AA Thoughts For Today - August

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 1

The Paradox

Such is the paradox of AA regeneration: strength arising out
of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one's old life
as a condition for finding a new one. But we of AA do not have
to understand this paradox, we have only to be grateful for it.
- Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 46

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

AA-related 'Alconym'
T H I N K = Thank Heavens, I Now Know.

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

Wonders
"Out of every season of grief or suffering,
when the hand of God seemed heavy or even unjust,
new lessons for living were learned,
new resources of courage were uncovered,
and that finally, inescapably,
the conviction came that God does
'move in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.' "
1953AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 105

Thought to Consider . . .
Joy is the infallible presence of God.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G O D = Good Orderly Direction

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

School Vacation
From: "Building a New Life"
The next summer I began working construction during school vacation. I was working with the older men, and at the end of the day, I went to the bar with them. The bartender would put the beer in front of the man next to me, but it was intended for me. I loved Fridays - payday - when we went out and got loaded. I started getting liquor on weekends so I could go to dances. I was hanging around with guys who drank like me. We'd put our money together to get enough booze for the night, and because I looked older, I bought the liquor. I could talk to the girls. I was a big shot with the guys because I had the booze and the girls.

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 477

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

"Are you willing to be amazed?"
Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2014
"Big Sur-prise,"
AA Grapevine

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

"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a
fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from
care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will
mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your
existence lie ahead."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152

"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered
a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree,
and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This
is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17

"These were revolutionary and drastic proposals, but the moment I fully accepted them, the effect was electric."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 14 (Bill's Story)

"So in a very complete and literal way, all A.A.'s have "become entirely ready" to have God remove the mania for alcohol from their lives."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 64 (Step Six)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Time after time, newcomers have tried to keep to themselves shoddy facts about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell.
We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness, and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else their entire life story.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to fully surrender my life today and accept what must be done.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 2

The Alcoholic Illness

An illness of this sort—and we have come to believe it an
illness—involves those about us in a way no other human
sickness can. If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and
no one is angry or hurt. But not so with the alcoholic illness, for
with it there goes annihilation of all the things worth while in life.
It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer’s.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18

Thought to Ponder . . .
We were sick and tired of being sick and tired.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Answer Available.

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

Responsibility
"Our spiritual way of life is safe for future generations if,
as a Society, we resist the temptation to receive money
from the outside world.
But this leaves us with a responsibility -
one that every member ought to understand.
We cannot skimp when the treasurer of our group
passes the hat.
Our groups, our areas, and AA as a whole
will not function unless our services are sufficient
and their bills are paid.
When we meet and defeat the temptation to take large gifts,
we are only being prudent.
But when we are generous with the hat
we give a token that we are grateful for our blessings
and evidence that we are eager to share what we have found with all those who
still suffer."
Bill W., November 1957
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 221

Thought to Consider . . .
The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists

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

Name
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"The Akron and New York groups had been voting for months on possible titles [for the Big Book]. This had become an after-the-meeting form of amusement and interest. The title 'Alcoholics Anonymous' had appeared very early in the discussion, probably in October, 1938. We do not know who first used these words. After we New Yorkers had left the Oxford Groups in 1937 we often described ourselves as a 'nameless bunch of alcoholics.' From this phrase it was only a step to the idea of 'Alcoholics Anonymous.' This was its actual derivation."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 165

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

"The little things that happen, the spoken word, the kind smile, the nod of encouragement -- the fellowship that goes with the program -- these things I will never forget."
Benoni, January 1988
"A Special Kind of Peace,"
AA Grapevine

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

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental
defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither
he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

"When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness
of the Presence of God is today the most important fact of their
lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 51~

"We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 133 (The Family Afterward)

"In 2003, it is estimated that over two million have recovered through A.A."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 15 (Foreword)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

In my teens, I had to be an athlete because I was not an athlete. I had to be a musician because I could not carry a tune. I had to be the president of my class in boarding school. I had to be first in everything because m my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God's creatures. I could not accept my deep sense of inferiority, and so I strove to become captain of the baseball team, and I did learn to play the fiddle. Lead I must - or else. This was the 'all or nothing' kind of demand that later did me in.
'I'm glad you are going to try that new job. But make sure that you are only going to 'try.' If you approach the project in the attitude that 'I must succeed, I must not fail, I cannot fail,' then you practically guarantee the flop which in turn will guarantee a drinking relapse. But if you look at the venture as a constructive experiment only, then all should go well.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank you for allowing me to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Please give me the compassion to carry my experience, strength, and hope to others today.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 3

The Ex-problem Drinker

But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution,
who is properly armed with facts about himself, can
generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic
in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached,
little or nothing can be accomplished.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18

Thought to Ponder . . .
Together we can do what we could never do alone.

AA-related 'Alconym'
E S & H = Experience, Strength and Hope.

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

Vigilance
"Now that we're in AA and sober,
and winning back the esteem of our friends
and business associates,
we find that we still need to exercise special vigilance.
As an insurance against 'big-shot-ism'
we can often check ourselves by remembering
that we are today sober only by the grace of God
and that any success we may be having
is far more His success than ours."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 92

Thought to Consider . . .
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing ...
my sobriety.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P U T = Patience, Understanding, Tolerance

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

Change
From "A New Man":
"But the real miracle was what happened to him in the next ten years. He began helping people. I mean helping! No call

has been too hard, too inconvenient, too 'hopeless.' He founded the A.A. group in his town, and he is embarrassed if

you mention this to others or comment on the amount of A.A. work he is doing.
"He is not the same man I was trying to twelfth-step. I failed in all my efforts to help the man I knew. And then Someone

else provided a new man. - Bernardsville, New Jersey, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 15

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

"Our alcoholism is a sickness we no longer fear to discuss."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1946
"A Tradition Born of Our Anonymity"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them
help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up
about you, to have a host of friends ,this is an experience you
must not miss."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 89~

"Much has already been said about receiving strength, inspiration,
and direction from Him who has all knowledge and power. If we have
carefully followed directions, we have begun to sense the flow of
His Spirit into us. To some extent we have become God-conscious. We
have begun to develop this vital sixth sense. But we must go further
and that means more action."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~

"Offer him friendship and fellowship."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 95 (Working With Others)

"The intense relief on my friend's face warmed my heart."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 162 (Tradition Seven)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

There are those in A.A. whom we call 'destructive' critics. They power-drive, they are 'politickers,' they make
accusations to gain their ends - all for the good of A.A., of course! But we have learned that these folks need not be
really destructive.
We ought to listen carefully to what they say. Sometimes they are telling the whole truth; at other times, a little truth. If
we are within their range, the whole truth, the half-truth, or no truth at all can prove equally unpleasant to us. If they
have got the whole truth, or even a little truth, then we had better thank them and get on with our respective inventories,
admitting we were wrong. If they are talking nonsense, we can ignore it, or else try to persuade them. Failing this, we
can be sorry they are too sick to listen, and we can try to forget the whole business.
There are few better means of self-survey and of developing patience than the workouts these usually well-meaning
but erratic members so often afford us.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to be friendly toward all those I meet today.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 4

Was I Crazy?

Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight.
Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn’t know. It hadn't
even come to mind. Someone had pushed a drink my way, and
I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an
appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 5

Thought to Ponder . . .
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over
and expecting different results.

AA-related 'Alconym'
D R Y = Doing Recovery Yourself.

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

Resentment
"If you have a resentment you want to be rid of,
if you will pray for the person or the thing you resent,
you will be free.
If you will ask in prayer for everything
you want for yourself to be given to them,
you will be free.
Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness,
and you will be free.
Even when you don't really want it for them,
and your prayers are only words
and you don't mean it, go ahead and do it anyway.
Do it every day for two weeks and you will find
you have come to mean it and to want it for them,
and you will realize that where you used to feel
bitterness and resentment and hatred,
you now feel compassionate understanding
and love."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 552

Thought to Consider . . .
An expectation is a premeditated resentment.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F E A R = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment

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

No Control Whatever
From: "More About Alcoholism"
A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and
quieted himself with more liquor. He was ambitious to succeed in business, but saw that he would get nowhere if he
drank at all. Once he started, he had no control whatever. He made up his mind that until he had been successful in
business and had retired, he would not touch another drop. An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five
years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career. Then he fell victim to a belief
which practically every alcoholic has - that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as
other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He
tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces,
he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not. Every means of solving his problem which money could buy
was at his disposal. Every attempt failed. Though a robust man at retirement, he went to pieces quickly and was dead
within four years
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 32-33

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

"I am grateful to AA that I have learned some humility, so when offered help, I can now say, 'Yes, I can use your assistance.'"
Queens, New York, May 2014, May 2014
"Yes Please, I Could Use Some Help,"
AA Grapevine

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

"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47

"Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step
of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never
attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it
could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a
strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves
which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had
to get down to causes and conditions.
Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

"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."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 (Into Action)

"Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 76 (Step Seven)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive, joyful activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the main life problems. That is all to the good.
'But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to take our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing starts. Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines. Maybe difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world outside. Then the old behavior patterns reappear. How well we recognize and deal with them reveals the extent of our progress.'
The wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, as my behavior propels me to continue to move, allow me to move forward and up.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 5

Willing to Believe

Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered
himself to his Maker—then he knew. Even so has God restored
us all to our right minds. To this man, the revelation was sudden.
Some of us grow into it more slowly. But He has come to all
who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him
He disclosed Himself to us!
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 57

Thought to Ponder . . .
Hold your face up to the Light,
even though for the moment you do not see.

AA-related 'Alconym'
B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge.

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

Fellowship
"The fellowship I found in AA enabled me
to face my problem honestly and squarely.
I couldn't do it among my relatives,
I couldn't do it among my friends.
No one likes to admit they're a drunk,
that they can't control this thing.
But when we come into AA,
we can face our problem honestly and openly.
I went to closed meetings and open meetings.
And I took everything that AA had to give me.
It was at that point I reached surrender."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 340

Thought to Consider . . .
We honor the spirit in other people when we listen to them.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C A R E = Comforting And Reassuring Each other.

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

Everybody Gains
Tradition Eight: Alcoholics Anonymous should remain nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
It is significant, now that almost no A.A. in our Fellowship breaks anonymity at the public level, that nearly all these
fears have subsided. We see that we have no right or need to discourage A.A.'s who wish to work as individuals in
these wider fields. It would be actually antisocial were we to forbid them. We cannot declare A.A. such a closed
corporation that we keep our knowledge and experience top secret. If an A.A. member acting as a citizen can become
a better researcher, educator, personnel officer, then why not? Everybody gains, and we have lost nothing. True, some
of the projects to which A.A.'s have attached themselves have been ill-conceived, but that makes not the slightest
difference with the principle involved.
1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 171

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

"What has happened in the past is just that -- the past! What I should have done about certain issues no longer
matters. What I do now is of greatest concern."
Williamsville, June 2010
"Able to Dream,"
AA Grapevine

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

"More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very
much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character.
This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a
certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~

“Whatever our ideal turns out to be, we must be willing to grow toward it. We must be willing to make amends where
we have done harm, provided that we do not bring about still more harm in so doing.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 69

“Having been granted a perfect release from alcoholism, why then shouldn’t we be able to achieve by the same means
a perfect release from every other difficulty or defect? This is a riddle of our existence, the full answer to which may be
only in the mind of God.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 64

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Letter to Dr. Carl Jung:
'Most conversion experiences, whatever their variety, do have a common denominator of ego collapse at depth. The individual faces an impossible dilemma.
'In my case the dilemma had been created by my compulsive drinking, and the deep feeling of hopelessness had been vastly deepened by my doctor. It was deepened still more by my alcoholic friend when he acquainted me with your verdict of hopelessness respecting Rowland H.
'In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics. If each sufferer were to carry the news of the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept proved to be the foundation of such success as A.A. has since achieved.

Prayer for the Day: "God, I admit my powerlessness and the unmanageability of my life. Help me live with others as an equal, dependent upon you for direction and strength."

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AA Thought for the Day

August 6

Step Seven

The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on humility. It is really saying
to us that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the
removal of our other shortcomings just as we did when we admitted
that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a
Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 76

Thought to Ponder
I can't. God can. I'll ask Him to.

AA-related 'Alconym'
S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust.

~*~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.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 7

Two Alternatives

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there
is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where
life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the
region from which there is no return through human aid, we had
but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting
out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we
could; and the other, to accept spiritual help.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 57

Thought to Ponder . . .
The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual.

AA-related 'Alconym'
H E L P = His Ever-Loving Presence.

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

Tolerance
"Honesty with ourselves and others gets us sober,
but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
Experience shows that few alcoholics
will long stay away from a group because
they don't like the way it is run.
Most return and adjust themselves
to whatever conditions they must.
Some go to a different group, or form a new one.
In other words, once an alcoholic fully realizes
that he cannot get well alone,
he will somehow find a way to get well and stay well
in the company of others.
It has been that way from the beginning of AA
and probably always will be so."
Bill W., Letter, 1943
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 312

Thought to Consider . . .
What does it benefit me to not like another human being?

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H E A R T = Healing, Enjoying, And Recovering, Together

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

Conviction
From "How It Works":
"We reviewed our fears thoroughly. We put them on paper, even though we had no resentment in connection with them. We asked ourselves why we had them. Wasn't it because self-reliance had failed us? Self-reliance was good as far as it went, but it didn't go far enough. . . .
"Perhaps there is a better way -- we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 68

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

"The ideal of AA, however short we may be of it personally, is a thing of beauty and perfection. It is a Power greater than ourselves which has lifted us out of the quicksand and set us safe on shore."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., May 1946
"Safe Use of Money"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family
back. This just isn't so. In some cases the wife will never come
back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his
recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his
relationship with God. We have seen men get well whose families have
not returned at all. We have seen others slip when the family came
back too soon."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 99~

"But my friend sat before me, and he made the pointblank declaration
that God had done for him what he could not do for himself. His
human will had failed. Doctors had pronounced him incurable.
Society was about to lock him up. Like myself, he had admitted
complete defeat. Then he had, in effect, been raised from the dead,
suddenly taken from the scrap heap to a level of life better than
the best he had ever known!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 11~

“Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 87

“Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not delaying because we are afraid. For the readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 87

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they might mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. Afterward, we found ourselves accepting many things which had seemed entirely out of reach. That was growth. But if we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So at first we used our own conceptions of God, however limited they were.
We needed to ask ourselves but one short question: 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?'' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, even in this small degree, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way.

Prayer for the Day: God help me to become willing to sweep away the debris of self will and self reliant living. Thy will be done for this person as well as for me. Amen

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 8

Once An Alcoholic . . .

We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again:
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic." Commencing to
drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as
bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking, there must
be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion
that someday we will be immune to alcohol.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 33

Thought to Ponder . . .
If you want to drink, that's your business.
If you want to stop AA can help.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Answer Available.

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

Growth
"Regardless of worldly success or failure,
regardless of pain or joy,
regardless of sickness or health or even of death itself,
a new life of endless possibilities can be lived
if we are willing to continue our awakening,
through the practice of AA's Twelve Steps."
Bill W., AAGrapevine, December 1957
1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 8

Thought to Consider . . .
AA is not something you join, it's a way of life.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G I F T S = Getting It From The Steps.

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

Criticize Neither
From: "Word of Mouth"
In my view, there isn't the slightest objection to groups who wish to remain strictly anonymous, or to people who think
they would not like their membership in A.A. known at all. That is their business, and this is a very natural reaction
However, most people find that anonymity to this degree is not necessary, or even desirable. Once one is fairly sober,
and sure of this, there seems no reason for failing to talk about A.A. membership in the right places. This has a
tendency to bring in other people. Word of mouth is one of our most important communications.
So we should criticize neither the people who wish to remain silent, nor even the people who wish to talk too much
about belonging to A.A., provided they do not do so at the public level and thus compromise our whole Society
Letter, 1962 1967, AAWS, Inc., As Bill Sees It, page 120

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

"The word 'anonymous' has for us an immense spiritual significance. Subtly but powerfully it reminds us that we are
always to place principles before personalities; that we have renounced personal glorification in public; that our
movement not only preaches, but actually practices a truly humble modesty."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1946
"A Tradition Born of Our Anonymity"
The Language of the Heart

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

"'There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which
is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in
everlasting ignorance that principle is contempt prior to investigation.'"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Appendice II, Spiritual Experience, pg. 568~

"I suppose some would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and
levity. But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has
to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 16~

“The Wright brothers’ almost childish faith that they could build a machine which would fly was the mainspring of their
accomplishment. Without that, nothing could have happened.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 52

“Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn’t strange that we often let these far exceed their
intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or
pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God
wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, our sins”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 65

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

As we made spiritual progress, it became clear that, if we ever were to feel emotionally secure, we would have to put
our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all
those around us. We saw that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demand for repayment. When
we persistently did this, we gradually found that people were attracted to us as never before. And even if they failed us,
we could be understanding and not too seriously affected.
The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival A.A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up
some of our personal ambitions and desires for the common safety and welfare. Just as sacrifice means survival for
the individual alcoholic, so does sacrifice mean unity and survival for the group and for A.A.'s entire Fellowship.

Prayer for the Day: God, I'm standing at the turning point right now. Give me Your protection and care as I abandon myself to you and give up my old ways and my old ideas just for today. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 9

True Partnership

But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends,
and society at large that many of us have suffered the most.
We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them.
The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability
to form a true partnership with another human being.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 53

Thought to Ponder . . .
We're not living just to be sober; we are living
to learn, to serve, and to love.

AA-related 'Alconym'
S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Powerful Step.

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

Service
"Service gladly rendered,
obligations squarely met,
troubles well accepted or solved with God's help,
the knowledge that at home or in the world outside
we are partners in a common effort,
the well-understood fact that in God's sight
all human beings are important,
the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return,
the certainty that we are no longer isolated
and alone in self-constructed prisons,
the surety that we need no longer be square pegs
in round holes
but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things -
these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions
of right living
for which no amount of pomp and circumstance,
no heap of material possessions,
could possibly be substitutes.
True ambition is not what we thought it was."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 124

Thought to Consider . . .
Service is love in work clothes.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G O D = Group Of Drunks

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

Ego
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"At the beginning I had liked this title very much. But as the book-naming discussion went on, I began to have certain doubts and temptations. From the start the title 'The Way Out' was popular. If we gave the book this name, then I could add my signature, 'By Bill W.'! After all why shouldn't an author sign his book? I began to forget that this was everybody's book and that I had been mostly the umpire of the discussions that had created it. In one dark moment I even considered calling the book 'The B.W. Movement.' I whispered these ideas to a few friends and promptly got slapped down. Then I saw the temptation for what it was, a shameless piece of egotism. So once more I began to vote for the title 'Alcoholics Anonymous.'"
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 165-66

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

"Every August, one of the founding members of my group (a real character, who is jokingly said to be our spiritual leader -- or is it spherical leader?) says that in honor of the eighth month and Tradition Eight, he is offering a special discount on sponsorship for anyone who needs it.
"Sometimes people take him up on the offer, but a good proportion of them cancel during the introductory trial period. Of course, this is all said in jest at our meetings, and we get a good laugh out of it."
Lynwood, Washington, August 2004
"Professionalism and AA,"
AA Grapevine

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

"When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could
not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that
either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is or He isn't."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~

"We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we
be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be
given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask
especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no
request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if
others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own
selfish ends. Many of us have wasted a lot of time doing that and it
doesn't work."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87~

“We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 68

“There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwove, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 98

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Word comes to me that you are making a magnificent stand in adversity - this adversity being the state of your health. It gives me a chance to express my gratitude for your recovery in A.A. and especially for the demonstration of its principles you are now so inspiringly giving to us all.
You will be glad to know that A.A.'s have an almost unfailing record in this respect. This, I think, is because we are so aware that God will not desert us when the chips are down; indeed, He did not when we were drinking. And so it should be with the remainder of life.
Certainly, He does not plan to save us from all troubles and adversity. Nor, in the end, does He save us from so-called death - since this is but an opening of a door into a new life, where we shall dwell among His many mansions. Touching these things I know you have a most confident faith.

Prayer for the Day: Lord, show me the way and I will follow.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 10

Only By Action

Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action,
for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has
always blocked the entry of God—or, if you like, a Higher Power—into
our lives. Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing.
We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 34

Thought to Ponder . . .
Willpower ... our will-ingness to use a Higher Power.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A G O = Another Growth Opportunity.

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

Higher Power
"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."
- Bill W.
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 12

Thought to Consider . . .
Willpower ... our will-ingness to use a Higher Power.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge

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

Solo
From "Source of Strength":
"I would tell a friend of mine, who was having the same problems, that I prayed to God not to take a drink today and not
to get married today. It was a sort of pact. I was very serious about this. I couldn't seem to handle romance and God
too well at the same time. And God did start to give me the strength that I had always thought would come from the
man in my life. "New York, New York, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 102-03

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

"AA recovery cannot be bought and sold, but more than once I've wished I could just send a monthly check instead of practicing those principles. Just making donations seems an easier, softer way, doesn't it?"
New York, New York, August 1998
"AA Is Not for Sale,"
AA Grapevine

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

We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show,
humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We
are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-
pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do
not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we
did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 87

"In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to
shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. If the
alcoholic tries to shield himself he may succeed for a time, but
usually winds up with a bigger explosion than ever. We have tried
these methods. These attempts to do the impossible have always failed."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 101~

“Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a
strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 63

“Having so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with
neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 95

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

At Step Four we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, self-seeking, and
frightened? Though a given situation had not been entirely our fault, we often tried to cast the whole blame on the other
person involved.
We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man's. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and
became willing to set these matters straight.

Prayer for the Day: God, Take my will and my life. Guide me in my recovery. Show me how to live. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 11

Headed For Trouble

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not
cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on
the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we
must carry the vision of God’s will into all of our activities.
"How can I best serve Thee—Thy will (not mine) be done."
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 34

Thought to Ponder . . .
The alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Always Aware.

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

Self-Restraint
"We enjoy certain inherent advantages
which should make our task of self-restraint
relatively easy.
There is no really good reason for anyone to object
if a great many drunks get sober.
Nearly everyone can agree that this is a good thing.
If, in the process, we are forced to develop
a certain amount of honesty, humility, and tolerance,
who is going to kick about that?
If we recognize that religion is the province of the clergy
and the practice of medicine is for doctors,
we can helpfully cooperate with both.
Certainly there is little basis for controversy in these areas.
It is a fact that AA has not the slightest reform
or political complexion.
We try to pay our own expenses,
and we strictly mind our single purpose."
- Bill W.
1962AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th Printing, p. 69

Thought to Consider . . .
We are not living just to be sober;
we are living to learn, to serve, and to love.

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

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

So Touchy
From: "We Agnostics"
Besides a seeming inability to accept much on faith, we often found ourselves handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice. Many of us have been so touchy that even casual reference to spiritual things made us bristle with antagonism. This sort of thinking had to be abandoned. Though some of us resisted, we found no great difficulty in casting aside such feelings. Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process; we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 47-48

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

"The question arises of just what constitutes an amend. Many of us find that the old rationalization, 'If I stay sober, that's amends enough to those I have hurt,' just doesn't work. We have to be willing to go further."
January 1967
"Not Under the Rug,"
Step By Step

*~*~*~*~*^ 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 are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue
from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade
the vessel from steerage to Captain's table. Unlike the feelings of
the ship's passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does
not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having shared
in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds
us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are
now joined."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17~

“We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.”"
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 87

“Everywhere we saw failure and miser transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 75

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

As a society we must never become so vain as to suppose that we are authors and inventors of a new religion. We will humbly reflect that every one of A.A.'s principles has been borrowed from ancient sources.
A minister in Thailand wrote, 'We took A.A.'s Twelve Steps to the largest Buddhist monastery in this province, and the head priest said, 'Why, these Steps are fine! For us as Buddhists, it might be slightly more acceptable if you had inserted the word 'good' in your Steps instead of 'God.' Nevertheless, you say that it is God as you understand Him, and that must certainly include the good. Yes, A.A.'s Twelve Steps will surely be accepted by the Buddhists around here.'
St. Louis oldtimers recall how Father Edward Dowling helped start their group; it turned out to be largely Protestant, but this fazed him not a bit.

Prayer for the Day: God, please lead me so I may serve You better. I am yours, and I am ready God. Amen

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 12

Keenly Realized

By this time, at Step Ten, we had begun to get a basis for
daily living, and we keenly realized that we would need to
continue taking personal inventory, and that when we were
in the wrong we ought to admit it promptly.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 108

Thought to Ponder . . .
AA is an education without graduation.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A R T = Always Remain Teachable.

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

Growing Pains
"How to translate a right mental conviction into
a right emotional result,
and so into easy, happy, and good living -
well, that's not only the neurotic's problem,
it's the problem of life itself for all of us who have got
to the point of real willingness to hew to right principles.
Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy may still elude us.
That's the place so many of us AA oldsters have come to.
And it's a hell of a spot, literally."
- Bill W.
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 237

Thought to Consider . . .
Minds are like parachutes -
they won't work unless they're open.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
S O B E R = Simply Observe Bill's Exemplary Recovery

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

Reactions to Money
Tradition Seven: Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
Alcoholics are certainly all-or-nothing people. Our reactions to money prove this. As A.A. emerged from its infancy into adolescence, we swung from the idea that we needed vast sums of money to the notion that A.A. shouldn't have any. On every lip were the words You can't mix A.A. and money. We shall have to separate the spiritual from the material. We took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we'd be exploited. Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed clubhouses, and as a result there was sometimes outside interference in our affairs. We had been presented with a hospital, and almost immediately the donor's son became its principal patient and would-be manager. One A.A. group was given five thousand dollars to do with what it would. The hassle over that chunk of money played havoc for years. Frightened by these complications, some groups refused to have a cent in their treasuries.
1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 161

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

"Our sobriety should be founded on 'unselfish selfishness' ... It's not sound, we have been told, to try to stay dry for the sake of a wife or a sweetheart or someone else dear to us."
June 1945
"On the Eighth Step,"
Step By Step

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

"The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost
the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes
practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring
into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the
suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are
without defense against the first drink."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 24~

“Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.”
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 77

“In the morning we think of the hours to come. Perhaps we think of our day’s work and the chances it may afford us to be useful and helpful, or of some special problem that it may bring. Possibly today will see a continuation of a serious and as yet unresolved problem left over from yesterday. Our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider each request carefully to see what its real merit is. Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification: “…if it be Thy will.” We ask simply that throughout the day God place in us the best understanding of His will that we can have for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we may carry it out.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 102

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

No society can function well without able leadership at all its levels, and A.A. can be no exception. But we A.A.'s sometimes cherish the thought that we can do without much personal leadership at all. We are apt to warp the traditional idea of 'principles before personalities' around to such a point that there would be no 'personality' in leadership whatever. This would imply rather faceless robots trying to please everybody.
A leader in A.A. service is a man (or woman) who can personally put principles, plans, and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us naturally want to back him up and help him with his job. When a leader powerdrives us badly, we rebel; but when he too meekly becomes an order-taker and he exercises no judgment of his own - well, he really isn't a leader at all.

Prayer for the Day: God, Direct my attention to what You would have me be. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 13

Are We Ready?

If we would gain any real advantage in the use of this Step on problems
other than alcohol, we shall need to make a brand new venture into open-
mindedness. We shall need to raise our eyes toward perfection, and be
ready to walk in that direction. It will seldom matter how haltingly we walk.
The only question will be "Are we ready?"
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Six) p. 68

Thought to Ponder
If I want God to remove my defects of character,
I'll need to stop doing them.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Amazing Adventure.

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

Reprieve
"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action
and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.
We are not cured of alcoholism.
What we really have is a daily reprieve
contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.
Every day is a day when we must carry
the vision of God's will into all of our activities."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85

Thought to Consider . . .
This is a program of limitless expansion.
The gate is wide but the road is narrow.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message

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

Not for Nothing
From: "Empty on the Inside"
When I was two weeks sober, a man's nine-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver, and three days later he was at a meeting saying he had to believe it wasn't for nothing. That maybe one alcoholic would get sober because of it. As I left that day, I found myself wondering what would have happened if that had been my kids, or me? What would they remember about me? A feeling came over me (I know now it was gratitude), and I realized that I could call my children right then and tell them I loved them. That I could show up when I said I would. That my word could be worth something to them. That even though I might always just be "mom who comes over on the weekends," I could be a good weekend mom. I had a chance to move forward with them, forging a relationship built on a foundation of God and Alcoholics Anonymous, rather than always trying to make up for the past. One year later I was able to share with that man that maybe it hadn't been for nothing, because my life changed that day.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 520

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

"If we fail to 'repair,' we can only impair."
June 1945
"On the Eighth Step,"
Step By Step

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

"Everybody knows that those in bad health, and those who seldom play,
do not laugh much. So let each family play together or separately as
much as their circumstances warrant. We are sure God wants us to be
happy, joyous, and free."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~

“Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!”
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 100

“Having reduced us to a state of absolute helplessness, you now declare that none but a Higher Power can remove our obsession.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 25

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

While drinking, we were certain that our intelligence, backed by will power, could rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world around us. This brave philosophy, wherein each man played God, sounded good in the speaking, but it still had to meet the acid test: How well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough.
My spiritual awakening was electrically sudden and absolutely convincing. At once I became a part - if only a tiny part - of a cosmos that was ruled by justice and love in the person of God. No matter what had been the consequences of my own willfulness and ignorance, or those of my fellow travelers on earth, this was still the truth. Such was the new and positive assurance, and this has never left me.

Prayer for the Day: God, Help me to see myself as I truly am. I know I won't always like what I see, so give me the courage to keep going. Grant me understanding, as I need to figure out why I feel the way I do sometimes God, please fill my heart with compassion. I need forgiveness, but I also need to forgive, and that just doesn’t come easily to me. Please Lord, fill my heart with love. Let me love as You do, so that I may get better and serve You. God, I want to do this right and I need your help today. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 14

Misuse of Willpower

All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform
to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. It is when we try to make
our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this
was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse
of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of
attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 40

Thought to Ponder . . .
I can't do God's will my way.

AA-related 'Alconym'
W O W = Willingness Over Willpower.

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

Hangovers
"When a drunk has a terrific hangover because
he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today.
But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience
whether we are drinking or not.
That is the emotional hangover,
the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's
excesses of negative emotion -
anger, fear, jealousy, and the like.
If we would live serenely today and tomorrow,
we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 88

Thought to Consider . . .
I'd rather be better than bitter.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Altered Attitudes

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

Joker in the Glass
"Chapter XXIII: His prescriptions for sobriety
You know, Dan, he [Dr. Bob] told me, many people coming into A.A. get the wrong conception of "Easy Does It, and I hope you don't. It doesn't mean that you sit on your fanny, stay home from meetings and let other people work the program for you. It doesn't mean you have an easy life without drinking. Easy Does It means you take it a day at a time.
He told me that before I could be honest with him or my sponsor or anyone else, I had to get honest with that joker in the glass.
I didn't know what he meant by that joker in the glass. He told me that was the man in the looking glass. When you shave tomorrow, get honest with the man who looks back at you from the looking glass.
1980, AAWS, Inc., Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, page 282

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

"Let all of us AAs, whether we be trustees, editors, secretaries, janitors, or cooks -- or just members -- ever recall the unimportance of wealth and authority as compared with the vast import of our brotherhood, love, and service."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1947
"Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?"
The Language of the Heart

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

Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. His recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God, however he may define him.
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 99,100

"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."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 12~

“We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone.”
Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84

“We needn’t wallow in excessive remorse before those we have harmed, but amends at this level should always be forthright and generous.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 86

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

We of A.A. sometimes brag of the virtues of our Fellowship. Let us remember that few of these are actually earned virtues. We were forced into them, to begin with, by the cruel lash of alcoholism. We finally adopted them, not because we wished to, but because we had to.
Then, as time confirmed the seeming rightness of our basic principles, we began to conform because it was right to do so. Some of us, notably myself, conformed even then with reluctance.
But at last we came to a point where we stood willing to conform gladly to the principles which experience, under the grace of God, had taught us.

Prayer for the Day: God, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that I know you better. Help me become aware of anything I have omitted discussing with another person. Help me to do what is necessary to walk a free man at last. Amen

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

August 15

The Deadly Business

Beginning with Step Four, we commenced to search out the things
in ourselves which had brought us to physical, moral, and spiritual
bankruptcy. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory.
Looking at Step Five, we decided that an inventory, taken alone,
wouldn't be enough. We knew we would have to quit the deadly
business of living alone with our conflicts, and in honesty confide
these to God and another human being.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 107 - 108

Thought to Ponder . . .
In order to recover, we have to uncover.

AA-related 'Alconym'
F E A R = Face Everything And Recover.

AA Thought for the Day

August 15

Forgiveness
I cannot make an amends when I am still condemning or forgiving myself or the one I am making amends to,
because of the judgment this implies. I have always found condemnation to be a lonely road
and have always found forgiveness to be a confusing and impossible task.
When I forgive someone I guess what I really mean to say is that I judge others.
Forgiving and condemning are God's business, not mine.
~ The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 162

Thought to Ponder . . .
Forgiveness is the final form of love.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T G I F = Thank God I'm Forgiven.

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

Defiance
" 'As psychiatrists have often observed,
defiance is the outstanding characteristic
of many an alcoholic. . .
When we encountered AA,
the fallacy of our defiance was revealed.
At no time had we asked what God's will was for us;
instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be.
No man, we saw, could believe in God and defy Him, too.
Belief meant reliance, not defiance.
In AA we saw the fruits of this belief:
men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe.' "
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 31

Thought to Consider . . .
God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge

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

The Paradoxes
From: "The Professor and the Paradox"
1. We SURRENDER TO WIN. On the face of it, surrendering certainly does not seem like winning. But it is in A.A..
Only after we have come to the end of our rope, hit a stone wall in some aspect of our lives beyond which we can go
no further; only when we hit "bottom" in despair and surrender, can we accomplish sobriety which we could never
accomplish before. We must, and we do, surrender in order to win.
2. We GIVE AWAY TO KEEP. That seems absurd and untrue. How can you keep anything if you give it away? But in
order to keep whatever it is we get in A.A., we must go about giving it away to others, for no fees or rewards of any
kind. When we cannot afford to give away what we have received so freely in A.A., we had better get ready for our next
"drunk." It will happen every time. We've got to continue to give it away in order to keep it.
3. We SUFFER TO GET WELL. There is no way to escape the terrible suffering of remorse and regret and shame
and embarrassment which starts us on the road to getting well from our affliction. There is no new way to shake out a
hangover. It's painful. And for us, necessarily so. I told this to a friend of mine as he sat weaving to and fro on the side
of the bed, in terrible shape, about to die for some paraldehyde. I said, "Lost John" - that's his nickname - "Lost John,
you know you're going to have to do a certain amount of shaking sooner or later." "Well," he said, "for God's sake let's
make it later!" We suffer to get well.
4. We DIE TO LIVE. That is a beautiful paradox straight out of the Biblical idea of being "born again" or "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 A.A. die to live.
2003, AAWS, Inc., Experience, Strength & Hope, pages 155-156

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

"Let all of us AAs, whether we be trustees, editors, secretaries, janitors, or cooks -- or just members -- ever recall the
unimportance of wealth and authority as compared with the vast import of our brotherhood, love, and service."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1947
"Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?"
The Language of the Heart

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

"...we then look at Step Six. We have emphasized willingness as
being indispensable. Are we now ready to let God remove from us all
the things which we have admitted are objectionable? Can He now take
them all-every one? If we still cling to something we will not let
go, we ask God to help us be willing."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 76~

"We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we
needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well.
Established on such a footing we became less and less interested in
ourselves, our little plans and designs. More and more we became
interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. As we felt
new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we
could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we
began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were
reborn."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

“We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 561

“The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 129

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are
dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil.
We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his
cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, 'Don't see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain't it grand
the wind stopped blowin'?'
We ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have 'harmed' other people. What kinds of 'harm' do people do
one another, anyway? To define the word 'harm' in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision,
which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to those about us.

Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, When I do wrong, help me admit to it. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to leave nothing out. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to swallow my pride. Lord, When I do wrong, help me to do right. Amen.