*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 11, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Forgiveness “Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others – also myself. Have you recently tried this?” * /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 268 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *To be forgiven we must forgive. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *T G I F** = **T**hank **G**od **I**'m **F**orgiven. ** *A Member Shares: I’m Lance, an alcoholic.  Yes, we alkies do have choices.  We can steam and stew and blow hard ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 10, 2016* *True Love* I never knew what true love was until I began my recovery in AA. My schooling in that emotion began early and led me to the conclusion that love is what creates in a sober AA member the outer show of an inner glow. /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 3], p. 294 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Great love is the sunlight of AA's tree of life. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *T L C* = **T**ears, **L**aughter, **C**aring. Thanks to all of you for shar ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 9, 2016* *Awakening* At a meeting, I had my first awakening in AA.  The speaker said, “If you’re an apple, you can be the best apple you can be, but you can never be an orange.” I was an apple all right, and for the first time I understood that I had spent my life trying to be an orange. I looked around at a room filled with apples and, if I was understanding the speaker, most of them were no longer trying to be oranges. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 427 *Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 8, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Laughter But we are not a glum lot.  If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. . . Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst 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,/ p. 132 *Thought to Ponder . . ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 7, 2016* *Growing Up* Change is the characteristic of all growth.  From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from conflict to serenity, from hate to love, from childish dependence to adult responsibility -- all this and infinitely more represent change for the better. /- As Bill Sees It,/ [Vol. 1], p. 76 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Serenity is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with it. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *K I S S* = * ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 6, 2016* *Isolation* Isolation creeps up on us.  We can mask it with familiar props that are not in themselves bad. We can isolate ourselves in an attempt to clean up our apartments (and then not do the cleaning); we can isolate ourselves in churches or in sleep; we can use family, sweethearts, compulsive working, television.  The list is long. The nicest way to end it is the way you and I do: together. Reach out -- people can't read your mind.  Sa ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 5, 2016* *Humility* Humility is a personal achievement, it cannot be given away. It comes in glimmers and grows like an ice crystal. It is fragile, too, thus requiring constant care and protection. /- The Home Group: Heartbeat of AA,/ p. 126 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Anonymity is real humility at work. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**wesome. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 4, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Online Meetings In any meeting, anywhere, AA's share experience, strength, and hope with each other, in order to stay sober and help other alcoholics. Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, AA's speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. xxiv *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Meetings: a check-up from the neck up. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . *A A** = **A**lways **A**live. ** *A Member Share ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 3, 2016* *The Great Obsession* It is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.  Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 30 *Thought to Ponder . . .* When I drink, my past becomes m ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 2, 2016* *Our Common Solution* I think it is extremely important to emphasize that I am an alcoholic, and that in meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous we discuss the common solution to alcoholism that we share. If I'm "an alcoholic and an addict" and you're "an alcoholic and a compulsive overeater" and the person leading the meeting is "an alcoholic and a compulsive gambler," we begin to lose our commonality. I become slightly different ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 1, 2016 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Forgiveness The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. Triumphantly we seize upon his slightest misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own. . . If we are about to ask for forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, o ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 30, 2016* *Resentment* With the alcoholic, this business of resentment is infinitely grave.  We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again.  And with us, to drink is to die. /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 66 *Thought to Ponder . . .* Resentment is like acid, eating away at the vessel it is stored in. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *S W ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 29, 2016* *Anonymity* The entire future of our fellowship hangs upon this vital principle. If we continue to be filled with the spirit and practice of anonymity, no shoal or reef can wreck us. If we forget this principle, the lid to Pandora's box will be off and the spirits of Money, Power, and Prestige will be loosed among us. Obsessed by these evil genii, we might well founder and break up.  I devoutly believe this will never happen. /- Alcoholics Anonym ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 28, 2016* *Dedication* Early in my AA life, I asked myself how I could express my gratitude. The answer was simple: by dedicating my life to AA and its people. I found out that the more I know about AA, the more effectively I could carry the message. The more I know about AA -- from the bottom up and the top down, across its scope world-wide -- the more I love it. And the more I love it, the better equipped I am to carry the message. /- The AA Service Manual,/ ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 27, 2016* *Action* I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it, those who put /action/ into the program. . . I heard that I should forget about yesterday and instead concentrate on today and staying away from the first drink today -- now.  I tried it and it worked. /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 42 *Thought to Ponder . . .* I must walk into darkness to find the light. *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**lways **A**wesome. Thanks to ...Continue Reading