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10-08-2008, 05:46 PM
Daily Reflections
A SPIRITUAL AXIOM
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is
something wrong with us.
12 & 12, p. 90
I never truly understood the Tenth Step's spiritual axiom until I had the following
experience. I was sitting in my bedroom, reading into the wee hours, when suddenly I
heard my dogs barking in the back yard. My neighbors frown on this kind of disturbance
so, with mixed feelings of anger and shame, as well as fear of my neighbor's disapproval,
I immediately called in my dogs. Several weeks later the exact situation repeated itself
but this time, because I was feeling more at peace with myself, I was able to accept the
situation--dogs will bark--and I calmly called in the dogs. Both incidents taught me that
when a person experiences nearly identical events and reacts two different ways, then it
is not the event that is of prime importance, but the person's spiritual condition. Feelings
come from inside, not from outward circumstances. When my spiritual condition is
positive, I react positively.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Am I willing to be bored sometimes at meetings? Am I willing to listen to much repetition
of A.A. principles? Am I willing to hear the same thing over and over again? Am I willing
to listen to a long blow by blow personal story, because it might help some new member?
Am I willing to sit quietly and listen to long-winded members go into every detail of their
past? Am I willing to take it, because it is doing them good to get it off their chest? My
feelings are not too important. The good of A.A. comes first, even if it is not always
comfortable for me. Have I learned to take it?
Meditation For The Day
God would draw us all closer to Him in the bonds of the spirit. He would have all people
drawn closer to each other in the bonds of the spirit. God, the great Spirit of the universe,
of which each of our own spirits is a small part, must want unity between Himself and all
His children. "Unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace." Each experience of our life, of
joy, of sorrow, of danger, of safety, of difficulty, of success, of hardship, of ease, each
should be accepted as part of our common lot, in the bonds of the spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true fellowship. I pray that I may be brought
closer to unity with God and other people.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Do It Our Way?, p. 329
In praying, our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific
solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people
as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we
are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider
each request carefully to see what its real merit is.
Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each
one of them this qualification: ". . . if it be Thy will."
12 & 12, p. 102
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Can we tell others they are wrong?
Sharing
As we become more sensitive to others, we soon learn that it's very difficult to tell another person he or she is wrong. Even when we struggle to be kind and diplomatic, we can provoke an angry reaction.
We should not be surprised, because showing people they're wrong is one of the most difficult things in human experience. Few people like to be told that they're wrong, as we can see when our wrongs are advertised to others.
There is almost no way to directly tell people they're wrong without hurting or offending the. Furthermore, if they are hurt or offended, they might feel less inclined to work to correct their behavior.
If we've taken the 12 Step principles to heart, however, we learn first that we are usually not required to tell anybody that he or she is wrong. But we can help people simply by relating accounts of situations when we were wrong and what we did to change. If done properly, this gives the other person the opportunity to change without feeling resentment or humiliation.
I'll try to be as sensitive as possible to the feelings of others. I'll be especially careful about trying to show them that they're wrong.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
A man should never be ashamed to own he was in the wrong.---Jonathan Swift
In the past, we felt a mistake was a crisis. We thought we had a to be perfect. Our old ways was to try to hide our mistakes. We were ashamed. We thought making mistakes meant we were bad.
Mistakes are normal. We can learn from our mistakes. They can teach us. They can guide us. The Tenth Step directs us to promptly admit when we’re wrong. Then, over time, we start to see mistakes as normal life events. As we face and correct our mistakes, shame is washed away. We feel lighter. We know it is normal to make mistakes.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see that mistakes are normal life events. Help me promptly admit when I’m wrong.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll talk to my sponsor about mistakes I’ve made the past week. I’ll not act ashamed of my mistakes.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
On the other hand—and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand—once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.
p. xxix
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"The meeting that night was at New York's old 24th Street Clubhouse. During the intermission, the treasurer gave a timid talk on how broke the club was. (That was in the period when you couldn't mix money and A.A.) But finally he said it--the landlord would put us out if we didn't pay up. He concluded his remarks by saying, "Now boys, please go heavier on the hat tonight, will you?"
p. 163
************************************************** *********
"If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of
humor."
--Jennifer Jones
It's not the load that breaks you down; it's the way you carry it.
--Lena Horne
"If God brings you to it, He'll bring you through it!"
--From As We See It
"Criticizing anothers garden does not keep the weeds out of yours."
--Unknown
"Do you live in tomorrow when you must face today? At times, I forget to live in the moment, but what do I miss? The setting sun, the sound of birds' singing and, most importantly, I miss meeting myself. I am constantly changing, and if I don't spend time with myself in the here and now, I will never get to appreciate who I truly am because I am too busy focusing on who I want to be."
--Gary Barnes
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HUMILITY
"I believe the first test of a
really great man is humility."
-- John Ruskin
An understanding of humility that makes sense to me is that of the man who is aware of
his limitations but still reaches for the stars.
For years I thought that humility was groveling in the dirt. Keeping quiet and acting
obsequious. Being a religious doormat for others to walk upon.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Humility is about speaking your mind, fighting
for your ideas and opinions, creating through effort, sweat and debate. The humble man's
ego is based on reality --- not fed on illusion. When he is wrong, he can admit it and is
open to the ideas of others.
Humility is based upon a realistic self-love.
O God, let me humbly rejoice in Your gift of creativity.
************************************************** *********
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom, and broke away their chains.
Psalm 107:14
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
Psalm 78:7
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
When something bothers or upsets you, you can either complain about it or make peace with it. Lord, help me promptly deal with the distractions of my day and move on to the things that truly make my day a pleasure.
In your pursuit of happiness, pause to relax and be happy. Lord, slow me down just enough to enjoy all that You have given to me.
A SPIRITUAL AXIOM
It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is
something wrong with us.
12 & 12, p. 90
I never truly understood the Tenth Step's spiritual axiom until I had the following
experience. I was sitting in my bedroom, reading into the wee hours, when suddenly I
heard my dogs barking in the back yard. My neighbors frown on this kind of disturbance
so, with mixed feelings of anger and shame, as well as fear of my neighbor's disapproval,
I immediately called in my dogs. Several weeks later the exact situation repeated itself
but this time, because I was feeling more at peace with myself, I was able to accept the
situation--dogs will bark--and I calmly called in the dogs. Both incidents taught me that
when a person experiences nearly identical events and reacts two different ways, then it
is not the event that is of prime importance, but the person's spiritual condition. Feelings
come from inside, not from outward circumstances. When my spiritual condition is
positive, I react positively.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
Am I willing to be bored sometimes at meetings? Am I willing to listen to much repetition
of A.A. principles? Am I willing to hear the same thing over and over again? Am I willing
to listen to a long blow by blow personal story, because it might help some new member?
Am I willing to sit quietly and listen to long-winded members go into every detail of their
past? Am I willing to take it, because it is doing them good to get it off their chest? My
feelings are not too important. The good of A.A. comes first, even if it is not always
comfortable for me. Have I learned to take it?
Meditation For The Day
God would draw us all closer to Him in the bonds of the spirit. He would have all people
drawn closer to each other in the bonds of the spirit. God, the great Spirit of the universe,
of which each of our own spirits is a small part, must want unity between Himself and all
His children. "Unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace." Each experience of our life, of
joy, of sorrow, of danger, of safety, of difficulty, of success, of hardship, of ease, each
should be accepted as part of our common lot, in the bonds of the spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may welcome the bonds of true fellowship. I pray that I may be brought
closer to unity with God and other people.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Do It Our Way?, p. 329
In praying, our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific
solutions to specific problems, and for the ability to help other people
as we have already thought they should be helped. In that case, we
are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we ought to consider
each request carefully to see what its real merit is.
Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each
one of them this qualification: ". . . if it be Thy will."
12 & 12, p. 102
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Can we tell others they are wrong?
Sharing
As we become more sensitive to others, we soon learn that it's very difficult to tell another person he or she is wrong. Even when we struggle to be kind and diplomatic, we can provoke an angry reaction.
We should not be surprised, because showing people they're wrong is one of the most difficult things in human experience. Few people like to be told that they're wrong, as we can see when our wrongs are advertised to others.
There is almost no way to directly tell people they're wrong without hurting or offending the. Furthermore, if they are hurt or offended, they might feel less inclined to work to correct their behavior.
If we've taken the 12 Step principles to heart, however, we learn first that we are usually not required to tell anybody that he or she is wrong. But we can help people simply by relating accounts of situations when we were wrong and what we did to change. If done properly, this gives the other person the opportunity to change without feeling resentment or humiliation.
I'll try to be as sensitive as possible to the feelings of others. I'll be especially careful about trying to show them that they're wrong.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
A man should never be ashamed to own he was in the wrong.---Jonathan Swift
In the past, we felt a mistake was a crisis. We thought we had a to be perfect. Our old ways was to try to hide our mistakes. We were ashamed. We thought making mistakes meant we were bad.
Mistakes are normal. We can learn from our mistakes. They can teach us. They can guide us. The Tenth Step directs us to promptly admit when we’re wrong. Then, over time, we start to see mistakes as normal life events. As we face and correct our mistakes, shame is washed away. We feel lighter. We know it is normal to make mistakes.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see that mistakes are normal life events. Help me promptly admit when I’m wrong.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll talk to my sponsor about mistakes I’ve made the past week. I’ll not act ashamed of my mistakes.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
On the other hand—and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand—once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.
p. xxix
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
"The meeting that night was at New York's old 24th Street Clubhouse. During the intermission, the treasurer gave a timid talk on how broke the club was. (That was in the period when you couldn't mix money and A.A.) But finally he said it--the landlord would put us out if we didn't pay up. He concluded his remarks by saying, "Now boys, please go heavier on the hat tonight, will you?"
p. 163
************************************************** *********
"If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of
humor."
--Jennifer Jones
It's not the load that breaks you down; it's the way you carry it.
--Lena Horne
"If God brings you to it, He'll bring you through it!"
--From As We See It
"Criticizing anothers garden does not keep the weeds out of yours."
--Unknown
"Do you live in tomorrow when you must face today? At times, I forget to live in the moment, but what do I miss? The setting sun, the sound of birds' singing and, most importantly, I miss meeting myself. I am constantly changing, and if I don't spend time with myself in the here and now, I will never get to appreciate who I truly am because I am too busy focusing on who I want to be."
--Gary Barnes
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HUMILITY
"I believe the first test of a
really great man is humility."
-- John Ruskin
An understanding of humility that makes sense to me is that of the man who is aware of
his limitations but still reaches for the stars.
For years I thought that humility was groveling in the dirt. Keeping quiet and acting
obsequious. Being a religious doormat for others to walk upon.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Humility is about speaking your mind, fighting
for your ideas and opinions, creating through effort, sweat and debate. The humble man's
ego is based on reality --- not fed on illusion. When he is wrong, he can admit it and is
open to the ideas of others.
Humility is based upon a realistic self-love.
O God, let me humbly rejoice in Your gift of creativity.
************************************************** *********
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom, and broke away their chains.
Psalm 107:14
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
Psalm 78:7
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
When something bothers or upsets you, you can either complain about it or make peace with it. Lord, help me promptly deal with the distractions of my day and move on to the things that truly make my day a pleasure.
In your pursuit of happiness, pause to relax and be happy. Lord, slow me down just enough to enjoy all that You have given to me.