District 9

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 13, 2016

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

January 13, 2016

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The Doctor's Opinion
Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices.
The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth and weight.
In nearly all these cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater than themselves, if they are to re-create their lives.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. xxviii

Thought to Ponder . . .
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

A Member Shares:
Hi, I'm Lori, real alcoholic. This reading has something of a different meaning to me. The frothy emotional appeal the doctor speaks of, the way I understood it, was in presenting the concept of sobriety to an alcoholic. For example, "You are making your husband and your kids so sad. You'll be so much happier sober! Please, for the love of God, look at what you're doing to your life and the lives of those around you." I was all into some frothy emotional appeal as an alcoholic. It was a great manipulator, but it rarely worked on me because I already felt guilt and shame when I wasn't drunk. I drank because I liked the sensation produced by alcohol. I thought I was always so much “smarter," so much more capable of coming up with a plan (i.e. a new set of convoluted lies) when I was drunk. The very hardest part of committing to sobriety was accepting having all of my feelings back. Working the Steps with a sponsor is the only way that I can reconcile what is good in me with what wrong I did in the past. It is the only way that I can move beyond the pain and the guilt and the shame. And now I have come to start realizing the promises in my life. Not regretting the past nor wishing to shut the door on it. Seeing how no matter how far down the scale I went, I can be of use to others. These are the reasons why I am a grateful recovering alcoholic. The beauty and benefit of this program go far beyond just not drinking. 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.

Monday, January 11, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 12, 2016

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

January 12, 2016

Tradition One
"Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity."

At first nearly every alcoholic we approached began to slip, if indeed he sobered up at all.
Others would stay dry six months or maybe a year and then take a skid. This was always a genuine catastrophe.
We would look at each other and say, "Who next?" We were afraid that alcohol might completely undo us.
But today (1957) we see thousands of members completely sober for five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years.
Slips are a very serious difficulty, but as a group we take them in stride. Fear has evaporated.
Alcohol always threatens the individual, but we know it cannot destroy the common welfare.
- Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 96

Thought to Ponder . . .
There is no strength without unity.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
U S = United Spirits.

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:

Sunday, January 10, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 11, 2016

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

January 11, 2016

Habits
Our drinking was connected with many habits -- big and little.
Some of them were thinking habits, or things we felt inside ourselves.
Others were doing habits -- things we did, actions we took.
In getting used to not drinking, we have found that we needed new habits to take the place of those old ones. . .
After we spent a few months practicing these new, sober habits or ways of acting and thinking,
they became almost second nature to most of us, as drinking used to be.
- Living Sober, Preface

Thought to Ponder . . .
Habits are like cork or lead -- they tend to keep you up or hold you down.

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

Saturday, January 9, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 9, 2016

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

January 9, 2016

Step One
"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable."

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 . . .
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keep It Smple; Surrender.

Friday, January 8, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 8, 2016

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

January 8, 2016

Defects
What God wants me to do is rarely what I want to do.
For instance, if I want to avoid or leave, God wants me to stay and handle.
If I want to be understood or accepted by others, God wants me to try to understand or accept others a bit more.
If I want to forget, God wants me to forgive.
If I want to point the finger of blame at someone else, God wants me to see my part in creating the disaster.
If I want to dislike someone because of a grating character defect he or she has, God wants me to see the same defect in myself.
- The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 3], pp. 218-219

Thought to Ponder . . .
If I want God to remove my character defects, I'll have to stop doing them.

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

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 7, 2016

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

January 7, 2016

The Ladder
No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says:
Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in.
I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore.
What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I'd never see the sun again.
AA didn't pull me out of the hole. It did give me the tools to construct a ladder, with Twelve Steps.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 316

Thought to Ponder . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

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.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

AA Thought for the Day - January 6, 2016

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

January 6, 2016

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Let Go, Let God
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.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 100

Thought to Ponder . . .
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
L E T G O = Leave Everything To God, Okay?

A Member Shares:
Hello everyone. I'm Charlie J., and I have Alcoholism. If you are coming back or are new to AA, welcome. I wanted to let go of my entire life before I came back to AA, I did turn my will and life over to a Higher Power. But you know what? In order to learn to stay stopped I had to deal not only with my past I had to deal with life sober as it came, each day. Each new day brought different life problems / lessons. There are precise instructions on how to learn to stay stopped in the "Big Book," that is a fact. But life still happens and I had many life lessons to learn, sober. No Step explains exactly how I had to get through the death of both my parents, sober. Or the birth of my grandchildren, sober. Or, how to deal in a healthy way with becoming 100% disabled, sober. How to deal with earning 2/3's less than when I was drinking. Or, how not to get drunk over a flat tire or a broken shoelace. These sober lessons were a gift from a Higher Power and my job was to learn from them. I would like nothing better than to give it all to God, but I am thinking then, what's my part? I believe that the Serenity Prayer says it all about when I need "Let go and to let God," and what God will do for me / us and what my job is. That is my own experience, strength and hope on learning to deal with life every day, good bad or indifferent and not drink. That is what I have to offer others today. If you are new to AA, I suggest you study the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," apply what you learn and tighten your seat belts as you may be in for a bumpy emotional ride for a while. Thank you.
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: