AA Thought For Today - July

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AA Thought for the Day

July 11

Here-and-Now
The nondrinking alcoholic discovers in AA that you cannot Get Ahead until you learn to be Here.
We discover from our Serenity Prayer that one of the things we cannot change is time.
The Here-and-Now is the only reality, whereas in the unreal world of the drinking alcoholic
there was only yesterday-and-tomorrow.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 113

Thought to Ponder . . .
Tomorrow, and all the tomorrows to come, are but extensions of right here, right now.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
N O W = No Other Way.

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

Anger
"It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed,
no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us.
If somebody hurts us and we are sore,
we are in the wrong also.
But are there no exceptions to this rule?
What about 'justifiable' anger?
If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad?
Can't we be properly angry with self-righteous folk?
For us in AA these are dangerous exceptions.
We have found that justifiable anger
ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 90

Thought to Consider . . .
Anger is the hot wind that extinguishes the light of reason.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A N G E R = Any No Good Energy Rising

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

Gifts
From: "The Opening to the Spiritual World"
"This is the crux of the program and the crux of living: acceptance and action.
"The gift of understanding has allowed the simple messages from my parents, my teachers, and my church to take on new meaning and soundness. With the gift of serenity, I am ready and willing to accept what God permits to happen to me; with the gift of courage, to take action to change the things I can for the good of myself and others. The gift of wisdom has been given to me so that in personal relationships I may act intelligently and with love or, as it has also been expressed, with competence and compassion."
1973, AAWS, Inc., Came to Believe, page 4

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

"It should be the privilege, even the right, of each individual or group to handle anonymity as they wish ... Each individual will have to decide where he ought to draw the line -- how far he ought to carry the principle in his own affairs, how far he may go in dropping his own anonymity without injury to Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1946
"A Tradition Born of Our Anonymity"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum
helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can
be helpful. You should not hesitate to visit the most sordid spot on
earth on such an errand. Keep on the firing line of life with these
motives and God will keep you unharmed."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 102~

"Some drinkers have excuses with which they are satisfied part of the
time. But in their hearts they really do not know why they do it.
Once this malady has a real hold, they are a baffled lot. There is
the obsession that somehow, someday, they will beat the game. But
they often suspect they are down for the count."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 23~

"Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 164 (A Vision For You)

"For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 151 (Tradition Five)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The wonderful energy the Twelfth Step releases, by which it carries our message to the next suffering alcoholic and finally translates the Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs, is the payoff, the magnificent reality of A.A.
Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual tools for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you. Offer him friendship and fellowship.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, do not allow me to forget those who are still sick.