Daily Recovery Readings - 12/22

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Daily Reflections

PRINCIPLES, NOT PERSONALITIES

The way our "worthy" alcoholics have sometimes tried to judge the
"less worthy" is, as we look back on it, rather comical. Imagine, if
you can, one alcoholic judging another!
THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 37

Who am I to judge anyone? When I first entered the Fellowship I
found that I liked everyone. After all, A.A. was going to help me to a
better way of life without alcohol. The reality was that I couldn't
possibly like everyone, nor they me. As I've grown in the Fellowship,
I've learned to love everyone just from listening to what they had to
say. That person over there, or the one right here, may be the one
God has chosen to give me the message I need for today. I must
always remember to place principles above personalities.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

As we look back over our drinking careers, we must
realize that our lives were a mess because we were a mess
inside. The trouble was in us, not in life itself. Life
itself was good enough, but we were looking at it the
wrong way. We were looking at life through the bottom of
a whiskey glass, and it was distorted. We could not see
all the beauty and goodness and purpose in the world,
because our vision was blurred. We were in a house with
one-way glass in the windows. People could see us but we
could not look out and see them and see what life meant
to them and should mean to us. We were blind then, but
now we can see. Can I now look at life as it really is?

Meditation For The Day

Fear no evil, because the power of God can conquer evil.
Evil has power to seriously hurt only those who do not
place themselves under the protection of the Higher Power.
This is not a question of feeling, it is an assured fact
of our experience. Say to yourself with assurance that
whatever it is, no evil can seriously harm you as long as
you depend on the Higher Power. Be sure of the protection
of God's grace.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that fear of evil will not get me down. I pray that
I may try to place myself today under the protection of
God's grace.

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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
3. Letter, 1950

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Walk In Dry Places

Watching what we think
Personal Inventory.
It's healthy for AA members to confess personal difficulties with destructive thinking. When we find ourselves becoming too irritable or impatient, it's important to admit this in meetings or one-on-one discussions. Usually, just the admission of the problem helps solve it.
It's only false pride that makes us think we should be "above" destructive thinking. As human beings, we'll be susceptible to human failings no matter how long we've been sober.
If we continue to watch what we think, we'll also be able to head off very serious problem before they get out of control. Far from being a sign that we're not working the program, the practice of weeding out our current faults is the Tenth Step in action. Continuing to take personal inventory and admitting our wrongs are a safeguard against trouble.
Destructive thinking is no respecter of persons, and even as an older member, I could lapse into it today. I always have the Tenth Step, however, to get me back on track.

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Keep It Simple

It is possible to be different and still be right.--Anne Wilson Schaef
Each of us is special. In some ways we're all different. It's a good thing too. We'd be bored if we were all the same. Sometimes though, we try to hide the special things about us. We don't want to be "different."
But the ways that we're different makes us special. Others have a knack of fixing things. Some of us make beautiful art. Others are great with kids. Our Higher Power made us as different, as unique, as beautiful snowflakes.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me use my special gifts the way You want me to. Help me be thankful that You have given me something special to share with others.
Action for the Day: I'll think of one thing about me that's special. I'll talk with my sponsor about it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

TIGHTROPE
Trying to separate worlds was a lonely charade that ended when this gay alcoholic finally landed in A.A.

I was raised in a conservative religion, and I commuted to religious schools some distance from home. Because I had a quick mind and was comfortable with academics, I became something of a teacher's pet. As a result, I was a serious, shy, somewhat bookish child and teenager who found it difficult to relate to my peers. So when I went away to college, I was an alcoholic waiting to happen. My relation to alcohol was a love affair from the very beginning. Although I wasn't too thrilled with the taste, I loved the effects. Alcohol helped me to hide my fears; the ability to converse was an almost miraculous gift to a shy and lonely individual.

p. 359

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."

Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. We have drunk to drown feelings of fear, frustration, and depression. We have drunk to escape the guilt of passions, and then have drunk again to make more passions possible. We have drunk for vain glory--that we
might the more enjoy foolish dreams of pomp and power. This perverse soul-sickness is not pleasant to look upon. Instincts on rampage balk at investigation. The minute we make a serious attempt to probe them, we are liable to suffer severe reactions.

pp. 44-45

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Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When
The language of truth is simple.
--Czech Proverb

"Laughter is by definition healthy."
--Doris Lessing

As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in
his way.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your vision will become clear only when You can look into your own heart. Who looks
outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
--Carl Jung

"Being quiet does not mean sacrificing productivity."
--Jane Nelson

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PERSEVERANCE

"Great works are performed, not
by strength, but perseverance."
-- Samuel Johnson

Today I saw a large 200-pound man drunk in a parking lot. Last night I heard a frail
mother celebrate ten years of sobriety. The difference? Perseverance. People get
what they really want in life. If you want sobriety more than anything else, are
prepared to go to any lengths, then nothing will stop you. Perseverance reveals the
"walk" as well as the "talk".

Today I need to remember that what is worth having requires sacrifice and effort.
God helps those who are prepared to help themselves. Today I intend to help myself
to sobriety.

I pray that I may persevere through my fears towards my goal.

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Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these.
Matthew 19:14

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Timothy 4:12

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:23-24

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Daily Inspiration

If you want peace and goodness in your life you must be kind and loving. Lord, may I avoid creating misery so that my life will reflect my love for You.

God's blessings never end and His mercies are forever. Lord, may I love others as You love me.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We can't return, we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game.
--Joni Mitchell
High in the mountains near Sun Valley, Idaho, is a small cabin. The cabin is always left open for hikers to rest and refresh themselves. There is food in the cabin and wood for a fire. Often, weary backpackers have arrived there, tired and thirsty, to find just the beverage or snack they needed to help them on their way. The cabin operates on a system of trust--if you use something in the cabin, you replace it with something else. Perhaps it is just the thing the next traveler needs to go on. It is a circle game.
We are all part of a big circle. If we give of ourselves or do a favor for someone, eventually--sometimes years later--someone will do something for us that will help us on our way. We do these little deeds without expecting to be rewarded, and we can accept others' little gifts without feeling forever in someone's debt. These unselfish acts, stored in our mountain cabin, stand ready for the next traveler.
What gift can I pass on to another today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
There isn't enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle. --Anonymous
Our lives can be like a battle between darkness and light. The darkness might be in our moods when we wake in the morning with feelings of despair. Then we can turn to the light of a prayer for openness: "God help me feel your love and acceptance." The darkness is there when we are tempted to take advantage of a clerk who gives us too much change. Perhaps we tell ourselves, "Everyone does it, it won't matter if I do."
Then the light comes as we remember that this program demands rigorous honesty, and each choice for honesty promotes our growth. The darkness may be when someone we care about is hurt or in danger, and we think, "I have to step in to prevent bad things from happening." Then we turn to our Higher Power for strength to stay in the relationship, but not control it.
Today, I can take a leap of faith by choosing an action and accepting that one small choice for the light makes a difference - even in all the darkness.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep. --Ursula K. LeGuin
Sometimes we need to turn away from what's troubling us. Turn it over, says the Third Step. hanging onto a situation for which no solution is immediately apparent, only exaggerates the situation. It is often said the solution to any problem lies within it. However, turning the problem over and over in our minds keeps our attention on the outer appearance, not the inner solution.
Rest, meditation, quiet attention to other matters, other persons, opens the way for God to reveal the solution. Every problem can be resolved. And no answer is ever withheld for long. We need to be open to it, though. We need to step away from our ego, outside of the problem and then listen fully to the words of friends, to the words that rise from our own hearts. Too much thinking, incessant analyzing, will keep any problem a problem.
I will rest from my thoughts. I will give my attention wholly to the present. Therein will come the solution, and when least expected.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Good Things Coming
Do not worry about how the good that has been planned for you will come.
It will come.
Do not worry, obsess, and think you have to control it, go out hunting for it, or tangle your mind trying to figure out how and when it will find you.
It will find you.
Surrender to your Higher Power each day. Trust your Higher Power. Then, stay peaceful. Trust and listen to yourself. That is how the good you want will come to you.
Your healing. Your joy. Your relationships. Your solutions. That job. That desired change. That opportunity. It will come to you - naturally, with ease, and in a host of ways.
That answer will come. The direction will come. The money. The idea. The energy. The creativity. The path will open itself to you. Trust that, for it has already been planned.
It is futile, a waste and drain of energy, to worry about how it will come. It is already there. You have it already. It is in place. You just cannot see it!
You will be brought to it, or it will be brought to you.
Today, I will relax and trust that the good I need, will find me. Either through my leadings, or the leadings of others, all I want and need will come to me when the time is right.


I can handle anything that comes up today... even if it is only a moment at a time. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Daring

What is it inside our heads that keeps daring us to try once more to prove that we are not compulsive overeaters? What kind of stupidity makes us think that this time we can get away with taking one compulsive bite? In a moment of blind bravado, we can lose months or years of hard won control.

Our ego is our own worst enemy. We forget that once a compulsive overeater, always a compulsive overeater. We tell ourselves that since we have been doing so well for so long, surely we can manage one or two small deviations. We rebel against the program and place ourselves above it. We forget that we have a disease, and we decide to do what we feel like doing, oblivious to the fact that by taking that first compulsive bite we are destroying our sanity and our serenity.

This kind of daring is to be avoided at all costs. The best antidote is the humility, which reminds us of the reality of our illness. We are not like everyone else. We are compulsive overeaters and do not dare to throw away our program.

Save me from the kind of daring that destroys me.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
Much like the slaves that were brought over to this country in the belly of a ship, when I walked into the doors of the Twelve Step program, I felt like I was in a different world. I was confused and scared. My brain was still cloudy from my last binge, and I didn't know what to expect. However, unlike the slaves when I got off the boat, I was free. This new freedom terrified me. I really didn't know what to expect, and I didn't really believe that I was free. I learned quickly though that with freedom also came responsibility. There was much work to be done if I was to survive in this new world. I had to learn a new language, and I had to figure out what the rules were. Fortunately these rules were well established and written out.
At the beginning of that first meeting, I heard words being read from a book, "Rarely have we seen a person fail, who has thoroughly followed our path." Where was this path and would the journey be difficult? I had no idea. I just knew it had to be better than being chained up in that slave ship of addiction. Each step I took along the way was not easy, just simple. I mean it was not complicated. First, I had to admit that I had been a slave to addiction and didn't know how to live in freedom. Then I had to believe that the path indeed leads to a better place, a place where my brain would no longer be cloudy; and I would be able to live in freedom responsibly. Next I had to agree to stick close to the guide who would lead the way and to agree to follow His every instruction if I wanted to get to this better place safely. This path was not easy, and I even saw some people turn around and go back to the ship wanting to be back in the chains, because it was familiar and known. Do I want to go back, or am I willing to continue the journey?
Meditations for the Heart
Arriving at Step Four, the path looked treacherous. I was not sure I wanted to continue, and I knew I didn't want to go back. I looked to my guide for help. He told me to move slowly along this part of the path and to look closely at the pitfalls along the way. I could see farther up the trail that there were others who had successfully made it and negotiated this part of the journey. The look on their faces told me it was not easy, but it was worth it. So I trusted my guide and moved carefully through the difficult path. As I moved through this part of the journey, I learned that all that depressed me, all that I feared and all that I was ashamed of were powerless to harm me as long as I followed my guide. Am I ready to follow my spiritual guide to a better place?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Thank You for being my guide. Grant me courage in the difficult parts of this journey, and let me pass safely through this difficult path. Let me always look forward and not look back. Help me to take each step.
Amen.

[mellotripp]

Creating misery for myself is mostly a matter of attitude. The quality of my sobriety will always be measured by my action and reaction to any given circumstance. Here I must remember that it is no ones' fault, but my own that I have come into the program, thank God. No one said that being honest with my own self was going to be something I had to necessarily like.