AA Thoughts For Today - December

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AA Thought for the Day

December 9

It Engulfs All

But not so with the alcoholic illness, for with it there goes annihilation
of all the things worth while in life. It engulfs all whose lives touch the
sufferer's. It brings misunderstanding, fierce resentment, financial
insecurity, disgusted friends and employers, warped lives of blameless
children, sad wives and parents—anyone can increase the list.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18

Thought to Ponder . . .
Right actions for the future are the best
apologies for wrong ones in the past.

AA-related 'Alconym'
S T E P S = Solutions Through Each Powerful Step.

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

Solution
"There is a solution.
Almost none of us liked the self-searching,
the leveling of our pride,
the confession of shortcomings,
which the process requires for its
successful consummation.
But we saw that it really worked in others,
and we had come to believe
in the hopelessness and futility of life
as we had been living it. . .
We have found much of heaven
and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension
of existence of which we had not even dreamed."
c. 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous (Fourth Edition), p. 25

Thought to Consider . . .
The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists

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

Apology
From "Our Side of the Street":
I made amends to my dad soon after I quit drinking. My words fell on deaf ears since I had blamed him for my troubles. Several months later I made amends to my dad again. This time I wrote a letter in which I did not blame him or mention his faults. It worked, and at last I understood! My side of the street is all that I'm responsible for and thanks to God and A.A. it's clean for today."
1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 259

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

"Anonymity is a spiritual foundation not only of Tradition Twelve, but of sobriety itself."
Walnut Creek, Calif., March 2000
"The Quest for Spirituality,"
Voices of Long-Term Sobriety

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

"It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on
our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a
subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is
a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual
condition."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 85~

"Having made our personal inventory, what shall we do about it? We have been trying to get a new attitude, a new relationship with our Creator, and to discover the obstacles in our path. We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is; we have put our finger on the weak items in our personal inventory. Now these are about to be cast out. This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects. This brings us to the Fifth Step in the program of recovery mentioned in the preceding chapter."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 72~

We found the Great Reality deep down within us.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.55

These were the new attitudes that finally brought many of us an inner strength and peace that could not be deeply shaken by the shortcomings of others or by any calamity not of our own making.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.116

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'It seems proved that A.A. can stand on its own feet anywhere and under any conditions. It has outgrown any dependence it might once have had upon the personalities or efforts of a few of the older members like me. New, able, and vigorous people keep coming to the surface, turning up where they are needed. Besides, A.A. has reached enough spiritual maturity to know that its final dependence is upon God.'
Clearly, our first duty to A.A.'s future is to maintain in full strength what we now have. Only the most vigilant caretaking can assure this. Never should we be lulled into complacent self-satisfaction by the wide acclaim and success that are everywhere ours. This is the subtle temptation which could render us stagnant today, perchance disintegrate us tomorrow. We have always rallied to meet and transcend failure and crisis. Problems have been our stimulants. How well, though, shall we be able to meet the problems of success?

Prayer for the Day: Meeting Prayer No. 2 - Our Heavenly Father, we ask for Your blessings on this meeting. Please bless the spirit and the purpose of this group, Give us strength to follow this Program according to You will and in all humility. Forgive us for yesterday, and grant us courage for today and hope for tomorrow.