Daily Recovery Readings - September

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September 4

Daily Reflections

RECONSTRUCTION
Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead. . . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS , p. 83

The reconstruction of my life is the prime goal in my recovery as I
avoid taking that first drink, one day at a time. The task is most
successfully accomplished by working the Steps of our Fellowship. The
spiritual life is not a theory; it works, but I have to live it. Step Two started
me on my journey to develop a spiritual life; Step Nine allows me to move
into the final phase of the initial Steps which taught me how to live a
spiritual life. Without the guidance and strength of a Higher Power, it
would be impossible to proceed through the various stages of
reconstruction. I realize that God works for me and through me. Proof
comes to me when I realize that God did for me what I could not do
for myself, by removing that gnawing compulsion to drink. I must
continue daily to seek God's guidance. He grants me a daily reprieve
and will provide the power I need for reconstruction.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"We must be careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking
as an institution. Experience shows that such an attitude is no help to
anyone. We are not fanatics or intolerant of people who can drink
normally. Every prospect is relieved when he finds we are not witch
burners. Temperate drinking is O.K., but we alcoholics can't get away
with it. And no alcoholic likes to be told about alcohol by anyone who
hates it. We shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or
hostility." Do I have a tolerance for those who can drink normally?

Meditation For The Day

Do not become encumbered by petty annoyances. Never respond
to emotional upsets by emotional upset. Try to keep calm in
all circumstances. Try not to fight back. Call on the grace of
God when you feel like retaliating. Look to God for the inner
strength to drop these resentments that drag you down. If you are
burdened by annoyances, you will lose your inward peace and the spirit
of God will be shut out. Try to keep peaceful within.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may do the things that make for peace. I pray that I may
have a mission of conciliation.

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As Bill Sees It

Instinct To Live, p.246

When men and women pour so much alcohol into themselves that
they destroy their lives, they commit a most unnatural act. Defying
their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent
upon self-destruction. They work against their own deepest
instinct.

As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating
administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them and expel
their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live can cooperate
fully with their Creator's desire to give them new life.

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"The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it
gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion
to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.

"These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a
rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity."

1. 12 & 12, p.64
2. Letter, 1965

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Walk In Dry Places

What do We Deserve?
Good Expectations
We hear about people who snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Some of us do that even in
sobriety, experiencing failure just as success seems imminent.
At times, we may just be suffering from a bad situation that is all around us. But if we do seem to be having one bad break after another, we should look
more carefully within ourselves for causes. We may be punishing
ourselves, or pushing away our good simply because we do not feel worth
of it.
If we discover that this process is working in our lives, we must begin
changing these false patterns immediately. Having forgiven ourselves and
others, and having made amends, we need no punishment. We will work to
succeed in all of our activities, with a reasonable expectation of
success most of the time. We will expect and deserve the
best.
I'll carry with me today a belief that I deserve to succeed and will
take all necessary action to earn my success.

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Keep It Simple

In my view, we of this world are pupils in great school of life.
Bill W.
Our addiction has taught me much. It has taught us how far we can get from ourselves, our Higher Power, and those who love us.. Hopefully, we've learned we can't go it alone. Do I allow myself to learn from the bad things that happened?
Recovery has much to teach us too. We need to be students of life. We need to be open to learning. Our spirits can grow if we’re willing to do three things: First, we listen. Second, we think about what we've learned. Third, we turn what we've learned into action. Listening, combined with thought and action, will help us learn life’s best lessons.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You'll test me so I can learn. Help me accept the tasks You give me. And help me learn from them.
Action for the Day: I will view today as a class. I will do three things---listen, think, act.

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Each Day a New Beginning

For all the sadness of closure, there is a new and joyful unfolding in the process of becoming. --Mary Casey
We must let go of people, places, memories, and move on to new experiences. The doors of the past must be closed before we can enter those that are opening to us today. However, no experience is gone forever. All of our experiences are threaded together, each one contributing to the events that claim our attention now.
Recovery has offered us a chance to be aware of our process of becoming. With each day, each experience, each new understanding, we are advancing along the path of personal growth. Let us remember that each of us has a particular path, like no other. Thus, our experiences are ours alone. We need not envy what comes to someone else.
Life is unfolding for us. The pain of the present may be necessary for the pleasure of tomorrow. We can accept the unfolding. Our inner selves have a goal; experiences of the past must be left in the past; experiences at hand will lead us to our destination today.
I am moving and changing and growing, at the right pace. The process can be trusted. What is right for me will come to me. I will let the joy of becoming warm me.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

It is a most wonderful blessing to be relieved of the terrible curse with which I was afflicted. My health is good and I have regained my self-respect and the respect of my colleagues. My home life is ideal and my business is as good as can be expected in these uncertain times.

p. 180

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

After we have made the list of people we have harmed, have reflected carefully upon each instance, and have tried to possess ourselves of the right attitude in which to proceed, we will see that the making of direct amends divides those we should approach into several classes. There will be those who ought to be dealt with just as soon as we become reasonably confident that we can maintain our sobriety. There will be those to whom we can make only partial restitution, lest complete disclosures do them or others more harm than good. There will be other cases where action ought to be deferred, and still others in which by the very nature of the situation we shall never be able to make direct personal contact at all.

p. 83

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Today is the blocks with which we build.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All of the animals except man know that the principal business of life is
to enjoy it.
--Samuel Butler

Today I am letting go of all judgments. I am releasing all negative
emotions. I am quietly going within and trusting my inner spirit
and I will know what is right for me.
--Ruth Fishel

" Let us continue to search our own minds for the hidden places where
we still deny love. Perhaps we learned loveless attitudes from our
parents, or from experiences in the past. Wherever we picked up
judgmental attitudes, they do not serve us now. They do not serve
God or the creation of a new world, and serving God is our only goal.
To serve God is to think with love. In prayerful request, let us give up
all thoughts that are not of love. "
--Marianne Williamson

Someone once wrote: "Happiness is always a by-product. You don't
make yourself happy by chasing happiness. You make yourself happy
by being a good person." The happiest people I know are people who
don't even think about being happy. They just think about being good
neighbors, good people. And then happiness sort of sneaks in the back
window while they're busy doing good.
--Rabbi Harold Kushner

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HUMILITY

"Humility is to make a right
estimate of one's self."
-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

To see yourself as a good person is part of the program of humility.
To see your gifts and recognize your achievements is what it is to be
a humble person. "God does not make junk." Therefore, we
should not act or behave towards ourselves in a way that would
indicate anything other than that we are "special".

All addicts and alcoholics need to accept this because for years we
had felt guilty, lonely and ashamed. These attitudes helped to keep us
sick.

Sobriety and serenity is recognizing our God-given uniqueness that
makes us "special". We can achieve great things as long as we
continue to believe in ourselves.

Thank You for loving me enough to become a part of me.

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And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what
is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

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Daily Inspiration

Believe in miracles because they do happen. Lord, I give You praise for the wonders that You are doing in my life.

Give yourself more exercise than jumping to conclusions. Lord, grant me sincerity and wisdom in my daily life.