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

If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it --
then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an

 easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be

 fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas
and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember we deal with alcohol -- cunning, baffling,

powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power -- that One is God.
May you find Him now!

c. 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous,  p. 58
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Thought to Consider . . .

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E =  Heart Open; Please Enter

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

Safe

From "Good Housekeeping" article, 1954:

 

"When you stand outside a room where a group of Alcoholics Anonymous is meeting, the most frequent sound you hear is laughter.  Mellow laughter, which can come only from people who have looked destruction and catastrophe in the face, not once but continuously over long years, and now are free and unafraid.  The laughter, in short, of people who hold God's hand and feel safe."

 

c. Letter to a Woman Alcoholic (A.A. Pamphlet P-14) 

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
PRINCIPLES, NOT PERSONALITIES

The way our "worthy" alcoholics have sometimes tried to judge the "less worthy" is, as we look back on it, rather comical.  Imagine, if you can, one alcoholic judging another!

THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 37

Who am I to judge anyone?  When I first entered the Fellowship I found that I liked everyone.  After all, A.A. was going to help me to a better way of life without alcohol.  The reality was that I couldn't possibly like everyone, nor they me.  As I've grown in the Fellowship, I've learned to love everyone just from listening to what they had to say.  That person over there, or the one right here, may be the one God has chosen to give me the message I need for today.  I must always remember to place principles above personalities.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Recovery Through Giving

For a new prospect, outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him. It is important for him to realize that your attempt to pass this on to him plays a vital part in your own recovery. Actually, he may be helping you more than you are helping him. Make it plain that he is under no obligation to you.

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In the first six months of my own sobriety, I worked hard with many alcoholics. Not a one responded. Yet this work kept me sober. It wasn't a question of those alcoholics giving me anything. My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive.

1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 94 - 2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental
defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither
he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense
must come from a Higher Power."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

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

As we look back over our drinking careers, we must realize that our lives were a mess because we were a mess inside. The trouble was in us, not in life itself. Life itself was good enough, but we were looking at it the wrong way. We were looking at life through the bottom of a whiskey glass, and it was distorted. We could not see all the beauty and goodness and purpose in the world because our vision was blurred. We were in a house with one-way glass in the windows. People could see us but we could not look out and see them and see what life meant to them and should mean to us. We were blind then, but now we can see. Can I now look at life as it really is?

Meditation for the Day

Fear no evil, because the power of God can conquer evil. Evil has power to seriously hurt only those who do not place themselves under the protection of the Higher Power. This is not a question of feeling, it is an assured fact of our experience. Say to yourself with assurance that whatever it is, no evil can seriously harm you as long as you depend on the Higher Power. Be sure of the protection of God's grace.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that fear of evil will not get me down.

 I pray that I may try to place myself today under the protection of God's grace.