Thoughts for the Day – Compulsion

By | May 24, 2023
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A.A. Thoughts for the Day

Compulsion

It helped me a great deal to become convinced that alcoholism was a disease, not a moral issue; that I had been drinking as a result of a compulsion, even though I had not been aware of the compulsion at the time; and that sobriety was not a matter of willpower. I was afraid to let go of what I had in order to try something new; there was a certain sense of security in the familiar. At last, acceptance proved to be the key to my drinking problem. When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away.”
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, p. 417

Thought to Consider…
I have learned what a heart full of gratitude feels like.

AACRONYMS

P A C E
Positive Attitudes Change Everything

Just for Today

Book
From “The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous”

To mollify the Trustees it was decided that the author’s royalty [for the ‘Big Book’] which would ordinarily be mine [Bill W.’s] could go to the Alcoholic Foundation. I have now forgotten just what his hopes were, but they were fantastic. I was not quite so optimistic, but I did feel sure that the proceeds of the book would enable several of us to become full-time workers and to set up a general headquarters for our society. Whether this worked out or not, I was nevertheless convinced that our fellowship ought to own and control its own literature.”
2001 AAWS Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 157

Daily Reflections

HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE”

We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own misery. God didn’t do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 133

For years I believed in a punishing God and blamed Him for my misery. I have learned that I must lay down the “weapons” of self in order to pick up the “tools” of the A.A. program. I do not struggle with the program because it is a gift and I have never struggled when receiving a gift. If I sometimes keep on struggling, it is because I’m still hanging onto my old ideas and “. . . the results are nil.”
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

As Bill Sees It

Blind Trust?

Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love, nor can there be real love where distrust holds its malign sway. But does trust require that we be blind to other people’s motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given situation. However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our judgment as the negative emotions of suspicion, jealousy, or anger. Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought to let him know of our full support. Because of this, more often than not he will respond magnificently, and far beyond our first expectations.”
LETTER, 1966

Big Book Quote

“When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out
mentally and physically.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition
How It Works, p. 64

Twenty Four Hours a Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

In twelfth-step work, the second thing is confession. By frankly sharing with prospects, we get them talking about their own experiences. They will open up and confess things to us that they haven’t been able to tell other people. And they feel better when this confession has been made. It’s a great load off their minds to get these things out into the open. It’s the things that are kept hidden that weigh on the mind. They feel a sense of release and freedom when they have opened up their hearts to us. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to help them to make a confession?

Meditation for the Day

I should help others all I can. Every troubled soul that God puts in my path is the one for me to help. As I sincerely try to help, a supply of strength will flow into me from God. My circle of helpfulness will widen more and more. God hands out the spiritual food to me and I pass it on to others. I must never say that I have only enough strength for my own need. The more I give away, the more I will keep. That which I keep to myself, I will lose in the end.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have a sincere willingness to give. I pray that I may not hold back the strength I have received for myself alone.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012

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