AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)
July 27, 2014
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How It Works
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. . . .
If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it
-- then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not.
With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58
Thought to Ponder . . .
It works -- it really does.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
A Member Shares:
Hello AA Family, I'm Peyton, and I'm a grateful alcoholic. This is my second time in AA. The first time I came to AA, I knew I was beaten by alcohol. There was no doubt in my mind. I am an alcoholic. Something happens to me if I take one sip of alcohol .. my body literally craves for more. My alcoholic body doesn't react to booze the way a non-alcoholic's does. They have a few, or maybe just one and say, whoa that's enough! My body says more, more, more, and I drink more and more and more. The very few times I was not drinking, my mind was constantly on booze. I always thought I can take ONLY one drink, that this time I could control my drinking. That's the mental part of this disease that lied to me over and over and over again. I took a look at the 12 Steps and thought, hmmm, I can do that one, and that one, but that Step there? No way! I was beaten down enough though that I agreed to take the Steps in order with my sponsor. Looking back, I know today that I only put in half measures when taking the Steps. Oh yes, I did them .. but only half-arsed. Two years later, I found out a half-arsed attempt at staying sober does not work. I drank again, and it wasn't any better out there; it was much worse. I came back to AA a few months later, and this time I knew that if I wanted to get and stay sober, halfway doing the Steps was not going to work. I had to commit myself to taking each Step in order. I read and re-read Chapter 5, 'How It Works,' as my sponsor asked me to do. The lines, the paragraphs in that chapter speak so much truth. "...willing to go to any length.." I didn't do that the first time, I was only willing to go to the length I thought I needed. "Half measures availed us nothing." I proved that was true also when I drank again. So I took each suggestion my sponsor gave me whether understood why I was doing it at first or not. And by fully taking these suggestions, these 12 Steps, this design for living, I've not taken a drink for 6 years. If a hopeless, helpless sick alcoholic like me can get this one day at a time, anyone can do this. And I have a whole Fellowship here to help me with doing just that. I do apologize for going on so long, I get rather passionate about this topic. Thank you.
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(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)
Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org
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