~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Rationalization
"There are cases where our ancient enemy,
rationalization, has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really
wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons
when we really didn't. We 'constructively criticized' someone who needed it,
when our real motive was to win a useless argument. We sometimes hurt those we
love because they' need to be taught a lesson, 'when we really want to punish.
This perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one,
permeates human affairs from top to bottom.
"Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 94
Thought to Consider . . .
Recognizing someone
else's human dignity cannot cost you your own.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
PUSH
Pray Until Something Happens
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Rapture
From "Total
Surrender":
"What has always impressed me most
about the program and myself is the constant,
continuing challenge to try recapturing some of the true and honest rapture I
felt upon total surrender, when I first came into A.A. For me, that special
peace of mind has never been duplicated. Now, after all the accumulated
twenty-four-hour periods, I realize that it probably never will be. I have come
close to it a few times, but it's never the same.--
(c) 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came
to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 29
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING
Fear . . . of
economic insecurity will leave us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
Having fear
reduced or eliminated and having economic circumstances improve, are two different things. When I was new in A.A., I had
those two ideas confused. I thought fear would leave me only when I
started making money. However, another line from the Big Book jumped off
the page one day when I was chewing on my financial difficulties: "For us,
material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded." (p. 127). I suddenly understood that this
promise was a guarantee. I saw that it put priorities in the correct
order, that spiritual progress would diminish that terrible fear of being
destitute, just as it diminished many other fears.
Today I try to use the talents God gave
me to benefit others. I've found that is what others valued all
along. I try to remember that I no longer work for myself. I only
get the use of the wealth God created. I
never have "owned" it. My life's purpose is much clearer when I
just work to help, not to possess.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Debits and Credits
Following a gossip binge, we can well ask ourselves
these questions: "Why did we say what we did? Were we only trying to be
helpful and informative? Or were we not trying to feel superior by confessing
the other fellow's sins? Or, because of fear and dislike, were we not really
aiming to damage him?" This would be an honest
attempt to examine ourselves, rather than the other fellow.
<<< >>>
Inventory-taking is not always done in
red ink. It's a poor day indeed when we haven't done something right. As a
matter of fact, the waking hours are usually filled with things that are
constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to
see. Even when we have
tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of
all.
1.
GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p.93
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Abandon
yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to
Him and to your fellows. Clear away the
wreckage of your past. Give
freely of what you find and join us. We
shall be with you in the
Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will
surely meet some of us as you
trudge the Road of Happy Destiny."
~Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 164~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
In A.A.
we forget about the future. We know from experience that as time goes on, the
future takes care of itself. Everything works out well, as long as we stay
sober. All we need to think about is today. When we get up in the morning and
see the sun shining in the window, we thank God that He has given us another
day to enjoy because we're sober, a day in which we may have a chance to help
somebody. Do I know that this day is all I have and that with God's help I can
stay sober today?
Meditation
for the Day
All is fundamentally well. That does
not mean that all is well on the surface of things. But it does mean that God's
in His heaven and that He has a purpose for the World, which will eventually
work out when enough human beings are willing to follow His way. "Wearing
the world as a loose garment" means not being upset by the surface
wrongness of things, but feeling deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and
purpose in the universe.
Prayer for
the Day
I pray that God may be with me in my
journey through the world.
I pray that I may know that God is planning that journey.