ACCEPTANCE

Definition of Acceptance:
The action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered.

Synonyms of Acceptance:
Welcoming, favourable reception, embracing, approval, adoption, integration, etc

These notes are from literature about recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click the external link for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

There is nothing wrong. There is simply what is, and what you choose to make of it. If you spend all your energy on judgment, there’s no energy left for progress. –Daily Motivator/Ralph Marston | More…

Acceptance simply means to acknowledge the entire truth about something. It is not related to how you feel about it all. The reason acceptance often brings some relief is that the person no longer struggles against what is real. Recovering Spirituality/Ingrid Mathieu Ph.D. p.149-157 | More…

Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. –As Bill Sees It / Go to page 44

If it works, don’t fix it. A lot of things in life are all right just as they are. It’s best not to tamper with things that are working. Let’s leave people and things alone unless our help is requested and something really does need fixing. –Walk In Dry Places | More…

Today I am able to love myself because I am able to accept myself.
Because I am able to accept myself, I am able to be myself. –Say yes to Life/Father Leo

There is a Master Plan. There are Natural Laws that run the universe. Change will happen and every setback is only temporary. In other words, the Creator is in charge. He designed the universe. He runs the universe and He will change what needs to be changed.

As humans, it is easier for us to participate in all of this if we are spiritual. We need to be tuned in. Therefore, God gave us the spiritual concept of acceptance. When things change, we can change ourselves through the principle of acceptance. –Elders Meditations

The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.  –12 & 12 / Go to page 92-93

The Big Book says, “Acceptance is the answer to all my problems.” I can choose to practice acceptance by looking past what others do that I think they shouldn’t do, and instead I can love them for who they are.

In order to show unconditional love I must look past their shortcomings. As I work my program of recovery, I am better off to “let go and let God” and just accept others as they are. When I love others unconditionally I experience peace and serenity beyond my wildest dreams. –One Day At A Time | More…

Acceptance (Definition:  a person’s assent to the reality of a situation.)

New possibilities opened up when we accepted our powerlessness.
These possibilities came to us from beyond ourselves. The moment we try to impose our control over acceptance, it begins to evaporate. We can receive this message of acceptance only when we are humble and open to it. –Touchstones | More…

Step Ten: Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. –12 & 12 / Go to page 91

When evening comes, perhaps just before going to sleep, many of us draw up a balance sheet for the day. This is a good place to remember that inventory-taking is not always done in red ink. –12 & 12 / Go to pages 93-94

Truth in action. We need to accept ourselves. The Truth of who we are is, we are divine human beings. We are perfect in our “imperfections.” Wise in our ignorance. Glorious in our shame. Centered in our chaos. We cannot change or alter Truth. We can’t even hide from it.

We are Truth in action. The definition of Truth is less important than knowing you are Truth in action. Call it a spiritual Truth, if you wish, but you are nothing short of the Truth. –Anon

It’s easy to let circumstances determine how we think and behave. We are never given more than we can handle. We can develop acceptance of any circumstances, but our success in doing so comes mainly through our reliance on God to show us the way. –In God’s Care/Karen Casey | More…

Today I accept people, even the people with whom I do not agree, I accept. My freedom is dependent upon my attitude towards others. My respect is rooted in the respect I give to others. God is to be found in my neighbour! —Father Leo

Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change. So suffering must become love; That is the mystery. It’s almost as though life’s eternal lesson is acceptance, and with it comes life’s eternal blessings. –Each Day a New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

We don’t have to do it any better than we can – ever. Do our best for the moment, and then let it go. We can never do more or better than we are able to do at the moment.

Striving for excellence is a positive quality. There comes a time when we feel we have done our best. When that time comes, let it go. There are days when our best is less than we hoped for. Let those times go too. Work things through, until our best becomes better. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

In this program we grow over time to have a more realistic self-concept. –Touchstones | More...

Wherever we are when we come to this program is where we begin. Some of us have further to go along the road to self-actualization than others. No one of us ever arrives in this life. There is always more work to be done. Believing that our Higher Power has a plan for each of us, we accept the place where He has put us right now.

We cannot move on until we understand where we are now and how we got here. Our Fourth Step inventory gives us an opportunity to examine past actions, which have led to our current situation. Accepting where we are frees us from morbid obsession with the past and enables us to move on into the future. –Food For Thought | More…

We need to check up on ourselves periodically. Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am?  Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a challenge?

Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.? –24Hours | More…

All of us pass through the times when we can pray only with the greatest exertion. We are occasionally seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won’t pray. When these things happen, we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us. –As Bill Sees It / Go to page 293

Dis-ease: to be controlling, stiff, uncomfortable and unbending.

Sobriety: being relaxed, comfortable and flexible in my personal life and my interaction with others.

Life: not a race but an experience; it is not an exercise but an adventure.

The sobriety I have gained from an acceptance of self has overflowed into an acceptance of life on life’s terms — and I am happy. —Father Leo

If I had not known and confronted the disease of addiction in my life, I would not know the joys of sobriety and serenity. Spirituality involves facing my disease. Today I believe that had I not seen my dishonesty, I could not fully appreciate honesty.

The disease was not only my prison but when accepted, became the key to recovery. —Father Leo

We cannot escape remembering the important things that have happened, and We cannot escape the awareness of the important things that have not happened. There is a Master Plan. There are Natural Laws that run the universe. Everything on the earth has a purpose. Change is constant.

That which is built is constantly being destroyed. That which is loose is being used to build new things. Nothing can be destroyed, only rearranged. Change will happen and every setback is only temporary. In other words, the Creator is in charge. We are not in charge. He designed the universe. He runs the universe and He will change what needs to be changed.

As humans, it is easier for us to participate in all of this if we are spiritual.
We need to be tuned in. Therefore, God gave us the spiritual concept of acceptance.
When things change, we can change ourselves through the principle of acceptance. Great Spirit, let me live today in acceptance of Your will. Today let us do it Your way. –Elders Meditations | More… 

From our earliest memories, many of us felt like we never belonged. We had a hard time “fitting in.”  Deep down, we believed that if we really let others get to know us, they would reject us.

Many of us hid the pain of our alienation with an attitude of defiance. In effect, we told the world, “You don’t need me?  Well, I don’t need any of you, either.

I’ve got my drugs and I can take care of myself!” The further our addiction progressed, the higher the walls we built around ourselves.

Those walls begin to fall when we start finding acceptance from other recovering addicts. With this acceptance from others, we begin to learn the important principle of self-acceptance. –Just For Today | More…

God, grant me the serenity to accept my own rate of recovery. Unable to accept my own rate of recovery, my sponsor reminded me that I was exactly where I should be.

This was hard to accept, especially when I didn’t like where I was most of the time. As the years have passed and I have stayed sober, I’ve learned to accept that I got sober when it was right for me, And that the bottom I hit was necessary for me to do the work ahead.

As I look back on things, my recovery took the route it needed to for me to become who I am today. Even now, when I get anxious or impatient, I remember that I’m still exactly where I should be.

And when I accept that, I am granted serenity. –Wisdom of the Rooms

Acceptance means I can better assess what is going on around me without the filters of my past and comparison to what I would consider a more ideal circumstance.–AA Grapevine

When we accept our role in life, when we pledge to use our energies to do the best we can. And when we rely on our Higher Power for guidance and support, we will be well on our way toward recovering. –Inner Harvest/Elisabeth L

Many things we enjoy so much in recovery are gained by actively participating in the Fellowship. We begin to find true companionship, friends who understand and care about us just for ourselves. We find a place where we can be useful to others. There are recovery meetings, service activities, and fellowship gatherings to fill our time and occupy us. The fellowship can be a mirror to reflect back to us a more accurate image of who we are. We find teachers, helpers, friends, love, care, and support. The fellowship always has more to offer us, as long as we keep coming back. –Just For Today | More…

We should have life and have it more abundantly—spiritual, mental, physical, abundant life—joyous, powerful life. Not all people will accept from God the gift of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care to stretch out a hand and take it. God’s gift, the richest He has to offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away from it, and reject it, Do not let this be true of you. –24Hours | More…

If it works, don’t fix it. A lot of things in life are all right just as they are. It’s best not to tamper with things that are working. Let’s leave people and things alone unless our help is requested and something really does need fixing. –Walk In Dry Places | More…

In recovery, we learn what we truly want and what is only a symbol of our desires. Our desires, our wants, and our anxieties are spiritual issues. What at first we think we want may only hide deeper, more vulnerable, and painful feelings. When we admit the deeper fears and desires, we move closer to the spiritual truths of our lives. We can search for acceptance within ourselves and from God. We can learn to have spiritual peace in an insecure world. We can learn to accept the love of others even though we know we’re not perfect. –Touchstones | More…

Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.? –24Hours | More…

Resilience isn’t something we’re born with or without. It’s a skill we can acquire and sharpen at anytime, and one of our main ways to do that is by practicing acceptance. –Anonymous

Dis-ease: to be controlling, stiff, uncomfortable and unbending.

Sobriety: being relaxed, comfortable and flexible in my personal life and my interaction with others.

Life: not a race but an experience; it is not an exercise but an adventure.

The sobriety I have gained from an acceptance of self has overflowed into an acceptance of life on life’s terms — and I am happy. –Father Leo’s Meditations.

When we came into A.A., the first thing we did was to admit that we couldn’t do anything about our drinking. 24 Hours | More…. When we came into A.A., the first thing we did was to admit that we couldn’t do anything about our drinking. 24 Hours | More….

To be who we are means we accept our physical selves, as well as our mental, emotional, and spiritual selves, for now. Being who we are in recovery means we take that acceptance one step further. We can appreciate our history and ourselves. –The Language of Letting Go | More….

Accepting that we are powerless, coming to believe in a Power that is greater than we are, letting it guide the behavior of the other person and ourselves—these things give us clarity and peace about the actions we need to take. –A Life of My Own | More…

Walls begin to fall when we start finding acceptance from other recovering addicts. With this acceptance from others, we begin to learn the important principle of self-acceptance. And when we start to accept ourselves, we can allow others to take part in our lives without fear of rejection. –Just For Today | More…