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AA Thought for the Day

August 4

Self-Centered
Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame.
He becomes angry, indignant, self-pitying. What is his basic trouble?
Is he not really a self-seeker even when trying to be kind?
Is he not a victim of the delusion that he can wrest satisfaction and happiness
out of this world if he only manages well?
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 61

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

AA-related 'Alconym'
W I S D O M = When Into Self, Discover Our Motives.

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

Resentment
"If you have a resentment you want to be rid of,
if you will pray for the person or the thing you resent,
you will be free.
If you will ask in prayer for everything
you want for yourself to be given to them,
you will be free.
Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness,
and you will be free.
Even when you don't really want it for them,
and your prayers are only words
and you don't mean it, go ahead and do it anyway.
Do it every day for two weeks and you will find
you have come to mean it and to want it for them,
and you will realize that where you used to feel
bitterness and resentment and hatred,
you now feel compassionate understanding
and love."
1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 552

Thought to Consider . . .
An expectation is a premeditated resentment.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
F E A R = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment

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

No Control Whatever
From: "More About Alcoholism"
A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and
quieted himself with more liquor. He was ambitious to succeed in business, but saw that he would get nowhere if he
drank at all. Once he started, he had no control whatever. He made up his mind that until he had been successful in
business and had retired, he would not touch another drop. An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five
years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career. Then he fell victim to a belief
which practically every alcoholic has - that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as
other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He
tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces,
he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not. Every means of solving his problem which money could buy
was at his disposal. Every attempt failed. Though a robust man at retirement, he went to pieces quickly and was dead
within four years
2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, pages 32-33

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

"I am grateful to AA that I have learned some humility, so when offered help, I can now say, 'Yes, I can use your assistance.'"
Queens, New York, May 2014, May 2014
"Yes Please, I Could Use Some Help,"
AA Grapevine

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

"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47

"Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step
of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never
attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it
could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a
strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves
which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had
to get down to causes and conditions.
Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 63~

"This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right
any new mistakes as we go along."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 84 (Into Action)

"Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 76 (Step Seven)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

For most of us, the first years of A.A. are something like a honeymoon. There is a new and potent reason to stay alive, joyful activity aplenty. For a time, we are diverted from the main life problems. That is all to the good.
'But when the honeymoon has worn off, we are obliged to take our lumps, like other people. This is where the testing starts. Maybe the group has pushed us onto the side lines. Maybe difficulties have intensified at home, or in the world outside. Then the old behavior patterns reappear. How well we recognize and deal with them reveals the extent of our progress.'
The wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, as my behavior propels me to continue to move, allow me to move forward and up.