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May 16
Daily Reflections WE FORGIVE. . . . Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual adviser that we first felt truly able to forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58 What a great feeling forgiveness is! What a revelation about my emotional, psychological and spiritual nature. All it takes is willingness to forgive; God will do the rest. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan? Meditation For The Day Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Giving Up Defects, p. 136 Looking at those defects we are unwilling to give up, we ought to erase the hard and fast lines that we have drawn. Perhaps in some cases we shall say, "This I cannot give up yet. . ." But we should not say to ourselves, "This I will never give up!" The moment we say, "No , never!" our minds close against the grace of God. Such rebellion may be fatal. Instead, we should abandon limited objectives and begin to move toward God's will for us. 12 & 12, pp. 68-69 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Trees Don't grow to the sky Progress Release from a compulsion can be a dramatic experience. It maqy also mean immediate relase from vexing problems caused by the compulsion. This time can bring such a sense of well-being that it's sometimes called the HONEYMOON or CLOUD NINE period. In any growth process, however, we must remember that a law of diminishing returns sets in. This is expressed in the saying that trees don't grow to the sky. At some point, we will discover that our joyous feeling of pleasure has cooled down to an ordinary state of feeling well, that we are not becoming increasingly joyous by the day. There's nothing wrong with such a mental plateau. If we're practicing the Twelve Step program, we're still moving forward, onward, and upward. Diminishing returns must still be counted as returns. I'll accept today's progress with gratitude and humility. I won't expect more than a reasonable feeling of well-being and contentment, but that is considerable. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.---Sydney J. Harris Relaxing is one of the little joys of life. We can learn to take time from our busy day to chat with a friend, take a hot bath, or spend a few moments sitting alone under a tree. The busier we are, the more we need to take time to relax. When we rest, we stop fussing about the outside world. We find out how we're doing inside. While relaxing, we can best listen to our Higher Power. Our minds calm down. We put busy thoughts aside. Sometimes, we can almost hear our Higher Power say, "Stay quiet and listen! I have something to tell you!" ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning It is only the women whose eyes have been washed clear with tears who get the broad vision that makes them little sisters to all the world. --Dorothy Dix The storms of our lives benefit us like the storms that hit our towns and homes and wash clean the air we breathe. Our storms bring to the surface the issues that plague us. Perhaps we still fear a job with responsibilities. Perhaps we still struggle with the significant other persons in our lives. Possessiveness is a particular storm that often haunts our progress. Storms force us to acknowledge these liabilities that continue to stand in our way, and acknowledgment is the step necessary to letting go. Recovery is a whole series of storms, storms that help to sprout new growth, storms that flush clean our own clogged drains. The peace that comes after a storm is worth singing about. Each storm can be likened to a rung on the ladder to wholeness, the ladder to full membership in the healthy human race. The storms make climbing tough, but we get strength with each step. The next storm will be more easily weathered. If today is a stormy day, let me remember it will freshen the air I breathe. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward In time they will see that he is a new man and in their own way they will let him know it. When this happens, they can be invited to join in morning meditation and then they can take part in the daily discussion without rancor or bias. From that point on, progress will be rapid. Marvelous results often follow such a reunion. p. 134 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." At first that "somebody" is likely to be his closest A.A. friend. He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too. Of course the sponsor points out that our friend's life is still unmanageable even though he is sober, that after all, only a bare start on A.A.'s program has been made. More sobriety brought about by the admission of alcoholism and by attendance at a few meetings is very good indeed, but it is bound to be a far cry from permanent sobriety and a contented, useful life. That is just where the remaining Steps of the A.A. program come in. Nothing short of continuous action upon these as a way of life can bring the much-desired result. pp. 39-40 ************************************************** ********* Blowing out another's candle will not make yours shine brighter. --unknown God, give me the courage to follow my heart. Teach me how to experience more joy in my life. --Melody Beattie "God never said it would be easy, only worth it." --unknown The most effective way to achieve right relations with any living thing is to look for the best in it, and then help that best into the fullest expression. --Allen J. Boone Secret of Life Take time to Think. It is the source of Power. Take time to Play. It is the secret of perpetual Youth. Take time to be Friendly. It is the road to Happiness. Take time to Work. It is the price of Success. Take time to Pray. It is the greatest Power on Earth. Take time to Love and be Loved. It is the way of God. --Author Unknown ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation LIBERTY "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." --George Bernard Shaw The fellowship of recovering addicts and their families rejoice in the freedom of life; the exchange of slavery to a drug or person for liberty; a life of choice, rather than meaningless compulsion. But with the gift of liberty comes the weight of responsibility. Today I am responsible for my life. No longer can I say I do not know; no longer can I blame others for my disease; no longer can I manipulate in the "playground of denial". The spiritual program requires a maturity of lifestyle that involves responsibility - but the joys are immense. O Master of liberty and responsibility, let me not forget to laugh. ************************************************** ********* And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 "I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust. Psalm 91:2 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Psalm 34:4-7 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration When your mind takes you to places you don't want to go, you have the power to bring yourself back. Lord, strengthen my ability to focus on that which I am experiencing now so that I will truly live and lose none of the time You have given to me. Loneliness happens when you build walls instead of bridges. Lord, bless me with a welcoming spirit for those that might need me today. |
May 17
Daily Reflections . . . . AND FORGIVE Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive others--also myself. AS BILL SEE IT p. 268 Forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others are just two currents in the same river, both hindered or shut off completely by the dam of resentment. Once that dam is lifted, both currents can flow. The Steps of A.A. allow me to see how resentment has built up and subsequently blocked off this flow in my life. The Steps provide a way by which my resentments may - by the grace of God as I understand Him - be lifted. It is as a result of this solution that I can find the necessary grace which enables me to forgive myself and others. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day A lot of well-meaning people treat alcoholics like the priest and the Levite. They pass by on the other side by scorning them and telling them what low people they are, with no willpower. Whereas, they really have fallen for alcohol, in the same way as the man in the story fell among robbers. And the member of A.A. who is working with others is like the Good Samaritan. Am I moved with compassion? Do I take care of another alcoholic whenever I can? Meditation For The Day I must constantly live in preparation for something better to come. All of life is a preparation for something better. I must anticipate the morning to come. I must feel, in the night of sorrow, that understanding joy that tells of confident expectation of better things to come. "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Know that God has something better in store for you, as long as you are making yourself ready for it. All your existence in this world is a training for a better life to come. Prayer For The Day I pray that when life is over, I will return to an eternal, spaceless life with God. I pray that I may make this life a preparation for a better life to come. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Beyond Agnosticism, p. 137 We of agnostic temperament found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God. << << << >> >> >> "Many people soberly assure me that man has no better place in the universe than that of another competing organism, fighting its way through life only to perish in the end. Hearing this, I feel that I still prefer to cling to the so-called illusion of religion, which in my own experience has meaningfully told me something very different." 1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 46 2. Letter, 1946 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Rehearsing Outcomes Serenity Imagination is undeniably a human faculty that accounts for much progress. Compulsive people, however, can use imagination in a most destructive way. One destructive practice is that of rehearsing i our minds the outcome of some treat or problem, usually expecting the worst. While we should not avoid facing real problems, it's wrong to assume that the worst will always happen. This tendency to anticipate the worst possible outcome can actually produce the very outcome we'd like to avoid, thus making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. We can deal with such pessimistic thinking by reminding ourselves that God is in charge and will bring our good to pass in just the right way.If we're going to rehearse anything, let it be an outcome that includes the best for everybody, including ourselves. I'll expect the best today, knowing that all outcomes and results are in God's hands. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Each day provides its own gifts.---Ruth P. Freedman Spiritual growth is the greatest gift we can receive. And we earn it through taking risks. There is much risk involved in working the Steps: The risk of admitting that we're out of control. The risk of turning our will and lives over to a Power greater than ourselves. The risk of letting go of character defects. The risk of making amends to people we've harmed. The risk of admitting our wrongs. The risk of telling our stories as we carry the message of hope. To grow spiritually, we need these adventures. These challenges. These risk. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to take the risks that I need in order to grow. Action for the Day: I will look at today as an adventure with my Higher Power. I will list the fears I'll need to let go of. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Loving allows us to live and through living we grow in loving. --Evelyn Mandel Many days it seems too easy to be centered on ourselves, wondering if others love us rather than loving others. On those days, we may have to act "as if" we love the persons who live on our pathways. The unexpected gift is that we do begin to feel both love and loved. Living becomes easier, and so does loving. Acting "as if" is a good way of learning those behaviors that don't feel natural. And in time, acting "as if" is necessary no more. I can behave in any way I decide to. I can choose to think about others, and love them. I can choose to forget myself, today. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward Whether the family goes on a spiritual basis or not, the alcoholic member has to if he would recover. The others must be convinced of his new status beyond the shadow of a doubt. Seeing is believing to most families who have lived with a drinker. Here is a case in point: One of our friends is a heavy smoker and coffee drinker. There was no doubt he over-indulged. Seeing this, and meaning to be helpful, his wife commenced to admonish him about it. He admitted he was overdosing these things, but frankly said that he was not ready to stop. His wife is one of those persons who really feels there is something rather sinful about these commodities, so she nagged, and her intolerance finally threw him into a fit of anger. He got drunk. Of course our friend was wrong—dead wrong. He had to painfully admit that and mend his spiritual fences. Though he is now a most effective member of Alcoholics Anonymous, he still smokes and drinks coffee, but neither his wife nor anyone else stands in judgment. She sees she was wrong to make a burning issue out of such a matter when his more serious ailments were being rapidly cured. p. 135 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Then it is explained that other Steps of the A.A. program can be practiced with success only when Step Three is given a determined and persistent trial. This statement may surprise newcomers who have experienced nothing but constant deflation and a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, and rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered by the individual alone. But now it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. Trying to do this is an act of his own will. All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God's will. p. 40 ************************************************** ********* Do you know how important now is? Enjoy it as much as you can, because no matter how much you want to hold on to "now," it's going to be "was." --Sid Caesar All yesterdays are canceled, and tomorrow is but a speculation, today is the day God has made. --SweetyZee If it was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started with something called labor. --Cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES Aristotle said: "Those who say there is only one road to Rome don't know Rome very well." New Thought teaches us not only to tolerate but to honor all paths to God. All religions have love at their core. We are meant to learn to love one another, love God and love ourselves. No religion is bigger than God. --Mary Manin Morrissey "In forgiving ourselves, we make the journey from guilt for what we have done (or not done) to celebration of what we have become." --Joan Borysenko ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation TOLERANCE "Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand another's beliefs, practices and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them." --Joshua Liebman Today I am able to tolerate people, listen to what they are saying and if I do not agree with them, it is okay! I do not have to agree with a person to tolerate or befriend him. This is a new attitude for me and is part of my spiritual program. When I was drinking, I would not listen to people who had ideas different to mine. I would not tolerate people who had a different philosophy on life. Other religions were discounted as being cultish, crude or superstitious. I have learned that my disease of alcoholism made me very arrogant and narrow in my attitude to life - I rejected two-thirds of the world as being heretical! Today I can tolerate and learn from people who view God, the world and morality differently from me. Spirituality is teaching me to be open and accepting. Lord, may I find traces of Your love in different philosophies and religions. ************************************************** ********* Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6-7 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." I John 4:4 "For we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Change first from the inside and the other things will follow. Lord, bless me the desire to become a better person and the firmness of will to succeed because I know that together we have the power to change my life. God never promised to make your troubles go away, but He did promise to give you the strength and power to overcome them. Lord, when I am weak, strengthen me, when I forget, remind me and when the day is done, accept my thanksgiving because without You I am nothing. |
May 18
Daily Reflections FREEDOM TO BE ME If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p 83 My first true freedom is the freedom not to have to take a drink today. If I truly want it, I will work the Twelve Steps and the happiness of this freedom will come to me through the Steps - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Other freedoms will follow, and inventorying them is a new happiness. I had a new freedom today, the freedom to be me. I have the freedom to be the best me I have ever been. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We're in A.A. for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves and to help others to keep sober. It's a well known fact that helping others is a big part of keeping sober yourself. It's also been proved that it's very hard to keep sober all by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They come to a few A.A. meetings and then stay sober alone for a few months, but usually they eventually get drunk. Do I know that I can't stay sober successfully alone? Meditation For The Day Look by faith into that place beyond space or time where God dwells and whence you came and to which you shall eventually return. "Look unto Him and be saved." To look beyond material things is within the power of everyone's imagination. Faith's look saves you from despair. Faith's look saves you from worry and care. Faith's look brings a peace beyond all understanding. Faith's look brings you all the strength you need. Faith's look gives you a new and vital power and a wonderful peace and serenity. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may have faith's look. I pray that by faith I may look beyond the now to eternal life. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Two Roads for the Oldtimer, p. 138 The founders of many groups ultimately divide into two classes known in A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons." The elder statesman sees the wisdom of the group's decision to run itself and holds no resentment over his reduced status. His judgment, fortified by considerable experience, is sound; he is willing to sit quietly on the side lines patiently awaiting developments. The bleeding deacon is just as surely convinced that the group cannot get along without him. He constantly connives for re-election to office and continues to be consumed with self-pity. Nearly every oldtimer in our Society has gone through this process in some degree. Happily, most of them survive and live to become elder statesmen. They become the real and permanent leadership of A.A. 12 & 12, p. 135 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places No Limits on our Higher power The Spiritual Way One ancient saying claims that "with God, all things are possible." That's quite a statement, one we may claim to believe without living as though we do. What it really mens is that God exists outside the conditions and restrictions that make our own lives so limited. The more we can move into conscious contact with God, the more freedom and power we will experience. It might be said that all real human progress is the same order. Every advancement in science really reveals more information about God and the universe. We are always discovering new possibilities for humankind as we stretch the frontiers of knowledge. Our most serious lag is in learning to understand ourselves and each other. It is humbling to realize taht the ideas we're using in Twelve Step programs have been around for centuries. Faced with impossible problmes, we must remember that God can solve these problems if only we ask. I'll follow today the old idea of working as if everything depended on me and believing as if everything depended on God. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple You cannot plan the future by the past.---Edmund Burke We got tried of how we were living. We honestly looked at our life. We saw that alcohol and other drugs controlled our life. We met others who understood us. And we came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could help us. We turned our will and our life over to this Power. In so doing, we learned that life doesn't take place in the past or in the future. We find our program in the present. Prayer for the Day: I pray that I'll leave the past in the past. I pray that I'll walk into each moment with my Higher Power. Action for the Day: The only time we revisit the past is when we tell our story. Today, I'll tell my story to someone. I'll tell what really happened. I'll tell what life is like now. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning . . . in order to feel anything you need strength . . . --Anna Maria Ortese Strength for any task, to withstand any pressure, to find the solution to any problem, is always as close as our very breath. We expend all our energy, wearing ourselves down, even getting sick from worry when we fail to turn to the source of strength that is ours for the taking. We are offered, moment by moment, opportunities to experience the rapture of life. We have the chance, with recovery, to trust our senses, to turn ourselves over to the moment, knowing we can survive every experience, knowing we are guaranteed new knowledge, a greater awareness of the meaning of our own lives when we're fully attuned to the experiences that are uniquely our own, right here, right now. Our strength increases as we flex it, not unlike muscles. The more we turn to that greater power, the more available that source of strength becomes. With practice, it becomes habitual to let God help us withstand all pressures, solve every problem. In time, the pressures and problems seem to exist no more. We learn to let our higher power circumvent the difficulties in our lives. Free at last; we become free at last to feel the real joys of living. All the strength I need to face anything that's worrying me is at hand. I will let go and let God help me today. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 9 - The Family Afterward We have three little mottoes which are apropos. Here they are: First Things First Live and Let Live East Does It. p. 135 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door. p. 40 ************************************************** ********* Self-esteem is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. --Alex F. Osborn There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same. --Chinese Proverb "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing; that's why we recommend it daily." --Zig Ziglar "No matter what you have done to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy "Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening." --Dorothy Sarnoff God says that each of us is worth loving. ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation FAITH "Faith has need of the whole truth." --Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Faith is a journey that ends in God. Our understanding of imperfection teaches us to look beyond ourselves into the truth that is yet to be revealed. Our daily attitude adjustments bring us, step by step, to that truth and freedom that awaits us in the future. Sufficient today to know that we are not God and nobody has all the answers. The hardest part of being a human being is accepting the limitations of our lives. Things happen without our involvement. We need not be there for existence to happen; there is life beyond me! God holds the world together, not me. Truth is in me but also beyond me. In this sense my faith is enriched by others, and at some point in the future we will all become ONE in truth. As I look to the future I see the Oneness of tomorrow. ************************************************** ********* "I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:12b-13 "Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." Psalms 147:5 Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration If you are stressed, you are probably makings things more important than they really are. Lord, I pray for clarity of thought and calmness of spirit because I know that when my heart grows weary, You send me peace. Joy does not depend on your circumstances, but rather on your triumph over your circumstances. Lord, my joy comes from within where Your spirit fills my soul and You bless me with Your strength. |
May 19
Daily Reflections GIVING WITHOUT STRINGS And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69 The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to help me. I thought, "What do they want in return?" But I soon learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Fellowship is a big part of staying sober. The doctors call it group therapy. We never go to an A.A. meeting without taking something out of it. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting and we think of excuses for not going. But we usually end up by going anyway and we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute something to it. Am I contributing my share at meetings? Meditation For The Day "He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings." The first part, "He brought me up out of a horrible pit," means that by turning to God and putting my problems in His hands, I am able to overcome my sins and temptations. "He set my feet upon a rock" means that when I trust God in all things, I have true security. "He established my goings" means that if I honestly try to live the way God wants me to live, I will have God's guidance in my daily living. Prayer For The Day I pray that my feet may be set upon a rock. I pray that I may rely on God to guide my comings and goings. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Basis of All Humility, p. 139 For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively by our own individual strength and intelligence, for just that long was a working faith in a Higher Power impossible. This was true even when we believed that God existed. We could actually have earnest religious beliefs which remained barren because we were still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was missing. 12 & 12, p. 72 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Principles are Enduring Problem Solving We often emphasize -Principles before personalities-- in Twelve Step programs, sometimes without fully understanding what's involved. The real message of this slogan is that we should treat people equally while following certain guidelines in our own actions. While we are influenced by strong personalities, we cannot rely on them for complete guidance and direction. People can betray us or simply fail us through no fault of their own. Principles, on the other hand, are enduring and will be with us long after personal relationships wither away. One unfailing principle for living is to live each day remembering that God is guiding and directing all actions and outcomes. While we will be grateful for the assistance and cooperation of others, we will not hold them responsible for our success or failures. I'll live today with the belief that God's good plan is working in all people's lives. I will not expect too much or too little of others, but rather will deal with them fairly and decently. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.---Marcus Aurelius The struggles of life teach us a lot. They challenge our beliefs. As we struggle, we come to believe that our friends, family, and Higher Power will be there for us in hard times. But we must do our part. We need to call and honestly let people know how we are doing. We need to pray and ask our Higher Power for help. If we do these things, we'll come to respect and learn from hard times. Prayer for the Day: I pray for the wisdom to see that struggles are part of live. Higher Power, I pray for Your help in not taking struggles too personally. Action for the Day: I'll list four times I've struggled and what I learned from each stuggle. I'll share this with a friend. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning . . . if we are suffering illness, poverty, or misfortune, we think we shall be satisfied on the day it ceases. But there too, we know it is false, so soon as one has got used to not suffering, one wants something else. --Simone Weil Perhaps it's the human condition never to be satisfied and yet always to think, "If only . . ." However, the more we look within for wholeness, the greater will be our acceptance of all things, at all times. So frequently we hear that happiness is within. But what does that mean when we may have just lost the job that supported us and our children? Or when the car won't start and funds are low? Or when we are feeling really scared and don't know whom to talk to or where to go? "Happiness is within" is such a grand platitude at those times. Nevertheless, our security in any situation is within, if we but know how to tap it. It is within because that is where the strength we are blessed with resides, the strength given us from the power greater than ourselves. "Going within" takes, first, a decision. Next, it takes stillness, and then, patience. But peace will come. We will quit wanting when we have learned how to turn to our inner strength. We will find serenity rather than suffering. I will go within whenever I feel the rumblings of dissatisfaction today. I will look there for my joy and sense of well-being and know that divine order is in charge. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers AMONG MANY employers nowadays, we think of one member who has spent much of his life in the world of big business. He has hired and fired hundreds of men. He knows the alcoholic as the employer sees him. His present views ought to prove exceptionally useful to business men everywhere. But let him tell you: I was at one time assistant manager of a corporation department employing sixty-six hundred men. One day my secretary came in saying Mr. B—— insisted on speaking with me. I told her to say that I was not interested. I had warned him several times that he had but one more chance. Not long afterward he had called me from Hartford on two successive days, so drunk he could hardly speak. I told him he was through—finally and forever. p. 136 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." Once we have come into agreement with these ideas, it is really easy to begin the practice of Step Three. In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done." pp. 40-41 ************************************************** ********* An old timer had shared in the meeting about praying for something, and that God had answered her request. Someone asked her, "How do you know it was God who granted your request?" She replied..."I didn't ask anyone else." --unknown "When someone does something well, applaud! You will make two people happy." --Samuel Goldwyn "Take time for solitude. How else can you contemplate the blessings of recovery." --Abby Warman Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger. --Christian D. Larsen Try to enjoy everything you do, Life is too short not to. --unknown ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation MONEY "Money is the symbol of duty. It is the sacrament of having done for mankind that which mankind wanted." --Samuel Butler St. Paul said, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." In one sense money - how people pay us for the services we have performed - is symbolic of our value in the community. Of course, this is not always true and people can make money by dishonest and destructive methods. However, in our society money is also a force behind much creativity and job satisfaction. The danger is to become a "snob". Thinking that we are better than others because we earn more money. Spirituality is about discovering the "oneness" of mankind and incorporating our creative "difference" - we can all learn from each other. Pretentiousness is indicative of insecurities that need to be dealt within our recovery program. O Lord, let my gratitude be seen in my relationship with others. ************************************************** ********* "To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 'What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.' You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." Psalm 30:8-12 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration It is far better to feel fulfilled than to feel important because you have taken on too much. Lord, help me eliminate the unnecessary demands in my life which only cause stress. We are powerless to change our past, but we can change how we look at it. Lord, help me to realize that my past has made me a stronger person and show me that these experiences have taught me valuable life lessons. |
May 20
Daily Reflections ONE DAY AT A TIME Above all, take it one day at a time. AS BILL SEES IT, p.11 Why do I kid myself that I must stay away from a drink for only one day, when I know perfectly well I must never drink again as long as I live? I am not kidding myself because one day at a time is probably the only way I can reach the long-range objective of staying sober. If I determine that I shall never drink again as long as I live, I set myself up. How can I be sure I won't drink when I have no idea what the future may hold? On a day-at-a-time basis, I am confident I can stay away from a drink for one day. So I set out with confidence. At the end of the day, I have the reward of achievement. Achievement feels good and that makes me want more! ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day If we get up in a meeting and tell something about ourselves in order to help the other person, we feel a whole lot better. It's the old law of the more you give the more you get. Witnessing and confession are part of keeping sober. You never know when you may help somebody. Helping others is one of the best ways to stay sober yourself. And the satisfaction you get out of helping a fellow human being is one of the finest experiences you can have. Am I helping others? Meditation For The Day Without God, no real victory is ever won. All the military victories of great conquerors have passed into history. The world might be better off without military conquerors. The real victories are won in the spiritual realm. "He that conquers himself is greater than he who conquers a city." The real victories are victories over sin and temptation, leading to a victorious and abundant life. Therefore, keep a brave and trusting heart. Face all your difficulties in the spirit of conquest. Remember that where God is, there is the true victory. Prayer For The Day I pray that the forces of evil in my life will flee before God's presence. I pray that with God I will win the real victory over myself. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Defects and Repairs, p. 140 More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it. << << << >> >> >> Guilt is really the reverse side of the coin of pride. Guilt aims at self-destruction, and pride aims at the destruction of others. << << << >> >> >> "The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits." 1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 73 2. Grapevine, June 1961 3. Letter, 1957 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Gratitude is not natural. Gratitude "Nobody ever gave me a helping hand," a young alcoholic complained, having handed in prison. "My life has been one bad break after another." While this person indeed had bad breaks, it's doubtful that he'd never been given a helping hand by somebody. If we have no gratitude, it's likely taht we don't ever recognize a helping hand when it is extended. We may have believed any assistance we took was our right, even resenting our benefactors. The remedy for such immature thinking is a conscious effort to vultivate gratitude. IF we're not aware of feeling it, we can at least act as if we have it. Thank people for any favor, no matter how small. Express appreciation for the wonderful people around you. Give people praise at every opportunity. This will help start a current of gratitude that can be amplified in time. You'll come to recognize many helping hands. Today I'll be grateful and appreciative of everything in my life. I'll let gratitude build up in my life until I can feel it and others can sense that I have it. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. ---Matt. 15:14 The Twelve Step programs are sometime called self-help programs. But they're not really, because we all help each other. We don't stay sober by ourselves. Sometimes we call Twelve Step programs peer programs. And they are. All of us equal. No one is an expert. But we need to be careful who we choose for a sponsor. We each need to find someone who has been sober longer than us. Someone who understands the Steps. Someone who lives by them. Some we want to be like. We need to stick with the winners. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I know I'm like a blind person who is just beginning to see. Help me follow the path of those who see better than I do. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list the people in my program I go to for help. Am I sticking with the winners? ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning It only takes one person to change your life--you. --Ruth Casey Change is not easy, but it's absolutely unavoidable. Doors will close. Barriers will surface. Frustrations will mount. Nothing stays the same forever, and it's such folly to wish otherwise. Growth accompanies positive change; determining to risk the outcome resulting from a changed behavior or attitude will enhance our self-perceptions. We will have moved forward; in every instance our lives will be influenced by making a change that only each of us can make. We have all dreaded the changes we knew we had to make. Perhaps even now we fear some impending changes. Where might they take us? It's difficult accepting that the outcome is not ours to control. Only the effort is ours. The solace is that positive changes, which we know are right for us and other people in our lives, are never going to take us astray. In fact, they are necessary for the smooth path just beyond this stumbling block. When we are troubled by circumstances in our lives, a change is called for, a change that we must initiate. When we reflect on our recent as well as distant past, we will remember that the changes we most dreaded again and again have positively influenced our lives in untold ways. Change ushers in glad, not bad, tidings. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers My secretary returned to say that it was Mr. B—— on the phone; it was Mr. B——’s brother, and he wished to give me a message. I still expected a plea for clemency, but these words came through the receiver: “I just wanted to tell you Paul jumped from a hotel window in Hartford last Saturday. He left us a note saying you were the best boss he ever had, and that you were not to blame in any way.” p. 136 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social instinct, if men cared nothing for the society of one another, there would be no society. So these desires--for the sex relation, for material and emotional security, and for companionship--are perfectly necessary and right, and surely God-given. p. 42 ************************************************** ********* Thoughts have power. Thoughts are energy. You can make your world or break it by your thinking. --Susan Taylor When life seems to be going in a direction you don't want, take a moment and recognize all the wonderful gifts in your life. This really helps you change your perspective and appreciate things once again. --unknown "Find places of healing. Discover people, things and places that nourish your soul, bring you back to center, help you heal." --Melody Beattie What a lovely surprise to finally discover how unlonely being alone can be. --Ellen Burstyn Lord, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today that You and I together can't handle. ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation RELIGION "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." --Viscount John Morley I need to remember that you cannot force a person into faith. You cannot make a person believe. You cannot bribe a person into prayer. So much of my early religion was "a deal": you do this and you will get this. If you do this for God and His church you will be happy and successful. There always seemed to be a "payoff" with God, or that was how it seemed. I think many of the silent majority sense the same kind of thing; God has got lost in "the business" of religion. Spirituality accepts the pain, confusion and anger of this silent majority and says, "find a God as you understand Him." Discover your power in your life - and then God will be perceived. Lord, in my silence is the "shout" heard. ************************************************** ********* The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalms 23 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration You can keep things in perspective by realizing that not much in life is as urgent as others would like you to believe. Lord, help me to know and stay focused on that which is really important to me. Our time here is short and there is still so much to be done. Lord, please let me do a little more for You today so that the world may be a little better because of me. |
May 21
Daily Reflections A LIST OF BLESSINGS One exercise that I practice is to try for a full inventory of my blessings. . . . AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37 What did I have to be grateful for? I shut myself up and started listing the blessings for which I was in no way responsible, beginning with having been born of sound mind and body. I went through seventy-four years of living right up to the present moment. The list ran to two pages, and took two hours to compile; I included health, family, money, A.A.-- the whole gamut. Every day in my prayers, I ask God to help me remember my list, and to be grateful for it throughout the day. When I remember my gratitude list, it's very hard to conclude that God is picking on me. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day One of the finest things about A.A. is the sharing. Sharing is a wonderful thing because the more you share the more you have. in our old drinking days, we didn't do much sharing. We used to keep things to ourselves, partly because we were ashamed, but mostly because we were selfish. And we were very lonely because we didn't share. When we came into A.A., the first thing we found was sharing. We heard other alcoholics frankly sharing their experiences with hospitals, jails, and all the usual mess that goes with drinking. Am I sharing? Meditation For The Day Character is developed by the daily discipline of duties done. Be obedient to the heavenly vision and take the straight way. Do not fall into the error of calling "Lord, Lord," and doing not the things that should be done. You need a life of prayer and meditation, but you must still do your work in the busy ways of life. The busy person is wise to rest and wait patiently for God's guidance. If you are obedient to the heavenly vision, you can be at peace. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision. I pray if I fall, I will pick myself up and go on. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It "Restore Us to Sanity", p. 141 Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea how irrational they are, or, seeing their irrationality, can bear to face it. For example, some will be willing to term themselves "problem drinkers," but cannot endure the suggestion that they are in fact mentally ill. They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not understand the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism. "Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind." Yet no alcoholic, soberly analyzing his destructive behavior, whether the destruction fell on the dining-room furniture or his own moral fiber, can claim "soundness of mind" for himself. 12 & 12, pp. 32-33 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places What is a disappointment? Handling My Outlook Try as we will for success and achievement, we still must face a number of disappointments in our lives. We may be disappointed by a sales presentation that failed, a repair project that became a nightmare, or a vacation plan that turned sour. How can we handle such disappointments in the spirit of the Twelve Step program? We must remember not to be too hard on ourselves when disappointments occur. Disappoints are part of the human experience, not misfortunes that come only to certain individuals. If we've done our best in any situation, we are not responsible if it did not work out. Even more important, we should use every disappointment as a learning experience. It's always possible that one disappointment will provide kernels of truth that will help us succeed in our next effort. Many people point to specific disappointments or setbacks as times when they are able to find new direction. There are even times when disappointment in a lesser enterprise clears the way for success in a larger one. Whatever the outcome, no disappointment need be final---- nor should we take it as proof that we're somehow inadequate and unworthy. I will be positive in my outlook, expecting every effort to be effective and successful. If disappointment comes, however, I will take it in stride, knowing that it's only a temporary detour in my successful life. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Be not afraid of growing slowing, be afraid only of standing still. ---Chinese proverb All of us are a little afraid of growth. We wonder how growth will change our lives. Who will we be? Will our friend still love us? Can't we grow up and get in over with? Why does it take so long? All of us have a need to keep growing. There is no age when we're "all grown up" and all done learning. But we don't need to rush our growth. Like a child on a too-big bicycle, at times we'll find ourselves out of control. We'll tip over. We can grow at our own pace, but we must grow. We must make changes. Or else, like an athlete on a too-small bicycle, we won't get far. We'll tip over too! ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Our friends were not unearthly beautiful, Nor spoke with tongues of gold; our lovers blundered now and again when we most sought perfection . . . --Adrienne Rich So often our expectations exceed reality. We want more than we have; our homes, our loved ones, perhaps our jobs seem not to measure up. "If only"--we say to ourselves. The time has come to quit saying "if only" and be glad, instead, for what is. We are recovering. We do have friends and family who care about us. We do have exactly what we need at this moment. We each can make a contribution today for the good of someone else and thus for ourselves. And in the act of looking to this day--to giving something to another human being--we will sense the inner perfection we mistakenly long for in our outer selves. I can look around me today and be thankful. I will tell someone close that I'm glad we share one another's world. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Another time, as I opened a letter which lay on my desk, a newspaper clipping fell out. It was the obituary of one of the best salesmen I ever had. After two weeks of drinking, he had placed his toe on the trigger of a loaded shotgun—the barrel was in his mouth. I had discharged him for drinking six weeks before. pp. 136-137 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives. Our desires for sex, for material and emotional security, and for an important place in society often tyrannize us. When thus out of joint, man's natural desires cause him great trouble, practically all the trouble there is. No human being, however good, is exempt from these troubles. Nearly every serious emotional problem can be seen as a case of misdirected instinct. When that happens, our great natural assets, the instincts, have turned into physical and mental liabilities. p. 42 ************************************************** ********* "If you do what you have always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." --Anon. May today there be peace within. May you trust your Highest Power that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun. --unknown It comes down to a moment-to-moment choice to serve the highest good. It is not enough to do it just once today and figure that is it. Keep choosing the highest good. --John Morton "The love that is real is the love that lies at the heart of all relationships. That is the love of God, and it doesn't change with form or circumstance." --Marianne Williamson "One seeks God in books; one finds him in prayer." --Padre Pio ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation ART "Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure." --A. N. Whitehead Today I enjoy and am sustained by the adventure of life. The adventure of living. The adventure of living my life. For years I spent my time avoiding situations, avoiding people, avoiding me. Now in my daily recovery I need to participate and experience my spiritual energy. I want to meet new people. I want to travel. I want to work productively and earn money. I want to add something to this beautiful world. I am discovering in my recovery that experiencing my creative spirituality makes me an artist. God is found in the hugs I give and the early morning "hellos" I shout to strangers. Today I am not afraid anymore. Today I am alive. God, may I seek and find You in the small and mundane things of life; let me find You where I am. ************************************************** ********* Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 1 John 4:11-13 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Strengthen your character by knowing which things in life are nonnegotiable to you. Lord, I pray for the strength to say no when saying yes would go against that in which I believe. Forgiveness frees the heart and moves us from the victim to the one who is in control of our lives. Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. |
May 22
Daily Reflections STEP ONE WE . . . (The first word of the First Step) TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21 When I was drinking all I could ever think about was "I, I, I," or "Me, Me, Me." Such painful obsessions of self, such soul sickness, such spiritual selfishness bound me to the bottle for more than half my life. The journey to find God and to do His will one day at a time began with the first word of the First Step . . . "We." There was power in numbers, there was strength in numbers, there was safety in numbers, and for an alcoholic like me, there was life in numbers, If I had tried to recover alone I probably would have died. With God and another alcoholic I have a divine purpose in my life . . . I have become a channel for God's healing love. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day What impresses us most at an A.A. meeting is the willingness to share, without holding anything back. And pretty soon we find ourselves sharing also. We start telling our own experiences and by so doing we help the other person. And when we've got these things off our chest, we feel a lot better. It does us a lot of good to share with some other poor unfortunate person who's in the same box that we were in. And the more we share, the more we have left for ourselves. Do I know that the more I share, the better chance I'll have to stay sober? Meditation For The Day Constantly claim God's strength. Once convinced of the right of a course of action, once reasonably sure of God's guidance, claim that strength now. You can claim all the strength you need to meet any situation. You can claim a new supply when your own supply is exhausted. You have a right to claim it and you should use your right. A beggar supplicates, a child appropriates. When you supplicate, you are often kept waiting, but when you appropriate God's strength in a good cause, you have it at once. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may claim God's strength whenever I need it. I pray that I may try to live as a child of God. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It God-Given Instincts, p. 142 Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social instinct, there would be no society. Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives. << << << >> >> >> We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We subjected each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We asked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed. 1. 12 & 12, p. 42 2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 69 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Emotional sobriety may be elusive Serenity It is easy to know when one is maintaining sobriety as far as alcohol is concerned. Emotional sobriety is more difficult to measure, because is it usually gauged by our behavior and feelings in response to people and situations. If we lack emotional sobriety, we are likely to end up in "dry drunks". This means we lose emotional control under pressure or when threatened. We may think we have this control, yet find ourselves falling apart when seemingly small problems come up. Maybe we have to accept that we will never have all the emotional control that we admire in others. This emotional sensitivity may even be part of our alcoholism. Most important, we must ensure that emotional binges do not become binges involving real booze. Nor should wed judge ourselves too harshly when we undergo another emotional binge, or "dry drunk." Such judgmental attitudes, even toward ourselves, may be a form of false pride. Today I'll seek all the serenity I can find. If I lose my cool temporarily, I'll accept it as part of my general problem and get back to orderly thinking as quickly as possible. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Showing up is 80 percent of life.---Woody Allen Life is full of things we don't want to do. Yet when all parts of us( mind, body, spirit) show up, things go okay. By being there, we can learn about ourselves and help others. Showing up means we care about our program. It means we speak up at meetings. It means we care about our family, our friends, the world. It means we listen when a friend has a bad day. It means seeing ourselves in others. It means we talk to someone who bothers us. Showing up means we laugh when something seems funny. It means we cry when we feel sad. We're important, and we need to bring our mind, body, and spirit with us---wherever we go. Have I learned to show up, all of me? Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me show up for my life. Help me show up to do my part in Your plan today. Today's Action: As I go through my day, I'll think about how I'm showing up for my life. I'll be proud of myself for doing my part. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning The change of one simple behavior can affect other behaviors and thus change many things. --Jean Baer Our behavior tells others and ourselves, who we are. Frequently, we find ourselves behaving in ways that keep us stuck or embarrass us. Or we may feel deep shame for our behavior in a certain instance. Our behavior will never totally please us. But deciding we want to change some behavior and using the program to help us, is a first step. Remember, imperfections are human and very acceptable. However, changing a particular behavior, maybe deciding to take a walk every morning rather than sleeping 30 extra minutes, will change how we feel about ourselves. And a minor change such as this can have a remarkable effect on our outlook, our attitudes. The dilemma for many of us for so long was the fear we couldn't change. But we can. And we can help each other change, too. One small change today--a smile at the first person I meet--meditation before dinner--a few minutes of exercise--will help me chart a new course. I will encourage another woman to join me in this effort too, and I will be on my way. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Still another experience: A woman’s voice came faintly over long distance from Virginia. She wanted to know if her husband’s company insurance was still in force. Four days before he had hanged himself in his woodshed. I had been obliged to discharge him for drinking, though he was brilliant, alert, and one of the best organizers I have ever known. p. 137 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are. We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is still out of reach. pp. 42-43 ************************************************** ********* You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stopped laughing. --unknown God cannot help those who do not seize opportunities. --Chinese Proverb Help yourself and God will help you. --Dutch Proverb "No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living." --Marie Beynon Ray "There is just one life for each of us: our own." --Euripides Too often we under estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. --Leo Buscaglia ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation EARTH "This could be such a beautiful world." Rosalind Welcher The beauty that I see in the world also reveals a sadness - a sadness in knowing that it could be a much more loving and accepting place for everybody. If only we would get together in our difference instead of demanding sameness. We destroy so much God--given beauty by our desire to control, understand and arrogantly pursue a philosophy of selfishness - and we all lose. But my spiritual hope for tomorrow comes in the creative choices I make today. Let me be a good steward in Your world because it is Your gift to me. ************************************************** ********* "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." John 12:24-26 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration To be happy, we must live in the present. Living in the past often brings painful memories and living in the future can bring worry and fear. Lord, when my thoughts slip away, help me quickly return my attention to where I am at this moment. God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice. |
May 23
Daily Reflections SPIRITUAL HEALTH When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p 64 It is very difficult for me to come to terms with my spiritual illness because of my great pride, disguised by my material successes and my intellectual power. Intelligence is not incompatible with humility, provided I place humility first. To seek prestige and wealth is the ultimate goal for many in the modern world. To be fashionable and to seem better than I really am is a spiritual illness. To recognize and to admit my weakness is the beginning of good spiritual health. It is a sign of spiritual health to be able to ask God every day to enlighten me, to recognize His will, and to have the strength to execute it. My spiritual health is excellent when I realize that the better I get, the more I discover how much help I need from others. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day The Twelfth Step of A.A., working with others, can be subdivided into five parts, five words beginning with the letter C; confidence, confession, conviction, conversion, and continuance. The first thing in trying to help other alcoholics is to get their confidence. We do this by telling them our own experiences with drinking, so that they see that we know what we're talking about. If we share our experiences frankly, they will know that we are sincerely trying to help them. They will realize that they're not alone and that others have had experiences as bad or worse than theirs. This gives them confidence that they can be helped. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to get their confidence? Meditation For The Day I fail not so much when tragedy happens as I did before the happening, by all the little things I might have done, but did not do. I must prepare for the future by doing the right thing at the right time now. If a thing should be done, I should deal with that thing today and get it righted with God before I allow myself to undertake any new duty. I should look upon myself as performing God's errands and then coming back to Him to tell Him in quiet communion that the message has been delivered or the task done. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may seek no credit for the results of what I do. I pray that I may leave the outcome of my actions to God. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It A.A.'s School of Life, p. 143 Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit. Mostly, I think, about how to do the greatest good for the greatest number of drunks. We shall have our childish spats and snits over small questions of money management and who is going to run our groups for the next six months. Any bunch of growing children (and that is what we are) would hardly be in character if they did less. These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually thrive on them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather rugged school of life, is a healthy exercise. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 233 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Avoid the paralysis of analysis Practical Spirituality The good news of the Twelve step program is that we have a Higher Power whose presence serves as a source of guidance and understanding as we go through each day. Letting this power work through us is only a matter of will..... God drawsas near to us as we wish to draw near to God. As we let our Higher Power work, we remember that no scientific explanation for this process is necessary. We could paralyse our spiritual activity by trying to analyze it, thus bringing about an undesirable "paralysis or analysis." It's also not necessary to win another's endorsement of what we're trying to do. We must not be influenced by any scorn or ridicule of our efforts. All that's necessary is that we know God in our own lives and stay faithful to our program. We let the presence of God work freely and smoothly as we go about our business. I'll work today with the comfortable knowledge that God is really doing work through me. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The present will not long endure.---Pindar At certain moments, our best friend is time. Time is a gift given us. Time helps us heal. We need to know that when things are tough, these times will pass, and peace will return. Our Higher Power can be like a parent who comforts a child when there's a storm outside. The parent gently reminds the child the sun will shine again. Tough times come and go. There will be times when life is ugly and very painful. We can't be happy all the time. Remember, our Higher Power is always there. We must have faith in this. A saying often heard in the program is, "This too shall pass." Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, remind me that things will get better. Even if they get worst for a while, they will get better. Let this be my prayer in hard times. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list times in my life when I thought I couldn't go on. I'll remember the pain, but I'll also remember how time was my friend. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Give as much of yourself as you can to as much of your higher power as you can understand. --S.H. The more we are in concert with God, the greater will be our pleasures in life. Recognizing our partnership with our higher power makes every decision easier, facilitates the completion of every task, and removes all uncertainty about our value to this world, particularly to those persons around us. Knowledge that we are never alone, that in every circumstance our best interests are being cared for, softens whatever blow we encounter. The blows teach us; they are the lessons the inner self has requested, and let us never forget we have a ready tutor to see us through every assignment. The more we rely on God to see us through the mundane activities as well as the troubling experiences, the greater will be our certainty that all is well, our lives are on course, and a plan is unfolding little by little that has our best interests at its center. My understanding of God and the power of that presence is proportionate to my reliance on that power. Not unlike the power of electricity, I can plug into the source of the "light" of understanding and for the strength to see my way through any experience today. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Here were three exceptional men lost to this world because I did not understand alcoholism as I do now. What irony—I became an alcoholic myself! And but for the intervention of an understanding person, I might have followed in their footsteps. My downfall cost the business community unknown thousands of dollars, for it takes real money to train a man for an executive position. This kind of waste goes on unabated. We think the business fabric is shot through with a situation which might be helped by better understanding all around. p. 137 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Before tackling the inventory problem in detail, let's have a closer look at what the basic problem is. Simple examples like the following take on a world of meaning when we think about them. Suppose a person places sex desire ahead of everything else. In such a case, this imperious urge can destroy his chances for material and emotional security as well as his standing in the community. Another may develop such an obsession for financial security that he wants to do nothing but hoard money. Going to the extreme, he can become a miser, or even a recluse who denies himself both family and friends. p. 43 ************************************************** ********* Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said: "What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family." --Cited in BITS & PIECES Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from. --Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross "There's no elevator, you have to take the steps." --unknown "Yard by yard it's very hard. But inch by inch, it's a cinch." --Anon. "What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." --Antoine de Saint-Exupery "If we take care of the inches, we will not have to worry about the miles." --Hartley Coleridge This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess. --Rainer Maria Rilke ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation EFFORT "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." --Theodore Roosevelt Because we are not perfect, we need only do our best. Because our recovery from addiction is an on-going process, we will discover that our best is improving on a daily basis. It is so easy to beat ourselves up emotionally by thinking that our best is not good enough. Even after years of recovery we still hear the old tapes: "People do not want to listen to you." "Is that all that you can do?" We need to remember that the disease of addiction still lives in our recovery. However, our honest attempts at dealing with a problem or helping another with a problem - provided they are honest attempts - will usually be more than sufficient. Today I accept my best attempts with gratitude and I am not too proud to seek the advice of another. God, accept the best that I can offer as an instrument of Your peace. ************************************************** ********* He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles. Proverbs 21:23 All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted. Mark 11:24 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Instead of overreacting, try underreacting because this response shows wisdom, patience and peace. Lord, help me respond to situations in a manner that allows me to solve problems rather than create more. Be sensitive to the feelings of others and show the same forgiveness and compassion that the Lord gives to you. Lord, give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen. |
May 24
Daily Reflections "HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE" We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 133 For years I believed in a punishing God and blamed Him for my misery. I have learned that I must lay down the "weapons" of self in order to pick up the "tools" of the A.A. program. I do not struggle with the program because it is a gift and I have never struggled when receiving a gift. If I sometimes keep on struggling, it is because I'm still hanging onto my old ideas and ". . . the results are nil." ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction? Meditation For The Day There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark, hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with God's help. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray that I may always rely on the power of God to help me. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Blind Trust?, p. 144 "Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love, nor can there be real love where distrust holds its malign sway. "But does trust require that we be blind to each other people's motives or indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given situation. "However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our judgment as the negative emotions of suspicion, jealously, or anger. "Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought to let him know of our full support. Because of this, more often than not he will respond magnificently, and far beyond our first expectations." Letter, 1966 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Guidance and Power in making Decisions. Higher power The Twelve Step movement grews out of an earlier society that emphasized taking "quiet times" and seeking continous guidance in a group setting. While this isn't usually practiced by 12 step groups anymore, such exercises are still recommended for individuals. Our needs in seeking guidance are twofold; FIRST, we msut reach a belief that our higher power is always available to supply the guidance and power we need. SECOND, we must take care to set aside personal opinions and prejudices while letting real guidance come through. We can easily fall into serious error by assuming that our own impulses and prejudices are "the will of God" for ourselves and others. How can we identify real guidance when it comes? Usually, we have a sense of peace and rightness about a God-inspired decision. This will be accompanied by a confidence that the correct way will bed shown to us, perhaps a step at a time. The right decision will also be morally correct, involving no harm to others. I'll seek the guidance of my Higher power in all things today, knowing that I have within myself the capacity to heed such guidance and follow it. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The way to love anything is to realize it might be lost. ---G.K. Chesterton Every day we take so much for granted. But we can count certain blessings: a roof over our head, food, clothing, family, and friends, freedom, a Higher Power we trust. These things are special. Thinking about them wakes up our happiness. Our recovery program shows us how happy. we just have to remember to do what it tells us! Step Ten helps us wake up our happiness. Each evening, as we think about our day, we can give thanks for the things we love: our recovery, our health, and the special people in our lives. If we spend part of our day thinking about these important areas, we wont lose them. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me make the most of my blessings today. Action for the Day: Today, I'll tell five people I love that I'm glad to have them in my life. And I'll tell each of them one reason why. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning It's ironic, but until you can free those final monsters within the jungle of yourself, your life, your soul is up for grabs. --Rona Barrett We all have monsters. Maybe it's depression over the past or present circumstances, or resentment about another's behavior, or fear of new situations. Maybe it's jealousy of other women. The more attention we give the monsters, the more powerful they get. The harder we try to resist the jealousy or depression or fear, the greater it becomes. The program offers us the way to let go. And we find the way through one another. When we share ourselves fully with one another, share our monsters with one another, they no longer dominate us. They seek the dark recesses of our minds, and when we shine the light on them, they recoil. The program offers us an eternal light. I will let the program shine its light in my life today. My monsters will flee for the day. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Nearly every modern employer feels a moral responsibility for the well-being of his help, and he tries to meet these responsibilities. That he has not always done so for the alcoholic is easily understood. To him the alcoholic has often seemed a fool of the first magnitude. Because of the employee’s special ability, or of his own strong personal attachment to him, the employer has sometimes kept such a man at work long beyond a reasonable period. Some employers have tried every known remedy. In only a few instances has there been a lack of patience and tolerance. And we, who have imposed on the best of employers, can scarcely blame them if they have been short with us. pp. 137-138 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Nor is the quest for security always expressed in terms of money. How frequently we see a frightened human being determined to depend completely upon a stronger person for guidance and protection. This weak one, failing to meet life's responsibilities with his own resources, never grows up. Disillusionment and helplessness are his lot. In time all his protectors either flee or die, and he is once more left alone and afraid. p. 43 ************************************************** ********* "Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them." --John (Jay) McCloy I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself. --Walter Anderson Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility. --Dietrich Bonhoeffer Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action." --Benjamin Disraeli Appreciate the time that you have been given. Don't procrastinate, because you just may not get the chance to do something you have been meaning to do. --unknown Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. --Henry Van Dyke ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation IMMATURITY "My mother loved children - she would have given anything if I had been one." --Groucho Marx For too many years I allowed myself to be treated as a child. I played the child role in order to avoid responsibility. Part of my people-pleasing was living as a thirty-year-old child! I was afraid to say "no". Afraid to disappoint or hurt another's feelings. Afraid to tell my parents how they were hurting me by their need to control my life. God, when I think about it, I spent years feeling guilty and afraid. Today I am willing to deal with this pain in my life; today I am willing to talk about it. My biggest relief comes in knowing that I am not alone. There are millions of us out there. The difference is I have a program today that enables me to talk about it. God, help me to be child-like without being childish. Help me to grow into maturity with a smile. ************************************************** ********* Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. Psalm 37:1-9 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Do not be upset by events of the past, rather be upset by the time and energy you are devoting to them. Lord, help me to enjoy each moment by completely letting go of the past. Appreciate every moment of life because even in your darkest moment God is with you. Lord, I know that when things become too difficult for me, You will take my burden and carry me. I am not afraid. |
May 25
Daily Reflections PROGRESSIVE GRATITUDE Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 29 I am very grateful that my Higher Power has given me a second chance to live a worthwhile life. Through Alcoholics Anonymous, I have been restored to sanity. The promises are being fulfilled in my life. I am grateful to be free from the slavery of alcohol. I am grateful for peace of mind and the opportunity to grow, but my gratitude should go forward rather than backward. I cannot stay sober on yesterday's meetings or past Twelfth-Step calls; I need to put my gratitude into action today. Our co-founder said our gratitude can best be shown by carrying the message to others. Without action, my gratitude is just a pleasant emotion. I need to put it into action by working Step Twelve, by carrying the message and practicing the principles in all my affairs. I am grateful for the chance to carry the message today! ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction? Meditation For The Day There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark, hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with God's help. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray that I may always rely on the power of God to help me. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It To Take Responsibility, p. 145 Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure. But every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake. << << << >> >> >> The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine. 12 & 12 1. p. 77 2. p. 87 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Forgetting past failures Living today. "You never do anything right!" Some of us carry this accusation deep in our minds, perhaps from childhood. We remember past mistakes and failures, sometimes dregging them up again when new failures occur. When we do this, we unduly burden ourselves with a past that should be released and forgotten. The result of past mistakes was a feeling of inadequacy and helplessness that prolonged our sickness. IN those troubled days, we were trying to solve our problems inways that actually made the problems worse. On that path, there was no hope of a real solution. Today our failure and mistakes are but signs that we are will human and still fall short of perfection. But now we can use failure to good advantage and even learn from it. Our best progress will come when we separate ourselves from the mistakes and failures of the past. Today I will not believe that "I never did anything right!" I will go through the day knowing that I am capable and effective, and have the help of my higher power in everything I do. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me.---Virginia Satir Let's keep this in mind: each of us is special in our own way. Often, we're hard on ourselves because we're different. Our Twelve Step groups pull our differences together. We listen and learn from our differences. We learn to see that each one of us is different---and this is important. Our program and the Steps stay alive for us, because each new person brings a different way of seeing things. Let's celebrate our differences instead of trying to be alike. Prayer for the Day: Today, is a day to celebrate that, in all of the world, there is only one me. Thank-you, Higher Power, and help me see clearly how special I am. Action for the Day: I'll make a list of what makes me special. I'll share this with a friend or my sponsor and my Higher Power. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning One is happy as a result of one's own efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness--simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain. --George Sand We are as happy as we make up our minds to be, so goes the saying. But happiness is the result of right actions. We prepare for it daily. We chart our course. Many of us have to first determine where we want to go before we can decide on the chart. We have perhaps passively floated along for years. But now the time is right to navigate, to move toward a goal. We may have fears about moving ahead. We can be courageous, however. Strength is at hand, always, if we but ask for it. We can make a small beginning today. And every day, we can do at least one thing we need to do to bring us closer to our goal. Accomplishment, however small, nurtures good feelings. Happiness is the byproduct. Today is wide open. I will decide on a course of action and move ahead. All around me help is available for the asking. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Here, for instance, is a typical example: An officer of one of the largest banking institutions in America knows I no longer drink. One day he told me about an executive of the same bank who, from his description, was undoubtedly alcoholic. This seemed to me like an opportunity to be helpful, so I spent two hours talking about alcoholism, the malady, and described the symptoms and results as well as I could. His comment was, "Very interesting. But I'm sure this man is done drinking. He has just returned from a three-months leave of absence, has taken a cure, looks fine, and to clinch the matter, the board of directors told him this was his last chance." p. 138 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." We have also seen men and women who go power-mad, who devote themselves to attempting to rule their fellows. These people often throw to the winds every chance for legitimate security and a happy family life. Whenever a human being becomes a battleground for the instincts, there can be no peace. pp. 43-44 ************************************************** ********* "I'd never trade my worst day sober for my best day drunk." --unknown "If you do what you have always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." --Anon He who learns, teaches. --African Proverb "You must get good at one of two things: sowing in the spring or begging in the fall." --Jim Rohn "Don't ever slam a door; you might want to go back." --Don Herold "We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and adventure to discover our own special light. --Mary Dunbar God bids me to do the right and loving thing. --SweetyZee " For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness" --Ralph Waldo Emerson God knows our hearts and wants better for us than we can dream. ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation VARIETY "The growth of the human mind is still high adventure, in many ways the highest adventure on earth." --Norman Cousins Today my life is an adventure. I am prepared for the unusual; I expect the confusion of life; I revel in God's reflected difference within creation: variety and the acceptance of variety is part of my joy in living. God is to be found in the "odd" things in life: The dance, relationships, Charlie Chaplin, jogging, the pet dog and the sincere hug. The adventure we find in life reflects our adventure in God. Spirituality is seeing beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary: "The Kingdom of God is within". May I always seek to find You in the smallest and strangest places. ************************************************** ********* Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light. Matthew 11:28-30 For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration The best way to guide your own behavior is to make a commitment to always be a good example. Lord, may I be a reflection of Your love. Should you find your energy lapsing, a sure remedy is to give someone a helping hand or a word of support and make their day. Lord, You are patient with me and loving. May I be the same with the people in my life. Appreciate every moment of life because even in your darkest moment God is with you. Lord, I know that when things become too difficult for me, You will take my burden and carry me. I am not afraid. |
May 26
Daily Reflections TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind. I think that your slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down. AS BILL SEES IT , p. 184 In keeping with the pain and adversity which our founders encountered and overcame in establishing A.A., Bill W. sent us a clear message: a relapse can provide a positive experience toward abstinence and a lifetime of recovery. A relapse brings truth to what we hear repeatedly in meetings - "Don't take that first drink!" It reinforces the belief in the progressive nature of the disease, and it drives home the need for, and beauty of, humility in our spiritual program. Simple truths come in complicated ways to me when I become ego driven. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In twelfth-step work, the fourth thing is conversion. Conversion means change. Prospects must learn to change their way of thinking. Until now, everything they've done has been connected with drinking. Now they must face a new kind of life, without liquor. They must see and admit that they cannot overcome drinking by their own willpower, so they must turn to a Higher Power for help. They must start each day by asking this Higher Power for the strength to stay sober. This conversion to belief in a Higher Power comes gradually, as they try it and find that it works. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to help them to make this conversion? Meditation For The Day Discipline of yourself is absolutely necessary before the power of God is given to you. When you see others manifesting the power of God, you probably have not seen the discipline that went before. They made themselves ready. All your life is a preparation for more good to be accomplished when God knows that you are ready for it. So keep disciplining yourself in the spiritual life every day. Learn so much of the spiritual laws that your life cannot again be a failure. Others will see the outward manifestation of the inward discipline in your daily living. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may manifest God's power in my daily living. I pray that I may discipline myself so as to be ready to meet every opportunity. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It "Do as I Do . . .", p. 146 Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at depth with alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no faith. Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness, pride, and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is something we too often forget. In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking with this sort of unconscious arrogance, God as I understood Him had to be for everybody. Sometimes my aggression was subtle and sometimes it was crude. But either way it was damaging--perhaps fatally so--to numbers of nonbelievers. Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step work. It is very apt to leak out into our relations with everybody. Even now, I catch myself chanting that same old barrier-building refrain: "Do as I do, believe as I do--or else! Grapevine, April 1961 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Today's problem_____ Orderly living Facing a vexing or even threatening problem, we sometimes feel a sense of hopefulness or futility. "How will I ever get through this situation?" we think. The truth is we have probably worked our way through many situations much like today's problem. It is a wonder, for example, that most of us survived the crises brought on by our compulsion. We will certainly be able to work through or around today's problem. The Twelve step program is a plan for mastering the problems of life. As we apply its principles in all of our affairs, we find improvements beginning to appear. We also can find the confidence and fortitude that we've always needed. Knowing that my Higher power is in the midst of the situation, I'll face today's problem with the assurance of an outcome that will be for my highest good. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple When I look at the future, it's so bright, it burns my eyes.---Oprah Winfrey During our illness, it was as if our spirit lived in a deep, dark cave. Our spirit became gloomy, cold, and lonely. Our spirit didn't know how to get out of the cave. We were dying. Recovery brings us into the sunlight. At first, we can't see a thing---it's too bright! The world stretches around us---it's so big! There are so many way to go! We don't know what to do. But our eyes get used to the light, and we feel the warm rays of the sun. We see we aren't alone anymore. We relax. We know our spirit is in a better place---a place where we can live! Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me feel at home in the sunlight of my new life. Action for the Day: Addiction made my world so small. It made my future so dark. Today, I'll list three new choices I want to make to better my life. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Out of every crisis comes the chance to be reborn, to reconceive ourselves as individuals, to choose the kind of change that will help us to grow and to fulfill ourselves more completely. --Nena O'Neill Before choosing to recover, most of us lived through crisis after crisis. Many days we sought the oblivion of alcohol and drugs rather than face fears that ate away at us. It probably wasn't possible for most of us to realize that a crisis was a tool for growth. Even today, even in our recovery program, even though the clouds are clearing and we are feeling better about ourselves, a crisis may overwhelm us for a time. We do find help for it, though. We can breathe deeply, look to our higher power, listen for the messages that are coming through from our friends. And we can choose among the many options for the right action to take at this time. Life is a series of lessons. Crises can be seen as the homework. They aren't there to defeat us but to help us grow--to graduate us into the next stage of life. Today, I will look for my lessons and feel exhilarated by the growth that is guaranteed. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers The only answer I could make was that if the man followed the usual pattern, he would go on a bigger bust than ever. I felt this was inevitable and wondered if the bank was doing the man an injustice. Why not bring him into contact with some of our alcoholic crowd? He might have a chance. I pointed out that I had had nothing to drink whatever for three years, and this in the face of difficulties that would have made nine out of ten men drink their heads off. Why not at least afford him an opportunity to hear my story? “Oh no,” said my friend, “this chap is either through with liquor, or he is minus a job. If he has your will power and guts, he will make the grade.” p. 138 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." But that is not all of the danger. Every time a person imposes his instincts unreasonably upon others, unhappiness follows. If the pursuit of wealth tramples upon people who happen to be in the way, then anger, jealousy, and revenge are likely to be aroused. If sex runs riot, there is a similar uproar. Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion in the protectors themselves--two emotions quite as unhealthy as the demands which evoked them. When an individual's desire for prestige becomes uncontrollable, whether in the sewing circle or at the international conference table, other people suffer and often revolt. This collision of instincts can produce anything from a cold snub to a blazing revolution. In these ways we are set in conflict not only with ourselves, but with other people who have instincts, too. p. 44 ************************************************** ********* Choose to make a life, rather than a living... There is no need to recriminate yourself. Simply notice what you've been choosing and choose again! --unknown As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way. --Ralph Waldo Emerson "Knowledge of 'the answers' never made anyone relapse. It was failing to practice 'the answers' known." --Anonymous Today is the most important day I have lived. --SweetyZee God, help me be clear with you and myself about what I really want. Then, help me let go of my intentions and surrender to your plan. --Melody Beattie ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation SPACE "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." --Neil A. Armstrong Man is able to do such wonderful things in this world. There is no end to what man can achieve when he behaves responsibly and honestly, working together with others to discover more about himself and the universe. God has truly made man in His own image with all the power and creativity that that implies. The danger that forever surrounds man is greed, pride and the misuse of "power". As a recovering alcoholic I understand this only too well. I wanted to be out in front, and ego made me arrogant and selfish. If this is true for me and other human beings, it is also true for governments, countries and alliances. Countries don't make wars, people do; countries don't have achievements, people do - and this universe must be seen as belonging to everyone or it will belong to no one! Let us learn to enjoy and share Your garden and not destroy it. ************************************************** ********* Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8a Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. We love each other as a result of his loving us first. 1 John 4: 16-19 "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." Psalm 62:5 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Avoid becoming defensive and possibly causing conflict by taking a moment to think before you respond. Lord, help me to believe in myself strongly so that I am able to turn down invitations that make me feel bad. God's plans for you are beyond your imagination. Lord, may I not limit myself to my past experiences, but be willing to accept new opportunities and challenges into my life. |
May 27
Daily Reflections NO MAUDLIN GUILT Day by day, we try to move a little toward God's perfection. So we need not be consumed by maudlin guilt... AS BILL SEES IT, p. 15 When I first discovered that there is not a single "don't" in the Twelve Steps of A.A., I was disturbed because this discovery swung open a giant portal. Only then was I able to realize what A.A. is for me: A.A. is not a program of "don'ts", but of "do's." A.A. is not martial law; it is freedom. A.A. is not tears over defects, but sweat over fixing them. A.A. is not penitence; it is salvation. A.A. is not "Woe to me" for my sins, past and present. A.A. is "Praise God" for the progress I am making today. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In twelfth-step work, the fifth thing is Continuance. Continuance means our staying with prospects after they have started on the new way of living. We must stick with them and not let them down. We must encourage them to go to meetings regularly for fellowship and help. They will learn that keeping sober is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must continue to help prospects by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or writing them so that they don't get out of touch with A.A. Continuance means good sponsorship. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to continue with them as long as necessary? Meditation For The Day Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded while at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary. Without a strong root, it would soon wither. The higher the growth upward, the deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot flower into success and helpfulness unless it is rooted in a strong faith, or unless it feels deeply secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe. Prayer For The Day I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel deeply secure. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It A.A.--the Lodestar, p. 147 We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error." As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success--even a little success. >> >> >> Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it. Grapevine, March 1958 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Who is important? Respect for people. The Twelve step movement grew out of an earlier society, the Oxford group, whose members believed in "key People." They embraced the idea that attracting promising individuals with high standing would, in turn, attract others. We've also had such people in AA and other 12 step groups, and we are grateful for their examples and efforts. We've learned, however, not to view one person as more important than anotehrs. We could even harm a recovering person by focusing on his or her personal prestige in the community. Our purpose is to help people get well, not to run a club empasizing social standing. We'll find our program working much better if we treat all people equally, and view them as equal in the sight of God. We have a standing in God's sight that is eternal and everlasting. I'll extend kind and generous thoughts toward every person I meet today. We are all children of equal standing in the sight of God. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple It's only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.---Henry David Thoreau The biggest danger we face as recovering people is self-will. Do we try to control others? Do we always put ourselves before others? Are we full of self-pity? These are all ways that bind us to our self-will. In recovery, we put our lives in the hands of a loving God. Here, we find a new home. Our goal is to lose as much of our self-will as we can. We than put love in place of self-will. Recovery is truly about love. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray and offer my self-will to You, Self-will is a danger to my sobriety. I pray that I may be closer to You than to myself. Action for the Day: I'll list the areas that self-will get in my way. I'll read my list every day next week, and I'll try to put love in place of self will. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning As the wheel of the decades turns, so do a person's needs, desires, and tasks. Each of us does, in effect, strike a series of "deals" or compromises between the wants and longings of the inner self, and an outer environment that offers certain possibilities and sets certain limitations. --Maggie Scarf What life has measured out may not be what we had dreamed of. Life's lessons may not be those we'd have chosen to learn. Wisdom dictates that the joy of life is proportional to the ease with which we accept those possibilities for growth that have grown out of our inner desires. Our desires are like an outline for a written assignment, a research project. They help us to see where we want to go at any one time, but as we move the direction may need to change. The natural flow of "the assignment" will help to refine it. We may not have tried to "realize" many of our desires in the past. But the time has come. One of the joys of recovery is that we understand our desires are closely related to our spiritual program and our recovery. And we know we are not alone. We need to attend to the inner desires that beckon to us. They are calling us to move forward. Today, I can take the first few steps. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers I wanted to throw up my hands in discouragement, for I saw that I had failed to help my banker friend understand. He simply could not believe that his brother-executive suffered from a serious illness. There was nothing to do but wait. pp. 138-139 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. We have drunk to drown feelings of fear, frustration, and depression. We have drunk to escape the guilt of passions, and then have drunk again to make more passions possible. We have drunk for vain glory--that we might the more enjoy foolish dreams of pomp and power. This perverse soul-sickness is not pleasant to look upon. Instincts on rampage balk at investigation. The minute we make a serious attempt to probe them, we are liable to suffer severe reactions. pp. 44-45 ************************************************** ********* "What worries you, masters you." --Haddon W. Robinson God, help me to have the strength to set reasonable limits for myself and to tell others when I cannot help them. Help me learn to say no. --Melody Beattie God is watching over me, making my path easy. --Alan Cohen The Way To God "Start the Day with Love; Spend the Day with Love; Fill the Day with Love; End the Day with Love; This is the way to God." --Sathya Sai Baba Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. --Native American Proverb Time is like a river - it flows by and doesn't return. --Chinese Proverb ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation MOTIVES "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish." --Michelangelo I must always "think big", not in an egotistical sense but as an adventure in spirituality. When I had a small God, I always remained a small person, with small aspirations and dreams. Today I have an all-embracing inclusive God that fills the universe. Today I have hope in my dreams. As an alcoholic I missed so much. I observed very little about myself and God's world, people and friends became inconsequential; nothing really mattered except the desire to drink. My spiritual potential was lost in my alcoholism. Today I am realizing my potential and I can risk in sobriety. My motto has become "go for it". Behind my dreams is my growth. I have a sense of so much joy in the world that I wish to enthusiastically experience my life. God, I am so grateful to be alive. ************************************************** ********* We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand. Psalm 37:24 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Too much of a good thing can actually diminish the joy and make it a burden. Lord, help me avoid excess and keep my life simpler and freer. To know someone doesn't mean to know every detail of that person's life. It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person. Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others. |
May 28
Daily Reflections EQUAL RIGHTS At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rule making benders. . . . After a time fear and intolerance subside. [and we realize] We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive. "A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED." pp. 10, 11, 12 A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon conformity, financial success or education and I am so grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance with faith, patience, love and acceptance. I can bring these strengths to my A.A. group, my home and my office. I make an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I go. I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge others. Depending on my attitude I can view newcomers to A.A., family members and friends as menaces or as teachers. When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how my self-righteousness caused me spiritual harm. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day In A.A. we learn that since we are alcoholics we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The A.A.s are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics. Do I believe that I can be uniquely useful? Meditation For The Day I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was not made with the ability to see Him else there were no room for faith. But I can feel His spirit with me. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless again. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It A.A.--the Lodestar, p. 147 We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error." As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success--even a little success. << << << >> >> >> Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it. Grapevine, March 1958 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Everyday risks.... Courage We have to take certain risks if we hope to achieve anything. Applying for a job entail a risk of reject. Saving money carries a risk of losing it. Falling in love can result in heartbreak. We have to take such risks because life is ordered that way. We are hear to learn, and learning includes pressing into unknown situations where we could fail. God could have created us in such a way we could either avoid risks or not unduly concerned about the. Animals, for example, live with risks but do no seem to worry about them. We must accept risk as part of God's plan for us. We also are given tools for working with uncertainties. We have our innate intelligence and a capacity for prudent, reasoned action. We have friends who will help us. Above all, we have our Higher Power, who guides and directs us through all sorts of risky conditions. I cannot face life without also facing uncertainties. Today I'll accept risk as a prt of ordinary living. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.---Johann Fredrich von Schiller As we grow in recovery, we'll need to change our behaviors, values, and beliefs to stay sane. This take courage. Courage is doing what is needed in spite of fear. Courage means facing what we can't change. We can't change the fact that we have hurt people. We can't change the fact we have an illness. And we can't change the fact that we need help from others. Courage also means facing those things we can change. We need courage to be honest, to have faith, and to be humble. And we need courage to let people know how important they are. Prayer for the Day: Courage is more than being tough. Courage means being human. Higher Power, grant me the courage to stay sober and live a spiritual life. Action for the Day: Today, I'll have an attitude of courage. I'll talk in my meeting. I'll offer help where it is needed. I'll have the courage to say no when needed. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Spiritual power can be seen in a person's reverence for life--hers and all others, including animals and nature, with a recognition of a universal life force referred to by many as God. --Virginia Satir Taking the time, daily, to recognize the spiritual force in everyone and everything that is all about us, encourages us to feel humble, to feel awe. Reflecting on our interconnections, our need for one and all to complete the universe, lessens whatever adversity we might feel as we struggle with our humanity. Our spiritual power is enhanced with each blessing we give. And as our spiritual power is enhanced, life's trials are fewer. Our struggle to accept situations, conditions, and other people, or our struggle to control them, lessens every day that we recognize and revere one another's personhood, one another's existence. I can teach myself reverence, and I can begin today. I will look for "the Spirit" everywhere, and I will begin to see it. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers Presently the man did slip and was fired. Following his discharge, we contacted him. Without much ado, he accepted the principles and procedure that had helped us. To me, this incident illustrates lack of understanding as to what really ails the alcoholic, and lack of knowledge as to what part employers might profitably take in salvaging their sick employees. p. 139 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." If temperamentally we are on the depressive side, we are apt to be swamped with guilt and self-loathing. We wallow in this messy bog, often getting a misshapen and painful pleasure out of it. As we morbidly pursue this melancholy activity, we may sink to such a point of despair that nothing but oblivion looks possible as a solution. Here, of course, we have lost all perspective, and therefore all genuine humility. For this is pride in reverse. This is not a moral inventory at all; it is the very process by which the depressive has so often been led to the bottle and extinction. p. 45 ************************************************** ********* God, help me realize that to do your will for me today, in however a small way, I must let go of my own will. --Day By Day No matter what happens, I must get on with my life. --Ruth Humlecker "Today I'll use the slogan, 'How important is it?' It will help me think things through before I act and it will give me a better picture of just what is important in my life." --Alateen--One Day At A Time Sometimes laughter is the next lesson we need to be learning. --Melody Beattie If your sobriety isn't your absolute top priority, the most important thing in your life, you're going to get drunk again. --"Things My Sponsors Taught Me" Paul H. ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation CHRISTIANITY "He who begins by loving Christianity better than Truth will proceed by loving his sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all." --Samuel Taylor Coleridge My program for recovery from addiction is spiritual and not religious. I believe that spirituality encompasses all that is good and noble in all the great religions of the world. It cannot be confined or limited to one religion or denomination. Spirituality stops the recovering person from looking for the differences; it stops the arrogance and prejudice; it stops the division and separations that feed the disease. Spirituality emphasizes the inherent unity of man. It teaches the most stubborn of men to hold hands. God the Creator is revealed in the variety of His universe. I can find Him in the sunset, the variety of animals, the love and care of family and friends, the excitement and vision of poetry and art, the inspiration of music. Spirituality is . . .! Kneeling before the beauty of Your creation I whisper "Amen". ************************************************** ********* A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor. Proverbs 29:23 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 14:6 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Gal 5:25-26 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Expect more of yourself than you do of others and you will save yourself much stress and disappointment. Lord, help me to see how capable that I am. God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice. |
May 29
Daily Reflections TRUE TOLERANCE The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139 I first heard the short form of the Third Tradition in the Preamble. When I came to A.A. I could not accept myself, my alcoholism, or a Higher Power. If there had been any physical, mental, moral, or religious requirements for membership, I would be dead today. Bill W. said in his tape on the Traditions that the Third Tradition is a charter for individual freedom. The most impressive thing to me was the feeling of acceptance from members who were practicing the Third Tradition by tolerating and accepting me. I feel acceptance is love and love is God's will for us. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We who have learned to put our drink problem in God's hands can help others to do so. We can be used as a connection between an alcoholic's need and God's supply of strength. We in Alcoholics Anonymous can be uniquely useful, just because we have the misfortune or fortune to be alcoholics ourselves. Do I want to be a uniquely useful person? Will I use my own greatest defeat and failure and sickness as a weapon to help others? Meditation For The Day I will try to help others. I will try not to let a day pass without reaching out an arm of love to someone. Each day I will try to do something to lift another human being out of the sea of discouragement into which he or she has fallen. My helping hand is needed to raise the helpless to courage, to strength, to faith, to health. In my own gratitude, I will turn and help other alcoholics with the burden that is pressing too heavily upon them. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be used by God to lighten many burdens. I pray that many souls may be helped through my efforts. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It More than Comfort, p. 148 When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements such as these: "Pain is the touchstone of progress." . . . "Fear no evil." . . . "This, too, will pass." . . . "This experience can be turned to benefit." These fragments of prayer bring far more than mere comfort. They keep me on the track of right acceptance; they break up my compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and sometimes they endow me with the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Guarding against disguised hostility Fairness. One of the pitfalls in continued recovery is the tendency to become self-righteous and judgmental. Sometimes this fuses into a hostility directed toward newcomers or chronic "slippers". Now and then, we've seen grumpy older members demanding that those who slip get honest. While we may be right in concluding that a person is not showing honesty, we have NO RIGHT to denounce or expose anyone in a group setting. Far from helping the person, we may be showing off. If there is hostility in our words or manner, the other person will certainly sense it. The best group setting for good recovery is always one that expresses warmth, acceptance, and understanding. There are few, if any, times when a verbal assault can be justified. Before we lash out at another person's lack of honesty, we must take an honest look at our own motives and feelings. I'll face the day with a feeling of goodwill and acceptance in my dealings with every person I meet. If I attend a meeting, I'll show the same warmth and acceptance toward every person there. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The more one judges the less on love.---Balzac At times we need to make judgments about people's behavior. We stand back and look at how their lives affect our sobriety. We have to do this to choose people whose relationships will be good for us. We have to do this before we trust someone in business. We should take a good look at the others person before we fall in love. But we decide to trust or love someone, we have to stop judging. When we love someone, we don't stand back. We move in close. We give them all our love can offer. We don't just think and judge. We feel. We are on their side. We look for the good in them. We don't pick them apart. We love the whole person. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to judge a little and love a lot. Help me accept the people I love, faults and all. Help me love them better. Action for the Day: Today, I'll catch myself when I start to judge others. I will accept them as they are. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Women sometimes gossip when they want to get close to people. --Joan Gilbertson Feeling alone and lonely heightens our fears of inadequacy. In our alienation from others, paranoia grips us. We yearn to feel connection with someone, and gossip about another someone can draw two lonely people close. We are bonded. We need a sense of belonging, every one of us: belonging to the neighborhood; belonging to the staff where we work; belonging to the group we call friends. Knowing that we do belong fosters the inner warmth that accompanies security, well-being. And our fears are melted. The program's Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Steps guarantee that we'll feel the closeness we long for when we work them. Self-revelation strengthens our ties to the people we long to connect with Gossip loses its appeal when we know we share a closeness already. Mingling our vulnerabilities secures our closeness. We need to be attentive to our judgments of others, be they verbalized in gossip or only savored in silence. These judgments act as barometers of our own self-image. Our security in knowing we belong, that we are one, relieves us of the need to judge others unfairly. Loneliness pushes me to behavior that even compounds the loneliness. Real closeness will come when I talk about myself rather than someone else. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers If you desire to help it might be well to disregard your own drinking, or lack of it. Whether you are a hard drinker, a moderate drinker or a teetotaler, you may have some pretty strong opinions, perhaps prejudices. Those who drink moderately may be more annoyed with an alcoholic than a total abstainer would be. Drinking occasionally, and understanding your own reactions, it is possible for you to become quite sure of many things which, so far as the alcoholic is concerned, are not always so. As a moderate drinker, you can take your liquor or leave it alone. Whenever you want to, you control your drinking. Of an evening, you can go on a mild bender, get up in the morning, shake your head and go to business. To you, liquor is no real problem. You cannot see why it should be to anyone else, save the spineless and stupid. p. 139 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." If, however, our natural disposition is inclined to self righteousness or grandiosity, our reaction will be just the opposite. We will be offended at A.A.'s suggested inventory. No doubt we shall point with pride to the good lives we thought we led before the bottle cut us down. We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking. This being so, we think it logically follows that sobriety-- first, last, and all the time--is the only thing we need to work for. We believe that our one-time good characters will be revived the moment we quit alcohol. If we were pretty nice people all along, except for our drinking, what need is there for a moral inventory now that we are sober? p. 45 ************************************************** ********* "Good friends are good for your health." --Irwin Sarason "Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you." --Elbert Hubbard Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. . . . Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. --Melody Beattie Why do birds sing in the morning? It's the triumphant shout: "We got through another night." --Enid Bagnold It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. --Kahlil Gibran No matter where our journey takes us, God walks with us. ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation SELF "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings." --William Shakespeare My addiction to alcohol led me away from "self": today in my sobriety I am beginning to understand me. For years I blamed others for my misfortunes but today I see that I was the enemy in my life. It was a "cop-out" to blame God, family, job or life for my alcoholism - I needed to take responsibility for "self". Part of my recovery program today involves me not looking "outside" for answers but looking within. The answer is not in the stars, not in fate - but rather in the destiny I create by the decisions I make today. I, and I alone, forge my future. O Lord, let me create a life that is pleasing in Your sight. ************************************************** ********* Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river. Jeremiah 17:8 "The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him." Nahum 1:7 The LORD said, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." Isaiah 43:2 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Sometimes we spend our time demanding that the present moment be different than it is instead of facing the situation and dealing with it. Lord, strengthen my faith because through You I will have enough power to overcome any obstacles. Take heart in the beauty of your life because God loves, helps, fights and wins. Lord, I will never fear because nothing can triumph over Your Will. |
May 30
Daily Reflections OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE The more A.A. sticks to its primary purpose, the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 109 It is with gratitude that I reflect on the early days of our Fellowship and those wise and loving "foresteppers" who proclaimed that we should not be diverted from our primary purpose, that of carrying the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. I desire to impart respect to those who labor in the field of alcoholism, being ever mindful that A.A. endorses no causes other than its own. I must remember that A.A. has no monopoly on miracle making and I remain humbly grateful to a loving God who made A.A. possible. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day I am part of A.A., one among many, but I am one. I need the A.A. principles for the development of the buried life within me. A.A. may be human in its organization, but it is Divine in its purpose. The purpose is to point me toward God and a better life. Participating in the privilege of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly but joyfully. To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, A.A. fails. To the extent I succeed, A.A. succeeds. Do I accept this as my A.A. credo? Meditation For The Day "Praise the Lord." What does praising God mean? It means being grateful for all the wonderful things in the universe and for all the blessings in your life. So praise God by being grateful and humble. Praise of this kind has more power to vanquish evil than has mere resignation. The truly grateful and humble person who is always praising God, is not tempted to do wrong. You will have a feeling of security because you know that fundamentally all is well. So look up to God and praise Him. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be grateful for all my blessings. I pray that I may humble because I know that I do not deserve them. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It No Boundaries, p. 150 Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, of width or height or depth. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same; to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him. 12 & 12, pp. 101-102 ************************************************** ********* Walk in Dry Places Civilians who show resentments Healthy Thinking As compulsive people, we're urged to watch resentments carefully. These negative feelings can flare up out of nowhere and bring terrible destruction. This sensitivity in spotting our own resentments also makes us more aware of resentments in others— perhaps people who are not alcoholics and thus are considered NORMAL. (Earth people I call them even if I doubt that anyone is really normal) When this happens, we have no responsibility to point their resentment out to them. Our best approach is to deal with them as cordially as possible and to withdraw gracefully if their resentment is directed at us. This teaches us that resentment is a universal human problem— not just an affliction of alcoholics and other compulsive people. While guarding against resentment in myself today, I'll not be surprised or hurt when it appears in others. If it does, I will not feel hurt or surprised, knowing that it's a human problem. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple One Day at a Time ---AA program slogan One Day at a Time reminds us to live in a sane, natural way. It reminds us we can't control the past. It reminds us we can't control the future. We can live only in the present. We have only the moment. We have only today. Before recovery, our worries about the past and the future put stress in our lives We need to live in a way that doesn't put us in danger. We need to live in a way that lets us enjoy things. We need to live in a way that lets us stay close to others, ourselves, and our Higher Power. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to really live One Day at a Time. Action for the Day: Today, I'll keep reminding myself that I have the moment. No more, no less. Am I using my moments the way my Higher Power wants me to? ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning In anxiety-provoking situations, many women feel unable to act. They find themselves at a loss to come up with an effective response, or any response at all. --Stanlee Phelps and Nancy Austin Feeling unable to act is a humiliation, perhaps an embarrassment, and it is habit-forming. Perhaps our inertia is due to our need to act "correctly" and the accompanying fear that we'll err. Unfortunately, our fear of action reinforces itself. The only way to end the vicious cycle is to act--right or wrong. The surprise in store for us is that no action we take will be truly wrong. We will learn not only from the action itself, but from its ripples. The response to life we make through action will gratify us; it will nourish us and will make us dread less the next situation that calls for a response. Opportunities for action are the stepping stones to emotional maturity. The more we "act," the more able we are to act. And a new habit is formed. Taking action, even when I fear it's wrong, is growth-producing. Without growth there is no life. Today, I will live! ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 10 - To Employers When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible. Even when you understand the malady better, you may feel this feeling rising. p. 139 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves." We also clutch at another wonderful excuse for avoiding an inventory. Our present anxieties and troubles, we cry, are caused by the behavior of other people--people who really need a moral inventory. We firmly believe that if only they'd treat us better, we'd be all right. Therefore we think our indignation is justified and reasonable--that our resentments are the "right kind." We aren't the guilty ones. They are! pp. 45-46 ************************************************** ********* "Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." --Pope John XXIII "You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." --Goldsmith "The value of all service lies in the spirit in which you serve and not in the importance or magnitude of the service. Even the lowliest task or deed is made holy, joyous, and prosperous when it is filled with love." --Charles Fillmore "Integrity is telling myself the truth. Honesty is telling the truth to other people." --Spencer Johnson "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside." --Denis Waitley "When you talk, you can only say something that you already know. When you listen, you learn what someone else knows." --Unknown ************************************************** ********* Father Leo's Daily Meditation POSTERITY "We need to make a world in which fewer children are born, and in which we take better care of them." --Dr. George Wald Spirituality is concerned for the physical. How we plant seeds, do exercises and develop a healthy food plan is as important as prayer, reading and meditation. The body is part of the soul. Also we have a responsibility for the future; for those who follow us on this planet. The ecological welfare of our world is spiritual. An irresponsibility concerning childbirth reveals an arrogance that does not belong to the spiritual program. The satisfaction of our personal desires should never hurt the lives of others - including the unborn. Teach me to have a spiritual responsibility to the future. ************************************************** ********* This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:43-45 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Look beyond people's behaviors and have compassion for what may be causing their insensitivities. Lord, I will not take everything personal because I don't know the weight of my neighbor's cross. We are on earth to discover our own path and will never be happy trying to live someone else's idea of life. Lord, may I be happy with who I am and not evaluate myself in terms of someone else's success. |
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