AA Thought For Today - October

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AA Thought for the Day

October 17

Anger
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what,
there is something wrong with us.
If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also.
But are there no exceptions to this rule?
What about "justifiable" anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad?
Can't we be properly angry with self-righteous folk?
For us of AA these are dangerous exceptions. We have found that justified anger
ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 90

Thought to Ponder . . .
Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A N G E R = A Negative Grudge Endangers Recovery.

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

Debits
"As we glance down the debit side of the day's ledger,
we should carefully examine our motives
in each thought or act that appears to be wrong.
In most cases our motives won't be hard to see and understand.
When prideful, angry, jealous, anxious, or fearful,
we acted accordingly, and that was that.
Here we need only recognize that we did act or think badly,
try to visualize how we might have done better,
and resolve with God's help to carry these lessons over into tomorrow,
making, of course, any amends still neglected."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 94

Thought to Consider . . .
Life is too short to be small.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O W N O W = Honest, Open-minded, Willing. No Other Way!

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

Forgive Myself
From: "Those Other People"

Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to anybody.
So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the unreasonableness of sick people.
Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others - also myself. Have you recently tried this?
Letter, 1946
1967, AAWS, Inc., As Bill Sees It, page 268

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

"A new spiritual awakening can come at every meeting."
Hartsdale-Ardsley, N.Y., January 1957
"Twelve Steps to a Meeting,"
Into Action

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

"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 3rd Edition More About Alcoholism Page 30

If we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written down a lot.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.70

Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.42

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Our attitude toward the giving of time when compared with our attitude toward giving money presents an interesting contrast. We give a lot of our time to A.A. activities for our own protection and growth, but also for the sake of our groups, our areas, A.A. as a whole, and, above all, the newcomer. Translated into terms of money, these collective sacrifices would add up to a huge sum.
But when it comes to the actual spending of cash, particularly for A.A. service overhead, many of us are apt to turn a bit reluctant. We think of the loss of all that earning power in our drinking years, of those sums we might have laid by for emergencies or for education of the kids.
In recent years, this attitude is everywhere on the decline; it quickly disappears when the real need for a given A.A. service becomes clear. Donors can seldom see what the exact result has been. They well know, however, that countless thousands of other alcoholics and their families are being helped.

Prayer for the Day: An Irish Blessing -
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.