Daily Recovery Readings - October

[bluidkiti]

October 16

Daily Reflections

THROUGHOUT EACH DAY

This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

During my early years in A.A. I saw Step Ten as a suggestion that I periodically look at
my behavior and reactions. If there was something wrong, I should admit it; if an apology
was necessary, I should give one. After a few years of sobriety I felt I should undertake
a self-examination more frequently. Not until several more years of sobriety had elapsed
did I realize the full meaning of Step Ten, and the word "continued." "Continued" does
not mean occasionally, or frequently. It means throughout each day.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

How seriously do I take my obligations to A.A.? Have I taken all the
good I can get out of it and then let my obligations slide? Or do I constantly feel a
deep debt of gratitude and a deep sense of loyalty to the whole A.A. movement? Am I
not only grateful but also proud to be a part of such a wonderful fellowship, which is
doing such marvelous work among alcoholics? Am I glad to be a part of the great
work that A.A. is doing and do I feel a deep obligation to carry on that work at
every opportunity? Do I feel that I owe A.A. my loyalty and devotion?

Meditation For The Day

If your heart is right, your world will be right. The beginning of all
reform must be in yourself. It's not what happens to you, it's how you take it. However
restricted your circumstances, however little you may be able to remedy financial
affairs, you can always turn to your inward self and, seeing something not in order
there, seek to right it. And as all reform is from within outward, you will always find
that the outward is improved as the inward is improved. As you improve yourself,
your outward circumstances will change for the better. The power released from within
yourself will change your outward life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that the hidden power within me may be released. I pray that I may not imprison
the spirit that is within me.

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As Bill Sees It

ASPECTS OF SPIRITUALITY, p. 287

"Among A.A.'s there is still a vast amount of mix-up respecting
what is material and what is spiritual. I prefer to believe that it is all
a matter of motive. If we use our worldly possessions too selfishly,
then we are materialists. But if we share these possessions in
helpfulness to others, then the material aids the spiritual."

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"The idea keeps persisting that the instincts are primarily bad and
are the roadblocks before which all spirituality falters. I believe that
the difference between good and evil is not the difference
between spiritual and instinctual man; it is the difference between
proper and improper use of the instinctual. Recognition and right
channeling of the instinctual are the essence of achieving
wholeness."

1. LETTER, 1958
2. LETTER, 1954

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Walk In Dry Places

Homeless and unemployed
Economic Insecurity
Alcoholism isn't the sole cause of the homelessness and unemployment that troubles our world. Even in sobriety, people can lose their jobs and homes, through no fault of their own.
Recovery makes it less likely that we will cause such conditions in our own lives. Beyond that , by keeping sober, we will be better able to deal with any setbacks that do occur. It is a painful fact that it is almost impossible to help any destitute alcoholic find a home or employment unless he or she stops drinking. We learn that much through our experience.
Our true home is with our Higher Power, and our best work bay be in the sharing of our experience and strength with others. Remembering this, we can be sympathetic and understanding about the general problems of homelessness and unemployment. We don't have the complete answer, but we do have answers.
I'll be grateful and understanding in any consideration of today's problems of homelessness and unemployment. By staying sober, I am at least helping to alleviate some of the general problems.

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Keep It Simple

To err is human, but when the eraser wears out ahead of the pencil, you’re overdoing it. --Josh Jenkins
It’s okay to make mistakes. But we shouldn’t live a life of excuses. We shouldn’t slide over our mistakes; we should learn from them.
Excuses keep us part from ourselves and others. People don’t trust us if we won’t admit and accept our mistakes. Relying on excuses dooms us to repeat the same mistakes.
In recovery, we admit and accept our behavior. We do this by continuing to take an inventory of our lives. We do this so we can learn from our mistakes. “Owning” our mistakes helps us grow.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me own my mistakes. Thank-you for Step Ten and the growth it holds for me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list my five favorite excuses. I’ll think of the last time I used each of these. What was I trying to avoid.

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Each Day a New Beginning

History provides abundant examples of . . . women whose greatest gift was in redeeming, inspiring, liberating, and nurturing the gifts of others. --Sonya Rudikoff
Part of our calling as members of the human community is to unconditionally love and support the people emotionally close to us. We have been drawn together for purposes wonderful but seldom readily apparent. We need one another's gifts, compassion, and inspiration in order to contribute our individual parts to the whole.
Not only do we need to nurture and to inspire others, but also our personal development, emotionally and spiritually, demands that we honor ourselves in like fashion. Self-love, full self-acceptance is necessary before we can give anything of lasting value to someone else. Selflessly must we give to others if, indeed, our love and support are meant to serve, and giving anything selflessly is evidence of healthy self-love.
Selfless love liberates the giver and the recipient. Giving selflessly reveals our personal contentment, and it means we are free to nurture our own gifts.
It's good and right that I should encourage someone else today. I will pay the same respect to myself, too.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Second Edition

Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.

Alcoholics Anonymous is not a religious organization. Neither does A.A. take any particular medical point of view, though we cooperate widely with the men of medicine as well as with the men of religion.
Alcohol being no respecter of persons, we are an accurate cross section of America, and in distant lands, the same democratic evening-up process is now going on. By personal religious affiliation, we include Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, and a sprinkling of Moslems and Buddhists. More than 15% of us are women.

p. xx

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Following the principles laid out in the Big Book has not always been comfortable, nor will I claim perfection. I have yet to find a place in the Big Book that says, "Now you have completed the Steps; have a nice life." The program is a plan for a lifetime of daily living. There have been occasions when the temptation to slack off has won. I view each of these as learning opportunities.

p. 317

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

After three years of trial and error in selecting the most workable tenets upon which the Society could be based, and after a large amount of failure in getting alcoholics to recover, three successful groups emerged--the first at Akron, the second at New York, and the third at Cleveland. Even then it was hard to find twoscore of sure recoveries in all three groups.

pp. 16-17

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Listen in the silence. Listen and you shall hear God speak.
--Frater Achad

Life is for living, love is for sharing. Don't let the good things pass you by!
--Sue

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.
--David Russell

What I am is God's gift to me. What I make of myself is my gift to Him.
--unknown

G I F T = God Is Forever There.
--unknown

"The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their
troubles."
--Unknown

Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into yourself, no external
circumstances can take it away. That kind of happiness is a twenty-four-hour thing.
--Leo F. Buscaglia

The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.
--John Ruskin

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CULTURE

"The great law of culture: let
each become all that he was
created capable of being."
-- Thomas Carlyle

We are capable of great things. This history of man, although surrounded by wars
and unspeakable acts of violence, is also the history of art, music, poetry and romance.
Each person is capable of great and noble acts --- but do we want to do them? We can be
honest, loving and caring people only if we choose to be that. The power of freedom and
choice is the determining factor in all our lives. Each culture has imaginative and creative
features, but it is the people that make them happen. Nothing will happen unless people
decide to make it happen.

So it is with the culture of recovery. The people who make up the recovering
community in all the addictions are the people who make a decision and acted upon it.
Talk is cheap and cruel unless it is followed by an event. Decisions must be made real.
We all have the capacity to be honest and kind.

May I not only be grateful for my culture but may I live to add something to it.

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The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love O Lord endures forever.
Psalm 138 : 8

"Lead me in your truth, and teach me."
Psalm 25:5

"Keep sowing the seed, for you never know which will grow, perhaps it all will."
Ecclesiastes 11:6

"He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy. He
washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5

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Daily Inspiration

Many of life's hassles are mere tests of our strength. Lord, help me remember that patience can often diffuse a situation quicker than a snap response.

Spend less time trying to change and more time making the best of who you are. Lord, help me daily to put Your words into action.

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NA Just For Today

The Simplest Prayer

"…praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

Step Eleven

How do we pray? With little experience, many of us don't even know how to begin. The process, however, is neither difficult nor complicated.

We came to Narcotics Anonymous because of our drug addiction. But underlying that, many of us felt a deep sense of bewilderment with life itself. We seemed to be lost, wandering a trackless waste with no one to guide us. Prayer is a way to gain direction in life and the power to follow that direction.

Because prayer plays such a central part in NA recovery, many of us set aside a particular time each day to pray, establishing a pattern. In this quiet time, we "talk" to our Higher Power, either silently or aloud. We share our thoughts, our feelings, our day. We ask, "What would you have me do?" At the same time we ask, "Please give me the power to carry out your will."

Learning to pray is simple. We ask for "knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." By doing that, we find the direction we lacked and the strength we need to fulfill our God's will.
Just for today: I will set aside some quiet time to "talk" with my Higher Power. I will ask for that Power's direction and the ability to act on it.

pg. 302

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. --Matthew 6:34
To worry about something ahead of time is a waste of time and energy that could be better spent on living a full life today.
For instance, if we spend hours today worrying about an important test at school tomorrow, we can't very well concentrate on studying. And if we lie awake tonight agonizing over what we don't know or haven't studied, we're going to be exhausted tomorrow when we take the test.
Wouldn't it be much better to focus on doing all we can today to prepare for the test, and then, knowing we've done our best, let go of it tonight and get a good night's sleep? In fact, if we do that every day of the year, when a big test comes along, we'll know we're as ready as we can be, and won't have a thing to worry about. What a relief it is to know we've done our best today and every day.
What can I do well today so I won't worry about it tomorrow?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
One of the main reasons wealth makes people unhappy is that it gives them too much control over what they experience. They try to translate their own fantasies into reality instead of tasting what reality itself has to offer. --Philip Slater
We are constantly told that the way to happiness is through material possessions. "Men who drive this sports car have all the women after them!" "If I could only own this special tool it would make me happy!" What does a man really want? He wants a feeling that his life makes sense. He wants the give and take of loving relationships. He wants to feel he has a place in the world and can make a contribution. And he wants the feeling that he is not standing still, but growing in those ways.
Being poor certainly limits our options, but material wealth is an empty seduction. Putting all our energies into capturing wealth may make us rich, but it also can become an addiction that causes unhappiness. We become much richer in our souls and in our experiences when we take the risks that help us improve our relationships and teach us how to live balanced lives.
I will live each moment in ways that fit my true values.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
History provides abundant examples of . . . women whose greatest gift was in redeeming, inspiring, liberating, and nurturing the gifts of others. --Sonya Rudikoff
Part of our calling as members of the human community is to unconditionally love and support the people emotionally close to us. We have been drawn together for purposes wonderful but seldom readily apparent. We need one another's gifts, compassion, and inspiration in order to contribute our individual parts to the whole.
Not only do we need to nurture and to inspire others, but also our personal development, emotionally and spiritually, demands that we honor ourselves in like fashion. Self-love, full self-acceptance is necessary before we can give anything of lasting value to someone else. Selflessly must we give to others if, indeed, our love and support are meant to serve, and giving anything selflessly is evidence of healthy self-love.
Selfless love liberates the giver and the recipient. Giving selflessly reveals our personal contentment, and it means we are free to nurture our own gifts.
It's good and right that I should encourage someone else today. I will pay the same respect to myself, too.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Being Honest with Ourselves
Our relationship with ourselves is the most important relationship we need to maintain. The quality of that relationship will determine the quality of our other relationships.
When we can tell ourselves how we feel, and accept our feelings, we can tell others.
When we can accept what we want and need, we will be ready to have our wants and needs met.
When we can accept what we think and believe, and accept what's important to us, we can relay this to others.
When we learn to take ourselves seriously, others will too.
When we learn to chuckle at ourselves, we will be ready to laugh with others.
When we have learned to trust ourselves, we will be trustworthy and ready to trust.
When we can be grateful for who we are, we will have achieved self-love.
When we have achieved self-love and accepting our wants and needs, we will be ready to give and receive love.
When we've learned to stand on our own two feet, we're ready to stand next to someone.
Today, I will focus on having a good relationship with myself.


Today I am following my own inner guide, know that I am coming from the best of who I am. That makes me feel good about me. That gives me great pleasure. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 16
Go for the Ride of Your Life

The roller coaster crawled slowly upward, inching toward the first and biggest hill. And suddenly we were screaming downhill at ninety-seven miles an hour. It is, they claim, the fastest roller coaster in the world. I laughed and yelled and clutched the handlebar. When the ride ended, the attendant turned to us as we were about to leave. “Would you like to go again?” he asked. “It’s the last ride of the night. “We all shouted yes and rode the course again, the wind whipping through our hair. When the ride ended, as all rides do, we sat in our seats and cheered.

Sometimes things happen. Things we didn’t expect. Things we didn’t plan on. An event occurs that changes our life dramatically. The event may be good or bad, desirable or undesirable, fortunate or unfortunate. No matter how we describe it, its impact is the same. We step off our usual path and go for a roller coaster ride.

You may have begun a time of deep transformation, a journey chosen by your soul. Feel all you need to feel. Allow your thoughts to flow. Let your body shift as you go through the curves. Let yourself be transformed. Enjoy the ride, the entire experience, with all its twists and curves. Scream in fear. Cry out in joy. Laugh aloud with glee.

If you find yourself on a roller coaster, turn it into the ride of your life.

*****

more language of letting go
You'll go where you look

There was only one tree in the landing area. Most of its leaves had been stripped away by the winter winds. I didn't want to hit it, but that's exactly what I did.

My parachute opened up right over the student landing area, a blessing for someone as new and unsure as I. I flew along the side of the field, turned onto the base leg, and then carefully turned into my final approach just as I'd been taught. There it was, the tree, its scrawny branches reaching up for me. It was all I could see from that point on. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. For a moment I thought I might clear it. "NO LOW TURNS, NO LOW TURNS," kept screaming in my ear as I drifted lower and lower, straight toward that tree.

I watched myself sink right into it.

Laughter and applause drifted out from the packing area.

Later another jumper pulled me aside to talk. "Do you know why you hit the tree?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "It was in my way."

"There's more to it than that," she said. "You had plenty of time to turn out of the way of the tree. Instead, you watched yourself land right in it. You'll always go where you look. Look at something long enough to be aware of the potential for trouble, but don't fixate on the object. If you don't want to land on top of something, quit staring at it so hard."

Sometimes we get so focused on what we don't want and what we're afraid of, that's all we can see. We obsess about it, worry, and mull it around in our heads. It's all we can talk about, think, or feel. Then when we come crashing right into it, we wonder where we went wrong. After all, it was the very thing we had been trying to avoid.

The moral of this story is simple and sweet. Look at where you're going, but remember you'll go where you look.

Know what you don't want. Release your fears. Stay aware and alert to the dangers looming in your peripheral view. Your mind is more powerful than you might believe. If you put all your concentration and energy on something, that's exactly where you'll go.

God, help me stay aware and focus my energy on where you want me to go.

*****

Parts of the One
Ants and Bees, a Metaphor by Madisyn Taylor

We can learn a lot from watching ants and bees living in community and working for the greater good.

When we see ants and bees out in the world, we often see just one, but this belies the reality of their situation. More than any other species, ants and bees function as parts of a whole. They cannot and do not survive as individuals; they survive as members of a group, and the group’s survival is the implicit goal of each individual’s life. There is no concept of life outside the group, so even to use the word individual is somewhat misleading. Often, humans, on the other hand, strongly value individuality and often negatively associate ants and bees with a lack of independence. And yet, if we look closer at these amazing creatures, we can learn valuable lessons about how much we can achieve when we band together with others to work for a higher purpose.

Most ants and bees have highly specified roles within their communities, some of which are biologically dictated, and they work within the confines of their roles without complaint, never wishing to be something other than what they are. In this way, they symbolize self-knowledge and humility. They also display selfless service as they work for the common good. In many ways, they are like the individual cells of one body, living and dying as necessary to preserve the integrity of the whole body, not to protect themselves as individuals. In this way, ants personify the ability to see beyond one’s small self to one’s place within the greater whole, and the ability to serve this whole selflessly.

Ants and bees can inspire us to fully own what we have to offer and to put it to use in the pursuit of a goal that will benefit all of humanity, whether it be raising consciousness about the environment, feeding the hungry, or raising a happy child. Each one of us has certain talents we were born with, as well as skills we have acquired. When we apply these gifts, knowing that we are one part of a greater organism working to better the whole world, we honor and implement the wisdom of ants and bees. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Someone once said that the mind’s direction is more important than its progress. If my direction is correct, then progress is sure to follow. We first come to The Program to receive something for ourselves, but soon learn that we receive most bountifully when we give to others. If the direction of my mind is to give rather than to receive, then I’ll benefit beyond my greatest expectations. The more I give of myself and the more generously I open my heart and mind to others, the more growth and progress I’ll achieve. Am I learning not to measure my giving against my getting, accepting that the act of giving is its own reward?

Today I Pray

May I not lose sight of that pillar of The Program — helping myself through helping others in our purpose of achieving comfortable sobriety. May I feel that marvel of giving and taking and giving back again from the moment I take the First Step. May I care deeply about others’ maintaining their freedom from chemicals, and may I know that they care about me. It is a simple — and beautiful — exchange.

Today I Will Remember

Give and take and give back again

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One More Day

Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was
– Richard L. Eveans

There’s an old adage that good teachers still use: Start the child from where he is. In fact, we all have to begin from where we are. We may, at first, have a tendency to measure all our successes with our healthy life before our medical condition changed. Changed circumstances can play havoc with our lives.

Now we may have to set more realistic goals in order to reach them. We can still begin new jobs or new relationships. We begin over and over again throughout a lifetime — with or without a long-term medical situation. What matters most is how successfully we can handle the change. We’ll do fine as long as we remember we have started anew many times — successfully.

I will not discouraged by changes in my life. I have coped before, and I will again.

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Food For Thought

Admitting Wrongs

Step Ten reminds us to continue to take daily inventory and to promptly admit when we are wrong. By admitting our mistake out loud to the person we have harmed, we clear away bad feelings and guilt. The relationship is healed, and we are able to put the error behind us. Admitting that we are wrong helps us even more than the person we have injured.

Since it usually takes two people to disrupt a relationship, the entire blame may not be ours. Admitting our share of wrong, however, relieves us of guilt and opens the way to reconciliation.

Being able to apologize simply and sincerely means that we are not bound by pride and egotism. We do not always have to be right. By accepting our human fallibility, we are free to be ourselves, to make mistakes, to correct them, and to make amends.

Admitting wrongs keeps us honest with ourselves, with others, and with our Higher Power. We stay anchored in the real world and we practice healthy humility.

May I not be too proud to admit I am wrong.

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One Day At A Time

Fellowship
“When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we
often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have
chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.
Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude

When I first came into The Recovery Group's online meeting room nearly a year ago, I was bankrupt of mind, body and soul. I felt so unlovable that even I couldn't stand myself! I casually observed at the first few meetings and I was intrigued by the warmth of the fellowship there. After a few meetings I finally opened up and shared, "spilling my guts" about what it was like to reach bottom and to desperately need a hand to lift me up. After they heard my share, they told me they would love me until I could learn to love myself. That really blew me away! They told me they had been where I was and that they had found a means to recover. They assured me this program would work for me, if I really wanted it, and to follow their steps ~ their beloved Twelve Steps.

Shortly after joining, I got an online sponsor with whom I have been walking the path of recovery ever since. I eventually shared with her things I had spent a lifetime desperately longing to be able to tell another person, but had needed to keep shrouded in secrecy. Being heard and understood was the gift of a lifetime. The weight has been falling off, I have experienced a lot of emotional healing, and I am in a much better place spiritually. This fellowship, their steps and meetings, and my Higher Power have brought me a long way in a year's time!

One day at a time...
I will emulate those warm, wonderful people by welcoming newcomers with love and by helping them get started on the road to recovery. I will sponsor with the love and dedication that my sponsor has shown me.
~ Karen A.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Of course, this chapter refers to alcoholics, sick people, deranged men. What our friend, the vice president, had in mind was the habitual or whoopee drinker. As to them, his policy is undoubtedly sound, but he did not distinguish between such people and the alcoholic. - Pg. 149 - To Employers

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Whatever is on our mind at this time is probably something we can do nothing about just now. We're fighting a fatal disease here and our recovery is our TOP PRIORITY. Other considerations will simply have to wait.

Help me to prioritize my needs: clean time, sober time, recovery.

Lesson and Life

I recognize today that I am in charge of my own learning. Life is constantly offering up circumstances that are useful in my personal growth. I can move through the situation, live it out, extract the wisdom that is in it or repeat it over and over again, exhausting myself and learning very little. The deepest and most appropriate things I need to learn in life are generally right in front of me. Life is my guru if I can use it as such. It is rich with subtle learning if I look for it. The real achievement for me today is to learn to be in my own skin, to see truth in all that surrounds me, to know that placing value and judgment is pointless and illusory -- all of life is valuable.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

True morality is what we do when no one is watching. Growth is demonstrated by doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing.

I judge my growth by how good I am to people who can do nothing for me.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

None of us came here on a winning streak.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am following my own inner guide, know that I am coming from the best of who I am. That makes me feel good about me. That gives me great pleasure.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Those who can't forget are worse off than those who can't remember. Anon.

[bluidkiti]

October 17

Daily Reflections

A DAILY TUNE-UP

Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will
into all of our activities.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85

How do I maintain my spiritual condition? For me it's quite simple:
on a daily basis I ask my Higher Power to grant me the gift of
sobriety for that day! I have talked to many alcoholics who have
gone back to drinking and I always ask them: "Did you pray for
sobriety the day you took your first drink?" Not one of them said
yes. As I practice Step Ten and try to keep my house in order on
a daily basis, I have the knowledge that if I ask for a daily
reprieve, it will be granted.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

What am I going to do today for A.A.? Is there someone I should
call up on the telephone or someone I should go to see? Is there
a letter I should write? Is there an opportunity somewhere to
advance the work of A.A. which I have been putting off or
neglecting? If so, will I do it today? Will I be done with
procrastination and do what I have to do today? Tomorrow may
be too late. How do I know there will be a tomorrow for me?
How about getting out of my easy chair and getting going? Do I
feel that A.A. depends partly on me today?

Meditation For The Day

Today look upward toward God, not downward toward yourself. Look
away from unpleasant surroundings, from lack of beauty, from the
imperfections in yourself and in those around you. In your
unrest, behold God's calmness; in your impatience, God's
patience; in your limitations, God's perfection. Looking upward
toward God, your spirit will begin to grow. Then others will
see something in you that they also want. As you grow in the
spiritual life, you will be enabled to do many things that seemed too
hard for you before.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may keep my eyes trained above the horizon of
myself. I pray that I may see infinite possibilities for spiritual growth.

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As Bill Sees It

EMOTIONAL SOBRIETY, p. 288

If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will
find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its
consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help,
continually surrender these hobbling liabilities.

Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to
twelfth-step ourselves, as well as others, into emotional sobriety.

GRAPEVINE, JANUARY 1958

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Walk In Dry Places

Driven by Fear
Finding courage.
During any group discussion of fear, someone usually points out that it serves a protective purpose by keeping us out of harm's way.
With the type of fear that drove us, however, we more often fled into further harm while trying to avoid the threats at hand. No person whose fear reaches a panic stage can effectively control his or her actions.
We cannot expect sobriety alone to make us exempt from fear. What it can do is give us an ability to handle our fear constructively.
There are steps to doing this. FIRST, we should not be too prideful to admit that fear can come to us. SECOND, we should admit it when we do feel fear. THIRD, we can discuss our fear with others while turning it over to our Higher Power.
It would be wonderful if these steps then lifted us above any sense of fear. Even if this doesn't happen completely, we've succeeded in mastering our problems if we don't let fear drives us to work against ourselves. If I am afraid to give a presentation for work or go for a job interview, for example, I am being driven into inaction. This must no be allowed to happen.
I can find courage today in the Twelve Step program. This will enable me to act properly and responsibly, even if I'm a bit queasy with fear.

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Keep It Simple

Every child is an artist. The problem is remain an artist once your grow up.---Pablo Picasso
We each have colorful ideas waiting to be shared. We’re alive inside. But do we let this side of us show? Our disease stole much of the child like openness. Many of us were taught that growing up meant denying the child within us. Many of us grew up in homes where it wasn’t safe to act alive and creative. Whatever the reason, it’s time to claim the child, the artist, in each of us. Each of our programs is different, and each has its artistic touch. When we tell our stories, we share our life. And our lives are unique and alive. The more alive we become, the more color we bring to others and ourselves. Let’s not be afraid to add color to our lives.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me claim the child inside of me. Joy is choice. Help me choose it.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll work at not hiding myself from others. I’ll be alive, and I’ll greet everyone I meet with the openness of a child.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Pride, we are told, my children, "goeth before a fall" and oh, the pride was there, and so the fall was not far away.
--Wilhelmina Kemp Johnstone
Requesting help. Admitting we are wrong. Owning our mistake in either a big or small matter. Asking for another chance or someone's love. All very difficult to do, and yet necessary if we are to grow. The difficulty is our pride, the big ego. We think, "We need to always be right. If we're wrong, then others may think less of us, look down on us, and question our worth." Perfectionism versus worthlessness.
If we are not perfect (and of course we never are), then we must be worthless. In between these two points on the scale is "being human." Our emotional growth, as women, is equal to how readily we accept our humanness, how able we are to be wrong. With humility comes a softness that smoothes our every experience, our every relationship. Pride makes us hard, keeps us hard, keeps others away, and sets us up for the fall.
I will let myself be human today. It will soften my vision of life.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Second Edition

Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955.

At present, our membership is pyramiding at the rate of about twenty per cent a year. So far, upon the total problem of several million actual and potential alcoholics in the world, we have made only a scratch. In all probability, we shall never be able to touch more than a fair fraction of the alcohol problem in all its ramifications. Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself, we surely have no monopoly. Yet it is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on the high road to a new freedom.

pp. xx-xxi

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

When I am willing to do the right thing, I am rewarded with an inner peace no amount of liquor could ever provide. When I am unwilling to do the right thing, I become restless, irritable, and discontent. It is always my choice. Through the Twelve Steps, I have been granted the gift of choice. I am no longer at the mercy of a disease that tells me the only answer is to drink. If willingness is the key to unlock the gates of hell, it is action that opens those doors so that we may walk freely among the living.

p. 317

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

Nevertheless, the infant Society determined to set down its experience in a book which finally reached the public in April 1939. At this time the recoveries numbered about one hundred. The book was called "Alcoholics Anonymous," and from it the Fellowship took its name. In it alcoholism was described from the alcoholic's point of view, the spiritual ideas of the Society were codified for the first time in the Twelve Steps, and the application of these Steps to the alcoholic's dilemma was made clear. The remainder of the book was devoted to thirty stories or case histories in which the alcoholics described their drinking experiences and recoveries. This established identification with alcoholic readers and proved to them that the virtually impossible had now become possible. The book "Alcoholics Anonymous" became the basic text of the Fellowship, and it still is. This present volume proposes to broaden and deepen the understanding of the Twelve Steps as first was written in the earlier work.

p. 17

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Acceptance does not mean that I have to agree, I don't have to approve, I don't even
have to like it. I just have to accept.
--unknown

"I can forgive, but I can not forget" is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive."
Forgiveness ought to be like a cancel note - torn in two and burned up so that it never
can be shown against one.
--Henry Ward Beecher

To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee.
--William H. Walton

Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only
way of being happy.
--Jennie Jerome Churchill

Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have.
--Doris Mortman

Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should
happen as they do, and you shall have peace.
--Epicetus

God's word refreshes our minds; God's spirit renews our strength.
--unknown

God is all-knowing, righteous, longsuffering, all powerful, and good."
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PROGRESS

You've got to be a fool to want to stop the march of time."
--Pierre Renoir

My fear of the future gave me a fear of change. My need to control made me avoid
any new or confusing ideas. My alcoholism wanted me to escape and hide in the
past--tomorrow was too fearful to be contemplated. At other times--and this is why
alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful--I would want to escape into tomorrow
and avoid the reality of today.

Time and reality were to be "played with" rather than experienced. But time moves
on, it progresses just like the disease, and if I am to be a winner in this world, I need to
move with it. God is to be experienced in the march of time and today I want to be in
a relationship with God.

Teach me to respect time as an opportunity for growth.

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

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
Psalm 107:19

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we
are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us
an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but
on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Your principles have been the music of my life throughout the years of my pilgrimage. I
reflect at night on who you are, O LORD, and I obey your law because of this. This is my
happy way of life: obeying your commandments.
Psalm 119:54-56

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Daily Inspiration

Mistakes are often a great source of learning. Lord, may I treat myself kindly when I appear to fall short of my expectations and anticipate the goodness that often is not very obvious.

The source of courage is having a deep sense of God's presence and hearing Him say, "I am with you always.". Lord, You are my solution. You are with me always giving me all that I need.

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

NA Just For Today

"The Truth"

"Everything we know is subject to revision, especially what we know about the truth."

Basic Text, p.91

Many of us thought we could recognize "The Truth." We believed the truth was one thing, certain and unchanging, which we could grasp easily and without question. The real truth, however, was that we often couldn't see the truth if it hit us square in the face. Our disease colored everything in our lives, especially our perception of the truth - in fact, what we "knew" about the truth nearly killed us. Before we could begin to recognize truth, we had to switch our allegiance from our addiction to a Higher Power the source of all that is good and true.

The truth has changed as our faith in a Higher Power has grown. As we've worked the steps, our entire lives have begun to change through the healing power of the principles of recovery. In order to open the door for that change, we have had to surrender our attachment to an unchanging and rigid truth.

The truth becomes purer and simpler each time we encounter it. And just as the steps work in our lives every day - if we allow them - our understanding of the truth may change each day as we grow.

Just for today: I will open my eyes and my heart to changes brought about by the steps. With an open mind, I can understand the truth in my life today.

pg. 303

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Fear makes strangers of people who should be friends. --Shirley MacLaine
No one is brave every moment; each of us feels awkward, shy, perhaps even ugly or dumb part of the time. If we could understand that about each other, it would make it easier for us to be friendly and willing to talk to someone new. Instead, we often sit back, waiting to be noticed; waiting for someone to invite us to join in an activity.
We are all so much alike, yet we are so certain we're different. Being self-conscious is normal. Even those who are the most popular suffer the same fears as the rest of us. The better we understand the ways we are the same, the easier it will be to make friends with someone new. And it's through friends that we grow and are strengthened for whatever lies ahead.
What new person can I offer friendship to today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I never suspected that I would have to learn how to live - that there were specific disciplines and ways of seeing the world I had to master before I could awaken to a simple happy, uncomplicated life. --Dan Millman
Wisdom begins in seeing how much we do not know. Sometimes it's a painful blow to our egos to face what we still have to learn. Many of us have believed we know how to live. Yet, when we look at our lives, we see something has been missing. When we continue to have great stress, when we haven't made progress in simplifying our lives, when our lives seem full of crises - perhaps then it is time to open ourselves to some new learning.
We can talk to sponsors and get ideas from group members. Perhaps they have noticed our blind spots and will tell us if asked. Expressing our problems in specific ways may point us to new learning. Our program teaches us twelve specific disciplines for our growth. We need to return to them again and again. We can always ask ourselves, "What Step am I working on at this time?" We may need to learn new ways to work on a specific Step.
I will turn to my fellow group members and focus on one Step for my growth today.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Pride, we are told, my children, "goeth before a fall" and oh, the pride was there, and so the fall was not far away.
--Wilhelmina Kemp Johnstone
Requesting help. Admitting we are wrong. Owning our mistake in either a big or small matter. Asking for another chance or someone's love. All very difficult to do, and yet necessary if we are to grow. The difficulty is our pride, the big ego. We think, "We need to always be right. If we're wrong, then others may think less of us, look down on us, and question our worth." Perfectionism versus worthlessness.
If we are not perfect (and of course we never are), then we must be worthless. In between these two points on the scale is "being human." Our emotional growth, as women, is equal to how readily we accept our humanness, how able we are to be wrong. With humility comes a softness that smoothes our every experience, our every relationship. Pride makes us hard, keeps us hard, keeps others away, and sets us up for the fall.
I will let myself be human today. It will soften my vision of life.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Feelings and Surrender
Surrendering is a highly personal and spiritual experience.
Surrender is not something we can do in our heads. It is not something we can force or control by willpower. It is something we experience.
Acceptance, or surrender, is not a tidy package. Often, it is a package full of hard feelings - anger, rage, and sadness, followed by release and relief. As we surrender, we experience our frustration and anger at God, at other people, at ourselves, and at life. Then we come to the core of the pain and sadness, the heavy emotional burden inside that must come out before we can feel good. Often, these emotions are connected to healing and release at a deep level.
Surrender sets the wheels in motion. Our fear and anxiety about the future are released when we surrender.
We are protected. We are guided. Good things have been planned. The next step is now being taken. Surrender is the process that allows us to move forward. It is how our Higher Power moves us forward. Trust in the rightness of timing, and the freedom at the other end, as you struggle humanly through this spiritual experience.
I will be open to the process of surrender in my life. I will allow myself all the awkward and potent emotions that must be released.


Today I look to my Higher Power for strength, courage and direction. I gather my own strength and confidence from all possible resources and follow my own inner voice. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 17
Feeling Overwhelmed Is a Trap

Feeling overwhelmed is a trap, a tricky one at that. When we’re overwhelmed, we see all that needs to be done and say, That’s too much. I can’t do it. So instead, I shall do nothing. Feeling overwhelmed occurs when we say, I am already too busy so I can’t do that and now all is pressing in on me and I can’t do anything. And the acts that are ours to do keep piling up and pulling on us. And we keep resisting. And stress and pressure build up.

Feeling overwhelmed leads to feeling stuck, and both are an illusion. How simple those things that overwhelm us actually become when we release the feeling and return to the rhythm of our lives. When we say, Yes, I need to make that phone call, do that task. How simple the task becomes, how simple life becomes.

What’s bothering you that needs to be done? What’s pulling on you? What’s causing you to feel overwhelmed and maybe stuck, too? Make a list. Put your list aside, and begin by taking one simple action. Then watch as life unfolds. One act at a time, one thing at a time, all that needs to be done will get done. The stress will disappear, and you’ll feel back on track.

You’ll be given the ability, power, and guidance to do all that is on your path to do. Begin simply, quietly, by acknowledging feeling overwhelmed. Denying the pull of life and its tasks doesn’t remove stress, it compounds it.

Surrendering to the simple truths, even the simple truth of what we’re really feeling, will always set us free.

*****

more language of letting go
The beauty is easy to see

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
--Ursula K. Le Guin

One lesson road trips have taught me is that while it's good to have a destination, it's good to see what the trip has to offer rather than waiting for it to bring us what we expected.

Recently, a friend and I made a trip to Santuario de Chimayo to visit the church and bring home some of the healing dust from the sacred place. Along the way, we planned to pass through other beautiful places in the Southwest, a spiritual pilgrimage we thought. We left the house ready to be enlightened. But something happened. In the hot Arizona air, we stopped letting the trip happen and started looking for a specific experience. The Indian ruins were overrun with tourist groups, and the beautiful red rock vortex center had been reduced to strip malls and time-share condos. Or spiritual quest had yielded nothing but disappointment so far. We felt antsy, irritable, and let down.

Then we saw the sign Meteor Crater road next right. We turned down that road, giving in to the cheesy kitsch of the trip. A mile wide and over five hundred feet deep the crater was left over fifty thousand years ago in the middle of what is now the Arizona desert. A man bought the land and he and his family became meteor experts-- marketing experts as well since they now charge ten dollars to see a big hole in the ground. Nice enough folks though, and we smiled for the first time on the trip.

I'd always wanted to see the Petrified Forest, Though I feared that once again the hype would overpower the reality of what it was. It didn't. The giant log-turned-to-stone were scarce but the place had a powerful timelessness to it. The sky was pastel blue. I lay on a giant wave of sand while Chip ran around taking pictures that would end up overexposed.

Later that evening we crossed the border into New Mexico. Chelle's-- a nice place to eat read the sign on the side of a building in Gallup. And it was nice, just like the sign said.

We can search for joy and enlightenment so frantically that we don't see the brilliance at our own feet. Sometimes in the search for enlightenment, it helps to remember to lighten up. To paraphrase Winnie the Pooh, if you're looking for enlightenment and only find the ordinary, then try looking at the ordinary and let it be what it is. You might then find something you weren't looking for, which might be just what you were looking for when you began.

Don't let your hopes and expectations be so high that you miss the beauty in what is. Joy and enlightenment, after all, aren't that hard to see.

God, help me let go of my expectations and delight in what is.

*****

Apologies
Empowered Forgiveness by Madisyn Taylor

If we can remember that our response to others is important, we can realize that trust and forgiveness go hand in hand.

In life there will always be times when we are affected by the actions of another person. When this happens, we often receive an apology. More often than not we say, “It’s alright,” or “ It’s okay,” and by saying this we are allowing, accepting, and giving permission for the behavior to happen again. When we say “thank you,” or “I accept your apology,” we are forced to sit in our feelings rather than ignore them.

There are many of us who feel that it is easier to brush off how we really feel than to express our discomfort with something that has happened to us. While this may initially seem like the best thing to do, what it really does is put us into an unending pattern of behavior; since we are not honest with another person, we continue the cycle of letting them overstep our emotional limits time and time again. By doing this we place ourselves in the position of victim. We can put an end to this karmic chain by first acknowledging to the other person that we accept their request for forgiveness; often a simple “thank you” is enough. To truly create a greater sense of harmony in our relationship, however, we need to gently, and with compassion, express our innermost concerns about what has transpired. By taking a deep breath and calling upon the deepest parts of our spirit, we can usually find the right words to say and verbalize them in a way that lets the other person recognize the consequences of what they have done.

If we can remember that our response to others is important, we can begin to realize that trust and forgiveness go hand in hand. And when we react in a way that engenders a greater amount of honesty and candor, we will establish a more positive and empowering way of being and interacting others. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Now that we’re sober and living in reality, it’s sometimes difficult to see ourselves as others see us and, in the process, determine how much progress we’ve made in recovery. In the old days, the back-of-the-bar mirror presented us with a distorted and illusory view of ourselves; the way we imagined ourselves to be and the way we imagined ourselves to appear in the eyes of others. A good way for me to measure my progress today is imply to look about me at my friends in The Program. As I witness the miracle of their recoveries, I realize that I’m part of the same miracle — and will remain so as long as I’m willing. Am I grateful for reality and the Divine miracle of my recovery?

Today I Pray

May god keep my eyes open for miracles — those marvelous changes that have taken place in my own life and in the lives of my friends in the group. May I ask no other measurement of progress than a smile I can honestly mean and a clear eye and a mind that can, at last, touch reality. May my own joy be my answer to my question. “How am I doing?”

today I Will Remember

Miracles measure our progress: Who needs more?

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

One More Day

Maturity: among other things — not to hide one’s strength out of fear and consequently live below one’s best.
– Dag Hammarskjold

The fear of being different is a powerful force in our lives, especially in the early times after a chronic illness is diagnosed. We fear being recognized as a victim of an illness, and we become afraid of any recognition at all.

We don’t want to live with this unreasonable fear, and we begin to understand that healthy thinking requires us to develop and use our many strengths. We stop denying and start accepting. The voice of our individuality begins to speak, loudly and clearly, and we answer with definitive action. We start to face our problems, to accept the ways in which we differ from others, and to rejoice in our strengths.

I won’t hid my strengths, for they are the means to life at its best.

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

Food For Thought

Seeking the Best

We will never be satisfied with less than the best. When we were overeating, we may have settled for less than we were capable of being and achieving, but we were not happy about it. There is something in each of us that hungers for maximum growth and development.

When we stop drugging ourselves with food, we become aware of new possibilities and areas of growth. By controlling our disease, we release potential that had been buried under our obsession. As we come to know our Higher Power through this program, our appetite for the best is reawakened. Though we realize we will never achieve perfection, we are challenged to be and do the best that we can, just for today.

The best force there is directs lives that are committed to the care of God. Only by dedication to knowing and doing His will is our search satisfied.

We seek You, Lord.

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

One Day At A Time

Self-sabotage
“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur
when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.
For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are
likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”
M. Scott Peck

For the last fifteen years I have been an avid and restless student of “self-help.” I read popular books, spent years in therapy, and attended various support groups. Because I didn’t see any improvement in my life, I was consumed with anger, shame, bitterness, and a pervasive sense of injustice. I blamed my Higher Power, my family, my partner, and my life circumstances. Only since joining The Recovery Group have I discovered the source of my toxic stagnation. It was myself. When doing a thorough examination of my life, I was absolutely shocked to find that I had been repeatedly practicing destructive acts of self-sabotage.

I was in love with my suffering. I was addicted to my misery. Sometimes we cling to our illnesses and weaknesses because they are so familiar to us. Though they hurt us, we find them oddly comforting. It's what we're used to. And change is scary. The unknown is scary. I found that my self-sabotage stemmed from shame, anger, low self-esteem, my lust for being a Victim -- and even a Fear of Being Well. I had to reach the profound darkness of depression before I could admit that the damage I did to myself had become unbearable.

Now I make a choice each day to not sabotage myself. It's not easy. Rather than being my enemy, I choose to be my friend and advocate. With the help of this program and my friends in recovery, I have come to like myself and to truly want good things for myself. The changes are gradual and require me to be patient and gracious with myself. Now I can celebrate each baby step and forgive myself when I fall back into old patterns. I now know that when I do make a mistake, I can admit it, learn from it, and press forward with my Recovery.

One day at a time...
I will choose to accept myself as a person of worth. I will resist temptations to sabotage my recovery and I will choose good things for my life.
~ Lisa

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If any feel that as psychiatrists directing a hospital for alcoholics we appear somewhat sentimental, let them stand with us a while on the firing line, see the tragedies, the despairing wives, the little children; let the solving of these problems become part of their daily work, and even of their sleeping moments, and the most cynical will not wonder that we have accepted and encouraged this movement. we feel, after many years of experience, that we have found nothing which has contributed more to the rehabilitation of these men than the altruistic movement now growing up among them. - Pg. xxvii - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Let us speculate on another subtle 'trick' of our disease: It lies to us! 'It wasn't so bad; I'm not really out of control; everyone drinks a little; these people are stupid.' These are lies.

I pray that the subtle lies of addiction go in one ear and out the other!

Amends

Today, I am willing for healing to take place in ruptured relationships. I have been doing the best that I can. My acknowledgment that I may have hurt someone else does not diminish me. I have also been hurt, and I extend the same understanding to myself that I do to others. We have all been doing the best that we knew how with the awareness we had to work with. My willingness to make amends speaks to my spiritual growth and desire for honesty. Making amends to others sets things straight with myself. My self-respect is growing to the extent that I am no longer comfortable with unfinished business. I will finish up my side for my own self and allow the rest to be where it is. It is for myself that I forgive; I do not need to control the result.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Before spiritual awakening...work steps, make coffee, carry the message. After spiritual awakening...keep working steps, keep making coffee, keep carrying the message. -Zen for the 12 Steps-

Enlightenment is my ego's greatest disappointment.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Do not put the sole purpose of any fellowship above the soul purpose.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I look to my Higher Power for strength, courage and direction. I gather my own strength and confidence from all possible resources and follow my own inner voice.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It doesn't matter so much who is right but what is right. I don't get indigestion from swallowing my pride. Anon.

[bluidkiti]

October 18

Daily Reflections

AN OPEN MIND

True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33

My alcoholic thinking led me to believe that I could control my drinking, but I couldn't.
When I came to A.A., I realized that God was speaking to me through my group. My mind
was open just enough to know that I needed His help. A real, honest acceptance of A.A.
took more time, but with it came humility. I know how insane I was, and I am extremely grateful
to have my sanity restored to me and to be a sober alcoholic. The new, sober me is a much
better person than I ever could have been without A.A.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Have I got over most of my sensitiveness, my feelings which are too easily hurt, and my
just plain laziness and self-satisfaction? Am I willing to go all out for A.A. at no matter what
cost to my precious self? Is my own comfort more important to me than doing the things
that need to be done? Have I got to the point where what happens to me is not so
important? Can I face up to things that are embarrassing or uncomfortable if they are
the right things to do for the good of A.A.? Have I given A.A. just a small piece of myself?
Am I willing to give all of myself whenever necessary?

Meditation For The Day

Not until you have failed can you learn true humility. Humility arises from a deep sense of
gratitude to God for giving you the strength to rise above past failures. Humility is not
inconsistent with self-respect. The true person has self-respect and the respect of others
and yet is humble. The humble person is tolerant of other's failings, and does not have a
critical attitude toward the foibles of others. Humble people are hard on themselves and
easy on others.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be truly humble and yet have self-respect. I pray that I may see the good
in myself as well as the bad.

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

As Bill Sees It

WHEN CONFLICTS MOUNT, p. 289

Sometimes I would be forced to look at situations where I was
doing badly. Right away, the search for excuses would become
frantic.

"These," I would exclaim, "are really a good man's faults." When
that pet gadget broke apart, I would think, "Well, if those people
would only treat me right, I wouldn't have to behave the way I
do." Next was this: "God well knows that I do have awful
compulsions. I just can't get over this one. So He will have to
release me." At last came the time when I would shout, "This, I
positively will not do! I won't even try."

Of course, my conflicts went right on mounting, because I was
simply loaded with excuses, refusals, and outright rebellion.

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

Walk In Dry Places

Those who want it, Not those who need it.
Honest Desire
In the first bloom of sobriety, many recovering people confront drinking companions who also "need" the program. They're often surprised and disillusion when efforts to help their friends are rejected... sometimes curtly.
We're truly limited to helping those who desire recovery, not those who we think need it. Though intervention methods can be effective, we're still largely helpless to assist those who don't desire recovery.
We regret that we really have no answers for the millions who perish from alcoholism, unaware of their problem. We also can hold out little hope that any future recovery attempts will succeed without the individual alcoholic's cooperation.
Desire..... a personal determination and decision.... is necessary for almost any kind of change. We have the freedom to choose in many areas of our lives, and alcoholics must eventually choose recovery in order to find and maintain it.
Though I'd love to see others recover, I must accept the fact that their personal desire and choice is necessary. I'll remember this if any opportunities arise today to carry the message.

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

Keep It Simple

When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying to get your divine attention and your blessing.
--Catherine Ponder
We are in constant communication with one another and with God in the spiritual realm. No matter how singular our particular course may appear, our path is running parallel to many paths. And all paths will intersect when the need is present. The point of intersection is the moment when another soul seeks our attention. We can be attentive and loving to the people seeking our attention. Their growth and ours is at stake,
We can be grateful for our involvement with other lives. We can be mindful that our particular blessing is like no one else's and that we all need input from the many significant persons in our lives. There is no insignificant encounter in our passage through life. Each juncture with someone else is part of the destiny of both participants.
I will look carefully and lovingly at the people around me today and bless them, one and all. They are in my life because they need to be. I, likewise, need them.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Pride, we are told, my children, "goeth before a fall" and oh, the pride was there, and so the fall was not far away. --Wilhelmina Kemp Johnstone
Requesting help. Admitting we are wrong. Owning our mistake in either a big or small matter. Asking for another chance or someone's love. All very difficult to do, and yet necessary if we are to grow. The difficulty is our pride, the big ego. We think, "We need to always be right. If we're wrong, then others may think less of us, look down on us, and question our worth." Perfectionism versus worthlessness.
If we are not perfect (and of course we never are), then we must be worthless. In between these two points on the scale is "being human." Our emotional growth, as women, is equal to how readily we accept our humanness, how able we are to be wrong. With humility comes a softness that smoothes our every experience, our every relationship. Pride makes us hard, keeps us hard, keeps others away, and sets us up for the fall.
I will let myself be human today. It will soften my vision of life.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Third Edition

BY March 1976, when this edition went to the printer, the total worldwide membership of Alcoholics Anonymous was conservatively estimated at more than 1,000,000, with almost 28,000 groups meeting in over 90 countries.

p. xxii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Over the course of my sobriety I have experienced many opportunities to grow. I have had struggles and achievements. Through it all I have not had to take a drink, nor have I ever been alone. Willingness and action have seen me through it all, with the guidance of a loving Higher Power and the fellowship of the program. When I'm in doubt, I have faith that things will turn out as they should. When I'm afraid, I reach for the hand of another alcoholic to steady me.

pp. 317-318

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

With the publication of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" in 1939, the pioneering period ended and a prodigious chain reaction set in as the recovered alcoholics carried their message to still others. In the next years alcoholics flocked to A.A. by tens of thousands, largely as the result of excellent and continuous publicity freely given by magazines and newspapers throughout the world. Clergymen and doctors alike rallied to the new movement, giving it unstinted support and endorsement.

p. 17

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"To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at
yourself is maturity."
--William A. Ward

To remain young while growing old is the highest blessing.
--German Proverb

"Make rest a necessity, not an objective."
--Jim Rohn

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

"The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post."
--L. Thomas Holdcroft

"Once you say you are going to settle for second, that's what happens to you."
--John F. Kennedy

Friends are the sunshine of life.
--John Hay

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WORSHIP

"Our concern is not how to
worship in the catacombs but
how to remain human in the
skyscrapers."
-- Abraham Heschel

Worship requires the discovery of "true worth" in my own life. True worship is not only
historical and traditional but also contemporary. I need to discover not only the God of
yesterday, but also the God of the modern city.

My past addiction to fantasy often made me place God in an unreal world. I was happy
talking about the Jews, Roman and Philistines but I missed God in Las Vegas, on
freeways and in local politics.

God is alive in His world, and it is tragic to make Him a prisoner of history.

Let me find You in the place where I live.

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

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm and He guided them to their desired haven.
Psalm 107:29-30

"You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of
the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."
Psalm 91:5-6

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do,
and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is."
Romans 12:2

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Daily Inspiration

It is hard to be upset with yourself when you are being nice to someone else. Lord, bless me with a giving spirit be I know that all I give comes back to shine on me in many different ways.

With our blessings come responsibilities. Much is required of those to whom much has been given. Lord, may I use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

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

NA Just For Today

We All Belong

"Although 'politics makes strange bedfellows,' as the old saying goes, addiction makes us one of a kind."

Basic Text, p.84

What a mixture of folks we have in Narcotics Anonymous! In any given meeting on any given night, we'll find a variety of people that probably never would have sat down in a room together if it weren't for the disease of addiction.

A member who is a physician described his unwillingness to identify at his first meeting by refusing to go into "that room full of junkies." Another member with an extensive background in jails and institutions shared a similar story, except that her shock and surprise stemmed from the realization that "there were nice people there - wearing suits, yet!" These two friends recently celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary.

The most unlikely people form friendships, sponsor each other, and do service work together. We meet in the rooms of recovery together, sharing the bonds of past suffering and hope for the future. We meet on mutual ground with our focus on the two things we all have in common - addiction and recovery.

Just for today: No matter what my personal circumstances, I belong.

pg. 304

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
One will rarely err if extreme actions be ascribed to vanity, ordinary actions to habit, and mean actions to fear. --Friedrich Nietzsche
Sometimes we begin to believe someone close to us is being mean deliberately. This may happen when a good friend suddenly stops inviting us to her house. She may be scared to have others over because her parents are having problems, or for some other reason that has nothing to do with us.
But we often fear that it is because of something we said or did. We find ourselves becoming scared and pulling away. If we ask for God's help in turning our fear around, we can overcome it and ask our friend why she stopped inviting us over. Most times we will find that our friend had no idea her actions affected us the way they did. We can then laugh at ourselves for our fears and applaud ourselves for overcoming them.
What treasure might I find beneath my fear today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Thou art everywhere, but I worship you here;
Thou art without form, but I worship you in these forms;
Thou neediest no praise, yet I offer you these prayers and salutations.
--Hindu prayer
The history of the Twelve Steps tells us that in the first small A.A. group there was controversy about the word God. For some of the men, God was known in traditional religious ways; other members were agnostic. This first group followed their group conscience. The resolution they achieved has inspired many new Twelve Step members ever since. They were guided through their disagreement to a new expression of their spiritual relationship. They began to speak of a "Power greater than ourselves" and of "God, as we understood Him."
Today we turn to God as we understand God, because our definitions are restricted by human limitations. We know from our own experiences and from the stories of thousands of men and women who have preceded us, that this spiritual program is very practical and simple. It works. It restores our lives.
To a Power greater than myself, I am filled with gratitude.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying to get your divine attention and your blessing.
--Catherine Ponder
We are in constant communication with one another and with God in the spiritual realm. No matter how singular our particular course may appear, our path is running parallel to many paths. And all paths will intersect when the need is present. The point of intersection is the moment when another soul seeks our attention. We can be attentive and loving to the people seeking our attention. Their growth and ours is at stake,
We can be grateful for our involvement with other lives. We can be mindful that our particular blessing is like no one else's and that we all need input from the many significant persons in our lives. There is no insignificant encounter in our passage through life. Each juncture with someone else is part of the destiny of both participants.
I will look carefully and lovingly at the people around me today and bless them, one and all. They are in my life because they need to be. I, likewise, need them.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Throwing Out the Rule Book
Many of us feel like we need a rulebook, a microscope, and a warranty to get through life. We feel uncertain, frightened. We want the security of knowing what's going to happen, and how we shall act.
We don't trust life or ourselves.
We don't trust the Plan.
We want to be in control.
"I've made terrible mistakes about my choices, mistakes that nearly destroyed me. Life has really shocked me. How can I trust myself? How can I trust life, and my instincts, after where I've been?" asked one woman.
It is understandable that we fear being crushed again, considering the way many of us were when we bottomed out on our codependency. We don't have to be fearful. We can trust our self, our path, and our instincts.
Yes, we want to avoid making the same mistakes again. We are not the same people we were yesterday or last year. We've learned, grown, changed. We did what we needed to do then. If we made a mistake, we cannot let that stop us from living and fully experiencing today.
We have arrived at the understanding that we needed our experiences - even our mistakes - to get to where we are today. Do we know that we needed our life to unfold exactly as it did to find ourselves, our Higher Power, and this new way of life? Or is part of us still calling our past a mistake?
We can let go of our past and trust ourselves now. We do not have to punish ourselves with our past. We don't need a rulebook, a microscope, a warranty. All we really need is a mirror. We can look into the mirror and say, "I trust you. No matter what happens, you can take care of yourself. And what happens will continue to be good, better than you think."
Today, I will stop clinging to the painful lessons of the past. I will open myself to the positive lessons today and tomorrow hold for me. I trust that I can and will take care of myself now. I trust that the Plan is good, even when I don't know what it is.


Today I will be aware not to judge myself when I feel less than perfect. I am beginning to love myself just as I am and that feels so nice. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart
October 18
Trust the Morning

I arrived in Sedona late at night, after ten o’clock. Motel offices were closed everywhere I went. The signs flashed “No Vacancy.” I hung around the convenience store for a while, trying to figure out what to do, having second thoughts about spontaneity and trusting the universe. I regretted not having an itinerary. I was too tired to drive much longer. I no longer cared if my journey was magical; it was back to basics. I wanted to sleep in a bed that night.

I bought the local paper and spotted an ad for a lodge. I called the number, but no luck. I got in my car, wondering what to do.

On the edge of town, I saw a motel with lights in the office and a person behind the desk. I went inside and pestered the girl behind the desk for help. She finally relented, telling me of a little known hotel about an hour away. She lived close by, she said. I could follow her there. An hour later, I gratefully checked into a room. I couldn’t find the heat, but I did have a bed, pillow, and blanket.

The next morning, I discovered I was staying on the edge of a dry, dusty golf course. The area was surrounded by low, barren hills barely covered with shrubs. I headed the car to Sedona, still tired, still wondering why I was there.

My car rounded a curve. Suddenly I was surrounded by spiraling red mesas shaped by nature into forms of bells, cathedrals, and carved towers reaching to the sky. The sunlight danced on the rusty red sculptures, lighting them with an orange-yellow glow. I smiled at the breathtaking view, grateful the experience had unfolded as it had.

Sometimes, the darkness and loneliness of night make the color and beauty of the sunrise and the new day all that much more beautiful. Contrast is an important part of creativity. Our Creator knows that. So does our heart.

Things look different in the morning. Trust that the morning will come.

*****

more language of letting go
Take another look

It's amazing the difference
A bit of sky can make.
--Shel Silverstein

We spend morning at the Blue Sky Lodge drinking coffee on the back porch watching the world wake up. One morning, after grabbing my cup, I walked out back to find Frank, a skydiving friend staying at the Lodge while visiting from the United Kingdom, busliy snapping pictures of the surrounding terrain.

"Frank, why are you taking pictures of this?" I asked. "If you want, we can take you to some of the more scenic areas around here."

"No way," he replied. "No one back home will believe that I got to spend my time in a place with a view like this."

I looked around and tried to see the view through his eyes. The rolling hills of southern California were bathed in golden early morning sunlight, while a light marine layer curled over the ridgeline of the Ortega Mountains just three miles to the west. San Jacinto rose high in the eastern sky, a pale silhouette in the morning sun.

I smiled and for the first time in a while took in the sheer beauty of the view. Lately all I had been seeing were the piles of leaves and construction materials scattered around the yard or the cars driving along the road in the valley below us. I had been surrounded with beauty and yet had grown so accustomed to it that I didn't even notice it anymore.

Many times what we need isn't a change of scenery, but a renewed vision of what's already there. Take another look at your life-- where you live, your friends, your work-- all your gifts. Maybe the view in your life is better than you think.

God, renew my spirit. Help me look at my life with a fresh vision. If I don't like what I see, help me look again.

*****

Complementary Energies
Balancing Self with Family Life by Madisyn Taylor

It is vital to the energy of your spirit and the energy of your family unit that you take time for yourself each day to balance and center.

Many of us have a hard time balancing taking care of ourselves with taking care of our family responsibilities. For people with young children, this can be especially challenging, but even people without children have obligations to care for extended family, partners, pets, and the home in which they live. It’s easy to lose track of our own needs as we give ourselves to the people, pets, and places we love. However, it is essential to their well-being that we take care of ourselves, filling our own wells with water so that we have something to offer when we return home each day.

It is easy to get caught up in the demands of home life because they never stop. There is always one more thing you can do, another dish in the sink, a counter that needs wiping, or a person who needs a ride somewhere. If you don’t set some boundaries, you will find yourself on an endless journey of housework and doing for others. Eventually, you will probably feel drained and out of touch with your inner life force. Instead of waiting for this to happen, integrate self-care into your daily schedule. Even Buddha insisted that he have one hour completely to himself every day. There are times when even that will not be possible—for example, with a new baby or a sick relative. At times like this, retreating inward energetically can be a lifesaver. You can always find five minutes to close your eyes and breathe consciously. You may even be able to meditate.

Most of the time, though, it is possible to set aside a full hour for yourself each day. In addition, scheduling a longer interval of time, perhaps on a weekly basis, can really help to restore your energy. Get a massage or go to a movie or out with a friend. Taking time to experience the world outside of your home makes returning home all the more wonderful. In the same way, taking care of yourself is a natural complement to taking care of your home and family. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the rewards that would be mine when I first contemplated turning my life and will over to the care of God as I understand Him. Now I can rejoice in the blessing of my own recovery, as well as the recoveries of countless others who have found hope and a new way of life in The Program. After all the years of waste and terror, I realize today that God has always been on my side and at my side. Isn’t my clearer understanding of God’s will one of the best things that has happened to me?

Today I Pray

May I be thankful for the blessed contrast between the way my life used to be (Part 1) and the way it is now (Part II). In Part I, I was the practicing addict, adrift among my fears and delusions. In Part II, I am the recovering addict, rediscovering my emotions, accepting my responsibilities, learning what the real world has to offer, growing close to my Higher Power. Without the contrast, I could never feel the joy I know today or sense the peaceful nearness of my Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember

I am grateful for such contrast.

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

One More Day

Quote:He that can’t endure the bad, will not live to see the good.
– Yiddish Proverb

Maturity means taking thee bitter with the sweet. Wisdom is the realization that sometimes the two are interrelated. An we might have been bitter because quality of our lives was changed.

Now, with a clearer perspective and greater maturity, we realize that many of the sweeter aspects of our lives today have grown out of our learning to cope with chronic illness. We live more in the moment, rather than always pursuing some distant goal. Our values reflect a stronger sense of self; they emphasize people over things. For many of us, the growth, the joy, and the self-esteem that now sweeten our lives come from the bitter experiences of chronic illness.

I accept that my life experiences will be both good and bad. Although my illness is unwanted. I have been strengthen by it.

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

Food For Thought

Relying on God

As compulsive overeaters, we relied on food to pick us up, calm us down, console us, excite us, help us, and sustain us. Since food was inadequate to do all of these things, we had to eat more and more until we became physically and emotionally addicted.

Recovery from our disease requires that dependency on food be replaced by dependency on a Higher Power. Only God, as each of us understands Him, is capable of supporting us at all times and in all situations. Food simply will not work. If we are not controlled by our Higher Power, we will be controlled by our addiction to compulsive overeating.

At first, we find it difficult to rely on a Power we cannot see. Our materialistic orientation makes us distrustful of the things that are of the spirit. Gradually, we come to believe as we witness the work of God through OA. We see evidence of His activity in our own lives, and we sense the peace and security that He gives. Reliance on God is our strength.

I depend on You for recovery.

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

One Day At A Time

Looking for Love
“The most important thing in life
is to learn how to give out love,
and to let it come in.”
Morrie Schwartz

As a compulsive overeater I was always looking outside of myself for love, yet I was terrified of letting it in. “What if it hurts me once I let it in?” I was just as afraid of giving out love. “What if I lost myself or was taken advantage of?” My life was ruled by fear, and at a very young age I discovered the false security of food. I used food as a source of companionship and as a way to numb out my pain. It became a substitute for love.

As the disease gained control, the more I ate and the more shut down I became. I built huge walls around myself. As the weight came on, I was convinced that this was the reason people didn’t love me the way that I wanted to be loved. I believed that “if only I was thin enough” I would get what I wanted. It never occurred to me that I was already so full of the food that there was no room inside to receive anything else.

When I came into program and began to put down the food, I slowly discovered that this love that I was searching for was within me all along. My Higher Power is love and dwells within and all around me. In recovery I am graced with the freedom to act out of love and therefore be with my Higher Power.

One day at a time...
I will choose to act out of love and to keep my heart open to the love that my Higher Power brings into my life. If I just open my eyes, my ears and my heart, it is everywhere.
~ Jessica M.

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

This world of ours has made more material progress in the last century than in all the millenniums which went before. Almost everyone knows the reason. Students of ancient history tell us that the intellect of men in those days was equal to the best of today. Yet in ancient times material progress was painfully slow. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research and invention was almost unknown. In the realm of the material, men's minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas. Some of the contemporaries of Columbus though a round earth preposterous. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies.

We asked ourselves this: Are not some of us just as biased and unreasonable about the realm of the spirit as were the ancients about the realm of the material? - Pg. 51 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There is a certain universality to the truths taught in our 12 step programs. They are nothing new. These principles are derived from eons of experience and spirituality. What is new is our personal understanding that living these principles gives us a reprieve from our addiction.

Thank you God, as I understand You, for my daily reprieve from addiction based on my sincere attempt to practice these principles.

Owning My Own Anger Responsibly

Today, I am willing to take responsibility for the anger that I carry within me. I am not a bad person because I feel angry. No one wants to think of himself or herself as an angry person, and I am no exception. But when I refuse to acknowledge the anger and resentment that I have stored within me, (1) I turn my back on me and refuse to accept a very important part of myself, and (2) I ask the people close to me to hold my feelings for me, to be the containers of my unconscious or the feelings inside me that I do not wish to see. Because I deny my anger to myself does not mean that it goes away. Today, I am willing to consider that there might be something more to it, that I may be carrying feelings of anger that I need to accept.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Want to know about your Spiritual Source? 'It is a simple procedure to calculate the number of seeds in an apple. But who among us can ever say how many apples are in a seed?' ~Dr. Wayne Dyer, Everyday Wisdom

Even though I feel very small when the stars come out at night, I remember that I, too, am made of stardust.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Don't believe in miracles. Rely on them.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am full of joy in the discovery that I am okay just the way I am. Today I can accept all of me today and that is a miracle.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I don't have to figure out God's will for me anymore. God's will is defined for me by taking Steps 10 and 11. Because it's all a process of weeding out everything which isn't God's will. - Cindy F.

[bluidkiti]

October 19

Daily Reflections

A. A.'S "MAIN TAPROOT"

The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat
is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 21-22

Defeated, and knowing it, I arrived at the doors of A.A., alone and afraid of the unknown.
A power outside of myself had picked me up off my bed, guided me to the phone book,
then to the bus stop, and through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous. Once inside A.A. I
experienced a sense of being loved and accepted, something I had not felt since early
childhood. May I never lose the sense of wonder I experienced on that first evening with
A.A., the greatest event of my entire life.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Do I realize that I do not know how much time I have left? It may be later than I think.
Am I going to do the things that I know I should do before my time runs out? By the way,
what is my purpose for the rest of my life? Do I realize all I have to make up for in my
past wasted life? Do I know that I am living on borrowed time and that I would not have
even this much time left without A.A. and the grace of God? Am I going to make what
time I have left count for A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

We can believe that somehow the cry of the human soul is never unheard by God. It may
be that God hears the cry, even if we fail to notice God's response to it. The human cry
for help must always evoke a response of some sort from God. It may be that our failure
to discern properly keeps us unaware of the response. But one thing we can believe is
that the grace of God is always available for every human being who sincerely calls for
help. Many changed lives are living proofs of this fact.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may trust God to answer my prayer as He sees fit. I pray that I may be
content with whatever form that answer may take.

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

As Bill Sees It

TIME VERSUS MONEY, p. 290

Our attitude toward the giving of time when compared with our
attitude toward giving money presents an interesting contrast. We
give a lot of our time to A.A. activities for our own protection and
growth, but also for the sake of our groups, our areas, A.A. as a
whole, and, above all, the newcomer. Translated into terms of money,
these collective sacrifices would add up to a huge sum.

But when it comes to the actual spending of cash, particularly for
A.A. service overhead, many of us are apt to turn a bit reluctant. We
think of the loss of all that earning power in our drinking years, of
those sums we might have laid by for emergencies or for education
of the kids.

In recent years, this attitude is everywhere on the decline; it
quickly disappears when the real need for a given A.A. service
becomes clear. Donors can seldom see what the exact result has
been. They well know, however, that countless thousands of other
alcoholics and their families are being helped.

TWELVE CONCEPTS, pp. 63-64

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

Walk In Dry Places

The same situation... over and over
Growth in Maturity.
Our drinking experience should have taught us that we'll continue to repeat old destructive behaviors until we change our attitudes.
In sobriety, we can take this idea a step further and apply it to other areas. If we have trouble with other people, for example, we should ask what we're doing to bring about unpleasant situations.
This is not to say that we're responsible for everything that goes wrong, but we are getting a message ourselves if we continuously meet the same problem in different forms. Some people, for example, repeatedly become involved in bad relationships or find themselves working for abusive bosses.
Just as a changed attitude helped us recover from our drinking problem, so can a new attitude keep us from repeating other destructive situations.
I'll be on the lookout today for any indications of a tendency to "attract" trouble. It's true that I can have bad luck, but I don't need to bring it on myself.

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

Keep It Simple

A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.---Seventeenth century proverb
We addicts used to be stubborn. Once we got an idea in our heads, we wouldn’t change it.
We didn’t listen to others ideas. We almost seemed to say, “Don’t tell me the facts. I’ve already made up my mind.”
But lately , some new ideas are making sense to us. We are starting to change our minds. Maybe we are good people, after all. Maybe we do deserve to be happy. Maybe other people can help us. Maybe our Higher Power does know best.
We’re not acting like fools any longer. We’re learning to change our old ideas.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, when I hear a better idea, help me change my mind.
Action for the Day: When I hear or read a new idea today, I’ll really think about it. If it fits, I’ll try it.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

One of the conclusions I have come to in my old age is the importance of living in the ever-present now. In the past, too often I indulged in the belief that somehow or other tomorrow would be brighter or happier or richer. --Ruth Casey
How easily our minds jump from the present to the foibles of the past or our fears about the future. How seldom are our minds on this moment, and only this moment.
Before we picked up this book, where were our thoughts? We need to practice, with diligence, returning our minds to whatever the experience at hand. A truly creative response to any situation can only be made when we are giving it our undivided attention. And each creative response initiates an even more exciting follow-up experience.
All we have of life, all that it can offer us is here, now. If we close our mind to the present, this present, we'll only continue to do so when the tomorrow we dream of now becomes the present. There are no tomorrows.
I will let go of the past and the future. My only reality is here, now. God's gifts are here, today, right now.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Third Edition

Surveys of groups in the United States and Canada indicate that A.A. is reaching out, not only to more and more people, but to a wider and wider range. Women now make up more than one-fourth of the membership; among newer members, the proportion is nearly one-third. Seven percent of the A.A.’s surveyed are less than 30 years of age—among them, many in their teens.

p. xxii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Life has not heaped monetary riches upon my head, nor have I achieved fame in the eyes of the world. My blessings cannot be measured in those terms. No amount of money or fame could equal what has been given me. Today I can walk down any street, anywhere, without the fear of meeting someone I've harmed. Today my thoughts are not consumed with craving for the next drink or regret for the damage I did on the last drunk.

p. 318

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

This starting expansion brought with it very severe growing pains. Proof that alcoholics could recover had been made. But it was by no means sure that such great numbers of yet erratic people could live and work together with harmony and good effect.

pp. 17-18

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

I am never alone
never abandoned
never deserted
never judged
never chastised
and never without Gods aid.
--Shelley

"As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God."

Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.
--Elizabeth Harrison

Correction does much, but encouragement does more.
--Goethe

Words to live by are just words, unless you live by them. You have to walk the talk.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.
--Cited in More of...The Best of BITS & PIECES

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to
leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
--unknown

We are never so lost that God can't find us.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TACT

"Tact is the art of making a
point without making an
enemy."
-- Howard W. Newton

An aspect of my recovery is not hurting people's feelings unnecessarily. I am learning
how to say what I have to say without causing offense. Today I am learning to be tactful
and respectful.

As a drunk I would say the first thing that came into my head without any regard for
the feelings of others. I was often violent with words, sarcastic with comments and
cruel in dialogue. Tact was a sign of weakness; gentleness and sensitivity were
unmanly; my power was seen in forcing people to change their minds!

Today I do not wish to be like this. Today I desire to be tactful.

Lord, let me always express my opinion respectfully.

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

For great is Your love higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psalm 108:4

You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my only source of hope. Get out of my
life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God. LORD,
sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed. Sustain me,
and I will be saved; then I will meditate on your principles continually.
Psalm 119:114-117

Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the
tablet of thy heart.
Proverbs 3:3

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

Daily Inspiration

Complaining reinforces your own unhappiness. Lord, when I speak, help to say things that are worth listening to and reinforce a joyful spirit.

Life is what our thinking makes it. Lord, help me visualize myself richly living each day, believing, achieving, and then succeeding.

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

NA Just For Today

Standing For Something

"... we could feel time, touch reality, and recognize spiritual values long lost to many of us."

Basic Text, p.85

In our active addiction, we were prepared to compromise everything we believed in just to get our hands on more drugs. Whether we stole from our families and friends, sold ourselves, or lied to our employers, we were ignoring the values that mattered most to us. Each time we compromised another dearly held belief, another chunk of the mortar holding our characters together fell away. By the time many of us came to our first meeting, nothing was left but the ruin of our former selves.

We will locate our lost values as we carry out our first honest self-examination. But in order to rebuild our characters, we'll find it necessary to maintain those values, no matter how great the temptation to shove them aside. We will need to be honest, even when we think we could fool everyone by lying. If we ignore our values, we'll discover that the biggest fibs we've told have been the ones we've told ourselves.

We don't want to start the demolition of our spirits again after all the work we've put into their restoration. It's essential that we stand for something, or we risk falling for anything. Whatever we find important to us, we honor.

Just for today: I stand for something. My strength is the result of living my values.

pg. 305

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
All power is a trust. We are accountable for its exercise. From people and for people all power springs, and all must exist. --Benjamin Disraeli
The sun is power. It warms, it burns, it feeds the plants without which we could not live. Yet, for all its power, the sun cannot make so much as a rainbow by itself. For that, it needs the rain, at just the right time and angle.
No matter how strong we are--or smart or talented or attractive--we realize our full power only by filtering it through others. Our most meaningful achievements are born of combined efforts. Even when we do something that feels like ours alone--paint a painting, win an award, hit a home run--there is always a constellation of friends and family and teachers, even enemies, who've been a part of our success.
Like the rain's part in the rainbow, the contributions of others do not detract from our achievements, but enhance them and bring them to their fullest light.
How are others enhancing my growth today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If only I could throw away the urge to trace my patterns in your heart I could really see you. --David Brandon
Trying to control and change the people around us creates great problems in our relationships. When people we love are expressing themselves, we're thinking about what we wish they would say, and it blocks us from hearing clearly. A need for safety and for a guarantee that we won't be abandoned urges us to manipulate the people we love. We know we have innocent motives. We say we only want what is best and that we are only trying to protect ourselves or be helpful. But we hide from the effects our actions have on our relationships.
We seem to be more trapped in these self-centered behaviors with the ones we are closest to. We can change ourselves by slowly releasing our security grip on others. We can focus more on understanding what others are saying to us than on changing how they think and feel. Intimacy is clearly seeing each other and knowing the differences as well as the similarities. It requires that both people be allowed to walk on separate paths.
I will release my grip on my loved ones and turn to my Higher Power for security and serenity.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
One of the conclusions I have come to in my old age is the importance of living in the ever-present now. In the past, too often I indulged in the belief that somehow or other tomorrow would be brighter or happier or richer. --Ruth Casey
How easily our minds jump from the present to the foibles of the past or our fears about the future. How seldom are our minds on this moment, and only this moment.
Before we picked up this book, where were our thoughts? We need to practice, with diligence, returning our minds to whatever the experience at hand. A truly creative response to any situation can only be made when we are giving it our undivided attention. And each creative response initiates an even more exciting follow-up experience.
All we have of life, all that it can offer us is here, now. If we close our mind to the present, this present, we'll only continue to do so when the tomorrow we dream of now becomes the present. There are no tomorrows.
I will let go of the past and the future. My only reality is here, now. God's gifts are here, today, right now.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Our Good Points
What's a codependent? The answer's easy. They're some of the most loving, caring people I know. --Beyond Codependency
We don't need to limit an inventory of ourselves to the negatives. Focusing only on what's wrong is a core issue in our codependency.
Honestly, fearlessly, ask: "What's right with me? What are my good points?"
"Am I a loving, caring, nurturing person?" We may have neglected to love ourselves in the process of caring for others, but nurturing is an asset.
"Is there something I do particularly well?" "Do I have a strong faith?" "Am I good at being there for others?" "Am I good as part of a team, or as a leader?" "Do I have a way with words or with emotions?"
"Do I have a sense of humor?" "Do I brighten people up?" "Am I good at comforting others?" "Do I have an ability to make something good out of barely nothing at all?" "Do I see the best in people?"
These are character assets. We may have gone to an extreme with these, but that's okay. We are now on our way to finding balance.
Recovery is not about eliminating our personality. Recovery aims at changing, accepting, working around, or transforming our negatives, and building on our positives. We all have assets; we only need to focus on them, empower them, and draw them out in ourselves.
Codependents are some of the most loving, caring people around. Now, we're learning to give some of that concern and nurturing to ourselves.
Today, I will focus on what's right about me. I will give myself some of the caring I've extended to the world.


I am so grateful I have a power greater than myself to turn to when I do not have the answers. I am so grateful for the program of recovery that has brought me joy and purpose and love. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 19
Honor This Time of Change

I left Point Reyes, a seashore town close to San Francisco, heading for Sequoia National Park. I wanted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, but I wasn’t certain I could find it. City traffic was jarring after being in the woods, the mountains, and by the sea. Before long, however, I found myself at the foot of the Golden Gate. As I drove the span of the bridge, I felt the same electric charge surge through me as I had felt in Chimayo, in Ojo Caliente, and on the Flathead Reservation. It was the first time I realized that bridges are holy, sacred ground.

Times of change are holy. We may not know where we’re going. It may not feel like our feet are on solid ground. They aren’t. We’re crossing a bridge to another part of our lives.

Sometimes we may find ourselves at this bridge unwittingly, not certain how we got there, not certain we want to cross. Other times, we may have sought, prayed for, hoped for, longed for this time of change.

Drive across the bridge. You don’t have to understand it all right now. Information and understanding will come later. You’ll get to the other side. For now, trust and experience what you’re going through. Know that this time of change is sacred,too.

*****

more language of letting go
See for yourself

I have a friend who likes to hike and backpack. He always takes beautiful pictures of the places that he visits. After one trip he was telling me about a camp high in the California Sierras while showing me a photo of a stunning sunset. He told me about the night that he returned to camp after walking to the top of the mountain.

"When I got down, I found that everyone else had packed up and left camp. I was alone at twelve thousand feet. The silence was so thick I could almost touch it. You should have seen the sunset that night. It was even better than this picture."

"Why didn't you take a picture if the sunset was even more beautiful?" I asked.

"I figured that no one else cared to see the world from that viewpoint that night but me, so I just kept the sunset all to myself," he explained. "If you weren't there, you just missed out."

This summer I watched the sun set over a lake in a corner of New Mexico, then I spent the night under the stars in a sleeping bag. The stars were so clear, so close, so brilliant I felt like I could touch them. And no, I didn't take a picture. If you weren't there, you just missed out.

You can read a meditation book, make a list, and even talk to people who live their lives fully, but unless you make the trip yourself, you won't see all this life has to offer.

Is there a picture that you've been to busy to see lately? Break out of the ordinary. See something new or see the ordinary in a new way. Don't just glance. Really look. Then bring back the picture in your heart. Unless you're there, you're just missing out. Some things you just need to see for yourself.

God, help me live my life to the fullest. Help me see and treasure all the beauty in the world.

*****

Appreciating Suggestions
Other People's Agendas

As children, our parents had dreams for us. They wanted us to do well in school, and to do whatever was necessary to reach our highest potential. Later in life, friends may try to set us up with their idea of the perfect partner or the perfect job. Spouses may have agendas for us, too. People close to us may have ideas about how we should live our lives, ideas that usually come from love and the desire for us to be happy. Other times, they come from a place of need within them—whether it is the parent who wants us to live out his or her dreams or the friend or spouse who wants us to play an already-defined role. Whatever the case, we can appreciate and consider those people’s input, but ultimately we must follow our own inner guidance.

There may come a time when all the suggestions can become overbearing. We may feel that the people we love don’t approve of our judgment, which can hurt our feelings. It can interfere with the choices we make for our lives by making us doubt ourselves, or filling a void with their wishes before we’ve had a chance to decide what we want. It can affect us energetically as well. We may have to deal with feelings of resistance or the need to shut ourselves off from them. But we can take some time to rid ourselves of any unnecessary doubts and go within to become clear on what we desire for ourselves.

We can tell our loved ones how much we appreciate their thoughts and ideas, but that we need to live our own lives and make our own decisions. We can explain that they need to let us learn from our own experiences rather than rob us of wonderful life lessons and the opportunity to fine-tune our own judgment. When they see that we are happy with our lives and the path we are taking to reach our goals, they can rest assured that all we need them to do is to share in our joy. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

There are countless ways by which my progress and growth in The Program can be measured. One of the most important is my awareness that I’m no longer compelled, almost obsessively, to go around judging everything and everybody. My only business today is to work on changing myself, rather than other people, places and things. In its own way, the obsession of being forever judgmental was as burdensome to me as the obsession of my addiction; I’m grateful that both weights have been lifted from my shoulders. When I become judgmental, will I remind myself that I’m trespassing on God’s territory?

Today I Pray

Forgive me my trespasses, when I have become the self-proclaimed judge-and-jury of my peers. By being judgmental, I have trespassed on the rights of others to judge themselves– and on the rights of God in the Highest Court of all. May I throw away all my judgmental tools — my own yardstick and measuring tapes, my own comparisons, my unreachable standards — and accept each person as an individual beyond compare.

Today I Will Remember

Throw away old tapes – especially measuring tapes.

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One More Day

There must be something strangely sacred in salt. It is in our tears and in the sea.
– Kahlil Gibran

Emotion plays around a person’s face, making it strained or relaxed. We say we can “read” someone else’s face. Few of us burst into spontaneous tears or laughter, but instead first show slight emotion on our faces or in the way we speak.

Laughter is instrumental to our well-being, but tears are also essential to our emotional survival. When we finally release the emotions we feel and the dams break loose, the tears are healing. They allow us to cleanse ourselves of pent-up angers, fears, and frustrations.

I know crying is a human characteristic. I will not be ashamed of my need to cry, for tears are part of my human experience.

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Food For Thought

To Abstain Is to Live

If we do not abstain from compulsive overeating, we do not live - we merely survive. Without abstinence, joy and creativity fade and we are left with only the effort of getting from one day to the next. We remember the despair of living without the OA program, and we are grateful that we have been given a reprieve from our former misery.

Abstaining is what we do each day in order to live the life our Higher Power intends us to have. There are good days and bad days and mediocre days. As long as we abstain from compulsive overeating, we are able to accept our passing moods and the events of each day with inner serenity. We make progress in our activities and in our understanding. We are alive to the possibilities of each moment.

To abstain requires that we choose a long-term satisfaction rather than a short-lived indulgence. To abstain is to walk with our Higher Power in the way He shows us.

Thank You for the power to abstain.

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One Day At A Time

Live and Let Live
“If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house
with the conscious design of doing me good,
I should run for my life.”
Henry David Thoreau

I have gleaned from the OA program that I can let others be themselves and make their own decisions unless an issue involves me as well. What a powerful concept. I have struggled long and hard with the issue of letting others live their lives as they choose without the benefit of my wise, profound advice. I really believed that I had all the answers and that by listening to me, one could get his or her life on the right track and be forever grateful to me for the magnanimous favor I had done them. I really believed this! I was also deeply frustrated when people did not immediately do whatever it was I had “advised” them to do. How could they be so dumb?

More importantly, how did I overlook the fact that my own life was heading downhill at a remarkable clip? Thanks to the OA program, I have slowly learned to keep my mouth shut. My motto for relationships is simple: sweep off my side of the street. It makes being me so much easier and it makes the lives of those around me a bit better too.

One day at a time...
Today I will accept and love those around me without acting on the urge to make their lives “better.” I will live and let live as I continue to realize the freedom the program offers me.
~ Pete

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

This is not to say that all alcoholics are honest and upright when not drinking. Of course that isn't so, and such people often may impose on you. Seeing your attempt to understand and help, some men will try to take advantage of your kindness. - Pg. 141 - To Employers

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now there probably isn't much time that goes by when you don't think about using. Although sometimes frightening, understand that slowly this will fade away. Only time will remove your constant thoughts of using or drinking, but it does pass.

Every time I think getting high would feel good, let me remember the pain in my gut and fear in my heart just not so long ago.

Responsibility

Today, I see that I can't release something just because someone tells me that it is the right or nice thing to do. Until I have moved through an internal process of identifying honestly what is going on with me, I can't really let it go. Honesty means that I am willing to be responsible. Whatever negative characteristics may have become a part of me from living with unhealed pain are, unfortunately, mine to deal with now. Projecting and blaming will not get me closer to getting rid of them. If I do not own my feelings, they will own me.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

In order to forgive, you have to have blamed.

I don't have to forgive people, places, and things, if I don't blame people, places, and things.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The process is perfect; let it work.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am so grateful I have a power greater than myself to turn to when I do not have the answers. I am so grateful for the program of recovery that has brought me joy and purpose and love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I play the ball from where it lies - not where I wish it was. - Arnold Palmer.

[bluidkiti]

October 20

Daily Reflections

SOLACE FOR CONFUSION

Obviously, the dilemma of the wanderer from faith is that of profound confusion. He
thinks himself lost to the comfort of any conviction at all. He cannot attain in even a small
degree the assurance of the believer, the agnostic, or the atheist. He is the bewildered
one.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28

The concept of God was one that I struggled with during my early years of sobriety. The
images that came to me, conjured from my past, were heavy with fear, rejection and
condemnation. Then I heard my friend Ed's image of a Higher Power: As a boy he had
been allowed a litter of puppies, provided that he assume responsibility for their care.
Each morning he would find the unavoidable "byproducts" of the puppies on the kitchen
floor. Despite frustration, Ed said he couldn't get angry because "that's the nature of
puppies." Ed felt that God viewed our defects and shortcomings with a similar
understanding and warmth. I've often found solace from my personal confusion in Ed's
calming concept of God.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

For the past few weeks we have been asking ourselves some searching questions. We
have not been able to answer them all as we would like. But on the right answers to these
questions will depend the usefulness and effectiveness of our lives and to some extent the
usefulness and effectiveness of the whole A.A. movement. It all boils down to this: I
owe a deep debt to A.A. and to the grace of God. Am I going to do all I can to repay this
debt? Let us search our souls, make our own decisions, and act accordingly. Any real
success we have in life will depend on that. Now is the time to put our conclusions into
effect. What am I going to do about it?

Meditation For The Day

"Our Lord and our God, be it done unto us according to Thy will." Simple acceptance of
God's will in whatever happens is the key to abundant living. We must continue to pray:
Not my will but Thy will be done. It may not turn out the way you want it to, but it will be
the best way in the long run, because it is God's way. If you decide to accept whatever
happens as God's will for yourself, whatever it may be, your burdens will be lighter. Try
to see in all things some fulfillment of the Divine Intent.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may see the working out of God's will in my life. I pray that I may be content
with whatever He will for me.

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As Bill Sees It

Pain-Killer----or Pain-Healer, p. 291

"I believe that when we were active alcoholics we drank mostly to
kill pain of one kind or another--physical or emotional or psychic.
Of course, everybody has a cracking point, and I suppose you
reached yours--hence, the resort once more to the bottle.

"If I were you, I wouldn't heap devastating blame on myself for
this; on the other hand, the experience should redouble your
conviction that alcohol has no permanent value as a pain-killer."

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In every A.A. story, pain has been the price of admission into a
new life. But this admission price purchased more than we
expected. It led us to a measure of humility, which we soon discovered
to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility
more than ever.

1. LETTER, 1959
2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 75

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Walk In Dry Places

This too shall pass
Acceptance
When personal problems are brought up in group discussions, someone usually remembers the saying, "This too shall pass." We use it in reference to unpleasant matters, but it also applies to happier experiences. It is a certainty that nothing will ever stay the same.
Our responsibility to ourselves is to see all situations constructively, whether they are seen as good or bad at the time. WHat seems a disappoint today might be seen as a blessing tomorrow. And we can't always be sure that today's wonderful opportunity doesn't have a few hidden nettles in it.
The one certainty is that everything will pass. We should extract the good from everything, and let what is unpleasant fade into the past.
Whatever I'm facing today will certainly change as I do my best in the 24 hours ahead. None of us is permanently bound to any problem.

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Keep It Simple

We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.---Eric Hoffer
When we’re not honest with others, we’re not being honest with ourselves. In recovery, we’re taught how to heal our hearts. We admit we’re wrong, and we do it quickly. We let our spirit have the loudest voice. This way, lies lose power over us. We find a way to be true to our spirit.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have a soft, quiet voice inside me. Help me, through meditation, to hear You better. Yours is the voice to follow.
Action for the Day: I’ll listen to my Higher Power. I’ll list any lies I’ve been telling myself and others lately. Then I’ll find someone I trust and tell that person what I’ve lied about.

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Each Day a New Beginning

...You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now. --Joan Baez
How thrilling to contemplate that we can choose every attitude we have and every action we take. We have been gifted with full responsibility for our development. What will we try today? It's our personal choice. How will we decide on a particular issue? Our options are only limited by our vision.
Every situation in life offers us a significant opportunity for making a decision that will, of necessity, influence the remaining situations we encounter. Just as we are interdependent, needing and influencing one another in all instances that bring us together, likewise our decisions are never inviolate. Each is singly important; however, its impact is multiplied by the variety of other decisions triggered.
The choice is ours for livings fully today, for taking advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves. Our personal growths, our emotional and spiritual development, are in our hands. God will provide us with the guidance, and the program offers us the tools. The decision to act is ours, alone.
I will exercise my personal power. My choices determine my development.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Third Edition

The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears, hold good for individuals with many different lifestyles, just as the program has brought recovery to those of many different nationalities. The Twelve Steps that summarize the program may be called los Doce Pasos in one country, les Douze Etapes in another, but they trace exactly the same path to recovery that was blazed by the earliest members of Alcoholics Anonymous.

p. xxii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Today, I reside among the living, no better, no worse than any of God's other children. Today I look in the mirror when putting on my make up and smile, rather than shy away from looking myself in the eye. Today I fit in my skin. I am at peace with myself and the world around me.

p. 318

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

Everywhere there arose threatening questions of membership, money, personal relations, public relations, management of groups, clubs, and scores of other perplexities. It was out of this vast welter of explosive experience that A.A.'s Twelve Traditions took form and were first published in 1946 and later confirmed at A.A.'s First International Convention, held at Cleveland in 1950. The Tradition section of this volume portrays in some detail the experience which finally produced the Twelve Traditions and so gave A.A. its present form, substance, and unity.

p. 18

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Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement.
--Thomas N. Carter

Knowing Gods gift of inner strength and courage, I move forward with the things that
once terrified me.
--Shelly

You could have everything in life and still have nothing or you could seek the Truth.
--unknown

The surface holds only illusions. Search deeper for the truth.
--unknown

Communication is the key to unlocking many doors in life.
--unknown

Change is hard, explaining why it is easier to stay in a negative frame of mind rather than
a positive one.
--unknown

God is there when we need him the most. When we are afflicted, when trials are facing us,
he is there for us. But what we need to understand is that God is there for us even when
there are no trials, or when we are not afflicted. In knowing this truth, we can appeal to
God at any time. We need not look to God only in testing times, but in fertile times. We
should look to cultivate a relationship with Him in good times, and not just bad.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

OBSERVANCE

"The older I grow, the more I
listen to people who don't say
much."
-- German G. Gladden

I've noticed that an important part of my recovery is people watching. I have fun watching
people --- at a party, on a train or in a park. I find the daily "theater" of life fascinating
and stimulating. I also learn so much about me by observing others. I can identify with
their mannerisms, actions and facial antics and intuitively sense what they are feeling. I
see their fear, hesitancy and shame and connect it with mine. People are a mirror to
my life.

Part of my recovery is developing that instinctive spirituality that grows through
observation. The human being is forever communicating, sending energy and messages
not only with words but by his existence --- and especially by his silence. Sometimes a
person's silence can be deafening! God is most alive to me in the lives and behavior of
His people, and part of my worship and prayer is observing the splendor and richness of
my fellow human beings.

You, who have created the universe in such magnificent silence, touch me with Your
stillness.

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"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom."
Luke 12:32

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."
2 Corinthians 4:8-9

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father."
Matthew 24:36

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect."
1 Peter 3:15

"This, then, is how you should pray: "‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily
bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against
you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:9-15

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Daily Inspiration

When we are in a bad mood we are often reactive and irrational. A few moments of gratitude for all that we have will quickly change our feelings. Lord, help me gratefully remember that there is always more good in my life than bad.

Through the power of God within me, I am stronger than any of my circumstances. Lord, I seek, I knock and I ask and You are always there and ready to give me the miracles that I need.

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NA Just For Today

Freedom To Choose

"Enforced morality lacks the power that comes to us when we choose to live a spiritual life."

Basic Text, p.44

In our active addiction, many of us lived our lives by default. We were unwilling or unable to make choices about how we wanted to act, what we preferred to do, or even where we would live. We allowed the drugs or other people to make our most basic decisions for us. Freedom from active addiction means, among other things, the freedom to make those choices for ourselves.

Freedom of choice is a wonderful gift, but it's also a great responsibility. Choice allows us to find out who we are and what we believe in. However, in exercising it, we're called on to weigh our own choices and accept the consequences. This leads some of us to seek out someone who will make our choices for us-our sponsor, our home group, our NA friends-just as our disease made our choices for us when we were using. That's not recovery.

Seeking others' experience is one thing; abdicating personal responsibility is something else. If we don't use the gift of freedom we've been given, if we refuse to accept the responsibilities that go along with it, we'll lose that gift and our lives will be diminished. We are responsible for our own recovery and our own choices. Difficult as it may seem; we must make those choices for ourselves and become willing to accept the consequences.

Just for today: I am grateful for the freedom to live as I choose. Today, I will accept responsibility for my recovery, make my own choices, and accept the consequences.

pg. 306

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The bough, which has been downward thrust by force of strength to bend its top to earth, so soon as the pressing hand is gone, looks up again straight to the sky above. --Boethius
When we are down, low, depressed, why can't we ignore the desire to rise up again? Because we're like plants that need pure air, water, and sun. Because no matter how bent and old, we just keep wanting to grow up. Because there is a natural spring in us like that which makes flowers leap from the earth in May. Because we have hidden wings. And if we listen, we can feel the difference between wrong and right: we know the difference even with our eyes closed. Therefore we should not try putting ourselves down, for we will spring up again, sure as Spring.
What is the main way I try to put myself down?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament. --George Santayana
We could probably feel more tranquil if the world were a simpler place and always gave us simple answers. But we are faced with many ambiguous and uncertain situations. The changing roles of men and women can often leave us bewildered. We are engaged in the development of relationships that have lives of their own, and it's not always clear where they are headed. Even within ourselves we have contradictory feelings, and it's difficult to come up with clear answers.
Since we cannot force simplicity upon the world, we must turn to ourselves for a new response. We can become more tolerant of our unsettled predicaments. We can learn to have faith that good comes from change. Things have a way of settling out and clarifying with time. As we develop patience with the questions and the unclear issues in our lives, we gain a deeper serenity.
Today, I will recall the predicaments in my past life that, in time, became clearer, and I will have patience with what seems unsettled.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
...You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now. --Joan Baez
How thrilling to contemplate that we can choose every attitude we have and every action we take. We have been gifted with full responsibility for our development. What will we try today? It's our personal choice. How will we decide on a particular issue? Our options are only limited by our vision.
Every situation in life offers us a significant opportunity for making a decision that will, of necessity, influence the remaining situations we encounter. Just as we are interdependent, needing and influencing one another in all instances that bring us together, likewise our decisions are never inviolate. Each is singly important; however, its impact is multiplied by the variety of other decisions triggered.
The choice is ours for livings fully today, for taking advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves. Our personal growths, our emotional and spiritual development, are in our hands. God will provide us with the guidance, and the program offers us the tools. The decision to act is ours, alone.
I will exercise my personal power. My choices determine my development.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Detaching with Love
Sometimes people we love do things we don't like or approve of. We react. They react. Before long, we're all reacting to each other, and the problem escalates.
When do we detach? When we're hooked into a reaction of anger, fear, guilt, or shame. When we get hooked into a power play - an attempt to control or force others to do something they don't want to do. When the way we're reacting isn't helping the other person or solving the problem. When the way we're reacting is hurting us.
Often, it's time to detach when detachment appears to be the least likely, or possible, thing to do.
The first step toward detachment is understanding that reacting and controlling don't help. The next step is getting peaceful - getting centered and restoring our balance.
Take a walk. Leave the room. Go to a meeting. Take a long, hot bath. Call a friend. Call on God. Breathe deeply. Find peace. From that place of peace and centering will emerge an answer, a solution.
Today, I will surrender and trust that the answer is near.


It feels so good to know that I am healing from my old wounds. As I bring love and acceptance to myself today I can watch the pain disappear and I feel so much better about myself. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 20
Fall into the Arms of Universal Love

Often in our lives we stand on a precipice. Something happens, a situation occurs, and in one moment our life changes dramatically in a way we hoped and prayed it wouldn’t. We topple off. In that moment, we may feel as if we’ve been pushed off a cliff.

Other times when we stand poised and our life changes radically in one moment, it’s a welcome change. We feel delightfully spontaneous, guided, powerful, centered. Ready to take risks. Ready to leap into the adventure.

Sometimes we’re pushed, sometimes we decide to make the leap on our own. Either way, we’re safe, we’re protected. Either way we can trust that we’ll land in the arms of universal love.

*****

more language of letting go
Be present now

Take time, but not too much, to see where you want to go. Learn the lessons from your past. Then let go of yesterday. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Even our best prediction about what may come in the future is only an educated guess, no matter how diligently we try to see ahead. If all you look at is where you're going, you'll miss all the wonder and beauty along the way. And once you get there-- your future-- you may not even remember where you've been. Rushing may be such a habit that you won't enjoy your future once it arrives.

Be where you are right now. See what's in front of you, not what you wish were there. Take time to see, enjoy, and appreciate what's present. Take action if you need to. Or just enjoy the view. You've worked hard to get here. Enjoy it.

The past is important. It's where we've been. The future is important,too. But there's no time-- and no time as real-- as the present.

Learn to be here,now.

God heighten my awareness and appreciation of each moment in my life.

*****

Argument
Stepping Back from Anger by Madisyn Taylor

The emotional trigger than begins an argument may have little to do with your present situation, but has dug up a wound.

When we find ourselves in an argument, we may feel like we are losing control of emotions that have taken on lives of their own. When we can become aware that this is happening, taking a deep breath can help us step back from the situation. Once we can separate ourselves from the heat of the moment, we may find that the emotional trigger that began the argument has little to do with the present situation, but may have brought up feelings related to something else entirely. Looking honestly at what caused our reaction allows us to consciously respond more appropriately to the situation and make the best choices.

We can make an agreement with our partners and those closest to us that asking questions can help all of us discover the source of the argument. The shared awareness can result in finding simple solutions to something physical, like low blood sugar or even a hormonal surge. Maybe we are taking ourselves too seriously, and we can just laugh and watch the tension dissolve. We could also discover that perhaps we are addicted to the excitement that drama brings and the chemicals that our body creates when we are angry. But there may be a deeper issue that requires discussion, understanding, and patience. The more we allow ourselves to step back and examine our reasons for arguing, the easier it becomes to allow real feelings to surface and guide us toward solutions that improve our lives.

When we can be clear about our feelings and intentions and communicate them clearly, we have a far better chance of getting what we want than if we lose control or allow our subconscious minds to manipulate the situation. We might take our frustrations out on the people closest to us because we feel safe and comfortable with them, but misplaced anger can cause more harm than good. Arguing for what we truly believe can empower us and help us to direct our passions toward greater life experiences. Truly knowing our reasons for arguing enables us to grow emotionally in ways that will affect our whole being. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Before I admitted my powerlessness over alcohol and other chemicals, I had as much self-worth as a “peeled zero.” I came into The Program as a nobody who desperately wanted to be a somebody. In retrospect, my self-esteem was shredded, seemingly beyond repair. Gradually, The Program has enabled me to achieve an even-stronger sense of self-worth. I’ve come to accept myself, realizing that I’m not so bad as I had always supposed myself to be. Am I learning that my self-worth is not dependent on the approval of others, but instead is truly an “inside job”?

Today I Pray

When I am feeling down and worthless, may my Higher Power and my friends in the group help me see that, although I was “fallen,” I was not “cast down.” However sick I might have been in my worst days, with all the self-esteem of an earth worm, may I know that I still had the power of choice. And I chose to do something about myself. May that good choice be the basis for my reactivated self-worth.

Today I Will Remember

I will not kick myself when I’m down.

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

One More Day

By a tranquil mind I mean nothing else than a mind well ordered.
– Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

When we are diagnosed as having a permanent medical condition, we may think we’ll never know tranquility again. Before too long, though, we realize that whether we are entirely healthy or not, we bring to our new challenge the same value system we always had. We can still find peace and serenity in our lives, for we continue to live our lives as well as we are able.

We owe it to ourselves to search out tranquility — a state in which we feel extremely peaceful, at eas3e with our inner strength, with nature, and with our sense of higher purpose. Walking hand in hand with tranquility creates harmony, a time when our thoughts are orderly and we feel little distress.

I will work on keeping a peaceful mind in order to smooth out my rougher days.

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

Food For Thought

Physical Restraint

Self-control is hard work. When the urge comes to do something, which we know is not in our best interest, we physically restrain ourselves from performing the destructive action. This often requires hard, physical effort.

We may want to eat when we should not be eating, we may want to lash out in anger, we may want to retreat from a difficult task, we may want to continue a harmful relationship. Whatever the urge, if we know deep down that it is contrary to God's will for us, we need to control it and not act on it.

Time spent with our Higher Power each day builds the strength and integrity, which can control our destructive urges. Alone, we are powerless, but with the OA program supporting us we find strength we never had before. With abstinence comes the clarity of mind necessary to evaluate our urges and desires.

May I have the moral strength to physically restrain myself when necessary.

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

One Day At A Time

Limitations
“You cannot help men permanently
by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”
Abraham Lincoln

I love the idea of helping people. Seeing the other person shine after my input gives me a great feeling. The flipside of this peak experience is the sadness and bleakness I feel when the person I am helping does not succeed. When it is all about me, I have to accept responsibility for everything: the good and the bad.

Thank You, God, that it is not really me who is the source of all help, it is You. I can point the way and make suggestions, but I cannot make someone change for the better. What causes people to change is something for which no person can take credit. It is simply divine!

The real question is whether or not the person I want to help will turn to his or her Higher Power and use the help that is offered. I cannot actually take these steps for others. I can pretend to do that, and perhaps offer some temporary relief, but lasting recovery will come only to those who make a quality decision to take the necessary steps on their own.

One day at a time...
I will realize the limitations of my help. I will not try to do for others what only they can and should do for themselves.
~ Q

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Of far more importance was the fact that he was the first living human with whom I had ever talked, who knew what he was talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience. In other words, 'he talked my language. He knew all the answers, and certainly not because he had picked them up in his reading. - Pg. 180 - Doctor Bob's Nightmare

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

It is easier for us to blame others (parents, spouses, friends) for our addiction then it is to look at self. We must never forget that we drank that drink, snorted that coke, toked that joint, and took that fix. US. 'They' didn't do it.

May I never forget that I used too many mind affecting chemicals because I have the disease of addiction! Other reasons are not causes. Everyone has problems yet not everyone suffers from addiction.

Patience with Myself

Today, I will be patient with myself. When I do not do as well as I wish I would, I will not make that a reason to get down on myself. I will instead recognize that the fastest way to bring myself out of a painful funk is through understanding and being good to myself. I needn't get caught in my own cycle of shame, resentment and blame. If a child is upset, I comfort the child because I understand that is what will makes things better. I give myself the same comfort that I would extend to a hurt child knowing that it will help me have the strength to forgive and move on.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

We recommend that you take your Third Step every morning and turn your will over to the care of God, as you understand God. Then at night, take a Tenth Step to see how God is doing.

I talk often to my Higher Power. S/He understands better than most people.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

These are not the Steps we discussed, or memorized, or analyzed. These are the steps we took.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It feels so good to know that I am healing from my old wounds. As I bring love and acceptance to myself today I can watch the pain disappear and I feel so much better about myself.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

YET = You're Eligible Too. Anon.

[bluidkiti]

October 21

Daily Reflections

NOTHING GROWS IN THE DARK

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10

With the self-discipline and insight gained from practicing Step Ten, I begin to know the
gratifications of sobriety -- not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as recovery in every
department of my life.
I renew hope, regenerate faith, and regain the dignity of self-respect. I discover the word
"and" in the phrase "and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it."
Reassured that I am no longer always wrong, I learn to accept myself as I am, with a new
sense of the miracles of sobriety and serenity.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Now that we have considered the obligations of real, working members of A.A., let us
examine what the rewards are that have come to us as a result of our new way of living.
First, I understand myself more than I ever did before. I have learned what was the
matter with me and I know now a lot of what makes me tick. I will never be alone again. I
am just one of many who have the illness of alcoholism and one of many who have learned
what to do about it. I am not an odd fish or a square peg in a round hole. I seem to have
found my right place in the world. Am I beginning to understand myself?

Meditation For The Day

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I
will come in to him and will remain with him and him with me." The knocking of God's
spirit, asking to come into your life, is due to no merit of yours, though it is in response to
the longing of your heart. Keep a listening ear, an ear bent to catch the sound of
the gentle knocking at the door of your heart by the spirit of God. Then open the
door of your heart and let God's spirit come in.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may let God's spirit come into my heart. I pray that it may fill me with an
abiding peace.

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

As Bill Sees It

Toward Partnership, p. 292

When the distortion of family life through alcohol has been great, a
long period of patient striving may be necessary. After the husband
joins A.A., the wife may become discontented, even highly resentful
that A.A. has done the very thing that all her years of devotion had
failed to do. Her husband may become so wrapped up in A.A. and his
new friends that he is inconsiderately away from home more than
when he drank. Each then blames the other.

But eventually the alcoholic, now fully understanding how much he did
to hurt his wife and children, nearly always takes up his marriage
responsibilities with a willingness to repair what he can and accept
what he can't. He persistently tries all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps in his
home, often with fine results. He firmly but lovingly commences to
behave like a partner instead of like a bad boy.

12 & 12, pp. 118-119

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

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

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.---Anonymous
Nobody’s always wrong. Nobody’s all bad. And that includes us.
Sometimes, we really get down on ourselves. When we do Step Four, we sometimes see only our faults. When we make our Step Ten checkup, we see only our mistakes. We can’t afford to do this. We need to see our strengths too. But even our faults have a good side. Are you stubborn? Good---be stubborn, you know how to hang on to feelings. So, hang on to the good feelings instead of the bad ones.
Each of us is good and wise. What’s good about us got twisted by our disease. But now we can get the kinks out. We are sober, and we have a program to help us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to see the good in myself and others.
Action for the Day: I’ll take another look at my faults today. How can I use them in good ways?

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The strength of the drive determines the force required to suppress it. --Mary Jane Sherfey
We are all struggling to succeed. And each day of our lives we'll be confronted with major or minor adversities that might well interfere with our success. Adversities don't have to hinder us, however. They can strengthen us, if we incorporate them as opportunities for growth.
For many of us, the ability to handle adversity is a fairly recent phenomenon. And not always can we do it securely and with ease. But we are coming to believe that a power greater than ourselves is at hand and will guarantee us all the strength we'll ever need. Knowing that action is always possible, that passive acceptance of any condition need never be necessary are unconditional gifts of living the Twelve Step program.
Our path forward is as certain as our commitment to it, our belief in the strength of the program, and our faith that all is well even when times are troubled. No one ever promised that our new way of life would be always easy. But we have been promised that we'll arrive at our proper destination if we do the footwork and let God do the navigating.
Success is at hand. I will apply what I'm learning, and I'll meet it.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Third Edition

In spite of the great increase in the size and the span of this Fellowship, at its core it remains simple and personal. Each day, somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope.

p. xxii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Growing up in A.A., I have been blessed with children who have never seen their mother drunk. I have a husband who loves me simply because I am, and I have gained the respect of my family. What more could a broken-down drunk ask for? Lord knows it is more than I ever thought possible, and ever so much more than I deserved. All because I am willing to believe A.A. just might work for me too.

p. 318

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

As A.A. now enters maturity, it has begun to reach into forty foreign lands.* In the view of its friends, this is but the beginning of its unique and valuable service.
It is hoped that this volume will afford all who read it a close-up view of the principles and forces which have made Alcoholics Anonymous what it is.

(A.A.'s General Service Office may be reached by writing:
Alcoholics Anonymous, P.O. Box 459,
Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163, U.S.A.)

*In 1998, A.A. is established in 150 countries.

p. 18

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

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety.

C H A N G E = Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Every day.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that
action.
--Mother Teresa

Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it,
you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
--Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Thinking Every Day

God is singing and Creation is the melody.
--David Palmer

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
--unknown

I didn't learn humility with my head. I learned humility with my heart.
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CONSCIENCE

"In matters of conscience, the
law of the majority has no
place."
-- Mohandas Gandhi

How I used to hate myself. So many times I caught myself pleasing the crowd, agreeing
with people I did not understand or respect, laughing at jokes and opinions I loathed. How
I used to hate myself!

Today I have a healthy respect for what the majority may feel but I also trust and follow
my conscience. I know that to be in the minority is not necessarily to be in the wrong. My
recovery insists that I listen to my conscience, that inner self that is based on a program
of honesty, that spiritual cornerstone of my life that I have come to trust.

Now I can say to people, "I do not agree." Today I give myself permission to disagree
with family, friends and colleagues.

May I never follow the crowd because of the numbers: God is one.

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

The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective
shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you
from all evil and preserves your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and
go, both now and forever.
Psalm 121:5-8

Let me hear of your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me
where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer. Save me from my enemies, LORD; I run
to you to hide me. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious
Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:8-10

"Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down."
Proverbs 26:20

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

Daily Inspiration

There are far more solutions than problems and knowing this is very empowering. Lord, in the encounters of my daily life, may I choose to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

No gift is so precious as love. Gratefully trust God and give Him your love. Lord, I give You my heart.

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

NA Just For Today

God's Will Today

"This decision demands continued acceptance, ever - increasing faith, and a daily commitment to recovery."

IP No.14, "One Addict's Experience…"

Sometimes, we really live the Third Step - and it's great! We don't regret the past, we aren't afraid of the future, and we're generally pleased with the present. Sometimes, though, we lose our vision of God's will in our life.

Many of us dream of erasing the mistakes of our past, but the past cannot be erased. Many of us are grateful this is so, for our past experiences have brought us to the recovery we enjoy today. By working the program, we can learn to accept the past and reconcile ourselves with it by amending our wrongs. Those same Twelve Steps can help eliminate our worries over the future. When we practice NA principles on a daily basis in all our affairs, we can leave the results up to our Higher Power.

It seems as though our members with the strongest faith are the ones who are best able to live in the present moment. Enjoyment, appreciation, and gratitude for the quality of our lives - these are the results of faith in life itself. When we practice the principles of our program, today is the only day we need.

Just for today: I will make the most of today, and trust that yesterday and tomorrow are in God's care.

pg. 307

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves. --Queen Victoria
Isn't that always the way? We cope with major events, like births and weddings, fairly well. It is the little things--so inconsequential in the long run--that upset us. If the kids don't pick up their rooms, or dinner is late, or we can't go to the movies because we haven't done our homework, we become irritated and annoyed. Minor things like these upset us much more than they should.
Are they really so important? A messy room is not a terminal illness. A late dinner won't affect our health unless we get so upset about it we make ourselves sick. We'll survive.
If we think back to the last time we were angry or upset, does it seem important now? We probably can't even remember why we reacted that way. How much better life is when we let go of the little irritations.
What irritation can I let go of today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
No man can produce great things who is not thoroughly sincere in dealing with himself. --James Russell Lowell
We are in the business of producing miracles. The renewal of life in us and others in this program is a great event and happens only after we establish an honest relationship with ourselves. No longer can we excuse our minimizing and little white lies that push aside the truth. No longer can we deny our private fears and self doubts. In our growing sincerity with ourselves, we can admit our weaknesses. Some of us feel inadequate at our work, many of us have feelings that we aren't masculine enough, and many of us feel tempted to return to old destructive behaviors.
In this program we have a renewal based on truth. We build upon solid reality rather than upon fiction. Denying the truth to ourselves always made us weaker and sicker than the facts themselves ever could. Viewing the facts from a new position of acceptance shows they aren't nearly as bad as we thought. Our sincerity with ourselves becomes a solid footing for growth.
My strength today is based upon a sincere relationship with myself.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The strength of the drive determines the force required to suppress it. --Mary Jane Sherfey
We are all struggling to succeed. And each day of our lives we'll be confronted with major or minor adversities that might well interfere with our success. Adversities don't have to hinder us, however. They can strengthen us, if we incorporate them as opportunities for growth.
For many of us, the ability to handle adversity is a fairly recent phenomenon. And not always can we do it securely and with ease. But we are coming to believe that a power greater than ourselves is at hand and will guarantee us all the strength we'll ever need. Knowing that action is always possible, that passive acceptance of any condition need never be necessary are unconditional gifts of living the Twelve Step program.
Our path forward is as certain as our commitment to it, our belief in the strength of the program, and our faith that all is well even when times are troubled. No one ever promised that our new way of life would be always easy. But we have been promised that we'll arrive at our proper destination if we do the footwork and let God do the navigating.
Success is at hand. I will apply what I'm learning, and I'll meet it.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Financial Responsibility
"When I began recovery from chemical dependency, I had to face my money mess stone cold sober, and I really had a mess," said one woman.
"I wasn't able to earn much at first, and it was important to me to make amends. I had past due bills from years before. I needed to try to stay current with my new bills. I had a lot more money before I sobered up. But in time, slowly, gradually, my financial situation cleared up. I restored my credit. I had a checking account. I had a little money in the bank.
"Then I married an alcoholic and began to learn about my codependency - the hard way. I lost myself, my feelings, my sanity, and all the progress I had made with my financial affairs. My husband and I opened a checking account together, and he over drafted checks until I lost the right to have a checking account. I let him charge and charge on my credit card, and he drove that into the ground.
"We borrowed and borrowed to keep our sinking ship afloat - and we borrowed a lot from my parents," she said. "By the time I began my recovery from codependency, I was again facing a real financial mess. I was furious, but it didn't matter who did what. I had some serious financial matters to face if that part of my life was ever going to become manageable again.
"Slowly - very slowly - I began to work out of my mess. It seemed impossible! I didn't even want to face it, it felt so overwhelming and hopeless. But I did. And each day I did the best I could to be responsible for myself.
"One decision I made was to separate and protect myself financially from my husband, the best I could, before and after we divorced. The other decision I made was to face and begin reconstructing the financial affairs in my life.
"It was difficult. We owed over fifty thousand dollars, and my ability to produce income had dramatically decreased. I was grieving; my self-esteem was at an all time low; my energy was low. I did not know how I would ever untangle this nightmare. But it did happen. Slowly, gradually, with the help of a Higher Power, manageability crept in and replaces chaos.
"I began by not spending more than I earned. I paid back some creditors, a little at a time. I let go of what I couldn't do, and focused on what I could do.
"Now, eight years have passed. I am debt free, which I never imagined possible. I am living comfortably, with money in the bank. My credit has been restored, again. And I intend to keep it that way.
"I am not willing to lose my financial sanity and security again, ever, for love or for alcoholism. With the help of God and the Twelve Steps, I won't have to."
One day at a time, we can be restored in recovery - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially. It may get worse before it gets better - because we are finally facing reality instead of dodging it. But once we make the decision to take financial responsibility for ourselves, we are on our way.
God, help me remember that what seems hopeless today can often be solved tomorrow, even if I can't see the solution. If I have allowed the problems of others to hurt me financially, help me repair and restore my boundaries around money - and what I am willing to lose. Help me understand that I do not have to allow anyone else's financial irresponsibility, addiction, disease, or problem to hurt me financially. Help me go on with my life in spite of my present financial circumstances, trusting that if I am willing to make amends and be responsible, things will work out.


Today I know that I am not alone. Today I know that God guides me in all situations and all I have to do to get help is to ask for it. --Ruth Fishel God help me to stay sober and clean today!

*****

Journey to the Heart
Learn to Nurture and Be Nurtured

It was a quiet morning. I was holed up in a hotel room at the mouth of Bryce Canyon, working on this book. Working on my life. I stayed in bed for a while-- thinking, pondering, wondering. Finally I got up, went to the restaurant for coffee and a roll, then went for a drive. Soak up nature, I told myself. This journey is a living meditation.

I drove into Bryce Canyon Park, letting the massive stones, the colors and spirals, the eternity of the canyon touch me, heal me, soothe my soul. An hour later, when I felt calmer and more energized, I got back in the car and headed for the park exit. Several cars were jammed up. I wondered if there had been an accident. Then I saw why the others had stopped. A mother deer was standing on the side of the road, gently nuzzling her fawn. She stood by her off-spring's side, protecting and nurturing.

Many of us barely remember a mother's nurturing love; some of us do, with fondness and joy. Many of us have experienced the great gift of nurturing and loving our children, a joy that opens the heart in a way little else can. Some of us have learned to give and receive nurturing in other ways, to people outside our immediate families. But most of us, along the way, have learned the gift, the wonder, the awe, and the healing blessings of nurturing. Giving and reveiving is a continuous cycle, a necessary part of the road to the heart.

Learn to nurture others. Nurture and love yourself. The whole universe will rally round and help. Others will applaud your efforts and learn from them, the way the passersby stopped to gaze on the deer and her fawn.

Celebrate the power of nurturing. Release its gentle love. It rests inside each of us, waiting to be seen, appreciated, and brought to life.

*****

more language of letting go
Cultivate awareness

Often the words "consciousness" and "awareness" are used interchangebly. ... Consciousness is the pulsing vibration that is the essence of all things. Awareness is the individuating "I AM" in each of us. Wherever I am, my awareness is also. When I move, my awareness goes with me. When I focus my awareness on something, I perceive that thing. Through my physical sensory organs I am aware of sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touch. Through higher sensory perception I am aware of much more.
--Enid Hoffman

Use all your senses, whether you are visualizing the future or sinking into a joyful awareness of where you are right now. Don't just look at the flower-- touch it. Smell it. Feel it.

Don't just gaze at the people in your life. Hear them. Feel their power and presence.

Slow down. Don't move so fast. You'll miss important things. Cultivate awareness. Bring your senses, all of them, into the heart of your life.

Awareness isn't about looking. It's about seeing with more than our eyes. Often when we look for a thing, whether it's a home or a girlfriend, all we can see is our projections-- our hopes, fears, past, and desires.

Relax. Stop projecting yourself onto the world. Let go of judgements. Let things and people be what and who they are.

Cultivate awareness by using all your senses.

Learn to see what is.

God, help me slow down and become aware.

*****

The Joyful Flow
Good Vibrations

Feelings vibrate, just as all things in the universe do, at a particular frequency. Negative feelings like anger, guilt, and depression vibrate at low frequencies, while positive feelings like joy, appreciation, and passion vibrate at high frequencies. These high frequency vibrations make us feel good. This is why people and places that inspire and cultivate positive feelings have what we call good vibrations.

Good vibrations inspire health, happiness, and optimism. When we are tuned in to good vibrations, our bodies heal, our hearts open, and our minds shift toward the light. We see new possibilities and feel powerfully energized to follow our inner visions. At the same time, we feel relaxed and capable of manifesting these visions without giving in to stress or struggle. Good vibrations put us in a state of perfect receptivity so that we feel it is the energy flowing through us that accomplishes what needs to be done. We feel guided, supported, protected, and nourished within this joyful flow. We sometimes forget that we are allowed to feel this way all the time.

Lower frequency vibrations are not bad in a moral sense, but they are bad in the sense that they simply don’t feel good. Still, they have a purpose, which is to alert us to the fact that we are blocking out the higher frequency vibrations that we need to function well. They are a call for healing ourselves from within. The key to our healing lies in remembering that it is our birthright to feel good and that feeling good is the essence of our true nature. When we are receiving and sending out good vibrations, we are in the flow. When we are not, we can begin to raise our vibration by seeking out people, places, and situations that vibrate at a higher frequency. Whether we need to go on retreat or just call a friend who makes us laugh, seeking out those good vibrations and basking in them is a sacred and loving practice that returns us, time and again, to the joyful flow of the universe. Published with permission from Daily OM

*****

A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
There's a world of difference between the idea of self-love and love of self. Self-love is a reflection of an inflated ego, around which - in our distorted view of our own self-importance - everything must revolve. Self-love is the breeding ground for hostility, arrogance and a host of other character defects which blind us to any point of view but our own. Love of self, in contrast, is an appreciation of our dignity and value as human beings. Love of self is an expression of self-realization, from which springs humility.

Do I believe that I can love others best when I have gained love of self?

Today I Pray
May God, who loves me, teach me to love myself. May I notice that the most arrogant and officious humans are not so completely sure of themselves, after all. Instead, they are apt to have a painfully low self-image, an insecurity which they cloak in pomp and princely trappings. May God show me that when I can like myself, I am duly crediting Him, since every living thing is a work of God.

Today I Will Remember
I will try to like myself.

*****

One More Day

Business runs after nobody; people cling to it of their own free will and think that to be busy is proof of happiness. --Lucius Annacus Seneca

Sometimes we need to keep busy just to fill time. After a loss or health change, we may have great amounts of time to fill. We may turn to busy work --- work having no significance but marking time as we move toward yet another adjustment. Tool-shop organizing, closet cleaning, and other tasks might be ploys we need, emotionally, to perform in rote fashion.
When we are adjusting, we may need to be busy ---- to think, to decide on new plans of action, and to move forward. We won't need busy work, and we'll be able to make gains again. As we make our adjustments, very, very, slowly, the purpose of our lives will return.

I will put effort into my days to find meaning. It may be difficult to stay busy, but I can do it.

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

Food For Thought

New Memories

If certain times of the year and certain activities are associated in our minds with overeating, we need to create new memories to blot out the old ones. If we are hung up on past loves, hates, and hurts, we need to let go of them so that we can live in the present.

Old eating habits keep alive old wounds and frustrations. Even after we have maintained abstinence for a significant length of time, we may be troubled by unresolved conflicts from the past. The fact that we are abstaining from compulsive overeating gives us a chance to see the problems more clearly and to then walk away from them when we have done all that we can do to resolve them.

The past and the future are in the hands of our Higher Power. If we work our program now and live the best we can today, we are creating good memories, which will sustain us in the days to come.

Take charge of my memories. Lord.

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One Day At A Time

Ready
“If we wait for the moment when everything,
absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.”
Ivan Turgenev

This was one of my biggest obstacles in recovery: I wanted everything to be perfect. This type of thinking kept me stuck for many years in the disease. Instead of my program being One Day At A Time, it was always "one day later and I will do your will God."

Now I know that today is all I have. I have no guarantees for tomorrow. So I let go and let God, and do the best I can. I have discovered that I do not have to work a perfect program. Not everything has to be just “right.”

One day at a time...
One day at a time I do the footwork that is required of me and leave the results to God.
~ Terri

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people! - Pg. 31 - More About Alcoholism

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Infatuation with our past life tends to produce a false sense of security based on wishful thinking. 'Those people like me; I understand what they expect of me; they aren't phonies.' In the end we find those old securities only lasted as long as our usefulness did.

God, as I understand You, may I not be infatuated with wishful thinking of 'the good old days!'

Blaming Others

Today, I understand that dumping blame on someone else does not relieve pain or make my life better in any way. If I reach out to others by attacking and blaming them, how can I expect them to hear anything that I say? If I want to be heard, I need to risk being see -- not as I wish to be seen but as I am. I ask too much of someone else when I say obnoxious things and yet insist on being heard. If I really want someone to understand me, I need to risk being vulnerable and let me feelings show. Pointing a finger at someone else will only make them want to point a finger at me. It is hard to feel vulnerable, but with practice, it will become easier. I will be left with more of my real self if I don't tear at the self of someone else.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Sarcasm is derived from a Greek word meaning 'to tear flesh!' We know that the only weapon that gets sharper with use is the tongue.

I use my wit to amuse and not to abuse.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I know that I am not alone. Today I know that God guides me in all situations and all I have to do to get help is to ask for it.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Our 2nd Tradition says that a loving God speaks through our group conscience. So I have the assurance that if I go to a meeting, willing to listen, there'll probably be a wino in the room who'll hit me right between the eyes with exactly what I need to hear. - Doug D.

[bluidkiti]

October 22

Daily Reflections

TRUE TOLERANCE

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent
emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see
what real love for our fellows actually means.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 92

The thought occurred to me that all people are emotionally ill to some extent. How could
we not be? Who among us is spiritually perfect? Who among us is physically perfect?
How could any of us be emotionally perfect? Therefore, what else are we to do but bear
with one another and treat each other as we would be treated in similar circumstances?
That is what love really is.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I am content to face the rest of my life without alcohol. I have made the great decision
once and for all. I have surrendered as gracefully as possible to the inevitable. I hope I
have no more reservations. I hope that nothing can happen to me now that would justify
my taking a drink. No death of a dear one. No great calamity in any area of my life
should justify me in drinking. Even if I were on some desert isle, far from the rest of the
world, but not far from God, should I ever feel it right to drink. For me, alcohol is
out--period. I will always be safe unless I take that first drink. Am I fully resigned to
this fact?

Meditation For The Day

Day by day we should slowly build up an unshakable faith in a Higher Power in that
Power's ability to give us all the help we need. By having these quiet times each morning,
we start each day with a renewing of our faith, until it becomes almost a part of us and is a
strong habit. We should keep furnishing the quiet places of our souls with all the furniture
of faith. We should try to fill our thoughts each day with all that is harmonious and good,
beautiful, and enduring.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may build a house in my soul for the spirit of God to dwell in. I pray that I
may come at last to an unshakable faith.

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

As Bill Sees It

Rebellion Or Acceptance, p.293

All of us pass through the times when we can pray only with the
greatest exertion. Occasionally we go even further than this. We
are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray.
When these things happen, we should not think too ill of ourselves.
We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we
know to be good for us.

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

A man who persists in prayer finds himself in possession of great
gifts. When he has to deal with hard circumstances, he finds he can
face them. He can accept himself and the world around him.

He can do this because he now accepts a God who is All--and who
loves all. When he says, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be
Thy name," he deeply and humbly means it. When in good
meditation and thus freed from the clamors of the world, he knows
that he's in God's hands, that his own ultimate destiny is really
secure, here and hereafter, come what may.

1. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 105
2. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1958

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

Walk In Dry Places

When the bath is negative
Personal relations
A member referred to getting a "negative bath" every day at work. She was talking about her boss's bad disposition and the poor attitudes of several co-workers. How does one deal with this negativity?
It's not satisfactory to say that this member created her own "negative bath" by her attitudes toward her boss and others. In fact, in many businesses, the atmosphere is negative... and dealing with it takes more than trite comment.
In such situations, we can employ detachment, as practiced in Al-Anon, and accept the things we cannot change, as stated in the Serenity Prayer.
The longer-term solution may require making a major change, such as finding a new job, but we must be careful not to exchange one negative situation for another. We will make the right decision if we're careful to avoid resentment and self-pity while being completely honest about our own motives and intentions.
I may find myself in a "negative bath" of some kind today, but I can detach from it by avoiding resentment or the tendency to blame others.

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

Keep It Simple

Life is what happens to us while we’re making other plans.
---Thomas LaMance
What happened to our years of drinking and using other drugs? They seemed to pass so quickly with so little to show for them. We had plans, but we didn’t get where we wanted to go. There was always “tomorrow.”
What a difference today! Now we work a program that helps us really live each day. We’re not losing time out of our lives anymore. Now every day is full of life: sights, sounds, people, feelings---those things we used to miss out on. We have the help of a Higher Power who makes every day important.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me do Your will for me today. I place this day in Your care.
Action for the Day: Be on the lookout today for signs of life!

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Each Day a New Beginning

Children awaken you own sense of self when you see them hurting, struggling, testing; when you watch their eyes and listen to their hearts. Children are gifts, if we accept them. --Kathleen Tierney Crilly
Children look to us and their world with fresh eyes, uncynical attitudes, open hearts. They react spontaneously to the events in their lives; what they feel is who they are.
Close observation of children can help us. See how complex we have made our lives! Their simple honesty can serve us well. To look at the world, once again, with wonder, is a byproduct offered us when we live the principles of this program.
So many gifts await us when we accept the program and its principles. We dispense with the baggage of the past. We learn to live this day only. And we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves that has everything and us in our lives under control. Children instinctively trust those who take care of them. We can learn to trust, once again, when we apply the Steps of this program to our lives.
I will look to this day with wonder and trust. Everything is okay. I am in the care of a power greater.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Fourth Edition

THIS fourth edition of “Alcoholics Anonymous” came off press in November 2001, at the start of a new millennium. Since the third edition was published in 1976, worldwide membership of A.A. has just about doubled, to an estimated two million or more, with nearly 100,800 groups meeting in approximately 150 countries around the world.

p. xxiii

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I started drinking at age eighteen, rather a late bloomer by today's stands. But after I started, the disease of alcoholism hit me with a vengeance and made up for lost time. After I had been drinking for several years and seriously wondering if I did indeed have a problem with alcohol, I read one of the "Are You An Alcoholic?" quiz-type checklists. Much relieved, I found that almost nothing applied to me: I had never lost a job, a spouse, children, or any material possessions through alcohol. The fact that my drinking hadn't allowed me to gain any of those things crossed my mind only after I came to A.A.

p. 319

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable. "

Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.

p. 21

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With the power of God in my actions and thinking I can do all things with love and
kindness.
--Shelley

"God Loves You - even when you are not looking."

He created me to be a light of love and life. Letting go, I allow the light of Him within me
to shine forth in my life and out into my world.
--unknown

Express love through acknowledgment. Notice the good in those around you and freely
comment on it.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

The value of persistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but we will finally hear Him.
--William McGill

We are not living just to be sober; we are living to learn, to serve, and to love.

The express elevator to sobriety doesn't work - please use the Steps.

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem in Sobriety.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

UNITY

"This land of ours cannot be a
good place for any of us to live
in unless we make it a good
place for all of us to live in."
-- Richard Nixon

My sobriety has given me a comprehensive view of life and my neighbor. Today I believe
that we are all connected and if I hurt or am hurt, then everybody at some level is
affected. Because we are all children of God, it follows that we are all one big family ---
speaking different languages, having different customs, revealing different
physical characteristics and complexions, requiring different satisfaction (both sexual
and emotional), but we are still one big family under God.

This means I have a responsibility to all in the family and I can best exercise that
responsibility by having a healthy respect for myself. I should treat people as I would
want to be treated, allowing them the freedom and love I require in my life. I am the
key to the world's needs.

Lord, let me find my neighbor in myself.

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

"Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit
among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of
God."
Colossians 1:6

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength."
Deuteronomy 6:5

For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule generation after generation. The
LORD is faithful in all he says; he is gracious in all he does. The LORD helps the fallen
and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. All eyes look to you for help; you give them
their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of
every living thing.
Psalm 145:13-16

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Daily Inspiration

Do not take any action until you've prayed and listened and then you will have guidance to reach the understanding necessary to complete the things you need to do. Lord, I know that there is no obstacle for You and ask that You will guide me along the right path.

Rejoice and be happy for others when they are blessed. Lord, bless me with the ability to be free of envy so that I can truly share the joy of my neighbors.

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NA Just For Today

Look Who's Talking

"Our disease is so cunning that it can get us into impossible situations."

Basic Text, p.80

Some of us say, "My disease is talking to me." Others say, "My head won't turn off." Still others refer to "the committee in my mind" or "the monkey on my back." Let's face it. We suffer from an incurable malady that continues to affect us, even in recovery. Our disease gives us warped information about what's going on in our lives. It tells us not to look at ourselves because what we'll see is too scary. Sometimes it tells us we're not responsible for ourselves and our actions; other times, it tells us that everything wrong with the world is our fault. Our disease tricks us into trusting it.

The NA program provides us with many voices that counter our addiction, voices we can trust. We can call our sponsor for a reality check. We can listen to the voice of an addict trying to get clean. The ultimate solution is to work the steps and draw on the strength of a Higher Power. That will get us through those times when "our disease is talking."

Just for today: I will ignore the "voice" of my addiction. I will listen to the voice of my program and a Power greater than myself.

pg. 308

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Sometimes it takes a rainy day just to let you know, everything's gonna be alright. --Cris Williamson
Rainy days let us slow down. We are busy people, driving ourselves to go places and get things done. But rain seems to slow life down, even in our hearts. And slowing down can show us the peace in our lives, the peace of knowing we have all we need right inside us. The pressures of the world can drop away for a time while we reflect.
As the rain soaks into the ground, its serenity enters our hearts. Leaves on trees begin to look more green. Plants and flowers are no longer thirsty. When we slow down, we can be comforted by what we have in our hearts, knowing everything is going to be all right.
What comfort can I find within myself right now?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us. --Eric Hoffer
A holier-than-thou attitude within us is often a sign of unconscious dishonesty. Who hasn't had the feeling of being superior to the angry outburst or the near slip of another man - and then found himself in the very same spot the next day? What we least want to admit about ourselves is what we are most likely to feel self-righteous about.
Since our blind spots and self-deception leave us vulnerable to returning to old behaviors, we must attack them vigorously. The man we feel most self-righteous toward may be the man we could learn the most from. When we stop focusing on him, we may notice he touches our most sensitive area. We're all creatures of God and equals in God's sight. The ways we create inequality are the ways we fall short of God's wisdom.
I will use my self-righteous feelings to point me to my own blind spots.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Children awaken you own sense of self when you see them hurting, struggling, testing; when you watch their eyes and listen to their hearts. Children are gifts, if we accept them. --Kathleen Tierney Crilly
Children look to us and their world with fresh eyes, uncynical attitudes, open hearts. They react spontaneously to the events in their lives; what they feel is who they are.
Close observation of children can help us. See how complex we have made our lives! Their simple honesty can serve us well. To look at the world, once again, with wonder, is a byproduct offered us when we live the principles of this program.
So many gifts await us when we accept the program and its principles. We dispense with the baggage of the past. We learn to live this day only. And we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves that has everything and us in our lives under control. Children instinctively trust those who take care of them. We can learn to trust, once again, when we apply the Steps of this program to our lives.
I will look to this day with wonder and trust. Everything is okay. I am in the care of a power greater.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Holding Your Own
Trust yourself. Trust what you know.
Sometimes, it is hard to stand in our own truth and trust what we know, especially when others would try to convince us otherwise.
In these cases, others may be dealing with issues of guilt and shame. They may have their own agenda. They may be immersed in denial. They would like us to believe that we do not know what we know; they would like us not to trust ourselves; they would prefer to engage us in their nonsense.
We don't have to forfeit our truth or our power to others. That is codependency.
Believing lies is dangerous. When we stop trusting our truth, when we repress our instincts, when we tell ourselves there must be something wrong with us for feeling what we feel or believing what we believe, we deal a deadly blow to our self and our health.
When we discount that important part of ourselves that knows what is the truth, we cut ourselves off from our center. We feel crazy. We get into shame, fear, and confusion. We can't get our bearings when we allow someone to pull the rug from under us.
This does not mean that we are never wrong. But we are not always wrong.
Be open. Stand in our truth. Trust what you know. And refuse to buy into denial, nonsense, bullying, or coercion that would like to take you off course.
Ask to be shown the truth, clearly - not by the person trying to manipulate or convince you, but by yourself, your Higher Power, and the Universe.
Today, I will trust my truth, my instincts, and my ability to ground myself in reality. I will not allow myself to be swayed by bullying, manipulating, games, dishonesty, or people with peculiar agendas.


Today I pray for the knowledge of God's Will for me and the power to carry it through. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Journey to the Heart
Heal Your Past


Open your heart to the universe. Let it bring you love and comfort. Let it bring you healing. Let it take you back to your past long enough to heal, so you can move forward into joy.

Universal love can bring something other than straightforward movement. Sometimes it takes us backward into our past and leaves us there long enough to heal. An incident occurs, and we react strongly; our emotions are more intense than necessary for the present moment. We may not notice. We may think, This is now; this is how I'm feeling about what's happening today. But as we become more aware, some part of us says, I'm feeling something from yesterday,too, something I wasn't safe rnough to see and feel then.

Let yourself feel your past. Then let yourself heal. Take responsibility for your behaviors. Let the emotions clear. Then you will see what the universe has done. It has just created a healing scenario for you-- a gentle trigger to the past, a gentle step forward for your heart.

*****

more language of letting go
Be aware of your heroes

Heroes and mentors can inspire and teach us to do great things in our lives. They can help point us in the right direction whenr we're unsure. They can bring us just the right message, at just the right time. Usually we can find someone who has walked the path before us, and can lead us with his or her example. The problem comes when he or she stops being a mentor to us and becomes an idol instead. If we spend too much time revering an individual, we can easily lose sight of the message.

Take a look at the people in your life that you have chosen as mentors, heroes, sponsors, or teachers. Appreciate all the help they give you. But be aware that they don't and can't have all the answers. They're human,too. They to have blind spots, prejudices, and their own lessons to go through. And yes, they'll make mistakes. But if their hearts are true, they'll come back to the path. And if your heart is true, maybe you'll be a light helping guide them there.

Listen to your mentors. Respect then for who they are. Be grateful for the inspiration and messages that come through them to you. But don;t worship your heroes.

Learn to think for yourself as well.

God, help me remember that it's the message, not the messenger, that counts. Thank you for my heroes, teachers, and mentors, but help me remember not to lift them up too high.

*****

Spiritualizing the Planet
Ascension by Madisyn Taylor

As we ascend, we gain consciousness of the more subtle aspects of our being and begin to connect with all that is.

We are one with the cosmos whether we realize it or not. Realizing it, though, quickens our spiritual energy and allows us access to higher realms. In those higher realms lies the awareness that we are more than just finite physical beings living one life in one place at one point in time. Connecting with this awareness is to awaken to the truth and take a step forward, and upward, on our soul’s journey. This upward movement is known as ascension because the more we remember who we are and embody that truth, the higher our energy vibrates; we ascend up the scale from the gross physical plane to the subtle spiritual plane. As we ascend, we gain consciousness of the more subtle aspects of our being, with the ultimate outcome being a complete identification with the light body, an experience of unification with the cosmos.

As you look around you, you will see that many people are not even interested in these ideas. Others are open and paying attention. Still others have devoted their lives to deepening their understanding of the truth. All these people are on the path of ascension, but they will ascend at different rates. Each soul chooses its own path. The more devoted a person is to remembering and being guided by spirit, the more quickly the soul will ascend. These people are at the forefront of an important process of raising the energetic vibration of the whole planet. The earth, made of the same energy we are, is undergoing this shift along with us. This evolutionary process, while seemingly chaotic at times, is as natural as the process that unfolds a flower from a seed and we are all part of it.

It shouldn’t be forgotten that the earth too is on her own ascension path as she is sentient. The best way to support this process in yourself and in the world is simply to relax and be open to its unfolding. Listen to your inner guidance, and let it guide you to the path that brings your heart the most joy. Published with permission Daily OM

*****

A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
"Not all those who know their minds know their hearts as well," wrote LaRochefoucauld. The Program is of inestimable value for those of us, formerly addicted, who want to know ourselves and who are courageous enough to seek growth through self-examination and self-improvement. If I remain honest, open-minded and willing, The Program will enable me to rid myself of my self-deceptive attitudes and character flaws that for so long prevented me from growing into the kind of person I want to be.

Do I try to help others understand The Program and Twelve Steps? Do I carry the message by example?

Today I Pray
I ask God's blessing for the group, which has shown me so much about myself that I was not willing to face on my own. May I have the courage to be confronted and to confront, not only to be honest for honesty's sake - which may be reason enough - but to allow myself and the others in the group to grow in self-knowledge.

Today I Will Remember
We are mirrors of each other.

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

One More Day

This is the bitterest knowledge among men, to have much knowledge but no power.
–Herodotus

We have the power to influence others’ lives only when we share what we have learned. If we fail to or refuse to recognize the value of our knowledge, we force ourselves into a sort of isolation and — worse still — deprive others of our insights.

We know how to handle intricate personal relationships and delicate problems. We have gained the emotional stability to allow ourselves to depend on others and on our Higher Power. We can share this knowledge with others, not to serve our own needs, but to help our fellow human beings.

A loving power is mine when I gently share the knowledge I have with others.

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Food For Thought

Healing

God, as understood by each of us, has the Power to heal our bodies, minds, and hearts. Once we realize that we are sick, we can open ourselves to the Power, which will affect our recovery. As we delve more deeply into the OA program, we see that it is not only the body, which suffers from the disease of compulsive overeating. Mind and emotions are also muddled and in need of God's cleansing.

The healing process can be painful. Sometimes we have to get worse in order to get better. Sometimes we have to be more devastated by overeating, by pride, by fear and selfishness before we are willing to turn ourselves over to our Higher Power for healing. We do not make the effort to work the Twelve Steps until we see how desperately ill we are.

God heals, but He requires our cooperation and effort. The extent of our recovery is determined by the intensity of our desire to get well. When our desire is focused on the source of health and held there steadily, we can become whole.

We pray for healing.

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

One Day At A Time

Scars
“Dwelling on the negative
simply contributes to its power.”
Shirley MacLaine

I’ve lived most of my life filled with bitterness towards people, God and myself. My mind, soul, and body were consumed by hatred, self-pity, pain, hopelessness, and a complete sense of powerlessness. I focused my energy on reviewing my scars. I counted them, checked them, nurtured them, and flaunted them. They were proof of all the wrongs I’d endured. They were my source of energy. They were my identity. They were my badge of sorrow.

As I work my recovery, I am beginning to see everything from a new perspective. Gradually my head is lifted and my eyes are turned away from my once-beloved scars. The more I allow myself to accept that my powerlessness is not a prison of doom, the more I discover that it is my doorway to faith, surrender, and serenity.

My scars are still here. There is no magic potion to remove them. What is magical, however, is that I see them so differently. I find that I have a choice to make every day: I can cherish my scars as proof of the pain I have suffered, or I can be thankful for them as evidence of things I have survived. Scar tissue forms and creates a stronger, thicker skin in its place. I can either pick at it and make it bleed, or I can welcome the lessons and endurance it has built into my life.

One day at a time...
I will choose to see my scars as proof of the difficulties I have survived. I will choose to appreciate them as evidence that God has brought me through suffering and has used all things to strengthen my faith in Him, my hope for tomorrow, and my serenity for today.
~ Lisa

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

It is probably true that you and your husband have been living too much alone, for drinking many times isolates the wife of an alcoholic. Therefore, you probably need fresh interests and a great cause to live for as much as your husband. If you cooperate, rather than complain, you will find that his excess enthusiasm will tone down. Both of you will awaken to a new sense of responsibility for others. You, as well as your husband, ought to think of what you can put into life instead of how much you can take out. Inevitably your lives will be fuller for doing so. You will lose the old life to find one much better. - Pgs. 119-120 - To Wives

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

By now you may be hearing things you don't like. It can be difficult to accept the truth, but eventually most of it will make sense. For now, just listen without argument--let things settle a little before you discard them.

Even if I don't agree or accept everything told to me now, rather then outright discard it, let me listen, file away for future reference, and process the information later.

Releasing of Perfectionism

Today, I will not demand that my life be perfect in order for me to love it, nor will I demand that all my relationships be perfect for me to value and respect them. If I try to make my life and relationships perfect, I will be constantly engaged in a neurotic battle with my transitory illusion of perfection. There is no such thing as an ideal, and to insist that life be ideal is to miss the forest for the trees. I will not condemn myself to the constant feeling that I have drawn the short straw. Perfection is in the eyes of the beholder -- it is subjective. I will not ask the moment to be more than the moment -- I will not be conditional in my love.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

It has been said that we are not human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience. As a dream is to your human experience, addiction is to your spiritual experience. When you awake, you realize it no longer has power over you.

Sometimes I need a rude awakening before I can have a spiritual awakening.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Recovery is an inside job.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I pray for the knowledge of God's Will for me and the power to carry it through.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The bigger my head. The bigger the target. Anon.

[bluidkiti]

October 23

Daily Reflections

WHAT WE KNOW BEST

"Shoemaker, stick to thy last!" . . . better do one thing supremely well than many badly.
That is the central theme of this Tradition [Five]. Around it our Society gathers in unity.
The very life of our Fellowship requires the preservation of this principle.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 150

The survival of A.A. depends upon unity. What would happen if a group decided to
become an employment agency, a treatment center or a social service agency? Too much
specialization leads to no specialization, to frittering of efforts and, finally, to decline. I
have the qualifications to share my sufferings and my way of recovery with the newcomer.
Conformity to A.A.'s primary purpose insures the safety of the wonderful gift of sobriety,
so my responsibility is enormous. The life of millions of alcoholics is closely tied to my
competence in "carrying the message to the still-suffering alcoholic."

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have learned how to be honest. What a relief! No more ducking or dodging. No more tall
tales. No more pretending to be what I am not. My cards are on the table, for all the
world to see. "I am what I am," as Popeye used to say in the comics. I have had an
unsavory past. I am sorry, yes. But it cannot be changed now. All that is yesterday and is
done. But now my life is an open book. Come and look at it, if you want to. I'm trying to
do the best I can. I will fail often, but I won't make excuses. I will face things as they are
and not run away. Am I really honest?

Meditation For The Day

Though it may seem a paradox, we must believe in spiritual forces which we cannot
see more than in material things which we can see, if we are going to truly live. In the
last analysis, the universe consists more of thought or mathematical formulas than it
does of matter as we understand it. Between one human being and another only
spiritual forces will suffice to keep them in harmony. These spiritual forces we know,
because we can see their results although we cannot see them. A changed life--a new
personality--results from the power of unseen spiritual forces working in us and through
us.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may believe in the Unseen. I pray that I may be convinced by the results of
the Unseen which I do see.

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

As Bill Sees It

Love+Rationality=Growth, p. 294

"It seems to me that the primary object of any human being is to
grow, as God intended, that being the nature of all growing things.

"Our search must be for what reality we can find, which includes
the best definition and feeling of love that we can acquire. If the
capability of loving is in the human being, then it must surely be in his
Creator.

"Theology helps me in that many of its concepts cause me to
believe that I live in a rational universe under a loving God, and
that my own irrationality can be chipped away, little by little. This
is, I suppose, the process of growth for which we are intended."

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

Walk In Dry Places

How do we hurt others?
Inventory
Even while drinking, few of us abused others physically or committed crimes. Yet we did harm others, even when we thought we were hurting only ourselves.
One way we harmed others.... and this applies to many alcoholic family relationships.. was by with-holding the love and support they needed. If we had a nasty disposition at times, this poisoned the atmosphere and made others uncomfortable and afraid.
Maybe we harmed others by not being productive at work. Our absenteeism, for example, may have put our boss in a bad light with superiors or caused the firm to lose a client.
Perhaps the worst harm was in being completely indifferent to what we were doing to others. Any willingness to admit wrong, then, can be a major step toward recovery and self-improvement.
Though, I have no intention of harming anyone today, I'll realize that even my attitude can affect others unfavorably. I'll try to maintain an attitude that's uplifting to everyone.

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

Keep It Simple

It’s not dying faith that’s so hard, it’s living up to it.William Makepeace Thackeray
We may ask, “Do I have to do an Eighth or Ninth Step?” “Do I really need a sponsor?” “Hmm…can I get by without going to so many meetings?” Having faith means putting our questions aside. So…what do we do? We work the program. We accept that those who’ve gone before us were right. We accept the idea that we need others. Faith is knowing that others love and care for us. Faith is also about action. The main way we know that we have faith is by looking at our behavior. Ask yourself this: “Are my actions those of a person with faith?”
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me remove the questions that get in my way. Help me act like a person with faith.
Action for the Day: I’ll list four parts of my program that I have faith in, such as, “I believe honesty is important to my sobriety.”

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

Each Day a New Beginning

...words are more powerful than perhaps anyone suspects, and once deeply engraved in a child's mind, they are not easily eradicated. --May Sarton
How burdened we became, as little girls, with the labels applied by parents, teachers, even school chums. We believe about ourselves what others teach us to believe. The messages aren't always overt. But even the very subtle ones are etched in our minds, and they remind us of our "shortcomings" long into adulthood.
Try as we might to forget the criticisms, the names, they linger in our memories and influence our self-perceptions as adults. The intervening years have done little to erase whatever emotional scars we acquired as children.
Our partnership with God will help us understand that we are spiritual beings with a wonderful purpose in this life. And we are as lovely, as capable, as successful as we perceive ourselves to be. Our own thoughts and words, our own labels can become as powerful as those of our youth. It takes practice to believe in ourselves. But we can break the past's hold on us.
My higher power will help me know the real me. I am all that I ever needed to be; I am special, and I will come to believe that.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Fourth Edition

Literature has played a major role in A.A.’s growth, and a striking phenomenon of the past quarter-century has been the explosion of translations of our basic literature into many languages and dialects. In country after country where the A.A. seed was planted, it has taken root, slowly at first, then growing by leaps and bounds when literature has become available. Currently, “Alcoholics Anonymous” has been translated into forty-three languages.

p. xxiii

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I can't blame one ounce of my drinking on my upbringing. My parents were loving and supportive and have been married thirty-five years. No one else in my family exhibits alcoholic drinking or alcoholic behavior. For some reason, despite the resources available to me growing up, I developed into an adult woman terrified of the world around me. I was extremely insecure, though I was careful to hide this fact. I was unable to handle and understand my emotions; I always felt as if everyone else knew what was going on and what they were supposed to be doing, and my life was the only one that was delivered without an instruction book.

pp. 319-320

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable. "

No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands. Once this stark fact is accepted, our bankruptcy as going human concerns is complete.

p. 21

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

Honesty is something you can't wear out.
--Waylon Jennings

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can
see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
--Antoine de Saint- [The Little Prince]

"Sometimes we need to look hard at a person and remember that he is doing the best
he can. He's just trying to find his way. That's all."
--Ernest Thompson

"God's gift to us is our life. What we do with it, is our gift to God."

An error is a positive way to learn provided you make the attempt to correct the mistake.
--unknown

"It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is
that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves."
--Helen Keller

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

VALUE

"A cynic is a man who knows the
price of everything and value of
nothing."
-- Oscar Wilde

I never knew the value of my life until I looked beyond it. For years I was so
self-obsessed that I missed the joy and beauty of this wonderful world. I was so
concerned with details and minutia of life that I missed the fun of living.

I now see that my behavior had its roots in my childhood. I was the child in a
dysfunctional family. I became a parent to my parents. I took charge of everybody's
life and I felt responsible and guilty. Everything was work and I did not learn how to
play.

Today I am working on my recovery. I am "dumping" my feelings of guilt, shame and
anger. I am beginning to understand that I am not responsible for my parents and I
am beginning to feel free. Today I am learning how to play.

Lord of the dance, teach me the steps.

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

"Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God."
Joshua 23:11

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?"
Matthew 16:26

"Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous
pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take
refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler."
Psalm 91:3-4

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

Daily Inspiration

Start an "I am grateful for..." list and read it when you are feeling low. Lord, help me see things in a new light and understand that with a little effort I can turn my complaints into something positive.

We are the only ones who can change how we think or how we act. Lord, help me make positive decisions so that life doesn't just happen to me.

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

NA Just For Today

Surrender

"By surrendering control, we gain a far greater power."

Basic Text, p.43

When we were using, we did everything we could to run things our way. We used every scheme imaginable to bring our world under control. When we got what we wanted, we felt powerful, invincible; when we didn't, we felt vulnerable, defeated. But that didn't stop us - it only led to more efforts to control and manipulate our lives into a manageable state.

Scheming was our way of denying our powerlessness. As long as we could distract ourselves with our plans, we could put off accepting that we were out of control. Only gradually did we realize that our lives had become unmanageable and that all the conning and manipulating in the world was not going to put our lives back in order.

When we admit our powerlessness, we stop trying to control and manage our way to a better life - we surrender. Lacking sufficient power of our own, we seek a Power greater than ourselves; needing support and guidance, we ask that Power to care for our will and our lives. We ask others in recovery to share their experience with living the NA program instead of trying to program our own lives. The power and direction we seek is all around us; we need only turn away from self to find it.

Just for today: I will not try to scheme and manipulate my way to a manageable life. Through the NA program, I will surrender myself to my Higher Power's care.

pg. 309

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. --D. H. Lawrence
Sometimes when we feel sorry for ourselves we will sit alone in our bedroom. We may even feel so down in the dumps that we decide to stay there, indulging in self-pity, thinking about how the world is against us.
However, if we use our imagination to step outside our own point of view for a moment, we might think differently. If we were deer in the forest, we would be thinking about keeping safe from the wolves, and where our next meal would be coming from.
The animals have no time to feel sorry for themselves, they are too busy doing what has to be done to survive, and each thing that happens presents a new survival problem to be solved.
When we feel blue, it helps to keep this in mind. If we have the time to feel down, and can get physically comfortable while doing it, how bad can the problem really be?
In what ways is my life comfortable, easy, and full of love?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Self-knowledge and self-improvement are very difficult for most people. It usually needs great courage and long struggle. --Abraham Maslow
This is a simple program but it isn't easy. We cannot take the principles we learn and thereby possess them as if we were taking a class or reading a book. We need to live them. We can only get this program by participating with others who are also on the journey. Gradually we absorb it into every fiber of our being. This takes time and dedication.
The honesty required is sometimes frightening and painful. Any man who remains faithful to this program has great courage and deserves deep respect. But we do not have to wait long to begin receiving the rewards. New freedoms, good feelings, and friendships quickly develop, and we are promised in this program to continue growing and to receive more benefits throughout our lives. What rewards have come from our courage and struggle?
I will give much to my spiritual growth because it gives much to me.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
...words are more powerful than perhaps anyone suspects, and once deeply engraved in a child's mind, they are not easily eradicated. --May Sarton
How burdened we became, as little girls, with the labels applied by parents, teachers, even school chums. We believe about ourselves what others teach us to believe. The messages aren't always overt. But even the very subtle ones are etched in our minds, and they remind us of our "shortcomings" long into adulthood.
Try as we might to forget the criticisms, the names, they linger in our memories and influence our self-perceptions as adults. The intervening years have done little to erase whatever emotional scars we acquired as children.
Our partnership with God will help us understand that we are spiritual beings with a wonderful purpose in this life. And we are as lovely, as capable, as successful as we perceive ourselves to be. Our own thoughts and words, our own labels can become as powerful as those of our youth. It takes practice to believe in ourselves. But we can break the past's hold on us.
My higher power will help me know the real me. I am all that I ever needed to be; I am special, and I will come to believe that.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Morning Cues
There is an important message for us first thing every day.
Often, once we get started with the day, we may not listen as closely to life and ourselves as we do in those still moments when we first awaken.
An ideal time to listen to ourselves is when we are laying quietly, our defenses are down, and we're open and most vulnerable.
What is the first feeling that floods through us, the feeling that perhaps we are trying to avoid during the business of the day? Are we angry, frustrated, hurt, or confused? That is what we need to focus on and work through. That's the issue we need to address.
When you awaken, what is the first idea or thought that enters your mind? Do you need to finish a timely project? Are you in need of a fun day? A restful day?
Do you feel sick and need to nurture yourself? Are you in a negative frame of mind? Do you have an issue to resolve with someone?
Do you need to tell someone something? Is something bothering you? Is something feeling particularly good?
Does an idea occur to you, something you could get or do that would feel good?
When you awaken, what is the first issue that presents itself? You don't have to be fearful. You don't have to rush. You can lay still and listen and then accept the message.
We can define some of our recovery goals for the day by listening to the morning message.
God, help me let go of my need to be in resistance to the harmonic flow of life. Help me learn to go with the flow and accept the help and support that You have to offer me.


God is guiding me with every step and every breath I take today. All I have to do is wake up, ask for help guidance and knowledge to a power greater than myself, and trust that I will know what to do. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart
October 23
Cherish Joy

Choose joy. Then cherish and savor it.

Joy is not a fleeting emotion based on outward sircumstances, a transitory feeling of the moment, a reaction to the scenery around you. It comes from within your heart like a waterfall that rushes out the side of a mountain. Joy is a runoff from the wellspring within you. And sometimes it is a delightful, surprising contrast to the scenery around you.

Embrace joy. Relish it. Even if those around you don’t have it right now, you can feel your joy. You don’t have to be disrespectful of their feelings, nor do you have to let their lack of joy diminish yours.

You have done your work. You have chosen to open your heart. Now you have your reward

Cherish joy. It’s your treasure. You’ve found it. You’ve earned it. It’s yours.

*****

more language of letting go
Find and respect your own stride

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old: seek what they sought.
--Basho

One of the dangers of following a hero is the temptation to emulate them too much instead of walking our own path. John quit his job and started his own company when he was twenty-four years old. Five years later he sold out for millions of dollars. We want to be like John so we try the same thing and go broke. What happened? Is the universe against us? No. We just got confused about the difference between learning from a hero and trying to walk his path. John's path may have led him to start a company; your path may also lead you on that course, just not at the same time in your life.

We can still learn much from our heroes and the people we admire. Just be aware that their path and time frame may be different from ours.

When the time comes for you to start that business, learn a new skill, enter into a relationship, or whatever you're hoping to do, the experience will be there. The experience will be ready for you when you're ready for it. Your timing may be different from everyone else's.

I know people who got married after knowing each other only two weeks and then stayed mostly happily married for more than thirty years. I know people who date each other for years and still can't decide if they're ready to commit. My friend made the transition from living in the Midwest to living in California in months. That transition took me several years.

We each have our own stride and path. And while many of our lessons are similar, each of us is unique. If we spend our time trying to emulate a person rather than an idea, we'll at best be an inferior version of our teacher and at worst will never discover our own path. Their stride will be too long or too short for us, and we won't learn the true lesson, which is to trust our inner guide.

Gautama Buddha found enlightenment while sitting under a banyan tree; Milarepa found it while living as a hermit in a Himalayan cave. Gaining enlightenment isn't an exercise in following a person; it's an exercise in following your heart.

God, help me let go of any expectations of perfection I may have of myself or others. Help me be aware of the messages you send me, then help me discern my own truth.

*****

Opening to Understanding
Willingness to Feel

We must be willing to dive deep and feel, really feel what is underneath. This is where you will be set free.

There are times when we may find ourselves struggling or even fighting with our thoughts and emotions. We may feel that something must be done in a certain way or not at all, or there may be some other situation that feels absolutely black and white. But life is not this way—it's the way we are looking at our experiences that is causing the turmoil within us. When we become aware that the struggle we are having is with ourselves, we can turn our attention to the source in order to solve the problem, but we must be being willing to look where we need to and feel emotions that may make us uncomfortable at first. Then we can choose to really open ourselves to understanding all the options we can imagine. We are likely to discover that we are resisting something based on a limited understanding, and we must then open ourselves to willingness.

When we are willing to look at all the possibilities, we also become willing to accept that there is room for more than we can imagine. We can release ourselves from the grip we had on our emotions and stop limiting ourselves. We may have been unwilling to experience feeling loss, confusion, fear, or even joy for some reason or another, but when we realize that our understanding was limited we allow space for the universe to move in our lives.

Opening ourselves to willingness may feel like we are surrendering or abandoning all that we believed. But at the same time it is an act of power and courage because it is a conscious choice we make about how to apply our personal will. Being willing is to be in a state of willing something into creation. It is at once allowing ourselves to be while also choosing to direct our energy in a focused way. It is being and doing from a place of openness, where we can work with the universe rather than resist it. It is an open hand rather than one that is clenched into a fist. When we make a step toward willingness, we open ourselves to truth, possibility, and the movement of the wise universe in and through our lives. Published with permission from Daily OM

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

“One’s own self is well hidden from one’s own self,” a renowned philosopher once wrote. “of all mines of treasure, one’s own is the last to be dug up.” The Twelve Steps have enabled me to unearth my “own self,” the one that for so long was buried beneath my desperate need for approval from others. Thanks to The Program and my Higher Power, I’ve begun acquiring a true sense of self and a comfortable sense of confidence. No longer do I have to react chameleon like, changing my coloration from one moment to the next, fruitlessly trying to bee all things to all people. Do I strive, at all time, to be true to myself?

Today I Pray

I pray that I may be honest with myself, and that I will continue — with the help of God and my friends — to try to get to know the real me. May I know that I cannot suddenly be a pulled-together, totally defined, completely consistent personality; it may take a while to develop into that personality, to work out my values and my priorities. May I know now that I have a good start on being who I want to be.

Today I Will Remember

I’m getting to be who I want to be.

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

One More Day

The more passionately we love life, the more intensely we experience the joy of life.
– Jurgen Moltman

While we would occasionally like to hide from the real-life drama around us, we know it’s not a healthy way to live. Instead we live the drama, love it, cry with it, and at times even hate it.

Choosing to live life on its terms brings enthusiasm and passion into our experiences. Our decisions to love life – despite the highs and lows — allows us to delight in the highs and to accept the lows as unavoidable, but momentary, setbacks. Although hiding from reality can sometimes insulate us from pain, it also blinds us to the joys of wonderment and living fully.

I choose to be enthusiastic about my life.\

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

Food For Thought

Tomorrow Is Another Day

As compulsive overeaters; we can be tormented by the urge to finish everything right now, today. That was the way we used to eat, and it may still be the way we try to operate in other areas of behavior. It is possible to exchange our addiction to food for an addiction to work or perfection.

Trying to do everything today is just another example of self will run riot. We are not super people and we cannot perform miracles. It is our Higher Power who makes possible our accomplishments, and His work is done slowly and gradually. God never expects more of us than we are able to deliver. It is our own pride that entices us to tackle the impossible.

As long as we are alive, our work will not be finished. Each day we are given new tasks to do and new experiences to enjoy. What we do not complete today can be continued tomorrow, according to the will of our Higher Power.

I leave tomorrow's tasks for tomorrow.

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

One Day At A Time

Pain
“People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous ...
Pain is meant to wake us up ...
You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”
Jim Morrison

I am what some might call a “pain expert.” Inside, outside, stuffed, unavoidable ~ there are so many kinds of pain. I used to think that if I were really strong, I would never let pain effect me, regardless of its source. And there were plenty of sources. I walked around with this smile on my face and this wall built around me, trying to ward off the pain.

Then one day I cracked. I lost someone very close to me. When I actually accepted that, I just broke down. There was so much pain I had been avoiding for years. At that moment I was confronted by all of it!

That was when I started to realize that I couldn’t go through life avoiding pain. It was still there and it would come back. And it would be worse. Joining this program and reading the Big Book helped me to recognize my pain and feel it. I’m now able to not fear it, but to see it for what it is: a piece of me. I grow from what I feel, including pain. Without it I wouldn’t be me.

One day at a time...
I will feel my pain and I will do what is necessary to accept it. Together we are bound by pain. Together we can see our strength.
~ Miranda G.

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

When, however, the perfectly logical assumption is suggested that underneath the material world and life as we see it, there is an All Powerful, Guiding, Creative Intelligence, right there our perverse streak comes to the surface and we laboriously set out to convince ourselves it isn't so. we read wordy books and indulge in windy arguments, thinking we believe this universe needs no God to explain it. Were our contentions true, it would follow that life originated out of nothing, means nothing, and proceeds nowhere. - Pg. 49 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

If there is someone weaker than you, be kind to them. If there is someone stronger than you, be kind to yourself.

God, as You have meaning to me, show me the strength of kindness in what I do this hour.

A Healthy Heart

Today, I will pray for help in forgiveness. My prayers have power in unseen realms. Research has borne out over and over again that prayer can be as effective a healer as medication at times. I will rely on the deep truth of the power of the unseen; invisible hands will guide my prayer. There is a peace within me that surpasses all understanding. Today, I will cultivate that peace by taking time to go within. The world within me is as real as anything I see. It sustains and nurtures me. It is of more value to me than I can imagine. I need this part of me to be alive and well. I need a healthy heart.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The possibilities in this world are endless and abundant even when they appear impossible. Watch a tiny bird lift itself into the air by flapping fragile wings. See a pollywog transform into a frog, a seedling into an oak. Many wonders exist in God's world and you are one of them.

My Higher Power does the impossible, after I've done what is possible.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Work the Steps. You may still have living problems but you will no longer have problems living.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

God is guiding me with every step and every breath I take today. All I have to do is wake up, ask for help guidance and knowledge to a power greater than myself, and trust that I will know what to do.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The bridges you cross before you come to them are over rivers which aren't there. - Gene Brown.

[bluidkiti]

October 24

Daily Reflections

"BY FAITH AND BY WORKS"

On anvils of experience, the structure of our Society was hammered out. . . . Thus has
it been with A.A. By faith and by works we have been able to build upon the lessons
of an incredible experience. They live today in the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics
Anonymous, which - God willing - shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may need us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 131

God has allowed me the right to be wrong in order for our Fellowship to exist as it does
today. If I place God's will first in my life, it is very likely that A.A. as I know it today will
remain as it is.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have turned to a Power greater than myself. Thank God, I am no longer at the
center of the universe. All the world does not revolve around me any longer. I am
only one among many. I have a Father in Heaven and I am only one of His children
and a small one at that. But I can depend on Him to show me what to do and to give me
the strength to do it. I am on the Way and the whole power of the universe is behind
me when I do the right thing. I do not have to depend entirely on myself any longer. With
God, I can face anything. Is my life in the hands of God?

Meditation For The Day

The grace of God is an assurance against all evil. It holds out security to the believing
soul. The grace of God means safety in the midst of evil. You can be kept unspotted
by the world through the power of His grace. You can have a new life of power. But
only in close contact with the grace of God is its power realized. In order to realize it
and benefit from it, you must have daily quiet communion with God, so that the
power of His grace will come unhindered into your soul.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be kept from evil by the grace of God. I pray that henceforth I will try to
keep myself more unspotted by the world.

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

As Bill Sees It

Praying Rightly, p.295

We thought we had been deeply serious about religious practices.
However, upon honest appraisal we found that we had been most
superficial. Or sometimes, going to extremes, we had wallowed in
emotionalism and had also mistaken this for true religious feeling.
In both cases, we had been asking something for nothing.

We had not prayed rightly. We had always said, "Grant me my
wishes," instead of "Thy will be done." The love of God and man
we understood not at all. Therefore, we remained self-deceived,
and so incapable of receiving enough grace to restore us to sanity.

12 & 12, p. 32

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

Walk In Dry Places

Light for Dark corners
Honesty
Newspaper writers know that there's usually a future story in the "dark side" of any person who is being lavishly praised in the media. That's because almost every person has a "dark side" or secrets that are carefully guarded.
We should look for such dark corners in our own lives. Most of us are not public figures fearing exposure, but recovering people seeking to stay sober and healthy.
We can begin to illuminate our dark corners by discussing our secrets with others. This does not necessarily eliminate whatever shortcoming is involved, but our honesty is a step in the right direction.
False pride may also play a part in keeping dark secrets from others, causing fear that others might see us as we really are. Thus, learning to confront and confess our dark sides can lead to victory over both fear and pride.
I'll strive today to be honest about any weaknesses or wrongs that I've been concealing. Under the light of such honesty, my dark secrets can be transformed

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

Keep It Simple

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.---Oliver Wendell Homes
Lying, above anything else, brings us close to getting crazy again. Lying is what addicts do.
In our addiction, our whole life was a lie.
Lying creates danger because it creates secrets. Secrets keep us from others. To stay sober, we need to stay close to people. We can't make it on our own.
Lying creates danger because it creates shame. A lie, like a drink, may make us feel good for the moment. But in the long run, it creates shame.
Do we still lie to deal with the world? Lies are like drinks---one leads to another.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to live today free of lies.
Action for the Day: For the next twenty-four hours, I will tell no lies. If I do I’ll go back and do Step Ten. I will remember that lies can lead to relapse.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The universal human yearning [is] for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change. --Willa Cather
The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us comes with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth-enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Fourth Edition

As the message of recovery has reached larger numbers of people, it has also touched the lives of a vastly greater variety of suffering alcoholics. When the phrase “We are people who normally would not mix” (page 17 of this book) was written in 1939, it referred to a Fellowship composed largely of men (and a few women) with quite similar social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. Like so much of A.A.’s basic text, those words have proved to be far more visionary than the founding members could ever have imagined. The stories added to this edition represent a membership whose characteristics—of age, gender, race, and culture—have widened and have deepened to encompass virtually everyone the first 100 members could have hoped to reach.

pp. xxiii-xxiv

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

When I discovered alcohol, everything changed. I took my first real drink my first night of college. I attended what was to be the first of many, many fraternity parties. I didn't care for the beer, so I went for the vat of innocuous-looking punch. I was told it was laced with grain alcohol. I don't remember how many drinks I had, and my recollections of the actual events of the rest of the night are fuzzy, but I do remember this much: When I was drinking, I was okay. I understood. Everything made sense. I could dance, talk, and enjoy being in my own skin. It was as if I had been an unfinished jigsaw puzzle with one piece missing; as soon as I took a drink, the last piece instantly and effortlessly snapped into place.

p. 320

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable. "

But upon entering A.A. we soon take quite another view of this absolute humiliation. We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able to take our first steps toward liberation and strength. Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful lives may be built.

p. 21

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

"Every moment is an opportunity for those who are ready to seize it."
--unknown

Too often we underestimate 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

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.
--Al Batt

Nature gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's
success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.
--George R. Kirkpatrick

"Worry drives us to prayer and prayer drives away the worry."
--Eliz McJunkin

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Contentment comes from making the most of what you have and going
with it.
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CYNICS

"A cynic is a man who, when he
smells flowers, looks around for
a coffin."
-- H. L. Mencken

There was a time when I always felt that life was out to get me. I always looked on the
"black" side of life. I was forever being negative and pessimistic I would always be
surrounded by sick and destructive human beings. Whenever people offered hope or
tried to help me, I turned away and rejected them. For years I created the pain
and misery in my life.

Then a close friend forced himself into my life and gave me a dose of "tough love". He
made me see that I was wallowing in self-pity. He cared enough to intervene and tell
me what I did not want to hear.

Today I have some years of recovery from alcoholism and I carry the message.

I pray that I may always love myself and others enough to take a risk.

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

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

The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.
The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills
the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. The
LORD protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. I will praise the
LORD, and everyone on earth will bless his holy name forever and forever.
Psalm 145:17-21

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:18

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

Daily Inspiration

Do not be discouraged if it seems that there is no response to your prayers at this time. God always responds. Lord, Your wisdom always responds to my needs with unceasing peace and love and when I listen and give thanks I am blessed with results that bring goodness to me in better ways than I expect.

Through the power of God within me, I am stronger than any of my circumstances. Lord, I seek, I knock and I ask and You are always there and ready to give me the miracles that I need.

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

NA Just For Today

Responsibility

"We are not responsible for our disease, only for our recovery. As we begin to apply what we have learned, our lives begin to change for the better."

Basic Text, p.88

The further we go in recovery, the less we avoid responsibility for ourselves and our actions. By applying the principles of the Narcotics Anonymous program, we are able to change our lives. Our existence takes on new meaning as we accept responsibility and the freedom of choice responsibility implies. We do not take recovery for granted.

We take responsibility for our recovery by working the Twelve Steps with a sponsor. We go to meetings regularly and share with the newcomer what was freely given to us: the gift of recovery. We become involved with our home group and accept responsibility for our part in sharing recovery with the still-suffering addict. As we learn how to effectively practice spiritual principles in all areas of our lives, the quality of our lives improves.

Just for today: Using the spiritual tools I've gained in recovery, I am willing and able to make responsible choices.

pg. 310

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

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Before he closed his eyes, he let them wander around his old room. . .familiar and friendly things. . .which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted on for the same simple welcome. --Kenneth Grahame
When they moved into the house, the room at the top of the stairs was just a junk room. As the years passed, they slowly transformed the room into a guest room.
When they decided they needed another voice in the house, they transformed the room again; out went the fold-out couch, in came a crib and rocking chair; off went the art gallery prints from the walls, up went Winnie the Pooh. t was no longer a guest room, but a place for the baby, a new --- and permanent --- member of the family.
We always have room for more in our lives. When we are ready for it, what we need for growth will emerge.
What do the rooms inside our homes and ourselves have to tell us about the way we live our lives?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Becoming nothing before God, learn to keep silent; in this silence is the beginning, which is first to seek God's kingdom.
--Soren Kierkegaard
So many devastating things can bring us to our knees. With experience we learn that pain and trouble are part of life. Most of us have fought against everyday realities as if they were our personal enemies. We accepted every challenge, thinking we had to be winners every time. Today we may feel broken by the loss of a love, by a disappointing job experience, or by our powerlessness over a loved one.
In our brokenness we find our true humanity. It is the beginning of our spiritual awakening. As men we thought surrender was a word for losers and weaklings. Living this program teaches us that accepting our brokenness opens us to a new kind of wholeness. After we acknowledge we are not in control of every event in our lives, and after admitting our addiction and codependency have controlled us, we come alive inside with the rich new experience of being a person.
God help me today to learn the spiritual lesson contained in my frustrations and grief.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The universal human yearning [is] for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change. --Willa Cather
The specter of change builds dread in most of us. We fear the effects on our personal lives. We lack faith that the impending change will benefit us. Only time can assure us of that. And it will, just as every change we've survived up to now has done.
Changes are gifts, really. They come as hallmarks to our present attainments. They signify successful growth. How we struggle to understand this, and how quickly we forget it once we have adapted to the change. The struggle is then repeated the next time change visits us.
We long for permanence, believing it guarantees security, not realizing the only real security available to us comes with our trust in God, from whom all change comes as a blessing on the growth we've attained. If we were to experience total lack of change, we'd find death. Life is challenge, continued change, always endurable and growth-enhancing. We can reflect on what's gone before, and trust that which faces us now.
Change means I am progressing, on course.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Opening ourselves to love.
Open ourselves to the love that is available to us.
We do not have to limit our sources of love. God and the Universe have an unlimited supply of what we need, including love.
When we are open to receiving love, we will begin to receive it. It may come from the most surprising places, including from within ourselves.
We will be open to and aware of the love that is and has been there for us all along. We will feel and appreciate the love from friends. We will notice and enjoy the love that comes to us from family.
We will be ready to receive love in our special love relationships too. We do not have to accept love from unsafe people -- people who will exploit us or with whom we don't want to have relationships.
But there is plenty of good love available -- love that heals our heart, meets our needs, and makes our spirit sing.
We have denied ourselves too long. We have been martyrs too long. We have given so much and allowed ourselves to receive too little. We have paid our dues. It is time to continue the chain of giving and receiving by allowing ourselves to receive.
Today' I will open myself to the love that is coming to me from the Universe. I will accept it and enjoy it when it comes.


Today I find healthy ways to express my anger and resentments so that I can be free of them. Today I empty myself of all anger and resentments so that I can let love come into my heart. --Ruth Fishel

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

Journey To The Heart
October 24
Share Your Heart with the World

Share your heart with the world. Share willingly, openly, joyfully what you have seen, what you have learned.

Don’t tell people how you think you should have handled things. That’s shame. It teaches others to feel ashamed,too. Don’t tell people how you wish you had handled things. That’s needless regret that we pass on to others.

Share honestly and openly about yourself, the way you felt, the things you thought. Share how going through your experience changed you. Talk about your resistance, your pain, the imperfect way you did things, the way you handle things now.

Sharing honestly and openly teaches people aroud us the most helpful truth– that the imperfect way we live our lives is right for us at the time. When we love and accept ourselves enough to honestly share who we are, it helps those we touch to believe that they’re good anough,too.

Share your heart with the world and you will bring healing to those you touch.

*****

more language of letting go
What you see isn't always what you get

I was walking through the mall when I saw a photo booth at one of the kiosks. A large green screen hung as a backdrop and the photographer had her subjects stand in front of it in various poses. After taking the photo, she used a computer to paste it into a scene. You might then look like an alligator wrestler, a snowboarder, a hapless adventurer getting run over by his jeep.

What you see is not always what you get. People are not always what they seem. It's easy for others to paint an inaccurate picture either to impress or manipulate us into doing what they want us to do. Understand that while many, even most, of the people in your life will be honest, there will be those who will paint a false picture. They will claim to have experiemce that you don't; they will claim to know the secret of how to live your life; they will claim to be something they're not. They will try to use their self-exalted position to control and manipulate you.

Be aware of people who would manipulate you by pasting themselves into a false background or scene. Don't just take things at face value. Take your time, as much time as you need, to see what the real background is.

Most of us get misled from time to time. Sometimes people con us. Other times we trick ourselves. Let go of naivete.

God, if I start getting conned or manipulated, please show me and help me see the truth.

*****

Avoiding the Center
Hovering Around the Sun by Madisyn Taylor

Quiet time each day is so important, but many are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to be in stillness.

It’s funny to imagine our lives as something we spend a lot of time avoiding, because it seems like that would be impossible to do. Our lives consist of everything we engage in, from showering to sleeping, but also a lot of busy work that distracts us and keeps us from looking at our lives. Experiencing our life from the inside means taking time each day to simply be alone and quiet in the presence of our soul. Many of us are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to have a moment to ourselves. As a result, we may have stopped trying to carve out that time to take a seat at the center of our lives.

One of the reasons it can be uncomfortable to sit with ourselves is because when we do, we tend to open ourselves to an inner voice, which might question the way we’re living or some of the choices we’re making. Sometimes the voice reminds us of our secret, inner yearnings, dreams we thought we had forgotten. When we already feel overwhelmed by our busy schedules, the idea of hearing this voice can be exhausting. However, its reflections are the chords that connect us to our authentic selves, and they are the very things that make our lives worth living. When we continually avoid connecting with our life, we risk losing out on the very purpose of our existence.

To begin the process of being more present and less absent in your life, you might want to set aside just a few minutes each day to simply sit with yourself. This doesn't mean watching a movie or reading a book, but taking time each day for self-examination to avoid the avoidance, to be with yourself in an open way. After a while, you may start to enjoy this part of the day so much that you make less busy work for yourself, so that you can spend more time at the center of your own life, rather than hovering like a planet around the sun.

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

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

So many of us in The Program went through childhood — as well as part of our adult lives — emotionally shackled with the terrible burden called shyness. We found it difficult to walk into crowded rooms, to converse with even our friends, to make eye contact with anyone. The agonies we suffered! We learn in The Program that shyness is just another manifestation of self-centered fear, which is the root of all our character defects. Shyness, specifically, is fear of what others think or might think about us. To our enormous relief, our shyness gradually leaves us as we work The Program and interact with others. Am I aware that I’m okay as long as I don’t concentrate on me?

Today I Pray

God, may I be grateful that I am getting over my shyness, after years of pulling back from people, squirming, blushing, blurting out all the “wrong things” or blurting out all the sayings nothing at all — then reliving the agonies and imagining what I should have said and done. May I know that it has taken a full-blown addiction and a lot of caring people to convince me that I’m Okay — and you’re Okay, he’s Okay, and so is she.

Today I Will Remember

A cure for shyness is caring about someone else.

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

One More Day

We conceal it from oursleves in vain — we must always hav esomething.
–Blaise Pascal

Not knowing how to love may imperil our very existence. Although love doesn’t literally nourish our bodies, not being able to love strips us of our humanness.

Romantic love is only one part of our capacity to love, for there is also the ability to love our friends, family, and our fellow human beings. The ripple effect of our well-being will spread, both within us and from us, and we will begin to nourish our souls as well.

We also learn to love ourselves — all that we are. Self-love enhances our self-image. A strong sense of esteem enhances our entire lives.

I need to love and be loved. It is essential to my psychic well-being that I understand the importance of loving.

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

Food For Thought

Accepting God's Will

Disappointments and hurts can send us into an orgy of self-pity if we are not willing to accept them as part of our Higher Power's plan. We do not understand why we must suffer disappointments and frustrations, but trusting God means that we accept our share of this world's pain.

When we look back on former disappointments, we are often able to see that what we so desperately wanted at the time would not have been the best thing for us. Our vision and judgment are limited. Faith that God is managing our lives according to His purposes can relieve us of unnecessary hurt and frustration.

To accept God's will is not to passively absorb all that happens to us like an inert sponge. It is to actively seek knowledge of His plan for our lives and to purposefully work according to the knowledge we receive. Acceptance is positive and cooperative.

Your will is what I seek to accept.

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

One Day At A Time

FEAR
“Fear is not created by the world around us,
but in the mind, by what we think is going to happen.”
Elizabeth Gawain

There are different kinds of fear. Certain fears are good, because they help preserve our lives. Babies, for example, have a fear of falling. It just seems to be a natural instinct. Any fear that protects us from harming ourselves is a good fear.

However, when fear becomes an obsession, it is getting out of hand. Why do we go looking for trouble? There is a saying, “Don’t let clouds of fear of the morrow hide today’s sunshine.” We can get so anxious about what’s going to happen in the future that we don’t enjoy living today.

Life is a precious gift to be lived one day at a time, and is to be shared with others.

One Day at a Time . . .
This is how I will live my life: One day at a time, one moment at a time, sharing my precious gift with another through Twelve Step giving.
Lizzie

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

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

In this book you read again and again that faith did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We hope you are convinced now that God can remove whatever self-will has blocked you off from Him. If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning. That being so you have swallowed and digested some big chunks of truth about yourself. - Pgs. 70-71 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

One of the things you will notice about our fellowship is that we hug a lot. Often this makes newcomers uncomfortable because they are not used to being given love and attention without serious strings attached. There are no strings, we just simply love you.

Give me the courage to hug the next clean and sober person I see.

Entering the Darkness

Today, I will allow myself to enter into the dark and searing painful experiences of my past, and cry it all out. If I can bring emotional literacy and forgiveness into the 'occupied territory' of my inner world, I can give myself the freedom I desire. I have a world within me that is deep and peaceful. The grief that I carry hidden in silence has great feelings in the present, and I release them. There is no longer any safety for me in hiding. My security comes from full awareness and acceptance of who I am. Until I understand my grief and allow myself to know it, I will not be free of its grip.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

You cannot go back and make new choices or change the outcome of the past. But you can face the demons of your past and change your destiny.

Not everything I face can be changed, but nothing can be changed until I face it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If anyone speaks badly of you, live so no one will believe it.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I find healthy ways to express my anger and resentments so that I can be free of them. Today I empty myself of all anger and resentments so that I can love come into my heart.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Until I make peace with what I am I'll never be content with what I have. - Burt S.

[bluidkiti]

October 25

Daily Reflections

A.A.'s HEARTBEAT

Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; . . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 125

Without unity I would be unable to recover in A.A. on a daily basis. By practicing unity
within my group, with other A.A. members and at all levels of this great Fellowship, I
receive a pronounced feeling of knowing that I am a part of a miracle that was divinely
inspired. The ability of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, working together and passing it on to other
members, tells me that to give it away is to keep it. Unity is oneness and yet the whole
Fellowship is for all of us.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Fifth, I have learned to live one day at a time. I have finally realized the great fact that all
I have is now. This sweeps away all vain regret and it makes my thoughts of the future
free of fear. Now is mine. I can do what I want with it. I own it, for better or worse. What I
do now, in this present moment, is what makes up my life. My whole life is only a
succession of nows. I will take this moment, which has been given to me by the grace of
God, and I will do something with it. What I do with each now, will make me or break me.
Am I living in the now?

Meditation For The Day

We should work at overcoming ourselves, our selfish desires and our self-centeredness.
This can never be fully accomplished. We can never become entirely unselfish. But we
can come to realize that we are not at the center of the universe and that everything does
not revolve around us at the center. I am only one cell in a vast network of human cells. I
can at least make the effort to conquer the self-life and seek daily to obtain more and
more of this self-conquest. "He that overcomes himself is greater than he who conquers a
city."

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may strive to overcome my selfishness. I pray that I may achieve the right
perspective of my position in the world.

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

As Bill Sees It

Daily Inventory, p. 296

Often, as we review each day, only the closest scrutiny will reveal
what our true motives were. There are cases where our ancient
enemy rationalization has stepped in and has justified conduct which
was really wrong. The temptation here is to imagine that we had
good motives and reasons when we really hadn't.

We "constructively criticized" someone who needed it, when our
real motive was to win a useless argument. Or, the person concerned
not being present, we thought we were helping others to
understand him, when in actuality our true motive was to feel
superior by pulling him down.

We hurt those we loved because they needed to be "taught a
lesson," but we really wanted to punish. We were depressed and
complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for
sympathy and attention.

12 & 12, p. 94

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

Walk In Dry Places

Different routes to alcoholism
Understanding powerlessness
While alcoholics have much in common, the personal stories heard at AA open meetings show that we took different routes to alcoholism. Some became out-of-control drinkers almost from the beginning. Others lost control slowly after years of seemingly moderate drinking.
These differences are underscored by the fact that we also differ in physical and emotional traits. Some alcoholics, for example, were so emotionally disturbed that they became problem drinkers from the very start. Some appeared to "have it all together," yet became alcoholics after retirement or some other change in life patterns.
Whatever the route taken, we share in common our individual powerlessness at the time we knocked on AA's door. And the solution for each of us was the same: sobriety in AA.
The risk in listening to such different personal accounts is that some of us twist these differences into "proof" that we are not alcoholics. The reward of such sharing , however, is learning that we do have a common problem and that there is a solution that fits everyone, in spite of our diffences.
I'll remember today that I came to AA because I was powerless over alcohol. That has not changed.

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

Keep It Simple

Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighbor.---Louise Beal
In our program, we learn a lot about loving ourselves. Then we start to see how this helps us love our neighbors. We learn to love ourselves honestly, seeing our strengths and our weaknesses. We learn to see others honestly . We learn how much to trust ourselves and when to get extra help. We learn how much to trust others too. We learn to love ourselves with a love that’s honest and challenging. We learn to love others this way too. We learn to care about others without losing our common sense. We learn to protect our spirits from harm.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see others clearly. Help me love them. But help me choose carefully who I trust.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list three people I trust the most, and I’ll write down why.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Love has the quality of informing almost everything--even one's work. --Sylvia Ashton-Warner
We are changed through loving and being loved. Our attitudes are profoundly and positively affected by the presence of love in our lives. Each time we offer a loving response to a friend, co-worker, even a stranger, we powerfully influence the dynamics of the interaction between us.
Every response we make to someone changes us while it informs him or her. When we treat others with disdain, we invite the same. When we express only criticism of others, our self-assessment is equally negative. The beauty of a loving posture is that it calls forth love in response. The more love we give away, the more we receive.
Any task before us is lessened when we carry love in our hearts. Love is more powerful than fear. Love helps to open the channel to God, assuring us of the strength, the understanding, and the patience needed to complete any assignment confronting us.
God loves me, unconditionally. And I will experience the reality of that love the more I give it away. Love wants to change me--and it can.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Foreword To Fourth Edition

While our literature has preserved the integrity of the A.A. message, sweeping changes in society as a whole are reflected in new customs and practices within the Fellowship. Taking advantage of technological advances, for example, A.A. members with computers can participate in meetings online, sharing with fellow alcoholics across the country or around the world. In any meeting, anywhere, A.A.’s share experience, strength, and hope with each other, in order to stay sober and help other alcoholics. Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A.A.’s speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity.

p. xxiv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

I don't remember getting home that night, and I woke up next morning completely dressed and in full makeup. I was sick as a dog, but I managed to crawl into the shower and prepare for my first college class. I sat through the entire class pleading with my eyes to the professor to let us out early. He kept us to the bell, and when it rang, I flew into the women's room, crashed into the first stall, and threw everything up.

p. 320

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable. "

We know that little good can come to any alcoholic who joins A.A. unless he has first accepted his devastating weakness and all its consequences. Until he so humbles himself, his sobriety--if any--will be precarious. Of real happiness he will find none at all. Proved beyond doubt by an immense experience, this is one of the facts of A.A. life. The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.

pp. 21-22

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"Be the change you want to see in the world."
--Mohandas Ghandi

Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet.
--German Proverb

It doesn't take a lot of effort to know the needs of another person. By helping others you
are helping yourself.
--unknown

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln

In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.
--unknown

Learn to enjoy little things; there are so many of them!
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FLEXIBILITY

"Better bend than break."
-- Scottish Proverb

Dis-ease: to be controlling, stiff, uncomfortable and unbending.

Sobriety: being relaxed, comfortable and flexible in my personal life and my interaction
with others.

Life: not a race but an experience; it is not an exercise but an adventure.

Before I accepted my alcoholism, I went through periods of "dryness" --- when I was
rigid, stiff and unbending. It was awful! Everything became a test, a job, a
premeditated act behind a mask of cheerfulness. I was angry, resentful and in pain. My
problem was that I stopped drinking to please other people, rather than accept the
true nature of my disease. Dryness is controlled denial.

Today the sobriety I have gained from an acceptance of self has overflowed into an
acceptance of life on life's terms --- and I am happy.

Let the wind of experience continue to bend me in the knowledge of Your love.

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"From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord's name is to be praised."
Psalms 113:3

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things
grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be
rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's
field, God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:7-9

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight
yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:3-4

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts the burdens of those bent
beneath their loads. The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD protects the foreigners
among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The
LORD will reign forever.
Psalm 146:8-10

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Daily Inspiration

Treat your family as you would treat a best friend. Lord, help me to treasure my family with all of their imperfections as well as my own and cherish the time we have together.

There is no real happiness without God and no peace when we separate ourselves from Him. Lord, You said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you". I give you my troubled heart.

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NA Just For Today

Principles Before Personalities

"Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

Twelfth Tradition

"Principles before personalities." Many of us chant these words along with the reader whenever the Twelve Traditions are read. The fact that these words have become a cliche of sorts doesn't make them any less important, either in service or in our lives. These words are an affirmation: "We listen to our conscience and do what's right, no matter who's involved." And that principle serves as one of the cornerstones of recovery as well as our traditions.

What does "principles before personalities" really mean? It means we practice honesty, humility, compassion, tolerance, and patience with everyone, whether we like them or not. Putting principles before personalities teaches us to treat everyone equally. The Twelfth Step asks us to apply principles in all our affairs; the Twelfth Tradition suggests we apply them to our relations with everyone.

Practicing principles doesn't stop with our friends or when we leave a meeting. It's for every day, for everyone… in all areas of our lives.

Just for today: I will listen to my conscience and do what's right. My focus will be on principles, not on people's personalities.

pg. 311

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I love him and I cannot seem to find him. --Ovid
Where can we find the ones we love? Do they always live in our world, or do we have to go out of our way? They often are not at home; we can find them at their work. Their play is different from ours; we could try having their kind of fun.
Too often, we look only for friends who are much like ourselves, and we tend to avoid those who are not. This kind of narrow-mindedness isn't fair to others or ourselves. We are each unique, like the pieces of a puzzle. We are each necessary to the whole picture.
When we go out of our way to know someone else better, we stretch our own boundaries; we give ourselves new space in which to grow.
What part of my life can I discover in someone new today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection; the water has no mind to receive their image. --Zenrin poem
There are moments which simply happen through no conscious intention or will on anyone's part. The image of an old woman with a peaceful face, the smell of smoke rising from a chimney on a chilly night, the knowing look of recognition from a friend as we make a comment, the special feeling of a touch. These are spiritual moments because they reach a deeper part of our being. They are like a sliver in time set aside which nourishes our souls and adds serenity to our lives.
We grow when we learn to notice these kinds of moments. In our willfulness, we have often missed them before because we simply were not open to anything we weren't already looking for. This world is so much larger than the human mind. In recovery, we can take time to admire the beauty reflected around us.
Today, I will let the rest of life intrude upon my mind. I will let myself be nourished by what comes along.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love has the quality of informing almost everything--even one's work. --Sylvia Ashton-Warner
We are changed through loving and being loved. Our attitudes are profoundly and positively affected by the presence of love in our lives. Each time we offer a loving response to a friend, co-worker, even a stranger, we powerfully influence the dynamics of the interaction between us.
Every response we make to someone changes us while it informs him or her. When we treat others with disdain, we invite the same. When we express only criticism of others, our self-assessment is equally negative. The beauty of a loving posture is that it calls forth love in response. The more love we give away, the more we receive.
Any task before us is lessened when we carry love in our hearts. Love is more powerful than fear. Love helps to open the channel to God, assuring us of the strength, the understanding, and the patience needed to complete any assignment confronting us.
God loves me, unconditionally. And I will experience the reality of that love the more I give it away. Love wants to change me--and it can.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Letting Go of the Past
... in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them. --Ps. 139:16
Some people believe that each of our days were planned, Divinely Ordered, before we were born. God knew, they say, and planned exactly what was to transpire.
Others suggest we chose, we participated in planning our life - the events, the people, the circumstances that were to take place, in order to work through our issues and learn the lessons we needed to master.
Whatever our philosophy, our interpretation can be similar: Our past is neither an accident nor a mistake. We have been where we needed to be, with the necessary people. We can embrace our history, with its pain, its imperfections, and its mistakes, even its tragedies. It is uniquely ours; it was intended just for us.
Today, we are right where we need to be. Our present circumstances are exactly as they need to be - for now.
Today, I will let go of my guilt and fear about my past and present circumstances. I will trust that where I have been and where I am now are right for me.


No matter how busy I think I am, I will share a part of me with someone else today. I am discovering the joy of giving and I will take the time to stop and share a part of me. I am learning to trust the positive and loving people. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 25
Replenish Yourself

Some of us don’t know how tired we are until we try to relax. Then we realize we’re exhausted.

We may have lived with exhaustion and stress so long it’s become habitual. That doesn’t mean we’re bad or wrong, or even off track. Many of us are deeply involved in activities, work, projects, and relationships we enjoy. We like our lives and the things we’re doing. But sometimes we’ve pushed too hard or too long. Sometimes we haven’t given our bodies adequate time to relax, to rest, to really let go.

It’s all right to take time out. Relax. Refresh. Regroup. It’s all right to rest even if we’re busy, rest often enough to keep ourselves replenished. Get in touch with your body, then stay in touch with yourself.

Find out how tired you are. Then let your body tell you what it needs to come back to life and love.

*****

more language of letting go
Stop tricking yourself

Even the best of us get tricked from time to time. Someone comes along and impresses us with magic. Later we discover it wasn't magic, just illusions.

Sometimes the issue isn't that people were trying to trick us. We tricked ourselves. We saw what we wanted to see, regardless of what reality was. Then, when reality started to creep in, we told ourselves if we held our breath and didn't feel our feelings and hoped long and hard enough, reality would change.

We don't have to get mad at ourselves when we get tricked, even if we've fooled ourselves. We need to see and acknowledge the truth and become aware of what reality is.

Don't let our embarrassment over finding yourself in a bad situation cloud your view of yourself. Sometimes all we need to do is acknowledge the truth, including the truth about how we feel. In a few days or a few months, the solution will become clear.

When all the illusions drop away, that's when real magic begins. You'll be guided along your path.

God, help me remember that when I admit and accept the truth, I'll be given the power and guidance to change.

*****

Big Steps On Life's Path
Being Aware is the First Step by Madisyn Taylor

There is freedom that comes with awareness, because with it comes the opportunity to make a choice.

Life is a journey comprised of many steps on our personal path that takes us down a winding road of constant evolution. And each day, we are provided with a myriad of opportunities that can allow us to transform into our next best selves. One moment we are presented with an opportunity to react differently when yet another someone in our life rubs us the wrong way; on another day we may find ourselves wanting to walk away from a particular circumstance but are not sure if we can. Eventually, we may find ourselves stuck in a rut that we can never seem to get out of. We may even make the same choices over and over again because we don’t know how to choose otherwise. Rather than moving us forward, our personal paths may take us in a seemingly never-ending circle where our actions and choices lead us nowhere but to where we’ve already been. It is during these moments that awareness can be the first step to change.

Awareness is when we are able to realize what we are doing. We observe ourselves, noticing our reactions, actions, and choices as if we were a detached viewer. Awareness is the first step to change because we can’t make a change unless we are aware that one needs to be made in the first place. We can then begin understanding why we are doing what we are doing. Afterward, it becomes difficult not to change because we are no longer asleep to the truth behind our behaviors. We also begin to realize that, just as much as we are the root source behind the causes for our behaviors, we are also the originator for any changes that we want to happen.

There is a freedom that comes with awareness. Rather than thinking that we are stuck in a repetitive cycle where there is no escape, we begin to see that we very much play a hand in creating our lives. Whether we are aware of them or not, our behaviors and choices are always ours to make. Our past and our present no longer have to dictate our future when we choose to be aware. We are then free to move beyond our old limits, make new choices, and take new actions. With awareness, our paths can’t help but wind us forward in our lives while paving the way for new experiences and new ways of being. It is through awareness that we can continue to consciously evolve. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

My addictions were like thieves in more ways than I can count. They robbed me not only of money, property and other material things, but of dignity and self-respect, while my family and friends suffered right along with me. My addictions also robbed me of the ability to treat myself properly, as God would treat me. Today, in total contrast, I’m capable of true love of self — to the extent that I’m able to provide myself with more love than even I need. So I give that love away to other people in The Program, just as they have given their love to me. Do I thank God for their love to me. Do I thank God for bringing me to a Program in which sick people are loved back to health?

Today I Pray

Thanks be to God for a way of life which generates such love and caring that we in The Program can’t help but learn to love ourselves. When I see that someone cares about me, I am more apt to be convinced that perhaps I am, after all, worth caring about. May I be conscious always of the love I am now able to give — and give it.

Today I Will Remember

Someone caring about me makes me feel worth caring about.

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One More Day

The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you have left when anything happens.
–Ethel Barrymore

Now is a good time for us to pursue our interest and to nurture both new and old relationships. We understands so well how easily and quickly our circumstances can change. This understanding nudges us to expand our experience.

No one of us is immune from the troubles of life. Whether the problem is loss of a job or loss of a home, good health, or a dear friend, we all suffer at one time or another. Keeping our lives as full as possible with the love of good people and the challenge of activities provides support even when times get tough.

Tragedies and hard times will affect me, but I know I have the ability to move on.

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Food For Thought

Abstaining from Harmful Relationships

Habit sometimes locks us into relationships, which are not in our best interest. It is easy to mistake dependency for love. When we stop overeating compulsively, we can evaluate our attachments to other people with greater clarity and perception than was possible when we continually escaped into food.

Our OA friends act as sounding boards for us as we try to sort out the healthy from the unhealthy relationships in our lives. We may find that for our continued growth we need to move away from old emotional entanglements, which are hampering our progress with the program. Abstaining from a harmful relationship can be as difficult at first as abstaining from compulsive overeating! The same physical restraint is necessary to keep ourselves from following old habit patterns.

By taking Step Three, we make all of our relationships with other people subject to the will of our Higher Power. When God comes first, other loves fall into their proper places.

Show me how to love.

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One Day At A Time

Courage
“If you're going through hell, keep going.”
Winston Churchill

Recovery work takes great courage. Everyone who tells you differently has not explored themselves in great depth.

It takes great courage for many of us to get up each morning to face a day of physical challenge. Others feel the pull of emotions, job, or family issues.

If but for today, reach inside and give yourself a big hug for being willing to hang on one minute longer. That minute will turn into moments, and before you know it, you will have lived out the Program message, “One day at a time."

One day at a time...
I will honor and celebrate the courage shown in working this program.
~ January K.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The spiritual life is not a theory. WE HAVE TO LIVE IT. - Pg. 83 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes reality slaps us right in the face. We may be out of money, facing jail, losing a loved one, or hating our circumstances. However, right this hour we have only one true reality: SOBRIETY. Without sobriety all the above only gets worse!

I make contact with Divine Intelligence so that I am not preoccupied with things outside my control. I want to remember why I am here.

Prayer and Miracles

Today, I will pray for a miracle in a situation that seems too much for me to handle or understand. There are times when I just don't have what it takes to work out a situation. I'm too loaded up with fears and anxieties. What could it hurt to pray for a little divine guidance or intervention? At the very least, it will help ease my burden; and at best, it will aid in a genuine shift in perception that might truly help my situation. When I feel stuck and as if I have explored every option and am still nowhere, I will pray for a miracle.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

On the way to becoming an old-timer, there are those who glow in their growing and those who are slow in their growing. The person who glows is always able to see the larger picture and the one who doesn't stays focused in their own little world. See yourself as a small part of a magnificent whole and do not see self as the whole.

The fellowship is not my whole world but my world wouldn't be whole without it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Acknowledge your tallcomings along with your shortcomings.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

No matter how busy I think I am, I will share a part of me with someone else today. I am discovering the joy of giving and I will take the time to stop and share a part of me. I am learning to trust the positive and loving people.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm so grateful to be here fully clothed and in my right mind and not crawling around in a jail cell on my hands and knees like an animal. - Johnny H.

[bluidkiti]

October 26

Daily Reflections

ONE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY

For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may
express Himself in our group conscience.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 132

When I am chosen to carry some small responsibility for my fellows, I ask that God grant
me the patience, open-mindedness, and willingness to listen to those I would lead. I must
remind myself that I am the trusted servant of others, not their "governor," "teacher,"
or "instructor." God guides my words and my actions, and my responsibility is to heed
His suggestions. Trust is my watchword, I trust others who lead. In the Fellowship of
A.A., I entrust God with the ultimate authority of "running the show."

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Sixth, I have A.A. meetings to go to, thank God. Where would I go without them?
Where would I be without them? Where would I find the sympathy, the understanding, the
fellowship, the companionship? Nowhere else in the world. I have come home. I have
found the place where I belong. I no longer wander alone over the face of the earth. I am
at peace and at rest. What a great gift has been given me by A.A.! I do not deserve it.
But it is nevertheless mine. I have a home at last. I am content. Do I thank God
everyday for the A.A. Fellowship?

Meditation For The Day

Walk all the way with another person and with God. Do not go part of the way and then
stop. Do not push God so far into the background that He has no effect on your life. Walk
all the way with Him. Make a good companion of God, by praying to Him often during the
day. Do not let your contact with Him be broken for too long a period. Work all the way
with God and with other people, along the path of life, wherever it may lead you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may walk in companionship with God along the way. I pray that I may keep
my feet upon the path that leads upward.

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As Bill Sees It

A VISION OF THE WHOLE, p. 297

"Though many of us have had to struggle for sobriety, never yet
has this Fellowship had to struggle for lost unity. Consequently,
we sometimes take this one great gift for granted. We forget that,
should we lose our unity, the millions of alcoholics who still 'do not
know' might never get their chance.

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"We used to be skeptical about large A.A. gatherings like conventions,
thinking they might prove too exhibitionistic. But, on balance, their
benefit is huge. While each A.A.'s interest should center principally in
those about him and upon his own group, it is both necessary and
desirable that we all get a larger vision of the whole.

"The General Service Conference in New York also produces this
effect upon those who attend. It is a vision-stretching process."

1. Letter, 1949
2. Letter, 1956

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Walk In Dry Places

Who is an Alcoholic?
AA's mission
Though AA's avowed mission is to carry its message to alcoholics, the fellowship does not really have a one-size-fits-all definition of alcoholism. This has created some confusion when nonalcoholics inadvertently show up at meetings that are supposed to be for alcoholics only, or when people with other addictions seek AA's help. A few groups even insist that people must declare themselves alcoholics in order to participate in a "closed" meeting.
But who is an alcoholic? The AA pioneers were not insistent that people should immediately declare themselves alcoholics in order to receive help. Newcomers were invited to attend meetings and then decide for themselves if they were alcoholics and needed the program. In today's environment, we have the added factor that troubled people might be addicted to both drugs and alcohol. Such cross-addiction, in fact, seems to be a strong trend. We also know that any alcoholic can easily become cross-addicted if he or she uses other drugs.
Our best course is to keep the door open for any person who comes to AA sincerely desiring help. If people find their answer in AA, they probably belong in the fellowship.
I'll be grateful today that I was able to admit that I had a problem and needed AA's help. I'll accept others just as I was accepted. To stay sober and grow in the program. I do not need to define alcoholism for anybody other myself.

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Keep It Simple

Nobody give you freedom. Malcolm X
We were not free. We were prisoners of our illness. What our illness wanted, we give itour dignity, our self-respect, even our families. Our prison walls were made of denial,
false pride, and self-will run riot. Now we know that brick walls don’t have to stop us. We don’t have to bang our heads on them.
Slowly, we’re learning about freedom. We’re learning that freedom. We’re learning that freedom comes from within. It comes when we think clearly and make our own choices.
It comes when we follow a better way of life. It comes when we take care of ourselves. It comes when we take responsibility. The key to freedom is in loving our Higher Power.
Do you choose freedom?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, show me how to walk away from a wall or go around it. But teach me to stop and think when I get to a wall. Maybe it’s there for my safety.
Today’s Action: Today I’ll think about all the freedom I have given myself by living a sober way of life.

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Each Day a New Beginning

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever-changing view. --Carole King
Every event of our lives is contributing a rich thread to our personal tapestry. Each of us is weaving one unique to ourselves, but all of our tapestries are complementary. We need others' rich designs in order to create our own.
We seldom have the foresight to understand the worth, the ultimate value of a particular circumstance at its beginning. But hindsight offers us clarity. It's good to reflect on the many circumstances that failed to thrill us; in all cases we can now see why we needed them. As our trust in God and the goodness of all experiences grows, we'll more quickly respond with gladness when situations are fresh. No experience is meant for harm. We are coming to understand that, even though on occasion we forget.
Practicing gratitude will help us more fully appreciate what has been offered us. Being grateful influences our attitude; it softens our harsh exterior and takes the threat out of most new situations.
If I greet the day, glad to be alive, I will be gladdened by all the experiences in store for me. Each is making a necessary contribution to my wholeness.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

WE OF Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the reader will be interested in the medical estimate of the plan of recovery described in this book. Convincing testimony must surely come from medical men who have had experience with the sufferings of our members and have witnessed our return to health.

p. xxv

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Student Of Life

Living at home with her parents, she tried using willpower to beat the obsession to drink. But it wasn't until she met another alcoholic and went to an A.A. meeting that sobriety took hold.

The insanity of the disease had already manifested itself. I recall thinking, as I knelt retching in the stall, that this was fantastic. Life was great; I had finally found the answer--alcohol! Yes, I overdid it the night before, but I was new to this game. I only had to learn how to drink right and I was set.

p. 320

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable. "

When first challenged to admit defeat, most of us revolted. We had approached A.A. expecting to be taught self-confidence. Then we had been told that so far as alcohol is concerned, self-confidence was no good whatever; in fact, it was a total liability. Our sponsors declared that we were the victims of a mental obsession so subtly powerful that no amount of human willpower could break it. There was, they said, no such thing as the personal conquest of this compulsion by the unaided will. Relentlessly deepening our dilemma, our sponsors pointed out our increasing sensitivity to alcohol--an allergy, they called it. The tyrant alcohol wielded a double-edged sword over us: first we were smitten by an insane urge that condemned us to go on drinking, and then by an allergy of the body that insured we would ultimately destroy ourselves in the process. Few indeed were those who, so assailed, had ever won through in single-handed combat. It was a statistical fact that alcoholics almost never recovered on their own resources. And this had been true, apparently, ever since man had first crushed grapes.

p. 22

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"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time."
--Rabbinical Saying

It's amazing how well I feel when I'm not thinking about myself.
--Bob Y

"Appreciate people. Nothing gives more joy than appreciation."
--Ruth Smeltzer

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

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
--Kahlil Gibran

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

KINDNESS

"Kindness in words creates
confidence. Kindness in thinking
creates profoundness. Kindness
in giving creates love."
-- Lao-tzu

It costs me nothing to say "hello" and yet it might make all the difference to my
neighbor. It costs me nothing to give a hug and yet that hug might make all the
difference to a friend. It costs me nothing to listen to anothers pain and yet the
listening might make all the difference to another person.

Love is to be found in the small, ordinary acts of kindness as well as in the
extravagant gesture. I need to seek God in the everyday happenings of life alongside
the "religious". Spirituality is in the smile that is real!

Today I know that I give only what I received --- and I received a great deal. People
loved me enough to be patient, they cared enough to telephone, they encouraged me
with the gentle word of hope: I am in the flow.

Lord, You have created this wondrous patterned fabric of life --- may I find You in its
smallest detail.

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

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

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God..."
Ephesians 2:8

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Daily Inspiration

You have the choice to do or not to do and realizing this allows you to accomplish more than you thought possible. Lord, help me make wise decisions with my time and not allow the pressures of life to drain my effectiveness.

Often times that which we find difficult is that which teaches. Lord, may I always be able to see the good that comes from even my trials.

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NA Just For Today

The Path To Self-Acceptance

"The most effective means of achieving self-acceptance is through applying the Twelve Steps of recovery."

IP No.19, "Self-Acceptance"

Our addiction has been a source of shame to many of us. We have hidden ourselves from others, sure that if anyone got to know who we really were they would reject us. NA helps us learn self-acceptance.

Many of us find a great deal of relief just from attending meetings, hearing fellow addicts share their stories, and discovering that others have felt the same way we feel about ourselves. When others share honestly with us who they are, we feel free to do the same. As we learn to tell others the truth about ourselves, we learn to accept ourselves.

Self-disclosure, however, is only the beginning. Once we've shared the things that make us uncomfortable with our lives, we need to find a different way to live - and that's where the steps come in. We develop a concept of a Higher Power. We inventory our lives, in detail, and discuss our inventory with our sponsor. We ask the God of our understanding to remove our character defects, the shortcomings that are the source of our troubles. We take responsibility for the things we've done and make amends for them. And we incorporate all these disciplines into our daily lives, "practicing these principles in all our affairs."

By working the steps, we can become people we are proud to be. We can freely tell the truth about ourselves, for we have nothing to hide.

Just for today: I will walk the path to self-acceptance. I will show up, tell the truth, and work the steps.

pg. 312

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Whoever is happy will make others happy, too. --Anne Frank
Anne Frank had good reason to be unhappy, full of fear, and deeply discouraged. Years of her life were spent in a small apartment hiding from the Nazis who wanted to destroy her and her family. Yet even in this little hiding place she had happiness. It was something she had inside which did not depend on what happened around her. She had riches of the heart. She had faith that kept her going. She had love and concern for her family and others, which made even a restricted life very rich with feelings. It is tempting to believe that we will be happy when we have something outside ourselves, which will make us happy. But happiness is not something we have to find outside; the seeds are in our hearts already.
What happiness can I find in my latest setback?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. --D. Elton Trueblood
Our lives are enriched by the contributions of those who lived before us. Many men and women gave more than they ever took from society, and now we enjoy the rewards. Some people were fired with a spirit to beautify the world and planted trees that will live for 200 years. Others wrote music that speaks to us from another generation, and others established a government that guides our principles of justice. They gave so much because they knew they were a part of their community and the world.
Most of us cannot make the great contributions that will make us famous, but we enrich our lives when we contribute freely to improving our community and the world. We do that when we simply say hello to our neighbor, when we serve on a volunteer cleanup committee for a local park, and when we do Twelfth Step work in the program. We too have beautified and contributed to the world, and that gives us a feeling of peace and self-respect.
Today, I will appreciate all that comes freely to me from others, and I will give what I can to make the world a better place.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever-changing view. --Carole King
Every event of our lives is contributing a rich thread to our personal tapestry. Each of us is weaving one unique to ourselves, but all of our tapestries are complementary. We need others' rich designs in order to create our own.
We seldom have the foresight to understand the worth, the ultimate value of a particular circumstance at its beginning. But hindsight offers us clarity. It's good to reflect on the many circumstances that failed to thrill us; in all cases we can now see why we needed them. As our trust in God and the goodness of all experiences grows, we'll more quickly respond with gladness when situations are fresh. No experience is meant for harm. We are coming to understand that, even though on occasion we forget.
Practicing gratitude will help us more fully appreciate what has been offered us. Being grateful influences our attitude; it softens our harsh exterior and takes the threat out of most new situations.
If I greet the day, glad to be alive, I will be gladdened by all the experiences in store for me. Each is making a necessary contribution to my wholeness.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Clarity
I know better than to not trust God., But sometimes, I forget that.
When we are in the midst of an experience, it is easy to forget that there is a Plan. Sometimes, all we can see is today.
If we were to watch only two minutes of the middle of a television program, it would make little sense. It would be a disconnected event.
If we were to watch a weaver sewing a tapestry for only a few moments, and focused on only a small piece of the work, it would not look beautiful. It would look like a few peculiar threads randomly placed.
How often we use that same, limited perspective to look at our life - especially when we are going through a difficult time.
We can learn to have perspective when we are going through those confusing, difficult learning times. When we are being pelted by events that make us feel, think, and question, we are in the midst of learning something important.
We can trust that something valuable is being worked out in us - even when things are difficult, even when we cannot get our bearings. Insight and clarity do not come until we have mastered our lesson.
Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised to grow strong. Repeated experiences of having to trust what we can't see and repeated experiences of learning to trust that things will work out are what makes our faith muscles grow strong.
Today, I will trust that the events in my life are not random. My experiences are not a mistake. The Universe, my Higher Power, and life are not picking on me. I am going through what I need to go through to learn something valuable, something that will prepare me for the joy and love I am seeking.


I am learning to trust the positive and loving people in my life today. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
October 26
Let the World Help You Open Up

The universe is gentle, loving, benevolent, full of gifts, full of life, full of love. Don’t worry if you feel scared, or if you feel yourself closing down to life’s magic. That feeling won’t last long. It won’t last forever.

Take a walk. Touch a tree, hug it until your fear subsides. Feel the earth under your feet. Watch a sunrise. Ask the universe and God to help you open up. Say it aloud. Then watch what happens. Go where your heart leads, where your inner voice directs you to go. You will find yourself in circumstances that bring you back to your heart.

The universe will help you open up. It will do all it can, lovingly, gently, and with care. It will teach you all you need to know, help you learn all you came here to learn. It will guide you and lead you, open doors and shut windows, until you reach your destination– an open heart and a soul aligned with love.

*****

more language of letting go
Be aware of how you feel

What happened today? How did you feel about it?

Just like all those stuffed feelings from childhood that we could nor deal with then, any feelings that we repress or deny today don't go away. They linger in our energy field until we give them their due. Sometimes these repressed feelings block our view of the truth.

For many of us, resisting our feelings is an ancient pattern and a habitual way of life. Take your time to debrief from your day, but don't just say what you did and what you liked. Say how you felt about each thing that occurred.

You might make a discovery that surprises even you. You don't necessarily have to tell the other person how you feel, but you might. For certain, you at least need to tell yourself.

Today is just a simple reminder of something you already know. Be aware each day of what happens. And be aware of how you feel.

God, help me remember that it's okay to be who I am and feel what I feel, No matter what those feelings are. Remind me when I believe my feelings are a nuisance that they're the key to my power.

*****

Hard Learned Lessons
Bad Days by Madisyn Taylor

We all have bad days and within these days is usually a gem of a gift waiting to be opened.

We all have days from time to time when it feels like the world is against us or that the chaos we are experiencing will never end. One negative circumstance seems to lead to another. You may wonder, on a bad day, whether anything in your life will ever go right again. But a bad day, like any other day, can be a gift. Having a bad day can show you that it is time to slow down, change course, or lighten up. A bad day can help you glean wisdom you might otherwise have overlooked or discounted. Bad days can certainly cause you to experience uncomfortable feelings you would prefer to avoid, yet a bad day may also give you a potent means to learn about yourself.

You may consider a bad day to be one where you’ve missing an important meeting because your car stalled, the dryer broke, and you received a piece of very bad news earlier in the morning. Multiple misfortunes that take place one after the other can leave us feeling vulnerable and intensely cognizant of our fragility. But bad days can only have a long-term negative effect on us if we let them. It is better to ask yourself what you can learn from these kinds of days. The state of your bad day may be an indicator that you need to stay in and hibernate or let go of your growing negativity.

Bad days contribute to the people we become. Though we may feel discouraged and distressed on our bad days, a bad day can teach us patience and perseverance. It is important to remember that your attitude drives your destiny and that one negative experience does not have to be the beginning of an ongoing stroke of bad luck. A bad day is memorable because it is one day among many good days – otherwise, we wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge it as a bad day. Know too, that everybody has bad days, you are not alone, the world is not against you. Tomorrow is guaranteed to be a brighter day. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

From time to time when I see the slogan, But for The Grace of God, I remember how I used to mouth those words when I saw others whose addictions had brought them to what I considered a “hopeless and helpless” state. The slogan had long been a cop-out for me, reinforcing my denial of my own addiction by enabling me to point to others seemingly worse off than I. “9if I ever get like that, I’ll quit,” was my on-repeated refrain. Today, instead, But for the Grace of God has become my prayer of thankfulness, reminding me to be grateful to my Higher Power for my recovery, my life, and the way of life I’ve found in The Program. Was anyone ever more “hopeless and helpless: than I?

Today I Pray

May I know that “but for The grace of God.” I could be dead or insane by now, because there have been others who wanted on addictive paths when I did who are no longer here. May that same grace of God help those who are still caught in the downward spin, who are heading for disaster as sure as gravity.

Today I Will Remember

I have seen God’s amazing Grace.

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One More Day

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
– Mark Twain

Even as we approached young adulthood, we clung to our dreams about the future. In those days it may have seemed to us that anything was possible.

It’s not immature to hold on to a dream, even when we know the dream is unlikely to come true. Bald men wish for a full head of hair. Some of us wish we still had young skin. Even through a long-term medical condition has become part of our lives, many of us still hold on to the illusions of our own health being restored.

Now we have a few more years — or decades — behind us. We accept that some things are possible and some are not. Most of us are comfortable with the knowledge. And still we hope.

I hold dearly to many of my illusions. The possibilities of what might occur keep my days full of excitement.

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Food For Thought

Food Is Not Fun

We have used eating as a form of recreation and have looked for excitement in food. For years, we have associated food with fun. What we need to remember constantly is that uncontrolled eating is no longer fun for us, but a trip into anguish.

All of us have unpleasant memories of painful binges, which began as attempts to experience pleasure through a small indulgence. We need to put these memories to work for us by associating them with the first compulsive bite. The idea that more and better food will bring us fun and pleasure is an illusion. We know this in our heads, but we need to feel it in our guts.

Food is nourishment for our bodies - nothing more. To experience pleasure with our minds and hearts and bodies, we open ourselves to richer interpersonal relationships, to aesthetic experiences, to sports and hobbies and work well done. Abstinence from compulsive overeating liberates us to enjoy the activities, which are fun.

Thank You for the fun and joy that abstinence brings.

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One Day At A Time

Paths
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost

As a compulsive overeater, I longed to find a solution to my problems. Like so many of us, I tried all the heavily traveled roads ~ the endless means to lose weight and to alleviate my indulgent eating behaviors. But at the end -- and there was always an end -- of every new "method of weight loss" I returned to walking my old path of destructive compulsive overeating. I always went back to the old eating behaviors as well as the consequences of those behaviors. I had heard of OA but did not know anyone who belonged to its groups. It seemed like the whole world was on the latest fad diet -- diets that I could never continue for more than a few days or weeks.

Since joining The Recovery Group, I now walk a new path and have abandoned the old roads and the diet of the week. I have been on this road nearly a year now, and it is a wonderfully pleasant trek. I indeed believe "I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence." I have found an incredible amount of recovery spiritually, emotionally and physically. I am traveling on “the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference!”

One day at a time...
I will enjoy this road less taken...a path of acceptance and surrender. It is a path of spiritual, emotional and physical recovery!
~ Karen A.

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

There may be some wrongs we can never fully right. We don't worry about them if we can honestly say to ourselves that we would right them if we could. - Pg. 83 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

To insist stubbornly on clinging to old relationships, when they are basically drug oriented relationships is sabotaging our recovery process. Is it not our disease finding a 'good' excuse to keep us close to drugs?

May I be able to hear the suggestions of those who work with me. May I listen in this next hour and follow the suggestions.

Our Own Good

Today, I accept that I do not always know what is best for me. There are times when I am completely confused about what to do for myself and for those around me, because I can't see how my own issues are surfacing and coloring my present. These are the days when I need to pray and to understand that my prayers are heard. I never whisper to God that I am not heard. Prayer is my medium for change and growth. It is with me all the time, and there is no moment when I can't elevate my consciousness and conscious contact through it. It is my way of talking to my higher self and turning over my lower self to the loving, compassionate care of a Higher Power.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'Always remember that each day as you look at your world and see millions upon millions of flowers opening up, God does it all without using any force.' ~Dr. Wayne Dyer (P 91, Everyday Wisdom)

If I have to force the solution, then it's not the solution.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Do not allow others to upset you; their only power comes from your reaction.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am learning to trust the positive and loving people in my life today.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

A question to see if you're alcoholic: Have you ever been sunburned on the roof of your mouth? - Wino Joe.