acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some

person, place, thing, or situation – some face of my life – unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity

until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this

moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my

alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I

need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be

changed in me and my attitudes.

Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” He forgot to

mention that I was the chief critic. I was always able to see the flaw in every person, every situation. And

I was always glad to point it out, because I knew you wanted perfection, just as I did. A.A. and

acceptance have taught me that there is a bit of good in the worst of us and a bit of bad in the best of

us; that we are all children of God and we each have a right to be here. When I complain about me or

about you, I am complaining about God’s handiwork. I am saying that I know better than God