~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Friendship

"We commenced to make many fast friends and a fellowship has grown up among us of which it is a wonderful thing to feel a part of. The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty. I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out.  I have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and communities. Business and professional men have regained their standing.  There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us."
Bill W., Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 15

Thought to Consider . . .

"Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia.
We have it with us right here and now."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 16

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
EGO
Easing God Out

 

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

Psychology

From "Medicine Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous":":

"As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It is the business of the psychiatrist to get behind our excuses and to find the deeper causes for our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought they were and that we have been motivated by forces unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look with the deepest respect, interest, and profit upon the findings of psychiatry, remembering that up to now the psychiatrists have been far more tolerant of us than we have been of them. - Bill W."

(c) 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 236 


*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
A RESTING PLACE

All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires . . . they all deflate our egos. 

 When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than Five.  But scarcely any Step is more

necessary to longtime sobriety and peace of mind than this one.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.  55

After writing down my character defects, I was unwilling to talk about them, and decided it was time to stop carrying this burden alone, I needed to confess those defects to someone else.  I had read -- and been told -- I could not stay sober unless I did.  Step Five provided me with a feeling of belonging, with humility and serenity when I practiced it in my daily living.  It was important to admit my defects of character in the order presented in Step Five: "to God, to ourselves and to another human being."  Admitting to God first paved the way for admission to myself and to another person.  As the taking of the Step is described, a feeling of being at one with God and my fellow man brought me to a resting place where I could prepare myself for the remaining Steps toward a full and meaningful sobriety.

 

Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
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~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Back To Work

It is possible for us to use the alleged dishonesty of other people as a plausible excuse for not meeting our own obligations. Once, some prejudiced friends exhorted me never to go back to Wall Street. They were sure that the rampant materialism and double-dealing down there would stunt my spiritual growth. Because this sounded so high-minded, I continued to stay away from the only business that I knew. When, finally, my household went broke, I realized I hadn't been able to face the prospect of going back to work. So I returned to Wall Street, and I have ever since been glad that I did. I needed to rediscover that there are many fine people in New York's financial district. Then, too, I needed the experience of staying sober in the very surroundings where alcohol had cut me down.
A Wall Street business trip to
Akron, Ohio, first brought me face to face with Dr. Bob. So the birth of A.A. hinged on my effort to meet my bread-and-butter responsibilities.

GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961



*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society,
from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering
denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness
settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us
sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship
and approval. Momentarily we did, then would come oblivion and
the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen:  "Terror,
Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 151~
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*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day

I'm grateful that I found a program in A.A. that could keep me sober. I'm grateful that A.A. has shown me the way to faith in a Higher Power, because the renewing of that faith has changed my way of life. And I've found a happiness and contentment that I had forgotten existed, by simply believing in God and trying to live the kind of a life that I know He wants me to live. As long as I stay grateful, I'll stay sober. Am I in a grateful frame of mind?

Meditation for the Day

God can work through you better when you are not hurrying. Go very slowly, very quietly, from one duty to the next, taking time to rest and pray between. Do not be too busy. Take everything in order. Venture often into the rest of God and you will find peace. At work that results from resting with God is good work. Claim the power to work miracles in human lives. Know that you can do many things through the Higher Power. Know that you can do good things through God who rests you and gives you strength. Partake regularly of rest and prayer.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not be in too much of a hurry.

 I pray that I may take time out often to rest with God