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

"We have had a much keener look at ourselves and those about us.
We have seen that we were prodded by unreasonable fears and anxieties
into making a life business of winning fame, money, and what we thought was leadership.
So false pride became the reverse side of that ruinous coin marked 'Fear.'
We simply had to be Number One people to cover up our deep-lying inferiorities."
©1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 123
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Thought to Consider . . .

Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F E A R =  Frantic Efforts to Appear Recovered

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

Better

From "With the aid of A.A.,
my life took another path:"

"Today, I am sober, but I know that
I am only one drink away from a drunk.
Today, I can deal with the problems that
confront me, and even though they become
quite difficult at times, I know that I
have the strength to accept and handle
them today.  My worst sober day is a
million times better than any of my best
past drinking days."

c. 1991, A.A. in Prison: Inmate to Inmate,  pages 47-48

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
IN ALL OUR AFFAIRS

. . . we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106

I find that carrying the message of recovery to other alcoholics is easy because it helps me to stay sober and it provides me with a sense of well-being about my own recovery.  The hard part is practicing these principles in all my affairs.  It is important that I share the benefits I receive from A.A., especially at home.  Doesn't my family deserve the same patience, tolerance and understanding I so readily give to the alcoholic?  When reviewing my day I try to ask, "Did I have a chance to be a friend today and miss it?"  "Did I have a chance to rise above a nasty situation and avoid it?"  "Did I have a chance to say 'I'm sorry,' and refuse to?

Just as I ask God for help with my alcoholism each day, I ask for help in extending my recovery to include all situations and all people!

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - Servant, Not Master

In A.A., we found that it did not matter too much what our material condition was, but it mattered greatly what our spiritual condition was. As we improved our spiritual outlook, money gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a means of exchanging love and service with those about us.

<<<>>>

One of A.A.'s Loners is an Australian sheepman who lives two thousand miles from the nearest town, where yearly he sells his wool. In order to be paid the best prices he has to get to town during a certain month. But when he heard that a big regional A.A. meeting was to be held at a later date when wool prices would have fallen, he gladly took a heavy financial loss in order to make his journey then. That's how much an A.A. meeting means to him.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 122 - 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 31
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If we skip this vital step (5th Step), we may not overcome drinking.
Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain
facts about their lives. Trying to avoid this humbling experience,
they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk.
Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why
they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their
housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of
the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their
egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But
they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness and honesty, in
the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else all their life story."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 72~

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

There is some alcoholic thought, conscious or unconscious, that comes before every slip. As long as we live, we must be on the lookout for such thoughts and guard against them. In fact, our A.A. training is mostly to prepare us, to make us ready to recognize such thoughts at once and to reject them at once. The slip comes when we allow such thoughts to remain in our minds, even before we actually go through the motions of lifting the glass to our lips. The A.A. program is largely one of mental training. How well is my mind prepared?

Meditation for the Day

Fret not your mind with puzzles that you cannot solve. The solutions may never be shown to you until you have left this life. The loss of dear ones, the inequality of life, the deformed and the maimed, and many other puzzling things may not be known to you until you reach the life beyond. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." Only step by step, stage by stage, can you proceed in your journey into greater knowledge and understanding.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be content that things that I now see darkly will someday be made clear.

I pray that I may have faith that someday I will see face to face.