AA Thought for the Day - August 26, 2015

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

August 26, 2015

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Experience, Strength and Hope
The AA Preamble:
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women
who share their experience, strength and hope with each other
that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
- © The AA Grapevine, Inc.

Thought to Ponder . . .
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
E S H = Experience, Strength, Hope.

A Member Shares:
Mab, here, crusty trudger of AA.  "Experience, Strength and Hope" ... when I really look at that phrase, instead of just using "ESH" as our familiar sharing, I’m reminded that we ought to share the message, not the mess.  But then, often the mess is what gives us the lessons and the experience we need to gather up our strength, which provides a glimmer of hope.  And what is this thing called strength?  Out of my weakness and flaws come most of my lessons.  Any strength I have comes from you all; the sharing of coming through disasters, errors and personal failures to new freedoms, integrity, and self-respect.  Also, my strength comes from surrender and dependence upon a Higher Power.  So again, we see the mystical opposites and incongruities of working an AA program, similar to “we die in order to live,” and “give it away to keep it.”  When I am whining and wallowing, I can count on good AA folk to prop me up or kick my bottom, and reveal my flawed insane thinking and attitude and set me on my feet again.  Seems our strengths are in our dependence and weaknesses ... how ironic that is!  I love it.  And always there is hope in the rooms of AA.  We dream of a better “us," we envision the ideal, yet we know we will never complete the journey, nor do we wish to, although someday, we must to the other world go to make our accounting.  So, may we not waste the day but make each one a beautiful work of art, and Beauty is ever present even as we imperfectly trod along this path.  We be blessed.
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(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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