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

Looking back we see that our freedom to choose badly was not, after all, a very real freedom.
When we chose because we "must," this was not a free choice either. But it got us started in the

right direction. When we chose because we "ought to" we were really doing better.
This time we were earning some freedom, making ourselves ready for more. But when, now

and then, we could gladly make  right choices without rebellion, holdout, or conflict,
then we had our first glimpse of what perfect freedom under God's will could be like.
    
Bill W., May 1960
c. 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart
,  p. 302
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Thought to Consider . . .
Sobriety is a choice and a treasure.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E =  Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day


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

Mantle

TRADITION TWELVE:  Anonymity is the spiritual
foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

 

"Experiences taught us that anonymity is real humility at work.  It is an all-pervading spiritual
quality which today keynotes A.A. life everywhere. Moved by the spirit of anonymity, we try to give up
our natural desires for personal distinction as A.A. members both among fellow alcoholics and before
the general public.  As we lay aside these very human aspirations, we believe that each of us takes
part in the weaving of a protective mantle which covers our whole Society and under which we may
grow and work in unity. "We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity,
is the greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have."

 

c. 1952, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
   page 187




*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
THE REWARDS OF GIVING

This is indeed the kind of giving that actually demands nothing.  He does not expect his brother sufferer to pay him, or even to love him.  And then he discovers that by the divine paradox of this kind of giving he has found his own reward, whether his brother has yet received anything or not.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 109

Through experience with Twelfth Step work, I came to understand the rewards of giving that demands

 nothing in return.  At first I expected recovery in others, but I soon learned that this did not happen. 

 Once I acquired the humility to accept the fact that every Twelfth Step call was not going to result in

 a success, then I was open to receive the rewards of selfless giving.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Random Quote - The Reality of Spiritual Experiences

"Perhaps you raise the question of hallucination verses the divine imagery of a genuine spiritual experience.
I doubt if anyone has authoritatively defined what a hallucination really is. However, it is certain that all recipients of spiritual experiences declare for their reality. The best evidence of that reality is in the subsequent fruits. Those who receive these gifts of grace are very much changed people, almost invariably for the better. This can scarcely be said of those who hallucinate. "Some might think me presumptuous when I say that my own experience is real. Nevertheless, I can surely report that in my own life and in the lives of countless others, the fruits of that experience have been real, and the benefactions beyond reckoning."

TALK, 1960
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control
our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control.
All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such
intervals, usually brief, were inevitably followed by still less
control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible
demoralization. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our
type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable
period we get worse, never better."


~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 30~

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

Our faith should control the whole of our life. We alcoholics were living a divided life. We had to find a way to make it whole. When we were drinking, our lives were made up of a lot of scattered and unrelated pieces. We must pick up our lives and put them together again. We do it by recovering faith in a Divine Principle in the universe that holds us together and holds the whole universe together and gives it meaning and purpose. We surrender our disorganized lives to that Power, we get into harmony with the Divine Spirit, and our lives are made whole again. Is my life whole again?

Meditation for the Day

Avoid fear as you would a plague. Fear, even the smallest fear, is a hacking at the cords of faith that bind you to God. However small the fraying, in time those cords will wear thin, and then one disappointment or shock will make them snap. But for the little fears, the cords of faith would have held firm. Avoid depression, which is allied to fear. Remember that all fear is disloyalty to God. it is a denial of His care and protection.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have such trust in God today that I will not fear anything too greatly.

I pray that I may have assurance that God will take care of me in the long run.