~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Honesty
"Rarely have we seen a person fail who
has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot
or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and
women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at
fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of
grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty.
Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from
grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have
the capacity to be honest.
"Alcoholics
Anonymous, p. 58
Thought to Consider . . .
Half measures
availed us nothing.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
HOW
Honest, Open-minded and Willing
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Greater Strength
From "Letting go of old ideas:"
"It is now well established that
willpower all by
itself is about as effective a cure for
alcohol
addiction as it is for cancer....Most
of us tried
going it alone, hoping either to
control our drinking
or to stop, and we had no lasting
success in either endeavor.
"But we finally asked ourselves:
Wouldn't it be
more intelligent to seek out and tap a strength
greater than our own than to persist in
our futile solo efforts...?"
c. 1998, Living Sober, page 73
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
AS WE UNDERSTAND HIM
My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea . . . "Why don't you choose your own
conception of God?" That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy
intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many
years. I stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being
willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was
required of me to make my beginning.
ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS, p. 12
I remember the
times I looked up into the sky and reflected on who started it all, and
how. When I came to A.A., an understanding of some description of the
spiritual dimension became a necessary adjunct to a stable sobriety.
After reading a variety of versions, including the scientific, of a great
explosion, I went for simplicity and made the God of my understanding the Great
Power that made the explosion possible. With the vastness of the universe
under His command, He would, no doubt, be able to guide my thinking and actions
if I was prepared to accept His guidance. But I could not expect help if
I turned my back on that help and went my own way. I became willing to
believe and I have had 26 years of stable and satisfying sobriety.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Losing Financial Fears
When a job
still looked like a mere means of getting money rather than an opportunity for service,
when the acquisition of money for financial independence looked more important
than a right dependence upon God, we were the victims of unreasonable fears.
And these were fears which would make a serene and useful existence, at any
financial level, quite impossible.
But as time passed we found that with
the help of A.A.'s Twelve Steps we could lose those
fears, no matter what our material prospects were. We could cheerfully perform
humble labor without worrying about tomorrow. If our circumstances happened to
be good, we no longer dreaded a change for the worse, for we had learned that
these troubles could be turned into great values, for ourselves and for others.
TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 121-122
Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, Inc.
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Imagine
life without faith! Were nothing left but pure reason, it
wouldn't be life."
~Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 54~
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Before
we decide to quit drinking, most of us have to come up against a blank wall. We
see that we're licked, that we have to quit. But we don't know which way to
turn for help. There seems to be no door in that blank wall. A.A. opens the
door that leads to sobriety. By encouraging us to honestly admit that we're
alcoholics and to realize that we can't take even one drink, and by showing us
which way to turn for help, A.A. opens the door in that blank wall. Have I gone
through that door to sobriety?
Meditation for
the Day
I must have a singleness of purpose to
do my part in God's work. I must not let material distractions interfere with
my job of improving personal relationships. It is easy to become distracted by
material affairs, so that I lose my singleness of purpose. I do not have time
to be concerned about the multifarious concerns of the world. I must
concentrate and specialize on what I can do best.
Prayer for the
Day
I pray that I may not become distracted
by material affairs.
I pray that I may concentrate on doing what I can do best