Daily Reflections

CONFORMING TO THE A.A. WAY

 We obey A.A.’s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; we conform because we genuinely want to conform. Such is our process of growth in unity and function. Such is the evidence of God’s grace and love among us.

A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 106

It is fun to watch myself grow in A.A. I fought conformity to A.A. principles from the moment I entered, but I learned from the pain of my belligerence that, in choosing to live the A.A. way of life, I opened myself to God’s grace and love. Then I began to know the full meaning of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. 

12 Steps in Reverse

Everyone is always talking about the 12 Steps in A. A. Another way of thinking about it are the 12 Mis-Steps of A. A. Here they are:

1. Start missing meetings for any reason, real or imaginary. 

2. Become critical of the methods used by other members who may not agree with you in everything. 

3. Nurse the idea that someday, somehow, you can drink again and become a controlled drinker. 

4. Let the other fellow do the 12th Step work in your group. You are too busy. 

5. Become conscious of your A. A. seniority and view every new member with a skeptical, jaundiced eye.

6. Become so pleased with your own views of the program that you consider yourself an "elder statesman." 

7. Start a small clique within your own group, composed only of a few members who see eye-to-eye with 

you. 

8. Tell the new member in confidence that you yourself do not take certain of the 12 Steps seriously. 

9. Let your mind dwell more and more on how much you are helping others rather than on how much the A. A. program is helping you. 

10. If an unfortunate member has a slip, drop him at once. 

11. Cultivate the habit of borrowing money from other members; then stay away from meetings to avoid embarrassment. 

12. Look upon the 24-hour plan as vital to new members, but not for yourself. YOU have outgrown the need of that long, long ago.

C. L.

Chicago, Illinois

The Grapevine - Vol. 3 No. 10

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12 Steps in Reverse

 

Everyone is always talking about the 12 Steps in A. A. Another way of thinking about it are the 12 Mis-Steps of A. A. Here they are:

1. Start missing meetings for any reason, real or imaginary. 

2. Become critical of the methods used by other members who may not agree with you in everything. 

3. Nurse the idea that someday, somehow, you can drink again and become a controlled drinker. 

4. Let the other fellow do the 12th Step work in your group. You are too busy. 

5. Become conscious of your A. A. seniority and view every new member with a skeptical, jaundiced eye.

6. Become so pleased with your own views of the program that you consider yourself an "elder statesman." 

7. Start a small clique within your own group, composed only of a few members who see eye-to-eye with 

you. 

8. Tell the new member in confidence that you yourself do not take certain of the 12 Steps seriously. 

9. Let your mind dwell more and more on how much you are helping others rather than on how much the A. A. program is helping you. 

10. If an unfortunate member has a slip, drop him at once. 

11. Cultivate the habit of borrowing money from other members; then stay away from meetings to avoid embarrassment. 

12. Look upon the 24-hour plan as vital to new members, but not for yourself. YOU have outgrown the need of that long, long ago.

C. L.

Chicago, Illinois

The Grapevine - Vol. 3 No. 10

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Step by Step May 27 2026

Today, I have to give overdue appreciation to the spouse, companion, brothers and sisters, parents, children and friends who wanted to help me as I spiralled out of control but who I shut out, who were and are still there as I inch toward recovery. In being focused on my own recovery and working the Steps, I have probably been negligent to admit that the hell I put someone else through might have been worse than my own. And I have to acknowledge that they, too, have their own recoveries to work. Today, I will be grateful and offer to anyone who stayed with me a simple thank you and, to them, my superior amend is that, today, I can and will stay sober. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M., 2013

Just For Today - April 28 2026

Who Really Gets Better?


“We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes. Our best thinking got us into trouble. We recognize the need for change.”

Basic Text, p. 53

When new in recovery, most of us had at least one person we just couldn’t stand. We thought that person was the rudest, most obnoxious person in the program. We knew there was something we could do, some principle of recovery we could practice to get over the way we felt about this person—but what? We asked our sponsor for guidance. We were probably assured, with an amused smile, that if we just kept coming back, we’d see the person get better. That made sense to us. We believed that the steps of NA worked in the lives of everyone. If they could work for us, they could work for this horrible person, too.

Time passed, and at some point we noticed that the person didn’t seem as rude or obnoxious as before. In fact, he or she had become downright tolerable, maybe even likeable. We got a pleasant jolt as we realized who had really gotten better. Because we had kept coming back, because we had kept working the steps, our perception of this person had changed. The person who’d plagued us had become “tolerable” because we’d developed some tolerance; he or she had become “likeable” because we’d developed the ability to love.

So who really gets better? We do! As we practice the program, we gain a whole new outlook on those around us by gaining a new outlook on ourselves.

Just for today: As I get better, so will others. Today, I will practice tolerance and try to love those I meet.

As Bill Sees It - - April 27 2026

Prelude to the Program, p. 118

Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless
they have “hit bottom,” for practicing A.A.’s Steps means the
adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still
drinking can dream of taking. The average alcoholic, self-centered in
the extreme, doesn’t care for this prospect–unless he has to do these
things in order to stay alive himself.

<< << << >> >> >>

We know that the newcomer has to “hit bottom”; otherwise, not
much can happen. Because we are drunks who understand him, we
can use at depth the nutcracker of the-obsession-plus-the-allergy as a
tool of such power that it can shatter his ego. Only thus can he be
convinced that on his own unaided resources he has little or no
chance.

1. 12 & 12, p. 24
2. A.A. Today, p. 8

A Day at a Time - April 23 2026

Reflection for the Day

We come to know in The Program that there is no deeper satisfaction and no greater joy than in a Twelfth Step well done. To watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness to light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, and above all to watch them awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives – these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry the message of The Program.

Am I learning through Twelfth Step experiences that gratitude should go forward, rather than backward?

Today I Pray
May my Twelfth Steps be as wholehearted and as convincing and as constructive as others’ Twelfth-Stepping has been to me. May I realize that the might of The Program and its effectiveness for all of us come through “passing it on.” When I guide someone else to sobriety, my own sobriety is underlined and reinforced. I humbly ask God’s guidance before each Twelfth Step.

Today I Will Remember

To pass it on.

Hazelden Foundation

Walk in Dry Places - April 8 2026

Keep it Simple, BUT not simple-minded
Working the Steps.

Dr. Bob Smith left little in the way of written material for AA’s future. His phrase Keep it Simple, however, is now a guiding slogan in the program. What did he really have in mind with this final piece of advice?

We can take it as certain that Dr. Bob. A highly intelligent man was not saying that we shouldn’t use our heads for real thinking and study. One of the blessings of sobriety, in fact, should be the ability to think clearly and effectively. It would be a mistake to believe that one must renounce a brainpower and education in order to stay sober.

The real aim of keeping it simple should be to stay mindful of the principles and essentials that are key to everybody else. Even the most difficult subject can usually be mattered by processes of simplification. The deepest book, for example, is still composed of only twenty-six letters.

We can Keep it Simple by building or lives around the principles of the Twelve Step program. When we discover new ideas, they’ll reinforce and expand what we’ve already learned. In this way, we should always be learning and growing… which is beautiful simple, but certainly not simple-minded.

I’ll be grateful today for the ability to think and to understand complicated subjects. With a strong foundation in the bedrock principles of AA, I can use my mind in constructive and progressive ways. 

DAILY REFLECTIONS - 18th February 2026

OUR PATHS ARE OUR OWN

. . . there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25 

My first attempt at the Steps was one of obligation and necessity, which resulted in a deep feeling of discouragement in the face of all those adverbs: courageously; completely; humbly; directly; and only. I considered Bill W. fortunate to have gone through such a major, even sensational, spiritual experience. I had to discover, as time went on, that my path was my own. After a few twenty-four hours in the A.A. Fellowship, thanks especially to the sharing of members in the meetings, I understood that everyone gradually finds his or her own pace in moving through the Steps. Through progressive means, I try to live according to these suggested principles. As a result of these Steps, I can say today that my attitude towards life, people, and towards anything having to do with God, has been transformed and improved.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

12 Steps in Backwards

 

Everyone is always talking about the 12 Steps in A. A. Another way of thinking about it are the 12 Mis-Steps of A. A. Here they are:

1. Start missing meetings for any reason, real or imaginary. 

2. Become critical of the methods used by other members who may not agree with you in everything. 

3. Nurse the idea that someday, somehow, you can drink again and become a controlled drinker. 

4. Let the other fellow do the 12th Step work in your group. You are too busy. 

5. Become conscious of your A. A. seniority and view every new member with a skeptical, jaundiced eye.

6. Become so pleased with your own views of the program that you consider yourself an "elder statesman." 

7. Start a small clique within your own group, composed only of a few members who see eye-to-eye with 

you. 

8. Tell the new member in confidence that you yourself do not take certain of the 12 Steps seriously. 

9. Let your mind dwell more and more on how much you are helping others rather than on how much the A. A. program is helping you. 

10. If an unfortunate member has a slip, drop him at once. 

11. Cultivate the habit of borrowing money from other members; then stay away from meetings to avoid embarrassment. 

12. Look upon the 24-hour plan as vital to new members, but not for yourself. YOU have outgrown the need of that long, long ago.

C. L.

Chicago, Illinois

The Grapevine - Vol. 3 No. 10

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DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

OUR PATHS ARE OUR OWN

. . . there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25 

My first attempt at the Steps was one of obligation and necessity, which resulted in a deep feeling of discouragement in the face of all those adverbs: courageously; completely; humbly; directly; and only. I considered Bill W. fortunate to have gone through such a major, even sensational, spiritual experience. I had to discover, as time went on, that my path was my own. After a few twenty-four hours in the A.A. Fellowship, thanks especially to the sharing of members in the meetings, I understood that everyone gradually finds his or her own pace in moving through the Steps. Through progressive means, I try to live according to these suggested principles. As a result of these Steps, I can say today that my attitude towards life, people, and towards anything having to do with God, has been transformed and improved.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions #essentialsofrec

 Step Six – “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”

Let’s dispose of what appears to be a hazardous open end we have left. It is suggested that we ought to become entirely willing to aim toward perfection. We note that some delay, however, might be pardoned. That word, in the mind of a rationalizing alcoholic, could certainly be given a long term meaning. He could say, “How very easy! Sure, I’ll head toward perfection, but I’m certainly not going to hurry any. Maybe I can postpone dealing with some of my problems indefinitely.” Of course, this won’t do. Such a bluffing of oneself will have to go the way of many another pleasant rationalization. At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can.

p. 69

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofec #Steps

COMMITMENT

“One small step for a man ~ One giant leap for mankind.”

Neil Armstrong

When I came into program, I was very overwhelmed by the idea of commitment. The thought of committing to a food plan or exercise regime was more than I could comprehend; in fact, I would feel panic rising in me at the thought of it. I would have dreams of being a mouse caught in a corner with nowhere to run. I would throw in the proverbial monkey wrench after a short time, and soon be on my own turf … the desperation and depression which were my “old friends” would reappear, and I would be back into my “safe” and always-waiting disease.

This recovery program taught me “one day at a time;” it taught me to put one foot in front of the other; that for one day I could do what I couldn’t do, or even fathom doing, for a lifetime. This is how I found abstinence. Breaking up my days, weeks, months and years into 24-hour periods allows me to live in the now, and not feel swallowed up in thinking that I have to do this for the rest of my life.

One Day at a Time . . .
The steps may seem small, it may even look as though I’m not moving at all, but with God’s help I make giant leaps toward wellness and peace of mind.

~ Shana 

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A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec ##Steps #LettingGo

Reflection for the Day

I know today that getting active means trying to live the suggested Steps of the Program to the best of my ability. It means striving for some degree of honesty, first with myself, then with others. It means activity directed inward, to enable me to see myself and my relationship with my Higher Power more clearly. As I get active, outside and inside myself, so shall I grow in the Program. Do I let others do all the work at meetings? Do I carry my share?

Today I Pray

May I realize that “letting go and letting God” does not mean that I do not have to put any effort into the Program. It is up to me to work the Twelve Steps, to learn what may be an entirely new thing with me—honesty. May I differentiate between activity for activity’s sake—busy-work to keep me from thinking—and the thoughtful activity which helps me to grow.

Today I Will Remember

“Letting God” means letting God show us how.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

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JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrec #Recovery #NA #Addiction

Our Own Recovery

“The steps are our solution. They are our survival kit They are our defense against addiction, a deadly disease. Our steps are the principles that make our recovery possible.”
~ Basic Text, p. 19

There’s lots to like in Narcotics Anonymous. The meetings, for one, are great. We get to see our friends, hear some inspiring stories, share some practical experience, maybe even hook up with our sponsor. The campouts, the conventions, the dances are all wonderful, clean fun in the company of other recovering addicts. But the heart of our recovery program is the Twelve Steps—in fact, they are the program!

We’ve heard it said that we can’t stay clean by osmosis—in other words, we can’t just attend meetings, no matter how many, and expect to breathe recovery in through the pores of our skin. Recovery, as another saying goes, is an inside job. And the tools we use in working that “inside job” are the Twelve Steps. Hearing endlessly about acceptance is one thing; working the First Step for ourselves is something very different. Stories about making amends may be inspiring, yet nothing will give us the freedom from remorse that taking the Ninth Step ourselves will give. The same applies to all twelve steps.

There’s much to appreciate about NA, but to get the most from our recovery we must work the Twelve Steps for ourselves.

Just for today: I want everything my personal program has to offer. I will work the steps for myself.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc

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Katie P. - AA Speaker - "The Steps We Took to Get Sober" #essentialsofrec #KatieP #Recovery #Speaker

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DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Spiritual #Experience

OUR PATHS ARE OUR OWN

. . . there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 25 

My first attempt at the Steps was one of obligation and necessity, which resulted in a deep feeling of discouragement in the face of all those adverbs: courageously; completely; humbly; directly; and only. I considered Bill W. fortunate to have gone through such a major, even sensational, spiritual experience. I had to discover, as time went on, that my path was my own. After a few twenty-four hours in the A.A. Fellowship, thanks especially to the sharing of members in the meetings, I understood that everyone gradually finds his or her own pace in moving through the Steps. Through progressive means, I try to live according to these suggested principles. As a result of these Steps, I can say today that my attitude towards life, people, and towards anything having to do with God, has been transformed and improved.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

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Daily Reflections #essentialsofrecovery

CONFORMING TO THE A.A. WAY

We obey A.A.’s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; we conform because we genuinely want to conform. Such is our process of growth in unity and function. Such is the evidence of God’s grace and love among us. 

A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 106

It is fun to watch myself grow in A.A. I fought conformity to A.A. principles from the moment I entered, but I learned from the pain of my belligerence that, in choosing to live the A.A. way of life, I opened myself to God’s grace and love. Then I began to know the full meaning of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

12 Steps in Reverse

Everyone is always talking about the 12 Steps in A. A. Another way of thinking about it are the 12 Mis-Steps of A. A. Here they are:

1. Start missing meetings for any reason, real or imaginary. 

2. Become critical of the methods used by other members who may not agree with you in everything. 

3. Nurse the idea that someday, somehow, you can drink again and become a controlled drinker. 

4. Let the other fellow do the 12th Step work in your group. You are too busy. 

5. Become conscious of your A. A. seniority and view every new member with a skeptical, jaundiced eye.

6. Become so pleased with your own views of the program that you consider yourself an "elder statesman." 

7. Start a small clique within your own group, composed only of a few members who see eye-to-eye with 

you. 

8. Tell the new member in confidence that you yourself do not take certain of the 12 Steps seriously. 

9. Let your mind dwell more and more on how much you are helping others rather than on how much the A. A. program is helping you. 

10. If an unfortunate member has a slip, drop him at once. 

11. Cultivate the habit of borrowing money from other members; then stay away from meetings to avoid embarrassment. 

12. Look upon the 24-hour plan as vital to new members, but not for yourself. YOU have outgrown the need of that long, long ago.

C. L.

Chicago, Illinois

The Grapevine - Vol. 3 No. 10 

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David Aronofsky. - Pathway Through the Steps