Daily Recovery Readings - May

[bluidkiti]

May 16

Daily Reflections

WE FORGIVE. . . .

Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors
or spiritual adviser that we first felt truly able to
forgive others, no matter how deeply we felt they had
wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that
all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when
we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew
we'd be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58

What a great feeling forgiveness is! What a revelation
about my emotional, psychological and spiritual nature.
All it takes is willingness to forgive; God will do the
rest.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among
robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a
priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the
road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and
came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an
inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like
the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?

Meditation For The Day

Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly
your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret
that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you.
Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong.
And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that
you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become
communion with God. That is the note on which true times of
prayer should end.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that
I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion.

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As Bill Sees It

Giving Up Defects, p. 136

Looking at those defects we are unwilling to give up, we ought to
erase the hard and fast lines that we have drawn. Perhaps in some
cases we shall say, "This I cannot give up yet. . ." But we should not
say to ourselves, "This I will never give up!"

The moment we say, "No , never!" our minds close against the grace
of God. Such rebellion may be fatal. Instead, we should abandon
limited objectives and begin to move toward God's will for us.

12 & 12, pp. 68-69

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Walk in Dry Places

Trees Don't grow to the sky
Progress
Release from a compulsion can be a dramatic experience. It maqy also mean immediate relase from vexing problems caused by the compulsion. This time can bring such a sense of well-being that it's sometimes called the HONEYMOON or CLOUD NINE period.
In any growth process, however, we must remember that a law of diminishing returns sets in. This is expressed in the saying that trees don't grow to the sky. At some point, we will discover that our joyous feeling of pleasure has cooled down to an ordinary state of feeling well, that we are not becoming increasingly joyous by the day.
There's nothing wrong with such a mental plateau. If we're practicing the Twelve Step program, we're still moving forward, onward, and upward. Diminishing returns must still be counted as returns.
I'll accept today's progress with gratitude and humility. I won't expect more than a reasonable feeling of well-being and contentment, but that is considerable.

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Keep It Simple

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.---Sydney J. Harris
Relaxing is one of the little joys of life. We can learn to take time from our busy day to chat with a friend, take a hot bath, or spend a few moments sitting alone under a tree. The busier we are, the more we need to take time to relax.
When we rest, we stop fussing about the outside world. We find out how we're doing inside. While relaxing, we can best listen to our Higher Power. Our minds calm down. We put busy thoughts aside. Sometimes, we can almost hear our Higher Power say, "Stay quiet and listen! I have something to tell you!"

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Each Day a New Beginning

It is only the women whose eyes have been washed clear with tears who get the broad vision that makes them little sisters to all the world. --Dorothy Dix
The storms of our lives benefit us like the storms that hit our towns and homes and wash clean the air we breathe. Our storms bring to the surface the issues that plague us. Perhaps we still fear a job with responsibilities. Perhaps we still struggle with the significant other persons in our lives. Possessiveness is a particular storm that often haunts our progress. Storms force us to acknowledge these liabilities that continue to stand in our way, and acknowledgment is the step necessary to letting go.
Recovery is a whole series of storms, storms that help to sprout new growth, storms that flush clean our own clogged drains. The peace that comes after a storm is worth singing about.
Each storm can be likened to a rung on the ladder to wholeness, the ladder to full membership in the healthy human race. The storms make climbing tough, but we get strength with each step. The next storm will be more easily weathered.
If today is a stormy day, let me remember it will freshen the air I breathe.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Gradually things got worse. The house was taken over by the mortgage holder, my mother-in-law died, my wife and father-in-law became ill.
Then I got a promising business opportunity. Stocks were at the low point of 1932, and I had somehow formed a group to buy. I was to share generously in the profits. Then I went on a prodigious bender, and that chance vanished.
I woke up. This had to be stopped. I saw I could not take so much as one drink. I was through forever. Before then, I had written lots of sweet promises, but my wife happily observed that this time I meant business. And so I did.
Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight. Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn't know. It hadn't even come to mind. Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that.

p. 5

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Now let's ponder the need for a list of the more glaring personality defects all of us have in varying degrees. To those having religious training, such a list would set forth serious violations of moral principles. Some others will think of this list as defects of character. Still others will call it an index of maladjustments. Some will become quite annoyed if there is talk about immorality, let alone sin. But all who are in the least reasonable will agree upon one point: that there is plenty wrong with us alcoholics about which plenty will have to be done if we are to expect sobriety, progress, and any real ability to cope with life.

p. 48

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Blowing out another's candle will not make yours shine brighter.
--unknown

God, give me the courage to follow my heart.
Teach me how to experience more joy in my life.
--Melody Beattie

"God never said it would be easy, only worth it."
--unknown

The most effective way to achieve right relations with any living thing
is to look for the best in it, and then help that best into the fullest
expression.
--Allen J. Boone

Secret of Life
Take time to Think. It is the source of Power.
Take time to Play. It is the secret of perpetual Youth.
Take time to be Friendly. It is the road to Happiness.
Take time to Work. It is the price of Success.
Take time to Pray. It is the greatest Power on Earth.
Take time to Love and be Loved. It is the way of God.
--Author Unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIBERTY

"Liberty means responsibility.
That is why most men dread it."
--George Bernard Shaw

The fellowship of recovering addicts and their families rejoice in the
freedom of life; the exchange of slavery to a drug or person for
liberty; a life of choice, rather than meaningless compulsion.

But with the gift of liberty comes the weight of responsibility. Today I
am responsible for my life. No longer can I say I do not know; no
longer can I blame others for my disease; no longer can I manipulate in
the "playground of denial".

The spiritual program requires a maturity of lifestyle that involves
responsibility - but the joys are immense.

O Master of liberty and responsibility, let me not forget to laugh.

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And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches
in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 91:2

I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my
fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not
ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And
saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all
around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Psalm 34:4-7

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Daily Inspiration

When your mind takes you to places you don't want to go, you have the power to bring yourself back. Lord, strengthen my ability to focus on that which I am experiencing now so that I will truly live and lose none of the time You have given to me.

Loneliness happens when you build walls instead of bridges. Lord, bless me with a welcoming spirit for those that might need me today.

[bluidkiti]

May 17

Daily Reflections

. . . . AND FORGIVE

Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again,
to forgive others--also myself.
AS BILL SEE IT p. 268

Forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others are just two
currents in the same river, both hindered or shut off
completely by the dam of resentment. Once that dam is lifted,
both currents can flow. The Steps of A.A. allow me to see how
resentment has built up and subsequently blocked off this
flow in my life. The Steps provide a way by which my
resentments may - by the grace of God as I understand Him -
be lifted. It is as a result of this solution that I can find
the necessary grace which enables me to forgive myself and
others.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

A lot of well-meaning people treat alcoholics like the priest
and the Levite. They pass by on the other side by scorning
them and telling them what low people they are, with no
willpower. Whereas, they really have fallen for alcohol, in
the same way as the man in the story fell among robbers. And
the member of A.A. who is working with others is like the
Good Samaritan. Am I moved with compassion? Do I take care
of another alcoholic whenever I can?

Meditation For The Day

I must constantly live in preparation for something better to
come. All of life is a preparation for something better. I must
anticipate the morning to come. I must feel, in the night of
sorrow, that understanding joy that tells of confident
expectation of better things to come. "Sorrow may endure for
a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Know that God has
something better in store for you, as long as you are making
yourself ready for it. All your existence in this world is a
training for a better life to come.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that when life is over, I will return to an eternal,
spaceless life with God. I pray that I may make this life a
preparation for a better life to come.

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As Bill Sees It

Beyond Agnosticism, p. 137

We of agnostic temperament found that as soon as we were able to
lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a
Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even
though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend
that Power, which is God.

<< << << >> >> >>

"Many people soberly assure me that man has no better place in the
universe than that of another competing organism, fighting its way
through life only to perish in the end. Hearing this, I feel that I still
prefer to cling to the so-called illusion of religion, which in my own
experience has meaningfully told me something very different."

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 46
2. Letter, 1946

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Walk in Dry Places

Rehearsing Outcomes
Serenity
Imagination is undeniably a human faculty that accounts for much progress. Compulsive people, however, can use imagination in a most destructive way.
One destructive practice is that of rehearsing i our minds the outcome of some treat or problem, usually expecting the worst. While we should not avoid facing real problems, it's wrong to assume that the worst will always happen. This tendency to anticipate the worst possible outcome can actually produce the very outcome we'd like to avoid, thus making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We can deal with such pessimistic thinking by reminding ourselves that God is in charge and will bring our good to pass in just the right way.If we're going to rehearse anything, let it be an outcome that includes the best for everybody, including ourselves.
I'll expect the best today, knowing that all outcomes and results are in God's hands.

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Keep It Simple

Each day provides its own gifts.---Ruth P. Freedman
Spiritual growth is the greatest gift we can receive. And we earn it through taking risks. There is much risk involved in working the Steps: The risk of admitting that we're out of control. The risk of turning our will and lives over to a Power greater than ourselves. The risk of letting go of character defects. The risk of making amends to people we've harmed. The risk of admitting our wrongs. The risk of telling our stories as we carry the message of hope. To grow spiritually, we need these adventures. These challenges. These risk.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to take the risks that I need in order to grow.
Action for the Day: I will look at today as an adventure with my Higher Power. I will list the fears I'll need to let go of.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Loving allows us to live and through living we grow in loving. --Evelyn Mandel
Many days it seems too easy to be centered on ourselves, wondering if others love us rather than loving others. On those days, we may have to act "as if" we love the persons who live on our pathways. The unexpected gift is that we do begin to feel both love and loved. Living becomes easier, and so does loving. Acting "as if" is a good way of learning those behaviors that don't feel natural. And in time, acting "as if" is necessary no more.
I can behave in any way I decide to. I can choose to think about others, and love them. I can choose to forget myself, today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Renewing my resolve, I tried again. Some time passed, and confidence began to be replaced by cocksureness. I could laugh at the gin mills. Now I had what it takes! One day I walked into a cafe to telephone. In no time I was beating on the bar asking myself how it happened. As the whisky rose to my head I told myself I would manage better next time, but I might as well get good and drunk then. And I did.

pp. 5-6

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

To avoid falling into confusion over the names these defects should be called, let's take a universally recognized list of major human failings--the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. It is not by accident that pride heads the procession. For pride, leading to self-justification, and always spurred by conscious or unconscious fears, is the basic breeder of most human difficulties, the chief block to true progress. Pride lures us into making demands upon ourselves or upon others which cannot be met without perverting or misusing our God-given instincts. When the satisfaction of our instincts for sex, security, and society becomes the sole object of our lives,
then pride steps in to justify our excesses.

pp. 48-49

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Do you know how important now is? Enjoy it as much as you can,
because no matter how much you want to hold on to "now," it's going
to be "was."
--Sid Caesar

All yesterdays are canceled, and tomorrow is but a speculation, today
is the day God has made.
--SweetyZee

If it was going to be easy to raise kids, it never would have started
with something called labor.
--Cited in Even More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES

Aristotle said: "Those who say there is only one road to Rome don't
know Rome very well." New Thought teaches us not only to tolerate
but to honor all paths to God. All religions have love at their core.
We are meant to learn to love one another, love God and love
ourselves. No religion is bigger than God.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"In forgiving ourselves, we make the journey from guilt for what we
have done (or not done) to celebration of what we have become."
--Joan Borysenko

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TOLERANCE

"Tolerance is the positive and
cordial effort to understand
another's beliefs, practices and
habits without necessarily sharing
or accepting them."
--Joshua Liebman

Today I am able to tolerate people, listen to what they are saying and
if I do not agree with them, it is okay! I do not have to agree with a
person to tolerate or befriend him.

This is a new attitude for me and is part of my spiritual program.
When I was drinking, I would not listen to people who had ideas
different to mine. I would not tolerate people who had a different
philosophy on life. Other religions were discounted as being cultish,
crude or superstitious. I have learned that my disease of alcoholism
made me very arrogant and narrow in my attitude to life - I rejected
two-thirds of the world as being heretical!

Today I can tolerate and learn from people who view God, the world
and morality differently from me. Spirituality is teaching me to be
open and accepting.

Lord, may I find traces of Your love in different philosophies and
religions.

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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made
known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:6-7

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow
to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
I John 4:4

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:7

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Daily Inspiration

Change first from the inside and the other things will follow. Lord, bless me the desire to become a better person and the firmness of will to succeed because I know that together we have the power to change my life.

God never promised to make your troubles go away, but He did promise to give you the strength and power to overcome them. Lord, when I am weak, strengthen me, when I forget, remind me and when the day is done, accept my thanksgiving because without You I am nothing.

[bluidkiti]

May 18

Daily Reflections

FREEDOM TO BE ME

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development,
we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are
going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p 83

My first true freedom is the freedom not to have to take
a drink today. If I truly want it, I will work the Twelve
Steps and the happiness of this freedom will come to me
through the Steps - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
Other freedoms will follow, and inventorying them is a
new happiness. I had a new freedom today, the freedom to
be me. I have the freedom to be the best me I have ever
been.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We're in A.A. for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves
and to help others to keep sober. It's a well known fact
that helping others is a big part of keeping sober yourself.
It's also been proved that it's very hard to keep sober all
by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They
come to a few A.A. meetings and then stay sober alone for a
few months, but usually they eventually get drunk. Do I know
that I can't stay sober successfully alone?

Meditation For The Day

Look by faith into that place beyond space or time where God
dwells and whence you came and to which you shall eventually
return. "Look unto Him and be saved." To look beyond material
things is within the power of everyone's imagination. Faith's
look saves you from despair. Faith's look saves you from worry
and care. Faith's look brings a peace beyond all understanding.
Faith's look brings you all the strength you need. Faith's look
gives you a new and vital power and a wonderful peace and
serenity.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have faith's look. I pray that by faith I
may look beyond the now to eternal life.

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As Bill Sees It

Two Roads for the Oldtimer, p. 138

The founders of many groups ultimately divide into two classes
known in A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons."

The elder statesman sees the wisdom of the group's decision to run
itself and holds no resentment over his reduced status. His judgment,
fortified by considerable experience, is sound; he is willing to sit
quietly on the side lines patiently awaiting developments.

The bleeding deacon is just as surely convinced that the group cannot
get along without him. He constantly connives for re-election to
office and continues to be consumed with self-pity. Nearly every
oldtimer in our Society has gone through this process in some degree.
Happily, most of them survive and live to become elder statesmen.
They become the real and permanent leadership of A.A.

12 & 12, p. 135

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Walk in Dry Places

No Limits on our Higher power
The Spiritual Way
One ancient saying claims that "with God, all things are possible." That's quite a statement, one we may claim to believe without living as though we do.
What it really mens is that God exists outside the conditions and restrictions that make our own lives so limited. The more we can move into conscious contact with God, the more freedom and power we will experience.
It might be said that all real human progress is the same order. Every advancement in science really reveals more information about God and the universe. We are always discovering new possibilites for humankind as we stretch the frontiers of knowledge.
Our most serious lag is in learning to understand ourselves and each other. It is humbling to realize taht the ideas we're using in Twelve Step programs have been around for centuries. Fced with impossible problmes, we must remember that God can solve these problmes if only we ask.
I'll follow today the old idea of working as if everything depended on me and believing as if everything depended on God.

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Keep It Simple

You cannot plan the future by the past.---Edmund Burke
We got tried of how we were living. We honestly looked at our life. We saw that alcohol and other drugs controlled our life. We met others who understood us. And we came to believe that a Power
greater than ourselves could help us. We turned our will and our life over to this Power. In so doing, we learned that life doesn't take place in the past or in the future. We find our program in the present.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I'll leave the past in the past.
I pray that I'll walk into each moment with my Higher Power.
Action for the Day: The only time we revisit the past is when we tell our story. Today, I'll tell my story to someone. I'll tell what really happened. I'll tell what life is like now.

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Each Day a New Beginning

. . . in order to feel anything you need strength . . . --Anna Maria Ortese
Strength for any task, to withstand any pressure, to find the solution to any problem, is always as close as our very breath. We expend all our energy, wearing ourselves down, even getting sick from worry when we fail to turn to the source of strength that is ours for the taking.
We are offered, moment by moment, opportunities to experience the rapture of life. We have the chance, with recovery, to trust our senses, to turn ourselves over to the moment, knowing we can survive every experience, knowing we are guaranteed new knowledge, a greater awareness of the meaning of our own lives when we're fully attuned to the experiences that are uniquely our own, right here, right now.
Our strength increases as we flex it, not unlike muscles. The more we turn to that greater power, the more available that source of strength becomes. With practice, it becomes habitual to let God help us withstand all pressures, solve every problem. In time, the pressures and problems seem to exist no more. We learn to let our higher power circumvent the difficulties in our lives. Free at last; we become free at last to feel the real joys of living.
All the strength I need to face anything that's worrying me is at hand. I will let go and let God help me today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

The remorse, horror and hopelessness of the next morning are unforgettable. The courage to do battle was not there. My brain raced uncontrollably and there was a terrible sense of impending calamity. I hardly dared cross the street, lest I collapse and be run down by an early morning truck, for it was scarcely daylight. An all night place supplied me with a dozen glasses of ale. My writhing nerves were stilled at last. A morning paper had told me the market had gone to hell again. Well, so had I. The market would recover, but I wouldn't. That was a hard thought. Should I kill myself? No - not now. Then a mental fog settled down. Gin would fix that. So two bottles, and--oblivion.

p. 6

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

All these failings generate fear, a soul-sickness in its own right. Then fear, in turn, generates more character defects. Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied drives us to covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex and power, to become angry when our instinctive demands are threatened, to be envious when the ambitions of others seem to be realized while ours are not. We eat, drink, and grab for more of everything than we need, fearing we shall never have enough. And with genuine alarm at the prospect of work, we stay lazy. We loaf and procrastinate, or at best work grudgingly and under half steam. These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the foundations of whatever sort of life we try to build.

p. 49

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Self-esteem is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom,
while discouragement often nips it in the bud.
--Alex F. Osborn

There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always
the same.
--Chinese Proverb

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does
bathing; that's why we recommend it daily."
--Zig Ziglar

"No matter what you have done to this moment, you get 24 brand-new
hours to spend every single day."
--Brian Tracy

"Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has
finished listening."
--Dorothy Sarnoff

God says that each of us is worth loving.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FAITH

"Faith has need of the whole truth."
--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Faith is a journey that ends in God. Our understanding of imperfection
teaches us to look beyond ourselves into the truth that is yet to be
revealed. Our daily attitude adjustments bring us, step by step, to that
truth and freedom that awaits us in the future.

Sufficient today to know that we are not God and nobody has all the
answers. The hardest part of being a human being is accepting the
limitations of our lives. Things happen without our involvement. We
need not be there for existence to happen; there is life beyond me! God
holds the world together, not me. Truth is in me but also beyond me. In
this sense my faith is enriched by others, and at some point in the
future we will all become ONE in truth.

As I look to the future I see the Oneness of tomorrow.

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"I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and
want. I can do all things in Him who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:12b-13

"Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is
infinite."
Psalms 147:5

Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:39

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Daily Inspiration

If you are stressed, you are probably makings things more important than they really are. Lord, I pray for clarity of thought and calmness of spirit because I know that when my heart grows weary, You send me peace.

Joy does not depend on your circumstances, but rather on your triumph over your circumstances. Lord, my joy comes from within where Your spirit fills my soul and You bless me with Your strength.

[bluidkiti]

May 19

Daily Reflections

GIVING WITHOUT STRINGS

And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra
dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69

The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I
first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to
help me. I thought, "What do they want in return?" But I soon
learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they
were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I
wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them
to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life
is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my
fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Fellowship is a big part of staying sober. The doctors call it group
therapy. We never go to an A.A. meeting without taking something
out of it. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting and we think
of excuses for not going. But we usually end up by going anyway and
we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of
keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute
something to it. Am I contributing my share at meetings?

Meditation For The Day

"He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set
my feet upon a rock and established my goings." The first part, "He
brought me up out of a horrible pit," means that by turning to God and
putting my problems in His hands, I am able to overcome my sins and
temptations. "He set my feet upon a rock" means that when I trust
God in all things, I have true security. "He established my goings"
means that if I honestly try to live the way God wants me to live, I will
have God's guidance in my daily living.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that my feet may be set upon a rock. I pray that I may rely on
God to guide my comings and goings.

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As Bill Sees It

Basis of All Humility, p. 139

For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively
by our own individual strength and intelligence, for just that long was
a working faith in a Higher Power impossible.

This was true even when we believed that God existed. We could
actually have earnest religious beliefs which remained barren
because we were still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we
placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power
was out of the question.

That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's
will, was missing.

12 & 12, p. 72

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Principles are Enduring
Problem Solving
We often emphasize -Principles before personalities-- in Twelve Step programs, sometimes without fully understanding what's involved. The real message of this slogan is that we should treat people equally while following certain guidelines in our own actions.
While we are influenced by strong personalities, we cannot rely on them for complete guidance and direction. People can betray us or simply fail us through no fault of their own. Principles, on the other hand, are enduring and will be with us long after personal relationships wither away.
One unfailing principle for living is to live each day remembering that God is guiding and directing all actions and outcomes. While we will be grateful for the assistance and cooperation of others, we will not hold them responsible for our success or failures.
I'll live today with the belief that God's good plan is working in all people's lives. I will not expect too much or too little of others, but rather will deal with them fairly and decently.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.---Marcus Aurelius
The struggles of life teach us a lot. They challenge our beliefs. As we struggle, we come to believe that our friends, family, and Higher Power will be there for us in hard times. But we must do our part. We need to call and honestly let people know how we are doing. We need to pray and ask our Higher Power for help. If we do these things, we'll come to respect and learn from hard times.
Prayer for the Day: I pray for the wisdom to see that struggles are part of live. Higher Power, I pray for Your help in not taking struggles too personally.
Action for the Day: I'll list four times I've struggled and what I learned from each stuggle. I'll share this with a friend.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

. . . if we are suffering illness, poverty, or misfortune, we think we shall be satisfied on the day it ceases. But there too, we know it is false, so soon as one has got used to not suffering, one wants something else. --Simone Weil
Perhaps it's the human condition never to be satisfied and yet always to think, "If only . . ." However, the more we look within for wholeness, the greater will be our acceptance of all things, at all times.
So frequently we hear that happiness is within. But what does that mean when we may have just lost the job that supported us and our children? Or when the car won't start and funds are low? Or when we are feeling really scared and don't know whom to talk to or where to go? "Happiness is within" is such a grand platitude at those times.
Nevertheless, our security in any situation is within, if we but know how to tap it. It is within because that is where the strength we are blessed with resides, the strength given us from the power greater than ourselves. "Going within" takes, first, a decision. Next, it takes stillness, and then, patience. But peace will come.
We will quit wanting when we have learned how to turn to our inner strength. We will find serenity rather than suffering.
I will go within whenever I feel the rumblings of dissatisfaction today. I will look there for my joy and sense of well-being and know that divine order is in charge.

************************************************** *********

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

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

So when A.A. suggests a fearless moral inventory, it must seem to every newcomer that more is being asked of him than he can do. Both his pride and his fear beat him back every time he tries to look within himself. Pride says, "You need not pass this way," and Fear says, "You dare not look!" But the testimony of A.A.'s who have really tried a moral inventory is that pride and fear of this sort turn out to be bogeymen, nothing else. Once we have a complete willingness to take inventory, and exert ourselves to do the job thoroughly, a wonderful light falls upon this foggy scene. As we persist, a brand-new kind of confidence is born, and the sense of relief at finally facing ourselves is indescribable. These are the first fruits of Step Four.

pp. 49-50

************************************************** *********

An old timer had shared in the meeting about praying for something,
and that God had answered her request. Someone asked her, "How
do you know it was God who granted your request?"
She replied..."I didn't ask anyone else."
--unknown

"When someone does something well, applaud! You will make two
people happy."
--Samuel Goldwyn

"Take time for solitude. How else can you contemplate the blessings
of recovery."
--Abby Warman

Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health,
happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your
friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side
of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and
expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as
you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on
to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile.
Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to
criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.
--Christian D. Larsen

Try to enjoy everything you do, Life is too short not to.
--unknown

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MONEY

"Money is the symbol of duty. It
is the sacrament of having done
for mankind that which mankind
wanted."
--Samuel Butler

St. Paul said, "The laborer is worthy of his hire." In one sense money -
how people pay us for the services we have performed - is symbolic of
our value in the community. Of course, this is not always true and
people can make money by dishonest and destructive methods.

However, in our society money is also a force behind much creativity
and job satisfaction. The danger is to become a "snob". Thinking that
we are better than others because we earn more money.

Spirituality is about discovering the "oneness" of mankind and
incorporating our creative "difference" - we can all learn from each
other. Pretentiousness is indicative of insecurities that need to be
dealt within our recovery program.

O Lord, let my gratitude be seen in my relationship with others.

************************************************** *********

"To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 'What gain is
there in my destruction, in my going down to the pit? Will the dust
praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be
merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.' You turned my wailing into
dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my
heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give
you thanks forever."
Psalm 30:8-12

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

It is far better to feel fulfilled than to feel important because you have taken on too much. Lord, help me eliminate the unnecessary demands in my life which only cause stress.

We are powerless to change our past, but we can change how we look at it. Lord, help me to realize that my past has made me a stronger person and show me that these experiences have taught me valuable life lessons.

[bluidkiti]

May 20

Daily Reflections

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Above all, take it one day at a time.
AS BILL SEES IT, p.11

Why do I kid myself that I must stay away from a drink for only one day,
when I know perfectly well I must never drink again as long as I live? I
am not kidding myself because one day at a time is probably the only
way I can reach the long-range objective of staying sober.
If I determine that I shall never drink again as long as I live, I set myself
up. How can I be sure I won't drink when I have no idea what the future
may hold?
On a day-at-a-time basis, I am confident I can stay away from a drink
for one day. So I set out with confidence. At the end of the day, I have
the reward of achievement. Achievement feels good and that makes me
want more!

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day
If we get up in a meeting and tell something about ourselves in order to
help the other person, we feel a whole lot better. It's the old law of the
more you give the more you get. Witnessing and confession are part of
keeping sober. You never know when you may help somebody. Helping
others is one of the best ways to stay sober yourself. And the
satisfaction you get out of helping a fellow human being is one of the
finest experiences you can have. Am I helping others?

Meditation For The Day
Without God, no real victory is ever won. All the military victories of
great conquerors have passed into history. The world might be better off
without military conquerors. The real victories are won in the
spiritual realm. "He that conquers himself is greater than he who
conquers a city." The real victories are victories over sin and
temptation, leading to a victorious and abundant life. Therefore,
keep a brave and trusting heart. Face all your difficulties in the spirit of
conquest. Remember that where God is, there is the true victory.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that the forces of evil in my life will flee before God's presence. I
pray that with God I will win the real victory over myself.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Defects and Repairs, p. 140

More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very
much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character.
This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a
certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn't deserve it.

<< << << >> >> >>

Guilt is really the reverse side of the coin of pride. Guilt aims at
self-destruction, and pride aims at the destruction of others.

<< << << >> >> >>

"The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that
occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a
true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of
us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits."

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 73
2. Grapevine, June 1961
3. Letter, 1957

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Gratitude is not natural.
Gratitude
"Nobody ever gave me a helping hand," a young alcoholic complained, having handed in prison. "My life has been one bad break after another."
While this person indeed had bad breaks, it's doubtful that he'd never been given a helping hand by somebody. If we have no gratitude, it's likely taht we don't ever recognize a helping hand when it is extended. We may have believed any assistance we took was our right, even resenting our benefactors.
The remedy for such immature thinking is a conscious effort to vultivate gratitude. IF we're not aware of feeling it, we can at least act as if we have it. Thank people for any favor, no matter how small. Express appreciation for the wonderful people around you. Give people praise at every opportunity.
This will help start a current of gratitude that can be amplified in time. You'll come to recognize many helping hands.
Today I'll be grateful and appreciative of everything in my life. I'll let gratitude build up in my life until I can feel it and others can sense that I have it.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. ---Matt. 15:14
The Twelve Step programs are sometime called self-help programs. But they're not really, because we all help each other. We don't stay sober by ourselves. Sometimes we call Twelve Step programs peer programs. And they are. All of us equal. No one is an expert. But we need to be careful who we choose for a sponsor. We each need to find someone who has been sober longer than us. Someone who understands the Steps. Someone who lives by them. Some we want to be like. We need to stick with the winners.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I know I'm like a blind person who is just beginning to see. Help me follow the path of those who see better than I do.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list the people in my program I go to for help. Am I sticking with the winners?

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

It only takes one person to change your life--you. --Ruth Casey
Change is not easy, but it's absolutely unavoidable. Doors will close. Barriers will surface. Frustrations will mount. Nothing stays the same forever, and it's such folly to wish otherwise. Growth accompanies positive change; determining to risk the outcome resulting from a changed behavior or attitude will enhance our self-perceptions. We will have moved forward; in every instance our lives will be influenced by making a change that only each of us can make.
We have all dreaded the changes we knew we had to make. Perhaps even now we fear some impending changes. Where might they take us? It's difficult accepting that the outcome is not ours to control. Only the effort is ours. The solace is that positive changes, which we know are right for us and other people in our lives, are never going to take us astray. In fact, they are necessary for the smooth path just beyond this stumbling block.
When we are troubled by circumstances in our lives, a change is called for, a change that we must initiate. When we reflect on our recent as well as distant past, we will remember that the changes we most dreaded again and again have positively influenced our lives in untold ways.
Change ushers in glad, not bad, tidings.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

My brother-in-law is a physician, and through his kindness and that of my mother I was placed in a nationally-known hospital for the mental and physical rehabilitation of alcoholics. Under the so-called belladonna treatment my brain cleared. Hydrotherapy and mild exercise helped much. Best of all, I met a kind doctor who explained that though certainly selfish and foolish, I had been seriously ill, bodily and mentally.

p. 7

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life; that unless he is now willing to work hard at the elimination of the worst of these defects, both sobriety and peace of mind will still elude him; that all the faulty foundation of his life will have to be torn out and built anew on bedrock. Now willing to commence the search for his own defects, he will ask, "Just how do I go about this? How do I take inventory of myself?"

p. 50

************************************************** *********

Thoughts have power. Thoughts are energy. You can make your world
or break it by your thinking.
--Susan Taylor

When life seems to be going in a direction you don't want, take a
moment and recognize all the wonderful gifts in your life. This really
helps you change your perspective and appreciate things once again.
--unknown

"Find places of healing. Discover people, things and places that
nourish your soul, bring you back to center, help you heal."
--Melody Beattie

What a lovely surprise to finally discover how unlonely being alone can
be.
--Ellen Burstyn

Lord, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen to me today
that You and I together can't handle.

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

RELIGION

"You have not converted a man
because you have silenced him."

--Viscount John Morley

I need to remember that you cannot force a person into faith. You
cannot make a person believe. You cannot bribe a person into prayer.
So much of my early religion was "a deal": you do this and you will get
this. If you do this for God and His church you will be happy and
successful. There always seemed to be a "payoff" with God, or that was
how it seemed.

I think many of the silent majority sense the same kind of thing; God has
got lost in "the business" of religion. Spirituality accepts the pain,
confusion and anger of this silent majority and says, "find a God as you
understand Him." Discover your power in your life - and then God will
be perceived.

Lord, in my silence is the "shout" heard.

************************************************** *********

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down
in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare
a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all
the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalms 23

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

You can keep things in perspective by realizing that not much in life is as urgent as others would like you to believe. Lord, help me to know and stay focused on that which is really important to me.

Our time here is short and there is still so much to be done. Lord, please let me do a little more for You today so that the world may be a little better because of me.

[bluidkiti]

May 21

Daily Reflections

A LIST OF BLESSINGS

One exercise that I practice is to try for a full inventory of my
blessings. . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 37

What did I have to be grateful for? I shut myself up and started listing
the blessings for which I was in no way responsible, beginning with
having been born of sound mind and body. I went through
seventy-four years of living right up to the present moment. The list
ran to two pages, and took two hours to compile; I included health,
family, money, A.A.-- the whole gamut.
Every day in my prayers, I ask God to help me remember my list, and
to be grateful for it throughout the day. When I remember my
gratitude list, it's very hard to conclude that God is picking on me.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the finest things about A.A. is the sharing. Sharing is a
wonderful thing because the more you share the more you have. in our
old drinking days, we didn't do much sharing. We used to keep things
to ourselves, partly because we were ashamed, but mostly because we
were selfish. And we were very lonely because we didn't share. When
we came into A.A., the first thing we found was sharing. We heard
other alcoholics frankly sharing their experiences with hospitals, jails,
and all the usual mess that goes with drinking. Am I sharing?

Meditation For The Day

Character is developed by the daily discipline of duties done. Be
obedient to the heavenly vision and take the straight way. Do not fall
into the error of calling "Lord, Lord," and doing not the things that
should be done. You need a life of prayer and meditation, but you must
still do your work in the busy ways of life. The busy person is wise to
rest and wait patiently for God's guidance. If you are obedient to the
heavenly vision, you can be at peace.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision. I pray if I fall, I
will pick myself up and go on.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

"Restore Us to Sanity", p. 141

Few indeed are the practicing alcoholics who have any idea how
irrational they are, or, seeing their irrationality, can bear to face it.
For example, some will be willing to term themselves "problem
drinkers," but cannot endure the suggestion that they are in fact
mentally ill.

They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not
understand the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism.
"Sanity" is defined as "soundness of mind." Yet no alcoholic, soberly
analyzing his destructive behavior, whether the destruction fell on
the dining-room furniture or his own moral fiber, can claim
"soundness of mind" for himself.

12 & 12, pp. 32-33

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

What is a disappointment?
Handling My Outlook
Try as we will for success and achievement, we still must face a number of disappointments in our lives. We may be disappointed by a sales presentation that failed, a repair project that became a nightmare, or a vacation plan that turned sour. How can we handle such disappointments in the spirit of the Twelve Step program?
We must remember not to be too hard on ourselves when disappointments occur. Disappoints are part of the human experience, not misfortunes that come only to certain individuals. If we've done our best in any situation, we are not responsible if it did not work out.
Even more important, we should use every disappointment as a learning experience. It's always possible that one disappointment will provide kernels of truth that will help us succeed in our next effort. Many people point to specific disappointments or setbacks as times when they are able to find new direction.
There are even times when disappointment in a lesser enterprise clears the way for success in a larger one. Whatever the outcome, no disappointment need be final---- nor should we take it as proof that we're somehow inadequate and unworthy.
I will be positive in my outlook, expecting every effort to be effective and successful. If disappointment comes, however, I will take it in stride, knowing that it's only a temporary detour in my successful life.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Be not afraid of growing slowing, be afraid only of standing still. ---Chinese proverb
All of us are a little afraid of growth. We wonder how growth will change our lives. Who will we be? Will our friend still love us? Can't we grow up and get in over with? Why does it take so long?
All of us have a need to keep growing. There is no age when we're "all grown up" and all done learning. But we don't need to rush our growth. Like a child on a too-big bicycle, at times we'll find ourselves out of control. We'll tip over. We can grow at our own pace, but we must grow. We must make changes. Or else, like an athlete on a too-small bicycle, we won't get far. We'll tip over too!

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Our friends were not unearthly beautiful, Nor spoke with tongues of gold; our lovers blundered now and again when we most sought perfection . . . --Adrienne Rich
So often our expectations exceed reality. We want more than we have; our homes, our loved ones, perhaps our jobs seem not to measure up. "If only"--we say to ourselves. The time has come to quit saying "if only" and be glad, instead, for what is.
We are recovering. We do have friends and family who care about us. We do have exactly what we need at this moment.
We each can make a contribution today for the good of someone else and thus for ourselves. And in the act of looking to this day--to giving something to another human being--we will sense the inner perfection we mistakenly long for in our outer selves.
I can look around me today and be thankful. I will tell someone close that I'm glad we share one another's world.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though it often remains strong in other respects. My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained. Understanding myself now, I fared forth in high hope. For three or four months the goose hung high. I went to town regularly and even made a little money. Surely this was the answer-self-knowledge.

p. 7

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Since Step Four is but the beginning of a lifetime practice, it can be suggested that he first have a look at those personal flaws which are acutely troublesome and fairly obvious. Using his best judgment of what has been right and what has been wrong, he might make a rough survey of his conduct with respect to his primary instincts for sex, security, and society. Looking back over his life, he can readily get under way by consideration of questions such as these:
When, and how, and in just what instances did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other people and me? What people were hurt, and how badly? Did I spoil my marriage and injure my children? Did I jeopardize my standing in the community? Just how did I react to these situations at the time? Did I burn with a guilt that nothing could extinguish? Or did I insist that I was the pursued and not the pursuer, and thus absolve myself? How have I reacted to frustration in sexual matters? When denied, did I become vengeful or depressed? Did I take it out on other people? If there was rejection or coldness at home, did I use this as a reason for promiscuity?

pp. 50-51

************************************************** *********

"If you do what you have always done, you'll get what you've always
gotten."
--Anon.

May today there be peace within.
May you trust your Highest Power that you are exactly where you are
meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love
that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the
freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun.
--unknown

It comes down to a moment-to-moment choice to serve the highest
good. It is not enough to do it just once today and figure that is it.
Keep choosing the highest good.
--John Morton

"The love that is real is the love that lies at the heart of all
relationships. That is the love of God, and it doesn't change
with form or circumstance."
--Marianne Williamson

"One seeks God in books; one finds him in prayer."
--Padre Pio

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ART

"Art flourishes where there is a
sense of adventure."
--A. N. Whitehead

Today I enjoy and am sustained by the adventure of life. The
adventure of living. The adventure of living my life. For years I spent
my time avoiding situations, avoiding people, avoiding me. Now in my
daily recovery I need to participate and experience my spiritual
energy. I want to meet new people. I want to travel. I want to work
productively and earn money. I want to add something to this beautiful
world.

I am discovering in my recovery that experiencing my creative
spirituality makes me an artist. God is found in the hugs I give and the
early morning "hellos" I shout to strangers. Today I am not afraid
anymore. Today I am alive.

God, may I seek and find You in the small and mundane things of life;
let me find You where I am.

************************************************** *********

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us
and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and
He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
1 John 4:11-13

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 4:16

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Strengthen your character by knowing which things in life are nonnegotiable to you. Lord, I pray for the strength to say no when saying yes would go against that in which I believe.

Forgiveness frees the heart and moves us from the victim to the one who is in control of our lives. Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

[bluidkiti]

May 22

Daily Reflections

STEP ONE

WE . . . (The first word of the First Step)
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21

When I was drinking all I could ever think about was "I, I, I,"
or "Me, Me, Me." Such painful obsessions of self, such soul
sickness, such spiritual selfishness bound me to the bottle for
more than half my life.
The journey to find God and to do His will one day at a time
began with the first word of the First Step . . . "We." There
was power in numbers, there was strength in numbers, there was
safety in numbers, and for an alcoholic like me, there was
life in numbers, If I had tried to recover alone I probably
would have died. With God and another alcoholic I have a
divine purpose in my life . . . I have become a channel for
God's healing love.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

What impresses us most at an A.A. meeting is the willingness
to share, without holding anything back. And pretty soon we
find ourselves sharing also. We start telling our own
experiences and by so doing we help the other person. And
when we've got these things off our chest, we feel a lot
better. It does us a lot of good to share with some other
poor unfortunate person who's in the same box that we were
in. And the more we share, the more we have left for ourselves.
Do I know that the more I share, the better chance I'll have
to stay sober?

Meditation For The Day

Constantly claim God's strength. Once convinced of the right
of a course of action, once reasonably sure of God's guidance,
claim that strength now. You can claim all the strength you
need to meet any situation. You can claim a new supply when
your own supply is exhausted. You have a right to claim it and
you should use your right. A beggar supplicates, a child
appropriates. When you supplicate, you are often kept waiting,
but when you appropriate God's strength in a good cause, you
have it at once.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may claim God's strength whenever I need it. I
pray that I may try to live as a child of God.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

God-Given Instincts, p. 142

Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't
be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert
themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest
food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't
reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social
instinct, there would be no society.

Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed
their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they
drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives.

<< << << >> >> >>

We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We subjected
each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We asked God to
mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered
always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good,
neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed.

1. 12 & 12, p. 42
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 69

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Emotional sobriety may be elusive
Serenity
It is easy to know when one is maintaining sobriety as far as alcohol is concerned. Emotional sobriety is more difficult to measure, because is it usually gauged by our behavior and feelings in response to people and situations.
If we lack emotional sobriety, we are likely to end up in "dry drunks". This means we lose emotional control under pressure or when threatened. We may think we have this control, yet find ourselves falling apart when seemingly small problems come up.
Maybe we have to accept that we will never have all the emotional control that we admire in others. This emotional sensitivity may even be part of our alcoholism. Most important, we must ensure that emotional binges do not become binges involving real booze.
Nor should wed judge ourselves too harshly when we undergo another emotional binge, or "dry drunk." Such judgmental attitudes, even toward ourselves, may be a form of false pride.
Today I'll seek all the serenity I can find. If I lose my cool temporarily, I'll accept it as part of my general problem and get back to orderly thinking as quickly as possible.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Showing up is 80 percent of life.---Woody Allen
Life is full of things we don't want to do. Yet when all parts of us( mind, body, spirit) show up, things go okay. By being there, we can learn about ourselves and help others.
Showing up means we care about our program. It means we speak up at meetings. It means we care about our family, our friends, the world. It means we listen when a friend has a bad day. It means seeing ourselves in others. It means we talk to someone who bothers us. Showing up means we laugh when something seems funny. It means we cry when we feel sad. We're important, and we need to bring our mind, body, and spirit with us---wherever we go. Have I learned to show up, all of me?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me show up for my life. Help me show up to do my part in Your plan today.
Today's Action: As I go through my day, I'll think about how I'm showing up for my life. I'll be proud of myself for doing my part.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

The change of one simple behavior can affect other behaviors and thus change many things. --Jean Baer
Our behavior tells others and ourselves, who we are. Frequently, we find ourselves behaving in ways that keep us stuck or embarrass us. Or we may feel deep shame for our behavior in a certain instance. Our behavior will never totally please us. But deciding we want to change some behavior and using the program to help us, is a first step.
Remember, imperfections are human and very acceptable. However, changing a particular behavior, maybe deciding to take a walk every morning rather than sleeping 30 extra minutes, will change how we feel about ourselves. And a minor change such as this can have a remarkable effect on our outlook, our attitudes.
The dilemma for many of us for so long was the fear we couldn't change. But we can. And we can help each other change, too.
One small change today--a smile at the first person I meet--meditation before dinner--a few minutes of exercise--will help me chart a new course. I will encourage another woman to join me in this effort too, and I will be on my way.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

But it was not, for the frightful day came when I drank once more. The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump. After a time I returned to the hospital. This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me. My weary and despairing wife was informed that it would all end with heart failure during delirium tremens, or I would soon have to give me over to the undertaker or the asylum.

p. 7

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Also of importance for most alcoholics are the questions they must ask about their behavior respecting financial and emotional security. In these areas fear, greed, possessiveness, and pride have too often done their worst. Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability? Did fear and inferiority about my fitness for my job destroy my confidence and fill me with conflict? Did I try to cover up those feelings of inadequacy by bluffing, cheating, lying, or evading responsibility? Or by griping that others failed to recognize my truly exceptional abilities? Did I overvalue myself and play the big shot? Did I have such unprincipled ambition that I double-crossed and undercut my associates? Was I extravagant? Did I recklessly borrow money, caring little whether it was repaid or not? Was I a pinch penny, refusing to support my family properly? Did I cut corners financially? What about the "quick money" deals, the stock market, and the races?

p. 51

************************************************** *********

You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because
you stopped laughing.
--unknown

God cannot help those who do not seize opportunities.
--Chinese Proverb

Help yourself and God will help you.
--Dutch Proverb

"No one grows old by living, only by losing interest in living."
--Marie Beynon Ray

"There is just one life for each of us: our own."
--Euripides

Too often we under estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
--Leo Buscaglia

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

EARTH

"This could be such a beautiful world."
Rosalind Welcher

The beauty that I see in the world also reveals a sadness - a sadness in
knowing that it could be a much more loving and accepting place for
everybody. If only we would get together in our difference instead of
demanding sameness.

We destroy so much God--given beauty by our desire to control,
understand and arrogantly pursue a philosophy of selfishness - and we
all lose.

But my spiritual hope for tomorrow comes in the creative choices I
make today.

Let me be a good steward in Your world because it is Your gift to me.

************************************************** *********

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates
his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must
follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will
honor the one who serves me."
John 12:24-26

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

To be happy, we must live in the present. Living in the past often brings painful memories and living in the future can bring worry and fear. Lord, when my thoughts slip away, help me quickly return my attention to where I am at this moment.

God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.

[bluidkiti]

May 23

Daily Reflections

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out
mentally and physically.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p 64

It is very difficult for me to come to terms with my
spiritual illness because of my great pride, disguised by
my material successes and my intellectual power.
Intelligence is not incompatible with humility, provided
I place humility first. To seek prestige and wealth is
the ultimate goal for many in the modern world. To be
fashionable and to seem better than I really am is a
spiritual illness.
To recognize and to admit my weakness is the beginning of
good spiritual health. It is a sign of spiritual health
to be able to ask God every day to enlighten me, to
recognize His will, and to have the strength to execute
it. My spiritual health is excellent when I realize that
the better I get, the more I discover how much help I
need from others.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The Twelfth Step of A.A., working with others, can be
subdivided into five parts, five words beginning with the
letter C; confidence, confession, conviction, conversion,
and continuance. The first thing in trying to help other
alcoholics is to get their confidence. We do this by telling
them our own experiences with drinking, so that they see
that we know what we're talking about. If we share our
experiences frankly, they will know that we are sincerely
trying to help them. They will realize that they're not alone
and that others have had experiences as bad or worse than
theirs. This gives them confidence that they can be helped.
Do I care enough about other alcoholics to get their confidence?

Meditation For The Day

I fail not so much when tragedy happens as I did before the
happening, by all the little things I might have done, but did
not do. I must prepare for the future by doing the right thing
at the right time now. If a thing should be done, I should deal
with that thing today and get it righted with God before I
allow myself to undertake any new duty. I should look upon
myself as performing God's errands and then coming back to Him
to tell Him in quiet communion that the message has been
delivered or the task done.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may seek no credit for the results of what I do.
I pray that I may leave the outcome of my actions to God.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

A.A.'s School of Life, p. 143

Within A.A., I suppose, we shall always quarrel a good bit. Mostly, I
think, about how to do the greatest good for the greatest number of
drunks. We shall have our childish spats and snits over small
questions of money management and who is going to run our groups
for the next six months. Any bunch of growing children (and that is
what we are) would hardly be in character if they did less.

These are the growing pains of infancy, and we actually thrive on
them. Surmounting such problems, in A.A.'s rather rugged school of
life, is a healthy exercise.

A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 233

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Avoid the paralysis of analysis
Practical Spirituality
The good news of the Twelve step program is that we have a Higher Power whose presence serves as a source of guidance and understanding as we go through each day. Letting this power work through us is only a matter of will..... God drawsas near to us as we wish to draw near to God.
As we let our Higher Power work, we remember that no scientific explanation for this process is necessary. We could paralyse our spiritual activity by trying to analyze it, thus bringing about an undesirable "paralysis or analysis." It's also not necessary to win another's endorsement of what we're trying to do. We must not be influenced by any scorn or ridicule of our efforts.
All that's necessary is that we know God in our own lives and stay faithful to our program. We let the presence of God work freely and smoothly as we go about our business.
I'll work today with the comfortable knowledge that God is really doing work through me.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

The present will not long endure.---Pindar
At certain moments, our best friend is time. Time is a gift given us. Time helps us heal. We need to know that when things are tough, these times will pass, and peace will return. Our Higher Power can be like a parent who comforts a child when there's a storm outside. The parent gently reminds the child the sun will shine again.
Tough times come and go. There will be times when life is ugly and very painful. We can't be happy all the time. Remember, our Higher Power is always there. We must have faith in this. A saying often heard in the program is, "This too shall pass."
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, remind me that things will get better. Even if they get worst for a while, they will get better. Let this be my prayer in hard times.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list times in my life when I thought I couldn't go on. I'll remember the pain, but I'll also remember how time was my friend.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Give as much of yourself as you can to as much of your higher power as you can understand. --S.H.
The more we are in concert with God, the greater will be our pleasures in life. Recognizing our partnership with our higher power makes every decision easier, facilitates the completion of every task, and removes all uncertainty about our value to this world, particularly to those persons around us.
Knowledge that we are never alone, that in every circumstance our best interests are being cared for, softens whatever blow we encounter. The blows teach us; they are the lessons the inner self has requested, and let us never forget we have a ready tutor to see us through every assignment.
The more we rely on God to see us through the mundane activities as well as the troubling experiences, the greater will be our certainty that all is well, our lives are on course, and a plan is unfolding little by little that has our best interests at its center.
My understanding of God and the power of that presence is proportionate to my reliance on that power. Not unlike the power of electricity, I can plug into the source of the "light" of understanding and for the strength to see my way through any experience today.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

They did not need to tell me. I knew, and almost welcomed the idea. It was a devastating blow to my pride. I, who had thought so well of myself and my abilities, of my capacity to surmount obstacles, was cornered at last. Now I was to plunge into the dark, joining that endless procession of sots who had gone on before. I thought of my poor wife. There had been much happiness after all. What would I not give to make amends. But that was over now.

pp. 7-8

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Businesswomen in A.A. will naturally find that many of these questions apply to them, too. But the alcoholic housewife can also make the family financially insecure. She can juggle charge accounts, manipulate the food budget, spend her afternoons gambling, and run her husband into debt by irresponsibility, waste, and extravagance.

p. 51

************************************************** *********

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa said:
"What can you do to promote world peace?
Go home and love your family."
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself, and know that
everything in this life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no
coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.
--Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

"There's no elevator, you have to take the steps."
--unknown

"Yard by yard it's very hard. But inch by inch, it's a cinch."
--Anon.

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"If we take care of the inches, we will not have to worry about the
miles."
--Hartley Coleridge

This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love;
the more they give, the more they possess.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

EFFORT

"Do what you can, with what
you have, where you are."
--Theodore Roosevelt

Because we are not perfect, we need only do our best. Because our
recovery from addiction is an on-going process, we will discover that
our best is improving on a daily basis. It is so easy to beat ourselves up
emotionally by thinking that our best is not good enough. Even after
years of recovery we still hear the old tapes: "People do not want to
listen to you." "Is that all that you can do?"

We need to remember that the disease of addiction still lives in our
recovery. However, our honest attempts at dealing with a problem or
helping another with a problem - provided they are honest attempts -
will usually be more than sufficient.

Today I accept my best attempts with gratitude and I am not too proud
to seek the advice of another.

God, accept the best that I can offer as an instrument of Your peace.

************************************************** *********

He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles.
Proverbs 21:23

All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received
them, and they shall be granted.
Mark 11:24

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Instead of overreacting, try underreacting because this response shows wisdom, patience and peace. Lord, help me respond to situations in a manner that allows me to solve problems rather than create more.

Be sensitive to the feelings of others and show the same forgiveness and compassion that the Lord gives to you. Lord, give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to listen.

[bluidkiti]

May 24

Daily Reflections

"HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE"

We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot
subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once
was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own
misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of
misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity
to demonstrate His omnipotence.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 133

For years I believed in a punishing God and blamed Him for my
misery. I have learned that I must lay down the "weapons" of self in
order to pick up the "tools" of the A.A. program. I do not struggle
with the program because it is a gift and I have never struggled when
receiving a gift. If I sometimes keep on struggling, it is because I'm still
hanging onto my old ideas and ". . . the results are nil."

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be
convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and
admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that
they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely
honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They
must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see
that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough
about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction?

Meditation For The Day

There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep
that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought
of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will
help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's
will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark,
hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up
to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems
beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish
with God's help.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray
that I may always rely on the power of God to help me.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Blind Trust?, p. 144

"Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love, nor can
there be real love where distrust holds its malign sway.

"But does trust require that we be blind to each other people's
motives or indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most
certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the
capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a
private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should
extend in any given situation.

"However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of
understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our judgment as
the negative emotions of suspicion, jealously, or anger.

"Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought to let him
know of our full support. Because of this, more often than not he will
respond magnificently, and far beyond our first expectations."

Letter, 1966

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Guidance and Power in making Decisions.
Higher power
The Twelve Step movement grews out of an earlier society that emphasized taking "quiet times" and seeking continous guidance in a group setting. While this isn't usually practiced by 12 step groups anymore, such exercises are still recommended for individuals.
Our needs in seeking guidance are twofold; FIRST, we msut reach a belief that our higher power is always available to supply the guidance and power we need. SECOND, we must take care to set aside personal opinions and prejudices while letting real guidance come through. We can easily fall into serious error by assuming that our own impulses and prejudices are "the will of God" for ourselves and others.
How can we identify real guidance when it comes? Usually, we have a sense of peace and rightness about a God-inspired decision. This will be accompanied by a confidence that the correct way will bed shown to us, perhaps a step at a time. The right decision will also be morally correct, involving no harm to others.
I'll seek the guidance of my Higher power in all things today, knowing that I have within myself the capacity to heed such guidance and follow it.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

The way to love anything is to realize it might be lost. ---G.K. Chesterton
Every day we take so much for granted. But we can count certain blessings: a roof over our head, food, clothing, family, and friends, freedom, a Higher Power we trust. These things are special.
Thinking about them wakes up our happiness. Our recovery program shows us how happy. we just have to remember to do what it tells us!
Step Ten helps us wake up our happiness. Each evening, as we think about our day, we can give thanks for the things we love: our recovery, our health, and the special people in our lives. If we spend part of our day thinking about these important areas, we wont lose them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me make the most of my blessings today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll tell five people I love that I'm glad to have them in my life. And I'll tell each of them one reason why.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

It's ironic, but until you can free those final monsters within the jungle of yourself, your life, your soul is up for grabs. --Rona Barrett
We all have monsters. Maybe it's depression over the past or present circumstances, or resentment about another's behavior, or fear of new situations. Maybe it's jealousy of other women. The more attention we give the monsters, the more powerful they get. The harder we try to resist the jealousy or depression or fear, the greater it becomes.
The program offers us the way to let go. And we find the way through one another. When we share ourselves fully with one another, share our monsters with one another, they no longer dominate us. They seek the dark recesses of our minds, and when we shine the light on them, they recoil. The program offers us an eternal light.
I will let the program shine its light in my life today. My monsters will flee for the day.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.

p. 8

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

But all alcoholics who have drunk themselves out of jobs, family, and friends will need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have thus demolished their security.

pp. 51-52

************************************************** *********

"Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form
of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them."
--John (Jay) McCloy

I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst
from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable
misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to
them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to
sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can
choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I
have - life itself.
--Walter Anderson

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for
responsibility.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness
without action."
--Benjamin Disraeli

Appreciate the time that you have been given. Don't procrastinate,
because you just may not get the chance to do something you have
been meaning to do.
--unknown

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for
those who love, time is eternity.
--Henry Van Dyke

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IMMATURITY

"My mother loved children - she
would have given anything if I
had been one."
--Groucho Marx

For too many years I allowed myself to be treated as a child. I played
the child role in order to avoid responsibility. Part of my
people-pleasing was living as a thirty-year-old child! I was afraid to
say "no". Afraid to disappoint or hurt another's feelings. Afraid to tell
my parents how they were hurting me by their need to control my life.
God, when I think about it, I spent years feeling guilty and afraid.

Today I am willing to deal with this pain in my life; today I am willing
to talk about it. My biggest relief comes in knowing that I am not
alone. There are millions of us out there. The difference is I have a
program today that enables me to talk about it.

God, help me to be child-like without being childish. Help me to grow
into maturity with a smile.

************************************************** *********

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to
the bones.
Proverbs 16:24

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
Psalm 37:1-9

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Do not be upset by events of the past, rather be upset by the time and energy you are devoting to them. Lord, help me to enjoy each moment by completely letting go of the past.

Appreciate every moment of life because even in your darkest moment God is with you. Lord, I know that when things become too difficult for me, You will take my burden and carry me. I am not afraid.

[bluidkiti]

May 25

Daily Reflections

PROGRESSIVE GRATITUDE
Gratitude should go forward, rather than backward.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 29

I am very grateful that my Higher Power has given me a second
chance to live a worthwhile life. Through Alcoholics Anonymous, I
have been restored to sanity. The promises are being fulfilled in my
life. I am grateful to be free from the slavery of alcohol. I am grateful
for peace of mind and the opportunity to grow, but my gratitude should go
forward rather than backward. I cannot stay sober on yesterday's
meetings or past Twelfth-Step calls; I need to put my gratitude into
action today. Our co-founder said our gratitude can best be shown by
carrying the message to others. Without action, my gratitude is just a
pleasant emotion. I need to put it into action by working Step Twelve,
by carrying the message and practicing the principles in all my affairs.
I am grateful for the chance to carry the message today!

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be
convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and
admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that
they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely
honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They
must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see
that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough
about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction?

Meditation For The Day

There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep
that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought
of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will help
you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's will
for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark, hard ground.
There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up to the
surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems beyond
your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish with
God's help.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray
that I may always rely on the power of God to help me.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

To Take Responsibility, p. 145

Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and
brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a
moving and fascinating adventure.

But every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new
adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an
accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in
his wake.

<< << << >> >> >>

The readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to
take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is
the very spirit of Step Nine.

12 & 12
1. p. 77
2. p. 87

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Forgetting past failures
Living today.
"You never do anything right!" Some of us carry this accusation deep in our minds, perhaps from childhood. We remember past mistakes and failures, sometimes dregging them up again when new failures occur.
When we do this, we unduly burden ourselves with a past that should be released and forgotten. The result of past mistakes was a feeling of inadequacy and helplessness that prolonged our sickness. IN those troubled days, we were trying to solve our problems inways that actually made the problems worse. On that path, there was no hope of a real solution.
Today our failure and mistakes are but signs that we are will human and still fall short of perfection. But now we can use failure to good advantage and even learn from it. Our best progress will come when we separate ourselves from the mistakes and failures of the past.
Today I will not believe that "I never did anything right!" I will go through the day knowing that I am capable and effective, and have the help of my higher power in everything I do.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me.---Virginia Satir
Let's keep this in mind: each of us is special in our own way. Often, we're hard on ourselves because we're different.
Our Twelve Step groups pull our differences together. We listen and learn from our differences.
We learn to see that each one of us is different---and this is important. Our program and the Steps stay alive for us, because each new person brings a different way of seeing things. Let's celebrate our differences instead of trying to be alike.
Prayer for the Day: Today, is a day to celebrate that, in all of the world, there is only one me. Thank-you, Higher Power, and help me see clearly how special I am.
Action for the Day: I'll make a list of what makes me special. I'll share this with a friend or my sponsor and my Higher Power.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

One is happy as a result of one's own efforts, once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness--simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience. Happiness is no vague dream, of that I now feel certain. --George Sand
We are as happy as we make up our minds to be, so goes the saying. But happiness is the result of right actions. We prepare for it daily. We chart our course. Many of us have to first determine where we want to go before we can decide on the chart. We have perhaps passively floated along for years. But now the time is right to navigate, to move toward a goal.
We may have fears about moving ahead. We can be courageous, however. Strength is at hand, always, if we but ask for it. We can make a small beginning today. And every day, we can do at least one thing we need to do to bring us closer to our goal. Accomplishment, however small, nurtures good feelings. Happiness is the byproduct.
Today is wide open. I will decide on a course of action and move ahead. All around me help is available for the asking.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Trembling, I stepped from the hospital a broken man. Fear sobered me for a bit. Then came the insidious insanity of that first drink, and on Armistice Day 1934, I was off again. Everyone became resigned to the certainty that I would have to be shut up somewhere, or would stumble along to a miserable end. How dark it is before the dawn! In reality that was the beginning of my last debauch. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the forth dimension of existence. I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness as time passes.

p. 8

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

The most common symptoms of emotional insecurity are worry, anger, self-pity, and depression. These stem from causes which sometimes seem to be within us, and at other times to come from without. To take inventory in this respect we ought to consider carefully all personal relationships which bring continuous or recurring trouble. It should be remembered that this kind of insecurity may arise in any area where instincts are threatened. Questioning directed to this end might run like this: Looking at both past and present, what sex situations have caused me anxiety, bitterness, frustration, or depression? Appraising each situation fairly, can I see where I have been at fault? Did these perplexities beset me because of selfishness or unreasonable demands? Or, if my disturbance was seemingly caused by the behavior of others, why do I lack the ability to accept conditions I cannot change? These are the sort of fundamental inquiries that can disclose the source of my discomfort and indicate whether I may be able to alter my own conduct and so adjust myself serenely to self-discipline.

p. 52

************************************************** *********

"I'd never trade my worst day sober for my best day drunk."
--unknown

"If you do what you have always done, you'll get what you've always
gotten."
--Anon

He who learns, teaches.
--African Proverb

"You must get good at one of two things: sowing in the spring or
begging in the fall."
--Jim Rohn

"Don't ever slam a door; you might want to go back."
--Don Herold

"We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege
and adventure to discover our own special light.
--Mary Dunbar

God bids me to do the right and loving thing.
--SweetyZee

" For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness"
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

God knows our hearts and wants better for us than we can dream.

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

VARIETY

"The growth of the human mind is
still high adventure, in many ways
the highest adventure on earth."
--Norman Cousins

Today my life is an adventure. I am prepared for the unusual; I expect
the confusion of life; I revel in God's reflected difference within
creation: variety and the acceptance of variety is part of my joy in
living.

God is to be found in the "odd" things in life: The dance, relationships,
Charlie Chaplin, jogging, the pet dog and the sincere hug. The
adventure we find in life reflects our adventure in God.

Spirituality is seeing beyond the ordinary into the extraordinary: "The
Kingdom of God is within".

May I always seek to find You in the smallest and strangest places.

************************************************** *********

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your
souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

The best way to guide your own behavior is to make a commitment to always be a good example. Lord, may I be a reflection of Your love.

Should you find your energy lapsing, a sure remedy is to give someone a helping hand or a word of support and make their day. Lord, You are patient with me and loving. May I be the same with the people in my life.
Appreciate every moment of life because even in your darkest moment God is with you. Lord, I know that when things become too difficult for me, You will take my burden and carry me. I am not afraid.

[bluidkiti]

May 26

Daily Reflections

TURNING NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE

Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend
so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and
setbacks. If you will bear this in mind. I think that your
slip will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead
of down.
AS BILL SEES IT , p. 184

In keeping with the pain and adversity which our founders
encountered and overcame in establishing A.A., Bill W.
sent us a clear message: a relapse can provide a positive
experience toward abstinence and a lifetime of recovery.
A relapse brings truth to what we hear repeatedly in
meetings - "Don't take that first drink!" It reinforces
the belief in the progressive nature of the disease, and
it drives home the need for, and beauty of, humility in
our spiritual program. Simple truths come in complicated
ways to me when I become ego driven.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In twelfth-step work, the fourth thing is conversion.
Conversion means change. Prospects must learn to change
their way of thinking. Until now, everything they've done
has been connected with drinking. Now they must face a new
kind of life, without liquor. They must see and admit that
they cannot overcome drinking by their own willpower, so
they must turn to a Higher Power for help. They must start
each day by asking this Higher Power for the strength to
stay sober. This conversion to belief in a Higher Power
comes gradually, as they try it and find that it works. Do
I care enough about other alcoholics to help them to make
this conversion?

Meditation For The Day

Discipline of yourself is absolutely necessary before the
power of God is given to you. When you see others manifesting
the power of God, you probably have not seen the discipline
that went before. They made themselves ready. All your life
is a preparation for more good to be accomplished when God
knows that you are ready for it. So keep disciplining yourself
in the spiritual life every day. Learn so much of the spiritual
laws that your life cannot again be a failure. Others will see
the outward manifestation of the inward discipline in your
daily living.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may manifest God's power in my daily living.
I pray that I may discipline myself so as to be ready to
meet every opportunity.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

"Do as I Do . . .", p. 146

Perhaps more often than we think, we make no contact at depth with
alcoholics who are suffering the dilemma of no faith.

Certainly none are more sensitive to spiritual cocksureness, pride,
and aggression than they are. I'm sure this is something we too often
forget.

In A.A.'s first years, I all but ruined the whole undertaking with this
sort of unconscious arrogance, God as I understood Him had to be for
everybody. Sometimes my aggression was subtle and sometimes it
was crude. But either way it was damaging--perhaps fatally so--to
numbers of nonbelievers.

Of course this sort of thing isn't confined to Twelfth Step work. It is
very apt to leak out into our relations with everybody. Even now, I
catch myself chanting that same old barrier-building refrain: "Do as
I do, believe as I do--or else!

Grapevine, April 1961

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Today's problem_____ Orderly living
Facing a vexing or even threatening problem, we sometimes feel a sense of hopefulness or futility. "How will I ever get through this situation?" we think.
The truth is we have probably worked our way through many situations much like today's problem. It is a wonder, for example, that most of us survived the crises brought on by our compulsion. We will certainly be able to work through or around today's problem.
The Twelve step program is a plan for mastering the problems of life. As we apply its principles in all of our affairs, we find improvements beginning to appear. We also can find the confidence and fortitude that we've always needed.
Knowing that my Higher power is in the midst of the situation, I'll face today's problem with the assurance of an outcome that will be for my highest good.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

When I look at the future, it's so bright, it burns my eyes.---Oprah Winfrey
During our illness, it was as if our spirit lived in a deep, dark cave. Our spirit became gloomy, cold, and lonely. Our spirit didn't know how to get out of the cave. We were dying.
Recovery brings us into the sunlight. At first, we can't see a thing---it's too bright! The world stretches around us---it's so big! There are so many way to go! We don't know what to do.
But our eyes get used to the light, and we feel the warm rays of the sun. We see we aren't alone anymore. We relax. We know our spirit is in a better place---a place where we can live!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me feel at home in the sunlight of my new life.
Action for the Day: Addiction made my world so small. It made my future so dark. Today, I'll list three new choices I want to make to better my life.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Out of every crisis comes the chance to be reborn, to reconceive ourselves as individuals, to choose the kind of change that will help us to grow and to fulfill ourselves more completely. --Nena O'Neill
Before choosing to recover, most of us lived through crisis after crisis. Many days we sought the oblivion of alcohol and drugs rather than face fears that ate away at us. It probably wasn't possible for most of us to realize that a crisis was a tool for growth.
Even today, even in our recovery program, even though the clouds are clearing and we are feeling better about ourselves, a crisis may overwhelm us for a time. We do find help for it, though. We can breathe deeply, look to our higher power, listen for the messages that are coming through from our friends. And we can choose among the many options for the right action to take at this time.
Life is a series of lessons. Crises can be seen as the homework. They aren't there to defeat us but to help us grow--to graduate us into the next stage of life.
Today, I will look for my lessons and feel exhilarated by the growth that is guaranteed.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

Near the end of that bleak November, I sat drinking in my kitchen. With a certain satisfaction I reflected there was enough gin concealed about the house to carry me through that night and the next day. My wife was at work. I wondered whether I dared hide a full bottle of gin near the head of our bed. I would need it before daylight.

p. 8

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Suppose that financial insecurity constantly arouses these same feelings. I can ask myself to what extent have my own mistakes fed my gnawing anxieties. And if the actions of others are part of the cause, what can I do about that? If I am unable to change the present state of affairs, am I willing to take the measures necessary to shape my life to conditions as they are? Questions like these, more of which will come to mind easily in each individual case, will help turn up the root causes.

pp. 52-53

************************************************** *********

Choose to make a life, rather than a living... There is no need to
recriminate yourself. Simply notice what you've been choosing and
choose again!
--unknown

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

"Knowledge of 'the answers' never made anyone relapse. It was
failing to practice 'the answers' known."
--Anonymous

Today is the most important day I have lived.
--SweetyZee

God, help me be clear with you and myself about what I really want.
Then, help me let go of my intentions and surrender to your plan.
--Melody Beattie

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SPACE

"That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind."
--Neil A. Armstrong

Man is able to do such wonderful things in this world. There is no end
to what man can achieve when he behaves responsibly and honestly,
working together with others to discover more about himself and the
universe. God has truly made man in His own image with all the power
and creativity that that implies.

The danger that forever surrounds man is greed, pride and the misuse
of "power".

As a recovering alcoholic I understand this only too well. I wanted to
be out in front, and ego made me arrogant and selfish. If this is true
for me and other human beings, it is also true for governments,
countries and alliances. Countries don't make wars, people do;
countries don't have achievements, people do - and this universe must
be seen as belonging to everyone or it will belong to no one!

Let us learn to enjoy and share Your garden and not destroy it.

************************************************** *********

Come near to God and he will come near to you.
James 4:8a

Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock
eternal.
Isaiah 26:4

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust
in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God
lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.
So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face
him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this
world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all
fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows
that his love has not been perfected in us. We love each other
as a result of his loving us first.
1 John 4: 16-19

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."
Psalm 62:5

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Avoid becoming defensive and possibly causing conflict by taking a moment to think before you respond. Lord, help me to believe in myself strongly so that I am able to turn down invitations that make me feel bad.

God's plans for you are beyond your imagination. Lord, may I not limit myself to my past experiences, but be willing to accept new opportunities and challenges into my life.

[bluidkiti]

May 27

Daily Reflections

NO MAUDLIN GUILT

Day by day, we try to move a little toward God's perfection. So we
need not be consumed by maudlin guilt...
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 15

When I first discovered that there is not a single "don't" in the
Twelve Steps of A.A., I was disturbed because this discovery swung
open a giant portal. Only then was I able to realize what A.A. is for
me:
A.A. is not a program of "don'ts", but of "do's."
A.A. is not martial law; it is freedom.
A.A. is not tears over defects, but sweat over fixing them.
A.A. is not penitence; it is salvation.
A.A. is not "Woe to me" for my sins, past and present.
A.A. is "Praise God" for the progress I am making today.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In twelfth-step work, the fifth thing is Continuance. Continuance
means our staying with prospects after they have started on the new
way of living. We must stick with them and not let them down. We
must encourage them to go to meetings regularly for fellowship and
help. They will learn that keeping sober is a lot easier in the fellowship
of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must continue to
help prospects by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or
writing them so that they don't get out of touch with A.A. Continuance
means good sponsorship. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to
continue with them as long as necessary?

Meditation For The Day

Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the
ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and
grounded while at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower
that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary. Without a
strong root, it would soon wither. The higher the growth upward, the
deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot flower into success and
helpfulness unless it is rooted in a strong faith, or unless it feels deeply
secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel
deeply secure.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

A.A.--the Lodestar, p. 147

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the
problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or
research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can
be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that
A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error."

As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise
success--even a little success.

>> >> >>

Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will
generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in
A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and
help that kept them at it.

Grapevine, March 1958

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Who is important?
Respect for people.
The Twelve step movement grew out of an earlier society, the Oxford group, whose members believed in "key People." They embraced the idea that attracting promising individuals with high standing would, in turn, attract others.
We've also had such people in AA and other 12 step groups, and we are grateful for their examples and efforts. We've learned, however, not to view one person as more important than anotehrs. We could even harm a recovering person by focusing on his or her personal prestige in the community. Our purpose is to help people get well, not to run a club empasizing social standing.
We'll find our program working much better if we treat all people equally, and view them as equal in the sight of God. We have a standing in God's sight that is eternal and everlasting.
I'll extend kind and generous thoughts toward every person I meet today. We are all children of equal standing in the sight of God.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

It's only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.---Henry David Thoreau
The biggest danger we face as recovering people is self-will. Do we try to control others?
Do we always put ourselves before others? Are we full of self-pity? These are all ways that bind us to our self-will.
In recovery, we put our lives in the hands of a loving God. Here, we find a new home. Our goal is to lose as much of our self-will as we can. We than put love in place of self-will. Recovery is truly about love.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray and offer my self-will to You, Self-will is a danger to my sobriety. I pray that I may be closer to You than to myself.
Action for the Day: I'll list the areas that self-will get in my way. I'll read my list every day next week, and I'll try to put love in place of self will.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

As the wheel of the decades turns, so do a person's needs, desires, and tasks. Each of us does, in effect, strike a series of "deals" or compromises between the wants and longings of the inner self, and an outer environment that offers certain possibilities and sets certain limitations. --Maggie Scarf
What life has measured out may not be what we had dreamed of. Life's lessons may not be those we'd have chosen to learn. Wisdom dictates that the joy of life is proportional to the ease with which we accept those possibilities for growth that have grown out of our inner desires.
Our desires are like an outline for a written assignment, a research project. They help us to see where we want to go at any one time, but as we move the direction may need to change. The natural flow of "the assignment" will help to refine it.
We may not have tried to "realize" many of our desires in the past. But the time has come. One of the joys of recovery is that we understand our desires are closely related to our spiritual program and our recovery. And we know we are not alone. We need to attend to the inner desires that beckon to us. They are calling us to move forward.
Today, I can take the first few steps.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

My musing was interrupted by the telephone. The cheery voice of an old school friend asked if he might come over. HE WAS SOBER. It was years since I could remember his coming to New York in that condition. I was amazed. Rumor had it that he had been committed for alcoholic insanity. I wondered how he had escaped. Of course he would have dinner, and then I could drink openly with him. Unmindful of his welfare, I thought only of recapturing the spirit of other days. There was that time we had chartered an airplane to complete a jag! His coming was an oasis in this dreary desert of futility. The very thing - an oasis! Drinkers are like that.

pp. 8-9

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls. Either we insist upon dominating the people we know, or we depend upon them far too much. If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human, too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows and festers. When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt, and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a desire to retaliate. As we redouble our efforts at control, and continue to fail, our suffering becomes acute and constant. We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we had small comprehension.

p. 53

************************************************** *********

"What worries you, masters you."
--Haddon W. Robinson

God, help me to have the strength to set reasonable limits for myself
and to tell others when I cannot help them. Help me learn to say no.
--Melody Beattie

God is watching over me, making my path easy.
--Alan Cohen

The Way To God
"Start the Day with Love; Spend the Day with Love; Fill the Day with
Love; End the Day with Love; This is the way to God."
--Sathya Sai Baba

Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.
--Native American Proverb

Time is like a river - it flows by and doesn't return.
--Chinese Proverb

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MOTIVES

"Lord, grant that I may always
desire more than I can
accomplish."
--Michelangelo

I must always "think big", not in an egotistical sense but as an
adventure in spirituality. When I had a small God, I always remained a
small person, with small aspirations and dreams. Today I have an
all-embracing inclusive God that fills the universe. Today I have hope
in my dreams.

As an alcoholic I missed so much. I observed very little about myself
and God's world, people and friends became inconsequential; nothing
really mattered except the desire to drink. My spiritual potential was
lost in my alcoholism.

Today I am realizing my potential and I can risk in sobriety. My motto
has become "go for it". Behind my dreams is my growth. I have a
sense of so much joy in the world that I wish to enthusiastically
experience my life.

God, I am so grateful to be alive.

************************************************** *********

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet
hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his
brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love
his brother.
1 John 4:19-21

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.
John 13:34

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble."
James 4:6

Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.
Psalm 37:24

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Too much of a good thing can actually diminish the joy and make it a burden. Lord, help me avoid excess and keep my life simpler and freer.

To know someone doesn't mean to know every detail of that person's life. It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person. Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others.

[bluidkiti]

May 28

Daily Reflections

EQUAL RIGHTS

At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rule making
benders. . . . After a time fear and intolerance subside.
[and we realize] We do not wish to deny anyone his chance
to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive
as we can, never exclusive.
"A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED." pp. 10, 11, 12

A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the
Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon
conformity, financial success or education and I am so
grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same
equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be
different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance
with faith, patience, love and acceptance. I can bring these
strengths to my A.A. group, my home and my office. I make
an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I
go.
I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge
others. Depending on my attitude I can view newcomers to
A.A., family members and friends as menaces or as teachers.
When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how
my self-righteousness caused me spiritual harm.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In A.A. we learn that since we are alcoholics we can be
uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics
when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with
drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful.
The A.A.s are a unique group of people because they have taken
their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it
as a means of helping others. We who have been through the
same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics. Do
I believe that I can be uniquely useful?

Meditation For The Day

I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that
He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me
always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every
failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that
He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live
as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was
not made with the ability to see Him else there were no room
for faith. But I can feel His spirit with me.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I
pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless
again.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

A.A.--the Lodestar, p. 147

We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the
problem of alcoholism--whether of medicine, religion, education, or
research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can
be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that
A.A. itself ran for years on "trial and error."

As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise
success--even a little success.

<< << << >> >> >>

Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will
generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in
A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and
help that kept them at it.

Grapevine, March 1958

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Everyday risks.... Courage
We have to take certain risks if we hope to achieve anything. Applying for a job entail a risk of reject. Saving money carries a risk of losing it. Falling in love can result in heartbreak.
We have to take such risks because life is ordered that way. We are hear to learn, and learning includes pressing into unknown situations where we could fail.
God could have created us in such a way we could either avoid risks or not unduly concerned about the. Animals, for example, live with risks but do no seem to worry about them.
We must accept risk as part of God's plan for us. We also are given tools for working with uncertainties. We have our innate intelligence and a capacity for prudent, reasoned action. We have friends who will help us. Above all, we have our Higher Power, who guides and directs
us through all sorts of risky conditions.
I cannot face life without also facing uncertainties. Today I'll accept risk as a prt of ordinary living.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.---Johann Fredrich von Schiller
As we grow in recovery, we'll need to change our behaviors, values, and beliefs to stay sane. This take courage. Courage is doing what is needed in spite of fear.
Courage means facing what we can't change. We can't change the fact that we have hurt people. We can't change the fact we have an illness. And we can't change the fact that we need help from others.
Courage also means facing those things we can change. We need courage to be honest, to have faith, and to be humble. And we need courage to let people know how important they are.
Prayer for the Day: Courage is more than being tough. Courage means being human. Higher Power, grant me the courage to stay sober and live a spiritual life.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll have an attitude of courage. I'll talk in my meeting. I'll offer help where it is needed. I'll have the courage to say no when needed.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Spiritual power can be seen in a person's reverence for life--hers and all others, including animals and nature, with a recognition of a universal life force referred to by many as God. --Virginia Satir
Taking the time, daily, to recognize the spiritual force in everyone and everything that is all about us, encourages us to feel humble, to feel awe. Reflecting on our interconnections, our need for one and all to complete the universe, lessens whatever adversity we might feel as we struggle with our humanity.
Our spiritual power is enhanced with each blessing we give. And as our spiritual power is enhanced, life's trials are fewer. Our struggle to accept situations, conditions, and other people, or our struggle to control them, lessens every day that we recognize and revere one another's personhood, one another's existence.
I can teach myself reverence, and I can begin today. I will look for "the Spirit" everywhere, and I will begin to see it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

The door opened and he stood there, fresh-skinned and glowing. There was something about his eyes. He was inexplicably different. What had happened?
I pushed a drink across the table. He refused it. Disappointed but curious, I wondered what had got into the fellow. He wasn't himself.
"Come, what's all this about?" I queried.
He looked straight at me. Simply, but smilingly, he said, "I've got religion."
I was aghast. So that was it - last summer an alcoholic crackpot; now, I suspected, a little cracked about religion. He had that starry-eyed look. Yes, the old boy was on fire all right. But bless his heart, let him rant! Besides, my gin would last longer than his preaching.
But he did no ranting. In a matter of fact way he told how two men appeared in court, persuading the judge to suspend his commitment. They had told of a simple religious idea and a practical program of action. That was two months ago and the result was self-evident. It worked!

p. 9

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Some will object to many of the questions posed, because they think their own character defects have not been so glaring. To these it can be suggested that a conscientious examination is likely to reveal the very defects the objectionable questions are concerned with. Because our surface record hasn't looked too bad, we have frequently been abashed to find that this is so simply because we have buried these self same defects deep down in us under thick layers of self-justification. Whatever the defects, they have finally ambushed us into alcoholism and misery.

pp. 53-54

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God, help me realize that to do your will for me today, in however a
small way, I must let go of my own will.
--Day By Day

No matter what happens, I must get on with my life.
--Ruth Humlecker

"Today I'll use the slogan, 'How important is it?' It will help me think
things through before I act and it will give me a better picture of just
what is important in my life."
--Alateen--One Day At A Time

Sometimes laughter is the next lesson we need to be learning.
--Melody Beattie

If your sobriety isn't your absolute top priority, the most important
thing in your life, you're going to get drunk again.
--"Things My Sponsors Taught Me" Paul H.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CHRISTIANITY

"He who begins by loving
Christianity better than Truth will
proceed by loving his sect or
church better than Christianity,
and end in loving himself better
than all."
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

My program for recovery from addiction is spiritual and not religious. I
believe that spirituality encompasses all that is good and noble in all
the great religions of the world. It cannot be confined or limited to one
religion or denomination. Spirituality stops the recovering person from
looking for the differences; it stops the arrogance and prejudice; it
stops the division and separations that feed the disease. Spirituality
emphasizes the inherent unity of man. It teaches the most stubborn of
men to hold hands.

God the Creator is revealed in the variety of His universe. I can find
Him in the sunset, the variety of animals, the love and care of family
and friends, the excitement and vision of poetry and art, the
inspiration of music. Spirituality is . . .!

Kneeling before the beauty of Your creation I whisper "Amen".

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A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain
honor.
Proverbs 29:23

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32

I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
John 14:6

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not
become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Gal 5:25-26

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Daily Inspiration

Expect more of yourself than you do of others and you will save yourself much stress and disappointment. Lord, help me to see how capable that I am.

God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.

[bluidkiti]

May 29

Daily Reflections

TRUE TOLERANCE

The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139

I first heard the short form of the Third Tradition in the Preamble.
When I came to A.A. I could not accept myself, my alcoholism, or a
Higher Power. If there had been any physical, mental, moral, or
religious requirements for membership, I would be dead today. Bill W.
said in his tape on the Traditions that the Third Tradition is a charter
for individual freedom. The most impressive thing to me was the
feeling of acceptance from members who were practicing the Third
Tradition by tolerating and accepting me. I feel acceptance is love and
love is God's will for us.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We who have learned to put our drink problem in God's hands can
help others to do so. We can be used as a connection between an
alcoholic's need and God's supply of strength. We in Alcoholics
Anonymous can be uniquely useful, just because we have the
misfortune or fortune to be alcoholics ourselves. Do I want to be a
uniquely useful person? Will I use my own greatest defeat and failure
and sickness as a weapon to help others?

Meditation For The Day

I will try to help others. I will try not to let a day pass without reaching
out an arm of love to someone. Each day I will try to do something to
lift another human being out of the sea of discouragement into which
he or she has fallen. My helping hand is needed to raise the helpless to
courage, to strength, to faith, to health. In my own gratitude, I will
turn and help other alcoholics with the burden that is pressing too
heavily upon them.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be used by God to lighten many burdens. I pray that
many souls may be helped through my efforts.

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As Bill Sees It

More than Comfort, p. 148

When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements such as
these: "Pain is the touchstone of progress." . . . "Fear no evil." . . .
"This, too, will pass." . . . "This experience can be turned to benefit."

These fragments of prayer bring far more than mere comfort. They
keep me on the track of right acceptance; they break up my
compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and
sometimes they endow me with the courage to change the things I
can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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Walk in Dry Places

Guarding against disguised hostility
Fairness.
One of the pitfalls in continued recovery is the tendency to become self-righteous and judgmental. Sometimes this fuses into a hostility directed toward newcomers or chronic "slippers". Now and then, we've seen grumpy older members demanding that those who slip get honest.
While we may be right in concluding that a person is not showing honesty, we have NO RIGHT to denounce or expose anyone in a group setting. Far from helping the person, we may be showing off. If there is hostility in our words or manner, the other person will certainly sense it.
The best group setting for good recovery is always one that expresses warmth, acceptance, and understanding. There are few, if any, times when a verbal assault can be justified. Before we lash out at another person's lack of honesty, we must take an honest look at our own motives and feelings.
I'll face the day with a feeling of goodwill and acceptance in my dealings with every person I meet. If I attend a meeting, I'll show the same warmth and acceptance toward every person there.

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Keep It Simple

The more one judges the less on love.---Balzac
At times we need to make judgments about people's behavior. We stand back and look at how their lives affect our sobriety. We have to do this to choose people whose relationships will be good for us. We have to do this before we trust someone in business. We should take a good look at the others person before we fall in love. But we decide to trust or love someone, we have to stop judging.
When we love someone, we don't stand back. We move in close. We give them all our love can offer. We don't just think and judge. We feel. We are on their side. We look for the good in them. We don't pick them apart. We love the whole person.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to judge a little and love a lot. Help me accept the people I love, faults and all. Help me love them better.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll catch myself when I start to judge others. I will accept them as they are.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Women sometimes gossip when they want to get close to people. --Joan Gilbertson
Feeling alone and lonely heightens our fears of inadequacy. In our alienation from others, paranoia grips us. We yearn to feel connection with someone, and gossip about another someone can draw two lonely people close. We are bonded.
We need a sense of belonging, every one of us: belonging to the neighborhood; belonging to the staff where we work; belonging to the group we call friends. Knowing that we do belong fosters the inner warmth that accompanies security, well-being. And our fears are melted.
The program's Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Steps guarantee that we'll feel the closeness we long for when we work them. Self-revelation strengthens our ties to the people we long to connect with Gossip loses its appeal when we know we share a closeness already. Mingling our vulnerabilities secures our closeness.
We need to be attentive to our judgments of others, be they verbalized in gossip or only savored in silence. These judgments act as barometers of our own self-image. Our security in knowing we belong, that we are one, relieves us of the need to judge others unfairly.
Loneliness pushes me to behavior that even compounds the loneliness. Real closeness will come when I talk about myself rather than someone else.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

He had come to pass his experience along to me---if I cared to have it. I was shocked, but interested. Certainly I was interested. I had to be, for I was hopeless.10

pp. 9-10

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Therefore, thoroughness ought to be the watchword when taking inventory. In this connection, it is wise to write out our questions and answers. It will be an aid to clear thinking and honest appraisal. It will be the first tangible evidence of our complete willingness to move forward.

p. 54

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"Good friends are good for your health."
--Irwin Sarason

"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you."
--Elbert Hubbard

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into
enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order,
confusion to clarity. . . . Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings
peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
--Melody Beattie

Why do birds sing in the morning? It's the triumphant shout: "We got
through another night."
--Enid Bagnold

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
--Kahlil Gibran

No matter where our journey takes us, God walks with us.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SELF

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in
the stars, but in ourselves that
we are underlings."
--William Shakespeare

My addiction to alcohol led me away from "self": today in my sobriety
I am beginning to understand me. For years I blamed others for my
misfortunes but today I see that I was the enemy in my life. It was a
"cop-out" to blame God, family, job or life for my alcoholism - I
needed to take responsibility for "self".

Part of my recovery program today involves me not looking "outside"
for answers but looking within. The answer is not in the stars, not in
fate - but rather in the destiny I create by the decisions I make today.
I, and I alone, forge my future.

O Lord, let me create a life that is pleasing in Your sight.

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Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the
LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that
spreadeth out her roots by the river.
Jeremiah 17:8

"The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him."
Nahum 1:7

The LORD said, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."
Isaiah 43:2

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Daily Inspiration

Sometimes we spend our time demanding that the present moment be different than it is instead of facing the situation and dealing with it. Lord, strengthen my faith because through You I will have enough power to overcome any obstacles.

Take heart in the beauty of your life because God loves, helps, fights and wins. Lord, I will never fear because nothing can triumph over Your Will.

[bluidkiti]

May 30

Daily Reflections

OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE

The more A.A. sticks to its primary purpose, the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 109

It is with gratitude that I reflect on the early days of our Fellowship and those wise and loving "foresteppers" who proclaimed that we should not be diverted from our primary purpose, that of carrying the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
I desire to impart respect to those who labor in the field of alcoholism, being ever mindful that A.A. endorses no causes other than its own. I must remember that A.A. has no monopoly on miracle making and I remain humbly grateful to a loving God who made A.A. possible.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I am part of A.A., one among many, but I am one. I need the A.A. principles for the development of the buried life within me. A.A. may be human in its organization, but it is Divine in its purpose. The purpose is to point me toward God and a better life. Participating in the privilege of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly but joyfully. To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, A.A. fails. To the extent I succeed, A.A. succeeds. Do I accept this as my A.A. credo?

Meditation For The Day

"Praise the Lord." What does praising God mean? It means being grateful for all the wonderful things in the universe and for all the blessings in your life. So praise God by being grateful and humble. Praise of this kind has more power to vanquish evil than has mere resignation. The truly grateful and humble person who is always praising God, is not tempted to do wrong. You will have a feeling of security because you know that fundamentally all is well. So look up to God and praise Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be grateful for all my blessings. I pray that I may humble because I know that I do not deserve them.

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As Bill Sees It

No Boundaries, p. 150

Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It
has no boundaries, of width or height or depth. Aided by such
instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual
adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way.
But its object is always the same; to improve our conscious contact
with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love.

And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely
practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can
broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we
understand Him.

12 & 12, pp. 101-102

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Walk in Dry Places

Civilians who show resentments
Healthy Thinking
As compulsive people, we're urged to watch resentments carefully. These negative feelings can flare up out of nowhere and bring terrible destruction.
This sensitivity in spotting our own resentments also makes us more aware of resentments in others— perhaps people who are not alcoholics and thus are considered NORMAL. (Earth people I call them even if I doubt that anyone is really normal)
When this happens, we have no responsibility to point their resentment out to them. Our best approach is to deal with them as cordially as possible and to withdraw gracefully if their resentment is directed at us. This teaches us that resentment is a universal human problem— not just an affliction of alcoholics and other compulsive people.
While guarding against resentment in myself today, I'll not be surprised or hurt when it appears in others. If it does, I will not feel hurt or surprised, knowing that it's a human problem.

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Keep It Simple

One Day at a Time ---AA program slogan
One Day at a Time reminds us to live in a sane, natural way. It reminds us we can't control the past. It reminds us we can't control the future. We can live only in the present. We have only the moment. We have only today.
Before recovery, our worries about the past and the future put stress in our lives We need to live in a way that doesn't put us in danger. We need to live in a way that lets us enjoy things. We need to live in a way that lets us stay close to others, ourselves, and our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to really live One Day at a Time.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll keep reminding myself that I have the moment. No more, no less. Am I using my moments the way my Higher Power wants me to?

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Each Day a New Beginning

In anxiety-provoking situations, many women feel unable to act. They find themselves at a loss to come up with an effective response, or any response at all. --Stanlee Phelps and Nancy Austin
Feeling unable to act is a humiliation, perhaps an embarrassment, and it is habit-forming. Perhaps our inertia is due to our need to act "correctly" and the accompanying fear that we'll err. Unfortunately, our fear of action reinforces itself. The only way to end the vicious cycle is to act--right or wrong. The surprise in store for us is that no action we take will be truly wrong. We will learn not only from the action itself, but from its ripples.
The response to life we make through action will gratify us; it will nourish us and will make us dread less the next situation that calls for a response.
Opportunities for action are the stepping stones to emotional maturity. The more we "act," the more able we are to act. And a new habit is formed.
Taking action, even when I fear it's wrong, is growth-producing. Without growth there is no life. Today, I will live!

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

He talked for hours. Childhood memories rose before me. I could almost hear the sound of the preacher's voice as I sat, on still Sundays, way over there on the hillside; there was that proffered temperance pledge I never signed; my grandfather's good natured contempt of some church folk and their doings; his insistence that the spheres really had their music; but his denial of the preacher's right to tell him how he must listen; his fearlessness as he spoke of these things just before he died; these recollections welled up from the past. They made me swallow hard.
That war-time day in old Winchester Cathedral came back again.

p. 10

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

All of A.A.'s Twelve Steps ask us to go contrary to our natural desires . . . they all deflate our egos. When it comes to ego deflation, few Steps are harder to take than Five. But scarcely any Step is more necessary to longtime sobriety and peace of mind than this one.

p. 55

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"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern
yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do."
--Pope John XXIII

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips."
--Goldsmith

"The value of all service lies in the spirit in which you serve and not in the importance or magnitude of the service. Even the lowliest task
or deed is made holy, joyous, and prosperous when it is filled with love."
--Charles Fillmore

"Integrity is telling myself the truth. Honesty is telling the truth to other people."
--Spencer Johnson

"A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside."
--Denis Waitley

"When you talk, you can only say something that you already know. When you listen, you learn what someone else knows."
--Unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

POSTERITY

"We need to make a world in
which fewer children are
born, and in which we take
better care of them."
--Dr. George Wald

Spirituality is concerned for the physical. How we plant seeds, do exercises and develop a healthy food plan is as important as prayer, reading and meditation. The body is part of the soul.
Also we have a responsibility for the future; for those who follow us on this planet. The ecological welfare of our world is spiritual. An irresponsibility concerning childbirth reveals an arrogance that does not belong to the spiritual program. The satisfaction of our personal desires should never hurt the lives of others - including the unborn.
Teach me to have a spiritual responsibility to the future.

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This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:43-45

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Daily Inspiration

Look beyond people's behaviors and have compassion for what may be causing their insensitivities. Lord, I will not take everything personal because I don't know the weight of my neighbor's cross.

We are on earth to discover our own path and will never be happy trying to live someone else's idea of life. Lord, may I be happy with who I am and not evaluate myself in terms of someone else's success.