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