Serenity

"So, here I am, sober. Successful. Serene. Just a few of the gifts of the program for surrendering, suiting up, and showing up for life every day. Good days and bad days, reality is a wild ride, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I don't question how this program works. I trust in my God, stay involved in A.A. service, go to lots of meetings, work with others, and practice the principles of the Steps to the best of my willingness each day. I don't know which of these keeps me sober, and I'm not about to try to find out. It's worked for quite a few days now, so I think I'll try it again tomorrow."
c. 2001 AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous
Fourth Edition p. 337

Thought to Consider . . .

Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm.

AACRONYMS
L O V E
Living Our Valuable Experiences

Sobriety

Thought for the Day

The way of A.A. is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation. We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We all come to A.A. to get sober, and we stay to help others get sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last, and all the time. We cannot build any decent kind of a life unless we stay sober. Am I on the A.A. way?

Meditation for the Day

How big a part of my life is A.A.?

Thought for the Day

How big a part of my life is A.A.? Is it just one of my activities and a small one at that? Do I only go to A.A. meetings now and then and sometimes never go at all? Do I think of A.A. only occasionally? Am I reticent about mentioning the subject of A.A. to people who might need help? Or does A.A. fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life? Where would I be without A.A.? Does everything I have and do depend on my A.A. foundation? Is A.A. the foundation on which I build my life?

Meditation for the Day

Helping a new person

When new members come into my A.A. group, do I make a special effort to make them feel at home? Do I put myself out to listen to them, even if their ideas of A.A. are vague? Do I make it a habit to talk to all new members myself, or do I often leave that to someone else? I may not be able to help them, but then again it may be something that I might say that would put them on the right track. When I see any members sitting alone, do I put myself out to be nice to them, or do I stay among my own special group of friends and leave them out in the cold? Are all new A.A. s my responsibility?

Meditation for the Day

Volunteering

Thought for the Day

There are no leaders in A.A. except as they volunteer to accept responsibility. The work of carrying on A.A. - leading group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other groups, doing twelfth step work, spreading A.A. among the alcoholics of the community - all these things are done on a volunteer basis. If I don't volunteer to do something concrete for A.A., the movement is that much less effective. I must do my fair share to carry the load. A.A. depends on all its members to keep it alive and to keep it growing. Am I doing my share for A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

Service

"Service gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that love freely given surely brings a full return, the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and belong in God's scheme of things - these are the permanent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True ambition is not what we thought it was."
1952 AAWS
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 124

Thought to Consider . . .

Service is love in work clothes.

AACRONYMS
G O D
Group Of Drunks

Service

A.A. Thought for the Day

But even faith is not the whole story. There must be service. We must give this thing away if we want to keep it. The Dead Sea has no outlet and it is stagnant and full of salt. The Sea of Galilee is clear and clean and blue, as the Jordan River carries it out to irrigate the desert. To be of service to other people makes our lives worth living. Does service to others give me a real purpose in life?

Meditation for the Day

In A.A. we have three things:

Thought for the Day

In A.A. we have three things: fellowship, faith, and service. Fellowship is wonderful, but its wonder lasts just so long. Then some gossip, disillusionment, and boredom may come in. Worry and fear come back at times and we find that fellowship is not the whole story. Then we need faith. When we're alone, with nobody to pat us on the back, we must turn to God for help. Can I say "Thy will be done" - and mean it?

Meditation for the Day

Prayer

Thought for the Day

I shall not wait to be drafted for service to A.A. I shall volunteer. I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give to A.A. my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all, myself. Do I also accept this as my A.A. credo?

Meditation for the Day