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July 16
Daily Reflections "A MEASURE OF HUMILITY" In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 75 It was painful to give up trying to control my life, even though success eluded me, and when life got too rough, I drank to escape. Accepting life on life's terms will be mastered through the humility I experience when I turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With my life in God's care, fear, uncertainty, and anger are no longer my response to those portions of life that I would rather not have happen to me. The pain of living through these times will be healed by the knowledge that I have received the spiritual strength to survive. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We can believe that God is in His heaven and that He has a purpose for our lives, which will eventually work out as long as we try to live the way we believe He wants us to live. It has been said that we should "wear the world like a loose garment." That means nothing should seriously upset us because we have a deep, abiding faith that God will always take care of us. To us that means not to be too upset by the surface wrongness of things, but to feel deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe. Do I feel deeply secure? Meditation For The Day Like the shadow of a great rock in a desert land, God is your refuge from the ills of life. The old hymn says: "Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee." God can be your shelter from the storm. God's power can protect you from every temptation and defeat. Try to feel His divine power--call on it--accept it--and use it. Armed with that power, you can face anything. Each day, seek safety in God's secret place, in communion with Him. You cannot be wholly touched or seriously harmed there. God can be your refuge. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may find a haven in the thought of God. I pray that I may abide in that Strong Tower, strongly guarded. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Where Rationalizing Leads, p. 197 "You know what our genius for rationalization is. If, to ourselves, we fully justify one slip, then our rationalizing propensities are almost sure to justify another one, perhaps with a different set of excuses. But one justification leads to another and presently we are back on the bottle full-time." ******************************** Experience shows, all too often, that even the "controlled" pill-taker may get out of control. The same crazy rationalizations that once characterized his drinking begin to blight his existence. He thinks that if pills can cure insomnia so may they cure his worry. Our friends the doctors are seldom directly to blame for the dire results we so often experience. It is much too easy for alcoholics to buy these dangerous drugs, and once possessed of them the drinker is often likely to use them without any judgment whatever. 1. Letter, 1959 2. Grapevine, November 1945 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Accepting and correcting mistakes. Mature living. Being in error now and then is part of our human existence. Many of us, however, feel unbearable self-reproach when we make a mistake. Some compulsive people even blame themselves for errors beyond their control. But the worst mistake is the refusal, or denial, of responsibility for mistakes. This comes from a strange belief that we can erase the mistake by refusing to accept it. It may stem from the belief that we should be above mistakes. This is immature thinking. We are learning and growing when we accept our mistakes graciously and immediately move to correct them. Most of the time, when this is done, the distress passes quickly and we can go on to other matters. I'll take full responsibility for all of my actions today, and I'll move quickly to correct any of my mistakes. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. ---Will Rogers Humility is being thankful for the chance to watch the parade. There were days we thought that all that counted were the heroes. But our program has no heroes. It has many fine, spiritual people. . . but no heroes. When someone is needed to make coffee or pick up after a meeting, we can be willing to do those things. Let's look at doing these little jobs as our way of looking for a good spot on the curb. . . .to watch the parade! The floats are so colorful, and the bands play so loud! Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be proud of who I am, instead of always putting myself down because I'm not who I "should" be. Action for the Day: I will look and help someone today. Service to others is service to my Higher Power. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning I have come to believe in the "Sacrament of the Moment," which presupposes trust in the ultimate goodness of my creator. --Ruth Casey The moment, realized, is like a bud blossoming. The day unfolds and with each minute we are moved along to the experiences right for us at this place and this time. Our resistance to certain experiences and particular people creates the barrier that blocks the good in store for us. We can rest assured; our higher power is caring for us. Each breath we take is Spirit-filled, and the plan for our lives is an accumulation of necessary experiences that is helping us to grow and develop our special talents. What we often forget is that the difficult periods of our lives stretch us, enlighten us, ready us to be the women we desire within to be. This moment is sacred. All moments are sacred. They will not come again. What is offered this moment for us to grow on will not be offered in exactly this way again. Our higher power knows our needs and is caring for them. We can trust the goodness of today. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You When our friend related his experience, the man agreed that no amount of will power he might muster could stop his drinking for long. A spiritual experience, he conceded, was absolutely necessary, but the price seemed high upon the basis suggested. He told how he lived in constant worry about those who might find out about his alcoholism. He had, of course, the familiar alcoholic obsession that few knew of his drinking. Why, he argued, should he lose the remainder of his business, only to bring still more suffering to his family by foolishly admitting his plight to people from whom he made his livelihood? He would do anything, he said, but that. p. 155 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." It is nowhere evident, at least in this life, that our Creator expects us fully to eliminate our instinctual drives. So far as we know, it is nowhere on the record that God has completely removed from any human being all his natural drives. p. 65 ************************************************** ********* Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by. --Carl Sandburg You can have fun and still be efficient. In fact, you will be more efficient. --Stress Fractures, p.155 Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. --Robert Louis Stevenson It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action. --Al Batt 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 *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation DESIRE "One must not lose desires. They are mighty stimulating to creativeness, to love, and to long life." --Alexander A. Bogomoletz Today I desire to live. I have discovered value in my life. I have experienced personal self-esteem. I am able to feel again, talk, trust and laugh again. Today I desire to live. But I can remember when I felt lonely, isolated, angry, shutdown and hopeless. The desires I had were destructive, desiring isolation mingled with alcohol. Then the pain became too great and I experienced a vital "moment". I realized I needed to make a choice -- was I to live or die? I chose to live! This was the beginning of my spiritual journey into self from which I discovered God and His world. Creative and positive desires were re-born in my life, and I am able to live and love again. O Lord, may I continue to desire those things that do not hurt me. ************************************************** ********* Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10b If you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:26 God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration More strength is found in the ability to be flexible than in stubborn determination. Lord, when life makes extra demands on me, guide me and help me adapt easily to the necessary changes for the best results. Worse than being a quitter is the one who is afraid to begin. Lord, grant me the courage to believe in myself and the ability to focus on what I can do, not what I can't do. |
July 17
Daily Reflections SURRENDER AND SELF-EXAMINATION My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive. Thus I think it can work out with emotional sobriety. If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help, continually surrender these hobbling demands. Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to Twelfth Step ourselves and others into emotional sobriety. THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 238 Years of dependency on alcohol as a chemical mood-changer deprived me of the capability to interact emotionally with my fellows. I thought I had to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-motivated in a world of unreliable people. Finally I lost my self-respect and was left with dependency, lacking any ability to trust myself or to believe in anything. Surrender and self-examination while sharing with newcomers helped me to ask humbly for help. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day The new life of sobriety that we are learning to live in A.A. is slowly growing on us and we are beginning to get some of that deep peace of mind and serenity that we never thought were possible. At first we may have doubted that this could happen to us, but after any considerable length of time in A.A., looking at the happy faces around us, we know that somehow it is happening to us . In fact, it cannot help happening to anyone who takes the A.A. program seriously day by day. Can I see my own happiness reflected in the faces of others? Meditation for the Day God does not withhold His presence from you. He does not refuse to reveal more of His truth to you. He does not hold back His spirit from you. He does not withhold the strength that you need. His presence, His truth, His spirit, His strength are always immediately available to you, whenever you are fully willing to receive them. But they may be blocked off by selfishness, intellectual pride, fear, greed, and materialism. We must try to get rid of these blocks and let God's spirit come in. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may remove all blocks that are keeping me from God. I pray that I may let God come into my life with power. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Tell the Public?, p. 198 "A.A.'s of worldly prominence sometimes say, 'If I tell the public that I am in Alcoholics Anonymous, then that will bring in many others.' Thus they express the belief that our anonymity Tradition is wrong--at least for them. "They forget that, during their drinking days, prestige and the achievement of worldly ambition were their principal aims. They do not realize that, by breaking anonymity, they are unconsciously pursuing those old and perilous illusions once more. They forget that the keeping of one's anonymity often means a sacrifice of one's desire for power, prestige, and money. They do not see that if these strivings became general in A.A., the course of our whole history would be changed; that we would be sowing the seeds of our own destruction as a society. "Yet I can happily report that while many of us are tempted--and I have been one--few of us in America actually break our anonymity at the public-media level." Letter, 1958 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places We never arrive Finding Happiness. We delude ourselves if we believe that our happiness and well-being will come when we reach a certain goal. Whatever happiness and well-being we obtain must come through the process of living in ordinary, everyday situations. If we observe carefully, we'll find lots of happy people who are in situations or work that we might consider unpleasant. It is not the work or situation that creates happiness and fulfillment. What counts is the ATTITUDE toward it. Those of us in 12 Step programs should have special insight into the issue of happiness. We tried to find it, here and now, in false ways. But it is available to us, here and now, in ordinary living. I'll be happy today in knowing that I'm blessed with the ordinary tasks of life. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.---Marie Curie We have many sides, some good, and some bad. Maybe we're afraid to see our faults. But we don't need to be afraid. After all, we need to know our dark side before we can change it. When we see ourselves clearly, we can stop our dark side from causing trouble. When we shine light on our fears and secrets, we'll begin to feel better about ourselves. We'll feel more safe about sharing our worries. The more honest we are with ourselves and others, the better and stronger we become. The goodness and love in us will blossom. We have a Higher Power and a program to help us. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be brave enough to see myself clearly. Gently teach me to see who I really am. Help me know enough to stay sober today. Action for the Day: Today, I'll look myself in the eyes. I'll spend two minutes looking into my eyes in a mirror. I'll talk to my sponsor about what I see. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning The problem is not merely one of woman and career, woman and the home, woman and independence. It is more basically: how to remain whole in the midst of the distractions of life; how to remain balanced, no matter what centrifugal forces tend to pull one off center; how to remain strong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery and tend to crack the hub of the wheel. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh Before getting into this recovery program, many of us didn't cope with life's distractions except with the help of our addiction. We had no sense of wholeness and were constantly bouncing from one crisis to another. We may still feel pulled. The crises may still trip us up. But we have a center now that we are beginning to understand and rely upon. That center is our spiritual selves. Slowing down, going within to our center, listening to the message therein, unravels our problem, smooths the waves of the storm. The strength to go forward awaits us. We can absorb the shocks that "crack the hub of the wheel" and be enriched by them. Each moment we are weaving our tapestry of life. Each experience colors our design. Our pain and sorrow and joy give the depth that one-day will move us to say, "I see, I understand." I will be grateful for the experiences today that give my tapestry its beauty. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Being intrigued, however, he invited our friend to his home. Some time later, and just as he thought he was getting control of his liquor situation, he went on a roaring bender. For him, this was the spree that ended all sprees. He saw that he would have to face his problems squarely that God might give him mastery. pp. 155-156 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins. p. 65 ************************************************** ********* With love and patience, nothing is impossible. --Daisaku Ikeda This is the way of peace. Overcome evil with good. Falsehood with truth, And hatred with love. --Peace Pilgrim "Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." --George Bernard Shaw The purpose of man is in action not thought. --Thomas Carlyle Thanks, but I won't need your help today. --GOD To attain Knowledge, add things every day. To attain Wisdom, remove things every day. --Lao Tzu *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation NEGATIVITY "My life has been nothing but a failure." --Claude Monet I can identify with Claude Monet because for years I considered myself a complete failure. For years I wallowed on my pity-pot until it became too painful. Whatever the "pay-off" was in the previous years had dried up, and I was left with a rock bottom pain that forced me to consider the alternative: I needed to set about doing something to change things! Astounding! Impossible! How could this ever be? I was forever to be a victim of alcoholism. "Not so." I heard a voice of hope from a recovering alcoholic who had made the change. Slowly I took small steps towards recovery and self-esteem. I am a failure so long as I consider myself a failure. I am what I create in my life. God requires my cooperation to make miracles in my life. My decision to listen to those who had achieved sobriety provided the seeds for my recovery today. I wonder if Claude Monet was an alcoholic who never heard the words of hope? ************************************************** ********* The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10 At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. Phil. 2:10 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:12-13 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Share the lighthearted moments of your life with others. Lord, may I be instrumental in relieving tensions by lifting the spirits of others with a little cheerfulness. Be a patient person but, most of all, be patient with yourself. Lord, may I be blessed with a calm spirit and diligence as I do my work today. |
July 18
Daily Reflections GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE, p.208 During this process of learning more about humility, the most profound result of all was the change in our attitude toward God. 12 & 12, p. 75 Today my prayers consist mostly of saying thank you to my Higher Power for my sobriety and for the wonder of God's abundance, but I need also to ask for help and the power to carry out His will for me. I no longer need God each minute to rescue me from the situations I get myself into by not doing His will. Now my gratitude seems to be directly linked to humility. As long as I have the humility to be grateful for what I have, God continues to provide for me. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Two things can spoil group unity--gossip and criticism. To avoid these divisive things, we must realize that we're all in the same boat. We're like a group of people in a life-boat after the steamer has sunk. If we're going to be saved, we've got to pull together. It's a matter of life or death for us. Gossip and criticism are sure ways of disrupting any A.A. group. We're all in A.A. to keep sober ourselves and to help each other to keep sober. And neither gossip nor criticism helps anyone to stay sober. Am I guilty of gossip or criticism? Meditation For The Day We should try to be grateful for all the blessings we have received and which we do not deserve. Gratitude to God for all His blessings will make us humble. Remember that we could do little by ourselves, and now we must rely largely on God's grace in helping ourselves and others. People do not care much for those who are smug and self-satisfied or those who gossip and criticize. But people are impressed by true humility. So we should try to walk humbly at all times. Gratitude to God and true humility are what make us effective. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may walk humbly with God. I pray that I may rely on His grace to carry me through. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Arrogance and Its Opposite, p. 199 A very tough-minded prospect was taken to his first A.A. meeting, where two speakers (or maybe lecturers) themed their talks on "God as I understand Him." Their attitude oozed arrogance. In fact, the final speaker got far overboard on his personal theological convictions. Both were repeating my performance of years before. Implicit in everything they said was the same idea: "Folks, listen to us. We have the only true brand of A.A. -- and you'd better get it! The new prospect said he'd had it -- and he had. His sponsor protested that this wasn't real A.A. But it was too late; nobody could touch him after that. ******************************** I see "humility for today" as a safe and secure stance midway between violent emotional extremes. It is a quiet place where I can keep enough perspective and enough balance to take my next small step up the clearly marked road that points toward eternal values. Grapevine 1. April, 1961 2. June, 1961 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places What is a new freedom? Release We're promised a "new freedom" in the 12 Step program. How does this differ from the "old freedom" we've known? The new freedom is an inner feeling of release from the bondage of compulsion. We are no longer serving as our own jailers. We are free from useless things that have held us back. Think of the burdens we had assumed by fearing others, by holding grudges, by having needless regrets. This new freedom has nothing to do with political or civil liberties, which we hope to enjoy as our birthright. But nobody can give us freedom if we are locked into compulsions that bind us. We must seek the new freedom within ourselves. Throughout the day, I'll think of myself as a completely free person. I'm free at last from the bondage I imposed upon myself. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple It takes twenty years to become an overnight success.---Eddie Cantor Successful people make life look easy. But it's not. Years of hard work, trial and error, and learning probably went on into each success. The key is this: We must choose to do what we really like. If we want to be successful, we'll have to work at it. We'll have letdowns, and we'll get bored at times. But we'll be happy because we're doing what we want, what we know is best for us. Real success has to do with our own happiness. In our programs, we'll meet many successful people. They've worked hard at recovery, and they are still learning. And they're happy to share their success with us. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for the success the program has already given me. Action for the Day: I'll list three ways I know I am a success today. Number one: I'm sober! ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Have the courage to act instead of react. --Darlene Larson Jenks Taking the time to be thoughtful about our responses to the situations we encounter offers us the freedom to make choices that are right for us. Impulsive behavior can be a thing of our past, if we so choose. It seldom was the best response for our well being. Decision-making is morale boosting. It offers us a chance to exercise our personal powers, an exercise that is mandatory for the healthy development of our egos. We need to make careful, thoughtful choices because they will further define our characters. Each action we take clearly indicates the persons we are becoming. When we have consciously and deliberately chosen that action because of its rightness for us, we are fully in command of becoming the persons we choose to be. Our actions reveal who we are, to others and ourselves. We need never convey an inaccurate picture of ourselves. We need only take the time and risk the courage necessary to behave exactly as we choose. We will know a new freedom when we are in control. I will exercise my power to act and feel the fullness of my being. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You One morning he took the bull by the horns and set out to tell those he feared what his trouble had been. He found himself surprisingly well received, and learned that many knew of his drinking. Stepping into his car, he made the rounds of people he had hurt. He trembled as he went about, for this might mean ruin, particularly to a person in his line of business. At midnight he came home exhausted, but very happy. He has not had a drink since. As we shall see, he now means a great deal to his community, and the major liabilities of thirty years of hard drinking have been repaired in four. p. 156 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character. p. 65 ************************************************** ********* Seldom will we remember next week what bothers us so much today. --Karen Casey Words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels. --Hazrat Inayat Khan "There is no failure except in no longer trying." --Elbert Hubbard "The impossible is often the untried." --Jim Goodwin "There is no point at which you can say, `Well, I'm successful now. I might as well take a nap.'" --Carrie Fisher Present-moment living, getting in touch with your "now," is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives. One thing is certain, you cannot live it until it does appear. --Wayne Dyer Man Plans..... God Laughs! --unknown *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation VOCATION "It is well for a man to respect his own vocation, whatever it is, and to think himself bound to uphold it and to claim for it the respect it deserves." --Charles Dickens Nobody else is quite like me. Nobody else can view the world, experience the world, feel the world in the way I can. I am the center of the universe. Other people can love -- but it is not the same as my love. Other people can offer the hand of friendship -- but it is not the same as the friendship that I can offer. Other people can utter a kind word -- but the phrasing of my words belong to me. I am unique and I must remember that. Even my space in the world is special. Nobody can take up the place that I have on the earth; you cannot get into my space. We may both be looking at the same scene, but I see it from my place in the world. Today I respect my uniqueness. Let me continue to discover something of Your unique image in my life. ************************************************** ********* Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15 "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in him." I John 4:15-16 If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. 2 Cor 5:13-14 You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. Prov. 19:21 Human plans, no matter how wise or well advised, cannot stand against the LORD. Prov. 20:31 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Share the lighthearted moments of your life with others. Lord, may I be instrumental in relieving tensions by lifting the spirits of others with a little cheerfulness. We are as weak as our fears and as strong as our faith. Lord, with Your help, I can do. |
July 19
Daily Reflections FALSE PRIDE, p.209 Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. 12 & 12, p. 75 Many false notions operate in false pride. The need for direction to live a decent life is satisfied by the hope experienced in the A.A. Fellowship. Those who have walked the way for years--a day at a time--say that a God centered life has limitless possibilities for personal growth. This being so, much hope is transmitted by the elder A.A.s. I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to "Come To"--so that they can "Come to Believe." I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day Gossip about or criticism of personalities has no place in an A.A. clubroom. Every man in A.A. is a brother and every woman is a sister, as long as he or she is a member of A.A. We ought not to gossip about the relationships of any man or woman in the group. And if we say about another member, "I think she or he is taking a few drinks on the side," it's the worst thing we could do to that person. If a woman or a man is not living up to A.A. principles or has a slip, it's up to her or him to stand up in a meeting and say so. If they don't do that, they are only hurting themselves. Do I talk about other members behind their backs? Meditation for the Day To God, a miracle of change in a person's life is only a natural happening. But it is a natural happening operated by spiritual forces. There is no miracle in personalities too marvelous to be an everyday happening. But miracles happen only to those who are fully guided and strengthened by God. Marvelous changes in people's nature happen so simply, and yet they are free from all other agencies than the grace of God. But these miracles have been prepared for by days and months of longing for something better. They are always accompanied by a real desire to conquer self and to surrender one's life to God. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may expect miracles in the lives of people. I pray that I may be used to help people change. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Source of Strength, p. 200 When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the services and were scattered all over the world. Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind of dependence they had learned in A.A. carry them through? Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges than A.A.'s safe at home did. They were just as capable of endurance and valor as any other soldiers. Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno beachhead, their dependence upon a Higher Power worked. Far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief source of strength. 12 & 12, pp. 38-39 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Hurrying up to wait? Practicing Serenity. We often urge ourselves to hurry up when there's no good reason for it. At such times, all we really do is create needless tension and anxiety. The slogan "EASY DOES IT" is our answer to such calls to hurry. The slogan suggests that we simply move into the rhythms of life and "go with the flow." It's not hurrying but steady effort that finally brings achievement. We've had entirely too much hurry and impatience. What we really need is confident, persistent effort in the right direction. We should be especially reminded of hits when we see anxious, impatient people speeding through traffic only to be forced to wait at traffic lights, risking life and limb to save a few seconds. A good seady pace is what we need, and it will win the game. I"ll be active today, but not overactive. I'll look for rhythm and efficiency in everything I do. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple We grow small trying to be great. We dreamed of being great. Trying to be great is about control. We've caused a lot of trouble trying to control things. We've been afraid to just let things happen, We're not very trusting. Many of us have good reasons not to trust. Whatever the reasons, we had put our trust in getting drunk or high. We thought that was one thing we could control. What really happened? We got sick. Recovery is based on trust. We must learn to trust that it's best for us to give up control. It will seem strange at first. But letting go and trusting can become a way of life. The Steps, our groups, our sponsor, and our Higher Power---here, we find love and caring. We can trust them. Prayer for the Day: I pray that day by day, I'll put more trust in my program and in my Higher Power. Action for the Day: I'll list five reasons why I can trust my Twelve Step program. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice. --Maya Angelou We had to surrender to a power greater than ourselves to get to where we are today. And each day, we have to turn to that power for strength and guidance. For us, resistance means struggle--struggle with others as well as an internal struggle. Serenity isn't compatible with struggle. We cannot control forces outside of ourselves. We cannot control the actions of our family or our co-workers. We can control our responses to them. And when we choose to surrender our attempts to control, we will find peace and serenity. That which we abhor, that which we fear, that which we wish to conquer seems suddenly to be gone when we decide to resist no more - to tackle it no more. The realities of life come to us in mysterious ways. We fight so hard, only to learn that what we need will never be ours until the struggle is forsaken. Surrender brings enlightenment. Life's lessons are simple once I give up the struggle. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You But life was not easy for the two friends. Plenty of difficulties presented themselves. Both saw that they must keep spiritually active. One day they called up the head nurse of a local hospital. They explained their need and inquired if she had a first class alcoholic prospect. She replied, “Yes, we’ve got a corker. He’s just beaten up a couple of nurses. Goes off his head completely when he’s drinking. But he’s a grand chap when he’s sober, though he’s been in here eight times in the last six months. Understand he was once a well-known lawyer in town, but just now we’ve got him strapped down tight.”* * This refers to Bill's and Dr. Bob's first visit to A.A. Number Three. See the Pioneer Section. This resulted in A.A.'s first group, at Akron, Ohio, in 1935. p. 156 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." So Step Six--"Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character"--is A.A.'s way of stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this lifetime job. This does not mean that we expect all our character defects to be lifted out of us as the drive to drink was. A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement. The key words "entirely ready" underline the fact that we want to aim at the very best we know or can learn. p. 65 ************************************************** ********* All things are difficult before they are easy. --Italian Proverb "If you are afraid of your future, you don't have a present." --James Petersen How joyful to look upon the Awakened and to keep company with the wise. Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for they know how to work and forbear. But if you cannot find friend or master to go with you, travel on alone ~ like a king who has given away his kingdom, like an elephant in the forest. --Buddha, from the Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha) When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. --Harriet Beecher Stowe It is never too late to start doing what is right! --Growing Deep In The Christian Life, p.380 *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation YOUTH "We are none of us infallible -- not even the youngest of us." --W. H. Thompson When I was a young man I did not want to listen to older people because I felt that they did not understand me. With hindsight I see that I did not want to hear what they were saying about my lifestyle. Today now that I am a "mature man" with a few years of sobriety, I must avoid having the same attitude towards the young, not listening to them because I think they are "too young" or do not understand! I must not repeat, in reverse, yesterday's mistakes! None of us are infallible. We are not God. We can learn from each other if we have the patience to listen. Sometimes we need to seek the meaning behind the words. God, teach me to listen with the ear of understanding and patience. ************************************************** ********* "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26 "Sunshine is sweet; it is good to see the light of day. People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live…" Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Joel 2:32 Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Never look back with regret because life is never perfect, but it offers us the perfect moment to start anew which is right now. Lord, help me to live with enthusiasm and recognize that each new day is an adventure. Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust. You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father. Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires? |
July 20
Daily Reflections SHORTCOMINGS REMOVED But now the words "Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works" began to carry bright promise and meaning. 12 & 12, p. 75 When I put the Seventh Step into action I must remember that there are no blanks to fill in. It doesn't say, "Humbly asked Him to (fill in the blank) remove our shortcomings." For years I filled in the imaginary blank with "Help me!" "Give me the courage to," and "Give me the strength," etc. The Step says simply that God will remove my shortcomings. The only footwork I must do is "humbly ask," which for me means asking with the knowledge that of myself I am nothing, the Father within "doeth the works." I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to "Come To"--so that they can "Come to Believe." I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We must be loyal to the group and to each member of it. We must never accuse members behind their backs or even to their faces. It's up to them to tell us themselves if anything is wrong. More than that, we must try not to think bad things about any members, because if we do, we're consciously or unconsciously hurting that person. We must be loyal to each other if A.A. is going to be successful. While we're on this lifeboat, trying to save ourselves and each other from alcoholism, we must be truly and sincerely helpful to each other. Am I a loyal member of my group? Meditation For The Day Carry out God's guidance as best you can. Leave the results to Him. Do this obediently and faithfully with no question that if the working out of the guidance is left in God's hands, the results will be all right. Believe that the guidance God gives you has already been worked out by God to produce the required results according to your case and in your circumstances. So follow God's guidance according to your conscience. God has knowledge of your individual life and character, your capabilities and your weaknesses. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may live according to the dictates of my conscience. I pray that I may leave the results to God. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Unlimited Choice, p. 201 Any number of alcoholics are bedeviled by the dire conviction that if they ever go near A.A. they will be pressured to conform to some particular brand of faith or theology. They just don't realize that faith is never an imperative for A.A. membership. that sobriety can be achieved with an easily acceptable minimum of it, and that our concepts of a Higher Power and God--as we understand Him--afford everyone a nearly unlimited choice of spiritual belief and action. ******************************** In talking to a prospect, stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he likes, provided it makes sense to him. The main thing is that he is willing to believe in a Power greater than himself and that he live by spiritual principles. 1. Grapevine, April 1961 2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 93 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Spiritual guidance. If we go through the day with a confidence that our Higher Power is with us, events will go better than they would if we hadn't held to this belief. We will be more effective in everything we do. We will actually have more power in all activities. This is what is meant in the Eleventh Step; "the power to carry that out." Knowing that the Higher power is in our lives, we also find the power to do what we believe to be God's will for us. As this confidence strengthens and is seasoned by experience, it becomes part of our nature. Eventually, we'll sense our Higher Power working in our lives. We can learn to accept this with the same sure belief that we accept the sun's rising and the changing of the seasons. And we'll have the power to do whatever must be done by us. A conscious contact with God can raise my daily activities to higher levels, giving me the power of achievement. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Living so fully. I can't image what any drug would do for me.---Joan Baez When we were using alcohol and other drugs, our lives kept getting emptier. We tired to keep new things out of our lives. We were scared and tired. We saw feelings as bad. So we got high instead of feeling them. Now we can live fully every day. We don't want to block our feelings. We aren't afraid to opening up to new things and people. And the more we open up, the happier we are. Our feelings are free. They bounce around. They don't get stuck. We feel alive. Sure, we feel pain and fear sometimes. But we feel joy, love, and laughter too. And, more and more often, we feel alive. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me live fully today. Help me notice my feelings. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list five things I've enjoyed in the last twenty-four hours. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our Creator--our very self-consciousness--is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. --Annie Dillard Getting outside of ourselves, moving beyond our own egos, opens the door to real communication with the people we'll meet today. We have to learn to look with loving appreciation into the soul of that person or child who stands before us. We have to practice being concerned with their needs before our own, and in time our concern will be genuine. The separation between us will exist no more. This division from others, the barrier that keeps us apart, comes from our individual insecurities. We have grown accustomed to the quick comparisons of ourselves with those we meet. Either inferior or superior we determine them to be, and thus ourselves. Whatever gifts we have to offer each other are left unwrapped, at least for now. Let's come together, truly together, with someone we've been holding off until now. We can trust that the people who have come into our lives are there by design. We are equal to them, and they to us. We need what they have to offer us, and their growth needs our gifts, too. I will appreciate the design of my life today. I will draw myself close to the day. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Here was a prospect all right but, by the description, none too promising. The use of spiritual principles in such case was not so well understood as it is now. But one of the friends said, “Put him in a private room. We’ll be down.” Two days later, a future fellow of Alcoholics Anonymous stared glassily at the strangers beside his bed. “Who are you fellows, and why this private room? I was always in a ward before.” Said one of the visitors, “We’re giving you a treatment for alcoholism.” pp. 156-157 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." How many of us have this degree of readiness? In an absolute sense practically nobody has it. The best we can do, with all the honesty that we can summon, is to try to have it. Even then the best of us will discover to our dismay that there is always a sticking point, a point at which we say, "No, I can't give this up yet." And we shall often tread on even more dangerous ground when we cry, "This I will never give up!" Such is the power of our instincts to overreach themselves. No matter how far we have progressed, desires will always be found which oppose the grace of God. pp. 65-66 ************************************************** ********* Truth gives a short answer; lies go round about. --German Proverb People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life's circumstances to push them down and hold them under. --Charles Swindoll An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. --Mahatma Gandhi He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need to be forgiven. --George Herbert One doesn't recognize in one's life the really important moments.... not until it's too late. --Agatha Christie We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. --Will Rogers Man is a creature whose substance is faith. What his faith is, he is. --Bhagavad Gita "Learn to see in another's calamity the ills which you should avoid." --Publius Syrus ............ that is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way. --Doris Lessing *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation WORRY "When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened." --Winston Churchill I know I can worry myself into the grave. I can project an incident into a calamity. I can make mountains out of molehills. I worried about what people meant by what they said; I always looked for a hidden criticism; I worried about what people did not say; I worried about what people were thinking or were going to do or were plotting. If I had nothing to worry about, then I worried because I felt I should have something to worry about! I created most of the worry in my life. Today I have a program that helps me deal with this. Of course I still worry, but I have a "checklist" that keeps me sane and allows me to laugh at the insanity of my projections. Today the worry in my life is less destructive and negative. Let me bring my worry to You in prayer. Then let me sleep! ************************************************** ********* "Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in Heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." Deuteronomy 4:39 I cling to you, and your hand keeps me safe. Psalm 63:8 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Place yourself in God's hands first thing in the morning so that your entire day will be in His care. Lord, may my prayer and my attitude be one so that my relationship with You never becomes casual. As we help those in need or comfort those in trouble, God's great love and divine glory is revealed to the world. Lord, I am Your servant. May others know more of You through me. |
July 21
Daily Reflections A PRICELESS GIFT By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety--in other words, to all of us--this newfound peace is a priceless gift. 12 & 12, p. 74 I am learning to let go and let God, to have a mind that is open and a heart that is willing to receive God's grace in all my affairs; in this way I can experience the peace and freedom that come as a result of surrender. It has been proven that an act of surrender, originating in desperation and defeat, can grow into an ongoing act of faith, and that faith means freedom and victory. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day If we feel the need of saying something to put another member on the right track, we should try to say it with understanding and sympathy, not with a critical attitude. We should keep everything out in the open and aboveboard. The A.A. program is wonderful, but we must really follow it. We must all pull together or we'll all be sunk. We enjoy the privilege of being associated with A.A. and we are entitled to all its benefits. But gossip and criticism are not tolerance, and tolerance is an A.A. principle that is absolutely necessary to group unity. Am I truly tolerant of all my group's members? Meditation For The Day "Faith can move mountains." That expression means that faith can change any situation in the field of personal relationships. If you trust Him, God shows you the way to "move mountains." If you are humble enough to know that you can really do little by yourself to change a situation, if you have enough faith to ask God to give you the power you need, and if you are grateful enough for the grace He gives you, you can "move mountains." Situations will be changed for the better by your presence. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may have enough faith to make me really effective. I pray that I may learn to depend less on myself and more on God. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It The Hour of Decision, p. 202 "Not all large decisions can be well made by simply listing the pros and cons of a given situation, helpful and necessary as this process is. We cannot always depend on what seems to us to be logical. When there is doubt about our logic, we wait upon God and listen for the voice of intuition. If, in meditation, that voice is persistent enough, we may well gain sufficient confidence to act upon that, rather than upon logic. "If, after an exercise of these two disciplines, we are still uncertain, then we should ask for further guidance, and, when possible, defer important decisions for a time. By then, with more knowledge of our situation, logic and intuition may well agree upon a right course. "But if the decision must be now, let us not evade it through fear. Right or wrong, we can always profit from the experience." Letter, 1966 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Creating good impressions Attitude There's a saying that we have only one chance to make a good first impression. That's true, but we always have the opportunity to make good lasting impressions. The secret of making good impressions is contained in one word: ATTITUDE. Whatever we really feel will be expressed to others as our true character and the impression we give will be authentically us. The way to control the impressions we are making is simply to continue cultivating an attitude that's consistent with humility, acceptance, and graciousness. We should have others' best interests at heart without being meddlesome. We should be genuinely helpful. This attitude will create any good impressions we need to make. Working to make sure I'm thinking the right way. I'll forget about the impressions I'm making. If my attitude is right, the impression will take care of itself. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise. ---Gore Vidal Many of us used a "know it all" act to keep people away. We kept everyone around us on edge. They were afraid of our judgments, just we were secretly afraid of theirs. Why were we so busy with everyone else's life? So we didn't have to look at our own! We were afraid of what was happening to us. But we didn't want to see how sick we were becoming. Now we're not afraid. We don't need to keep people away. We don't need to run their lives. We have our life to live. And we're enjoying it. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are the expert, not me. Teach me. I am Your student. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list the ways I chased away those who cared about me.. I'll work on the Steps on these items for the next week. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning I wake each morning with the thrill of expectation and the joy of being truly alive. And I'm thankful for this day. --Angela L. Wozniak Being open to the day's offering, all of it, and looking for the positive experiences therein, becomes habit only after a firm commitment and dedicated practice. Today is special for each of us. These next twenty-four hours will be unlike all others. And we are not the persons we were, even as recently as yesterday. Looking forward to all of the day's events, with the knowledge that we are in the care of our higher power, in every detail, frees us to make the most of everything that happens. We have been given the gift of life. We are survivors. The odds against survival in our past make clear we have yet a job to do and are being given the help to do it. Confidence wavers in all of us, but the strength we need will be given to each of us. In this day that stands before me, I can be certain that I'll have many chances for growth, for kindness to others, for developing confidence in myself. I will be thoughtful in my actions today. They are special and will be repeated no more. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Hopelessness was written large on the man’s face as he replied, “Oh, but that’s no use. Nothing would fix me. I’m a goner. The last three times, I got drunk on the way home from here. I’m afraid to go out the door. I can’t understand it.” For an hour, the two friends told him about their drinking experiences. Over and over, he would say: “That’s me. That’s me. I drink like that.” p. 157 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Some who feel they have done well may dispute this, so let's try to think it through a little further. Practically everybody wishes to be rid of his most glaring and destructive handicaps. No one wants to be so proud that he is scorned as a braggart, nor so greedy that he is labeled a thief. No one wants to be angry enough to murder, lustful enough to rape, gluttonous enough to ruin his health. No one wants to be agonized by the chronic pain of envy or to be paralyzed by sloth. Of course, most human beings don't suffer these defects at these rock-bottom levels. p. 66 ************************************************** ********* Ability is what you're capable of doing... Motivation determines what you do... Attitude determines how well you do it. --unknown Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned. --Buddha We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. --Fredrick Koeing Instead of being aggressive toward a difficulty, be quiet before it, and notice the new feeling. --Vernon Howard P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message. *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation IGNORANCE "Not ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge." --Alfred North Whitehead How little I understood when I was living as an alcoholic. How little I wanted to know. Ignorance was bliss in my addiction. And the real tragedy was that I was ignorant of the extent of my ignorance! I had no idea how serious my alcoholism was, how pervasive in all areas of my life it had developed, how destructive and negative I had become until I was made to "see" reality in treatment. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to see my ignorance and I knew I needed to change my attitude if I was to recover. The enemy of the spiritual life is ignorance because it stops us from realizing that the strength and healing power of spirituality has been given by God -- all we need do is discover it and appreciate it. I pray that I and others will have the courage to confront the ignorance in my life. ************************************************** ********* "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Corinthians 3:17 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. Lamentations 3:24-25 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No one will come before My Father except through me." John 14:6 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Forgiveness is a wonderful way to lift yourself up and it is the best way to encourage yourself and others to do better. Lord, grant me greater understanding and wisdom so that I can move past my problems into a new day. Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good. |
July 22
Daily Reflections "THE GOOD AND THE BAD" "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad." ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My shortcomings can be humbly placed in God's loving care and be removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better way to seek humility than by giving all of myself--good and bad--to God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day One of the finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its membership. We come from all walks and stations of life. All types and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group. Being different from each other in certain ways, we can each make a different contribution to the whole. Some of us are weak in one respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the strong points of all its members and can disregard the weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not only because we all have the same problem, but also because of the diversified talents of its members. Each can contribute his part. Do I recognize the good points of all my group's members? Meditation For The Day "And greater works than these shall ye do." Each individual has the ability to do good works through the power of God's spirit. This is the wonder of the world, the miracle of the earth, that God's power goes out to bless the human race through the agency of so many people who are actuated by His grace. We need not be held back by doubt, despondency and fear. A wonderful future can lie before any person who depends on God's power, a future of unlimited power to do good works. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I may have confidence that I can be effective for good. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It True Tolerance, p. 203 Gradually we began to be able to accept the other fellow's sins as well as his virtues. We coined the potent and meaningful expression "Let us always love the best in others--and never fear their worst." ******************************** Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong. When this happens, we approach true tolerance and we see what real love for our fellows actually means. 1. Grapevine, January 1962 2. 12 & 12, p. 92 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places The Right Place for my Type The Right Work "You cannot change your type, but you can make yourself a brilliant success I that type," Wrote Emmet Fox. This is a reminder for people who are discontented with their lot in life, and this includes most people who participate in 12 Step programs. There are many different TYPES of people, and all types are good. We only need t find where our type is required and then do our best in that place. We will have immediate advantages, because all of our energies and talents will then be applied in the right way. We should never spend a moment envying other types of people who are brilliantly successful in their activities. Our happiness is to be found in our place, not theirs. If I'm doing what's right for my type, I'll give it my very best. If I'm in the wrong place, I'll know that my Higher Power is guiding me toward the right outlet for my talents. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple . . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. ---Luke 17:21 We want so much to be good. Even when we used alcohol or other drugs, we wanted to believe we were good people. But we often felt we couldn't measure up. We thought we had to live by a set of rules that we could never follow. Now we're finding the goodness inside us. Goodness isn't something we do. Goodness is just being what we already are. Our Higher Power speaks to us in many ways, including through our hearts and minds. We don't have to try so hard top be good. We just learn to relax and invite our Higher Power to be part of our lives. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have put peace, knowledge, love and joy in my heart today. Help me to always find these things. Action for the Day: How's my Higher Power like a loving king or queen? How can I have a kingdom inside me? I'll talk with my sponsor about this today. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning How I relate to my inner self-influences my relationships with all others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other people are directly proportional. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh Hateful attitudes toward others, resistance to someone's suggestions, jealousy over another woman's attractiveness or particular abilities are equally strong indications of the health of our spiritual programs. Our security rests with God. When that relationship is nurtured, the rewards will be many and satisfactions great. Our inner selves may need pampering and praise. They have suffered the abuse of neglect for many years, no doubt. In many instances we have chided ourselves, perhaps shamed ourselves. Learning to love our inner selves, recognizing the value inherent in our very existence, takes effort, commitment, and patience--assets we may only just now be developing in this recovery program. Our inner selves are the home of our Spirit wherein our attachment to all strength, all courage, all self-esteem, and all serenity resides. Our Spirit is one with our higher power. We must acknowledge the presence and utilize the comforts offered. My relationships with others are as healthy and fulfilling as my communication with God. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You The man in the bed was told of the acute poisoning from which he suffered, how it deteriorates the body of an alcoholic and warps his mind. There was much talk about the mental state preceding the first drink. “Yes, that’s me,” said the sick man, “the very image. You fellows know your stuff all right, but I don’t see what good it’ll do. You fellows are somebody. I was once, but I’m a nobody now. From what you tell me, I know more than ever I can’t stop.” At this both the visitors burst into a laugh. Said the future Fellow Anonymous: “**** little to laugh about that I can see.” p. 157 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." We who have escaped these extremes are apt to congratulate ourselves. Yet can we? After all, hasn't it been self-interest, pure and simple, that has enabled most of us to escape? Not much spiritual effort is involved in avoiding excesses which will bring us punishment anyway. But when we face up to the less violent aspects of these very same defects, then where do we stand? p. 66 ************************************************** ********* "Success is a journey, not a destination." --Ben Sweetland A good laugh heals a lot of hurts. --Madeleine L'Engle Peace is the ability to wait patiently in spite of panic brought on by uncertainty. --Stress Fractures, p.50 Worrying and fear are the opposite of love. Love yourself more than you ever have. Love yourself enough to stop worrying. Love yourself enough to give yourself the gift of peace. --Melody Beattie It is easy to love those who are at their best. But it is during those times we are unlovable that we may need love the most. And what a beautiful thing when we get it. And even more beautiful when we find the grace to give it. --unknown "May the sun always shine on your windowpane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you." --Irish Blessing *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation LIVING "It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live." --Marcus Aurelius For years I did not live I simply existed. What many people take for granted I did not have: friends, vacations, job satisfaction, gratitude, family, communication and love of self. An aspect of my disease, my denial, was that I thought I was happy without having any evidence for such a feeling. Indeed, my lifestyle indicated progressive isolation. That's illusion. A recovering alcoholic priest shared that early in recovery he saw a sunset and remarked, "How long has that been happening?" Like him, I missed so much! Life is to be lived or endured. My spiritual recovery means that every day I reach out to life and grasp it, hold it, smell it--and smile. God of life, let me live today. Let my "high" be the glory of the day. ************************************************** ********* My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one." Luke 10: 27-30 The LORD's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration When things go wrong, it is far more productive to see if you can learn something from it rather than just getting upset. Lord, help me to remain peaceful and patient enough in my trying moments so that in some way I can grow from them. God will give you strength because He gives of Himself. Lord, bless us, deliver us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. |
July 23
I ASK GOD TO DECIDE "I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows." ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76 Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I don't decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask God to decide which defects stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and to others, and then I humbly ask Him to remove them. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We should remember that all A.A.'s have "clay feet." We should not set any member upon a pedestal and mark her or him out as a perfect A.A. Its not fair to the person to be singled out in this fashion and if the person is wise she or he will not wish it. If the person we single out as an ideal A.A. has a fall, we are in danger of falling, too. Without exception, we are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long we have been in A.A. Nobody is entirely safe. A.A. itself should be our ideal, not any particular member of it. Am I putting my trust in A.A. principles and not in any one member of the group? Meditation For The Day The inward peace that comes from trust in God truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world's worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may not allow those about me to spoil my peace of mind. I pray that I may keep a deep inner calm throughout the day. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It The Building Of Character, p. 204 Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins. If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does he render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character. 12 & 12, p. 65 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Sensing Rejection Self-Esteem and Maturity We laugh when a recovering person tells how he "learned to quit just before he got fired." We sometimes can tell when a rejection is coming, and we take steps.... such as quitting.. To avoid further pain and humiliation. In the recovery process, there still may be times when we sense a coming rejection. If it does come, we must remember that rejections is part of living. People receive rejection for all sorts of reasons, including wrong ones. When we do sense any kid of a rejection in the works, our best course is to let it happen, accept it, and put it behind us. If we are living our program, we don't need to feel pain or humiliation, as rejection is simply part of normal human experience. I'll try today to be as accepting as possible in everything I do. If others choose to reject me, I will also accept this without resentment or self-reproach. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.---Laurence Couglin "Do I talk to much?" Most of us wonder this sometimes. There are some ways to find out. Asked yourself these questions: "How much do I know about people in my life?" "What do they think and feel?" "Do I listen to them?" "Do I often feel that I say too much?" Then ask a few trusted friends these questions: "Do you think I talk to much?" "How well do you think I listen to you?" Silence help us listen---to ourselves, to others, and to our Higher Power. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me enjoy the silent moments in my day. Action for the Day: Today, I'll think before I speak. what do I really want to say. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning For this is wisdom; to live, To take what fate, or the Gods, may give. --Laurence Hope We can't control the events of our lives, but we do have mastery over our attitudes. The chances will be many, today, to react negatively or positively to circumstances we find ourselves in. We can consider that each circumstance has something special in it for us. Positive expectations regarding the planned as well as spontaneous activities of the day will influence the activity's flow, our involvement with it, and our interactions with the other people involved. A positive attitude seems to breed positive experiences. In other words, we attract into our lives that which we expect. How often do we get up angry, feeling behind when the day has only begun, short-tempered with our children, "ready" for a tough one at work? And we generally find it. The Serenity Prayer offers us all the knowledge, all the wisdom we'll ever need. We can accept what has to be, change what we can, and not get confused between the two. We can inventory our attitude. Are we taking charge of it? Our attitude is something we can change. I won't get trapped today by a negative attitude. I will accept the challenge of turning my day around. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition The two friends spoke of their spiritual experience and told him about the course of action they carried out. He interrupted: “I used to be strong for the church, but that won’t fix it. I’ve prayed to God on hangover mornings and sworn that I’d never touch another drop but by nine o’clock I’d be boiled as an owl.” Next day found the prospect more receptive. He had been thinking it over. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “God ought to be able to do anything.” Then he added, “He sure didn’t do much for me when I was trying to fight this booze racket alone.” pp. 157-158 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." What we must recognize now is that we exult in some of our defects. We really love them. Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior? Isn't it true that we like to let greed masquerade as ambition? To think of liking lust seems impossible. But how many men and women speak love with their lips, and believe what they say, so that they can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds? And even while staying within conventional bounds, many people have to admit that their imaginary sex excursions are apt to be all dressed up as dreams of romance. pp. 66-67 ************************************************** ********* The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. --Dee Hock "One faces the future with one's past." --Pearl S. Buck This day is not a rehearsal. It is real. What you choose to do with it will have lasting consequences for you and for those around you. It is an awesome responsibility and a tremendous opportunity. Give it the best that you have. --Ralph Marston As you teach, you learn. --Jewish Proverb At the beginning of your day, spend a few minutes in silence to commune with God. At the end of your day, do the same. And in the course of your day, join with others. Pray for those in your life and allow them the honor of praying for you. The energy you hold in prayer is real, and over time, will take form. --Mary Manin Morrissey "Notice the acts of kindness other people do rather than their wrongdoing. This is how the loving presence views you. We are all good, decent, loving souls who occasionally get lost. When you can focus on the good in another and hold that in your mind, you are acting from your higher self. This can help dissipate fear and anger. --Wayne Dyer *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation WEALTH "The only question with wealth is what you do with it." --John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Prosperity, if it is truly to be appreciated, needs to be shared. Wealth only makes sense when it is put to use for the benefit of the many. To horde treasure is to miss the value of that treasure. Money makes the world go around but it can only produce joy and excitement when it is spent or put to work. This is also true for those who have a "wealth" of ideas or talents -- they need to be expressed, shared and valued by others to be of any real benefit. A writer needs to write, a musician needs to play, a painter demands a canvas -- and the world needs to appreciate. God is at work in His world and He requires recognition. Let me find You in the talents that You have shared with me. ************************************************** ********* A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. Proverbs 15:30 "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 Then I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" Hebrews 10:7 "O God, why have you abandoned me? I sit and wait for you and you do not come. I watch everyone who passes, but it is not you. I sit by myself on the side of life and cry to you, but you do not come. I stand and look from the window, but you are nowhere in sight. I need you, O God, but you have left me all alone. I try to talk myself into believing that you're on the way, perhaps tomorrow, or the next day...but you do not appear. How can I walk in this pain all alone? How can I stand knee-deep in suffering without you? Where are you, O God of my life? Where are you when I'm in such danger? Will you let me slip away simply because you didn't get here on time? O God of mercy, do not abandon me. Show me your face at my window and wipe the tears from my life. Please come to me. Please take care of me. I will shout your name from the rooftops! I will dance your praise among the stars. I will tell the world that you would never abandon me." Psalm 15 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration You will be happier if you spend less time insisting that everything be your way. Lord, help me remain objective and open to new ideas when they are presented, but at the same time give me the courage to not compromise my beliefs and values. How easy it is to blame God for circumstances that don't go as we want. Lord, grant me wisdom and understanding to know that You are Love and, as a loving God, You only want the best for me. |
July 24
HELPING OTHERS "Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 20 Self-centeredness was my problem. All my life people had been doing things for me and I not only expected it, but I was ungrateful and resentful they didn't do more. Why should I help others, when they were supposed to help me? If others had troubles, didn't they deserve them? I was filled with self-pity, anger and resentment. Then I learned that by helping others, with no thought of return, I could overcome this obsession with selfishness, and if I understood humility, I would know peace and serenity. No longer do I need to drink. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day A.A. is like a dike, holding back the ocean of liquor. If we take one glass of liquor, it is like making a small hole in the dike and once such a hole has been made, the whole ocean of alcohol may rush in upon us. By practicing the A.A. principles we keep the dike strong and in repair. We spot any weakness or crack in that dike and make the necessary repairs before any damage is done. Outside the dike is the whole ocean of alcohol, waiting to engulf us again in despair. Am I keeping the dike strong? Meditation For The Day Keep as close as you can to the Higher Power. Try to think, act, live as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping close to a Power greater than yourself is the solution to most of the earth's problems. Try to practice the presence of God in the things you think and do. That is the secret of personal power. It is the thing that influences the lives of others for good. Abide in the Lord and rejoice in His love. Keep close to the Divine Spirit in the universe. Keep God close behind your thoughts. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may keep close to the Mind of God. I pray that I may live with Him in my heart and mind. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Virtue and Self-Deception, p. 205 I used to take comfort from an exaggerated belief in my own honesty. My New England kinfolk had taught me the sanctity of all business commitments and contracts, saying, "A man's word is his bond." After this rigorous conditioning, business honesty always came easy; I never flim-flammed anyone. However, this small fragment of readily won virtue did produce some interesting liabilities. I never failed to whip up a fine contempt for those of my fellow Wall Streeters who were prone to shortchange their customers. This was arrogant enough, but the ensuring self-deception proved even worse. My prized business honesty was presently converted into a comfortable cloak under which I could hide the many serious flaws that beset other departments of my life. Being certain of this one virtue, it was easy to conclude that I had them all. For years on end, this prevented me from taking a good look at myself. Grapevine, August 1961 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Overcoming A Bad Disposition Temperament People with bad dispositions, like people with drinking problems, do not recognize how difficult they are. They accept their bad disposition as normal. Some people even declare proudly that they're in a bad mood until they've been awake several hours or had three cups of coffee. We do not have to put up with a BAD DISPOSITION. If we find ourselves touchy or grumpy at times, we should immediately release this to our Higher Power. There is a better pattern of thought and feeling to replace anything that comes across to others as a bad disposition. It's surprising to learn that we don't have to live with a bad disposition. What's even more surprising is that we'll also be happier and more relaxed without it. A bad disposition, we learn, is just so much unnecessary baggage we don't have to carry. I'll be relaxed and friendly at all times today. I have neither a need nor an excuse for a bad disposition. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The work of adult life is not easy.---Gail Sheehy We used to look for a easier, softer way. We tried to take care of ourselves by staying clear of hard task. The result? We haven't known what the work of adult life is. The work of adult life is this: to become spiritually centered. And to do this, we work at getting rid of our self-will. There will be many great rewards for doing this. We will wake up spiritually. We will connect with those we love. The result? We will receive self-love to replace self-will. Our work will not be easy, but it will be rewarding. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to give all to my recovery program. Then help me to be open to the rewards this will bring. Action for the Day: I will list the hard parts of my program. Then I'll talk about them with my sponsor, friends, family, and Higher Power. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning ... The idea has gained currency that women have often been handicapped not only by a fear of failure--not unknown to men either, but by a fear of success as well. --Sonya Rudikoff It was our practice, before coming to this program, to eat, drink, and smoke our fears away. What we came to realize, profoundly, was that the fears couldn't be escaped even while high. This program is helping us to understand that fears are human, normal and survivable when we let God and our friends in the program lend a helping hand. Drugs and alcohol distorted our perceptions. Our fears, whether large or small, were distorted. And we still distort those fears, on occasion, because we move away from the spiritual reality of our lives. Remember, we are confronted with no situation too big to handle, no experience for which we are unprepared, if we but turn to that greater power that the program offers us. We cannot fail in whatever we try today. The outcome of any task attempted is just as it should be. And however we succeed today, we will be shown the steps, at the right time, to make use of that success. I shall not fear failure or success. I am not alone in experiencing either; both are stepping-stones on my life's journey. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You On the third day the lawyer gave his life to the care and direction of his Creator, and said he was perfectly willing to do anything necessary. His wife came, scarcely daring to be hopeful, though she thought she saw something different about her husband already. He had begun to have a spiritual experience. That afternoon he put on his clothes and walked from the hospital a free man. He entered a political campaign, making speeches, frequenting men’s gathering places of all sorts, often staying up all night. He lost the race by only a narrow margin. But he had found God—and in finding God had found himself. That was in June, 1935. He never drank again. He too, has become a respected and useful member of his community. He has helped other men recover, and is a power in the church from which he was long absent. p. 158 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. In a perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the fact that many people annoy us, for it brings a comfortable feeling of superiority. Gossip barbed with our anger, a polite form of murder by character assassination, has its satisfactions for us, too. Here we are not trying to help those we criticize; we are trying to proclaim our own righteousness. p. 67 ************************************************** ********* "Our ability to identify a teacher and to learn is directly related to how open-minded we are and the attitude with which we approach everyone and everything that comes our way." --Bonnie Friedman "When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart instead of the head." --anonymous No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. --Eleanor Roosevelt "The remarkable thing we have is a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. " --Charles Swindoll "Just when I found out the meaning of life, they changed it!" --George Carlin Don't talk unless you can improve the silence. --Laurence Couglin *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation LONELINESS "This great misfortune -- to be incapable of solitude." --Jean de la Bruyere Today I am able to live with my loneliness. I know the difference between being "alone" and being "lonely" -- and even in sobriety I experience loneliness. But today I can live with it. When I was drinking, I had an overwhelming feeling of being lost and isolated; today it is tolerable. I can live with it. It is part of being "imperfect". I am not God. The reality of spirituality demands that I do not escape into a fantasy that denies my feelings of loneliness. It is part of my journey towards God. I will never appreciate perfect happiness until I rest in God. This I accept. In sobriety I have many days of happiness and moments of joy --- but I am, at times, lonely -- with feelings of being lost. Today I can accept this -- and talk about it. I accept that part of me will be forever lost until I rest in God. ************************************************** ********* Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:25 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Colossians 1:13 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration The things in life that mean the most have no price tag. Lord, thank you for the moments that I am able to spend with my family and friends. If your family is a mess, you are not a success. Lord, bless me with the wisdom and strength to bring unity and peace to my family. |
July 25
Daily Reflections THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting danger to our own lives and sanity. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151 I know the torment of drinking compulsively to quiet my nerves and my fears. I also know the pain of white-knuckled sobriety. Today, I do not forget the unknown person who suffers quietly, withdrawn and hiding in the desperate relief of drinking. I ask my Higher Power to give me His guidance and the courage to be willing to be His instrument to carry within me compassion and unselfish actions. Let the group continue to give me the strength to do with others what I cannot do alone. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We are living on borrowed time. We are living today because of A.A. and the grace of God. And what there is left of our lives we owe to A.A. and to God. We should make the best use we can of our borrowed time and in some small measure pay back for that part of our lives which we wasted before we came into A.A. Our lives from now on are not our own. We hold them in trust for God and A.A. And we must do all we can to forward the great movement that has given us a new lease on life. Am I holding my life in trust for A.A.? Meditation For The Day You should hold your life in trust for God. Think deeply on what that means. Is anything too much to expect from such a life? Do you begin to see how dedicated a life in trust for God can be? In such a life miracles can happen. If you are faithful, you can believe that God has many good things in store for you. God can be Lord of your life, controller of your days, of your present and your future. Try to act as God guides and leave all results to Him. Do not hold back, but go all out for God and the better life. Make good your trust. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may hold my life in trust for God. I pray that I may no longer consider my life as all my own. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Praying For Others, p. 206 While praying sincerely, we still may fall into temptation. We form ideas as to what we think God's will is for other people. We say to ourselves, "This one ought to be cured of his fatal malady" or "That one ought to be relieved of his emotional pain," and we pray for these specific things. Such prayers, of course, are fundamentally good acts, but often they are based upon a supposition that we know God's will for the person for whom we pray. This means that side by side with an earnest prayer there can be a certain amount of presumption and conceit in us. It is A.A.'s experience that partially in these cases we ought to pray that God's will, whatever it is, be done for others as well as for ourselves. 12 & 12, p. 104 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Dealing with Disagreeable people Personal relations At every turn in the road, we=re likely to meet disagreeable people, sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes, we=re forced to deal with them. The 12 Step program does not make this entirely painless, but it smooths the process. One thing we=ve learned is not to react with anger and contempt when we meet a disagreeable person, because such feelings on our part will only set off an explosion. The 12 Step program shows us how to give the ASoft Answer Which Turns away Wrath. It will not be us, but our Higher Power who does the work. In time, we will respond in this way naturally. This is not cowardice---- it is really another courageous way of dealing with human weaknesses. I'll be calm and controlled today, no matter who or what comes into my life. My Higher Power supports me in my responses. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple If the spirit within us withers (dies), so to will all the world we build around us.---Theodore Roszab This is what happened during our illness---our spirits were dying. Our relationships were dying. this is because addiction is death. And recovery is life! The Steps breathe like into us. Our groups breathe life into us. We start to heal because we once again feel hope. We're less afraid of what tomorrow may bring. As our hope grows, others feel it too. We're starting to slowly rebuild our world. We're building our world on the Twelve Steps and their message of hope. Prayer for the Day: I give myself to life. Higher Power, work with me as I rebuild my world. Action for the Day: I'll talk with a friend about hope. I'll see my hope as a sign of how close I am to my program. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning I have a clear choice between life and death, between reality and fantasy, between health and sickness. I have to become responsible--responsible for mistakes as well as accomplishments. --Eileen Mayhew Choosing to participate actively in our own lives ushers in joy and sometimes fear. We are energized by our conscious involvement; making thoughtful choices regarding our development heightens our sense of well-being. But occasionally we may fear potential failure. About as frequently, we may fear probable success. Not every day do we want the responsibility for our lives; but we have it. On occasion we only want the loving arms of a caretaker. The beauty of our lives at this time is that we do have a caretaker at our beck and call, a caretaker who has demonstrated repeatedly a concern for our safety, a caretaker who will help us shoulder every responsibility we face. Clearly, our coming to this program shows that we have chosen to act responsibly. And just as clearly, every day that we ask for the guidance to live to the best of our abilities, we will be helped to accomplish the tasks right for us in this stage of our lives. All I have to do is make the right choices. I will always know which they are, when I ask for guidance. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You So, you see, there were three alcoholics in that town, who now felt they had to give to others what they had found, or be sunk. After several failures to find others, a fourth turned up. He came through an acquaintance who had heard the good news. He proved to be a devil-may-care young fellow whose parents could not make out whether he wanted to stop drinking or not. They were deeply religious people, much shocked by their son’s refusal to have anything to do with the church. He suffered horribly from his sprees, but it seemed as if nothing could be done for him. He consented, however, to go to the hospital, where he occupied the very room recently vacated by the lawyer. He had three visitors. After a bit, he said, “The way you fellows put this spiritual stuff makes sense. I’m ready to do business. I guess the old folks were right after all.” So one more was added to the Fellowship. pp. 158-159 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." When gluttony is less than ruinous, we have a milder word for that, too; we call it "taking our comfort." We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or less degree, everybody is infected with it. From this defect we must surely get a warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume such great amounts of time wishing for what we have not, rather than working for it, or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of adjusting to the fact, and accepting it? And how often we work hard with no better motive than to be secure and slothful later on-- only we call that "retiring." Consider, too, our talents for procrastination, which is really sloth in five syllables. Nearly anyone could submit a good list of such defects as these, and few of us would seriously think of giving them up, at least until they cause us excessive misery. p. 67 ************************************************** ********* You can get off the elevator anytime, but if you get back on it's only going down. --unknown Happy memories never wear out. Relive them as often as you want. --Anonymous Our pasts are perfect in a way our minds can never fully understand. We would not have the opportunities for awakening and experiencing that are ours today, without exactly what happened. Now, it's what we do with our pasts that provides the opportunity for growth. Today, spend some time thinking about the gifts in your past that you may have overlooked. --Mary Manin Morrissey Live your life and forget your age. --Norman Vincent Peale In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage, so long are you young. When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, and then only, are you grown old. --General Douglas MacArthur "What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." --Yiddish Proverb "The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." --Vince Lombardi *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation MISFORTUNE "Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience. Misfortunes have their life and their limits, their sickness and their health." --Michel de Montaigne Nothing lasts forever. At times I feel sad, angry, resentful and ashamed -- but it passes. In my recovery I have learned to live in "my day" and accept the consequences of that day. I can only deal with life as I experience it. Tomorrow is a new day with new experiences. And some of the experiences are painful. Reality teaches me this. At times I wish I could go through life without pain or rejection but I know that is fantasy. Sobriety does not mean that everything will be perfect -- only better! Nothing is so bad that I need to drink or use over it. Today I know that alcohol increases my pain; it is never a solution. God, who has given me today, will also give me a tomorrow -- and time eases the pain if I work my program. Misfortunes are not worth drinking over. Nothing lasts forever. Thank You for the gift of a tomorrow. ************************************************** ********* My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Jesus says," Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4 "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me." Psalm 54:4 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration God wants us happy right now and continually points us in that direction even when we look the other way. Lord, grant that nothing will turn me away from doing Your will. They are wise who depend on God. Lord, Your perfect law revives my soul. Keeping Your law makes me rich. |
July 26
Daily Reflections THE "WORTH" OF SOBRIETY Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. TWELVE AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 160 When I go shopping I look at the prices and if I need what I see, I buy it and pay. Now that I am supposed to be in rehabilitation, I have to straighten out my life. When I go to a meeting, I take a coffee with sugar and milk, sometimes more than one. But at the collection time, I am either too bust to take money out of my purse, or I do not have enough, but I am there because I need this meeting. I heard someone suggest dropping the price of a beer into the basket, and I thought, that's too much! I almost never give one dollar. Like many others, I rely on the more generous members to finance the Fellowship. I forget that it takes money to rent the meeting room, buy my milk, sugar and cups. I will pay, without hesitation, ninety cents for a cup of coffee at a restaurant after the meeting; I always have money for that. So, how much is my sobriety and my inner peace worth? ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day When we come to the end of our lives on earth, we will take no material thing with us. We will not take one cent in our cold, dead hands. The only things that we may take are the things we have given away. If we have helped others, we may take that with us; if we have given our time and money for the good of A.A., we may take that with us. Looking back over our lives, what are we proud of? Not what have we gained for ourselves, but what few good deeds we have done. Those are the things that really matter in the long run. What will I take with me when I go? Meditation For The Day "Hallowed be Thy Name." What does that mean to us? Here "name" is used in the sense of "spirit." The words mean praise to God for His spirit in the world, making us better. We should be especially grateful for God's spirit, which gives us the strength to overcome all that is base in our lives. His spirit is powerful. It can help us to live a conquering, abundant life. So we praise and thank Him for His spirit in our lives and in the lives of others. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may be grateful for God's spirit in me. I pray that I may try to live in accordance with it. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It The Fellowship's Future, p.207 "It seems proved that A.A. can stand on its own feet anywhere and under any conditions. It has outgrown any dependence it might once have had upon the personalities or efforts of a few of the older members like me. New, able, and vigorous people keep coming to the surface, turning up where they are needed. Besides, A.A. has reached enough spiritual maturity to know that its final dependence is upon God." ******************************** Clearly, our first duty to A.A.'s future is to maintain in full strength what we have now. Only the most vigilant caretaking can assure this. Never should we be lulled into complacent self-satisfaction by the wide acclaim and success that are everywhere ours. This is the subtle temptation which could render us stagnant today, perchance disintegrate us tomorrow. We have always rallied to meet and transcend failure and crisis. Problems have been our stimulants. How well, though, shall we be able to meet the problems of success? 1. Letter, 1940 2. A.A. Today, p. 106 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Never withholding ourselves..............Living Sober. We may have let ourselves believe that were supposed to display an attitude that expresses our opinions of others. If a person is crude and boorish, we should be cool and defensive for our self-protection. If a person is warm and friendly, we should respond in warm and friendly ways. If we have believed these things, then were actually letting others control our attitudes and behavior. We are letting personalities interfere with the high principles we are learning in AA. We are not living at the best possible level. In reality, we should always display an attitude that reflects kindness, optimism, friendliness, and concern. There other persons disposition, whether its sour or sweet, should have nothing to do with our being what we want to be. We should never withhold the fine inner qualities that develop and grow as we continue to live the program. In time, we begin to learn that this attitude always comes back to us in the form of greater peace and happiness. And what's great about it is that its always under our direct control. As I go about my business today, I will express a kindliness and concern toward everybody. Nobody's behavior can make me adopt a suspicious or defensive attitude ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple I was never less alone when by myself.---Edward Gibson To stay in this program, we need to accept that we have an illness. We need to accept that we were out of control. And we need to accept that we need others and they need us. At times, we won't want to accept these facts. We will want to deny we have an illness and our lives were out of control. Many of us get into trouble when we don't accept that we need others. This is why helping others is so important. It teaches us that we need others, and others need us. By helping others, we learn about the give-and-take of human relationships. There is no give-an-take in addiction. There is just take. Now, finally, we can give too! Prayer for the Day: I pray to remember that I need other people. Action for the Day: Today, I'll help out. I will make coffee at the next meeting or offer to do the Step next week. I will let a fellow addict know I'm glad he or she is sober. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts than to change the preconceptions. --Jessamyn West To live fully and creatively, to contribute what is only ours to give, requires that we be receptive, wholly, to the reverberations of each present moment. Even anticipation of what may transpire next can prejudice our minds, our level of awareness. Preconceptions cloud our senses. They prevent the actual situation from being fully realized. And it is only in the now, as sensed moment by moment, that we find our cues to proceed along the path chosen for us. As we grow more comfortable with Step Three, daily turning our lives and wills over to the care of God, we'll see how much more rewarding our experiences are. We'll see, too, how much greater are our own contributions. Preconceptions of any situation, persons, anticipated experience, dulls the magic, the depth of the moment. And only when we attune ourselves to the invitation of the moment do we give of ourselves, wholly. Our partnership with God lives now, as we go forth in this moment. I will look to each moment with childish eyes. I'll find joy and contentment. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You All this time our friend of the hotel lobby incident remained in that town. He was there three months. He now returned home, leaving behind his first acquaintances, the lawyer and the devil-may-care chap. These men had found something brand new in life. Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they would remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was transcended by the happiness they found in giving themselves for others. They shared their homes, their slender resources, and gladly devoted their spare hours to fellow-sufferers. They were willing, by day or night, to place a new man in the hospital and visit him afterward. They grew in numbers. They experienced a few distressing failures, but in those cases they made an effort to bring the man’s family into a spiritual way of living, thus relieving much worry and suffering. p. 159 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Some people, of course, may conclude that they are indeed ready to have all such defects taken from them. But even these people, if they construct a list of still milder defects, will be obliged to admit that they prefer to hang on to some of them. Therefore, it seems plain that few of us can quickly or easily become ready to aim at spiritual and moral perfection; we want to settle for only as much perfection as will get us by in life, according, of course, to our various and sundry ideas of what will get us by. So the difference between "the boys and the men" is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God. pp. 67-68 ************************************************** ********* The future starts today, not tomorrow. --Pope John Paul II Don't live in the past...you have already been there. --Cited in BITS & PIECES The secret lies in how we handle today, not yesterday or tomorrow. Today...that special block of time holding the key that locks out yesterday's nightmares and unlocks tomorrow's dreams. --Charles Swindoll Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds something new to his life, something with which nothing can be compared. --Mahatma Gandhi "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." --Robert Brault As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way. --Ralph Waldo Emerson The paradox of control is simple. The more we try to control life, the less control we have. --Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation ADVERSITY "Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it." --Horace Today I believe that the only way to understand God, the world, my neighbor and myself is through some degree of suffering. Pain and suffering are humbling in the truest sense; they stop you from being arrogant, selfish and "prideful". I know this because I was a spoiled child. My family tried to give me everything. Whatever I wanted was given to me; my way or no way! This sick love robbed me of humility and separated me from humanity: it made me feel different, selfish and place me on a pity-pot. Being spoiled stopped me experiencing the real world and stopped me from growing. Today adversity is part of life and part of being human. Not to grow through adversity is to die. To have everything is to experience nothing. To feel in life -- to have emotion -- demands adversity and pain. Teach me to be grateful for the suffering that leads to growth. ************************************************** ********* Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Phillipians 4:4-9 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Avoid being self-conscious and you will have more time to have fun and enjoy the moment. Lord, help me take myself less seriously and place my focus on those around me. Courage gives us the trust in God to follow our hearts no matter what obstacles seem to block our way. Lord, I love You. |
July 27
Daily Reflections GIVING FREELY We will make every personal sacrifice necessary to insure the unity of Alcoholics Anonymous. We will do this because we have learned to love God and one another. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 234 To be self-supporting through my own contributions was never a strong characteristic during my days as a practicing alcoholic. The giving of time or money always demanded a price tag. As a newcomer I was told "we have to give it away in order to keep it." As I began to adopt the principals of Alcoholics Anonymous in my life, I soon found it was a privilege to give to the Fellowship as an expression of the gratitude felt in my heart. My love of God and of others became the motivating factor in my life, with no thought of return. I realize now that giving freely is God's way of expressing Himself through me. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day To paraphrase the psalm: "We alcoholics declare the power of liquor and drunkenness showeth its handiwork. Day unto day uttereth hangovers and night unto night showeth suffering. The law of A.A. is perfect, converting the drunk. The testimony of A.A. is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of A.A. are right, rejoicing the heart. The program of A.A. is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the first drink is clean, enduring forever." Have I any doubt about the power of liquor? Meditation For The Day "Walk humbly with thy Lord." Walking with God means practicing the presence of God in your daily affairs. It means asking God for strength to face each new day. It means turning to Him often during the day in prayer for yourself and for other people. It means thanking Him at night for the blessings you have received during the day. Nothing can seriously upset you if you are "walking with God." You can believe that He is beside you in spirit, to help you and to guide you on your way. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may try to walk humbly with God. I pray that I may turn to Him often as to a close friend. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Reason--a Bridge to Faith, p. 208 We were squarely confronted with the question of faith. We couldn't duck the issue. Some of us had already walked along the bridge of reason toward the desired shore of faith, where friendly hands stretched out in welcome. We were grateful that reason had brought us so far. Perhaps we had been relying too heavily on reason that last mile, and we did not like to lose our support. Yet, without knowing it, had we not been brought to where we stood by a certain kind of faith? For did we not believe in our own reasoning? Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What was that but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful to the god of reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time! Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 53-54 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places No tap dancing around problems. Inventory Our program calls for a "searching and fearless" moral inventory, not only in the beginning, but as we continue to follow our new way of life. What this means is complete honesty about who and what we really are. We should not tap-dance around our problems in order to evade responsibility. This willnot bring the cleansing we need for real sober living. We need deep changes, not mere surface ones. Difficult as it is to be fully honest, it's made easier when we remind ourselves that it's all for our own recovery. We benefit in proportion to the amount of honesty we bring to our inventory. If it's searching and fearless, the results will be far-reaching and substantial. I will not shirk from facing the truth about myself as I go through the day. What I need for self-improvement will be revealed to me. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple To enjoy freedom, we have to con troll ourselves. Virginia Woolf Freedom is a funny thing, in a way, it makes life harder. We are free to do what we want but every choice makes a difference in our lives. Some choices make us happy and some bring trouble. We can make good choices. We can control our actions. We can start by having control in little ways: follow the law, pay the rent, and make the bed every day. These choices put order in our lives. Eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. These choices make us strong enough to live each day to the fullest. These kinds of choices set us free. Prayer for the day: Higher Power, I was drinking and drugging. I couldn't enjoy my freedom. I had no control over the little things in my life. Help me stay sober today. Action for the day: Today, I'll be grateful for having some control. I will list five way I am more free because I can control my actions. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. --Mother Teresa Our spiritual nature must be nurtured. Prayer and meditation lovingly kindle the flame that guides us from within. Because we're human, we often let the flame flicker and perhaps go out. And then we sense the dreaded aloneness. Fortunately, some time away, perhaps even a few moments in quiet communion with God, rekindles the flame. For most of us, the flame burned low, or not at all, for many years. The flickering we may feel today, or tomorrow, or felt yesterday, will not last, so we may put away our fears. We can listen to the voice of our higher power in others. We can listen, too, as we carry the message. Prayer surrounds us every moment. We can fuel our inner flame with the messages received from others. We can let our spirit spring forth, let it warm our hearts and the hearts of others. We each have a friend whose flame may be flickering today. I will help her and thus myself. A steady flame can rekindle one that's flickering. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You A year and six months later these three had succeeded with seven more. Seeing much of each other, scarce an evening passed that someone’s home did not shelter a little gathering of men and women, happy in their release, and constantly thinking how they might present their discovery to some newcomer. In addition to these casual get-togethers, it became customary to set apart one night a week for a meeting to be attended by anyone or everyone interested in a spiritual way of life. Aside from fellowship and sociability, the prime object was to provide a time and place where new people might bring their problems. pp. 159-160 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Many will at once ask, "How can we accept the entire implication of Step Six? Why--that is perfection!" This sounds like a hard question, but practically speaking, it isn't. Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. The remaining eleven Steps state perfect ideals. They are goals toward which we look, and the measuring sticks by which we estimate our progress. Seen in this light, Step Six is still difficult, but not at all impossible. The only urgent thing is that we make a beginning, and keep trying. p. 68 ************************************************** ********* Today, I will focus on practicing one recovery behavior on one of my issues, trusting that this practice will move me forward. I will remember that acceptance, gratitude, and detachment are a good place to begin. --Melody Beattie "God gives us abundance in all things, that we might use it on behalf of the healing of the world." --Marianne Williamson "We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't." --Frank A. Clark "The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." --Carl Rogers He that gives should never remember, he that receives should never forget. --Talmud "With every prayer and every thought of love, we release the light that will cast out darkness. One light alone seems small and weak, but no one's light is ever alone, for all our lights are part of God." --Marianne Williamson All time spent angry is time lost being happy. -- Mexican Proverb Progress comes from caring more about what needs to be done than about who gets the credit. --Dorothy Height *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation IDEAS "Ideas shape the course of history." --John Maynard Keynes I get so excited about my sobriety because it has given me ideas. Today I can think, ponder and create. God is such a big idea today -- every thing is involved. For years I had made God a prisoner of the Church or an idea in history, but in my sobriety I have discovered Him in art, poetry, music and literature. God is found in friendship, advice, sharing and sexuality. God is forcibly experienced in nature, sunsets, animals and the sea. God can be found through my failures. He is perceived in suffering, loneliness and resentments. The acknowledgment of my disease has brought me closer to God as I understand Him. My idea of God is alive and it makes me want to live. May my ideas and thoughts always reflect Your beauty. ************************************************** ********* "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalms 16:11 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Talents are not just artistic. They include the talent for compassion, care and for bringing harmony to our environment. Lord, help me to say the right words when what I say can make a helpful difference. If we look to God for guidance, we will not be weighed down by the circumstances of our life. Lord, free me from the worries that come to distract me and keep me focused on that which is important. |
July 28
Daily Reflections THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 232 A.A. groups exist to help alcoholics achieve sobriety. Large or small, firmly established or brand-new, speaker, discussion or study group has but one reason for being: to carry the message to the still-suffering alcoholic. The group exists so that the alcoholic can find a new way of life, a life abundant in happiness, joy, and freedom. To recover, most alcoholics need the support of a group of other alcoholics who share their experience, strength and hope. Thus my sobriety, and our program's survival, depend on my determination to put first things first. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day To continue the paraphrase of the psalm: "The judgments of the Twelve Steps are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than whiskey, yea, than much fine whiskey, sweeter also than wine. Moreover, by them are alcoholics warned and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand our alcoholism? Cleanse us from secret faults. Keep us from presumptuous resentments. Let them not have dominion over us. Then shall we be upright and free of the great transgression." Am I resolved that liquor will never again have dominion over me? Meditation For The Day God can be your shield. Then no problems of the world can harm you. Between you and all scorn and indignity from others is your trust in God, like a shining shield. Nothing can then have the power to spoil your inward peace. With this shield, you can attain this inward peace quickly, in your surroundings as well as in your heart. With this inward peace, you do not need to resent the person who troubles you. Instead, you can overcome the resentment in your own mind which may have been aroused by that person. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may strive for inward peace. I pray that I may not be seriously upset, no matter what happens around me. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Never the Same Again, p. 209 It was discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again. Following every spree, he would have to say to himself, "Maybe those A.A.'s were right." After a few such experiences, often before the onset of extreme difficulties, he would return to us convinced. ******************************** In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim and utterly hopeless cases. But then we began to have success with milder alcoholics and even some potential alcoholics. Younger folks appeared. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs, homes, health, and even good social standing. Of course, it was necessary for these newcomers to hit bottom emotionally. But they did not have to hit every possible bottom in order to admit that they were licked. 1. 12 & 12, p. 23-24 2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 199 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places The True Security Security We can feel insecure for many reasons, but the fundamental reason is that we do not have a firm anchorage in our Higher Power. This anchorage must be our true security, and it is really the only form that can survive any attack. Regardless of who we are, we can know and feel that our Higher Power is guiding and directing us at all times. If we find ourselves being threatened by a person or situation, we can deal with it by knowing that our Higher Power is in charge of all outcomes. If we envy somebody, we must get back to an acknowledgment of God as the source of everything. If we feel inadequate around people who seem to be immensely self-confident and secure, we should not try to imitate their manner and behavior. Rather, we should simply put our trust in our own Higher Power, and our feeling of true security will express itself in proper ways. All the things we view today as being secure are probably only temporary. Our ture security can come only from God. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple The best leaders are those who know how to follow.---Anonymous Am I a leader or a follower? The fact is, I am responsible for where I end up. If I choose to be a follower, I'd better follow leaders who know where they are going. And I had better know where they're going. If I choose to be leader, I'd better know that I'm responsible for getting myself on the right path. I also must be honest with my followers, so they can make good choices. I'm not responsible for my followers choices, but I must give them the truth. Being a leader doesn't always mean that I know where I'll end up. But it can mean that I know I'm on the right path, following the lead from my Higher Power---one step at a time. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me the faith and courage to choose good leaders to follow. When it is Your will, help me be a good leader. Action for the Day: Today, I'll list my leaders. They might be a Higher Power, a sponsor, or a friend. I'll think of why I choose to follow these leaders. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning The beauty of loving someone is the feeling of "wholeness" that I experience. The need for that individual in my life, the "I'm part of you and you're part of me" feeling that connects two people and makes them necessary to each other. --Kathleen Andrus All that is asked of us by our Creator is that we love one another. Where love doesn't flow easily, perhaps we can just decide to not hurt someone. If we each avoided hurting all people, for just one day, lives would be transformed. We'd each see the world with a fresh perspective. The more we love others, any others, the deeper our love will grow for all others. Loving lifts our hearts and lightens our burdens. Every day's tribulations can become triumphs when we carry love in our hearts. Love fills us up, and the more we share it, the fuller we become. We are connected--each of us to one another, all of us together. Our contributions to the whole are necessary. Its completion is made perfect by our presence. As I pass a friend today, I will be grateful for her contribution to my wholeness, too. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Outsiders became interested. One man and his wife placed their large home at the disposal of this strangely assorted crowd. This couple has since become so fascinated that they have dedicated their home to the word. Many a distracted wife has visited this house to find loving and understanding companionship among women who knew her problem, to hear from the lips of their husbands what had happened to them, to be advised how her own wayward mate might be hospitalized and approached when next he stumbled. p. 160 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." If we would gain any real advantage in the use of this Step on problems other than alcohol, we shall need to make a brand new venture into open-mindedness. We shall need to raise our eyes toward perfection, and be ready to walk in that direction. It will seldom matter how haltingly we walk. The only question will be "Are we ready?" p. 68 ************************************************** ********* Spirit has placed a dream in your heart for a better world, starting with your family, extending to your work, community, country and stretching beyond your nation. Speak your truth and inspire others, for you are meant to make a significant and sizable difference. --Mary Manin Morrissey "Guidance isn't being told which action to take or not to take. Guidance is God's gift of peace - from which we proceed. The peace dissolves the question, and we simply do what we do in peace." --Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself Today, I will ask my Higher Power for what I want and need. I will not demand -- I will ask. Then I will let go. --Melody Beattie Spiritual community is created when we come together on a regular basis with a common intention: to extend love beyond our immediate families. Through this shared affinity, we encourage, challenge and remind one another that nothing is impossible. --Mary Manin Morrissey Be gentle with yourself. Don't force it. But don't run away from your feelings, either. You might feel like cooked spaghetti for a while, but what's really softening up is your heart. God, help me face and feel any feelings. --Melody Beattie Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. --American Proverb "Know that every struggle holds a blessing. Uncover the blessing and say thanks." --Unknown If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page. --Mark Houlahan To love is to be patient, thoughtful, kind and meek. Lord, increase my ability to love so that I can see You working in my life. --unknown "Love is not blind - It sees more, not less. But because it sees more, It is willing to see less." --Julius Gordon *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation SIMILARITY "Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this -- that you are dreadfully like other people." --James Russell Lowell For many years I saw the differences and not the similarities. I was always considering how I was unlike other alcoholics, rather than perceiving the striking similarities. I kept myself on the outside, not only in recovery from alcoholism but also in life. Then I heard from another recovering alcoholic not only "my story" but also my feelings. I belonged. I was with people who knew my loneliness, isolation, confusion, guilt and despair. I had come home to live amongst my people. Thank You for enabling me to see that I am a member of the human family and a recovering alcoholic. ************************************************** ********* "But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'" Luke 18:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Patience with others brings peace to our own soul. Lord, help me to display patience even when I do not feel patient because everyone will benefit, but me most of all. Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.". Lord, I pray, I believe, and I thank you even before it is fulfilled. |
July 29
Daily Reflections ANONYMOUS GIFTS OF KINDNESS As active alcoholics we were always looking for a handout in one way or another. "THE TWELVE TRADITIONS ILLUSTRATED," p. 14 The challenge of the Seventh Tradition is a personal challenge, reminding me to share and give of myself. Before sobriety the only thing I ever supported was my habit of drinking. Now my efforts are a smile, a kind word, and kindness. I saw that I had to start carrying my own weight and to allow my new friends to walk with me because, through the practice of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, I've never had it so good. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days that should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone beyond recall. Do I still worry about what happened yesterday? Meditation For The Day "God will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation He will also find a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." If you have enough faith and trust in God, He will give you all the strength you need to face every temptation and to overcome it. Nothing will prove too hard for you to bear. You can face any situation. "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." You can overcome any temptation with God's help. So fear nothing. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may face every situation without fear. I pray that nothing will prove too hard for me to bear. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Out of Bondage, p.210 At Step Three, many of us said to our Maker, as we understand Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee--to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that my transcendence over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy power, Thy love, and Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always!" We thought well before taking this Step, making sure we were ready. Then we could commence to abandon ourselves utterly to Him. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 63 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Flattery or Praise? Human relations Flattery and praise are social lubricants that serve human purposes. But flattery is merely manipulative, while genuine praise is beneficial to everybody. Many of us with troubled back grounds also have trouble giving and accepting praise.Sometimes we mistake flattery for praise and use it either to manipulate otehs or allow ourselves to bemanipulated. Perhaps we're either too proud or too self-conscious to deal with real praise. Another mistake is in believing that praise should be given out only sparingly, only after outstanding achievement. Not so, we need to give and receive praise continuously in order to reach higher levels of achievement. Knowing it's importance, we'll alsolearn howto avoid flattery. I'll offer both verbal and silent praise today in my dealing with others. We'll all benefit from it. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple They have rights who dare defend them. ---Roger Baldwin In recovery, we regain our right to have choices, our right to have honest relationships. Do we claim these rights, or do we let them go by? Sometimes, standing up for our rights will mean going against the crowd. It will mean turning down that drink when everyone else has one. It will mean telling your honest opinion when it's different from the others think. Being sober will mean, at times being different. Lots of times, we find being different hard. We want to fit in. This is normal. But we don't stand alone. We have friends who will stand with us during hard times. We have a Higher Power who will guide and comfort us. We are people with rights. Let's work hard so nothing takes away our rights. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me keep and defend my dignity and human rights. Action for the Day: I'll take time out to list the rights I've gotten back due to my recovery. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning Harmony exists in difference no less than in likeness, if only the same keynote governs both parts. --Margaret Fuller Harmony exists everywhere, as an entity of itself. Our personal attitudes bring the disharmony to a situation. An attitude of love can bless all situations and all people. The converse is likewise true. We all desire harmony in our relationships. And we will find it, every time we bring an attitude of honest gratitude into a situation. How we feel, today, about this person or that situation, reflects the strength of our relationship with God. When we experience life in the company of our higher power, we will let life flow. We will observe harmony, then, even in the midst of difference. All of life's elements are moving toward a state of total and perfect harmony. We need not fear. We can trust the company of our higher power and know that every situation, no matter how adverse its appearance, is contributing to a harmonious outcome if we'd but lend a trusting attitude. Harmony is everywhere. I will celebrate it. I will trust the present. I will trust the future. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You Many a man, yet dazed from his hospital experience, has stepped over the threshold of that home into freedom. Many an alcoholic who entered there came away with an answer. He succumbed to that gay crowd inside, who laughed at their own misfortunes and understood his. Impressed by those who visited him at the hospital, he capitulated entirely when, later, in an upper room of this house, he heard the story of some man whose experience closely tallied with his own. The expression on the faces of the women, that indefinable something in the eyes of the men, the stimulating and electric atmosphere of the place, conspired to let him know that here was haven at last. p. 160 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Looking again at those defects we are still unwilling to give up, we ought to erase the hard-and-fast lines that we have drawn. Perhaps we shall be obliged in some cases still to say, "This I cannot give up yet...," but we should not say to ourselves, "This I will never give up!" pp. 68-69 ************************************************** ********* Today, I will remember that God has not abandoned me. I can trust that God is leading, guiding, directing, and planning in love each detail of my life. --Melody Beattie God, help me become fluent with my emotions. Help me learn to feel whatever I feel, then regularly restore myself to that centered, balanced place. --Melody Beattie Today I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that God understands me. --Melody Beattie A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes your lips will not return. --Jewish Proverb Enjoy life, that's what God intended. --unknown Live life to the fullest and make the best of what today has to offer without worry and fear of what tomorrow might bring. --unknown *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation GOD-PLAYING "I determine who is a Jew." --Herman Goring Playing God. How well I remember this attitude in my drinking days when, because I had said it, it must be so! Arrogance and pride kept me lonely and isolated. Today my spiritual program teaches me to "play" God in a different way. It requires that I seek to discover the values I associate with God and live them out in my own life. Because I believe that God is loving and accepting, I seek to reveal these qualities in my daily associations. It makes no sense to worship a God of truth if I continue the life of "the liar". Belief must determine change. As a recovering alcoholic I seek to "play" God in the joy, acceptance and love I show to myself and other people. However, I know (oh how I know!) that I am not God! Let my statements always be open to the "pure light" of change. ************************************************** ********* A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble. Proverbs 15:1-6 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Every decision that you make opens the door to many new opportunities and experiences. Lord, help me make the most of my opportunities because it is through them that I am able to grow. A blessing is an explosion of joy from God that ripples through your heart and fills your mind with God's light and hope. Lord, help me speak the words of blessing when they are needed by someone who is lonely, or who is dying or who is depressed. |
July 30
Daily Reflections GIVING BACK . . . . he has struck something better than gold. . . . He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129 My part of the Seventh Tradition means so much more than just giving money to pay for the coffee. It means being accepted for myself by belonging to a group. For the first time I can be responsible, because I have a choice. I can learn the principals of working out problems in my daily life by getting involved in the "business" of A.A. By being self-supporting, I can give back to A.A. what A.A. gave to me! Giving back to A.A. not only ensures my own sobriety, but allows me to buy insurance that A.A. will be here for my grandchildren. ************************************************** ********* Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. Do I still worry too much about tomorrow? Meditation For The Day "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing but believing in God. And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see God, but you can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to victory. God's grace is available to all who have faith-not seeing, but believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray that I may be content with the results of my faith. ************************************************** ********* As Bill Sees It Reaching for Humility, p. 211 We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beatened into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. ******************************** "We first reach for a little humility, knowing that we shall perish of alcoholism if we do not. After a time, though we may still rebel somewhat, we commence to practice humility because this is the right thing to do. Then comes the day when, finally freed in large degree from rebellion, we practice humility because we deeply want it as a way of life." 1. 12 & 12, p. 75 2. Letter, 1966 ************************************************** ********* Walk In Dry Places Founders with clay feet Sound thinking With any organization or society, the time comes when people find fault with the founders. The faults of these pioneering leaders are examined and perhaps even used to discredit them. Founders are only human beings, and they are likely to exhibit the human shortcomings all of us have. If these founders turn out to have clay feet, perhaps the fault is ours for idolizing them in the first place. The real role of a founder is to lay the foundation for further building. Unless the society grows, improving over what the founder had in mind, it is not likely to survive. Its real work should be to surpass the fonder so as to be of greater service to others. I'll be careful not to put anyone on a pedestal and then complain about his or her clay feet. ************************************************** ********* Keep It Simple Beauty may be said to be God's trademark in creation.---Henry Ward Beecher Our addiction was like a veil over our heads. We saw the world as an ugly place. We saw people as trouble. We thought our drinks and drugs were beautiful. But even they became ugly over time. Life became ugly because we had put distance between our Higher Power and ourselves. Now we are blessed because the veil is lifted, and we are part of the healing process. We help others step into the beauty of recovery. Our spirits are again free to seek a relationship with God and others. Through these relationships, we get our hope back. This hope help us focus on the beauty of the world. Hope is the rain that helps our souls grow. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, the world is both beautiful and ugly. For to long I only saw the ugly. Help me focus on the beauty. Action for the Day: Today, I'll keep an eye out for the beauty recovery holds for me. Throughout the day, I'll pray for this. ************************************************** ********* Each Day a New Beginning It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God. --Mary Daly God's presence is within us, now and always, even though we feel alone, alienated, scared, and forgotten much of the time. We often overlook God's presence because we don't recognize it. Our talents, our desires, and our pursuits are the evidence--all the evidence we'll ever need once we understand it--that God is present within and about us all the time. The creative potential goes unrealized among so many of us, perhaps because we have a rigid definition of what creativity is. We are creative. We are all, each of us, creative. We must be because God's presence is here now. When we choose to let it guide us, we'll be able to offer our own unique gifts to the world of friends around us. Encouraging creativity, our own and someone else's, may mean breaking old habits. It surely does mean stepping out of our own way. It also means giving ourselves fully to the experience of the moment and trusting that God's presence will prompt the deliverance of our special gift. In the moment lives God within us. In the moment I am creative, blessed with gifts like no other. I will stay in the moment and offer them, guided by the God within. ************************************************** ********* Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Chapter 11 - A Vision For You The very practical approach to his problems, the absence of intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny understanding which these people had were irresistible. He and his wife would leave elated by the thought of what they could now do for some stricken acquaintance and his family. They knew they had a host of new friends; it seemed they had known these strangers always. They had seen miracles, and one was to come to them. They had visioned the Great Reality—their loving and All Powerful Creator. pp. 160-161 ************************************************** ********* Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character." Let's dispose of what appears to be a hazardous open end we have left. It is suggested that we ought to become entirely willing to aim toward perfection. We note that some delay, however, might be pardoned. That word, in the mind of a rationalizing alcoholic, could certainly be given a long term meaning. He could say, "How very easy! Sure, I'll head toward perfection, but I'm certainly not going to hurry any. Maybe I can postpone dealing with some of my problems indefinitely." Of course, this won't do. Such a bluffing of oneself will have to go the way of many another pleasant rationalization. At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can. p. 69 ************************************************** ********* Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new. --Ursula K. Le Guin If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow, you have no today for which you can be thankful. --Anonymous God will never give you more than you & Him together can handle. --unknown "As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others." --Audrey Hepburn AA is my "God with skin on." --unknown If you drink at the bad news you got today, you'll never know you could get through it without drinking. --unknown "Every single act of love releases blocked energy in your body. Unconditional love heals the body and the mind. Keep reminding yourself of this truth until it becomes your reality. Love is a frequency that you can choose to tune into, just as you tune into a frequency on the radio." --Wayne Dyer *********************************************** Father Leo's Daily Meditation WORDS "Hear the meaning within the word." --William Shakespeare When I hear or see the word "sobriety", I am made to think of relationships: my relationship with God, man and, more importantly, myself. Sobriety means humor, hope and joy. It means a silence at the center of my being that "wonders" at it all. Sobriety means a sexuality that is both noble and free -- that risks rejection and criticism. Sobriety argues against prejudice and bigotry. It builds a bridge to "the different" and reflects on the creative variety of man. It allows me a God as I understand Him but also respects tradition and the ancient philosophies of the world. Sobriety evokes a feeling that is beyond words. It echoes the spiritual life. Let me learn to pray beyond words. Let my relationship with You grow in silence. ************************************************** ********* "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me." Micah 7:8 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. Ephesians 4:31 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21 ************************************************** ********* Daily Inspiration Much can be said by the look on your face. Lord, may I be quick to smile and display an attitude of graciousness and peace so that I am able to put those around me at ease and bring out the best in them. God's blessings come in packages both large and small. Sometimes they are expected and sometimes not. Sometimes they are recognized and sometimes not. Lord, thank you for the joy You light in me, even in times of sorrow. Please use me to bless someone else. |
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