Daily Reflections
May 28
EQUAL RIGHTS
At one time or another most A.A. groups go on rule making benders. After a time fear and intolerance subside. [and we realize] We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive.
-“A.A. TRADITION: HOW IT DEVELOPED.” pp. 10, 11, 12
A.A. offered me complete freedom and accepted me into the Fellowship for myself. Membership did not depend upon conformity, financial success or education and I am so grateful for that. I often ask myself if I extend the same equality to others or if I deny them the freedom to be different. Today I try to replace my fear and intolerance with faith, patience, love and acceptance. I can bring these strengths to my A.A. group, my home and my office. I make an effort to bring my positive attitude everywhere that I go.
I have neither the right, nor the responsibility, to judge others. Depending on my attitude I can view newcomers to A.A., family members and friends as menaces or as teachers. When I think of some of my past judgments, it is clear how my self-righteousness caused me spiritual harm.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
May 28
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A. we learn that since we are alcoholics we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The A.A.s are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics. Do I believe that I can be uniquely useful?
Meditation For The Day
I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was not made with the ability to see Him else there were no room for faith. But I can feel His spirit with me.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless again.
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As Bill Sees It
May 28
A.A. the Lodestar, p. 147
We can be grateful for every agency or method that tries to solve the problem of alcoholism–whether of medicine, religion, education, or research. We can be open-minded toward all such efforts and we can be sympathetic when the ill-advised ones fail. We can remember that A.A. itself ran for years on “trial and error.”
As individuals, we can and should work with those that promise success–even a little success.
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Every one of the pioneers in the total field of alcoholism will generously say that had it not been for the living proof of recovery in A.A., they could not have gone on. A.A. was the lodestar of hope and help that kept them at it.
Grapevine, March 1958
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Walk in Dry Places
May 28
Everyday risks
Courage
We have to take certain risks if we hope to achieve anything. Applying for a job entail a risk of reject. Saving money carries a risk of losing it. Falling in love can result in heartbreak.
We have to take such risks because life is ordered that way. We are hear to learn, and learning includes pressing into unknown situations where we could fail.
God could have created us in such a way we could either avoid risks or not unduly concerned about the. Animals, for example, live with risks but do no seem to worry about them.
We must accept risk as part of God’s plan for us. We also are given tools for working with uncertainties. We have our innate intelligence and a capacity for prudent, reasoned action. We have friends who will help us. Above all, we have our Higher Power, who guides and directs us through all sorts of risky conditions.
I cannot face life without also facing uncertainties. Today I’ll accept risk as a part of ordinary living.
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Keep It Simple
May 28
Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.
-Johann Fredrich von Schiller
As we grow in recovery, we’ll need to change our behaviors, values, and beliefs to stay sane. This take courage. Courage is doing what is needed in spite of fear.
Courage means facing what we can’t change. We can’t change the fact that we have hurt people. We can’t change the fact we have an illness. And we can’t change the fact that we need help from others.
Courage also means facing those things we can change. We need courage to be honest, to have faith, and to be humble. And we need courage to let people know how important they are.
Prayer for the Day: Courage is more than being tough. Courage means being human. Higher Power, grant me the courage to stay sober and live a spiritual life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll have an attitude of courage. I’ll talk in my meeting. I’ll offer help where it is needed. I’ll have the courage to say no when needed.
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Each Day a New Beginning
May 28
Spiritual power can be seen in a person’s reverence for life – hers and all others, including animals and nature, with a recognition of a universal life force referred to by many as God.
—Virginia Satir
Taking the time, daily, to recognize the spiritual force in everyone and everything that is all about us, encourages us to feel humble, to feel awe. Reflecting on our interconnections, our need for one and all to complete the universe, lessens whatever adversity we might feel as we struggle with our humanity.
Our spiritual power is enhanced with each blessing we give. And as our spiritual power is enhanced, life’s trials are fewer. Our struggle to accept situations, conditions, and other people, or our struggle to control them, lessens every day that we recognize and revere one another’s personhood, one another’s existence.
I can teach myself reverence, and I can begin today. I will look for “the Spirit” everywhere, and I will begin to see it.
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Alcoholics Anonymous
May 28
Our Southern Friend
Pioneer A.A., minister’s son, and southern farmer, he asked, “Who am I to say there is no God?”
I am examined for the draft and pass the physical exam. What a dirty deal! Drafted! The shame of it. I am to go to camp on November 13th. The Armistice is signed on the 11th and the draft is called off. Never in the service! The war leaves me with a pair of blankets, a toilet kit, a sweater knit by my sister, and a still greater inferiority.
p. 210
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
May 28
Step Eight – “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”
We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have “harmed” other people. What kinds of “harm” do people do one another, anyway? To define the word “harm” in a practical way, we might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people. If our tempers are consistently bad, we arouse anger in others. If we lie or cheat, we deprive others not only of their worldly goods, but of their emotional security and peace of mind. We really issue them an invitation to become contemptuous and vengeful. If our sex conduct is selfish, we may excite jealousy, misery, and a strong desire to retaliate in kind.
p. 80
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Xtra Thoughts
May 28
God, help me realize that to do your will for me today, in however a small way, I must let go of my own will.
–Day By Day
No matter what happens, I must get on with my life.
–Ruth Humlecker
“Today I’ll use the slogan, ‘How important is it?’ It will help me think things through before I act and it will give me a better picture of just what is important in my life.”
–Alateen–One Day At A Time
Sometimes laughter is the next lesson we need to be learning.
–Melody Beattie
If your sobriety isn’t your absolute top priority, the most important thing in your life, you’re going to get drunk again.
–“Things My Sponsors Taught Me” Paul H.
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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
May 28
CHRISTIANITY
“He who begins by loving Christianity better than Truth will proceed by loving his sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.”
–Samuel Taylor Coleridge
My program for recovery from addiction is spiritual and not religious. I believe that spirituality encompasses all that is good and noble in all the great religions of the world. It cannot be confined or limited to one religion or denomination. Spirituality stops the recovering person from looking for the differences; it stops the arrogance and prejudice; it stops the division and separations that feed the disease. Spirituality emphasizes the inherent unity of man. It teaches the most stubborn of men to hold hands.
God the Creator is revealed in the variety of His universe. I can find Him in the sunset, the variety of animals, the love and care of family and friends, the excitement and vision of poetry and art, the inspiration of music. Spirituality is . . .!
Kneeling before the beauty of Your creation I whisper “Amen”.
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Bible Scriptures
May 28
A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.
-Proverbs 29:23
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
-John 8:32
I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
-John 14:6
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
-Gal 5:25-26
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Daily Inspiration
May 28
Expect more of yourself than you do of others and you will save yourself much stress and disappointment. Lord, help me to see how capable that I am.
God is always at work in your life. Notice His light on the events of your day. Lord, I sometimes look without really seeing. Help me to pause and notice.
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A Day At A Time
May 28
Reflection For The Day
We’ve all had times when we felt alienated, when it seemed we had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. When we don’t know which way to turn, when there seems to be no one to help us, even then we’re not alone or without help, the presence of God is always with us. When we need strength or courage or comfort, God is there with us as the help we need. Even before we turn to God, His love reaches out to us; His loving Spirit in us hears our cry and answers us. Do I truly believe that I no longer need be alone?
Today I Pray
May I never be alone, even in a place by myself, if I take time to talk to my Higher Power. May He be my companion, my joy, my ever-present help in trouble. May the knowledge of His constant presence fill me with calm, so that I will not fear either the solitude of my own room or alienation in a roomful of people.
Today I Will Remember
Listen for the presence of God.
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One More Day
May 28
Very few live by choice. Every man is placed in his present condition by causes which acted without his foresight, and with which he did not always willingly operate.
-Samuel Johnson
How does a person cope with a chronic illness? Our lives are formed by the events around us; these events often move forward of their own volition, without our permission or even our willingness. Now that the problem is obvious, living with that change will test our characters.
Those of us who have learned to cope with radically altered lifestyles and who can still love, laugh, and cry are survivors. We may not like our portion in life, but we are determined to handle it well.
I haven’t chosen all the changes in my life, but I can choose to accept the changes and to live a warm and sharing life.
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One Day At A Time
May 28
Serenity
“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.”
-Anonymous Quote
Why is serenity so important to our recovery? Because darkness cannot exist where there is light! If we can maintain a serene state of mind as established through our faith in HP and the BB Promises, negative emotions and behaviour will have no power over us. Stress, fear, compulsiveness, obsessiveness, resentment, guilt, shame, willfulness, doubt, distrust, greed and envy, have no power over a mind that is kept in serene repose. Serenity allows us to see situations clearly and make wise decisions. Most importantly, by maintaining a serene mind, we keep the door to our High Power open.
One Day at a Time …
I will face each challenge with grace and serenity.
~ Rob R.
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Elder’s Meditation of the Day
May 28
“The land is a sacred trust held in common for the benefit of the future of our nations.”
–Haida Gwaii – Traditional Circle of Elders
The Creator made the Earth to support life so that life would continue to reproduce, everything would support one another, and future generations would have the same benefits of supply and beauty as the generations the proceeded them. This cycle will only continue to the degree that we make choices and decisions for the future generations. Today, we are too greedy and selfish. We are cheating our children, grandchildren, and the children unborn.
Creator, let me see the consequences of my decisions, and show me how to make healthy corrections.
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Journey to the Heart
May 28
Let the Universe Support You
Who or what is your source of power? Who or what are you connected to?
Watch yourself as you go through your days. Where do you get your nurturing, your support, your empowerment, your energy? Does it all come from one person? Do you have a multitude of sources? Do you consider God, the Divine, your ultimate source?
There was a time when many of us made one person our only source. That time is past. Although special people are in our lives to be a special support, one of our lessons has been to broaden our connections, to connect to the universe, to open up to all the love and support that is there for us. If we use for our source only one person, one job, one place, one situation, we may encounter problems. Searching for many sources of support is a sign of our growth, a sign that we are continuing on our journey.
Value and cherish the people in your life who feed your soul and nurture your heart. Value and cherish the people who are special to you, who you hold dear, who help support you. But don’t limit your connections. Open your heart to a living universe. Open your heart to Divine love.
Know that if you can’t get what you need from one person or place, it is because the universe has something or someone better for your needs and your growth.
Who and what are you connected to? Are you willing to become connected to the universe?
Open your heart, your mind, your soul, and let the universe teach you about Divine love. Stop limiting your source to only one person. Open to a limitless source of support and energy. Open to the universe.
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Today’s Gift
May 28
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The little rabbit stood alone, watching her family and friends hop and skip about her in the forest, playing her favorite rabbit game. Try as she might, each time she attempted to join in, she tripped about awkwardly. When this happened, the other rabbits laughed uproariously at her and called her “Grace.” Soon even she forgot her real name. But in the moments when Grace was alone, she danced around the trees with ease. She was as smooth and graceful as any ballerina. An old owl sat high above her one night, watching her intently. The moonlight streamed through the treetops like a soft spotlight and he sat and watched as little Grace moved in and out of the moonbeams. Finally he said, “Grace, you are more graceful than any creature I’ve ever seen.” Grace was startled that someone had been watching her, but listened carefully to the wise owl’s words as he continued. “You have carried this beauty within you all the time, but locked it inside when you tried too hard.” If we remember to relax and trust in ourselves, we, too, will discover that we are able.
What hidden ability can I set loose today?
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The Language of Letting Go
May 28
Letting Go of Self Doubt
A married woman who had recently joined Al-Anon called me one afternoon. She worked part-time as a registered nurse, had assumed all the responsibilities for raising her two children, and did all the household chores, including repairs and finances. “I want to separate from my husband,” she sobbed. “I can’t stand him or his abuse any longer. But tell me, please tell me,” she said, “do you think I can take care of myself?”
—Codependent No More
Not only is it okay to take care of ourselves, we can take good care of ourselves.
Many of us, so confident about our ability to take care of others, doubt our inherent strength to care for ourselves. We may have come to believe, from our past or present circumstances, that we need to take care of others and we need others to take care of us. This is the ultimate codependent belief.
No matter where this self-defeating belief was born, we can release it and replace it with a better one, a healthier one, a more accurate one.
We can take care of ourselves — whether we are in or out of a relationship. Everything we need will be provided. We will have loved ones, friends, and our Higher Power to help.
Knowing that we can take care of ourselves doesn’t mean we won’t have feelings of fear, discomfort, doubt, anger, and fragility at times. It means we practice “courageous vulnerability,” as Colette Dowling called it in Cinderella Complex. We may feel scared, but we do it anyway.
Today, God, help me know how I can take care of myself.
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More language of letting go
May 28
Say when it’s time to focus
I was getting ready to make a skydive. I had a lot going on at the time– problems with construction workers, some phone calls I needed to make.
“Put it all aside for right now,” Andy, my jump master said. “The only thing in the world you’re going to focus on for the next hour is the skydive you’re going to make. You don’t want to be jumping out of that plane with other stuff going on in your mind.”
I did what he said. I deliberately pushed aside all other thoughts of people, what they were feeling, what I had to do, and how they were going to respond.
“That’s one of the benefits of skydiving,” Andy said. “It’s really taught me to focus my mind.”
Sometimes we get interrupted. Sometimes it’s good to let our consciousness flow and our minds wander. Sometimes it’s time to focus on one task and let others care and ideas slip away. We have so much power in this marvelous world. One of the powers available to us is dedication, commitment, and focus on the task at hand.
Learn to focus on one thing you want to do. If you’ve been struggling with and procrastinating about something, make a commitment to focusing on that task until it’s done.
God, help me learn to focus my energies on the essential tasks at hand.
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Touchstones Meditation For Men
May 28
I sidestep the either/or choices of logic and choose both.
—Ken Feit
Men like us have often had a lifestyle guided by either/or logic. We think we must either conquer the challenge we see before us or we will be failures. We think loved ones must either meet our needs or they do not love us. We think we must either be perfect or we are unacceptable.
Let us now step back from the rigidity of such unhealthy logic. Much of human experience and many answers to our problems don’t come in neatly tied packages. As we learn to think and feel in more flexible ways, we find life gets better. Using our intuition at times, rather than always following rigid rules for life, improves the recipe. The arrogance of our thought process has sometimes told us we had the answer, but it closed us to the growth, which only comes by trusting our feelings. If we make mistakes, we can learn from them and go on. Many of the most ingenious inventions came not by rigidly following rules, but by following an inner feeling.
Today, I will be open to more possibilities in my thinking.
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Daily TAO
May 28
TRANSLATION
Place the word Tao
Into your heart.
Use no other words.
Why do so many people seek foreign religions? Why are so many of our philosophies translations from other languages? Surely we are all human beings, with hearts and minds, two hands and two legs. Each of us needs spirituality, but why must we always look abroad?
People who investigate Tao ask whether they have to be Chinese to benefit from it. It is true that part of the study of Tao is strictly Chinese. It is also true that this Taoism has never been exported — unlike Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, or Judaism — and has never been preached beyond the Five Sacred Mountains of China. It is elitist, to protect itself from coarse unbelievers. But this Taoism is not the Tao you need.
The true Tao is of no nationality, no religion. It is far beyond the conceptions of even the most brilliant human being, so it cannot be the property of one race or culture. The need to understand Tao is universal; people just give it different names in their native languages. Tao is the very essence of life itself, so those who are alive always have the possibility of knowing Tao. It is meant to be found in the here and now, and it is within the grasp of any sincere seeker.