God grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change;
Courage to change
the things I can;
and Wisdom
to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
March 13, 2024
A WORLD OF THE SPIRIT
We have entered the world of the Spirit.
Our next function is
to grow in understanding and effectiveness.
This is not an overnight matter.
It should continue for our lifetime.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
The word “entered” . . . and the phrase,
“entered into the world of the Spirit”
are very significant.
They imply action, a beginning, getting into,
a prerequisite to maintaining my spiritual growth,
the “Spirit” being the immaterial part of me.
Barriers to my spiritual growth are self-centeredness
and a materialistic focus on worldly things.
Spirituality means devotion to spiritual
rather than worldly things;
it means obedience to God’s will for me.
I understand spiritual things to be:
unconditional love,
joy, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, self-control and humility.
Any time I allow selfishness, dishonesty,
resentment and fear to be a part of me,
I block out spiritual things.
As I maintain my sobriety, growing spiritually
becomes a lifelong process.
My goal is spiritual growth,
accepting that I’ll never have spiritual perfection.
******************************
Giving Without Demand
Watch any A.A. of six months
working with a Twelfth Step prospect.
If the newcomer says, "To the devil with you,"
the twelfth-stepper only smiles
and finds another alcoholic to help.
He doesn’t feel frustrated or rejected.
If his next drunk responds,
and in turn starts to give love and attention
to other sufferers, yet gives none back to him,
the sponsor is happy about it anyway.
He still doesn’t feel rejected; instead he rejoices
that his former prospect is sober and happy.
And he well knows that his own life has been made richer,
as an extra dividend of giving to another
without any demand for a return.
Grapevine, January 1958
******************************
Emotional Growth
From grapevine March 1974
It can be a sign of progress when old-timers
practice the AA principles
in the wider world outside.
Concerning the "Old-Timer's Dilemma"' (a letter in the December 1973 Grapevine), may I suggest that this feeling of not getting what we need from the regular group meeting any more may be evidence of our own emotional growth and maturity. Maybe a Power greater than ourselves is trying to tell us to broaden the scope of our interests and activities - to spend more of our time practicing the AA principles among people in general, and to use the things we began to learn when we were new in AA, in order to live richer, fuller lives without alcohol. New people in AA should be encouraged to chair meetings, talk at open meetings (I have been to open meetings recently where all the speakers had fifteen or more years of AA sobriety), make Twelfth Step calls, and, through their own activities and discussions, reach the point of accepting their responsibilities, and so realize the true satisfaction of sober living. I, too, went through periods of thinking that I and other old-timers owed it to AA to maintain the status quo. I no longer feel that way. I believe that AA will continue to grow effectively as long as each drunk who gets sober tries to carry the message to another alcoholic who wants to stop drinking. New groups are starting all the time. The Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions are still there, and so are the Slogans. New people who sincerely want to achieve sobriety are achieving it just as you and I have done. A Power greater than ourselves is still available, too! So, let us old-timers in dilemmas, remember to Live and Let Live, to thank God for the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and for our own sobriety. I refuse to be a bleeding deacon.
O. K. W., Lewes, Del.
******************************
Removing Conflict from Our Lives
Don't spend major time with minor people.
If there are people in your life
that continually disappoint you, break promises,
stomp on your dreams, too judgmental,
have different values and don't have your back
during difficult times...that is not a friend.
To have a friend, be a friend.
Sometimes in life as you grow,
some of your friends will grow and others will go.
Surround yourself with people
who reflect your values, goals interests and lifestyle.
When I think of any of my successes,
I am thankful to GOD from whom all blessings flow,
and to my family and friends that enrich my life.
Over the years my phone book has changed
because I changed for the better.
At first you think you're going to be alone,
but after a while new people show up in your life
that make your life so much sweeter and easier to endure.
Remember what your elders used to say,
"Birds of a feather flock together."
If you're an eagle, don't hang around chickens.
Chickens can't fly." -
From the writings of Jewel Diamond Taylor
*******
Grapevine quote of the day
"I have come to believe that my drinking insanity
is only one form of the craziness
to which we AAs are prone.
I call it Insanity A.
Insanity B is finding out what works for you –
and then not doing it."
Prague, Czechoslovakia, February 2005
"Insanity B"
Beginner's Book:
Getting and Staying Sober in AA
******************************
Gentleness is not a quality
exclusive to women.
—Helen Reddy
Each of us has our soft side:
maybe it's when we're petting a kitten,
caring for a baby robin with an injured wing,
or soothing a crying child who is afraid.
Behaving in a gentle way toward others
gives us warm feelings inside.
It also encourages others to treat us gently, too.
We don't always feel like being gentle.
If we're sad or worried about school or a friend,
we might not even notice the people around us
who need our gentleness.
But when we remember gentleness, it lifts our spirits.
Two people will always be happier when we're gentle--
the person we've been gentle to and ourselves.
Who can I share my gentleness with today?
*******
Alkiespeak – Book – Quote
It’s clean and sober across the board.
I don’t get to take chips in AA for 60, or 90 days or a year,
if I’m smoking pot or doing a little social heroin
between meetings, even if pot wasn’t my drug of choice.
- Earl H.
******************************
Today, I choose the kind of day
that I am going to have.
This has a lot to do with letting go of my expectations
of how I think the day should proceed.
Ninety-nine percent of the time,
it does not turn out the way I had expected
or how I wanted it to turn out.
My daily job is to adjust my attitude
and to accept what is presented
to me as the day unfolds.
By choosing gratitude and acceptance,
I sleep better at night
and I feel better about being me,
no matter what occurred during the day.
"Don't push the river: it flows by itself."
~~ Barry Stevens
*********
Just considering…………….
"For years, I was sure the worst thing
that could happen to a nice guy like me
would be that I would turn out to be an alcoholic.
Today, I find it's the best thing
that has ever happened to me.
This proves I don't know what's good for me.
And if I don't know what's good for me,
then I don't know what's good or bad
for you or for anyone.
So, I'm better off if I don't give advice,
don't figure I know what's best,
and just accept life on life's terms,
as it is today--especially my own life,
as it actually is.
Before AA, I judged myself by my intentions,
while the world was judging me by my actions.
"Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 449-50
Thought to consider . . .
I am liberated from dreaming
the impossible dream and free, finally,
to start living the possible dream.
Topic Question:
How important to you is living life on life's terms
as it relates to your recovery?
******************************
~*~A.A. Thoughts for the Day~*~
^*^*^*^*^
(\ ~~ /)
( \ (AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Language of the Heart
^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^
From the beginning,
communication in AA
has been no ordinary transmission
of helpful ideas and attitudes.
It has been unusual and sometimes unique.
Because of our kinship in suffering,
and because our common means of deliverance
are effective for ourselves only when
constantly carried to others,
our channels of contact have always been charged
with the language of the heart.
Bill W., July 1960
c. 1988 AA Grapevine,
The Language of the Heart, p. 243
******************************
Thought to consider . . .
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.
~*~*~*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*~*~*~
S O B E R =
Simply Observe Bill's Exemplary Recovery.
******************************
~*~*~*~*~*^ Just for Today! ^*~*~*~*~*~
Altogether
From "The Three Legacies
of Alcoholics Anonymous"
"In something of the same fashion this idea began to work out with other kinds of prospects. In the beginning we could not sober up women. They were different, they said. But when they saw other women get well, they slowly followed suit. The derelict, the rich man, the socialite, all these once thought A.A. was not for them. So did certain people of other races and tongues and creeds. But when they clearly saw the alcoholic tragedy for which they were headed,
they could forget their differences and join A.A."
2001 AAWS, Inc.;
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age,
pg. 199
*******
Heard at AA Meetings
"I started out as a social drinker.
Then I had my second drink."
******************************
~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~
Pipeline to God
"I am a firm believer in both guidance and prayer.
But I am fully aware, and humble enough,
I hope, to see there may be nothing infallible
about my guidance.
"The minute I figure I have got
a perfectly clear pipeline to God,
I have become egotistical enough
to get into real trouble.
Nobody can cause more needless grief
than a power-driver who thinks
he has got it straight from God."
LETTER, 1950
******************************
*~*~*~*^Twenty-Four Hours a Day^*~*~*~*
March 13
A.A. Thought for the Day
We've got rid of our false, drinking selves
and found our real, sober selves.
And we turn to God, our Father, for help,
just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his father.
At the end of the story, the father of the Prodigal Son says:
"He was dead and is alive again,
he was lost and is found."
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