AA Thought for the Day


February 10, 2010

Communicate


Chronologically, one of the first things AA members ever did,
which made my own recovery possible, was simply sticking together.
As has been said well and often, we may not all like each other,
but we do have to love each other.
Communicate or die! When put into action, the power of that idea alone
can keep a guy sober, to his own surprise, a very long time.
It did that for me, I know.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], p. 36



Thought to Ponder . . .

Together we can do what we could never do alone.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Experience, Strength and Hope.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

DIVINELY LED



Send me the right thought, word, or action., Show me what my

next step should be. In times of doubt and indecision, please send

Your inspiration and guidance.

-Alcoholics Anonymous



The good news or surrendering ourselves and our life to a Power greater than ourselves is that we come into harmony with a Grand Plan, one greater than we can imagine.



We are promised Divine Guidance if we ask for it, if we work the Twelve Steps. What greater gift could we receive than knowing our thoughts, words, and actions are being directed?



We aren't a mistake. And we don't have to control or repress ourselves or others for life to work out. Even the strange, the unplanned, the painful, and those things we call errors can evolve into harmony.



We will be guided into understanding what we need to do to take care of ourselves. We will begin to trust our instincts, our feelings, our thoughts. We will know when to go, to stop, to wait. We will learn a great truth: the plan will happen in spite of us, not because of us.



I pray today and each day that my thoughts, words, and actions may be Divinely led. I pray that I can move forward in confidence, knowing my steps are guided.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 12, 2010

Anger


If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.
The grouch and the sudden rage were not for us.
- As Bill Sees It, p. 5



Thought to Ponder . . .

Anger is the wind that blows out the light of reason.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Avoid Anger.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 13, 2010

Realities


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.
These are the realities for us.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 130



Thought to Ponder . . .

People of faith have a logical idea of what life is all about.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



His Ever-Loving Presence.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 15, 2010

Sponsors


Every sponsor is necessarily a leader. The stakes are huge.
A human life, and usually the happiness of a whole family, hangs in the balance.
What the sponsor does and says, how well he estimates
the reactions of his prospects, how well he times and makes his presentation,
how well he handles criticisms, and how well he leads his prospect on
by personal spiritual example -- well, these attributes of leadership
can make all the difference between life and death.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 292



Thought to Ponder . . .

Don't look for a sponsor, listen for one.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Sober, Practical, Optimistic, Noble, Spiritual, Open-minded, Respectful.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 16, 2010

Spiritual Experience


It may be possible to find explanations of spiritual experiences such as ours,
but I have often tried to explain my own
and have succeeded only in giving the story of it.
I know the feeling it gave me and the results it has brought,
but I realize I will never fully understand its deeper why and how.
- Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 45



Thought to Ponder . . .

A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Incredibly Spiritual Moment.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 17, 2010

Direction


AA gives us direction into a way of life without the need for alcohol.
That life for me is lived one day at a time,
letting the problems of the future rest with the future.
When the time comes to solve them, God will give me strength for that day.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 300



Thought to Ponder . . .

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



One Day At A Time.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day

February 19, 2010

Illness


We have an incurable, potentially fatal ailment called alcoholism.
And instead of persisting in drinking, we prefer to figure out, and use,
enjoyable ways of living without alcohol.
- Living Sober, p. 9



Thought to Ponder . . .

And with us, to drink is to die.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Always Alive.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 20, 2010

Alternatives


We were in a position where life was becoming impossible,
and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return
through human aid, we had but two alternatives:
One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness
of our intolerable situation as best we could;
and the other, to accept spiritual help.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 25



Thought to Ponder . . .

Sobriety is the adventure of a lifetime.
And it begins the moment we ask AA for help.



AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 21, 2010

Unmanageability


AA offers us a program of recovery from our past feelings
about the unmanageability of life,
a program that can put life's unmanageability into perspective.
That's more than most of the rest of the people in the world have going for them
when they find their lives have become unmanageable.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 58



Thought to Ponder . . .

Our perspective will change our perception.
Our perception will change our experience.
Our experience IS our life.



AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Always Awesome.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 22, 2010

Spirituality


The idea that religion and spirituality were not one and the same
was a new notion. . .
Reluctantly, I opened my mind to the fact that maybe, just maybe,
there was something to this spiritual lifestyle.
Slowly, but surely, I realized there was indeed a Power greater than myself,
and I soon found myself with a full-time God in my life. . .
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 287



Thought to Ponder . . .

A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Finding Answers In The Heart.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 23, 2010

Triumph


What an unthinking world may look upon as defeat,
alcoholics in AA know as a triumph of the spirit,
a triumph of humility over false pride and self-centeredness.
How few human beings ever have the courage to stand up before their neighbors
and, in humility, describing themselves truthfully, to say:
"This is what I really am."
- Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age., p. 278



Thought to Ponder . . .

I cannot mend if I bend the truth.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

Thought for the Day

ebruary 24, 2010
radition leven


We alcoholics are the biggest rationalizers in the world;
that fortified with the excuse we are doing great things for AA we can,
through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit
of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money --
enough spectacular anonymity breakers could someday
carry our whole Society down into that ruinous dead end with them.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 216



hought to onder . . .

Our public relations policy is based on attraction
rather than promotion.




-related 'lconym' . . .


ctions,
ot
ur
ames,
ield
aintenance
f
nity
and ervice.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 25, 2010

The Listener


It finally became obvious to me
that the God I thought had judged and damned me
had done nothing of the sort.
He had been listening, and in His own good time His answer came.
His answer was threefold: the opportunity for a life of sobriety;
Twelve Steps to practice, in order to attain and maintain that life of sobriety;
fellowship within the program, ever ready to sustain and help me
each twenty-four-hour day.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 11



Thought to Ponder . . .

Take a walk with God. He will meet you at the Steps.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Good Orderly Direction.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way

AA Thought for the Day


February 27, 2010

Humility


Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble.
It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore;
to wonder at nothing that is done against me.
It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised,
it is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go and shut the door
and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness,
when all around and about is seeming trouble.
- Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, p. 222



Thought to Ponder . . .

Humility is not a station we arrive at; it's a way of traveling.




AA-related 'Alconym' . . .



Altered Attitudes.

__________________
Day by Day is the only way