Daily Recovery Readings - June 8

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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.

June 8

Daily Reflections

OPENING UP TO CHANGE

Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and
grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it
comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible
for us to receive God's help. . . . we find that bit by bit we can discard
the old life -- the one that did not work -- for a new life that can and
does work under any conditions whatever.
AS BILL SEES IT, pp. 10, 8

I have been given a daily reprieve contingent upon my spiritual
condition, provided I seek progress, not perfection. To become ready
for change, I practice willingness, opening myself to possibilities of
change. If I realize there are defects that hinder my usefulness in
A.A. and toward others, I become ready by meditating and receiving
direction. "Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the
result was nil until we let go absolutely" (Alcoholics Anonymous, p.
58). To let go and let God, I need only surrender my old ways to Him;
I no longer fight nor do I try to control, but simply believe that, with God's
help, I am changed and affirming this belief makes me ready. I empty
myself to be full of awareness, light, and love, and I am ready to face
each day with hope.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. We always get worse, never
better. We are never cured. Our alcoholism can only be arrested. No
matter how long we have been sober, if we try liquor again, we're as
bad or worse than we ever were. There is no exception to this rule in
the whole history of A.A. We can never recapture the good times of
the past. They are gone forever. Will I try to recapture them?

Meditation For The Day

Your life has been given to you mainly for the purpose of training your
soul. This life we live is not so much for the body as for the soul. We
often choose the way of life that best suits the body, not the way that
best suits the soul. God wants you to choose what suits the soul as well
as the body. Accept this belief and a wonderful molding of character is
the result. Reject it and God's purpose for your life is frustrated, and
your spiritual progress is delayed. Your soul is being trained by the
good you choose. Thus the purpose of your life is being accomplished.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may choose what is good for my soul. I pray that I may
realize God's purpose for my life.

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As Bill Sees It

Between the Extremes, p. 159

"The real question is whether we can learn anything from our experiences upon which we
may grow and help others to grow in the likeness and image of God.

"We know that if we rebel against doing that which is reasonably possible for us, then we
will be penalized. And we will be equally penalized if we presume in ourselves a
perfection that simply is not there.

"Apparently, the course of relative humility and progress will have to lie somewhere
between these extremes. In our slow progress away from rebellion, true perfection is
doubtless several millennia away."

Letter, 1959

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Walk in Dry Places

Quality Of Sobriety
Self-Improvement
There is such a thing as length---or quantity---of sobriety, and there is also quality. It's generally accepted that sobriety ought to be something more than the single process of staying free from alcohol or drugs.
We're on shaky ground, however, when we begin passing judgment on another person's quality of sobriety. We only have responsibility for the quality of our own sobriety, and it is not for us to decide how another should think or live.
We may not be able to avoid noticing others' actions that we consider to be wrong, but we can keep our thoughts and opinions to ourselves. If we do wish to voice any opinions, it should be in terms of our own inventory---not the other person's.
Some old-timers in Twelve Step programs develop crankiness that borders on resentment. Out of this crankiness come complaints about the way newcomers work the program. Our only responsibility is to treat these complaints with good humor and to avoid becoming cranky ourselves. Recovery alcoholics must continue to have the freedom to select any quality of sobriety they choose.
Today I'll strive for a high-quality sobriety that includes cheerfulness, confidence, patience, and good humor. I won't be responsible for monitoring another's sobriety.

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Keep It Simple

It's not enough to talk to plants, you also have to listen.---David Bergman
Sometimes, we find ourselves doing all the talking. When this happens, we need to stop, think, and listen.
When we do all the talking, we're trying to control what happens. But when we listen, we get better results. No one has to be in control. What a relief!
And we're learning to listen better every day. It's great---the care, love, and help we find---just by listening.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me learn the "give-and-take" of talking and listening.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll focus on listening, not only to other people but to my Higher Power's voice.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. For every gain there is a setback. For every success, a failure. For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. For every hope realized, one is dashed. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
The balance of events in our lives is much like the balance of nature. The pendulum swings; every extreme condition is offset by its opposite, and we learn to appreciate the gifts . . . of the bad times as well as the periods of rest.
On occasion we'll discover that our course in life has changed direction. We need not be alarmed. Step Three has promised that we are in caring hands. Our every concern, every detail of our lives will be taken care of, in the right way, at the right time.
We can develop gratitude for all conditions, good or bad. Each has its necessary place in our development as healthy, happy women. We need the sorrows along with the joys if we are to gain new insights. Our failures keep us humble; they remind us of our need for the care and guidance of others. And for every hope dashed, we can remember, one will be realized.
Life is a process. I will accept the variations with gratitude. Each, in its own way, blesses me.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 5 - HOW IT WORKS

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it--then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

p. 58

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

A DRUNK, LIKE YOU - The more he listened at meetings, the more he came to know about his own drinking history.

I used to watch a lot of late-night movies--it was my time to relax by having a few drinks, a habit that started in night school when I had a full-time job and was studying chemistry at night. I had seen movie versions of what happened to people who had drinking problems The Lost Weekend, Days of Wine and Roses, and others. And so I was nervous about raging, losing control, and maybe being violent as my wife has said I was. So we picked up the kids and the booze (all of it) and took all to my wife's parents.
p. 400

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Four - "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."

Thus it was that under Tradition Four an A.A. group had exercised its right to be wrong. Moreover, it had performed a great service for Alcoholics Anonymous, because it had been humbly willing to apply the lessons it learned. It had picked itself up with a laugh and gone on to better things. Even the chief architect, standing in the ruins of his dream, could laugh at himself - and that is the very acme of humility.

p. 149

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"Love does not measure; it just gives."
--Mother Teresa

We do not let things change us, we change things.
--Joyce Meyer

Well done is better than well said.
--Benjamin Franklin

"Worry is rehearsing fear about a made-up, fabricated event in the
future that most of the time never happens."
--Jeff Alexander

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss."
--Jonathan Larson

"When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember
that four of his fingers are pointing at himself."
--Louis Nizer

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

DOUBT

"I respect faith but doubt is what
gets you an education."
--Wilson Mizner

It is okay to question things. It is okay to say that I do not agree.
Today I have the freedom to doubt opinions and attitudes.

In my childhood I was never allowed to do this. I had to accept the
Bible because the preacher said it was God's word. I had to accept
that only Christians went to Heaven because Grandma said so! I had
to believe that Jews and Blacks were "inferior" because family and
friends said so - and to doubt them was to be different. I was
dependent upon an attitude towards life that I was uncomfortable
with. It brought me pain, anger, loneliness and guilt in later life.

Then I learned that growth comes to those who are prepared to doubt
or disagree with an existing system. God is to be found in the
questions. Spirituality is discovered in the shades of life.

O God, part of Your glory and splendor is Your unending mystery.

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My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish
His work.
John 4:34

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
James 1:19-20

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Daily Inspiration

Little acts of kindness throughout the day will make your life so much better and bring a little sunshine to others as well. Lord, may I make a habit of being gentle and loving with those around me.

Everything we need to deal with life's problems lies within us. Our trials are tests to see if we can discover the solution. Lord, I call out Your name when I face my difficulties and together we will overcome them.

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NA Just For Today

The Only Requirement

"This program offers hope. All you have to bring with you is the desire to stop using and the willingness to try this new way of life."
IP No. 16, "For the Newcomer"

From time to time we wonder if we're "doing it right" in Narcotics Anonymous. Are we attending enough meetings? Are we using our sponsor, or working the steps, or speaking, or reading, or living the "right" way? We value the fellowship of recovering addicts - we don't know what we'd do without it. What if the way we're practicing our program is "wrong?" Does that make us "bad" NA members?

We can settle our insecurities by reviewing our Third Tradition, which assures us that "the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using." There aren't any rules that say we've got to attend this many meetings or these particular meetings, or work the "steps" this way at this pace, or live our lives to suit these people in order to remain NA members in good standing.

It's true that, if we want the kind of recovery we see in members we respect, well want to practice the kind of program that's made their recovery possible. But NA is a fellowship of freedom; we work the program the best way for us, not for someone else. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.

Just for today: I will look at the program I'm working in light of my own recovery. I will practice that program to the best of my ability.

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Caring is everything; nothing matters but caring. --Baron Friedrich Von Hugel
The caring we receive from someone we love when we're sick can heal us just as much as the medicine we take. For children, Mom is usually the one who makes sure we get enough rest by having us stay in bed. By bringing us juice and aspirins she helps us keep our fevers down. She also lifts our spirits when she tells us a funny story.
Perhaps the next time a loved one is sick we can do the special and caring things. We can bring a favorite magazine or a cold glass of water, tell a joke, or just sit and be there for a while. Whether the sick person is a parent or a brother or sister, when we help care for another, we complete a circle of caring begun by a parent so long ago.
Does someone need my care today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Come, Love! Sing On! Let me hear you sing this song - sing for joy and laugh, for I the creator am truly subject to all creatures. --Mechtild of Magdeburg
Recovery without joy and song and playfulness is incomplete. The beauty of music uplifts our spirits and shows us the face of our Creator. For many men, music is their means of meditation and conscious contact with their Higher Power. When we experience the creativity of a musical piece, as it speaks to us, we take a step beyond the practical world, into the profound level of creation.
Some people say, "How can you celebrate when there is so much suffering, so much to grieve about?" We have grieved; we continue to grieve alongside our joy. But we need not pour all our energies into the painful and sad. Life is also wonderful. Music and dance and the joy of good fellowship enrich our lives and strengthen us to go on.
Praise the spirit of our Creator for all that is given to us!


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. For every gain there is a setback. For every success, a failure. For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. For every hope realized, one is dashed. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
The balance of events in our lives is much like the balance of nature. The pendulum swings; every extreme condition is offset by its opposite, and we learn to appreciate the gifts . . . of the bad times as well as the periods of rest.
On occasion we'll discover that our course in life has changed direction. We need not be alarmed. Step Three has promised that we are in caring hands. Our every concern, every detail of our lives will be taken care of, in the right way, at the right time.
We can develop gratitude for all conditions, good or bad. Each has its necessary place in our development as healthy, happy women. We need the sorrows along with the joys if we are to gain new insights. Our failures keep us humble; they remind us of our need for the care and guidance of others. And for every hope dashed, we can remember, one will be realized.
Life is a process. I will accept the variations with gratitude. Each, in its own way, blesses me.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Fun
Have some fun - with life, with the day.
Life is not drudgery; that is an old belief. Let go of it. We are on an adventure, a journey. Events will come to pass that we cannot now fathom.
Replace heaviness and weariness of spirit with joy. Surround yourself with people and things that bring lightness of spirit.
Become sensitive to lightness of spirit.
The journey can be an exciting adventure. Let yourself enjoy it.
God, help me let go of my need to meet dysfunctional challenges in my relationships.


Today I do all the footwork I can to make my life work. I trust the results to God and know that they will be just what is good and right for me. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart

Be Gentle and Loving

As I drove into Utah, past Zion National Park. I began to feel the oddest sensation emanating from the earth, emanating from me. It was soft. Lovely Light. All evening, deer had been crossing my path, coming to me from out of the woods. That’s when I remembered. In the Medicine Cards, deer are the symbol for gentleness and love. The feeling coming from the ground, through the air was gentleness, kindness, and love.

The universe was reminding me of something. Iy was a place inside me, one I had discovered before, a place of gentleness and love. Somewhere along my life’s journey, with all its trials, moving about, business, and experiences, I had let the gentleness slip away. Now it was time to go there again. It was a reminder to be gentle and kind to others, be gentle and kind to myself.

Gentleness, kindness, and love are more than places to visit. They are places we can take with us wherever we go.

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More Language Of Letting Go

Let go of judgements

We can’t relax when we’re being judgemental. As soon as we decide that a thing or situation is either good or bad, we place ourselves in the situation of having to do something about it. For example, if someone is good, we begin to compare ourselves to that person. Am I better or worse? What can I do to improve? If we decide that a thing is bad, then our conscience tells us that we must try to get rid of it.

Either way, we get so busy thinking about our judgements and allowing our minds to create scenarios that we cannot relax and enjoy things the way they are.

Drop your judgemental mind today and relax. If blessings or good people have come into your life, let them be. You do not have to be better or worse than they are.

If a thing is damaging or hurtful to you, you will know that and you can deal with it when the time comes.

Be aware of the people and things in your life. Relax and enjoy them without passing judgement on them.

God, help me learn to enjoy the people and experiences in my life.

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Sitting with Our Sadness
The Heart of Humanity by Madisyn Taylor

Sitting with our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can bear the pain and we will come out the other side.

The last thing most of us want to hear or think about when we are dealing with profound feelings of sadness is that deep learning can be found in this place. In the midst of our pain, we often feel picked on by life, or overwhelmed by the enormity of some loss, or simply too exhausted to try and examine the situation. We may feel far too disappointed and angry to look for anything resembling a bright side to our suffering. Still, somewhere in our hearts, we know that we will eventually emerge from the depths into the light of greater awareness. Remembering this truth, no matter how elusive it seems, can help.

The other thing we often would rather not hear when we are dealing with intense sadness is that the only way out of it is through it. Sitting with our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can bear the pain and the faith that we will come out the other side. With courage, we can allow ourselves to cycle through the grieving process with full inner permission to experience it. This is a powerful teaching that sadness has to offer us—the ability to surrender and the acceptance of change go hand in hand.

Another teaching of sadness is compassion for others who are in pain, because it is only in feeling our own pain that we can really understand and allow for someone else’s. Sadness is something we all go through, and we all learn from it and are deepened by its presence in our lives. While our own individual experiences of sadness carry with them unique lessons, the implications of what we learn are universal. The wisdom we gain from going through the process of feeling loss, heartbreak, or deep disappointment gives us access to the heart of humanity. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

A friend in The Program taught me to look at excessive guilt in an entirely new way, suggesting that guilt was nothing but a sore of reverse pride. A decent regret for what has happened is fine, he said. But guilt, no. I’ve since learned that condemning ourselves for mistakes we’ve made is just as bad as condemning others for theirs. We’re not really equipped to make judgments, not even of ourselves. Do I still sometimes “beat myself to death” when I appear to be failing?

Today I Pray

May I be wary of keeping my guilty role alive long after I should have left it behind. May I know the difference between regret and guilt. May I recognize that long-term guilt may infer an exaggerated idea of my own importance, as well as present self-righteousness. May God alone be my judge.

Today I Will Remember

Guilt may be pride in reverse.

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One More Day

Sometimes what we think is so impossible turns out to be possible after all.
K. O’Brien

The pure joy of imagination is that it holds no bounds. Even if we are tethered by poor health we can still believe there are better days ahead. And in truth, we can find worthwhile ways to spend our precious time and energy if we wish.

Time spent lost in thought is not wasted, for these precious moments let us remember wonderful times gone by and allow us to rehearse our role in the future. We should imagine ourselves as proud and fully capable. This may, of course, not be true, but the more we try to the better we will be able to present ourselves in public. The easier it is for us to be in public, the more often we will go out.

I am not wasting time when I daydream, for my dreams help me accept the changes in my life and allow me to practice for the future.

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Food For Thought

Trick or Treat

Our devious minds have a way of enticing us with visions of sugar plum "goodies" which can trick us into forgetting that we are compulsive overeaters. What may once have been a treat is now, for us, poison. The so-called treat can trick us into taking the first compulsive bite, which we know is always our downfall.

We need to change our thinking so that we no longer consider refined sugars and starches and former binge foods to be treats. Eating them has caused us great unhappiness in the past, and we will not be deluded into thinking that another time will be different.

Through the OA program, we are gaining the self-knowledge which arms us against the assaults of temptation. Our enemy is clever. We need the protection of our Higher Power and the strength that comes from working the Twelve Steps.

Protect me, Lord.

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One Day At A Time

TOGETHERNESS
"The Praying Hands – let them be your reminder,
if you need one, that no one ever makes it alone."
Anonymous

"I don't need a sponsor; God and I walk alone."

"Why do I need to go to a meeting tonight? I'll be OK; I've got other things I need to be doing."

"I can't sponsor, I haven't worked enough of the Steps yet, and besides, I haven't got time; it takes all my time to do MY program."

When my thoughts drift in these directions, I am reminded of an old picture my grandfather had of "The Praying Hands" and of the story of two brothers, Albrecht and Albert Durer, both gifted in art.

The Durer family was poor and only one brother could go to art school, so they tossed a coin; Albrecht went to art school while Albert worked hard to pay his brother's tuition at the Academy in Nuremburg.

After a few years, the artist, Albrecht, said to his brother Albert, "I can afford for you to go to art school now, so I will finance YOUR education." But Albert, who had worked so hard in the dangerous mines, looked down at his work-worn, arthritic hands which had been smashed numerous times, and knew it was too late for him. He would never be an artist. So Albrecht painted his brother's hands and they are the hands we now see in copies of the painting ... two hands lifted up towards a Power Greater.

I know that I, too, have my Higher Power waiting to help me if only I seek the help I need. I am reminded of the friends I have found in the fellowship. I remember how it feels to hold the hand of a shaky newcomer at the end of their first meeting, or the hand of my sponsor who reaches out to give me comfort when I share a personal hurt.

One Day at a Time . . .
Alone I have proved again and again that I am defenseless over my disease, but together – TOGETHER - with my Higher Power and all of my fellows, I have a Power and Strength I never believed possible.
~ Marlene

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We will be more reconciled to discussing ourselves with another person when we see good reasons why we should do so. The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives. Trying to avoid this humbling experience, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. - Pgs. 72-73 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The worst form of blindness is emotional blindness. We say 'love is blind' but we must recognize that 'hate is blind', 'fear is blind', and 'anger is blind' as well. Intense emotions obscure our sight and in this first month, our emotions run amuck. We must accept this and use our program, treatment center, counselor, sponsor, and meetings as our 'seeing eye dog.'

My Spiritual Source helps me recognize that my emotions are more intense now then usual. I may not be seeing life as clearly as I will in the future.

Our Own Good

Today, I accept that I do not always know what is best for me. There are times when I am completely confused about what to do for myself and for those around me, because I can't see how my own issues are surfacing and coloring my present. These are the days when I need to pray and to understand that my prayers are heard. I never whisper to God that I am not heard. Prayer is my medium for change and growth. It is with me all the time, and there is no moment when I can't elevate my consciousness and conscious contact through it. It is my way of talking to my higher self and turning over my lower self to the loving, compassionate care of a Higher Power.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Progress, not perfection-- No matter how long you have been in recovery, no matter how long you have worked the steps, you will never raise above the level of human being.

I claim spiritual progress today, not spiritual perfection.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Take the First Step, not the Thirst Step

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I do all the footwork I can to make my life work. I trust the results to God and know that they will be just what is good and right for me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Robert Louis Stevenson nailed alcoholism with 'Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde'. He was either an alcoholic or he did very extensive research. Trip S.

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AA Thought for the Day

June 8

Release From Fear
The practice of AA's Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in our personal lives
also brought incredible releases from fear of every description,
despite the wide prevalence of formidable personal problems.
When fear did persist, we knew it for what it was,
and under God's grace we became able to handle it.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 268

Thought to Ponder . . .
A fear faced is a fear erased.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E A R = Fear Expressed Allows Relief.

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

Fellowship
"We are average Americans.
All sections of this country and many of its occupations
are represented,
as well as many political, economic, social,
and religious backgrounds.
We are people who normally would not mix.
But there exists among us a fellowship,
a friendliness, and an understanding
which is indescribably wonderful ...
The tremendous fact for every one of us
is that we have discovered a common solution."
1976 AAWS, Alcholics Anonymous, p. 17

Thought to Ponder ...
The Journey is the Destination.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B E S T = Been Enjoying Sobriety Today?

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

Commitment
>From "Destinations":
"That first step is very important, whether it is the first step of a beloved child learning to walk or the First Step, taken by
a man on his way to a new life. Looking into my little ones faces, I can see the same qualities that we need for the
Twelve Steps of A.A.: daring, to stake everything on the attempt; a sense of direction, to be followed with no swerving,
no detour; decision, to move forward without hesitation or reservation; determination, to make it all the way. Destination:
a full life, a free life, a serene life. "Albany, Australia"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 93

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

"Our resentments, anxieties and depressions were definitely caused, we claimed, by our unfortunate circumstances and by the inconsiderate behavior of other people. To our consternation, our sponsors didn't seem impressed ... They just grinned and said, 'Why don't we sit down and take a hard look at all of AA's Twelve Steps? Maybe you have been missing a lot -- in fact, nearly everything."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1965
"Responsibility Is Our Theme"
The Language of the Heart

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

"We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: 'Once an
alcoholic, always an alcoholic.' Commencing to drink after a period
of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33

"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on
our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a
subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is
a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~

We know that little good can come to any alcoholic who joins A.A. unless he has first accepted his devastating
weakness and all its consequences.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 21

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The real question is whether we can learn anything from our experiences upon which we may grow and help others to
grow in the likeness and image of God.
We know that if we rebel against doing that which is reasonably possible for us, then we will be penalized. And we will
be equally penalized if we presume in ourselves a perfection that simply is not there.
Apparently, the course of relative humility and progress will have to lie somewhere between these extremes. In our slow
progress away from rebellion, true perfection is doubtless several millennia away.

Prayer For The Day: Lord, I pray that you may lift up the light of your countenance upon me, and give me peace; in my going out and in my coming in; in my sitting down and my rising up; in my work and in my play; in my joy and in my sorrow, in my laughter and in my tears.

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