warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume so much time wishing for what we have
not, rather than working for it, or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of adjusting to the fact, and
accepting it?
Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of
God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our
path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands upon ourselves,
upon others, and upon God.
TWELVE AND TWELVE
1. P. 67
2. P. 76
Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, no matter how old I get I still feel young and niave. Grant me the wisdom to chose the right path. Guide me for I do not know the way.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7