*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 11, 2016* *A True Cliché* Another cliché is equally true:  We keep sobriety by giving it away. When I went, reluctantly, to my first AA meeting, I was on a desperate treadmill. But as a half hour passed, something penetrated my closed mind. I began to get a feeling of hope.  There was something about those people; they seemed carefree, and there was a joy I hadn’t experienced for a long time. There was total acceptance for that chap in ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 10, 2016* *Discovery* I have found that the process of discovering who I really am begins with knowing who I really don’t want to be. And although the disease of alcoholism is like gravity, just waiting to pull me down, AA and the Twelve Steps are like the power that causes an airplane to become airborne: It only works when the pilot is doing the right things to make it work. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ pp. 456-457 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Recovery is discove ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 9, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Solving a Dilemma* We lay the matter before our sponsor or spiritual advisor, earnestly asking God’s help and guidance —meanwhile, resolving to do the right thing when it becomes clear, cost what it may. /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/pp. 86-87 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Simply asking for help seems to be a help in itself. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *H E L P* = **H**ope, **E**ncouragement, **L**ove, **P**atience. ** ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 8, 2016* *Today* Today is the day.  Doing our best, living each day to the fullest is the art of living. Yesterday is gone, and we don’t know whether we will be here tomorrow. If we do a good job of living today, and if tomorrow comes for us, then the chances are we will do a good job when it arrives—so why worry about it? /- Alcoholics Anonymous/ [Third Edition], p. 382 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Every day is a gift.  That is why we call it the pre ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 7, 2016* *Philosophy* For me, AA is a synthesis of all the philosophy I’ve ever read, all of the positive, good philosophy, all of it based on love. I have seen that there is only one law, the law of love, and there are only two sins; the first is to interfere with the growth of another human being, and the second is to interfere with one’s own growth. /- Alcoholics Anonymous/ [Third Edition], p. 542 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Love and tolerance of others is ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 6, 2016* *Acceptance* Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility without which no genuine advance can even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to that unflattering point of departure. This is an exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice every day of our lives. /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 199 * ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 5, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Aloneness* There is no more aloneness, with that awful ache, so deep in the heart of every alcoholic that nothing, before, could ever reach it.  That ache is gone and never need return again. Now there is a sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed and loved. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 276 *Thought to Ponder . . .* I'm not alone anymore. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *Y A N A* = **Y**ou **A**re **N**ot **A**lone. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 4, 2016* *Step Ten* /“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”/ 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,/p. 88 *Thought to Ponder . . .* It's not making a mistake that will kill me.  ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 3, 2016* *Caretakers* Our Traditions are set down on paper.  But they were written first in our hearts. For each of us knows, instinctively I think, that AA is not ours to do with as we please. We are but caretakers to preserve the spiritual quality of our Fellowship; keep it whole for those who will come after us and have need of what has so generously been given to us. /- The Language of the Heart,/p. 124 *Thought to Ponder . . .* The Twelve Steps tel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 2, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Balance* The quick inventory is aimed at our daily ups and downs, especially those where people or new events throw us off balance and tempt us to make mistakes. /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 91 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Once we understand ourselves, the rest of living falls in line. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *B A T H* = **B**alance, **A**ction, **T**hinking, **H**abits. ** *A Member Shares:* Hi all, I'm Lori ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *October 1, 2016* *“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? If somebody cheats us, aren’t we entitled to be mad? Can’t we be properly angry with self-righteous folk?  For us of AA these are dangerous exceptions. We have fou ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *September 30, 2016* *Amends* To have courage, to be unafraid, are gifts of my recovery. . . . Making amends may require a certain amount of honesty that I feel I lack, yet with the help of God and the wisdom of others, I can reach within and find the strength to act. My amends may be accepted, or they may not, but after they are completed I can walk with a sense of freedom and know that for today, I am responsible. /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 263 *Thought to Ponder . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *September 29, 2016* *Practical* I believe that the AA program is simply the will of God being put to practical, everyday use. And I think that the spiritual awakening is the realization that God will help the individual —if the individual is completely honest in his efforts. /- Came to Believe . . .,/ p. 85 *Thought to Ponder . . .* A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *G I F T* = **G**od **I**s **F**orever **T**here. Thanks to ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *September 28, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Action* The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have found a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 17 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Sobriety without action is fantasy. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *A B C* = **A**ction, **B**elief, **C**ontinue. ** *A Member Shares:* Hi! Bates here, an alcoholic ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *September 27, 2016* *No Cop-outs* We have to keep our sobriety independent of everything else, not entangled with any people, and not hedged in by any cop-outs or conditions. . . Independent, unaffiliated with anything else, our sobriety can grow strong enough to enable us to cope with anything—and everybody. And, as you'll see, we start liking /that/ feeling, too. /- Living Sober,/ p. 64 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Keep your sobriety first to make it last. *AA-relat ...Continue Reading