February 27, 2026 - Selfishness

 Selfishness it is said is the root of my troubles. So, if I nip it in the bud as they say and get rid of selfishness, then It logically follows that I won't have the troubles I usually do. Looks good on paper.

February 26, 2026 - Gossip

 The word today is Gossip. The question is have I heard any or spread any? Because listening to gossip is just as bad as spreading gossip.

February 25, 2026 - Sponsorship

I have learned two things about being a sponsor. Get one and be one.

February 24, 2026 - Boundaries

 Boundaries are not the same as walls. Boundaries can be lowered or raised depending on the situation.

February 23, 2026 - Love

 Love is the word again. Yesterday, I experienced love from the folks who participated in the annual memorial of my stepdaughter.

February 22, 2026 - Pride

 It's okay to take pride in my accomplishments, but when my pride takes over and makes me unwilling to admit mistakes or defects, then it becomes a bad thing. If I am too proud to ask for help, it creates distance in my relationship with others and eventually with God.

February 21, 2026 - Patience

 Patience. I always say the same thing about that. Little Johnny told his teacher he was having difficulty with math so his teacher gave him more math homework. I told my higher power I was having difficulty with patience so he sent me people to sponsor......

February 20, 2026 - Listen to Learn

 I always say Listen to Learn OR Learn to Listen. It reminds me that I don't always have the answers and that I should listen to what others are saying, whether they are young or old, because they might have the wisdom I am looking for that day. that way, I remain teachable.

February 19, 2026 - Depression

Sometimes, after a week of cloudy, rainy or snowy days I can feel the greyness around me and that can be depressing. It's times like that when I need to get up, get moving, do something productive and remember to be grateful for things I have and even to be grateful for things I don't have, one of which might be depression.

February 18, 2026 - Humility

 Humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it's thinking of ourselves less.

February 17, 2026 - Responsibility

 When I was still drinking and drugging, I was unable to take responsibility for anything. Now that I am clean and sober, I take responsibility for everything I am able to. Sometimes, I get carried away and take responsibility for things that are not mine to carry so I have to stop and check myself and ask is this my business or does it belong to someone else.

February 16, 2026 - How Important is it

 This slogan always mkes me think of the things in my life which ARE important and how I should be grateful for certain blessings in my life. It also makes me think about those little things that seem important at first, but when I ask myself if this is something I'll need to worry about next week or next month or next year, then I realize well no its not really that important after all.

February 15, 2026 - Expectations

 Expectations. The district committee meeting is this afternoon. I hope it goes well and we get everything taken care of that we plan to do, but I'm careful not to expect it will go this way or that. It will go the way it goes.

February 14, 2026 - First Things First

 A gentleman from my home group says, The days that I pray almost always turn out better than the days I don't. So I try to begin the day with prayer and meditation.

February 13, 2026

 Surrender. That's when I throw my hands up to my higher power and give up the fight. I acknowledge that He is running the show, driving the bus, leading the way.

February 12, 2026 - Insanity

 Insanity can be defined as knowing what to do and not doing it or knowing what not to do and doing it anyway.

February 11, 2026 - A repeat

 I shook the god box up good and still I got the same word as yesterday. But For the Grace of God. I have heard it said that we get the lesson until we learn it, so maybe that's the case here. Maybe I haven't figured that out yet.

February 10, 2026 - But for the Grace of God

 It's a bit chilly today. I can be grateful I'm not sleeping outside and the reason I'm not is due in large part to the grace (or favour) of the God of my understanding. Can't say it much simpler than that.

February 9, 2026 - Listen to Learn

 The slogan I got today was Listen to Learn but it can be switched around to Learn to Listen. Both are good things to keep in mind. It is by listening that I hear what needs to be heard and can hopefully learn from it and if I'm not hearing what I need to hear it might be because I need to learn more about listening.

February 8, 2026 - Gratitude

 We were at a celebration of life for a fallen comrade and a fellow was relating a story of how they met. He was setting up the chairs for the meeting which was a large meeting. Our friend was sitting down talking about how grateful he was to be sober. The guy setting up the chairs said, "Stop talking about how grateful you are and show me. Help me with the chairs!" Gratitude is of course an action word.

February 7, 2026 - Love

 Today is a celebration of life for a guy I had known for over 20 years. I was his caseworker, his sponsor, his friend.  I am glad he is at rest now and maybe I'll see him again someday when it's my time to go.

February 6, 2026 - How Important Is It

 All my words this week are connected it seems. Fear vs faith. Pride. Ego-deflation. and now How Important is it. I read the Guidelines for Amonymity on the Internet. I do take pride in being sober as long as I have been but I don't need to publicize the fact that I am in order to remain sober so there is a bit of ego-deflation taking place. It's okay for me to reveal my membership in private conversations but anytime it's in a public forum such as facebook or the X, then I should steer clear of mentioning my involvement because if I do make a comment that I'm in AA and you click like or make a positive comment on the post, you might inadvertently break your anonymity also.

February 5, 2026 - Ego-Deflation

 Two things alcoholics don't like. When things change and when things stay the same. Ego-deflation is just another way of saying humility. I need to lose interest in selfish things and to gain interest in my fellows. It isn't all about me anymore. Like letting the air out of a balloon.

February 4, 2026 - Fear vs Faith

 Both fear and faith are feelings of uncertainty. Fear is a feeling of the unknown. Faith is not knowing, but trusting that if I do the footwork, I can leave the results to my higher power. - Al-Anon - A Little Time For Myself.

February 3, 2026 - Pride

Pride is a gateway sin because it leads to other sins such as envy (I deserve what they have), wrath (how dare they disrespect me), greed (I’m entitled to more).

February 2, 2026 - Willing to go to any length

 Whenever I am sponsoring someone and we get to the eighth step, I always draw attention to the line in our big book that says. Remember it was agreed at the beginning that we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. In step one they said oh yes of course I will go to any length and then in step eight they say Oh I can't do that. Wrong answer.

February 1, 2026 - Acceptance

 There are three acts of faith; assent, acceptance, and assurance. - John Flavel, author.