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God grant me the
Serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
June 26, 2009
Daily
Reflections
A TWO-WAY STREET
If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case
does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our
cooperation.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 65
When I prayed, I used to omit a lot of things for which I needed to be
forgiven. I thought that if I didn't mention those things to God, He
would never know about them. I did not know that if I had just
forgiven myself for some of my past deeds, God would forgive me also.
I was always taught to prepare for the journey through life, never
realizing until I came to A.A. when I honestly became willing to be
taught forgiveness and forgiving that life itself is the journey. The
journey of life is a very happy one, as long as I am willing to accept
change and responsibility.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
One of the most encouraging facts of life is that your weakness can
become your greatest asset. Kites and airplanes rise against the wind.
In climbing up a high mountain, we need the stony crags and rough
places to aid us in our climb. So your weakness can become an asset if
you will face it, examine it, and trace it to its origin. Set it in the very
center of your mind. No weakness, such as drinking, ever turned into
an asset until it was first fairly faced. Am I making my weakness my
greatest asset?
Meditation For The Day
Whenever we seek to worship God, we think of the great universe
that God rules over, of creation, of mighty law and order throughout
the universe. Then we feel the awe that precedes worship. I too must
feel awe, feel the desire to worship God in wondering amazement. My
mind is in a box of space and time and it is so made that I cannot
conceive of what is beyond space or time, the limitless and the eternal.
But I know that there must be something beyond space and time, and
that something must be the limitless and eternal Power behind the
universe. I also know that I can experience that Power in my life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may accept the limitless and eternal Spirit. I pray that It
may express Itself in my life.
***********************************************************
As Bill Sees It
Domination and Demand, p. 176
The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true
partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls.
Either we insist upon dominating people we know, or we depend upon them far too
much.
If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human,
too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows
and festers.
When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt,
and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a
desire to retaliate.
<< << << >> >> >>
My dependency meant demand -- a demand for the possession and control of other
people and the conditions surrounding me.
1. 12 & 12, p. 53
2. Grapevine, January 1958
***********************************************************
Walk In Dry Places
Transforming garbage.
Handling the past
Left to itself, nature takes ordinary garbage and transforms it into useful nutrients that help sustain life. It's usually poor human action that makes garbage a problem.
Our mental and emotional garbage takes the forms of bad memories, festering resentments, and useless regrets. We waste time berating ourselves and others about bad decisions and experiences that are behind us.
The magic of the 12 Step program is that we can use it to transform this mental garbage into useful experience. A past mistake can become as asset when we share it with others. Pain and suffering can teach a lesson that helps all of us to grow. By forgiving others, a resentment can be turned into a friendship.
I'll resolve today not to worry about garbage any longer than it takes to identify it and release it to my Higher Power for transformation.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself.---Louis Nizer
It's so easy to blame others. Others are always making mistakes we can hide behind. That's what blame is---hiding. When we blame others for our mistakes, we're trying to hide our character defects.
It's nobody else’s fault that we act the way we do. It's our fault. We're responsible for our actions.
And with the help of our Higher Power, we can change. We can turn over our character defects. Over time, we're not afraid to learn about ourselves---even the parts we don't like---because we want to know
ourselves better.
Prayer for the Day: I pray for help in facing my character defects.
Action for the Day: I'll think about the past week. I'll list times I've used blame to hide from reality.
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS
When your man is better, the doctor might suggest a visit from you. Though you have talked with the family, leave them out of the first discussion. Under these conditions your prospect will see he is under not pressure. He will feel he can deal with you without being nagged by his family. Call on him while he is still jittery. He may be more receptive when depressed.
p. 91
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
This much could be a fragment of what is called meditation, perhaps our very first attempt at a mood, a flier into the realm of spirit, if you like. It ought to be followed by a good look at where we stand now, and a further look at what might happen in our lives were we able to move closer to the ideal we have been trying to glimpse. Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.
pp. 101-102
***********************************************************
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
--John Wooden
"Never answer an angry word with an angry word. It's the second one
that makes the quarrel."
--W.A. Nance
Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own.
When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from
it--immediately.
--Stephen Covey
"Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day."
--Sandra Little
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is
committing another mistake.
--Confucius
"He who angers you conquers you."
--Elizabeth Kenny
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
INTEGRITY
"Integrity has no need of rules."
--Albert Camus
The benefit of a spiritual program is the development of integrity in
my life. Integrity is having an honest respect for myself; it is
respecting who I am and how I live in the world. Integrity also
becomes a bridge by which I can reach my fellow man. My respect for
my life develops a respect for others. My determination to have
integrity affects the way I treat you. Integrity gives me freedom to be
-- and this allows for an acceptance of you.
Of course I must follow some rules and guidelines in my life but today
they are not written in cement. Today I can be flexible with me and
this means that I can be flexible with you. My past need to control has
developed into an accepting serenity that brings peace. My spiritual
program forever teaches me to be free; now I can live.
I pray that I can see beyond the rules into the beauty of Integrity.
***********************************************************
Enter
into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be
thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is
everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but
your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in
Me, says the LORD.
Jeremiah 39:18
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
"...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Those that least deserve your love are the ones that need it the most. Lord, may I have the humbleness of spirit to reach out even when my feelings may be hurt.
If you feel the need to get even, try getting even with those that have helped you. Lord, free me from any thoughts of revenge because this only shuts the door to my own happiness.
If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case
does He render us white as snow and keep us that way without our
cooperation.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 65
When I prayed, I used to omit a lot of things for which I needed to be
forgiven. I thought that if I didn't mention those things to God, He
would never know about them. I did not know that if I had just
forgiven myself for some of my past deeds, God would forgive me also.
I was always taught to prepare for the journey through life, never
realizing until I came to A.A. when I honestly became willing to be
taught forgiveness and forgiving that life itself is the journey. The
journey of life is a very happy one, as long as I am willing to accept
change and responsibility.
************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
One of the most encouraging facts of life is that your weakness can
become your greatest asset. Kites and airplanes rise against the wind.
In climbing up a high mountain, we need the stony crags and rough
places to aid us in our climb. So your weakness can become an asset if
you will face it, examine it, and trace it to its origin. Set it in the very
center of your mind. No weakness, such as drinking, ever turned into
an asset until it was first fairly faced. Am I making my weakness my
greatest asset?
Meditation For The Day
Whenever we seek to worship God, we think of the great universe
that God rules over, of creation, of mighty law and order throughout
the universe. Then we feel the awe that precedes worship. I too must
feel awe, feel the desire to worship God in wondering amazement. My
mind is in a box of space and time and it is so made that I cannot
conceive of what is beyond space or time, the limitless and the eternal.
But I know that there must be something beyond space and time, and
that something must be the limitless and eternal Power behind the
universe. I also know that I can experience that Power in my life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may accept the limitless and eternal Spirit. I pray that It
may express Itself in my life.
************
As Bill Sees It
Domination and Demand, p. 176
The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true
partnership with another human being. Our egomania digs two disastrous pitfalls.
Either we insist upon dominating people we know, or we depend upon them far too
much.
If we lean too heavily on people, they will sooner or later fail us, for they are human,
too, and cannot possibly meet our incessant demands. In this way our insecurity grows
and festers.
When we habitually try to manipulate others to our own willful desires, they revolt,
and resist us heavily. Then we develop hurt feelings, a sense of persecution, and a
desire to retaliate.
<< << << >> >> >>
My dependency meant demand -- a demand for the possession and control of other
people and the conditions surrounding me.
1. 12 & 12, p. 53
2. Grapevine, January 1958
************
Transforming garbage.
Handling the past
Left to itself, nature takes ordinary garbage and transforms it into useful nutrients that help sustain life. It's usually poor human action that makes garbage a problem.
Our mental and emotional garbage takes the forms of bad memories, festering resentments, and useless regrets. We waste time berating ourselves and others about bad decisions and experiences that are behind us.
The magic of the 12 Step program is that we can use it to transform this mental garbage into useful experience. A past mistake can become as asset when we share it with others. Pain and suffering can teach a lesson that helps all of us to grow. By forgiving others, a resentment can be turned into a friendship.
I'll resolve today not to worry about garbage any longer than it takes to identify it and release it to my Higher Power for transformation.
************
When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that three of his fingers are pointing at himself.---Louis Nizer
It's so easy to blame others. Others are always making mistakes we can hide behind. That's what blame is---hiding. When we blame others for our mistakes, we're trying to hide our character defects.
It's nobody else’s fault that we act the way we do. It's our fault. We're responsible for our actions.
And with the help of our Higher Power, we can change. We can turn over our character defects. Over time, we're not afraid to learn about ourselves---
Prayer for the Day: I pray for help in facing my character defects.
Action for the Day: I'll think about the past week. I'll list times I've used blame to hide from reality.
************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS
When your man is better, the doctor might suggest a visit from you. Though you have talked with the family, leave them out of the first discussion. Under these conditions your prospect will see he is under not pressure. He will feel he can deal with you without being nagged by his family. Call on him while he is still jittery. He may be more receptive when depressed.
p. 91
************
Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."
This much could be a fragment of what is called meditation, perhaps our very first attempt at a mood, a flier into the realm of spirit, if you like. It ought to be followed by a good look at where we stand now, and a further look at what might happen in our lives were we able to move closer to the ideal we have been trying to glimpse. Meditation is something which can always be further developed. It has no boundaries, either of width or height. Aided by such instruction and example as we can find, it is essentially an individual adventure, something which each one of us works out in his own way. But its object is always the same: to improve our conscious contact with God, with His grace, wisdom, and love. And let's always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand Him.
pp. 101-102
************
--John Wooden
"Never answer an angry word with an angry word. It's the second one
that makes the quarrel."
--W.A. Nance
Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own.
When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from
it--immediately.
--Stephen Covey
"Making prompt amends is the fresh air of each new day."
--Sandra Little
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is
committing another mistake.
--Confucius
"He who angers you conquers you."
--Elizabeth Kenny
************
INTEGRITY
"Integrity has no need of rules."
--Albert Camus
The benefit of a spiritual program is the development of integrity in
my life. Integrity is having an honest respect for myself; it is
respecting who I am and how I live in the world. Integrity also
becomes a bridge by which I can reach my fellow man. My respect for
my life develops a respect for others. My determination to have
integrity affects the way I treat you. Integrity gives me freedom to be
-- and this allows for an acceptance of you.
Of course I must follow some rules and guidelines in my life but today
they are not written in cement. Today I can be flexible with me and
this means that I can be flexible with you. My past need to control has
developed into an accepting serenity that brings peace. My spiritual
program forever teaches me to be free; now I can live.
I pray that I can see beyond the rules into the beauty of Integrity.
************
For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but
your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in
Me, says the LORD.
Jeremiah 39:18
"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
"...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
************
Those that least deserve your love are the ones that need it the most. Lord, may I have the humbleness of spirit to reach out even when my feelings may be hurt.
If you feel the need to get even, try getting even with those that have helped you. Lord, free me from any thoughts of revenge because this only shuts the door to my own happiness.
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
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