AA Thought For Today - October

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AA Thought for the Day

October 28

Forgiveness
When I forgive someone I guess what I really mean to say
is that I admit I judge others.
Forgiving and condemning are God's business, not mine.
Only He has the mercy to judge and to accept at the same time.
My job is to achieve enough humility to see myself in others
and to accept both myself and others, by identifying.
The willingness to make amends will grow from this act of love.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 162

Thought to Ponder . . .
Forgiveness is the final form of love.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
C H A N G E D = Choosing Humility Allows New Growth Each Day.

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

Loneliness
"Almost without exception,
alcoholics are tortured by loneliness.
Even before our drinking got bad
and people began to cut us off,
nearly all of us suffered the feeling we didn't quite belong.
Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others,
or we were apt to be noisy good fellows
craving attention and companionship,
but never getting it -- at least to our way of thinking.
There was always that mysterious barrier
we could neither surmount nor understand. . .
That's one reason we loved alcohol too well.
It did let us act extemporaneously.
But even Bacchus boomeranged on us;
we were finally struck down and left
in terrified loneliness."
c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 57

Thought to Consider . . .
Isolation is a darkroom where we develop negatives.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H A L T = Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

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

Forgiveness
Step Eight: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
These obstacles, however, are very real. The first, and one of the most difficult has to do with forgiveness. The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong that he has done us. This is especially true if he has, in fact, behaved badly at all. Triumphantly we seize upon his misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.
1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 78

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

"In this life we shall attain nothing like perfect humility and love. So we shall have to settle, respecting most of our problems, for a very gradual progress, punctuated sometimes by heavy setbacks. Our old-time attitudes of 'all or nothing' will have to be abandoned."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., March 1962
"What Is Acceptance?"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to
find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and
direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal
consequences may be."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 79~

This painful past may be of infinite value to other families still
struggling with their problem. We think each family which has been
relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion
requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring
former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places.
Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing
which makes life seem so worth while to us now.
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 124~ a message...

He finally realizes that he has undergone a profound alteration in his reaction to life; that such a change could hardly have been brought about by himself alone.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.569

Our Twelfth Step also says that as a result of practicing all the Steps, we have each found something called a spiritual awakening.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.106

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'In our behavior respecting financial and emotional security, fear, greed, possessiveness, and pride have too often done their worst. Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability? Did fear and inferiority about my fitness for my job destroy my confidence and fill me with conflict? Or did I overvalue myself and play the big shot?
Businesswomen in A.A. will find that these questions often apply to them, too, and the alcoholic housewife can also make the family financially insecure. Indeed, all alcoholics need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have demolished their security.

Prayer for the Day: Help Me Remember - Lord, Help me remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can't handle.