MAY 11 in The Little Blue Book ONE DAY at a TIME in AL-ANON:
 

MAY 11 in The Little Blue Book ONE DAY at a TIME in AL-ANON:

What is the greatest hindrance to my achieving serenity? DETERMINATION – the grim resolve that I can DO SOMETHING about everything. This whole feeling of tightening up, girding oneself for battle, can defeat my purpose. Over and over, in a hundred different ways, I learn in Al-Anon that I must let go. It will do nothing constructive for me if I retaliate for injuries I suffer because of the alcoholic. I am not empowered by God to even up scores and make others “pay for what they did to me.” I will learn to relax my stubborn grip on all the details of my sufferings and allow the solutions to unfold by themselves.

Today's Reminder

I am only a small cog in the machinery of universe; my trying to run things my own way is doomed to failure. A bright and serene success is at hand once I learn to let go. Then I’ll have time to count my blessings, work on my own shortcomings, and enjoy each minute of every day.

"What hurt could it do thee if thou wouldst let it pass and make no account of it? Could it even so much as pluck one hair from thy head?” (Thomas A’Kempis)

I was talking with my sponsor about this "I am only a small cog in the machinery of the universe," and together, we realized that if:

the cog is out of whack - not doing its job -

or

trying to do the job of another piece of the machine -

or

trying, as said above, to run the whole show (which is the job of the Higher Power)

then the entire system/machine is not going to work properly.