Alcoholic Anonymous - Daily Ponderables - Together we trudge the
Road of Happy Destiny – Saturday, 4 January 2014 - Daily Reflections
BEGIN WHERE YOU ARE
We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A
much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our
respective homes, occupations and affairs.(ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, page 19)
It's usually pretty easy for me to be pleasant to the people in
an A.A. setting. While I'm working to stay sober, I'm celebrating with my
fellow AA's our common release from the hell of drinking. It's often not so hard
to spread glad tidings to my old and new friends in the program. At home or at
work, though, it can be a different story. It is in situations arising in both
of those areas that the little day-to-day frustrations are most evident, and
where it can be tough to smile or reach out with a kind word or an attentive
ear. It's outside of the A.A. rooms that I face the real test of the
effectiveness of my walk through AA's Twelve Steps.(From the book Daily
Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
Have I admitted I am an alcoholic? Have I swallowed my pride and
admitted I was different from ordinary drinkers? Have I accepted the fact that
I must spend the rest of my life without liquor? Have I any more reservations,
any idea in the back of my mind that someday I'll be able to drink safely? Am I
absolutely honest with myself and with other people? Have I taken an inventory
of myself and admitted the wrong I have done? Have I come clean with my
friends? Have I tried to make it up to them for the way I have treated them?
Meditation for the Day
I will believe that fundamentally all is well. Good things will
happen to me. I believe that God cares for me and will provide for me. I will
not try to plan ahead. I know that the way will unfold, step by step. I will
leave tomorrow's burden to God, because He is the great burden-bearer. He only
expects me to carry my one-day's share.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not try to carry the burden of the universe on
my shoulders. I pray that I may be satisfied to do my share each day.(From the
book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation)
NA - Just for Today
The Love of the Fellowship
"Today secure in the love of the fellowship, we can finally
look another human being in the eye and be grateful for who we are."(Basic
Text page 89)
When we were using, few of us could tolerate looking someone in
the eye-we were ashamed of whom we were. Our minds were not occupied with
anything decent or healthy, and we knew it. Our time, money, and energy weren't
spent building loving relationships, sharing with others, or seeking to better
our communities. We were trapped in a spiral of obsession and compulsion that
went only in one direction: downward.
In recovery, our journey down that spiral path has been cut
short. But what is it that has turned us around, drawing us back upward into
the open spaces of the wide, free world? The love of the fellowship has done
this.
In the company of other addicts, we knew we would not be
rejected. By the example of other addicts, we were shown how to begin taking a
positive part in the life around us. When we were unsure which way to turn,
when we stumbled, when we had to correct a wrong we had done, we knew our
fellow members were there to encourage us.
Slowly, we've gotten the feel of our freedom. No longer are we
locked up in our disease; we are free to build and grow and share along with
everyone else. And when we need support to take our next step, it is there. The
security we've found in the love of the fellowship has made our new lives
possible.
Just for today: I can look anyone in the eye without shame. I am
grateful for the loving support that has made this possible.((page 4)From the
book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World
Services, Inc.)
Thought for Today
"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."(Frank
Outlaw)
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not
let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
Native American
"Our circle is timeless, flowing it is a new life emerging
from death-life winning out over death."(Lame Deer, LAKOTA)
When we look at the world in the manner which the Great Spirit
designed it, we can see why it makes sense to live in harmony with it: the
trees grow and bear fruit, the fruit has seeds, the seeds fall to the ground, the
ground grows new trees, old trees die to make way for the young. Any time we
think we can interrupt this cycle or change it we will experience turmoil and
confusion. The Human Cycle exists as the baby becomes the youth, the youth
becomes the adult, the adult has children, the adult becomes the Elder, and the
Elder teaches the youth. Elders go on to the Spirit World. Spirit comes into
babies to produce new life. Flow into the flow. Be the path of least
resistance.
My Creator and my Make, today, teach me to just flow with the
river of life.
Keep It Simple
He who is swift to believe is swift to forget.(Abraham Joshua
Herschel)
Life is full of questions. Many people tell us they have the
answers. We have to be careful of who and what we believe. Other people's ideas
may not fit us. The program doesn't tell us much about what to believe. It
teaches us how to believe. How well the program works for us depends on what we
believe and how well we live it. When we face all the facts, we can really
believe. We believe we are powerless over our addiction. We believe we must and
can change some things in our lives. We believe we can trust a Higher Power to
care for us. When we choose to believe, we want to choose the best beliefs we
can. And once we believe, we must not forget.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know You, and help me
know the truth.
Action for the Day: Today I'll think about my First Step. Do I
truly believe I'm powerless over my disease?
Big Book
"...we were approached by those in whom the problem had
been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual
tools laid at our feet."(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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