AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 27, 2026  Forgiveness We've repeatedly strained the patience of our best friends to a snapping point, and have brought out the very worst in those who didn't think much of us to begin with. In many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people whose woes we have increased. If we are now about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, one and all? - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eight) p. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 26, 2026  How Can I Be Helpful Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended we said to ourselves, "This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry. Thy will be done." - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 25, 2026  Personal Powerlessness Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21  Thought to Ponder . . . Avoidance is not ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 24, 2026  A Solution We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people—was not a basic solution of these bedevilments more important than whether we should see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was. - Alcoholics An ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 23, 2026  Reliance or Defiance Belief meant reliance, not defiance. In A.A. we saw the fruits of this belief: men and women spared from alcohol's final catastrophe. We saw them meet and transcend their other pains and trials. We saw them calmly accept impossible situations, seeking neither to run nor to recriminate. This was not only faith; it was faith that worked under all conditions. We soon concluded that whatever price in humility we must pay, we wou ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 22, 2026  Pride For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our God-given instincts. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) pp. 48 - 49  Thought to Ponder . . . Swallowing my pride will ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 21, 2026  Fear and Faith In my own case, the foundation stone of freedom from fear is that of faith: a faith that, despite all worldly appearances to the contrary, causes me to believe that I live in a universe that makes sense. To me, this means a belief in a Creator who is all power, justice, and love; a God who intends for me a purpose. - As Bill Sees It, (The Coming of Faith) No. 51  Thought to Ponder . . . Breathe in faith, breathe out fea ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 20, 2026  Not Dependent Upon People Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. This just isn’t so. In some cases the wife will never come back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) pp. 99 - 100  Thought to Ponder . . . Dependence on God is our chief source of strength. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 19, 2026  Self-Pity Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy. It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford. - As Bill Sees It, (Maudlin Martyrdom) No. 238 Thought to Ponder . . . The smallest package in the world is an alcoholic all wrapped up in h ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 18, 2026  Tradition One Our A.A. experience has taught us that: Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Twelve Traditions) p. 563  Thought to Ponder . . . Together we can do what we could never do alone.   AA-related 'Alconym' U S &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 18, 2026  Tradition One Our A.A. experience has taught us that: Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Twelve Traditions) p. 563  Thought to Ponder . . . Together we can do what we could never do alone.   AA-related 'Alconym' U S &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 17, 2026  Meditation We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow. Most certainly we shall need bracing air and an abundance of food. But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 98  Thought to Ponder . . . Meditation is a way for nourishing and blossoming the divine within you ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 16, 2026  Your Real Reliance Still you may say: "But I will not have the benefit of contact with you who write this book." We cannot be sure. God will determine that, so you must remember that your real reliance is always upon Him. He will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 164  Thought to Ponder . . . When in doubt, wait. Grow where you are planted.   AA-related 'Alco ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 15, 2026  Willing to Grow Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can’t go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 60  Thought to Ponder . . . We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.   AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 14, 2026  Self-searching More experienced people, of course, in all times and places have practiced unsparing self-survey and criticism. For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 88  Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading