*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *June 1, 2015* *Essentials* *The AA members who sponsored me told me in the beginning that I would not only find a way to live without having a drink, but that I would find a way to live without /wanting/ to drink, if I would do these simple things. They said if you want to know /how/ this program works, take the first word of your question -- the "H" is for honesty, the "O" is for open-mindedness, and the "W" is for willingness; these ou ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 31, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Action As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. . . 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,/ pp. 87-88 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.* *A ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 30, 2015* *Footprints* *Stepping into the first footprint that led from the dismal swamp of alcoholism toward the sunlight of sobriety would not take me far enough.  Would I muddle along on some little trail of my own in the weeds, vaguely paralleling the clearly marked AA road? Or would I choose to follow in the exact footsteps of the AA's who had preceded?  The choice was up to me. I could do either, but I had to cover the whole trail if I wanted to g ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 29, 2015* *Step Five* *Even AA oldtimers, sober for years, often pay dearly for skimping this Step. They will tell how they tried to carry the load alone; how much they suffered of irritability, anxiety, remorse, and depression; and how, unconsciously seeking relief, they would sometimes accuse even their best friends of the very character defects they themselves were trying to conceal.* /- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,/ p. 56 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 28, 2015* *"Reasons"* *Like most alcoholics, I used all the usual "reasons" for not stopping drinking: "I won't be able to sleep at night"; "My life will be too boring if I quit drinking"; "If I stop, people will think I have a problem" (no need to worry; they already knew). But I had one real reason that kept me from stopping: I knew that if I did quit drinking, I would almost certainly have to begin looking into ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 27, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Anger If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.  The grouch and the sudden rage were not for us. Anger is the dubious luxury of normal men, but for us alcoholics it is poison.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 5 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *A A* = **A**void **A**nger. ** *A Member Shares: Hi everyone, I'm Susan, a grateful alcoholic.  I ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 26, 2015* *Pass It On* *". . . I'll never forget the first time I met Bill Wilson. I was a couple of months sober and so excited, so thrilled to actually meet the co-founder that I gushed all over him with what my sobriety meant to me and my undying gratitude for his starting AA. When I ran down, he took my hand in his, and said simply, 'Pass it on.'"* /- 'Pass It On',/ Preface *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A candle loses nothing by lighting another candl ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 25, 2015* *Decision* *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. At some of these we balked.  We thought we could find an easier, softer way.  But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 58 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *While it isn't always easy, if I keep it ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 24, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ 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. . . True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every AA meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselv ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 23, 2015* *Pride* *As for those bad habits I once listed as defects, I am trying to arrest them one day at a time, as I do my alcoholism. A little progress has been made on pride. I can now admit that most of my problems stem from one glaring defect: self-centeredness. For how can I wallow in self-pity, weep over resentments, be sick with righteous anger, ache with envy, tense up with fears and anxieties unless all my thoughts are exclusively on poor me?* /- The ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 22, 2015* *Defects* *Did I, an alcoholic, have a defective character?  Of course I did.  Was I, an alcoholic, also a sick man?  Yes, very. To what extent I was personally responsible for my drinking, I don't know. Yet I'm not one to take complete refuge in the idea that I was a sick man only. In earlier years I certainly had some degree of free will. That free will I used badly, to the great misery of my mother and countless others.  I am deep ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 21, 2015* *Prayer* *My sponsor said, "Pray if you can." Having no faith whatever, thinking that prayer must be some kind of autohypnotic play-acting, alone in my apartment I got down on my knees like a little child and prayed to the unknown God. I said, "God, take away my compulsion to drink." And my compulsion to drink was removed, and it has not returned from that day to this. Without knowing how I had done it, I had surrendered to the Power ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 20, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Honesty The perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one permeates human affairs from top to bottom. This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie he smallest act or thought. Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building, and good living.* /- As Bill Sees It,/ p. 17 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Honesty is the absence of the intent to deceive.* *AA-relat ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 19, 2015* *Guilt* *My conflicts went right on mounting because I was loaded with excuses and refusals. When these troubles had finally exhausted me enough, there was yet another escape. I would commence to wallow in the bog of guilt.  Here pride and rebellion would give way to depression. . . Just as I had exaggerated my modest attainments by pride, so now I would exaggerate my defects through guilt. . . Believe it or not, I took that to be great humility on ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *May 18, 2015* *Overcoming Fear* *When I took the Fifth Step with all the thoroughness I could muster, that part of me I feared the most no longer frightened me. I suddenly realized that God loves me just as I am.* - The AA Grapevine, July 1980 "Short Takes" *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A fear faced is a fear erased.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of y ...Continue Reading