AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)
December 17, 2014
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Resentments
This business of harboring resentments is infinitely grave. For then we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the spirit.
The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die.
- - As Bill Sees It, p. 5
Thought to Ponder . . .
Resentment is like acid, eating away at the vessel it is stored in.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Avoid Anger.
A Member Shares:
I’m Mab, an alcoholic. This page talks about the danger of harboring resentments, which not only stunt our spiritual growth, but are the slippery slide into drinking. No matter how much disappointment, betrayal, rudenesses, and harm we are done, we can’t afford to massage the anger and desire for revenge and retaliation. Very difficult to do, as our human nature wants to set the account right, to give tit for tat, and to prove folks can’t do that to us. The fact is, folks aren’t really doing ‘ it ‘ to us, they are just doing it. We happened to be in their way; it wasn’t personal in most cases. Our anger will lead us to the bottle and death. We can’t afford it. So what do we do with that natural flaming reaction? Acknowledge it, recognize our own part in the situation. Pray about it, share in meetings, with sponsor, confront the offender calmly and without rancor. I have been known to viciously scrub the kitchen floor, go for a maddeningly long run, dig up the garden, and whine to my sponsor ad nausea. After such a bout, I can feel cleansed, purged of the toxins, so that my spirit is not clogged and can receive the Divine spirit of guidance. A very deep resentment of destructive emotions over a valid anger, however, can only be resolved by praying for that person who wronged me and mine, many times a day for 2 weeks praying that all good things I want be granted to the offender, even if I have to grit my teeth to do it. And usually, the inner turmoil lifts within 3 days. That solution is found on page 552 in the Big Book. And it works, I don’t know why, but it works. Try it. You’ll be amazed before you are half way through.
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(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)
Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org
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