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09-21-2008, 07:50 PM
Daily Reflections
A "LIMITLESS LODE"
Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the last
ounce of food, our pick struck gold. Joy at our
release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds.
Father feels he has struck something better than gold.
For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself.
He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a
limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines
it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away
the entire product.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 128-29
When I talk with a newcomer to A.A., my past looks me
straight in the face. I see the pain in those hopeful
eyes, I extend my hand, and then the miracle happens: I
become healed. My problems vanish as I reach out to his
trembling soul.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Step Eight is, "Made a list of all persons we had harmed
and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Nine
is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others." Making
restitution for the wrongs we have done is often very
difficult. It hurts our pride. But the rewards are great.
When we go to a person and say we are sorry, the reaction
we get is almost invariably good. It takes courage to make
the plunge, but the results more than justify it. A load is
off your chest and often an enemy has been turned into
a friend. Have I done my best to make all the restitution
possible?
Meditation For The Day
There should be joy in living the spiritual life. A faith
without joy is not entirely genuine. If you are not happier
as a result of your faith, there is probably something wrong
with it. Faith in God should bring you a deep feeling of
happiness and security, no matter what happens on the surface
of your life. Each new day is another opportunity to serve God
and improve your relationships with other people. This should
bring joy. Life should be abundant and outreaching. It should
be glowing and outgoing, in ever widening circles.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my horizons may grow ever wider.
I pray that I may keep reaching out for more service
and companionship.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Newcomer Problems, p. 14
The temptation is to become rather possessive of newcomers.
Perhaps we try to give them advice about their affairs which we aren't
really competent to give or ought not give at all. Then we are hurt
and confused when the advice is rejected, or when it is accepted and
brings still greater confusion.
<< << << >> >> >>
"You can't make a horse drink water if he still prefers beer or is too
crazy to know what he does want. Set a pail of water beside him, tell
him how good it is and why, and leave him alone.
"If people really want to get drunk, there is, so far as I know, no way
stopping this--so leave them alone and let them get drunk. But don't
exclude them from the water pail, either."
1. 12 & 12, p. 111
2. Letter, 1942
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Making tough decisions
Decision Making
An AA member in a supervisor's position was faced with the need to terminate an unsatisfactory employee. Procrastinating about this unpleasant matter, she found herself wishing that the employee would suddenly find another job, thus making the termination ordeal unnecessary.
But further reflection showed that the procrastination was related to the same problems that had dogged her in her drinking years. She was a people=pleaser; she felt guilty about inflicting pain on others.
She was finally able to make the tough decision and call the employee in for termination. In the process, she discovered that a brief prayer time for preparation and a gentle manner removed some of the pain for her and the employee being terminated. She learned that the principles of the program could help her become more decisive without being brutal.
I'll look over any tough decisions I;ve been putting off and determination why I'm behaving that way. Am I prolonging tough decisions just as I did when drinking?
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
One Day at a Time. Program slogan
This slogan means we are to take with us only the joys and problems of the present day.
We don’t carry with us the mistakes of the days gone by. We have no room for them. We are to work at loving others today. Just today.
It’s crazy for us to think we can handle more than one day at a time. During our illness, we lived everywhere but in the here and now. We looked to the future or punished ourselves with our past. One Day at a Time teaches us to go easy. It teaches us to focus on what really means anything to us: the here and now.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me turn the slogans of my programs into a way of life. Help me to live life moment by moment, One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll practice living in the present. When I find myself living in the past or in the future, I’ll bring myself back to today.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Third Edition
The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears, hold good for individuals with many different lifestyles, just as the program has brought recovery to those of many different nationalities. The Twelve Steps that summarize the program may be called los Doce Pasos in one country, les Douze Etapes in another, but they trace exactly the same path to recovery that was blazed by the earliest members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
p. xxii
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."
Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill A.A. into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem.
pp. 155-156
************************************************** *********
Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no
future."
"A quiet hour is worth more to you than anything you can do in it."
--Sara One Jewess
"If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else"
--Chinese Proverb
A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up.
He who divides and shares is left with the best share.
--Mexican Proverb
"Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming
away better and happier."
--Mother Theresa
If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty
of the sunset.
--Krishnamurti
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HEAVEN
"If you're not allowed to laugh
in heaven, I don't want to go
there."
-- Martin Luther
When I was a practicing alcoholic, I imagined heaven to be a dull
formal place, rather like a never-ending cathedral. Beautiful, but
serious. My pain and guilt were so great that I rarely laughed, and
when I did it was usually inappropriate and violent: I laughed at
others!
Today heaven is associated with recovery. It is a place of joy,
acceptance and forgiveness. A place where people can be themselves
and where variety abounds. Christians play with people from other
religions -- and the atheists make the music! The laughter of "peace"
abounds. I am "at one" with my Father and all my brothers and sisters.
I am home!
God of Love, when I hear the sound of laughter here on earth, I think
what joy awaits me in heaven.
************************************************** *********
"Happy are the people to whom such blessing fall; happy are the
people whose God is the Lord."
Psalm 144:15
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save
his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."
Matthew 16:24-25
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Envision the joy of victory when you are faced with troubles and you will clearly see what direction you must take. Lord, with You my storm will pass and I will grow stronger as I grow closer to You.
Take heart in the beauty of your life because God loves, helps, fights and wins. Lord, I will never fear because nothing can triumph over Your Will.
A "LIMITLESS LODE"
Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the last
ounce of food, our pick struck gold. Joy at our
release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds.
Father feels he has struck something better than gold.
For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself.
He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a
limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines
it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away
the entire product.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 128-29
When I talk with a newcomer to A.A., my past looks me
straight in the face. I see the pain in those hopeful
eyes, I extend my hand, and then the miracle happens: I
become healed. My problems vanish as I reach out to his
trembling soul.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Step Eight is, "Made a list of all persons we had harmed
and became willing to make amends to them all." Step Nine
is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others." Making
restitution for the wrongs we have done is often very
difficult. It hurts our pride. But the rewards are great.
When we go to a person and say we are sorry, the reaction
we get is almost invariably good. It takes courage to make
the plunge, but the results more than justify it. A load is
off your chest and often an enemy has been turned into
a friend. Have I done my best to make all the restitution
possible?
Meditation For The Day
There should be joy in living the spiritual life. A faith
without joy is not entirely genuine. If you are not happier
as a result of your faith, there is probably something wrong
with it. Faith in God should bring you a deep feeling of
happiness and security, no matter what happens on the surface
of your life. Each new day is another opportunity to serve God
and improve your relationships with other people. This should
bring joy. Life should be abundant and outreaching. It should
be glowing and outgoing, in ever widening circles.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my horizons may grow ever wider.
I pray that I may keep reaching out for more service
and companionship.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Newcomer Problems, p. 14
The temptation is to become rather possessive of newcomers.
Perhaps we try to give them advice about their affairs which we aren't
really competent to give or ought not give at all. Then we are hurt
and confused when the advice is rejected, or when it is accepted and
brings still greater confusion.
<< << << >> >> >>
"You can't make a horse drink water if he still prefers beer or is too
crazy to know what he does want. Set a pail of water beside him, tell
him how good it is and why, and leave him alone.
"If people really want to get drunk, there is, so far as I know, no way
stopping this--so leave them alone and let them get drunk. But don't
exclude them from the water pail, either."
1. 12 & 12, p. 111
2. Letter, 1942
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Making tough decisions
Decision Making
An AA member in a supervisor's position was faced with the need to terminate an unsatisfactory employee. Procrastinating about this unpleasant matter, she found herself wishing that the employee would suddenly find another job, thus making the termination ordeal unnecessary.
But further reflection showed that the procrastination was related to the same problems that had dogged her in her drinking years. She was a people=pleaser; she felt guilty about inflicting pain on others.
She was finally able to make the tough decision and call the employee in for termination. In the process, she discovered that a brief prayer time for preparation and a gentle manner removed some of the pain for her and the employee being terminated. She learned that the principles of the program could help her become more decisive without being brutal.
I'll look over any tough decisions I;ve been putting off and determination why I'm behaving that way. Am I prolonging tough decisions just as I did when drinking?
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
One Day at a Time. Program slogan
This slogan means we are to take with us only the joys and problems of the present day.
We don’t carry with us the mistakes of the days gone by. We have no room for them. We are to work at loving others today. Just today.
It’s crazy for us to think we can handle more than one day at a time. During our illness, we lived everywhere but in the here and now. We looked to the future or punished ourselves with our past. One Day at a Time teaches us to go easy. It teaches us to focus on what really means anything to us: the here and now.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me turn the slogans of my programs into a way of life. Help me to live life moment by moment, One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll practice living in the present. When I find myself living in the past or in the future, I’ll bring myself back to today.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Third Edition
The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears, hold good for individuals with many different lifestyles, just as the program has brought recovery to those of many different nationalities. The Twelve Steps that summarize the program may be called los Doce Pasos in one country, les Douze Etapes in another, but they trace exactly the same path to recovery that was blazed by the earliest members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
p. xxii
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."
Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill A.A. into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem.
pp. 155-156
************************************************** *********
Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no
future."
"A quiet hour is worth more to you than anything you can do in it."
--Sara One Jewess
"If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else"
--Chinese Proverb
A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up.
He who divides and shares is left with the best share.
--Mexican Proverb
"Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming
away better and happier."
--Mother Theresa
If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty
of the sunset.
--Krishnamurti
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HEAVEN
"If you're not allowed to laugh
in heaven, I don't want to go
there."
-- Martin Luther
When I was a practicing alcoholic, I imagined heaven to be a dull
formal place, rather like a never-ending cathedral. Beautiful, but
serious. My pain and guilt were so great that I rarely laughed, and
when I did it was usually inappropriate and violent: I laughed at
others!
Today heaven is associated with recovery. It is a place of joy,
acceptance and forgiveness. A place where people can be themselves
and where variety abounds. Christians play with people from other
religions -- and the atheists make the music! The laughter of "peace"
abounds. I am "at one" with my Father and all my brothers and sisters.
I am home!
God of Love, when I hear the sound of laughter here on earth, I think
what joy awaits me in heaven.
************************************************** *********
"Happy are the people to whom such blessing fall; happy are the
people whose God is the Lord."
Psalm 144:15
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save
his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."
Matthew 16:24-25
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Envision the joy of victory when you are faced with troubles and you will clearly see what direction you must take. Lord, with You my storm will pass and I will grow stronger as I grow closer to You.
Take heart in the beauty of your life because God loves, helps, fights and wins. Lord, I will never fear because nothing can triumph over Your Will.