AA Thoughts For Today - May

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AA Thought for the Day

May 23

Pride
As for those bad habits I once listed as defects, I am trying to arrest them one day at a time, as I do my alcoholism.
A little progress has been made on pride.
I can now admit that most of my problems stem from one glaring defect: self-centeredness.
For how can I wallow in self-pity, weep over resentments, be sick with righteous anger, ache with envy,
tense up with fears and anxieties unless all my thoughts are exclusively on poor me?
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 158

Thought to Ponder . . .
If I self-forget I find.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
P R I D E = Personal Recovery Involves Deflating Ego.

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

Acceptance
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.
When I am disturbed, it is because I find
some person, place, thing, or situation
- some fact of my life -
unacceptable to me, and I can find
no serenity until I accept that person,
place, thing, or situation as being exactly
the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens
in God's world by mistake.
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober;
unless I accept life completely on life's terms,
I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what
needs to be changed in the world
as on what needs to be changed
in me and in my attitudes."

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417 4th Edition
Note: Dr. Paul O., author of these words, passed away 5.12.00.

Thought to Consider . . .
"My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance."
Dr. Paul O., Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 417

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
ABC
Acceptance, Belief, Change

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

Inspiration
>From "This Spirit Touch":
"At some time, perhaps in a more moderate way, nearly everyone has experienced this spirit touch of God, the fleeting
feeling of insight, love, joy, and 'The world is right.' Once, I thought that only unusual circumstances made these
moments possible. Actually, I now think, they are forecasts of what one can have if one is willing to take the time and
make the effort. Peace, love, and joy can be sought through quiet thinking and honest prayer. The wholeness, the new
awareness, that is produced affects one's relationship with God and man to a degree greater than would seem possible
in ordinary life."

1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 65

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

"The word 'alcoholic' does not turn me off anymore; in fact, it is music to my ears when it applies to me."
July 1975
"One of Those Bad Cons Nobody Can Reach,"
AA Grapevine

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

"If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation
of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to
alcohol."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 33~

"First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn't work."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62~

Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being willing to take advice and accept direction could we
set foot on the road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 59

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit. Mostly, I think, about how to do the greatest good for the
greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats and snits over small questions of money management and
who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any bunch of growing children (and that is what we are) would
hardly be in character if they did less.
These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather
rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise.

Prayer For The Day: Dear heavenly Father, thank you that You called me to be Your servant. Lord, give me the grace to serve You well. I do thank You for Your wisdom also. Guide me daily in the things that I must do and show me my priorities. Help me to be sensitive to the needs of those around me. Lord, I am looking to You to meet all of my needs. Give me peace and confidence when I must deal with situations that are difficult for me. May I speak the truth in love and be open myself for correction when You see something in my life that needs changing. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.