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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "The Missing Link":
"They opened a book and read a chapter titled 'Step Seven.' After the reading, they went around the table for comments, and for the first time in my life, I found myself surrounded by people I could really relate with. I no longer felt as if I was a major misfit, because here was a roomful of people who felt precisely as I did, and a major weight had been lifted. I happened to be in the last chair around the table to speak and, confused by the reading, all I could say was, 'What the heck are shortcomings?'"
© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 286
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
April 26, 2010
Warning Bells
We have learned now not to panic
when the thought of a drink comes into the mind. . .
But the thought of a drink is not necessarily the same thing
as the desire for one,
and neither need plunge us into gloom or fear.
Both can be viewed simply as warning bells
to remind us of the perils of alcoholism.
c.1998 AAWS, Living Sober, pp. 43-44
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Nothing is so bad that a drink won't make worse.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
ODAAT = One Day At A Time
Today's Meditation:
I will try to keep my life calm and unruffled. This is my great task, to
find peace and acquire serenity. I must not harbor disturbing thoughts. No
matter what fears, worries and resentments I may have, I must try to think
of constructive things, until calmness comes. Only when I am calm can I act
as a channel for God's spirit.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may build up instead of tearing down. I pray that I may be
constructive and not destructive.
Today's Quotable:
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make,
who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Stephen
Levine
Today's Tool:
Today is my 5 year AA birthday. And it really is when I was born a new.
How did I do it you ask?
Through my circumstances I was fortunate enough to have become desperate for CHANGE. My life was getting ready to spiral out of control. Thank God I still had a few marbles left where I could see what was coming.
I became Open Minded, Willing, Willing to take Suggestions, my sponsors helped deflate my greatly exaggerated sense of importance and he assisted and is still guiding me in my efforts on becoming Meek. My understanding of meek is that it means patient and humble.
Long story short...I did not do it, my Higher Power did it by placing situations and people in my life.
So what is the tool? There are so many to choose from.
As you go through life gathering up the marbles you've lost stop and help someone else. Without someone else's help I would have nothing of value that I would be capable of appreciating.
Have a Blessed Day.
Klaus
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Safe Haven:"
"I have found that the process of discovering who I really am begins with knowing who I really don't want to be. And although the disease of alcoholism inside of me is like gravity, just waiting to pull me down, A.A. and the Twelve Steps are like the power that causes an airplane to become airborne: It only works when the pilot is doing the right things to make it work.... "From experience, I've realized that I cannot go back and make a brand-new start. But through A.A., I can start from now and make a brand-new end."
c. 2001, Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 456-7
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
April 27, 2010
Paradox
4. We DIE TO LIVE.
That is a beautiful paradox
straight out of the Biblical idea of being "born again"
or "in losing one's life to find it."
When we work at our Twelve Steps,
the old life of guzzling and fuzzy thinking,
and all that goes with it, gradually dies,
and we acquire a different and a better way of life.
As our shortcomings are removed,
one life of us dies, and another life of us lives.
We in AA die to live.
c. 2003 AAWS, Experience, Strength and Hope, p. 156
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
We surrender to win;
we give away to keep; we suffer to get well;
we die to live.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Alive.
Today's Meditation:
Expect miracles of change in people's lives. Do not be held back by unbelief. People can be changed and they are often ready and waiting to be changed. Never believe that human nature cannot be changed. We see changed people every day. Do you have the faith to make those changes possible? Modern miracles happen every day in the lives of people. All miracles are in the realm of personalities. Human nature can be changed and is always being changed. But we must have enough faith so that we can be channels of god's strength into the lives of others.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may have the faith to expect miracles I pray that I may be used by God to help change the lives of others.
Today's Quotable:
Don't leave five minutes before the miracle happens.
Today's Tool:
trudge: to walk laboriously
laboriously: involving much hard work
Isn't this exactly how AA is?
We have met people we wouldn't normally mix with, we have hopefully had a
physic change, due to strenuous step work and contact and work with each
other, we have placed dependence on a Higher Power that many of us had
lost all faith and contact with that Higher Power.
We now have a host of friends. If we have give this program 1/2 the zeal we did
during our drinking even that would be a lot of hard work. But the light in our
eyes and the sincerity of our concern for others and the hope of our
families has made our journey down this road well worth it!
Hope all of you continue to Trudge!
Joy
p. 149
Guide to a Better Way
Almost none of us like the self-searching, the leveling of our pride,
the confession of short-comings which the Steps require. But we
saw that the program really worked in others, & we had come to
believe in the hopelessness of life as we had been living it.
When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem
had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the
simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From “Having Fun Yet”:
"When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable. Stripped from the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance. I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet? If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I’m taking myself too seriously—and finding it difficult to admit that I’ve strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order.”
© 1990 AAWS, Inc.;
Daily Reflections, pg. 31
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
April 28, 2010
Anarchists
Like everything else in AA, it has grown up out of trial and error.
Nobody invented it.
Nobody has ever laid down a set of rules or regulations to cover it,
and I hope no one ever will.
This is because rules and regulations seem to be little good for us.
They seldom work well. . .
Rule-making has often been tried.
It often results in controversy among the rule-makers
as to what the rules should be.
And when it comes to enforcing an edict -- well, you all know the answer. . .
Alcoholics (no matter if ragged) are yet the most rugged of individuals,
true anarchists at heart.
- Bill W., September 1945
c. 1998 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Language of the Heart, pp. 6-7
Thought to Ponder . . .
Live and let live.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.
Today's Meditation:
"Faith can move mountains." That expression means that faith can change any
situation in the field of personal relationships. If you trust Him, God
shows you the way to "move mountains." If you are humble enough to know
that you can do little by yourself to change a situation, if you have enough
faith to ask God to give you the power you need, and if you are grateful
enough for the grace He gives you, you can "move mountains." Situations
will be changed for the better by your presence.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may have enough faith to make me really effective. I pray
that I may learn to depend less on myself and more on God.
Today's Quotable:
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. Charles A. Beard
Today's Tool:
A tool for today is from p. 84 of the BB. "This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code."
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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A member of a AA, who previously had been attending meetings regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, her sponsor decided to visit her. It was a chilly evening and the sponsor found the sponsee at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his sponsor's visit, the sponsee welcomed her, led her to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. Her sponsor made herself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, she contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the sponsor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then she sat back in her chair, still silent. The sponsee watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail." Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. Just before the sponsor was ready to leave, she picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the sponsor reached the door to leave, the sponsee said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I'll meet you at the meeting in the morning." _______________________________________________________________ AA Thought for the Day April 29,1999 ______________________________________________ Principle Before Expediency ___BUT = Being Unconvinced Totally____________________________________________ Most of us thought good character was desirable. Obviously, good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied. With a proper display of honesty and morality, we'd stand a better chance of getting what we really wanted. But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living. *** *** How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result, and so into easy, happy, and good living, is the problem of life itself. 1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, pp. 71-72 2. GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958 Copyright©1967 A A W S,"As Bill Sees It" page 103 _______________________________________________________ Thought To Ponder............. Alcohol is patient; it will wait forever for us to return to it. * * * . * (\ ----- /) . * . ( \ ("  / ) * . * (_/ >-< \ _) * . / ____ \ _----------------------- "Ed B. recalled that Dr. Bob, always the accomplished storyteller, had a tale to fit every occasion, including this topic of local variations [in AA groups]. `You know,' Ed said, `you go to another part of the country, and they operate in a different way, and you come back and say, "If I had to go by their kind of A.A., I could never stay sober." Well, that happened to an Akron member when Dr. Bob was alive. I remember Dr. Bob told the fellow the story of this American who was putting flowers on a friend's grave while a Chinese man was putting food on his friend's grave. The American thought that was funny. "When do you expect your friend to come up and eat that food?" he asks. And the Chinese guy says, "When your friend comes up to smell those flowers." That was to show we all have our way, and sometimes one way of doing things makes just as much sense as another.'" Dr. Bob and The Good Oldtimers: 150 *******************************************************************
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Winner Takes All":
"I started going to meetings, and my story sounded so dull next to some of the stories I heard. The most interesting thing I could think to tell was about the time my friends, who were also drunk, let me drive the car. I almost got us all killed—but what fun! Legally blind, drunk, and behind the wheel of a car. God was really taking care of me and the other people on the road that night; I just didn’t know it at the time."
© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 378
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
May 30, 2010
Honesty
Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is.
Therefore, each of us has to conceive
what this great ideal may be -- to the best of our ability.
Fallible as we all are, and will be in this life,
it would be presumption to suppose
we could ever really achieve absolute honesty.
The best we can do
is to strive for a better quality of honesty.
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 172
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event ... it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
A MEMBER SHARES:
Hi folks! Joanie here, an alcoholic for sure. I was very honest when drinking ... about you, and how you should live and treat me. However, when I got sober, I found that wasn't what was meant. I had to look in the mirror and realize that I was blaming everyone and everything else for my problems. And I didn't like that one bit. Because through the Steps of this program, I learned if I was upset with someone or something, it usually meant something was going on with me ... can you imagine that? Someone was acting out and it was my fault? Not theirs? But once I put it on paper in my Fourth Step, and looked at my part in every resentment, there I was right in the middle of it with my self-righteousness.
The Fourth and Fifth Steps were so freeing, I can't begin to imagine how I lived like that, and probably no wonder I drank. My mind was not connected to reality. Not that every resentment or bad deal was my fault, but I usually had a part in it. I was giving others power over me. Today, life is so much simpler. As I look at all the defects I still hang on to, I am aware of them today, own them, and continually work on them. And best of all, I don't have to drink over them. I love this program of Alcoholics Anonymous. It made an honest woman out of me .. finally! I no longer lie my way out of situations when truth serves just as well, and I don't have the guilt! Thank you for letting me share.
Today's Meditation:
We seem to live not only in time but also in eternity. If we abide with God
and He abides with us, we may bring forth spiritual fruit which will last
for eternity. If we live with God, our lives can flow as some calm river
through the dry land of earth. It can cause the trees and flowers of the
spiritual life-love and service-to spring forth and yield abundantly.
Spiritual work may be done for eternity, not just for now. Even here on
earth we can live as though our real lives were eternal.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may try to make my life like a cool river in a thirsty land.
I pray that I may give freely to all who ask my help.
Today's Quotable:
Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. Adair Lara
Today's Tool:
This was written by a man I knew. It always puts things into perspective for me when I read it. -Keith
Just an Attitude
After a recent visit to the hospital, I was told that I not only had colon cancer, but that it had spread to three places on my liver. The news was pretty devastating. The hospital is one of the leading medical institutions in the country, so the word from its staff that this was practically not treatable was not very comforting. Thank God for AA. Ten and a half years ago, I would not be handling this nearly as well as I think I am. If I had made it this far, I most certainly would be too drunk to feel anything. Today, I have the wonderful opportunity to demonstrate that I practice what I have preached. I go to as many meetings as I can. I have absolutely no desire for alcohol. I pray that God of my understanding will use me even more in the months that remain and that I will be able to apply the St. Francis Prayer found in the Eleventh Step.
A fact that leaps out at me is that it is not one day at a time--it is now moment by moment. I certainly do not wish to mess up today by worrying about what will happen tomorrow, or live in that abyss of despair over the past. That would really be stupid in my book. Having had this revelation I intensely want to share it with those out there who are teetering on the brink of sobriety. What you are throwing away is the "now." Living a sober life is not easy, but it is simple. We do it together in AA.
One thing that I say repeatedly in meetings is that in every black cloud there is a silver lining. Ever since learning of my situation, I have been on a quest for silver linings
When I first received the news, my wife was there in the room with me. The pain that registered on my wife's face was unmistakable. I wish that I could have taken that pain from her, but it was clearly the result of her love for me. My daughter was also with us, and I saw much the same reaction from her. The love that shone through the pain was definitely a silver lining. I was not a very lovable drunk. I did not deserve any of this!
I had a nine-day stay in the hospital resulting from an operation to by-pass the tumor. I had a steady stream of visitors. I really did not know that so many people loved and cared for me. God blessed me tenfold--another silver lining! The other day after a meeting, a friend said to me, "I just hope that I can mean as much to someone else in their life as you have meant in mine." Now my ego could run wild with that one. But AA has drilled into me that this is only my God working through me.
Another one of those moments of clarity hit me when I realized that with the clock ticking like it is I do not have time for anger, resentment, or self-pity. Time is far too precious. My desire to share has greatly intensified. With gifts like these, I have begun to wonder if my situation is not an opportunity rather than a problem.
I believe that a problem is not a problem, it's an attitude. Without that, it's just a situation, and the solution is always that adjusting that attitude. That is the first line of defense. The AA way of life applies in all our affairs as we trudge the road to happy destiny.
Julian O.
Durham , North Carolina
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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/9/2008 Posts: 2,980
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rockingA wrote:From "Winner Takes All":
"I started going to meetings, and my story sounded so dull next to some of the stories I heard. The most interesting thing I could think to tell was about the time my friends, who were also drunk, let me drive the car. I almost got us all killed—but what fun! Legally blind, drunk, and behind the wheel of a car. God was really taking care of me and the other people on the road that night; I just didn’t know it at the time."
© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 378
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
May 30, 2010
Honesty
Only God can fully know what absolute honesty is.
Therefore, each of us has to conceive
what this great ideal may be -- to the best of our ability.
Fallible as we all are, and will be in this life,
it would be presumption to suppose
we could ever really achieve absolute honesty.
The best we can do
is to strive for a better quality of honesty.
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 172
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Honesty isn't an event ... it's a process.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
A MEMBER SHARES:
Hi folks! Joanie here, an alcoholic for sure. I was very honest when drinking ... about you, and how you should live and treat me. However, when I got sober, I found that wasn't what was meant. I had to look in the mirror and realize that I was blaming everyone and everything else for my problems. And I didn't like that one bit. Because through the Steps of this program, I learned if I was upset with someone or something, it usually meant something was going on with me ... can you imagine that? Someone was acting out and it was my fault? Not theirs? But once I put it on paper in my Fourth Step, and looked at my part in every resentment, there I was right in the middle of it with my self-righteousness.
The Fourth and Fifth Steps were so freeing, I can't begin to imagine how I lived like that, and probably no wonder I drank. My mind was not connected to reality. Not that every resentment or bad deal was my fault, but I usually had a part in it. I was giving others power over me. Today, life is so much simpler. As I look at all the defects I still hang on to, I am aware of them today, own them, and continually work on them. And best of all, I don't have to drink over them. I love this program of Alcoholics Anonymous. It made an honest woman out of me .. finally! I no longer lie my way out of situations when truth serves just as well, and I don't have the guilt! Thank you for letting me share.
Today's Meditation:
We seem to live not only in time but also in eternity. If we abide with God
and He abides with us, we may bring forth spiritual fruit which will last
for eternity. If we live with God, our lives can flow as some calm river
through the dry land of earth. It can cause the trees and flowers of the
spiritual life-love and service-to spring forth and yield abundantly.
Spiritual work may be done for eternity, not just for now. Even here on
earth we can live as though our real lives were eternal.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may try to make my life like a cool river in a thirsty land.
I pray that I may give freely to all who ask my help.
Today's Quotable:
Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. Adair Lara
Today's Tool:
This was written by a man I knew. It always puts things into perspective for me when I read it. -Keith
Just an Attitude
After a recent visit to the hospital, I was told that I not only had colon cancer, but that it had spread to three places on my liver. The news was pretty devastating. The hospital is one of the leading medical institutions in the country, so the word from its staff that this was practically not treatable was not very comforting. Thank God for AA. Ten and a half years ago, I would not be handling this nearly as well as I think I am. If I had made it this far, I most certainly would be too drunk to feel anything. Today, I have the wonderful opportunity to demonstrate that I practice what I have preached. I go to as many meetings as I can. I have absolutely no desire for alcohol. I pray that God of my understanding will use me even more in the months that remain and that I will be able to apply the St. Francis Prayer found in the Eleventh Step.
A fact that leaps out at me is that it is not one day at a time--it is now moment by moment. I certainly do not wish to mess up today by worrying about what will happen tomorrow, or live in that abyss of despair over the past. That would really be stupid in my book. Having had this revelation I intensely want to share it with those out there who are teetering on the brink of sobriety. What you are throwing away is the "now." Living a sober life is not easy, but it is simple. We do it together in AA.
One thing that I say repeatedly in meetings is that in every black cloud there is a silver lining. Ever since learning of my situation, I have been on a quest for silver linings
When I first received the news, my wife was there in the room with me. The pain that registered on my wife's face was unmistakable. I wish that I could have taken that pain from her, but it was clearly the result of her love for me. My daughter was also with us, and I saw much the same reaction from her. The love that shone through the pain was definitely a silver lining. I was not a very lovable drunk. I did not deserve any of this!
I had a nine-day stay in the hospital resulting from an operation to by-pass the tumor. I had a steady stream of visitors. I really did not know that so many people loved and cared for me. God blessed me tenfold--another silver lining! The other day after a meeting, a friend said to me, "I just hope that I can mean as much to someone else in their life as you have meant in mine." Now my ego could run wild with that one. But AA has drilled into me that this is only my God working through me.
Another one of those moments of clarity hit me when I realized that with the clock ticking like it is I do not have time for anger, resentment, or self-pity. Time is far too precious. My desire to share has greatly intensified. With gifts like these, I have begun to wonder if my situation is not an opportunity rather than a problem.
I believe that a problem is not a problem, it's an attitude. Without that, it's just a situation, and the solution is always that adjusting that attitude. That is the first line of defense. The AA way of life applies in all our affairs as we trudge the road to happy destiny.
Julian O.
Durham , North Carolina
....Another one of those moments of clarity hit me when I realized that with the clock ticking like it is I do not have time for anger, resentment, or self-pity. Time is far too precious.
Pastor, just think if everyone in the whole world could realize how precious our time really is. What a wonderful world this would be. I enjoyed todays post, keep up the good work and try not to be discouraged.
Your friend,
Sarge 
~ Insults Should Be Written In Sand ~ Compliments Should Be Carved In Stone ~
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Remembering Your Last Drunk:"
"That's not a typographical error. The word is 'drunk,' not 'drink,' as you'll see.
"One A.A. member puts it this way: 'I know that stopping in for a drink will never again be -- for me -- simply killing a few minutes and leaving a buck on the bar. In exchange for that drink, what I would plunk down now is my bank account, my family, our home, our car, my job, my sanity, and probably my life. It's too big a price, too big a risk.'
"He remembers his last drunk, not his first drink."
c. 1998, Living Sober, pages 51 & 52
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
May 3, 2010
Powerful Remedy
We came together because we were in trouble.
We leave our references and credentials at the door.
We learn that we can recover from this trouble
through the most powerful remedy in the world for sick souls --
the face-to-face relation, respect for one another as human beings,
and the right to live well as complete persons.
We come together in the downright faith
that every human being has a right to health in body, mind, and soul.
Together, we continue to strive for these great blessings
in the Fellowship of AA.
c. 2003 The AA Grapevine, Inc., Thank You For Sharing, p. 58
Thought to Ponder . . .
Together we can do what we could never do alone.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T L C = Tears, Laughter, Caring.
Today's Meditation:
Work and prayer are the two forces which are gradually making a better world.
We must work for the betterment of ourselves and other people. Faith
without works is dead. But all work with people should be based on prayer.
If we say a little prayer before we speak or try to help, it will make us
more effective. Prayer is the force behind the work. Prayer is based on
faith that God is working with us and through us. We can believe that
nothing is impossible in human relationships, if we depend on the help of God.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that my life may be balanced between prayer and work. I pray that I
may not work without prayer or pray without work.
Today's Quotable:
Think it more satisfaction to live richly than to die rich. Sir Thomas Browne
Today's Tool:
one day at a time.
Before I got to the rooms, I would spend so much time figuring out
my whole life, dream of an ideal life, fight like hell to get it and then
wallow in self-pity when it didn't materialize itself. I would decide to do
something about my drinking and "quit forever", then start
drinking again because my dry life was not very good.
When I came into the program, I was told to stay sober one day
at a time, to live my life one day at a time. This has worked well
in my life. I have stayed sober and enjoyed life. Those huge,
scary problems can be broken down to manageable pieces and
handled, one day at time.
Today's plan for me:
- show up for work
- do some work, talk to co-workers
- eat lunch
- do some more work, go for a walk during a break
- eat dinner
- go to a meeting
- go home and go to bed
I think I can do that. Hey, it might even be fun.
See ya tomorrow,
David
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 9/9/2008 Posts: 2,980
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....for me -- simply killing a few minutes and leaving a buck on the bar. In exchange for that drink, what I would plunk down now is my bank account, my family, our home, our car, my job, my sanity, and probably my life. It's too big a price, too big a risk.' I remember the exact time in my life where those same thoughts, "a moment of clarity", hit me like a train!
Have a great day brbruce.
Sarge 
~ Insults Should Be Written In Sand ~ Compliments Should Be Carved In Stone ~
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "A Drunk, Like You"
"Well,' I said, 'I was drinking and the coin reminded me of what I did. And I decided I was powerless and couldn’t drink anymore and stopped.'
One man said, 'Well, that’s it. What more do you want?'
I said, 'What about the blinding white flash?'
'What about it?' he said. 'Read the Big Book. The Appendix explains the concept of a sudden change and a gradual change, and that not everybody has a blinding flash.'
'Oh,' I said, 'That was it—that was mine?'
'Yes,' I was told. 'What more do you want?'
Actually I wanted something more dramatic, and my sponsor said what he so often did: 'So?' and I found myself saying, 'Well, if that’s it, it will have to do.'
'Have to do?” he replied. 'It was bigger and better than most, and more importantly, it worked. You stopped and didn’t start again.'”
© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 405
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
May 4, 2010
Laughter
I began to see the miracles that happen only in AA.
People who would nearly crawl in the doors, sick and broken,
and who in a few weeks of meetings and not drinking one day at a time
would get their health back, find a little job and friends who really cared,
and then discover a God in their lives.
But the most compelling part of AA,
the part that made me want to try this sober thing, was the laughter,
the pure joy of the laughter that I heard only from sober alcoholics.
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 333
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Take time to laugh -- it is the music of the soul.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T L C = Tears, Laughter, Caring.
Today's Meditation:
I will take the most crowded day without fear. I believe that God is with
me and controlling all. I will let confidence be the motif running through
all the crowded day. I will not get worried, because I know that God is my
helper. Underneath are the everlasting arms. I will rest in them, even
though the day is full of things crowding in upon me.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may I may be calm and let nothing upset me. I pray that I may
not let material things control me and choke out spiritual things.
Today's Quotable:
Beware of allowing a tactless word, a rebuttal, and a rejection to
obliterate the whole sky. Confucius
Today's Tool:
I spent the day yesterday wallowing in self pity. Then I woke up this
morning so angry at myself for not doing all of the things that I had
hoped to accomplish yesterday.
The Big Book tells me that selfishness and self centeredness (which are
driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and
self pity) are the root of our troubles. Thankfully, the BB also gives
me the solution.
(From BB, p. 62)
"So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. they arise
out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will
run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we
alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!"
[And the solution...]
God makes that possible. And there often seems no way of entirely
getting rid of self without his aid."
I just haven't been willing, lately, to let God work because,
of course, I want what I want, when I want it.
So today's tools are:
Surrender
Be willing to let God relieve you of the bondage of self
Be grateful for what you do have (vs. complaining about what you don't
have)
Have a great day.
Trish
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "A Small White Card:"
"When I came to A.A., I was a self-ordained atheist, a part-time agnostic, and a full-time antagonist -- antagonistic toward everyone, everything in general, and God in particular...
"Yet I had a spiritual experience the night I called A.A., though I didn't realize it until later. Two angels came, carrying a real message of hope, and told me about A.A. My sponsor laughed when I denied that I had prayed for help. I told him that the only time I had mentioned God was when, in my despair at being unable to get either drunk or sober, I had cried out, 'God! What am I going to do?'
"He [my sponsor] replied, 'I believe that prayer was a pretty good one from an atheist. It got an answer, too.' And so it did."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., pages 24-25
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
October 27, 2008
Sunlight at Last
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.
Upon a foundation of complete willingness
I might build what I saw in my friend.
Would I have it? Of course I would!
Bill W.
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
A new world came into view.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Achieve Anything.
Today's Meditation:
I believe that in the spiritual world, as in the material world, there is no
empty space. As fears and worries and resentments depart out of my life, the
things of the spirit come in to take their places. Calm comes after a storm.
As soon as I am rid of fears and hates and selfishness, God's love and peace
and calm can come in.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may rid myself of all fears and resentments, so that peace and
serenity may take their place. I pray that I may sweep my life clean of
evil, so that good may come in.
Today's Quotable:
He who laughs, lasts. Mary Poole
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "A Prayer for All Seasons:"
"The power of [The Serenity Prayer] is overwhelming in that its simple beauty parallels the A.A. Fellowship. There are times when I get stuck while reciting it, but if I examine the section which is troubling me, I find the answer to my problem....By accepting life as it is, I gain serenity. By taking action, I gain courage and I thank God for the ability to distinguish between those situations I can work on, and those I must turn over. All that I have now is a gift from God: my life, my usefulness, my contentment, and this program.
"Alcoholics Anonymous IS the easier, softer way."
c. 1990, Daily Reflections, page 221
AA Thought for the Day
Prayer
"As the alcoholic goes along with his process of prayer,
he begins to add up the results.
If he persists, he will almost surely find more serenity,
more tolerance, less fear, and less anger.
He will acquire a quiet courage, the kind that doesn't strain him.
He can look at so-called failure and success
for what they really are.
Problems and calamity will begin to mean instruction,
rather than destruction.
He will feel freer and saner. . .
Wonderful and unaccountable things will start to happen.
Twisted relations with family and on the outside
will unaccountably improve."
Bill W., June 1958
c. 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 241
^*^*^*^*^
Thought to Ponder . . .
Trying to pray is praying.
* * *
AA-related Acronym . . .
H O P E = Hang On; Pray Every day.
Today’s Meditation:
I must try to love all humanity. Love comes from thinking of every man or
woman as your brother or sister, because they are children of God. This way
of thinking makes me care enough about them to really want to help them. I
must put this kind of love into action by serving others. Love means no
severe judging, no resentments, no malicious gossip, and no destructive
criticism. It means patience, understanding, compassion, and helpfulness.
Today’s Prayer:
I pray that I may realize that God loves me, since He is the Father of us
all. I pray that I in turn may have love for all of His children.
Today’s Quotable:
Everyone sees who you appear to be, but only a select few know who you really
are.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "The Opening to the Spiritual World:"
"A.A. is a spiritual program and a spiritual way of life. Even the first half of the First Step, 'We admitted we were powerless over alcohol,' is a spiritual experience. An A.A. member needs more than physical capabilities; he needs to use his full faculties as a human being to hear the message, to think about it, to review the effects of the past, to realize, to admit, and to accept. These processes are activities of the mind, which is part of the spirit."
c. 1973, Came to Believe..., page 3
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Primary Purpose
We saw that the more AA minded its own business
the greater its general influence would become.
Medicine and religion and psychiatry began to borrow
some of our ideas and experience.
So did research, rehabilitation, and education.
All sorts of therapeutic groups began to spring up. . .
They, too, borrowed from AA, but they made their own adaptations.
They worked their own fields, and we did not have to endorse them
or tell them how to live.
Our influence has not been confined just to these fields.
It is beginning now to be general.
It crops out in political and business life.
People who know alcoholics and their families are deeply affected. . .
The more AA sticks to its primary purpose,
the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere.
c.1985 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 109
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
There is no strength without unity.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A's - R - U S = Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Unity Service.
Today's Meditation:
I fail not so much when tragedy happens as I did before the happening, by
all the little things I might have done, but did not do. I must prepare for
the future by doing the right thing at the right time now. If a thing
should be done, I should deal with that thing today and get it righted with
God before I allow myself to undertake any new duty. I should look upon
myself as performing God's errands and then coming back to Him to tell Him
in quiet communion that the message has been delivered or the task done.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may seek no credit for the results of what I do. I pray that
I may leave the outcome of my actions to God.
Today's Quotable:
Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most
difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Walter Anderson
Today's Tools:
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a great weekend.
I like to try and start my day off on a positive note......that way I am feeding the solution. Prayer and meditation are part of my solution today. If your new and are not sure about this "action", talk to other alcoholics and get their experience with prayer and meditation. In my experience it's as complicated as I make it, BUT keeping it simple and just doing it, are ways for me to feed my sobriety so it grows.
Tools for the day: (yes, you get two today in case one of them doesn't work.....which is doubtful)
"What I feed grows" (don't feed that negative energy)
"Start your day with prayer and meditation." (keep this simple.)
Have a great day!
Laure
Basics Group, Durham NC
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From “Physician, Heal Thyself!”:
"What is this power that A.A. possesses? This curative power? I don’t know what it is. I suppose the doctor might say, ‘This is psychosomatic medicine.’ I suppose the psychiatrist might say, ‘This is benevolent interpersonal relations.’ I suppose others would say, “This is group psychotherapy.’
“To me it is God.”
© 2001 AAWS, Inc.;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 308
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Infallible Heartbeat
We need each other's experience, strength and hope,
regardless of age or length of sobriety.
The saving grace of God doesn't come like a bolt out of the blue.
It comes through, in, and from other suffering, as well as rescued,
souls like you and me.
I am happy to be part of a living and growing fellowship
with an infallible heartbeat.
Divine power is the pulse of AA, and it doesn't change,
no matter how errant and foolish we mortals be.
c. 1973 AAWS, Came To Believe. . ., p. 94
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
I saw, I felt, I believed.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.
Today's Meditation:
If you believe that God's grace has saved you, then you must believe that He
is meaning to save you yet more and to keep you in the way that you should
go. Even a human rescuer would not save you from drowning only to place you
in other deep and dangerous waters. Rather, he would place you on dry land,
there to restore you. God, who is your rescuer, would certainly do this and
even more. God will complete the task He sets out to do. He will not throw
you overboard, if you are depending on Him.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may trust God to keep me in the way. I pray that I may rely on
Him not to let me go.
Today's Quotable:
"Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no
future." Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Today's Tool:
The tool for today is….
When all else fails, help another alcoholic
If you read yesterday’s tool, I’m sure you could tell I wasn’t feeling up to par. Lucky for me I got a call from a friend who needed a ride to a meeting. She was recently in a very serious auto accident in which both of her legs were broken in addition to various other injuries. It made my troubles seem insignificant. I was even able to take her out for coffee, where we happened to run into other AA’s. The bonus is about six years ago I was in a serious auto accident and I was unable to drive for 2 ½ months. During which time plenty of AA’s did various things for me. They cooked for me, took me to meetings, and did my grocery shopping. It was really nice to be able to give that back to someone. AA works and the Higher Power is everything. I’m grateful today, imagine that!
Mary C. Fry
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "It Might Have Been Worse:"
"Most certainly I was powerless over alcohol, and for me, my life had become unmanageable. It wasn't how far I had gone, but where I was headed. It was important to me to see what alcohol had done to me and would continue to do if I didn't have help.
"At first it was a shock to realize I was an alcoholic, but the realization that there was hope made it easier. The baffling problem of getting drunk when I had every intention of staying sober was simplified. It was a great relief to know I didn't HAVE to drink any more."
c. 2001, Alcoholics Anonymous, page 354
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Love and Laughter
For weeks I sat in the back of the rooms,
silent when others shared their experience, strength, and hope.
I listened to their stories and found so many areas where we overlapped
-- not all of the deeds, but the feelings of remorse and hopelessness.
I learned that alcoholism isn't a sin, it's a disease.
That lifted the guilt I felt.
I learned that I didn't have to stop drinking forever,
but just not pick up that first drink one day, one hour at a time.
I could manage that.
There was laughter in those rooms and sometimes tears, but always love,
and when I let it in, that love helped me heal.
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 344
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Laughter is the sound of recovery.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering Together.
Today's Meditation:
Thinking about God in love and worship drives away evil. It is the thought
before which the hosts of evil flee. The thought of a Power greater than
yourself is the call for a lifeline to rescue you from temptation. The
thought of God banishes loneliness and dispels gloom. It summons help to
conquer your faults. Think of God as often as possible. Use the thought
prayerfully and purposefully. It will carry your thoughts away from material
things and toward the spiritual things that make life worthwhile.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may think of God often. I pray that I may rest in peace at the
thought of His love and care.
Today's Quotable:
He who interrupts the course of his spiritual exercises and prayer is like a
man who allows a bird to escape from his hand; he can hardly catch it again.
Today's Tool:
Today's tool: Expect good things.
A friend shared this tool with me not so long ago (funny how they call these tools clichés but I still need to have them pointed out to me) and I'm amazed at how it can change my whole attitude and perspective when I use it. I tend to think it is crucial that I expect the worst so that I can be prepared when it happens -- experience has shown this to be a highly ineffective tool. When I expect good things, I recognize them when they happen (all around me, every day).
From BB p. 133: "We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us." etc.
Hugs,
Michele
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "He Who Loses His Life:"
"I stood off and took a long look at life and the values I found in it: I saw a paradox, that he who loses his life does indeed find it. The more you give, the more you get. The less you think of yourself the more of a person you become.
"I hope I have been able to impart to you, the reader, at least a bit of what I know; the joy of living, the irresistible power of divine love and its healing strength, and the fact that we, as sentient beings, have the knowledge to choose between good and evil, and, choosing good, are made happy."
c. 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 542-543
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Relevance
The Twelve Steps are one of
the very great summaries and organic collections
of spiritual truth known to history.
They have an almost universal relevance
(not a relevance for alcoholics alone).
They will offer a way out for many a person
who knows nothing personally of alcoholism.
They will point up the way for those who have known it and lost it.
Thank God for the Twelve Steps and for a man wise enough
and open enough to God and to the observation of human experience
to receive these truths, and transmit them to the world!
c.1986 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], pp. 133-34
Thought to Ponder . . .
There are no endings ... only new beginnings.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S O L U T I O N S =
Saving Our Lives Using The Inspiration Of Necessary Steps.
Today's Meditation:
Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It
must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded while at the same
time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both
growths are necessary. Without a strong root, it would soon wither. The
higher the growth upward, the deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot
flower into success and helpfulness unless it is rooted in strong faith, or
unless it feels deeply secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel
deeply secure.
Today's Quotable:
When you blame others, you give up your power to change.
Today's Tool:
Tool for the day: Work the Eleventh Step morning and evening.*
This is what I found in one of my meditation books this morning.
**
*Meditation for the Day*
What is sometimes called by religion, as conversion is often only the
discovery of God as a friend in need. What is sometimes called religion
is often only the experiencing of the help and strength of God's power
in our lives. What is sometimes called holiness is often only the
invitation of God to be our Friend. As God becomes your friend, you
become a friend to others. We experience true human friendship and from
this experience we can imagine what kind of a Great Friend God can be.
We believe Him to be a tireless, selfless, all conquering,
miracle-working Friend. We can reach out to the Great Friend and
figuratively take His hand in ours.
From Hazelden Twenty-Fours a Day
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Freedom from Bondage":
"The A.A. members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without wanting to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know how this program works, take the first word of your question—the 'H' is for honesty, the 'O' is for open-mindedness, and the 'W' is for willingness; these our Big Book calls the essentials of recovery."
© 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition;
Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 549-50
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Guilt
Today I think I can trace a clear linkage
between my guilt and my pride.
Both of them were certainly attention-getters.
In pride I could say, "Look at me, I am wonderful."
In guilt I would moan, "I'm awful."
Therefore guilt is really the reverse side
of the coin of pride.
Guilt aims at self-destruction,
and pride aims at the destruction of others.
- Bill W., June 1961
c. 1990 The AA Grapevine, Inc., The Best Of Bill, p. 47
Thought to Ponder . . .
Guilt is in the past; worry is the future.
Both are manifestations of ego.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
P R I D E = Personal Recovery Involves Deflating Ego.
Today's Meditation:
God irradiates your life with the warmth of His spirit. You must open up like a flower to this divine irradiation. Loosen your hold on earth, its cares, and its worries. Unclasp your hold on material things, relax your grip, and the tide of peace and serenity will flow in. Relinquish every material thing and receive it back again from God. Do not hold on to earth's treasures so firmly that your hands are too occupied to clasp God's hands as He holds them out to you in love.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may be open to receive God's blessing. I pray that I may be willing to relinquish my hold on material things and receive them back from God.
Today's Quotable:
Uncover, discover, discard. Chuck Chamberlain (Ol' Water Walker)
Today's Tool:
Good morning. Today's tool is : Think the drink through. When I was 21 and in college, I was a waiter at a restaurant called The Sanctuary in Iowa City. One of the perks of the job was that you could drink while you were working- which made the last hour or so of the evening pretty interesting some nights. Anyway, there was a bartender who worked there named Beau. Beau was about 30 or so, tended bar, wrote a little poetry, worked the crossword puzzle on slow nights, smoked a lot. I remember thinking, "that guy's got it made." That was the sort of life I aspired to.
So I lost that job eventually and got sober a few years later and a few years after that I ran into Beau. Wow. He'd lost his job too, along with about 40 pounds and some of his teeth. He looked jaundiced and shaky. I don't know if he ever got sober, but I'm glad I did.
Enjoy your weekend. Brad
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Inner Voice":
"Long before nagging and pressures from others concerning my excessive use of alcohol made any impression on me, the nagging voice of conscience —my own inner voice of truth and right—apprised me of the irrevocable fact that I had lost control of alcohol, that I was powerless. I know now that the inner voice was God, as I understand Him, speaking. For, as I had been taught from earliest memory and as A.A. has emphasized, God—or good—emanates from within each of us. —
Lakewood, Ohio, USA"
© 1973 AAWS, Inc.;
Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 83
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Self-restraint
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.
We must avoid quick-tempered criticism and furious, power-driven argument.
The same goes for sulking or silent scorn.
These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness.
Our first job is to sidestep the traps.
When we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves
to step back and think.
For we can neither think nor act to good purpose
until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.
c. 1953 AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 91
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Avoid Anger.
A MEMBER SHARES:
Hello, my name is Mike and I'm an alcoholic. Welcome to the newcomer, and congratulations to anyone celebrating a birthday! I don't have a 'rewind' button in my life, but I do have 'pause.' I can't tell you how many times I have done or said things that I've later regretted. In the heat of the moment when I felt I needed to defend, attack, or justify myself, I have acted in ways that have hurt not only others but myself as well. My sponsor told me early on that just because I was now sober it didn't mean I would never be hurt or get angry again. He told me there would still be plenty of times I would want to strike out, but in order to recover I had to become responsible for my actions. He said you don't have a rewind button but you do have pause, and he taught me how to use it.
Practicing restraint of pen and tongue has been one of the most practical things I have learned in recovery and continue to learn. We can never think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic. I was taught not to react when upset; my mom used to call it "going off half-cocked." My sponsor taught me to call someone, run my reactions by them first. I can still write that email or letter but I now show it to my sponsor before sending it. It's easy to transfer blame to someone else and keep going, but it's like sweeping dirt under the carpet ... it stacks up. Pausing and praying to my Higher Power restores my power of choice and allows me to check with others before I react. It took me a while to get to this point and I still struggle with it at times. However, today I try to pause, and that often saves me from later wishing I had a rewind button. Thanks for letting me share.
Today's Meditation:
God can be your shield. Then no problems of the world can harm you. Between you and all scorn and indignity from others is your trust in God, like a shining shield. Nothing can then have the power to spoil your inward peace. With this shield, you can attain this inward peace quickly, in your surroundings as well as in your heart. With this inward peace, you do not need to resent the person who troubles you. Instead, you can overcome the resentment in your own mind which may have been aroused by that person.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may strive for inward peace. I pray that I may not be seriously upset, no matter what happens around me.
Today's Quotable:
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
Today's Tools:
“Wear your life like a loose fitting garment.”
When I first got to A.A., I thought this was a totally bogus tool. I had come through the doors with the idea that I had to “dress for success” (even in A.A.) and act like I was somebody.
But then I met a guy named Bruce G. in my home group, who I think, really lived this tool. At first I thought he really dressed lousy, like a slob almost. But I learned from him that there are very few big deals in life, and that all the effort I was expending to look and act like I was important was really just part of the symptoms of my disease – that “selfishness, self-centeredness – that was the root of our problem”.
Today, I don’t dress like a slob, but I have incorporated rule #66 into my life, which I also learned, is a very similar tool - “Don’t take your self too seriously.”
Have a great day!
-Keith
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Easy Does It:"
"As alcoholics, we often tended to gulp drinks faster than other people did.
"The slogan 'Easy Does It' is one way we A.A.'s remind each other that many of us have tendencies at times to overdo things, to rush heedlessly along, impatient with anything that slows us down. We find it hard to relax and savor life...in short, how to enjoy the journey, instead of just fretting until we reach our destination.
"Remind yourself once in a while that maybe 'Easy Does It' is this day's ideal speed.
c. 1998, Living Sober - pages 44-46
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Entanglements
We need to cool any overboard feeling,
lest it flip us back into the drink.
It is easy to consider yourself an exception
to this generalization.
Newly sober; you may earnestly believe
that you have at long last found real love --
or that your present attitude of dislike,
persisting even into sobriety, means there
was always something fundamentally wrong
about the relationship.
In either instance, you may be right --
but just now, it's wise to wait and see
whether your attitude will change.
c. 1998 AAWS, Living Sober, p. 62
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Keep your sobriety first to make it last.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
R E L A T I O N S H I P =
Really Exciting Love Affair Turns Into Outrageous Nightmare;
Sobriety Hangs In Peril.
Today's Meditation:
God is your healer and your strength. You do not have to ask Him to come to
you. He is always with you in spirit. At your moment of need He is there to
help you. Could you know God's love and His desire to help you, you would
know that He needs no pleading for help. Your need is God's opportunity.
You must learn to rely on God's strength whenever you need it. Whenever you
feel inadequate to any situation, you should realize that the feeling of
inadequacy is disloyalty to God. Just say to yourself: I know that God is
with me and will help me to think and say and do the right thing.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that I may never feel inadequate to any situation. I pray that I may
be buoyed up by the feeling that God is with me.
Today's Quotable:
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller
Today's Tool:
On page 85 of the BB there is a line that I hear quoted a lot:
"What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition." And while this is a good line to be reminded of, it is the next line that I am suggesting as a tool for today:
"Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities." Sounds like a step I've heard...
I don't know about the rest of you, but there are times during my day when I find myself with emotional hangovers from something I said or did, either that day or in days long past. For instance, for a good 1/2 hour yesterday I had all this shame about something I said to a good, kind, friend of mine before I got sober. I got that burning of shame that we get, do you know what I'm talking about? Anyway, I realized while I was doing it (as I am lucky to do some times, like when I'm being snotty or judgmental at work, or I'm lying about sometime small and insignificant), and I was reminded of some of what the big book says:
"...and to practice these principles in all our affairs." (Step 12, p. 60 of the AABB)
Some of the principles that I am reminded of in the above situations are:
1. Love and tolerance of others is our code.
2. Resentment, against others or myself, can get me killed. The BB suggests that I practice learning from my past, or present, and asking God to direct my thinking towards how I can be of service today. Who can I help? or what would the more loving reaction/thought be (even if its not really the one I'm having)?
So my suggestion for today is: try one or both of these ideas in your life today. Relax and remember that God is in charge, even at work, or even in regards to our children, as much as we may think otherwise.
Have a nice Tuesday!
Maggie
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Into Action:"
"We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code."
c. 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, page 84
AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)
Service
I began to change. I began to pray.
I became actively involved in working the Steps.
I had previously dismissed them as the tools of mental inferiors,
now I embraced them as the rungs on the ladder to salvation.
I began working with a sponsor and became active in my home group.
I did not understand how making coffee and cleaning up after meetings
could have anything to do with staying sober,
but older members told me that service would keep me sober, so I tried it.
It worked.
c.2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 429
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought to Ponder . . .
Service puts feet on my prayers.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Ashtrays, Brooms, Coffee.
Today's Meditation:
I must remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is
not mine to decide how or when I am to act. God plans all spiritual
matters. It is up to me to make myself fit to do God's work. All that
hinders my spiritual activity must be eliminated. I can depend on God for
all the strength I need to overcome those faults, which are blocks. I must
keep myself fit, so that God can use me as a channel for His spirit.
Today's Prayer:
I pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in spiritual matters.
I pray that I may be a good instrument for God to work with.
Today's Quotable:
The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The
hard part is doing it.
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Today's Tool:
THANK YOU- a different take on gratitude.
I was at a seminar once and the Priest asked us how many of you pray? Hands went up, then
he said how many of you spend more time Thanking God than asking God?
No hands went up. He opened a challenge for us and I took it..
I began to try and say Thank You not only to God, but other people. One gal taught me to
say, thanks for allowing me to share at meetings. Very early in recovery old timers told me to
say Thank You for a sober day, every night!! I do know co-workers love to hear, Thanks for the job you did etc.
This has many- many possibilities.
I sure don't do this enough but I do try to say thank you to people for what they do.
I don't know about you, but if someone says, Thanks Mardie, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.
This may seem for some to be a shallow tool, but as the old saying goes, if you haven't tried it, don't knock it.
So take my challenge to start saying Thank You to more people today! It isn't as easy as it seems, I found out.
Today's Tool---- SAY THANK YOU
Have a great day if you want to, otherwise stay miserable.
Mardie V
Baton Rouge
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 10/7/2008 Posts: 2,854 Location: Caldwell Tex
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From "Happiness": "The second tenet of the Serenity Prayer is too frequently slurred over. I am constantly amazed at the number of so-called obstacles I have overcome after giving them a second look, mustering what meager resources I have, then taking the hoe in hand. “Serenity to me, therefore, is the absence of insoluble conflict. And it is up to me first to determine whether, after an honest look at myself, I can cope with the problem, then to decide whether it is to be tackled, passed over to another day, or dismissed forever. – New Hartford, New York, USA" © 1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 111
AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AAOnline.net) Courage When fear persisted, we knew it for what it was, and we became able to handle it. We began to see each adversity as a God-given opportunity to develop the kind of courage which is born of humility, rather than of bravado. c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 91 With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.* Thought to Ponder . . . There is always a parenthesis of fear in courage. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F E A R = Face Everything And Recover.
Today's Meditation: The spiritual and moral will eventually overcome the material and unmoral. That is the purpose and destiny of the human race. Gradually the spiritual is overcoming the material in our minds. Gradually the moral is overcoming the unmoral. Faith, fellowship, and service are cures for most of the ills of the world. There is nothing in the field of personal relationships that they cannot do. Today's Prayer: I pray that I may do my share in making a better world. I pray that I may be part of the cure for the ills of the world. Today's Quotable: It is best to learn as we go, not go as we have learned. Leslie Jeanne Sahler
Today's Tool: Morning, I know for some people morning started a long time ago. Me too! but I am doing it again, because I started behind the 8 ball again. My husband ruptured his Achilles tendon and is in a non weight bearing cast for 6  weeks. He is using crutches and has arthritis which makes for a lot of pain for him and a slower day for me. I need to help him get around our house. But he is going to a lacrosse tourney for me so I can work. Tool for today: easy does it, but do it. I have been running around all day trying to catch up and reworking my day from hour to hour with Joe and flat tires and people leaving and one more child coming home tonight. It can be quieter at work. Oh, I am meeting with my sponsor at 2 today. thank you for letting me share. It has given me another opportunity to reflect on my actions and how I affect my day. Remember, a position of love. Barbara
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