Daily Recovery Readings - September

[bluidkiti]

September 16

Daily Reflections

WE STAND--OR FALL--TOGETHER

. . . no society of men and women ever had a more urgent need for
continuous effectiveness and permanent unity. We alcoholics see that
we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally
die alone.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p.563

Just as the Twelve Steps of A.A. are written in a specific sequence for
a reason, so it is with the Twelve Traditions. The First Step and the
First Tradition attempt to instill in me enough humility to allow me a
chance at survival. Together they are the basic foundation upon which
the Steps and Traditions that follow are built. It is a process of ego
deflation which allows me to grow as an individual through the Steps,
and as a contributing member of a group through the Traditions. Full
acceptance of the First Tradition allows me to set aside personal
ambitions, fears and anger when they are in conflict with the common
good, thus permitting me to work with others for our mutual survival.
Without Tradition One I stand little chance of maintaining the unity
required to work with others effectively, and I also stand to lose the
remaining Traditions, the Fellowship, and my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Today, let us begin a short study of The Twelve Suggested Steps of
A.A. These Twelve Suggested Steps seem to embody five principles.
The first step is the membership requirement step. The second, third,
and eleventh steps are the spiritual steps of the program. The fourth,
fifth, sixth, seventh and tenth steps are the personal inventory steps.
The eighth and ninth steps are the restitution steps. The twelfth step
is the passing on of the program, or helping others, step. So the five
principles are membership requirement, spiritual basis, personal
inventory, restitution, and helping others. Have I made all these steps
a part of me?

Meditation For The Day

We seem to live not only in time but also in eternity. If we abide with
God and He abides with us, we may bring forth spiritual fruit which
will last for eternity. If we live with God, our lives can flow as some
calm river through the dry land of earth. It can cause the trees and
flowers of the spiritual life--love and service--to spring forth and yield
abundantly. Spiritual work may be done for eternity, not just for now.
Even here on earth we can live as though our real lives were eternal.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to make my life like a cool river in a thirsty land.
I pray that I may give freely to all who ask my help.

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As Bill Sees It

Beneath the Surface, p.258

Some will object to many of the questions that should be answered in
a moral inventory, because they think their own character defects
have not been so glaring. To these, it can be suggested that a
conscientious examination is likely to reveal the very defects the
objectionable questions are concerned with.

Because our surface record hasn't looked too bad, we have frequently
been abashed to find that this is so simply because we have buried
these selfsame defects deep down in us under thick layers of
self-justification. Those were the defects that finally ambushed us
into alcoholism and misery.

12 & 12, pp. 53-54

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Walk In Dry Places

The world will recover
Belief
If our recovery program is working properly, an amazing thing can
happen. Instead of being the bad actors of society, we become people
who can be considered solid citizens in every way.. So square that we
might even have sharp corners.
We might then start becoming critical of the world in general. "I've
recovered, so why does the rest of the world have to be the way it is?"
A person might say. "Why don't other people do something about their
resentments and fears, just as I have?"
In asking such a question, we're already in danger of becoming self-righteous.
We can remember, however, that our Higher Power has the same concern
for others that was shown to us. By the grace of God, and in God's own
good time, the world can and will recover.
I'll remember today that God is in charge of the world and will set all
things straight, just as I was brought to recovery.

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Keep It Simple

Here’s my Golden Rule: Be fair with others but then keep after them
until they’re fair with you. ---Alan Alda
Often in our illness we were ashamed, so we let people take advantage
of us. We acted as if we had no rights. In recovery, we work hard to be
fair with others. And we deserve to be treated with fairness too. If
people are mean to us, we talk with them about it. If people cheat us,
we ask them to set it right. In recovery, we live by our human rights.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to stand for fairness.
Help me respect myself and others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list people who have wronged me.
I will make plans to talk to those with whom I feel will listen.
I will let love, not shame or fear, control my actions.

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Each Day a New Beginning

I long to speak out the intense inspiration that comes to me from lives
of strong women. --Ruth Benedict
Each day that we thoughtfully make choices about our behavior and our
attitudes, we offer ourselves as examples to others--examples of strength.
As women on recovery paths, we find encouragement from one another's
successes. No one of us met our experiences very successfully before
discovering this program. In most cases we lacked the structure that comes
with the Steps. Direction was missing from our lives. Too often we passively
bounced from man to man, job to job, drunk to drunk.
When working the Steps, we are never in doubt about the manner for
proceeding in any situation. The Steps provide the parameters that secure
our growth. They help us to see where we've been and push us toward the
goals, which crowd our dreams.
We have changed. We will continue to grow. The past need haunt us no
more. The future can be faced with confidence. Whatever strength is needed
to fulfill our destinies will find us. And our forward steps will make the way
easier for the women who follow.
What a blessing these Steps are! They answer my every question.
They fulfill my every need.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

During the first six months of 1935, I was hospitalized eight times for intoxication and shackled to the bed two or three days before I even knew where I was.

p. 184

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Aren't these practices joy-killers as well as time-consumers? Must A.A.'s spend most of their waking hours drearily rehashing their sins of omission or commission? Well, hardly. The emphasis on inventory is heavy only because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal. Once this healthy practice has become grooved, it will be so interesting and profitable that the time it takes won't be missed. For these minutes and sometimes hours spent in self-examination are bound to make all the other hours of our day better and happier. And at length our inventories become a regular part of everyday living, rather than something unusual or set apart.

pp. 89-90

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Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for
that determines our success or failure.
--Norman Vincent Peale (1898 - 1993)

"Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it."

"If you spend more time asking appropriate questions rather than giving
answers or opinions, your listening skills will increase."
--Brian Koslow

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far
more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
--Benjamin Franklin

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."
--Rabindranath Tagore

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

DENIAL

"The worst vice of the fanatic is
his sincerity."
-- Oscar Wilde

The disease of alcoholism is "cunning, baffling and powerful", and it
manipulates us to believe "the lie". There is a point that we reach in
our disease where we believe that crazy behavior is acceptable.
Insanity becomes the order of the day. And when friends or therapists
try to give us a message, we discount them.

How can we break down this wall of denial? Well, there is strength in
numbers. If everybody we respect is disagreeing with us, then it is time
that we change. If our isolation has become a source of martyrdom,
then we need to reorganize our attitude for living. Insanity and
isolation are often companions; they feed off each other.

We need always to stay close to our recovering community. Strength
and sobriety is in numbers.

God, You gave me the message to become the message. Help me to
live it in the recovering community.

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O lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
Psalm 130:2

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make
your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

God...comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in
any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

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Daily Inspiration

Never lose your laughter even in the face of trouble and your troubles will
not be as heavy. Lord, I will remain cheerful and peaceful as proof of my faith in You.

To love and be loved is the greatest of joys. Lord, inspire me with ways to show my love.

[bluidkiti]

September 17

Daily Reflections

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot,
then we found we could live at peace with ourselves
and show others who still suffered the same fears
that they could get over them, too. We found that
freedom from fear was more important than freedom
from want.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 122

Material values ruled my life for many years during
my active alcoholism. I believed that all of my
possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt
bankrupt after I obtained them. When I first came
into A. A., I found out about a new way of living.
As a result of learning to trust others, I began to
believe in a power greater than myself. Having faith
freed me from the bondage of self. As material gains
were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life
became manageable. I then chose to share my
experiences with other alcoholics.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step One is, "We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
This step states the membership requirement of A.A.
We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must
accept the fact that we are helpless before the
power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked
as far as drinking is concerned and that we need
help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact
that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must
make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the
inevitable fact that we just stop drinking. Is it difficult
for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Meditation For The Day

"Show us the way, O Lord, and let us walk in Thy paths."
There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way.
You can make a practical test. When you live the right
way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live
the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you.
You seem to take out of life about what you put into it.
If you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that
you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and
moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy.
By following the laws of nature, and the spiritual laws
of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can
expect to be reasonably healthy and happy.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to live the right way.
I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life.

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As Bill Sees It

Servant, Not Master, p.259

In A.A., we found that it did not matter too much what our
material condition was, but it mattered greatly what our spiritual
condition was. As we improved our spiritual outlook, money
gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a
means of exchanging love and services with those about us.

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

One of A.A.'s Loners is an Austrian sheepman who lives two thousand
miles from the nearest town, where yearly he sells his wool. In order
to be paid the best prices he has to get to town during a certain
month. But when he heard that a big regional A.A. meeting was to be
held at a later date when wool prices would have fallen, he gladly
took heavy financial loss in order to make his journey then. That's
how much an A.A. meeting means to him.

1. 12 & 12, p.122
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.31

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Walk In Dry Places

The world will recover
Belief
If our recovery program is working properly, an amazing thing can
happen. Instead of being the bad actors of society, we become people
who can be considered solid citizens in every way.. So square that we
might even have sharp corners.
We might then start becoming critical of the world in general. "I've
recovered, so why does the rest of the world have to be the way it is?"
A person might say. "Why don't other people do something about their
resentments and fears, just as I have?"
In asking such a question, we're already in danger of becoming self-righteous.
We can remember, however, that our Higher Power has the same concern for
others that was shown to us. By the grace of God, and in God's own good time,
the world can and will recover.
I'll remember today that God is in charge of the world and will set all things
straight, just as I was brought to recovery.

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

Keep It Simple

It is better to be wanted too much than not a all.---Anonymous
It may seem that so many people want our time and love. Parents say we
don’t call often enough. Children demand our time. Our partners say we’re
gone to much. Our sponsor tells us to check in more often.
When we feel off balance by all these people, we need to stop and rest. We
need to remember how lonely we were when we were using. No one wanted
our time and love then! Now we’re important to others again.
You can handle all this by giving people what they need and ask for, within
reason---not what you think they need, which may be way too much. Maybe
you need Al-Anon, to learn to love others while taking care of yourself.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me put my time and energy to
best use today. Help me find the balance I need between work, play,
loving others, and self-care.
Action for the Day: When I feel I have to give too much today, I’ll stop
and ask my Higher Power for guidance.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Desire and longing are the whips of God. --Anna Wickham
Our dreams and desires inspire us to reach beyond our present stopping-place.
That which we can achieve will draw our attention, and with certainty, a partner
is on hand to help us chart the steps for realizing the goal.
Before our introduction to the Twelve Steps, we experienced desires and set
many goals. Some we attained. What we often lacked was confidence, and then
our commitment wavered. The program is helping us realize that all pure desires
are attainable when we invite the program's structure into our daily planning.
Our lives are purposeful. Each of us is fulfilling a necessary role. The longings
that tug at us, longings that bring no harm to others, or ourselves push us to
realize our full potential.
Courage and strength, ability and resourcefulness are never lacking when we
follow the guidance within and trust in its direction. All the wisdom necessary
for succeeding at any task, completing any goal, charting any desire, is as close
as our attention is to God.
I will pay heed to my desires today. I will pray for the wisdom to fulfill them.
All doors will open and my steps will be guided, when the desire is spiritually sound.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

On June 26, 1935, I came to in the hospital and to say I was discouraged is to put it mildly. Each of the seven times that I had left this hospital in the last six months, I had come out fully determined in my own mind that I would not get drunk again—for at least six or eight months. It hadn't worked out that way and I didn't know what the matter was and did not know what to do.

p. 184

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Before we ask what a spot-check inventory is, let's look at the kind of setting in which such an inventory can do its work.
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.
If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also. But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable" anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? Can't we be properly angry with self-righteous folk? For us of A.A. these are dangerous exceptions. We have found that justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.

p. 90

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"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."
--Kahlil Gibran

Yesterday is a canceled check,
tomorrow is a promissory note,
today is cash in the bank.

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow's a mystery,
Live just for today.

Today is a gift that is why they call it the present.

When special feelings come your way,
let them flow into your heart.
When miracles try to find you, don't hide.
When special people come along,
let them know what a blessing they are.
Let your smiles begin way down, deep inside.
--Collin McCarthy

"I can do nothing to change the past except stop repeating it in the present."
--Courage to Change

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PEOPLE-PLEASING

"I cannot give you the formula
for success, but I can give you
the formula for failure, which is
try to please everybody."
-- Herbert Bayard Swope

Part of my recovery is not that I never "people-please" but that I
know when I am doing it . . . and I am doing it less!

My low self-esteem was revealed in the way I would say what I felt
you wanted to hear, do what you wanted to do, go where you wanted
to go -- and for years I missed me. For years I missed my life because I
was preoccupied with other people. And I wasn't honest. I hated being
that way but I wouldn't admit it. Now I see that my guilt around my
addiction led me into this sick cycle, and recovery is taking me out of
it. Today I say "I don't want to go." "I don't agree with what you are
saying." "I refuse to do that."

My dignity is being discovered in my straight forwardness.

God, may I have the courage to share my true feelings.

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"Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my
salvation; for you I wait all day long."
Psalm 25:5

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken
hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:12-14

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Daily Inspiration

When something threatens your peace, do not give it an importance it doesn't have
by allowing it to fester in your mind. Lord, there is no situation beyond Your ability to correct.

Use the power of positive images in your mind to bring about good experiences. Lord, I
will let my faith in You nourish my thoughts so that I can develop a healthy and joyful reality.

[bluidkiti]

September 18

Daily Reflections

LOVED BACK TO RECOVERY

Our whole treasured philosophy of self-sufficiency had
to be cast aside. This had not been done with old-fashioned
willpower; it was instead a matter of developing the
willingness to accept these new facts of living. We neither
ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we were free.
BEST OF THE GRAPEVINE, Vol. I, p. 198

I can be free of my old enslaving self. After a while I
recognize, and believe in, the good within myself. I see
that I have been loved back to recovery by my Higher Power,
who envelops me. My Higher Power becomes that source of
love and strength that is performing a continuing miracle
in me. I am sober . . . . and I am grateful.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step Two is: "Came to believe that a Power greater
than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Step Three
is: "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives
over to the care of God as we understood Him." Step
Eleven is: "Sought through prayer and meditation to
improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood
Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out." The fundamental basis
of A.A. is the belief in a Power greater than ourselves.
Let us not water this down. We cannot get the program
without this venture of belief. Have I made the venture of
belief in a Power greater than my own?

Meditation For The Day

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Dwell for
a moment each day in a secret place, the place of
communion with God, apart from the world, and thence
receive strength to face the world. Material things cannot
intrude upon this secret place, they cannot ever find it,
because it is outside the realm of material things. When
you abide in this secret place, you are under the shadow
of the Almighty. God is close to you in this quiet place
of communion. Each day, dwell for a while in this secret
place.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may renew my strength in quietness.
I pray that I may find rest in quiet communion with God.

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As Bill Sees It

Inward Reality, p.260

It is being constantly revealed, as mankind studies the material
world, that its outward appearance is not inward reality at all. The
prosaic steel girder is a mass of electrons whirling around each other
at incredible speed, and these tiny bodies are governed by precise
laws. Science tells us so. We have no reason to doubt it.

When, however, the perfectly logic assumption is suggested that,
infinitely beyond the material world as we see it, there is an all
powerful, guiding, creative Intelligence, our perverse streak comes to
the surface and we set out to convince ourselves that this isn't so.
Were our contention true, it would follow that life originated out of
nothing, means nothing, and proceeds nowhere.

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Walk In Dry Places

The role of humor
Attitudes
There's a lot of humor among recovery groups, which probably came out
of the bizarre drinking stories told by speakers. It's also a reflection of
our real personalities.
The right kind of humor helps us achieve balance and not take ourselves
too seriously. Meetings can be terribly suffocating when they have
neither lightness or gaiety.
There is also a wrong kind of humor that should be avoided. It's very
easy to let joking and good-natured ribbing take the place of the honest
discussions all of us need. It's too easy in AA for a member to become
known and liked as a charming jokester, even though he or she may be
quietly feeling lots of inner pain. People are often surprised when such
a person runs into trouble, because they had accepted the humorous
surface personality without knowing the real person. In such a case,
humor can send the wrong message.
Most of the time, however, humor helps keep us on the right track.
Let's keep it in our picture, but also in the proper focus.
I'll not be afraid to laugh at myself or about myself today. Perhaps
my right-spirited laughter also reflects the laughter of God.

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Keep It Simple

We feel that the elimination of our drinking is but a beginning.---Alcoholics Anonymous
Giving up alcohol or other drugs is just the start. Even if we give up
chemicals, can we be happy if we have our old life back in every other way?
We have to do more. We have to see how our illness has changed us.
To do this, we turn to the Steps. Our program teaches us to become
new persons. We will change. And the changes will make us happy. That’s
the best part of recovery---change.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, make me open to changes that will
heal me. Help see I’m not cured just because I stopped drinking or using drugs.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll chose one thing about myself I want to change.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The future is made of the same stuff as the present. --Simone Weil
The moment is eternal. It is unending. When we move with the moment,
we experience all that life can offer. Being fully awake to right now,
guarantees rapture even when there's pain, because we know we are
evolving, and we thrill with the knowledge. We are one with all that's
going on around us. Our existence is purposeful and part of the whole
of creation, and we can sense our purpose.
Nothing is--but now. And when we dwell on what was, or what may be,
we are cut off from life--essentially dead. The only reality is the present,
and it's only in the present that we are invited to make our special
contribution to life; perhaps at this moment our special contribution is to
reach out to another person, an act that will change two lives, ours and hers.
We must cling to the present, or we'll miss its invitation to grow, to help a
friend perhaps, to be part of the only reality there is. The present holds all
we need and all we'll ever need to fulfill our lives. It provides every opportunity
for our happiness--the only happiness there is.
Abstinence offers me the gift of the present. I will cherish it, be grateful, and relish it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

I was moved into another room that morning and there was my wife. I thought to myself, "Well, she is going to tell me this is the end," and I certainly couldn't blame her and did not intend to try to justify myself. She told me that she had been talking to a couple of fellows about drinking. I resented this very much, until she informed me that they were a couple of drunks just as I was. That wasn't so bad, to tell it to another drunk.

pp. 184-185

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. It mattered little whether our resentments were justified or not. A burst of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably ineffective. Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger. As we saw it, our wrath was always justified. Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These emotional "dry benders" often led straight to the bottle. Other kinds of disturbances--jealousy, envy, self-pity, or hurt pride--did the same thing.

p. 90

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If you don't like what you're getting, change what you're doing.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

Love grows best when watered daily with kind words.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything.
--Mark Twain

"Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make,
something you do, something you are, something you give away."
--Robert Fulghum

"At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not
an end in itself. Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum
service to God and the people about us."
--c. 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, page 77

"My life's purpose is much clearer when I just work to help, not to
possess."
--c. 1990, Daily Reflections, page 89

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

"A fanatic is one who can't
change his mind and won't
change the subject."
-- Winston Churchill

In my addiction I had a closed mind because I was afraid to be seen to
be wrong. I had to be right, I had to be in control, and I had to be
perfect. To say "I don't know the answer" would make me weak,
vulnerable and human! So I developed a closed mind: my way, my
thoughts, my ideas, my life, my God. And I was in pain.

Then I had a moment of clarity. I heard that I was sick. I heard that if
I really wanted help, I could receive it. I put away the alcohol and I
became vulnerable. Slowly I faced the confusion of life and I
discovered the human race. I was no longer alone.

Today the spiritual life is more about living with the questions than
providing the answers.

I pray that I may continue to find Truth in variety.

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"Love does no harm to its neighbor."
Romans 13:10

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon
die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy
safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the
desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and
he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the
LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in
their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from
anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. For evil
men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the
land.
Psalm 37:1-9

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:9-10

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other,
even as God also in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

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

Daily Inspiration

Great power comes from being able to appreciate your own goodness and
anticipate goodness in others. Lord, help me to focus on that which will bring
me peace and lift my spirit.

Worry about nothing, pray for everything, and thank God for His answers.
Lord, I ask You to handle my problems with me and care for my needs.

[bluidkiti]

September 19

Daily Reflections

ACCEPTANCE

We admitted we couldn't lick alcohol with our own
remaining resources, and so we accepted the further
fact that dependence upon a Higher Power
(if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto
impossible job. The moment we were able to accept
these facts fully, our release from the alcohol
compulsion had begun.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 109

Freedom came to me only with my acceptance that I
could turn my will and my life over to the care of
my Higher Power, whom I call God. Serenity seeped
into the chaos of my life when I accepted that what
I was going through was life, and that God would
help me through my difficulties--and much more, as
well. Since then He has helped me through all of my
difficulties! When I accept situations as they are,
not as I wish them to be, then I can begin to grow
and have serenity and peace of mind.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Let us continue with Steps Two, Three, and Eleven.
We must turn to a Higher Power for help, because we
are helpless ourselves. When we put our drink problem
in God's hands and leave it there, we have made the
most important decision of our lives. From then on,
we trust God for the strength to keep sober. This
takes us off the center of the universe and allows
us to transfer our problems to a Power outside
ourselves. By prayer and meditation, we seek to
improve our conscious contract with God. We try to
live each day the way we believe God wants us
to live. Am I trusting God for the strength to stay sober?

Meditation For The Day

"These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy
may be full." Even a partial realization of the
spiritual life brings much joy. You feel at home in
the world when you are in touch with the Divine
Spirit of the universe. Spiritual experience brings
a definite satisfaction. Search for the real meaning
of life by following spiritual laws. God wants you to
have spiritual success and He intends that you have it.
If you live your life as much as possible according to
spiritual laws, you can expect your share of joy and
peace, satisfaction and success.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I will find happiness in doing the right
thing. I pray that I will find satisfaction in obeying
spiritual laws.

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

As Bill Sees It

"Fearless and Searching", p.261

My self-analysis has frequently been faulty. Sometimes I've failed
to share my defects with the right people; at other times, I've
confessed their defects, rather than my own; and still other times,
my confession of defects has been more in the nature of loud
complaints about my circumstances and my problems.

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

When A.A. suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to
every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do.
Every time he tries to look within himself, Pride says, "You need not
pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!"

But pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogymen, nothing
else. Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and
exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls
upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of
confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing
ourselves is indescribable.

1. Grapevine, June 1958
2. 12 & 12, pp.49-50

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

Walk In Dry Places

Keep the common problem in view
Maintaining
It there's been one major change in AA, one old-timer observed,
it's probably in group discussions. The focus today is far more on
overcoming personal problems than in staying away form the first drink.
"The early AA members were continuously concerned about the dangers
of drinking," he said. "Members today are more concerned about their
feelings and personal issues, such as relationships."
This change has probably been an improvement, but it carries the risk
that members will forget why they needed the program in the first place.
For alcoholics, it is dangerous to let the problem with alcohol slide out of
view. It is important to keep in mind at all times the life-or-death nature
of our drinking problem. Even if we are not totally successful in dealing
with our feelings or establishing harmonious relationships, it's always
necessary to stay sober. Disaster is in that first drink, and let's keep
that constantly in view.
No matter how long I've been sober, I'll remind myself several times
this day that I'm an alcoholic. I'll also remember that it's only sobriety
that enables me to deal with my other problems.

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

Keep It Simple

When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when
we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could
have planned.---Alcoholics Anonymous
We can’t control the present by looking into the future. We can only
look back at the past. The past can teach us how to get more out of
the present. But the past is to be learned from, not to be judged.
As we look back, we see the troubles caused by addiction. But we
also see recovery. We see how our lives are better. We see our
Higher Power’s work in our lives. If we honestly look at our past, we learn.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me learn from the past.
With Your help, I’ll stop judging my past, just as I wouldn’t judge
those who have gone before me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll remember my life before I got sober.
Do I still hang on to attitudes or behaviors that might make me start to
use alcohol and other drugs again?

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

Each Day a New Beginning

...concern should drive us into action and not into depression. --Karen Horney
The role of victim is all too familiar to many of us. Life did us injustices
--we thought. And we passively waited for circumstances to change.
With the bottle we waited, or maybe the little white pills. Nothing was
our fault. That we were willing participants to victimization is an awareness
not easily accepted, but true nonetheless.
Victims no more, we are actors, now. And since committing ourselves to
this program, we have readily available a willing and very able director
for our role in life. Every event invites an action, and we have opted for
the responsible life.
Depression may be on the fringes of our consciousness today. But it need
not become our state of mind. The antidote is and always will be action,
responsible action. Every concern, every experience wants our attention,
our active attention.
Today stretches before me, an unknown quantity. Concerns will crowd upon
me, but guidance regarding the best action to take is always available to me.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

This is the fourth edition of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous." The first edition appeared in April 1939, and n the following sixteen years, more than 300,000 copies went into circulation. The second edition, published in 1955, reached a total of more than 1,150,500 copies. The third edition, which came off press in 1976, achieved a circulation of 11,698,000.

p. xi

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

She said "You are going to quit." That was worth a lot even though I did not believe it. Then she told me that these two drunks she had been talking to had a plan whereby they thought they could quit drinking, and part of that plan was that they tell it to another drunk. This was going to help them stay sober. All the other people that had talked to me wanted to help me, and my pride prevented me from listening to them, and caused only resentment on my part, but I felt as if I would be a real stinker if I did not listen to a couple of fellows for a short time, if that would cure them. She also told me that I could not pay them even if I wanted to and had the money, which I did not.

p. 185

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

A spot-check inventory taken in the midst of such disturbances can be of very great help in quieting stormy emotions. Today's spot check finds its chief application to situations which arise in each day's march. The consideration of long-standing difficulties had better be postponed, when possible, to times deliberately set aside for that purpose. The quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs, especially those where people or new events throw us off balance and tempt us to make mistakes.

pp. 90-91

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

If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of
tomorrow, you have no today for which you can be thankful.
--Anonymous

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you
hold well.
--Josh Billings

"I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full.
And scratch where it itches."
--Alice Roosevelt Longworth

In each of our lives, for whatever reason, there are times that we are
faced with things that just don't make sense to us. And the more we
struggle to understand our hardships, the less any of it makes sense.
I have found that in every challenge and obstacle that we are faced
with there *can* be good that can come from it! While it's almost
never easy to identify, I assure you that it is there lying dormant just
waiting for us to release it! I urge everyone to spend your days looking
for positives in your life.
--Josh Hinds from The Inspiration a Day! April 8, 1998

Whate'er we leave to God, God does and blesses us.
--Henry David Thoreau

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SUICIDE

"Often the test of courage is not
to die but to live."
-- Conte Vittorio Alfieri

There are many ways of committing suicide. The obvious way is to
take your life -- the ultimate escape. One can reach that point in life
when there seems no hope, no purpose in living and death is attractive.
Many alcoholics and addicts reach this point of despair.

However, there is a more subtle way of "suicide", which is to kill
yourself slowly -- by a sick behavior and a negative attitude. I was
"dying" in a lifestyle that revolved around alcohol. All I wanted to do
was drink -- I didn't want to go anywhere, be with anyone or enjoy the
thousand and one pleasures that life offers. I was dying in my life. I
was becoming a "walking zombie". I was committing suicide by
degrees!

Today I can see this and I am glad I had the courage to live. My act of
courage began with my "no" to alcohol.

Let me continue to live in my life.

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

The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The
LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1

A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for
them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and
enjoy great peace. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash
their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows
their day is coming.
Psalm 37:10-13

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in
your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope
is in you all day long."
Psalm 25:4-5

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer
call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's
business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you."
John 15:13-15

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

Daily Inspiration

Are you too busy wishing away your day to get what you really want?
Lord, help me set goals and find the means to achieve what is important to me.

God has given each of us many talents and abilities. To use them reflects
our commitment to Him. Lord, help me find new ways to use the talents that
You've given me.

[bluidkiti]

September 20

Daily Reflections

H.P. AS GUIDE

See to it that your relationship with Him is right,
and great events will come to pass for you and
countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

Having a right relationship with God seemed to be
an impossible order. My chaotic past had left me
filled with guilt and remorse and I wondered how
this "God business" could work. A.A. told me that
I must turn my will and my life life over to the
care of God, as I understand Him. With nowhere else
to turn, I went down on my knees and cried, "God, I
can't do this. Please help me!" It was when I
admitted my powerlessness that a glimmer of light
began to touch my soul, and then a willingness
emerged to let God control my life. With Him as my
guide, great events began to happen, and I found the
beginning of sobriety.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step Four is, "Made a searching and fearless moral
inventory of ourselves." Step Five is, " Admitted to
God to ourselves and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs." Step Six is, "Were entirely
ready to have God remove all these defects of
character." Step Seven is, "Humbly asked Him to remove
our shortcomings." Step Ten is, "Continued to take
personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly
admitted it." In taking a personal inventory, we have
to be absolutely honest with ourselves and with
other people. Have I taken an honest inventory of myself?

Meditation For The Day

God is good. You can often tell whether or not a thing
is of God. If it is of God, it must be good. Honesty,
purity, unselfishness, and love are all good, unselfish
helpfulness is good, and these things all lead to the
abundant life. Leave in God's hands the present
and the future, knowing only that He is good. The hand
that veils the future is the hand of God. He can bring
order out of chaos, good out of evil, and peace out of
turmoil. We can believe that everything really good comes
from God and that He shares His goodness with us.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may reach out for the good.
I pray that I may try to choose the best in life.

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

As Bill Sees It

Individual Responsibilities, p.262

Let us emphasize that our reluctance to fight one another, or
anybody else, is not counted as some special virtue which entitles us
A.A.'s to feel superior to other people. Nor does this reluctance
mean that the members of A.A. are going to back away from their
individual responsibilities as citizens. Here they should feel free to
act as they see the right upon the public issues of our times.

But when it comes to A.A. as a whole, that's quite a different matter.
As a group we do not enter into public controversy, because we are
sure that our Society will perish if we do.

12 & 12, p.177

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

Walk In Dry Places

All we need to know.
Maintaining
Seen from today's perspective, the early AA members had rather
narrow attitudes toward the study of alcoholism. They became restless
and fidgety if member started discussing psychological aspects of the
problem or gave other indications that they were trying to learn more
about the disease.
While we don't need to hold such narrow attitudes today, we should at
least concede that we don't need complex information to stay sober.
All we have to know is that we have a very compulsive problem that
can be arrested by eliminating the first drink.
Even today, nobody fully knows why the first drink is so deadly for
people like us. Our experience and the experience of others tells us
that it is. That knowledge alone can be an important building block in
finding and maintaining sobriety.
While being open-minded to new information, I'll remember today
that a fairly simple idea.... that I'm an alcoholic and can't live with alcohol....
Is the main thing I need to know.

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

Keep It Simple

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
---Mark Twain
Sometimes it does no good to try to “deal” with your feelings. For the
moment, we’re stuck. We can only see things one way. No matter
what anyone says, we’re closed up. For the moment. But this puts our
sobriety at risk.
How do we stop self-pity? Focus on someone else. When we really want
to help someone else be happy, we'll ask our Higher Power’s help.
Then things start to change, because our good deeds come back to us.
Remember, service will always keep us sober.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, sometimes I get stuck in my old ways.
Help me change my focus at those times. Help me stay sober.
Action for the Day: I will think of a time when I was stuck in bad feelings.
How did I get out of that spot.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

What difference does it make how I am treated by life? My real life is
within. --Angela L. Wozniak
It is said that we teach people how to treat us. How we treat others invites
similar treatment. Our response to the external conditions of our lives can
be greatly altered by our perceptions of those conditions. And we have
control of that perception. No experience has to demoralize us. Each
situation can be appreciated for its long-term contribution to our growth
as happy, secure women.
No outside circumstances will offer us full time and forever the security
we all long for. And in like manner, none will adversely interfere with our
well being, except briefly and on occasion.
The program offers us the awareness that our security, happiness, and
well being reside within. The uplifting moments of our lives may enhance
our security, but they can't guarantee that it will last. Only the relationship
we have with ourselves and God within can promise the gift of security.
The ripples in my day are reminders to me to go within.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

Because this book has become the basic text for our Society and had helped such large numbers of alcoholic men and women to recovery, there exists strong sentiment against any radical changes being made in it. Therefore, the first portion of this volume, describing the A.A. recovery program, has been left untouched in the course of revisions made for the second, third, and fourth editions. The section called "The Doctor's Opinion" has been kept intact, just as it was originally written in 1939 by the late Dr. William D. Silkworth, our Society's great medical benefactor.

p. xi

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

They came in and began to give me instruction in the program which later became known as Alcoholics Anonymous. There was not much of it at the time.
I looked up and there were two great big fellows over six foot tall, very likable looking. (I knew afterwards that the two who came in were Bill W. and Doctor Bob.) Before very long we began to relate some incidents of our drinking, and, naturally, pretty soon, I realized both of them knew what they were talking about because you can see things and smell things when you're drunk, that you can't other times, and, if I had thought they didn't know what they were talking about, I wouldn't have been willing to talk to them at all.

p. 185

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

In all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress, not for perfection.

p. 91

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

Those who created yesterday's pain do not control tomorrow's
potential.
--unknown

The devil brings devastation; God offers restoration.
--unknown

"I do service in Alcoholics Anonymous because it reminds me of where
I came from . . . it keeps me green. And green things grow!"
--unknown

Most people's confusion comes in the area of their desires, not their
needs. Giving can be one of the greatest ways to receiving. If you
want more love, give love. If you want more joy, be joyful. Look for
the good in all things and situations, and you may be surprised at what
you see.
--John-Roger

All we need to do is allow more joy and love into our experience. We
need to really choose it, to allow ourselves to feel it, paying attention,
choosing to be alive and to be kind; allowing ourselves to feel and to
be nurtured by the natural order of the Spirit of God. When we choose
and allow it, the dramas fall away and dissolve.
--Patricia Sun

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it
takes to sit down and listen.
--Winston Churchill

"Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours."
--Swedish Proverb

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SHARING

"The mass of men lead lives of
quiet desperation."
-- Henry David Thoreau

I thought that I was the only one who felt like I did. Nobody could
possibly understand. I was different from everybody and needed
to keep my life -- my true life -- a secret. I was living a life of
quiet desperation! Then I went to a meeting for recovering
alcoholics and heard somebody share my pain, my loneliness, my
confusion, my addiction -- my life.

I was lonely because I kept myself separate from people. I saw
them as being different from myself, and so I remained the lonely
and isolated victim. Strange how similar we are when we begin to
share. When we get beneath culture, class and creed, we discover
sensitive human beings trying to make sense of their lives. We need
each other.

May I risk rejection in my spiritual need to share and be known.

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

The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor
and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will
pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little
that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power
of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their
inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not
wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. But the wicked will
perish: The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they
will vanish--vanish like smoke.
Psalm 37:14-20

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as
the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid."
John 14:27

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

Daily Inspiration

You make a difference every time you smile, speak kindly or give of yourself.
Lord, You ask for nothing but goodness of me. What peace it brings to my soul.

Listen carefully to the things you say. The advice we give to others is often the
best advice for us to follow. Lord, help me to follow that which I know is right
even when it is difficult.

[bluidkiti]

September 21

Daily Reflections

THE LAST PROMISE

We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us
what we could not do for ourselves.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

The last Promise in the Big Book came true for me
on the very first day of sobriety. God kept me sober
that day, and on every other day I allowed Him to
operate in my life. He gives me the strength, courage
and guidance to meet my responsibilities in life so
that I am then able to reach out and help others stay
sober and grow. He manifests within me, making me a
channel of His word, thought and deed. He works with
my inner self, while I produce in the outer world, for
He will not do for me what I can do for myself. I must
be willing to do His work, so that He can function
through me successfully.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Let us continue with Steps Four, Five, Six, Seven
and Ten. In taking personal inventory of ourselves,
we have to face facts as they really are. We have to
stop running away. We must face reality. We must see
ourselves as we really are. We must admit our faults
openly and try to correct them. We must try to see
where we have been dishonest, impure, selfish, and
unloving. We do not do this once and forget it. We
do it every day of our lives, as long as we live. We
are never done with checking up on ourselves. Am I
taking a daily inventory of myself?

Meditation For The Day

In improving our personal lives, we have Unseen help.
We were not made so that we could see God. That would
be too easy for us and there would be no merit in
obeying Him. It takes an act of faith, a venture of
belief, to realize the Unseen Power. Yet, we have much
evidence of God's existence in the strength that many
people have received from the act of faith, the venture
of belief. We are in a box of space and time and we can
see neither our souls nor God. God and the human spirit
are both outside the limitations of space and time. Yet
our Unseen help is effective here and now. That has
been proved in thousands of changed lives.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may make the great venture of belief.
I pray that my vision may not be blocked by intellectual pride.

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

As Bill Sees It

Fear And Faith, p.263

The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one
that can never be wholly completed.

When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of
serious insecurity, we shall all react to this emotion--well or badly, as
the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim perfect freedom
from fear.

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

We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our
make-up. Sometimes we had to search persistently, but He was
there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great
Reality deep down within us.

1. Grapevine, January 1962
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.55

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

Walk In Dry Places

The Good that I do____ Action
Why do we hold back when we’re offered the opportunity to help others or to do something unusually kind? Why is it that many people are reluctant to give of themselves unless rewarded with recognition or praise?
We may hold back because we do not understand that any good action always brings its own reward. Despite Shakespeare’s timeless saying, the good we do is not “interred with our bones”… it does survive, now and in the future.
We’ve learned in Twelve Step programs that it’s not really satisfying to work only for recognition and praise. There also has to be a confident feeling that our efforts are contributing to a large good with a worthwhile purpose. That’s what makes AA so special to people who are completely devoted to it… we know that anything done for AA makes the world a better place.
We should also know that those who can help others are fortunate, well-favored people. Others may want to help, but lack the tools. We have the tools to give the help that changes lives---- and the world.
The good that I do today is a treasure I’ll always possess.

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

Keep It Simple

Love doesn’t make the world go around. Love is what makes the
ride worthwhile. ---Franklin Jones
Before recovery, anger, self-pity, and sadness often filled our hearts.
The world went on. We came to hate the ride.
In recovery, love fills our hearts. We begin to love life. Love is really
caring about what happens to other people. Love is what makes the
ride worth it
We find much love in our program. People really mater to us. We really
matter to others. For many of us, we learn how to love in our meetings.
The program teaches love because the program is love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll welcome love into my heart and
others into my life. Love brings me closer to my Higher Power.
Action for the Day: I’ll list all the people I love and why they matter
to me.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Praise and an attitude of gratitude are unbeatable stimulators . . .
we increase whatever we extol. --Sylvia Stitt Edwards
What outlook are we carrying forth into the day ahead? Are we feeling
fearful about the circumstances confronting us? Do we dread a planned
meeting? Are we worried about the welfare of a friend or lover?
Whatever our present outlook, its power over the outcome of our day
is profound. Our attitude in regard to any situation attracting our attention
influences the outcome. Sometimes to our favor, often to our disfavor if
our attitude is negative.
Thankfulness toward life guarantees the rewards we desire, the rewards
we seek too often from an ungrateful stance. The feeling of gratitude is
foreign to many of us. We came to this program feeling worthless,
sometimes rejected, frequently depressed. It seemed life had heaped
problems in our laps, and so it had. The more we lamented what life
"gave us," the more reasons we were given to lament. We got just
what we expected. We still get just what we expect. The difference is
that the program has offered us the key to higher expectations.
Gratitude for the good in our lives increases the good.
I have the personal power to influence my day; I will make it a good one.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

The second edition added the apprentices, the Twelve Traditions, and the directions for getting in touch with A.A. But the chief change was in the section of personal stories, which was expanded to reflect the Fellowship's growth. "Bill's Story," "Dr. Bob's Nightmare," and one other personal history from the first edition were retained intact; three were edited and one of these was retitled; new versions of two stories were written, with new titles; thirty completely new stories were added; and the story section was divided into three parts, under the same headings that are used now.

pp. xi-xii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

After a while, Bill said, "Well, now, you've been talking a good long time, let me talk a minute or two." So, after hearing some more of my story, he turned around and said to Doc—I don't think he knew I heard him, but I did—he said, "Well, I believe he's worth saving and working on." They said to me, "Do you want to quit drinking? It's none of our business about your drinking. We're not up here trying to take any of your rights or privileges away from you, but we have a program whereby we think we can stay sober. Part of that program is that we take it to someone else, that needs it and wants it. Now, if you don't want it, we'll not take up your time, and we'll be going and looking for someone else."

pp. 185-186

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Our first objective will be the development of self restraint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgment can ruin our relation with another person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered criticism and furious, power-driven argument. The same goes for sulking or silent scorn. These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. Our first job is to sidestep the traps. When we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to step back and think. For we can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.

p. 91

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

Four steps to achievement:
Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue
persistently.
--William A. Ward

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up
and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.
You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.
--Anne Lamott

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.
--Martin Luther King Jr.

Forget mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what
you're going to do now and do it. Today is your lucky day.
--Will Durant

Laughter is the sound of recovery.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ACTION

"I shall pass through this world
but once. If, therefore, there be
any kindness I can show, or any
good thing I can do, let me do it
now; let me not defer it or
neglect it, for I shall not pass
this way again."
-- Etienne de Grellet

Today I know that God requires me to be involved in my recovery and
sobriety. God has always wanted me to be sober but the miracle took
place when I wanted it, too. His hands were always extended towards
me, the miracle happened when I chose to embrace Him. My sobriety
involves me.

Today I understand that sobriety is more than "not picking up the first
drink"; it involves quiet acts of kindness to myself and others. God
works through me -- through my hands, my smile, my voice, my love
and my acceptance. When an opportunity arises for me to be
ordinarily kind, I intend to give it; God knows I have needed such
kindnesses from others in the past.

May I never avoid an opportunity for shared healing.

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

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I put my hope.
Psalm 130 : 5

"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and
love."
2 John 1:3

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

Daily Inspiration

Spend less time on the dreams of life and more time on the joys of living.
Lord, help me to view my troubles as smaller than they are until together
we make them disappear.

[bluidkiti]

September 22

Daily Reflections

A "LIMITLESS LODE"

Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the last
ounce of food, our pick struck gold. Joy at our
release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds.
Father feels he has struck something better than gold.
For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself.
He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a
limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines
it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away
the entire product.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 128-29

When I talk with a newcomer to A.A., my past looks me
straight in the face. I see the pain in those hopeful
eyes, I extend my hand, and then the miracle happens: I
become healed. My problems vanish as I reach out to his
trembling soul.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step Eight is, "Made a list of all persons we had harmed
and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Nine
is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others." Making
restitution for the wrongs we have done is often very
difficult. It hurts our pride. But the rewards are great.
When we go to a person and say we are sorry, the reaction
we get is almost invariably good. It takes courage to make
the plunge, but the results more than justify it. A load is
off your chest and often an enemy has been turned into
a friend. Have I done my best to make all the restitution
possible?

Meditation For The Day

There should be joy in living the spiritual life. A faith
without joy is not entirely genuine. If you are not happier
as a result of your faith, there is probably something wrong
with it. Faith in God should bring you a deep feeling of
happiness and security, no matter what happens on the surface
of your life. Each new day is another opportunity to serve God
and improve your relationships with other people. This should
bring joy. Life should be abundant and outreaching. It should
be glowing and outgoing, in ever widening circles.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that my horizons may grow ever wider.
I pray that I may keep reaching out for more service
and companionship.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Step That Keeps Us growing, p.264

Sometimes, when friends tell us how well we are doing, we know
better inside. We know we aren't doing well enough. We still
can't handle life, as life is. There must be a serious flaw
somewhere in our spiritual practice and development.

What, then, is it?

The chances are better than even that we shall locate our trouble in
our misunderstanding or neglect of A.A.'s Step Eleven--prayer,
meditation, and the guidance of God.

The other Steps can keep most of us sober and somehow functioning.
But Step Eleven can keep us growing, if we try hard and work at it
continually.

Grapevine, June 1958

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

Walk In Dry Places

Making tough decisions
Decision Making
An AA member in a supervisor's position was faced with the need to
terminate an unsatisfactory employee. Procrastinating about this
unpleasant matter, she found herself wishing that the employee
would suddenly find another job, thus making the termination
ordeal unnecessary.
But further reflection showed that the procrastination was related
to the same problems that had dogged her in her drinking years.
She was a people=pleaser; she felt guilty about inflicting pain on others.
She was finally able to make the tough decision and call the employee
in for termination. In the process, she discovered that a brief prayer
time for preparation and a gentle manner removed some of the pain
for her and the employee being terminated. She learned that the
principles of the program could help her become more decisive
without being brutal.
I'll look over any tough decisions I;ve been putting off and determination
why I'm behaving that way. Am I prolonging tough decisions just as
I did when drinking?

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

Keep It Simple

One Day at a Time. Program slogan
This slogan means we are to take with us only the joys and
problems of the present day.
We don’t carry with us the mistakes of the days gone by. We
have no room for them. We are to work at loving others today.
Just today.
It’s crazy for us to think we can handle more than one day at a
time. During our illness, we lived everywhere but in the here
and now. We looked to the future or punished ourselves with
our past. One Day at a Time teaches us to go easy. It teaches
us to focus on what really means anything to us: the here and now.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me turn the slogans
of my programs into a way of life. Help me to live life moment
by moment, One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll practice living in the present.
When I find myself living in the past or in the future, I’ll bring
myself back to today.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Anger conquers when unresolved. --Anonymous
Emotions need recognition. But not only attention; they also
need acceptance as powerful dimensions of who we are. Their
influence over who we are capable of becoming is mighty.
Respectful attention and willing acceptance of our emotions,
whether fear or anger or hateful jealousy, takes away their sting.
We can prevent them from growing larger than they are. Like a
child who screams and misbehaves more and more fiercely until
attention is won, our emotions grow larger and more intense the
longer we deny their existence.
Our emotions bless us, in reality. They enrich our experiences.
They serve as guideposts on the road we're traveling. How we
"feel" at any single moment flags the level of our security, how
close we are to our higher power, the level of our commitment
to the program. They serve us well when acknowledged. On
the other hand, when ignored or denied, they can immobilize
us, even defeat us.
My feelings frequent my being, always. They steer my behavior.
They reflect my attitudes. They hint at my closeness to God.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

In the third edition, Part I ("Pioneers of A.A.") was left unchanged. Nine of the stories in Part II ("They Stopped In Time") were carried over from the second edition; eight new stories were added. In Part III {"They Lost Nearly All"), eight stories were retained; five new ones were added.

p. xii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

The next thing they wanted to know was if I thought I could quit of my own accord, without any help, if I could just walk out of the hospital and never take another drink. If I could, that was wonderful, that was just fine, and they would very much appreciate a person who had that kind of power, but they were looking for a man that knew he had a problem, and knew that he couldn't handle it himself and needed outside help. The next question, they wanted to know was if I believed in a Higher Power. I had no trouble there because I had never actually ceased to believe in God, and had tried lots of times to get help but hadn't succeeded. The next thing they wanted to know was would I be willing to go to this Higher Power and ask for help, calmly and without any reservations.

p. 186

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Disagreeable or unexpected problems are not the only ones that call for self-control. We must be quite as careful when we begin to achieve some measure of importance and material success. For no people have ever loved personal triumphs more than we have loved them; we drank of success as of a wine which could never fail to make us feel elated. When temporary good fortune came our way, we indulged ourselves in fantasies of still greater victories over people and circumstances. Thus blinded by prideful self confidence, we were apt to play the big shot. Of course, people turned away from us, bored or hurt.

pp. 91-92

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

Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no
future."

"A quiet hour is worth more to you than anything you can do in it."
--Sara One Jewess

"If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else"
--Chinese Proverb

A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up.

He who divides and shares is left with the best share.
--Mexican Proverb

"Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming
away better and happier."
--Mother Theresa

If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty
of the sunset.
--Krishnamurti

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HEAVEN

"If you're not allowed to laugh
in heaven, I don't want to go
there."
-- Martin Luther

When I was a practicing alcoholic, I imagined heaven to be a dull
formal place, rather like a never-ending cathedral. Beautiful, but
serious. My pain and guilt were so great that I rarely laughed, and
when I did it was usually inappropriate and violent: I laughed at
others!

Today heaven is associated with recovery. It is a place of joy,
acceptance and forgiveness. A place where people can be themselves
and where variety abounds. Christians play with people from other
religions -- and the atheists make the music! The laughter of "peace"
abounds. I am "at one" with my Father and all my brothers and sisters.
I am home!

God of Love, when I hear the sound of laughter here on earth, I think
what joy awaits me in heaven.

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

"Happy are the people to whom such blessing fall; happy are the
people whose God is the Lord."
Psalm 144:15

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save
his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."
Matthew 16:24-25

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

Daily Inspiration

Envision the joy of victory when you are faced with troubles and you will
clearly see what direction you must take. Lord, with You my storm will
pass and I will grow stronger as I grow closer to You.

Take heart in the beauty of your life because God loves, helps, fights and
wins. Lord, I will never fear because nothing can triumph over Your Will.

[bluidkiti]

September 23

Daily Reflections

"I WAS AN EXCEPTION"

He [Bill W.] said to me, gently and simply, "Do you
think that you are one of us?"
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 413

During my drinking life I was convinced I was an exception.
I thought I was beyond petty requirements and had the right
to be excused. I never realized that the dark counterbalance
of my attitude was the constant feeling that I did not
"belong." At first, in A.A., I identified with others only
as an alcoholic. What a wonderful awakening for me it has
been to realize that, if human beings were doing the best
they could, then so was I! All of the pains, confusions and
joys they feel are not exceptional, but part of my life,
just as much as anybody's.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step Twelve is, "Having had a spiritual awakening as
the result of these steps, we tried to carry this
message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles
in all our affairs." Note that the basis of our
effectiveness in carrying the message to others is the
reality of our own spiritual awakening. If we have not
changed, we cannot be used to change others. To keep
this program, we must pass it on to others. We cannot
keep it for ourselves. We may lose it unless we give it
away. It cannot flow into us and stop; it must continue
to flow into us as it flows out to others.

Meditation For The Day

"Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you."
When you are faced with a problem beyond your strength,
you must turn to God by an act of faith. It is that turning
to God in each trying situation that you must cultivate.
The turning may be one of glad thankfulness for God's grace
in you life. Or your appeal to God may be a prayerful
claiming of His strength to face a situation and finding
that you have it when the time comes. Not only the power to
face trials, but also the comfort and joy of God's nearness
and companionship are yours for the asking.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to draw near to God each day in prayer.
I pray that I may feel His nearness and His strength in my life.

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

As Bill Sees It

Neither Dependence nor Self-Sufficiency, p.265

When we insisted, like infants, that people protect and take care of
us or that the world owed us a living, then the result was
unfortunate. The people we most loved often pushed us aside or
perhaps deserted us entirely. Our disillusionment was hard to bear.

We 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 refused to learn 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.

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

We are now on a different basis: the basis of trusting and relying
upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. Just to
the extent that we do as we think He would have us do, and humbly
rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.

1. 12 & 12, p.115
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.68

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

Walk In Dry Places

When resentment Returns
Inventory
It’s surprising and even humiliating to find an old resentment
flaring up, sometimes years after we thought it had been put to rest.
When that happens, we wonder how thorough we really were in
releasing the resentment in the first place.
The secret of handling this problem is to turn the old resentment
over to our Higher Power without wasting time wondering why it
came up again. We need to deal with it as if it were a brand-new
problem; and in a sense, it is.
As for questioning our past sincerity, that too is a waste of time.
We are always trying to do our best with the understanding we
have for each day. Being too hard on us does not make it easier
to practice our program. Resentments can and do return, but they
don't have to destroy us.
I'll realize today that I'm always susceptible to any of my ongoing problems,
including resentment. Fortunately, I have my program for dealing with
them when they occur.

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

Keep It Simple

. . . he who finds himself loses his misery. Matthew Arnold
We have lost a lot of misery. In it’s place inside us, a spirit grows. . .
as love is added.
Especially self-love. In our illness, we came to hate ourselves. It was
really our illness we hated. We couldn’t find ourselves. All we saw was
what others saw---our illness.
In recovery, we’ve found ourselves again. We’ve found we’re good people.
We’ve also come to love the world around us. We see we have something
to offer this world---ourselves.
Why? Because we have found ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: I’m so glad to be alive. At times life hurts, but, in living,
I found You. Thank-you Higher Power. I pray that we may always be close.
Action for the Day: I will list ten great things I’ve discovered about myself
in recovery.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Who will I be today? The "Cosmopolitan" woman, the little girl, the scholar,
the mother? Who will I be to answer the needs of others, and yet answer the
needs of me? --Deidra Sarault
We wear many hats. One aspect of our maturity is our ability to balance our
roles. It's often quite difficult to do so; however, the program offers us many
tools for balancing our lives.
Fulfilling some of the needs of significant others in our lives brings us joy. Our
own needs must be given priority, though. We cannot give away what we don't
have, and we have nothing unless we give sincere attention and love to ourselves.
In years gone by, we may have taken too little care of others, or we overdid it.
In either case, we probably neglected ourselves. Most of us starved ourselves
spiritually, many of us emotionally, a few physically. We were all too often
"all-or-nothing" women.
Today we're aware of our choices. We've been making a number of good ones
lately: We're abstinent. We're living the Steps. And we're choosing how to
spend our time, and what to do with our lives. But no choice will turn out
very well if we haven't taken care of ourselves.
I will center on myself. I will nurture the maturing woman within and then reach out.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

This fourth edition includes the Twelve Concepts for World Service and revises the three sections of personal stories as follows. One new story has been added to Part I, and tow that originally appeared in Part III have been repositioned there; six stories have been deleted. Six of the stories in Part II have been carried over, eleven new ones have been added, and eleven taken out. Part III now includes twelve new stories; eight were removed (in addition to the tow that were transferred to Part I).

p. xii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

They left this with me to think over, and I lay there on that hospital bed and went back over and reviewed my life. I thought of what liquor had done to me, the opportunities that I had discarded, the abilities that had been given to me and how I had wasted them, and I finally came to the conclusion, that if I didn't want to quit, I certainly ought to want to, and that I was willing to do anything in the world to stop drinking.

pp. 186-187

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Now that we're in A.A. 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.

p. 92

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

Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of
its strength.
--Soberbyker

"He who would have fruit must climb the tree."
--Thomas Fuller

"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend."
--Theophrastus

"The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which
includes not only others but ourselves as well."
--Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

"If one could only learn to appreciate the little things...
A song that takes you away, for there are those who cannot hear.
The beauty of a sunset, for there are those who cannot see.
The warmth and safety of your home, for there are those who are homeless.
Time spent with good friends for there are those who are lonely.
A walk along the beach for there are those who cannot walk.
The little things are what life is all about.
Search your soul and learn to appreciate."
--Shadi Souferian

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LOVE

"Take away love and our earth
is a tomb."
-- Robert Browning

Spirituality is essentially love. It is the love that suffers and grows in
the acceptance of my compulsive and obsessive behavior. It is the love
that requires a knowledge of "self" in order to give understanding and
respect to others. Spirituality is that loving vulnerability that creates
healing in recovery. It provides meaning to life and relationships.

The world is a creative place, and we will only find happiness when we
begin to create. God has created us to take and make -- give and
receive. With the suffering, loneliness, struggle and acceptance comes
a love that is real and alive.

Teach me to live in life and not merely exist.

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

Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.
Psalm 132:7

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23

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

Daily Inspiration

Your happiness is happening right now unless you chose not to see it.
Lord, I trust in Your presence and therefore I am always able to see
You work in my life.

Everything we need to deal with life's problems lies within us. Our trials
are tests to see if we can discover the solution. Lord, I call out Your name
when I face my difficulties and together we will overcome them.

[bluidkiti]

September 24

Daily Reflections

VIGILANCE

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, p. 33

Today I am an alcoholic. Tomorrow will be no different.
My alcoholism lives within me now and forever. I must
never forget what I am. Alcohol will surely kill me if
I fail to recognize and acknowledge my disease on a daily
basis. I am not playing a game in which a loss is a
temporary setback. I am dealing with my disease, for which
there is no cure, only daily acceptance and vigilance.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Let us continue with Step Twelve. We must practice these
principles in all our affairs. This part of the twelfth
step must not be overlooked. It is the carrying on of the
whole program. We do not just practice these principles in
regard to our drinking problem. We practice them in ALL our
affairs. We do not give one compartment of our lives to God
and keep the other compartments to ourselves. We give our
whole lives to God and we try to do His will in every respect.
"Herein lies our growth, herein lies all the promise of the
future, and ever-widening horizon." Do I carry the A.A.
principles with me wherever I go?

Meditation For The Day

"Lord, to whom shall we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words
of eternal life." The words of eternal life are the words
from God controlling your true being, controlling the real
spiritual you. They are the words from God which are heard
by you in your heart and mind when these are wide open to
His spirit. These are the words of eternal life which express
the true way you are to live. They say to you in the stillness
of your heart and mind and soul: "Do this and live."

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may follow the dictates of my conscience.
I pray that I may follow the inner urging of my soul.

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

As Bill Sees It

Give Thanks, p.266

Though I still find it difficult to accept today's pain and anxiety
with any great degree of serenity--as those more advanced in the
spiritual life seem able to do--I can give thanks for present pain
nevertheless.

I find the willingness to do this by contemplating the lessons
learned from past suffering--lessons which have led to the
blessings I now enjoy. I can remember how the agonies of
alcoholism, the pain of rebellion and thwarted pride, have often
led me to God's grace, and so to a new freedom.

Grapevine, March 1962

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

Walk In Dry Places

Willingness to listen
Willingness
Why is it that we'll accept information from some people but not from
others? Many people tried to advise us while we were drinking; why
would we listen only to recovering alcoholics?
We can't answer that question, except to say that most human beings are
willing to listen only to certain people at certain times. That's why business
organizations have to select sales people carefully; customers will respond to
some people, but not to others.
As we grow in sobriety, however, we develop the willingness to listen to people
we would have once avoided. We can find wonderful ideas in all sorts of places
and from all types of people. As we become more open-minded and willing, we
can listen more and learn more.
My prejudices and fears of the past kept me from listening to people who would
have helped me. I'll be more open-minded and willing today.

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

Keep It Simple

To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.--- Will Durant
Sometimes we say bad things about others. When we do this, it makes us look
bad too.
Our friends worry what we might say about them behind their backs. They’re
afraid to trust us. We become known as gossips.
The things we say about other people tell a lot about us. We are kind or unkind.
We gossip or we don’t. This doesn’t mean we have to say everyone is wonderful
all the time. As we work our program to see ourselves better, we begin to see other
people more clearly too. We see their strong points and their weak points. But we
can know these things without gossiping about them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see others clearly, and in their best
light. Let me bring out the good in others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list the people I’m closest to at work, school, and
home. I’ll think of how I talk about them to others. Am I kind?

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Woman must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she
must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression. --Margaret Sanger
Let us not stifle ourselves any longer. Let us dare to dream and realize those
dreams. Let us dare to take risks, having faith that to advance in any respect
implies taking risks. Fortunately, we have the support of the program and one
another to cushion the fall, if it should come. But more important, we have one
another's example to inspire us as we contemplate our own agenda for self-
expression.
Many of us for far too long passively watched others move forward. No
longer need we be passive observers, but the familiarity of no action, no
choice making, and irresponsibility, makes passivity attractive at times.
We must remember responsible choices, for only those make possible our
very special contributions.
Not every day do we awaken with the strength needed to "do our part."
But the strength will be available just as quickly as we call for it. Alone,
we are strugglers; however, we have a ready partnership, and it guarantees
us guidance, wisdom, and strength when we ask for it.
I have so much to offer other women. And I need another's example. Every
expression of my strength will boost another woman's strength. I will give.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

PREFACE

All the changes made over the years in the Big Book (A.A. members' fond nickname for this volume) have had the same purpose: to represent the current membership of Alcoholics Anonymous more accurately, and thereby to reach more alcoholics. If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the firty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or, more important, "Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."

p. xii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

I was willing to admit to myself that I had hit bottom, that I had gotten hold of something that I didn't know how to handle by myself. So, after reviewing these things and realizing what liquor had cost me, I went to this Higher Power which, to me, was God, without any reservation, and admitted that I was completely powerless over alcohol, and that I was willing to do anything in the world to get rid of the problem. In fact, I admitted that from now on I was willing to let God take over, instead 0f me. Each day I would try to find out what His will was, and try to follow that, rather than trying to get Him to always agree that the things I thought of myself were the things best for me. So, when they came back, I told them.

p. 187

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means. It will become more and more evident as we go forward that it is pointless to become angry, or to get hurt by people who, like us, are suffering from the pains of growing up.

p. 92

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"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host."
--Maya Angelou

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in
other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you."
--Dale Carnegie

"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince
a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give
lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long
enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround
yourself with optimistic people."
--Zig Ziglar

"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not
remains a fool forever."
--Chinese Proverb

"It takes time to build a corporate work of art. It takes time to build a
life. And it takes time to develop and grow. So give yourself, your
enterprise, and your family the time they deserve and the time they
require."
--Jim Rohn

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

GOD

"God is not a cosmic bellboy."
-- Harry Emerson Fosdick

My understanding of God is within the context of freedom. God is
involved in His world but He allows it an autonomy. We are not
puppets on a string. When things begin to go wrong, God does not
interfere and make changes (usually) without our cooperation. God
reveals the extent of His love by allowing us a creative responsibility
in our lives.

For years I did not understand this. I thought that if I prayed enough,
He would answer all my prayers and come to my rescue. When He
didn't, I grew confused, angry and resentful. What was I doing wrong?
Where was God in my life? He didn't love me. Why wasn't God my
cosmic co-dependent?

Today I love his detachment. Today I grow in my freedom. Today I
cooperate with His miracle.

Lord, thank You for allowing me the freedom to fail.

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"The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives
me life."
Job 33:4

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I
have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the
righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Philippians 3:7-9

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Daily Inspiration

Each of us has important gifts to share and things to do. Lord, may I be
valuable to those that need my value and do what I can to make a joyful difference.

Prayer may not always change a situation, but it will always change us.
Lord, I accept Your answers to my prayers because I know that they will
always be right and, in Your wisdom, best for me.

[bluidkiti]

September 25

Daily Reflections

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth:
Job or no job -- wife or no wife -- we simply do not stop
drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people
ahead of dependence on God.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98

Before coming to A.A., I always had excuses for taking a
drink: "She said . . . , " "He said . . . ," "I got fired
yesterday," "I got a great job today." No area of my life
could be good if I drank again. In sobriety my life gets
better each day. I must always remember not to drink, to
trust God, and to stay active in A.A. Am I putting anything
before my sobriety, God, and A.A. today?

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Let us consider the term "spiritual experience" as given
in Appendix II of the Big Book: "A spiritual experience
is something that brings about a personality change. By
surrendering our lives to God as we understand Him, we
are changed. The nature of this change is evident in
recovered alcoholics. This personality change is not
necessarily in the nature of a sudden and spectacular
upheaval. We do no need to acquire an immediate and
overwhelming God-consciousness followed at once by a vast
change in feeling and outlook. In most cases, the change
is gradual." Do I see a gradual and continuing change in
myself?

Meditation For The Day

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I
will give you rest." For rest from the care of life, you
can turn to God each day in prayer and communion. Real
relaxation and serenity comes from a deep sense of the
fundamental goodness of the universe. God's everlasting
arms are underneath all and will support you. Commune with
God, not so much for petitions to be granted as for the
rest that comes from relying on His will and His purposes
for your life. Be sure of God's strength available to you,
be conscious of His support, and wait quietly until that
true rest from God fills your being.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be conscious of God's support today.
I pray that I may rest safe and sure therein.

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As Bill Sees It

Behind Our Excuses, p.267

As excuse-makers and rationalizers, we drunks are champions. It
is the business of the psychiatrist to find the deeper causes for
our conduct. Though uninstructed in psychiatry, we can, after a
little time in A.A., see that our motives have not been what we thought
they were, and that we have been motivated by forces previously
unknown to us. Therefore we ought to look, with the deepest respect,
interest, and profit, upon the example set us by psychiatry.

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

"Spiritual growth through the practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps,
plus the aid of a good sponsor, can usually reveal most of the
deeper reasons for our character defects, at least to a degree that
meets our practical needs. Nevertheless, we should be grateful that
our friends in psychiatry have so strongly emphasized the necessity to
search for false and often unconscious motivations."

1. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.236
2. Letter, 1966

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Walk In Dry Places

Willingness to listen
Willingness
Why is it that we'll accept information from some people but not from
others? Many people tried to advise us while we were drinking; why
would we listen only to recovering alcoholics?
We can't answer that question, except to say that most human beings
are willing to listen only to certain people at certain times. That's why
business organizations have to select sales people carefully; customers
will respond to some people, but not to others.
As we grow in sobriety, however, we develop the willingness to listen to
people we would have once avoided. We can find wonderful ideas in all
sorts of places and from all types of people. As we become more
open-minded and willing, we can listen more and learn more.
My prejudices and fears of the past kept me from listening to people
who would have helped me. I'll be more open-minded and willing today.

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Keep It Simple

Martyrs set bad examples---David Russell
Sometimes we call people “martyrs.” We sometimes think of them
as victims. They suffer, but sometimes not for a cause. They play
“poor me.” They want people to notice how much they suffer. They
are afraid to really live. These are the people who set bad examples.
True martyrs died for causes they believed in. We remember them
because they were so full of energy and spirit. Recovery helps us
live better. Let’s go for it!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for giving me energy
and for healing my spirit. Help me live fully by putting my life in
Your care.
Action for the Day: What kind of example do I set? Does my life
reflect joy for life and recovery?

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Each Day a New Beginning

...we do not always like what is good for us in this world. --Eleanor Roosevelt
Most of us can look back and recall how we fought a particular change.
How certain we were that we wouldn't survive the upheaval! Perhaps we
lost a love or were forced to leave a home or a job. Retrospect allows
us to see the good of the change, and we can see the necessary part
each change has played in our development as recovering women.
We've had to change to cover the distances we've traveled. And
we'll have to continue changing.
The program and its structure, and our faith in that structure, can
ease the harsh consequences of change. Our higher power wants
only the best for us, of that we can be sure. However, the best may
not always "fit" when first we try it. Patience, trust, and prayer are a
winning combination when the time comes for us to accept a change.
We'll know when it's coming. Our present circumstances will begin to pinch.
Change means growth. It's a time for celebration, not dread. It means
I am ready to move ahead--that I have "passed" the current test.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword to First Edition

This is the Foreword as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary. We think this account of our experiences will help everyone to better understand the alcoholic. Many do not comprehend that the alcoholic is a very sick person. And besides, we are sure that our way of living had its advantages for all.

p. xiii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

One of the fellows, I think it was Doc, said, "Well, you want to quit?" I said, "Yes, Doc, I would like to quit, at least for five, six, or eight months, until I get things straightened up, and begin to get the respect of my wife and some other people back, and get my finances fixed up and so on." And they both laughed very heartily, and said, "That's better than you've been doing, isn't it?" Which of course was true. They said, "We've got some bad news for you. It was bad news for us, and it will probably be bad news for you. Weather you quit six days, months, or years, if you go out and take a drink or two you'll end up in the hospital tied down, just like you have been in these past six months. You are an alcoholic." As far as I know that was the first time I had ever paid any attention to that word. I figured I was a drunk. And they said, " No, you have a disease, and it doesn't make any difference how long you do without it, after a drink or two you'll end up just like you are now." That certainly was real disheartening news, at the time.

pp. 187-188

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Such a radical change in our outlook will take time, maybe a lot of time. Not many people can truthfully assert that they love everybody. Most of us must admit that we have loved but a few; that we have been quite indifferent to the many so long as none of them gave us trouble; and as for the remainder--well, we have really disliked or hated them. Although these attitudes are common enough, we A.A.'s find we need something much better in order to keep our balance. We can't stand it if we hate deeply. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.

pp. 92-93

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One should not give up, neglect, or forget for a moment his inner life,
but he must learn to work in it, with it, and out of it, so that the unity
of his soul may break out in all his activities.
--Meister Eckhart

All people, have goodness in their hearts and greatness in their souls.
--Shelley

The more I let go of my own suffering and self-pity, I can see those
around me with the eyes of love and compassion. I am
becoming more aware of other people's pain and unhappiness today
and I will reach out to them in loving ways that
heal me while helping them to heal.
--Ruth Fishel

Today I am living in the moment, instead of living for a moment.

"Don't go through life, GROW through life."
--Eric Butterworth

If you hang out in a barber shop long enough, you are going to get a haircut.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PRAYER

"Prayer is not asking. It is a
language of the soul."
-- Mohandas Gandhi

At school I was told that prayer is "talking to God". Then I discovered
that prayer is more than this -- prayer is a relationship with God. It is
a two-way system -- I talk to God but I must also listen to Him. Like
any relationship that is going to work and grow, it needs time. I must
spend time developing my relationship with God. I must create an
awareness of his presence in my life because I believe He is always
there for me.

But more than this, prayer is a yearning for truth within the center of
my being. In prayer I get in touch with that part of me that will be
forever restless until it finds rest, eternal rest, in Him.

O God, prayer is my journey into You.

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How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony.
Psalm 133:1

"Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called ...
bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Ephesians 4:1-3

"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is
good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one
another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the
Spirit, serve the Lord."
Romans 12:9-11

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Daily Inspiration

Every decision we make is not critical nor is every mistake fatal.
Lord, help me keep things in perspective and avoid the panic such thinking creates.

Take time to learn from the mistakes of others. We don't have time
to make all of them ourselves. Lord, guide me onto paths that lead me to You.

[bluidkiti]

September 26

Daily Reflections

OUR CHILDREN

The alcoholic may find it hard to re-establish friendly
relations with his children. . . . In time they will see
that he is a new man and in their own way they will let
him know it. . . . From that point on, progress will be
rapid. Marvelous results often follow such a reunion.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 134

While on the road to recovery I received a gift that
could not be purchased. It was a card from my son in
college, saying, "Dad, you can't imagine how glad I
am that everything is okay. Happy Birthday, I love you."
My son had told me that he loved me before. It had been
during the previous Christmas holidays, when he had said
to me, while crying, "Dad, I love you! Can't you see what
you're doing to yourself?" I couldn't. Choked with emotion,
I had cried, but this time, when I received my son's card,
my tears were tears of joy, not desperation.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"The acquiring of an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness,
resulting in a dramatic transformation, though frequent, is by
no means the rule. Most of our spiritual experiences are of the
educational variety, and they develop slowly over a period of
time. Quite often friends of newcomers are aware of the
difference long before they are themselves. They finally
realize that they have undergone a profound alteration in
their reaction to life and that such a change could hardly have
been brought about by themselves alone." Is my outlook on
life changing for the better?

Meditation For The Day

Look at the world as your Father's house. Think of all people
you meet as guests in you Father's house, to be treated with
love and consideration. Look at yourself as a servant in your
father's house, as a servant of all. Think of no work as beneath
you. Be ever ready to do all you can for others who need your
help. There is gladness in God's service. There is much
satisfaction in serving the highest that you know. Express your
love for God in service to all who are living with you in your
Father's house.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God.
I pray that my work may be a small repayment for His grace
so freely given me.

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As Bill Sees It

Those Other People, p.268

"Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other
people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such
people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with
my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own
resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to
anybody.

"So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if
there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to
remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of
others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining
emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the
unreasonableness of sick people.

"Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive
others--also myself. Have you recently tried this?"

Letter, 1946

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Walk In Dry Places

The Limited and Unlimited
Spiritual growth.
In our human experience, we face one imitation after another. We are
always up against limited time energy, limited knowledge.
Yet everything we're learning tells us that all of these are without limit
in the universal. In terms of energy, for example, we know that we
would be rich beyond belief if we could really tap the sun's energy that
rushes to the earth.
What we call human progress may really refer to the gaining of knowledge
that enables us to shake off limitations. We actually did that by becoming
sober in our 12 Step program. Now we're learning to extend our limits in
many other ways; and though we are human and limited, we surely have
not begun to each any limits as far as God is concerned. Limited though
we seem to be, we're part of a Universe that is without limits.
I'll focus today on the possibility of extending my limits, knowing that
this is what God has planned for me.

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Keep It Simple

The distance doesn’t matter; only the first step is difficult.---Mme. Marquise du Deffand
During our addiction, we were on a path leading to death---death of our
spirit, mind, and body.
On that path, we tired not to think about where it would lead. We didn’t
want to get there. We just followed the path toward death, with one drink,
pill, snort or toke at a time.
Now we’ve chosen a new path for our lives. Making that choice was hard.
We knew only the old path. We were afraid to change. But we did it. That
was the hardest part.
We are excited to follow our new path. We know it leads to good things.
We can follow the map---the Twelve Steps---and enjoy the trip. It will last
as long as we live, and the map will guide us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me choose the path of life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll study the map for my life by reading the Twelve Steps.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Why is life so tragic, so like a little strip of pavement over an abyss? I look
down; I feel giddy; I wonder how I am ever to walk to the end. --Virginia Woolf
As we look toward the hours ahead, we can be thankful that we need be
concerned with only a single day's worth of hours. No more. What may
come tomorrow, a decision that might be necessary next week, a big change
in our lives coming next year, all will be handled with ease, when the time is right.
How fortunate we are, those of us who share this program for living! Our
worries about the future are over, if we want them to be. We need to take
only one step at a time. One day at a time. And always in the care of God.
Relief from our lives of worry is immediate when we live the axiom, "Let go and let God."
Life does present us with tragedies, and we learn from them. They need not
detour us, however. In fact, they strengthen us and encourage personal growth.
And no experience will ever be more than we and our higher power can handle.
I will turn to the program and everything it offers today. Just today, and no more,
is my concern.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreward to First Edition

This is the Foreward as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

It is important that we remain anonymous because we are too few, at present to handle the overwhelming number of personal appeals which may result from this publication. Being mostly business or professional folk, we could not well carry on our occupations in such an event. We would like it understood that our alcoholic work is an avocation.

p. xiii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

The next question they asked was, "You can quit twenty-four hours, can't you?" I said, "Sure, yes, anybody can do that, for twenty-four hours." They said, "That's what we're talking about. Just twenty-four hours at a time." That sure did take a load off of my mind. Every time I'd start thinking about drinking, I would think of the long, dry years ahead without having a drink; but this idea of twenty-four hours, that it was up to me from then on, was a lot of help.

p. 188

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them.
Whenever we fail any of these people, we can promptly admit it--to ourselves always, and to them also, when the admission would be helpful. Courtesy, kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes by which we may come into harmony with practically anybody. When in doubt we can always pause, saying, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do to me--today?"

p. 93

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"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for
to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they
satisfy you."
--Wayne Dyer

Every second of every moment is a new beginning.
I can start my day over any time I choose.
I can also begin my life anew at any time.
This very moment can be a new beginning!

"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted."
--Eleanor Roosevelt

"Our worth is determined by the good deeds we do, rather than
by the fine emotions we feel."
--Elias L, Magoon

"It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis."
--Margaret Bonano

"Each day provides its own gifts."
--Martial

"The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as
is rightfully possible today."
--Charles W. Eliot

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.
--Dorothy Fields

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PAIN

"You can't hold a man down
without staying down with him."
-- Booker T. Washington

I know who was holding me down in my life. I was. I know who was
bringing pain and sadness in my life. I was. I know who was making me
the victim of addiction. I was. I would beat myself up and then
complain about the bruises!

I did this because I could not "see". I had not accepted or understood
the implications of my alcoholism. Today I am beginning to take care
of myself because I have accepted my disease. I do not choose today
to be the enemy in my life -- I have surrendered to live. I do not want
to hurt anymore. I do not want to hide in guilt and fear anymore. I do
not choose to be my victim today.

God, I thank You for the freedom to determine my life and my
victories.

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“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will
reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit
will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:8

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

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Daily Inspiration

An ordinary day can become profound by realizing your importance to others
and acting on it. Lord, may I be dependable to those who depend on me
without complaints or resentments.

Rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made. Lord, my days pass so quickly.
May I have a generous heart and the time to see the needs of those around me.

[bluidkiti]

September 27

Daily Reflections

WITHOUT RESERVATION

When brimming with gratitude, one's heartbeat must surely
result in outgoing love, . . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p.37

While practicing service to others, if my successes give
rise to grandiosity, I must reflect on what brought me to
this point. What has been given joyfully, with love, must
be passed on without reservation and without expectation.
For as I grow, I find that no matter how much I give with
love, I receive much more in spirit.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been
accomplished by years of self-discipline. With few exceptions,
our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner
resource which they presently identify with their own conception
of a Power greater than themselves. Most of us think this
awareness of a Power greater than ourselves the essence of
spiritual experience. Some of us call it God-consciousness.
In any case, willingness, honesty, and open-mindedness are
the essentials of recovery." Have I tapped that inner resource
which can change my life?

Meditation For The Day

God's power in your life increases as your ability to understand
His grace increases. The power of God's grace is only limited by
the understanding and will of each individual. God's miracle-working
power is only limited in each individual soul by the lack of
spiritual vision of the soul. God respects free will, the right
of each person to accept or reject His miracle-working power.
Only the sincere desire of the soul gives Him the opportunity
to bestow it.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not limit God's power by my lack of vision.
I pray that I may keep my mind open today to His influence.

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As Bill Sees It

When Infancy Is Over, p.269

"You must remember that every A.A. group starts, as it should,
through the efforts of a single man and his friends--a founder and
his hierarchy. There is no other way.

"But when infancy is over, the original leaders always have to make
way for that democracy which springs up through the grass roots and
will eventually sweep aside the self-chosen leadership of the past."

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

Letter to Dr. Bob:
"Everywhere the A.A. groups have taken their service affairs into
their own hands. Local founders and their friends are now on the side
lines. Why so many people forget that, when thinking of the future of
our world services, I shall never understand.

"The groups will eventually take over, and maybe they will squander
their inheritance when they get it. It is probable, however, that they won't.
Anyhow, they really have grown up; A.A. is theirs; let's give it to them.

Letters
1. 1950
2. 1949

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Walk In Dry Places

The Test Of My Ideas
Change
Early in its existence, the AA fellowship tended to resist new ideas, yet did
accept many good purpose, because it screened out practices that could have
destroyed the fellowship.
But other, new ideas have been accepted and have benefited the fellowship.
How can we test a new idea before we decide to accept it?
Whatever the idea, it should be beneficial in promoting personal recovery.
If it is somehow harmful to those seeking recovery, it should not be accepted.
If this simple test is applied honestly and with fairness, new ideas can be
considered on their own merits and can usually be discussed in an atmosphere
of reason and understanding. The AA traditions will support most sound ideas.
Knowing that God is the source of new ideas, we can be open to additional guides
that can help us along the way. I'll be on the lookout today for any helpful ideas.

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Keep It Simple

Honesty is the backbone of our recovery program. Honesty opens us up. It breaks
down the walls we had built around our secret world. Those walls made a prison for
us. But all of that is now changed. We are free.
Honesty has made us wise. We aren’t sneaking drinks anymore. We don’t have a
stash to protect.
People who didn’t trust us now depend on our honesty. People who worked hard to
avoid us, now seek us out. Self-honesty is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are truth. I pray that I may not turn away
from truth. I will not lie. My life depends on honesty.
Action For the Day: For twenty or thirty minutes, I will think about how learning to
be honest has changed my life.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The wisdom of all ages and cultures emphasizes the tremendous power our thoughts
have over our character and circumstances. --Liane Cordes
"As we think, so we are." We are gifted with the personal power to make thoughtful
choices and thus decide whom we are. Our actions and choices combine to create our
character, and our character influences the circumstances of our lives.
Our personal mind power will work to our advantage when we think positively, or it
will contribute to our disadvantage. Imagining our good fortunes will prepare us for
them. Imagining the successful completion of a task heightens and strengthens the
commitment we must make daily to it. Imagining the steps necessary to the successful
accomplishment of any goal directs our efforts so we don't falter along the way. Our
minds work powerfully for our good. And just as powerfully to our detriment, when
fears intrude on all our thoughts.]
The program has given me positive personal power; it lies in the relationship I have
with my higher power. My outlook and attitude toward life reveals the strength of my
connection to God. I will work with God and imagine my good fortune today.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreward to First Edition

This is the Foreward as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

When writing or speaking publicly about alcoholism, we urge each of our Fellowship to omit his personal name, designating himself instead as "a member of Alcoholics Anonymous."
Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we shall be greatly handicapped.

p. xiii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

(At this point, the Editors intrude just long enough to supplement Bill D.'s account, that of the man on the bed, with that of Bill W., the man who sat by the side of the bed.) Says Bill W.:
Nineteen years ago last summer, Dr. Bob and I saw him (Bill D.) for the first time. Bill lay on his hospital bed and looked at us in wonder.
Two days before this, Dr. Bob had said to me, "If you and I are going to stay sober, we had better get busy." Straightway, Bob called Akron's City Hospital and asked for the nurse on the receiving ward. He explained that he and a man from New York had a cure for alcoholism. did she have an alcoholic customer on whom it could be tried? Knowing Bob of old, she jokingly replied, "Well, Doctor, I suppose you've already tried it yourself?"
Yes, she did have a customer—a dandy. He just arrived in D.T.'s. Had blacked the eyes of two nurses, and now they had him strapped down tight. Would this one do? After prescribing medicines, Dr. Bob ordered, "Put him in a private room. We'll be down as soon as he clears up."
Bill didn't seem too impressed. Looking sadder than ever, he wearily ventured, "Well, this is wonderful for you fellows, but it can't be for me. My case is so terrible that I'm scared to go out of this hospital at all. You don't have to sell me religion, either. I was at one time a deacon in the church and I still believe in God. But I guess He doesn't believe much in me."
Then Dr. Bob said, "Well, Bill, maybe you'll feel better tomarrow. Wouldn't you like to see us again?"
"Sure I would," replied Bill, "Maybe it won't do any good, but I'd like to see you both, anyhow. You certainly know what you are talking about.
Looking in later we found Bill with his wife, Henrietta. Eagerly he pointed to us saying, "These are the fellows I told you about; they are the ones who understands." Bill then related how he had lain awake nearly all night. Down in the pit of his depression, new hope had somehow been born. The thought flashed through his mind, "If they can do it, I can do it!" Over and over he said this to himself. Finally, out of his hope, there burst conviction. Now he was sure. Then came a great joy. At length peace stole over him and he slept.
Before our visit was over, Bill suddenly turned to his wife and said, "Go fetch my clothes, dear. We're going to get up and get out of here." Bill D. walked out of that hospital a free man never to drink again.
A.A.'s Number One Group dates from that very day.
(Bill D. now continues his story.)

p. 188-189

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

When evening comes, perhaps just before going to sleep, many of us draw up a balance sheet for the day. This is a good place to remember that inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. It's a poor day indeed when we haven't done something right. As a matter of fact, the waking hours are usually well filled with things that are constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see. Even when we have tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of all. Under these conditions, the pains of failure are converted into assets. Out of them we receive the stimulation we need to go forward. Someone who knew what he was talking about once remarked that pain was the touchstone of all spiritual progress. How heartily we A.A.'s can agree with him, for we know that the pains of drinking had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity.

pp. 93-94

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

Come, let us give a little time to folly... and even in a melancholy
day let us find time for an hour of pleasure.
--Saint Bonaventura

"Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, and a lot more rewarding."
--Harvey Mackay

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is
invisible to the eye.
--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Real success requires respect for and faithfulness to the highest
human values - honesty, integrity, self-discipline, dignity, compassion,
humility, courage, personal responsibility, courtesy, and human service.
--Michael DeBakey, M.D.

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it.
--George Weinberg

Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which
discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness.
--May Sarton

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ACHIEVEMENT

"Do not mistake activity for
achievement."
-- Mabel Newcomber

Often I am running in circles and not getting anywhere. I spend
forever "doing" things and yet I know I am not achieving anything. I
am going nowhere in my life!

"Be still and know that I am God." I need to stop. I need to listen to
the pain that is within. I need to relax in my gratitude. I need to rest in
myself. Tomorrow has not yet come -- today I take time for me.

Lord, I hear Your still small voice. Today I rest in me and discover
Thee.

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

"We ought to obey God rather than men."
Acts 5:29

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools
shall be destroyed.
Proverbs, 13:20

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he
considered me faithful, appointing me to his service."
I Timothy 1:12

"To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and
happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing
up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is
meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
Ecclesiastes 2:26

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

Daily Inspiration

Get rid of the excuses for not doing those things that make you happy. Lord,
Your peace within me calms my spirit and opens my heart to recognize the joy
of this day.

Forget the useless and unhealthy things of your past that clutter your mind so
that you can live a life that is alive and vibrant. Lord, help me to discard all
that clouds my day so that I am able to live the life that You intend me to live.

[bluidkiti]

September 28

Daily Reflections

LOVE WITHOUT STRINGS

Practical experience shows that nothing will so much
insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with
other alcoholics.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89

Sponsorship held two surprises for me. First, that
my sponsees cared about me. What I had thought was
gratitude was more like love. They wanted me to be
happy, to grow and remain sober. Knowing how they felt
kept me from drinking more than once. Second, I
discovered that I was able to love someone else
responsibly, with respectful and genuine concern for
that person's growth. Before that time, I had thought
that my ability to care sincerely about another's
well-being had atrophied from lack of use. To learn
that I can love, without greed or anxiety, has been
one of the deepest gifts the program has given. Gratitude
for that gift has kept me sober many times.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

For the past two months we have been studying passages
and steps from the Big Book. Now why not read the book
itself again? It is essential that the A.A. program become
part of us. We must have its essentials at our finger tips.
We cannot study the big book too much or too often. The
more we read it and study it, the better equipped we are
to think A.A., act A.A., and live A.A. We cannot know too
much about the program. The chances are that we will never
know enough. But we can make as much of it our own as
possible. How much of the Big Book have I thoroughly mastered?

Meditation For The Day

We need to accept the difficulties and disciplines of life
so as to fully share the common life of other people. Many
things that we must accept in life are not to be taken so
much as being necessary for us personally, as to be experienced
in order that we may share in the sufferings and problems of
humanity. We need sympathy and understanding. We must share
many of the experiences of life, in order to understand and
sympathize with others. Unless we have been through the same
experiences, we cannot understand other people or their makeup
well enough to be able to help them.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept everything that comes my way as part
of life. I pray that I may make use of it in helping my fellow men.

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

As Bill Sees It

Honesty And Recovery, p.270

In taking an inventory, a member might consider questions such as
these:

How did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other
people and me? What people were hurt, and how badly? Just how
did I react at the time? Did I burn with guilt? Or did I insist that I
was the pursued and not the pursuer, and thus absolve myself?

How have I reacted to frustration in sexual matters? When
denied, did I become vengeful or depressed? Did I take it out on
other people? If there was rejection, or coldness at home, did I
use this as a reason for promiscuity?

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

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.

1. 12 & 12 ,pp. 50-51
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 99-100

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

Walk In Dry Places

The Role of self-sufficiency
Success
When AA was first launched, the ideal of the self made person was often exalted. Certain outstanding individuals seem to have achieved amazing success entirely by their own efforts. In the drive to be such a self made person, AA co-founder Bill W. was swept away in a torrent of alcoholic grandeur.
We know today that there's no such thing as a self-made person. We all need each other, and at various times we would have been lost without assistance taht was generously and freely given. Everyone has had such assistance at one time or anotehr. WE are not entirely self-sufficient.
The true role of self-sufficiency is to use our talent and opportunities wisely and beneficially in cooperation with others. Our own success in whatever we do will be enhanced as we continue to acknowledge our need for others.
Throughout the day, there will be many times when I need the help of others, and many times when others will need my help. I will give and receive help gratefully.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.
—Golda Meir
Living a principled life is what the inner self desires. It's what God desires. And it's what the healthier ego desires. Living the program's principles is giving each of us practice in living a principled life, one that is free of guilt for our shortcomings.
Having principles assures direction. We need not ponder long how to proceed in any situation, what decision to make regarding any matter, when we are guided by principles. They offer us completeness. They help us define who we are and who we will be, in any turn of events.
As women, particularly as recovering women, we have struggled with self-definition. Often we were as others defined us, or we merely imitated those close by. Sometimes we may slip into old behavior and lose sight of who we are and how we want to live. It's then that the program's principles come immediately to our aid.
There is no doubt about how today should be lived. I will do it with confidence and joy.

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

Keep It Simple

Honesty is the backbone of our recovery program. Honesty opens us up. It breaks down the walls we had built around our secret world. Those walls made a prison for us. But all of that is now changed. We are free.
Honesty has made us wise. We aren’t sneaking drinks anymore. We don’t have a stash to protect.
People who didn’t trust us now depend on our honesty. People who worked hard to avoid us, now seek us out. Self-honesty is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are truth. I pray that I may not turn away from truth. I will not lie. My life depends on honesty.
Action For the Day: For twenty or thirty minutes, I will think about how learning to be honest has changed my life.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreward to First Edition

This is the Foreward as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

We are not an organization in the conventional sense of the word. There are no fees or dues whatsoever. The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking. We are not allied with any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone. We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted.

pp. xiii-xiv

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

It was in the next two or three days after I had first met Doc and Bill, That I finally came to a decision to turn my will over to God and to go along with this program the best that I could. Their talk and action had instilled me with a certain amount of confidence, although I was not too absolutely certain. I wasn't afraid that the program wouldn't work, but I still was doubtful whether I would be able to hang on to the program, but I did come to the conclusion that I was willing to put everything I had into it, with God's power, and that I wanted to do just that. As soon as I had done that I did feel a great release. I knew that I had a helper that I could rely upon, who wouldn't fail me. If I could stick to Him and listen, I would make it. Then I remember when the boys came back, that I told them, "I have gone to this Higher Power and I have told Him that I am willing to put His world first, above everything. I have already done it, and I am willing to do it again here in the presence of you or I am willing to say it any place, anywhere in the world from now on and not be ashamed of it." And this, as I said, certainly gave me a lot of confidence, seemed to take a lot of the burden off me.

pp. 189-190

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

As we glance down the debit side of the day's ledger, we should carefully examine our motives in each thought or act that appears to be wrong. In most cases our motives won't be hard to see and understand. When prideful, angry, jealous, anxious, or fearful, we acted accordingly, and that was that. Here we need only recognize that we did act or think badly, try to visualize how we might have done better, and resolve with God's help to carry these lessons over into tomorrow, making, of course, any amends still neglected.

p. 94

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

The gift we can offer others is so simple a thing as hope.
--Daniel Berrigan

Until you value yourself, you won't value your time.
Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.
--M. Scott Peck

"This above all; to thine own self be true."
--William Shakespeare

The most important things in life aren't things.

H = Help others develop their potential. The possibilities and
rewards are endless.
E = Enlist people to help you. Having a support system improves
your ability to get the results you want.
A = Action keeps you moving forward. Do a little bit every day
and eventually you'll get to your goal.
R = Reach deep inside to find your strength. It's there if you
are willing to be courageous.
T = Trust the process. Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes time
to reap the benefits.
--Carol Gegner

Let there be more joy and laughter in your living.
--Eileen Caddy

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MISTAKES

"Good people are good because
they've come to wisdom through
failure."
-- William Saroyan

Today I am able to learn from my mistakes because I can see that they
really were mistakes! I was trying to play the game of life without a
full deck. My big mistake in life was trying to drink alcohol like a
non-alcoholic. I couldn't do it.

Drugs do not think; they react. They always work, and for me they
worked against me. Most of my failures in life stemmed from a
fundamental misconception -- alcoholics cannot drink like
non-alcoholics! This I now accept. And in a strange way that is difficult
to explain, I am a stronger person for having lived through my
alcoholism. God has become more real, the world is more
comprehensible, my life is more understandable because of the pain.

If a part of "goodness" is knowing that you are not perfect, then on a
daily basis I am becoming a good person.

God, who has created a world in which there is pain and failure, help
me to accept both as vehicles to wisdom.

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

“Come to me all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will
give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am
gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The
teaching I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is
light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him
must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

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

Daily Inspiration

Allowing yourself to be less than perfect allows you to accomplish great things in small ways. Lord, may I remove the pressure I overwhelming place on myself and do what I can when I can.

When one door shuts, immediately begin looking for the others that are opening. Lord, thank You for Your unceasing care and generosity.

[bluidkiti]

September 29

Daily Reflections

EXACTLY ALIKE

Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is
the bright spot of our lives.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89

A man came to the meeting drunk, interrupted the speakers,
stood up and took his shirt off, staggered loudly back and
forth for coffee, demanded to talk, and eventually called
the group's secretary an unquotable name and walked out. I
was glad he was there--once again I saw what I still could
be. I don't have to be drunk to want to be the exception
and the center of attention. I have often felt abused and
responded abusively when I was simply being treated as a
garden variety human being. The more the man tried to insist
he was different, the more I realized that he and I were
exactly alike.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves
some searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves
periodically. Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending
meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load?
When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I
speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am?
Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a
challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I
trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a
demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

How do I get strength to be effective and to accept
responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength
I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that
for every day I live the necessary power shall be given me.
I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day,
sure that God will give me the strength to face it. For every
task that is given me, there is also given me all the power
necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to
hold back.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may accept every task as a challenge.
I know I cannot wholly fail if God is with me.

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

As Bill Sees It

A.A. In Two Words, p.271

"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can
be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.

"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater
willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations--these are
truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They
hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by
them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Talk, 1965 (Printed In Grapevine, January 1966)

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

Walk In Dry Places

When should I be Grateful?
Gratitude
One spiritual writer believed that our only reason for gratitude should
be that we are part of God's universe. Others point out that gratitude
helps us, not God or the other people to whom we are grateful.
Their point is that it's not very uplifting simply to tie our gratitude to
certain gifts or benefits. Such gratitude is fairly shallow and is almost
no more than good manners. As recovering alcoholics, we need more
than that.
The best reason for gratitude is the outlook it creates as we cultivate it
within ourselves. We will actually feel mentally and physically uplifted if
we know true gratitude. This is the true spiritual outlook alcoholics seek
in the bottle but can find only in the new way of life.
I'll find ways to practice gratitude today without letting others know what
I'm doing.

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

Keep It Simple

Al didn’t smile for forty years. You’ve got to admire a man like that.
>From the TV show, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”
Remember how we used to live? We were always trying to cover up some
lie or mistake.
We were all like Al. Our energy was going into our illness, not into living.
Gratitude is the key word in the program. Gratitude is being thankful for
the getting to know our Higher Power. Remember what it was like to not
smile for all those years?
Recovery has given us back our smiles. What a relief! We can relax and
enjoy our new life.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll always remember what is was like when
I was using. I pray that I’ll not take my recovery for granted. I prayer for gratitude.
Action For the Day: I will list all the things the program and recovery have
given me. I will smile about them today.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Female friendships that work are relationships in which women help each
other to belong to themselves. --Louise Bernikow
To have anything worth giving to a friend, we must belong to ourselves. Are
we someone we like? Does our behavior agree with our beliefs? Do our
friends share our values, and when we are together do we support one another?
If we don't like our own company, we will try to hide our real selves. The more
we hide, the further we are running from wholeness and health. We can assess
ourselves, calmly and lovingly, so that we can keep on becoming the women we
want to be. The more congruent are our behavior and our beliefs, the more we
belong to ourselves. The better we like ourselves, the better friends we can be.
The love and sympathy of my women friends can help me in my spiritual journey
toward serenity, and I can help theirs. Today, I will accompany others on their
journey, and thus find company for my own.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreward to First Edition

This is the Foreward as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939

We shall be interested to hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly from those who have commenced work with other alcoholics. We should like to be helpful to such cases.
Inquiry by scientific, medical, and religious societies will be welcomed.

p. xiv

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

I remember telling them too that it was going to be awfully tough, because I did some other things, smoked cigarettes and played penny ante poker, sometimes bet on the horse races and they said, "Don't you think you're having more trouble with this drinking than with anything else at the present time? Don't you believe you are going to have all you can do to get rid of that?" I said, "Yes," reluctantly, "I probably will." They said, "Let's forget about those other things, that is, trying to eliminate them all at once, and concentrate on the drink." Of course, we had talked over quite a number of failings that I had and made a sort of an inventory, which wasn't to difficult, because I had an awful lot of things wrong that were very apparent to me, because I knew all about them. Then they said, "There is one more thing. You should go out and take this program to somebody else that needs it and wants it."

p. 190

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

But in other instances only the closest scrutiny will reveal what our true motives were. There are cases where our ancient enemy, rationalization, has stepped in and has justified conduct which was really wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we had good motives and reasons when we really didn't.

p. 94

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

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
--Hyman Judah Schactel

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
--Mother Theresa

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in
your years."
--Abraham Lincoln

"Being rich isn't about money. Being rich is a state of mind. Some of
us, no matter how much money we have, will never be free enough to
take time to stop and eat the heart of the watermelon. And some of us
will be rich without ever being more than a paycheck ahead of the
game."
--Harvey B. Mackay

"If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty of the sunset."
--Krishnamurti

"Sometimes you have to get to rock bottom in order to see the right way back up."
--Kate Bell

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BLACKOUTS

"It is human nature to think
wisely and act foolishly."
-- Anatole France

I experienced blackouts in my drinking. Often I would wake up and not
know where I had been, what I had said or what I had done. I would
awake to peer through windows searching for my car. I would
telephone to find out what time I had left the party and if anything had
happened. Often as I bathed I would discover bruises or bleeding from
an unremembered incident.

There were other times I knew what I had done, knew what I had said,
remembered how I behaved -- and yet still I went back for more. I
drank alcoholically for years because my pride would not allow me to
be alcoholic. I created the wisest excuses for staying sick!

Today my sobriety requires a wisdom that is based on reality.

Lord of action, teach me to place my feet alongside my best thinking.

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

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me."
Luke 9:23

A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 16:1

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

Daily Inspiration

Start something you've been putting off or finish something you've started
so that you can remove the frustration that comes with procrastination.
Lord, help me in my little way to do my little part to make this day a little better.

With our blessings come responsibilities. Much is required of those to whom much
has been given. Lord, may I use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

[bluidkiti]

September 30

Daily Reflections

THE CIRCLE AND THE TRIANGLE

The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle
stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service.
Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our
fatal obsession.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 139

Early in my A.A. life, I became employed in its services and
I found the explanation of our society's logo to be very
appropriate. First, a circle of love and service with a
well-balanced triangle inside, the base of which represents
our Recovery through the Twelve Steps. Then the other two sides,
representing Unity and Service, respectively. The three sides of
the triangle are equal. As I grew in A.A. I soon identified
myself with this symbol. I am the circle, and the sides of the
triangle represent three aspects of my personality: physical,
emotional sanity, spirituality, the latter forming the symbol's
base. Taken together, all three aspects of my personality
translate into a sober and happy life.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

There are no leaders in A.A., except as they volunteer to
accept responsibility. The work of carrying on A.A.--leading
group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other
groups, doing twelfth-step work, spreading A.A. among the
alcoholics of the community--all these things are done on a
volunteer basis. If I don't volunteer to do something concrete
for A.A., the movement is that much less effective. I must do
my fair share to carry the load. A.A. depends on all its
members to keep it alive and to keep it growing. Am I doing my
share for A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

When you look to God for strength to face responsibility and
are quiet before Him, His healing touch causes the Divine
Quiet to flow into your very being. When in weakness you cry
to God, His touch brings healing, the renewal of your courage,
and the power to meet every situation and be victorious. When
you faint by the way or are distracted by feelings of inferiority,
then rely on the touch of God's spirit to support you on your way.
Then arise and go forth with confidence.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may lay myself open today to the healing touch of God.
I pray that I may not falter or faint by the wayside, but renew
my courage through prayer.

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As Bill Sees It

A.A. In Two Words, p.271

"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can
be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.

"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater
willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations--these are
truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They
hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by
them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Talk, 1965 (Printed In Grapevine, January 1966)

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Walk In Dry Places

How do we communicate?
Carrying the message.
What we are always carries a stronger message than what we say.
This is why we're sometimes turned off by people who seek to
overwhelm us with charm. It's also why we can sometimes be
drawn to people who are quiet and unassuming.
However it works, there is a powerful message in one's unspoken
thoughts and feelings. We can usually sense, for example, the
mood of people in a room, even when little is being said. If we
spend any time with others, they will soon know much about us
even if we say little.
This silent communication may be the great secret of AA's success
in reaching those who still suffer. If we are living sober and want to
help others, that's he message we give out. That's also a form of
carrying the message.
I'll communicate today by maintaining a warm and friendly attitude
toward every person I meet, knowing that thoughts and feelings
speak louder than words.

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Keep It Simple

If we follow the Twelve Steps, we’ll leave failure behind. We may
have tried and tired to be sober, good people, but failed if we were
doing it our way. Now is the time to stop listening to ourselves and
start listening to pros, those who have gone before us.
When we follow their lead, exciting changes happen. First we stay
sober. We regain self-respect. We meet people we respect and become
friends. Our families start to trust us again. And why? Because we gave
up doing it our way and listened. We listened to the experts.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to become an expert listener.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll find someone I respect and ask how
they work their program. I’ll ask them to share their wisdom.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight
in whatever remains to them? --Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
We choose the lives we lead. We choose sadness or happiness; success
for failure; dread or excited anticipation. Whether or not we are conscious
of our choices, we are making them every moment.
Accepting full responsibility for our actions is one of the requirements of
maturity. Not always the easiest thing to do, but necessary to our further
development. An unexpected benefit of accepting our responsibility is
that it heightens our awareness of personal power. Our well being is
within our power. Happiness is within our power. Our attitude about
any condition, present or future, is within our power, if we take it.
Life is "doing unto us" only what we allow. And it will favor us with
whatever we choose. If we look for excitement, we'll find it. We can
search out the positive in any experience. All situations present seeds
of new understanding, if we are open to them. Our responses to the
events around us determine whatever meaning life offers. We are in
control of our outlook. And our outlook decides our future.
This day is mine, fully, to delight in--or to dread. The decision is always mine.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Second Edition

Figures given in this foreward describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.

Since the original Foreward to this book was written in 1939, a wholesale miracle has taken place. Our earliest printing voiced the hope "that every alcoholic who journeys will find the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. Already," continues the early text, "twos and threes and fives of us have sprung up in other communities."

p. xv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Stories

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

Of course, by this time, my business was practically non-existent. I didn't have any. Naturally, for quite a time, I wasn't too well physically, either. It took me a year, or a year and a half to get to feeling physically well, and it was rather tough, but I soon found folks whose friendship I had once had, and I found, after I had been sober for quite some little time, that these people began to act like they had in previous years, before I had gotten so bad, so that I didn't pay too awful much attention to financial gains. I spent most of my time trying to get back these friendships, and to make some recompense towards my wife, whom I had hurt a lot.

pp. 190-191

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

We "constructively criticized" someone who needed it, when our real motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned not being present, we thought we were helping others to understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel superior by pulling him down. We sometimes hurt those we love because they need to be "taught a lesson," when we really want to punish. We were depressed and complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention. This odd trait of mind and emotion, this perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one, permeates human affairs from top to bottom. This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or thought. Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building and good living. An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek.

pp. 94-95

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Practicing the program, I learned to trust God, not just believe in Him.
--Ron C.

Let your ears hear what your mouth says.
--Jewish Proverb

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is
the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.
--Mark Twain

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
--Stephen Covey

"Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow,
then this light is nearest to all of us." --Meister Eckhart

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PATIENCE

"Prayer of the modern
American: 'Dear God, I pray for
patience. And I want it right
now!'"
-- Oren Arnold

How I appreciate those times when I experience the gift of patience in
my life, not as often as I would like. That is an interesting point: I am
impatient about having patience!

Seriously, patience is when I recognize the need to "back off" -- allow
God into the driver's seat, resting in the knowledge that things happen
in God's time. This does not mean that I am not involved, but it allows
for God's comprehensive plan for His world. I can experience patience
usually when I get in touch with gratitude. Once I stop giving energy
to the "I wants", the joy of serenity breathes through my life and I
can rest. Sometimes I need to "stop" and say a loud and resonant
"thank you".

Lord, let me breathe these words into my life: "Thy will be done."

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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and
rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Matthew 6:19-20

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the
Day approaching."
Hebrews 10:25

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Daily Inspiration

Change yourself and those around you will change too. Lord, help me to
be my best so that I can bring out the best in others.

Peace comes not from having no problems, but from being able to deal with
them. Lord, bless me with the confidence and wisdom to grow from life's challenges.