~*~A

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\   ~~ /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Sanity

"My actions drunk or sober, before AA, were not those of a sane person.
My desire to be honest with myself made it necessary for me to realize that

my drinking was irrational. It had to be, or I could not have justified my erratic

behavior as I did. I've been benefited from a dictionary definition I found that reads:

'rationalization is giving a socially acceptable reason for socially unacceptable behavior,
and socially unacceptable behavior is a form of insanity."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 550-1
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Thought to Consider . . .

Let the lunatic out of the attic.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
K I S S = Keep It Simple, Surrender

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

Path

From "The Keys of the Kingdom":

"A.A. is not a plan for recovery that can be finished and done with. It is a way of life, and the challenge contained in its principles is great enough to keep any human being striving for as long as he lives. We do not, cannot, outgrow this plan. As arrested alcoholics, we must have a program for living that allows for limitless expansion. Keeping one foot in front of the other is essential for maintaining our arrestment. Others may idle in a retrogressive [i.e., regressive] groove without too much danger, but retrogression can spell death for us. However, this isn't as rough as it sounds, as we do become grateful for the necessity that makes us toe the line, and we find that we are compensated for a consistent effort by the countless dividends we receive."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
INTUITION AND INSPIRATION

. . . we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don't struggle.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86

I invest my time in what I truly love. Step Eleven is a discipline that allows me and my Higher Power to be together, reminding me that, with God's help, intuition and inspiration are possible. Practice of the Step brings on self-love. In a consistent attempt to improve my conscious contact with a Higher Power, I am subtly reminded of my unhealthy past, with its patterns of grandiose thinking and false feelings of omnipotence. When I ask for the power to carry out God's will for me, I am made aware of my powerlessness. Humility and a healthy self-love are compatible, a direct result of working Step Eleven.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
Forgiveness

Through the vital Fifth Step, we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had thought or done. Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisers that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 57-58
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from
it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will
find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new
attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or
effort on our part. It just comes!"

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 84
*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~
A.A. Thought for the Day

A better way than judging people is to look for all the good in them. If you look hard enough and long enough, you ought to be able to find some good in every person. In A.A. I learned that my job was to try to bring out the good, not criticize the bad. Every alcoholic is used to being judged and criticized. That has never helped anyone to get sober. In A.A. we tell people they can change. We try to bring out the best in them. We encourage their good points and ignore their bad points. People are not converted by criticism. Do I look for the good in people?

Meditation for the Day

There must be a design for the world in the mind of God. We believe His design for the world is a universal fellowship of men and women under the fatherhood of God. The plan for your life must also be in the mind of God. In times of quiet meditation you can seek for God's guidance, for the revealing of God's plan for your day. Then you can live this day according to that guidance. Many people are not making of their lives what God meant them to be, and so they are unhappy. They have missed the design for their lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to follow God's design for today.

I pray that I may have the sense of Divine Intent in what I do today