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

"Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course.
Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness.
No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, the rapacious creditor,
bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands.
But upon entering AA we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which
happy and purposeful lives may be built."
Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 21

Thought to Consider . . .

"Admission of powerlessness is the first step in liberation."
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 5

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
NEW
Nothing Else Worked

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

Defects

Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

"To avoid falling into confusion over the names these defects should be called, let's take a universally recognized list of major human failings--the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. It is not by accident that pride heads the procession. For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our God-given instincts. When the satisfaction of our instincts for sex, security, and society becomes the sole object of our lives, then pride steps in to justify our excesses."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
GROUP AUTONOMY

Some may think that we have carried the principle of group autonomy to extremes. For example, in its original "long form, " Tradition Four declares: "Any two or three gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that as a group they have no other affiliation. "* . . . But this ultra liberty is not so risky as it looks.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, pp. 104-05

As an active alcoholic, I abused every liberty that life afforded. How could A.A. expect me to respect the "ultra-liberty" bestowed by Tradition Four? Learning respect has become a lifetime job.

A.A. has made me fully accept the necessity of discipline and that, if I do not assert it from within, then I will pay for it. This applies to groups too. Tradition Four points me in a spiritual direction, in spite of my alcoholic inclinations.

(c)Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.(c)
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
On the Broad Highway

"I now realize that my former prejudice against clergymen was blind and wrong. They have kept alive through the centuries a faith which might have been extinguished entirely. They pointed out the road to me, but I did not even look up, I was so full of prejudice and self-concern. "When I did open my eyes, it was because I had to. And the man who showed me the truth was a fellow sufferer and a layman. Through him, I saw at last, and I stepped from the abyss to solid ground, knowing at once that my feet were on the broad highway if I chose to walk."

LETTER, 1940
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on
our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a
subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is
a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~

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

The A.A. program is one of faith, hope, and charity. It's a program of hope because when new members come into A.A., the first thing they get is hope. They hear older members tell how they had been through the same kind of hell that they have and how they found the way out through A.A. And this gives them hope that if others can do it, they can do it. is hope still strong in me?

Meditation for the Day

The rule of God's kingdom is perfect order, perfect harmony, perfect supply, perfect love, perfect honesty, perfect obedience. There is no discord in God's kingdom, only some things still unconquered in God's children. The difficulties of life are caused by disharmony in the individual man or woman. People lack power because they lack harmony with God and with each other. They think that God fails because power is not manifested in their lives. God does not fail. People fail because they are out of harmony with Him.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be in harmony with God and with other people.

I pray that this harmony will result in strength and success