Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the
Road of Happy Destiny – Saturday, 28 December 2013
Daily Reflections
SUIT UP AND SHOW UP
In A.A. we aim not only for sobriety--we try again to become
citizens of the world that we rejected, and of the world that once rejected us.
This is the ultimate demonstration toward which Twelfth Step work is the first
but not the final step.(AS BILL SEES IT, page 21)
The old line says, "Suit up and show up." That action
is so important that I like to think of it as my motto. I can choose each day
to suit up and show up, or not. Showing up at meetings starts me toward feeling
a part of that meeting, for then I can do what I say I'll do at meetings. I can
talk with newcomers, and I can share my experience; that's what credibility,
honesty, and courtesy really are. Suiting up and showing up are the concrete
actions I take in my ongoing return to normal living.(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.A. may be human in its organization, but it is divine in its
purpose. The purpose is to point me toward God and the good life. My feet have
been set upon the right path. I feel it in the depths of my being. I am going
in the right direction. The future can be safely left to God. Whatever the
future holds, it cannot be too much for me to bear. I have the Divine Power
with me to carry me through everything that may happen. Am I pointed toward God
and the good life?
Meditation for the Day
Although unseen, the Lord is always near to those who believe in
Him and trust Him and depend on Him for the strength to meet the challenges of
life. Although veiled from mortal sight, the Higher Power is always available
to us whenever we humbly ask for it. The feeling that God is with us should not
depend on any passing mood of ours; we should try to be always conscious of His
power and love in the background of our lives.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel that God is not too far away to depend on
for help. I pray that I may feel confident of His readiness to give me the
power that I need.(From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by
Hazelden Foundation)
NA - Just for Today
Depression
"We are no longer fighting fear anger guilt, self-pity, or
depression."(Basic Text page 26)
As addicts, many of us experience depression from time to time.
When we feel depressed, we may be tempted to isolate ourselves. However, if we
do this, our depression may turn to despair. We can't afford to let depression
lead us back to using.
Instead, we try to go about the routine of our lives. We make
meeting attendance and contact with our sponsor top priorities. Sharing with
others about our feelings may let us know we aren't the only ones who have been
depressed in recovery. Working with a newcomer can work wonders for our own
state of mind. And, most importantly, prayer and meditation can help us tap the
power we need to survive depression.
We practice acceptance and remember that feelings like
depression will unquestionably pass in time. Rather than struggle with our
feelings, we accept them and ask for the strength to walk through them.
Just for today: I accept that my feelings of depression won't
last forever. I will talk openly about my feelings with my sponsor or another
person who understands.((page 378)From the book Just for Today © Copyright
1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
Thought for Today
"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow
bring out the best in ourselves."(William Arthur Ward)
"You can't always see the top of the stair case so just
look for the first step."(Dr Martin Luther King, Jr)
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Real peace will arise spontaneously
When your mind becomes free of attachments,
When you know that the objects of the world
Can never give you what you really want.(Theragatha)
Native American
"I believe that being a medicine man, more than anything
else, is a state of mind, a way of looking at and understanding this earth, a
sense of what it is all about."(Lame Deer, LAKOTA)
The Medicine Wheel explains different ways of looking at the
world. The four directions are the East, the South, the West and the North. In
the East is the view of the eagle-the eagle flies high and sees the earth from
that point of view. The South is the direction of the mouse. Moving on the
earth, the mouse will not see what the eagle sees. Both the eagle and the mouse
see the truth. The West is the direction of the bear-the bear will see
different from the mouse and the eagle. From the North comes the point of view
of the bison. To be a Medicine Man you must journey through all points of view
and develop the mind to see the interconnectedness of all four directions. This
takes time, patience and an open mind. Eventually, you understand there is only
love.
Great Spirit, today allow my mind to stay open.
Keep It Simple
If You Walk With Lame Men You'll soon Limp Yourself.(Seaman
McManus)
Before recovery, we kept company with people who were as sick as
us, or worse. We got angry and made fun of people who were trying to improve
their lives. They scared us. They were like mirrors that reflected how
spiritually lost we were becoming. Now we walk in the crowd we avoided. Now we
have values. We have spiritual beliefs. Living up to these values and beliefs
can be hard. We need to be around people who live by their values. In recovery,
we learn that we need others. Remember, the first word in Step One is we. We
need good people in our lives. We need friends who will not tell us what we
want to hear, but what we are doing wrong.
Prayer for the Day: Sometimes I act like I need no one. Help me
pick my friends wisely, for my life is at stake.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll pick one friend, and we'll talk
about how we can better help each other.
Big Book
"I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness
within.
Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit
quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems
as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except as my requests bore
on my usefulness to others. Then only might I expect to receive. But that would
be in great measure."(Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story,
Page 13)
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If you're not enjoying your sobriety it's your own damn fault
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