AA Thoughts For Today - March

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AA Thought for the Day

March 26

Quality of Willingness

But now it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do.
All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the
quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can
make the decision to exert himself. Trying to do this is an act of his own will. All
of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their
principles and so, we trust, to God's will.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 40

Thought to Ponder . . .
Willpower ... our will-ingness to have and connect with a Higher Power.

AA-related 'Alconym'
W O W = Willingness Over Willpower.

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

Possibilities
"How shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now adjust to either without despair or pride?
Can we accept poverty, sickness, loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? The AA answer to these
questions about living is 'Yes, all of these things are possible.'"
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 112

Thought to Consider . . .
It works - it really does.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 88

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
EGO
Easing God Out

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

Medicine
From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"The medical aspect of alcoholism includes the problem of hospitalization, and here also great progress has been
made. Many hospitals have been reluctant to take alcoholics at all. State and Provincial institutions usually have required
alcoholics to stay for long periods of commitment. Therefore it has been difficult and it still is to persuade the average
general hospital to take in A.A. prospects for short periods of treatment and to grant sponsors the necessary visiting
privileges in co-operation with our local Intergroup Associations.
"It is good to report that this condition is rapidly changing for the better. Our pioneering activity in this field, together with
the use which A.A. Headquarters has been able to make of that experience, has a special interest for us all. Two
American hospitals have afforded fine examples of how medicine and A.A. can best co-operate. At St. Thomas Hospital
in Akron Dr. Bob, the wonderful Sister Ignatia, and the hospital staff presided over an alcoholic ward which had treated
several thousand alcoholics by the time of Dr. Bob's death in 1950. And beginning in 1945, Knickerbocker Hospital in
New York provided an A.A. ward under the care of our first friend in medicine, Dr. William D. Silkworth, who was
assisted with rare devotion and skill by nurse Teddy. By 1954, 10,000 alcoholics had been referred to Knickerbocker by
the New York Intergroup Association and had passed through this ward, the majority on their way to freedom. [c. 1959]"
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg.206

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

"When we early AAs got our first glimmer of how spiritually prideful we could be, we coined this expression: 'Don't try to
get too damned good by Thursday!'"
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., June 1961
"Humility for Today"
The Best of Bill

~*~*~*~*^ 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

"If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no
middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was
becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which
there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives:
One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of
our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept
spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were
willing to make the effort."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~

The answer, now seen in Tradition Three, was simplicity itself.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 141

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'Room for Improvement'
WE have come to believe that A.A.'s recovery Steps and Traditions represent the approximate truths which we need for our particular purpose. The more we practice them, the more we like them. So there is little doubt that A.A. principles will continue to be advocated in the form they stand now.
If our basics are so firmly fixed as all this, then what is there left to change or to improve?
The answer will immediately occur to us. While we need not alter our truths, we can surely improve their application to ourselves, to A.A. as a whole, and to our relation with the world around us. We can constantly step up the practice of 'these principles in all our affairs.' GRAPEVINE, FEBRUARY 1961

Prayer For The Day: Dear heavenly Father, I come to You with a thankful heart for all the things You have done for me. I really cannot thank You enough. I do want to continue to be one of Your faithful servants. I must rely on You to fill me with Your love and strength every day in order to be obedient and serve You. Help me to be able to share Your love with all those who You allow me to be a witness to. Lord, help me to overcome the sin and weaknesses that hinder Your work in my life. I do ask for the grace to die to my ways and live unto Yours. Help me to be diligent in all the things that You have commissioned me to do. May I reflect Your glory and love to all who know me. I ask this in Your name, Amen.