Alcoholics Anonymous | Step 3 | March 25

Alcoholics Anonymous | Step 3 | March 25 |

Wisdom gained from open, honest and willing actions improves our daily courage, faith and confidence ~ Thomas Jefferson "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" ~ Closed, unwilling and isolated we remain fearful, need find a brave face and find a brittle ego to shield us from our dark...

Letting go old patterns of thinking and feeling, simply letting go bad habits is never easy until it becomes so.. ~ Benjamin Franklin "The doors of wisdom are never shut" -/- With courage we look outward, with faith we see truth, we have choices and with confidence we walk into a new day...

Daily Reflections ~ A FULL AND THANKFUL HEART I try hard to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart cannot entertain certain conceits. When brimming with gratitude, one’s heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love, the finest emotion that we can ever know. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37

I believe that we in Alcoholics Anonymous are fortunate in that we are constantly reminded of the need to be grateful and of how important gratitude is in our sobriety. I am truly grateful for the sobriety God has given me through the A.A. program and am glad I can give back what was given to me freely. I am grateful not only for sobriety, but for the quality of life my sobriety has brought. God has been gracious enough to give me sober days and a life blessed with peace and contentment, as well as the ability to give and receive love, and the opportunity to serve others — in our Fellowship, my family and community. For all of this, I have “a full and thankful heart.”

As Bill Sees It ~ Never Again! "Most people feel more secure on the twenty-four-hour basis than they do in the resolution that they will never drink again. Most of them have broken too many resolutions. It's really a matter of personal choice; every A.A. has the privilege of interpreting the program as he likes.

"Personally, I take the atitude that I intend never to drink again. This is somewhat different from saying, `I will never drink again.' The latter attitude sometimes gets people in trouble because it is undertaking on a personal basis to do what we alcoholics never could do. It is too much an act of will and leaves us too little room for the idea that God will release us fromthe drink obsession provided we follow the A.A. program." LETTER, 1949

Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions, steps to be open honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity service and recovery.

spiritual principles ~ acceptance surrender faith open-mindedness honesty willingness moral-inventory amends humility persistence spiritual-growth service

Step 3 "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him" Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is only one key, and it is called willingness. Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription. It reads: "This is the way to a faith that works." We find faith in doing the next right action, based on truth, love and wisdom we learn as life unfolds.

Open To Truth, Love And Wisdom of Others [we let go having to be right, self obsessed and self medicating our lives away into oblivion and harms way]

We find it amazing that the newcomer can start the A.A. program without any specific beliefs or, for that matter, without any beliefs whatsoever. All a person needs is the open-mindedness and the willingness to believe that WE BELIEVE this program works...

"God [it is what I understand to be God or a "Higher Power," always a personal understanding we have for ourselves, there is no AA or common understanding, simply what you believe] God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference" God is often understood to be: Truth, Love and Wisdom in the moment of now... your faith, your understanding.

Alcoholics Anonymous, DonInLondon, Life Works In Recovery, Addiction And Recovery, Alcoholic, Alcoholism

Alcoholics Anonymous | DonInLondon | Life Works In Recovery |

Big Book Readings Chapter 1-9