~*~A

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
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(\   ~~ /)
(   \ (AA)/   )
(_   /AA\ _)
/AA\
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Self-will

"The first requirement is that we be convinced
that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.
On that basis we are almost always in collision
with something or somebody,
even though our motives are good.
Most people try to live by self-propulsion.
Each person is like an actor
who wants to run the whole show;
is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery
and the rest of the players in his own way.
If his arrangements would only stay put,
if only people would do as he wished,
the show would be great.
Everybody, including himself, would be pleased.
Life would be wonderful."
c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 60-1
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Thought to Consider . . .

Rule 62: "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R I D E = Pretty Ridiculous Individual Directing Everything

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

Home

From "Equality":

"Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn't 'fit in' with the people around me. Usually 'they' had more/less money than I did, and my points of view didn't jibe with 'theirs.' The amount of prejudice I had experienced in society only proved to me just how phony some self-righteous people were. After joining A.A., I found the way of life I had been searching for. In A.A. no member is better than any other member; we're just alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism."

*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
FACING OURSELVES

. . . . and Fear says, "You dare not look!"

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 49

How often I avoided a task in my drinking days, just because it
appeared so large! Is it any wonder even if I have been sober for
some time, that I will act that same way when faced with what
appears to be a monumental job, such as a searching and fearless
moral inventory of myself? What I discover after I have arrived
at the other side--when my inventory is completed--is that the
illusion was greater than the reality. The fear of facing myself
kept me at a standstill and, until I became willing to put
pencil to paper, I was arresting my growth based on an intangible.

©Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.©
*~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~*
The Fine Art of Alibis

The majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days. For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses for drinking and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct. We had made the invention of alibis a fine art.
We had to drink because times were hard or times were good. We had to drink because at home we were smothered with love or got none at all. We had to drink because at work we were great successes or dismal failures. We had to drink because our nation had won a war or lost a peace. And so it went, ad infinitum.

<<<>>>

To see how our own erratic emotions victimized us often took a long time. Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our speech and thought.

TWELVE AND TWELVE 1. pp. 46-47 - 2. p. 47
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"How dark it is before the dawn! In reality that was the beginning of
my last debauch. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call
the fourth dimension of existence. I was to know happiness, peace, and
usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time
passes."

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 8
*~*~*~*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*~*~*~*
A.A. Thought For The Day

Is it my desire to be a big shot in A.A.? Do I always want to be
up front in the limelight? Do I feel that nobody else can do as
good a job as I can? Or am I willing to take a seat in the back
row once in a while and let somebody else carry the ball? Part
of the effectiveness of any A.A. group is the development of new
members to carry on, to take over, from the older members. Am I
reluctant to give up authority? Do I try to carry the load for
the whole group? If so, I am not being fair to the newer members.
Do I realize that no one person is essential? Do I know that
A.A. could carry on without me, if it had to?

Meditation For The Day

The Unseen God can help to make us truly grateful and humble.
Since we cannot see God, we must believe in Him without seeing.
What we can see clearly is the change in a human being, when he
sincerely asks God for the strength to change. We should cling
to faith in God and in His power to change our faith in God and
in His power to change our ways. Our faith in all Unseen God
will be rewarded by a useful and serviceable life. God will not
fail to show us the way we should live. When in real gratitude
and true humility we turn to Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may believe that God can change me. I pray that
I may be always willing to be changed for the better.