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12-08-2008, 01:26 PM
Daily Reflections
LOVE WITH NO PRICE TAG
When the Twelfth Step is seen in its full implication,
it is really talking about the kind of love that has no
price tag on it.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
In order for me to start working the Twelfth Step, I had
to work on sincerity, honesty, and to learn to act with
humility. Carrying the message is a gift of myself, no
matter how many years of sobriety I may have accumulated.
My dreams can become reality. I solidify my sobriety by
sharing what I have received freely. As I look back to
that time when I began my recovery, there was already a
seed of hope that I could help another drunk pull himself
out of his alcoholic mire. My wish to help another drunk
is the key to my spiritual health. But I never forget that
God acts through me. I am only His instrument. Even if the
other person is not ready, there is success, because my
effort in his behalf has helped me to remain sober and to
become stronger. To act, to never grow weary in my Twelfth
Step work, is the key. If I am capable of laughing today,
let me not forget those days when I cried. God reminds me
that I can feel compassion!o be, in
the truest sense, an open channel of sobriety.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The way of A.A. is the way of fellowship. We have read a
good deal about fellowship and yet it is such an important
part of the A.A. program that it seems that we
cannot think too much about it. Human beings were not meant
to live alone. A hermit's life is not a normal or natural one. We
all need to be by ourselves at times, but we cannot really live
without the companionship of others. Our natures demand it.
Our lives depend largely upon it. The fellowship of A.A.
seems to us to be the best in the world. Do I fully appreciate what
the fellowship of A.A. means to me?
Meditation For The Day
We are all seeking something, but many do not know what they
want in life. They are seeking something because they are
restless and dissatisfied, without realizing that faith in
God can give an objective and a purpose for their lives.
Many of us are at least subconsciously seeking for a Power
greater than ourselves because that would give a meaning
to our existence. If you have found that Higher Power,
you can be the means of leading others aright, by showing them
that their search for a meaning to life will end when they
find faith and trust in God as the answer.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my soul will lose its restlessness by finding
rest in God. I pray that I may find peace of mind in the
thought of God and His purpose for my life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
To Lighten Our Burden, p.277
Only one consideration should qualify our desire for a complete
disclosure of the damage we have done. That will arise where a
full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we are
making amends. Or--quite as important--other people. We
cannot, for example, unload a detailed account of extramarital
adventuring upon the shoulders of our unsuspecting wife or husband.
It does not lighten our burden when we recklessly make the crosses
of others heavy.
********************************
In making amends, we should be sensible, tactful, considerate, and
humble without being servile or scraping. As God's people, we stand
on our feet; we don't crawl before anyone.
1. 12 & 12, p.86
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.83
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Fixing things that aren't broken
Self-acceptance.
At the beginning of our AA sobriety, we were reminded that we were not reformers. Yet we sometimes have a tendency to want to "reform" ourselves or others after we've established sobriety.
This can become a practice of "fixing things that aren't broken". We may not realize it, but many things in our lives and personalities were always all right, all along. In believing that we should be changed, we may be taking on the opinions of someone else. There might be no need for change at all.
We also may be trying to please people who disapproved of us. Perhaps we're trying to obtain the affection of a parent who always rejected us. But if we're already on a spiritual path and are living rightly, there's no need for change. We'd be trying to fix something that isn't broken.
I'll accept myself and others as we are today. We are not out to reform anyone, including ourselves.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy.--Frankfort Moore.
A.A. is a fellowship united against the same enemy--alcoholism. Our bonds give us strength to recover. We may not even know each other's last name, but we'll do anything to help each other stay sober. Our illness has taken much. But it has also given us much. We have millions of new friends. Almost anywhere in the world, we can find a member of our fellowship. Our new way of life depends on the strength of the fellowship. We should do nothing to weaken it. When you don't feel like going to a meeting--go, not only for yourself but for the sake of the fellowship. It truly needs you.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have given me A. A. Now help me to keep it going. A.A. needs me, just as I need A.A. Help me give even when I don't want to.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll give back to the program. I'll call a new member, volunteer to put on a meeting, or make the coffee."
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
THERE IS A SOLUTION
Of necessity there will have to be discussion of matters medical, psychiatric, social, and religious. We are aware that these matters are from their very nature, controversial. Nothing would please us so much as to write a book which would contain no basis for contention or argument. We shall do our utmost to achieve that ideal. Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.
pp. 19-20
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Foreword
The basic principles of A.A., as they are known today, were borrowed mainly from the fields of religion and medicine, though some ideas upon which success finally depended were the result of noting the behavior and needs of the Fellowship itself.
p. 16
************************************************** *********
"The craving to find serenity utterly evaporated--and in its place
there was serenity. I'd been looking out there for what was right here."
--A.A. Grapevine, December, 2000, p. 49
Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
The minute a man ceases to grow, no matter what his years, that
minute he begins to be old.
--William James
The way you see things and the way others see things may not be the
same. Be tolerant of other people's views.
--unknown
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
OLD
"Growing old isn't so bad when
you consider the alternative."
-- Maurice Chevalier
What is the alternative? Not to change! To stay rooted in adolescence, youth,
middle-age or whatever. Not to age is not to live, not to experience and not to grow
spiritually.
An aspect of age, for which I am beginning to be grateful, is "comparison"; today I
am able to look at the past and see the benefits of the present. Growth is measurable
only through the tunnel of age. I suppose my fear of age is my basic fear of the
"unknown" ; fear of "unmanageability" and "powerlessness".
These words remind me of the spiritual program that teaches me to confidently place
my life in the loving arms of God. If I am responsible in life, I will be responsible in
old age.
Teach me to use the spiritual perspective that comes with the gift of age.
************************************************** *********
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and
deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of
refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock
and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp
of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my
confidence since my youth.
Psalms 71:1-5
"See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children
of God; and such we are."
1 John 3:1
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Do not waste any time disliking who you are because of something you can no longer do anything about. Lord, help me to forgive myself all shortcomings of the past that I still hold on to and rather make the very best of this moment.
We never really know how far reaching our influence will be. Lord, may Your loving kindness always flow through me.
LOVE WITH NO PRICE TAG
When the Twelfth Step is seen in its full implication,
it is really talking about the kind of love that has no
price tag on it.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 106
In order for me to start working the Twelfth Step, I had
to work on sincerity, honesty, and to learn to act with
humility. Carrying the message is a gift of myself, no
matter how many years of sobriety I may have accumulated.
My dreams can become reality. I solidify my sobriety by
sharing what I have received freely. As I look back to
that time when I began my recovery, there was already a
seed of hope that I could help another drunk pull himself
out of his alcoholic mire. My wish to help another drunk
is the key to my spiritual health. But I never forget that
God acts through me. I am only His instrument. Even if the
other person is not ready, there is success, because my
effort in his behalf has helped me to remain sober and to
become stronger. To act, to never grow weary in my Twelfth
Step work, is the key. If I am capable of laughing today,
let me not forget those days when I cried. God reminds me
that I can feel compassion!o be, in
the truest sense, an open channel of sobriety.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
The way of A.A. is the way of fellowship. We have read a
good deal about fellowship and yet it is such an important
part of the A.A. program that it seems that we
cannot think too much about it. Human beings were not meant
to live alone. A hermit's life is not a normal or natural one. We
all need to be by ourselves at times, but we cannot really live
without the companionship of others. Our natures demand it.
Our lives depend largely upon it. The fellowship of A.A.
seems to us to be the best in the world. Do I fully appreciate what
the fellowship of A.A. means to me?
Meditation For The Day
We are all seeking something, but many do not know what they
want in life. They are seeking something because they are
restless and dissatisfied, without realizing that faith in
God can give an objective and a purpose for their lives.
Many of us are at least subconsciously seeking for a Power
greater than ourselves because that would give a meaning
to our existence. If you have found that Higher Power,
you can be the means of leading others aright, by showing them
that their search for a meaning to life will end when they
find faith and trust in God as the answer.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my soul will lose its restlessness by finding
rest in God. I pray that I may find peace of mind in the
thought of God and His purpose for my life.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
To Lighten Our Burden, p.277
Only one consideration should qualify our desire for a complete
disclosure of the damage we have done. That will arise where a
full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we are
making amends. Or--quite as important--other people. We
cannot, for example, unload a detailed account of extramarital
adventuring upon the shoulders of our unsuspecting wife or husband.
It does not lighten our burden when we recklessly make the crosses
of others heavy.
********************************
In making amends, we should be sensible, tactful, considerate, and
humble without being servile or scraping. As God's people, we stand
on our feet; we don't crawl before anyone.
1. 12 & 12, p.86
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p.83
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Fixing things that aren't broken
Self-acceptance.
At the beginning of our AA sobriety, we were reminded that we were not reformers. Yet we sometimes have a tendency to want to "reform" ourselves or others after we've established sobriety.
This can become a practice of "fixing things that aren't broken". We may not realize it, but many things in our lives and personalities were always all right, all along. In believing that we should be changed, we may be taking on the opinions of someone else. There might be no need for change at all.
We also may be trying to please people who disapproved of us. Perhaps we're trying to obtain the affection of a parent who always rejected us. But if we're already on a spiritual path and are living rightly, there's no need for change. We'd be trying to fix something that isn't broken.
I'll accept myself and others as we are today. We are not out to reform anyone, including ourselves.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy.--Frankfort Moore.
A.A. is a fellowship united against the same enemy--alcoholism. Our bonds give us strength to recover. We may not even know each other's last name, but we'll do anything to help each other stay sober. Our illness has taken much. But it has also given us much. We have millions of new friends. Almost anywhere in the world, we can find a member of our fellowship. Our new way of life depends on the strength of the fellowship. We should do nothing to weaken it. When you don't feel like going to a meeting--go, not only for yourself but for the sake of the fellowship. It truly needs you.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have given me A. A. Now help me to keep it going. A.A. needs me, just as I need A.A. Help me give even when I don't want to.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll give back to the program. I'll call a new member, volunteer to put on a meeting, or make the coffee."
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
THERE IS A SOLUTION
Of necessity there will have to be discussion of matters medical, psychiatric, social, and religious. We are aware that these matters are from their very nature, controversial. Nothing would please us so much as to write a book which would contain no basis for contention or argument. We shall do our utmost to achieve that ideal. Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.
pp. 19-20
************************************************** *********
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Foreword
The basic principles of A.A., as they are known today, were borrowed mainly from the fields of religion and medicine, though some ideas upon which success finally depended were the result of noting the behavior and needs of the Fellowship itself.
p. 16
************************************************** *********
"The craving to find serenity utterly evaporated--and in its place
there was serenity. I'd been looking out there for what was right here."
--A.A. Grapevine, December, 2000, p. 49
Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
The minute a man ceases to grow, no matter what his years, that
minute he begins to be old.
--William James
The way you see things and the way others see things may not be the
same. Be tolerant of other people's views.
--unknown
************************************************** *********
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
OLD
"Growing old isn't so bad when
you consider the alternative."
-- Maurice Chevalier
What is the alternative? Not to change! To stay rooted in adolescence, youth,
middle-age or whatever. Not to age is not to live, not to experience and not to grow
spiritually.
An aspect of age, for which I am beginning to be grateful, is "comparison"; today I
am able to look at the past and see the benefits of the present. Growth is measurable
only through the tunnel of age. I suppose my fear of age is my basic fear of the
"unknown" ; fear of "unmanageability" and "powerlessness".
These words remind me of the spiritual program that teaches me to confidently place
my life in the loving arms of God. If I am responsible in life, I will be responsible in
old age.
Teach me to use the spiritual perspective that comes with the gift of age.
************************************************** *********
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and
deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of
refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock
and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp
of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my
confidence since my youth.
Psalms 71:1-5
"See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children
of God; and such we are."
1 John 3:1
************************************************** *********
Daily Inspiration
Do not waste any time disliking who you are because of something you can no longer do anything about. Lord, help me to forgive myself all shortcomings of the past that I still hold on to and rather make the very best of this moment.
We never really know how far reaching our influence will be. Lord, may Your loving kindness always flow through me.