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

Letting go of everything at once was both painful and terrifying.  I could never have accomplished this alone. 
It took the help, understanding and wonderful companionship that was given so freely to me by my ex-alkie friends. This and the program of recovery embodied in the Twelve Steps. In learning to practice these steps

in my daily living, I began to acquire faith and a philosophy to live by. Whole new vistas were opened up for me, new avenues of experience to be explored, and life began to take on color and interest.
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 311
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 275
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Thought to Consider . . .

The peaks and valleys of my life have become gentle rolling hills.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F A I T H   = Finding Answers In The Heart.

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

Sharing

From "Aspects of Spirituality:"

"Among A.A.'s there is still a vast amount of
mix-up respecting what is material and what
is spiritual.  I prefer to believe that it is
all a matter of motive.  If we use our worldly
possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists.
But if we share these possessions in helpfulness
to others, then the material aids the spiritual."

c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 287

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
RECOVERY, UNITY, SERVICE

Our Twelfth Step -- carrying the message -- is the basic service that AA's Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, P.  160

I thank God for those who came before me, those who told me not to forget the Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity and Service.  In my home group, the Three Legacies were described on a sign which said: "You take a three-legged stool, try to balance it on only one leg, or two.  Our Three Legacies must be kept intact.  In Recovery, we get sober together; in Unity, we work together for the good of our Steps and Traditions; and through Service-we give away freely what has been given to us."

One of the chief gifts of my life has been to know that I will have no message to give,

unless I recover in unity with A.A. principles.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
MERRY CHRISTMAS! - Random Quote - A.A.--the Lodestar

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error."
As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success--even a little success.
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Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously

say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could

not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.

GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1958
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"...we were at Step Three, which is that we decided to turn our will
and our life over to God as we understood Him. Just what do we mean
by that, and just what do we do?

The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on
self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we are almost
always in collision with something or somebody, even though our
motives are good. Most people try to live by self-propulsion."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 60~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

We have definitely left that dream world behind. It was only a sham. It was a world of our making and it was not the real world. We are sorry for the past, yes, but we learned a lot from it. We can put it down to experience, valuable experience, as we see it now, because it has given us the knowledge necessary to face the world as it really is. We had to become alcoholics in order to find the A.A. program. We would not have gotten it any other way. In a way, it was worth it. Do I look at my past as valuable experience?

Meditation for the Day

Shed peace, not discord, wherever you go. Try to be part of the cure of every situation, not part of the problem. Try to ignore evil, rather than to actively combat it. Always try to build up, never to tear down. Show others by your example that happiness comes from living the right way. The power of your example is greater than the power of what you say.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to bring something good into every situation today.

I pray that I may be constructive in the way I think and speak and act today