AA Thoughts For Today - September

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

September 29

A New Dimension
Now I was to plunge into the dark, joining that endless procession of sots who had gone before.
I thought of my poor wife. There had been much happiness after all.
What would I give to make amends. But that was over now.
No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity.
Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master. . .
How dark it is before the dawn! In reality, I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 8

Thought to Ponder . . .
Happiness and peace of mind are always here, open and free to anyone.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Achieve Anything.

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

Booby Traps
"We must avoid quick-tempered criticism
and furious, power-driven argument.
The same goes for sulking and silent scorn.
These are emotional booby traps baited with pride
and vengefulness.
Our first job is to sidestep the traps.
When we are tempted by the bait,
we should train ourselves to step back and think.
For we can neither think nor act to good purpose
until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 91

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

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
B A T H = Behavior, Attitude, Thinking, Habits

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

Greatest Possession
From: "The Family Afterward"
This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have - the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 124

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

"I've never taken my sobriety for granted because I know I'm only one drink away from ruining my life."
Jamaica Plain, Mass., May 1997
"The Littlest Things"
No Matter What: Dealing with Adversity in Sobriety

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

"If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to
let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct
continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not
theorizing. These are facts out of our experience."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~

"Remember that we deal with alcohol- cunning, baffling, powerful!
Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all
power- that One is God. May you find Him now!"
Alcoholics Anonymous p.58-59

We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.17

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 105

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Selfishness - self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!

Prayer for the Day: The Right Road - Dear God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself...and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe this: I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. I hope I have that desire in everything I do. I hope I never persist in anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it at the time. Therefore I will trust You always, for though I may be lost - and in the shadow of death - I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles all alone. --Thomas Merton