![]() I did not understand that wanting doesn’t always lead to action. Once I knew that I wanted to be an artist, I had made myself into one. Do I truly believe I’m powerless over my disease? Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know You, and help me know the truth.Īction for the Day: Today I’ll think about my First Step. When we choose to believe, we want to choose the best beliefs we can. We believe we can trust a Higher Power to care for us. We believe we must and can change some things in our lives. We believe we are powerless over our addiction. When we face all the facts, we can really believe. How well the program works for us depends on what we believe and how well we live it. The program doesn’t tell us much about what to believe. We have to be careful of who and what we believe. Many people tell us they have the answers. He who is swift to believe is swift to forget. I will keep in mind today that God’s will for me is good, and that God gives me the power to live in peace and harmony with others. God has brought us this far and will not fail us when we ask for guidance and understanding in other matters. It was only when we turned to a Higher Power that we began to find the things that we had been vainly seeking in the bottle. Our alcoholism was perhaps the best example of self-will in action. Most of us, by yielding to self-will, lose out in the search for real joy, true success, and genuine happiness. Our own view and understandings are limited, but God can see a breathtaking sweep of wonderful activities and opportunities for us. God’s plan is always better and greater than anything we might produce when depending solely on human reason. “I was afraid of learning God’s will, because I thought I might have to go off to Africa as a missionary,” one young person said at a meeting.īut God only intends what is best for us therefore, the only real happiness and security comes from learning and carrying out God’s will. This difficulty may grow out of the old belief that God’s will is going to be something unpleasant or dull. More than one alcoholic has trouble learning and accepting God’s will. “In short, we chose to ‘become willing,’ and no better choice did we ever make.” We came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity when we became willing to practice A.A.’s Twelve Steps. This was surely a choice, and a most difficult one. We came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. “Yet we finally did make choices that brought about our recovery. We were the victims of a compulsion which seemed to decree that we must go on with our own destruction. “As active alcoholics, we lost our ability to choose whether we would drink. We have to believe that we can really choose. We must never be blinded by the futile philosophy that we are just the hapless victims of our inheritance, of our life experience, and of our surroundings–that these are the sole forces that make our decisions for us. ![]() I pray that I may be satisfied to do my share each day. I pray that I may not try to carry the burden of the universe on my shoulders. He only expects me to carry my one-day’s share. I will leave tomorrow’s burden to God, because He is the great burden-bearer. I know that the way will unfold, step by step. ![]() I believe that God cares for me and will provide for me. I will believe that fundamentally all is well. ![]() Have I admitted I am an alcoholic? Have I swallowed my pride and admitted I was different from other drinkers? Have I accepted the fact that I must spend the rest of my life without liquor? Have I any more reservations, any idea in the back of my mind that some day I’ll be able to drink safely? Am I absolutely honest with myself and with other people? Have I taken an inventory of myself and admitted the wrong I have done? Have I come clean with my friends? Have I tried to make it up to them for the way I have treated them? rooms that I face the real test of the effectiveness of my walk through A.A.’s Twelve Steps. It is in situations arising in both of those areas that the little day-to-day frustrations are most evident, and where it can be tough to smile or reach out with a kind word or an attentive ear. At home or at work, though, it can be a difference story. It’s often not so hard to spread glad tidings to my old and new friends in the program. While I’m working to stay sober, I’m celebrating with my fellow A.A.s our common release from the hell of drinking. It’s usually pretty easy for me to be pleasant to the people in an A.A. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations and affairs. We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. ![]()
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