Daily Recovery Readings - August 6

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

August 6

Daily Reflections

DRIVEN

Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and
self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 62

My selfishness was the driving force behind my drinking. I drank to
celebrate success and I drank to drown my sorrows. Humility is the
answer. I learn to turn my will and my life over to the care of God. My
sponsor tells me that service keeps me sober. Today I ask myself:
Have I sought knowledge of God's will for me? Have I done service
for my A. A. group?

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Psychologists are turning to religion because just knowing about
ourselves is not enough. We need the added dynamic of faith in a
power outside of ourselves on which we can rely. Books on psychology
and psychiatric treatments are not enough without the strength that
comes from faith in God. And clergy and rabbis are turning to
psychology because faith is an act of the mind and will. Religion must
be presented in psychological terms to some extent in order to satisfy
the modern person. Faith must be built largely on our own
psychological experience. Have I taken what I need from both
psychology and religion when I live the A.A. way?

Meditation For The Day

Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this
refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion,
away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling
apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your
being, away alone with your Maker. >From these times of communion
you come forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation
for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work
too hard for you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I
may be full of the joy of true living.

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As Bill Sees It

Happy--When We're Free, p. 218

For most normal folks, drinking means release from care,
boredom, and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends and a
feeling that life is good.

But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old
pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life
as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that some new miracle
of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more
attempt--and one more failure.

********************************

We are sure God would like to see us happy, joyous, and free.
Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life necessarily has
to be a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us.
But it became clear that most of the time we had made our own
misery.

Alcoholics Anonymous
1. p. 151
2. p. 133

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Walk In Dry Places

Am I Special?
Self-understanding
An early professional believed that alcoholics get into trouble because they thought they were SPECIAL. Thinking we're special certainly creates all sorts of problems.
It's true that every person is special in that no two people are exactly alike. But we're also part of the human race, and we are bound by the general limitations that apply to everyone. We got into trouble partly because we thought we were special and could break universal commonsense rules.
When we stop thinking of ourselves as special, we also become more teachable. We learn more frm the experiences of others. Then we realize that we're both special and generic, and we use his knowledge for self-improvement rather than self-destruction.
I'll remember today that I'm special in certain ways, but that I'm also part of the human race and subject to things that apply to everyone.

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Keep It Simple

Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave you. . . Alcoholics
Anonymous
We don't have to fear people. They can't wreck our spirit. We don't have to
fear money problems. We won't have to starve to death. Our Higher Power
will lead us on a safe path through life.
Our Higher power wants us to be safe, happy, and wise. Our Higher power
wants us to feel loved.
We'll learn to trust our Higher Power. And we'll learn to trust the
happiness we find in our new way of life. People may still hurt us, but
there will be much more love to carry us through.
Prayer For the Day: Higher Power, I know You protect me and care for me. Help me stop worrying.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four fears I have. I will talk with my sponsor about how
to turn these over to my Higher Power.

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Each Day a New Beginning

They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. --Dorothy Parker
Variety in experiences is necessary for our continued growth. We mistakenly think that the "untroubled" life would be forever welcome. It's the deep waves of life that teach us to be better swimmers.
We don't know how to appreciate the calm without the occasional storm that pushes us to new limits of ourselves. The calm following the storm offers us the time we need to become comfortable with our new growth. We are ever changing, refining our values, stepping gingerly into uncharted territories. We are forever in partnership in these new territories, let us not forget.
We long for challenge even in the midst of the calm that blesses us. Our inner selves understand the journey; a journey destined to carry us to new horizons; a journey that promises many stormy seasons. For to reach our destination, we must be willing to weather the storms. They are challenges, handpicked for us, designed to help us become all that we need to be in this earthly life.
The mixture of the calm with the storm is not haphazard. Quite the contrary. My growth is at the center of each. I will trust its message.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 10 - To Employers

The other day an approach was made to the vice president of a large industrial concern. He remarked: “I’m glad you fellows got over your drinking. But the policy of this company is not to interfere with the habits of our employees. If a man drinks so much that his job suffers, we fire him. I don’t see how you can be of any help to us for, as you see, we don’t have any alcoholic problem.” This same company spends millions for research every year. Their cost of production is figured to a fine decimal point. They have recreational facilities. There is company insurance. There is a real interest, both humanitarian and business, in the well-being of employees. But alcoholism—well, they just don’t believe they have it.

pp. 148-149

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Fear Of Fear

This lady was cautious. She decided she wouldn't let herself go in her drinking. And she would never, never take that morning drink!

I am trying now, each day, to make up for all those selfish, thoughtless, foolish things I did in my drinking days. I hope that I never forget to be grateful.

p. 294

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Soon they'd spotted their man, an A.A. with the necessary experience. Straightway he appeared at New York's A.A. headquarters, asking, "Is there anything in our tradition that suggests I shouldn't take a job like this one? The kind of education seems good to me, and is not too controversial. Do you headquarters folks see any bugs in it?"

pp. 157-158

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When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God,
because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own
happiness, and your own duty.
--Woodrow Wilson

Time is like a river - it flows by and doesn't return.
--Chinese Proverb

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
--Native American Proverb

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

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

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of
throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned."
--Buddha

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LEARNING

"If the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch."
-- Jesus (Matthew 15:14)

I need to understand before I can teach; I need to listen before I give
advice; I need to associate myself with the "winners" to become a
winner.

For years I sought advice and direction from those who did not
understand. They tried to help but they did not understand. Today I
understand that part of my denial and manipulation was choosing those
who did not understand to help me. This way I could stay sick!

My spiritual journey involves seeking out those who have that
"something" that I want --- and being willing to follow their directions;
I surrender to live.

Teach me to develop the spiritual ego that is teachable.

************************************************** *********

But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might."
Ephesians 6:10

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.
Ephesians 1:18

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with
gladness; come before Him with joyful singing.
Psalm 100:1-2

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God."
I Corinthians 1:3-4

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Daily Inspiration

Don't miss a single chance to enrich your life or the lives of others. Lord, Your blessings are countless. May I always be aware of Your presence in my life, share my blessings, and use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

The Joy Within

"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."
Basic Text, p.103

Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before.

Other members have sought to ease their emotional pain with material things. A potential date has rejected us? Let's buy something. The dog has died? Let's go to the mall. Problem is, emotional fulfillment can't be bought, not even on an easy installment plan.
There's nothing inherently wrong with material things. They can make life more convenient or more luxurious, but they can't fix us. Where, then, can true joy be found? We know; the answer is within ourselves.

When have we found joy? When we've offered ourselves in service to others, without expectation of reward. We've found true warmth in the fellowship of others-not only in NA, but in our families, our relationships, and our communities. And we've found the surest source of satisfaction in our conscious contact with our God. Inner peace, a sure sense of direction, and emotional security do not come from material things, but from within.

Just for today: True joy can't be bought. I will seek my joy in service, in fellowship, in my Higher Power-I will seek within.
pg. 228

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
What matters?...Only the flicker of light within the darkness, the feeling of warmth within the cold, the knowledge of love within the void. --Joan Walsh Anglund
If we were lost at sea, surrounded by darkness pierced only by one distant blinking light, we would follow that light. As we followed it, it would become clearer and brighter until it brought us safely to land.
Sometimes when we're depressed, we feel as though we're lost on a dark sea. But there is always a flicker of light for us. It may be prayer, or the love of a special friend. When we see that light, we need to move toward it. Whatever brings us hope is like that flicker of light. The more we seek it, the clearer and brighter the light will become.
When we are cold and our bodies begin to numb, we must keep moving. Movement will keep us alive. When our emotions are numb, we need people or things or places that will warm our hearts. When no one else is around, hot baths or a favorite treat can bring the warmth of our own self-love into our lives when we need it the most.
How can I brighten my inner light today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
God respects me when I work, but he loves me when I sing. --Rabindranath Tagore
We seek balance in our lives. The greatest sign of unmanageability in our past was the unbalanced lives we led. This is no easy lesson to learn. We are inclined to grasp for a single answer, thinking we now have the key insight to a happier way of life. As men, many of us have pursued our happiness in work with little time for anything else. Perhaps, for some, the singing and playing we have done were part of our addiction or participating with someone else in their addiction. This makes it feel dangerous or frightening now to be playful in recovery.
We can find ways to have more balance in our lives. Spiritual vitality grows when we make room in our day for lighthearted play as well as the serious tasks.
I pray for guidance from my Higher Power to help me find a balance in my life today.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm. --Dorothy Parker
Variety in experiences is necessary for our continued growth. We mistakenly think that the "untroubled" life would be forever welcome. It's the deep waves of life that teach us to be better swimmers.
We don't know how to appreciate the calm without the occasional storm that pushes us to new limits of ourselves. The calm following the storm offers us the time we need to become comfortable with our new growth. We are ever changing, refining our values, stepping gingerly into uncharted territories. We are forever in partnership in these new territories, let us not forget.
We long for challenge even in the midst of the calm that blesses us. Our inner selves understand the journey; a journey destined to carry us to new horizons; a journey that promises many stormy seasons. For to reach our destination, we must be willing to weather the storms. They are challenges, handpicked for us, designed to help us become all that we need to be in this earthly life.
The mixture of the calm with the storm is not haphazard. Quite the contrary. My growth is at the center of each. I will trust its message.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Solving Problems
Problems are made to be solved!
Some of us spend more time reacting to the fact that we have a problem than we do solving the problem. "Why is this happening to me?" . . . "Isn't life awful?" . . . "How come this had to happen?" . . . "Oh, dear. This is terrible." . . . "Why is God (the Universe, an agency, a person, or life) picking on me?"
Problems are inevitable. Some problems can be anticipated. Some are surprises. But the idea that problems occur regularly need never be a surprise.
The good news is that for every problem, there's a solution. Sometimes the solution is immediate. Sometimes, it takes awhile to discover. Sometimes, the solution involves letting go. Sometimes, the problem is ours to solve; sometimes it isn't. Sometimes, there is something we can clearly do to solve the problem; other times, we need to struggle, flounder, do our part, and then trust our Higher Power for help.
Sometimes, the problem is just part of life. Sometimes, the problem is important because we are learning something through the problem and its solution. Sometimes, problems end up working out for good in our life. They get us headed in a direction that is superior to one we may otherwise have taken.
Sometimes, problems just are; sometimes they are a warning sign that we are on the wrong track.
We can learn to accept problems as an inevitable part of life. We can learn to solve problems. We can learn to trust our ability to solve problems. We can learn to identify which problems are trying to lead us in a new direction, and which simply ask for solving.
We can learn to focus on the solution rather than on the problem, and maintain a positive attitude toward life and the inevitable flow of problems and solutions.
Today, I will learn to trust solutions, rather than be victimized by problems. I will not use problems to prove I am helpless, picked on, or martyred. I will not point to my problems to prove how awful life is. I will learn to trust the flow of problems and solutions. God, help me solve the problems I can solve today. Help me let go of the rest. Help me believe in my ability to tackle and solve problems. Help me trust the flow. For each problem, there is a solution.


Today I do not need to say the first thing that comes into my head, or react to what others say about me. Today I can practice restraint of tongue and pen... think before I speak... and say kind things or nothing at all. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Showing Up for Life
Actively Participating by Madisyn Taylor

If you show up for yourself in your life, the universe will show up for you.

The way we walk into a room says a lot about the way we live our lives. When we walk into a room curious about what’s happening, willing to engage, and perceiving ourselves as an active participant with something to offer, then we have really shown up to the party. When we walk into a room with our eyes down, or nervously smiling, we are holding ourselves back for one reason or another. We may be hurting inside and in need of healing, or we may lack the confidence required to really be present in the room. Still, just noticing that we’re not really showing up, and having a vision of what it will look and feel like when we do, can give us the inspiration we need to recover ourselves.

Even if we are suffering, we can show up to that experience ready to fully engage in it and learn what it has to offer. When we show up for our life, we are actively participating in being a happy person, achieving our goals, and generally living the life our soul really wants. If we need healing, we begin the process of seeking out those who can help us heal. If we need experience, we find the places and opportunities that can give us the experience we need in order to do the work we want to do in the world. Whatever we need, we look for it, and when we find it, we engage in the process of letting ourselves have it. When we do this kind of work, we become lively, confident, and passionate individuals.

There is almost nothing better in the world than the feeling of showing up for our own lives. When we can do this, we become people that are more alive and who have the ability to make things happen in our lives and the lives of the people around us. We walk through the world with the knowledge that we have a lot to offer and the desire to share it. Published with permission from Daily OM

*****

Journey to the Heart
Find Neutral Ground

There is a town in Idaho, Lava Hot Springs, that overflows with quiet,inexpensive hostels offering hot mineral water soaks to all who pass through. Folklore has it that in days long past, warring tribes would put aside their differences when they came here to soak in the waters and heal. This sacred ground was neutral territory.

Although most of us are not at war with another tribe, or even another person, many of us have been at war with ourselves. I have spent years judging myself and my experiences. As I have opened up to my emotions, I have spent time and energy judging those,too. Often, I expend as much energy judging and labeling the experience or emotion, as I do living through it. I have run in terror from grief. I have attacked myself repeatedly for experiencing anger. I have put antagonistic labels on guilt and fear.

Now I am learning the power of neutrality. It speeds my growth process, the time it takes me to learn my lessons. If what I'm going through isn't wrong, then I am free to have the experience and embrace the lessons. Neutrality brings peace and the freedom to learn.

As we continue our journey, the journey of the soul, we can learn to find the peace offered by neutral territory. We let ourselves have our experiences, the ones we've been given. We let each burst of energy we need to feel, pass through without judgement. Good or bad? I don't think so. Just energy. We learn to let others have their emotions and lessons,too.

Discover the power of neutral territory. It is sacred ground that can help you heal.

******

more language of letting go
The lesson may be a test

Sometimes, problems and challenges come to move us to the next place in our lives. Sometimes, they come to challenge and reinforce what we already know and believe.

Maybe that problem in your life has come along to teach you something new.

Maybe it's an opportunity to remember and practice what you already know to be true.

Push against that problem. Push your ideals and beliefs against what's going on. Examine what you think, believe, and feel. Stay open to change. But remember that, sometimes, it's not about changing what you believe. It's an opportunity for you to validate yourself and your beliefs.

We're not always learning something new. Sometimes, the lesson is to remember and trust what you already know.

God, help me to be open to change; help me also to stand fast by my beliefs when they are right.

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A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
Sometimes through bitter experience and painful lessons, we learn in our fellowship with others in The Program that resentment is our number one enemy. It destroys more of us than anything else. From resentment stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we’ve been not only mentally and physically ill, but spiritually ill as well. As we recover and as our spiritual illness is remedied, we become well physically and mentally.
Am I aware that few things are more bitter than to feel bitter? Do I see that my venom is more poisonous to me than to my victim?
Today I Pray
I ask for help in removing the pile of resentments I have collected. May I learn that resentments are play-actors, too; they may be fears – of losing a job, a love, an opportunity; they may be hurts or guilty feelings. May I know that God is my healer. May I admit my need.
Today I Will Remember

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Food For Thought

Planting Seeds

The closer we walk with our Higher Power, the more effective our Twelfth Step work is. We always remember that the best thing we can do for other compulsive overeaters is to maintain our own abstinence. Beyond that, we are given opportunities to spread the word as we go about our daily activities.

Mentioning what OA is doing for us may open the door to a new life for one of our friends. It may be a casual acquaintance or even a stranger who needs to hear about the program. Our instincts can guide us as to the best time and place to share news of our recovery.

Often, we may not know what effect, if any; our witness has had on another person. We may be annoyed if we are unable to “sell” the program to someone we think should have it. The results of our Twelfth Step work are in the hands of our Higher Power, and positive effects may show up long after we have planted a seed.

Show me where I may plant seeds of recovery.

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One Day At A Time

SELF-ESTEEM
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

I always used to feel “less than” everyone else, so I’d eat and feel even worse.
Without true love for myself I was dead in the water. I would compare the facts I knew about myself against the impression I had of you. I never seemed to measure up. Without self-love, I was unable to ask for, expect or accept love from others.

When I love myself and treat myself lovingly, it Doesn’t matter what others think of me; what matters is that I do not think less of myself.

One day at a time ...
I ask my Higher Power to show me little ways
to act lovingly toward myself and to know deep within
that I am worthy of being loved by others.
~ Melissa S.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

THE A.A. TRADITION

To those now in its fold, Alcoholics Anonymous has made the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between life and death. A.A. can, of course, mean just as much to uncounted alcoholics not yet reached.
Therefore, no society of men and women every had a more urgent NEED for continuous effectiveness and permanent unity. We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone. - Pg. 561 - 4th. Edition - Appendices - I - The A.A. Tradition

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Learning to let go does not mean to stop caring. It means that you cannot do it for someone else. Nor can they do it for you. Only you can listen, go to meetings, follow steps--your parents, friends, or partner can't do it for you.

Help me understand that for those I love to let go of me, means they are giving me a chance to get well.

Inner Hearing, Inner Sight

Today, I will trust my own heart. The clear message that whispers within me has more to tell me than a thousand voices. I have a guide within me who knows what is best for me. There is a part of me that sees the whole picture and knows how it all fits together. My inner voice may come in the form of a strong sense, a pull from within, a gut feeling or a quiet knowing. However my inner voice comes to me, I will learn to pay attention. In my heart I know what is going on. Though I am conditioned by the world to look constantly outside myself for meaning, today I recognize that it is deeply important for me to hear what I am saying from within. I give myself the gift of listening.

I will trust my inner voice.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Before our recovery we used people and loved things and given recovery we learn to love people and use things. Things are not important, people are.

I treat others the way I would be treated.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You can work the Steps to get out of trouble or you can work the Steps to stay out of trouble.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I do not need to say the first thing that comes into my head, or react to what others say about me. Today I can practice restraint of tongue and pen. I will think before I speak and say kind things or nothing at all.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Non alcoholic beer is for non alcoholics. - Anon.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 6

Principles Before Personality
We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance.
It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility.
This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us;
that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 565-566

Thought to Ponder . . .
Anonymity is real humility at work.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Adventurers Anonymous.

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

Fact
"The explanation that alcoholism was a disease
of a two fold nature,
an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind,
cleared up a number of puzzling questions for me.
The allergy we could do nothing about.
Somehow our bodies had reached the point
where we could no longer absorb alcohol in our systems.
The why is not important;
the fact is that one drink will set up a reaction in our system
which requires more;
that one drink was too much
and one hundred drinks were not enough."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 380

Thought to Consider . . .
I've only given up one drink ... the next one.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B O G G L E = Bad Or Good, God Loves Everyone

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

Life on Life's Terms
From: "Grounded"
I was found guilty and sentenced to sixteen months in federal prison. My two codefendants received twelve-month
sentences and chose to remain free pending appeals, while I chose to go into prison and get it over. I had learned how
to live life on life's terms and not my own. From somewhere back in my high school days, I remembered a poem that
says something to the effect of, "Cowards die a thousand deaths, a brave man only once," and I wanted to do what
had to be done. I was terrified of walking into prison but told my children that I could not come out the back door until I
walked through the front. I remembered that courage was not the absence of fear; it was the ability to continue in the face of it.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 526

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

"Each night I pray that when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, I'll have a spiritual awakening."
St. Louis, Missouri, June 1999
"Distilled Spirits,"
AA Grapevine

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

"In dealing with resentments, we set them on paper. We listed
people, institutions or principles with whom we were angry. We asked
ourselves why we were angry. In most cases it was found that our
self-esteem, our pocketbooks, our ambitions, our personal
relationships,(including sex) were hurt or threatened."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~

"All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot
start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This
phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an
allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a
distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we
are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to
suggest is entire abstinence.

This immediately precipitates us into a seething caldron of debate.
Much has been written pro and con, but among physicians, the general
opinion seems to be that most chronic alcoholics are doomed."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor's Opinion, pg. xxx~

"Patience and good temper are most necessary."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 111 (To Wives)

"Could we then foresee that troublesome people were to become our principal teachers of patience and tolerance?"
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 141 (Tradition Three)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

For most normal folks, drinking means release from care, boredom, and worry. It means joyous intimacy with friends
and a feeling that life is good.
But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old pleasures were gone. There was an insistent yearning
to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking delusion that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it.
There was always one more attempt - and one more failure.
We are sure God would like to see us happy, joyous, and free. Hence, we cannot subscribe to the belief that this life
necessarily has to be a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it became clear that most of the
time we had made our own misery.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, let me work in Your will today, on Your time.

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