"Before we begin we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives." P 86 Big Book.
"Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and to those around us." P 77 Big Book.
"When I begin my day I ask God to give me everything I want, real fast, and to help me avoid all pain and discomfort and irritating encounters with irritating people so that I may be really, really happy." P. XXVI Making Stevie Seaweed Happy - An Introductory Guide To A Life Spent in Service To Stevie.
Really, really amazing how futile my efforts have been to find in the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous any references to how to make myself happy. It just isn't in there. "Service" is mentioned 84 times while "happy" comes up only 33, and most of these relate to how being of service to others makes one happy. It's clear that a spiritual life is not predicated on me doing things in pursuit of my own happiness.
Grow my faith in the God I envision and be of service to other people.
I love the fact that "self-pity" is mentioned 20 times in the literature. Feeling sorry for oneself is the highest form of bullshit there is.
"That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear." P 84 Big Book.
"What happens when we wallow in depression, self-pity oozing from every pore . . . ?" P 81 12&12.
Wallow: To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example mud.
That's a great image: wallowing in mud, oozing secretions. You go, Bill Wilson.
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