Traditions

“The Twelve Traditions point straight
at many of our individual defects.
By implication they ask each of us to lay aside
pride and resentments.
They ask for personal as well as group sacrifice.
They ask us never to use the AA name
in any quest for personal power or distinction or money.
The Traditions guarantee the equality
of all members and the independence of all groups.
They show how we may best relate ourselves to each other
and to the world outside.”
Bill W.,
1967AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 96

Thought to Consider . . .

If you have the courage to begin,
you have the courage to succeed.

AACRONYMS
A A’s – R – U S = Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Unity Service

Just For Today!

Core

From “The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous”:

“On many a day I felt like throwing the book out the window.  “I was in this anything-but-spiritual mood on the night when the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were written. I was sore and tired clear through. I lay in bed at 182 Clinton Street with pencil in hand and with a tablet of scratch paper on my knee. I could not get my mind on the job, much less put my heart in it. But here was one of those things that had to be done. Slowly my mind came into some kind of focus.

“Since Ebby’s visit to me in the fall of 1934 we had gradually evolved what we called ‘the word-of-mouth program.’ Most of the basic ideas had come from the Oxford Groups, William James, and Dr. Silkworth.”

2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 160

Daily Reflections
WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH

It is a design for living that works in rough going.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 15

When I came to A.A., I realized that A.A. worked wonderfully to help keep me sober.  But could it work on real life problems, not concerned with drinking?  I had my doubts.  After being sober for more than two years I got my answer.  I lost my job, developed physical problems, my diabetic father lost a leg, and someone I loved left me for another — and all of this happened during a two-week period.  Reality crashed in, yet A.A. was there to support, comfort, and strengthen me.  The principles I had learned during my early days of sobriety became a mainstay of my life for not only did I come through, but I never stopped being able to help newcomers.  A.A. taught me not to be overwhelmed, but rather to accept and understand my life as it unfolded.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

As Bill Sees It
“Success” in Twelfth-Stepping

“We now see that in twelfth-stepping the immediate results are not so
important. Some people start out working with others and have immediate success. They are likely to get cocky. Those of us who are not so successful at first get depressed.  As a matter of fact, the successful worker differs from the unsuccessful only in being lucky about his prospects. He simply hits newcomers who are
ready and able to stop at once. Given the same prospects, the seemingly
unsuccessful person would have produced almost the same results. You have to work on a lot of newcomers before the law of averages commences to assert itself.”
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All true communication must be founded on mutual need. We saw that each sponsor would have to admit humbly his own needs as clearly as those of his prospect.

1. LETTER, 1942
2. A.A. TODAY, P. 10
Big Book Quote

“‘My old manner of life was by no means a bad one, but I would not
exchange its best moments for the worst I have now. I would not go
back to it even if I could.’”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43

Twenty Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day

In A.A. we have to learn that drink is our greatest enemy.
Although we used to think that liquor was our friend, the time
came when it turned against us and became our enemy. We don’t know just when this happened, but we know that it did because we began to get into trouble – jails and hospitals. We realize now that liquor is our enemy. Is it still my main business to keep sober?

Meditation for the Day

It is not your circumstances that need altering so much as
yourself. After you have changed, conditions will naturally
change. Spare no effort to become all that God would have you
become. Follow every good leading of your conscience. Take each day with no backward look. Face the day’s problems with God, and seek God’s help and guidance as to what you should do in every situation that may arise. Never look back. Never leave until tomorrow the thing that you are guided to do today.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God will help me to become all that He would have me
be. I pray that I may face today’s problem as with good grace.

Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012