Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the Road of Happy Destiny – Thursday, 2 January 2014 - Daily Reflections

Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the Road of Happy Destiny – Thursday, 2 January 2014 - Daily Reflections

FIRST, THE FOUNDATION

Is sobriety all that we can expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning.(AS BILL SEES IT page 8)

Practicing the A.A. program is like building a house. First I had to pour a big, thick concrete slab on which to erect the house; that to me was the equivalent of stopping drinking. But it's pretty uncomfortable living on a concrete slab, unprotected and exposed to the heat, cold, wind and rain. So I built a room on the slab, by starting to practice the program. The first room was rickety because I wasn't used to the work. But as time passed, as I practiced the program, I learned to build better rooms. The more I practiced, and the more I built, the more comfortable, and happy, was the home I now have to live in.(From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

What makes A.A. work? The first thing is to have a revulsion against myself and my way of living. Then I must admit I was helpless, that alcohol had me licked and I couldn't do anything about it. The next thing is to honestly want to quit the old life. Then I must surrender my life to a Higher Power, put my drinking problem in His hands and leave it there. After these things are done, I should attend meetings regularly for fellowship and sharing. I should also try to help other alcoholics. Am I doing these things?

Meditation for the Day

You are so made that you can only carry the weight of twenty-four hours, no more. If you weigh yourself down with the years behind and the days ahead, your back breaks. God has promised to help with the burdens of the day only if you are foolish enough to gather again that burden of the past and carry it, then indeed you cannot expect God to help you bear it. So forget that which lies behind you and breathe in the blessing of each new day.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may realize that, for good or bad, past days have ended. I pray that I may face each new day, the coming twenty-four hours, with hope and courage.(From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation)

NA - Just for Today

Take a deep breath and talk to God

"Sometimes when we pray, a remarkable thing happens: We find the means, ways, and energies to perform tasks far beyond our capacities."(Basic Text page 44)

Coping successfully with life's minor annoyances and frustrations is sometimes the most difficult skill we have to learn in recovery. We are faced with small inconveniences daily. From untangling the knots in our children's shoelaces to standing in line at the market, our days are filled with minor difficulties that we must somehow deal with.

If we're not careful, we may find ourselves dealing with these difficulties by bullying our way through each problem or grinding our teeth while giving ourselves a stern lecture about how we should handle them. These are extreme examples of poor coping skills, but even if we're not this bad there's probably room for improvement.

Each time life presents us with another little setback to our daily plans, we can simply take a deep breath and talk to the God of our understanding. Knowing we can draw patience, tolerance, or whatever we need from that Power, we find ourselves coping better and smiling more often.

Just for today: I will take a deep breath and talk to my God whenever I feel frustrated.((page 2)From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)

Thought for Today

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."(Chinese proverb)

I haven't had a drink today,

I'm at a meeting of AA.

A trail of steps has led me here,

Twelve in number, stated clear.

Sufficient power for my task

Is mine if I will only ask.

In closing, form the circle round

To show our thanks for what's been found.(thanks Todd)

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.(Peter Marshall)

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

If a person does what is wrong, let one not do it again.

Let one not find pleasure in wrong.

Painful is the accumulation of bad conduct.

Native American

"People have to be responsible for their thoughts, so they have to learn to control them. It may not be easy, but it can be done."(Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE)

WE control our thoughts by controlling our self talk. At any moment we choose we can talk to ourselves differently. The fight comes with the emotions that are attached to our thoughts. If our emotion is high and seems to be out of control, we can say to ourselves STOP IT!, take a few deep breaths, then ask the Creator for the right thought or the right decision or the right action. If we practice this for a while, our thought life will be different. It helps if in the morning we ask God to direct our thinking. God loves to help us.

Great Spirit, today, direct my thinking so my choices are chosen by You.

Keep It Simple

...our lives had become unmanageable.(Second half of Step One.)

The First Step tells us a lot about our addiction. We were out of control. Our addiction was in control. Addiction managed everything. It managed our relationships. It managed how we behaved with our families. As Step One says, "...our lives had become unmanageable." But we pretended we managed our lives. What a lie! Addiction ran our lives--not us. We weren't honest with ourselves. Our program heals us through self-honesty. We feel better just speaking the truth. We are becoming good people with spiritual values. Our spiritual journey has begun.

Prayer for Today: Higher Power, I give YOU my life to manage. When I'm faced with a choice, I'll ask myself, "What would my Higher Power choose for me?"

Action for Today: Today, I'll be honest with a friend about how unmanageable my life had become.

Big Book

"Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful!

Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power that One is God. May you find Him now!"(Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, Page 58)

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The Twelve Steps to a Slip (thanks Cheryl T.)

PERSONS who attain sobriety through the A.A. principles, do so only after a thoughtful application of the 12 Suggested Steps to recovery. They happily find themselves on a level plateau of sanity after ascending these steps, one after another, and they maintain their sobriety by a continuing application of these same steps.

Those unfortunates who lose their sobriety are said to be having a "slip".

I believe this is a misnomer, for it suggests only a momentary adversity that unexpectedly pounces on its unwary victim. A more apt term would be a "glissade," for a slip is the result of a gradual process, beginning long before its logical termination, and progressing through a series of wrong steps, to a drink, and for us, a drunk.

A slip cannot be said to occur only when it culminates in a drink, for many of us, in our failure to apply the 12 Steps to our living, frequently have slips, which are none the less slips merely because we do not slip as far as a drink.

As one must ascend the 12 Steps gradually, I feel the "slip" is the result of unconsciously descending these Steps. And as descending steps is always accompanied with less effort than ascending them, the steps soon assume the behavior of an escalator.

As the "bottom" is reached it invariably results in taking that "one drink," which leads, for us, only to all the remorse, terror and unhappiness that follows a binge.

These, then, are in my opinion the "12 Steps to a slip," and are the direct result of failure to consciously apply to our lives the 12 Suggested Steps to recovery:

1. We neglect 12th Step work.

2. We omit contact with the Higher Power.

3. We forget personal inventory.

4. We assume grudges against others.

5. We miss A.A. meetings, and avoid A.A. friends.

6. We gradually lose humility.

7. We fall into self pity.

8. We worry about unalterables.

9. Our thinkin' really starts stinkin'.

10. We become "cocky" and overconfident.

11. We neglect to ask help from the Higher Power, and take "just one."

12. We become a "social drinker." (Temporarily.)(R. H. Dunkirk, Indiana, January 1949, Grapevine)

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If you're not enjoying your sobriety it's your own damn fault

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