~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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Amends
"Though the variations were many, my
main theme was always 'How godawful I am!'
Just as I often exaggerated my modest
attainments by pride, so
I exaggerated my defects through guilt.
I would race about, confessing all (and
a great deal more) to
whoever would listen.
Believe it or not, I took this
widespread exposure of
my sins to be great humility on my part,
and considered it a great spiritual
asset and consolation! But
later on I realized at depth that
the great harms I had done others were
not truly regretted. These
episodes were merely the basis for
storytelling and exhibitionism."
Bill
W., AAGrapevine, June 1961
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 311
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Thought to Consider . . .
Don't mess up an amends with an excuse.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
W H
O M E ? =
Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness,
Must Exist
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Lightening Up
From "The Gift of
Laughter:"
"Before my recovery from alcoholism
began, laughter
was one of the most painful sounds I
knew....When my
A.A. sponsor began to laugh and point
out my self-pity
and ego-feeding deceptions, I was
annoyed and hurt,
but it taught me to lighten up and
focus on my recovery.
I soon learned to laugh at myself and
eventually I taught
those I sponsor to laugh also.
Every day I ask God
to help me stop taking myself too
seriously."
c. 1990, Daily
Reflections, page 59
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
SELF-ACCEPTANCE
We know that God
lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be
well with us, here and hereafter.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 105
I
pray for the willingness to remember that I am a child of God, a divine soul in
human form, and that my most basic and urgent life-task is to accept, know,
love and nurture myself. As I accept myself, I am accepting God's
will. As I know and love myself, I am knowing
and loving God. As I nurture myself I am acting on God's guidance.
I pray for the willingness to let go of
my arrogant self-criticism, and to praise God by humbly accepting and caring
for myself.
©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD
SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Greater than Ourselves
If
a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to
overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found
that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried.
We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in
fact, we could will these things with all our might,
but the power needed for change wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshaled
by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.
Lack of power: That was our dilemma. We
had to find a power by which we could live - and it had to be a Power greater
than ourselves.
ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS, pp. 44-45
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest
desire to
let God take us to better things, we
believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson. If we are
not sorry, and our conduct
continues to harm others, we are quite
sure to drink. We are not
theorizing. These are facts out of our
experience."
~Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*
A.A. Thought for the Day
When I think of all who have gone
before me, I realize that I am only one, not very important, person. What
happens to me is not so very important after all. And A.A. has taught me to be
more outgoing, to seek friendship by going at least halfway, to
have a sincere desire to help. I have more self-respect now that I have less
sensitiveness. I have found that the only way to live comfortably with myself
is to take a real interest in others. Do I realize that I am not so important
after all?
Meditation for the Day
As you look back over your life, it is
not too difficult to believe that what you went through was for a purpose, to
prepare you for some valuable work in life. Everything in your life may well
have been planned by God to make you of some use in the world. Each person's
life is like the pattern of a mosaic. Each thing that happened to you is like
one tiny stone in the mosaic, and each tiny stone fits into the perfected
pattern of the mosaic of your life, which has been designed by God.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not need to see the
whole design of my life.
I pray that I may trust the Designer.