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04-11-2008, 04:55 PM
Daily Reflections
GIVING UP INSANITY
. . . where alcohol has been involved, we have been
strangely insane.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 38
Alcoholism required me to drink, whether I wanted to or
not. Insanity dominated my life and was the essence of
my disease. It robbed me of the freedom of choice over
drinking and, therefore, robbed me of all other choices.
When I drank, I was unable to make effective choices in
any part of my life and life became unmanageable. I ask
God to help me understand and accept the full meaning of
the disease of alcoholism.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
This sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to
live in. Once you've gotten out of your alcoholic fog, you
find that the world looks good. You find real friends in
A.A. You get a job. You feel good in the morning. You eat
a good breakfast and you do a good day's work at home or
outside. And your family loves you and welcomes you because
you're sober. Am I convinced that this sober world is a
pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in?
Meditation For The Day
Our need is God's opportunity. First we must recognize our
need. Often this means helplessness before some weakness or
sickness and an admission of our need for help. Next comes
faith in the power of God's spirit, available to us to meet
that need. Before any need can be met, our faith must find
expression. That expression of faith is all God needs to
manifest His power in our lives. Faith is the key that
unlocks the storehouse of God's resources.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may first admit my needs. I pray that then
I may have faith that God will meet those needs, in the
way which is best for me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Money--Before and After, p. 177
In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply were inexhaustible, though between
binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become miserly. Without realizing it,
we were just accumulating funds for the next spree. Money was the symbol of pleasure
and self-importance. As our drinking became worse, money was only an urgent
requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of
oblivion it brought.
<< << << >> >> >>
Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we find we cannot place
money first. For us, material well-being always follows spiritual progress; it never
precedes.
1. 12 & 12, p. 120
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 127
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Beating Depression_____ Emotional Fortitude
If you're seeking a lively meeting discussion topic, bring up depression. It's so closely tied to alcoholism that some people even think alcoholics are attempting to "treat" depression when they drink. Others feel that depression shows they're not "working" the program.
Overcoming depression is a monumental undertaking, but that doesn't mean it cannot be done. The dearly mistake is that believe your circumstances are so hopeless that there's no solution. Sometimes, as AA co-founder Bill Wilson contended (based on personal experience), depression actually corrects itself in time. Stay sober, live rightly, keep physically and mentally active, and in time some depressive mood swings will ease. Even more serious clinical depression can be treated.
It's human to be temporarily depressed about a terrible failure or setback. The Twelve Steps are tools for coping with unpleasant situations, but we still might feel bad about tem for a time. The really good news is that enough fortitude will see us through for the long term. We have much experience to show that this is true.
Whether today's mood is up or down, I'll hold to the view that the Twelve Steps will help me defeat mental depression in time. My Higher Power assures me that joy and peace are my rightful state of mind.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Life I love you, all is groovy.---Paul Simon
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me let go of my fears and enjoy life. I haven't always known how to enjoy life, but Working the Twelve Steps is more than recovery from alcohol or other drug addiction. It's also about how to enjoy life. Our illness pulled us toward death. Our spirits were dying, and maybe our bodies were dying. Now our spirits are coming to life. We feel more alive than ever before. Our feelings are coming alive. We feel hope and faith, love, and joy, and even hurt and fear. We notice the sunshine as well as the clouds. We know life needs both sunshine and rain, both joy and pain. We are alive. You can teach me. All life is from You, so teach me to be free in Your light and love.
Action for the Day: Right now, I can think of at least three things in life that make me feel like sunshine. What are they?
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I have returned to my Indian people once again after a long shame-filled absence. I am dancing again and returning to the old way I left behind. I have spoken at two Native American A.A. conventions, something I never thought I'd see when I was a youngster growing up. Adversity truly introduces us to ourselves. But we need never deal with our adversities alone as long as we can find another alcoholic in a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
p. 530
************************************************** *********
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."
These obstacles, however, are very real. The first, and one of the most difficult, has to do with forgiveness. The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. This is especially true if he has, in fact, behaved badly at all. Triumphantly we seize upon his misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.
p. 78
************************************************** *********
What matters is what's in our hearts.
"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly,"
G. K. Chesterton once wrote:
Once you stop taking yourself so seriously and let go of the gravity of
all that you do, you can learn to fly, too.
God, help me lighten up.
--Melody Beattie
"Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form
of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them."
--John (Jay) McCloy
Learning is an upward, ever-evolving process. We will never reach the
point where we've learned all we need to know. Every aspect of life
contains lessons. We can choose to discard them or to embrace them.
Lessons embraced lead to wisdom.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
We can stop waiting for others to give us what we need and take
responsibility for ourselves. When we do, the gates to freedom will
swing wide. Walk through.
--Melody Beattie
Believe and the healing will come.
--Gary Barnes
Each of us is a unique expression of God's beauty.
--Jane F. Maxwell
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SUFFERING
"Every man, on the foundation of
his own sufferings and joys, builds
for all. "
--Albert Camus
In my pain I am able to reach out to others. When I share my pain, I
not only understand but I am understood. It is my pain and suffering
that unites me with others. Other people become a part of my life and
are involved in who I am.
Through my shared feelings, other people begin to share. Trust
develops across this bridge of understanding. Feelings unite the world.
Lord, You created us in ONENESS - help us in our struggle to unite.
************************************************** *********
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:7
"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3
Pleasant words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the
bones.
Proverbs 16:24
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Forget the hurts and unkindnesses of all yesterdays so that today you will have room to be joyful and at peace. Lord, bless me with the ability to let go of that which causes me pain so that I may not miss the great joys that today will bring.
Small acts of kindness make lasting memories. Lord, help me to remember that it is a privilege to pause for those moment in which I can really make a difference.
GIVING UP INSANITY
. . . where alcohol has been involved, we have been
strangely insane.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 38
Alcoholism required me to drink, whether I wanted to or
not. Insanity dominated my life and was the essence of
my disease. It robbed me of the freedom of choice over
drinking and, therefore, robbed me of all other choices.
When I drank, I was unable to make effective choices in
any part of my life and life became unmanageable. I ask
God to help me understand and accept the full meaning of
the disease of alcoholism.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
This sober world is a pleasant place for an alcoholic to
live in. Once you've gotten out of your alcoholic fog, you
find that the world looks good. You find real friends in
A.A. You get a job. You feel good in the morning. You eat
a good breakfast and you do a good day's work at home or
outside. And your family loves you and welcomes you because
you're sober. Am I convinced that this sober world is a
pleasant place for an alcoholic to live in?
Meditation For The Day
Our need is God's opportunity. First we must recognize our
need. Often this means helplessness before some weakness or
sickness and an admission of our need for help. Next comes
faith in the power of God's spirit, available to us to meet
that need. Before any need can be met, our faith must find
expression. That expression of faith is all God needs to
manifest His power in our lives. Faith is the key that
unlocks the storehouse of God's resources.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may first admit my needs. I pray that then
I may have faith that God will meet those needs, in the
way which is best for me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Money--Before and After, p. 177
In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply were inexhaustible, though between
binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become miserly. Without realizing it,
we were just accumulating funds for the next spree. Money was the symbol of pleasure
and self-importance. As our drinking became worse, money was only an urgent
requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of
oblivion it brought.
<< << << >> >> >>
Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we find we cannot place
money first. For us, material well-being always follows spiritual progress; it never
precedes.
1. 12 & 12, p. 120
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 127
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Beating Depression_____ Emotional Fortitude
If you're seeking a lively meeting discussion topic, bring up depression. It's so closely tied to alcoholism that some people even think alcoholics are attempting to "treat" depression when they drink. Others feel that depression shows they're not "working" the program.
Overcoming depression is a monumental undertaking, but that doesn't mean it cannot be done. The dearly mistake is that believe your circumstances are so hopeless that there's no solution. Sometimes, as AA co-founder Bill Wilson contended (based on personal experience), depression actually corrects itself in time. Stay sober, live rightly, keep physically and mentally active, and in time some depressive mood swings will ease. Even more serious clinical depression can be treated.
It's human to be temporarily depressed about a terrible failure or setback. The Twelve Steps are tools for coping with unpleasant situations, but we still might feel bad about tem for a time. The really good news is that enough fortitude will see us through for the long term. We have much experience to show that this is true.
Whether today's mood is up or down, I'll hold to the view that the Twelve Steps will help me defeat mental depression in time. My Higher Power assures me that joy and peace are my rightful state of mind.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Life I love you, all is groovy.---Paul Simon
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me let go of my fears and enjoy life. I haven't always known how to enjoy life, but Working the Twelve Steps is more than recovery from alcohol or other drug addiction. It's also about how to enjoy life. Our illness pulled us toward death. Our spirits were dying, and maybe our bodies were dying. Now our spirits are coming to life. We feel more alive than ever before. Our feelings are coming alive. We feel hope and faith, love, and joy, and even hurt and fear. We notice the sunshine as well as the clouds. We know life needs both sunshine and rain, both joy and pain. We are alive. You can teach me. All life is from You, so teach me to be free in Your light and love.
Action for the Day: Right now, I can think of at least three things in life that make me feel like sunshine. What are they?
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
GROUNDED - Alcohol clipped this pilot's wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky.
I have returned to my Indian people once again after a long shame-filled absence. I am dancing again and returning to the old way I left behind. I have spoken at two Native American A.A. conventions, something I never thought I'd see when I was a youngster growing up. Adversity truly introduces us to ourselves. But we need never deal with our adversities alone as long as we can find another alcoholic in a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
p. 530
************************************************** *********
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."
These obstacles, however, are very real. The first, and one of the most difficult, has to do with forgiveness. The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he has done us. This is especially true if he has, in fact, behaved badly at all. Triumphantly we seize upon his misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.
p. 78
************************************************** *********
What matters is what's in our hearts.
"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly,"
G. K. Chesterton once wrote:
Once you stop taking yourself so seriously and let go of the gravity of
all that you do, you can learn to fly, too.
God, help me lighten up.
--Melody Beattie
"Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form
of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them."
--John (Jay) McCloy
Learning is an upward, ever-evolving process. We will never reach the
point where we've learned all we need to know. Every aspect of life
contains lessons. We can choose to discard them or to embrace them.
Lessons embraced lead to wisdom.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
We can stop waiting for others to give us what we need and take
responsibility for ourselves. When we do, the gates to freedom will
swing wide. Walk through.
--Melody Beattie
Believe and the healing will come.
--Gary Barnes
Each of us is a unique expression of God's beauty.
--Jane F. Maxwell
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
SUFFERING
"Every man, on the foundation of
his own sufferings and joys, builds
for all. "
--Albert Camus
In my pain I am able to reach out to others. When I share my pain, I
not only understand but I am understood. It is my pain and suffering
that unites me with others. Other people become a part of my life and
are involved in who I am.
Through my shared feelings, other people begin to share. Trust
develops across this bridge of understanding. Feelings unite the world.
Lord, You created us in ONENESS - help us in our struggle to unite.
************************************************** *********
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:7
"And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like
little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3
Pleasant words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul and healing to the
bones.
Proverbs 16:24
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Forget the hurts and unkindnesses of all yesterdays so that today you will have room to be joyful and at peace. Lord, bless me with the ability to let go of that which causes me pain so that I may not miss the great joys that today will bring.
Small acts of kindness make lasting memories. Lord, help me to remember that it is a privilege to pause for those moment in which I can really make a difference.