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12-02-2007, 04:22 PM
Daily Reflections
IN ALL OUR AFFAIRS
. . . . we tried to carry this message to alcoholics,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
I find that carrying the message of recovery to other
alcoholics is easy because it helps me to stay sober
and it provides me with a sense of well-being about
my own recovery. The hard part is practicing these
principles in all my affairs. It is important that I
share the benefits I receive from A.A., especially at
home. Doesn't my family deserve the same patience,
tolerance and understanding I so readily give to the
alcoholic? When reviewing my day I try to ask, "Did I
have a chance to be a friend today and miss it?" " Did
I have a chance to rise above a nasty situation and
avoid it?" "Did I have a chance to say 'I'm sorry,'
and refuse to?" Just as I ask God for help with my
alcoholism each day, I ask for help in extending my
recovery to include all situations and all people!
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
There is some alcoholic thought, conscious or
unconscious, that comes before every slip. As long as
we live, we must be on the lookout for such thoughts
and guard against them. In fact, our A.A. training is
mostly to prepare us, to make us ready to recognize
such thoughts at once and to reject them at once. The
slip comes when we allow such thoughts to remain in
our minds, even before we go through the motions of
lifting the glass to our lips. The A.A. program is
largely one of mental training. How well is my mind
prepared?
Meditation For The Day
Fret not your mind with puzzles you cannot solve. The
solutions may never be shown to you until you have left
this life. The loss of dear ones, the inequality of life,
the deformed and the maimed, and many other puzzling
things may not be known to you until you reach the life
beyond. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot hear them now." Only step by step, stage by stage,
can you proceed in your journey into greater knowledge and
understanding.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be content that things which I now see
darkly will some day be made clear. I pray that I may have
faith that someday I will see face to face.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Spiritual Axiom, p. 309
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter
what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts
us and we are sore, we are in the wrong, too.
But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable"
anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? And
shouldn't we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?
For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very
dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left
to those better qualified to handle it.
12 & 12, p. 90
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Raising the frustration threshold
Achievement
What happens when we hit snags in our lives? In drinking, it was a common practice to chuck everything and just get drunk. This always made things worse, sometimes so much so that we forgot about the problem that triggered our frustrations.
Dealing with frustration is another part of growing up emotionally. Self-understanding in sobriety will help us detect surges of anger and irritation when things aren't going as planned. We'll recognize these feelings as being the same emotions that plagued us in our drinking days.
In sobriety, however, we are given choices. We actually do have the choice of pausing, letting the anger drain away, and then taking charge of the situation by knowing that God is working along with us. By doing this, we can eventually raise our threshold of frustration.
If some task or issue makes me angry today, I'll back off and place the outcome in God's hands. I'll know this is working when I have a change in feeling about it.
************************************************** *********
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.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BUILDING A NEW LIFE - Hallucinating and restrained by sheriff's deputies and hospital staff, this once-happy family man received an unexpected gift from God--a firm foundation in sobriety that would hold up through good times and bad.
It was three days later when I woke up, naked and stinking. They cleaned me up and I felt great. I'd never felt so good, like I'd never had a drink. I went to the treatment sessions and listened to everything that was said. They took us out to A.A. meetings. I wanted what the A.A.'s had. I don't think I ever wanted anything as much as I wanted the program. I saw men dressed in suits in those days, looking good. That's how I wanted to be. The thought of a drink has not entered my mind since. I've thought of doing some crazy things but never about taking a drink. To me sobriety is a gift from God to me. If I drank, it would be giving the gift back. If you return a gift, the person takes it back, right? If God takes it back, I'm dead.
p. 484
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to A.A., and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.
p. 24
************************************************** *********
Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In
giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
--Norman Vincent Peale
A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
--English Proverb
"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered
heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to
become discouraged by their defeats."
--B. C. Forbes
"Spend unbroken chunks of time with the most important people in your life."
--Brian Tracy
"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to
do now and do it."
--William Durant
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
WONDER
"Wonder rather than doubt is the
root of knowledge."
-- Abraham Heschel
Living with paradox is part of my sobriety. Things are never quite what they seem.
When I think I have something figured out, I am made to be confused again
especially around my life, relationships, people, events and the universe. Life is both
simple and incomprehensible. God seems to demand an agnostic faith! There is
so much I do not know or understand.
But all of this leads to a creative and exciting sobriety. It makes life an adventure. It
feeds that artistic part of me that is reborn in my sobriety. Things I used to dislike
when I drank, I now enjoy. People and writers that once bored me now fascinate me;
even modern art has a spiritual message!
O God, let the feelings of amazement always be a part of my faith.
************************************************** *********
"For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord;
walk as children of light."
Ephesians 5:8
"Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God."
Romans 15:7
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage
them well so that God's generosity can flow through you."
1 Peter 4:10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Allow your mind to become quiet and less judgmental and you will feel improvements in all areas of your life. Lord, help my mind avoid twisting the words I hear and misjudging the intentions of others in order to justify my own righteousness. Help me to spread Your peace.
There is not one moment that we are separated from God's care unless we choose to be. Lord, You provide for my daily needs and deliver me from evil. You are my refuge.
IN ALL OUR AFFAIRS
. . . . we tried to carry this message to alcoholics,
and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
I find that carrying the message of recovery to other
alcoholics is easy because it helps me to stay sober
and it provides me with a sense of well-being about
my own recovery. The hard part is practicing these
principles in all my affairs. It is important that I
share the benefits I receive from A.A., especially at
home. Doesn't my family deserve the same patience,
tolerance and understanding I so readily give to the
alcoholic? When reviewing my day I try to ask, "Did I
have a chance to be a friend today and miss it?" " Did
I have a chance to rise above a nasty situation and
avoid it?" "Did I have a chance to say 'I'm sorry,'
and refuse to?" Just as I ask God for help with my
alcoholism each day, I ask for help in extending my
recovery to include all situations and all people!
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
There is some alcoholic thought, conscious or
unconscious, that comes before every slip. As long as
we live, we must be on the lookout for such thoughts
and guard against them. In fact, our A.A. training is
mostly to prepare us, to make us ready to recognize
such thoughts at once and to reject them at once. The
slip comes when we allow such thoughts to remain in
our minds, even before we go through the motions of
lifting the glass to our lips. The A.A. program is
largely one of mental training. How well is my mind
prepared?
Meditation For The Day
Fret not your mind with puzzles you cannot solve. The
solutions may never be shown to you until you have left
this life. The loss of dear ones, the inequality of life,
the deformed and the maimed, and many other puzzling
things may not be known to you until you reach the life
beyond. "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye
cannot hear them now." Only step by step, stage by stage,
can you proceed in your journey into greater knowledge and
understanding.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be content that things which I now see
darkly will some day be made clear. I pray that I may have
faith that someday I will see face to face.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Spiritual Axiom, p. 309
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter
what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts
us and we are sore, we are in the wrong, too.
But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable"
anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? And
shouldn't we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?
For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very
dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left
to those better qualified to handle it.
12 & 12, p. 90
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Raising the frustration threshold
Achievement
What happens when we hit snags in our lives? In drinking, it was a common practice to chuck everything and just get drunk. This always made things worse, sometimes so much so that we forgot about the problem that triggered our frustrations.
Dealing with frustration is another part of growing up emotionally. Self-understanding in sobriety will help us detect surges of anger and irritation when things aren't going as planned. We'll recognize these feelings as being the same emotions that plagued us in our drinking days.
In sobriety, however, we are given choices. We actually do have the choice of pausing, letting the anger drain away, and then taking charge of the situation by knowing that God is working along with us. By doing this, we can eventually raise our threshold of frustration.
If some task or issue makes me angry today, I'll back off and place the outcome in God's hands. I'll know this is working when I have a change in feeling about it.
************************************************** *********
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.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BUILDING A NEW LIFE - Hallucinating and restrained by sheriff's deputies and hospital staff, this once-happy family man received an unexpected gift from God--a firm foundation in sobriety that would hold up through good times and bad.
It was three days later when I woke up, naked and stinking. They cleaned me up and I felt great. I'd never felt so good, like I'd never had a drink. I went to the treatment sessions and listened to everything that was said. They took us out to A.A. meetings. I wanted what the A.A.'s had. I don't think I ever wanted anything as much as I wanted the program. I saw men dressed in suits in those days, looking good. That's how I wanted to be. The thought of a drink has not entered my mind since. I've thought of doing some crazy things but never about taking a drink. To me sobriety is a gift from God to me. If I drank, it would be giving the gift back. If you return a gift, the person takes it back, right? If God takes it back, I'm dead.
p. 484
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to A.A., and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.
p. 24
************************************************** *********
Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In
giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
--Norman Vincent Peale
A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.
--English Proverb
"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered
heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to
become discouraged by their defeats."
--B. C. Forbes
"Spend unbroken chunks of time with the most important people in your life."
--Brian Tracy
"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to
do now and do it."
--William Durant
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
WONDER
"Wonder rather than doubt is the
root of knowledge."
-- Abraham Heschel
Living with paradox is part of my sobriety. Things are never quite what they seem.
When I think I have something figured out, I am made to be confused again
especially around my life, relationships, people, events and the universe. Life is both
simple and incomprehensible. God seems to demand an agnostic faith! There is
so much I do not know or understand.
But all of this leads to a creative and exciting sobriety. It makes life an adventure. It
feeds that artistic part of me that is reborn in my sobriety. Things I used to dislike
when I drank, I now enjoy. People and writers that once bored me now fascinate me;
even modern art has a spiritual message!
O God, let the feelings of amazement always be a part of my faith.
************************************************** *********
"For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord;
walk as children of light."
Ephesians 5:8
"Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God."
Romans 15:7
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"God has given gifts to each of you from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage
them well so that God's generosity can flow through you."
1 Peter 4:10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Allow your mind to become quiet and less judgmental and you will feel improvements in all areas of your life. Lord, help my mind avoid twisting the words I hear and misjudging the intentions of others in order to justify my own righteousness. Help me to spread Your peace.
There is not one moment that we are separated from God's care unless we choose to be. Lord, You provide for my daily needs and deliver me from evil. You are my refuge.