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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
 Posted - 12/24/2009 : 07:53:38 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 24, 2009
In AA, we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure and misery 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. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.
The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear – primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration.
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. If that degree of humility could enable us to find the grace by which such a deadly obsession could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other problem we could possibly have.
Twelve and Twelve, P. 75
“My Creator, I am now willing that you should have
all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from
me every single defect of character which stands in the
way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me
strength, as I go out from here, to do you bidding, Amen.”
Alcoholics Anonymous, P. 76
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2009 : 11:10:49 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 24, 2009
Acceptance
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. . .
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober;
unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417
Thought to Ponder . . .
My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Acceptance, Belief, Change.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/25/2009 : 05:49:13 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 25, 2009
WISHING YOU AND YOURS THE VERY BEST THIS CHRISTMAS!!!
(And remember the very best gift you can give … is YOU!)
Hold your head up high in the knowledge that you are in recovery today. Know that whatever this season holds for you; you are able to see with clear eyes and an open heart. Not alone. Never alone. Never have to be again. I am utterly failing at holding back tears of gratitude, running down my blushing cheeks. For last Christmas was a far cry from happy. This past year has brought me gifts that I cannot even begin to describe (yet).
We are the walking wounded, beginning to heal. The ones who know the dark of the spirit, so can fully appreciate the warmth of the rising sun. Gratitude and blessings are our companions if we so choose them to be. It’s all about the gifts this year and if you’re willing to receive them. Believe in your inner beauty and you will be amazed at the response you’ll receive. You have the ability to bring light in your life and as a result the lives of others.
This is what we are here for. Love and be loved. Love you and you can love others. Love you and love comes back to you. Be one with the spirit of the universe and know … that I love you. For you are me, making up the great WE. One plus one equals ONE. Be blessed this holiday.
From the internet, Taken from I Love Recovery
Merry Christmas….Pam
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/25/2009 : 08:02:18 AM
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'Twas the night before Christmas, we were all in the club,
Enjoying a meeting, instead of a pub.
The ashtrays were clean, and the coffee was made,
The Big Books were out and we all had prayed.
When out in the lot, there arose such a clatter,
We all jumped up to see what was the matter.
The Chair with his Big Book, and I with my smokes,
Headed outside to find these two blokes.
The two came inside and sat at a table;
And said that they'd chair, as soon as they're able.
To start with, they said, "It's more than not drinking;
It's doing your best to fix your sick thinking."
"Think, Think, Think!" and the slogans we use,
Help keep the newcomer from getting confused.
Step 1 is a start, they said we should know,
But after Step 2, we'll be all aglow.
We made a decision when we got to Step 3;
Step 4 was real tough, we all could agree,
Step 5 was the one where we let it all out,
And after Step 6 and 7, we were left with no doubt.
When we got to Step 8, we made our list;
And then with Step 9, we had to persist.
After Step 9, the promises rang true;
We didn't just make that up, right out of the blue.
After that, it's on with the rest;
The things we must do, to be our best.
They put on their coats and got ready to leave;
A pretty good end, for this Christmas Eve.
As to their names, we only could guess;
Must have been Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.
The two men hopped into a '35 Ford,
And as they pulled out, one of them roared:
"We leave this message, for our sisters & brothers:
Trust God, clean house, and be of service to others.
And for all of you people, I just want to say:
Have a nice holiday, and don't drink today!"
Unknown
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/26/2009 : 08:50:54 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 26, 2009
This Precious Gift
None of us can ever fathom the glories and
the uncharted regions of the universe.
But we can live on earth and love one another.
We can let in the beginnings of concern, compassion, consideration,
and watch ourselves grow.
With the tools and guideposts of Alcoholics Anonymous,
we can learn a little of this precious gift -- our gateway to human spirituality.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 120
Thought to Ponder . . .
Love that is unseen is eternal.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Heart Open; Please Enter.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/26/2009 : 1:21:06 PM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 26, 2009
About seven that evening my sponsor walked in, Charlie G. He didn’t seem too much at ease in the beginning. I guess I felt, and he sensed it, that I wanted him to hurry up and say what he had to say and get out. Anyhow, he started talking about himself. He started telling me how much trouble he had, and I said to myself, I wonder why this guy is telling me all his troubles. I have troubles of my own. Finally, he brought in the angle of whiskey. He continued to talk and I to listen. After he’d talked half an hour, I still wanted him to hurry up and get out so I could go and get some whiskey before the liquor store closed. But as he continued to talk, I realized that this was the first time I had met a person who had the same problems I did and who, I sincerely believe, understood me as an individual. I knew my wife didn’t, because I had been sincere in all my promises to her as well as to my mother and to my close friends, but the urge to take that drink was more powerful than anything else.
After Charlie had talked a while, I knew that this man had something. In that short period he built within me something that I had long since lost, which was hope. When he left, I walked with him to the streetcar line, which was just about a half a block, but there were two liquor stores, one on each corner from my home. I put Charlie on the car, and when I left him, I passed both of those liquor stores without even thinking about them.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Jim’s Story, pp. 243 & 244
Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail.
Carry this message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill.
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. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.
Alcoholics Anonymous, working with Others, p. 89
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 07:22:38 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 27, 2009
When we had taken the opposite tact and had insisted, like infants ourselves, that people protect and take care of us or that the world owed us a living, then the result had been equally unfortunate. This often caused the people we had loved most to push us aside or perhaps desert us entirely. Our disillusionment had been hard to bear. We couldn’t imagine people acting that way toward us. We had failed to see that though adult in years we were still behaving childishly, trying to turn everybody – friends, wives, husbands, even the world itself – into protective parents. We had refused to learn the very hard lesson that overdependence upon people is unsuccessful because all people are fallible, and even the best of them will sometimes let us down, especially when our demands for attention become unreasonable.
As we made spiritual progress, we saw through these fallacies. It became clear that if we ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put or 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 demands 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 to seriously affected.
When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn’t very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. These were the new attitudes that finally brought many of us an inner strength and peace that could not be deeply shaken by the shortcomings of others or by any calamity not of our own making.
This new outlook was, we learned, something especially necessary to us alcoholics. For alcoholism had been a lonely business, even though we had been surrounded by people who loved us. But when self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation had become complete, it caused us to play the big shot in cheap barrooms and then fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of passersby. We were still trying to find emotional security by being dominating or dependent upon others. Even when our fortunes had not ebbed that much and we nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world, we still vainly tried to be secure by some unhealthy kind of domination or dependence. For those of us who were like that, AA had a very special meaning. Through it we begin to learn right relations with people who understand us; we don’t have to be alone any more.
Twelve and Twelve, pp. 115-117
We Don’t Have To Be Alone Any More.
(I really needed to read this, this morning!)
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2009 : 09:31:46 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 27, 2009
One Day At A Time
I find that we don't just "get somewhere" -- we go there, one day at a time.
I find it a luxurious sensation to be sane. . .
I have the luxury of being able to cherish the memory of yesterday,
to live today with serenity, to wait for tomorrow.
I find great contentment in just knowing where I was and where I am. . .
I am grateful for this minute. My eternity may be in it.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 21
Thought to Ponder . . .
What have I been given today? Am I willing to reach out and grasp it?
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Just For Today.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 07:19:08 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 28, 2009
Light from a Prayer
“God grant us the serenity to accept
the things we cannot change,
the courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We treasure our “Serenity Prayer” because it brings a new light to us that can dissipate our oldtime and nearly fatal habit of fooling ourselves.
In the radiance of this prayer we see that defeat, rightly accepted, need be no disaster. We now know that we do not have to run away, nor ought we again try to overcome adversity by still another bulldozing power drive that can only push up obstacles before us faster than they can be taken down.
Grapevine, March 1962
As Bill Sees It, p. 20
I personally use the “Serenity Prayer” quite often. When I can’t call my sponsor or someone in my network, which is very rare now. When my feelings start to surface. When someone goes back out and uses again, after a period of sobriety. In the beginning of my sobriety, standing in front of the Judge, I chanted the “Serenity Prayer” quietly to myself, and I believe it helped me spiritually! And now I say the “Serenity Prayer” to remind myself the only person, place or thing I can control is Me. I can’t control or change anything else, only Pam. Courage to change the things we can…that’s Me.
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/28/2009 : 08:11:58 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 28, 2009
Providence
Already a willingness has been achieved
to cast out one's own will and one's own ideas about the alcohol problem
in favor of those suggested by AA.
Now if this is not turning one's will and life over to a new-found "Providence,"
then what is it?
- As Bill Sees It, p. 328
Thought to Ponder . . .
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 08:32:31 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 29, 2009
A Magic Wand
When I couldn't find an easier, softer way,
I looked for the person with the magic wand, the one person in AA
who could make me all better, right now. . .
I finally realized that if I wanted this life,
I was going to have to do what the others had done.
No one made me drink, and no one was going to make me sober.
This program is for people who want it, not people who need it.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 315
Thought to Ponder . . .
If I want to quit drinking, I am going to have to quit drinking.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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| Information in this forum is not monitored or provided by a medical professional. The information reflects member opinions only. Do not act on advice from these forums without first consulting a qualified medical professional. All content is copyrighted and protected by Aelius Group. |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 09:47:01 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 29, 2009
Outlook upon material matters changes. So do feelings about personal importance. Instincts restored to true purpose. Understanding is key to right attitudes, right action key to good living.
Twelve and Twelve, Table of Contents, p. 9
....therefore the joy of good living is the theme of AA's Twelfth Step.
Twelve and Twelve, p. 125
This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Pamela7030
Moderator
800 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 06:39:49 AM
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December 30, 2009
"Don't take yourself so damn seriously!"
When I came into the program, everything was a big deal, and I was very serious. My finances, my future, my wreaked relationships - everything was overwhelming. I remember attending meetings and hearing the laughter and thinking, "What's so damn funny? The only reason we're here is because our lives suck!" It took me quite a while before I could join in with that laughter, and the moment I did my life began to change.
As I got further into the program, that sense of impending doom began to dissipate, and I felt like I could breathe again. The secrets and shame I had hidden so long began to come out, and as I shared what was inside me with others, I began to feel lighter. I began to laugh more at myself and with others, and I finally began to feel human and a part of again. Most of all, I started to realize what was truly important.
Today I know that the future will take care of itself if I take care of today. I now have faith that there is a God working in my life and that even if things don't go my way, that's not only OK, it often turns out for the better. Today, money isn't as important as relationships, and the only thing that really matters is health and sobriety.
Today I've learned to live life on life's terms and, most of all, not to take myself so damn seriously.
From wisdomoftherooms.com
"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, Into Action, pg. 73
“Share your experience, strength, and hope with another and see the miracles transform your life!” |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2009 : 07:51:58 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
December 30, 2009
Change
I began to change. I began to pray.
I became actively involved in working the Steps.
I had previously dismissed them as the tools of mental inferiors;
now I embraced them as the rungs on the ladder to salvation. . .
Older members told me that service would keep me sober, so I tried it.
It worked.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 429
Thought to Ponder . . .
Learn to change, change to learn.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Acceptance, Belief, Change.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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Freefly
Administrator
964 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2009 : 08:37:50 AM
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AA Thought for the Day
~ Scroll down for share ~
Faith
Believe more deeply.
Hold your face up to the Light,
even though for the moment you do not see.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 328
Thought to Ponder . . .
Faith is hope in things unseen.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Finding Answers In The Heart.
Day by Day is the only way.... |
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