Daily Recovery Readings - August 1

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God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.

August 1

Daily Reflections

LIVING IT

The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 83

When new in the program, I couldn't comprehend living the spiritual
aspect of the program, but now that I'm sober, I can't comprehend
living without it. Spirituality was what I had been seeking. God, as I
understand Him, has given me answers to the whys that kept me
drinking for twenty years. By living a spiritual life, by asking God for
help, I have learned to love, care for and feel compassion for all my
fellow men, and to feel joy in a world where, before, I felt only fear.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The Alcoholics Anonymous program has borrowed from medicine,
psychiatry, and religion. It has taken from these what it wanted and
combined them into the program which it considers best suited to the
alcoholic mind and which will best help the alcoholic to recover. The
results have been very satisfactory. We do not try to improve on the
A.A. program. Its value has been proved by the success it has had in
helping thousands of alcoholics to recover. It has everything we
alcoholics need to arrest our illness. Do I try to follow the A.A.
program just as it is?

Meditation For The Day

You should strive for a union between your purposes in life and the
purposes of the Divine Principle directing the universe. There is no
bond of union on earth to compare with the union between a human
soul and God. Priceless beyond all earth's rewards is that union. In
merging your heart and mind with the heart and mind of the Higher
Power, a oneness of purpose results, which only those who experience
it can even dimly realize. That oneness of purpose puts you in harmony
with God and with all others who are trying to do His will.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may become attuned to the will of God. I pray that I may
be in harmony with the music of the spheres.

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As Bill Sees It

Complete the Housecleaning, p. 213

Time after time, newcomers have tried to keep to themselves
shoddy facts about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling
experience of the Fifth Step, they have turned to easier methods.
Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest
of the program, they wondered why they fell.

We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning.
They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst
items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and
fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had
not learned enough of humility, fearlessness, and honesty, in the
sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else their
entire life story.

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 72-73

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Walk In Dry Places

Who is sincere?
Sincerity.
We sometimes dismiss others people's relapses with the explanation that they didn't really want to stay sober or that they lacked sincerity of purpose.
We have no way of gauging just how sincere anybody really is. Even in trying to understand ourselves, we may detect traces of double-mindedness that got us into trouble. Even if we've been sober for years, the old desire to drink can be lurking somewhere in the back of our minds. It's wise to assume that this is so even when there's no conscious desire to drink. If hidden desires to drink still persist even after years of sobriety, it points to the persistence of the disease.... Not to one's insincerity.
It may even be that sincerity, like sobriety, has to be sought on a daily basis. Perhaps we are capable of being sincere today, and then lapse into insincerity tomorrow. To accept this is a sign of prudence and maturity, and perhaps even a measure of humility.
I'll seek to be sincere today about the things that really count. If I know I'm insincere in certain areas, I'll seek more understanding about it.

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Keep It Simple

Made a list of all persons we had harmed . . .
---First half of Step Eight
By the time we get to Step Eight, we're ready to work on our relationships.
We start by making a list of all persons we've harmed. We look at where we
have been at fault. We own our behavior.
Now we're healing, and we must help others to heal too. Our list must be as
complete as we can make it. As our recovery goes on we'll remember others
we have hurt. We add them to our list. By doing this, we heal even more.
Remember, this Step is for us. It is to help us stay sober.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me make a complete list. Help me keep it open-ended.
Allow me and those I've harmed to be healed.
Action for the Day: Even if I've made a list before, I'll make another one today. I will list
all those I have harmed.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind. Hone and spread your spirit, till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff. --Annie Dillard
Our progress today, and certainly our serenity, is enhanced by our willingness to accept all that we are blessed with today. Not only to accept, but to celebrate, trusting that these events are moving us toward our special destiny.
Flowing with the twists and turns in our lives, rather than resisting them, guarantees smooth sailing, helps us to maximize our opportunities, increases our serenity. Accepting our powerlessness over all but our own attitude is the first step we need to take toward finding serenity.
Resistance, whether it is against a person or a situation in our lives, will compound the problem, as we perceive it. We can believe in the advantages for growth that all experiences offer. We can sail with our experiences. We can be open to them so they can carry us to our destination. We can trust, simply trust, that all is well and in our favor, every moment.
My serenity is in my control today. I will look to this day with trust and thanksgiving. And my Spirit will soar.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

That the man who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man with a real answer, that he has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured—these are the conditions we have found most effective. After such an approach many take up their beds and walk again.

pp. 18-19

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

A.A. TAUGHT HIM TO HANDLE SOBRIETY - "God willing, we . . . may never again have to deal with drinking, but we have to deal with sobriety every day."

The pattern was set. By twenty-nine I was having trouble coping with life because my of my drinking. Neurotic fears plagued me, and I had occasional uncontrollable tremors. I read self-help books. I turned to religion with fervor. I swore off hard liquor and turned to wine. I got sick of the sweetness and turned to ale. It wasn't strong enough, so I added a shot of vodka--and was right back to worse trouble than before. I began sneaking drinks when playing bartender for guests. To cure my dreadful hangovers, I discovered the morning drink.

p. 554-555

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. "

When these facts were printed, there was a profound reaction. To people familiar with endless drives for charitable funds, A.A. presented a strange and refreshing spectacle. Approving editorials here and abroad generated a wave of confidence in the integrity of Alcoholics Anonymous. They pointed out that the irresponsible had become responsible, and that by making financial independence part of its tradition, Alcoholics Anonymous had revived an ideal that its era had almost forgotten.

p. 165

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Lost time is never found again.
--Thelonious Monk

Time is a created thing. To say, "I don't have time" is like saying "I
don't want to..."
--Lao-Tzu

There are really only 2 choices: worry or trust God.
--unknown

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort
searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside.
Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only
in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you
cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.
--Og Mandino

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

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."
--Japanese Proverb

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we
fall."
--Confucius

If you put everything off till you're sure of it, you'll get nothing done.
--Norman Vincent Peale

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SELF-RELIANCE

"The way to greatness is the
path of self-reliance,
independence and steadfastness
in times of trial and stress."
-- Herbert Hoover

Today I take responsibility for my life. Today I take responsibility for
my disease. Today I take responsibility for my recovery. I know I am
not perfect and I have many pains and problems yet to face, but I take
hope in my daily conquests. Nothing is too great for me to overcome so
long as I have confidence in myself. It is my "yes" or "no" that
makes the difference. In the power of my choice rests my freedom.

God, I thank You for my daily trials that ensure my victories.

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"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that
I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life.
Psalm 27:4

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we
must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself
said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Acts 20:35

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of
trouble.
Psalm 46:1

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Daily Inspiration

The more blessings you thank God for, the more blessings you begin to realize that you have been given. Lord, thank you for Your constant Love and unending blessings.

Keep your heart clean by constant spring cleaning. Then there will be a place for beauty and peace. Lord, help me to remove carelessness and disrespect from my heart and in all things may I celebrate Your love for me.

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NA Just For Today

Freedom From Guilt

"Our addiction enslaved us. We were prisoners of our own mind and were condemned by our own guilt."
Basic Text, p.7

Guilt is one of the most commonly encountered stumbling blocks in recovery. One of the more notorious forms of guilt is the self-loathing that results when we try to forgive ourselves but don't feel forgiven.

How can we forgive ourselves so we feel it? First, we remember that guilt and failure are not links in an unbreakable chain. Honestly sharing with a sponsor and with other addicts shows this to be true. Often the result of such sharing is a more sensible awareness of the part we ourselves have played in our affairs. Sometimes we realize that our expectations have been too high. We increase our willingness to participate in the solutions rather than dwelling on the problems.

Somewhere along the way, we discover who we really are. We usually find that we are neither the totally perfect nor the totally imperfect beings we have imagined ourselves to be. We need not live up to or down to our illusions; we need only live in reality.

Just for today: I am grateful for my assets and accept my liabilities. Through willingness and humility, I am freed to progress in my recovery and achieve freedom from guilt.
pg. 223

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Flying is largely a matter of having the right attitude--plus, of course, good wing feathers. --E. B. White
The swan flies with majesty, confidence, and grace. It is made to fly, of course, but it learns as much about flying from its parents as it knows by instinct. It is not born with the ability to fly, but with the potential.
Each of us is born with the potential to fly in many skies. We may sing or dance or write or run, fix machines, teach children, speak, listen, sympathize. And we can do all things well, as only humans can. It is not the ability to do these things that makes us human; it's what we do with that ability.
Knowing how to prepare ourselves before we spread our wings is part of discovering what we can do. When we learn to ride a bike, we know we can do it; our parent's hand on the seat helps us know it.
Wanting to soar is the first part of the flight; it is studying, practicing, and asking for help that allows us to get off the ground.
What steps can I take today toward reaching my potential?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The great artist is the simplifier. --Henri Amiel
Just as an artist creates through simplification, so a man's recovery process grows and deepens as he simplifies his life. This isn't easy to do in our fast paced and high-powered world. We have often complicated a problem by our way of thinking. Sometimes we take pride in how complex we can make something seem. We look for hidden meanings when the truth is on the surface. We give long explanations for our actions when none is called for. We suspect a person's motives when taking him at face value loses nothing. We take on a battle when we could just as well let it pass.
Most of us don't think of ourselves as artists. Yet we are each given a profound, creative opportunity - to fashion a meaningful and worthwhile pattern in our lives. As we seek to do the will of God today, it is as if we are taking a lump of clay and creating an image from it.
As I go about today's activities, may I find ways to make it a simple and creative expression.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind. Hone and spread your spirit, till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff. --Annie Dillard
Our progress today, and certainly our serenity, is enhanced by our willingness to accept all that we are blessed with today. Not only to accept, but to celebrate, trusting that these events are moving us toward our special destiny.
Flowing with the twists and turns in our lives, rather than resisting them, guarantees smooth sailing, helps us to maximize our opportunities, increases our serenity. Accepting our powerlessness over all but our own attitude is the first step we need to take toward finding serenity.
Resistance, whether it is against a person or a situation in our lives, will compound the problem, as we perceive it. We can believe in the advantages for growth that all experiences offer. We can sail with our experiences. We can be open to them so they can carry us to our destination. We can trust, simply trust, that all is well and in our favor, every moment.
My serenity is in my control today. I will look to this day with trust and thanksgiving. And my Spirit will soar.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Gratitude
We learn the magical lesson that making the most of what we have turns it into more. --Codependent No More
Say thank you, until we mean it.
Thank God, life, and the universe for everyone and everything sent your way.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Gratitude makes things right.
Gratitude turns negative energy into positive energy. There is no situations or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude's power. We can start with whom we are and what we have today, apply gratitude, then let it work its magic.
Say thank you, until you mean it. if you say it long enough, you will believe it.
Today, I will shine the transforming light of gratitude on all the circumstances of my life.


Today I choose to forgive instead of holding on to resentments. Today I choose to let go of all feelings that block me from feeling love. Today I choose to see everyone through the eyes of love. --Ruth Fishel

*****

Hidden Treasure
Finding Another Vantage Point by Madisyn Taylor

Seeing the world from another perspective can introduce you to all sorts of hidden treasures.

The ocean can look very different, depending on whether you are standing at the shore, soaring above in a plane, or swimming beneath its waves. Likewise, a mountain can look very different relative to where you are standing. Each living thing sees the world from its unique vantage point. While from your window you may be seeing what looks like a huge shrub, a bird in its nest is getting an intimate view of that tree’s leafy interior. Meanwhile, a beetle sees only a massive and never-ending tree trunk. Yet all three of you are looking at the same tree.

Just as a shadow that is concealed from one point of view is easily seen from another, it is possible to miss a fantastic view. That is, unless you are willing to see what’s in front of you through different eyes. Seeing the world from another perspective, whether spatially or mentally, can introduce you to all sorts of hidden treasures. The root of the discovery process often lies in finding another way of looking at the world. The common human reaction to insects is one example. Spinning its web in a dark corner, a spider may seem drab, frightening, and mysterious. But seen up close weaving silver snowflakes between the branches of a tree, they can look like colored jewels.

Sometimes, there are experiences in life that from your vantage point may seem confusing, alarming, or worrisome. Or there may be events that look insignificant from where you are standing right now. Try seeing them from another point of view. Bury your face in the grass and look at the world from a bug’s vantage point. Explore your home as if you were a small child. Take a ride in a small aircraft and experience the world from a bird’s eye view. Just as kneeling down sometimes helps you see more closely when you are looking for lost treasure, so can standing back help you appreciate the broader picture of what you are looking at. In doing so, you’ll experience very different worlds. Published with permission from Daily OM

*****

Journey to the Heart
You Have It All

I was sitting at a camp in Washington's Olympic Forest, talking to a young woman. We were both enjoying the day.

"People forget that life and death are both part of life," she said. "They forget that young and old are both part of life. We live in a society that has everything separated. We live in a society that's forgotten the whole in holistic."

The whole. All of it. Male and female. Young and old. Life and death. Tears and joy. All part of the same. Parts of the whole. I want to have it all... We may have heard those words many times. We may have said them ourselves many times. I want to have it all...

Connect to the parts. You do have it all. You've had it all, all along.

*****

more language of letting go

Learn to say thanks

This is my favorite story about letting go. Although some of you may already be familiar with it (I told it in Codependent No More), I'm going to tell it again.

Many years ago, when I was married to the father of my children, we bought our first house. We had looked at many houses with nice yards, family rooms, inviting kitchens. The house we actually bought wasn't any of those. It was a run-down three story that had been built at the turn of the century and used for rental property for the past twenty years.

The yard was a sandlot where there should have been grass. There were huge holes in the house that went clear through to the outside. The plumbing was inadequate. The kitchen was grotesque. The carpeting was an old orange shag that was dirty, stained, and worn out. The basement was a nightmare of concrete, mildew, and spiders. It wasn't a dream home. It was more like a house you'd see in a horror show.

About a week after we moved in, a friend came to visit. He looked around. "You're really lucky to have your own house," he said. I didn't feel lucky. This was the most depressing place I had ever lived in.

We didn't have money to buy furniture. We didn't have the money or the skills to fix up the house. For now, that run-down barn of a house needed to stay just like it was. My daughter, Nichole, was almost two, and we had another baby on the way.

One day, right after Thanksgiving, I vowed I would take some action to fix up this house. I got a ladder and some white paint and tried painting the dining room walls. The paint wouldn't stay on. There were so many layers of old peeling paper that the paint just bubbled up, and the paper-- at least the three layers of it-- came loose from the walls.

I gave up, and put the ladder and the paint away.

I had heard then about practicing gratitude. But I didn't feel grateful. So I didn't know how gratitude in this situation could possibly apply to me. I tried to have a good attitude, but I was miserable. Every evening after I put my daughter to bed, I went downstairs into the living room; then I sat on the floor and looked around. All I could do was feel bad about everything I saw. I didn't see one thing I could possibly be grateful for.

Then I ran into a little paperback book that espoused the powers of praise. I read it, and I got an idea. I would put this gratitude thing to a deliberate test. I would take all the energy I had been using complaining, seeing the negative, and feeling bad and I'd turn that energy around. I'd will, force, and if necessary fake, gratitude instead.

Every time I felt bad, I thanked God for how I felt. Every time I noticed how awful this house looked, I thanked God for the house exactly as it was. I thanked God for the current state of my finances. I thanked God for my lack of skills to repair and remodel the house. I deliberately forced gratitude for each detail of my life-- those areas that really bothered me, those things I couldn't do anything about. Every evening, after I put my daughter to bed, I went down and sat in the same spot in the living room. But instead of complaining and crying, I just kept saying and chanting, Thank you, God, for everything in my life, just as it is.

Something began to happen so subtly and invisibly, I didn't notice when it first began to change. First, I began keeping the house cleaner and neater, even though it was truly a wreck. Then people, supplies, and skills began coming to me. First, my mother offered to teach me how to repair a house. She said we could do it for almost no money. And she'd be willing to help.

I learned how to strip walls, repair holes in walls, paint, texture, plaster, hammer, and repair. I tore up the carpeting. There were real wood floors underneath. I found good wallpaper for only a dollar a roll. Whatever I needed, just began coming to me, whether it was skills, money, or supplies.

Then, I began looking around. I found furniture that other people had thrown away. By now, I was on a roll. I learned to paint furniture, refinish it, or cover it up with a pretty doily or blanket. Within six months, the house I lived in became the most beautiful home on that block. My son, Shane, was born while I lived there. I look back on it now as one of the happiest times in my life. My mother and I had fun together, and I learned how to fix up a house.

What I really learned from that situation was the power of gratitude.

When people suggest being grateful, it's easy to think that means counting our blessings and just saying thank you for what's good. When we're learning to speak the language of letting go, however, we learn to say thanks for everything in our lives, whether we feel grateful or not.

That's how we turn things around.

Make a list of everything in your life that you're not grateful for. You may not have to make a list; you probably have the things that bother you memorized. Then deliberately practice gratitude for everything on the list.

The power of gratitude won't let you down.

Being grateful for whatever we have always turns what we have into more.

God, show me the power of gratitude. Help me make it a regular, working tool in my life.

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Self-pity is one of the most miserable and consuming defects I know. Because of its interminable demands for attention and sympathy. my self-pity cuts off my communication with others, especially communication with my Higher Power. When I look at it that way, I realize that self-pity limits my spiritual progress. It’s also a very real form of martyrdom, which is a luxury I simply can’t afford. The remedy, I’ve been taught, is to have a hard look at myself and a still harder one at The Program’s Twelve Steps to recovery. Do I ask my Higher Power to relieve me of the bondage of self-pity?

Today I Pray

May I know from observation that self-pitiers get almost no pity from anyone else. Nobody — not even God — can fill their outsized demands for sympathy. May I recognize my own unsavory feeling of self-pity when it creeps in to rob me of my serenity. May God keep me wary of it’s sneakiness.

Today I Will Remember

My captor is my self.

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One More Day

Oft when the white still dawn
Lifted the skies
and pushed the hills apart
I have felt it like glory in my heart.
– Edwin Markham

The world is one, a while, and we are a part of it. But sometimes, we are so enmeshed in ourselves — in the details of our lives, in the unfair limitations placed upon us — that we become closed and forget the rest of the world. We see nothing else. We hear nothing else.

But if we reenter the world, the natural balance there gives us peace and comfort. The beauty — splashes of color, fragrance of flowers, trees swaying in a breeze — is also our beauty. We inhale the breath of spring amid the sounds of life. All seems right with the world, and we are one with all life.

Today, I will find joy and meaning in being alive within a living world.

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In God’s Care

Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible.
~~William Sloan Coffin, Jr

For many of us, the past is sprinkled with endeavors that were never pursued to completion. Perhaps some pursuits were more complicated than we were equipped to handle. But it’s likely that, at times, we gave up the idea, or ran from the struggle, before we’d experienced the first major barrier. Then, unlike now, we were short on hope, vision, and confidence. Most of all, we probably lacked faith that a power greater than ourselves could guide our steps and help us make the decisions that would bring our efforts to completion.

By working our program, we gain confidence and new vision. As our faith grows, so does our connection to God. God is the source of hope, of all the strength and understanding we need for any challenge or creative endeavor.

With hope, nothing is so overwhelming that we can’t move forward, and nothing we really need will be beyond our grasp.

I will make use of God’s gift of hope to overcome any barriers I meet today.

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Day By Day

Following the leader

Whether in the program, church, or any other organization, any mortal leader we may have is but an instrument. Should any of these leaders die, our true leader remains (as always.)

If we allow the absence of any person to turn us away from our Higher Power, we don’t know who our real leader is. If we allow the absence of any person to halt our spiritual progress or prevent us from doing what we know is right, we are not following our true leader, our Higher Power. All others are but temporary instruments.

Am I following my true leader faithfully?

Higher Power, help me recognize and acknowledge my true leader.

I will share my faith in my Higher Power today by..

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Food For Thought

Promptings

If we are listening, we will hear promptings from the inner voice. Often they are suggestions for small acts of kindness and love. Sometimes they are urgings to do a difficult deed in order to correct a wrong or to apologize for a mistake. Whatever the prompting, we are free to ignore it or act on it.

Often, ignoring the prompting would appear to be the easiest course. Why should we go out of our way to help someone else, particularly if that person is a stranger? Apologies are frequently embarrassing and deflate our pride. Reaching out to someone with love makes us vulnerable to rejection, and we fear exposure.

In the long run, to ignore the promptings of our inner voice is to commit spiritual suicide. These promptings are intended for our growth, and if we do not grow in love, we will atrophy and decay. Through the Twelve Steps, our Higher Power leads us to do many things, which we would prefer to avoid, but which ensure our recovery.

I pray for willingness to follow the promptings of the inner voice.

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One Day At A Time

THE PAST
“Our past is a story
existing only in our minds.
Look, analyze, understand, and forgive.
Then, as quickly as possible, chuck it.”
Marianne Williamson

Before I came into program I had the tendency to beat myself up over the things I'd done while in the throes of my disease. I would relive everything I'd done -- especially my misdeeds. Guilt ruled my life.

Then I found Twelve Steps that set me on the road to recovery. And I found promises ... promises that told me that if I were to rigorously and honestly work the program, I would find a new freedom and a new happiness. I was told that I would not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it, (as found on page 83 of the Big Book).

For me, the Big Book reminds me of where I came from and that I never want to go back. The Williamson quote (above) tells me that I don't need to wallow in the guilt of yesterday.

One Day at a Time . . .
I remember my past, release it and move on.
~ jar

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

But life among Alcoholics Anonymous is more than attending gatherings and visiting hospitals. Cleaning up old scrapes, helping to settle family differences, explaining the disinherited son to his irate parents, lending money and securing jobs for each other, when justified - these are everyday occurrences. No one is too discredited or has sunk too low to be welcomed cordially - if he means business. Social distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies - these are laughed out of countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored and united under one God, with hearts and minds attuned to the welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people no longer signify much to them. How could they? - Pg. 161 - A Vision For You

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

If you have one hand in the program and one hand in your Higher Power's, you won't have a hand to pick up with.

Take my hand God, as I understand You, and never let me let go.

Spirit at Work

I am waiting in pleasant anticipation for spirit to work its quiet magic in my day. There is nothing that I can think, feel or do, that cannot be made lighter and truer by inviting spirit into it. I rest in the joyous awareness that spirit is with me. That spirit has never left me. If I feel an absence of spirit today I will remember that it is not spirit that moves away from me, but I that move away from spirit. I am uplifted by the thought that I am not alone, nor ever was I. Today I need no proof that I am on a spiritual journey because the miracle of life surrounds me everywhere and this is proof enough. I am living the gift.

Life is the remedy

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

No matter how hard you attempt to control the people in your life, you will not find your fulfillment there. If they don't change, you will be frustrated; if they do change under your pressure, they will be frustrated.

If I look to others for fulfillment, I will never be fulfilled.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Don't 'keep coming back' just stay.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to forgive instead of holding on to resentments. Today I choose to let go of all feelings that block me from feeling love. Today I choose to see everyone through the eyes of love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Once you become an alcoholic there's no going back - a frog never goes back to being a tadpole. (Or a pickle a cucumber etc. ) Unknown origin.

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AA Thought for the Day

August 1

The Tyrant
The truth is, that in the life of each AA member, there still lurks a tyrant.
His name is alcohol. And his weapons are misery, insanity, and death.
No matter how long we may be sober, he always stands at each man's elbow,
ever watchful of an opportunity to resume his destruction.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 34

Thought to Ponder . . .
The alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Aware.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Wonders
"Out of every season of grief or suffering,
when the hand of God seemed heavy or even unjust,
new lessons for living were learned,
new resources of courage were uncovered,
and that finally, inescapably,
the conviction came that God does
'move in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.' "
1953AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 105

Thought to Consider . . .
Joy is the infallible presence of God.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
G O D = Good Orderly Direction

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

School Vacation
From: "Building a New Life"
The next summer I began working construction during school vacation. I was working with the older men, and at the end of the day, I went to the bar with them. The bartender would put the beer in front of the man next to me, but it was intended for me. I loved Fridays - payday - when we went out and got loaded. I started getting liquor on weekends so I could go to dances. I was hanging around with guys who drank like me. We'd put our money together to get enough booze for the night, and because I looked older, I bought the liquor. I could talk to the girls. I was a big shot with the guys because I had the booze and the girls.

2001, AAWS, Inc., Alcoholics Anonymous, page 477

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Are you willing to be amazed?"
Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2014
"Big Sur-prise,"
AA Grapevine

*~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a
fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from
care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will
mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your
existence lie ahead."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152

"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered
a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree,
and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This
is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 17

"These were revolutionary and drastic proposals, but the moment I fully accepted them, the effect was electric."
-Alcoholics Anonymous p. 14 (Bill's Story)

"So in a very complete and literal way, all A.A.'s have "become entirely ready" to have God remove the mania for alcohol from their lives."
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 64 (Step Six)

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Time after time, newcomers have tried to keep to themselves shoddy facts about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they have turned to easier methods. Almost invariably they got drunk. Having persevered with the rest of the program, they wondered why they fell.
We think the reason is that they never completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness, and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else their entire life story.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to fully surrender my life today and accept what must be done.

Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7