AA Thought For Today - January

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AA Thought for the Day

January 31

Paradox
2. We GIVE AWAY TO KEEP.
That seems absurd and untrue.
How can you keep something if you give it away?
But in order to keep whatever it is we get in AA,
we must go about giving it away to others, for no fees or rewards of any kind.
- Experience, Strength & Hope, p. 154

Thought to Ponder . . .
We surrender to win; we give away to keep;
we suffer to get well; we die to live.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
N O W = No Other Way.

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

Surrender
On the face of it,
surrendering certainly does not seem like winning.
But it is in AA
Only after we have come to the end of our rope,
hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives
beyond which we can go no further;
only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender,
can we accomplish sobriety which we could
never accomplish before.
We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.
c. 1955 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, 2nd Edition, pp. 341-2

Thought to Consider . . .
Life didn't end when I got sober -- it started.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Acceptance, Trust

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

Stages
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim and utterly hopeless cases, almost without
exception. But now younger folks began to appear. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs and homes and health
and even good social standing. These in their turn were able to persuade others like themselves of the need for A.A. Of
course it was necessary for these types of newcomers to hit bottom emotionally. But we found they did not have to hit
every possible bottom there was in order to admit that they were licked. When one of these mild cases arrived at the
conviction that he already had the principal symptoms of alcoholism that was usually enough. He 'hit bottom' then and
there and so was spared years of anguish."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 199

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quotes ^*~*~*~*~*

"We well know that our defects, as people and as a Society, have been and still are very great. And we hope that we shall never cease to rededicate ourselves to their correction."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., March 1960
"After Twenty-Five Years"
The Language of the Heart

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

"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~

"Now we try to put spiritual principles to work in every department
of our lives. When we do that, we find it solves our problems too;
the ensuing lack of fear, worry and hurt feelings is a wonderful
thing."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, To Wives, pg. 116~

When, and how, and in just what instances did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other people and me?
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 50

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

In God's economy, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is.'
We did not always come closer to wisdom by reason of our virtues; our better understanding is often rooted in the pains of our former follies. Because this has been the essence of our individual experience, it is also the essence of our experience as a fellowship.

Prayer for the Day: Lord, show me how to live today with genuine concern for others. In expressing my care, may I show people that they are valued, loved and appreciated for who they are. Amen.