AA Thoughts For Today - February

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AA Thought for the Day

February 28

Self Justification

First off, they can be told that the majority of A.A. members have
suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days.
For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses,
of course, for drinking, and for all kinds of crazy and damaging
conduct. We had made the invention of alibis a fine art.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 46

Thought to Ponder . . .
The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.

AA-related 'Alconym'
J A D E = Justify, Argue, Defend, or Explain.

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

Self-appraisal
"I used to be a champ at unrealistic self-appraisal.
I wanted to look only at the part of my life
which seemed good.
Then I would greatly exaggerate whatever virtues
I supposed I had attained.
Next I would congratulate myself on the grand job
I was doing.
So my unconscious self-deception never failed
to turn my few good assets into serious liabilities.
This astonishing process was always a pleasant one. . .
I was falling straight back
into the pattern of my drinking days. . .
I shall forever regret the damage I did to people around me.
Indeed, I still tremble when I realize
what I might have done to AA and to its future."
Bill W., June 1961
1988 AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, pp. 256-7

Thought to Consider . . .
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Altered Attitudes

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

Renewed
From "An Open Heart":
"I had nothing to do with this gift coming to me, so my gratitude is beyond description. It did not take me back to the
person I was before drinking. It gave me a new life rather, life itself, because I had attempted suicide and had been
hospitalized in private and state mental hospitals. It must have been spiritual; it was neither intellectual nor physical,
that's for sure. I believe it was God as I understand Him, working through the love and understanding available in A.A.
May I keep my heart open. The joy which can come to an open heart is unlimited.--New York, New York, USA"
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 51

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

"We found that all progress, material or spiritual, consisted of finding out what our responsibilities actually were and then
proceeding to do something about them ... We found that we didn't always have to be driven by our own discomforts as,
more willingly, we picked up the burdens of living and growing ... We discovered that full acceptance and action upon
any clear-cut responsibility almost invariably made for true happiness and peace of mind."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., July 1965
From: "Responsibility Is Our Theme"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Without knowing it, had we not been brought to where we stood by a
certain kind of faith? For did we not believe in our own reasoning?
Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What was that
but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful, abjectly faithful to
the God of Reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that
faith had been involved all the time!"
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 53~

"Highly competent psychiatrists who have dealt with us have found it
sometimes impossible to persuade an alcoholic to discuss his
situation without reserve. Strangely enough, wives, parents and
intimate friends usually find us even more unapproachable than do the
psychiatrist and the doctor.
But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is
properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire
confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an
understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 18~

And as we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instincts need to undergo drastic revisions.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 114

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Conviction and Compromise
One qualification for a useful life is give-and-take, the ability to compromise cheerfully. Compromise comes hard to us
'all or nothing' drunks. Nevertheless, we must never lose sight of the fact that progress is nearly always characterized
by a series of improving compromises.
Of course, we cannot always compromise. There are circumstances in which it is necessary to stick flat-footed to one's
convictions until the issue is resolved. Deciding when to compromise and when not to compromise always calls for the
most careful discrimination. TWELVE CONCEPTS, pp. 40-41

Prayer for the Day: May the God of hope fill me and all of us with the joy and peace that comes from believing, so that
we may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.