*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *August 2, 2013* *A New Beginning* *I knew I had to have a new beginning, and this beginning had to be here. I could not start anywhere else. I had to let go of the past and forget the future. As long as I held on to the past with one hand and grabbed at the future with the other hand, I had nothing to hold on to today with. So I had to begin here, now.* /- Came To Believe . . .,/ p. 46 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *If I have the courage to begin, I have the courage to ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *August 1, 2013* *Fellowship* *In AA, afflicted men and woman have recaptured the lost art of fellowship. We came together because we were in trouble. We leave our references and credentials at the door. We learn that we can recover from this trouble through the most powerful remedy in the world for sick souls -- the face-to-face relation, respect for one another as human beings, and the right to live well as complete persons.* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 58 *Thoug ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 31, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Promises We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us -- sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.* /- Alcoholics Anonymous,/ p. 84 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *It works ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 30, 2013* *Merry-Go-Round* *I began to feel like a clown juggling too many balls. Each ball represented a problem I was keeping up in the air. My arms were weary and I knew I couldn't keep on much longer, but I was not about to give up. My pride and ego wouldn't let me. Bosses, judges, co-workers, lawyers, car notes, bar tabs, loan sharks . . . I looked to all these as the source of my problems, while overlooking the most basic problem: my drinking and myself. I ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 30, 2013* *Merry-Go-Round* *I began to feel like a clown juggling too many balls. Each ball represented a problem I was keeping up in the air. My arms were weary and I knew I couldn't keep on much longer, but I was not about to give up. My pride and ego wouldn't let me. Bosses, judges, co-workers, lawyers, car notes, bar tabs, loan sharks . . . I looked to all these as the source of my problems, while overlooking the most basic problem: my drinking and myself. I ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 29, 2013* *Laughter* *Once we recognize self-pity for what it is, we can start doing something about it other than drink. . . Some of the biggest belly laughs at AA meetings erupt when a member describes his or her own latest orgy of self-pity, and we listeners find ourselves looking into a fun-house mirror. There we are -- grown men and women tangled up in the emotional diaper of an infant. It can be a shock, but the shared laughter takes the pain out of it.* / ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 28, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Four Nearly every serious emotional problem can be seen as a case of misdirected instinct. When that happens, our great natural assets, the instincts, have turned into physical and mental liabilities. Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are. . . Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 27, 2013* *Priceless* *One looks in one's mirror to powder, shave, or admire. But the good AA is apt to look deeper. Every morning he gives thanks for a sober countenance. . . At nightfall he takes another look, saying, "Well, my friend, how did we do today? Thanks be to thee for the privilege of living." Thus the AA's mirror reflects not rouge, but gratitude; not conceit, but humility; not froth, but reality. It reflects a priceless experience.* /- Th ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 26, 2013* *Truth* *As I began to look more closely, I noticed serious flaws: I was an alcoholic; I was neurotic; I was brimful of character defects. But these were things that, in time and with help, could be dealt with. No longer did I have to run with nightmarish terror from an inner monster. I had seen the truth, and the truth had freed me to do less hiding and more seeking.* /- The Best of the Grapevine/ [Vol. 1], p. 134 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *The effor ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 25, 2013* *Self-centeredness* *A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once. Rebellion dogs our every step at first. When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, "Well, thank God that's over! I'll never have to go through /that/ again!" Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 24, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Expectations How amazing the revelation that the world, and everyone in it, can get along just fine with or without me. What a relief to know that people, places and things will be perfectly okay without my control and direction.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 51 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Expectations are premeditated resentments.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **S I T** = **S**tay **I**n **T**oday. * A Membe ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 23, 2013* *Relationships* *I have learned how to be a friend, a gentleman, be honest, communicate, go on dates, and not take myself too seriously. I thought the whole time I was on a search to find the perfect lover or relationship. What I have found is a deeper relationship with myself and my Higher Power. I see I am not the unworthy, inferior, awkward teenager I once felt I was. I am a sober man, a child of God. And each day I get the opportunity to show mysel ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 22, 2013* *Changing* *Alcoholics Anonymous must be changing. Yet the process and direction in which we are moving is the same. The more it changes, the more it stays the same. . . There are always parts of the first five chapters in the Big Book that seem new to me. This Fellowship is like a diamond whose message flashes toward me every time I hold it up to the light and turn it around.* /- Thank You For Sharing,/ p. 182 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *When I change ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 21, 2013 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Spiritual Fitness I know when I am spiritually fit because at such times I have no desire to escape life, but feel strengthened to deal with everything I am called upon to face.* - The AA Grapevine, June 1960 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *Smile! It's a free facelift.* *AA-related 'Alconym' . . .* **A A** = **A**ltered **A**ttitudes. * A Member Shares: My name is Hope, alcoholic. Sometimes I feel "in the g ...Continue Reading

*AA Thought for the Day* (courtesy AA-Alive.net) *July 20, 2013* *Fear* *When I face a fear, I am given courage; when I support a brother or sister, my capacity to love myself is increased; when I accept pain as part of the growing experience of life, I realize a greater happiness; when I look at my dark side, I am brought into new light; when I accept my vulnerability and surrender to a Higher Power, I am graced with unforeseen strength.* /- Daily Reflections,/ p. 62 *Thought to Ponder . . .* *A fear faced is a fe ...Continue Reading