bluidkiti
06-27-2023, 07:32 AM
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
June 27
Daily Reflections
CONFORMING TO THE A.A. WAY
We obey A.A.'s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for
ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; we conform
because we genuinely want to conform. Such is our process of growth
in unity and function. Such is the evidence of God's grace and love
among us.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 106
It is fun to watch myself grow in A.A. I fought conformity to A.A.
principles from the moment I entered, but I learned from the pain of
my belligerence that, in choosing to live the A.A. way of life, I opened
myself to God's grace and love. Then I began to know the full
meaning of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
If you can take your troubles as they come, if you can maintain your
calm and composure amid pressing duties and unending engagements,
if you can rise above the distressing and disturbing circumstances in
which you are set down, you have discovered a priceless secret of
daily living. Even if you are forced to go through life weighed down by
some unescapable misfortune or handicap and yet live each day as it
comes with poise and peace of mind, you have succeeded where most
people have failed. You have wrought a greater achievement than a
person who rules a nation. Have I achieved poise and peace of mind?
Meditation For The Day
Take a blessing with you wherever you go. You have been blessed, so
bless others. Such stores of blessings are awaiting you in the months
and years that lie ahead. Pass on your blessings. Blessing can and does
go around the world, passed on from one person to another. Shed a
little blessing in the heart of one person. That person is cheered to
pass it on, and so, God's vitalizing, joy-giving message travels on. Be a
transmitter of God's blessings.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may pass on my blessings. I pray that they may flow into
the lives of others.
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As Bill Sees It
Down To Earth, p. 178
Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have
eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great
sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our
lives.
We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but
that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our work must be done.
These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful
spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 130
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Walk In Dry Places
Have I ever been helped?
Unselfishness.
Sometimes we hear hard luck stories by people who claim they never "had a single helping hand." Everybody was against them.
It's true that certain people have had more than their share of abuse and abandonment. But it's hard to believe that helping hands haven't been extended... acts of kindness, often made by selfless but ordinary people.
Our problem has been in recognizing such helping hands. Lost in self-pity, we could hardly have recognized help when it was given. Nor were we capable of giving constructive assistance to others.
Furthermore, if people were against us, we may have provoked it. Our task is to change our thinking about the past and to be grateful for the people who were kind to us.
I realize that there are kind and decent people who have helped me. There are many such people in the world, and I want to be one of them.
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Keep It Simple
Hell is not to love anymore.---Geogre Bernanos
Someone in an AA group said, "From the first day I started this program, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven." This person had walked into a room full of love. In recovery, we are spiritual people because we believe in love. We have faith in love.
Love is respect. Love is truth with kindness. Love is being willing to forgive and help others.
Love is thinking about how our Higher Power wants us to act. Love is what we do best. We have turned our will and our life over to love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I may love all parts of life. Higher Power, help me seek out love, not material things.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll think about what I love about recovery. I will share this with a couple of friends and my Higher Power.
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Each Day a New Beginning
Often God shuts a door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we need to go. --Catherine Marshall
We try and try to control the events of our lives. And not seldom the events in others' lives, too. The occasions are frequent when our will conflicts with God's. Then for a time we feel at a loss. Our direction is uncertain. But always, always, another door opens. A better way beckons. How stubborn we are! And how simple life would be were we to daily, fully, turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. God's help and direction in all things are always available. Turning a deaf ear is like trying to find a seat in a darkened movie theater unaided by the usher.
Every experience is softened when we face it accompanied by our higher power. Any past struggle, any present fear, is a testament to our attempts to do it alone. Too frequently we forge ahead, alone, only to have our way blocked. The detours need never be there. No door closes unless there is a better way. Divine order will prevail.
There is no need to struggle, today. I will breathe deeply and take my higher power with me, wherever I go. And the doors will be open for as far as I can see.
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BILL'S STORY
The mind and body are marvelous mechanisms, for mine endured this agony two more years. Sometimes I stole from my wife's slender purse when the morning terror and madness were on me. Again I swayed dizzily before an open window, or the medicine cabinet where there was poison, cursing myself for a weakling. There were flights from city to country and back, as my wife and I sought escape. Then came the night when the physical and mental torture was so hellish I feared I would burst through my window, sash and all. Somehow I managed to drag my mattress to a lower floor, lest I suddenly leap. A doctor came with a heavy sedative. Next day found me drinking both gin and sedative. This combination soon landed me on the rocks. People feared for my sanity. So did I. I could eat little or nothing when drinking, and I was forty pounds under weight.
pp. 6-7
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE - Young when she joined, this A.A. believes her serious drinking was the result of even deeper defects. She here tells how she was free.
The mental twists that led up to my drinking began many years before I ever took a drink, for I am one of those whose history proves conclusively that my drinking was "a symptom of a deeper trouble."
p. 544
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Four - "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."
But alas, this bright scene was not long in darkening. Confusion replaced serenity. It was found that some drunks yearned for education, but doubted if they were alcoholics. The personality defects of others could be cured maybe with a loan. Some were club-minded, but it was just a question of taking care of the lonely heart. Sometimes the swarming applicants would go for all three floors. Some would start at the top and come through to the bottom, becoming club members; others started in the club, pitched a binge, were hospitalized, then graduated to education on the third floor. It was a beehive of activity, all right, but unlike a beehive, it was confusion compounded. An A.A. group, as such, simply couldn't handle this sort of project. All too late that was discovered. Then came the inevitable explosion - something like that day the boiler burst in Wombley's Clapboard Factory. A chill chokedamp of fear and frustration fell over the group.
pp. 148-149
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Set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their
highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.
--Melody Beattie
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of
patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change.
Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we
can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
--Melody Beattie
"Forgiving is not forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt."
--Mary McLeod Bethune
"Life holds so much--so much to be so happy about always. Most
people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if
you don't set conditions."
--Artur Robinstein
Applaud others when they run. Console them when they fall. And
cheer them when they recover.
As water is to a flower so is praise to the heart of another.
--Unknown
Abundance comes from your gifts of love.
--unknown
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Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HYPOCRISY
"The devil can cite scripture for his
purpose."
--William Shakespeare
This quotation reminds me that the disease of alcoholism is "cunning,
baffling and powerful". I am aware of the need to walk like I talk, to
make the action fit the word, to live my program today rather than
talk about it for tomorrow. Why? Because the disease can talk
program! I have caught myself saying things that I do not practice in
my life. I catch myself saying things to others that I do not live out in
my own life. Today I am aware of my hypocrisy. Today I am aware of
the disease in my life.
I need to be aware of this aspect of the disease because I am such a
good talker, such a convincing talker, such a practiced manipulator!
Today I know that I am not perfect, but that should never be an
excuse to avoid dealing with my character defects. I must not "con"
myself into staying sick!
I pray that I may strive to live the message.
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If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:15-16
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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Daily Inspiration
It is normal to make mistakes, but it is the better person who is able to grow from them. Lord, I am not perfect, but may each day bring me a little closer.
Not only must we know God's will, but we must do God's will to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Lord, I commit myself to obeying the will of my heavenly Father.
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NA Just For Today
Change And Growth
"When someone points out a shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive. There will always be room for growth."
Basic Text, p. 35
Recovery is a process that brings about change in our lives. We need that change if we are to continue our growth toward freedom. It's important that we remain open-minded when others point out our shortcomings, for they are bringing to light opportunities for us to change and grow. Reacting defensively limits our ability to receive the help they are offering us; letting go of our defenses opens the door to change, growth, and new freedom.
Each day in the recovery process will bring an opportunity for further change and growth. The more we learn to greet change with an open mind and heart, the more we will grow and the more comfortable we will become with our recovery.
Just for today: I will greet each opportunity for growth with an open mind.
Pg. 185
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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one, which has been opened for us. --Helen Keller
In the game of musical chairs, everyone walks around a circle of chairs. When the music stops, they scramble for the nearest open chair. If we were playing this game and found the nearest chairs taken, wouldn't we quickly look around for the next open one? To remain immobilized, angry that the chair we wanted was taken, would undoubtedly lose our place in the game.
Sometimes in life, we set our sights on a particular chair. Perhaps there is an award we want to win, or we want to be the high scorer on our team. Perhaps there is a promotion or a job we would like to get. When we do not get what we want, it is easy to keep looking at what we didn't get instead of seeing all we have.
It is important to be grateful for what we have--for the open doors and empty chairs waiting and inviting our attention. Loss and disappointment are a part of life--but the music will play again and our lives can move on.
What is available to me today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The tremor of awe is the best in man. --Goethe
We have a spiritual experience in knowing and being touched by something much larger than us, something beyond what we understand, something of mysterious dimensions. It can happen as we stand on the banks of an ageless river, listen to beautiful music, read scripture, or say a prayer with a friend. When we set aside defiance, willfulness, and our demands to subdue whatever we meet, we become receptive to a larger reality. The experience of awe brings out the best in a man because it instills a spirit of respect and gratitude. It inspires humility and expands our minds into realms we can't express in words.
The sense of awe is a kind of reverence. After we learn where our personal awe is inspired, we can return to it again and again. As we feel it more, we become more open to it in the mundane parts of our daily lives. Today we might feel the spirit in the visit of a wild bird on a branch, the spontaneous "Hi" from a small child, or the stillness before prayer at the dinner table.
Today, I will look for moments of awe in my life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Often God shuts a door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we need to go. --Catherine Marshall
We try and try to control the events of our lives. And not seldom the events in others' lives, too. The occasions are frequent when our will conflicts with God's. Then for a time we feel at a loss. Our direction is uncertain. But always, always, another door opens. A better way beckons. How stubborn we are! And how simple life would be were we to daily, fully, turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. God's help and direction in all things are always available. Turning a deaf ear is like trying to find a seat in a darkened movie theater unaided by the usher.
Every experience is softened when we face it accompanied by our higher power. Any past struggle, any present fear, is a testament to our attempts to do it alone. Too frequently we forge ahead, alone, only to have our way blocked. The detours need never be there. No door closes unless there is a better way. Divine order will prevail.
There is no need to struggle, today. I will breathe deeply and take my higher power with me, wherever I go. And the doors will be open for as far as I can see.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Achieving Harmony
When a pianist learns a new piece of music, he or she does not sit down and instantly play it perfectly. A pianist often needs to practice each hand's work separately to learn the feel, to learn the sound. One hand picks out a part until there is a rhythm and ease in playing what is difficult. Then, the musician practices with the other hand, picking through the notes, one by one, until that hand learns its tasks. When each hand has learned its part - the sound, the feel, the rhythm, and the tones - then both hands can play together.
During the time of practice, the music may not sound like much. It may sound disconnected, not particularly beautiful. But when both hands are ready to play together, music is created - a whole piece comes together in harmony and beauty.
When we begin recovery, it may feel like we spend months, even years, practicing individual, seemingly disconnected behaviors in the separate parts of our life.
We take our new skills into our work, our career, and begin to apply them slowly, making our work relationships healthier for us. We take our skills into our relationships, sometimes one relationship at a time. We struggle through our new behaviors in our love relationships.
One part at a time, we practice our new music note by note.
We work on our relationship with our Higher Power - our spirituality. We work at loving ourselves. We work at believing we deserve the best. We work on our finances. On our recreation. Sometimes on our appearance. Sometimes on our home.
We work on feelings. On beliefs. On behaviors. Letting go of the old, acquiring the new. We work and work and work. We practice. We struggle through. We go from one extreme to the other, and sometimes back through the course again. We make a little progress, go backward, and then go forward again.
It may all seem disconnected. It may not sound like a harmonious, beautiful piece of music - just isolated notes. Then one day, something happens. We become ready to play with both hands, to put the music together.
What we have been working toward, note by note, becomes a song. That song is a whole life, a complete life, and a life in harmony.
The music will come together in our life if we keep practicing the parts.
Today, I will practice my recovery behaviors through the individual parts of my life. I trust that, one day, things will come together in a full, complete song.
I have all the power I need today to say no to negative choices. The personal choices I make today are positive and healthy. I take responsibility for my life today. --Ruth Fishel
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Journey to the Heart
Learn to Be Calm
I felt strained and tense when I began the drive along the Redwood Highway in northern California.. I had wanted to take another road, one quicker but less scenic, to get to my destination. At the last moment, I decided to drive through the trees.
Thousands of redwoods grew hundreds of feet into the air. Some stood tall and proud. Some seemed to have their necks craned, so they could peer down onto the highway. Some grew with roots connected, like families. Some stood alone. Mile after mile after mile, for as far as I could see in any direction, thousands of trees surrounded me. Their power and message became inescapable. It was one of calmness, patience, and growth.
For hundreds of years they have been here, patiently seeing things through. Little ruffled them. They just kept on growing for all those years-- steadily, patiently, peacefully, calmly. They have been through enough, seen enough, to know not to worry. Things work out. Change happens. Life continues to evolve.
I didn't see one tree hurrying or worrying. They have been here long enough to learn life's lessons well.
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change. Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
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The Language of Letting Go
Achieving Harmony
When a pianist learns a new piece of music, he or she does not sit down and instantly play it perfectly. A pianist often needs to practice each hand’s work separately to learn the feel, to learn the sound. One hand picks out a part until there is a rhythm and ease in playing what is difficult. Then, the musician practices with the other hand, picking through the notes, one by one, until that hand learns its tasks. When each hand has learned its part – the sound, the feel, the rhythm, and the tones – then both hands can play together.
During the time of practice, the music may not sound like much. It may sound disconnected, not particularly beautiful. But when both hands are ready to play together, music is created – a whole piece comes together in harmony and beauty.
When we begin recovery, it may feel like we spend months, even years, practicing individual, seemingly disconnected behaviors in the separate parts of our life.
We take our new skills into our work, our career, and begin to apply them slowly, making our work relationships healthier for us. We take our skills into our relationships, sometimes one relationship at a time. We struggle through our new behaviors in our love relationships.
One part at a time, we practice our new music note by note.
We work on our relationship with our Higher Power – our spirituality. We work at loving ourselves. We work at believing we deserve the best. We work on our finances. On our recreation. Sometimes on our appearance. Sometimes on our home.
We work on feelings. On beliefs. On behaviors. Letting go of the old, acquiring the new. We work and work and work. We practice. We struggle through. We go from one extreme to the other, and sometimes back through the course again. We make a little progress, go backward, and then go forward again.
It may all seem disconnected. It may not sound like a harmonious, beautiful piece of music – just isolated notes. Then one day, something happens. We become ready to play with both hands, to put the music together.
What we have been working toward, note by note, becomes a song. That song is a whole life, a complete life, and a life in harmony.
The music will come together in our life if we keep practicing the parts.
Today, I will practice my recovery behaviors through the individual parts of my life. I trust that, one day, things will come together in a full, complete song.
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People Who Don’t Get It
Living with It by Madisyn Taylor
When dealing with people who seem very unaware, remember that everyone must find their own way to awakening.
You may be someone who understands the true nature of reality, perceiving deeply that we all emanate from the same source, that we are all essentially one, and that we are here on earth to love one another. To understand this is to be awakened to the true nature of the self, and it is a blessing. Nevertheless, people who just don’t get it are seemingly everywhere and, often, in positions of power. It can be frustrating and painful to watch them behave unconsciously. We all encounter individuals of this bent in our families, at work, and in all areas of public life. It is easy to find ourselves feeling intolerant of these people, wishing we could be free of them even though we know that separation from them is an illusion.
It helps sometimes to think of us all as different parts of one psyche. Just as within our own hearts and minds we have dark places that need healing, the heart and mind of the world has its dark places. The health of the whole organism depends upon the relative health of the individuals within it. We increase harmony when we hold onto the light, not allowing it to be darkened by judgment, anger, and fear about those who behave unconsciously. It’s easier to accomplish this if we don’t focus on the negative qualities of individuals and instead focus on how increasing our own light will increase the light of the overall picture.
When dealing with people who seem very unconscious, it helps to remember that every one must find their own way to awakening and that the experiences they are having are an essential part of their process. Holding them in the light of our own energy may be the best way to awaken theirs. At the same time, we are inspired by their example to look within and shed light on our own unconscious places, sacrificing the urge to judge and surrendering instead to humble self-inquiry. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
Little by little, I'm getting over my tendency to procrastinate. I always used to put things off till tomorrow and, of course, they never got done. Instead of, "Do it now," my motto was, "Tomorrow's another day." When I was loaded, I had grandiose plans; when I came down, I was too busy getting "well" to start anything. I've learned in The Program that it's far better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all.
Am I learning to do it now?
Today I Pray
May God help me cure my habitual tardiness and "get me to the church on time." May I free myself of the self-imposed chaos of life-long procrastination; library books overdue, appointments half-missed, assignments turned in late, schedules unmet, meals half-cooked. May I be sure if I, as an addict, led a disordered life, I, as a recovering addict, need order. May God give me the serenity to restore order and organization to my daily living.
Today I Will Remember
I will not be put off by my tendency to put off.
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One More Day
Quote: The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it.
– Danish Proverb
Each day we make our choices anew. We can choose to believe that pain and disappointment are the bitter fruits of living, or we can trust in our ability to build harmony, enthusiasm, and gratefulness from our day’s experiences. We can hear the music of children’s voices at play or be irritated at the disruption. We can pray, or we can chew on our anger.
We choose how we will see the world. If we feel anger or despair, if we hear only noise, if we see only dark, threatening clouds — that is our reality. But our negative choices don’t change the world. Birds’ songs and childrens’s voices still fill the air. People still reach out to each other through love and caring. And the bright splash of sky is as blue as ever.
Today, my reality will be based on the positive things around me.
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In God’s Care
Our contempt says we matter if we can look down on another person or life itself.
~~Ellen Reiss
Putting someone down might have been the only way many of us could feel important. We went along telling ourselves how bad things were and how superior we were to everyone else – our family, teachers, friends, or people of different color or culture. We had a crick in our neck from looking down on others.
But our spiritual self knows that contempt is wrong and can see what a destructive attitude it is. We are all the same in the eyes of God, all loved equally. When we put others down, we bring ourselves down too. At the same time, we are short-circuiting the connection with our Higher Power.
Today I will try to raise, rather than lower, someone’s self-esteem.
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Day By Day
Dropping biases
Addiction is not biased, nor should we be biased in the program. Whatever our beliefs before we found this solution, it helps if we avoid letting them interfere with our Step Twelve work. There are few enough places where people are accepted regardless of status, religion, nationality, or appearance.
Each of us needs everyone else in the fellowship. Whether laborer or judge, white or black, addict or alcoholic, if she or he can carry the message of recovery, he or she can save your life. Am I letting go of all bias?
Higher Power, help me let go of my biases so that I can better help save lives.
Today I will take an inventory of my biases and practice letting them go by…
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Food for Thought
You Can Do It
If you really want what OA has to offer; there is nothing that can stop you from succeeding with the program. The program works if we work it. OA does not pass out recovery on a platter, but the tools for recovery are available and proven effective if we are willing to use them.
Go to a meeting today. Re-read your literature. Call another member. Call several members. Get a sponsor, if you do not already have one. Write out what is troubling you. Find a way to be of service to someone else. Abstain now.
Most important, take time to listen to your Higher Power. Ask for the spiritual insight, which you need. Remember that you are now committed to following God’s will for your life, not your own way. Seek the inspiration that comes from the people and the books, which lift up your spirit and show you the way. Then follow.
Lead me, Lord.
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One Day At A Time
EFFICIENCY AND FUNCTION
“In God's economy, nothing is wasted.
Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility
which is probably needed, painful though it is.”
Bill W., Letter of 1942
I have spent a lot of time cultivating perfectionism in the vain attempt to make up for being a "failure" -- or what I have now come to understand is compulsive eating and an illness. I was trying to make up with efficiency for that feeling of not being good enough ~ and that feeling seems to be a hallmark of our illness.
By my past behaviors, I wanted you to notice how efficient and functional I was despite my obese body that belied I had a problem. If I could somehow convince you that I was "normal" and "ok," I would not have to admit my powerlessness. This is the single greatest obsession of every compulsive eater: that we are "normal" eaters. But we are not!
I built a lifetime around efficiency and function trying to show you how normal I was. Thank God I was brought to my compulsive eating knees time and time again until I could finally make that admission of failure as a normal eater and admit that I was powerless. The humility brought about by that admission afforded me an open-mindedness and willingness I had hitherto not known. I became teachable.
One day at a time...
I pray to remain teachable.
~ Lanaya
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. - Pg. 48 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
If you have one hand in the program and one hand in your Higher Power's, you won't have a hand to pick up with.
Take my hand God, as I understand You, and never let me let go.
Leaving Abuse Behind
Today, I see my life as my life. If I do not take care of it, make plans and dream dreams, who will? I am not second in my own heart - there has to be a place on this Earth where I come first, so that the little child inside me feels loved and held. I will come first with me. In the same way that I will protect my children from harm, I will protect myself. Chaos is a part of a dysfunctional family system. I hardly saw it as unusual - it was just what was, a painful way of life - the only one I knew. I do not need to recreate problem situations in my life today in order to feel stable or as if I have a home. I can live a calm and pleasant life.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
I People often protest when they don't get their prayers answered as if the Divine Source is not listening. What they fail to understand is that prayer is not intended to change the situation you are praying about; it is intended to change you.
Life is fragile; I 'Handle with Prayer.'
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
An old-timer makes his time count; he doesn't count his time.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am learning to be gentle with myself. Today I can look in the mirror and smile and know that I am okay just as I am. I am treating myself softly today.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Drinking 'Near Beer' is like going to a house of prostitution to listen to the piano player. - Steve B.
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AA Thought for the Day
June 27
New Friends
I had found friends -- understanding friends
who often knew what I was thinking and feeling better than I knew myself --
and who didn't allow me to retreat into my prison of loneliness and fear over a fancied slight or hurt.
Talking things over with them, great floods of enlightenment showed me myself as I really was
-- and I was like them.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 206-207
Thought to Ponder . . .
A friend is one who sees through you and still enjoys the view.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T L C = Tears, Laughter, Caring.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Powerless
"Most certainly I was powerless over alcohol,
and for me, my life had become unmanageable.
It wasn't how far I had gone, but where I was headed.
It was important to me to see what alcohol had done to me
and would continue to do if I didn't have help.
At first it was a shock to realize I was an alcoholic,
but the realization that there was hope made it easier.
The baffling problem of getting drunk
when I had every intention of staying sober was simplified.
It was a great relief to know I didn't have to drink any more."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 379
Thought to Consider . . .
Just because I'm powerless
does not mean that I am helpless.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Faith
>From "God is Good":
"To go along with this deep-seated belief in God, I have developed an enormous faith in God. He is good. My
understanding is that everything He sends my way is for my benefit. But the growth of this understanding has taken
time, as well as a relinquishing of my resistance to change. I needed the trials and tribulations I have had, so that I
could surrender and give up self. Only in complete acceptance of the utter defeat of my pride and ego could I begin to win."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 86-87
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Tolerance is the art of seeing yourself as others see you -- and not getting mad about it."
June 1964
"Short Takes,"
AA Grapevine
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be
able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take
it easy. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right
answers come after we have tried this for a while."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 86
"In spite of the great increase in the size and the span of this
Fellowship, at its core it remains simple and personal. Each day,
somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with
another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Foreword To Third Edition, pg. xxii~
“We meet frequently so that newcomers may find the fellowship they seek.”
- Alcoholics Anonymous p. 16 (Bill’s Story)
“In it, each member becomes an active guardian of our Fellowship”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 183 (Tradition Eleven)
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives.
We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done. There are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, I admit that I am powerless over my addiction. I admit that my life is unmanageable when I try to control it. Help me this day to understand The true meaning of powerlessness. Remove from me all denial of my addiction.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
June 27
Daily Reflections
CONFORMING TO THE A.A. WAY
We obey A.A.'s Steps and Traditions because we really want them for
ourselves. It is no longer a question of good or evil; we conform
because we genuinely want to conform. Such is our process of growth
in unity and function. Such is the evidence of God's grace and love
among us.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 106
It is fun to watch myself grow in A.A. I fought conformity to A.A.
principles from the moment I entered, but I learned from the pain of
my belligerence that, in choosing to live the A.A. way of life, I opened
myself to God's grace and love. Then I began to know the full
meaning of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.
************************************************** *********
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
If you can take your troubles as they come, if you can maintain your
calm and composure amid pressing duties and unending engagements,
if you can rise above the distressing and disturbing circumstances in
which you are set down, you have discovered a priceless secret of
daily living. Even if you are forced to go through life weighed down by
some unescapable misfortune or handicap and yet live each day as it
comes with poise and peace of mind, you have succeeded where most
people have failed. You have wrought a greater achievement than a
person who rules a nation. Have I achieved poise and peace of mind?
Meditation For The Day
Take a blessing with you wherever you go. You have been blessed, so
bless others. Such stores of blessings are awaiting you in the months
and years that lie ahead. Pass on your blessings. Blessing can and does
go around the world, passed on from one person to another. Shed a
little blessing in the heart of one person. That person is cheered to
pass it on, and so, God's vitalizing, joy-giving message travels on. Be a
transmitter of God's blessings.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may pass on my blessings. I pray that they may flow into
the lives of others.
************************************************** *********
As Bill Sees It
Down To Earth, p. 178
Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have
eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great
sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our
lives.
We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but
that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our work must be done.
These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful
spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 130
************************************************** *********
Walk In Dry Places
Have I ever been helped?
Unselfishness.
Sometimes we hear hard luck stories by people who claim they never "had a single helping hand." Everybody was against them.
It's true that certain people have had more than their share of abuse and abandonment. But it's hard to believe that helping hands haven't been extended... acts of kindness, often made by selfless but ordinary people.
Our problem has been in recognizing such helping hands. Lost in self-pity, we could hardly have recognized help when it was given. Nor were we capable of giving constructive assistance to others.
Furthermore, if people were against us, we may have provoked it. Our task is to change our thinking about the past and to be grateful for the people who were kind to us.
I realize that there are kind and decent people who have helped me. There are many such people in the world, and I want to be one of them.
************************************************** *********
Keep It Simple
Hell is not to love anymore.---Geogre Bernanos
Someone in an AA group said, "From the first day I started this program, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven." This person had walked into a room full of love. In recovery, we are spiritual people because we believe in love. We have faith in love.
Love is respect. Love is truth with kindness. Love is being willing to forgive and help others.
Love is thinking about how our Higher Power wants us to act. Love is what we do best. We have turned our will and our life over to love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I may love all parts of life. Higher Power, help me seek out love, not material things.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll think about what I love about recovery. I will share this with a couple of friends and my Higher Power.
************************************************** *********
Each Day a New Beginning
Often God shuts a door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we need to go. --Catherine Marshall
We try and try to control the events of our lives. And not seldom the events in others' lives, too. The occasions are frequent when our will conflicts with God's. Then for a time we feel at a loss. Our direction is uncertain. But always, always, another door opens. A better way beckons. How stubborn we are! And how simple life would be were we to daily, fully, turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. God's help and direction in all things are always available. Turning a deaf ear is like trying to find a seat in a darkened movie theater unaided by the usher.
Every experience is softened when we face it accompanied by our higher power. Any past struggle, any present fear, is a testament to our attempts to do it alone. Too frequently we forge ahead, alone, only to have our way blocked. The detours need never be there. No door closes unless there is a better way. Divine order will prevail.
There is no need to struggle, today. I will breathe deeply and take my higher power with me, wherever I go. And the doors will be open for as far as I can see.
************************************************** *********
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
BILL'S STORY
The mind and body are marvelous mechanisms, for mine endured this agony two more years. Sometimes I stole from my wife's slender purse when the morning terror and madness were on me. Again I swayed dizzily before an open window, or the medicine cabinet where there was poison, cursing myself for a weakling. There were flights from city to country and back, as my wife and I sought escape. Then came the night when the physical and mental torture was so hellish I feared I would burst through my window, sash and all. Somehow I managed to drag my mattress to a lower floor, lest I suddenly leap. A doctor came with a heavy sedative. Next day found me drinking both gin and sedative. This combination soon landed me on the rocks. People feared for my sanity. So did I. I could eat little or nothing when drinking, and I was forty pounds under weight.
pp. 6-7
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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE - Young when she joined, this A.A. believes her serious drinking was the result of even deeper defects. She here tells how she was free.
The mental twists that led up to my drinking began many years before I ever took a drink, for I am one of those whose history proves conclusively that my drinking was "a symptom of a deeper trouble."
p. 544
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Four - "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."
But alas, this bright scene was not long in darkening. Confusion replaced serenity. It was found that some drunks yearned for education, but doubted if they were alcoholics. The personality defects of others could be cured maybe with a loan. Some were club-minded, but it was just a question of taking care of the lonely heart. Sometimes the swarming applicants would go for all three floors. Some would start at the top and come through to the bottom, becoming club members; others started in the club, pitched a binge, were hospitalized, then graduated to education on the third floor. It was a beehive of activity, all right, but unlike a beehive, it was confusion compounded. An A.A. group, as such, simply couldn't handle this sort of project. All too late that was discovered. Then came the inevitable explosion - something like that day the boiler burst in Wombley's Clapboard Factory. A chill chokedamp of fear and frustration fell over the group.
pp. 148-149
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Set others free to achieve and experience the path that leads to their
highest good and you, too, will become free to find yours.
--Melody Beattie
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of
patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change.
Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we
can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
--Melody Beattie
"Forgiving is not forgetting, it's letting go of the hurt."
--Mary McLeod Bethune
"Life holds so much--so much to be so happy about always. Most
people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if
you don't set conditions."
--Artur Robinstein
Applaud others when they run. Console them when they fall. And
cheer them when they recover.
As water is to a flower so is praise to the heart of another.
--Unknown
Abundance comes from your gifts of love.
--unknown
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
HYPOCRISY
"The devil can cite scripture for his
purpose."
--William Shakespeare
This quotation reminds me that the disease of alcoholism is "cunning,
baffling and powerful". I am aware of the need to walk like I talk, to
make the action fit the word, to live my program today rather than
talk about it for tomorrow. Why? Because the disease can talk
program! I have caught myself saying things that I do not practice in
my life. I catch myself saying things to others that I do not live out in
my own life. Today I am aware of my hypocrisy. Today I am aware of
the disease in my life.
I need to be aware of this aspect of the disease because I am such a
good talker, such a convincing talker, such a practiced manipulator!
Today I know that I am not perfect, but that should never be an
excuse to avoid dealing with my character defects. I must not "con"
myself into staying sick!
I pray that I may strive to live the message.
************************************************** *********
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:15-16
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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Daily Inspiration
It is normal to make mistakes, but it is the better person who is able to grow from them. Lord, I am not perfect, but may each day bring me a little closer.
Not only must we know God's will, but we must do God's will to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Lord, I commit myself to obeying the will of my heavenly Father.
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NA Just For Today
Change And Growth
"When someone points out a shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive. There will always be room for growth."
Basic Text, p. 35
Recovery is a process that brings about change in our lives. We need that change if we are to continue our growth toward freedom. It's important that we remain open-minded when others point out our shortcomings, for they are bringing to light opportunities for us to change and grow. Reacting defensively limits our ability to receive the help they are offering us; letting go of our defenses opens the door to change, growth, and new freedom.
Each day in the recovery process will bring an opportunity for further change and growth. The more we learn to greet change with an open mind and heart, the more we will grow and the more comfortable we will become with our recovery.
Just for today: I will greet each opportunity for growth with an open mind.
Pg. 185
************************************************** *********
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one, which has been opened for us. --Helen Keller
In the game of musical chairs, everyone walks around a circle of chairs. When the music stops, they scramble for the nearest open chair. If we were playing this game and found the nearest chairs taken, wouldn't we quickly look around for the next open one? To remain immobilized, angry that the chair we wanted was taken, would undoubtedly lose our place in the game.
Sometimes in life, we set our sights on a particular chair. Perhaps there is an award we want to win, or we want to be the high scorer on our team. Perhaps there is a promotion or a job we would like to get. When we do not get what we want, it is easy to keep looking at what we didn't get instead of seeing all we have.
It is important to be grateful for what we have--for the open doors and empty chairs waiting and inviting our attention. Loss and disappointment are a part of life--but the music will play again and our lives can move on.
What is available to me today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The tremor of awe is the best in man. --Goethe
We have a spiritual experience in knowing and being touched by something much larger than us, something beyond what we understand, something of mysterious dimensions. It can happen as we stand on the banks of an ageless river, listen to beautiful music, read scripture, or say a prayer with a friend. When we set aside defiance, willfulness, and our demands to subdue whatever we meet, we become receptive to a larger reality. The experience of awe brings out the best in a man because it instills a spirit of respect and gratitude. It inspires humility and expands our minds into realms we can't express in words.
The sense of awe is a kind of reverence. After we learn where our personal awe is inspired, we can return to it again and again. As we feel it more, we become more open to it in the mundane parts of our daily lives. Today we might feel the spirit in the visit of a wild bird on a branch, the spontaneous "Hi" from a small child, or the stillness before prayer at the dinner table.
Today, I will look for moments of awe in my life.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Often God shuts a door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we need to go. --Catherine Marshall
We try and try to control the events of our lives. And not seldom the events in others' lives, too. The occasions are frequent when our will conflicts with God's. Then for a time we feel at a loss. Our direction is uncertain. But always, always, another door opens. A better way beckons. How stubborn we are! And how simple life would be were we to daily, fully, turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. God's help and direction in all things are always available. Turning a deaf ear is like trying to find a seat in a darkened movie theater unaided by the usher.
Every experience is softened when we face it accompanied by our higher power. Any past struggle, any present fear, is a testament to our attempts to do it alone. Too frequently we forge ahead, alone, only to have our way blocked. The detours need never be there. No door closes unless there is a better way. Divine order will prevail.
There is no need to struggle, today. I will breathe deeply and take my higher power with me, wherever I go. And the doors will be open for as far as I can see.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Achieving Harmony
When a pianist learns a new piece of music, he or she does not sit down and instantly play it perfectly. A pianist often needs to practice each hand's work separately to learn the feel, to learn the sound. One hand picks out a part until there is a rhythm and ease in playing what is difficult. Then, the musician practices with the other hand, picking through the notes, one by one, until that hand learns its tasks. When each hand has learned its part - the sound, the feel, the rhythm, and the tones - then both hands can play together.
During the time of practice, the music may not sound like much. It may sound disconnected, not particularly beautiful. But when both hands are ready to play together, music is created - a whole piece comes together in harmony and beauty.
When we begin recovery, it may feel like we spend months, even years, practicing individual, seemingly disconnected behaviors in the separate parts of our life.
We take our new skills into our work, our career, and begin to apply them slowly, making our work relationships healthier for us. We take our skills into our relationships, sometimes one relationship at a time. We struggle through our new behaviors in our love relationships.
One part at a time, we practice our new music note by note.
We work on our relationship with our Higher Power - our spirituality. We work at loving ourselves. We work at believing we deserve the best. We work on our finances. On our recreation. Sometimes on our appearance. Sometimes on our home.
We work on feelings. On beliefs. On behaviors. Letting go of the old, acquiring the new. We work and work and work. We practice. We struggle through. We go from one extreme to the other, and sometimes back through the course again. We make a little progress, go backward, and then go forward again.
It may all seem disconnected. It may not sound like a harmonious, beautiful piece of music - just isolated notes. Then one day, something happens. We become ready to play with both hands, to put the music together.
What we have been working toward, note by note, becomes a song. That song is a whole life, a complete life, and a life in harmony.
The music will come together in our life if we keep practicing the parts.
Today, I will practice my recovery behaviors through the individual parts of my life. I trust that, one day, things will come together in a full, complete song.
I have all the power I need today to say no to negative choices. The personal choices I make today are positive and healthy. I take responsibility for my life today. --Ruth Fishel
**************************************************
Journey to the Heart
Learn to Be Calm
I felt strained and tense when I began the drive along the Redwood Highway in northern California.. I had wanted to take another road, one quicker but less scenic, to get to my destination. At the last moment, I decided to drive through the trees.
Thousands of redwoods grew hundreds of feet into the air. Some stood tall and proud. Some seemed to have their necks craned, so they could peer down onto the highway. Some grew with roots connected, like families. Some stood alone. Mile after mile after mile, for as far as I could see in any direction, thousands of trees surrounded me. Their power and message became inescapable. It was one of calmness, patience, and growth.
For hundreds of years they have been here, patiently seeing things through. Little ruffled them. They just kept on growing for all those years-- steadily, patiently, peacefully, calmly. They have been through enough, seen enough, to know not to worry. Things work out. Change happens. Life continues to evolve.
I didn't see one tree hurrying or worrying. They have been here long enough to learn life's lessons well.
Learn a lesson from the redwoods. Let them teach the power of patience and calm. Life goes on. Things happen. People change. Times move along. There are stories to live and stories to tell, but we can be calm and know that, always, all is well.
**************************************************
The Language of Letting Go
Achieving Harmony
When a pianist learns a new piece of music, he or she does not sit down and instantly play it perfectly. A pianist often needs to practice each hand’s work separately to learn the feel, to learn the sound. One hand picks out a part until there is a rhythm and ease in playing what is difficult. Then, the musician practices with the other hand, picking through the notes, one by one, until that hand learns its tasks. When each hand has learned its part – the sound, the feel, the rhythm, and the tones – then both hands can play together.
During the time of practice, the music may not sound like much. It may sound disconnected, not particularly beautiful. But when both hands are ready to play together, music is created – a whole piece comes together in harmony and beauty.
When we begin recovery, it may feel like we spend months, even years, practicing individual, seemingly disconnected behaviors in the separate parts of our life.
We take our new skills into our work, our career, and begin to apply them slowly, making our work relationships healthier for us. We take our skills into our relationships, sometimes one relationship at a time. We struggle through our new behaviors in our love relationships.
One part at a time, we practice our new music note by note.
We work on our relationship with our Higher Power – our spirituality. We work at loving ourselves. We work at believing we deserve the best. We work on our finances. On our recreation. Sometimes on our appearance. Sometimes on our home.
We work on feelings. On beliefs. On behaviors. Letting go of the old, acquiring the new. We work and work and work. We practice. We struggle through. We go from one extreme to the other, and sometimes back through the course again. We make a little progress, go backward, and then go forward again.
It may all seem disconnected. It may not sound like a harmonious, beautiful piece of music – just isolated notes. Then one day, something happens. We become ready to play with both hands, to put the music together.
What we have been working toward, note by note, becomes a song. That song is a whole life, a complete life, and a life in harmony.
The music will come together in our life if we keep practicing the parts.
Today, I will practice my recovery behaviors through the individual parts of my life. I trust that, one day, things will come together in a full, complete song.
**************************************************
People Who Don’t Get It
Living with It by Madisyn Taylor
When dealing with people who seem very unaware, remember that everyone must find their own way to awakening.
You may be someone who understands the true nature of reality, perceiving deeply that we all emanate from the same source, that we are all essentially one, and that we are here on earth to love one another. To understand this is to be awakened to the true nature of the self, and it is a blessing. Nevertheless, people who just don’t get it are seemingly everywhere and, often, in positions of power. It can be frustrating and painful to watch them behave unconsciously. We all encounter individuals of this bent in our families, at work, and in all areas of public life. It is easy to find ourselves feeling intolerant of these people, wishing we could be free of them even though we know that separation from them is an illusion.
It helps sometimes to think of us all as different parts of one psyche. Just as within our own hearts and minds we have dark places that need healing, the heart and mind of the world has its dark places. The health of the whole organism depends upon the relative health of the individuals within it. We increase harmony when we hold onto the light, not allowing it to be darkened by judgment, anger, and fear about those who behave unconsciously. It’s easier to accomplish this if we don’t focus on the negative qualities of individuals and instead focus on how increasing our own light will increase the light of the overall picture.
When dealing with people who seem very unconscious, it helps to remember that every one must find their own way to awakening and that the experiences they are having are an essential part of their process. Holding them in the light of our own energy may be the best way to awaken theirs. At the same time, we are inspired by their example to look within and shed light on our own unconscious places, sacrificing the urge to judge and surrendering instead to humble self-inquiry. Published with permission from Daily OM
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A Day at a Time
Reflection for the Day
Little by little, I'm getting over my tendency to procrastinate. I always used to put things off till tomorrow and, of course, they never got done. Instead of, "Do it now," my motto was, "Tomorrow's another day." When I was loaded, I had grandiose plans; when I came down, I was too busy getting "well" to start anything. I've learned in The Program that it's far better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all.
Am I learning to do it now?
Today I Pray
May God help me cure my habitual tardiness and "get me to the church on time." May I free myself of the self-imposed chaos of life-long procrastination; library books overdue, appointments half-missed, assignments turned in late, schedules unmet, meals half-cooked. May I be sure if I, as an addict, led a disordered life, I, as a recovering addict, need order. May God give me the serenity to restore order and organization to my daily living.
Today I Will Remember
I will not be put off by my tendency to put off.
**************************************************
One More Day
Quote: The sky is not less blue because the blind man does not see it.
– Danish Proverb
Each day we make our choices anew. We can choose to believe that pain and disappointment are the bitter fruits of living, or we can trust in our ability to build harmony, enthusiasm, and gratefulness from our day’s experiences. We can hear the music of children’s voices at play or be irritated at the disruption. We can pray, or we can chew on our anger.
We choose how we will see the world. If we feel anger or despair, if we hear only noise, if we see only dark, threatening clouds — that is our reality. But our negative choices don’t change the world. Birds’ songs and childrens’s voices still fill the air. People still reach out to each other through love and caring. And the bright splash of sky is as blue as ever.
Today, my reality will be based on the positive things around me.
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In God’s Care
Our contempt says we matter if we can look down on another person or life itself.
~~Ellen Reiss
Putting someone down might have been the only way many of us could feel important. We went along telling ourselves how bad things were and how superior we were to everyone else – our family, teachers, friends, or people of different color or culture. We had a crick in our neck from looking down on others.
But our spiritual self knows that contempt is wrong and can see what a destructive attitude it is. We are all the same in the eyes of God, all loved equally. When we put others down, we bring ourselves down too. At the same time, we are short-circuiting the connection with our Higher Power.
Today I will try to raise, rather than lower, someone’s self-esteem.
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Day By Day
Dropping biases
Addiction is not biased, nor should we be biased in the program. Whatever our beliefs before we found this solution, it helps if we avoid letting them interfere with our Step Twelve work. There are few enough places where people are accepted regardless of status, religion, nationality, or appearance.
Each of us needs everyone else in the fellowship. Whether laborer or judge, white or black, addict or alcoholic, if she or he can carry the message of recovery, he or she can save your life. Am I letting go of all bias?
Higher Power, help me let go of my biases so that I can better help save lives.
Today I will take an inventory of my biases and practice letting them go by…
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Food for Thought
You Can Do It
If you really want what OA has to offer; there is nothing that can stop you from succeeding with the program. The program works if we work it. OA does not pass out recovery on a platter, but the tools for recovery are available and proven effective if we are willing to use them.
Go to a meeting today. Re-read your literature. Call another member. Call several members. Get a sponsor, if you do not already have one. Write out what is troubling you. Find a way to be of service to someone else. Abstain now.
Most important, take time to listen to your Higher Power. Ask for the spiritual insight, which you need. Remember that you are now committed to following God’s will for your life, not your own way. Seek the inspiration that comes from the people and the books, which lift up your spirit and show you the way. Then follow.
Lead me, Lord.
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One Day At A Time
EFFICIENCY AND FUNCTION
“In God's economy, nothing is wasted.
Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility
which is probably needed, painful though it is.”
Bill W., Letter of 1942
I have spent a lot of time cultivating perfectionism in the vain attempt to make up for being a "failure" -- or what I have now come to understand is compulsive eating and an illness. I was trying to make up with efficiency for that feeling of not being good enough ~ and that feeling seems to be a hallmark of our illness.
By my past behaviors, I wanted you to notice how efficient and functional I was despite my obese body that belied I had a problem. If I could somehow convince you that I was "normal" and "ok," I would not have to admit my powerlessness. This is the single greatest obsession of every compulsive eater: that we are "normal" eaters. But we are not!
I built a lifetime around efficiency and function trying to show you how normal I was. Thank God I was brought to my compulsive eating knees time and time again until I could finally make that admission of failure as a normal eater and admit that I was powerless. The humility brought about by that admission afforded me an open-mindedness and willingness I had hitherto not known. I became teachable.
One day at a time...
I pray to remain teachable.
~ Lanaya
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AA 'Big Book' - Quote
Faced with alcoholic destruction, we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions. In this respect alcohol was a great persuader. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. - Pg. 48 - We Agnostics
Hour To Hour - Book - Quote
If you have one hand in the program and one hand in your Higher Power's, you won't have a hand to pick up with.
Take my hand God, as I understand You, and never let me let go.
Leaving Abuse Behind
Today, I see my life as my life. If I do not take care of it, make plans and dream dreams, who will? I am not second in my own heart - there has to be a place on this Earth where I come first, so that the little child inside me feels loved and held. I will come first with me. In the same way that I will protect my children from harm, I will protect myself. Chaos is a part of a dysfunctional family system. I hardly saw it as unusual - it was just what was, a painful way of life - the only one I knew. I do not need to recreate problem situations in my life today in order to feel stable or as if I have a home. I can live a calm and pleasant life.
- Tian Dayton PhD
Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote
I People often protest when they don't get their prayers answered as if the Divine Source is not listening. What they fail to understand is that prayer is not intended to change the situation you are praying about; it is intended to change you.
Life is fragile; I 'Handle with Prayer.'
"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book
An old-timer makes his time count; he doesn't count his time.
Time for Joy - Book - Quote
Today I am learning to be gentle with myself. Today I can look in the mirror and smile and know that I am okay just as I am. I am treating myself softly today.
Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Drinking 'Near Beer' is like going to a house of prostitution to listen to the piano player. - Steve B.
*****************************************
AA Thought for the Day
June 27
New Friends
I had found friends -- understanding friends
who often knew what I was thinking and feeling better than I knew myself --
and who didn't allow me to retreat into my prison of loneliness and fear over a fancied slight or hurt.
Talking things over with them, great floods of enlightenment showed me myself as I really was
-- and I was like them.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 206-207
Thought to Ponder . . .
A friend is one who sees through you and still enjoys the view.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T L C = Tears, Laughter, Caring.
~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~
Powerless
"Most certainly I was powerless over alcohol,
and for me, my life had become unmanageable.
It wasn't how far I had gone, but where I was headed.
It was important to me to see what alcohol had done to me
and would continue to do if I didn't have help.
At first it was a shock to realize I was an alcoholic,
but the realization that there was hope made it easier.
The baffling problem of getting drunk
when I had every intention of staying sober was simplified.
It was a great relief to know I didn't have to drink any more."
1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 379
Thought to Consider . . .
Just because I'm powerless
does not mean that I am helpless.
*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists
*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*
Faith
>From "God is Good":
"To go along with this deep-seated belief in God, I have developed an enormous faith in God. He is good. My
understanding is that everything He sends my way is for my benefit. But the growth of this understanding has taken
time, as well as a relinquishing of my resistance to change. I needed the trials and tribulations I have had, so that I
could surrender and give up self. Only in complete acceptance of the utter defeat of my pride and ego could I begin to win."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pgs. 86-87
*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*
"Tolerance is the art of seeing yourself as others see you -- and not getting mad about it."
June 1964
"Short Takes,"
AA Grapevine
*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*
"In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be
able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take
it easy. We don't struggle. We are often surprised how the right
answers come after we have tried this for a while."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 86
"In spite of the great increase in the size and the span of this
Fellowship, at its core it remains simple and personal. Each day,
somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with
another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Foreword To Third Edition, pg. xxii~
“We meet frequently so that newcomers may find the fellowship they seek.”
- Alcoholics Anonymous p. 16 (Bill’s Story)
“In it, each member becomes an active guardian of our Fellowship”
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 183 (Tradition Eleven)
Misc. AA Literature - Quote
Those of us who have spent much time in the world of spiritual make-believe have eventually seen the childishness of it. This dream world has been replaced by a great sense of purpose, accompanied by a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives.
We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done. There are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, I admit that I am powerless over my addiction. I admit that my life is unmanageable when I try to control it. Help me this day to understand The true meaning of powerlessness. Remove from me all denial of my addiction.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7