AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 13, 2022 Making the Approach That the man who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man with a real answer, that he has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured—these are the conditions we have f ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 12, 2022 Defect of Pride For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our God-given instincts. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) pp.48 - 49 Thought to Ponder Swallowing my pride will not get me drunk. AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 11, 2022 Problems Pile Up These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Doctor's Opinion) p. xxviii Thought to Ponder The Twelve Steps; a manuscript for rational living. AA-related 'Alconym' A A   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 10, 2022 Soul-Sickness Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. We have drunk to drown feelings of fear, frustration, and depression. We have drunk to escape the guilt of passions, and then have drunk again to make more passions possible. We have drunk for vainglory—that we might the more enjoy foolish dreams of pomp and power. This perverse soul-sickness is not pleasant to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 9, 2022 Two Alternatives If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. - Alcoholics Anonymo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 8, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ In His Mind These observations would be academic and pointless if our friend never took the first drink, thereby setting the terrible cycle in motion. Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in his body. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 23  Thought to Ponder I want the gift of an untroubled mind.  AA-related 'Alconym' C H A O S  =  Creating Havoc Around OurSe ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 7, 2022 Heartbreaking Obsession The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never could we recapture the great moments of the past. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more attempt—and one more failure. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 151 Thought to Ponder Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom f ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 6, 2022 Lose All Control But what about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 21 Thought to Ponder When we try to control our drinking, we have already lost control. AA-related 'Alconym' T H I N K  =   Thank Heave ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 5, 2022 Control and Manipulation When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate. As we redouble our efforts at control, and continue to fail, our suffering becomes acute and constant. We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of society. - Tw ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 4, 2022 Avoiding Amends The temptation to skip the more humiliating and dreaded meetings that still remain may be great. We will often manufacture plausible excuses for dodging these issues entirely. Or we may just procrastinate, telling ourselves the time is not yet, when in reality we have already passed up many a fine chance to right a serious wrong. Let's not talk prudence while practicing evasion. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Nine) p. 85 Thought ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 3, 2022 Continue Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. - ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 2, 2022 Miracles It may seem incredible that these men are to become happy, respected, and useful once more. How can they rise out of such misery, bad repute and hopelessness? The practical answer is that since these things have happened among us, they can happen with you. Should you wish them above all else, and be willing to make use of our experience, we are sure they will come. The age of miracles is still with us. Our own recovery proves that! - Alcoholics Anony ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) May 1, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Selfishness—self-centeredness! So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us! God makes that possible. And there often seems no way of entirely getting rid of self without His aid. - Alcoholics Anonymous, ( ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) April 30, 2022 Simple Request We ask simply that throughout the day God place in us the best understanding of His will that we can have for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we may carry it out. As the day goes on, we can pause where situations must be met and decisions made, and renew the simple request: "Thy will, not mine, be done." - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 102 - 103 Thought to Ponder I can't do His will my way ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) April 29, 2022 The Right Track Human beings are never quite alike, so each of us, when making an inventory, will need to determine what his individual character defects are. Having found the shoes that fit, he ought to step into them and walk with new confidence that he is at last on the right track. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 48 Thought to Ponder Clear vision for tomorrow comes only after a real look at yesterday. AA-related 'Alconym' A G O & ...Continue Reading