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

"Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others seem to be realized while ours are not. These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build.

"Bill W., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 49
Thought to Consider . . .

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the action in spite of the fear.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

ANONYMOUS
Actions Not Our Names Yield Maintenance Of Unity & Service

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

Awakening

From Fear of Fear":

"As we walked back through the hall, I, for the first time in my life, said to another human being, 'I'm having trouble with my drinking too.' She took me by the hand and introduced me to the woman that I'm very proud to call my sponsor. This woman and her husband are both in A.A., and she said to me, 'Oh, but you're not the alcoholic; it's your husband.' I said, 'Yes.' She said, 'How long have you been married?' I said, 'Twenty-seven years.' She said "Twenty-seven years to an alcoholic! How did you ever stand it?' I thought, now here's a nice sympathetic soul! This is for me. I said, "Well, I stood it to keep the home together, and for the children's sake.' She said, 'Yes, I know. You're just a martyr, aren't you?' I walked away from that woman grinding my teeth and cursing under my breath. ... But that night I tried to go to sleep. And I thought, 'You're some martyr, Jane! Let's look at the record.' And when I looked at it, I knew I was just as much a drunk as George was, if not worse. I nudged George next morning, and I said I'm in,' and he said, 'Oh, I knew you'd make it.'

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A DAY'S PLAN

On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

Every day I ask God to kindle within me the fire of His love, so that love, burning bright and clear, will illuminate my thinking and permit me to better do His will. Throughout the day, as I allow outside circumstances to dampen my spirits, I ask God to sear my consciousness with the awareness that I can start my day over any time I choose; a hundred times, if necessary.

(c)Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.(c)
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
"How Can You Roll With A Punch?"

On the day that the calamity of Pearl Harbor fell upon our country, a great friend of A.A. was walking along a St. Louis Street. Father Edward Dowling was not an alcoholic, but he had been one of the founders of the struggling A.A. group in his city. Because many of his usually sober friends had already taken to their bottles that they might blot out the implications of the Pearl Harbor disaster, Father Ed was anguished by the thought that his cherished A.A. group would probably do the same. Then a member, sober less than a year, stepped alongside and engaged Father Ed in a spirited conversation - mostly about A.A. Father Ed saw, with relief, that his companion was perfectly sober. "How is it that you have nothing to say about Pearl Harbor? How can you roll with a punch like that?" "Well," replied the yearling, "each of us in A.A. has already had his own private Pearl Harbor. So why should we drunks crack up over this one?"

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1962
Copyright(R)1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth
dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~

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

The Prodigal Son "took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living." That's what we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous living. "When he came to himself, he said: 'I will arise and go to my father.'" That's what you do in A.A. You come to yourself. Your alcoholic self is not your real self. Your sane, sober, respectable self is your real self. That's why we alcoholics are so happy in A.A. Have I come to myself?

Meditation for the Day

Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the simple things always. Life can become complicated if you let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty can be either solved or ignored and something better substituted for it. Love the humble things of life. Reverence the simple things. Your standard must never be the world's standard of wealth and power.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may love the simple things of life.

I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.