Loyalty - July 20th

“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life”
~ Napoleon Hill 

A.A. Thought for the Day


We must be loyal to the group and to each member of it. We must never accuse members behind their backs or even to their faces. It's up to them to tell us themselves if anything is wrong. More than that, we must try not to think bad things about any members, because if we do, we're consciously or unconsciously hurting that person. We must be loyal to each other if A.A. is going to be successful. While we're in this lifeboat, trying to save each other and ourselves from alcoholism, we must be truly and sincerely helpful to each other. Am I a loyal member of my group?


Change we must! One of my chief personality defects was to criticize and find fault with everyone. This defect didn't correct itself just by my quitting drinking. I had to learn loyalty and to look for the good in all people. It took a long time in recovery before I learned to love the group and to have loyalty for my fellows.
~ Mike

Criticism - July 19th

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.”
~ Dale Carnegie 

A.A. Thought for the Day


Gossip about or criticism of personalities has no place in an A.A. clubroom. Every man in A.A. is a brother and every woman is a sister, as long as he or she is a member of A.A. We ought not to gossip about the relationships of any man or woman in the group. And if we say about another member, "I think she or he is taking a few drinks on the side," it's the worst thing we could do to that person. If a woman or a man is not living up to A.A. principles or has a slip, it's up to her or him to stand up in a meeting and say so. If they don't do that, they are only hurting themselves. Do I talk about other members behind their backs?


I have been critical of others at times in the program. Learning to accept people as they are and to take them at their word has been difficult. I do a much better job today than when I first came into AA - and I see my acceptance of others as a very good gauge of my progress in recovery.
~ Mike

Gossip - July 18th

“In our appetite for gossip, we tend to gobble down everything before us, only to find, too late, that it is our ideals we have consumed, and we have not been enlarged by the feasts but only diminished”
~ Pico Iyer

A.A. Thought for the Day


Two things can spoil group unity-gossip and criticism. To avoid these divisive things, we must realize that we're all in the same boat. We're like a group of people in a lifeboat after the steamer has sunk. If we're going to be saved, we've got to pull together. It's a matter of life or death for us. Gossip and criticism are sure ways of disrupting any A.A. group. We're all in A.A. to keep sober ourselves and to help each other to keep sober. And neither gossip nor criticism helps anyone to stay sober. Am I often guilty of gossip or criticism?


What is it about gossip that so fascinates? I'm guilty of enjoying it occasionally myself. I have to work at seeing the best in everyone, to "Live and Let Live". 
~ Mike

Shared Happiness - July 17th

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

~Buddha

A.A. Thought for the Day

The new life of sobriety we are learning to live in A.A. is slowly growing on us and we are beginning to get some of that deep peace of mind and serenity that we never thought were possible. At first we may have doubted that this could happen to us, but after any considerable length of time in A.A., looking at the happy faces around us, we know that somehow it is happening to us. In fact, it cannot help happening to anyone who takes the A.A. program seriously day by day. Can I see my own happiness reflected in the faces of others?

Happiness is definitely an emotion that has to be shared. By isolating we cut ourselves off from the happiness of our fellows and if we don't drink and go to meetings then our happiness is rejuvenated by our friends in recovery.

~ Mike

Calm - July 15

“It is the nature of a great mind to be calm and undisturbed.”

~ Seneca

A.A. Thought for the Day

After we had sobered up through the A.A. program, we gradually began to get a peace of mind and serenity, which we never thought were possible. This peace of mind is based on a feeling that fundamentally all is well. That does not mean that all is well on the surface of things. Little things can keep going wrong and big things can keep on upsetting us. But deep down in our hearts we know that everything is eventually going to be all right, now that we are living sober lives. Have I achieved a deep down, inner calm?

I used to be very wary of calm - because calm always preceded the storm. My addiction was a storm and any moment of calm felt as though I were in the eye of the storm awaiting the next bit of drama. Today calm is welcomed and sought after and I have faith that it can be lasting and only periodically be disrupted by stormy events.

~ Mike

Serenity - July 14th

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm”

~ Unknown

A.A. Thought for the Day

One of the best things about the A.A. program is the peace of mind and serenity that it can bring us. In our drinking days, we had no peace of mind or serenity. We had the exact opposite, a kind of turmoil and that "quiet desperation" we knew so well. The turmoil of our drinking days was caused partly by our physical suffering, the terrible hangovers, the cold sweats, the shakes and the jitters. But it was caused even more by our mental suffering, the loneliness, the feeling of inferiority, the lying, and the remorse that every alcoholic understands. Have I achieved more peace of mind?


Serenity and Peace of Mind were only ever abstract concepts to me while I was active in my alcoholism - and for much of the time I've been sober. I am grateful for my sobriety and even more grateful for the moments of serenity that this sobriety provides me.
~ Mike

Goals - July 13th

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

~ Albert Einstein


A.A. Thought for the Day

Before alcoholics come into A.A., they are "flying blind." But A.A. gives them a directed beam in the A.A. program. As long as they keep on this beam, the signal of sobriety keeps coming through. If they have a slip, the signal is broken. If they swing off course into drunkenness, the signal stops. Unless they regain the A.A. directed beam, they are in danger of crashing against the mountain peak of despair. Am I on the beam?


I spent most of my pre-AA life just wandering with no specific goals. I had vague notions of what is expected of a man - to work, to marry, to father, but I never laid out any plan or set any goals. My first goal in AA was to get sober - and I learned to quit drinking and to go to meetings. As I worked the steps I came to find other goals for personal development and now there is no looking back.
~ Mike