District 9

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 8, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 8, 2015

A New Beginning
I knew I had to have a new beginning, and this beginning had to be here. I had to let go of the past and forget the future.
As long as I held on to the past and grabbed at the future with the other hand, I had nothing to hold on to today with.
So I had to begin here, now.
- - Came To Believe . . ., p. 46

Thought to Ponder . . .
There are no endings ... only new beginnings.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Accept, Begin, Continue.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

AA Thought for the Day - January 7, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 7, 2015

~ Scroll Down for Share ~

Surrender
Because I find it hard to let go of the kind of worrisome thoughts and attitudes that cause me immense anguish,
all I need to do during those times is allow God, as I understand Him, to release them for me,
and then and there, I let go of the thoughts, memories and attitudes that are troubling me.
- Daily Reflections p. 320

Thought to Ponder . . .
When I struggle, I sink. When I let go, I float.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keep It Simple, Spiritually

A Member Shares:
All the times I've read and heard this, these 2 words just jumped out at me, "fearless and thorough from the very start." Like this, my mind said, "Why can't you let go of people, places and things thoroughly and fearlessly?" I now add, "and quickly." I let go quite a bit and continue to have lots to let go of; judging, resentments, wasting my mind perseverating in a slopping mess of negativity. I'll leave the rest to imagination.
Just to be clear, it was the "fearless and thorough" I'd been short-changing. Letting go has been mandatory for me to stay sober and I've done it. But was I fearless and thorough? I doubt it. They popped out because there were several tired and tiring resentments grey with age and covered with dustballs that alerted me. Causing flames of anger. How 'bout dealing with that anger mess fearlessly and thoroughly! Quickly, too. See, if I'd taken them (fearless and thorough) through the steps, the Serenity Prayer, etc., I wouldn't be backing up...Life could be a dream.

To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

The Daily Thought Discussion Board

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Monday, January 5, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 6, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 6, 2015

Powerlessness
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, p. 21

Thought to Ponder . . .
Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 5, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 5, 2015

Isolation
Isolation sneaks up on us. We can mask it with familiar props that are not in themselves bad.
We can isolate ourselves in an attempt to clean up our apartments (and then not do the cleaning);
we can isolate ourselves in churches or in sleep; we can use family, sweethearts, compulsive working, television.
The list is long. The only way to end it is the way you and I do: together.
Reach out -- people can't read your mind. Say ouch! Someone hears. Always.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], pp. 84-85

Thought to Ponder . . .
Isolation is a darkroom for developing negatives.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
Y A N A = You Are Not Alone.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 4, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 4, 2015

~ Scroll Down for Share ~

Gossip
In a perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the fact that many people annoy us,
for it brings a comfortable feeling of superiority.
Gossip barbed with our anger, a polite form of murder by character assassination, has its satisfactions for us, too.
Here we are not trying to help those we criticize; we are trying to proclaim our own righteousness.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 67

Thought to Ponder . . .
One of the most destructive forces in the universe is gossip.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Altered Attitudes

A Member Shares:
Hi, I'm David, an alcoholic, thanks for being here tonight. I work in a place where all the guys here gossip all day. It's really hard not to get caught up in it. I have been trying to do better each day, and try not to add my 2 cents into the conversations, but it is one of my character flaws that keep creeping back without me realizing it. I was always taking someone else's inventory while I was an active drunk, so this isn't something that was switched off and stayed off for me. I am constantly doing my nightly or daily Tenth Step during whichever shift that I may be working. It always comes down to me praying to my God that He again remove these distractions (defects) so that I can do what He wants me to do. I'm never perfect in my day. I always do something. Maybe it’s not wrong, but not right, either; something that I can be better at cleaning my house and not telling you how cluttered yours is. So it’s my checklist, not yours, I need to be concerned with. Thanks.
To respond to the sharer, please email DTShare@aa-alive.org and it will be forwarded to them.
(All shares are reproduced with the kind permission of the person sharing)

Thanks to all of you for sharing so generously of your experience, strength and hope in carrying the AA message.
Blessings in sobriety to all,
In love and service,
joanna b
dailythought@aa-alive.org

For further information about AA-Alive, including:

Meeting Schedule
The Daily Thought Discussion Board
Service Opportunities
AA Birthday Signups
Helpful links and much more
Please go to our Website
http://aa-alive.net …
G.S.O. Registration Number: 712515

** Trademarks and Disclaimer: **
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. The AA Daily Thought is neither endorsed by, approved by, associated nor affiliated with, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., or The AA Grapevine, Inc.
Disclaimer: The Daily Thought is meant for domestic distribution only and for countries where it is in public domain.

Friday, January 2, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 3, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 3, 2015

Let Go
If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it -
then you are ready to take certain steps. At 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 tried to hold on to our old ideas but the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 58

Thought to Ponder . . .
When I struggle, I sink. When I let go, I float.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

AA Thought for the Day - January 2, 2015

AA Thought for the Day
(courtesy AA-Alive.net)

January 2, 2015

Footprints of Hope
So I looked ahead, along the path marked by the footprints of hope, commitment, and action.
All around me were many happy, sober people who had walked that path.
Listening intently to their stories, I heard some more horrifying than mine, others, less so.
But it was plain that all these alcoholics had felt the same hopelessness, fear, pain, and anger I had experienced.
It was also obvious that people with drinking problems like mine could come out of them and - unbelievable at first - laugh at them!
. . . They knew that it was an illness, that it could deceive its victims, that the danger lay in the first drink.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 2], p. 136

Thought to Ponder . . .
Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome.