AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 2, 2024  Emotional InsecurityThe most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger self-pity, and depression. These stem from causes which sometimes seem to be within us, and at other times to come from without. To take inventory in this respect we ought to consider carefully all personal relationships which bring continuous or recurring trouble. It should be remembered that this kind of insecurity may arise in any area where instincts are threatened.- T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)July 1, 2024  Sane and Sound IdealWe reviewed our own conduct over the years past. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, or inconsiderate? Whom had we hurt? Did we unjustifiably arouse jealousy, suspicion or bitterness? Where were we at fault, what should we have done instead? We got this all down on paper and looked at it. In this way we tried to shape a sane and sound ideal for our future sex life. We subjected each relation to this test—was it selfish or not?- Alcohol ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 30, 2024  A Regular HabitMore experienced people, of course, in all times and places have practiced unsparing self-survey and criticism. For the wise have always known that no one can make much of his life until self-searching becomes a regular habit, until he is able to admit and accept what he finds, and until he patiently and persistently tries to correct what is wrong.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 88  Thought to Ponder . . .It's not ma ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 29, 2024  Hundreds of ExperiencesWhy does he behave like this? If hundreds of experiences have shown him that one drink means another debacle with all its attendant suffering and humiliation, why is it he takes that one drink? Why can’t he stay on the water wagon? What has become of the common sense and will power that he still sometimes displays with respect to other matters?- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 22  Thought to Ponder . . .The first ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 28, 2024  Source of PowerThus we grow. And so can you, though you be but one man with this book in your hand. We believe and hope it contains all you will need to begin. We know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself: “I’m jittery and alone. I couldn’t do that.” But you can. You forget that you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 163  Thought to Ponder . . .The task ahead of ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 27, 2024  Thorough InventoryIf we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written down a lot. We have listed and analyzed our resentments. We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. We have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our enemies, for we look on them as sick people.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 70  Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 26, 2024  Cheerfulness and LaughterSo we think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn’t we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 132  Thought to Ponder . . .Laughter is the sound of recovery.  AA-related 'Alconym'H J F  =   Happy, ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 25, 2024  Accurate Self-AppraisalThe emphasis on inventory is heavy only because a great many of us have never really acquired the habit of accurate self-appraisal. Once this healthy practice has become grooved, it will be so interesting and profitable that the time it takes won't be missed. For these minutes and sometimes hours spent in self-examination are bound to make all the other hours of our day better and happier.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 24, 2024  Profound Personality ChangeWe also clutch at another wonderful excuse for avoiding an inventory. Our present anxieties and troubles, we cry, are caused by the behavior of other people—people who really need a moral inventory. We firmly believe that if only they’d treat us better, we’d be all right. Therefore we think our indignation is justified and reasonable—that our resentments are the “right kind.” We aren’t the guilty ones. They are!- Twelve Steps and ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 23, 2024  Profound Personality Change"It has often been said of A.A. that we are interested only in alcoholism. That is not true. We have to get over drinking in order to stay alive. But anyone who knows the alcoholic personality by firsthand contact knows that no true alky ever stops drinking permanently without undergoing a profound personality change."- As Bill Sees It, (Letter, 1940) No. 1  Thought to Ponder . . .If I don't change, my sobriety dat ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 22, 2024  New and Wonderful WorldBoth you and the new man must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in God’s hands were better than anything we could have planned. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!- Alcoholics Anonymous ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 21, 2024  Repair the DamageNow we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. We attempt to sweep away the debris which has accumulated out of our effort to live on self-will and run the show ourselves. If we haven’t the will to do this, we ask until it comes. Remember it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 76  Thought to Ponder . . .Making amends always invol ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 20, 2024  No Exception?"I have never seen one single case recover, where that state of mind existed to the extent that it does in you." Our friend felt as though the gates of hell had closed on him with a clang. He said to the doctor, "Is there no exception?" "Yes," replied the doctor, "there is. Exceptions to cases such as yours have been occurring since early times. Here and there, once in a while, alcoholics have had what are ca ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 19, 2024  A New LifeWe, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living" that really works.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 28  Thought to Ponder . . .The Twelve Steps -- a manuscript for rational living.  AA-related 'Alconym'A A A  =   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 18, 2024  ControlWe 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, (More About Alcoholism) p. 30  Thought to Ponder . . .When we try to contro ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 17, 2024  Absolutely Unable to StopBut the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 39  Thought to Ponder . . .Nobody ever found recovery as a result of an intellectual awa ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)June 16, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~Step TwelveHaving had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 60  Thought to PonderA spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.  AA-related 'Alconym'A A  =  Amazing Awakening.  A Member Shares:I'm still Bill and alkie, and I'm getting hungry so I'll try going first. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 15, 2024  ResentmentResentment is the "number one" offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 64  Thought to Ponder . . .The road to resentment is paved with expectations.  AA-relat ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 14, 2024  Willingness to BelieveLet us make haste to reassure you. We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 46  Thought to Ponder . . .I came; I came to; I came to believe.  AA-related 'Alconym ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 13, 2024  No ReservationsWe have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.’’ Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 33  Thought to Ponder . . .Times change, alcoholism doesn't. & ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 12, 2024  InventoriesAlthough all inventories are alike in principle, the time factor does distinguish one from another. There's the spotcheck inventory, taken at any time of the day, whenever we find ourselves getting tangled up. There's the one we take at day's end, when we review the happenings of the hours just past. Here we cast up a balance sheet, crediting ourselves with things well done, and chalking up debits where due. Then there are those occasions when a ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 11, 2024  ObstaclesEach of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Trad ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 10, 2024  Kindness, Justice, CourtesyWe can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 93  Thought to Ponder . . .It's never too late to be what I might have been.  AA-related 'Alconym'P U T  =   Practice Usin ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 9, 2024  Sincerely Trying to Grow"This is the Step that separates the men from the boys." So declares a well-loved clergyman who happens to be one of A.A.'s greatest friends. He goes on to explain that any person capable of enough willingness and honesty to try repeatedly Step Six on all his faults—without any reservations whatever—has indeed come a long way spiritually, and is therefore entitled to be called a man who is sincerely trying to grow in the im ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 8, 2024  The Bright SpotLife will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends—this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 89  Thought to Ponder . . .Sobriety is the adventure of ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 7, 2024  FearThis short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn’t deserve. But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling?- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67  Thought to Ponder . . .Breathe in faith, breathe out fear.  AA-related 'Alconym'F A I T H  = &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 6, 2024  Spiritual AxiomIt is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts us and we are sore, we are in the wrong also. But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable" anger? . . . We have found that justified anger ought to be left to those better qualified to handle it.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 90  Thought to Ponder . . ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 5, 2024  Emotional HangoverWhen a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion—anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers.- T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 3, 2024IndependenceAnd the facts seem to be these: The more we become willing to depend upon a Higher Power, the more independent we actually are. Therefore dependence, as A.A. practices it, is really a means of gaining true independence of the spirit.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 36Thought to Ponder . . .Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.AA-related 'Alconym'F A I T H  =   For All I Trust Him.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_ ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)June 2, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~Step ThreeWe can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives. Therefore our problem now becomes just how and by what specific means shall we be able to let Him in? Step Three represents our first attempt to do this. In fact, the effectiveness of the whole A.A. program will rest upon how well and earnestly we have tried to come to “a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”- Twelve Steps and Twelv ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)June 1, 2024MystifiedWhat sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats time after time the desperate experiment of the first drink? Friends who have reasoned with him after a spree which has brought him to the point of divorce or bankruptcy are mystified when he walks directly into a saloon. Why does he? Of what is he thinking?- Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 35Thought to Ponder . . .We are without defense against the first drink.AA-related 'Alconym'I ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 31, 2024A Legitimate ReasonSo our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking,if we have a legitimate reason for being there. . . Go or stay away, whichever seems best. But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it. But if you are shaky, you had better work with another alcoholic instead!- Alcoholics Anonymous ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 30, 2024Days Into YearsDr. W. W. Bauer, . . . said, in part: “Alcoholics Anonymous are no crusaders; not a temperance society. They know that they must never drink. They help others with similar problems . . . In this atmosphere the alcoholic often overcomes his excessive concentration upon himself. Learning to depend upon a higher power and absorb himself in his work with other alcoholics, he remains sober day by day. The days add up into weeks, the weeks into months and ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 29, 2024Neither Fear Nor FavorHaving so considered our day, not omitting to take due note of things well done, and having searched our hearts with neither fear nor favor, we can truly thank God for the blessings we have received and sleep in good conscience.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 95Thought to Ponder . . .Inventory-taking is not always done in red ink.AA-related 'Alconym'A A  =   Always Aware.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Subscription R ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 28, 2024Permanent RecoveryBut when the broker gave him Dr. Silkworth’s description of alcoholism and its hopelessness, the physician began to pursue the spiritual remedy for his malady with a willingness he had never before been able to muster. He sobered, never to drink again up to the moment of his death in 1950. This seemed to prove that one alcoholic could affect another as no nonalcoholic could. It also indicated that strenuous work, one alcoholic with another, was v ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 27, 2024This Lifetime JobSo Step Six—"Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character"—is A.A.'s way of stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this lifetime job. This does not mean that we expect all our character defects to be lifted out of us as the drive to drink was. A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement. The key words "entirely read ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 26, 2024We Carry A.A.'s MessageTo watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives—these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry A.A.'s message to the ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 25, 2024A Priceless GiftWe enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety—in other words, to all of us—this newfound peace is a priceless gift. Something new indeed has been added. Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 24, 2024We Trust GodPerhaps 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. 68Thought to Ponder . . .Serenity isn't freedom from t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 23, 2024PrayerTherefore, we ought to consider each request carefully to see what its real merit is. Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them this qualification: "…if it be Thy will." 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.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 102Tho ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 22, 2024RecoveredWe, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Foreward To First Edition) p. xiiiThought to Ponder . . ..Walk softly and carry a Big Book.AA-related ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 21, 2024The Root of Our TroublesSelfishness—self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 20, 2024Freedom From FearWhen, with God’s help, we calmly accepted our lot, then we found we could live at peace with ourselves and show others who still suffered the same fears that they could get over them, too. We found that freedom from fear was more important than freedom from want.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 122Thought to Ponder . . .Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself.AA-related 'Alconym'F E A R  =   Face Ever ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 19, 2024A.A.'s Simple PrayerWith each passing day of our lives, may every one of us sense more deeply the inner meaning of A.A.'s simple prayer: God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can. And wisdom to know the difference.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 125Thought to Ponder . . .Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm.AA-related 'Alconym'P A U S E  =   P ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 18, 2024Our ChoiceWhen we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be?- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 53Thought to Ponder . . .No God, no peace --- know God, know peace.AA-related 'Alconym'W I L L I N G  =   When I Live Life, I Need God.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Su ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 17, 2024A Common SolutionThe feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined. The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 17Thought to Ponder . . .The solution is simple. The solution is spiritual.AA-related 'Alconym'F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God.To Un ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 16, 2024A Real AnswerThat 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 found most eff ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 15, 2024Simply Resume PrayerAll of us, without exception, pass through times when we can pray only with the greatest exertion of will. Occasionally we go even further than this. We are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 105Thought to Pond ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 14, 2024Thy Will Be DoneWe constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) pp. 87 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 13, 2024Great Sense of PurposeThis dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives. We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 130Thought to Ponder . . .Faith is our gr ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 12, 2024The Quick InventoryIn all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress, not for perfection.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 91Thought to Ponder . . .Forgiveness is anoth ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 11, 2024Came to BelieveThe minute I stopped arguing, I could begin to see and feel. Right there, Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now. To acquire it, I had only to stop fighting and practice the rest of A.A.'s program as enthusiastically as I could.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Two) p. 27Thought to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 10, 2024A TornadoThe alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil. We feel a man is unthinking when he says that sobriety is enough. He is like the farmer who came up out of his cyclone cellar to find his home ruined. To his wife, he remarked, "Don’t see anything the matter here, Ma. Ain’t it grand ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 9, 2024An Easier, Softer WayAt 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. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 58Thought to Ponder . . .If I always do what I've always done, I'll always get what I've always gotten.AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 8, 2024IndecisionIn thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried this for a while.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 86Thought to Ponder . . .Life is fragile, handle with prayer.AA-related 'Alconym'P A U S E  =   Pray A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 7, 2024InventoryBy discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is still out of reach.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 43Thought to Ponder . . .In order to recover we have to uncover.AA-rela ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 6, 2024Holding Back NothingWe'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit the truth about ourselves—the help of God and another human being. Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being willing to take advice and accept direction could we set foot on the road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Five) p. 59Thought to Ponder . . .We need to share our problems to find o ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 5, 2024Higher PowerIn our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater than himself. Whether we agree with a particular approach or conception seems to make little difference. Experience has taught us that these are matters about which, for our purpose, we need not be worried. They are questions for each individual to settle for himself.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 50Thought to P ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 4, 2024HumilityIt was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self-sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Seven) p. 72Thought to Ponder . . .Humility is born of the spirit, humiliation of the ego.AA-related 'Al ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 3, 2024Our Own PowerMany of us had moral and philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up to them even though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness much by wishing or trying on our own power. We had to have God’s help.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 62Thought to Ponder . . .I can't think my way into right acting, but I can act my way into right thinking.AA-related 'Alconym'F A I T H  =   Found Always In Tru ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 2, 2024Our Next StepWe usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 87Thought to Ponder . . .Life is fragile, handle with prayer.AA-related 'Alconym'P R A Y E R  =   Praying Regularly Allows Your Everyday Recovery.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Subscription Reminder_   You're ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)May 1, 2024Road of Happy DestinyAbandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you—until then.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 164Thought to Ponder . . .Trust God. Clean house. Help o ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 30, 2024The ImpossibleIn our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. If the alcoholic tries to shield himself he may succeed for a time, but he usually winds up with a bigger explosion than ever. We have tried these methods. These attempts to do the impossible have always failed.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 101Thought to Ponder . . .Sobriety without action is fantasy.AA-rel ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 29, 2024Step Three PrayerMany of us said to our Maker, as we understood Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee—to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always."- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 63Thought to Ponder . . .I can't do God's ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)April 28, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~A Daily ReprieveIt 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 on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 85Thought to PonderWe will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 27, 2024Our TroublesSo 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, (How It Works) p. 62Thought to Ponder . . .Let go ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 26, 2024Complete DefeatWho cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21Thought to Ponder . . .We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 25, 2024Dear Friends, I have no idea why the Daily Thought did not send today.  The schedule was set up correctly but it did not send.  My apologies.  I'll be digging this afternoon to see if I can discover the reason and endeavor to make sure it doesn't happen again.Valuable RewardsWhile the purpose of making restitution to others is paramount, it is equally necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal relations every bit of informatio ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 24, 2024Central FactThe central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 25Thought to Ponder . . .I can't, God can, I'll ask Him to.AA-related 'Alconym'F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Subscription Re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 23, 2024One Short QuestionWe needed to ask ourselves but one short question. "Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?" As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built..- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 22, 2024Prayer and MeditationThose of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support. As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul.- Twelve Steps and Twe ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)April 21, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~AngerFinally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means. It will become more and more evident as we go forward that it is pointless to become angry, or to get hurt by people who, like us, are suffering from the pains of growing up.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 20, 2024Lose Our FearMore and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We were reborn.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 63Thought to Ponder . . .Breathe in faith, breathe out fear.AA-related 'Alconym'F E A R  =   Fa ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 19, 2024EmotionsThe moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. This is especially true if he has, in fact, behaved badly at all. Triumphantly we seize upon his misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own. Right here we need to fetch ourselves up sharply.- Twelve Steps and Twelve T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 18, 2024ForgivenessWe've repeatedly strained the patience of our best friends to a snapping point, and have brought out the very worst in those who didn't think much of us to begin with. In many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people whose woes we have increased. If we are now about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we start out by forgiving them, one and all?- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eight) p. 78Thought to Ponder . ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 17, 2024The Great FactAsk Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 164Thought to Ponder . . .Trust God. Clean house. Hel ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 16, 2024Enjoying LifeWe have been speaking to you of serious, sometimes tragic things. We have been dealing with alcohol in its worst aspect. But we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 132Thought to Ponder . . .Laughter is medicine for the sober spirit.AA-related 'Alconym'A L O H A  =   A Lot Of Happy Alcoholics.T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 15, 2024Emotional StabilityWhen we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 116Thought to Ponder . . .No God, no peace — know God, know peace.AA-related 'Alconym'F R O G  =   Fully Rely On God.To Unsubscribe - Cli ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)April 14, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~Priceless AssetsEverywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Sev ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 13, 2024Free of AngerFor when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 66Thought to Ponder . . .Those who anger me, conquer m ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 12, 2024*Human Failings*Let's take a universally recognized list of major human failings—the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. It is not by accident that pride heads the procession. 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.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 48Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 11, 2024The BedevilmentsWe were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people—was not a basic solution of these bedevilments more important than whether we should see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Ag ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 10, 2024The Only ConditionBurn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 98Thought to Ponder . . .Who we are is not dependent upon someone else's opinion.AA-related 'Alconym'T R U S T  =   Try Really Using Step Three.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Subscription Reminder_   You're Subscribed to: &nb ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 9, 2024Receive GuidanceWe discover that we do receive guidance for our lives to just about the extent that we stop making demands upon God to give it to us on order and on our terms. Almost any experienced A.A. will tell how his affairs have taken remarkable and unexpected turns for the better as he tried to improve his conscious contact with God.- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) pp. 104 - 105Thought to Ponder . . .Relationships are built with communic ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 8, 2024Do Not HesitateGod has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists, and practitioners of various kinds. Do not hesitate to take your health problems to such persons. Most of them give freely of themselves, that their fellows may enjoy sound minds and bodies. Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their services are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 7, 2024Moments of TriumphTo conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got. The usual outcome was that people continued to wrong us and we stayed sore. Sometimes it was remorse and then we were sore at ourselves. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters got. As in war, the victor onlyseemed to win. Our moments of triumph were short-lived.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 66Thought to Ponder . . .It takes strength ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 6, 2024Continue to WatchContinue 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.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 84Thought to Ponder . . .The 3 A’s -- Awareness, Acceptance, Action.AA-related 'Alconym'A A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 5, 2024NonsenseHe clamors for this or that, claiming he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for. Nonsense. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job—wife or no wife—we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 98Thought to Ponder . . .In AA we don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.AA-related 'Alcony ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 4, 2024Insanity and DenialThey are always "going on the wagon for keeps." They are over- remorseful and make many resolutions, but never a decision. There is the type of man who is unwilling to admit that he cannot take a drink. He plans various ways of drinking. He changes his brand or his environment. There is the type who always believes that after being entirely free from alcohol for a period of time he can take a drink without danger.- Alcoholics Anonymou ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 3, 2024Reviewed Our Own ConductWe reviewed our own conduct over the years past. Where had we been selfish, dishonest, or inconsiderate? Whom had we hurt? Did we unjustifiably arouse jealousy, suspicion or bitterness? Where were we at fault, what should we have done instead? We got this all down on paper and looked at it.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 69Thought to Ponder . . .The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.AA-related 'Alconym'A A   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 2, 2024Fundamental Idea of GodActually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 55Thought to Ponder . . .People of faith ha ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)April 1, 2024Arch to FreedomThis is the how and why of it. First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn’t work. Next, we decided that hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 62Thought to Ponder . ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy AA-Alive.net)March 31, 2024~ Scroll Down for Share ~ExpectationsI must keep my magic magnifying mind on my acceptance and off my expectations, for my serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance. When I remember this, I can see I’ve never had it so good. Thank God for A.A.!- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Acceptance Was The Answer) p. 420Thought to PonderMy disappointments are equal to my expectations.AA-related 'Alconym'A A  =  Acknowledge Acceptance. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 30, 2024Our FamiliesWe ought to sit down with the family and frankly analyze the past as we now see it, being very careful not to criticize them. Their defects may be glaring, but the chances are that our own actions are partly responsible. So we clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love. The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 29, 2024Fit Spiritual ConditionWe are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality—safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 85Thought to Ponder . . .Spiritua ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 28, 2024Willing to BelieveI stood in the sunlight at last. It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 12Thought to Ponder . . .Hope leads to faith if you let it.AA-related 'Alco ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 27, 2024DisciplineIt works—it really does. 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. "Faith without works is dead."- Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 88Thought to Ponder . . .Motivation may get you going, but discipline keeps you growing.AA-related 'Alconym'F A I T H  =   For All I Trust Him.To Unsubscribe - Click Here_Subscription ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 26, 2024Yes, I Am OneFurther on, clear-cut directions are given showing how we recovered. These are followed by forty-two personal experiences. . . Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, "Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing."- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 29Thought t ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 25, 2024Great NewsThe tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 17Thought to Ponder . . .Together we can do what we could never do alone.AA-related 'Alconym'A C T I O N  =   Any Chang ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day(courtesy aa-alive.net)March 24, 2024This SolutionBut the ex-problem drinker who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about himself, can generally win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.- Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 18Thought to Ponder . . ."He talked my language."AA-related 'Alconym'E S & H  =   Experience, Strength and Hope.To Unsubs ...Continue Reading