AA Thoughts For Today - May

[bluidkiti]

AA Thought for the Day

May 21

The Root of Our Troubles

Selfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,
we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt
us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time
in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a
position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 62

Thought to Ponder . . .
.When I choose the behavior, I choose the consequences.

AA-related 'Alconym'
I S M = I, Self, Me.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Defiance
"'As psychiatrists have often observed,
defiance is the outstanding characteristic of
many an alcoholic.
When we encountered AA,
the fallacy of our defiance was revealed.
At no time had we asked what God's will was for us;
instead we had been telling Him what it ought to be.
No man, we saw,
could believe in God and defy Him, too.
Belief meant reliance, not defiance.
In AA we saw the fruits of this belief:
men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe.'"
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 31

Thought to Consider . . .
While it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
SIT
Stay In Today

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Beginning
From "Tightrope":
"My sponsor was a living damper on my intolerance. But even more, he told me that it would be all right for me to doubt
God, that A.A. was not a religious program and, to belong, I did not have to adhere to any set of beliefs.
"He suggested that for me a good starting point would simply be recognition of the fact that I had failed in running the
world in short, acceptance of the fact that I was not God. He also suggested that I might try occasionally to act as if I
believed. Somewhere I had heard that it is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than to think yourself into a
new way of acting, and this made sense in the context of 'acting as if.'"
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 366

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"I can recognize that I'm caught up in my will when I desperately struggle to slam a square peg into a round hole. That's
the time for me to back off and trust that God's will is far better than mine."
Elloree, S.C., November 2013
"Square Peg, Round Hole,"
AA Grapevine

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found
we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always
followed spiritual progress; it never preceded."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 127~

"More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very
much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character.
This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a
certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 73~

So, practicing these Steps, we had a spiritual awakening about which finally there was no question.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 109

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'Restore Us to Sanity'
Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea how irrational they are, or, seeing their irrationality, can bear
to face it. For example, some will be willing to term themselves 'problem drinkers,' but cannot endure the suggestion
that they are in fact mentally ill.
They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not understand the difference between sane drinking and
alcoholism. 'Sanity' is defined as 'soundness of mind.' Yet no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior,
whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or his own moral fiber, can claim 'soundness of mind' for himself.

Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, grant me the strength to get through today. Grant me your wisdom to handle situations I cannot control.