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09-25-2008, 03:17 PM
Daily Reflections
OUR CHILDREN
The alcoholic may find it hard to re-establish friendly
relations with his children. . . . In time they will see
that he is a new man and in their own way they will let
him know it. . . . From that point on, progress will be
rapid. Marvelous results often follow such a reunion.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 134
While on the road to recovery I received a gift that
could not be purchased. It was a card from my son in
college, saying, "Dad, you can't imagine how glad I
am that everything is okay. Happy Birthday, I love you."
My son had told me that he loved me before. It had been
during the previous Christmas holidays, when he had said
to me, while crying, "Dad, I love you! Can't you see what
you're doing to yourself?" I couldn't. Choked with emotion,
I had cried, but this time, when I received my son's card,
my tears were tears of joy, not desperation.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"The acquiring of an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness,
resulting in a dramatic transformation, though frequent, is by
no means the rule. Most of our spiritual experiences are of the
educational variety, and they develop slowly over a period of
time. Quite often friends of newcomers are aware of the
difference long before they are themselves. They finally
realize that they have undergone a profound alteration in
their reaction to life and that such a change could hardly have
been brought about by themselves alone." Is my outlook on
life changing for the better?
Meditation For The Day
Look at the world as your Father's house. Think of all people
you meet as guests in you Father's house, to be treated with
love and consideration. Look at yourself as a servant in your
father's house, as a servant of all. Think of no work as beneath
you. Be ever ready to do all you can for others who need your
help. There is gladness in God's service. There is much
satisfaction in serving the highest that you know. Express your
love for God in service to all who are living with you in your
Father's house.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God.
I pray that my work may be a small repayment for His grace
so freely given me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Out Of The Dark, p. 10
Self searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace
to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the
development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive
God's help. Yet it is only a step. We will want to go further.
We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and
grow. But first of all we shall want sunlight, nothing much can grow in the dark.
Meditation is our step out into the sun.
****************************
"A clear light seems to fall upon us all--when we open our eyes. Since our
blindness is caused by our own defects, we must first deeply realize what
they are. Constructive meditation is the first requirement for each new step
in our spiritual growth."
1. Twelve And Twelve, p. 98
2. Letter, 1946
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
The Limited and Unlimited
Spiritual growth.
In our human experience, we face one imitation after another. We are always up against limited time energy, limited knowledge.
Yet everything we're learning tells us that all of these are without limit in the universal. In terms of energy, for example, we know that we would be rich beyond belief if we could really tap the sun's energy that rushes to the earth.
What we call human progress may really refer to the gaining of knowledge that enables us to shake off limitations. We actually did that by becoming sober in our 12 Step program. Now we're learning to extend our limits in many other ways; and though we are human and limited, we surely have not begun to each any limits as far as God is concerned. Limited though we seem to be, we're part of a Universe that is without limits.
I'll focus today on the possibility of extending my limits, knowing that this is what God has planned for me.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
The distance doesn’t matter; only the first step is difficult.---Mme. Marquise du Deffand
During our addiction, we were on a path leading to death---death of our spirit, mind, and body.
On that path, we tired not to think about where it would lead. We didn’t want to get there. We just followed the path toward death, with one drink, pill, snort or toke at a time.
Now we’ve chosen a new path for our lives. Making that choice was hard. We knew only the old path. We were afraid to change. But we did it. That was the hardest part.
We are excited to follow our new path. We know it leads to good things. We can follow the map---the Twelve Steps---and enjoy the trip. It will last as long as we live, and the map will guide us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me choose the path of life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll study the map for my life by reading the Twelve Steps.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Fourth Edition
As the message of recovery has reached larger numbers of people, it has also touched the lives of a vastly greater variety of suffering alcoholics. When the phrase “We are people who normally would not mix” (page 17 of this book) was written in 1939, it referred to a Fellowship composed largely of men (and a few women) with quite similar social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Like so much of A.A.’s basic text, those words have proved to be far more visionary than the founding members could ever have imagined. The stories added to this edition represent a membership whose characteristics—of age, gender, race, and culture—have widened and have deepened to encompass virtually everyone the first 100 members could have hoped to reach.
pp. xxiii-xxiv
************************************************** *********
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."
These adventures implanted a deep-rooted conviction that in no circumstances could we endorse any related enterprise, no matter how good. We of Alcoholics Anonymous could not be all things to all men, nor should we try.
p. 157
************************************************** *********
"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for
to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they
satisfy you."
--Wayne Dyer
Every second of every moment is a new beginning.
I can start my day over any time I choose.
I can also begin my life anew at any time.
This very moment can be a new beginning!
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
"Our worth is determined by the good deeds we do, rather than
by the fine emotions we feel."
--Elias L, Magoon
"It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis."
--Margaret Bonano
"Each day provides its own gifts."
--Martial
"The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as
is rightfully possible today."
--Charles W. Eliot
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.
--Dorothy Fields
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PAIN
"You can't hold a man down
without staying down with him."
-- Booker T. Washington
I know who was holding me down in my life. I was. I know who was
bringing pain and sadness in my life. I was. I know who was making me
the victim of addiction. I was. I would beat myself up and then
complain about the bruises!
I did this because I could not "see". I had not accepted or understood
the implications of my alcoholism. Today I am beginning to take care
of myself because I have accepted my disease. I do not choose today
to be the enemy in my life -- I have surrendered to live. I do not want
to hurt anymore. I do not want to hide in guilt and fear anymore. I do
not choose to be my victim today.
God, I thank You for the freedom to determine my life and my
victories.
************************************************** *********
“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will
reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit
will reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:8
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
An ordinary day can become profound by realizing your importance to others and acting on it. Lord, may I be dependable to those who depend on me without complaints or resentments.
Rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made. Lord, my days pass so quickly. May I have a generous heart and the time to see the needs of those around me.
OUR CHILDREN
The alcoholic may find it hard to re-establish friendly
relations with his children. . . . In time they will see
that he is a new man and in their own way they will let
him know it. . . . From that point on, progress will be
rapid. Marvelous results often follow such a reunion.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 134
While on the road to recovery I received a gift that
could not be purchased. It was a card from my son in
college, saying, "Dad, you can't imagine how glad I
am that everything is okay. Happy Birthday, I love you."
My son had told me that he loved me before. It had been
during the previous Christmas holidays, when he had said
to me, while crying, "Dad, I love you! Can't you see what
you're doing to yourself?" I couldn't. Choked with emotion,
I had cried, but this time, when I received my son's card,
my tears were tears of joy, not desperation.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Continuing the consideration of the term "spiritual experience":
"The acquiring of an immediate and overwhelming God-consciousness,
resulting in a dramatic transformation, though frequent, is by
no means the rule. Most of our spiritual experiences are of the
educational variety, and they develop slowly over a period of
time. Quite often friends of newcomers are aware of the
difference long before they are themselves. They finally
realize that they have undergone a profound alteration in
their reaction to life and that such a change could hardly have
been brought about by themselves alone." Is my outlook on
life changing for the better?
Meditation For The Day
Look at the world as your Father's house. Think of all people
you meet as guests in you Father's house, to be treated with
love and consideration. Look at yourself as a servant in your
father's house, as a servant of all. Think of no work as beneath
you. Be ever ready to do all you can for others who need your
help. There is gladness in God's service. There is much
satisfaction in serving the highest that you know. Express your
love for God in service to all who are living with you in your
Father's house.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may serve others out of gratitude to God.
I pray that my work may be a small repayment for His grace
so freely given me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Out Of The Dark, p. 10
Self searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace
to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures. With it comes the
development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive
God's help. Yet it is only a step. We will want to go further.
We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and
grow. But first of all we shall want sunlight, nothing much can grow in the dark.
Meditation is our step out into the sun.
****************************
"A clear light seems to fall upon us all--when we open our eyes. Since our
blindness is caused by our own defects, we must first deeply realize what
they are. Constructive meditation is the first requirement for each new step
in our spiritual growth."
1. Twelve And Twelve, p. 98
2. Letter, 1946
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
The Limited and Unlimited
Spiritual growth.
In our human experience, we face one imitation after another. We are always up against limited time energy, limited knowledge.
Yet everything we're learning tells us that all of these are without limit in the universal. In terms of energy, for example, we know that we would be rich beyond belief if we could really tap the sun's energy that rushes to the earth.
What we call human progress may really refer to the gaining of knowledge that enables us to shake off limitations. We actually did that by becoming sober in our 12 Step program. Now we're learning to extend our limits in many other ways; and though we are human and limited, we surely have not begun to each any limits as far as God is concerned. Limited though we seem to be, we're part of a Universe that is without limits.
I'll focus today on the possibility of extending my limits, knowing that this is what God has planned for me.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
The distance doesn’t matter; only the first step is difficult.---Mme. Marquise du Deffand
During our addiction, we were on a path leading to death---death of our spirit, mind, and body.
On that path, we tired not to think about where it would lead. We didn’t want to get there. We just followed the path toward death, with one drink, pill, snort or toke at a time.
Now we’ve chosen a new path for our lives. Making that choice was hard. We knew only the old path. We were afraid to change. But we did it. That was the hardest part.
We are excited to follow our new path. We know it leads to good things. We can follow the map---the Twelve Steps---and enjoy the trip. It will last as long as we live, and the map will guide us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me choose the path of life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll study the map for my life by reading the Twelve Steps.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Foreward To Fourth Edition
As the message of recovery has reached larger numbers of people, it has also touched the lives of a vastly greater variety of suffering alcoholics. When the phrase “We are people who normally would not mix” (page 17 of this book) was written in 1939, it referred to a Fellowship composed largely of men (and a few women) with quite similar social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Like so much of A.A.’s basic text, those words have proved to be far more visionary than the founding members could ever have imagined. The stories added to this edition represent a membership whose characteristics—of age, gender, race, and culture—have widened and have deepened to encompass virtually everyone the first 100 members could have hoped to reach.
pp. xxiii-xxiv
************************************************** *********
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."
These adventures implanted a deep-rooted conviction that in no circumstances could we endorse any related enterprise, no matter how good. We of Alcoholics Anonymous could not be all things to all men, nor should we try.
p. 157
************************************************** *********
"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for
to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they
satisfy you."
--Wayne Dyer
Every second of every moment is a new beginning.
I can start my day over any time I choose.
I can also begin my life anew at any time.
This very moment can be a new beginning!
"Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
"Our worth is determined by the good deeds we do, rather than
by the fine emotions we feel."
--Elias L, Magoon
"It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis."
--Margaret Bonano
"Each day provides its own gifts."
--Martial
"The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as
is rightfully possible today."
--Charles W. Eliot
Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.
--Dorothy Fields
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PAIN
"You can't hold a man down
without staying down with him."
-- Booker T. Washington
I know who was holding me down in my life. I was. I know who was
bringing pain and sadness in my life. I was. I know who was making me
the victim of addiction. I was. I would beat myself up and then
complain about the bruises!
I did this because I could not "see". I had not accepted or understood
the implications of my alcoholism. Today I am beginning to take care
of myself because I have accepted my disease. I do not choose today
to be the enemy in my life -- I have surrendered to live. I do not want
to hurt anymore. I do not want to hide in guilt and fear anymore. I do
not choose to be my victim today.
God, I thank You for the freedom to determine my life and my
victories.
************************************************** *********
“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will
reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit
will reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:8
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
An ordinary day can become profound by realizing your importance to others and acting on it. Lord, may I be dependable to those who depend on me without complaints or resentments.
Rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made. Lord, my days pass so quickly. May I have a generous heart and the time to see the needs of those around me.