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10-13-2008, 08:36 PM
Daily Reflections
A PROGRAM FOR LIVING
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. . . . On awakening let us think
about the twenty-four hours ahead. . . Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking,
especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86
I lacked serenity. With more to do than seemed possible, I fell further behind, no matter
how hard I tried. Worries about things not done yesterday and fear of tomorrow's
deadlines denied me the calm I needed to be effective each day. Before taking Steps Ten
and Eleven, I tried to focus on God's will, not my problems, and to trust that He would
manage my day. It worked! Slowly, but it worked!
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
How big a part of my life is A.A.? Is it just one of my activities and a small one at that?
Do I only go to A.A. meetings now and then and sometimes never go at all? Do I think of
A.A. only occasionally? Am I reticent about mentioning A.A. to people who might need
help? Or does A.A. fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life?
Where would I be without A.A.? Does everything I have and I do depend on my A.A.
foundation? Is A.A. the foundation on which I build my life?
Meditation For The Day
Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. Do not dwell upon your
failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel. You
have a mediator between you and God--your growing faith--which can lift you up from the
mire and point you toward the heavens. You can still be reconciled with the spirit of God.
You can still regain your harmony with the Divine Principle of the universe.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. I pray
that I may rise and walk upright.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Spirituality and Money, p. 324
Some of us still ask, "Just what is this Third Legacy business anyhow?
And just how much territory does "service" take in?"
Let's begin with my own sponsor, Ebby. When Ebby heard how serious
my drinking was, he resolved to visit me. He was in New York; I was in
Brooklyn. His resolve was not enough; he had to take action and he had
to spend money.
He called me on the phone and then got into the subway; total cost, ten
cents. At the level of the telephone booth and subway turnstile,
spirituality and money began to mix. One without the other would have
amounted to nothing at all.
Right then and there, Ebby established the principle that A.A. in action
calls for the sacrifice of much time and a little money.
A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 140-141
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
What is true sharing?
Sharing
Though it comes without a price, the sharing we undertake in the AA program has value without limits. When we share our experience, strength, and hope with others, we become both teachers and friends.
Sometimes we are led to believe that we should share our material goods with others, but all we learn is that this often fails to help anyone. Such sharing is not wrong, but it can be misused and misdirected.
In the form of sharing we practice, there can be only gain for all involved in the exchange. Our sharing of personal experience may be just what another person needs at the time. What also matters is that we need it and can benefit from it.
True sharing of this kid is one of the great secrets of AA's success. If our program isn't working well, perhaps we should do more of this sharing.
I'll seek to share my true feelings with others today, in the hope that this will help all of us.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. ---Carl Sandburg
Recovery, is also God’s opinion that the world should go on. But when we used alcohol and other drugs, there were days when even the sight of a newborn baby couldn’t bring hope into our hearts. We were spiritually dead. We didn’t care if the world went on. We didn’t care about anything but getting high.
Through recovery, our souls come alive.
The beauty of a fall day can reach our hearts. We can see the miracle found in a baby’s eyes. We can see the beauty of the world. We can feel how much we’re loved by our Higher Power and by others. This is how we know we’re alive. Hope fills our minds and love fill our hearts.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, now that I again believe the world should go on, have me work to improve it. Have me be a person who makes the world more beautiful.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll notice the children and babies around me. I’ll notice how alive they are. I’ll try to be as alive as they are.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence.
This immediately precipitates us into a seething caldron of debate. Much has been written pro and con, but among physicians, the general opinion seems to be that most chronic alcoholics are doomed.
p. xxx
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Then came the opposition. They pointed out that the Foundation board already knew of a total of half a million dollars set aside for A.A. in the wills of people still alive. Heaven only knew how much there was we hadn't heard about. If outside donations weren't declined, absolutely cut off, then the Foundation would one day become rich. Moreover, at the slightest intimation to the general public from our trustees that we needed money, we could become immensely rich. Compared to this prospect, the ten thousand dollars under consideration wasn't much, but like the alcoholic's first drink it would, if taken, inevitably set up a disastrous chain reaction. Where would that land us? Whoever pays the piper is apt to call the tune, and if the A.A. Foundation obtained money from outside sources, its trustees might be tempted to run things without reference to the wishes of A.A. as a while. Relieved of responsibility, every alcoholic would shrug and say, "Oh, the Foundation is wealthy--why should I bother?" The pressure of that fat treasury would surely tempt the board to invent all kinds of schemes to do good with such funds, and so divert A.A. from its primary purpose. The moment that happened, our Fellowship's confidence would be shaken. The board would be isolated, and would fall under heavy attack of criticism from both A.A. and the public. These were the possibilities, pro and con.
pp. 164-165
************************************************** *********
I shall leap! No matter what is ahead, God is there to catch me.
--Shelley
One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each other's
stories.
--Rebecca Falls
Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding is the third.
--Marge Piercy
You get more than you give when you give more than you get.
--Cited in More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES
Much wisdom can be crowded into but four words:
In God we trust. This too shall pass. Live and let live. Still waters run deep. Bad news
travels fast. Love laughs at locksmiths. Nothing succeeds like success. Charity begins
at home. Politics make strange bedfellows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Man
proposes, God disposes. Let sleeping dogs lie.
--Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
INDIVIDUALITY
"I am one individual on a small
planet in a little solar system in
one of the galaxies."
-- Roberto Assagioli
Spirituality develops a humility that is realistic. Realism teaches me that I am one among
many. That does not mean that I am less than anybody else, but it certainly doesn't mean
that I am above others.
Arrogance, fantasy and selfishness are characteristics of addiction that stop the
development of true individuality. To pretend to be something we are not, or have a
grandiose illusion about our own importance, misses the truth, misses our truth and
misses our individuality.
Humility is treating people with the respect we would want, giving people the freedom
we require in our life. Humility is perceiving our God-given talent and individuality.
I pray that I will remember that I am a "part of", rather than the sum total of this
universe.
************************************************** *********
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:27-28
"The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the
wicked."
Proverbs 10:3
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Spend a little time each day taking care of your own physical and emotional needs and the rest of your day will be more effective. Lord, help me to enrich and care for myself so that I am not depleted of energy and health and have something within that I can use to enrich others.
Welcome God into every part of your life. He is always with you, ready to help, waiting to bless you with miracles and able to enrich your every moment. Lord, I call out your name often in praise, in thanksgiving and in every need.
A PROGRAM FOR LIVING
When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. . . . On awakening let us think
about the twenty-four hours ahead. . . Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking,
especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86
I lacked serenity. With more to do than seemed possible, I fell further behind, no matter
how hard I tried. Worries about things not done yesterday and fear of tomorrow's
deadlines denied me the calm I needed to be effective each day. Before taking Steps Ten
and Eleven, I tried to focus on God's will, not my problems, and to trust that He would
manage my day. It worked! Slowly, but it worked!
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
How big a part of my life is A.A.? Is it just one of my activities and a small one at that?
Do I only go to A.A. meetings now and then and sometimes never go at all? Do I think of
A.A. only occasionally? Am I reticent about mentioning A.A. to people who might need
help? Or does A.A. fill a large part of my life? Is it the foundation of my whole life?
Where would I be without A.A.? Does everything I have and I do depend on my A.A.
foundation? Is A.A. the foundation on which I build my life?
Meditation For The Day
Lay upon God your failures and mistakes and shortcomings. Do not dwell upon your
failures, upon the fact that in the past you have been nearer a beast than an angel. You
have a mediator between you and God--your growing faith--which can lift you up from the
mire and point you toward the heavens. You can still be reconciled with the spirit of God.
You can still regain your harmony with the Divine Principle of the universe.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not let the beast in me hold me back from my spiritual destiny. I pray
that I may rise and walk upright.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Spirituality and Money, p. 324
Some of us still ask, "Just what is this Third Legacy business anyhow?
And just how much territory does "service" take in?"
Let's begin with my own sponsor, Ebby. When Ebby heard how serious
my drinking was, he resolved to visit me. He was in New York; I was in
Brooklyn. His resolve was not enough; he had to take action and he had
to spend money.
He called me on the phone and then got into the subway; total cost, ten
cents. At the level of the telephone booth and subway turnstile,
spirituality and money began to mix. One without the other would have
amounted to nothing at all.
Right then and there, Ebby established the principle that A.A. in action
calls for the sacrifice of much time and a little money.
A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 140-141
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
What is true sharing?
Sharing
Though it comes without a price, the sharing we undertake in the AA program has value without limits. When we share our experience, strength, and hope with others, we become both teachers and friends.
Sometimes we are led to believe that we should share our material goods with others, but all we learn is that this often fails to help anyone. Such sharing is not wrong, but it can be misused and misdirected.
In the form of sharing we practice, there can be only gain for all involved in the exchange. Our sharing of personal experience may be just what another person needs at the time. What also matters is that we need it and can benefit from it.
True sharing of this kid is one of the great secrets of AA's success. If our program isn't working well, perhaps we should do more of this sharing.
I'll seek to share my true feelings with others today, in the hope that this will help all of us.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. ---Carl Sandburg
Recovery, is also God’s opinion that the world should go on. But when we used alcohol and other drugs, there were days when even the sight of a newborn baby couldn’t bring hope into our hearts. We were spiritually dead. We didn’t care if the world went on. We didn’t care about anything but getting high.
Through recovery, our souls come alive.
The beauty of a fall day can reach our hearts. We can see the miracle found in a baby’s eyes. We can see the beauty of the world. We can feel how much we’re loved by our Higher Power and by others. This is how we know we’re alive. Hope fills our minds and love fill our hearts.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, now that I again believe the world should go on, have me work to improve it. Have me be a person who makes the world more beautiful.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll notice the children and babies around me. I’ll notice how alive they are. I’ll try to be as alive as they are.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving. This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated. The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence.
This immediately precipitates us into a seething caldron of debate. Much has been written pro and con, but among physicians, the general opinion seems to be that most chronic alcoholics are doomed.
p. xxx
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."
Then came the opposition. They pointed out that the Foundation board already knew of a total of half a million dollars set aside for A.A. in the wills of people still alive. Heaven only knew how much there was we hadn't heard about. If outside donations weren't declined, absolutely cut off, then the Foundation would one day become rich. Moreover, at the slightest intimation to the general public from our trustees that we needed money, we could become immensely rich. Compared to this prospect, the ten thousand dollars under consideration wasn't much, but like the alcoholic's first drink it would, if taken, inevitably set up a disastrous chain reaction. Where would that land us? Whoever pays the piper is apt to call the tune, and if the A.A. Foundation obtained money from outside sources, its trustees might be tempted to run things without reference to the wishes of A.A. as a while. Relieved of responsibility, every alcoholic would shrug and say, "Oh, the Foundation is wealthy--why should I bother?" The pressure of that fat treasury would surely tempt the board to invent all kinds of schemes to do good with such funds, and so divert A.A. from its primary purpose. The moment that happened, our Fellowship's confidence would be shaken. The board would be isolated, and would fall under heavy attack of criticism from both A.A. and the public. These were the possibilities, pro and con.
pp. 164-165
************************************************** *********
I shall leap! No matter what is ahead, God is there to catch me.
--Shelley
One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen to each other's
stories.
--Rebecca Falls
Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding is the third.
--Marge Piercy
You get more than you give when you give more than you get.
--Cited in More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES
Much wisdom can be crowded into but four words:
In God we trust. This too shall pass. Live and let live. Still waters run deep. Bad news
travels fast. Love laughs at locksmiths. Nothing succeeds like success. Charity begins
at home. Politics make strange bedfellows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Man
proposes, God disposes. Let sleeping dogs lie.
--Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
INDIVIDUALITY
"I am one individual on a small
planet in a little solar system in
one of the galaxies."
-- Roberto Assagioli
Spirituality develops a humility that is realistic. Realism teaches me that I am one among
many. That does not mean that I am less than anybody else, but it certainly doesn't mean
that I am above others.
Arrogance, fantasy and selfishness are characteristics of addiction that stop the
development of true individuality. To pretend to be something we are not, or have a
grandiose illusion about our own importance, misses the truth, misses our truth and
misses our individuality.
Humility is treating people with the respect we would want, giving people the freedom
we require in our life. Humility is perceiving our God-given talent and individuality.
I pray that I will remember that I am a "part of", rather than the sum total of this
universe.
************************************************** *********
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:27-28
"The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, But He casts away the desire of the
wicked."
Proverbs 10:3
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Spend a little time each day taking care of your own physical and emotional needs and the rest of your day will be more effective. Lord, help me to enrich and care for myself so that I am not depleted of energy and health and have something within that I can use to enrich others.
Welcome God into every part of your life. He is always with you, ready to help, waiting to bless you with miracles and able to enrich your every moment. Lord, I call out your name often in praise, in thanksgiving and in every need.