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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. December 31 Daily Reflections Daily Resolutions The idea of "twenty-four-hour" living applies primarily to the emotional life of the individual. Emotionally speaking, we must not live in yesterday, nor in tomorrow. As Bill Sees It, p. 284 A New year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes--a time to consider directions, goals, and actions. I must make some plans to live a normal life, but also I must live emotionally within a twenty-four hour frame, for if I do, I don't have to make New Year's resolutions! I can make every day a New Year's day! I can decide, "Today I will do this . . . Today I will do that." Each day I can measure my life by trying to a little better, by deciding to follow God's will and making an effort to put the principles of our A.A. program into action. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give A.A. my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all, myself. The Lord's Prayer has become part of my A.A. thoughts for each day: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Have I given myself? Meditation For The Day As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the extent that we have put good thoughts, good words, and good deeds into it. None of what we have thought, said, or done need be wasted. Both the good and the bad experiences can be profited by. In a sense, the past is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or evil, is with us at the present moment. We can only learn by experience and none of our experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good things of the year that has gone. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I may carry on with faith, with prayer, and with hope. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Wider Understanding, p.255 To reach more alcoholics, understanding of A.A. and public good will towards A.A. must go on growing everywhere. We need to be on still better terms with medicine, courts, prisons, mental hospitals, and all enterprises in the alcoholism field. We need the increasing good will of editors, writers, television and radio channels. These publicity outlets need to be opened ever wider. ******************************** Nothing matters more to A.A.'s future welfare than the manner in which we use the colossus of modern communication. Used unselfishly and well, it can produce results surpassing our present imagination. Should we handle this great instrument badly, we shall be shattered by the ego manifestations of our own people. Against this peril, A.A. members' anonymity before the general public is our shield and our buckler. 1. Twelve Concepts, p.51 2. Grapevine, November 1960 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Has it been a Year of Growth? Growth As any year draws to a close, we should reflect on how we have grown in sobriety. We should also identify changes during the year that enabled us to overcome bad habits and to move closer to better patterns of living. Though we never are guaranteed favorable outcomes, we should always remember that sobriety is its own reward. We want a full life of course, but it must begin with a decision to seek and to maintain sobriety at all costs. We find that with sobriety, lots of other problems seem to solve themselves. Even if they don't we have the tools to move forward and to achieve goals that always eluded us while we were drinking. Every year in sobriety is a year of growth. I'll be conscious today of recent improvements I've made in my life and all my affairs. With sobriety, these improvements will go on for a lifetime. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple May you live all the days of your life'--Jonathan Swift. Tonight, at midnight, a New Year will begin. None of us know what the New Year will hold. But we can trust ourselves to hold on to the spirit of recovery as we go through the year. As a New Year is about to begin, we can rejoice in our new way of life. We can give our will and our life to our HP. By doing these things, we'll be ready for the New Year. PRAYER: Higher Power, I pray that I'll start the New Year safe in Your loving arms. I pray that I'll keep working my program. ACTION: Tonight, at midnight, I'll say the Serenity Prayer. I will think of all the others who have read this meditation book and who will join me in this prayer. We are a recovering community. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning In the process of growing to spiritual maturity, we all go through many adolescent stages. --Miki L. Bowen Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again. We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of--and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly. Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning. Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 6 - INTO ACTION We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe. p. 75 ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories Women Suffer Too Despite great opportunities, alcohol nearly ended her life. Early member, she spread the word among women in our pioneering period. I went to a meeting to see for myself this group of freaks or bums who had done this thing. To go into a gathering of people was the sort of thing that all my life, from the time I left my private world of books and dreams to meet the real world of people and parties and jobs, had left me feeling an uncomfortable outsider, needing the warming stimulus of drinks to join in. I went trembling into a house in Brooklyn filled with strangers . . . and I found I had come home at last, to my own kind. There is another meaning for the Hebrew word that in the King James version of the Bible is translated "salvation." It is: "to come home." I had found my salvation. I wasn't alone any more. p. 206 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Yet many of us still hung back. We said, "Why can't 'God as we understand Him' tell us where we are astray? If the Creator gave us our lives in the first place, then He must know in every detail where we have since gone wrong. Why don't we make our admissions to Him directly? Why do we need to bring anyone else into this?" p. 59 ************************************************** ********* "Wherever you go, whomever you meet, look for an opportunity to help, to inspire, to lend support." --Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to their dreams lies within. --George Washington Carver Look for the Good. --unknown The traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous help me play well with others, when what I really want to do is take my toys and go home! --unknown "You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." --Henry Ford ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation CHANGE "It is not necessary to get away from human nature but to alter its inner attitude of heart and mind." -- J. F. Newton An understanding of sobriety and serenity that has proved helpful to me is that we are not only changing but involved in change. We determine the results of the change. I can change for good or bad. I can stay sober or drink. I can be cheerful and creative or negative and destructive. My attitude determines the results of my changing life. Spirituality has been given, but it also needs to be nurtured. I need to surround myself with loving and honest people if I am to allow my spirituality to grow in my life. My continued willingness is essential to my sobriety and serenity. Thank You for making me with a mind and heart that together create the action. ************************************************** ********* I believe that I am now a child of God . 1 John 3:1-3 I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, that it was a gift and not the result of any works on my part. Ephesians 2:8 I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Ephesians 6:10 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration To have courage, think courageous, act courageous, and pray to God for courage. Lord, You are full of love for all who come to You. Abundance is God's to give, so shut out all limited thoughts. Lord, my faith in You and my faith in the talents and abilities You have given me makes me able to achieve my goals. ************************************************** ********* NA Just For Today Being Of Service "Working with others is only the beginning of service work." Basic Text, pg 56 We're in recovery now. Through living the program, we've attained some stability in our lives. Our faith in a Higher Power has grown. Our individual spiritual awakening is progressing comfortably. So now what? Do we simply sit still and enjoy? Of course not. We find a way to be of service. We tend to think of service only in terms of committee service or holding a position at some level, but service goes far beyond this understanding. In fact, we can find opportunities to be of service in nearly every area of our lives. Our jobs are a form of service to our communities, no matter what our occupation. The work we do in our homes serves our families. Perhaps we do volunteer work in our communities. What a difference our service efforts make! If we doubt this, we can just imagine what the world would be like if no one bothered to be of service to others. Our work serves humanity. The message we carry goes beyond the rooms of recovery, affecting everything we do. Just for today: I will look for opportunities to be of service in everything I do. ************************************************** ********* You are reading from the book Today's Gift. Finish each day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well. --Ralph Waldo Emerson Two of the most useless phrases in the English language are "what if" and "if only." We waste so much time and energy thinking about what we might have done and wishing we had acted or reacted differently. We imagine how things might have turned out "if only . . ." All of us make mistakes. To go back and wonder and wish about our yesterdays prevents us from living fully today. Each day is a fresh chance; a new beginning. We can only squeeze what we can out of the moment and let the drops fall where they may. Some will evaporate and some will form rainbows. Can I forget about yesterday and start a fresh new day? You are reading from the book Touchstones. Dawns another year, Open it aright; Thou shalt have no fear In its fading light. --Joseph Krauskopf New Year's Eve is a good time to reflect upon the closing year and set our direction for the year ahead. This day reminds us that every day of the year is lived just one at a time. Looking back, we can see a year's change in ourselves. We see the progress we have made as men on our journey. Perhaps we see how much stronger we are emotionally. Maybe we see relationships that have developed because of our growing ability to love. Certainly all of us have some things we regret and some changes we mourn. They too have their place today. As we begin the coming year, let us review our relationship with each of the Steps. We may perceive aspects of our program that call for more attention. One or two particular Steps may speak to our needs at this time or may have been overlooked in this past year. On this last day of the year, we can again turn our lives and will over to the care of a loving God. I look to the New Year with a renewed commitment to the Steps. You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning. In the process of growing to spiritual maturity, we all go through many adolescent stages. --Miki L. Bowen Progress, not perfection, is our goal in this recovery program. And many days we'll be haunted by the feeling that we've regressed. We will display old behavior. We will feel unable to change, to go on, to make gains once again. But these periods will pass, and soon progress will be evident again. We must be wary of our need for perfection. It's this need that makes normal progress seem not good enough. And yet, that's all we're capable of--and all we'll ever need to be capable of. The program, its Steps and the promises offered, provide the tools we have lacked, yet need to use in order to accept ourselves wholly and imperfectly. Daily attention to our spiritual side will foster the spiritual and emotional health we long for. Prayer and meditation, combined with honest inventory-taking, can show us the personal progress needed, the personal progress made. However, we will falter on occasion. We will neglect our program some days. But it won't ever be beyond our reach. And each day is a new beginning. Today is before me, and I can make progress. I will begin with a quiet prayer and a moment of meditation. You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go. Affirming the Good Fun becomes fun, love becomes love, life becomes worth living. And we become grateful. --Beyond Codependency Wait, and expect good things - for yourself and your loved ones. When you wonder what is coming, tell yourself the best is coming, the very best life and love have to offer, the best God and His universe have to send. Then open your hands to receive it. Claim it, and it is yours. See the best in your mind; envision what it will look like, what it will feel like. Focus, until you can see it clearly. Let your whole being, body and soul, enter into and hold onto the image for a moment. Then, let it go. Come back into today, the present moment. Do not obsess. Do not become fearful. Become excited. Live today fully, expressing gratitude for all you have been, all you are, and all you will become. Wait, and expect good things. Today, when I think abut the year ahead, I will focus on the good that is coming. Today I have all the willingness... all the energy and all the guidance to continue to choose the path of peace and love and joy. --Ruth Fishel *************************************** Journey To The Heart Honor the Ending “How was your trip?” a friend asked, as my trip drew to a close. I thought for a moment, then the answer came easily. “It had its ups and downs,” I said. “There were times I felt exhilarated and sure I was on track. Other days I felt lost. Confused. I’d fall into bed at night certain that this whole trip was a mistake and a waste. But I’d wake up in the morning, something would happen, and I’d see how I’d been guided all along.” The journey of a year is drawing to a close. Cherish the moments, all of them, even the ups and downs. Cherish the places you’ve visited, the people you’ve seen. Say good-bye to those whose journey have called them someplace else. Know you can always call them back by thinking loving thoughts. Know all those you love will be there for you when you need them most. Honor the lessons you’ve learned, and the people who helped you learn them. Honor the journey your soul mapped out for you. Trust all the places you’ve been. Make a scrapbook in your heart to help you remember. Look back for a moment. Reflect in peace. Then let this year draw to a close. All parts of the journey are sacred and holy. You’ve learned that by now. Take time to honor this ending– though it’s never really the end. Go to sleep tonight. When you wake up tomorrow, a new adventure will begin. Remember the words you were told when this last adventure began, the words whispered quietly to your heart: Let the journey unfold. Let it be magical. The way has been prepared. People will be expecting you. Yes, you are being led. *************************************** More Language Of Letting Go The adventure is in the trip We were on our way to the drop zone when Chip turned to me. “Let’s go to San Francisco and see a widgeon.” “Widgeon?” I said. “Okay. Let’s go.” “These are the rules,” he said, pulling off the highway and getting back on the exit ramp heading north. “We’ll stop at the house for a minute. But we can’t pack. We can only take with us what we have on us now. We’ll have to trust ourselves to get whatever else we need on the way.” “Okay,” I said. “You’re on.” I didn’t know what a widgeon was. Four hours later, we were walking barefoot on Morro Beach, just south of Big Sur. A big rock, one that looked like the fossil remains of a dinosaur hunched over in the water, beckoned. So did the impending sunset. I still didn’t know what a widgeon was, but I was glad we were searching for one. “You’d better call Andy,” I said, watching the waves crash against the dinosaur rock. “You guys were supposed to go climbing tomorrow.” Chip took the cell phone I was handing him. “I’ve got an idea,” I said. “Tell Andy to get on a plane, fly to San Francisco, wait for us to pick him up, then come with us to find a widgeon.” Chip called Andy. Thirty-five mintues later, Andy called back. “I’ll be at the United gate at the San Francisco airport at 9:34. See you!” he said. Chip and I looked at each other. It was 6:34. We were two hundred miles south of San Francisco and had already started traveling the One through Big Sur– a winding two lane highway that climbed high banks, offered a breathtaking view, and needed to be traveled slowly and cautiously. Half an hour later, we looked at the odometer. We had gone twelve miles. Chip turned east on a road the suddenly appeared. It was slightly bigger than a one-lane road, winding its way through the mountains that separated us from the interstate and a sixty-five mile per hour limit. He drove like a Daytona master. Forty-five minutes later, we had traveled another twelve miles. Focus, focus, focus. Focus on the destination, not the journey. Just get there. At 10:35, one hour past Andy’s arrival time, we pulled up in front of the baggage claim. A six foot, two inch Texas blond guy sat on a bench, reading a book. We honked. He looked up, waved, then lumbered over to the car and slid into the backseat. “What’s a widgeon?” he said. The next morning, we set out for Ace Aviation, the home of the widgeon. We didn’t know where it was, but we headed in what we thought was the right direction. Suddenly, Chip pointed to a sign. “Seaplanes!” We pulled off the road, and went in. “Have you heard of Ace Aviation?” we wasked. “Yup,” she said. “Is there a widgeon there?” we asked. “Yup,” she said. “Will you tell us where it is?” we asked. She did. One hour later, we pulled into the parking lot for Ace Aviation. For the next hour, we fawned over widgeons– amphibious planes with a peculiar yet immediate and undeniable charm. The name painted on one widgeon read, “Da Plane.” It was the seaplane from Fantasy Island. We found a hot springs motel on the lasr evening of the trip. Sitting in the outdoor hot tub, I found many things remarkable: the almost full moon in the sky, the calming effect of the water, and the toothpaste provided by the hotel. All along the trip, our wishes seemed to magically appear– from a restaurant on a desolate strip of beach, to a restroom in the middle of a forest, to a widgeon in a widgeon hospital. I’ve said before; I’ll say it again. It’s good to have a destination, but the adventure is in the trip. Take a moment. Review where you’ve been this past year. Be grateful for all you’ve experienced and the people who have come into your life. Search your heart. Let go of any resentments. Take a moment and reflect on your successes. Be grateful for them; be grateful for all the ordinary moments,too. Take a look at your goal list. Some things have taken place. Other things may not have materialized yet. Don’t give up yet. Let go. Tomorrow, you can make a new list. God, thank you for this year. Clear my heart so I can start yomorrow with a clean slate. *************************************** New Year's Resolutions: The Two Lists A Message from DailyOM Co-Founder Scott Blum I was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man named Robert during a very special period of my life. Robert taught me many things during our days together, and this time of year reminds me of one particular interaction we had. "Now that you are becoming more aware," Robert said, "you need to begin to set goals for yourself so you don't lose the momentum you have built." "Like New Year's resolutions?" I asked. "That's an interesting idea," he smirked. "Let's do that." By then I was used to his cryptic responses, so I knew something was up because of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out an impish laugh. "Tonight's assignment is to make two lists," Robert continued. "The first is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year's resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper." That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn't gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful. The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food Co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening conversations. "Tell me about your two lists," Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face. "The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead." "Let me see the second list," he said. I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered. "And now, the first list." Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands. I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it. "What did you do that for?!" I couldn't hide my anger any longer. Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. "What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do." He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me. I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page: "Love." Published with permission from Daily OM *************************************** A Day At A Time Reflection For The Day 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 — living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it: Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with him forever in the next. Amen. Today I Pray May I look back at this past year as a good one, in that nothing I did or said was wasted. No experience — however insignificant it may have seemed — was worthless. Hurt gave me the capacity to feel happiness; bad times made me appreciate the good ones; what I regarded was my weaknesses became my greatest strengths. I thank God for a year of growing. Today I will Remember Hope is my “balance brought forward” — into a new year’s ledger. *************************************** One More Day Afflictions are not really a good gift — neither they nor their consequences. However, if afflictions do come, it is well that we convert them into afflictions of love. Herein lies the power of man. –Chaim Nachman Bialik All around us we hear cries of “Happy New Year,” and we wonder if this next year is going to be happier than last year was. Carrying the burden of chronic pain or a chronic illness is far more demanding than most people can imagine;. It can overwhelm our days. We alone have the power to convert that pain, loneliness, and any feelings of guilt into external expressions of ourselves, such as helping others. It’s almost impossible to be completely wound up in ourselves when we are doing for others. I feel positive thoughts about this New Year. My goal is to reach out to at least one person each day. ************************************ Food For Thought No Exceptions Abstinence is the most important thing in my life without exception. Since I am a compulsive overeater, any exception would mean that I might lose control. If I do not control my disease, it controls me. Therefore, there are no exceptions to the rule that abstinence is the most important thing in my life. In order to follow this rule, I need to depend on a Power greater than myself. Alone, I am not strong enough to maintain abstinence at all times and in all places, but through the grace of God and the support of the OA fellowship, I can do it. With abstinence, the rest of my life falls into place. I have an incurable illness, but one which can be controlled day by day through following the OA program, working the Twelve Steps, and staying in contact with my Higher Power. There are good days and bad days. but there is always abstinence. I am grateful to be an abstaining, recovering, compulsive overeater. May I remember each day there are no exceptions to abstinence. ***************************************** One Day At A Time Life Is Worth Living "These, then, are my last words to you: Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living. and your belief will help create the fact. William James (1842 ~ 1910) I have lived my life as a compulsive eater and I have known many other compulsive eaters. I believe I can say unequivocally that life is much more difficult in so many ways for us than for many others. I denied that what I suffered from was a disease; yet I watched as over the years it robbed me of so many things others take for granted. Most of us will acknowledge early on that the manifestations of compulsive eating affects us spiritually, emotionally and physically. Volumes have been written about each of these so most reading this know the devastation it causes. When I began to inventory my life and saw how much the quality of it had suffered, it saddened me greatly. I believe one of the most difficult ways the disease of COE, or any compulsive illness, affects us is the way society looks upon us. Because I have experienced life both ways, I know how behavior and attitudes change in interacting with a COE vs a non-COE. We wear our disease on the outside ... but the extensive damage is far more wide-spread than just the physical. The disease wrecks havoc in every area of our lives as we silently go about our life doing the things expected of us. We don't dare scapegoat the disease. After all, this is not a cancer ... or heart disease. Yet it can be just as serious. Many decades ago, a group of alcoholics gathered and, as a result, life began to change for those of us who struggled with the disease. When I reached the point in my life that I could actually acknowledgement that compulsive eating was affecting it and that I had done everything possible to stop it and couldn't, it was one of the most freeing moments I've ever experienced. I learned that I was as powerless over this as I would have been suffering a heart attack. I also learned that I couldn't handle it alone. I learned that there were twelve steps that were absolutely necessary if I were to survive emotionally and, perhaps even physically. I went from fighting the disease to acknowledging it. Because of the Steps I learned that there were tens of thousands of others exactly like me and that we all spoke the same beautiful language. I learned not to be afraid of life ... and that, despite this despicable disease, life is truly worth living. I was told to "act as if" and by doing this it became no longer an act. One day at a time ... I affirm that my life is worth living. One day at a time, I affirm that I will not be afraid of anything that makes me feel otherwise. ~ Mari ***************************************** AA 'Big Book' - Quote HAPPY NEW YEAR! Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you - until then. - Pg. 164 - A Vision For You Hour To Hour - Book - Quote Under stress men are more likely to do the 'fight or flight' thing and counter stress with anger or desertion. Women are more likely to adopt the 'tend and befriend' mode where they begin to nurture others and make alliances. You will be adopting a number of strategies in your growing recovery. Try to make as many of them proactive as you can. The more you respond (with thought and deliberation) than react (instinctively), the better you will weather the journey. I seek solutions and guidelines for my behaviors and the coming decisions I must make. I do not 'react' but 'respond' to the situations in my life. I Will Live in My Body as Well as My Head I cannot hold onto life any more than I can hold onto a rain storm, a cloud or a sun set. I will not know how to be, what to do or how to act if I am ever living in my head. I have to live in my body, too, in the present, spontaneously part of the moment with head and heart in balance so I can sense where I am and where the current of life is taking me. So that we can be free of what is in the way of manifesting our own good. So that we can live in the present unencumbered with unresolved pain from the past. So that we can stop repeating the same old dysfunctional patterns from our past in our relationships in the present. Emotional balance allows us to live in this alive and ever changing present so that we can respond spontaneously to any given moment or any given situation. So that we have the inner balance to be responsive, flexible and alive. So that we can live in the present. Living in my head limits my spontaneity. - Tian Dayton PhD Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote The sole purpose of AA is to help the alcoholic stop drinking. The sole purpose of NA is to help the addict stop using. The sole purpose of CDA is to help the chemically dependent give up mind affecting chemicals. The soul purpose of all these fellowships is service, unity, and recovery. 'I do not put the sole purpose of any fellowship above the soul purpose.' ~Shelly Marshall "Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book To be considered trustworthy, one must be trust-wordy. Time for Joy - Book - Quote Today I know that I am at choice. Today I have all the willingness, all the energy, and all the guidance to continue to choose the path of peace and love and joy. Alkiespeak - Book - Quote Keep coming back. Unknown origin. ***************************************** AA Thought for the Day December 31 Faith When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God's hands were better than anything we could have planned. - As Bill Sees It, p. 2 Thought to Ponder . . . Breathe in faith, breathe out fear. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . F A I T H = Finding Answers In The Heart. ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Guidance Walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. When we look back, we realize the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God's hands, were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances! 1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 100 Thought to Consider . . . Look for the Good. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* A A = Adventurers Anonymous *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Diagnosis >From "More About Alcoholism": "We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 31-32 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "It's only when I stop thinking about it, stop trying to run the show, that my life may become as God intends." Tucson, Ariz., March 1988 "The Work at Hand," Emotional Sobriety ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~ "We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 85~ It mattered little whether our resentments were justified or not. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.90 Misc. AA Literature - Quote When we reached A.A., and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was tremendously exciting. We thought the isolation problem had been solved. But we soon discovered that, while we weren't alone any more in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong. Step Five was the answer. It was the beginning of true kinship with man and God. Prayer for the Day: Kindess Prayer - Keep us, O God, from closed mindedness, let us Be large in thought, in work, in deed. Let us be done with faultfinding, and Leave off self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face, without Self pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in our judgement And be always generous and helpful. Teach us to put into action our better Impulses, straightforward and unafraid. Let us take time for the right things. Make us Grow calm, serene, and gentle. Grant that we may realize it is the Little things that create difference, That in the big things in life we are one. And may we strive to touch and know The great common heart of us all, and O God, let us not forget to be kind. Ask and you shall receive, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7:7
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![]() "No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time! God says that each of us is worth loving. |
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