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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.
August 15, 2006
Daily Reflections
DIDN'T WE HURT ANYBODY?
Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to
the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 79
This Step seemed so simple. I identified several people whom I had
harmed, but they were no longer available. Still, I was uneasy about
the Step and avoided conversations dealing with it. In time I
learned to investigate those Steps and areas of my life which made
me uncomfortable. My search revealed my parents, who had been
deeply hurt by my isolation from them; my employer, who worried
about my absences, my memory lapses, my temper; and the friends I
had shunned, without explanation. As I faced the reality of the
harm I had done, Step Eight took on a new meaning. I am no longer
uncomfortable and I feel clean and light.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Commencing to drink after
a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we
have admitted we are alcoholics, we must have no reservations of any
kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to
alcohol. What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats
time after time the desperate experiment of the first drink?
Parallel with sound reasoning, there inevitably runs some insanely
trivial excuse for taking the first drink. There is little thought
of what the terrific consequences may be." Have I given up all
excuses for taking a drink?
Meditation For The Day
"Where two or three are banded together, I will be there in the
midst of them." When God finds two or three people in union, who
only want His will to be done, who want only to serve Him, He has
a plan that can be revealed to them. The grace of God can come to
people who are together in one place with one accord. A union like
this is miracle-working. God is able to use such people. Only good
can come through such consecrated people, brought together in
unified groups for a single purpose and of a single mind.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be part of a unified group. I pray that I may
contribute my share to its consecrated purpose.
Some of us, though, tripped over a very different snag. We clung to
the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 79
This Step seemed so simple. I identified several people whom I had
harmed, but they were no longer available. Still, I was uneasy about
the Step and avoided conversations dealing with it. In time I
learned to investigate those Steps and areas of my life which made
me uncomfortable. My search revealed my parents, who had been
deeply hurt by my isolation from them; my employer, who worried
about my absences, my memory lapses, my temper; and the friends I
had shunned, without explanation. As I faced the reality of the
harm I had done, Step Eight took on a new meaning. I am no longer
uncomfortable and I feel clean and light.
***********************************************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Commencing to drink after
a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we
have admitted we are alcoholics, we must have no reservations of any
kind, nor any lurking notion that some day we will be immune to
alcohol. What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats
time after time the desperate experiment of the first drink?
Parallel with sound reasoning, there inevitably runs some insanely
trivial excuse for taking the first drink. There is little thought
of what the terrific consequences may be." Have I given up all
excuses for taking a drink?
Meditation For The Day
"Where two or three are banded together, I will be there in the
midst of them." When God finds two or three people in union, who
only want His will to be done, who want only to serve Him, He has
a plan that can be revealed to them. The grace of God can come to
people who are together in one place with one accord. A union like
this is miracle-working. God is able to use such people. Only good
can come through such consecrated people, brought together in
unified groups for a single purpose and of a single mind.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be part of a unified group. I pray that I may
contribute my share to its consecrated purpose.
As Bill Sees It
Prelude to the Program, p. 118
Few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless
they have "hit bottom," for practicing A.A.'s Steps means the
adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still
drinking can dream of taking. The average alcoholic, self-centered in
the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect--unless he has to do these
things in order to stay alive himself.
<< << << >> >> >>
We know that the newcomer has to "hit bottom"; otherwise, not
much can happen. Because we are drunks who understand him, we
can use at depth the nutcracker of the-obsession-plus-the-allergy as a
tool of such power that it can shatter his ego. Only thus can he be
convinced that on his own unaided resources he has little or no
chance.
1. 12 & 12, p. 24
2. A.A. Today, p. 8
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Walk In Dry Places
Do We Have A Larger Purpose?
Peace
The Twelve Step program came out of a movement that was attempting to
save the world by establishing universal peace. Our purpose is
scaled down to helping the person who still suffers.
We don't really know the route to world peace, but we have learned that
we must be at peace with ourselves and others in order to live
happily. This means releasing the old resentments, distrust, and
other faults that plague so many of us.
Living the Twelve Step way might have been our first experience in
getting along with others. We found it totally different from the
hate and suspicion that once poisoned our lives and kept us in
bondage.
At some point, we may also find that we're playing a part in the larger
purpose of finding peace. We have , at least, removed ourselves
from the raging conflicts that cause so much trouble in the world.
I'll be at peace with everyone I meet today. I've forgiven
others and myself, and I'll do nothing today that gets me embroiled in
conflict with others.
***********************************************************
Keep It Simple
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.---Shakespeare
We are addicts. We suffer from an illness. We go to Twelve Step meetings because we know who we are. We have a sponsor because we know who we are. We ask friends for support because we know who we are. We know why we need our Higher Power to guide us. Recovery is a spiritual journey. In this journey, we are followers, not guides. It's a journey that change us. We don't know how recovery will change us, but we know it will. Is my faith strong enough for my journey? Part of how we get strong for our journey is by knowing who we truly are: addicts.
Prayer for the Day: I pray to remember who I am, so I'll learn to respect the power of my illness.
Action for the Day: I'll take time to remember my past, both good and bad. I'll also take time to think about who I am now. How far have I come?
***********************************************************
Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition
My Chance To Live
A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.
I'm convinced if I had continued on my course, I wouldn't have survived much longer. I don't believe I was smarter than anyone else, as I'm often told by those who came in at a later age. It was my time, my chance to live, and I took it. If there had still been joy in my drinking or even a remote chance of the joy returning, I would not have stopped drinking when I did.
p. 316
***********************************************************
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."
At first glance, it did look like a good thing. Then doubt crept in. The association wanted to use our member's full name in all its advertising; he was to be described both as its director of publicity and as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Of course, there couldn't be the slightest objection if such an association hired an A.A. member solely because of his public relations ability and his knowledge of alcoholism. But that wasn't the whole story, for in this case not only was an A.A. member to break his anonymity at a public level, he was to link the name Alcoholics Anonymous to this particular educational project in the minds of millions. It would be bound to appear that A.A. was now backing education--liquor trade association style.
p. 158
***********************************************************
Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast;
hold out. Patience is genius.
--George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon
The greatest power is often simple patience.
--E. Joseph Cossman
I look at the world with gratitude, down to the smallest thing, as it is
all a gift from God.
--Shelley
Life is everything YOU put into it.
--unknown
Kindness from your heart can only bring you blessings.
--unknown
"Something must die in order to grow - your old habits, your old self
image, your old thinking, your old life - must be weeded out for the
seeds of success to grow."
--Doug Firebaugh
***********************************************
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
PROPERTY
"Property is the fruit of labor;
property is desirable; it is a
positive good."
-- Abraham Lincoln
God is to be found in the physical. He is to be found in my body, my
sexuality, the mountains and streams --- and also in houses and
real-estate. The luxury of comfort and good living is not incompatible
with the spiritual life --- indeed, the use of our property can be an
opportunity for gratitude and sharing.
I know many people who use their comfortable homes for
opportunities to develop sincere friendships. Luxury homes can be
used for retreats and spiritual seminars involving music, dance and
silence. Property is part of God's landscape into his world. His love,
joy and hope for mankind can be experienced by our creative use of
property.
Let me use my property creatively.
***********************************************************
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men."
Colossians 3:23
"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life."
John 8:12
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective."
James 5:16
***********************************************************
Daily Inspiration
Others can not make you angry or upset unless you give them this power. Lord, strengthen my ability to know that how I feel is my choice and help me respond in ways that make me a happier person.
Use your talents. The world would be silent if only the birds that sing the best would sing. Lord, I will use Your gifts because You chose them especially for me.
Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7
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