Recovery Thoughts and Quotes 4/27

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AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AAOnline.net)

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April 27, 2008

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.
© 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 133
With permission, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.


Thought to Ponder . . .

Joy isn't the absence of pain - it's the presence of God.


AA-related 'Alconym' . . .

H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We wives found that, like everybody else, we were afflicted with pride, self-pity, vanity and the things which go to make up the self-centered person; and we were not above selfishness or dishonesty. As our husbands began to apply spiritual principles in their lives, we began to see the desirability of doing so too. - Pg. 116 - To Wives



"We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor
do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders. When we see a man
sinking into the mire that is alcoholism, we give him first aid and
place what we have at his disposal."
Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 132



"These men had found something brand new in life. Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would remain sober, that
motive became secondary. It was transcended by the happiness they
found in giving themselves for others."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 159~

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Prelude to the Program

Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have 'hit bottom,' for practicing A.A.'s Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. The average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect--unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself.
<<<>>>
We know that the newcomer has to 'hit bottom'; otherwise, not much can happen. Because we are drunks who understand him, we can use at depth the nutcracker of the-obsession-plus-the-allergy as a tool of such power that it can shatter his ego. Only thus can he be convinced that on his own unaided resources he has little or no chance.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 24
2. A.A. TODAY, P. 8

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12 x 12 Quote

"How we alcoholics did resent that verdict! We would not believe that
our adult dreams were often truly childish. And considering the rough
deal life had given us, we felt it perfectly natural that we were
sensitive. As to our grandiose behavior, we insisted that we had been
possessed of nothing but a high and legitimate ambition to win the
battle of life." (Twelve and Twelve, Step Twelve, pg. 123)

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Meetings

"Sobriety and a plan for living
that produces a personality change
and a spiritual awakening are imperative.
Through AA, many receive the needed change
and awakening just by trying to live
by AA principles and with AA people.
We do this by going to many AA meetings
with an open mind and a desire to live the
good-feeling life without chemicals--
liquid or otherwise."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 459

Thought to Consider . . .

Seven days without an AA meeting makes one weak.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*

ABC
Acceptance, Belief, Change

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AA Just For Today

Upkeep
From Having Fun Yet:

When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable. Stripped from the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance. I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet? If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I'm taking myself too seriously and finding it difficult to admit that I've strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order.

1990 AAWS, Inc.; Daily Reflections, pg. 31