Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the
Road of Happy Destiny – Thursday, 30 January 2014 - Daily Reflections “FREEDOM
FROM . . . FREEDOM TO”
We are going to know a new freedom. . . .--ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS,
page 83
Freedom for me is both freedom from and freedom to. The first
freedom I enjoy is freedom from the slavery of alcohol. What a relief! Then I
begin to experience freedom from fear --- fear of people, of economic
insecurity, of commitment, of failure, of rejection. Then I enjoy freedom to
--- freedom to choose sobriety for today, freedom to be myself, freedom to express
my opinion, to experience peace of mind, to love and be loved, and freedom to
grow spiritually. But how can I achieve these freedoms? The Big Book clearly
says that before I am halfway through making amends, I will begin to know a
"new" freedom; not the old freedom of doing what I pleased, without
regard to others, but the new freedom that allows fulfillment of the promises
in my life. What a joy to be free!--From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright
1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
A drinking life isn't a happy life. Drinking cuts you off from
other people and from God. One of the worst things about drinking is the
loneliness. And one of the best things about A.A. is the fellowship. Drinking
cuts you off from other people, at least from the people who really matter to
you, your family, your coworkers, and your real friends. No matter how much you
love them, you build up a wall between you and them by your drinking. You're
cut off from any real companionship with them. As a result, you're terribly
lonely. Have I gotten rid of my loneliness?
Meditation for the Day
I will sometimes go aside into a quiet place of retreat with
God. In that place, I will find restoration and healing and power. I will plan
quiet times now and then, times when I will commune with God and arise rested
and refreshed to carry on the work that God has given me to do. I know that God
will never give me a load greater than I can bear. It is in serenity and peace
that all true success lies.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may strengthen my inner life, so that I may find
serenity. I pray that my soul may be restored in quietness and peace.--From the
book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
Giving it away--Page 30
"We must give freely and gratefully that which has been
freely and gratefully given to us."--Basic Text, page 49
In recovery, we receive many gifts. Perhaps one of the greatest
of these gifts is the spiritual awakening that begins when we stop using growing
stronger each day we apply the steps in our lives. The new spark of life within
is a direct result of our new relationship with a Higher Power, a relationship
initiated and developed by living the Twelve Steps. Slowly, as we pursue our
program, the radiance of recovery dispels the darkness of our disease.
One of the ways we express our gratitude for the gifts of
recovery is to help others find what we've found. We can do this in any number
of ways: by sharing in meetings, making Twelfth Step calls, accepting a
commitment to sponsorship, or volunteering for H&I or phone line duty. The
spiritual life given to us in recovery asks for expression, for "we can
only keep what we have by giving it away."
Just for Today: The gift of recovery grows when I share it. I
will find someone with whom to share it!--From the book Just for Today ©
Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
"If you don't have charity in your heart then you have the
worst kind of heart disease" ...--Bob
Hope (Thanks Phil B.)
"Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the
distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand."--Thomas Carlyle
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
The Four Noble Truths... The four noble truths result from the
application of the three basic laws to the human condition. The Buddha
frequently asserted that he was interested in the problem of the alleviation of
human suffering: "Only one thing do I teach, suffering, and how to end
it." His approach to the problem of suffering was similar to that of the
physician to his patient. He first diagnoses the malady then seeks the cause of
the malady, next finds out whether a cure is possible. Finally he prescribes
the medicine. The four truths correspond to the four steps of this
diagnostic-curative procedure.
(1) The Truth of Suffering. This truth affirms that the law of
dukkha (suffering) is applicable to the human condition:
"Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, death is
suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair is suffering. To be
separated from the pleasant is suffering; to be in contact with the unpleasant
is suffering; in short the five aggregates of existence connected with
attachment are all suffering." The validity of the truth of suffering need
not be belabored here; it is essentially a matter for personal verification.
The truth of dukkha refers not to the on-existence of the pleasurable and the
joyful, but to the very incompleteness and finitude of that enjoyment. The
imputation of pessimism sometimes made of early Buddhism is without foundation;
suffering in the Buddhist sense encompasses what is usually termed
"evil" in other religio-philosophical systems, and the existence of
evil, caused either by chance events or by deliberate ill-will is not seriously
denied.
(2) The Truth of the Cause of Suffering. The proximate cause of
suffering is craving (tanhâ), but the root cause of ignorance. The objects of
craving are manifold: sensual pleasure, material possessions, glory, power,
fame, ego, craving for re-birth, even craving for Nirvana. There are various
degrees of craving from a mild wish to an acute grasping. Craving is the
proximate cause of suffering and is itself caused by other conditioning
factors. The full formula of causation is contained in the Buddhist formula of
dependent origination, where the causes for existence and suffering are traced
back through a chain of twelve links, back to ignorance.
(3) The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering. This growth
constitutes the "good news" of Buddhism. The cause of suffering could
be counteracted. This truth affirms that a way out of suffering exists, which
if followed will lead the individual to a state of non-suffering called
nibbâna, perhaps better known by the Sanskrit form of the term, Nirvâna. If the
first truth could be considered to have a taint of "pessimism," this
truth has the full flavor of "optimism."
(4) The Truth of the Path to Enlightenment. The Buddhist path to
Enlightenment is that discovered by the Buddha through his own personal effort
and practice. It has been called the Middle Path because it is a via media
between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Both extremes
of practice were common in the Buddha's day (as indeed they are in our own).
The Buddha calls such extremes vain, profitless and ignoble. The path of the
Buddha avoids two kinds of activity usually considered essential for salvation
by many religious systems. These are: (1) prayer to supra human powers and
agencies, and (2) elaborate rites and rituals. On the contrary, these are
considered as being positive impediments on the path to the cessation of
suffering and the gaining of insight and wisdom.
While the Four Noble Truths contain the kernel of the Buddha's
teaching, and were proclaimed by the Buddha in his very first discourse, there
are many other doctrines that are central to a philosophical system which is as
deep as that of Buddhism.
Native American
"Bright days and dark days were both expressions of the
Great Mystery, and the Indian reveled in being close to the Great
Holiness."--Chief Luther Standing Bear, SIOUX
The Great Spirit created a world of harmony, a world of justice,
a world that is interconnected, a balanced world that has positive and
negative, this way and that way, up and down, man and woman, boy and girl,
honest and dishonest, responsible and irresponsible, day and night. In other
words, He created a polarity system. Both sides are to be respected. Both sides
of anything are sacred. We need to do well and we need to learn from our
mistakes. We need to honor what takes place in the daytime and we need to honor
what takes place in the nighttime. WE learn that we need to learn and we see
what we are supposed to see by staying close to the Great Spirit. We need to be
talking to Him all the time, saying "Grandfather, what is it you want me
to learn?"
Great Spirit let me learn today that all things are sacred. Help
me stay close to YOU, my Creator.
Keep It Simple
Go and wake up your luck--Persian proverb
We've been given recovery. For this, we're lucky. And we're
grateful. Now it's up to us.
We must accept our choices. When we're afraid, do we choose to
be alone? Or do we choose to go to extra meeting? When we're not honest, do we
keep it secret? Or do we admit it and try to be more honest? No matter what we
choose, we're responsible for that choice. Through choices, we either make our
program strong or weak. We can choose to be lucky. Or we can choose not to be.
The choice is ours. Our addiction robbed us of choice. It taught us to blame
others. Now we see ourselves as responsible.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to choose wisely. Help
me remember I'm responsible for my choices.
Action for the Day: Today I'll work at being responsible for my
choices. I'll see myself as one of the lucky ones.
Big Book
"We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed
into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed."--Alcoholics
Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, page 25
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If you're not enjoying your sobriety it's your own damn fault
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