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04-09-2008, 03:47 PM
Daily Reflections
GROWING UP
The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for
the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder
whatever responsibility this entails.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 115
Sometimes when I've become willing to do what I should
have been doing all along, I want praise and recognition.
I don't realize that the more I'm willing to act
differently, the more exciting my life is. The more I am
willing to help others, the more rewards I receive.
That's what practicing the principles means to me. Fun
and benefits for me are in the willingness to do the
actions, not to get immediate results. Being a little
kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving
makes my life better--day by day.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When I came into A.A., I came into a new world. A sober
world. A world of sobriety, peace, serenity, and happiness.
But I know that if I take just one drink, I'll go right
back into that old world. That alcoholic world. That world
of drunkenness, conflict, and misery. That alcoholic world
is not a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Looking
at the world through the bottom of a whiskey glass is no fun
after you've become an alcoholic. Do I want to go back to
that alcoholic world?
Meditation For The Day
Pride stands sentinel at the door of the heart and shuts out
the love of God. God can only dwell with the humble and the
obedient. Obedience to God's will is the key unlocking the
door to God's kingdom. You cannot obey God to the best of your
ability without in time realizing God's love and responding to
that love. The rough stone steps of obedience lead up to where
the mosaic floor of love and joy is laid. Where God's spirit
is, there is your home. There is heaven for you.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God may make His home in my humble and obedient
heart. I pray that I may obey His guidance to the best of
my ability.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Coping With Anger, p. 179
Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. A burst
of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably
ineffective. Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger. As
we saw it, our wrath was always justified. Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced
people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These "dry benders' often led
straight to the bottle.
<< << << >> >> >>
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered
criticism, furious power-driven argument, sulking, and silent scorn. These are emotional
booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. When we are tempted by the bait, we
should train ourselves to step back and think. We can neither think nor act to good
purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.
12 & 12
1. p. 90
2. p. 91
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Protecting Sobriety
Though AA members never criticize drinking customs, we do tell newcomers that it's wise to avoid situations involving alcohol. Even this is not an absolute, because we also concede that it's sometimes necessary to attend a cocktail reception or to lunch with a friend in a bar. So how do we distinguish between what's safe and what's likely to lead to trouble.
The litmus test is always to look at our own motives and spiritual guidance. A drink has no power over us unless we want to take the drink. If we are not deliberately seeking out drinking situations, our motives are probably good. If our spiritual house is in order, our Higher Power will also protect us in any situation.
Wherever we go, however, we should also make our sobriety the first priority of business. Whatever the importance of any social event, it is insignificant compared with the importance of sobriety. Keep sobriety at the top of your list, and the other decisions will follow in proper order.
We should hole the additional thought that "walking in dry places" is really thinking of our selves as always being in dry places under God's guidance.
..Today I will focus on the sober world I want to enjoy and share. The world of drinking has nothing for me. I may encounter situations involving casual drinking today, but I will not be part of them in mind and spirit. I will think and walk in dry places.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making their nest in your head.---Chinese proverb
Life is full of feelings. We can be happy, sad, mad, scared. These feelings can come and go quickly. Or we may hang on to them. As recovering addicts, we used to hang on to feelings that made us feel bad. We let them make"nest" in our hair. We used our feelings as excuse to drink or use other drugs. Now we're learning to hang on to our good feelings. We can let go of anger, hurt, and fear. We can shoo away the birds of sadness and welcome the birds of happiness.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me become a "bird watcher." Help me learn from my feelings. And help me let go of the bad one so I can be happy.
Action For the Day: If I need to get rid of the sadness or anger that I'm hanging on to, I'll get help from my sponsor, a counselor, or a clergy person.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I retired at age sixty, and I checked out as a 747 captain, which means my final year at my airline concluded in the left seat. The circle, so sacred to my Indian people, will once again have been completed.
p. 529
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."
Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relations. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may develop the best possible relations with every human being we know.
p. 77
************************************************** *********
May I look at my experiences, not as trouble, but as a way to use my
experience to help others.
--SweetyZee
When you make a mistake, make amends immediately.
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
--Eric Hoffer
Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back. If you smile, it
returns the greeting.
"One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention."
--Jim Rohn
"Develop a benevolent world view; look for the good in the people and
circumstances around you."
--Brian Tracy
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
TODAY
"Real generosity towards the
future consists in giving all to
what is present."
--Albert Camus
Much of the gratitude that I talk about needs to be centered in what I do
with today; I need to focus on the present, rather than procrastinate for
the future.
As a sick alcoholic I lived either in the guilt of yesterday or the fear of
tomorrow - missing the reality of the present. The present moment is all
that I have and through this "moment" I live and breathe and have my
existence!
My understanding of prayer is centered in the present moment because
any understanding of relationship and communication, especially with
God, must begin from where one is, rather than where one would like to
be. Spirituality is the reality of the moment.
Master, thank You for the life that is experienced in the moment.
************************************************** *********
"O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever."
Psalm 30:12
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for
You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
Revelation 4:11
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he
said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:1-4
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Let life's lessons grow into wisdom so that you may be the light for someone else's darkness. Lord, help me put to good use that which today brings so that I am better prepared for tomorrow.
To know someone doesn't mean to know every detail of that person's life. It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person. Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others.
GROWING UP
The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for
the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder
whatever responsibility this entails.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 115
Sometimes when I've become willing to do what I should
have been doing all along, I want praise and recognition.
I don't realize that the more I'm willing to act
differently, the more exciting my life is. The more I am
willing to help others, the more rewards I receive.
That's what practicing the principles means to me. Fun
and benefits for me are in the willingness to do the
actions, not to get immediate results. Being a little
kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving
makes my life better--day by day.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
When I came into A.A., I came into a new world. A sober
world. A world of sobriety, peace, serenity, and happiness.
But I know that if I take just one drink, I'll go right
back into that old world. That alcoholic world. That world
of drunkenness, conflict, and misery. That alcoholic world
is not a pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in. Looking
at the world through the bottom of a whiskey glass is no fun
after you've become an alcoholic. Do I want to go back to
that alcoholic world?
Meditation For The Day
Pride stands sentinel at the door of the heart and shuts out
the love of God. God can only dwell with the humble and the
obedient. Obedience to God's will is the key unlocking the
door to God's kingdom. You cannot obey God to the best of your
ability without in time realizing God's love and responding to
that love. The rough stone steps of obedience lead up to where
the mosaic floor of love and joy is laid. Where God's spirit
is, there is your home. There is heaven for you.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God may make His home in my humble and obedient
heart. I pray that I may obey His guidance to the best of
my ability.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Coping With Anger, p. 179
Few people have been more victimized by resentments than have we alcoholics. A burst
of temper could spoil a day, and a well-nursed grudge could make us miserably
ineffective. Nor were we ever skillful in separating justified from unjustified anger. As
we saw it, our wrath was always justified. Anger, that occasional luxury of more balanced
people, could keep us on an emotional jag indefinitely. These "dry benders' often led
straight to the bottle.
<< << << >> >> >>
Nothing pays off like restraint of tongue and pen. We must avoid quick-tempered
criticism, furious power-driven argument, sulking, and silent scorn. These are emotional
booby traps baited with pride and vengefulness. When we are tempted by the bait, we
should train ourselves to step back and think. We can neither think nor act to good
purpose until the habit of self-restraint has become automatic.
12 & 12
1. p. 90
2. p. 91
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Protecting Sobriety
Though AA members never criticize drinking customs, we do tell newcomers that it's wise to avoid situations involving alcohol. Even this is not an absolute, because we also concede that it's sometimes necessary to attend a cocktail reception or to lunch with a friend in a bar. So how do we distinguish between what's safe and what's likely to lead to trouble.
The litmus test is always to look at our own motives and spiritual guidance. A drink has no power over us unless we want to take the drink. If we are not deliberately seeking out drinking situations, our motives are probably good. If our spiritual house is in order, our Higher Power will also protect us in any situation.
Wherever we go, however, we should also make our sobriety the first priority of business. Whatever the importance of any social event, it is insignificant compared with the importance of sobriety. Keep sobriety at the top of your list, and the other decisions will follow in proper order.
We should hole the additional thought that "walking in dry places" is really thinking of our selves as always being in dry places under God's guidance.
..Today I will focus on the sober world I want to enjoy and share. The world of drinking has nothing for me. I may encounter situations involving casual drinking today, but I will not be part of them in mind and spirit. I will think and walk in dry places.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making their nest in your head.---Chinese proverb
Life is full of feelings. We can be happy, sad, mad, scared. These feelings can come and go quickly. Or we may hang on to them. As recovering addicts, we used to hang on to feelings that made us feel bad. We let them make"nest" in our hair. We used our feelings as excuse to drink or use other drugs. Now we're learning to hang on to our good feelings. We can let go of anger, hurt, and fear. We can shoo away the birds of sadness and welcome the birds of happiness.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me become a "bird watcher." Help me learn from my feelings. And help me let go of the bad one so I can be happy.
Action For the Day: If I need to get rid of the sadness or anger that I'm hanging on to, I'll get help from my sponsor, a counselor, or a clergy person.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I retired at age sixty, and I checked out as a 747 captain, which means my final year at my airline concluded in the left seat. The circle, so sacred to my Indian people, will once again have been completed.
p. 529
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."
Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relations. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may develop the best possible relations with every human being we know.
p. 77
************************************************** *********
May I look at my experiences, not as trouble, but as a way to use my
experience to help others.
--SweetyZee
When you make a mistake, make amends immediately.
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.
--Eric Hoffer
Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back. If you smile, it
returns the greeting.
"One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention."
--Jim Rohn
"Develop a benevolent world view; look for the good in the people and
circumstances around you."
--Brian Tracy
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
TODAY
"Real generosity towards the
future consists in giving all to
what is present."
--Albert Camus
Much of the gratitude that I talk about needs to be centered in what I do
with today; I need to focus on the present, rather than procrastinate for
the future.
As a sick alcoholic I lived either in the guilt of yesterday or the fear of
tomorrow - missing the reality of the present. The present moment is all
that I have and through this "moment" I live and breathe and have my
existence!
My understanding of prayer is centered in the present moment because
any understanding of relationship and communication, especially with
God, must begin from where one is, rather than where one would like to
be. Spirituality is the reality of the moment.
Master, thank You for the life that is experienced in the moment.
************************************************** *********
"O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever."
Psalm 30:12
"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for
You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
Revelation 4:11
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:29
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he
said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:1-4
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Let life's lessons grow into wisdom so that you may be the light for someone else's darkness. Lord, help me put to good use that which today brings so that I am better prepared for tomorrow.
To know someone doesn't mean to know every detail of that person's life. It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person. Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others.