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November 29

Daily Reflections

ACTIVE GUARDIANS

To us, however, it represents far more than a sound
public relations policy. It is more than a denial of
self-seeking. This Tradition is a constant and practical
reminder that personal ambition has no place in A.A.
In it, each member becomes an active guardian of our
Fellowship.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 183

The basic concept of humility is expressed in the
Eleventh Tradition: it allows me to participate
completely in the program in such a simple, yet profound,
manner; it fulfills my need to be an integral part of a
significant whole. Humility brings me closer to the
actual spirit of togetherness and oneness, without which
I could not stay sober. In remembering that every member
is an example of sobriety, each one living the Eleventh
Tradition, I am able to experience freedom because each
one of us is anonymous.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The A.A. way is the way of sobriety, and yet there are
slips. Why do these slips occur? Why don't we all accept
A.A. and stay sober from then on? There are many reasons,
but it has been proven without exception that once we have
become alcoholics we can never drink successfully again.
This has never been disproved by any case we know of. Many
alcoholics have tried drinking after a period of sobriety
from a few days to a few years and no one that we know of
has been successful in becoming a normal drinker. Could I be
the only exception to this rule?

Meditation For The Day

"We are gathered together in Thy name." First, we are
gathered together, bound by a common loyalty to God and
to each other. Then, when this condition has been fulfilled,
God is present with us. Then, when God is there and one
with us, we voice a common prayer. Then it follows that our
prayer will be answered according to God's will. Then, when
our prayer is answered, we are bound together in a lasting
brotherhood of the spirit.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be loyal to God and my fellow men. I pray
that my life today may be lived close to His and theirs.

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As Bill Sees It

The Great Fact, p. 331

We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to
you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do
each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your
own house is in order.

But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven't got. See to it
that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to
pass for you and countless others. This is the great fact for us.

To the Newcomer:
Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to
Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give
freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the
fellowship of the spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you
trudge the road of happy destiny.

May God bless you and keep you--until then.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 164

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Walk In Dry Places

None are obligated to us.
Service
Service is considered an essential part of AA. As Dr. Bob said, AA is really love and service.
If this service is delivered in the right spirit..... the true AA spirit.... no sense of obligation is crated. If others feel they are incurring an obligation, they will resent us in time. Moreover, our carrying of the message will be flawed.
The proper way to look at service is to see it as something we perform for our own benefit. While we hope that it will benefit others, that does not have to happen in order for us to benefit. Our good comes from the giving of SERVICE, not the measurement of its results for others. No one is obligated to us; nor does anyone have the right to complain if our services did not help. We serve entirely for our own benefit.
For my own good, I'll give service today. I want to be effective for others, but I realize my real purpose is to help myself.

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Keep It Simple

One is happy as the result of one's own efforts.--- George Sand
Happiness is not an accident. It comes from following the spiritual voice found in each of us.
This isn't always easy. Sometimes, the voice tells us to do things we're afraid of. For Example, if we're lonely and the voice tells us to call someone on our phone list, we may make excuses to not do it. Again, the voice may say, "Just make the call. It will be okay." If we follow the
voice, we will find happiness. The spiritual voice inside us speaks of care and love. It will never tell us to hurt others or ourselves. It's our Higher Power's voice . It's what Step Eleven calls "conscious contact." If we follow this guiding voice, it will lead us to happiness.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I'll come to know my Higher Power by listening to the spiritual voice in me.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll meditate and listen to my higher power gentle voice within.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Faith is like the air in a balloon. If you've got it you're filled. If you don't, you're empty. --Peggy Cahn
Being faith-filled takes effort, not unlike becoming a good writer, tennis player, or pianist. Faith grows within our hearts, but we must devote time to foster this growth. Daily discussions with God are required, frequent quiet times to hear God's messages to us--just as practice on the court, hitting balls or sitting for extended periods at the typewriter or a piano are necessary to attainment of these goals.
Life's difficulties are eased when we have faith. The most frightening situation, a job interview, an evaluation with our boss, a showdown with a friend, can be handled confidently when we let our faith work for us. But, we must first work for it, work to attain it and work to keep it. Like any skill, it gets rusty with lack of use.
I will make sure to add to my reserves today. We never know when we may need to let our faith direct our every action. I will make a friend of my higher power, and that partnership will carry me over any troubled time.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

The mind and body are marvelous mechanisms, for mine endured this agony two more years. Sometimes I stole from my wife's slender purse when the morning terror and madness were on me. Again I swayed dizzily before an open window, or the medicine cabinet where there was poison, cursing myself for a weakling. There were flights from city to country and back, as my wife and I sought escape. Then came the night when the physical and mental torture was so hellish I feared I would burst through my window, sash and all. Somehow I managed to drag my mattress to a lower floor, lest I suddenly leap. A doctor came with a heavy sedative. Next day found me drinking both gin and sedative. This combination soon landed me on the rocks. People feared for my sanity. So did I. I could eat little or nothing when drinking, and I was forty pounds under weight.

pp. 6-7

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Our Southern Friend

Pioneer A.A., minister's son, and southern farmer, he asked, "Who am I to say there is no God?"

Mother has been dying of cancer for a long time. She is near the end and now in a hospital. I have been drinking a lot, but never get drunk. Mother must never know. I see her about to go.
I return to the hotel where I am staying and get gin from the bell-boy. I drink and go to bed; I take a few the next morning and go see my mother once more. I cannot stand it. I go back to the hotel and get more gin. I drink steadily. I come to at three in the morning. The indescribable torture has me again. I turn on the light. I must get out of the room or I shall jump out of the window. I walk miles. No use. I go to the hospital, where I have made friends with the night superintendent. She puts me to bed and gives me a hypodermic.

p. 212

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

But not so with alcoholics. When A.A. was quite young, a number of eminent psychologists and doctors made an exhaustive study of a good-sized group of so-called problem drinkers. The doctors weren't trying to find how different we were from one another; they sought to find whatever personality traits, if any, this group of alcoholics had in common. They finally came up with a conclusion that shocked the A.A. members of that time. These distinguished men had the nerve to say that most of the alcoholics under investigation were still childish, emotionally sensitive, and grandiose.

pp. 122-123

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Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
--Mother Teresa

I let go of shame, as it will hold me prisoner to myself.
--Shelley

What you are is God's gift to you; what you make of yourself is your gift to God.
--unknown

God will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars.
--Elbert Hubbard

I work the steps and practice the principles because when I was out
there I drank away my principles and my values.
--unknown

Today I have choices. I can stay in a bad mood, I can stay in a bad
moment. Or, I can let them pass me by.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TRUST

"Men become civilized, not in
proportion to their willingness
to believe, but in their readiness
to doubt."
-- H. L. Mencken

A civilized nation is essentially a spiritual nation. A civilized person is one who seeks
the truth and is willing to grow with change.

Sobriety is adventuresome because it is bigger than simply "not drinking"; it seeks
to address all areas of life and all situations. An example is trust. When I was
drinking, I trusted no one because I felt that everybody was like me out for
themselves! Today I know that the real enemy in my life is me; I am the one who
brings pain into my life. I am beginning to love myself by my decision not to drink. I
can trust today. I am beginning to trust myself and others.

O God, who trusted man with freedom, help me to freely trust.

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Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will
take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Psalms 57:1

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be
compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with
blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
"Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips
from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
1 Peter 3:8-11

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Daily Inspiration

Praise others when they do right and speak positive things and you will find it hard not to relax and rejoice in a new found source of peace. Lord, may I care less what others think of me and more and more what You think.

Gossip betrays trust. The harm done is often irreparable. Lord, may I never be responsible for hurting anyone through my conversations.