AA Thoughts For Today - November

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AA Thought for the Day

November 24

A Common Solution

The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful
cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as
we are now joined. The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have
discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely
agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 17

Thought to Ponder
Together we can do what we could never do alone.

AA-related 'Alconym'
E S H = Experience, Strength and Hope.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Meetings
"A 'spiritual experience' to me meant attending meetings,
seeing a group of people,
all there for the purpose of helping each other;
hearing the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions
read at a meeting,
and hearing the Lord's Prayer, which in an AA meeting
has such great meaning --
'They will be done, not mine.'
A spiritual awakening soon came to mean
trying each day to be a little more thoughtful,
more considerate, a little more courteous to those
with whom I came in contact."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 381

Thought to Consider . . .
Seven days without a meeting makes one weak.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
Y A N A = You Are Not Alone

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Alternatives
From: "We Agnostics"
In the preceding chapters you have learned something of alcoholism. We hope we have made clear the distinction between the alcoholic and the non-alcoholic. If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.
To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an experience seems impossible, but to continue as he is means disaster, especially if he is an alcoholic of the hopeless variety. To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 44

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We sense that here in AA this shared darkness has become a shared light."
Pleasantville, N.Y., August 1959
"The Sense of Sobriety"
Spiritual Awakenings

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to outgrow that serious handicap."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~

And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone ---even alcohol . For by this time sanity will have returned . We will seldom be interested in liquor . If tempted , we recoil from it as from a hot flame . We react sanely and normally , and we will find that this has happened automatically . We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part . It just comes! That is the miracle of it . We are not fighting it , neither are we avoiding temptation . We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality--- safe and protected . We have not even sworn off . Instead , the problem has been removed .It does not exist for us . We are neither cocky nor are we afraid . That is our experience . That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition .
Alcoholics Anonymous , Page 84-85

At once, we commence to outgrow fear.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.68

Then fear, in turn, generates more character defects.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.49

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

When dealing with a prospect of agnostic or atheistic bent, you had better use everyday language to describe spiritual principles. There is no use arousing any prejudice he may have against certain theological terms and conceptions, about which he may already be confused. Don't raise such issues, no matter what your own convictions are.
Every man and woman who has joined A.A. and intends to stick has, without realizing it, made a beginning on Step Three. Isn't it true that, in all matters touching upon alcohol, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance of A.A.?
Already a willingness has been achieved to cast out one's own will and one's own ideas about the alcohol problem in favor of those suggested by A.A. Now if this is not turning one's will and life over to a new-found 'Providence,' then what is it?

Prayer for the Day: The Fellowship Prayer - Dear Higher Power I am grateful that: I am part of the Fellowship, one among many, but I am one. I need to work the Steps for the development of the buried life within me. Our Program may be human in its organization, but it is Divine in its purpose. The purpose is to continue my spiritual awakening. Participating in the privileges of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly, but joyfully. To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, the Program fails. To the extent that I succeed, the Program succeeds. I shall not wait to be drafted for service to my fellow members, I shall volunteer. I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, intuitive in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give to the Program my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and, most of all, myself.