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09-24-2008, 06:46 AM
Daily Reflections
VIGILANCE
We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again:
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic." Commencing
to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short
time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking,
there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking
notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 33
Today I am an alcoholic. Tomorrow will be no different.
My alcoholism lives within me now and forever. I must
never forget what I am. Alcohol will surely kill me if
I fail to recognize and acknowledge my disease on a daily
basis. I am not playing a game in which a loss is a
temporary setback. I am dealing with my disease, for which
there is no cure, only daily acceptance and vigilance.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Let us continue with Step Twelve. We must practice these
principles in all our affairs. This part of the twelfth
step must not be overlooked. It is the carrying on of the
whole program. We do not just practice these principles in
regard to our drinking problem. We practice them in ALL our
affairs. We do not give one compartment of our lives to God
and keep the other compartments to ourselves. We give our
whole lives to God and we try to do His will in every respect.
"Herein lies our growth, herein lies all the promise of the
future, and ever-widening horizon." Do I carry the A.A.
principles with me wherever I go?
Meditation For The Day
"Lord, to whom shall we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words
of eternal life." The words of eternal life are the words
from God controlling your true being, controlling the real
spiritual you. They are the words from God which are heard
by you in your heart and mind when these are wide open to
His spirit. These are the words of eternal life which express
the true way you are to live. They say to you in the stillness
of your heart and mind and soul: "Do this and live."
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may follow the dictates of my conscience.
I pray that I may follow the inner urging of my soul.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Seeking Fool's Gold, p. 12
Pride is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to
true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or
upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our
God-given instincts. When the satisfaction of our instincts for sex,
security, and a place in society becomes the primary object of our lives,
then pride steps in to justify our excesses.
<< << << >> >> >>
I may attain "humility for today" only to the extent that I am able to
avoid the bog of guilt and rebellion on one hand and, on the other hand,
that fair but deceiving land which is strewn with the fool's-gold coins of
pride. This is how I can find and stay on the highroad to humility, which
lies between these extremes. Therefore, a constant inventory which can
reveal when I am off the road is always in order.
1. 12 & 12, pp. 48-49
2. Grapevine, June 1961
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Willingness to listen
Willingness
Why is it that we'll accept information from some people but not from others? Many people tried to advise us while we were drinking; why would we listen only to recovering alcoholics?
We can't answer that question, except to say that most human beings are willing to listen only to certain people at certain times. That's why business organizations have to select sales people carefully; customers will respond to some people, but not to others.
As we grow in sobriety, however, we develop the willingness to listen to people we would have once avoided. We can find wonderful ideas in all sorts of places and from all types of people. As we become more open-minded and willing, we can listen more and learn more.
My prejudices and fears of the past kept me from listening to people who would have helped me. I'll be more open-minded and willing today.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.--- Will Durant
Sometimes we say bad things about others. When we do this, it makes us look bad too.
Our friends worry what we might say about them behind their backs. They’re afraid to trust us. We become known as gossips.
The things we say about other people tell a lot about us. We are kind or unkind. We gossip or we don’t. This doesn’t mean we have to say everyone is wonderful all the time. As we work our program to see ourselves better, we begin to see other people more clearly too. We see their strong points and their weak points. But we can know these things without gossiping about them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see others clearly, and in their best light. Let me bring out the good in others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list the people I’m closest to at work, school, and home. I’ll think of how I talk about them to others. Am I kind?
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Fourth Edition
THIS fourth edition of “Alcoholics Anonymous” came off press in November 2001, at the start of a new millennium. Since the third edition was published in 1976, worldwide membership of A.A. has just about doubled, to an estimated two million or more, with nearly 100,800 groups meeting in approximately 150 countries around the world.
p. xxiii
************************************************** *********
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."
Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists. Nearly every one of us had wished to do great good, perform great deeds, and embody great ideals. We are all perfectionists who, failing perfection, have gone to the other extreme and settled for the bottle and the blackout. Providence, through A.A., had brought us within reach of our highest expectations. So why shouldn't we share our way of life with everyone?
p. 156
************************************************** *********
"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host."
--Maya Angelou
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in
other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you."
--Dale Carnegie
"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince
a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give
lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long
enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround
yourself with optimistic people."
--Zig Ziglar
"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not
remains a fool forever."
--Chinese Proverb
"It takes time to build a corporate work of art. It takes time to build a
life. And it takes time to develop and grow. So give yourself, your
enterprise, and your family the time they deserve and the time they
require."
--Jim Rohn
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
GOD
"God is not a cosmic bellboy."
-- Harry Emerson Fosdick
My understanding of God is within the context of freedom. God is
involved in His world but He allows it an autonomy. We are not
puppets on a string. When things begin to go wrong, God does not
interfere and make changes (usually) without our cooperation. God
reveals the extent of His love by allowing us a creative responsibility
in our lives.
For years I did not understand this. I thought that if I prayed enough,
He would answer all my prayers and come to my rescue. When He
didn't, I grew confused, angry and resentful. What was I doing wrong?
Where was God in my life? He didn't love me. Why wasn't God my
cosmic co-dependent?
Today I love his detachment. Today I grow in my freedom. Today I
cooperate with His miracle.
Lord, thank You for allowing me the freedom to fail.
************************************************** *********
"The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives
me life."
Job 33:4
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I
have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the
righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Philippians 3:7-9
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Each of us has important gifts to share and things to do. Lord, may I be valuable to those that need my value and do what I can to make a joyful difference.
Prayer may not always change a situation, but it will always change us. Lord, I accept Your answers to my prayers because I know that they will always be right and, in Your wisdom, best for me.
VIGILANCE
We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again:
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic." Commencing
to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short
time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking,
there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking
notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 33
Today I am an alcoholic. Tomorrow will be no different.
My alcoholism lives within me now and forever. I must
never forget what I am. Alcohol will surely kill me if
I fail to recognize and acknowledge my disease on a daily
basis. I am not playing a game in which a loss is a
temporary setback. I am dealing with my disease, for which
there is no cure, only daily acceptance and vigilance.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Let us continue with Step Twelve. We must practice these
principles in all our affairs. This part of the twelfth
step must not be overlooked. It is the carrying on of the
whole program. We do not just practice these principles in
regard to our drinking problem. We practice them in ALL our
affairs. We do not give one compartment of our lives to God
and keep the other compartments to ourselves. We give our
whole lives to God and we try to do His will in every respect.
"Herein lies our growth, herein lies all the promise of the
future, and ever-widening horizon." Do I carry the A.A.
principles with me wherever I go?
Meditation For The Day
"Lord, to whom shall we go but to Thee? Thou hast the words
of eternal life." The words of eternal life are the words
from God controlling your true being, controlling the real
spiritual you. They are the words from God which are heard
by you in your heart and mind when these are wide open to
His spirit. These are the words of eternal life which express
the true way you are to live. They say to you in the stillness
of your heart and mind and soul: "Do this and live."
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may follow the dictates of my conscience.
I pray that I may follow the inner urging of my soul.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Seeking Fool's Gold, p. 12
Pride is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to
true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or
upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our
God-given instincts. When the satisfaction of our instincts for sex,
security, and a place in society becomes the primary object of our lives,
then pride steps in to justify our excesses.
<< << << >> >> >>
I may attain "humility for today" only to the extent that I am able to
avoid the bog of guilt and rebellion on one hand and, on the other hand,
that fair but deceiving land which is strewn with the fool's-gold coins of
pride. This is how I can find and stay on the highroad to humility, which
lies between these extremes. Therefore, a constant inventory which can
reveal when I am off the road is always in order.
1. 12 & 12, pp. 48-49
2. Grapevine, June 1961
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Willingness to listen
Willingness
Why is it that we'll accept information from some people but not from others? Many people tried to advise us while we were drinking; why would we listen only to recovering alcoholics?
We can't answer that question, except to say that most human beings are willing to listen only to certain people at certain times. That's why business organizations have to select sales people carefully; customers will respond to some people, but not to others.
As we grow in sobriety, however, we develop the willingness to listen to people we would have once avoided. We can find wonderful ideas in all sorts of places and from all types of people. As we become more open-minded and willing, we can listen more and learn more.
My prejudices and fears of the past kept me from listening to people who would have helped me. I'll be more open-minded and willing today.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.--- Will Durant
Sometimes we say bad things about others. When we do this, it makes us look bad too.
Our friends worry what we might say about them behind their backs. They’re afraid to trust us. We become known as gossips.
The things we say about other people tell a lot about us. We are kind or unkind. We gossip or we don’t. This doesn’t mean we have to say everyone is wonderful all the time. As we work our program to see ourselves better, we begin to see other people more clearly too. We see their strong points and their weak points. But we can know these things without gossiping about them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see others clearly, and in their best light. Let me bring out the good in others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list the people I’m closest to at work, school, and home. I’ll think of how I talk about them to others. Am I kind?
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Fourth Edition
THIS fourth edition of “Alcoholics Anonymous” came off press in November 2001, at the start of a new millennium. Since the third edition was published in 1976, worldwide membership of A.A. has just about doubled, to an estimated two million or more, with nearly 100,800 groups meeting in approximately 150 countries around the world.
p. xxiii
************************************************** *********
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."
Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists. Nearly every one of us had wished to do great good, perform great deeds, and embody great ideals. We are all perfectionists who, failing perfection, have gone to the other extreme and settled for the bottle and the blackout. Providence, through A.A., had brought us within reach of our highest expectations. So why shouldn't we share our way of life with everyone?
p. 156
************************************************** *********
"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host."
--Maya Angelou
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in
other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you."
--Dale Carnegie
"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince
a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give
lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long
enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround
yourself with optimistic people."
--Zig Ziglar
"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not
remains a fool forever."
--Chinese Proverb
"It takes time to build a corporate work of art. It takes time to build a
life. And it takes time to develop and grow. So give yourself, your
enterprise, and your family the time they deserve and the time they
require."
--Jim Rohn
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
GOD
"God is not a cosmic bellboy."
-- Harry Emerson Fosdick
My understanding of God is within the context of freedom. God is
involved in His world but He allows it an autonomy. We are not
puppets on a string. When things begin to go wrong, God does not
interfere and make changes (usually) without our cooperation. God
reveals the extent of His love by allowing us a creative responsibility
in our lives.
For years I did not understand this. I thought that if I prayed enough,
He would answer all my prayers and come to my rescue. When He
didn't, I grew confused, angry and resentful. What was I doing wrong?
Where was God in my life? He didn't love me. Why wasn't God my
cosmic co-dependent?
Today I love his detachment. Today I grow in my freedom. Today I
cooperate with His miracle.
Lord, thank You for allowing me the freedom to fail.
************************************************** *********
"The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives
me life."
Job 33:4
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I
have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the
righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Philippians 3:7-9
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Each of us has important gifts to share and things to do. Lord, may I be valuable to those that need my value and do what I can to make a joyful difference.
Prayer may not always change a situation, but it will always change us. Lord, I accept Your answers to my prayers because I know that they will always be right and, in Your wisdom, best for me.