Thoughts For The Day~*~Humility ^*^*^ April 2
TransitionsDaily
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Humility
"Our A.A. program is spiritually centered. Most of us have found enough humility to believe in and depend upon God. We have found that humility by facing the fact that alcoholism is a fatal malady over which we are individually powerless."
Bill W., Box 1980: The A.A. Grapevine, September 1945
The Language of the Heart, p. 7
Thought to Consider . . .
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
*~*AACRONYMS*~*
Y E T
You'll End up There
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
"When I finally got Hank on the telephone he fired me right
then. This was when I really took my first good look at myself. My loneliness
was worse than it had ever been before, for now even my own kind had turned
against me. This time it really hurt, more than any hangover ever had. My
brilliant agnosticism vanished, and I saw for the first time that those who
really believed, or at least honestly tried to find a Power greater than
themselves, were much more composed and contented than I had ever been, and they
seemed to have a degree of happiness I had never known."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth
Edition
Alcoholics Anonymous,
pgs. 228-29
CHARACTER BUILDING
Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44
When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step, I didn't think it should rank as a character defect. I wanted to think of it more as an asset (that is, the desire to please people). It was quickly pointed out to me that this "need" can be very crippling. Today I still enjoy getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to pay the price I used to pay to get it. I will not bend myself into a pretzel to get others to like me. If I get your approval, that's fine; but if I don't, I will survive without it. I am responsible for speaking what I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may want to hear.
Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly concerned about my reputation. Since being enlightened in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.
"When I was tired and couldn't concentrate, I used to fall back on an affirmation toward life that took the form of simple walking and deep breathing. I sometimes told myself that I couldn't do even this - that I was too weak. But I learned that this was the point at which I could not give in without becoming still more depressed. So I would set myself a small stint. I would determine to walk a quarter of a mile. And I would concentrate by counting my breathing - say, six steps to each slow inhalation and four to each exhalation. Having done the quarter-mile, I found that I could go on, maybe a half-mile more. Then another half-mile, and maybe another. This was encouraging. The false sense of physical weakness would leave me (this feeling being so characteristic of depressions). The walking and especially the breathing were powerful affirmations toward life and living and away from failure and death. The counting represented a minimum discipline in concentration, to get some rest from the wear and tear of fear and guilt."
LETTER, 1960
*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*
"So our troubles,
we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and
the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually
doesn't think so."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th
Edition
How It Works, pg. 62
*^Twenty
Four
Hours A
Day^*
A.A. Thought for the Day
Since I've been in A.A., have I
made a start toward becoming more loving to my family and friends? Do I visit my
parents? Am I more appreciative of my spouse than I was before? Am I grateful to
my family for having put up with me? Have I found real understanding with my
children? Do I feel that the friends I've found in A.A. are real friends? Do I
believe that they are always ready to help me and do I want to help them if I
can? Do I really care now about other people?
Meditation for the Day
Not what you do so
much as what you are, that is the miracle-working power. You can be a force for
good, with the help of God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to
company with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God's grace, you shed
one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time, you throw that one aside
for a yet finer one. And so from character to character, you are gradually
transformed.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that
I may accept every challenge. I pray that each acceptance of a challenge may
make me grow into a better person.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN
55012
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