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04-25-2008, 03:25 PM
Daily Reflections
HAPPINESS IS NOT THE POINT
I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How
do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from
them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they
would receive the knowledge?
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 306
In my search "to be happy," I changed jobs, married and
divorced, took geographical cures, and ran myself into
debt--financially, emotionally and spiritually. In A.A.,
I'm learning to grow up. Instead of demanding that people,
places and things make me happy, I can ask God for
self-acceptance. When a problem overwhelms me, A.A.'s
Twelve Steps will help me grow through the pain. The
knowledge I gain can be a gift to others who suffer with
the same problem. As Bill said, "When pain comes, we are
expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to
learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and
thank God for it."
(As Bill Sees It, p. 306)
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The A.A. program is one of submission, release, and action.
When we're drinking, we're submitting to a power greater than
ourselves, liquor. Our own wills are no use against the power
of liquor. One drink and we're sunk. In A.A. we stop submitting
to the power of liquor. Instead, we submit to a Power, also
greater than ourselves, which we call God. Have I submitted
myself to that Higher Power?
Meditation For The Day
Ceaseless activity is not God's plan for your life. Times of
withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. Wait for
the faintest tremor of fear and stop all work, everything, and
rest before God until you are strong again. Deal in the same way
with all tired feelings. Then you need rest of body and renewal
of spirit force. Saint Paul said: "I can do all things through
Him who strengthens me." This does not mean that you are to do
all things and then rely on God to find strength. it means that
you are to do the things you believe God wants you to do and only
then can you rely on His supply of power.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God's spirit may be my master always. I pray that
I may learn how to rest and listen, as well as how to work.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Release and Joy, p. 163
Who can render an account of all the miseries that once were ours, and who can
estimate the release and joy that later years have brought to us? Who can possibly
tell the vast consequences of what God's work through A.A. has already set in
motion?
And who can penetrate the deeper mystery of our wholesale deliverance from
slavery, a bondage to a most hopeless and fatal obsession which for centuries
possessed the minds and bodies of men and women like ourselves?
<< << << >> >> >>
We think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes
shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the
past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have helped others to
recover. What greater cause could there be for rejoicing than this?
1. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 44-45
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 132
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Never withholding ourselves.
Living Sober.
We may have let ourselves believe that we're supposed to display an attitude that expresses our opinions of others. If a person is crude and boorish, we should be cool and defensive for our self-protection. If a person is warm and friendly, we should respond in warm and friendly ways.
If we have believed these things, then we're actually letting others control our attitudes and behavior. We are letting personalities interfere with the high principles we are learning in AA. We are not living at the best possible level.
In reality, we should always display an attitude that reflects kindness, optimism, friendliness, and concern. There other person's disposition, whether it's sour or sweet, should have nothing to do with our being what we want to be. We should never withhold the fine inner qualities that develop and grow as we continue to live the program.
In time, we begin to learn that this attitude always comes back to us in the form of greater peace and happiness. And what's great about iti s that it's always under our direct control.
As I go about my business today, I will express a kindliness and concern toward everybody. Nobody's behavior can make me adopt a suspicious or defensive attitude.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.---Maurice Setter
Silver shines as bright as gold does. So often we forget this. So often we push, push, push. We forget to live for the moment. Trying too hard can be a defect of character. It can be a way we avoid life. Gratitude, being thankful, is key part of recovery. Not just gratitude for getting our self-respect back. Not just gratitude for having a Higher Power. But gratitude for the moment. We're alive again. Let's see each moment as a time to explore life..
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me to enjoy each moment. I have gratitude for being alive.
Action for the Day: I'll list ten gifts of recovery for which I have gratitude.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A LATE START - "It's been ten years since I retired, seven years since I joined A.A. Now I can truly say that I am a grateful alcoholic.
I am a seventy-five-year-old alcoholic. For fifty-five of those seventy-five years I led what is known as a normal middle-class life. Alcohol had as little part in it as candied yams--nice when there but unmissed when absent. The home in which I grew up included two loving parents, one older brother, a constant flow of house pets, riding horses, and friends who were welcomed. Discipline in our house was strict but not out of line with the thinking prevalent during the first quarter of the twentieth century; certainly I don't consider that I was in any way abused. I attended private school and later a midwestern college. I married, had children, worked, experienced the pain of the death of my parents and of a child. Knew, too, the pleasure of real friends and financial success. I enjoyed horseback riding, swimming, tennis, and had quiet evenings filled with children, books, and friends.
p. 535
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."
Much the same approach will apply at the office or factory. We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our drinking, and who have been most affected by it. But even in these cases, we may need to use a little more discretion than we did with the family. We may not want to say anything for several weeks, or longer. First we will wish to be reasonably certain that we are on the A.A. beam. Then we are ready to go to these people, to tell them what A.A. is, and what we are trying to do. Against this background we can freely admit the damage we have done and make our apologies. We can pay, or promise to pay, whatever obligations, financial or otherwise, we owe. The generous response of most people to such quiet sincerity will often astonish us. Even our severest and most justified critics will frequently meet us more than halfway on the first trial.
p. 84
************************************************** *********
Children are our most valuable natural resource.
--Herbert Hoover
"Forgiving those who hurt us is the key to personal peace."
--G. Weatherly
"Being happy does not mean everything's perfect, It means I've decided to see beyond the imperfections."
--Unknown
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone
can start from now and make a brand new ending."
--Carl Bard
Spending time with God changes the rhythm of our life.
--Cheryle L. Cooper
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
ANSWERS
"If the work of God could be
comprehended by reason, it would
be no longer wonderful, and faith
would have no merit if reason
provided proof."
--Pope Gregory I
Some things happen that I do not understand or comprehend, but I
have faith that they will happen tomorrow: sunsets, night following
day, the song of the bird, the colors of nature, and the joy and
adventure of being alive. Perhaps the biggest mystery for mankind to
grapple with is love - a man will suffer, endure persecution, even be
put to death for that which he loves; the pain and sorrow of love is
mingled into what it is to be a human being.
Reason does not have the answer to life. Faith is the medication for
our existence. We have a belief in tomorrow because of what we have
experienced today. If I can say "no" to alcohol today then I can do it
tomorrow - if I really want to.
Lord, let me not seek for proof but daily seek to grapple with the
problems of life.
************************************************** *********
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
James 4:10
"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
"Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:17
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
There are truly no bad days, just different kinds of days. Lord, thank You for today and for Your help through every situation.
Use your difficult times to learn more about God's love and blessings. Lord, may I see Your hand working in every moment of my life and realize that, even in my darkest hour, things are far better than they could be because You are blessing me with what I need to make it through.
HAPPINESS IS NOT THE POINT
I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How
do we meet the problems we face? How do we best learn from
them and transmit what we have learned to others, if they
would receive the knowledge?
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 306
In my search "to be happy," I changed jobs, married and
divorced, took geographical cures, and ran myself into
debt--financially, emotionally and spiritually. In A.A.,
I'm learning to grow up. Instead of demanding that people,
places and things make me happy, I can ask God for
self-acceptance. When a problem overwhelms me, A.A.'s
Twelve Steps will help me grow through the pain. The
knowledge I gain can be a gift to others who suffer with
the same problem. As Bill said, "When pain comes, we are
expected to learn from it willingly, and help others to
learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and
thank God for it."
(As Bill Sees It, p. 306)
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The A.A. program is one of submission, release, and action.
When we're drinking, we're submitting to a power greater than
ourselves, liquor. Our own wills are no use against the power
of liquor. One drink and we're sunk. In A.A. we stop submitting
to the power of liquor. Instead, we submit to a Power, also
greater than ourselves, which we call God. Have I submitted
myself to that Higher Power?
Meditation For The Day
Ceaseless activity is not God's plan for your life. Times of
withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. Wait for
the faintest tremor of fear and stop all work, everything, and
rest before God until you are strong again. Deal in the same way
with all tired feelings. Then you need rest of body and renewal
of spirit force. Saint Paul said: "I can do all things through
Him who strengthens me." This does not mean that you are to do
all things and then rely on God to find strength. it means that
you are to do the things you believe God wants you to do and only
then can you rely on His supply of power.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God's spirit may be my master always. I pray that
I may learn how to rest and listen, as well as how to work.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Release and Joy, p. 163
Who can render an account of all the miseries that once were ours, and who can
estimate the release and joy that later years have brought to us? Who can possibly
tell the vast consequences of what God's work through A.A. has already set in
motion?
And who can penetrate the deeper mystery of our wholesale deliverance from
slavery, a bondage to a most hopeless and fatal obsession which for centuries
possessed the minds and bodies of men and women like ourselves?
<< << << >> >> >>
We think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes
shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the
past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have helped others to
recover. What greater cause could there be for rejoicing than this?
1. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 44-45
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 132
************************************************** *********
Walk in Dry Places
Never withholding ourselves.
Living Sober.
We may have let ourselves believe that we're supposed to display an attitude that expresses our opinions of others. If a person is crude and boorish, we should be cool and defensive for our self-protection. If a person is warm and friendly, we should respond in warm and friendly ways.
If we have believed these things, then we're actually letting others control our attitudes and behavior. We are letting personalities interfere with the high principles we are learning in AA. We are not living at the best possible level.
In reality, we should always display an attitude that reflects kindness, optimism, friendliness, and concern. There other person's disposition, whether it's sour or sweet, should have nothing to do with our being what we want to be. We should never withhold the fine inner qualities that develop and grow as we continue to live the program.
In time, we begin to learn that this attitude always comes back to us in the form of greater peace and happiness. And what's great about iti s that it's always under our direct control.
As I go about my business today, I will express a kindliness and concern toward everybody. Nobody's behavior can make me adopt a suspicious or defensive attitude.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.---Maurice Setter
Silver shines as bright as gold does. So often we forget this. So often we push, push, push. We forget to live for the moment. Trying too hard can be a defect of character. It can be a way we avoid life. Gratitude, being thankful, is key part of recovery. Not just gratitude for getting our self-respect back. Not just gratitude for having a Higher Power. But gratitude for the moment. We're alive again. Let's see each moment as a time to explore life..
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me to enjoy each moment. I have gratitude for being alive.
Action for the Day: I'll list ten gifts of recovery for which I have gratitude.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
A LATE START - "It's been ten years since I retired, seven years since I joined A.A. Now I can truly say that I am a grateful alcoholic.
I am a seventy-five-year-old alcoholic. For fifty-five of those seventy-five years I led what is known as a normal middle-class life. Alcohol had as little part in it as candied yams--nice when there but unmissed when absent. The home in which I grew up included two loving parents, one older brother, a constant flow of house pets, riding horses, and friends who were welcomed. Discipline in our house was strict but not out of line with the thinking prevalent during the first quarter of the twentieth century; certainly I don't consider that I was in any way abused. I attended private school and later a midwestern college. I married, had children, worked, experienced the pain of the death of my parents and of a child. Knew, too, the pleasure of real friends and financial success. I enjoyed horseback riding, swimming, tennis, and had quiet evenings filled with children, books, and friends.
p. 535
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."
Much the same approach will apply at the office or factory. We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our drinking, and who have been most affected by it. But even in these cases, we may need to use a little more discretion than we did with the family. We may not want to say anything for several weeks, or longer. First we will wish to be reasonably certain that we are on the A.A. beam. Then we are ready to go to these people, to tell them what A.A. is, and what we are trying to do. Against this background we can freely admit the damage we have done and make our apologies. We can pay, or promise to pay, whatever obligations, financial or otherwise, we owe. The generous response of most people to such quiet sincerity will often astonish us. Even our severest and most justified critics will frequently meet us more than halfway on the first trial.
p. 84
************************************************** *********
Children are our most valuable natural resource.
--Herbert Hoover
"Forgiving those who hurt us is the key to personal peace."
--G. Weatherly
"Being happy does not mean everything's perfect, It means I've decided to see beyond the imperfections."
--Unknown
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone
can start from now and make a brand new ending."
--Carl Bard
Spending time with God changes the rhythm of our life.
--Cheryle L. Cooper
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
ANSWERS
"If the work of God could be
comprehended by reason, it would
be no longer wonderful, and faith
would have no merit if reason
provided proof."
--Pope Gregory I
Some things happen that I do not understand or comprehend, but I
have faith that they will happen tomorrow: sunsets, night following
day, the song of the bird, the colors of nature, and the joy and
adventure of being alive. Perhaps the biggest mystery for mankind to
grapple with is love - a man will suffer, endure persecution, even be
put to death for that which he loves; the pain and sorrow of love is
mingled into what it is to be a human being.
Reason does not have the answer to life. Faith is the medication for
our existence. We have a belief in tomorrow because of what we have
experienced today. If I can say "no" to alcohol today then I can do it
tomorrow - if I really want to.
Lord, let me not seek for proof but daily seek to grapple with the
problems of life.
************************************************** *********
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
James 4:10
"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
"Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:17
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
There are truly no bad days, just different kinds of days. Lord, thank You for today and for Your help through every situation.
Use your difficult times to learn more about God's love and blessings. Lord, may I see Your hand working in every moment of my life and realize that, even in my darkest hour, things are far better than they could be because You are blessing me with what I need to make it through.