AA Thought for the Day - July 12, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

July 12, 2015

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Balance
Our sponsors come to the rescue.  They can do this, for they are the carriers of AA's experience with Step Four. . .
This, the sponsor promptly proves by talking freely and easily, and without exhibitionism,
about his own defects, past and present. . .
This tends to clear away morbidity and encourage balance.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 46

Thought to Ponder . . .
A sponsor is someone who holds the light while you dig.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
B A T H = Balance, Action, Thinking, Habits.

A Member Shares:
I'm Ron, an alcoholic.  If you are new, welcome!  I hope you hear something today that will help keep you sober, and that you have picked up enough pieces of the Alcoholism puzzle to find a new life.  One of the hardest things for me to learn was balance.  I think my balance scale was broken.  I’m an extreme person; I drank to extreme limits, and I drove my car beyond the extreme limits.  Anger, resentments, and lust -- all these things were always “extreme."  When I came into AA, I carried those extremes with me by going to several meetings each day and always having to put my two cents in.  My sponsor taught me to put balance in my life so I wouldn't go to the extreme ends of things.  When I sat down to do my Fourth Step, I wanted to write the “Great Drunk” novel.  That’s not how we do a 4th Step, by the way.  If we look at a scale, we see there are 3 points -- a center leg and 2 pans.  For me, I needed physical, emotional, and spiritual balance.  Here in AA, we also have three legs which we call our Three Legacies.  We share our experience, strength and hope; Recovery, Unity and Service; Steps, Traditions and Concepts.  With these three legs, I can achieve balance in my life.  So, for those of you who are new, come in and listen to the music of Alcoholics Anonymous.  And I hope you stay long enough to learn the words.  Thanks.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

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