admin
10-15-2008, 04:05 PM
Daily Reflections
THROUGHOUT EACH DAY
This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
During my early years in A.A. I saw Step Ten as a suggestion that I periodically look at
my behavior and reactions. If there was something wrong, I should admit it; if an apology
was necessary, I should give one. After a few years of sobriety I felt I should undertake
a self-examination more frequently. Not until several more years of sobriety had elapsed
did I realize the full meaning of Step Ten, and the word "continued." "Continued" does
not mean occasionally, or frequently. It means throughout each day.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
How seriously do I take my obligations to A.A.? Have I taken all the
good I can get out of it and then let my obligations slide? Or do I constantly feel a
deep debt of gratitude and a deep sense of loyalty to the whole A.A. movement? Am I
not only grateful but also proud to be a part of such a wonderful fellowship, which is
doing such marvelous work among alcoholics? Am I glad to be a part of the great
work that A.A. is doing and do I feel a deep obligation to carry on that work at
every opportunity? Do I feel that I owe A.A. my loyalty and devotion?
Meditation For The Day
If your heart is right, your world will be right. The beginning of all
reform must be in yourself. It's not what happens to you, it's how you take it. However
restricted your circumstances, however little you may be able to remedy financial
affairs, you can always turn to your inward self and, seeing something not in order
there, seek to right it. And as all reform is from within outward, you will always find
that the outward is improved as the inward is improved. As you improve yourself,
your outward circumstances will change for the better. The power released from within
yourself will change your outward life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that the hidden power within me may be released. I pray that I may not imprison
the spirit that is within me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Easy Does It--But Do It, p. 322
Procrastination is really sloth in five syllables.
<< << << >> >> >>
"My observation is that some people can get by with a certain amount of
postponement, but few can live with outright rebellion."
<< << << >> >> >>
"We have succeeded in confronting many a problem drinker with that
awful alternative, 'This we A.A.'s do, or we die.' Once this much is
firmly in his mind, more drinking only turns the coil tighter.
"As many an alcoholic has said, 'I came to the place where it was either
into A.A. or out the window. So here I am!"
1. 12 & 12, p. 67
2. Letter, 1952
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Homeless and unemployed
Economic Insecurity
Alcoholism isn't the sole cause of the homelessness and unemployment that troubles our world. Even in sobriety, people can lose their jobs and homes, through no fault of their own.
Recovery makes it less likely that we will cause such conditions in our own lives. Beyond that , by keeping sober, we will be better able to deal with any setbacks that do occur. It is a painful fact that it is almost impossible to help any destitute alcoholic find a home or employment unless he or she stops drinking. We learn that much through our experience.
Our true home is with our Higher Power, and our best work bay be in the sharing of our experience and strength with others. Remembering this, we can be sympathetic and understanding about the general problems of homelessness and unemployment. We don't have the complete answer, but we do have answers.
I'll be grateful and understanding in any consideration of today's problems of homelessness and unemployment. By staying sober, I am at least helping to alleviate some of the general problems.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you’re overdoing it. --Josh Jenkins
It’s okay to make mistakes. But we shouldn’t live a life of excuses. We shouldn’t slide over our mistakes; we should learn from them.
Excuses keep us part from ourselves and others. People don’t trust us if we won’t admit and accept our mistakes. Relying on excuses dooms us to repeat the same mistakes.
In recovery, we admit and accept our behavior. We do this by continuing to take an inventory of our lives. We do this so we can learn from our mistakes. “Owning” our mistakes helps us grow.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me own my mistakes. Thank-you for Step Ten and the growth it holds for me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list my five favorite excuses. I’ll think of the last time I used each of these. What was I trying to avoid.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
When I need a mental uplift, I often think of another case brought in by a physician prominent in New York. The patient had made his own diagnosis, and deciding his situation hopeless, had hidden in a deserted barn determined to die. He was rescued by a searching party, and, in desperate condition, brought to me. Following his physical rehabilitation, he had a talk with me in which he frankly stated he thought the treatment a waste of effort, unless I could assure him, which no one ever had, that in the future he would have the “will power’’ to resist the impulse to drink.
His alcoholic problem was so complex, and his depression so great, that we felt his only hope would be through what we then called “moral psychology,’’ and we doubted if even that would have any effect.
However, he did become “sold’’ on the ideas contained in this book. He has not had a drink for a great many years. I see him now and then and he is as fine a specimen of manhood as one could wish to meet.
I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through, and though perhaps he came to scoff, he may remain to pray.
William D. Silkworth, M.D.
pp. xxxi-xxxii
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will never have a professional class. We have gained some understanding of the ancient words "Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality do not mis. Almost no recovery from alcoholism has ever been brought about by the world's best professionals, whether medical or religious. We do not decry professionalism in other fields, but we accept the sober fact that it does not work for us. Every time we have tried to professionalize our Twelfth Step, the result has been exactly the same: Our single purpose has been defeated.
p. 166
************************************************** *********
Listen in the silence. Listen and you shall hear God speak.
--Frater Achad
Life is for living, love is for sharing. Don't let the good things pass you by!
--Sue
The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.
--David Russell
What I am is God's gift to me. What I make of myself is my gift to Him.
--unknown
G I F T = God Is Forever There.
--unknown
"The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their
troubles."
--Unknown
Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into yourself, no external
circumstances can take it away. That kind of happiness is a twenty-four-hour thing.
--Leo F. Buscaglia
The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.
--John Ruskin
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
CULTURE
"The great law of culture: let
each become all that he was
created capable of being."
-- Thomas Carlyle
We are capable of great things. This history of man, although surrounded by wars
and unspeakable acts of violence, is also the history of art, music, poetry and romance.
Each person is capable of great and noble acts --- but do we want to do them? We can be
honest, loving and caring people only if we choose to be that. The power of freedom and
choice is the determining factor in all our lives. Each culture has imaginative and creative
features, but it is the people that make them happen. Nothing will happen unless people
decide to make it happen.
So it is with the culture of recovery. The people who make up the recovering
community in all the addictions are the people who make a decision and acted upon it.
Talk is cheap and cruel unless it is followed by an event. Decisions must be made real.
We all have the capacity to be honest and kind.
May I not only be grateful for my culture but may I live to add something to it.
************************************************** *********
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love O Lord endures forever.
Psalm 138 : 8
"Lead me in your truth, and teach me."
Psalm 25:5
"Keep sowing the seed, for you never know which will grow, perhaps it all will."
Ecclesiastes 11:6
"He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy. He
washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Many of life's hassles are mere tests of our strength. Lord, help me remember that patience can often diffuse a situation quicker than a snap response.
Spend less time trying to change and more time making the best of who you are. Lord, help me daily to put Your words into action.
THROUGHOUT EACH DAY
This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
During my early years in A.A. I saw Step Ten as a suggestion that I periodically look at
my behavior and reactions. If there was something wrong, I should admit it; if an apology
was necessary, I should give one. After a few years of sobriety I felt I should undertake
a self-examination more frequently. Not until several more years of sobriety had elapsed
did I realize the full meaning of Step Ten, and the word "continued." "Continued" does
not mean occasionally, or frequently. It means throughout each day.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
How seriously do I take my obligations to A.A.? Have I taken all the
good I can get out of it and then let my obligations slide? Or do I constantly feel a
deep debt of gratitude and a deep sense of loyalty to the whole A.A. movement? Am I
not only grateful but also proud to be a part of such a wonderful fellowship, which is
doing such marvelous work among alcoholics? Am I glad to be a part of the great
work that A.A. is doing and do I feel a deep obligation to carry on that work at
every opportunity? Do I feel that I owe A.A. my loyalty and devotion?
Meditation For The Day
If your heart is right, your world will be right. The beginning of all
reform must be in yourself. It's not what happens to you, it's how you take it. However
restricted your circumstances, however little you may be able to remedy financial
affairs, you can always turn to your inward self and, seeing something not in order
there, seek to right it. And as all reform is from within outward, you will always find
that the outward is improved as the inward is improved. As you improve yourself,
your outward circumstances will change for the better. The power released from within
yourself will change your outward life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that the hidden power within me may be released. I pray that I may not imprison
the spirit that is within me.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Easy Does It--But Do It, p. 322
Procrastination is really sloth in five syllables.
<< << << >> >> >>
"My observation is that some people can get by with a certain amount of
postponement, but few can live with outright rebellion."
<< << << >> >> >>
"We have succeeded in confronting many a problem drinker with that
awful alternative, 'This we A.A.'s do, or we die.' Once this much is
firmly in his mind, more drinking only turns the coil tighter.
"As many an alcoholic has said, 'I came to the place where it was either
into A.A. or out the window. So here I am!"
1. 12 & 12, p. 67
2. Letter, 1952
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Homeless and unemployed
Economic Insecurity
Alcoholism isn't the sole cause of the homelessness and unemployment that troubles our world. Even in sobriety, people can lose their jobs and homes, through no fault of their own.
Recovery makes it less likely that we will cause such conditions in our own lives. Beyond that , by keeping sober, we will be better able to deal with any setbacks that do occur. It is a painful fact that it is almost impossible to help any destitute alcoholic find a home or employment unless he or she stops drinking. We learn that much through our experience.
Our true home is with our Higher Power, and our best work bay be in the sharing of our experience and strength with others. Remembering this, we can be sympathetic and understanding about the general problems of homelessness and unemployment. We don't have the complete answer, but we do have answers.
I'll be grateful and understanding in any consideration of today's problems of homelessness and unemployment. By staying sober, I am at least helping to alleviate some of the general problems.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you’re overdoing it. --Josh Jenkins
It’s okay to make mistakes. But we shouldn’t live a life of excuses. We shouldn’t slide over our mistakes; we should learn from them.
Excuses keep us part from ourselves and others. People don’t trust us if we won’t admit and accept our mistakes. Relying on excuses dooms us to repeat the same mistakes.
In recovery, we admit and accept our behavior. We do this by continuing to take an inventory of our lives. We do this so we can learn from our mistakes. “Owning” our mistakes helps us grow.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me own my mistakes. Thank-you for Step Ten and the growth it holds for me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list my five favorite excuses. I’ll think of the last time I used each of these. What was I trying to avoid.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
The Doctor's Opinion
When I need a mental uplift, I often think of another case brought in by a physician prominent in New York. The patient had made his own diagnosis, and deciding his situation hopeless, had hidden in a deserted barn determined to die. He was rescued by a searching party, and, in desperate condition, brought to me. Following his physical rehabilitation, he had a talk with me in which he frankly stated he thought the treatment a waste of effort, unless I could assure him, which no one ever had, that in the future he would have the “will power’’ to resist the impulse to drink.
His alcoholic problem was so complex, and his depression so great, that we felt his only hope would be through what we then called “moral psychology,’’ and we doubted if even that would have any effect.
However, he did become “sold’’ on the ideas contained in this book. He has not had a drink for a great many years. I see him now and then and he is as fine a specimen of manhood as one could wish to meet.
I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through, and though perhaps he came to scoff, he may remain to pray.
William D. Silkworth, M.D.
pp. xxxi-xxxii
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Eight - "Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS will never have a professional class. We have gained some understanding of the ancient words "Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality do not mis. Almost no recovery from alcoholism has ever been brought about by the world's best professionals, whether medical or religious. We do not decry professionalism in other fields, but we accept the sober fact that it does not work for us. Every time we have tried to professionalize our Twelfth Step, the result has been exactly the same: Our single purpose has been defeated.
p. 166
************************************************** *********
Listen in the silence. Listen and you shall hear God speak.
--Frater Achad
Life is for living, love is for sharing. Don't let the good things pass you by!
--Sue
The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.
--David Russell
What I am is God's gift to me. What I make of myself is my gift to Him.
--unknown
G I F T = God Is Forever There.
--unknown
"The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their
troubles."
--Unknown
Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into yourself, no external
circumstances can take it away. That kind of happiness is a twenty-four-hour thing.
--Leo F. Buscaglia
The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.
--John Ruskin
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
CULTURE
"The great law of culture: let
each become all that he was
created capable of being."
-- Thomas Carlyle
We are capable of great things. This history of man, although surrounded by wars
and unspeakable acts of violence, is also the history of art, music, poetry and romance.
Each person is capable of great and noble acts --- but do we want to do them? We can be
honest, loving and caring people only if we choose to be that. The power of freedom and
choice is the determining factor in all our lives. Each culture has imaginative and creative
features, but it is the people that make them happen. Nothing will happen unless people
decide to make it happen.
So it is with the culture of recovery. The people who make up the recovering
community in all the addictions are the people who make a decision and acted upon it.
Talk is cheap and cruel unless it is followed by an event. Decisions must be made real.
We all have the capacity to be honest and kind.
May I not only be grateful for my culture but may I live to add something to it.
************************************************** *********
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love O Lord endures forever.
Psalm 138 : 8
"Lead me in your truth, and teach me."
Psalm 25:5
"Keep sowing the seed, for you never know which will grow, perhaps it all will."
Ecclesiastes 11:6
"He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy. He
washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Many of life's hassles are mere tests of our strength. Lord, help me remember that patience can often diffuse a situation quicker than a snap response.
Spend less time trying to change and more time making the best of who you are. Lord, help me daily to put Your words into action.