Alcoholic Anonymous – Daily Ponderables –
Together We Trudge the Road of Happy Destiny – Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Daily Reflections
INTO ACTION
A.A. is more than a set of principles; it
is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we
ourselves can wither and those who haven't been given the truth may die. (AS
BILL SEES IT, page 13)
I desperately wanted to live, but if I
was to succeed, I had to become active in our God-given program. I joined what
became my group, where I opened the hall, made coffee, and cleaned up. I had
been sober about three months when an old-timer told me I was doing Twelfth
Step work. What a satisfying realization that I was! I felt I was really
accomplishing something. God had given me a second chance, A.A. had shown me
the way, and these gifts were not only free --- they were also priceless! Now
the joy of seeing newcomers grow reminds me of where I have come from, where I
am now, and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. I need to attend meetings
because they recharge my batteries so that I have light when it's needed. I'm
still a beginner in service work, but already I am receiving more than I'm
giving. I can't keep it unless I give it away. I am responsible when another
reaches out for help. I want to be there --- sober. (From the book Daily
Reflections © Copyright 1990 by
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
If we allow an alcoholic thought to lodge
in our minds for any length of time, we are in danger of having a slip.
Therefore we must dispel such thoughts at once, by refusing their admittance
and by immediately putting constructive thoughts in their place. Remember that
alcohol is poison to you. Remember that it is impossible for you to drink
normally. Remember that one drink will lead to others and you will eventually
be drunk. Remember what happened to you in the past as a result of your
drinking. Think of every reason you have learned in A.A. for not taking that
drink. Fill your mind with constructive thoughts. Am I keeping my thoughts
constructive?
Meditation for the Day
Always seek to set aside the valuations
of the world, which seem wrong and try to judge only by those valuations, which
seem right to you. Do not seek the praise and notice of the world. Be one of
those who, though sometimes scoffed at, have a serenity and peace of mind,
which the scoffers never know. Be one of that bands that feel the Divine
Principle in the universe, though He be often rejected because He cannot be
seen.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not heed too much the
judgment of the world. I pray that I may test things by what seems right to me.
(From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation)
NA - Just for Today
"We know that if we pray for God's
will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think." (Basic
Text page 44)
By the time we came to NA, our inner
voices had become unreliable and self-destructive. Addiction had warped our
desires, our interests, our sense of what was best for ourselves. That's why
it's been so important in recovery to develop our belief in a Power greater
than ourselves, something that could provide saner, more reliable guidance than
our own. We've begun learning how to rely on this Power's care and to trust the
inner direction it provides us.
As with all learning processes, it takes
practice to "pray only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to
carry that out." The selfish, ego-driven attitudes we developed in our
addiction are not cast off overnight. Those attitudes may affect the way we
pray. We may even find ourselves praying something like, "Relieve me of
this character defect so I can look good."
The more straightforward we are about our
own ideas and desires, the easier it will be to distinguish between our own
will and our Higher Power's will. "Just for your information, God;"
we might pray, "here's what I want in this situation. Nonetheless, I ask
that your will, not mine, be done." Once we do this, we are prepared to
recognize and accept our Higher Power's guidance.
Just for today: Higher Power, I've
learned to trust your guidance, yet I still have my own ideas about how I want
to live my life. Let me share those ideas with you, and then let me clearly
understand your will for me. In the end, let your will, not mine, be done. ((page
354) From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous
World Services, Inc.)
Thought for Today
"Any fact facing us is not as
important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or
failure.
The way you think about a fact may defeat
you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because
you think you are." (Norman Vincent Peale,
Honest Open Prayerful Enthusiastic)
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Before you begin meditation take several
slow, deep breaths. Hold your body erect, allowing your breathing to become
normal again. Many thoughts will crowd into your mind, ignore them, letting
them go. If they persist be aware of them with the awareness, which does not
think. In other words, think non-thinking. (Zen Master Dogen,
"Fukanzazengi")
Native American
"In the end I tell my children,
there's no way I can tell you how to be an Acoma, how to be an Indian. You have
to experience it." (Stanley Paytiamo, ACOMA PUEBLO)
Each person must make their own journey.
It is like every human is given a life canoe. The canoe has one seat and one
paddle. In order to get anything out of life we must be in the canoe and we
must paddle down the river of life. Now, I can share with you how my journey
has been, but I cannot paddle your canoe. You must paddle your own. Good luck!
Creator, I'm so glad I have You to guide
my path.
Walk In Dry Places
The Lure of Greener Pastures
Gratitude
One of our old-timers spent a great deal
of time trying to find a new job but never succeeding. When he finally retired,
on a good pension, it became clear that the job he had kept was probably better
and provided more benefits than any job he had been seeking. He was fortunate
that none of his proposed job searches ever worked out.
The fantasy of finding "greener
pastures" is something many of us face, in both drinking and sobriety.
We may be very well off where we are, yet
feel that something rich and exciting is over in the next meadow. We can feel this
way about our jobs, our lifestyles, and our locations.
The answer to this greener-pastures
obsession is to feel more gratitude for what we have here and now. We might
also focus more upon today's activities and less upon impossible dreams of
other places.
There may be greener pastures somewhere,
but I'll first look for the opportunities and benefits of my own life and
surroundings. I may be richly blessed without knowing it.
Big Book
"When we saw others solve their
problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop
doubting the power of God. Our ideas did not work. But the God idea did."
(Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, Page 52)
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If you're not enjoying your sobriety it's
your own damn fault
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