AA Thoughts For Today - June

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AA Thought for the Day

June 24

Shortcomings
I have shortcomings and defects of character. I never have been and never can be perfect.
As that realization became a part of me -- and it took time -- it brought me one of the greatest of the many blessings
that have come to me from AA.
I learned to accept myself as a fallible human being. I do not have to strive for perfection.
Mistakes are permissible. I have the right to be wrong. And what a comfort that thought is to me,
as I make my bemused way through life, one foot in a bucket, pushing on doors marked "Pull."
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], pp. 167-168

Thought to Ponder . . .
Let me be wise enough to know when I am wrong.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T H I N K = Thank Heavens, I Now Know.

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

Self-will
"The first requirement is that we be convinced
that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.
On that basis we are almost always
in collision with something or somebody,
even though our motives are good.
Most people try to live by self-propulsion.
Each person is like an actor who wants
to run the whole show;
is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet,
the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way.
If his arrangements would only stay put,
if only people would do as he wished,
the show would be great.
Everybody, including himself, would be pleased.
Life would be wonderful."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 60-1

Thought to Consider . . .
It's not making a mistake that will kill me.
It's defending it that does the damage.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
N U T S = Not Using The Steps

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

Orderly Transfer
From: "When AA Came of Age"
The full attendance of thousands of A.A.s at St. Louis, representing an accurate cross-section of A.A. opinion, now sat in convention before us. On the auditorium stage was the Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous, about a hundred men and women who were the named and chosen representatives of the whole fellowship. The Conference, having completed the fifth year of its experimental period with a record of high success, was no longer an experiment. It was the instrument destined to become the heart of A.A.'s Third Legacy of Service and the whole of A.A.'s conscience, world-wide.
In the simple ceremony that followed, I offered a resolution to the effect that our society should now take its affairs into its own hands and that its Conference ought to become the permanent successor to the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Amid a roar of acclamation from the floor, the Convention carried that resolution. There was silence, and then we heard chairman Smith offer the resolution to the Conference for its confirmation. A simple show of hands expressed the consent of the Conference and marked the exact moment when A.A. came of age. It was four o'clock. [July 3, 1955]
1985, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, page 47

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

"Tradition Six enjoins the group never to go into business nor ever to lend the AA name or money credit to any 'outside' enterprise, no matter how good ... We would thus divide the spiritual from the material, confine the AA movement to its sole aim and insure (however wealthy as individuals we may become) that AA itself shall always remain poor. We dare not risk the distractions of corporate wealth."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., April 1948
"Tradition Six"
The Language of the Heart

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

"Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man,
woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured
by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or
other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as
old as man himself."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 55

"We have three little mottoes which are apropos.
Here they are:
First Things First
Live and Let Live
Easy Does It."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 135~

“Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery.”
-Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, p. 97 (Working with Others)

“Surrounded by so many A.A. friends, these so-called loners tell us they no longer feel alone.”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions – p. 120 (Step Twelve)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

All kinds of people have found their way into A.A. Not too long ago, I sat talking in my office with a member who bears the title of Countess. That same night, I went to an A.A. meeting. It was winter, and there was a mild-looking little gent taking the coats. I said, 'Who's that'
And somebody answered, 'Oh, he's been around for a long time. Everybody likes him. He used to be one of Al Capone's mob.' That's how universal A.A. is today.
We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. All of us, whatever our race, creed, or color, are the children of a living Creator, with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.

Prayer for the Day: God, forgive me where I have been resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid today. Help me to not keep anything to myself but to discuss it all openly with another person - show me where I owe an apology and help me make it. Help me to be kind and loving to all people. Use me in the mainstream of life, God. Free me of worry, remorse or morbid (sick) reflections that I may be of usefulness to others. AMEN