Daily Recovery Readings - March

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March 9, 2014

Daily Reflections

SURRENDERING SELF-WILL

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to
the care of God as we understood Him.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34

No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can
one turn his own will and his own life over to the care
of whatever God he thinks there is? In my search for
the answer to this question, I became aware of the
wisdom with which it was written: that this is a
two-part Step. I could see many times where I should
have died, or at least been injured, during my previous
style of living, and it never happened. Someone, or
something, was looking after me. I choose to believe
my life has always been in God's care. He alone controls
the number of days I will be granted until physical
death. The matter of will (self-will or God's will) is
the more difficult part of the Step for me. It is only
when I have experienced enough emotional pain, through
failed attempts to fix myself, that I become willing
to surrender to God's will for my life. Surrender is
like the calm after the storm. When my will is in line
with God's will for me, there is peace within.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

If we had absolute faith in the power of God to keep us
from drinking and if we turned our drink problem entirely
over to God without reservations, we wouldn't have to do
anything more about it. We'd be free from drink once and
for all. But since our faith is apt to be weak, we have
to strengthen and build up this faith. We do this in
several ways. One way is by going to meetings and
listening to others tell how they have found all the
strength they need to overcome drink. Is my faith being
strengthened by this personal witness of other alcoholics?

Meditation For The Day

It is the quality of my life that determines its value.
In order to judge the value of a man's life, we must set
up a standard. The most valuable life is one of honesty,
purity, unselfishness, and love. All men's lives must be
judged by this standard in order to determine their value
to the world. By this standard, most of the so-called
heroes of history were not great men. "What shall it profit
a man if he gain the whole world, if he loseth his own
soul?"

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be honest, pure, unselfish and loving.
I pray that I may make the quality of my life good by
these standards.

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As Bill Sees It

Renew Your Effort, p. 68

"Though I know how hurt and sorry you must be after this slip, please
do not worry about a temporary loss of your inner peace. As calmly
as you can, just renew your effort in the A.A. program, especially
those parts of it which have to do with meditation and self-analysis.

"Could I also suggest that you look at excessive guilt for what it is?
Nothing but a sort of reverse pride. A decent regret for what has
happened is fine. But guilt--no.

"Indeed, the slip could well have been brought about by unreasonable
feelings of guilt because of other moral failures, so called. Surely,
you ought to look into this possibility. Even here you should not
blame yourself for failure; you can be penalized only for refusing to
try for better things."

Letter, 1958

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Walk in Dry Places

The Best outcome is just and equitable.
Principle over personality.
Looking ahead to this day, I may face a possible conflict with another person over a certain issue. How should I respond to this?
If I'm to follow my principles, I should hold to the idea of seeking the best outcome for everybody concerned. It may be very harmful to look at these conflicts as a case of winning or losing. If I seem to win when I'm wrong, I will lose in the long run. If I seem to lose even when I'm right, I can know that there's just resolution of everything in time. I will always win, however, if I keep my thinking straight and take care to avoid resentment and bitterness.
It's not surprising that the world is beset by conflicts. Millions of people have conditioned themselves to selfish ways of thinking and behaving that are bound to cause such conflicts. Much harm is done by people who are absolutely sure they are right at all times.
As human beings, we cannot expect to be excluded from these conflicts simply because we have a Twelve Step program. We do, however, have a means of dealing with such conflicts effectively when we respond according to principle. This makes us privileged people in a way, but it is good to know that any person can have the same privileges by following the right principles.
Unpleasant as any conflict may seem, it does give me an opportunity to learn and to grow. I will seek to benefit from any such conflict today.

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Keep It Simple

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.---Irish Proverb
Each of us has been given recovery. Now it's up to each of us what we do with it. At times, we'll work hard to grow quickly. At other times, our growth will be slower. This is okay. We're not in a race. Our pace is not important. What is important is that we're always working on our recovery.
We're all part of a fellowship, a caring group. We're one of many. But we're each important. Each of us will have a special way to work our programs through our readings, friends, meetings, and what we know of how life works. each of us puts together a miracle of recovery. We than take our miracle and share it with others, so they can build their miracle.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me work at growing. Help me be a person who is an important part of a group.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work at seeing myself as very important. I'll remind myself that other's recovery also depends on my recovery. I am needed.

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Each Day a New Beginning

I want to get you excited about who you are, what you are, what you have, and what can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now. --Virginia Satir
Deciding to recover was our first step. That decision meant we did want to go beyond where we were. We did want something better for ourselves. And at times, in fleeting moments, we have been excited about who we are and our prospects for a better life.
The excitement and the inspiration come and go; they are seldom stationary. We can actively create the excitement and the inspiration. We need not wait for them to come to us. That's one of the choices we have as human beings, as women.
Passively waiting for "the good life" is past behavior. Each day, this day, we can set our sights on reaching a goal--we can take a step, or two, toward that goal. Progress is there for the making--achievement is there for the taking.
Whatever our hearts' pure desires, we can move toward that goal. We are what we need to be. We have what we need to move ahead.
Today, I will let my excitement for life's possibilities spur me on.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 8 - TO WIVES

When a discussion does arise, you might suggest he read this book or at least the chapter on alcoholism. Tell him you have been worried, though perhaps needlessly. You think he ought to know the subject better, as everyone should have a clear understanding of the risk he takes if he drinks too much. Show him you have confidence in his power to stop or moderate. Say you do not want to be a wet blanket; that you only want him to take care of his health. Thus you may succeed in interesting him in alcoholism.

pp. 111-112

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Twelve - "Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

THE spiritual substance of anonymity is sacrifice. Because A.A.'s Twelve Traditions repeatedly ask us to give up personal desires for the common good, we realize that the sacrificial spirit--well symbolized by anonymity--is the foundation of them all. It is A.A.'s proved willingness to make these sacrifices that gives people their high confidence in our future.

p. 184

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Speaking without thinking is shooting without aiming.
--French Proverb

Help your brother across the stream and you'll find yourself on the
other side.

"You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than
you can by what others say about him."
--Leo Aikman

Too often we underestimate 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

Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart.
--Anthony J. D'Angelo

Make the most of your life by choosing to enjoy everything you do.

God, help me open my heart to the full potential of every moment in my
life.
--Melody Beattie

"We aren't bodies at all; who we are is the love inside us, and it is that
love alone that determines our value. When our minds are filled with
light, there is no room for darkness."
--Marianne Williamson

Whether our sins are known or not, God offers us forgiveness.
--Charles P. Axe

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

GREED

"Not he who has little, but he
who wishes more, is poor."
-- Seneca (4 B. C. -- A. D. 65)

In my recovery I must still deal with that compulsive side of my nature
that always wants more.

I forget to be grateful for what I have. I ruin relationships because I
have a code of behavior that I expect from others but not myself! I miss
the fun of the moment because I am preoccupied with what I am
missing elsewhere. I miss the comfort of my own home as I fantasize
about country mansions owned by millionaires. Always I want more ---
and yet in my own experience more has always been less.

Today I work hard on a spiritual program of gratitude. I have a
checklist of things I need to be grateful for; I work on my disease of
greed by talking about it.

Thank You for that part of me that must remain "poor".

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"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted to the earth!"
Psalms 46:10

God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5

Accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
Romans 15:7

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Daily Inspiration

We all need time for ourselves and time to be with our friends in order to be joyful. Lord, help me to balance my day and renew my spirit.

Keep yourself young in spirit always by thinking new thoughts and getting rid of old habits. Lord, may my spirit never become frail and my abilities never become barren.