Daily Reflections

February 16
COMMITMENT

Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125

There came a time in my program of recovery when the third stanza of the Serenity Prayer — “The wisdom to know the difference” — became indelibly imprinted in my mind. From that time on, I had to face the ever-present knowledge that my every action, word and thought was within, or outside, the principles of the program. I could no longer hide behind self-rationalization, nor behind the insanity of my disease. The only course open to me, if I was to attain a joyous life for myself (and subsequently for those I love), was one in which I imposed on myself an effort of commitment, discipline, and responsibility.

Twenty-Four Hours

A Day

February 16
A.A. Thought For The Day

One drink started a train of thought that became an obsession, and from then on, we couldn’t stop drinking. We developed a mental compulsion to keep drinking until we got good and drunk. People generally make two mistakes about alcoholism. One mistake is that it can be cured by physical treatment only. The other mistake is that it can be cured by willpower only. Most alcoholics have tried both of these and have found that they don’t work. But we members of A.A. have found a way to arrest alcoholism. Have I got over my obsession by following the A.A. program?

Meditation For The Day

I will try to be unruffled, no matter what happens. I will keep my emotions in check, although others about me are letting theirs go. I will keep calm in the face of disturbance, keep that deep, inner calm through all the experiences of the day. In the rush of work and worry, the deep, inner silence is necessary to keep me on an even keel. I must learn to take the calm with me into the most hurried days.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be still and commune with God.  I pray that I may learn patience, humility, and peace.

 As Bill Sees It

Seeing Is Believing, p. 47

The Wright Brothers’ almost childish faith that they could build a machine which would fly was the mainspring of their accomplishment.  Without that, nothing could have happened.

We agnostics and atheists were sticking to the idea that self-sufficiency would solve our problems. When others showed us that God-sufficiency worked with them, we began to feel like those who had insisted the Wrights would never fly. We were seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems.

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 52-53

Thought For The Day: 

Think the drink through.

Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book) In Short Takes

Chapter 5. How It Works

Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.

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Credits.

Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book), The Daily Reflections and As Bill Sees It are published by The General Services Office (GSO) of Alcoholics Anonymous.  These and other A.A. literature can be purchased here.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day is Published by Hazelton Publishing.  

The AA Grapevine is published by The AA Grapevine, Inc.  You can subscribe here.

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