"And what can be said of many AA members who, for a variety of reasons, cannot have a family life? At first many of these feel lonely, hurt, and left out as...
"Where the possession of money and material things was concerned, our outlook underwent the same revolutionary change. With a few exceptions, all of us had...
"Upon entering AA, these attitudes were sharply reversed, often going much too far in the opposite direction. The spectacle of years of waste threw us into...
"This all meant, of course, that we were still far off balance. When a job still looked like a mere means of getting money rather than an opportunity for...
"But as time passed we found that with the help of AA's Twelve Steps we could lose those fears, no matter what our material prospects were. We could cheerfully...
"Let's here take note of our improved outlook upon the problems of personal importance, power, ambition, and leadership. These were reefs upon which many of us...
"Practically every boy in the United States dreams of becoming our President. He wants to be his country's number one man. As he gets older and sees the...
"But not so with alcoholics. When AA was quite young, a number of eminent psychologists and doctors made an exhaustive study of a good- sized group of...
"How we alcoholics did resent that verdict! We would not believe that our adult dreams were often truly childish. And considering the rough deal life had given...
"In the years since, however, most of us have come to agree with those doctors. We have had a much keener look at ourselves and those about us. We have seen...
"But today, in well-matured AA's, these distorted drives have been restored to something like their true purpose and direction. We no longer strive to dominate...
"Still more wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be specially distinguished among our fellows in order to be useful and profoundly happy. Not many...
"These little studies of AA's Twelve Steps now come to a close. We have been considering so many problems that it may appear that AA consists mainly of racking...
"With each passing day of our lives, may every one of us sense more deeply the inner meaning of AA's simple prayer: God grant us the serenity to accept the...
"Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly...
"The moment they read Step Two, most AA newcomers are confronted with a dilemma, sometimes a serious one. How often have we heard them cry out, 'Look what you...
"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...
"Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their...
"All of AA's Twelve steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires...they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to...
"'This is the Step that separates the men from the boys.' So declares a well-loved clergyman who happens to be one of AA's greatest friends. He goes on to...
"Since this Step so specifically concerns itself with humility, we should pause here to consider what humility is and what the practice of it can mean to us....
"Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relations. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a...
"Good judgment, a careful sense of timing, courage, and prudence--these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine. After we have made the list of...
"As we work the first nine Steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten we commence to put our AA way of living...
"Prayer and meditation are our principal means of conscious contact with God. We AA's are active folk, enjoying the satisfactions of dealing with the realities...
"The joy of living is the theme of AA's Twelfth Step, and action is its key word. Here we turn outward toward our fellow alcoholics who are still in distress....
"The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay whole,...
"Where does AA get its direction? Who runs it? This, too, is a puzzler for every friend and newcomer. When told that our Society has no president having...
"This Tradition is packed with meaning. For AA is really saying to every serious drinker, 'You are an AA member if you say so. You can declare yourself in;...
"Autonomy is a ten-dollar word. But in relation to us, it means very simply that every AA group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when AA as...
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