By Daily Reflections
PROTECTION FOR ALL
At the personal level, anonymity provides protection for
all members from identification as alcoholics, a safeguard
often of special importance to newcomers. At the level of
press, radio, TV, and films, anonymity stresses the
equality in the Fellowship of all members by putting the
brake on those who might otherwise exploit their A.A.
affiliation to achieve recognition, power, or personal
gain.
"UNDERSTANDING ANONYMITY," p. 5
Attraction is the main force in the Fellowship of A.A. The
miracle of continuous sobriety of alcoholics within A.A.
confirms this fact every day. It would be harmful if the
Fellowship promoted itself by publicizing, through the
media of radio and TV, the sobriety of well-known public
personalities who became members of A.A. If these
personalities happened to have slips, outsiders would think
our movement is not strong and they might question the
veracity of the miracle of the century. Alcoholics Anonymous
is not anonymous, but its members should be.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We have slips in A.A. It has been said these are not slips
but premeditated drunks, because we have to think about
taking a drink before we actually take one. The thought always
comes before the act. It has been suggested that people
should always get in touch with an A.A. before taking that
first drink. The failure to do so makes it probable that
they decided to take the drink anyway. And yet the thoughts
that come before taking a drink are often largely
subconscious. People usually don't know consciously what
made them do it. Therefore, the common practice is to call
these things slips. Am I on guard against wrong thinking?
Meditation For The Day
"The eternal God is thy refuge." He is a sanctuary, a refuge
from the cares of life. You can get away from the
misunderstanding of others by retiring into your own place of
meditation. But from yourself, from your sense of failure,
your weakness, your shortcomings, whither can you flee? Only
to the eternal God, your refuge, until the immensity of His
spirit envelopes your spirit and it loses its smallness and
weakness and comes into harmony again with His.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may lose my limitations in the immensity of
God's love. I pray that my spirit may be in harmony with
His spirit.
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As Bill Sees It
How Much Anonymity?, p. 43
As a rule, the average newcomer wanted his family to know
immediately what he was trying to do. He also wanted to tell others
who had tried to help him--his doctor, his minister, and close friends.
As he gained confidence, he felt it right to explain his new way of life
to his employer and business associates. When opportunities to be
helpful came along, he found he could talk easily about A.A. to almost
anyone.
These quiet disclosures helped him to lose his fear of the alcoholic
stigma, and spread the news of A.A.'s existence in his community.
Many a man and woman came to A.A. because of such conversations.
Since it is only at the top public level that anonymity is expected, such
communications were well within its spirit.
12 & 12, pp. 185-186
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth EditionOur Southern Friend
Pioneer A.A., minister’s son, and southern farmer, he asked, “Who am I to say there is no God?”
I am blue again. I want to sell the place and move away. I want to get where I can find some alcoholics to to help and where I can have some fellowship. Will I take a young fellow who has been drinking for two weeks to live with me? Soon I have others who are alcoholics and some who have other problems.
I begin to play God. I feel that I can fix them all. I do not fix anyone, but I am getting part of a tremendous education and I have made some new friends.
Nothing is right. Finances are in bad shape. I must find a way to make some money. The family seems to think of nothing but spending. People annoy me. I try to read. I try to pray. Gloom surrounds me. Why has God left me? I mope around the house. I will not go out and I will not enter into anything. What is the matter? I cannot understand. I will not be that way.
p. 217
Twelve Steps and Twelve TraditionsStep Four – “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
If, however, our natural disposition is inclined to self righteousness or grandiosity, our reaction will be just the opposite. We will be offended at A.A.’s suggested inventory. No doubt we shall point with pride to the good lives we thought we led before the bottle cut us down. We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking. This being so, we think it logically follows that sobriety– first, last, and all the time–is the only thing we need to work for. We believe that our one-time good characters will be revived the moment we quit alcohol. If we were pretty nice people all along, except for our drinking, what need is there for a moral inventory now that we are sober?
p. 45
A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
--Charles Dickens
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all
yourself."
--unknown
He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.
--Henry Ward Beecher
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
"To love another person is to see the face of God."
--Victor Hugo
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FATE
"I am the master of my fate; I
am the captain of my soul."
-- William E. Henley
Things do not just happen, we make them happen. For years I thought that my getting
well was dependent upon my family getting well. I rooted my recovery in the recovery
of others. I was the typical co-dependent.
Then somebody said, "Why don't you start taking responsibility for your own life?" I
thought about that remark for weeks. I spent nights dwelling on the implications of
those words. I am sure that I had heard similar sentiments a hundred times but that
night, that special night, I was ready to hear them. A spiritual moment.
Today I believe that such spiritual moments produce a spiritual process that I must
keep alive. I am the deciding factor in what happens to me and what I can achieve.
God has created me to be involved in my recovery.
May I always steer my life in the direction of truth and love.
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"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
body is weak."
Matthew 26:41
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
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Daily InspirationAccept yourself for who you are because who you are has a purpose and an important reason for being. Lord, Your love for me makes me special and lovable.
Never let the abundance of gifts from God cause you to forget the Giver. Lord, may I start and end each day with a thank you to You for all of my blessings including those which I take for granted.