Daily Recovery Readings - August 14

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God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.

August 14

Daily Reflections

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE

We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of
our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we
haven't the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was
agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over
alcohol.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Making a list of people I had harmed was not a particularly difficult
thing to do. They had showed up in my Fourth Step inventory: people
towards whom I had resentments, real or imagined, and whom I had
hurt by acts of retaliation. For my recovery to be thorough, I believed
it was not important for those who had legitimately harmed me to
make amends to me. That is important in my relationship with God is
that I stand before Him, knowing I have done what I can to repair the
damage I have done.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"None of us like to think that we are bodily and mentally different
from others. Our drinking careers have been characterized by
countless vain attempts to prove that we could drink like other people.
This delusion that we are like other people has to be smashed. It has
been definitely proved that no real alcoholic has ever recovered
control. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better.
There is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic."
Am I convinced that I can never drink again normally?

Meditation For The Day

We should have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental,
physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. This we can have if we
follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift of an
abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to stretch
out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest He has to offer, is the
precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away from it, reject it,
and will have none of it. Do not let this be true of you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual life. I
pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability.

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As Bill Sees It

Humility for the Fellowship, Too, p. 226

We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let
us remember that few of these times are actually earned virtues.
We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of
alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to but
because we had to.

Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic
principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some
of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance.

But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform
gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God,
had taught us.

A.A. Comes Of Age, p.224

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Walk In Dry Places

Wasting Time
Time management
In dealing with our personal shortcomings, we may find traits of immaturity. For example, we might waste time doing the things we like to do rather than the things we must do.
We sometimes find a way to justify this. Drinking coffee with friends
might be called "having a meeting" even when it goes far beyond normal
limits and uses up time that should be devoted to family and work
responsibilities.
Without becoming workaholics or drudges, we do need to be hones about
our habits. If we're wasting too much time, it could be at the expense
of things that need to be attended to promptly. When we waste time, we
often have to work twice as hard to catch up later on. Let's be honest
about the management of our time.
I'll watch how I spend my time today. If I'm spending too much time
socializing, I'll put myself on a reasonable schedule that balances both
leisure and work.

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Keep It Simple

The best side of a saloon is outside.---Anonymous
We need to stay away from places where we used to drink or use other drugs. Sometimes we need to stay away from our old using friends. But some days it's hard to stay away. We remember the fun times. Or we want a quick fix for our problems. When we feel like this, we know something is wrong. We can call our sponsor and talk about it. And get to a meeting. We need to remember how much better our lives are now. We don't want our old lives back.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me stay away from trouble. Thanks for keeping me sober today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of places that mean trouble for me---places I need to stay away from.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft. --Dudley Martineau
We've developed defenses for protection because we have felt the need for protection from the abuses of others, parents on occasion, bosses, spouses, even strangers. And in certain situations, our defenses served us well for a time. However, they have taken their toll. Hiding behind them for long makes them habitual, and we move farther and farther away from our center, from the woman each of us needs and wants to be.
Exposing who we really are invites judgment, sometimes rejection, often times discounting. It's a terribly hard risk to take, and the rewards are seldom immediate. But with time, others respect us for our vulnerability and begin to imitate our example. We are served well by our integrity, in due time.
Letting others see who we really are alleviates confusion, theirs and ours. We no longer need to decide who we should be; we simply are who we are. Our choices are simplified. There is only one appropriate choice to every situation--the one that is honest and wholly reflective of who we are at that moment.
Rewards will be forthcoming when I am honest.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 11 - A Vision For You

We have shown how we got out from under. You say, “Yes, I’m willing. But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see? I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?”

p. 152

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Housewife Who Drank At Home

She hid her bottles in clothes hampers and dresser drawers. In A.A., she discovered she had lost nothing and had found everything.

How I ran my home, I don't know. I went on, realizing what I was becoming, hating myself for it, bitter, blaming life, blaming everything but the fact that I should turn about and do something about my drinking. Finally I didn't care; I was beyond caring. I just wanted to live to a certain age, carry through with what I felt was my job with the children, and after that---no matter. Half a mother was better than no mother at all.

p. 297

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. "

In this connection, Bill likes to tell the following pointed story. He explains that when Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post piece broke in 1941, thousands of frantic letters from distraught alcoholics and their families hit the Foundation* letterbox in New York. "Our office staff," Bill says, "consisted of two people: one devoted secretary and myself. How could this landslide of appeals be met? We'd have to have some more full-time help, that was sure. So we asked the A.A. groups for voluntary contributions. Would they send us a dollar a member a year? Otherwise this heartbreaking mail would have to go unanswered.

p. 162

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"Plant positive thoughts in your mind and expect a harvest of great
possibilities."
--Unknown

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it.
--Mother Teresa

Happiness is an INSIDE job.
--unknown

"People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."
--Joseph F. Newton

"Find the seed at the bottom of your heart and bring forth a flower."
-****Shigenori Kameoka

Once it [a spoken word] flies out, you can't catch it.
--Russian proverb

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TRUTH

"If error is corrected whenever
it is recognized as such, the path
of error is the path of truth."
-- Hans Reichenbach

I believe that in order to discover spirituality in our lives, we need to
confront the "disease", that destructive and negative side of our lives.
We need to make the disease work for us!

For too many years I tried to avoid and deny my alcoholism. I wanted
to recover by osmosis! I did not want to get my hands dirty with the
reality of my suffering but rather I wanted a "miracle" --- really
magic --- to make everything different from what it had been for
years. I did not want to face my pain! But it does not work that way. If
I am to get well, I need to confront my disease, smell my disease, hold
my disease, pull and tug at the disease in my life. Why? Because it is
mine. I need to be in touch with my disease if I am ever going to make
the necessary changes. I need to make my disease work for me --- that
is spirituality.

Let me have the courage to pass through the pain in order to
experience the gain.

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"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh
reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due
season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:7-9

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows."
James 1:17

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are
being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which
comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:18

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know
what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit
prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the
Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the
Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will."
Romans 8:26-27

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Daily Inspiration

Every moment of every day is your choice unless you give it away. Lord, I choose to live peacefully today and ask for patience and strength when I feel stress from the demands others place on me.

To give of yourself is when you truly give. Lord, even in my busiest moments may I be able to make time when someone really needs me.

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NA Just For Today

Letting Go Of Our Limitations

"We don't have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas."
Basic Text, p.11

Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts to find the values that lie at the core of our being. We place limitations on our ability to be true to ourselves, limitations on our ability to function at work, limitations on the risks we're willing to take-the list seems endless. If our parents or teachers told us we would never succeed, and we believed them, chances are we didn't achieve much. If our socialization taught us not to stand up for ourselves, we didn't, even if everything inside us was screaming to do so.

In Narcotics Anonymous, we are given a process by which we can recognize these false limitations for what they are. Through our Fourth Step, we'll discover that we don't want to keep all the rules we've been taught. We don't have to be the life-long victims of past experiences. We are free to discard the ideas that inhibit our growth. We are capable of stretching our boundaries to encompass new ideas and new experiences. We are free to laugh, to cry, and, above all, to enjoy our recovery.

Just for today: I will let go of my self-imposed limitations and open my mind to new ideas.
pg. 236

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The moment an individual can accept and forgive himself, even a little, is the moment in which he becomes to some degree lovable. --Eugene Kennedy
If we owe a bill and pay it in full, do we return to pay that same bill over and over again? If we did, someone would surely question what was wrong with us. Yet, how often do we ask forgiveness for the same thing over and over again?
How wonderful to know that we do not have to condemn ourselves, even for not living up to a goal we have set for ourselves. Once we say we are sorry, we need to be willing to forgive ourselves. After all, how else do we learn and grow except by mistakes.
When we have forgiven ourselves, we become free to take risks again without fear of unforgivable failure, and who knows what new successes we might attain?
Is there something I can forgive myself for today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. --Hugh Mulligan
We show self-respect in how we choose to spend our time. Do we give tasks the time required for our best efforts? Or do we feel unworthy of quality work? Do we have a right to stop working and just play? Are we worth spending time with - just ourselves, or do we feel meaningful time is only spent with others? Are we worth caring enough about to enjoy bathing, grooming, or getting haircuts? Do we care enough about ourselves to see a dentist or a physician when needed?
Choices about how we use our time are basic ethical and creative choices. Beyond self-respect and care, we need to put time into our day for nourishing and enriching our spirits. We do that by reading something thoughtful or meaningful, talking to a friend about the events and feelings of our lives, listening to music, fixing a pleasant meal, exercising, and giving unpaid time and energy to worthwhile causes.
I am grateful for the gift of another day, and I will live it creatively and respectfully.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft. --Dudley Martineau
We've developed defenses for protection because we have felt the need for protection from the abuses of others, parents on occasion, bosses, spouses, even strangers. And in certain situations, our defenses served us well for a time. However, they have taken their toll. Hiding behind them for long makes them habitual, and we move farther and farther away from our center, from the woman each of us needs and wants to be.
Exposing who we really are invites judgment, sometimes rejection, often times discounting. It's a terribly hard risk to take, and the rewards are seldom immediate. But with time, others respect us for our vulnerability and begin to imitate our example. We are served well by our integrity, in due time.
Letting others see who we really are alleviates confusion, theirs and ours. We no longer need to decide who we should be; we simply are who we are. Our choices are simplified. There is only one appropriate choice to every situation--the one that is honest and wholly reflective of who we are at that moment.
Rewards will be forthcoming when I am honest.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Owning Our Power
Many of us have someone in our life that challenges our ability to trust and care for ourselves.
When we hear that person's voice or are in his or her presence, we may forget all we know about what is real, about how to own our power, about how to be direct, about what we know and believe to be true, about how important we are.
We give up our power to that person. The child in us gets hooked with a mixture of powerful feelings - love, fear, or anger. We may feel trapped, helpless, or so attracted that we can't think straight. There may be a powerful tug of war going between feelings of anger and our need to be loved and accepted, or between our head and our heart.
We may be so enamored or intimidated that we revert to our belief that we can't react or respond to this person any differently.
We get hooked.
We don't have to stay under a spell.
We start by becoming aware of the people who hook us, and then accepting that.
We can force ourselves through the motions of reacting differently to that person, even if that new reaction is awkward and uncomfortable.
Search out our motivations. Are we somehow trying to control or influence the other person? We cannot change the other person, but we can stop playing our part of the game. One good way to do this is by detaching and letting go of any need to control.
The next step is learning to own our power to take care of ourselves, to be who we are free from their influence. We can learn to own our power with difficult people. It may not happen overnight, but we can begin, today, to change our self-defeating reactions to the people who have hooked us.
God, help me identify the relationships where I have forfeited my power. Help me unhook and begin owning my power.

Today I trust what I feel and I listen to my inner voice. It does not matter if it is logical or if others agree. My feelings and emotions guide me on a path that is right for me. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Journey to the Heart
Value the Simple Tasks of Life

Simple tasks can take us back to the rhythm, the way of life we're seeking.

How often we think we don't want to be bothered with laundry, bills dishes, the lawn. We have other things to do, more important tasks to accomplish on this journey we're on. But doing the ordinary tasks doesn't take us away from the rhythm we're seeking. They don't take us away from life's magic. These tasks are the rhythm. They are the magic.

The simple tasks are important not just because they need to be done. The simple tasks are the microcosm of how our lives work. They keep us grounded in reality, they remind us of what's real, they show us how life works. They will lead us into the way of life we're seeking, if we approach them the right way. Do the laundry. Do the dishes. Pay your bills. Rake the leaves. Do these tasks with respect.


Restore and maintain order around you, and you'll feel order in your soul. Create beauty around you, and you'll feel beauty in your soul. The magic will return. The simple tasks will lead you back to it.

*****

more language of letting go
Be grateful for where you are now

"It doesn't take as much faith to believe that everything happens for a reason as it does to embrace the belief that I am who and where I am now, today, for a reason-- even if I don't know what that reason is and even if I don't particularly like who and where I am today," a friend said to me. "When I can take that in, my dissatisfaction and negativity disappear, and I can proceed calmly and gratefully with my life. To me," he said, "that's what spirituality is all about."

Faith and hope aren't just for the future. Try using them on today.

Could it be that you're who you are and where you are now for a reason? Thank God for your life, exactly as it is, right now.


God, give me enough faith to believe in today.

*****

Living Potential
Sharing Your Gift with Others

The gifts we are born with and those that we work to develop throughout our lives vary in form and function. Some we find use for every day while others are only useful in specific circumstances. Yet many times we overlook opportunities to share our unique gifts with others. It may be fear of criticism that holds us back or the paralyzing weight of uncertainty. Ultimately, we doubt that our innate talents and practiced skills can truly add value to others’ lives. But it is the world as a whole that benefits when we willingly share our gifts. Whether you have been blessed with the ability to awaken beautiful emotions in others through art or industry, or your aptitudes transmit more practical advantages, your gifts are a part of who you are. As you make use of those gifts as best you can, be assured that your contribution to worldly well-being will not be overlooked.

Your personal power is defined in part by your gifts. To use your talents is to demonstrate to the world that you understand yourself and are truly attuned to your capabilities. Your earthly existence provides you with ample opportunity to explore your purpose, to utilize your skills in a life-affirming way, and to positively touch the lives of others while doing so. Yet you may feel that your gifts are not as valuable or worthy of attention as those of others and thus hide them away. However, every gift lying dormant in your soul has the potential to fill a void in someone else’s life. Just as your existence is made richer by the love, support, friendship, aid, and compassion of others, so, too, can you add richness to their lives. Your natural ability to soothe hurt, inspire compassion, bake, dance, knit, organize, or think outside the box can be a boon to someone in need.

As you embrace your gifts and allow their light to shine, you will discover that more and more opportunities to make use of them arise. This is because your gifts are a channel through which the universe operates. By simply doing what you are good at and also love to do, you make a positive difference. The recognition you receive for your efforts will pale in comparison to the satisfaction you feel when fulfilling your innate potential. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Step Four enables me to see myself as I really am — my characteristics, motives, attitudes and actions. I’m taught in* The Program to search out my mistakes resolutely. Where, for example, had I been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and frightened? I’m taught, also, that my deeply-rooted habit of self-justification may tempt me to “explain away” each fault as I uncover it, blaming others for my own shortcomings. Will I believe that personal honesty can achieve what superior knowledge often cannot?

Today I Pray

May I not make the Fourth Step a once-over-lightly, let’s get-it-over-with exercise in self-appraisal. May I know that, once I take this Step, I must review it again many times until it becomes, like the other eleven, a way of life for me. May I protect the value of my Fourth Step from my old habit of head-tripping and buck-passing my way out of responsibility.

Today I Will Remember

Personal honesty paves the way to recovery.

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One More Day

Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

It’s a peculiar twist of life that physical impairment causes some of us to become either agnostic or more spiritual. Few of us stay in the shades of gray.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to find our Higher Power or to rediscover our sense of spirituality may feel a deep and abiding belief in spiritual forces which will dwell with us at all times in our lives.

Spiritually transcends all health problems; we can call on its comfort and support at will. Our beliefs can buoy us up when we are feeling low and can richly enhance all the facets of our lives.

The spiritual forces which work within me are uniquely mine — to share or to keep private. They will always enhance my life.

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Food For Thought

Rationalizing

We compulsive overeaters are experts at making excuses for taking the line of least resistance. Before we entered this program, we could always find a reason for eating. How many times did we say, “Just one little bite can’t possibly hurt”?

It is hard to say no to ourselves and to other people, even though we may realize that saying yes would be hurtful to our health or our integrity. We think up reasons for going along with what other people want us to do, rather than “rocking the boat” by standing up for what we know to be essential for our recovery.

Often we convince ourselves by rationalizing that all is well when it is not. Our emotional and spiritual health requires that we examine honestly our behavior and our relationships. When they are not right, we need to take action to correct them.

By Your light, may I see clearly.

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One Day At A Time

~ LISTENING ~
I have learned silence from the talkative,
tolerance from the intolerant,
and kindness from the unkind.
I should not be ungrateful to those teachers.
Kahlil Gibran

Verbosity is one of my personal characteristics ... especially in my past. I remember so well discussions in which I found great joy in talking. I also remember my prayers to the God Of My Understanding in which I had a litany of things prayed for.

As I became more and more entrenched in my program, I noticed that I began to listen more and talk less. I also began to really hear what God was saying to me. Praying is our talking to God and meditating is listening to Him. So now meditation has became a way of life for me.

As I go through my life encountering the talkers of the world, I now try to listen to those who are silent but who have much to say. The loud voices of my past life were just loud. It is, however, the quiet, calm voices that have spoken to me in volumes.

One Day at a Time . . .
I will listen carefully to those who speak.
I will listen especially carefully if it's God who is speaking.
~ Mari ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. We, who are familiar with these symptoms, see large numbers of potential alcoholics among young people everywhere. But try and get them to see it! - Pgs. 33-34 - More About Alcoholism

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Our new life-style calls for a new self-responsibility. Is there something we are committed to do this afternoon? Go to a group, go to a meeting, call a friend, pray? We begin the process of being responsible by being on time, keeping promises, doing what our sponsor says.

Give me the persistence to meet my obligations this afternoon.

The Mystery

Today, I accept that part of myself that will never be satisfied, and I comfort and tame it. There is a place in me that knows it will never necessarily solve the eternal questions of life: Who am I and where do I come from, and where do I go when I die? At times, I can get depressed about that and feel that there's no real point to life. But I am beginning to feel that to accept and love this side of myself is what also gives life beauty and meaning. Perhaps meaning is not knowing and understanding, but an acceptance of mystery, an embracing of the unknown. After all, it is that mystery that gives even the most ordinary circumstance an eternal sort of glow - a sense of depth, a feeling that there is more.

I accept that I will never fully understand - I embrace the mystery.
- Tian Dayton Phd

'The soul is restless and furious; it wants to tear itself apart and cure itself of being human.'- Ugo Betti

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Going to a lot of meetings is important, supportive, and full of fellowship. However, our program is not about meetings but what happens in between meetings.

Do I align my actions with the picture I paint of myself in meetings?

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you have two addictions, throw two bucks in the basket.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I trust what I feel and I listen to my inner voice.

It does not matter if it is logical or if others agree. My feelings and emotions guide me on a path that is right for me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Rome wasn't built in a day - That's because and alcoholic didn't get the contract. - Broken Hill Jack.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 14

Philosophy
A religion, properly, is of divine origin; governs the person in his relationship with his Higher Power;
and promises its rewards and punishment after death.
A philosophy is of human origin; governs the person in his relationship with his fellowman;
and promises its rewards and punishments during life.
AA, I submit, is a philosophy. If we alcoholics follow the philosophy of AA,
we can gain an understanding of our several religions.
- Came To Believe, p. 5

Thought to Ponder . . .
True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F A I T H = Forever Always In The Heart.

AA Thought for the Day

August 14

Good Idea
The first step toward feeling better,
and getting over our sickness is quite simply not drinking.
Try the idea on for size.
Wouldn't you rather have a health condition which can be successfully treated,
than spend a lot of time miserably wondering what's wrong with you?
- Living Sober, p. 10

Thought to Ponder . . .
Make a change, move a muscle.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Achieve Anything.

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

Hangovers
"When a drunk has a terrific hangover because
he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today.
But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience
whether we are drinking or not.
That is the emotional hangover,
the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's
excesses of negative emotion -
anger, fear, jealousy, and the like.
If we would live serenely today and tomorrow,
we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 88

Thought to Consider . . .
I'd rather be better than bitter.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Altered Attitudes

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

Joker in the Glass
"Chapter XXIII: His prescriptions for sobriety
You know, Dan, he [Dr. Bob] told me, many people coming into A.A. get the wrong conception of "Easy Does It, and I hope you don't. It doesn't mean that you sit on your fanny, stay home from meetings and let other people work the program for you. It doesn't mean you have an easy life without drinking. Easy Does It means you take it a day at a time.
He told me that before I could be honest with him or my sponsor or anyone else, I had to get honest with that joker in the glass.
I didn't know what he meant by that joker in the glass. He told me that was the man in the looking glass. When you shave tomorrow, get honest with the man who looks back at you from the looking glass.
1980, AAWS, Inc., Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, page 282

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Let all of us AAs, whether we be trustees, editors, secretaries, janitors, or cooks -- or just members -- ever recall the unimportance of wealth and authority as compared with the vast import of our brotherhood, love, and service."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1947
"Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?"
The Language of the Heart

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. His recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God, however he may define him.
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 99,100

"My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, 'Why
don't you choose your own conception of God?'

That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain
in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the
sunlight at last.

It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater
than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning.
I saw that growth could start from that point."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 12~

“We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone.”
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84

“We needn’t wallow in excessive remorse before those we have harmed, but amends at this level should always be forthright and generous.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 86

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to, but because we had to.
Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance.
But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us.

Prayer for the Day: God, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that I know you better. Help me become aware of anything I have omitted discussing with another person. Help me to do what is necessary to walk a free man at last. Amen

Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7