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01-05-2008, 06:11 PM
Daily Reflections
THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER
We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able
to take our first steps toward liberation and strength.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn
out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful
lives may be built.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21
When alcohol influenced every facet of my life, when
bottles became the symbol of all my self-indulgence and
permissiveness, when I came to realize that, by myself,
I could do nothing to overcome the power of alcohol, I
realized I had no recourse except surrender. In
surrender I found victory - victory over my selfish
self-indulgence, victory over my stubborn resistance
to life as it was given to me. When I stopped fighting
anybody or anything, I started on the path to sobriety,
serenity and peace.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Keeping sober is the most important thing in my life.
The most important decision I ever made was my decision
to give up drinking. I am convinced that my whole life
depends on not taking that first drink. Nothing in the
world is as important to me as my own sobriety. Everything
I have, my whole life depends on that one thing. Can I afford
ever to forget this, even for one minute?
Meditation For The Day
I will discipline myself. I will do this disciplining now.
I will turn out all useless thoughts. I know that the
goodness of my life is a necessary foundation for its
usefulness. I will welcome this training, for without it
God cannot give me his power. I believe that this power
is a mighty power when used in the right way.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may face and accept whatever discipline is
necessary. I pray that I may be fit to receive God's power
in my life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Recovery Through Giving, p.275
For a new prospect, outline the program of action, explaining how
you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and
why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him. It is important
for him to realize that your attempt to pass this on to him plays a
vital part in your own recovery. Actually, he may be helping you
more than you are helping him. Make it plain that he is under no
obligation to you.
********************************
In the first six months of my own sobriety, I worked hard with
many alcoholics. Not a one responded. Yet this work kept me
sober. It wasn't a question of those alcoholics giving me anything.
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I
receive.
1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.94
2. Grapevine, January 1958
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
No Need to be Perfect____ Perfectionism.
We often declare that we suffered from perfectionism while we were drinking. This did not mean that we did things perfectly or always met high standards. More likely, it meant that we had grandiose ideas of the perfect people we wanted to be, but felt deep inadequacy about our failure to meet these high standards.
While we should develop good standards and values for our lives, we place an impossible demand on ourselves by wanting to be perfect in every way. What is this but a secret desire to be better than others, to occupy a superior position that will enable us to look down on others and, at the same time, to receive their approval and admiration?
In some manufacturing fields, there is a useful saying that serves as a guideline for inspectors: "Good enough is best." If something is good enough for its intended purpose, it may be equal to the best. If my performance and actions this day are good enough, it maybe that they are as good as they have to be or as God wants them to be.
I will not expect impossible things from myself today. I will meet reasonable standards without permitting myself to become tense or strained.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
"We."---First word of the Twelve Steps.
We. This little word says a lot about the Twelve Steps. Our addiction made us lonely. The "we" of the program makes us whole again. It makes us a member of a living, growing group of people. Our addiction isolated us from others. We couldn't be honest. We felt a lot of shame. But all this is in the past. The "we" of the program helps us live outside ourselves. Now we tell each other about our pasts. We comfort each other. We try to help each other.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to join the WE of the program. Help me to admit and accept my illness, so the healing can begin.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work to make the WE of the program even stronger. I'll find someone to help.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A VISION OF RECOVERY - A feeble prayer forged a lasting connection with a Higher Power for this Mic-Mac Indian.
I was ten years old when I had my first drink of alcohol. On New year's Eve I stole two glasses of vodka from my parents. I can't say that it did what it was supposed to do, for I got deathly sick, threw up, and I had diarrhea. The next day I was full of fear that my parents would find out. I learned my lesson for a while.
p. 495
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.
p. 40
************************************************** *********
Do not spit into the well you may have to drink out of. --French Proverb
"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have for instance." --Franklin P. Jones
"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." --Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I still can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." --Helen Keller
"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." --Henry Van Dyke
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
BOREDOM
"Nothing is interesting if you
are not interested."
-- Helen MacInnes
There is a subtle distinction between the "dry" alcoholic and the "sober" alcoholic.
The sober alcoholic chooses not to drink because he has accepted his alcoholism. The
"dry" alcoholic is "not drinking" but is invariably angry and resentful --- and he is not
expressing these feelings. His abstinence is not exciting because he is not interested
in it --- he is bored.
The "dry" alcoholic is also boring to be around. Why? Because he is bored. His
boredom makes him boring. He really wants to drink. He has stopped drinking for
reasons that do not include the acceptance of the disease; he is still a victim of the
disease.
Sobriety, by contrast, is an adventure into self. It greets the new day with enthusiasm
and energy. Sobriety is the spiritual discovery of God in our lives.
Let me always remember that my interests in life reflect my interest in You.
************************************************** *********
We are to grow up in all aspects into Him. Ephesians 4:15
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Everyone is important; very important. Lord, help me to always treat those in my life with respect and speak with a gentle heart.
Our lives should be productive and useful and we should always make a difference because we are alive. Lord, You have brought me to this new day. Work with me so that I will have a successful day with many accomplishments whether they are great or small.
THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER
We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able
to take our first steps toward liberation and strength.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn
out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful
lives may be built.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21
When alcohol influenced every facet of my life, when
bottles became the symbol of all my self-indulgence and
permissiveness, when I came to realize that, by myself,
I could do nothing to overcome the power of alcohol, I
realized I had no recourse except surrender. In
surrender I found victory - victory over my selfish
self-indulgence, victory over my stubborn resistance
to life as it was given to me. When I stopped fighting
anybody or anything, I started on the path to sobriety,
serenity and peace.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Keeping sober is the most important thing in my life.
The most important decision I ever made was my decision
to give up drinking. I am convinced that my whole life
depends on not taking that first drink. Nothing in the
world is as important to me as my own sobriety. Everything
I have, my whole life depends on that one thing. Can I afford
ever to forget this, even for one minute?
Meditation For The Day
I will discipline myself. I will do this disciplining now.
I will turn out all useless thoughts. I know that the
goodness of my life is a necessary foundation for its
usefulness. I will welcome this training, for without it
God cannot give me his power. I believe that this power
is a mighty power when used in the right way.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may face and accept whatever discipline is
necessary. I pray that I may be fit to receive God's power
in my life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Recovery Through Giving, p.275
For a new prospect, outline the program of action, explaining how
you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and
why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him. It is important
for him to realize that your attempt to pass this on to him plays a
vital part in your own recovery. Actually, he may be helping you
more than you are helping him. Make it plain that he is under no
obligation to you.
********************************
In the first six months of my own sobriety, I worked hard with
many alcoholics. Not a one responded. Yet this work kept me
sober. It wasn't a question of those alcoholics giving me anything.
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I
receive.
1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.94
2. Grapevine, January 1958
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
No Need to be Perfect____ Perfectionism.
We often declare that we suffered from perfectionism while we were drinking. This did not mean that we did things perfectly or always met high standards. More likely, it meant that we had grandiose ideas of the perfect people we wanted to be, but felt deep inadequacy about our failure to meet these high standards.
While we should develop good standards and values for our lives, we place an impossible demand on ourselves by wanting to be perfect in every way. What is this but a secret desire to be better than others, to occupy a superior position that will enable us to look down on others and, at the same time, to receive their approval and admiration?
In some manufacturing fields, there is a useful saying that serves as a guideline for inspectors: "Good enough is best." If something is good enough for its intended purpose, it may be equal to the best. If my performance and actions this day are good enough, it maybe that they are as good as they have to be or as God wants them to be.
I will not expect impossible things from myself today. I will meet reasonable standards without permitting myself to become tense or strained.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
"We."---First word of the Twelve Steps.
We. This little word says a lot about the Twelve Steps. Our addiction made us lonely. The "we" of the program makes us whole again. It makes us a member of a living, growing group of people. Our addiction isolated us from others. We couldn't be honest. We felt a lot of shame. But all this is in the past. The "we" of the program helps us live outside ourselves. Now we tell each other about our pasts. We comfort each other. We try to help each other.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to join the WE of the program. Help me to admit and accept my illness, so the healing can begin.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work to make the WE of the program even stronger. I'll find someone to help.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A VISION OF RECOVERY - A feeble prayer forged a lasting connection with a Higher Power for this Mic-Mac Indian.
I was ten years old when I had my first drink of alcohol. On New year's Eve I stole two glasses of vodka from my parents. I can't say that it did what it was supposed to do, for I got deathly sick, threw up, and I had diarrhea. The next day I was full of fear that my parents would find out. I learned my lesson for a while.
p. 495
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Three - "Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."
It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God's intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.
p. 40
************************************************** *********
Do not spit into the well you may have to drink out of. --French Proverb
"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have for instance." --Franklin P. Jones
"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." --Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I still can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." --Helen Keller
"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." --Henry Van Dyke
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
BOREDOM
"Nothing is interesting if you
are not interested."
-- Helen MacInnes
There is a subtle distinction between the "dry" alcoholic and the "sober" alcoholic.
The sober alcoholic chooses not to drink because he has accepted his alcoholism. The
"dry" alcoholic is "not drinking" but is invariably angry and resentful --- and he is not
expressing these feelings. His abstinence is not exciting because he is not interested
in it --- he is bored.
The "dry" alcoholic is also boring to be around. Why? Because he is bored. His
boredom makes him boring. He really wants to drink. He has stopped drinking for
reasons that do not include the acceptance of the disease; he is still a victim of the
disease.
Sobriety, by contrast, is an adventure into self. It greets the new day with enthusiasm
and energy. Sobriety is the spiritual discovery of God in our lives.
Let me always remember that my interests in life reflect my interest in You.
************************************************** *********
We are to grow up in all aspects into Him. Ephesians 4:15
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Everyone is important; very important. Lord, help me to always treat those in my life with respect and speak with a gentle heart.
Our lives should be productive and useful and we should always make a difference because we are alive. Lord, You have brought me to this new day. Work with me so that I will have a successful day with many accomplishments whether they are great or small.