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04-05-2008, 02:57 PM
Daily Reflections
TRUE BROTHERHOOD
We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among
friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of
society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide
underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership
relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we
had small comprehension.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53
This message contained in Step Four was the first one I heard loud and clear; I hadn't seen myself in print before! Prior to my coming into
A.A., I knew of no place that could teach me how to become a person among persons. From my very first meeting, I saw people doing just that and I wanted what they had. One of the reasons that I'm a happy, sober alcoholic today is that I'm learning this most important lesson.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
People often ask what makes the A.A. program work. One of the
answers is that A.A. works because it gets people away from
themselves as the center of the universe. And it teaches them to rely
more on the fellowship of others and on strength from God. Forgetting ourselves in fellowship, prayer, and working with others is what makes the A.A. program work. Are these things keeping me sober?
Meditation For The Day
God is the great interpreter of one human personality to another.
Even personalities who are the nearest together have much in their
natures that remains a seated book to each other. And only as God
enters and controls their lives are the mysteries of each revealed to the other. Each personality is so different. God alone understands
perfectly the language of each and can interpret between the two. Here we find the miracles of change and the true interpretation of life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be in the right relationship to God. I pray that God
will interpret to me the personalities of other people, so that I can
understand them and help them.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
A Viewer-with-Alarm, p. 183
"I went through several fruitless years in a state called 'viewing with alarm for the good
of the movement.' I thought it was up to me to be always 'correcting conditions.' Seldom
had anybody been able to tell me what I ought to do, and nobody had ever succeeded in
effectively telling me what I must do. I had to learn the hard way out of my own
experience.
"When setting out to 'check' others, I found myself often motivated by fear of what they
were doing, self-righteousness, and even downright intolerance. Consequently, I seldom
succeeded in correcting anything. I just raised barriers of resentment that cut off any
suggestion, example, understanding, or love."
<< << << >> >> >>
"A.A.'s often say, 'Our leaders do not drive by mandate; they lead by example.' If we
would favorably affect others, we ourselves need to practice what we preach--and forget
the 'preaching,' too. The quiet good example speaks for itself."
1. Letter, 1945
2. Letter, 1966
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Letting Go of Resentment___ Releasing the Past
How can we really put an end to festering resentments toward other people? "Pray for these people," the Old-timers said. "Go out of your way to do something good for them." This is a big order for most of us, but we are working for a big reward: Sobriety, peace of mind, and personal progress.
When we pray for others in this manner, we're practicing the noble art of forgiveness. How do we know when it's staring to work? Lewis B. Smedes, a master teacher of forgiveness, offers this thought: "You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well."
Forgiveness also is supposed to include forgetting the wrong. What we really forget is the hurt connected with it. When anything that once evoked pain comes to mind, we're growing spiritually if it no longer has the power to hurt us.
We then discover that we had been letting go our resentments hurt us again and again. We also learn that one effort to forgive is not nearly enough. Forgiveness takes the same amount of practice and emotional power we put into carrying the resentment!
Today will bring enough problems. I don't have either the time or the energy to play the old tapes that cause me pain. I'll practice praying for those who hurt me, and I'll take it for granted that my HIgher Power is removing my resentments.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God.---Anne Frank
Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.
Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes
Action for the Day: Today I'll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I'll
greet myself and others with much joy.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
Almost four years after my arrest and the explosive devastation of my life, I signed my back-to-work agreement. Restored to full seniority, given the retirement I had lost, and once again an airline pilot! A large crowd gathered to watch me sign the document.
pp. 528-529
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. It marked the time when we could commence to see the full implication of Step Seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
p. 75
************************************************** *********
You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice
because thorns have roses.
--Tom Wilson
"Not to transmit an experience is to betray it."
--Elie Wiesel
A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter."
--Anon.
"None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what
unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting to change all the tenor of our lives."
--Kathleen Norris
The beauty of God is evident when we work together for God's glory.
--Jacki Work
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FAILURE
"No man is a failure who is
enjoying life."
--William Feather
Spirituality is fun. I enjoy my sobriety today and I do not take myself too seriously.
For years I thought I was a failure and this "thought" manifested the behavior of a failure. I hid, sulked, was jealous, carried resentments
and isolated myself from life - and then blamed the world.
Today because I really understand and accept that I am a child of God, I know that I am not a failure and I have a glorious future in recovery.
Today I have hope. Today I have confidence. Today I am able to
accept and forgive. Today I am able to love my neighbor because I love myself.
In my enjoyment of life may I reflect your love for the world.
************************************************** *********
"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:11
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not
from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:6
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in a advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
In a day when almost everything goes right, don't ruin it by focusing on the one thing that didn't. Lord, help me to allow the good in my life to prevail.
To live with anger or resentment creates even more anger and resentment. Lord, increase my ability to forgive and free me from all that separates me from You so that I may be filled with Your peace.
TRUE BROTHERHOOD
We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among
friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of
society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide
underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership
relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we
had small comprehension.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53
This message contained in Step Four was the first one I heard loud and clear; I hadn't seen myself in print before! Prior to my coming into
A.A., I knew of no place that could teach me how to become a person among persons. From my very first meeting, I saw people doing just that and I wanted what they had. One of the reasons that I'm a happy, sober alcoholic today is that I'm learning this most important lesson.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
People often ask what makes the A.A. program work. One of the
answers is that A.A. works because it gets people away from
themselves as the center of the universe. And it teaches them to rely
more on the fellowship of others and on strength from God. Forgetting ourselves in fellowship, prayer, and working with others is what makes the A.A. program work. Are these things keeping me sober?
Meditation For The Day
God is the great interpreter of one human personality to another.
Even personalities who are the nearest together have much in their
natures that remains a seated book to each other. And only as God
enters and controls their lives are the mysteries of each revealed to the other. Each personality is so different. God alone understands
perfectly the language of each and can interpret between the two. Here we find the miracles of change and the true interpretation of life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be in the right relationship to God. I pray that God
will interpret to me the personalities of other people, so that I can
understand them and help them.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
A Viewer-with-Alarm, p. 183
"I went through several fruitless years in a state called 'viewing with alarm for the good
of the movement.' I thought it was up to me to be always 'correcting conditions.' Seldom
had anybody been able to tell me what I ought to do, and nobody had ever succeeded in
effectively telling me what I must do. I had to learn the hard way out of my own
experience.
"When setting out to 'check' others, I found myself often motivated by fear of what they
were doing, self-righteousness, and even downright intolerance. Consequently, I seldom
succeeded in correcting anything. I just raised barriers of resentment that cut off any
suggestion, example, understanding, or love."
<< << << >> >> >>
"A.A.'s often say, 'Our leaders do not drive by mandate; they lead by example.' If we
would favorably affect others, we ourselves need to practice what we preach--and forget
the 'preaching,' too. The quiet good example speaks for itself."
1. Letter, 1945
2. Letter, 1966
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Letting Go of Resentment___ Releasing the Past
How can we really put an end to festering resentments toward other people? "Pray for these people," the Old-timers said. "Go out of your way to do something good for them." This is a big order for most of us, but we are working for a big reward: Sobriety, peace of mind, and personal progress.
When we pray for others in this manner, we're practicing the noble art of forgiveness. How do we know when it's staring to work? Lewis B. Smedes, a master teacher of forgiveness, offers this thought: "You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well."
Forgiveness also is supposed to include forgetting the wrong. What we really forget is the hurt connected with it. When anything that once evoked pain comes to mind, we're growing spiritually if it no longer has the power to hurt us.
We then discover that we had been letting go our resentments hurt us again and again. We also learn that one effort to forgive is not nearly enough. Forgiveness takes the same amount of practice and emotional power we put into carrying the resentment!
Today will bring enough problems. I don't have either the time or the energy to play the old tapes that cause me pain. I'll practice praying for those who hurt me, and I'll take it for granted that my HIgher Power is removing my resentments.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God.---Anne Frank
Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.
Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes
Action for the Day: Today I'll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I'll
greet myself and others with much joy.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
Almost four years after my arrest and the explosive devastation of my life, I signed my back-to-work agreement. Restored to full seniority, given the retirement I had lost, and once again an airline pilot! A large crowd gathered to watch me sign the document.
pp. 528-529
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. It marked the time when we could commence to see the full implication of Step Seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."
p. 75
************************************************** *********
You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice
because thorns have roses.
--Tom Wilson
"Not to transmit an experience is to betray it."
--Elie Wiesel
A friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter."
--Anon.
"None of us knows what the next change is going to be, what
unexpected opportunity is just around the corner, waiting to change all the tenor of our lives."
--Kathleen Norris
The beauty of God is evident when we work together for God's glory.
--Jacki Work
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
FAILURE
"No man is a failure who is
enjoying life."
--William Feather
Spirituality is fun. I enjoy my sobriety today and I do not take myself too seriously.
For years I thought I was a failure and this "thought" manifested the behavior of a failure. I hid, sulked, was jealous, carried resentments
and isolated myself from life - and then blamed the world.
Today because I really understand and accept that I am a child of God, I know that I am not a failure and I have a glorious future in recovery.
Today I have hope. Today I have confidence. Today I am able to
accept and forgive. Today I am able to love my neighbor because I love myself.
In my enjoyment of life may I reflect your love for the world.
************************************************** *********
"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Psalm 91:11
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not
from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:6
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in a advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
In a day when almost everything goes right, don't ruin it by focusing on the one thing that didn't. Lord, help me to allow the good in my life to prevail.
To live with anger or resentment creates even more anger and resentment. Lord, increase my ability to forgive and free me from all that separates me from You so that I may be filled with Your peace.