Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they offer.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87
I do not claim to have all the answers in spiritual matters, any more than I claim to have all the answers about alcoholism. There are others who are also engaged in a spiritual search. If I keep an open mind about what others have to say, I have much to gain. My sobriety is greatly enriched, and my practice of the Eleventh Step more fruitful, when I use both the literature and practices of my Judeo-Christian tradition, and the resources of other religions. Thus, I receive support from many sources in staying away from the first drink.
Surrender means saying, āOkay, God. Iāll do whatever You want.ā Faith in the God of our recovery means we trust that, eventually, weāll like doing that.
Today, I will surrender to my Higher Power. Iāll trust that Godās plan for me will be good, even if it is different than I hoped for or expected.
We are free of alcohol and other drugs. Weāve been given a second chance or third chance.
For that, we thank our Higher Power. Weāve started a new life. But to keep this life, we need to change.
We need new friends. We need to let a Higher Power guide our hearts, minds, and bodies. We need to learn new values and how to stand up for them. We need to learn how to give and receive.
Freedom from dependence is not enough. We also want to be happy, and to do something with our lives.
So each day we keep learning, we keep growing. Each day without alcohol or other drugs is a gift, a gift from God.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You set me free. Now teach me to stay free. Guide me, for keeping
my freedom is a big task
Action for the Day: I will meditate on my freedom. I will take time to list all the ways I am now free
Iām realizing that Iām more free than Iāve ever been in my life really.
Iām free of so many chains that have always bound me.
I grew up with an alcoholic dad and brother when I was very young. Then my sister & mom drank a lot more when my dad died from drinking & driving when I was 13. And I began to drink regularly then too. Those chains have always been heavy in my family.
This is the first time in my life Iāve ever been this free. Iām not chained down by the impacts of others- instead I understand it and Iām able to love them and myself a new way.
Iām not chained down by my own addictions, Iāve been freed of them-so long as i continue to do the work today to stay sober. Iāve been given a path to that freedom that works if i work it.
Iām also free to be myself in a way Iāve never been before. By doing my step work, I understand myself and even others in a whole new way. And instead of causing damage in others lives in able to help them. Thatās a whole new freedom for me, on a soul & even karmic level.
When the big book says in the Promises that you will know a new freedom and a new happiness, it meant it. I also no longer regret my past nor wish to shut the door on it. Allllll of those promises have been coming true in my life, thanks to this program.
Itās really incredible and mind blowing honestly to think about lol. Man, am I ever grateful!
My Higher Power helps me to do things daily I could not do for myself, including showing me the way to surrender to this program. My life is far better & SO much more free today because of that.
In the years before the publication of the book, āAlcoholics Anonymous,ā we had no name. . . . By a narrow majority the verdict was for naming our book āThe Way Out.ā . . . One of our early lone members . . . found exactly twelve books already titled āThe Way Out.ā. . . So āAlcoholics Anonymousā became first choice. Thatās how we got a name for our book of experience, a name for our movement and, as we are now beginning to see, a tradition of the greatest spiritual import.
āA.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED,ā pp. 35-36
Beginning with Billās momentous decision in Akron to make a telephone call rather than a visit to the hotel bar, how often has a Higher Power made itself felt at crucial moments in our history! The eventual importance that the principle of anonymity would acquire was but dimly perceived, if at all, in those early days. There seems to have been an element of chance even in the choice of a name for our Fellowship.
God is no stranger to anonymity and often appears in human affairs in the guises of āluck,ā āchance,ā or ācoincidence.ā If anonymity, somewhat fortuitously, became the spiritual basis for all of our Traditions, perhaps God was acting anonymously on our behalf.
When we first become aware of a problem, a situation, or a feeling, we may react with anxiety or fear. There is no need to fear awareness. No need.
Awareness is the first step toward positive change and growth. Itās the first step toward solving the problem, or getting the need met, the first step toward the future. Itās how we focus on the next lesson.
Awareness is how life, the Universe, and our Higher Power get our attention and prepare us for change. The process of becoming changed begins with awareness. Awareness, acceptance, and changeāthatās the cycle. We can accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because thatās how weāre moved to a better place. We can accept the temporary discomfort because we can trust God, and ourselves.
Today, I will be grateful for any awareness I encounter. I will display gratitude, peace, and dignity when life gets my attention. I will remember that itās okay to accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because I can trust that itās my Higher Power moving me forward.
One of the old theories about alcoholism was that we drink because we had deep psychological problems.
It followed that if we could clear up these problems, we would no longer need to drink excessively.
Another theory was that staying dry for a long period of time would dislodge oneās alcoholic tendencies.
After a certain length of sobriety, we would be able to return to normal drinking. (NOT)
Both theories sound plausible, but in practice neither has worked.
Many of us came to grief trying to make these ideas work.
What we eventually learn about psychological problems is that they may intensify our troubles, but they are not the real cause of our alcoholism.
The cause may be rooted in some physical problem that enablesus to achieve unusual highs from drinking.
We also know that one drink acts as a trigger for more drinkingā at least for us.
Our answer has been, first and foremost, to eliminate the first drink. Even if it doesnāt square with
theories, it works.
No matter how long Iāve been sober, one drink would be deadly to me. Accepting that fact enabled me to
get sober after finding that theories about my problem werenāt working.
Itās funny, this weekend a sober meditation guy I follow put out something about how heās doing this new program thatās a road map with 4 achievements and then you can control your drinking. When I saw it, I laughed out loud and said sarcastically to myself, āWellā¦I guess Iāve been doing it all wrong!ā
People in my recovery program get it. There is nothing I can ever do that will allow me to safely drink. I am an alcoholic. Just having a little sugar will remind me of that. Iām not able to control my drinking, I tried for decades. It never worked. It just progressed.
I am SO grateful for this program that reminds me daily of that. I hear the relapse stories. I see the damage it does. And even at times how quickly people die from these relapses. This is literally life and death stuff.
Iām sooooo grateful that I donāt toy with the idea of being able to drink successfully. I canāt. And in working a program of recovery, I see that clearly day in and day out.
I can see how one who doesnāt work a program of recovery could think it could be controlled. Thereās been many people who have tried along the way and died from it. A famous case was Moderation Management creator Audrey Kishline and she killed two people drinking & driving and then later unalived herself. Itās tragic. And I do not want to ever try walking that path again.
I can not drink. To drink, for me, is to die. It may be a long & painful process or it could be quick. Either way, Iām headed for certain death-spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.
I finally KNOW thereās a better way to live. Surrendering to my program of recovery truly saved my life and Iām grateful. It works, if I truly work it.
People who symbolize causes and ideas fill a deep human need. We of A.A. do not question that. But we do have to soberly face the fact that being in the public eye is hazardous, especially for us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 181
As a recovered alcoholic I must make an effort to put into practice the principles of the A.A. program, which are founded on honesty, truth and humility. While I was drinking I was constantly trying to be in the limelight. Now that I am conscious of my mistakes and of my former lack of integrity, it would not be honest to seek prestige, even for the justifiable purpose of promoting the A.A. message of recovery. Is the publicity that centers around the A.A. Fellowship and the miracles it produces not worth much more? Why not let the people around us appreciate by themselves the changes that A.A. has brought in us, for that will be a far better recommendation for the Fellowship than any I could make.
Itās good to focus on the task ahead, on what remains to be done. Itās important to stop and feel pleased about what weāve accomplished too.
Yes, it may seem that the change has been slow. At times, change is grueling. Yes, weāve taken steps backward. But weāre right where weāre supposed to be. Weāre right where we need to be.
And we have come so far.
Sometimes by leaps, sometimes with tiny steps, sometimes kicking and screaming all the while, sometimes with sleeves rolled up and white knuckles, weāve learned. Grown. Changed.
Look how far weāve come.
Today, I will appreciate my progress. I will let myself feel good about what has been accomplished.
When we used alcohol and other drugs, we shared little as possible. There was little love in our hearts.
We had become selfish. This caused us to be lonely.
Then something happened to change all of that.
Remember the first time you walked into a meeting? You were met by people who shared. Maybe they shared a smile, their story, or just a cup of coffee with you.
The sharing that goes on in a Twelve Step program is great. We learn that the more we give, the more we get. We get well by giving to others. Helping others is a great way to hold on to sobriety. Love is the reward of love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I will be there when others need me. I pray that service will become a big
part of my program.
Action for the Day: Today, Iāll think of friends who could use my help. Iāll talk to them and offer to be
there for them.
