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12-11-2007, 04:01 PM
Daily Reflections
A COMMON SOLUTION
The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a
common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely
agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious
action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer
from alcoholism.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 17
The most far-reaching Twelfth Step work was the publication of our
Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Few can equal that book for
carrying the message. My idea is to get out of myself and simply do
what I can. Even if I haven't been asked to sponsor and my phone
rarely rings, I am still able to do Twelfth Step work. I get involved in
"brotherly and harmonious action." At meetings I show up early to greet
people and to help set up, and to share my experience, strength and hope. I
also do what I can with service work. My Higher Power gives me
exactly what He wants me to do at any given point in my recovery and, if I
let Him, my willingness will bring Twelfth Step work automatically.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Clergymen speak of the spiritual fellowship of the church. This is much closer to the
A.A. way than mere group therapy. Such a fellowship is based on a common belief in
God and a common effort to live a spiritual life. We try to do this in A.A. We also try to
get down to the real problems in each others' lives. We try to open up to each other. We
have a real desire to be of service to each other. We try to go deep down into the
personal lives of our members. Do I appreciate the deep personal fellowship of A.A.?
Meditation For The Day
Love and fear cannot dwell together. By their very natures, they cannot exist side by
side. Fear is a very strong force. And therefore a weak and vacillating love can soon be
routed by fear. But a strong love, a love that trusts in God, is sure eventually to
conquer fear. The only sure way to dispel fear is to have the love of God more and
more in your heart and soul.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that love will drive out the fear in my life. I pray that my fear will flee before
the power of the love of God.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
People Of Faith, p. 300
We who have traveled a path through agnosticism or atheism beg you
to lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion. We have
learned that, whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be,
those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of
faith have a rational idea of what life is all about.
Actually, we used to have no reasonable conception whatever. We
used to amuse ourselves by cynically dissecting spiritual beliefs and
practices, when we might have seen that many spiritually-minded
persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree
of stability, happiness, and usefulness that we should have sought for
ourselves.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 49
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Demanding credit
Approval.
The struggle for recognition sometimes takes an ugly form in AA. Even the pioneers of AA had disputes about who deserved credit for the fellowship's success.
Demanding credit and recognition is a loser's game for people who are seeking growth in sobriety. It is an indication that we still need applause and approval of the sort that drove us while we were drinking. It is a way of saying that we still don't believe good work should be done for its own sake, but rather for the applause that goes with it.
The real kicker is that people who demand recognition never get enough of it. Ironically, if we don't try to obtain credit for our actions, it sometimes comes anyway, without effort on our part.
I'll watch myself for any tendency to demand credit for the things I do in the program. My healthy growth in sobriety should be reward enough.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.--James M. Barrie.
Do you remember what it was like to not have sobriety? Remember the shame? Remember the loneliness? Remember lying and wishing you could stop? Remember the powerlessness? Do you remember, also, how it felt when you began to believe you had an illness? Your shame was lifted. Remember what it was like to look around at your meeting and know you belonged? Your loneliness was lifted. Remember when you family started to trust you again? Your dishonesty had been lifted. Sobriety gives us many roses. Our memory will help to keep them fresh.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, never let me forget what it was like. Why? Because I'm only one drink or pill away from losing You.
Action for the Day: I'll find a friend I trust. I'll tell that person what my life was like before sobriety. I'll also talk about how I got sober.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ON THE MOVE - Working the A.A. program showed this alcoholic how to get from geographics to gratitude.
It is easier to see now, as I look back on my drinking days, that from the beginning alcohol had been a part of nearly every disaster in my life. As a very young boy, perhaps ten or eleven years old, I had begun to steal drinks when my parents were not looking, or my friends and I would convince someone from the local high school to buy us some beer. Slowly, but very steadily, my problems began to grow from there.
p. 486
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have tried faith and found it wanting. They have tried the way of faith and the way of no faith. Since both ways have proved bitterly disappointing, they have concluded there is no place whatever for them to go. The roadblocks of indifference, fancied self-sufficiency, prejudice, and defiance often prove more solid and formidable for these people than any erected by the unconvinced agnostic or even the militant atheist. Religion says the existence of God can be proved; the agnostic says it can't be proved; and the atheist claims proof of the nonexistence of God. Obviously, the dilemma of the wanderer from faith is that of profound confusion. He thinks himself lost to the comfort of any
conviction at all. He cannot attain in even a small degree the assurance of the believer, the agnostic, or the atheist. He is the bewildered one.
p. 28
************************************************** *********
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to
doesn't mean they don't love you the best way they know how.
--Unknown
Smiles are contagious. See if you can infect someone today.
--unknown
I can't do His will my way.
--unknown
"It is a sign of strength, not of weakness, to admit that you don't know all the answers."
--John P. Loughrane
Miracles are not just extraordinary occurrences. They are also
small simple things that are often overlooked. Take the time
today to notice one.
--unknown
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PRINCIPLES
"At the back of every noble life
are the principles that have
fashioned it."
-- George Lorimer
God is to be found in the principles of life. The suggested patterns of behavior that
lead to happiness, freedom and unity in the world. God is not just a "good idea", an
intellectual philosophy or other worldly entity. God is practical goodness that can be
demonstrated and seen in the world. Principles lead to action; principles produce
change in attitude and behavior; principles must have a practical result.
Sometimes you hear the phrase "walk the talk", implying that the principles we talk
about should be evident in our daily lives. Also principles should be seen in the small
things of life being courteous, giving a smile to a stranger, offering a hug to a friend
in pain. God is alive in the principles of life.
Help me to practice the principles I believe in.
************************************************** *********
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press
on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a
view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
Philippians 3:12-16
"Your life will be brighter than the noonday....And you will have confidence, because
there is hope."
Job 11:17-18
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Reach higher than you think possible for all that you want and you find that often you attain even more. Lord, I rely on Your promises made to each of us and especially on Your love.
Be patient with others, but mostly be patient with yourself. Lord, help me to keep a smile on my face and to realize my goodness and refuse to dwell on my imperfections.
A COMMON SOLUTION
The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a
common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely
agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious
action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer
from alcoholism.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 17
The most far-reaching Twelfth Step work was the publication of our
Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Few can equal that book for
carrying the message. My idea is to get out of myself and simply do
what I can. Even if I haven't been asked to sponsor and my phone
rarely rings, I am still able to do Twelfth Step work. I get involved in
"brotherly and harmonious action." At meetings I show up early to greet
people and to help set up, and to share my experience, strength and hope. I
also do what I can with service work. My Higher Power gives me
exactly what He wants me to do at any given point in my recovery and, if I
let Him, my willingness will bring Twelfth Step work automatically.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Clergymen speak of the spiritual fellowship of the church. This is much closer to the
A.A. way than mere group therapy. Such a fellowship is based on a common belief in
God and a common effort to live a spiritual life. We try to do this in A.A. We also try to
get down to the real problems in each others' lives. We try to open up to each other. We
have a real desire to be of service to each other. We try to go deep down into the
personal lives of our members. Do I appreciate the deep personal fellowship of A.A.?
Meditation For The Day
Love and fear cannot dwell together. By their very natures, they cannot exist side by
side. Fear is a very strong force. And therefore a weak and vacillating love can soon be
routed by fear. But a strong love, a love that trusts in God, is sure eventually to
conquer fear. The only sure way to dispel fear is to have the love of God more and
more in your heart and soul.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that love will drive out the fear in my life. I pray that my fear will flee before
the power of the love of God.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
People Of Faith, p. 300
We who have traveled a path through agnosticism or atheism beg you
to lay aside prejudice, even against organized religion. We have
learned that, whatever the human frailties of various faiths may be,
those faiths have given purpose and direction to millions. People of
faith have a rational idea of what life is all about.
Actually, we used to have no reasonable conception whatever. We
used to amuse ourselves by cynically dissecting spiritual beliefs and
practices, when we might have seen that many spiritually-minded
persons of all races, colors, and creeds were demonstrating a degree
of stability, happiness, and usefulness that we should have sought for
ourselves.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 49
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Demanding credit
Approval.
The struggle for recognition sometimes takes an ugly form in AA. Even the pioneers of AA had disputes about who deserved credit for the fellowship's success.
Demanding credit and recognition is a loser's game for people who are seeking growth in sobriety. It is an indication that we still need applause and approval of the sort that drove us while we were drinking. It is a way of saying that we still don't believe good work should be done for its own sake, but rather for the applause that goes with it.
The real kicker is that people who demand recognition never get enough of it. Ironically, if we don't try to obtain credit for our actions, it sometimes comes anyway, without effort on our part.
I'll watch myself for any tendency to demand credit for the things I do in the program. My healthy growth in sobriety should be reward enough.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.--James M. Barrie.
Do you remember what it was like to not have sobriety? Remember the shame? Remember the loneliness? Remember lying and wishing you could stop? Remember the powerlessness? Do you remember, also, how it felt when you began to believe you had an illness? Your shame was lifted. Remember what it was like to look around at your meeting and know you belonged? Your loneliness was lifted. Remember when you family started to trust you again? Your dishonesty had been lifted. Sobriety gives us many roses. Our memory will help to keep them fresh.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, never let me forget what it was like. Why? Because I'm only one drink or pill away from losing You.
Action for the Day: I'll find a friend I trust. I'll tell that person what my life was like before sobriety. I'll also talk about how I got sober.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ON THE MOVE - Working the A.A. program showed this alcoholic how to get from geographics to gratitude.
It is easier to see now, as I look back on my drinking days, that from the beginning alcohol had been a part of nearly every disaster in my life. As a very young boy, perhaps ten or eleven years old, I had begun to steal drinks when my parents were not looking, or my friends and I would convince someone from the local high school to buy us some beer. Slowly, but very steadily, my problems began to grow from there.
p. 486
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Two - "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."
Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have tried faith and found it wanting. They have tried the way of faith and the way of no faith. Since both ways have proved bitterly disappointing, they have concluded there is no place whatever for them to go. The roadblocks of indifference, fancied self-sufficiency, prejudice, and defiance often prove more solid and formidable for these people than any erected by the unconvinced agnostic or even the militant atheist. Religion says the existence of God can be proved; the agnostic says it can't be proved; and the atheist claims proof of the nonexistence of God. Obviously, the dilemma of the wanderer from faith is that of profound confusion. He thinks himself lost to the comfort of any
conviction at all. He cannot attain in even a small degree the assurance of the believer, the agnostic, or the atheist. He is the bewildered one.
p. 28
************************************************** *********
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to
doesn't mean they don't love you the best way they know how.
--Unknown
Smiles are contagious. See if you can infect someone today.
--unknown
I can't do His will my way.
--unknown
"It is a sign of strength, not of weakness, to admit that you don't know all the answers."
--John P. Loughrane
Miracles are not just extraordinary occurrences. They are also
small simple things that are often overlooked. Take the time
today to notice one.
--unknown
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PRINCIPLES
"At the back of every noble life
are the principles that have
fashioned it."
-- George Lorimer
God is to be found in the principles of life. The suggested patterns of behavior that
lead to happiness, freedom and unity in the world. God is not just a "good idea", an
intellectual philosophy or other worldly entity. God is practical goodness that can be
demonstrated and seen in the world. Principles lead to action; principles produce
change in attitude and behavior; principles must have a practical result.
Sometimes you hear the phrase "walk the talk", implying that the principles we talk
about should be evident in our daily lives. Also principles should be seen in the small
things of life being courteous, giving a smile to a stranger, offering a hug to a friend
in pain. God is alive in the principles of life.
Help me to practice the principles I believe in.
************************************************** *********
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press
on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a
view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make
clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
Philippians 3:12-16
"Your life will be brighter than the noonday....And you will have confidence, because
there is hope."
Job 11:17-18
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Reach higher than you think possible for all that you want and you find that often you attain even more. Lord, I rely on Your promises made to each of us and especially on Your love.
Be patient with others, but mostly be patient with yourself. Lord, help me to keep a smile on my face and to realize my goodness and refuse to dwell on my imperfections.