AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 8, 2022 A Key Called Willingness Practicing Step Three is like the opening of a door which to all appearances is still closed and locked. All we need is a key, and the decision to swing the door open. There is only one key, and it is called willingness. Once unlocked by willingness, the door opens almost of itself, and looking through it, we shall see a pathway beside which is an inscription. It reads: "This is the way to a faith that works." - Twelve ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 7, 2022 Make A Decision Therefore, we who are alcoholics can consider ourselves fortunate indeed. Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will, and has suffered enough under its weight to look for something better. So it is by circumstance rather than any virtue that we have been driven to AA, have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments of faith, and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a H ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 6, 2022 Abundantly Supplied God 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. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 133 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 5, 2022 Questions In 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. 50 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 4, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Spiritual Awakening When a man or a woman has a spiritual awakening, the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources alone. He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being. He has been set on a path which tells him he is really going somewhere, that life is not a dead end, not som ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 3, 2022 Everything or Nothing When 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. 53 Thought to Ponder I came; I came to; I came to believe. AA-related 'Alconym' B I G  B O O K  =   Believing In God Beats Our Old Kno ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 2, 2022 The Key For it is only by accepting and solving our problems that we can begin to get right with ourselves and with the world about us, and with Him who presides over us all. Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living; therefore the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 125 Thought to Ponder Life will take on new meaning. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) September 1, 2022 We Don't Delay Let no alcoholic say he cannot recover unless he has his family back. This just isn’t so. In some cases the wife will never come back for one reason or another. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It is dependent upon his relationship with God. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) pp. 90 - 100 Thought to Ponder Dependence on God is our chief source of strength. AA-related 'Alconym' F R O G   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 31, 2022 We Don't Delay There may be some wrongs we can never fully right. We don’t worry about them if we can honestly say to ourselves that we would right them if we could. Some people cannot be seen—we send them an honest letter. And there may be a valid reason for postponement in some cases. But we don’t delay if it can be avoided. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 83 Thought to Ponder It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to mak ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 30, 2022 Humbly Offered At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time. Treatment seemed wise, for I showed signs of delirium tremens. There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 13 Thought to Ponder Avoidance is n ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 29, 2022 Contribute to Life We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well. Established on such a footing we became less and less interested in ourselves, our little plans and designs. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 63 Thought to Ponder We serve God by serving other people. AA-related 'Alconym' A G ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 28, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Yes, I Am One Further 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, ( ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 27, 2022 A Good Beginning In this book you read again and again that faith did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We hope you are convinced now that God can remove whatever self-will has blocked you off from Him. If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) pp. 70 - 71 Thought to Ponder Faith is like a muscle, the more we use it, the more it grows. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 26, 2022 Character-building But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living. - Twelve Steps and Twe ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 25, 2022 Control We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 30 Thought to Ponder When we try to control our drink ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 24, 2022 Open Minded Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Sometimes this was a tedious process; we hope no one else will be prejudiced for as long as some of us were. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 48 Thought to Ponder Minds are like parachutes -- they won't work unle ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 23, 2022 Freedom From Fear When, 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. 122 Thought to Ponder Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself. AA-related 'Alconym' F E A R  =   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 22, 2022 Dependence on God When World War II broke out, this spiritual principle had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the services and were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through? Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges than A.A.'s safe at home did. - Twelve Steps a ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 21, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ To Stay Sober Alcoholics can stop drinking in many places and many ways—but Alcoholics Anonymous offers us a way to stay sober. God willing, we members of A.A. may never again have to deal with drinking, but we have to deal with sobriety every day. How do we do it? By learning—through practicing the Twelve Steps and through sharing at meetings—how to cope with the problems that we looked to booze to solve, back in our drinking da ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 20, 2022 Asking Each Morning We 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. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 83 Thought to Ponder The Thre ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 19, 2022 Honestly Sought Him Circumstances made him willing to believe. He humbly offered himself to his Maker—then he knew. Even so has God restored us all to our right minds. To this man, the revelation was sudden. Some of us grow into it more slowly. But He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to Him He disclosed Himself to us! - Alcoholics Anonymous, (We Agnostics) p. 57 Thought to Ponder I came; I came to; I came to believe. AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 18, 2022 All Inclusive As soon as we admitted the possible existence of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit of the Universe underlying the totality of things, we began to be possessed of a new sense of power and direction, provided we took other simple steps. We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we belie ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 17, 2022 Promises Fulfilled 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, (Into Action) p. 84 Thought to Ponder What is now proved was once only imagined. AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 16, 2022 Emotionally Secure It became clear that if we ever were to feel emotionally secure among grown-up people, we would have to put our lives on a give-and-take basis; we would have to develop the sense of being in partnership or brotherhood with all those around us. We saw that we would need to give constantly of ourselves without demands for repayment. When we persistently did this we gradually found that people were attracted to us as never before. And even ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 15, 2022 Resolution and Willingness How can we possibly summon the resolution and the willingness to get rid of such overwhelming compulsions and desires? But again we are driven on by the inescapable conclusion which we draw from A.A. experience, that we surely must try with a will, or else fall by the wayside. At this stage of our progress we are under heavy pressure to do the right thing. We are obliged to choose between the pains of trying and the certain pena ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 14, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Families For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself. He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product. If the family cooperates, dad will soon see that he is suffering from a distortion of values. He will perceive that his spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like h ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 13, 2022 Real Purpose At the moment we are trying to put our lives in order. But this is not an end in itself. Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 77 Thought to Ponder Trust God. Clean House. Help Others. AA-related 'Alconym' A L C O H O L I C S  =   A Life Consisting Of Helping Others Lived In Continuous Sobriety. Thanks to all of you for sharing so gen ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 12, 2022 Easier Methods Time after time newcomers have tried to keep to themselves certain facts about their lives. Trying to avoid this humbling experience, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell. We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only tho ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 11, 2022 Lack of Perspective Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight. Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn’t know. It hadn't even come to mind. Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 5 Thought to Ponder We are without defense against the first drink. AA-related 'Alconym' A A ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 10, 2022 Worse, Never Better 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. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 30 Thought to Ponder When we tr ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 9, 2022 The Truth I Know This great experience that released me from the bondage of hatred and replaced it with love is really just another affirmation of the truth I know: I get everything I need in Alcoholics Anonymous—and everything I need I get. And when I get what I need, I invariably find that it was just what I wanted all the time. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Freedom From Bondage) p. 552 Thought to Ponder The number one way to relieve pain is to forgive. AA- ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) Dear Readers, my apologies for the incorrect reference on yesterday's Daily Thought. The reading comes from The Family Afterward, p. 130. August 8, 2022 Beneficial Practice One of the many doctors who had the opportunity of reading this book in manuscript form told us that the use of sweets was often helpful, of course depending upon a doctor’s advice. He thought all alcoholics should constantly have chocolate available for its quick energy value at times of fatigue. He ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 7, 2022 Sense of Purpose This 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, (Into Action) p. 79 Thought to Ponder Faith is our greatest gi ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 6, 2022 Strength and Direction Although these reparations take innumerable forms, there are some general principles which we find guiding. Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 79 Thought to Ponder Happiness is the result doing our next right thing in ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 5, 2022 Online Meetings Taking advantage of technological advances, for example, A.A. members with computers can participate In any meeting, anywhere, in meetings online, sharing with fellow alcoholics across the country or around the world. A.A.’s share experience, strength, and hope with each other, in order to stay sober and help other alcoholics. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Foreward to the 4th Edition) p. xxiv Thought to Ponder Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 4, 2022 Step Eight Every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake. To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts to see how many people he has hurt, and in what ways. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eight) p. 77 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 3, 2022 Prayer Prayer, as commonly understood, is a petition to God. Having opened our channel as best we can, we try to ask for those right things of which we and others are in the greatest need. And we think that the whole range of our needs is well defined by that part of Step Eleven which says: ". . . knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." A request for this fits in any part of our day. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (S ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 2, 2022 Defensive Emotions The 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) August 1, 2022 Repair the Damage Now we need more action, without which we find that "Faith without works is dead." Let's look at Steps Eight and Nine. We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory. We subjected ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal. Now we go out to our fellows and repair the damage done in the past. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 76 Thought to Ponder It is ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 31, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Principles Before Personalities And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all. - Alcoholics Ano ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 30, 2022 Step Ten We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 29, 2022 Built Anew By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life; that unless he is now willing to work hard at the elimination of the worst of these defects, both sobriety and peace of mind will still elude him; that all the faulty foundation of his life will have to be torn out and built anew on bedrock. - Tw ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 28, 2022 Clearly See Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility—a word often misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be. Therefore, our first practical move toward humility must consist of recognizing our deficiencies. No defect can be corrected unless we clearly see what it is. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 27, 2022 The Fifth Step When we decide who is to hear our story, we waste no time. We have a written inventory and we are prepared for a long talk. We explain to our partner what we are about to do and why we have to do it. He should realize that we are engaged upon a life-and-death errand. Most people approached in this way will be glad to help; they will be honored by our confidence. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 75 Thought to Ponder There’s no chapter ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 26, 2022 Being Helpful We avoid retaliation or argument. We wouldn’t treat sick people that way. If we do, we destroy our chance of being helpful. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 67 Thought to Ponder Love and tolerance of others is our code. AA-related 'Alconym' P U T  =   Practice Using Tolerance. Thanks to all of yo ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 25, 2022 Let Us Think On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking is cleared of wrong mot ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 24, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Common Solution The 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. 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 23, 2022 Gravely Affected To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 33 Thought to Ponder When ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 22, 2022 Exceptions By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people! - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 31 Thought to Ponder I would rather go ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 21, 2022 Complete Defeat Who 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. 21 Thought to Ponder Alcoholic drinking's three stages: Impulsive, Compul ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 20, 2022 Truly Open Mind "First, Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you believe anything All of its Twelve Steps are but suggestions. Second, to get sober and to stay sober, you don't have to swallow all of Step Two right now. Looking back, I find that I took it piecemeal myself. Third, all you really need is a truly open mind. Just resign from the debating society and quit bothering yourself with such deep questions as whether it was the hen or the egg ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 19, 2022 Lovingly Watched Over The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Eleven) p. 105 Thought to Ponder I want the gift of an untroubled mind. AA-related 'Alc ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 18, 2022 Prayer All 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. 105 Thought to Ponder ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 17, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Willingness But now it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) p. 40  Thought to Ponder What have I been given today? Am I willing to reach out an ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 16, 2022 Agitated Or Doubtful As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We 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. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) pp. 87 - 88 Thought to Ponder I listen for direction no ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 15, 2022 Amazingly Lifted Up But I soon found that when all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day. Many times I have gone to my old hospital in despair. On talking to a man there, I would be amazingly lifted up and set on my feet. It is a design for living that works in rough going. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's Story) p. 15 Thought to Ponder Serving God by serving other people. AA-related 'Alconym' T R U S T   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 14, 2022 Quiet That Disturbance We had to see that when we harbored grudges and planned revenge for such defeats, we were really beating ourselves with the club of anger we had intended to use on others. We learned that if we were seriously disturbed, our first need was to quiet that disturbance, regardless of who or what we thought caused it. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) p. 47 Thought to Ponder Reliance on God enables me to match calamity with ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 13, 2022 Faith Without Works When ready, we say something like this: "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen."We have then completed Step Seven. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 76 Thought to Ponder I can't; God can; ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 12, 2022 Faith Without Works Faith without works was dead, he said. And how appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With us it is just like that. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Bill's St ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 11, 2022 Direct Contact In Step Eleven we saw that if a Higher Power had restored us to sanity and had enabled us to live with some peace of mind in a sorely troubled world, then such a Higher Power was worth knowing better, by as direct contact as possible. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) pp. 108 - 109 Thought to Ponder Relationships are built with communication; so we pray. AA-related 'Alconym' A S A P  =   Always Say A Prayer. Tha ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 10, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Step Two "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Therefore, Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him. - Twelve Steps and Twelve T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 9, 2022 Discipline It 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. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 88 Thought to Ponder Motivation may get you going, but discipline keeps you growing. AA-related 'Alconym' A C T  =   Action Changes Things. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 8, 2022 From Your Own Experience If you are satisfied that he is a real alcoholic, begin to dwell on the hopeless feature of the malady. Show him, from your own experience, how the queer mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Working With Others) p. 92 Thought to Ponder Trust God. Clean house. Help others. AA-related 'Alconym' N E W  =   Nothing Else Worked. Thanks to all of ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 7, 2022 Guidance For Our Lives We 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 - 105 Thought to Ponder The Three "P's" - ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 6, 2022 Vital To Permanent Recovery But 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 wit ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 5, 2022 Phenomenon of Craving All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence. - Alcoholic ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 4, 2022 Freedom Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself, we surely have no monopoly. Yet it is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the high road to a new freedom. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Foreward to Second Edition) p. xxi Thought to Ponder Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. AA-related 'Alconym' F R E E  =   ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 3, 2022 Faith We 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 I saw, I felt, I believed. AA-related 'Alconym' F A I T H  =   Found Always In Trusting Him. Thanks to all of you for ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 2, 2022 Natural Desires We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By 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 whic ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) July 1, 2022 Self-Restraint Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint. This carries a top priority rating. When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgment can ruin our relation with another person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 91 Thoug ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 30, 2022 Self-Seeker He decides to exert himself more. He becomes, on the next occasion, still more demanding or gracious, as the case may be. Still the play does not suit him. Admitting he may be somewhat at fault, he is sure that other people are more to blame. He becomes angry, indignant, self-pitying. What is his basic trouble? Is he not really a self-seeker even when trying to be kind? Is he not a victim of the delusion that he can wrest satisfaction and happin ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 29, 2022 Key to Life Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Family Afterward) p. 124 Thought to Ponder Only in giving do we receive in full measure. AA-related 'Alconym' H E L P & ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 28, 2022 Happiness These men had found something brand new in life. Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was transcended by the happiness they found in giving themselves for others. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (A Vision For You) p. 159 Thought to Ponder Trust God. Clean house. Help others. AA-related 'Alconym' H J F  =   Happy, Joyous, Free. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generous ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 27, 2022 Psychic Change On the other hand—and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand—once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (The Doctor's Opinion) p. xxix Thought to Ponder A spiritual ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 26, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Self-Will We 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. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. - Alcoholics Anony ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 25, 2022 Relief Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable. These are the first fruits of Step Four. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Four) pp. 49 - 50 Thought to Ponder My faults do not make me faulty; they make me human. AA-re ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 24, 2022 Laughter So we think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we bust 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, Joyous, Free. Thanks to all o ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 23, 2022 A Long Road It 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. 72 Thought to Ponder Humility is born of the spirit, humiliation of the ego. AA ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 22, 2022 Precisely How We, 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. xiii Thought to Ponder Walk softly and carry a Big Book. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 21, 2022 Thoroughly Followed RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not, completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 58 Thought to Ponder Meeting makers make meetings. Step takers recover. AA-related 'Alconym' H O W  =   Honest, O ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 20, 2022 Any Lengths Now 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 It is the highest form of self-respect to ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 19, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ Three Pertinent Ideas Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas: (a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. (b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (c) That God could and would if He were sought. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (How It Works) p. 60  Thought to Ponder I can't, God can, I'l ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 18, 2022 Pocket Our Pride We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Into Action) p. 75 Thought to Ponder Swallowing my pride will not get me drunk. AA-related 'Alcon ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 17, 2022 Thy Will Be Done We 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 16, 2022 The Main Problem Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in his body. If you ask him why he started on that last bender, the chances are he will offer you any one of a hundred alibis. Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholic’s drinking bout creates. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (There Is A Solution) p. 23 Thought to Ponder I want the gift ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 15, 2022 *In the Stillness* In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done." - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Three) pp. 40 - 41 Thought to Ponder Serenity isn't freedom from the storm; it is peace within the storm. ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 14, 2022 Acceptance We know that little good can come to any alcoholic who joins A.A. unless he has first accepted his devastating weakness and all its consequences. Until he so humbles himself, his sobriety—if any—will be precarious. Of real happiness he will find none at all. Proved beyond doubt by an immense experience, this is one of the facts of A.A. life. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) p. 21 Thought to Ponder The Three A's ... Awareness, Acc ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 13, 2022 Humility We 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) June 12, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ The Taproot Proved beyond doubt by an immense experience, this is one of the facts of A.A. life. The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step One) pp. 21 - 22  Thought to Ponder We surrender to win.  AA-related 'Alconym' K I S S  =  Keep It Simple; ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 11, 2022 Strangely Insane However intelligent we may have been in other respects, where alcohol has been involved, we have been strangely insane. It’s strong language—but isn’t it true? - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 38 Thought to Ponder Insanity: doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. AA-related 'Alconym' A A  =   Amazing Awakening. Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, stre ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 10, 2022 Meaningful Sobriety Many an A.A., once agnostic or atheistic, tells us that it was during this stage of Step Five that he first actually felt the presence of God. And even those who had faith already often become conscious of God as they never were before. This feeling of being at one with God and man, this emerging from isolation through the open and honest sharing of our terrible burden of guilt, brings us to a resting place where we may prepare ourselves ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 9, 2022 Tradition Six An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (Appendix I) p. 563 Thought to Ponder Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. AA-related 'Alconym' A A W O L  =   A A Way Of Life. Thanks to all of you for sharing so genero ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 8, 2022 Willing I 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. 12 Thought to Ponder Hope leads to faith if you let it. AA-related ' ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 7, 2022 Special Vigilance Now that we're in A.A. and sober, and winning back the esteem of our friends and business associates, we find that we still need to exercise special vigilance. As an insurance against "big-shot-ism" we can often check ourselves by remembering that we are today sober only by the grace of God and that any success we may be having is far more His success than ours. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Ten) p. 92 Thought to Po ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 6, 2022 Baffling Many of us felt that we had plenty of character. There was a tremendous urge to cease forever. Yet we found it impossible. This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it—this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish. - Alcoholics Anonymous, (More About Alcoholism) p. 34 Thought to Ponder Alcohol — cunning, baffling, powerful! AA-related 'Alconym' F E A R  =   Few Ever Arrive Rejoicing. T ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 5, 2022 ~ Scroll Down for Share ~ A Basic Solution We 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 ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 4, 2022 Willingness to Believe Let 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' W I L L I N G ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 3, 2022 Problems We have been talking about problems because we are problem people who have found a way up and out, and who wish to share our knowledge of that way with all who can use it. For it is only by accepting and solving our problems that we can begin to get right with ourselves and with the world about us, and with Him who presides over us all. - Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, (Step Twelve) p. 125 Thought to Ponder The Three A's .. Awareness, Acceptan ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 2, 2022 To Try Repeatedly "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 image and ...Continue Reading

AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net) June 1, 2022 Truth We 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. AA-related ...Continue Reading