*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 26, 2016* *Secrets* I can neither love nor be loved if I allow my secrets to get in the way. It’s the side of myself that I refuse to look at that rules me. I must be willing to look at the dark side in order to heal my mind and heart because that is the road to freedom. /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 130 *Thought to Ponder . . .* I must walk into darkness to find the light. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 25, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ To Wives There is every evidence that women regain their health as readily as men if they try our suggestions. But for every man who drinks others are involved—the wife who trembles in fear of the next debauch; the mother and father who see their son wasting away. Among us are wives, relatives and friends whose problems have been solved; as well as some who have not yet found a happy solution.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 104 ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 24, 2016* *No Disgrace* We remember we have an incurable, potentially fatal ailment called alcoholism. And instead of persisting in drinking, we prefer to figure out, and use, enjoyable ways of living without alcohol.  We need not be ashamed that we have a disease. It is no disgrace.  No one knows exactly why some people become alcoholics while others don’t. It is not our fault.  We did not /want/ to become alcoholics.  We did not /try/ to get ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 23, 2016* *Humility* On his desk, Dr. Bob had a plaque defining humility: “Perpetual quietness of heart.  It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised, it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 22, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Willingness If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it -- then you are ready to take certain steps.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 58 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Life will take on new meaning. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *H O W** = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. ** *A Member Shares: I’m Bill, an alcoholic.  When I was Twelfth-Stepped I heard, and was guided th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 21, 2016* *Keep It Simple* There have been times when I have gone “shopping” for other solutions to my alcoholism or have tried to find ways to blame relatives or friends or institutions for my problems. This seems common among alcoholics. With a spirit of love and tolerance, the program must protect itself. It has been so important to my own recovery to learn--and relearn—the principles of AA. How dear our familiar slogan is: “Keep It Simple”! /- Thank You For S ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 20, 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,/ p. 357 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Every day is a gift.  That is why we call it the present. *AA-related ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 19, 2016* *Children of Chaos* Over the years, every conceivable deviation from our Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions has been tried. That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band of ego-driven individuals. Children of chaos, we have defiantly played with every brand of fire, only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser. These very deviations created a vast process of trial and error, which under the grace of God, has brought us to where we stand today. /- ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 18, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Alone No More Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded by people who loved us. But when our self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced to play the big shot in cheap barrooms. . . For those of us who were like that, AA has a very special meaning. In this Fellowship we begin to learn right relations with people who understand us; we don’t have to be alone any more.* ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 17, 2016* *Perspective* The Big Book tells me, an alcoholic, how I can use the Twelve Steps to cope with my problems and discover who I am. The Third Step gave me a perspective from outside myself, an objective viewpoint from which I could see myself as I am, not as I would like to be, and thus helped me to approach what is now the excitement of living. /- AA Around the World,/ p. 62 *Thought to Ponder . . .* My perspective will change my perception.  My pe ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 16, 2016* *Step Five* /“Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”/ I found I had learned something.  I had learned that the Power called God was a /kind/ power, before whom one who had done wrong need not stand in fear. And I had learned that there are kind human beings, to whom one could admit error without fear of attack or denunciation. This made it possible for me to /admit/ wrong; thereafter I was spared ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 15, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Surrender When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. * /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 100 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Letting go is a process, not an event. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *A A** = **A**lways **A**wesome. ** *A Member Shares: I'm Alanna, an alcoholic.  I started blacking out at about age 14.  And as a t ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 14, 2016* *Step Five* /“Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”/ Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn’t belong. Step Five was the answer.  It was the beginning of true kinship with man and God. /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 57 *Thought to Ponder . . .* I am as sick as my secrets. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 13, 2016* *The Journey* I was always taught to prepare for the journey through life, never realizing until I came to AA --when I honestly became willing to be taught forgiveness and forgiving— that life itself is the journey. The journey of life is a very happy one, as long as I am willing to accept change and responsibility. /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 185 *Thought to Ponder . . .* The joy is in the journey, so enjoy the ride. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A R T ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 12, 2016* *Willpower* We know for sure that alcoholics do have tremendous willpower. Consider the ways we could manage to get a drink in defiance of all visible possibilities. Merely to get up some mornings – with a rusting cast-iron stomach, all your teeth wearing tiny sweaters, and each hair electrified – takes willpower many nondrinkers rarely dream of. Once you’ve gotten up with your head, on those certain mornings, the ability to carry it all through the day ...Continue Reading