TOPICS – April 18
1) Daily Reflections
SELF-HONESTY
The deception of others is nearly always rooted in the
deception of ourselves. . . . When we are honest with
another person, it confirms that we have been honest
with ourselves and with God.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 17
2) A.A. Thought For The Day
As I look back over my drinking career, have I learned that
you take out of life what you put into it? When I put
drinking into my life, did I take out a lot of bad things?
Hospitals with the D.T.’s? Jails for drunken driving? Loss
of job? Loss of home and family? When I put drinking into my
life, was almost everything I took out bad? -Twenty Four Hours A Day
3) As Bill Sees It
– Freedom Through Acceptance, p. 109
We admitted we couldn’t lick alcohol with our own remaining
resources, and so we accepted the further fact that dependence upon a
Higher Power (if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible
job. The moment we were able to accept these facts fully, our release
from the alcohol compulsion had begun.
For most of us, this pair of acceptances had required a lot of exertion
to achieve. Our whole treasured philosophy of self-sufficiency had to
be cast aside. This had not been done with sheer will power; it came
instead as the result of developing the willingness to accept these new
facts of living.
4) Each Day a New Beginning
Most of our struggles are with other persons or perhaps situations we want to change. We discover that our continual opposition adds fuel to the fires (at least our own internal ones). But can we turn our backs when we feel justified in our opposition? There’s perhaps no more difficult action to take than to walk away from those situations we feel so strongly about, but the wisdom of this program says, “Let go and let God.” And when we do let go, as if by magic, relief comes. The fires die out. That which we opposed is less troubling, maybe even gone. We no longer feel the need to struggle today. The need may rise again, but again we can turn to our higher power. Trusting that relief awaits us, ensures its arrival.