admin
01-11-2008, 02:33 PM
Daily Reflections
ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES
Our very first problem is to accept our present
circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the
people about us as they are. This is to adopt a
realistic humility without which no genuine advance can
even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to
that unflattering point of departure. This is an
exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice
every day of our lives. Provided we strenuously avoid
turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life
into unrealistic alibis for apathy or defeatism, they
can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional
health and therefore spiritual progress can be built.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 44
When I am having a difficult time accepting people,
places or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves
me of many an underlying fear regarding others, or
situations life presents me. The thought allows me to be
human and not perfect, and to regain my peace of mind.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The longer we're in A.A., the more natural this way of
life seems. Our old drinking lives were a very unnatural
way of living. Our present sober lives are the most
natural way we could possibly live. During the early
years of our drinking, our lives weren't so different from
the lives of a lot of other people. But as we gradually
became problem drinkers, our lives became more and more
unnatural. Do I realize now that the things I did were far
from natural?
Meditation For The Day
I will say thank you to God for everything, even the
seeming trials and worries. I will strive to be grateful
and humble. My whole attitude toward the Higher Power
will be one of gratitude. I will be glad for the things
I have received. I will pass on what God reveals to me.
I believe that more truths will flow in, as I go along
in the new way of life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be grateful for the things I have
received and do not deserve. I pray that this attitude
will make me truly humble.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
When Infancy Is Over, p.269
"You must remember that every A.A. group starts, as it should, through the efforts of a single man and his friends--a founder and his hierarchy. There is no other way.
"But when infancy is over, the original leaders always have to make way for that democracy which springs up through the grass roots and will eventually sweep aside the self-chosen leadership of the past."
********************************
Letter to Dr. Bob:
"Everywhere the A.A. groups have taken their service affairs into their own hands. Local founders and their friends are now on the side lines. Why so many people forget that, when thinking of the future of our world services, I shall never understand.
"The groups will eventually take over, and maybe they will squander their inheritance when they get it. It is probable, however, that they won't. Anyhow, they really have grown up; A.A. is theirs; let's give it to them.
Letters
1. 1950
2. 1949
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
IF IT FEELS GOOD. . .
Facing Other Excesses
In the drinking life, one of the flippant sayings we heard was, "If it feels good, do it!" We hear that often in sobriety, although it sometimes appears on a bumper sticker or as casual comment. And if we've learned anything in sobriety, we know that this remark is really a permit for disaster. We drank to feel good, but we often ended up feeling terrible.
Yet the same slogan, properly understood, can be useful for the recovering alcoholic. We all want to feel good. But a drink means temporary pleasure followed by pain, guilt, remorse, and ruin. This is not really feeling good. It is a nightmare of the worst feeling we can imagine.
Happy sobriety does feel good, even though it may include short-term discomfort or temporary boredom. The long-run tendency of sobriety is toward having peace of mind, feeling good about ourselves, and using our talents and opportunities wisely. This is the mature way to feel good, but we achieve it only by thinking and acting in the right ways. Perhaps our slogan could be, "If it will make you feel good now and in the future, do it!"
Today I will pass up anything that seems pleasurable in the short run but will make me guilty and unhappy later on.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Remember always that you have not only the right to be individual, you have an obligation to be one. --Eleamnor Roosevelt
When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we often thought that we were different from others. We secretly thought that no one could understand us. Maybe we tried to be one of the group, but we were lonely. Now we know for sure--we are different from others. Everyone's unique. We all have this in common. Being like others helps us feel safe and normal. But we need to feel good about the ways we're different from others too. We think a little different, act a little different, and look a little different from anyone else. We each have our own way to make life better for others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be an individual. Help me use my special gifts, not hide them.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of the things I'm good at. I'll think about how I can use these gifts.
************************************************** *********
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 to meet a young girl and have a son. Proud, I named him after myself, and my drinking slowed down for a little while. One day I promised my son that "tomorrow" I would take him to the movies. I really meant it from the bottom of my heart, and I was looking forward to it. That night I took a drink, and it led to many more. The next day I was hung-over, and even though I promised to go to the movies that afternoon, I took a drink to fix myself up. That drink was followed by many more, and i justified them by telling myself: My son is so young, he will never remember the movie. The day after the promised movie I was guilty and remorseful, and felt I was just no good. I faced my son, only to hear him talking excitedly about going to a movie. I couldn't say anything, for the movie was no longer playing. I left his mother to explain.
pp. 496-497
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Nor is the quest for security always expressed in terms of money. How frequently we see a frightened human being determined to depend completely upon a stronger person for guidance and protection. This weak one, failing to meet life's responsibilities with his own resources, never grows up. Disillusionment and helplessness are his lot. In time all his protectors either flee or die, and he is once more left alone and afraid.
p. 43
************************************************** *********
You are a child of God. You are a child of Light.
The Soul that is your true identity resides naturally
in love and joy.
--John-Roger
Take LOVE as an acronym:
LISTEN intently to the people with whom you are traveling your
journey. Listen deeply; it is a great gift.
OPTIMIZE the time you have with your loved ones. The truth is, we
do not know our last hour; don't postpone giving your love.
VALUE the people in your life, really notice their goodness.
Then, EXPRESS your gratitude, appreciation and praise.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
Message of Peace
May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
--Leo Buscaglia
If you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel...
then run down there and light the darn thing yourself...
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
VALUES
"The aim of education is the
knowledge not of fact, but of
values."
-- Dean William R. Inge
Facts can sometimes confuse. They can be used to hide behind. They
can be manipulated into lies. Facts are no substitute for values ---
human values.
Today I not only value my life but I value life itself. When I walk
amongst nature, I taste her purity, observe her beauty, experience
her strength --- and I know I am a part of it all. Today my values
have changed because I see myself as "part of" rather than
"separate from". I belong to this universe, this world, this planet and
what I do affects the essential value of life. With my daily respect for
self comes a respect for property, people, different cultures and God.
Today the things I truly value I do not pay for; the things I cherish
cannot be won or bought. Spirituality is free.
Teach me to value the meaning of freedom and the richness of life.
************************************************** *********
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28
For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, (it is) the
gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Take today and make it beautiful. Lord, my life is no accident and neither is how I live it. Help me to fill it with smiles.
Stay close to God because He is the solution to all problems. Lord, I will live in Your presence, protected by You and Your peace will be mine.
ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES
Our very first problem is to accept our present
circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the
people about us as they are. This is to adopt a
realistic humility without which no genuine advance can
even begin. Again and again, we shall need to return to
that unflattering point of departure. This is an
exercise in acceptance that we can profitably practice
every day of our lives. Provided we strenuously avoid
turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life
into unrealistic alibis for apathy or defeatism, they
can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional
health and therefore spiritual progress can be built.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 44
When I am having a difficult time accepting people,
places or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves
me of many an underlying fear regarding others, or
situations life presents me. The thought allows me to be
human and not perfect, and to regain my peace of mind.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The longer we're in A.A., the more natural this way of
life seems. Our old drinking lives were a very unnatural
way of living. Our present sober lives are the most
natural way we could possibly live. During the early
years of our drinking, our lives weren't so different from
the lives of a lot of other people. But as we gradually
became problem drinkers, our lives became more and more
unnatural. Do I realize now that the things I did were far
from natural?
Meditation For The Day
I will say thank you to God for everything, even the
seeming trials and worries. I will strive to be grateful
and humble. My whole attitude toward the Higher Power
will be one of gratitude. I will be glad for the things
I have received. I will pass on what God reveals to me.
I believe that more truths will flow in, as I go along
in the new way of life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be grateful for the things I have
received and do not deserve. I pray that this attitude
will make me truly humble.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
When Infancy Is Over, p.269
"You must remember that every A.A. group starts, as it should, through the efforts of a single man and his friends--a founder and his hierarchy. There is no other way.
"But when infancy is over, the original leaders always have to make way for that democracy which springs up through the grass roots and will eventually sweep aside the self-chosen leadership of the past."
********************************
Letter to Dr. Bob:
"Everywhere the A.A. groups have taken their service affairs into their own hands. Local founders and their friends are now on the side lines. Why so many people forget that, when thinking of the future of our world services, I shall never understand.
"The groups will eventually take over, and maybe they will squander their inheritance when they get it. It is probable, however, that they won't. Anyhow, they really have grown up; A.A. is theirs; let's give it to them.
Letters
1. 1950
2. 1949
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
IF IT FEELS GOOD. . .
Facing Other Excesses
In the drinking life, one of the flippant sayings we heard was, "If it feels good, do it!" We hear that often in sobriety, although it sometimes appears on a bumper sticker or as casual comment. And if we've learned anything in sobriety, we know that this remark is really a permit for disaster. We drank to feel good, but we often ended up feeling terrible.
Yet the same slogan, properly understood, can be useful for the recovering alcoholic. We all want to feel good. But a drink means temporary pleasure followed by pain, guilt, remorse, and ruin. This is not really feeling good. It is a nightmare of the worst feeling we can imagine.
Happy sobriety does feel good, even though it may include short-term discomfort or temporary boredom. The long-run tendency of sobriety is toward having peace of mind, feeling good about ourselves, and using our talents and opportunities wisely. This is the mature way to feel good, but we achieve it only by thinking and acting in the right ways. Perhaps our slogan could be, "If it will make you feel good now and in the future, do it!"
Today I will pass up anything that seems pleasurable in the short run but will make me guilty and unhappy later on.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Remember always that you have not only the right to be individual, you have an obligation to be one. --Eleamnor Roosevelt
When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we often thought that we were different from others. We secretly thought that no one could understand us. Maybe we tried to be one of the group, but we were lonely. Now we know for sure--we are different from others. Everyone's unique. We all have this in common. Being like others helps us feel safe and normal. But we need to feel good about the ways we're different from others too. We think a little different, act a little different, and look a little different from anyone else. We each have our own way to make life better for others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be an individual. Help me use my special gifts, not hide them.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of the things I'm good at. I'll think about how I can use these gifts.
************************************************** *********
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 to meet a young girl and have a son. Proud, I named him after myself, and my drinking slowed down for a little while. One day I promised my son that "tomorrow" I would take him to the movies. I really meant it from the bottom of my heart, and I was looking forward to it. That night I took a drink, and it led to many more. The next day I was hung-over, and even though I promised to go to the movies that afternoon, I took a drink to fix myself up. That drink was followed by many more, and i justified them by telling myself: My son is so young, he will never remember the movie. The day after the promised movie I was guilty and remorseful, and felt I was just no good. I faced my son, only to hear him talking excitedly about going to a movie. I couldn't say anything, for the movie was no longer playing. I left his mother to explain.
pp. 496-497
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
Nor is the quest for security always expressed in terms of money. How frequently we see a frightened human being determined to depend completely upon a stronger person for guidance and protection. This weak one, failing to meet life's responsibilities with his own resources, never grows up. Disillusionment and helplessness are his lot. In time all his protectors either flee or die, and he is once more left alone and afraid.
p. 43
************************************************** *********
You are a child of God. You are a child of Light.
The Soul that is your true identity resides naturally
in love and joy.
--John-Roger
Take LOVE as an acronym:
LISTEN intently to the people with whom you are traveling your
journey. Listen deeply; it is a great gift.
OPTIMIZE the time you have with your loved ones. The truth is, we
do not know our last hour; don't postpone giving your love.
VALUE the people in your life, really notice their goodness.
Then, EXPRESS your gratitude, appreciation and praise.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
Message of Peace
May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Your talent is God's gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God.
--Leo Buscaglia
If you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel...
then run down there and light the darn thing yourself...
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
VALUES
"The aim of education is the
knowledge not of fact, but of
values."
-- Dean William R. Inge
Facts can sometimes confuse. They can be used to hide behind. They
can be manipulated into lies. Facts are no substitute for values ---
human values.
Today I not only value my life but I value life itself. When I walk
amongst nature, I taste her purity, observe her beauty, experience
her strength --- and I know I am a part of it all. Today my values
have changed because I see myself as "part of" rather than
"separate from". I belong to this universe, this world, this planet and
what I do affects the essential value of life. With my daily respect for
self comes a respect for property, people, different cultures and God.
Today the things I truly value I do not pay for; the things I cherish
cannot be won or bought. Spirituality is free.
Teach me to value the meaning of freedom and the richness of life.
************************************************** *********
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28
For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, (it is) the
gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Take today and make it beautiful. Lord, my life is no accident and neither is how I live it. Help me to fill it with smiles.
Stay close to God because He is the solution to all problems. Lord, I will live in Your presence, protected by You and Your peace will be mine.