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AA Thought for the Day

May 20

Trust and Reliance
Perhaps there is a better way—we think so. For we are now on a different basis;
the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than
our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the
extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him,
does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 68

Thought to Ponder . . .
Serenity is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F R O G = Fully Rely On God.

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

Communicate
"From the beginning,
communication in AA has been no ordinary transmission
of helpful ideas and attitudes.
It has been unusual and sometimes unique.
Because of our kinship in suffering,
and because our common means of deliverance
are effective for ourselves only when
constantly carried to others,
our channels of contact have always been charged with
the language of the heart."
Bill W., July 1960
1988AAGrapevine, The Language of the Heart, p. 243

Thought to Consider . . .
To help each other, is to help ourselves.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
Y A N A = You Are Not Alone

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

Honesty
STEP FIVE: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
"More realism and therefore more honesty about ourselves are the great gains we make under the influence of Step
Five. As we took inventory, we began to suspect how much trouble self-delusion had been causing us. This had
brought a disturbing reflection. If all our lives we had more or less fooled ourselves, how could we now be so sure that
we weren't still self-deceived? How could we be certain that we had made a true catalog of our defects and had really
admitted them, even to ourselves? Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was probable
we couldn't appraise ourselves fairly at all. Too much guilt and remorse might cause us to dramatize and exaggerate
our shortcomings. Or anger and hurt pride might be the smoke screen under which we were hiding some of our defects
while we blamed others for them. Possibly, too, we were still handicapped by many liabilities, great and small, we never
knew we had.
"Hence it was most evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects based upon that alone,
wouldn't be nearly enough. We'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit the truth about
ourselves the help of God and another human being."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs. 58-59

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

"Through Step Five, God has removed my shame about being an alcoholic."
Syracuse, N.Y., May 2001
"Lifting the Burden,"
Step By Step

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

"We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time
to outgrow that serious handicap."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 125~

"I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do
with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and
direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was
nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and
became willing to have my new found Friend take them away, root and branch."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, pg. 13~

“Beginning with Step Four, we commenced to search out the things in ourselves which had brought us to physical,
moral, and spiritual bankruptcy.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 107

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Defects and Repairs
More than most people, the alcoholics leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his
stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his
heart he doesn't deserve it.
Guilt is really the reverse side of the coin of pride. Guilt aims at self-destruction, and pride aims at the destruction of others.
The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at
them in a true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still
cuts and inhibits.

Prayer For The Day: Lord God, I do earnestly pray that thou wilt give me strength to break away, if I may be trying to free myself from habits that mar my character. May I not lose courage and fall back in the old ways, but by faith be led where I should go. Amen.