Recovery Thoughts & Quotes 10/7

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




Gratitude

"Another exercise that I practice is to try for a
full inventory of my blessings and then
for a right acceptance of the many gifts that are mine --
both temporal and spiritual. . .
I try to hold fast to the truth that a full and thankful heart
cannot entertain great conceits.
When brimming with gratitude,
one's heartbeat must surely result in outgoing love,
the finest emotion that we can ever know."
Bill. W., March 1962
c.1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 271
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Thought to Consider . . .

I have learned what a heart full of gratitude feels like.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H J F = Happy, Joyous, and Free

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



Best of Intentions
Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Of course, it is reasonable and understandable that the question is often asked: "Why can't we take a specific and troubling dilemma straight to God, and in prayer secure from Him sure and definite answers to our requests?"

This can be done, but it has hazards. We have seen AAs ask with much earnestness and faith for God's explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a shattering domestic or financial crisis to correcting a minor personal fault, like tardiness. Quite often, however, the thoughts that seem to come from God are not answers at all. They prove to be well-intentioned unconscious rationalizations. The AA, or indeed any man, who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God for replies, is a particularly disconcerting individual. To any questioning or criticism of his actions he instantly proffers his reliance upon prayer for guidance in all matters great or small. He may have forgotten the possibility that his own wishful thinking and the human tendency to rationalize have distorted his so-called guidance. With the best of intentions, he tends to force his own will into all sorts of situations and problems with the comfortable assurance that he is acting under God's specific direction. Under such an illusion, he can of course create great havoc without in the least intending it.

1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages 103-104

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*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book Quote ^*~*~*~*~ *
"Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100

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Misc. AA Literature - Quote




There is only one sure test of all spiritual experiences: 'By their fruits, ye shall know them.'
This is why I think we should question no one's transformation - whether it be sudden or gradual. Nor should we demand anyone's special type for ourselves, because experience suggests that we are apt to receive whatever may be the most useful for our own needs.

Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right track.

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Member Submitted Quote



AA is not a program to get sober... it's a program to live your life successfully and to be happy once you get sober.

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12 x 12 Quote

"To my surprise, the response of the groups was slow. I got mighty
sore about it. Looking at this avalanche of mail one morning at the
office, I paced up and down ranting how irresponsible and tightwad my
fellow members were. Just then an old acquaintance stuck a tousled
and aching head in the door. He was our prize slippee. I could see he
had an awful hangover. Remembering some of my own, my heart filled
with pity. I motioned him to my inside cubicle and produced a five-
dollar bill. As my total income was thirty dollars a week at the
time, this was a fairly large donation. Lois really needed the money
for groceries, but that didn't stop me. The intense relief on my
friends face warmed my heart. I felt especially virtuous as I thought
of all the ex-drunks who wouldn't even send the Foundation a dollar
apiece, and here I was gladly making a five-dollar investment to fix
a hangover." (Twelve and Twelve, Tradition Seven, pg. 162)