Recovery Thoughts and Quotes 4/26

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AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)

April 26, 2008

Listen

There are two parts to human language:
the external language that people hear, and the language of the heart --
the simultaneous internal "listening" of the body. . .
Sometimes, the body can speak an eloquent language all its own.
I see and feel that in meetings. . .
Listening quietly is already a joy to me, and if it calms me down
and lowers my blood pressure in the process,
that's just another great reason to keep coming back.
© 2003 The AA Grapevine, inc., Thank You For Sharing, p. 13


Thought to Ponder . . .

Learn to listen; listen to learn.


AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

H O P E = Hearing Other Peoples' Experience.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Suppose we fall short of the chosen ideal and stumble? Does this mean we are going to get drunk? Some people tell us so. But this is only a half-truth. It depends on us and on our motives. 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. - Pg. 70 - How It Works



"Many a man, yet dazed from his hospital experience, has stepped over
the threshold of that home into freedom. Many an alcoholic who
entered there came away with an answer. He succumbed to that gay
crowd inside, who laughed at their own misfortunes and understood
his. Impressed by those who visited him at the hospital, he
capitulated entirely when, later, in an upper room of this house, he
heard the story of some man whose experience closely tallied with his
own. The expression on the faces of the women, that indefinable
something in the eyes of the men, the stimulating and electric
atmosphere of the place, conspired to let him know that here was
haven at last."
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 160



"Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going
to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is
the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and
this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through
which we passed to freedom."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, How It Works, pg. 62~

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote

The Sense of Belonging

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless.
The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us, here and hereafter.

TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 105

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12 x 12 Quote

"But not so with alcoholics. When AA was quite young, a number of
eminent psychologists and doctors made an exhaustive study of a good-
sized group of so-called problem drinkers. The doctors weren't trying
to find how different we were from one another; they sought to find
whatever personality traits, if any, this group of alcoholics had in
common. They finally came up with a conclusion that shocked the AA
members of that time. These distinguished men had the nerve to say that
most of the alcoholics under investigation were still childish,
emotionally sensitive, and grandiose." (Twelve and Twelve, Step Twelve,
pg. 122)

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Expectations

"My serenity is inversely proportional
to my expectations.
The higher my expectations of other people are,
the lower is my serenity.
I can watch my serenity level rise
when I discard my expectations.
But then my 'rights' try to move in,
and they, too, can force my serenity level down.
I have to discard my 'rights,'
as well as my expectations, by asking myself,
'How important is it, really?
How important is it compared to my serenity,
my emotional sobriety?'
And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety
than on anything else,
I can maintain them at a higher level--
at least for the time being."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition p. 452

Thought to Consider . . .

Lower your standards and improve your program.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

GRACE
Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations