AA Thoughts For Today - May

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AA Thought for the Day

May 7

Willpower
We know for sure that alcoholics do have tremendous willpower.
Consider the ways we could manage to get a drink in defiance of all visible possibilities.
Merely to get up some mornings -- with a rusting cast-iron stomach, all your teeth wearing tiny sweaters, and each hair electrified --
takes willpower many nondrinkers rarely dream of.
Once you've gotten up with your head, on those certain mornings, the ability to carry it all through the day
is further evidence of fabulous strength of will. Oh yes, real drinkers have real willpower.
The trick we learned was to put that will to work for our health, and to make ourselves explore recovery ideas at great length.
- Living Sober, p. 84

Thought to Ponder . . .
I had to get sober to be amazed.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

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

Control
"Most of us have been unwilling to admit
we were real alcoholics.
No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally
different from his fellows.
Therefore, it is not surprising
that our drinking careers have been characterized
by countless vain attempts to prove
we could drink like other people.
The idea that somehow, someday he will control
and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession
of every abnormal drinker.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death."
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30

Thought to Consider . . .
When a person tries to control their drinking
they have already lost control.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
STEPS
Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety

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

Honesty
>From "Our Survival:"
"The HONESTY expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the
flow of energy that HONESTY carries with it. The only obstacle to this flow of energy is inebriation, but even then, no
one will find a closed door if he or she has left and chooses to return. Once he or she has received the gift of sobriety,
each A.A. member is challenged on a daily basis to accept a program of HONESTY."
1990, Daily Reflections, page 311

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

"Everyone's recipe for serenity is different. It's like vegetable soup -- nobody makes it quite the same."
Chestertown, N.Y., January 2006
"Circles of Sobriety,"
AA Grapevine

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

"We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and
express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than
ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that

Power, which is God."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 46~

"Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or
trying on our own power. We had to have God's help."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62

Having so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with
neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 95

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Persistence in Prayer
We often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as something not really necessary. To be sure, we feel it is
something that might help us to meet an occasional emergency, but at first many of us are apt to regard it as a
somewhat mysterious skill of clergymen, from which we may hope to get a secondhand benefit.
In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowledge and
experience. All those who have persisted have found strength not ordinarily their own. They have found wisdom beyond
their usual capability. And they have increasingly found a peace of mind which can stand in the face of difficult
circumstances. TWELVE AND TWELVE- 1. P. 96 - 2. P. 104

Prayer For The Day: Dear Lord, You are my light and salvation. With you I am not afraid and have nothing to fear. Thank you for being there for me even when the hour is darkest.