Commitment to AA - Sept 29th

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”
~ Tom Robbins

A.A. Thought for the Day

Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves some searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves periodically. Just how good an A.A. am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth step work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread A.A. wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of A.A. principles? Am I a good A.A.?

AA is a wonderful program and fellowship and only works through the commitment of those who step up to ensure that things run smoothly. I feel most connected to AA when I am doing work for my group or for a fellow member.

~ Mike

Spiritual Experience - Sept 27th

I'm touched by the idea that when we do things that are useful and helpful - collecting these shards of spirituality - that we may be helping to bring about a healing.
~ Leonard Nimoy

A.A. Thought for the Day

Continuing the consideration of the term spiritual experience: "What often takes place in a few months could seldom have been accomplished by years of self discipline. With few exceptions, our members find that they have tapped an unsuspected inner resource, which they presently identify with their own conception of a Power greater than themselves. Most of us think this awareness of a Power greater than ourselves the essence of spiritual experience. Some of us call it God consciousness. In any case, willingness, honesty and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery." Have I tapped that inner resource which can change my life?

Awareness of and a belief in a Higher Power has been a source of comfort and inspiration in my journey in sobriety.

~ Mike

Making Amends - Sept 22nd

It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character.
~ Dale Turner

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step Eight is, "Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Nine is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." Making restitution for the wrongs we have done is often very difficult. It hurts our pride. But the rewards are great. When we go to a person and say we are sorry, the reaction we get is almost invariably good. It takes courage to make the plunge, but the results more than justify it. A load is off your chest and often an enemy has been turned into a friend. Have I done my best to make all the restitution possible?

Making amends was one of the first things I ever tried in sobriety - long before I was ready to do it. Over time I learned that making amends was not about making myself feel better but about regretting what harm had been done to others.

~ Mike

Daily Ritual - Sept 21st

The Secret to Peace of mind is to not identify with anything other than your True Self.

~ Robert Adams

A.A. Thought for the Day

Let us continue with Steps Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Ten. In taking a personal inventory of ourselves, we have to face facts as they really are. We have to stop running away. We must face reality. We must see ourselves as we really are. We must admit our faults openly and try to correct them. We must try to see where we have been dishonest, impure, selfish, and unloving. We do not do this once and forget it. We do it every day of our lives, as long as we live. We are never done with checking up on ourselves. Am I taking a daily inventory of myself?

As I've grown to know and understand myself I have found fewer reasons to wear a mask while out in the world. 

~ Mike

Honest Inventory - Sept 20th

Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
~ William James

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step Four is, "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Step Five is, "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our, wrongs." Step Six is, "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Step Seven is, "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." Step Ten is, "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it." In taking a personal inventory, we have to be absolutely honest with ourselves and with other people. Have I taken an honest inventory of myself?

Taking an honest inventory is the single most difficult thing to do in recovery. That is why it should be done more than once - the healthier I got the more honest I was able to be with myself.

~ Mike

Peace through Honesty - Sept 19th

Who's not sat tense before his own heart's curtain?
—Rainer Maria Rilke

Meeting our Higher Power and ourselves is the universal spiritual process. Sitting before the curtain of our hearts may feel as awesome to us or as frightening as anything we will ever do. When we first admit to ourselves a deeper truth, we feel these overpowering tensions. For some of us, this is a necessary step, which leads to self-knowledge and inner peace. We feel unique, different, alone, and maybe even crazy. For the first time, we are listening to our inner truth rather than outside messages.

Let's think for a moment about today's tensions and strains. Are we really aware of their source? Perhaps they are created by the disturbing honesty of our hearts? We may find our spiritual growth in yielding to the truth. When we are cynical about spiritual experience or when we minimize the importance of our soft-spoken inner wisdom, we are avoiding the truth from our hearts. And we miss the possibility of becoming strong from within.

Today, I will live through the tension and fear of my honesty to reach the point of peace with myself.

Faith in a Higher Power - Sept 18th

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

A.A. Thought for the Day
Step Two is, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Step Three is, "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Step Eleven is, "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." The fundamental basis of A.A. is a belief in some Power greater than ourselves. Let us not take this lightly. We cannot fully get the program without this venture of belief. Have I made the venture of belief in a Power greater than my own?

Faith in a higher power was a roadblock for me throughout most of my life. The very idea of God was troubling  and I would avoid the topic. Now I am not so concerned about what God is I simply believe that there is a higher power that loves unconditionally and wishes the best for everyone. 

~ Mike

Acceptance - Sept 17th

“Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.”
~ William James

A.A. Thought for the Day

Step One is, "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable." This step states the membership requirement of A.A. We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must accept the fact that we are helpless before the power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked as far as drinking is concerned and that we need help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must make, as gracefully as possible, surrender to the inevitable fact that we must stop drinking. Is it difficult for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Accepting that my life had gone off the rails was one thing - but asking for help in setting my life right was the hardest thing I've ever done. I hope you can do the same.

~ Mike

Practicing the Steps - Sept 16th

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.
~ C. S. Lewis

A.A. Thought for the Day

Today, let us begin a short study of The Twelve Suggested Steps of A.A. These Twelve Suggested Steps seem to embody five principles. The first step is the membership requirement step. The second, third, and eleventh steps are the spiritual steps of the program. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and tenth steps are the personal inventory steps. The eighth and ninth steps are the restitution steps. The twelfth step is the passing on of the program, or helping others, step. So the five principles are membership requirement, spiritual basis, personal inventory, restitution, and helping others. Have I made all these steps a part of me?

Only in practicing the AA 12 Steps in my daily life am I able to break the destructive patterns I had practiced in my life before AA.

~ Mike

Think Positive - Sept 14th

When a person drowns himself in negative thinking he is committing an unspeakable crime against himself.

•   Maxwell Maltz  

Negative thoughts can rule our lives as compulsively as an addiction. The feelings of power we get from holding a dismal and gloomy outlook deprive us of the positive and pleasant parts of life. Some of us have said, "If I expect the worst, I won't be disappointed. If I think the worst about myself, no one else can cut me down." It is like taking a driving trip and looking only for trash and garbage in the ditches, ignoring the beauty beyond. Indeed, what we see may be real, but it is a very limited piece of the picture.

When we have relied on negative thinking, it feels risky to give it up. We cannot do it in one day. We can begin by imagining ourselves with a more open attitude toward the world and ourselves. Then we can try it out as an experiment in little ways, with no commitment. Finally we reach the point where we can take a risk and entrust our Higher Power with the outcome.

Today, I will experiment with hopeful and positive thoughts about what happens.

Haven - Sept 12th

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you”
~ Christian Morganstern

A.A. Thought for the Day

"What draws newcomers to A.A. and gives them hope? They hear the stories of men and women whose experiences tally with their own. The expressions on the faces of the women, that indefinable something in the eyes of the men, the stimulating atmosphere of the A.A. clubroom, conspire to let them know that there is haven at last. The very practical approach to their problems, the absence of intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny understanding which these people in A.A. have is irresistible." Have I found a real haven in A.A.?

Finding a good home group in AA is key to acceptance. The find a safe haven with people you can relate to will give you no end of comfort.

~ Mike

New Friends - Sept 11th

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one”
~ C.S. Lewis

A.A. Thought for the Day

Continuing the answers to the question of how a person can live without liquor and be happy, we say: "You will be bound to the other A.A.s with new and wonderful ties, for you and they will escape disaster together and all will commence shoulder to shoulder the common journey to a better and more satisfactory life. You will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life. You will become happy, respected, and useful once more. Since these things have happened to us, they can happen to you." Have these things happened to me?

Overcoming my fear of people opened up a whole new life for me. Making new friends in AA has been a true blessing and has given me the opportunity to see that I am not so different. In being like others I don't feel so disconnected from the world.

~ Mike

A New Life - Sept 9th

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
~ Maria Robinson

A.A. Thought for the Day

When alcoholics are offered a life of sobriety by following the A.A. program, they will look at the prospect of living without alcohol and they will ask: "Am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some of the righteous people I see? I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?" Have I found a more than sufficient substitute for drinking?

My biggest fear was that without alcohol I would never have fun again. Nothing could be further from the truth - in fact I laugh more often now than I did as a drunk.

~ Mike

But for the Grace of God - Sept 8th

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

~ Robert Frost (from "The Road Not Taken")


A.A. Thought for the Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "But for the Grace of God." Once we have fully accepted the program we become humble about our achievement. We do not take too much credit for our sobriety. When we see another suffering alcoholic in the throes of alcoholism, we say to ourselves: "But for the grace of God, there go I." We do not forget the kind of people we were. We remember those we left behind us. And we are very grateful to the grace of God, which has given us another chance. Am I truly grateful for the grace of God?

When I was active in my addiction I foolishly believed that I would never, ever, end up homeless and living on the streets. Now when I look back I realize how close I was to that fate and I look at the homeless and honestly believe that there, but for the grace of God, go I.

~ Mike

Easy Does It

 "Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure."
~ Norman Vincent Peale

A.A. Thought for the Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Easy Does It." This means that we just go along in A.A. doing the best we can and not getting steamed up over problems that arise in A.A. or outside of it. We alcoholics are emotional people and we have gone to excess in almost everything we have done. We have not been moderate in many things. We have not known how to relax. Faith in a Higher Power can help us to learn to take it easy. We are not running the world. I am only one among many. We are resolved to live normal, regular lives. From our A.A. experience we learn that "easy does it." Have I learned to take it easy?

Going about life without taking anything personally was an alien concept to me when I came into AA. I have heard some in the program say that before coming into A.A. the world seemed full of assholes - but today assholes seem to be very rare. Have a great day.

~ Mike

Acceptance - Sept 6th

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”
~ Peace Pilgrim

A.A. Thought for the Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Live and Let Live." This, of course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do, whether they are in A.A. or outside of A.A. We cannot afford the luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not "holier than thou." We do not have all the answers. We are not better than other good people. We live the best way we can and we allow others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live?

Almost every member you hear talk about the slogan "Live and Let Live" will say that they struggle with this idea. I am no different. In letting go of my need to be right I have come a long way in accepting others though perfection remains just a goal.

~ Mike

Priorities - Sept 5th

It is easier to stay out than get out.
~ Mark Twain


A.A. Thought for the Day

One of the mottoes of A.A. is "First Things First." This means that we should always keep in mind that alcohol is our number one problem. We must never let any other problem; whether of family, business, friends, or anything else take precedence in our minds over our alcoholic problem. As we go along in A.A., we learn to recognize the things that may upset us emotionally. When we find ourselves getting upset over something, we must realize that it's a luxury we alcoholics can't afford. Anything that makes us forget our number one problem is dangerous to us. Am I keeping sobriety in first place in my mind?

I've found that the best way to keep this idea foremost in my mind is to get to meetings and to stay in touch with my AA fellows.

~ Mike

Tolerance - Sept 4th

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
~ Jalal ad-Din Rumi

A.A. Thought for the Day

"We must be careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking as an institution. Experience shows that such an attitude is not helpful to anyone. We are not fanatics or intolerant of people who can drink normally. Prospects are relieved when they find we are not witch burners. Temperate drinking is okay, but we alcoholics can't get away with it. And no alcoholic likes to be told about alcohol by anyone who hates it. We shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or hostility." Do I have tolerance for those who can drink normally?

Being tolerant of others was not a skill I had learned before coming into AA. Through sobriety and with the knowledge I've been given by the program I now understand that AA is not a religion to be preached but a way of life to be practiced.

~ Mike

Newcomers - Sept 3rd

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

A.A. Thought for the Day

"Offer new prospects friendship and fellowship. Tell them that if they want to get well you will do anything to help. Burn the idea into the consciousness of new prospects that they can get well, regardless of anyone else. Job or no job, spouse or no spouse, they cannot stop drinking as long as they place dependence on other people ahead of dependence on God. Let no alcoholic say they cannot recover unless they have their family back. This just isn't so. Their recovery is not dependent upon other people. It is dependent on their own relationship to God." Can I recognize all excuses made by a prospect?

It seems to me that humour and the sound of a group of alcoholics laughing and enjoying themselves will surprise the newcomer most of all. Most newcomers, I believe, assume that a life of sobriety will be a life without fun. As the newcomer becomes more attracted to a life of sobriety I believe their need to cling to unhealthy ideas will slip away. That's just my 2 cents worth.

~ Mike