Fear and faith June 21 The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed. When under heavy attack, acute illness, or in […]

Today, I'm free June 22 This brought me to the good healthy realization that there were plenty of situations left in the world over which I had no personal power […]

Trusting others June 23 But does trust require that we be blind to other people's motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, […]

A spiritual kindergarten June 24 We are only operating a spiritual kindergarten in which people are enabled to get over drinking and find the grace to go on living to […]

A two-way street June 25 If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way […]

A gift that grows with time June 26 For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous […]

Conforming to the A.A. way June 27 We obey A.A.'s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; […]

A rippling effect June 29 Having learned to live so happily, we'd show everyone else how. . . . Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that […]

Sacrifice = Unity = Survival June 30 The unity, the effectiveness, and even the survival of A.A. will always depend upon our continued willingness to give up some of our […]

The best for today July 01 The principles we have set down are guides to progress. Alcoholics anonymous, p. 60 Just as a sculptor will use different tools to achieve […]

The heart of true sobriety July 02 We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But […]

EXPERIENCE: THE BEST TEACHER July 03 Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all […]

A natural faith July 04 . . . deep down in every man, woman and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, […]

A new direction July 05 Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly. . . . Every day is a day when we must […]

Identifying fear . . . July 06 The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear. . . . Twelve steps and twelve traditions, p. 76 When I feel […]

. . . And letting go of it July 07 . . . primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we […]

. . . And letting go of it July 07 . . . primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we […]

I am an instrument July 09 Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Twelve steps and twelve traditions, p. 70 The subject of humility is a difficult one. Humility is […]

Toward peace and serinity July 10 . . . when we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have discussed them with another, and have become willing […]

A turning point July 11 A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. […]

Giving up the center stage July 12 For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. . . . Without it, they cannot live to much […]

HUMILITY IS A GIFT July 13 As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all […]

A nourishing ingradient July 14 Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. […]

Pride July 15 For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance. When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream […]

"A measure of humility" July 16 In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. […]

Surrender and self-examination July 17 My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive. Thus I think it can work out with emotional sobriety. […]

Grateful for what I have July 18 During this process of learning more about humility, the most profound result of all was the change in our attitude toward God. Twelve […]

False pride July 19 Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His […]

Shortcomings removed July 20 But now the words "Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works" began to carry bright promise and meaning. Twelve steps and twelve traditions, […]

A priceless gift July 21 By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is […]

"The good and the bad" July 22 "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad." Alcoholics anonymous, p. 76 The joy of […]

I ask God to decide July 23 "I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you […]

Helping others July 24 Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. Alcoholics anonymous, p. 20 Self-centeredness […]

Those who still suffer July 25 For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity. Twelve steps and twelve […]

The "worth" of sobriety July 26 Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Twelve steps and twelve traditions, p. 160 When I go shopping I look […]

Giving freely July 27 We will make every personal sacrifice necessary to insure the unity of Alcoholics Anonymous. We will do this because we have learned to love God and […]

Those who still suffer July 28 Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a […]

Anonymous gifts of kindness July 29 As active alcoholics we were always looking for a handout in one way or another. "The twelve traditions illustrated," p. 14 The challenge of […]

Giving back July 30 . . . he has struck something better than gold. . . .He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode […]

A prayer for all seasons July 31 God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can, And wisdom to know […]

Living it August 01 The spiritual life is not a theory.  We have to live it. Alcoholics anonymous, p. 83 When new in the program, I couldn't comprehend living the […]

WE BECOME WILLING . . . August 02 At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not an end in itself. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, […]

 . . To be of service August 03 Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us. Alcoholics anonymous, p. […]

Seeds of faith August 04 Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives. Twelve steps […]

Listening deeply August 05 How persistently we claim the right to decide all by ourselves just what we shall think and just how we shall act. Twelve steps and twelve […]

Driven August 06 Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Alcoholics anonymous, p. 62 My […]

A "design for living" August 07 We in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved […]

"Made a list . . ." August 08 Made a list of all persons we had harmed, . . . Twelve steps and twelve traditions, p. 77 When I approached […]

". . . Of all persons we had harmed" August 09 . . . and became willing to make amends to them all. Twelve steps and twelve traditions, p. 77 […]

Redoubling our efforts August 10 To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts […]

Removing  "the ground glass" August 11 The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them […]

A look backward August 12 First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the […]

A clean sweep August 13 . . . and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may […]

Repairing the damage August 14 We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we […]

Didn't we hurt anybody? August 15 Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves. […]

"I had dropped out" August 16 We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have "harmed" other people. What kinds of "harm" do people do […]

Righting the harmI August 17 In many instances we shall find that though the harm done others has not been great, the emotional harm we have done ourselves has. Twelve […]

Getting well August 18 Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness. Twelve steps and twelve traditions, pp. 79-80 Only through positive action can […]

A frame of reference August 19 Referring to our list again. Putting out of our minds the wrongs others had done, we resolutely looked for our own mistakes. Where had […]

Toward emotional freedom August 20 Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could […]