AA Thoughts For Today - December

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AA Thought for the Day

December 13

Principles above Personalities
As I’ve grown in the Fellowship, I’ve learned to love everyone
just from listening to what they had to say.
That person over there, or the one right here, may be the one God has chosen
to give me the message I need for today.
I must always remember to place principles above personalities.
- Daily Reflections, p. 365

Thought to Ponder . . .
Learn to listen; listen to learn.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

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

Anger
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed,
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.
c. 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 90

Thought to Consider . . .
Anger is the hot wind that extinguishes the light of reason.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A N G E R = Any No-Good Energy Rising

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

Traditions
>From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous":
"Then in one of our larger centers the amazing story got around that the Foundation and the New York office and the
book Alcoholics Anonymous were nothing but a huge racket. They had heard that the book Alcoholics Anonymous was
making vast sums of money, that Dr. Bob and I [Bill W.] shared profits of $64,000 the year before.
"The investigating committee's accountant read our modest financial statement aloud and testified to its correctness.
The committee was crestfallen and we received an apology.
"This was one of the test cases out of which A.A.'s Tradition respecting professionalism and paid workers was evolved.
It was certain that I could not continue full time nor Bob devote more than half his working hours to A.A. unless we both
had some definite source of steady income. That would be contrary to the then-forming Tradition of no contributions
from the outside world."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pgs. 193-94

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

"I can make any decision about my behavior and life, as long as I am prepared to deal with the consequences. I can decide to get drunk every night if I want to take the consequences ... Or I can decide to stay sober another day, and enjoy the consequences of that decision -- being able to deal realistically with another day in my life."
January 1977
"Sidebar,"
AA Grapevine

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

"If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to
let God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and
will have learned our lesson. If we are not sorry, and our conduct
continues to harm others, we are quite sure to drink. We are not
theorizing. These are facts out of our experience."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~

"It may seem incredible that these men are to become happy, respected,
and useful once more. How can they rise out of such misery, bad repute
and hopelessness? The practical answer is that since these things have
happened among us, they can happen with you. Should you wish them above
all else, and be willing to make use of our experience, we are sure
they will come."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 153~

I pointed out that I had had nothing to drink whatever for three years, and this in the face of difficulties that would have made nine out of ten men drink their heads off.
-Alcoholics Anonymous p.138

.. report that as a result of the practice of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, they have been able to meet other difficulties of ...
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.16

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: The Set Aside Prayer - "Dear God please help me to set aside everything I think I know about [people. place or thing] so I may have an open mind and a new experience. Please help me to see the truth about [people. place or thing]. AMEN." (This prayer comes from the Chapter to the Agnostic.)