AA Thoughts For Today - March

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

March 20

Fellowship
Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that.
It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will
find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination
will be fired. Life will mean something at last.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p 84

Thought to Ponder . . .
A friend is one who sees through you and still enjoys the view.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E L L O W S H I P = Faith, Empathy, Learning, Love, Openness. Wisdom, Self-worth, Hope, Insight, Peace

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

Illusion
"Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30

Thought to Consider . . .
"Many alcoholics are enthusiasts. They run to extremes.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
DENIAL
Don't Even Notice I Am Lying

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

Cooperation
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"In 1949 the American Psychiatric Association did exactly the same thing [recognizing A.A. as a valid aid for alcoholics]. I [Bill W.] read a paper at its annual meeting in Montreal. I wound up by describing the spiritual experience as we understand it in A.A. As I read, I doubted if even a handful of the audience could possibly agree with the views expressed in my paper. To my astonishment there was a sustained round of applause. But this was not at all a tribute to me or to the contents of my paper; it was instead a tribute to Alcoholics Anonymous, a tribute to a way of life which had worked for alcoholics when other approaches had failed. This generous response was evidence that our friends the psychiatrists were being much more tolerant of us than we had been of them. If we ourselves became more open-minded, then far greater co-operation with this profession would be assured.
"The Association promptly confirmed the view of its members in Montreal. My paper was carried in the American Journal of Psychiatry and we were permitted to reprint it in a pamphlet, now entitled Alcoholism the Illness.* Our standing with the psychiatric profession has increased greatly since that time.
"*Later retitled Three Talks to Medical Societies by Bill W., this pamphlet also includes Bill's paper before the Medical Society of the State of New York"
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 205

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

"If you haven't been to a meeting for a while, come, and add to the mix ... we need you. Come for yourself, come for the Fellowship, come to celebrate sobriety, and come for the alcoholic who still suffers."
San Francisco, Calif., February 1993
"Torn Asunder"
AA Grapevine

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

"Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to
find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and
direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal
consequences may be."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 79~

"To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main
purpose of this book."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Foreword To First Edition, pg. xiii~

But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 101

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Whose Responsibility?
'An A.A. group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone those of nonalcoholics in the world around us. The A.A. group is not, for example, a mediator of domestic problems, nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone.
'Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his friends in A.A., the primary responsibility for the solutions of all his problems of living and growing rests squarely upon the individual himself. Should an A.A. group attempt this sort of help, its effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissipated.
'This is why sobriety -- freedom from alcohol -- through the teaching and practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of the group. If we don't stick to this cardinal principle, we shall almost certainly collapse. And if we collapse we cannot help anyone.' Letter, 1966

Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Please give me the wisdom to understand that the only way to have a friend is by being a friend.