Daily Recovery Readings - December

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December 4

Daily Reflections

INTO ACTION

A.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society of
alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we
ourselves can wither and those who haven't been given the
truth may die.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 13

I desperately wanted to live, but if I was to succeed, I
had to become active in our God-given program. I joined
what became my group, where I opened the hall, made coffee,
and cleaned up. I had been sober about three months when
an oldtimer told me I was doing Twelfth-Step work. What a
satisfying realization that was! I felt I was really
accomplishing something. God had given me a second chance,
A.A. had shown me the way, and these gifts were not only
free - they were also priceless! Now the joy of seeing
newcomers grow reminds me of where I have come from, where
I am now, and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead.
I need to attend meetings because they recharge my
batteries so that I have light when it's needed. I'm still
a beginner in service work, but already I am receiving
more than I'm giving. I can't keep it unless I give it
away. I am responsible when another reaches out for help.
I want to be there - sober.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

If we allow an alcoholic thought to lodge in our minds for
any length of time, we are in danger of having a slip.
Therefore we must dispel such thoughts at once, by refusing
their admittance and by immediately putting constructive
thoughts in their place. Remember that alcohol is poison to
you. Remember that it is impossible for you to drink
normally. Remember that one drink will lead to another and
you will eventually be drunk. Remember what happened to you
in the past as a result of your drinking. Think of every
reason you have learned in A.A. for not taking that drink.
Fill your mind with constructive thoughts. Am I keeping my
thoughts constructive?

Meditation For The Day

Always seek to set aside the valuations of the world which
seem wrong and try to judge only by those valuations which
seem right to you. Do not seek too much the praise and
notice of men. Be one of those who, though sometimes scoffed
at, have a serenity and peace of mind which the scoffers
never know. Be one of that band who feel the Divine Principle
in the universe, though He be often rejected by men because
He cannot be seen.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not heed too much the judgment of men.
I pray that I may test things by what seems right to me.

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As Bill Sees It

Those Other People, p.268

"Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other
people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such
people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with
my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own
resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to
anybody.

"So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if
there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to
remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of
others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining
emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the
unreasonableness of sick people.

"Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive
others--also myself. Have you recently tried this?"

Letter, 1946

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Walk In Dry Places

The Lure of Greener Pastures
Gratitude
One of our old-timers spent a great deal of time trying to find a new job but never succeeding. When he finally retired, on a good pension, it became clear that the job he had kept was probably better and provided more benefits than any job he had been seeking. He was fortunate that none of his proposed job searches ever worked out.
The fantasy of finding "greener pastures" is something many of us face, in both drinking and sobriety.
We may be very well off where we are, yet feel that something rich and exciting is over in the next meadow. We can feel this way about our jobs, our lifestyles, and our locations.
The answer to this greener-pastures obsession is to feel more gratitude for what we have here and now. We might also focus more upon today's activities and less upon impossible dreams of other places.
There may be greener pastures somewhere, but I'll first look for the opportunities and benefits of my own life and surroundings. I may be richly blessed without knowing it.

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Keep It Simple

And to practice these principles in all our affairs. Third part of Step Twelve.
This is a statement about us. We are now people of values. These values reflect our spiritual growth. We know how to help others. We know how to admit our wrongs.
We know how to look at ourselves and change our defects. We know how to live an honest life.
Step Twelve tells us. "Go use these tools for better living. Go be all you can be. Enjoy life and live a life you can be proud of." Step Twelve also tells us about how to have loving relationships. By the time we complete Step Twelve, we make or regain many relationships. The most important one is with our Higher Power. As we grow in the program, we realize all our relationships are spiritual gifts.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I now have one face instead of many masks. Help me be a person who will stand before You with pride, not shame.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll talk with a friend and talk about my new values. I will talk about how much my life has changed.

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Each Day a New Beginning

I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl; not cut off, missing things, like being sent to bed early as a child. --Joanna Field
Feeling apart from the action and always looking on; wanting attention, and yet afraid of being noticed; no doubt these are familiar memories to most of us. We may still struggle with our self-perception, but we can celebrate that we no longer drown our moods. Connecting with the people next to us, though difficult, is no longer impossible when we rely on the program.
There is a way to be a part of the action, a way that never fails. It takes only a small effort, really. We can simply look, with love, at someone nearby today and extend our hearts in honest attention. When we make someone else feel special, we'll become special too.
Recovery can help each of us move beyond the boundaries of our own ego. Trusting that our lives are in the loving care of God, however we understand God, relieves us of the need for self-centeredness. We can let go of ourselves now that God is in charge, and we'll discover that we have joined the action.
I will open my heart, and I'll be joined to all that's around me.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.

p. 8

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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?"

Then he asks me if I believe in a power greater than myself, whether I call that power God, Allah, Confucius, Prime Cause, Divine Mind, or any other name. I told him that I believe in electricity and other forces of nature, but as for a God, if there is one, He has never done anything for me. Then he asks me if I am willing to right all the wrongs I have ever done to anyone, no matter how wrong I thought they were. Am I willing to be honest with myself about myself and tell someone about myself, and am I willing to think of other people. and of their needs instead of myself; to get rid of the drink problem?
"I'll do anything," I reply.
"Then all of your troubles are over" says the man and leaves the room. The man is in bad mental shape certainly. I pick up a book and try to read, but cannot concentrate. I get in bed and turn out the light. But I cannot sleep. Suddenly a thought comes. Can all the worthwhile people I have known be wrong about God? Then I find myself thinking about myself, and a few things that I had wanted to forget. I begin to see I am not the person I had thought myself, that I had judged myself by comparing myself to others, and always to my own advantage. It is a shock.

pp. 214-215

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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."

These little studies of A.A. Twelve Steps now come to a close. We have been considering so many problems that it may appear that A.A. consists mainly of racking dilemmas and troubleshooting. To a certain extent, that is true. We have been talking about problems because we are problem people who have found a way up and out, and who wish to share our knowledge of that way with all who can use it. For it is only by accepting and solving our problems that we can begin to get right with ourselves and with the world about us, and with Him who presides over us all. Understanding is the key to right principles and attitudes, and right action is the key to good living; therefore the joy of good living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step.

p. 125

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Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness
inside. No matter what's going on outside of us, there's always something we could
be grateful for.
--Barry Neil Kaufman

If we wait for perfection before enjoying life, we will never enjoy life.
--unknown

One moment of patience may ward off a great disaster; one moment of impatience may
ruin a whole life.
--Chinese proverb

I am getting to know myself today.
I accept who I am today.
I like myself today.
--Ruth Fishel

The Lord will drench you with His showers, but He will dry you with His sun.
--Czech Proverb

"Good morning, This is your Higher Power speaking.
I will not be needing your help today."

We win half the battle when we make up our minds to take the world as we find it,
including the thorns.
--unknown

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly!
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PREJUDICE

"Everyone is a prisoner of his own
experiences. No one can eliminate
prejudices just recognize
--them."
Edward R. Murrow

In recovery I am accepting that I am not perfect and some prejudices are part of my
life what it is to be human. On a daily basis I am trying to deal with them, and talking
about them helps. They don't go away just because I talk about them, but I get them in
perspective and I grow in an understanding of myself through the recognition of
my prejudices.

Alcoholism made me into a " fake ". I appeared to be what I was not and my
prejudices were part of the camouflage. My prejudices revealed my fears and my
need to "people-please". Slowly, in my daily spiritual program, I am discovering the
courage to stand alone.

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Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good spirit lead me on level
ground.
Psalm 143:10

“But I tell you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you.”
Matthew 5:44

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Daily Inspiration

Be yourself in all that you do and you will soon learn that you are very special. Lord, help me find the peace that You have already placed within my soul.

Take less for granted and you will become very busy enjoying all that you have. Lord, thank you for my blessings and for all those that I am able to share them with.