AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) September 4, 2026  "Justifiable" Anger It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also. But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable" anger? . . . For us of A.A. these are dangerous exceptions. We have found that justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it. - Tw ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) September 3, 2026  Self-deceived We had not even prayed rightly. We had always said, "Grant me my wishes" instead of "Thy will be done." The love of God and man we understood not at all. Therefore we remained self-deceived, and so incapable of receiving enough grace to restore us to sanity. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 32  Thought to Ponder . . . Denying the truth doesn't change the facts.   AA-related ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) September 2, 2026  Abnormally Fearful At heart we had all been abnormally fearful. It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly and willfully beyond our depth and ability. The result was the same—all of us had nearly perished in a sea of alcohol. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 123 - 124  Thought to Ponder . . . Things I fear are rarely as bad as t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) September 1, 2026  Our Thinking About Humility But when we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have discussed them with another, and have become willing to have them removed, our thinking about humility commences to have a wider meaning. By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 31, 2026  The Word "Blame" Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word “blame” from our speech and thought. This required great willingness even to begin. But once over the first two or three high hurdles, the course ahead began to look easier. For we had started to get perspective on ourselves, which is another way of saying that we were gaining in humility. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) pp. 47 - 48   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 30, 2026  To Live and Be Happy Do not be discouraged if your prospect does not respond at once. Search out another alcoholic and try again. You are sure to find someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer. We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much time on any one situation is ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 29, 2026  Moments of Clarity More often, I was having these little moments of clarity, times I knew for sure that I was an alcoholic. Times when I was looking at the bottom of my glass asking myself, Why am I doing this? Something had to give, something had to change. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Missing Link) p. 284  Thought to Ponder . . . If I think I am an alcoholic, chances are I am.   AA-related 'Alconym' C H A O S  =   C ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy aa-alive.net) August 28, 2026  Acceptance and Faith Acceptance and faith are capable of producing 100 percent sobriety. In fact, they usually do; and they must, else we could have no life at all. But the moment we carry these attitudes into our emotional problems, we find that only relative results are possible. Nobody can, for example, become completely free from fear, anger, and pride. - As Bill Sees It, (All or Nothing?) No. 6  Thought to Ponder . . . Spiritual ...Continue Reading

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