*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *August 2, 2016* *Making Amends* This is a very large order. It is a task which we may perform with increasing skill, but never really finish. Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure. /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 77 *Thought to Ponder . . .* It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them. *AA-rela ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *August 1, 2016* *Acceptance* And 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 fact 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. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 417 *Thought to Ponder . . .* My serenity is directly proportional to my level of ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 31, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Stubbornness It is from our twisted relationships with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. . . We have not once sought to be one in a family.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 53 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Pride without gratitude is arrogance. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *P R I D E** = **P**ersonal **R**ecovery **I**nvo ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 30, 2016* *Fact* Somehow our bodies had reached the point where we could no longer absorb alcohol in our systems.  The /why/ is not important; the /fact/ is that one drink will set up a reaction in our system that requires more, that one drink is too much and a hundred drinks are not enough. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 355 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful! *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**bsolute **A**bstinence. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 29, 2016* *Laughter* Once we recognize self-pity for what it is, we can start doing something about it other than drink… Some of the biggest belly laughs at AA meetings erupt when a member describes his or her own latest orgy of self-pity, and we listeners find ourselves looking into a fun-house mirror. There we are -- grown men and women tangled up in the emotional diaper of an infant. It can be a shock, but the shared laughter takes the pain out of it. /- Livi ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 28, 2016* *Perfection* Now, thanks to the Higher Power that motivates Alcoholics Anonymous, I have a sane and good conscience, and no fanatical delusions about perfection. I wouldn’t want perfection if I could have it, because in that case I’d cease to be an alcoholic --and then I would certainly miss my AA group! /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 198 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Once we understand ourselves, the rest of living falls in line. *AA-related 'Alconym' . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 27, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ The Gift of Desperation We, in our turn, sought escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 28 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *God enters us through our wounds. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *H O P E** = **H**eart **O**pen; **P**lease **E**nter. ** *A Member Shares: Hi, I’m Maureen, an alcoholic grateful to be ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 26, 2016* *A Practical Philosophy* Any of us can handle just one day; all each of us has to try at is our own job, our own family life. We don’t have to try fixing up the whole world or understanding what no theologian of any faith has ever understood.  We simply stop messing in God’s business. And in my opinion, when we stop messing and stop worrying, we /have/ turned our will and our lives over to God (or Good) as we understand (or don’t understand) Him. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 25, 2016* *Humility* Humility is not thinking less of myself than I ought to; it is acknowledging that I do certain things well, it is accepting a compliment graciously. God can only do /for/ me what He can do /through/ me. Humility is the result of knowing that God is the doer, not me. /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 199 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Humility is not thinking less of myself, but thinking of myself less. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A R T* = **A**lways ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 24, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Willingness A beginning, even the smallest, is all that is needed. Once we have placed the key of willingness in the lock and have the door ever so slightly open, we find that we can always open it some more.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 35 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *If faith without works is dead; then willingness without action is fantasy. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *W H O** = **W**illingness, **H**onesty, * ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 23, 2016* *A Good Beginning* If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning. That being so you have swallowed and digested some big chunks about yourself. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 71 *Thought to Ponder . . .* If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to succeed. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. Thanks to all of you for sharing ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 22, 2016* *Selfishness* So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making.  They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!  God makes that possible. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 62 *Thought to Ponder . . .* If I self-forget I find. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A** ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 21, 2016* *Meditation* Meditation belongs and grows with daily life and daily growth, for it is in daily life that analytical thought binds us into the dilemma of opposites and consequently into sorrow, pleasure-seeking, and loss of freedom. In a life that may often seem onerous, boring, and senseless, meditation can free us to its beauty, its joy beyond pleasure, its passion beyond sorrow. /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 172 *Thought to Ponder . . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 20, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Newcomers “Our chief responsibility to the newcomer is an adequate presentation of the program. If he does nothing or argues, we do nothing but maintain our own sobriety. If he starts to move ahead, even a little, with an open mind, we then break our necks to help in any way we can.”* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 105 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Newcomers are the lifeblood of the program.  But our oldtimers are the arteries. A ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 19, 2016* *Practice* I believe the most important word in AA is “practice.” Our Twelfth Step says we must “practice these principles in all our affairs.” For me that means all my affairs—even when there’s nobody around to see me doing it. And it means action.  I can talk about practice for the rest of my life, but if I don’t practice practice, nothing changes. /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 182 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Never mistake motion for action. *AA ...Continue Reading