AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 25, 2024  Great RealityWe finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 55  Thought to Ponder . . .People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.  AA-related 'Alconym'G I F T  = &nbs ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 24, 2024  Self-Pity"Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress and can cut off all effective communication with our fellows because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy. It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford."- As Bill Sees It, (Maudlin Martyrdom) No. 238  Thought to Ponder . . .Self-pity is followed by isolation is followed by a drink.  AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 23, 2024  More Spiritual DevelopmentLike most people, we have found that we can take our big lumps as they come. But also like others, we often discover a greater challenge in the lesser and more continuous problems of life. Our answer is in still more spiritual development. Only by this means can we improve our chances for really happy and useful living.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 114  Thought to Ponder . . .Faith is like a muscle ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 22, 2024  The Old GameInwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. He will presently try the old game again, for he isn’t happy about his sobriety. He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 152   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 21, 2024  Firm BedrockBut upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21  Thought to Ponder . . .The Three A's .. Awareness, Acceptanc ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)October 20, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~  ChangeChange 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, (Only God is Unchanging) No. 76  Thought to PonderChange is inevitable, growth is optional.  AA-related 'Alconym'A B C  =  Accept ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 19, 2024  The Chilling VaporThe less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society, from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision for You) p. 151  Thought to Ponder . . .Alcoholic drinking's three stages: Impulsive, Compulsive, Repulsive.  AA-related 'Alconym'C H A O S  = ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 18, 2024  Facts of LifeThe A.A. answer to these questions about living is “Yes, all of these things are possible.” We know this because we see monotony, pain, and even calamity turned to good use by those who keep on trying to practice A.A.'s Twelve Steps. And if these are facts of life for the many alcoholics who have recovered in A.A., they can become the facts of life for many more.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 112  Thought to Pon ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 17, 2024  Off the BeamWithout necessarily taking that first drink, we often get quite far off the beam. Our troubles sometimes begin with indifference. We are sober and happy in our A.A. work. Things go well at home and office. We naturally congratulate ourselves on what later proves to be a far too easy and superficial point of view. We temporarily cease to grow because we feel satisfied that there is no need for all of A.A.’s Twelve Steps for us. We are doing f ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 16, 2024  Thoroughness and HonestyWe went back through our lives. Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty. When we were finished we considered it carefully. The first thing apparent was that this world and its people were often quite wrong. To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 65 - 66  Thought to Ponder . . .It takes strength and courage to admit the truth.  AA-related 'Alco ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 15, 2024  Practice These Principles"Sobriety is my sole responsibility. After all, I'm a pretty fine chap, expect for my drinking. Give me sobriety, and I've got it made!" As long as our friend clings to this comfortable alibi, he will make so little progress with his real life problems and responsibilities that he stands in a fair way to get drunk again. This is why A.A.'s Twelfth Step urges that we 'practice these principles in all our affairs.' - As ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 14, 2024  An IllnessContinue to speak of alcoholism as an illness, a fatal malady. Talk about the conditions of body and mind which accompany it. Keep his attention focussed mainly on your personal experience. Explain that many are doomed who never realize their predicament.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 92  Thought to Ponder . . .For his sake, we do recount and almost relive the horrors of our past.  AA-related 'Alconym'E S H  = ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)October 13, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~  A Better WayPerhaps there is a better way—we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 68  Thought t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 12, 2024  Practice These PrinciplesOur basic troubles are the same as everyone else's, but when an honest effort is made "to practice these principles in all our affairs," well-grounded A.A.'s seem to have the ability, by God's grace, to take these troubles in stride and turn them into demonstrations of faith.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 114  Thought to Ponder . . .Faith is like a muscle, the more we use it, the more it gr ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)October 11, 2024  Precious QualityIndeed, the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 70  Thought to P ...Continue Reading