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01-09-2008, 04:56 PM
Daily Reflections
UNITED WE STAND
We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that
we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that
we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30
I came to Alcoholics Anonymous because I was no longer able to
control my drinking. It was either my wife's complaining about my
drinking, or maybe the sheriff forced me to go to A.A. meetings, or
perhaps I knew, deep down inside, that I couldn't drink like others, but
I was unwilling to admit it because the alternative terrified me.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women united against
a common, fatal disease. Each one of our lives is linked to every other,
much like the survivors on a life raft at sea. If we all work together, we
can get safely to shore.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When we were drinking most of us were full of pride and selfishness.
We believed we could handle our own affairs, even though we were
making a mess of our lives. We were very stubborn and didn't like to
take advice. We resented being told what to do. To us, humility looked
like weakness. But when we came into A.A., we began to be humble.
And we found out that humility gave us the power we needed to
overcome drinking. Have I learned that there is power in humility?
Meditation For The Day
I will come to God in faith and He will give me a new way of life. This
new way of life will alter my whole existence, the words I speak, the
influence I have. They will spring from the life within me. I see how
important is the work of a person who has this new way of life. The
words and the example of such a person can have a whole influence for
good in the world.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may learn the principles of the good life. I pray that I may
meditate upon them and work at them, because they are eternal.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
A.A. In Two Words, p.271
"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can
be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.
"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater
willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations--these are
truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They
hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by
them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Talk, 1965 (Printed In Grapevine, January 1966)
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
No Need for Envy___Overcoming Envy
We would be unusual people if we did not suffer from the common feeling of envy. Quite often, we are envious of people who surpass us in some activity or who threaten our self-esteem in some way. Even if we are high achievers in spite of our drinking, we might envy people who appear to be rivaling or overtaking us.
We can make choices about envy. We do not have to be envious of anybody when we fully accept ourselves and God's will for us. There is no reason to be envious of another if we are doing what God wants us to do and if we have turned our will and lives over to God.
We should be on guard for jealous feelings toward those close to us. Most of us can shrug when we read about strangers winning the million-dollar lottery, but how would we feel if a close friend or relative won? When those envious feeling surface, we might face them by admitting them to others and asking God's help in rising above them. And if we share these feelings in-group discussions, others will be helped by our display of honesty.
I will accept myself, as I am this day. I will not be jealous of anyone's status, possessions, or opportunities.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.---Winston Churchill
We addicts are used to learning the hard way. Many of us think we're different and can do things our own way. But then we get in too much trouble or pain. The first AA members were just like us. They knew how it is to hate being told what to do. So they suggested we follow the Twelve Steps. They didn't say we have to do anything. They didn't say working the Steps is the only way to live sober. They just said the Steps worked for them. we're finding out that the Steps work for us too. We don't have to work them.
We don't have to stay sober. We just like our new sober life better than our old drinking or drugging life.
And we learned how to live this new life by working the Steps
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be open to your lessons. Teach me gently and help me listen.
Action for the Day: I will list five ways that I get in the way of my own learning.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A VISION OF RECOVERY - A feeble prayer forged a lasting connection with a Higher Power for this Mic-Mac Indian.
That very evening, as I sat in jail, my mother died. I was allowed out for the funeral, and I still recall how alone I felt, even when I was with my family. I felt shame and remorse, and for years to come I believed I was somehow responsible for my mother's death. This incident haunted me for years. Alcohol would take it away for a while, but the remorse always returned. I tried to comfort myself by saying that my lifestyle was a part of my destiny just like many of my family members, but this did not remove the remorse.
p. 496
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are. We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is still out of reach.
pp. 42-43
************************************************** *********
Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of others, but from doing something worthwhile. --Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940)
Joy has nothing to do with material things, or with a man's outward circumstance... A man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched, and a man in the depths of poverty can overflow with joy. --William Barclay (1907 - 1978)
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. --Abraham Lincoln
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. --Seneca
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
DIFFERENCE
As a recovering alcoholic I belong to a minority. As somebody with the
disease of addiction I am aware of my difference. And I have
experienced prejudice and injustice because I was not born like other
people.
But in a spiritual sense the acceptance of my disease has given me a
freedom that united me with other minorities, other "different" groups,
the countless shades of humanity. My disease has produced a spiritual
unity and bond with creation that makes me rejoice in my difference
and produces a tolerance of others that was not there before. In this
sense I thank God for my dis-ease.
You, who made the different, also created the unity; help me find both
in my life.
************************************************** *********
"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." Psalm 5:3
May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Psalm 119:169-176
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
We have many doors, but it is our choice which one to open. Lord, bless me with the wisdom to make the best of my daily life.
Happiness comes from knowing that you can handle the things in your life. Lord, help me to become confident and see the power that is really within me.
UNITED WE STAND
We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that
we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that
we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30
I came to Alcoholics Anonymous because I was no longer able to
control my drinking. It was either my wife's complaining about my
drinking, or maybe the sheriff forced me to go to A.A. meetings, or
perhaps I knew, deep down inside, that I couldn't drink like others, but
I was unwilling to admit it because the alternative terrified me.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women united against
a common, fatal disease. Each one of our lives is linked to every other,
much like the survivors on a life raft at sea. If we all work together, we
can get safely to shore.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When we were drinking most of us were full of pride and selfishness.
We believed we could handle our own affairs, even though we were
making a mess of our lives. We were very stubborn and didn't like to
take advice. We resented being told what to do. To us, humility looked
like weakness. But when we came into A.A., we began to be humble.
And we found out that humility gave us the power we needed to
overcome drinking. Have I learned that there is power in humility?
Meditation For The Day
I will come to God in faith and He will give me a new way of life. This
new way of life will alter my whole existence, the words I speak, the
influence I have. They will spring from the life within me. I see how
important is the work of a person who has this new way of life. The
words and the example of such a person can have a whole influence for
good in the world.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may learn the principles of the good life. I pray that I may
meditate upon them and work at them, because they are eternal.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
A.A. In Two Words, p.271
"All A.A. progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words:
humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can
be accurately measured by our degree of adherence to these
magnificent standards.
"Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater
willingness to accept and to act upon clear-cut obligations--these are
truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They
hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing. It is by
them that we are enabled to find and to do God's will."
Talk, 1965 (Printed In Grapevine, January 1966)
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
No Need for Envy___Overcoming Envy
We would be unusual people if we did not suffer from the common feeling of envy. Quite often, we are envious of people who surpass us in some activity or who threaten our self-esteem in some way. Even if we are high achievers in spite of our drinking, we might envy people who appear to be rivaling or overtaking us.
We can make choices about envy. We do not have to be envious of anybody when we fully accept ourselves and God's will for us. There is no reason to be envious of another if we are doing what God wants us to do and if we have turned our will and lives over to God.
We should be on guard for jealous feelings toward those close to us. Most of us can shrug when we read about strangers winning the million-dollar lottery, but how would we feel if a close friend or relative won? When those envious feeling surface, we might face them by admitting them to others and asking God's help in rising above them. And if we share these feelings in-group discussions, others will be helped by our display of honesty.
I will accept myself, as I am this day. I will not be jealous of anyone's status, possessions, or opportunities.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.---Winston Churchill
We addicts are used to learning the hard way. Many of us think we're different and can do things our own way. But then we get in too much trouble or pain. The first AA members were just like us. They knew how it is to hate being told what to do. So they suggested we follow the Twelve Steps. They didn't say we have to do anything. They didn't say working the Steps is the only way to live sober. They just said the Steps worked for them. we're finding out that the Steps work for us too. We don't have to work them.
We don't have to stay sober. We just like our new sober life better than our old drinking or drugging life.
And we learned how to live this new life by working the Steps
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be open to your lessons. Teach me gently and help me listen.
Action for the Day: I will list five ways that I get in the way of my own learning.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A VISION OF RECOVERY - A feeble prayer forged a lasting connection with a Higher Power for this Mic-Mac Indian.
That very evening, as I sat in jail, my mother died. I was allowed out for the funeral, and I still recall how alone I felt, even when I was with my family. I felt shame and remorse, and for years to come I believed I was somehow responsible for my mother's death. This incident haunted me for years. Alcohol would take it away for a while, but the remorse always returned. I tried to comfort myself by saying that my lifestyle was a part of my destiny just like many of my family members, but this did not remove the remorse.
p. 496
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Step Four is our vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what these liabilities in each of us have been, and are. We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for us. Without a searching and fearless moral inventory, most of us have found that the faith which really works in daily living is still out of reach.
pp. 42-43
************************************************** *********
Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of others, but from doing something worthwhile. --Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940)
Joy has nothing to do with material things, or with a man's outward circumstance... A man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched, and a man in the depths of poverty can overflow with joy. --William Barclay (1907 - 1978)
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. --Abraham Lincoln
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. --Seneca
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
DIFFERENCE
As a recovering alcoholic I belong to a minority. As somebody with the
disease of addiction I am aware of my difference. And I have
experienced prejudice and injustice because I was not born like other
people.
But in a spiritual sense the acceptance of my disease has given me a
freedom that united me with other minorities, other "different" groups,
the countless shades of humanity. My disease has produced a spiritual
unity and bond with creation that makes me rejoice in my difference
and produces a tolerance of others that was not there before. In this
sense I thank God for my dis-ease.
You, who made the different, also created the unity; help me find both
in my life.
************************************************** *********
"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." Psalm 5:3
May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Psalm 119:169-176
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
We have many doors, but it is our choice which one to open. Lord, bless me with the wisdom to make the best of my daily life.
Happiness comes from knowing that you can handle the things in your life. Lord, help me to become confident and see the power that is really within me.