THE HAZARDS OF PUBLICITY

Good Morning!!! 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^*~*~*~*~* November 26, 2025 THE HAZARDS OF PUBLICITY People who symbolize causes and ideas fill a deep human need. We of A.A. do not question that. But we do have to soberly face the fact that being in the public eye is hazardous, especially for us. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 181 As a recovered alcoholic I must make an effort to put into practice the principles of the A.A. program, which are founded on honesty, truth and humility. While I was drinking, I was constantly trying to be in the limelight. Now that I am conscious of my mistakes and of my former lack of integrity, it would not be honest to seek prestige, even for the justifiable purpose of promoting the A.A. message of recovery. Is the publicity that centers around the A.A. Fellowship and the miracles it produces not worth much more? Why not let the people around us appreciate by themselves the changes that A.A. has brought in us, for that will be a far better recommendation for the Fellowship than any I could make. ********************************************** Citizens Again "Each of us in turn -- that is, the member who gets the most out of the program – spends a very large amount of time on Twelfth Step work in the early years. That was my case, and perhaps I should not have stayed sober with less work. "However, sooner or later most of us are presented with other obligations -- to family, friends, and country. As you will remember, the Twelfth Step also refers to `practicing these principles in all our affairs.' Therefore, I think your choice of whether to take a particular Twelfth Step job is to be found in your own conscience. No one else can tell you for certain what you ought to do at a particular time. "I just know that you are expected, at some point, to do more than carry the message of A.A. to other alcoholics. In A.A. we aim not only for sobriety – we try again to become citizens of the world that we rejected, and of the world that once rejected us. This is the ultimate demonstration toward which Twelfth Step work is the first but not the final step." LETTER, 1959 As Bill Sees It, P. 21 ************************************************* Meaning of the Circle-Triangle Symbol In response to a query about the meaning of the Circle-Triangle Symbol I wrote this ..... The Sobriety Circle & Triangle Symbol, is the symbol used by Alcoholics Anonymous. The equilateral triangle represents the three-part answer – unity, recovery and service - to a three-part disease – physical, mental and spiritual, while the circle represents wholeness or oneness. The body should be triangular, stable, the mind circular, open. The triangle represents the means for generation of good energy, and is the most stable physical posture. The circle symbolizes serenity and perfection, and the source of unlimited potential. Together they represent the perfect union of mind and body. It has been used in many native cultures. The priests, medicine men and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off spirits of evil, and A.A.'s circle and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service has certainly meant all of that to those of us in recovery and much more. Love and Peace, Barefoot Windwalker Index of A.A. History Pages on Barefoot's World http://www.barefootsworld.net/aa-ctsymbol.html ************************************************** The Magic of Gratitude and Acceptance Gratitude and acceptance are two magic tricks available to us in recovery. No matter who we are, where we are, or what we have, gratitude and acceptance work. We may eventually become so happy that we realize our present circumstances are good. Or we master our present circumstances and then move forward into the next set of circumstances. If we become stuck, miserable, feeling trapped and hopeless, try gratitude and acceptance. If we have tried unsuccessfully to alter our present circumstances and have begun to feel like we're beating our head against a brick wall, try gratitude and acceptance. If we feel like all is dark and the night will never end, try gratitude and acceptance. If we feel scared and uncertain, try gratitude and acceptance. If we've tried everything else and nothing seems to work, try gratitude and acceptance. If we've been fighting something, try gratitude and acceptance. When all else fails, go back to the basics. Gratitude and acceptance work. Today, God, help me let go of my resistance. Help me know the pain of a circumstance will stop hurting so much if I accept it. I will practice the basics of gratitude and acceptance in my life, and for all my present circumstances. ********************************************** The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. —Martha Washington We all have friends who seem happy even though they run into lots of bad luck. And we all know other people who seem grumpy all the time. Nothing makes them very happy. It's puzzling, but some people have decided, maybe without even knowing it, that life is fun and should be enjoyed. No bit of bad luck has to make us miserable unless we let it. A broken bike, a lost math assignment, a rained-out picnic are things that might make us miserable. But we can decide they won't. Feeling happy can be a habit – just like brushing teeth before bedtime. Will I stop and think today before I let things, make me unhappy? ******* Grapevine quote of the day "Until today, at least, I am getting further away from that first drink, which is the one that inevitably leads me to complete disaster." Caracas, Venezuela, May 1971 "My Name Is Adolfo," AA Around the World ********************************************** Awareness When we first become aware of a problem, a situation, or a feeling, we may react with anxiety or fear. There is no need to fear awareness. No need. Awareness is the first step toward positive change and growth. It's the first step toward solving the problem, or getting the need met, the first step toward the future. It's how we focus on the next lesson. Awareness is how life, the Universe, and our Higher Power get our attention and prepare us for change. The process of becoming changed begins with awareness. Awareness, acceptance, and change - that's the cycle. We can accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because that's how we're moved to a better place. We can accept the temporary discomfort because we can trust God, and ourselves. Today, I will be grateful for any awareness I encounter. I will display gratitude, peace, and dignity when life gets my attention. I will remember that it's okay to accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because I can trust that it's my Higher Power moving me forward. ********************************************** ~*~A.A. Thoughts for the Day~*~ ^*^*^*^*^ (\ ~~ /) ( \ (AA)/ ) (_ /AA\ _) /AA\ ^*^*^*^*^ Expectations ^*^*^*^*^ "My serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations of other people are, the lower is my serenity. I can watch my serenity level rise when I discard my expectations. But then my 'rights' try to move in, and they, too, can force my serenity level down. I have to discard my 'rights,' as well as my expectations, by asking myself, 'How important is it, really? How important is it compared to my serenity, my emotional sobriety?' And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety than on anything else, I can maintain them at a higher level-- at least for the time being." Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition p. 452 ********************************************* Thought to consider . . . Lower your standards and improve your program. ~*~*~*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*~*~*~ GRACE Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations *************************************************** ~*~*~*~*~*^ Just for Today! ^*~*~*~*~*~ Popular From When A.A. Came of Age At this point the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a series of pieces that ushered in a new period for Alcoholics Anonymous, the era of mass production of sobriety. Elrick B. Davis, a feature writer of deep understanding, was the author of a series of articles that were printed in the middle of the Plain Dealer's editorial page, and these were accompanied every two or three days by red-hot blasts from the editors themselves. In effect, the Plain Dealer was saying, Alcoholics Anonymous is good, and it works. Come and get it. The newspaper's switchboard was deluged. Day and night, the calls were relayed to [early members] Clarence and Dorothy and from them to members of their little group. 2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 20 ********************************************** ~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~ Each Man's Vision "Beyond a Higher Power, as each of us may vision Him, A.A. must never, as a society, enter the field of dogma or theology. We can never become a religion in that sense, lest we kill usefulness by getting bogged down in theological contention." <<<>>> "The really amazing fact about A.A.