April 22, 2026 - Gratitude

My thought for today is Gratitude. Gratitude is defined as a feeling of thankfulness for kindness received whether the kindness is intentional or not. It is the honest recognition that the good in my life is not self-generated, it is a gift and I am aware of the giver. I remember those days before God was in my life. Whenever I was feeling thankful I didn't know who to thank, so I just thanked myself. I see now that was just ego-feeding which ultimately got me nowhere. I know who to thank now. One thought I always express is that gratitude is not about having everything I want; it is about wanting everything I have. So, to God and to all of you, I give my thanks.

April 21, 2026 - Intimacy

 My thought for today is Intimacy. Intimacy is defined as the courage to let yourself be known and the humility to let someone else matter. Into me see. Intimacy is not only about sex or romance. There is spiritual intimacy or the intimacy that is shared through sponsorship. It is two people meeting in an honest relationship where one walks the path and the other keeps the path clear. As the big book reminds us, "Both you and the new man [or woman] must walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress."

April 20, 2026 - But for the Grace of God

My thought for today is But For The Grace of God. The grace of God, to me, is the favor of God but it is not something I earn by being good or that I don't receive by being imperfect. It is a gift that is given to me by God. It is a levelling of the field that reminds me I am no better and no less than anyone else. I could have been lost, angry, drunk, resentful, or gone. But I’m here. I could just as easily be the man who relapses, but by the grace of God I am not. The promises remind me that I will realize that God is doing for me what I could not do for myself.

April 19, 2026 - Acceptance

My thought for today is Acceptance. Acceptance is defined as seeing things as they are, not as I wish, fear, or demand them to be, and choosing the next right thought or action from that point of clarity. As the Big Book reminds me, "When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation - some fact of my life - unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly as it is supposed to be at this moment." Once we make the shift from resistance to willingness, we can begin to practice humility and acceptance.

April 18, 2026 - Self Esteem

My thought for today is self-esteem. Self-esteem is not pride and it's not self-pity, it's the middle ground in between those extremes. It's reminding myself that I'm worth showing up for. In my morning routine, of prayer and meditation, I try to do that. First, I ask for help from my higher power whom I often refer to as God. Then, instead of rushing blindly into the chaos, I do a few readings from books I find helpful, then I ask God to have a care for people I know who are still struggling whether with addiction or with family illness, and finally for help getting through my day. My routine helps to center me so that I will be of better use to God and to my fellows. If working with others, I will try to use experiences from my past to help those I sponsor. As the Big Book reminds me, "we will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it." In all my affairs I will remember that I am good enough.

April 17, 2026 - Self-Pity

My thought for today is self-pity. It is not a good state of mind to be in. I am careful not to confuse it with healthy sadness such as grief or loss or disappointment. Today is my younger sister's birthday. Or rather, it would be. She passed away several years ago, so yes I experience loss. But, that is to be expected. Acknowledging loss makes us more human. Self-pity is when we turn the loss into something that God or life has done to us personally. Self-pity can bring about resentment and victimhood to which for someone like me there is only one solution, to numb myself. To avoid self-pity or to get out of it once I fall into that hole, I can use gratitude or service to others, or connection. It is difficult to feel negative thoughts when I am feeling grateful for those things that I do have, or when I am attempting to help someone else who may be having the same problems today. 

April 16, 2026 - Listen to Learn

My thought for today is Listen To Learn. It's about remaining teachable. When I talk with a newcomer, if I listen to what they are saying, I will learn how to help them better with whatever they are going through. By listening to their fears, their anger, or their shreds of hope that they might be able to do these twelve steps, I will learn not only about them, but also about me and ultimately, as Bill W said to Doctor Bob all those years ago, I'm not here for you, I'm here for me. I just listen to what they have to say. By extending my hand to them, I am allowing myself the gift of sobriety.

April 15, 2026 - Pride

My thought for today is pride. It is the first and probably the worst of the seven deadly sins. If the word sin bothers you, it is likely because of pride. Sin implies a need to ask for help whereas pride tells me I do not need help, not from my fellow man and certainly not from God, if in fact there is one. If I call something a mistake, then it is something I can correct; if I call it a sin, then I need help with it, usually divine help. Pride wants me to be special. Even in doing service, I must be careful not to let pride sneak in, to convince me that nobody else can do this as good as I do, or more subtly, I'm doing this because no one else wants to. The big book reminds me that selfishness and self-centeredness (pride) is the root of my trouble. It goes on to say we must get rid of this or it kills us. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to die yet so I'll ask for help.

April 14, 2026 - Denial

My thought for today is Denial. Denial is seeing things as you need to see them in order to keep drinking or drugging or doing whatever it is that is making your life unmanageable. When denial becomes intertwined with self-pity, it is even more dangerous. The two are linked to self-centeredness. The quickest way out of denial and self-pity is by doing service because service helps us to forget self and once we begin to do that, we no longer feel the poor me mentality. Once we begin to question the lies we have been telling ourselves, a crack forms in our denial. That crack is where willingness enters. Once we begin to realize that I can't, but He can, then we become willing to stop believing the lie, we become willing to let Him show us how much better our lives can be. It's all connected; the trick is finding the dots.

April 13, 2026 - Keep It Simple

My thought for today is Keep It Simple. Complication is usually brought on because pride is at work in subtle ways and whenever pride is there, we need to use humility to uncomplicate things. Where pride says I don't really need to ask for help, I can do this by myself, humility comes to our aid by reminding us that we don't have to run the whole show by ourselves, there are others who will be glad to help. Using this slogan reminds me to keep things basic. Don't build a house if all you need is something to sit on. Don't rewrite the steps - just do them.

April 12, 2026 - Self-pity

My thought for today is self-pity. A subtle state of being that sneaks in upon us and can become dangerous if left unchecked. Self-pity can be the doorway to old isolating thoughts which, in turn, lead to old bad behaviours. Self-pity is pride turned inward. Pride keeps us from asking for help, self-pity convinces us that getting help wouldn't matter anyway. Gratitude, being of service to others, staying connected with others and remaining active can help us to defeat self-pity before it defeats us.

April 11, 2026 - Willingness

My thought for today is willingness. The one thing strong enough to break pride's grip on ourselves. Willingness helps us take the next step even if it is uncomfortable. It is where we stop fighting and choose instead to cooperate. As the big book reminds us, willingness, together with honesty and openmindedness is indispensable. It is essential. It also says when we are willing to go to any length, then we are ready.

April 10, 2026 - Envy

My thought for today is Envy. It is the pain we feel when someone else has something we desire. It can be a reminder to return our gaze to our own path and not to focus on things others have that we don't. The Big Book says on page 559, " We are taught to differentiate between our wants (which are never satisfied) and our needs (which are always provided for)." Envy often blinds us to our own gifts. It erodes gratitude and reinforces the fear that we are not enough. Gratitude can be found through wanting everything we have, not wanting everything they have.

April 9, 2026 - Think Think Think

My thought for today is think, Think, THINK. I read a passage in Living Sober not long ago that said, "simply postponing that first drink.....provides us with a chance to think about our drinking history, to think about the disease of alcoholism, and to think about the probable results of starting to drink." Alcoholism is a condition that distorts thinking before we even take a drink. So we try to think about the next right action, to think about the consequences, to think of our program tools before reacting. It is helpful to play the tape in our head through, to think, think, think before we act, act, act.

April 8, 2026 - Open minded

My thought for today is to be open minded. The big book suggests on page 47, "Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking what they mean to you." Prejudice stems from fear. One of the opposites of fear is open mindedness. So, be not afraid. Be still and know that I am with you is from another big book.

April 7, 2026 - No matter how far down

My thought for today is no matter how far down which is part of the promise that no matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. We don't have to drive the garbage truck all the way to the dump or we can go all the way there. The big book reminds us that our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. So just tell them what you have done.day is No matter how far down which is part of the promise that No matter how far down we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. We don't have to drive the garbage truck all the way to the dump or we can go all the way there. The big book reminds us that our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. So just tell them what you have done.

April 6, 2026 - Greed and Lust

My thought today was Greed and Lust. I admit that it threw me off. I initially saw them as bad things but upon reflection they are misdirected love. Man often loves things in the wrong way or with the wrong intensity. In scripture, sin is seen as good desires bent out of shape. Greed and Lust share the lie that God will not give us what we want, we must take it ourselves. Augustine believed that the cure for greed and for lust was to reorder our affection away from our own desire and more toward God's desire. Food for thought.

April 5, 2026 - Keep it simple

My thought today is Keep it Simple. One way to do that is to not manage the other person's emotions and to avoid expectations of them. And, to be honest, to say what I mean and to mean what I say. Have a great day!

April 4, 2026 - Humility

My thought for today is humility. Service without spectacle, the difference between doing good and being seen doing good. Pride may block the doorway to progress; humility opens it. Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it is thinking of ourselves less.

April 3, 2026 - Pride

My thought for today is Pride. The first of the Seven Deadly Sins. The dictionary says it is the inward turning of the soul toward itself, a refusal to receive life, truth, and identity from God. I will define myself. I will be my own measure. I will not be taught. Pride will not allow us to see ourselves as we really are. As the big book reminds us, "To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got."

April 2, 2026 - Self-Restraint

My thought for today is self-restraint. In the book Twelve Steps Twelve Traditions, it says, on page 91, "When we speak or act            hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot. One unkind tirade or one willful snap judgement can ruin our relation with another person for a whole day, or maybe a whole year. Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue or pen. We must avoid quick-tempered criticism and furious, power-driven argument.....we can neither think nor act to good purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic."

And again, also on page 91, "In all these situations we need self-restraint, an honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elewhere."

I rest my case.

April 1, 2026 - One day at a time

My thought for today is one day at a time. In the song it says "show me the stairway I have to climb. Lord for my sake, teach me to take one day at a time." The big book reminds me, on page 559, "we cast off the burdens of the past and the anxieties of the future, as we begin to live in the present, one day at a time."