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04-17-2008, 05:42 PM
Daily Reflections
SELF-HONESTY
The deception of others is nearly always rooted in the
deception of ourselves. . . . When we are honest with
another person, it confirms that we have been honest
with ourselves and with God.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 17
When I was drinking, I deceived myself about reality,
rewriting it to what I wanted it to be. Deceiving others
is a character defect--even if it is just stretching the
truth a bit or cleaning up my motives so others would
think well of me. My Higher Power can remove this
character defect, but first I have to help myself become
willing to receive that help by not practicing deception.
I need to remember each day that deceiving myself about
myself is setting myself up for failure or disappointment
in life and in Alcoholics Anonymous. A close, honest
relationship with a Higher Power is the only solid
foundation I've found for honesty with self and with
others.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
As I look back over my drinking career, have I learned that
you take out of life what you put into it? When I put
drinking into my life, did I take out a lot of bad things?
Hospitals with the D.T.'s? Jails for drunken driving? Loss
of job? Loss of home and family? When I put drinking into my
life, was almost everything I took out bad?
Meditation For The Day
I should strive for a friendliness and helpfulness that will
affect all who come near to me. I should try to see something
to love in them. I should welcome them, bestow little
courtesies and understandings on them, and help them if they
ask for help. I must send no one away without a word of cheer,
a feeling that I really care about them. God may have put the
impulse in some despairing one's mind to come to me. I must
not fail God by repulsing that person. They may not want to
communicate with me unless they are sure of a warm welcome.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may warmly welcome all who come to me for help.
I pray that I may make them feel that I really care.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Dividends and Mysteries, p. 171
"The A.A. preoccupation with sobriety is sometimes misunderstood. To some, this
single virtue appears to be the sole dividend of our Fellowship. We are thought to be
dried-up drunks who otherwise have changed little, or not at all, for the better. Such a
surmise widely misses the truth. We know that permanent sobriety can be
attained only by a most revolutionary change in the life and outlook of the
individual--by a spiritual awakening that can banish the desire to drink."
<< << << >> >> >>
"You are asking yourself, as all of us must: 'Who am I?' . . . 'Where am I?' . . .
'Whence do I go?' The process of enlightenment is usually slow. But, in the end, our
seeking always brings a finding. These great mysteries are, after all, enshrined in
complete simplicity. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual
development."
1. Letter, 1966
2. Letter, 1955
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Mistakes are for learning_____Personal growth.
One sign of an alcoholic's immaturity is revealed in responses to personal mistakes. We take each simple mistake as further proof of our inadequacy. As one person observed, "I can handle a general catastrophe, but running my nylons can ruin my day."
Some of us may feel we're victims of past conditioning… a parent, for example, who berated us when the slightest thing went wrong. But we're at fault if we continue to let ourselves be victimized by such experience. We should give no person.. past, present, or future---the right to set the level of our self-esteem .
Properly viewed, all mistakes are for learning purposes. We often have to make a few mistakes before we can learn anything. Sometimes a mistake can occur simply to teach us one basic lesson… that we are human and cannot be perfect in everything we do.
Above, all, we should never condemn ourselves for the countless mistakes that occurred while we were drinking. Our alcoholism, a terrible mistake in the sight of many, led to the deep learning we find in AA. Nothing that brings us this far can really be a mistake in the sight of God.
In sobriety, I'm learning tolerate the shortcomings and mistakes of others. I will extend the same grace to myself today if I make a simple mistake.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves. ---St. Francis de Sales
How do you treat yourself? Do you talk to yourself in a kind and loving voice? We can’t be kind and loving to others until we learn to be kind and loving with ourselves. To live this way, we must give ourselves the gift of patience.
Let’s practice patience with ourselves daily. Practice talking to yourself in a kind, loving voice.
Your voice will be that of a loving parent who helps a child with a new task. Your Higher Power
Is willing to be patient with you. Give yourself the same gift.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray that I’ll treat myself and others with the same loving patience You’ve shown me.
Action for the Day: I will listen to how I talk to myself. I will practice talking to myself with a kind, loving, and patient voice.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ANOTHER CHANCE - Poor, black, totally ruled by alcohol, she felt shut away from any life worth living. But when she began a prison sentence, a door opened.
In time, I began to go out and forget the way back home. I would wake to find myself in some beat-up rooming house, where roaches were crawling over everything. Then the time came when I couldn't afford whiskey, so I turned to wine. Finally I got so lowdown, I was ashamed of my friends' seeing me, so I went to the worst joints I could find. If it was daylight, I would go down alleys to make sure no one saw me.
p. 532
************************************************** *********
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."
While the purpose of making restitution to others is paramount, it is equally necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal relations every bit of information about ourselves and our fundamental difficulties that we can. Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could yield more satisfying and valuable rewards than this one. Calm, thoughtful reflection upon personal relations can deepen our insight. We can go far beyond those things which were superficially wrong with us, to see those flaws which were basic, flaws which sometimes were responsible for the whole pattern of our lives. Thoroughness, we have found, will pay--and pay handsomely.
p. 80
************************************************** *********
Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn
around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around
it.
--Michael Jordan
Live For Today. . . Yesterday's History. . . And Tomorrow Belongs To
God
The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not
protect you. To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to
lose everything else.
--Bernadette Devlin
A good mountain climber never looks up to see how far he has to
go............ He looks down to see how far he's come.
--Mark Kostew
The difficulties of life are intended to make us better not bitter.
"Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had
the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is
because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."
--Dale Carnegie
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
GOD
"Any God I ever felt in Church I
brought in with me. And I think all
the other folks did, too. They come
to Church to share God, not find
God."
--Alice Walker
God is within us! At one time I would find that statement blasphemous
or incomprehensible. I always thought God was a long way off -
separate, unknowable and judgmental. He was much more a judge
than a friend. I saw myself more the sinner than the son. Naturally,
with such a low self-esteem it was hard to associate God with my life,
let alone consider God existing within me!
Then I began to search for the spiritual path that leads to a deeper
understanding of self - and I found a loving, gentle and friendly God.
His love was so pervasive in His world that I was able to discover Him
in my life and the lives of others. The concept of meeting together to
share God made sense. The concept of discovering a God within and
without made God knowable and comprehensible. Because God lives
in me, I am alive.
Master, in the breaking of the bread, may I share Your life in my
world.
************************************************** *********
"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar
on wings like eagles."
Isaiah 40:31
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we
will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches
in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"
Matthew 6:25
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Spend some of your time in prayer just being with God. Lord, for the moment I am letting go of my concerns so that I can feel Your presence in my life.
Thoughts are powerful, so pay close attention to what you think about. Lord, help me to think thoughts of love, peace and abundance so that this becomes my experience.
SELF-HONESTY
The deception of others is nearly always rooted in the
deception of ourselves. . . . When we are honest with
another person, it confirms that we have been honest
with ourselves and with God.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 17
When I was drinking, I deceived myself about reality,
rewriting it to what I wanted it to be. Deceiving others
is a character defect--even if it is just stretching the
truth a bit or cleaning up my motives so others would
think well of me. My Higher Power can remove this
character defect, but first I have to help myself become
willing to receive that help by not practicing deception.
I need to remember each day that deceiving myself about
myself is setting myself up for failure or disappointment
in life and in Alcoholics Anonymous. A close, honest
relationship with a Higher Power is the only solid
foundation I've found for honesty with self and with
others.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
As I look back over my drinking career, have I learned that
you take out of life what you put into it? When I put
drinking into my life, did I take out a lot of bad things?
Hospitals with the D.T.'s? Jails for drunken driving? Loss
of job? Loss of home and family? When I put drinking into my
life, was almost everything I took out bad?
Meditation For The Day
I should strive for a friendliness and helpfulness that will
affect all who come near to me. I should try to see something
to love in them. I should welcome them, bestow little
courtesies and understandings on them, and help them if they
ask for help. I must send no one away without a word of cheer,
a feeling that I really care about them. God may have put the
impulse in some despairing one's mind to come to me. I must
not fail God by repulsing that person. They may not want to
communicate with me unless they are sure of a warm welcome.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may warmly welcome all who come to me for help.
I pray that I may make them feel that I really care.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Dividends and Mysteries, p. 171
"The A.A. preoccupation with sobriety is sometimes misunderstood. To some, this
single virtue appears to be the sole dividend of our Fellowship. We are thought to be
dried-up drunks who otherwise have changed little, or not at all, for the better. Such a
surmise widely misses the truth. We know that permanent sobriety can be
attained only by a most revolutionary change in the life and outlook of the
individual--by a spiritual awakening that can banish the desire to drink."
<< << << >> >> >>
"You are asking yourself, as all of us must: 'Who am I?' . . . 'Where am I?' . . .
'Whence do I go?' The process of enlightenment is usually slow. But, in the end, our
seeking always brings a finding. These great mysteries are, after all, enshrined in
complete simplicity. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual
development."
1. Letter, 1966
2. Letter, 1955
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Mistakes are for learning_____Personal growth.
One sign of an alcoholic's immaturity is revealed in responses to personal mistakes. We take each simple mistake as further proof of our inadequacy. As one person observed, "I can handle a general catastrophe, but running my nylons can ruin my day."
Some of us may feel we're victims of past conditioning… a parent, for example, who berated us when the slightest thing went wrong. But we're at fault if we continue to let ourselves be victimized by such experience. We should give no person.. past, present, or future---the right to set the level of our self-esteem .
Properly viewed, all mistakes are for learning purposes. We often have to make a few mistakes before we can learn anything. Sometimes a mistake can occur simply to teach us one basic lesson… that we are human and cannot be perfect in everything we do.
Above, all, we should never condemn ourselves for the countless mistakes that occurred while we were drinking. Our alcoholism, a terrible mistake in the sight of many, led to the deep learning we find in AA. Nothing that brings us this far can really be a mistake in the sight of God.
In sobriety, I'm learning tolerate the shortcomings and mistakes of others. I will extend the same grace to myself today if I make a simple mistake.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves. ---St. Francis de Sales
How do you treat yourself? Do you talk to yourself in a kind and loving voice? We can’t be kind and loving to others until we learn to be kind and loving with ourselves. To live this way, we must give ourselves the gift of patience.
Let’s practice patience with ourselves daily. Practice talking to yourself in a kind, loving voice.
Your voice will be that of a loving parent who helps a child with a new task. Your Higher Power
Is willing to be patient with you. Give yourself the same gift.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray that I’ll treat myself and others with the same loving patience You’ve shown me.
Action for the Day: I will listen to how I talk to myself. I will practice talking to myself with a kind, loving, and patient voice.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
ANOTHER CHANCE - Poor, black, totally ruled by alcohol, she felt shut away from any life worth living. But when she began a prison sentence, a door opened.
In time, I began to go out and forget the way back home. I would wake to find myself in some beat-up rooming house, where roaches were crawling over everything. Then the time came when I couldn't afford whiskey, so I turned to wine. Finally I got so lowdown, I was ashamed of my friends' seeing me, so I went to the worst joints I could find. If it was daylight, I would go down alleys to make sure no one saw me.
p. 532
************************************************** *********
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."
While the purpose of making restitution to others is paramount, it is equally necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal relations every bit of information about ourselves and our fundamental difficulties that we can. Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could yield more satisfying and valuable rewards than this one. Calm, thoughtful reflection upon personal relations can deepen our insight. We can go far beyond those things which were superficially wrong with us, to see those flaws which were basic, flaws which sometimes were responsible for the whole pattern of our lives. Thoroughness, we have found, will pay--and pay handsomely.
p. 80
************************************************** *********
Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn
around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around
it.
--Michael Jordan
Live For Today. . . Yesterday's History. . . And Tomorrow Belongs To
God
The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not
protect you. To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to
lose everything else.
--Bernadette Devlin
A good mountain climber never looks up to see how far he has to
go............ He looks down to see how far he's come.
--Mark Kostew
The difficulties of life are intended to make us better not bitter.
"Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had
the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is
because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."
--Dale Carnegie
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
GOD
"Any God I ever felt in Church I
brought in with me. And I think all
the other folks did, too. They come
to Church to share God, not find
God."
--Alice Walker
God is within us! At one time I would find that statement blasphemous
or incomprehensible. I always thought God was a long way off -
separate, unknowable and judgmental. He was much more a judge
than a friend. I saw myself more the sinner than the son. Naturally,
with such a low self-esteem it was hard to associate God with my life,
let alone consider God existing within me!
Then I began to search for the spiritual path that leads to a deeper
understanding of self - and I found a loving, gentle and friendly God.
His love was so pervasive in His world that I was able to discover Him
in my life and the lives of others. The concept of meeting together to
share God made sense. The concept of discovering a God within and
without made God knowable and comprehensible. Because God lives
in me, I am alive.
Master, in the breaking of the bread, may I share Your life in my
world.
************************************************** *********
"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar
on wings like eagles."
Isaiah 40:31
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we
will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches
in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"
Matthew 6:25
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Spend some of your time in prayer just being with God. Lord, for the moment I am letting go of my concerns so that I can feel Your presence in my life.
Thoughts are powerful, so pay close attention to what you think about. Lord, help me to think thoughts of love, peace and abundance so that this becomes my experience.