Your Daily Reprieve 08.31.23

Your Daily Reprieve for Thursday August 31, 2023

From Waynesville, NC

There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can give all our attention to the opportunity before us. ~Mark van Doren

Some people are making such thorough preparation for rainy days that they aren't enjoying today's sunshine. William Feather

Consider the trees which allow the birds to perch and fly away without either inviting them to stay or desiring them never to depart. if your heart can be like this, you will be near to the way.

Zen saying

The spiritual path is like climbing a mountain: we don't really know what we will find at the summit. We have only heard that it is beautiful, everybody is happy there, the view is magnificent and the air unpolluted. If we have a guide who has already climbed the mountain, he can help us avoid falling into a crevasse, or slipping on loose stones, or getting off the path. The one common antidote for all our hindrances is noble friends and noble conversations, which are health food for the mind.

-- Ayya Khema

Big Book Quote

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

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AUGUST 2023 Miracles

8/1 Bill H. (Wells, ME/Melbourne Beach, FL)…..14

8/1 David G. (Salem, NH)…..32

8/1 Jennifer A. (Jacksonville, FL)…..4

8/1 Michael K. …..13

8/1 Jessica E. (Sugar Land, TX)…..6

8/1 David F. (Arcadia, FL)…..4

8/1 Chrissy D. (Bernardsville, NJ)…..34

8/2 Jackie P. (North Carolina)…..24

8/2 Melissa S. (Long Beach, NY)…..8

8/2 Tommy H. (Charlestown)…..39

8/3 Wayne G. (Oxford, MS)…..37

8/3 Dan S. (Glen Rock, NJ)…..8

8/4 Dan M. (Nantucket, MA)…..21

8/4 Christine K. (Charlotte, NC)…..13

8/5 Mary OO (Marina del Rey, CA)…..43

8/5 Adrienne C. (Birmingham, AL)…..17

8/5 Andre de (Bracknell, UK)…..21

8/5 Stanley P. …..32

8/6 Bill L. (Port Charlotte, FL)…..19

8/6 Jason J. (Maggie Valley, NC)…..11

8/7 Nancy H. (Exeter, NH/Readfield, ME)…..36

8/7 Glad H. (Jacksonville, FL)…..27

8/7 Amy C. (Danvers, MA) …..31

8/7 Lois (NJ)…..1

8/7 John D. (Natick, MA)…..15

8/8 David T. (Newmarket, NH)…..41

8/8 Lisa L. (Canton, NC)…..8

8/8 Leslie N. (Tinton Falls, NJ)…..35

8/8 Chris G. (Stuart FL/Stone Harbor, NJ)…..19

8/9 Vern M. (Basking Ridge, NJ)…..23

8/10 Rich M. (Rhinebeck, NY)…..9

8/11 Page H. (Amelia Island, FL)…..47

8/13 Kate P. (Hampton, NH)…..34

8/14 Tim D. (Newburyport, MA)…..30

8/14 Dottie Lou (St. Simon’s Island, GA)…..38

8/15 Clif G. (Oklahoma City, OK)…..22

8/15 Rebecca W. (Grove, OK)…..1

8/15 Kurtis E. (Okeechobee, FL)…..1

8/15 Ronnie B. (Graham, NC)…..1

8/15 Siobhan M. (NYC)…..24

8/15 Ann W. (Darien, CT)…..38

8/15 Davoholic. …..4

8/15 Brian M. (Bernardsville, NJ)…..35

8/16 Jim McG. (Cupertino)…..17

8/16 Charlotte C. (New York City)…..14

8/17 Charlie K. (Bay Village, OH/Naples, FL)…..25

8/17 Jon B. (FL/MD)…..35

8/17 Gennifer C. (Nantucket, MA)…..10

8/17 Elise R. (Waynesville, NC)…..21

8/18 Pat B. (Andover, MA)…..11

8/18 Paul D. (Seabrook, NH)…..3

8/18 Steve C. (Jacksonville, FL)…..5

8/18 Melissa K. (Millwood, NY)…..16

8/18 John T. (Basking Ridge, NJ)…..7

8/18 Carolyn D. (Palm City, FL)…..10

8/18 Mark W. (Lisbon, CT)…..33

8/18 Bill M. (Austin, TX)…..2

8/20 Kurt M. (Jacksonville, FL)…..5

8/20 Chris D. (Rocky Point, NY)…..12

8/22 Jackie Y. (Tustin, CA)…..29

8/23 Alexis W. …..3

8/24 Marilyn R. (Sarasota, FL)…..28

8/24 Jason C. (Old Orchard Beach, ME)…..5

8/24 Bernadette (Hawaii)…..3

8/24 Claire S. (Garnerville, NY/Stuart, FL)…..36

8/24 Kim DeB. (Jacksonville, FL)…..3

8/24 Jim H. (Birmingham, AL)…..33

8/24 Kipp T. (Port Charlotte, FL)…..4

8/24 Scott W. …..21

8/25 Edward M. (Newburyport, MA)…..37

8/25 John P. (Mallorca, Spain)…..4

8/26 Mike C. (Hilliard, OH)…..25

8/26 Tayloe McD. (Jacksonville, FL)…..5

8/27 Greg H. (Silver Springs, MD)…..6

8/27 Greg R. (NYC)…..16

8/27 Kim S. (Port Charlotte, FL)…..28

8/27 Stuart W. (Old Tappan, NJ)…..22

8/27 Jackie K. (Eustis, FL)…..34

8/27 John W. (Baltimore)…..11

8/28 Chris F. (Rockland, ME)…..

8/28 Edward E. (Aberdeen, MD)…..44

8/28 Chuck M. (Jonesport, ME)…..38

8/29 Mary O’C. (Maynard, MA)…..11

8/29 L.K. (Jacksonville, FL)…..9

8/30 Jeff G. (Morristown, NJ)…..10

8/31 Sarah M. …..15

8/31 Chris B. (Sandwich, NH)…..31

1659 Total Years of Sobriety

12&12

Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow. Most certainly we shall need bracing air and an abundance of food. But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun. How, then, shall we meditate?

p. 98

Twenty-Four Hours

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Call on new prospects while they are still jittery. They may be
more receptive when depressed. See them alone if possible. Tell
them enough about your drinking habits and experiences to
encourage them to speak of themselves. If they wish to talk, let
them do so. If they are not communicative, talk about the troubles
liquor has caused you, being careful not to moralize or lecture.
When they see you know all about the drinking game, commence to
describe yourself as an alcoholic and tell them how you learned
you were sick." Am I ready to talk about myself to new prospects?

Meditation For The Day

Try not to give way to criticism, blame, scorn, or judgment of
others, when you are trying to help them. Effectiveness in helping
others depends on controlling yourself. You may be swept away by
a temporary natural urge to criticize or blame, unless you keep a
tight rein on your emotions. You should have a firm foundation of
spiritual living which makes you truly humble, if you are going to
really help other people. Go easy on them and be hard on yourself.
That is the way you can be used most to uplift a despairing spirit.
And seek no personal recognition for what you are used by God to
accomplish.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to avoid judgment and criticism. I pray that I
may always try to build up others instead of tearing them down.

Daily Thought

^*^*^*^*^

(\ ~~ /)
( \(AA)/ )
(_ /AA\ _)
/AA\
^*^*^*^*^
Inventory

"A few months after I made my original trip to Akron, I was feeling pretty cocky, and I didn't think my wife was treating me with proper respect, now that I was an outstanding citizen. So I set out to get drunk deliberately, just to teach her what she was missing. A week later, I had to get an old friend from Akron to spend two days sobering me up. That was my lesson, that one could not take the moral inventory and then file it away; that the alcoholic has to continue to take inventory every day if he expects to get well and stay well."
1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 293-4

Thought to Consider . . .
In order to recover we have to uncover.

*~*AACRONYMS*~*

F A I T H
Facing All In Trusting Him

Daily Reflection

A UNIQUE PROGRAM

Alcoholics Anonymous will never have a professional class.

We have gained some understanding of the ancient words

"Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered

that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality

do not mix.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 166

I believe that Alcoholics Anonymous stands alone in the

treatment of alcoholism because it is based solely on the

principle of one alcoholic sharing with another alcoholic.

This is what makes the program unique. When I decided

that I wanted to stay sober, I called a woman who I knew

was a sober member of A.A., and she carried the message

of Alcoholics Anonymous to me. She received no monetary

compensation, but rather was paid by staying sober another

day herself. Today I could ask for no payment other than

another day free from alcohol, so in that respect, I am

generously paid for my labor.

Pot Luck

"The worst vice is advice."

Everybody has an opinion. And before recovery, I would readily give you mine. It didn’t matter if you asked for it or not; it didn’t matter whether I had ever taken the advice myself to see if it worked; and it didn’t matter if it made you feel better or worse—I was addicted to giving advice, and if you were nearby, you’d get it. As you can imagine, I was obnoxious to be around, and all my advice didn’t seem to help anybody. In fact, most people grew to resent me, and as fewer people called, my circle of friends grew smaller and smaller.

When I entered the program, I still had a lot of advice to give, but my sponsor suggested I listen for a while to what others had to say. When I kept trying to tell him my good ideas, he pointed out that my best thinking got me a seat in a recovery meeting. When I persisted and tried to tell him about relationships, career choices, and investing, he told me people might not be interested given that I was single, unemployed, and broke. That kind of put me in my place.

What I learned by listening to others share is that they didn’t have advice. Instead, they offered their experience, strength, and hope. Someone who didn’t have direct experience to share would encourage me to find someone who did. Over time, I learned that advice is worthless without compassion, understanding, and experience that comes from a shared point of view. Today, I don’t offer advice on things I don’t have experience with, and I don’t give it unless I’m asked for it.

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