AA Thoughts For Today - November

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

November 1

Character Building

Seldom did we look at character-building as something
desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for
whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We
never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true
love of man and God the daily basis of living.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 72

Thought to Ponder . . .
Character is what I am; reputation is what people think I am.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Altered Attitudes.

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

Companionship

"Letting go of everything at once
was both painful and terrifying.
I could never have accomplished this alone.
It took the help, understanding and wonderful companionship that was given so freely to me by my 'ex-alkie' friends.
This and the program of recovery
embodied in the Twelve Steps . . .
Whole new vistas were opened up for me,
new avenues of experience to be explored,
and life began to take on color and interest."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 311

Thought to Consider . . .
This is a great day to be sober, patient, tolerant,
kindly and loving.

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

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

Accountable
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"By 1940 we had begun to see that the A.A. book should belong to our society itself. Its shares should not be forever scattered among forty-nine subscribers, Ruth Hock, Henry, and me [Bill W.]. If the Foundation could acquire these outstanding shares, the book could be placed in trust for A.A. as a whole. They could no longer kick about the book's income being used to run the A.A. office.
"Trustee A. LeRoy Chipman conceived the idea of borrowing enough money from Mr. [John D., Jr.] Rockefeller, two of his sons [including then-future US Vice President Nelson], and the dinner guests to clear away certain debts and to buy all Works Publishing's shares (except Henry's and mine) from the cash subscribers at par. Every one of the cash subscribers gladly consented to this; they were happy to get out even. Mr. Chipman thereupon raised a total of $8,000 dollars, to be repaid to Mr. Rockefeller and the others out of book profits at a later date."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 189

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

"No prophet can presume to say whether the world outcome will be blazing destruction or the beginning, under God's intention, of the brightest era yet known to mankind. I am sure we AAs well comprehend this scene. In microcosm, we have experienced this identical state of terrifying uncertainty, each in his own life."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1962
"This Matter of Fear"
The Language of the Heart

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

"If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely,
or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take,
you are probably alcoholic. If that be the case, you may be
suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will
conquer."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 44~

The very practical approach to his problems, the absence of
intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the
uncanny understanding which these people had were irresistible.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, Page 160

It may be that both will decide that the way of good sense and loving kindness is to let by-gones be by-gones.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.82

With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.93

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.
Every newcomer is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward liberation from its paralyzing grip.
So it is that we first see humility as a necessity. But this is the barest beginning. To get completely away from our aversion to the idea of being humble, to gain a vision of humility as the avenue to true freedom of the human spirit, to be willing to work for humility as something to be desired for itself, takes most of us a long, long time. A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once.

Prayer for the Day: Please Lord - Please Lord, teach us to laugh again; but God, Don't ever let us forget that we cried.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

November 2

Quick Inventory

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.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 91

Thought to Ponder . . .
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen.

AA-related 'Alconym'
C A L M = Cause Anger Left Me.

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

Oldtimers
"Many oldsters who have put our AA 'booze cure'
to severe but successful tests still find
they often lack emotional sobriety.
To attain this, we must develop real maturity and balance
(which is to say humility)
in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows,
and with God."
Bill W., AA Grapevine, January 1958
c. 1967AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 244

Thought to Consider . . .
Newcomers are the lifeblood of the program,
but our oldtimers are the arteries.

*~*~*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day

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

Spirituality
From "In His Own Individual Right":
"Spirituality is an awakening or is it all the loose ends woven together into a mellow fabric? It's understanding or is it all the knowledge one need ever know? It's freedom if you consider fear slavery. It's confidence or is it the belief that a higher power will see you through any storm or gale? It's adhering to the dictates of your conscience or is it a deep, genuine, living concern for the people and the planet? I's peace of mind in the face of adversity. It's a keen and sharpened desire for survival. " New York, New York, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 5

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

"In despair, I had cried out, 'Now I am willing to do anything. If there is a God, will he show himself?' And he did. This was my first conscious contact, my first awakening. I asked from the heart, and I received."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1960
The Language of the Heart

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

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

'Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
May God Bless you and Keep you--until then.'
Alcoholics Anonymous p.164

The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.60

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.98

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?
'In my view, we of this world are pupils in a great school of life. It is intended that we try to grow, and that we try to help our fellow travelers to grow in the kind of love that makes no demands. In short, we try to move toward the image and likeness of God as we understand Him.
'When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.

Prayer for the Day: My Prayer For You -
I thought of you so much today
I went to God in prayer.
To ask Him to watch over you
and show you that I care.
My prayer for you was not for rewards
ones that you can touch or feel.
But true rewards for happiness
that are so very real.
Like love and understanding
in all the things you do.
For guidance when you need it most
to see your troubles through.
I asked Him for good health for you
so your future could be bright.
And faith to accept life's challenges
with courage to do what's right.
I gave thanks to Him for granting my prayer
to bring you peace and love.
May you feel the warmth in your life
with Gods blessings from above.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

November 3

Loneliness
The simple act of getting in touch with AA that first time washed out in an instant
the dark loneliness that had encompassed my life.
When I fearfully crept into that old building that first day, I was greeted with a gentle invitation:
"Come on in. Let's talk it over."
And everyone assured me I was not alone and need never be alone again.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 17

Thought to Ponder . . .
An open heart is never a lonely one.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Y A N A = You Are Not Alone.

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

Recovery
"Most emphatically we wish to say
that any alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems
in the light of our experience can recover,
provided he does not close his mind to spiritual concepts.
He can only be defeated by an attitude
of intolerance or belligerent denial.
We find that no one need have difficulty
with the spirituality of the program.
Willingness, honesty and open mindedness
are the essentials of recovery.
But these are indispensable"
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 570

Thought to Consider . . .
The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
W H O = Willingness, Honesty, Openmindedness

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

Undertaker or the Asylum
From: "Bill's Story"
It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though it often remains strong in other respects. My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained. Understanding myself now, I fared forth in high hope. For three or four months the goose hung high. I went to town regularly and even made a little money. Surely this was the answer - self-knowledge.
But it was not, for the frightful day came when I drank once more. The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump. After a time I returned to the hospital. This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me. My weary and despairing wife was informed that it would all end with heart failure during delirium tremens, or I would develop a wet brain, perhaps within a year. She would soon have to give me over to the undertaker or the asylum.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 7

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

"I've got a brand new feeling, gratitude -- a feeling that has visited me more and more frequently -- sometimes with the rush of cleansing tears -- sometimes with just a serene flow of mental thank-yous for some small, God-given bonus in a routine day."
Spiritual Awakenings Vol. 1
Minneapolis, Minn., April 1983
"A Rush of Gratitude,"

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

"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form
or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55~

The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears, hold good for
individuals with many different lifestyles, just as the program has
brought recovery to those of many different nationalities. The
Twelve Steps that summarize the program may be called los Doce Pasos
in one country, les Douze Etapes in another, but they trace exactly
the same path to recovery that was blazed by the earliest members of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Foreword To Third Edition, Page xxii~

I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.14

We all need the light of God's reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.97

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Above us, at the International Convention at St. Louis in 1955, floated a banner on which was inscribed the then new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity, and Service.
It is perhaps no accident that priests and seers of antiquity regarded this symbol as a means of warding off spirits of evil.
When, in 1955, we oldtimers turned over our Three Legacies to the whole movement, nostalgia for the old days blended with gratitude for the great day in which I was now living. No more would it be necessary for me to act for, decide for, or protect A.A.
For a moment, I dreaded the coming change. But this mood quickly passed. The conscience of A.A. as moved by the guidance of God could be depended upon to insure A.A.'s future. Clearly my job henceforth was to let go and let God.

Prayer for the Day: Self-respect Prayer - O God, teach me that self-respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It comes to me when I am alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when I suddenly realize that, knowing the good, I have done it; knowing the beautiful, I have served it; knowing the truth, I have spoken it.

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

November 4

One More Attempt

The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never
could we recapture the great moments of the past. There was an
insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking
obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to
do it. There was always one more attempt—and one more failure.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision for You) p. 151

Thought to Ponder . . .
When all else fails, try following directions in the Big Book.

AA-related 'Alconym'
B E S T = Been Enjoying Sobriety Today?

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

Peace of Mind
"AA has taught me that I will have peace of mind
in exact proportion to the peace of mind
I bring into the lives of other people,
and it has taught me the true meaning of the admonition
'happy are ye who know these things and do them.'
For the only problems I have now are those I create
when I break out in a rash of self-will."
c. 1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 551

Thought to Consider . . .
I never imagined that the greatest achievement of my life
would be peace of mind.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
P E A C E = Providing Experienced Attitude Changes Every day.

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

Turning Point
Step Seven: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. It marked the time when we could commence to see the full implication of Step Seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 75

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

"Regardless of what happened before or what may happen tomorrow, what is the very best thing I can possibly do, right now?"
Santa Monica, Calif., May 2007
"A Life Without Problems,"
No Matter What: Dealing with Adversity in Sobriety

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

"The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society,
from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering
denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness
settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us
sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship
and approval. Momentarily we did�then would come oblivion and
the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen�Terror,
Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 151~

I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that
really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic
situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I
have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the
lives of their families and communities. Business and professional
men have regained their standing. There is scarcely any form of
trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 15~

We want to leave you with the feeling that no situation is too difficult and no unhappiness too great to be overcome.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.104

And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand firm in the face of difficult circumstances.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.104

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

During acute depression, avoid trying to set your whole life in order all at once. If you take on assignments so heavy that you are sure to fail in them at the moment, then you are allowing yourself to be tricked by your unconscious. Thus you will continue to make sure of your failure, and when it comes you will have another alibi for still more retreat into depression.
In short, the 'all or nothing' attitude is a most destructive one. It is best to begin with whatever the irreducible minimums of activity are. Then work for an enlargement of these day by day. Don't be disconcerted by setbacks - just start over.

Prayer for the Day: Do It Now - Dear God, I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to a fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.