*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 23, 2015* *Belonging* *We discover -- but can hardly dare to believe right at first -- that /we are not alone./  We are /not/ totally unlike /everybody,/ after all. The brittle shell of protective and fearful egocentricity is cracked open by the honesty of other recovered alcoholics. We sense, almost before we can articulate it, that we do belong somewhere, and the loneliness starts leaking away. Relief is too weak a word to convey our initial feeling. * / ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 22, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Unmanageable The unmanageable aspect is part of day-to-day living and carries in it the trigger for the alcoholic's obsession with drink. All the laws that are at work in the world are going to make every life unmanageable from time to time. But for the alcoholic there is not only an additional danger, but also an additional opportunity. AA offers us a program that can put life's unmanageability into perspective.* /- The Best ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 21, 2015* *Sponsorship* *Sponsorship is a bridge to trusting the human race, the very race we once resigned from. In learning to trust, we are strengthening our sobriety.* The AA Grapevine, February, 1984 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *We need trust to combat fear.* *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 the AA message. Blessings in sobriety to ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 20, 2015* *Action* *The program of action, though entirely sensible, was pretty drastic. It meant I would have to throw several lifelong conceptions out of the window. That was not easy.  But the moment I made up my mind to go through with the process, I had the curious feeling that my alcoholic condition was relieved, as in fact it proved to be.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 42 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *What is now proved was once only imagined.* *AA-r ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 19, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Self-pity Poor little old me.  I had the Ploms and almost died from them. Sober, I would probably recovered with a few new scars on an already badly dented ego, and my life would have been a different one. . .  It was alcohol /plus/ the Ploms that almost did me in. Though I no longer use alcohol, I must still guard against self-pity, a defect as "cunning, baffling, powerful" as alcohol.* /- The Best of the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 18, 2015* *Expectations* *Until I could honestly look at myself and see that I was the problem in many situations and react appropriately inside and out; until I could discard my expectations and understand that my serenity was directly proportional to them, I could not experience serenity and sound sobriety.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 71 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Expectations are premeditated resentments.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *W I S D O M* = **W**h ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 17, 2015* *The Answer* *The answer was on page fifty-eight: "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not give themselves to this simple program." My problem was not that I could not, because I knew I could; my problem was that I would not. After this discovery, I commenced to follow the program as outlined in the Big Book, and for the first time in my life, I completely gave myself to this simple program. . . As a result of practicing t ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 16, 2015* *Step Four* /"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."/ *My Fourth Step showed me to be a liar, cheat, and thief; I was totally ruled by fear and resentment. I thought of others only in light of my goals and cared about them only as they affected me. It may be that my life was perfect from a transcendent perspective, but the contingencies were hell -- and it was the contingencies that had my back to the wall.* /- The Best ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 15, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. /Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery.  But these are indispensable./* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 568 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Honesty isn't an event -- it's a process.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *H O W* = **H**onesty, **O**pen-mindedness, **W**illingness. ** *A ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 14, 2015* *Pickles* *We are also concerned, after countless attempts we made to prove otherwise, that alcoholism is incurable -- just like some other illnesses.  It cannot be "cured" in this sense: We cannot change our body chemistry and go back to being the normal, moderate social drinkers lots of us seemed to be in our youth. As some of us put it, we can no more make that change than a pickle can change itself back into a cucumber.* /- Living S ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 13, 2015* *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. Maintaining anonymity insures that the focus of our efforts is on the program and not on personalities.* /- The Home Group: Heartbeat of AA,/ p. 126 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Anonymity is real humility at work.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* *C H A N G E* = ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 12, 2015 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Daily Reprieve It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.  We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent upon the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 85 *Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 11, 2015* *Generosity* *We cannot skimp when the treasurer of our group passes the hat.  Our groups, our areas, and AA as a whole will not function unless our services are sufficient and their bills are paid. When we meet and defeat the temptation to take large gifts, we are only being prudent. But when we are generous with the hat we give a token that we are grateful for our blessings and evidence that we are eager to share what we have found with all tho ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 10, 2015* *Control* *We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic /ever/ recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals -- usually brief -- were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 30 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When we try to control our drinking ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *April 9, 2015* *Forgiveness* *I must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in my heart. I do this not for the other persons' sake, but for my own sake. Resentment, anger, or a desire to see someone punished, are things that rot my soul. Such things fasten my troubles to me with chains. They tie me to other problems that have nothing to do with my original problem.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 88 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Forgiveness is the ...Continue Reading