AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 23, 2021 Sanity "Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind." Yet no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior, whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or his own moral fiber, can claim "soundness of mind" for himself. Therefore, Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 22, 2021 Spiritual Tools There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 21, 2021 This Solution But the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18 Thought to Ponder Together we can do what we could never do alone. AA-related 'Alconym' A L C O H O L I C S  =   A Life ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 20, 2021 Cheerfulness and Laughter So we think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we bust into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn’t we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 132 Thought to Ponder Laughter is the sound of recovery. AA-related 'Alconym' H J F  =   Happy, Joyous, Fr ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 19, 2021 Discipline It works—it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 88 Thought to Ponder Motivation may get you going, but discipline keeps you growing. AA-related 'Alconym' A B C  =   Accept, Begin, Continue. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, str ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 18, 2021 Character and Comfort But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living. - Twelve Steps and ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 17, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Reconstruction Ahead We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, "Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand the wind stopped blowin'?" Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead. We must take the lead. A remorseful mumbling that we are sorry won’t fill the bill at a ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 16, 2021 Step Five We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is; we have put our finger on the weak items in our personal inventory. Now these are about to be cast out. This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 72 Thought to Ponder We need to share ou ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 15, 2021 Progress "Day by day, we try to move a little toward God's perfection. So we need not be consumed by maudlin guilt for failure to achieve His likeness and image by Thursday next. Progress is our aim, and His perfection is the beacon, light-years away, that draws us on." - As Bill Sees It, p. 15 Thought to Ponder Sobriety is not a destination, but an everlasting journey. AA-related 'Alconym' S H A M E  =   Should Have Already Mastere ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 14, 2021 Juggernaut The philosophy of self-sufficiency is not paying off. Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut whose final achievement is ruin. Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed. Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look for something better. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) pp. 37 - 39 Though ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 13, 2021 No Defense Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 43 Thought to Ponder The ultimate defense against the first drink is a spiritual one. AA-related 'Alconym' H E L P  =   His Ever-Loving Presence. Thanks ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 12, 2021 Kindliness and Love We ought to sit down with the family and frankly analyze the past as we now see it, being very careful not to criticize them. Their defects may be glaring, but the chances are that our own actions are partly responsible. So we clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 83 Thought to Ponder Love is ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 11, 2021 Hitting Bottom Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 24 Thought to Ponder Sobriety without action is fantasy. AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 10, 2021 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Five We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.  - A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) January 9, 2021 Open To All As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps. We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe ...Continue Reading