The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous tells us that once be begin our journey in recovery certain things will come true for us. The time tends to vary, but they do come true if we work for them.
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We are going to know a new freedom & a new happiness.
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We will not regret the past, nor wish to shut the door on it.
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We will comprehend the word Serenity.
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We will know peace.
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No matter how far down the scale we’ve gone, we’ll see how our experiences can benefit others.
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That feeling of uselessness & self-pity will disappear.
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We will lose interest in selfish things & gain interest in our fellows.
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Self-seeking will slip away.
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Our whole attitude & outlook on life will change.
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Fear of people & economic insecurity will leave us.
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We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us.
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We will suddenly realize that God/Our Higher Power is doing for us what we could not to for ourselves.
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They’re being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They’ll always materialize ~ if we work for them.
From the Big Book Of Alcoholics Anonymous
Below, I have listed some of the exact quotes for you!
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. (Pg.83-84)
And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone - even alcohol. For by this time sanity will have returned. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened automatically. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality - safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition. (pg.84)
Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives. (pg.89)
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This Website was last updated on:
January 25, 2007
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