AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 1, 2026  Humility Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility—a word often misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 58  Thought to Ponder . . . Learning is the very essence of humility; the two walk han ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 31, 2026  A Ladder No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says: Things look pretty scary; I think I’d better stop drinking before I fall in. I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn’t fun anymore. What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I’d never see the sun again. A.A. didn’t pull me out of that hole. It did give me the tools to construct a ladder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 30, 2026  The Past Whatever is done is over. It cannot be changed. But my attitude about it can be changed through talking with those who have gone before and with sponsors. I can wish the past never was, but if I change my actions in regard to what I have done, my attitude will change. I won't have to wish the past away. I can change my feelings and attitudes, but only through my actions and the help of my fellow alcoholics. - Daily Reflections, p. 141 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 29, 2026  Willingness All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. Trying to do this is an act of his own will. All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 40 &nbs ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 28, 2026  You Will Be Free He said, in effect: “If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you will pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free.. . . Even when you don’t really want it for them and your prayers are only words and you don’t mean it, go ahead and do it anyway. Do it every day for two weeks, and you will find you have come to mean it and to want it for them." - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Freedom From Bondage) ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 27, 2026  First Steps But upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21  Thought to Ponder . . . Sometimes God lets you ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 26, 2026  Personal Relationships Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relationships. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may develop the best possible relations with every human being we know. - Twelve Steps and Tw ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 25, 2026 I'm sorry for the very late arrival of your Daily Thought today. Demands Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands u ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 24, 2026  Carry The Message “Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” The unique ability of each A.A. to identify himself with, and bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, eloquence, or on any special individual skills. The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Tradition Five) pp. 150-151 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 23, 2026  Self-Deception By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people! - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 31  Thought to P ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 22, 2026  First Awakening I had my first awakening in A.A. The speaker said, "If you’re an apple, you can be the best apple you can be, but you can never be an orange." I was an apple all right, and for the first time I understood that I had spent my life trying to be an orange. I looked around at a room filled with apples and, if I was understanding the speaker, most of them were no longer trying to be oranges. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Window O ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 21, 2026  Resentment But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings 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. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 66  Thought to Ponder . . . Anger will never d ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 20, 2026  Meditation But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 101 - 102  Thought to Ponder . . . Prayer as ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 19, 2026  Real Tolerance and Respect Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) pp. 19 - 20  Thought to Ponder . . . What if I were caring rather than judgment ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) July 18, 2026  Accept Reality Above all, we reject fantasizing and accept reality. . . I lived in a dream world. A.A. led me gently from this fantasizing to embrace reality with open arms. And I found it beautiful! For, at last, I was at peace with myself. And with others. And with God. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (To Handle Sobriety) p. 559  Thought to Ponder . . . Acceptance is the first step towards change.   AA-related 'Alconym' A A A  = & ...Continue Reading