Random Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous – Fourth Edition #essentialsofrec

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Ninety days sober cleared my thinking enough to make me realize I’d hit bottom. If I were to go back to drinking, it would be just a matter of time before one of two things happened: I’d succeed at suicide, or I’d start the life of the living dead. I’d seen what the latter looked like, and real death was preferable.

pp. 314-315 

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AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #Peace #Recovery #Step5

~ Page 83 ~

We Cannot Live Alone

All of A.A.’s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires; they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than the Fifth. Scarcely any Step is more necessary to long time sobriety and peace of mind.

A.A. experience has taught us we cannot live alone with our pressing problems and the character defects which cause or aggravate them. If Step Four has revealed in stark relief those experiences we’d rather not remember, then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.

<< << << >> >> >>

We cannot wholly rely on friends to solve all our difficulties. A good adviser will never do all our thinking for us. He knows that each final choice must be ours. He will therefore help to eliminate fear, expediency, and self-deception, so enabling us to make choices which are loving, wise, and honest.

~ 1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 55 ~
~ 2. GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

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FR.LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrec #Truth #Science

SCIENCE

“We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood”

~ William James ~

To change is to be imperfect, and to be imperfect is to be wrong at times! As an alcoholic, I have a problem with ego, always wanting to be right, hating to say “I am sorry,” and not wishing to appear out of control. In sobriety, I must wrestle with my ego on a daily basis.

Although I find it difficult to accept that I am imperfect, I know I am! I know I need to make amends. I know I produce most of the pain in my life. Today’s facts are stepping stones to tomorrow’s falsehoods, and I grow with this knowledge. Spirituality is growing in the knowledge that I do not have all the answers.

Let me experience joy and growth in the dilemmas of life.

© 2008 Leo Booth

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As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

Instinct To Live, p.246

When men and women pour so much alcohol into themselves that they destroy their lives, they commit a most unnatural act. Defying their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. They work against their own deepest instinct.

As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them and expel their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live can cooperate fully with their Creator’s desire to give them new life.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.

“These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.”

1. 12 & 12, p.64
2. Letter, 1965 

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection For The Day

Before I came to The Program, I hadn’t the faintest idea of what it was to “Live In The Now.” I often became obsessed with the things that happened yesterday, last week, or even five years ago. Worse yet, many of my waking hours were spent cleaning away the “wreckage of the future.” “To me,” Walt Whitman once wrote, “every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” Can I truly believe that in my heart?

Today I Pray

Let me carry only the weight of 24 hours at one time, without the extra bulk of yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s anxieties. Let me breathe the blessings of each new day for itself, by itself, and keep my human burdens contained in daily perspective. May I learn the balance of soul that comes through keeping close to God.

Today I Will Remember

Don’t borrow from tomorrow. 

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Life is short: live it up.

~ Nikita Khrushchev 

We won’t stay sober long unless it’s more fun than using chemicals. The truth is, using chemicals wasn’t fun anymore. It was work. We just told ourselves it was still fun.

So live it up! Try new things. Meet new friends. Try new foods. Taking risks and having adventures are a basic human need. So go for it. Sobriety is fun. Living a spiritual life is fun. Get out there and live!

Prayer for the day:

Higher Power, teach me to play. Teach me to have fun. Teach me to live!

Action for the day:

Today is for fun. I’ll try something new. I’ll see how many people I can get to smile. And I’ll celebrate the fact that I’m sober.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrecovery

All men eventually die, it might he said that we live to die. The way we die is usually the way we live. Dying is the last thing we do on this earth, but certainly, we do not live just to die. Living would not be worthwhile if that were so.

The only worthwhile purpose of living is that those whose lives we come in contact with will be enriched thereby. If you live so that others will live more abundantly then you are performing the purpose of your little life.

Published by Hazelden 

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.
—Vittorio Alfiert

What brave people we are! We have chosen life. Okay, maybe we had a little push, maybe a big push from our family, police, or the pain of our disease. But still, we’ve chosen recovery. We choose daily to let our Higher Power run our lives. What trust! What faith! What courage!

We work hard at recovery. We do our meditate. We look for ways to serve others. Each one of us is building a miracle. We can be proud of this.

Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll have the courage to love myself. High Power, teach me to pat myself on the back when I deserve it.

Action for the Day: I will list three ways I am brave in recovery and share them with my group. 

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As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

Instinct To Live, p.246

When men and women pour so much alcohol into themselves that they destroy their lives, they commit a most unnatural act. Defying their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent upon self-destruction. They work against their own deepest instinct.

As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them and expel their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live can cooperate fully with their Creator’s desire to give them new life.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.

“These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity.”

1. 12 & 12, p.64
2. Letter, 1965 

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #recovery #Now

Reflection For The Day

Before I came to The Program, I hadn't the faintest idea of what it was to “Live In The Now.” I often became obsessed with the things that happened yesterday, last week, or even five years ago. Worse yet, many of my waking hours were spent cleaning away the “wreckage of the future.” “To me,” Walt Whitman once wrote, “every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.” Can I truly believe that in my heart?

Today I Pray

Let me carry only the weight of 24 hours at one time, without the extra bulk of yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s anxieties. Let me breathe the blessings of each new day for itself, by itself, and keep my human burdens contained in daily perspective. May I learn the balance of soul that comes through keeping close to God.

Today I Will Remember

Don’t borrow from tomorrow.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Living #Freedom

 13
December

Live and Let Live

~ AA slogan

In our addiction, we didn’t car. We didn’t care about other people, even though we wanted to. We just didn’t come through for them in ways that mattered. We didn’t care for ourselves. We let bad things happen to us. We didn’t care about living. We set no goals, had no fun, smelled no flowers.

In our recovery, we do care. We care about others, ourselves, and life. Our spirits are on the move again. There’s life in our hearts. Our bodies are getting well. And we’re daring to dream. We’re living!

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, put some life and energy into me today. Help me love my new life.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll focus on being alive. As I breathe in, I’ll gather more and more life energy from nature.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Life #Living

18
November

Life is short: live it up.

~ Nikita Khrushchev 

We won’t stay sober long unless it’s more fun than using chemicals. The truth is, using chemicals wasn’t fun anymore. It was work. We just told ourselves it was still fun.

So live it up! Try new things. Meet new friends. Try new foods. Taking risks and having adventures are a basic human need. So go for it. Sobriety is fun. Living a spiritual life is fun. Get out there and live!

Prayer for the day:

Higher Power, teach me to play. Teach me to have fun. Teach me to live!

Action for the day:

Today is for fun. I’ll try something new. I’ll see how many people I can get to smile. And I’ll celebrate the fact that I’m sober.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Controversy

30
October

LIVE AND LET LIVE

Never since it began has Alcoholics Anonymous been divided by a major controversial issue. Nor has our Fellowship ever publicly taken sides on any question in an embattled world. This, however, has been no earned virtue. It could almost be said that we were born with it. . . . “So long as we don’t argue these matters privately, it’s a cinch we never shall publicly.”

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176 ~

Do I remember that I have a right to my opinion but that others don’t have to share it? That’s the spirit of “Live and Let Live.” The Serenity Prayer reminds me, with God’s help, to “Accept the things I cannot change.” Am I still trying to change others? When it comes to “Courage to change the things I can,” do I remember that my opinions are mine, and yours are yours? Am I still afraid to be me? When it comes to “Wisdom to know the difference,” do I remember that my opinions come from my experience? If I have a know-it-all attitude, aren’t I being deliberately controversial?

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

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TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrec #Step5 #Recovery

25
October

A.A. Thought for the Day

Fifth, I have learned to live one day at a time. I have finally realized the great fact that all I have is now. This sweeps away all vain regret and it makes my thoughts of the future free of fear. Now is mine. I can do what I want with it. I own it, for better or worse. What I do now, in this present moment, is what makes up my life. My whole life is only a succession of nows. I will take this moment, which has been given to me by the grace of God, and I will do something with it. What I do with each now, will make me or break me. Am I living in the now?

Meditation for the Day

We should work at overcoming ourselves, our selfish desires and our self-centeredness. This can never be fully accomplished. We can never become entirely unselfish. But we can come to realize that we are not at the center of the universe and that everything does not revolve around us at the center. I am only one cell in a vast network of human cells. I can at least make the effort to conquer the self-life and seek daily to obtain more and more of this self-conquest. “He that overcomes himself is greater than he who conquers a city.”

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may strive to overcome my selfishness. I pray that I may achieve the right perspective of my position in the world.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #joy #recovery #happiness

  2
October

Reflection For The Day

An entire philosophy of life is condensed in the slogan Live and Let Live. First we’re urged to live fully, richly and happily — to fulfill our destiny with the joy that comes from doing well whatever we do. Then comes a more difficult challenge: Let live. This means accepting the right of every other person to live as he or she wishes, without criticism or judgement from us. The slogan rules out contempt for those who don’t think as we do. It also warns against resentments, reminding us not to interpret other people’s actions as intentional injuries to us. Am I becoming less tempted to involve my mind with thoughts of how others act or live?

Today I Pray

May I live my life to the fullest, understanding that pure pleasure-seeking is not pleasure-finding, but that God’s goodness is here to be shared. May I partake of it. May I learn not to take over the responsibility for another adult decisions; that is my old controlling self trying , just one more time, to be the executive director of other people’s lives.

Today I Will Remember

Live and Let Live.

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Courage

 15
September


Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.

—Vittorio Alfiert

What brave people we are! We have chosen life. Okay, maybe we had a little push, maybe a big push from our family, police, or the pain of our disease. But still, we’ve chosen recovery. We choose daily to let our Higher Power run our lives. What trust! What faith! What courage!

We work hard at recovery. We do our meditate. We look for ways to serve others. Each one of us is building a miracle. We can be proud of this.

Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll have the courage to love myself. High Power, teach me to pat myself on the back when I deserve it.

Action for the Day: I will list three ways I am brave in recovery and share them with my group.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Freedom

   6
September 

A.A. Thought For The Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is “Live and Let Live.” This, of course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do, whether they are in A.A. or outside of A.A. We cannot afford the luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not “holier than thou.” We do not have all the answers. We are not better than other good people. We live the best way we can and we allow others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live?

Meditation For The Day

“And this is life eternal, that we may know Thee, the only true God.” Learning to know God as best you can draws the eternal life nearer to you. Freed from some of the limitations of humanity, you can grow in the things that are eternal. You can strive for what is real and of eternal value. The more you try to live in the consciousness of the unseen world, the gentler will be your passing into it when the time comes for you to go. This life on earth should be largely a preparation for the eternal life to come.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live each day as though it were my last. I pray that I may live my life as though it were everlasting.

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Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Powerless #Recovery #Alcoholism

27
July

There are as many ways to live and grow, as there are people. Our own ways are the only ways that should matter to us.

— Evelyn Mandel
Wanting to control other people, to make them live as we’d have them live, makes the attainment of serenity impossible. And serenity is the goal we are seeking in this recovery program, in this life.

We are each powerless over others, which relieves us of a great burden. Controlling our own behavior is a big enough job. Learning to behave responsibly takes practice. Most of us in this recovery program have behaved irresponsibly for much of our lives. Emotional immaturity is slow to depart, but every responsible action we take gives us the courage for another – and then another. Our own fulfillment is the by-product of the accumulation of our own responsible actions. Others’ actions need not concern us.

Today, I will weigh my behavior carefully. Responsible behavior builds gladness of heart.

From the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey. © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

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Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Live

21
July

Today’s thought from Hazelden is:

Reflection for the Day

The slogan “Live and Let Live” can be extremely helpful when we are having trouble tolerating other people’s behavior. We know for certain that nobody’s behavior – no matter how offensive, distasteful or vicious – is worth the price of a relapse. Our own recovery is primary, and while we must be unafraid of walking away from people or situations that cause us discomfort, we must also make a special effort to try to understand other people – especially those who rub us the wrong way. Can I accept the fact, in my recovery, that it is more important to understand than to be understood?

Today I Pray

When I run headlong into someone’s unpleasant behavior, may I first try my best to understand. Then, if my own sobriety seems threatened, may I have the courage to remove myself from the situation.

Today I Will Remember

Live and let live.

From the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

A Day at a Time © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Alcoholism

12
 July 

A.A. Thought For The Day

Today is ours. Let us live today as we believe God wants us to live. Each day will have a new pattern which we cannot foresee. But we can open each day with a quiet period in which we say a little prayer, asking God to help us through the day. Personal contact with God, as we understand Him, will from day to day bring us nearer to an understanding of His will for us. At the close of the day, we offer Him thanks for another day of sobriety. A full, constructive day has been lived and we are grateful. Am I asking God each day for strength and thanking Him each night?

Meditation For The Day

If you believe that God’s grace has saved you, then you must believe that He is meaning to save you yet more and keep you in the way that you should go. Even human rescuers would not save you from drowning only to place you in other deep and dangerous waters. Rather, they would place you on dry land, there to restore you. God, who is your rescuer, would certainly do this and even more. God will complete the task He sets out to do. He will not throw you overboard, if you are depending on Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may trust God to keep me in the way. I pray that I may rely on Him not to let me go.

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