Daily Recovery Readings - 8/21

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Daily Reflections

WE JUST TRY, p.242

My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that
I receive.
The Best Of Bill, pp. 46-47

As long as I try, with all my heart and soul, to pass along to others
what has been passed along to me, and do not demand anything in
return, life is good to me. Before entering this program of Alcoholics
Anonymous I was never able to give without demanding something
in return. Little did I know that, once I began to give freely of
myself, I would begin to receive, without ever expecting or
demanding anything at all. What I receive today is the gift of
"stability," as Bill did: stability in my A.A. program; within
myself; but most of all, in my relationship with my Higher Power,
whom I choose to call God.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Who are you to say there is no God? This challenge comes to all
of us. Are we capable of denying that there is a design and
purpose in all of life as we know it? Or are we willing to admit that
faith in some kind of Divine Principle is a part of our makeup, just
as much as the feeling we have for a friend? We find a great Reality
deep down within us, if we face ourselves as we really are. In the
last analysis, it is only there that God may be found. When we find
this Reality within us, we are restored to our right minds." Have I
found the great reality?

Meditation For The Day

"Behold, I make all things new." When you change to a new way of
life, you leave many things behind you. It is only the earth-bound
spirit that cannot soar. Loosen somewhat the strands that tie you to
the earth. It is only the earthly desires that bind you. Your new
freedom will depend on your ability to rise above earthly things.
Clipped wings can grow again. Broken wings can regain a strength
and beauty unknown before. If you will, you can be released and
free.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be freed from things that hold me down. I pray that
my spirit may soar in freedom.

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As Bill Sees It

"Selfish"?, p.81

"I can see why you are disturbed to hear some A.A. speakers say,
'A.A. is a selfish program.' The word 'selfish' ordinarily implies that
one is acquisitive, demanding, and thoughtless of the welfare of
others. Of course, the A.A. way of life does not at all imply such
undesirable traits.

"What do these speakers mean? Well, any theologian will tell you
that the salvation of his own soul is the highest vocation that a man
can have. Without salvation--however we may define this--he will
have little or nothing. For us of A.A., there is even more urgency.

"If we cannot or will not achieve sobriety, then we become truly lost,
right in the here and now. We are of no value to anyone, including
ourselves, until we find salvation from alcohol. Therefore, our own
recovery and spiritual growth have to come first--a right and
necessary kind of self-concern."

Letter, 1966

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Walk In Dry Places

Meeting needs in the Right Way.
Self-Understanding.
Bizarre as it is, the bad behavior of drunkenness has an underlying logic when it's really understood.
Why, for example, would people squander money buying drinks for total
strangers when their families are going without?
This is an insane way of meeting needs for intimacy and approval. 
It's true that these needs will never be met in this fashion, but try
telling that to a person who is still drinking!
In recovery, we can more easily forgive ourselves for past actions
when we realize they came out of a misguided attempt to meet basic
needs. A starving person will seek out garbage. Starved as we
were for necessities of life, we sought a form of garbage. The good
news in AA recovery is that sobriety will help us meet basic needs in the
right way.
I'll keep in mind today that as a human being I have certain needs
that should be met in proper ways.

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Keep It Simple

Beauty is not caused. It is.--- Emily Dickinson
Probably, there have been many times when we thought we weren’t beautiful. We thought we were ugly. We thought we were bad people. This is a natural part of addiction. Our program tells us we’re good, we’re beautiful. Do we believe this? Do we accept this part of the program?
Beauty is an attitude, just as self-hate is an attitude. We need to keep the attitude that we’re beautiful. We owe it to ourselves and to those around us. And, yes, it’s true that you must love yourself before you can love others. Remember, ours is a selfish program. We have to love and see ourselves as beautiful, before we can give it to others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me claim my beauty. Help me to see that, sometimes, I have to be selfish to grow.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll work at falling in love with myself.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

HE LIVED ONLY TO DRINK - "I had been preached to, analyzed, cursed, and counseled, but no one had ever said, 'I identify with what's going on with you. It happened to me and this is what I did about it.'"

The following year I began my career as a teacher. My first job was at a college fifty miles from my hometown. Before the school year ended, I had been asked to resign because of my drinking. Within that short space of time, drinking had become an accepted way of life. I loved booze. I loved people who drank and the places where they drank. At that time in my life, although I had lost my first job and embarrassed my family, it never occurred to me that alcohol could be a problem. From that first night at the bar a year earlier, I had made a profound decision that was to direct my life for many years to come: Alcohol was my friend and I would follow it to the ends of the earth.

pp. 447-448
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Five - "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry it's message to the alcoholic who still suffers."

Alcoholics Anonymous can be likened to a group of physicians who might find a cure for cancer, and upon whose concerted work would depend the answer for sufferers of this disease. True, each physician in such a group might have his own specialty. Every doctor concerned would at times wish he could devote himself to his chosen field rather than work only with the group. But once these men had hit upon c cure, once it became apparent that only by their united effort could this be accomplished, then all of them would feel bound to devote themselves solely to the relief of cancer. In the radiance of such a miraculous discovery, any doctor would set his other ambitions aside, at whatever personal cost.

p. 150

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Don't worry about what's ahead. Just go as far as you can go - from
there you can see farther.
--unknown

Life's most difficult challenges, are our greatest teachers and an
opportunity for growth.
--unknown

Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into
yourself, no external circumstances can take it away. That kind
of happiness is a twenty-four-hour thing.
--Leo F. Buscaglia

Spirit is at work through me, I am led to do the right and loving thing.
--Shelley

Stay committed to your growth process until you wake up one morning
and ask yourself, What is that strange thing I am feeling? Then know
what the answer is. The answer is joy.
--Melody Beattie

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily
into the trap of being our own worst enemies.
--Roderick Thorpe

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HAPPINESS

"We are looking in the wrong
places for happiness."
-- Robert J. McCracken

I sought happiness in the bottle. Others looked for "good feelings" in
drugs, food or other people. Today I know that nothing that is outside
of me can make me acceptable --- acceptance must come from within.

I need to discover that spiritual place where I can be acceptable to me.
Self-esteem is an essential part of my recovery and that can only be
realized by making the spiritual journey within.

Today I seek to discover me. I want to know me --- because You
created me.

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"Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your
steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you."
Psalm 38:21-22

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 6:37

"The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he
will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you with his love."
Zephaniah 3:17a

"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into
glory."
Psalm 73:24

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Daily Inspiration

By being less judgmental of others, you will eliminate much frustration. Lord, I pray for the peace that comes from understanding and compassion.

Because Jesus is with you, you can survive the darkest moment and emerge a better and stronger person. Lord, I trust quietly that you are working things out according to Your plan for me.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is the lightning that does the work. --Mark Twain
Thunder demands our attention. From the ear-splitting boom overhead to the faint rumble in the distance, it is an impressive part of nature. Yet, it is the lightning that discharges electricity from one cloud to another, or to the earth.
We are sometimes like thunder. We may shout our intentions to family members, or quietly tell our dreams to friends. No matter how we say it, it is the ability to follow through that is most important. When we've completed what we've set out to do, we will feel a sense of satisfaction and energy. With this energy, and the knowledge we can finish what we set out to do, we will make our dreams come true.
What is left incomplete that I can finish today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Many situations can be clarified by the passing of time. --Theodore Isaac Rubin
Time heals our wounds. It teaches lessons that cannot be learned in a day. It allows truths to rise to the surface that first were difficult to see. In our impatience and restlessness we may forget that our answers come and simply waiting often fills our needs. We live in a goal-oriented world, and men are expected to go after what they want. But that is sometimes a foolish approach.
Our problems developed over time, and now recovery and growth take time. The learning we missed while we were absorbed in our excesses cannot be captured in a day. Anxieties and stresses come and go for everyone, but we often increased our problems by trying to cure what would pass on its own accord. We are learning to live more wisely through our periods of stress by trusting in the care of God.
Today, I will allow time to heal and correct rather than automatically reaching for a cure.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
With each new day I put away the past and discover the new beginnings I have been given. --Angela L. Wozniak
We can't recapture what is no more. And the minutes or hours we spend dwelling on what was or should have been only steal away from all that presently is. Today stands before us with promise. The opportunities for growth are guaranteed, as is all the spiritual help we need to handle any situation the day offers.
If today offers us a challenge, we can be grateful. Our challenges are gifts. They mean we are ready to move ahead to new awarenesses, to a new sense of our womanhood. Challenges force us to think creatively; they force us to turn to others; they demand that we change. Without challenges, we'd stagnate, enjoying life little, offering life nothing.
We each are making a special contribution, one that only we can make; each time we confront a new situation with courage. Each time we dare to open a new door. What we need to do today is to close the door on yesterday. Then we can stand ready and willing to go forward.
This day awaits my full presence. I will be the recipient of its gifts.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Detaching in Relationships
When we first become exposed to the concept of detachment, many of us find it objectionable and questionable. We may think that detaching means we don't care. We may believe that by controlling, worrying, and trying to force things to happen, we're showing how much we care.
We may believe that controlling, worrying, and forcing will somehow affect the outcome we desire. Controlling, worrying, and forcing don't work. Even when we're right, controlling doesn't work. In some cases, controlling may prevent the outcome we want from happening.
As we practice the principle of detachment with the people in our life, we slowly begin to learn the truth. Detaching, preferably detaching with love, is a relationship behavior that works.
We learn something else too. Detachment - letting go of our need to control people - enhances all our relationships. It opens the door to the best possible outcome. It reduces our frustration level, and frees us and others to live in peace and harmony.
Detachment means we care, about others and ourselves. It frees us to make the best possible decisions. It enables us to set the boundaries we need to set with people. It allows us to have our feelings, to stop reacting and initiate a positive course of action. It encourages others to do the same.
It allows our Higher Power to step in and work.
Today, I will trust the process of detaching with love. I will understand that I am not just letting go; I am letting go and letting God. I'm loving others, but I'm loving myself too.


God is guiding me in all my thoughts and plans and actions. I have given up all my struggling and self-defeating messages and have turned over all my thoughts to the power and energy of goodness and love. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Fake Gods

Our Higher Power is that which we can turn to in times of stress. In the past, we turned to food, thus making it in fact our Higher Power, even though we may not have realized what we were doing. Food is not capable of being a Higher Power for anyone; food is a thing. By turning to food in stressful situations, we cheated ourselves with a false god.

Lurking in the back of our mind, there may still be some false gods. We may think that more money or an exciting love affair would give us permanent security and happiness. The desire for popularity may be deluding us into thinking that we can please everyone if we try hard enough.

The beauty of the OA program is that it shows us, day by day, the Higher Power who will not let us down. As we see our false gods for what they are, we grow in truth. Daily communion with God as each of us understands Him gives us an intimate relationship with the One to whom we can turn in times of stress.
Thank You for revealing my false gods.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
We all traveled different paths to arrive at the door of opportunity that recovery offers. The same is true regarding our concept of “God as we understand Him.” Many of us claimed to believe and have faith when we were active in our addiction, but our behavior did not match our words. We may have asked for God’s help but we did not accept it when His hand reached out to offer help.

As we enter the 12-step program, we all start in different places with regard to our spiritual faith. Yet, one thing is sure, we all need to grow in this area. Some of us can crawl, others walk, and still others may be able to spiritually run right from the start.
Do I realize that I need to grow spiritually if I am to succeed at abstinence?
Meditations for the Heart
Our journey toward spiritual health often begins in a place of weakness. Yet, it is in this place of weakness that we are most receptive to grow in faith. The program offers plenty of evidence that it works. We can see that many before us have used the
steps to grow and stay in recovery. Faith begins with a willingness to accept this reality and begin to trust that the steps indeed can lead me out of insanity. Opening ourselves to the concept of “God as we understand Him,” can indeed be where we find hope in the middle of hopelessness. Do I recognize that I can no longer be my own Higher Power? Am I willing to open myself to the spiritual principles of the program?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
It seems strange to call out to you this way. I always looked for a quick fix. Help me today to be open to the spiritual principles of the program. Increase my willingness to have faith.

Amen