THE BEST FOR TODAY

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^*~*~*~*~* July 1, 2026 THE BEST FOR TODAY The principles we have set down are guides to progress. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 60 Just as a sculptor will use different tools to achieve desired effects in creating a work of art, in Alcoholics Anonymous the Twelve Steps are used to bring about results in my own life. I do not overwhelm myself with life’s problems, and how much more work needs to be done. I let myself be comforted in knowing that my life is now in the hands of my Higher Power, a master craftsman who is shaping each part of my life into a unique work of art. By working my program, I can be satisfied, knowing that “in doing the best that we can for today, we are doing all that God asks of us.” **************************************************** Can We Choose? We must never be blinded by the futile philosophy that we are just the hapless victims of our inheritance, of our life experience, and of our surroundings – that these are the sole forces that make our decisions for us. This is not the road to freedom. We have to believe that we can really choose. << << << >> >> >> "As active alcoholics, we lost our ability to choose whether we would drink. We were the victims of a compulsion which seemed to decree that we must go on with our own destruction. "Yet we finally did make choices that brought about recovery. We came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. This was surely a choice, and a most difficult one. We came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity when we became willing to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps. "In short, we chose to ‘become willing', and no better choice did we ever make." 1. GRAPEVINE, NOVEMBER 1960 2. LETTER, 1966 As Bill Sees It, P. 4 ***************************************************** Accepting Change One day, my mother and I were working together in the garden. We were transplanting some plant for the third time. Grown from seed in a small container, the plants had been transferred to a larger container; then transplanted into the garden. Now, because I was moving, we were transplanting them again. Inexperienced as a gardener, I turned to my green-thumbed mother. "Isn't this bad for them?" I asked, as we dug them up and shook the dirt from their roots. "Won't it hurt these plants, being uprooted and transplanted so many times?" "Oh, no," my mother replied. "Transplanting doesn't hurt them. In fact, it's good for the ones that survive. That's how their roots grow strong. Their roots will grow deep, and they'll make strong plants." Often, I've felt like those small plants – uprooted and turned upside down. Sometimes, I've endured the change willingly, sometimes reluctantly, but usually my reaction has been a combination. Won't this be hard on me? I ask. Wouldn't it be better if things remained the same? That's when I remember my mother's words: That's how the roots grow deep and strong. Today, God, help me remember that during times of transition, my faith and myself are being strengthened. ******* Grapevine quote of the day "One day it will be left to the young people now in our Fellowship to carry on the original spirit and traditions of AA, even though the buzz words and trends will come and go. It will be up to us to teach newcomers how to maintain the type of sobriety that achieves the promises of the Big Book and dispels some of the fables of recovery popular today. It will be up to us to help the newcomer from the street dry out, shakes and pukes and all. We will be left to teach the little things: how to sit at the front, not the back of the room, say hello to the new guy, wash coffee cups and ashtrays. One day it will be up to us to uphold the Traditions. It will be up to us to keep it simple." Bury St. Edmunds, England, September 1994 "We Who Are Next in Line," I Am Responsible: The Hand of AA © AA Grapevine, Inc. 1944-2014 **************************************************** COPING WITH ANGER Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. 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 "dry benders' often led straight to the bottle. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered criticism, furious power-driven argument, sulking, and silent scorn. These are emotional booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. When we are tempted by the bait, we should train ourselves to step back and think. We can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic. 12 & 12 1. p. 90 2. p. 91 ******* Heard at AA Meeting You see, of course, I am extrovert! I am always thinking through my mouth! © AA Grapevine, Inc. 1944-2014 ******* ‘ALKIESPEAK’ I didn’t become an alcoholic because I drank too much. I drank too much because I’m an alcoholic. – Unknown origin. Quotes from the book ‘ALKIESPEAK’ by Andy A. of Australia Castlecrag, N.S.W. © 2003 ***************************************************** Forward to the First Edition, pages xiii-xiv: "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.' The above writing is a partial prologue to the Twelve Traditions as we know them today. The long form was written by Bill Wilson, and first published in the April, 1946 Grapevine. However, Bill's keen awareness of the alcoholic personality led him to introduce them as "Twelve Points to Assure Our Future," avoiding the implication of rules or laws. He wrote an editorial for each point explaining its origin and why it was necessary. As plans were being laid for our first International Convention (July 28, 1950); Earl Treat, who helped establish AA in Chicago, suggested that these 'assurances' would benefit from being revised and shortened. Bill presented his 'Traditions idea' without actually reading either the long or the short form! However, the 3,000 attendees unanimously accepted the Twelve Traditions by a standing vote. At the next International Convention at St. Louis, July 1-3, 1955, Bill presented a resolution to the 3, 800 attendees which resolved that the General Service Conference become the Guardian of the Twelve Traditions. The Twelve Traditions were then officially ratified. They were finally published, both the long and short form, in the 1955 second edition of the Big Book. Bill then began a speaking tour of the country in attempt to develop a greater interest in the Twelve Traditions with little success. Here is an excerpt from a letter dated May 20, 1952 from Bill W to Fr Ed Dowling: "A few people think that the Traditions aren't covered with enough dignity – that posterity may not like them for that reason. However, we feel that we are writing for the information of alcoholics who ordinarily have no time to read anything much except as it concerns their own survival. Our idea is to publish the Twelve Steps and these Twelve Traditions in a small book to appear, I hope, by next fall. If we are able to do a fair job on the Steps that will be helpful and, published along with the Traditions, they may act as a bait for reading the latter. However, we'll see." So now you know the reason Bill wrote the 1953 book titled, "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" Bob S. PS – It is interesting, I think, to note that the phrase "honest desire to stop drinking" (found on page xiv above) was never included in either the long or short form of Twelve Traditions. This phrase, however, was included in the early Grapevine Preamble, but the word "honest" was removed in 1958. The Grapevine is a Conference Approved AA publication