Thoughts for the Day – Expectations

For Our List of Online Recovery Resources
Click Here

A.A. Thoughts for the Day

Expectations

“My serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations of other people are, the lower is my serenity. I can watch my serenity level rise when I discard my expectations. But then my ‘rights’ try to move in, and they, too, can force my serenity level down. I have to discard my ‘rights,’ as well as my expectations, by asking myself, ‘How important is it, really? How important is it compared to my serenity, my emotional sobriety?’ And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety than on anything else, I can maintain them at a higher level – at least for the time being.”
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, p. 420

Thought to Consider…

Our strength cannot compete with God’s weakness.

AACRONYMS

G R A C E
Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations

Just for Today

Popular
From When A.A. Came of Age

“At this point the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a series of pieces that ushered in a new period for Alcoholics Anonymous, the era of mass production of sobriety.
Elrick B. Davis, a feature writer of deep understanding, was the author of a series of articles that were printed in the middle of the Plain Dealer’s editorial page, and these were accompanied every two or three days by red-hot blasts from the editors themselves. In effect, the Plain Dealer was saying, Alcoholics Anonymous is good, and it works. Come and get it.
The newspaper’s switchboard was deluged. Day and night, the calls were relayed to [early members] Clarence and Dorothy and from them to members of their little group.”
2001 AAWS, Inc.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 20

Daily Reflections

HAPPINESS IS NOT THE POINT

I don’t think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 306

In my search “to be happy”, I changed jobs, married and divorced, took geographical cures, and ran myself into debt-financially, emotionally and spiritually. In A.A., I’m learning to grow up. Instead of demanding that people, places and things make me happy, I can ask God for self-acceptance. When a problem overwhelms me, A.A.’s Twelve Steps will help me grow through the pain. The knowledge I gain can be a gift to others who suffer with the same problem. As Bill said, “When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and thank God for it.”
As Bill Sees It, p. 306
Copyright 1990
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

As Bill Sees It

Each Man’s Vision

“Beyond a Higher Power, as each of us may vision Him, A.A. must never, as a society, enter the field of dogma or theology. We can never become a religion in that sense, lest we kill usefulness by getting bogged down in theological contention.”

“The really amazing fact about A.A. is that all religions see in our program a resemblance to themselves. For example, Catholic theologians declare our Twelve Steps to be in exact accord with their Ignatian Exercises for Retreat, and though our book reeks of sin, sickness, and death, the Christian Science Monitor has often praised it editorially. Now, looking through Quaker eyes, you, too, see us favorably. What happy circumstances, these!”
1. LETTER, 1954
2. LETTER, 1950

Big Book Quote

“When you discover a prospect for Alcoholics Anonymous, find out all you can about him. If he does not want to stop drinking, don’t waste time trying to persuade him.”
Alcoholics Anonymous 4th Edition
Working With Others, p. 90

Twenty Four Hours a Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

The A.A. program is one of submission, release, and action. When we’re drinking, we’re submitting to a power greater than ourselves, liquor. Our own wills are no use against the power of liquor. One drink and we’re sunk. In A.A. we stop submitting to the power of liquor. Instead, we submit to a Power, also greater than ourselves, which we call God. Have I submitted myself to that Higher Power?

Meditation for the Day

Ceaseless activity is not God’s plan for your life. Times of withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. Wait for the faintest tremor of fear and stop all work, everything, and rest before God until you are strong again. Deal in the same way with all tired feelings. Then you need rest of body and renewal of spirit force. Saint Paul said: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This does not mean that you are to do all things and then rely on God to find strength. It means that you are to do the things you believe God wants you to do and only then can you rely on His supply of power.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that God’s spirit may be my master always. I pray that I may learn how to rest and listen, as well as how to work.
Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012