~*~A

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

"Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women,
of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure. Every AA has found that he can make little headway
in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey
of the human wreckage he has left in his wake."

Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 77
As Bill Sees It, p. 145

Thought to Consider . . .

We are as sick as our secrets.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
DENIAL
Don't Even Notice I Am Lying

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

Setback

From "Evidence of a Miracle":

"Now I see how monumental my self-deception was. During that first thirteen years, my sobriety was not of the high quality it seemed to be. During the two years that followed, I actually convinced myself that it was a privilege to be able to drink. When I returned to A.A., its precepts seemed entirely new to me, particularly the meaning of the First Step, the 'atom bomb of the program.' Instead of taking the Steps and forgetting them, this time I began living them daily, finding new meaning in each one."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE FALSE COMFORT OF SELF-PITY

Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know.

It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows

because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy.

It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 238

The false comfort of self-pity screens me from reality only momentarily and then demands, like a drug, that I take an ever bigger dose. If I succumb to this it could lead to a relapse into drinking. What can I do? One certain antidote is to turn my attention, however slightly at first, toward others who are genuinely less fortunate than I, preferably other alcoholics. In the same degree that I actively demonstrate my empathy with them, I will lessen my own exaggerated suffering.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Principle Before Expediency

Most of us thought good character was desirable. Obviously, good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied. With a proper display of honesty and morality, we'd stand a better chance of getting what we really wanted. But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
<<<>>>
How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result, and so into easy, happy, and good living, is the problem of life itself.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 71-72
2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"When working with a man and his family, you should take care not to
participate in their quarrels. You may spoil your chance of being
helpful if you do. But urge upon a man's family that he has been a
very sick person and should be treated accordingly. You should warn
against arousing resentment or jealousy. You should point out that
his defects of character are not going to disappear over night. Show
them that he has entered upon a period of growth. Ask them to
remember, when they are impatient, the blessed fact of his sobriety."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100~

*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

Having found my way into this new world by the grace of God and the help of A.A., am I going to take that first drink, when I know that just one drink will change my whole world? Am I deliberately going back to the suffering of that alcoholic world? Or am I going to hang onto the happiness of this sober world? Is there any doubt about the answer? With God's help, am I going to hang onto AA. with both hands?

Meditation for the Day

I will try to make the world better and happier by my presence in it. I will try to help other people find the way God wants them to live. I will try to be on the side of good, in the stream of righteousness, where all things work for good. I will do my duty persistently and faithfully, not sparing myself. I will be gentle with all people. I will try to see other people's difficulty and help them to correct it. I will always pray to God to act as interpreter between me and the other person.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may live in the spirit of prayer.

I pray that I may depend on God for the strength I need to help me to do my part in making the world a better place.