FIRST, THE FOUNDATION

Thu 1 Jan, 23:24 (12 hours ago) to 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^*~*~*~*~* January 2, 2026 FIRST, THE FOUNDATION Is sobriety all that we can expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning. As Bill Sees It, p. 8 Practicing the A.A. program is like building a house. First, I had to pour a big, thick concrete slab on which to erect the house; that, to me, was the equivalent of stopping drinking. But it’s pretty uncomfortable living on a concrete slab, unprotected and exposed to the heat, cold, wind and rain. So, I built a room on the slab by starting to practice the program. The first room was rickety because I wasn’t used to the work. But as time passed, as I practiced the program, I learned to build better rooms. The more I practiced, and the more I built, the more comfortable, and happy, was the home I now have to live in. ************************************************* WHEN INFANCY IS OVER "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 ******* "I used to be a champ at unrealistic self-appraisal. I wanted to look only at the part of my life which seemed good. Then I would greatly exaggerate whatever virtues I supposed I had attained. Next, I would congratulate myself on the grand job I was doing. So, my unconscious self-deception never failed to turn my few good assets into serious liabilities. This astonishing process was always a pleasant one.... I was falling straight back into the pattern of my drinking days.... I shall forever regret the damage I did to people around me. Indeed, I still tremble when I realize what I might have done to AA and to its future." Bill W., June 1961 1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, pp. 256-7 Thought to consider...... When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.