Daily Recovery Readings - September

[bluidkiti]

September 1

Daily Reflections

WILLINGNESS TO GROW
If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on.
As Bill Sees It, p.8

Sobriety fills the painful "hole in the soul" that my alcoholism
created. Often I feel so physically well that I believe my work is
done. However, joy is not just the absence of pain; it is the gift of
continued spiritual awakening. Joy comes from ongoing and active
study, as well as application of the principles of recovery in my
everyday life, and from sharing that experience with others. My
Higher Power presents many opportunities for deeper spiritual
awakening. I need only to bring into my recovery the willingness to
grow. Today I am ready to grow.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Be careful not to brand new prospects as alcoholics. Let them draw
their own conclusion. But talk to them about the hopelessness of
alcoholism. Tell them exactly what happened to you and how you
recovered. Stress the spiritual feature freely. If they are agnostics
or atheists, make it emphatic that they do not have to agree with
your concept of God. They can choose any concept they like,
provided it makes sense to them. The main thing is that they be
willing to believe in a power greater than themselves and that they
live by spiritual principles." Do I hold back too much in speaking
of the spiritual principles of the program?

Meditation For The Day

"I will never leave or forsake thee." Down through the centuries,
thousands have believed in God's constancy, untiringness, and
unfailing love. God has love. Then forever you are sure of His
love. God has power. Then forever you are sure, in every
difficulty and temptation, of His strength. God has patience. Then
always there is One who can never tire. God has understanding.
Then always you will understand and be understood. Unless you want
Him to go, God will never leave you. He is always ready with
power.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may feel that God's love will never fail. I pray that I
may have confidence in His unfailing power.

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As Bill Sees It

Morning Thoughts, p.243

On awakening, let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead.
We ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be
divorced from self-pity and from dishonest or self-seeking
motives. Free of these, we can employ our mental faculties with
assurance, for God gave us brains to use. Our thought-life will be
on a higher plane when our thinking begins to be cleared of wrong
motives.

If we have determined which of two courses to take, we ask God for
inspiration, an intuitive thought, or a decision. Then we relax and
take it easy, and we are often surprised how the right answers come
after we have tried this for a while.

We usually conclude our meditation with a prayer that we be shown
all through the day what our next step is to be, asking especially
for freedom from damaging self-will.

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 86-87

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Walk In Dry Places

Are we victimizing ourselves?
Finding the New Happiness
Some believe that people create their own trouble by attracting the wrong
conditions and people in their lives. This may not be entirely
true, but we can find that some element of it was at work with us.
Time and time again during our drinking, we set ourselves up for abuse
and rejection, though our motives seemed right.
Why did we do this? Supposedly to punish ourselves, the theory has it.
If this is true, then we should now call a halt to the process
immediately. If we've emerged from the terrors of alcoholism, we've had
all the punishment anybody needs.
We can change our bad patterns by looking carefully at the people and situations
we seem to attract. Without resentment or condemnation, we
can part company with any problems these have been bringing us. We can
start building new relationships and attracting better conditions that
will be immensely successful in terms of happiness and well-being.<br>
I'll remember today that in the new life I'm seeking, there's no need
for punishment. I will not go out of my way to attract people or
conditions that create problems in my life.

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Keep It Simple

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible . . . ---First half of Step Nine
In our illness, we harmed people. In Step Nine, we are to make amends. Making amends is about asking people we have harmed what we need to do to set things right. But making amends is more than saying, “I'm sorry.” If you ran a store and someone had stolen five dollars, you wouldn't want them to just say, ”I'm sorry.” You'd want the person to pay back the money. The same is true with amends.
Many people we've harmed ask only that we don't repeat our mistakes. Respect their wishes. Step Nine has healed many wounds. Step Nine allows us to grow up. Step Nine help us regain faith in ourselves. Remember, the best amend we make to all is to stay sober.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me courage. Help me face the trouble caused by my disease. Make me ready to help other heals from the harm I've caused.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll pray that those I've harmed will heal. I will be responsible for my actions.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Success can only be measured in terms of distance traveled. --Mavis Gallant
We are forever moving from one experience to another, one challenge to another, and one relationship to another. Our ability to handle confidently all encounters is a gift of the program, and one that accompanies us throughout every day, providing we humbly express gratitude for it. Success is ours when we are grateful.
We are not standing still. No matter how uneventful our lives may seem, we are traveling toward our destiny, and all the thrills and tears, joys and sorrows, are contributing to the success of our trip. Every day, every step, we are succeeding.
We can reflect on yesterday, better yet, on last week or even last year. What were our problems? It's doubtful we can even remember them. We have put distance between them and us. They were handled in some manner. We have succeeded in getting free of them. We have succeeded in moving beyond them.
How far we have come! And we will keep right on traveling forward. As long as we rely on the program, we are assured of success.
I can do whatever I need to do, today, with success, when I humbly accept the program's gifts.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

About this time a lady called up my wife one Saturday afternoon, saying she wanted me to come over that evening to meet a friend of hers who might help me. It was the day before Mother's Day and I had come home plastered, carrying a big potted plant which I set down on the table and forthwith went upstairs and passed out. The next day she called again. Wishing to be polite, though I felt very badly, I said, "Let's make the call," and extracted from my wife a promise that we would not stay over fifteen minutes.

p. 179

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

Having carefully surveyed this whole area of human relations, and having decided exactly what personality traits in us injured and disturbed others, we can now commence to ransack memory for the people to whom we have given offense. To put a finger on the nearby and most deeply damaged ones shouldn't be hard to do. Then, as year by year we walk back through our lives as far as memory will reach, we shall be bound to construct a long list of people who have, to some extent or other, been affected. We should, of course, ponder and weigh each instance carefully. We shall want to hold ourselves to the course of admitting the things we have done, meanwhile forgiving the wrongs done us, real or fancied. We should avoid extreme judgments, both of ourselves and of others involved. We must not exaggerate our defects or theirs. A quiet, objective view will be our steadfast aim.

pp. 81- 82

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God brings peace to me, all I need do is ask.
--Shelley

The peace that I feel in my life is growing richer every day. As I
continue to walk on my spiritual path to recovery, I let myself be
guided by truth and love. Conflict is leaving, making more and more
room for charity, serenity and usefulness.
--Ruth Fishel

Treat every person with kindness and respect, even those who are
rude to you. Remember that you show compassion to others not
because of who they are, but because of who you are.
--Andrew T. Somers

Today I know my Higher Power is guiding me through the changes I
choose to make in my life. I have all the energy I need today
to make these changes as easily and effortless as I wish.
--Ruth Fishel

Today, I will stop forcing things to happen. Instead, I will allow things
to happen naturally. If I catch myself trying to force events or control
people, I will stop and figure out a way to detach.
--Melody Beattie

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

OPTIMISM

"Optimism is a kind of heart
stimulant -- the digitalis of
failure."
-- Elbert Hubbard

Today I am an optimist. I believe in life, and more importantly, I
believe in me. I know that God cares and this brings me hope.

But when I was drinking I had a negative and destructive attitude in all
areas of life; nothing pleased me, people were not to be trusted,
everybody had a price, God seemed to be "out for lunch" and life had
lost its meaning. I was a sad man. I was a lonely man. I was an angry
man.

When I was told to put down the drink and follow some new directions,
I halfheartedly agreed. I met people who laughed, shared their pain
and lived in the realistic "now". I began to listen. Slowly I changed.
Peace was within my grasp.

Today I wonder at my halfhearted risk that started it all -- and thank
God.

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Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be
shaken but endures forever.
Psalm 125:1

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your
heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
Psalm 27:14

"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever
state I am, to be content."
Philippians 4:11

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Daily Inspiration

Get outside of yourself and be outgoing for others. Lord, help me to act in a heartwarming manner so that Your presence in me lights an entire room.

Are you too busy wishing away your day to get what you really want? Lord, help me set goals and find the means to achieve what is important to me.

[bluidkiti]

September 2

Daily Reflections

FINDING "A REASON TO BELIEVE"
The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual
development. As Bill Sees It, p.171

A line from a song goes, ". . . and I look to find a reason to believe .
. ." It reminds me that at one time I was not able to find a reason
to believe that my life was all right. Even though my life had been
saved by coming to A.A., three months later I went out and drank
again. Someone told me: "You don't have to believe. Aren't you
willing to believe that there is a reason for your life, even though you
may not know yourself what that reason is, or that you may not
sometimes know the right way to behave?" When I saw how
willing I was to believe there was a reason for my life, then I could
start to work on the Steps. Now when I begin with, "I am willing. .
. ," I am using the key that leads to action, honesty, and openness
to a Higher Power moving through my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Outline the program of action to new prospects, explaining how you
made a self appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and
why you are now endeavoring to help them. It is important for
them to realize that your attempt to pass this on to them plays a
vital part in your recovery. The more hopeless they feel, the better.
They will be more likely to follow your suggestions. Tell them about
the fellowship of A.A. and if they show interest, lend them a copy of
the Big Book." Can I tell the A.A. story to another alcoholic?

Meditation For The Day

You should try to stand aside and let God work through you. You
should try not to block Him off by your own efforts, or prevent
His spirit working through you. God desires your obedient service
and your loyalty to the ideals of the new life you are seeking. If
you are loyal to God, He will give you protection against
mistakes. His spirit will plan for you and secure for you a
sufficiency of all spiritual help. You will have true victory and real
success, if you will put yourself in the background and let God work
through you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not interfere with the working of God's spirit in me
and through me. I pray that I may give it full rein.

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As Bill Sees It

Toward Maturity, p.244

Many oldsters who have put our A.A. "booze cure" to severe but
successful tests still find they often lack emotional sobriety. To
attain this, we must develop real maturity and balance (which is to
say, humility) in our relations with ourselves, with our fellows, and
with God.

********************************

Let A.A. never be a closed corporation; let us never deny our
experience, for whatever it may be worth, to the world around us.
Let our individual members heed the call to every field of human
endeavor. Let them carry the experience and spirit of A.A. into all
these affairs, for whatever good they may accomplish. For not only
has God saved us from alcoholism; the world has received us back into
its citizenship.

1. Grapevine, January 1958
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 232-233

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Walk In Dry Places

Going with the Flow
Problem solving.
It's surprising how many problems solve themselves when we're willing to turn them over to our Higher
Power. This isn't a self-fulfilling prophecy brought about by suspicious beliefs we can actually find proof of this seemingly providential activity in our lives.
We don't have to convince anybody except ourselves that this process works. What we can prove is that some of our best opportunities come about by what we would call chance or coincidence. Indeed, the first meeting of two AA founders could be called such a chance event.
We need to believe that our Higher Power is working ceaselessly for the upward development of the human race, and Twelve Step programs can be essential forces in this upward development. In our own lives, we can go with this flow of ever-increasing good, as we continue to feel ourselves a part of it.
I will not wrestle with every problem today. Some problems will be
dealt with later and some will seem to solve themselves. I will
know that I am part of an upward development that is continuing.

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Keep It Simple

… except when to do so would injure them or others.
---Second half of Step Nine
We have to be careful when we make amends. We must think about people’s well being. Can we help heal by being direct with them? Or would it hurt them again? At times, this means not making direct amends. Sometimes, it’s better to make some other kind of amend. If you’re not sure how to make amends to someone, ask for advice from your sponsor and your group. And pray. Over time, you’ll know if making direct amends is the right thing to do. Remember, Step Nine means we’re responsible for our actions. In recovery, our actions can be healing. Healing takes place when we love ourselves and others. And love is what heals us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I’ve hurt people in the past. Please use me now to help those people heal. Give me good judgment, courage, and good timing.
Action for the Day: I will never be able to make direct amends to some people. I will think of amends I can make to them. I can pray daily for their healing.

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Each Day a New Beginning

If I had to describe something as divine it would be what happens between people when they really get it together. There is a kind of spark that makes it all worthwhile. When you feel that spark, you get a good feeling deep in your gut. --June L. Tapp
How lucky we are, that we can experience that divine spark with one another, and with all recovering women. The program offers us the chance, every moment of our lives from this day forward, to experience divinity. All we are asked to do is be there, for one another, to share fully who we are. Vulnerability gets easier as we learn that we can trust each other, that we can share pain, that it's okay to pull and prod and follow, first you and then me and then her.
What a thrill it is to leave our competition behind! The program bonds us together, and the bond will strengthen each of us, but it can elude us, too. It often does when we forget to be there, in one another's presence, when the opportunity comes.
I need these sparks to nurture my growth, singly and collectively. I will be part of a divine experience today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

We entered her house at exactly five o' clock and it was eleven fifteen when we left. I had a couple of shorter talks with this man afterward, and stopped drinking abruptly. This dry spell lasted for about three weeks; Then I went to Atlantic City to attend several days' meeting of a National Society of which I was a member. I drank all the Scotch they had on the train and bought several quarts on my way to the hotel. This was on Sunday. I got tight that night, stayed sober Monday till after the dinner and then proceeded to get tight again. I drank all I dared in the bar, and then went to my room to finish the job. Tuesday I started in the morning, getting well organized by noon. I did not want to disgrace myself, so I then checked out. I bought some more liquor on the way to the depot. I had to wait some time for the train. I remember nothing from then on until I woke up at a friend's house, in a town near home. These good people notified my wife, who sent my newly-made friend over to get me. He came and got me home and to bed, gave me a few drinks that night, and one bottle of beer the next morning.
That was June 10, 1935, and that was my last drink. As I write nearly six years have passed.

pp. 179-180

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

Whenever our pencil falters, we can fortify and cheer ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this Step has meant to others. It is the beginning of the end of isolation from our fellows and from God.

p. 82

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Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do.
The hard part is doing it."
--General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

"I didn't learn humility with my head. I learned humility with my
heart."
--Unknown

For all my good intentions, there are days when things go wrong or I
fall into old habits. When things are not going well, when I'm grumpy
or mad, I'll realize that I've not been paying attention to my soul and
I've not been following my best routine.
--Robert Fulghum

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and
brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.
--Jean Shinoda Bolen

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MEMORY

"Every man's memory is his
private literature."
-- Aldous Huxley

What it was like. What happened. What it is like today. Memory. If I
am to stay sober, I need to remember. I need to remember on a daily
basis. I must never forget.

My life is reflected in my memory. The "writing on the wall" is
really in my head, but am I prepared to see it and acknowledge it?
For years I chose not to remember. I lived in a world of
make-believe. People were exaggerating the facts! With denial at
the center of my life I was able to forget the pain and drink again,
only to awake to yesterday's pain again.

My memory is the key to my recovery. Spirituality is about "seeing" --
seeing my life as it is, rather than how I imagined or hoped it would
be. My pain belongs in my life because it is mine! Alcohol always
works; but does it work for me or against me? My remembering
helps me answer that question today and hopefully tomorrow.

Thank You, God, for allowing my yesterdays to forge my tomorrows.

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The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times
of trouble.
Psalm 9:9

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them
out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than
all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father
are one."
John 10:27-30

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Daily Inspiration

Don't miss a single chance to enrich your life or the lives of others. Lord, Your blessings are countless. May I always be aware of Your presence in my life, share my blessings, and use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

Never judge. The heart of each one of us is so different, so complex, with so many different circumstances and sufferings that only God is truly able to know it. Lord, may I reach out to others with compassion when they need my support.

[bluidkiti]

September 3

Daily Reflections

BUILDING A NEW LIFE, p.255
We feel a man is unthinking when he says sobriety is enough.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p.82

When I reflect on Step Nine, I see that physical sobriety must be
enough for me. I need to remember the hopelessness I felt before
I found sobriety, and how I was willing to go to any lengths for
it. Physical sobriety is not enough for those around me, however,
since I must see that God's gift is used to build a new life for my
family and loved ones. Just as importantly, I must be available to
help others who want the A.A. way of life.
I ask God to help me share the gift of sobriety so that its benefit may
be shown to those I know and love.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Offer new prospects friendship and fellowship. Tell them that if
they want to get well you will do anything to help. Burn the idea into
the consciousness of new prospects that they can get well,
regardless of anyone else. Job or no job, spouse or no spouse, they
cannot stop drinking as long as they place dependence on other
people ahead of dependence on God. Let no alcoholic say they
cannot recover unless they have their family back. This just isn't so.
Their recovery is not dependent upon other people. It is dependent
on their own relationship with God." Can I recognize all excuses
made by a prospect?

Meditation For The Day

The spiritual life depends upon the unseen. To live the spiritual
life you must believe in the unseen. Try not to loose the
consciousness of God's spirit in you and in others. As a child in its
mother's arms, stay sheltered in the understanding and love of
God. God will relieve you of the weight of worry and care, misery
and depression, want and woe, faintness and heartache, if you will let
Him. Lift up your eyes from earth's troubles and view the glory of
the unseen God. Each day try to see more good in people, more of
the unseen in the seen.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may rest and abide in the presence of the unseen God. I
pray that I may leave my burdens in His care.

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As Bill Sees It

Singlehanded Combat, p.245

Few indeed are those who, assailed by the tyrant alcohol, have
ever won through in singlehanded combat. It is a statistical fact
that alcoholics almost never recover on their personal resources
alone.

********************************

'Way up toward Point Barrow in Alaska, a couple of prospectors got
themselves a cabin and a case of Scotch. The weather turned bitter,
fifty below, and they got so drunk they let the fire go out. Barely
escaping death by freezing, one of them woke up in time to
rekindle the fire. He was prowling around outside for fuel, and he
looked into an empty oil drum filled with frozen water. Down in the
ice cake he saw a reddish-yellow object. When thawed out, it was
seen to be an A.A. book. One of the pair read the book and sobered
up. Legend has it that he became the founder of one of our farthest
north groups.

1. 12 & 12, p.22
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 82-83

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Walk In Dry Places

What is Possible?
Spiritual Power.
With God, all things are possible, goes an old saying. Yet most of us haven't seen any
evidence of doing the impossible.
But through our program, we have truly accomplished things that we had
considered nearly impossible at one time. No human power could
have relieved our alcoholism, we read in the AA Big
Book. How many more conditions are we accepting because no human
power ..... particularly ours... can relieve them?
As we grow in sobriety, we should continuously reinforce our belief that God is
living and working in our lives. The impossible
problems we'll need to work on will have roots in our own habits and
feelings, but even if one of these deeply rooted problems has gone on for
years, we need not despair of finding an answer.
If we persist in prayer and in turning the problem over to our Higher power, an
answer must come. It is never too late to find the changes we need and
deserve.
Even if I haven't solved all my problems, I'll take the position
today that correct solutions exist in the mind of God. I'll be open to
signs that changes are coming.

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Keep It Simple

You will not regret the past nor wish ti shut the door on it. . . --- Alcoholics Anonymous
As we work the Steps, we fix our broken life. Many things in our new life have been painful. Our addiction to alcohol or drugs made it all worse. But if things hadn’t gotten so bad we might not have gotten into recovery.
We have changed so much! We have learned so much about life, our Higher Power, and ourselves in order to fix our lives. We can’t act like nothing in the past matters. It does matter, because it brought us to this new life. And is better already!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me face my past and heal the wounds---my wounds and others’ wounds.
Action for the Day : Today, I’ll three things I’m ashamed of. How can I make amends for them when I work Step Nine? I will call my sponsor if I need help.

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Each Day a New Beginning

... satisfaction is a lowly thing, how pure a thing is joy. --Marianne Moore
Our perfectionism generally dashes all hopes of self-satisfaction. But the program is here to show us that we can make progress. We can learn to believe that we are doing any task as well as we need to do it, at this time. Our job is the effort. The outcome is part of a larger plan, one that involves more than ourselves.
We'll find joy when we find acceptance of ourselves and our efforts and the belief that we are spiritual beings whose lives do have purpose and direction.
The wisdom that accompanies spiritual growth offers us security, that which we have sought along many avenues. And when we feel secure, we can trust that the challenges confronting us are purposeful and to our advantage.
One day at a time, one small prayer at a time, moves us even closer to spiritual security. We can look with glad anticipation at our many responsibilities and activities today. They are our opportunities for spiritual security. We can trust our growing inner resources by simply asking for guidance and waiting patiently. It will find us.
I must exercise my prayers if I want the spiritual security where I can find joy. I will ask for guidance with every activity today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

The question which might naturally come into your mind would be: "what did the man do or say that was different from what others had done or said?" It must be remembered that I had read a great deal and talked to everyone who knew, or thought they knew, anything about the subject of alcoholism. This man was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard's experience known to man, but who had been cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to say, the spiritual approach. He gave me information about the subject of alcoholism which was undoubtedly helpful. Of far more importance was the fact that he was the first living human with whom I bad ever talked, who knew what he was talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience. In other words, be talked my language. He knew all the answers, and certainly not because he had picked them up in his reading.

p. 180

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Good judgment, a careful sense of timing, courage, and prudence--these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine.

p. 83

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I will take time today to stop and give a gift to someone needy, smile
at a stranger or help a small child. I will take the time to do at least
one thing that I usually find myself too busy to do, and I will inwardly
smile at myself, taking the time to experience the feelings of my own
kindness.
--Ruth Fishel

Just for today: I will strive to be an active listener. I will practice
active listening when others share and when I share with others.
--Just For Today Daily Meditation

For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting
danger to our own lives and sanity.
--Twelve Steps And Twelve Traditions, p. 151

God, give me the courage and strength to see clearly.
--Melody Beattie

Tell your partner, your children, your parents: "I love you"
frequently.
Let them know the difference they make in your life. Miss no
opportunities for loving.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut."
--Roy Rogers

WHAT CAN I DO?"
My child, I've often heard your question. This is my answer:
You feel compassion for those who suffer pain, sorrow and
despair ... and you ask, "What can I do?" - COMFORT ONE
Your heart goes out to the lonely, the abused, and the imprisoned ... and
you ask, "What can I do?" - LOVE ONE

"What is oxygen to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life."
--Unknown

"Kindness pays most when you don't do it for pay."
--Unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SOLITUDE

"One of the greatest necessities
in America is to discover
creative solitude."
-- Carl Sandburg

I need to be alone. Being alone is not the same as being lonely. I
need to be alone with me in order to love me, understand me, hear
my needs and plan my day.

Also solitude is a spiritual experience because it enables me to center
on what God is doing and creating in my life. Solitude enables me
to think and cooperate with His will for me in our world.

As an addict I was always running around being "busy". Today I rest
within myself in order to be more active and creative.

Let me be still so that I can enjoy my world.

************************************************** *********

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience."
Colossians 3:12

"But you, keep your head in all situations..."
2 Timothy 4:5

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not
only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your
attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 2:3-5

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Today be kind and loving and expect nothing in return. When you lift your consciousness above the darkness, you will understand that the life of Christ is the only enduring life. Lord, teach me to see You in my neighbor.

Dear Lord, open our hearts to be able to see you anywhere, anytime, in all the ways that you choose to be present. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

September 4

Daily Reflections

RECONSTRUCTION
Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead. . . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS , p. 83

The reconstruction of my life is the prime goal in my recovery as I
avoid taking that first drink, one day at a time. The task is most
successfully accomplished by working the Steps of our Fellowship. The
spiritual life is not a theory; it works, but I have to live it. Step Two started
me on my journey to develop a spiritual life; Step Nine allows me to move
into the final phase of the initial Steps which taught me how to live a
spiritual life. Without the guidance and strength of a Higher Power, it
would be impossible to proceed through the various stages of
reconstruction. I realize that God works for me and through me. Proof
comes to me when I realize that God did for me what I could not do
for myself, by removing that gnawing compulsion to drink. I must
continue daily to seek God's guidance. He grants me a daily reprieve
and will provide the power I need for reconstruction.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"We must be careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking
as an institution. Experience shows that such an attitude is no help to
anyone. We are not fanatics or intolerant of people who can drink
normally. Every prospect is relieved when he finds we are not witch
burners. Temperate drinking is O.K., but we alcoholics can't get away
with it. And no alcoholic likes to be told about alcohol by anyone who
hates it. We shall be of little use if our attitude is one of bitterness or
hostility." Do I have a tolerance for those who can drink normally?

Meditation For The Day

Do not become encumbered by petty annoyances. Never respond
to emotional upsets by emotional upset. Try to keep calm in
all circumstances. Try not to fight back. Call on the grace of
God when you feel like retaliating. Look to God for the inner
strength to drop these resentments that drag you down. If you are
burdened by annoyances, you will lose your inward peace and the spirit
of God will be shut out. Try to keep peaceful within.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may do the things that make for peace. I pray that I may
have a mission of conciliation.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Instinct To Live, p.246

When men and women pour so much alcohol into themselves that
they destroy their lives, they commit a most unnatural act. Defying
their instinctive desire for self-preservation, they seem bent
upon self-destruction. They work against their own deepest
instinct.

As they are progressively humbled by the terrific beating
administered by alcohol, the grace of God can enter them and expel
their obsession. Here their powerful instinct to live can cooperate
fully with their Creator's desire to give them new life.

********************************

"The central characteristic of the spiritual experience is that it
gives the recipient a new and better motivation out of all proportion
to any process of discipline, belief, or faith.

"These experiences cannot make us whole at once; they are a
rebirth to a fresh and certain opportunity."

1. 12 & 12, p.64
2. Letter, 1965

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

What do We Deserve?
Good Expectations
We hear about people who snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Some of us do that even in
sobriety, experiencing failure just as success seems imminent.
At times, we may just be suffering from a bad situation that is all around us. But if we do seem to be having one bad break after another, we should look
more carefully within ourselves for causes. We may be punishing
ourselves, or pushing away our good simply because we do not feel worth
of it.
If we discover that this process is working in our lives, we must begin
changing these false patterns immediately. Having forgiven ourselves and
others, and having made amends, we need no punishment. We will work to
succeed in all of our activities, with a reasonable expectation of
success most of the time. We will expect and deserve the
best.
I'll carry with me today a belief that I deserve to succeed and will
take all necessary action to earn my success.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

In my view, we of this world are pupils in great school of life.
Bill W.
Our addiction has taught me much. It has taught us how far we can get from ourselves, our Higher Power, and those who love us.. Hopefully, we've learned we can't go it alone. Do I allow myself to learn from the bad things that happened?
Recovery has much to teach us too. We need to be students of life. We need to be open to learning. Our spirits can grow if we’re willing to do three things: First, we listen. Second, we think about what we've learned. Third, we turn what we've learned into action. Listening, combined with thought and action, will help us learn life’s best lessons.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You'll test me so I can learn. Help me accept the tasks You give me. And help me learn from them.
Action for the Day: I will view today as a class. I will do three things---listen, think, act.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

For all the sadness of closure, there is a new and joyful unfolding in the process of becoming. --Mary Casey
We must let go of people, places, memories, and move on to new experiences. The doors of the past must be closed before we can enter those that are opening to us today. However, no experience is gone forever. All of our experiences are threaded together, each one contributing to the events that claim our attention now.
Recovery has offered us a chance to be aware of our process of becoming. With each day, each experience, each new understanding, we are advancing along the path of personal growth. Let us remember that each of us has a particular path, like no other. Thus, our experiences are ours alone. We need not envy what comes to someone else.
Life is unfolding for us. The pain of the present may be necessary for the pleasure of tomorrow. We can accept the unfolding. Our inner selves have a goal; experiences of the past must be left in the past; experiences at hand will lead us to our destination today.
I am moving and changing and growing, at the right pace. The process can be trusted. What is right for me will come to me. I will let the joy of becoming warm me.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

It is a most wonderful blessing to be relieved of the terrible curse with which I was afflicted. My health is good and I have regained my self-respect and the respect of my colleagues. My home life is ideal and my business is as good as can be expected in these uncertain times.

p. 180

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

After we have made the list of people we have harmed, have reflected carefully upon each instance, and have tried to possess ourselves of the right attitude in which to proceed, we will see that the making of direct amends divides those we should approach into several classes. There will be those who ought to be dealt with just as soon as we become reasonably confident that we can maintain our sobriety. There will be those to whom we can make only partial restitution, lest complete disclosures do them or others more harm than good. There will be other cases where action ought to be deferred, and still others in which by the very nature of the situation we shall never be able to make direct personal contact at all.

p. 83

************************************************** *********

Today is the blocks with which we build.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

All of the animals except man know that the principal business of life is
to enjoy it.
--Samuel Butler

Today I am letting go of all judgments. I am releasing all negative
emotions. I am quietly going within and trusting my inner spirit
and I will know what is right for me.
--Ruth Fishel

" Let us continue to search our own minds for the hidden places where
we still deny love. Perhaps we learned loveless attitudes from our
parents, or from experiences in the past. Wherever we picked up
judgmental attitudes, they do not serve us now. They do not serve
God or the creation of a new world, and serving God is our only goal.
To serve God is to think with love. In prayerful request, let us give up
all thoughts that are not of love. "
--Marianne Williamson

Someone once wrote: "Happiness is always a by-product. You don't
make yourself happy by chasing happiness. You make yourself happy
by being a good person." The happiest people I know are people who
don't even think about being happy. They just think about being good
neighbors, good people. And then happiness sort of sneaks in the back
window while they're busy doing good.
--Rabbi Harold Kushner

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HUMILITY

"Humility is to make a right
estimate of one's self."
-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

To see yourself as a good person is part of the program of humility.
To see your gifts and recognize your achievements is what it is to be
a humble person. "God does not make junk." Therefore, we
should not act or behave towards ourselves in a way that would
indicate anything other than that we are "special".

All addicts and alcoholics need to accept this because for years we
had felt guilty, lonely and ashamed. These attitudes helped to keep us
sick.

Sobriety and serenity is recognizing our God-given uniqueness that
makes us "special". We can achieve great things as long as we
continue to believe in ourselves.

Thank You for loving me enough to become a part of me.

************************************************** *********

And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what
is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Believe in miracles because they do happen. Lord, I give You praise for the wonders that You are doing in my life.

Give yourself more exercise than jumping to conclusions. Lord, grant me sincerity and wisdom in my daily life.

[bluidkiti]

September 5

Daily Reflections

EMOTIONAL BALANCE
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible,. . . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 83

When I survey my drinking days, I recall many people whom my life
touched casually, but whose days I troubled through my anger and
sarcasm. These people are untraceable, and direct amends to them
are not possible. The only amends I can make to those untraceable
individuals, the only "changes for the better" I can offer, are
indirect amends made to other people, whose paths briefly cross
mine. Courtesy and kindness, regularly practiced, help me to live
in emotional balance, at peace with myself.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the mottoes of A.A. is "First Things First." This means that
we should always keep in mind that alcohol is our number-one
problem. We must never let any other problem, whether of family,
business, friends, or anything else, take precedence in our minds over our
alcoholic problem. As we go along in A.A., we learn to recognize the
things that may upset us emotionally. When we find ourselves getting
upset over something, we must realize that it's a luxury we alcoholics
can't afford. Anything that makes us forget our number-one problem
is dangerous to us. Am I keeping sobriety in first place in my mind?

Meditation For The Day

Spiritual progress is the law of your being. Try to see around you
more and more of beauty and truth, knowledge and power. Today try
to be stronger, braver, more loving as a result of what you did
yesterday. This law of spiritual progress gives meaning and purpose to
your life. Always expect better things ahead. You can accomplish much
good through the strength of God's spirit in you. Never be too
discouraged. The world is sure to get better, in spite of setbacks of war,
hate, and greed. Be part of the cure of the world's ills, rather than part
of the disease.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may keep progressing in the better life. I pray that I
may be a part of the forces for good in the world.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Have You Experimented?, p.247

"Since open-mindedness and experimentation are supposed to be the
indispensable attributes of our 'scientific' civilization, it seems
strange that so many scientists are reluctant to try out personally
the hypothesis that God came first and man afterward. They prefer
to believe that man is the chance product of evolution; that God,
the Creator, does not exist.

"I can only report that I have experimented with both concepts and
that, in my case, the God concept has proved to be a better basis for
living than the man-centered one.

"Nevertheless, I would be the first to defend your right to think as
you will. I simply ask this question: 'In your own life, have you ever
really tried to think and act as though there might be a God? Have
you experimented?'"

Letter, 1950

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Battles we've won or lost.
Achievements.
Even the continuous sobriety we're
enjoying is no shield from traps we seem to set for ourselves. At
times, we can find ourselves in the foolish game of continuing to fight
battles we've won or lost.
One losing battle is the attempt to win the approval of someone who has always disliked us. That person may be gone, but we still fight....and lose..... the same battle when we find ourselves in a similar situation.
We also may have won some battles without knowing it. This can happen when we've set our goals unrealistically high. We may be fairly
successful in our work, for example, but still feel that we have failed
because a high goal we set eluded us. That goal, however, may have
been all but impossible to attain, and while we mourn our perceived
failure, we ignore the successes we many have achieved in the
meantime. Consequently, we should never let any of these battles
interfere with our plan for sobriety. We must stay sober at all costs.
This day, I'll not strive to impress people who may always disapprove
of me. I will also accept my successes even if they fall short of
my highest dreams.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

I have never seen a greater monster or miracle than myself.----Montaigne
We know we’ve hurt people. We’ve heard our family cry out from pain we’ve caused them. Because of alcohol and other drugs, we acted like monsters.
But we now live surrounded with love. We now work to make this world better. Recovery is a miracle. The rebirth of our spirit is our miracle.
It’s no wonder we love life the way we do! We’ve been given a second chance. Our joy is overflowing. Our Higher Power must love us very much.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me with the monster that lives within me. I pray it will never again be let out.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll see myself as a miracle. I’ll be grateful for my new life.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Pity is the deadliest feeling that can be offered to a woman. --Vicki Baum
We must move forward with confidence, trusting that the strength we need will be given us, having faith in our visions to guide us. Problems need not daunt us. Rather, they can spur us on to more creative activity. They challenge our capabilities. They insist that we not stand still.
Pity from others fosters inaction, and passivity invites death of the soul. Instead, our will to live is quickened through others' encouragement. All else dampens the will. Pity feeds the self-pity that rings the death knell.
We can give strokes wherever we are today and know that we are helping someone live. And each time we reach out to encourage another, we are breathing new life into ourselves, new life that holds at bay the self-pity that may appear at any moment.
We can serve one another best, never by commiserating with sadnesses, but by celebrating life's challenges. They offer the opportunities necessary to our continued growth.
Someone needs a word of encouragement from me. I will brighten her vision of the future.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

I spend a great deal of time passing on what I learned to others who want and need it badly. I do it for four reasons:
1. Sense of duty.
2. It is a pleasure.
3. Because in so doing I am paying my debt to the man who took time to pass it on to me.
4. Because every time I do it I take out a little more insurance for myself against a possible slip.

pp. 180-181

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Most of us begin making certain kinds of direct amends from the day we join Alcoholics Anonymous. The moment we tell our families that we are really going to try the program, the process has begun. In this area there are seldom any questions of timing or caution. We want to come in the door shouting the good news. After coming from our first meeting, or perhaps after we have finished reading the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," we usually want to sit down with some member of the family and readily admit the damage we have done by our drinking. Almost always we want to go further and admit other defects that have made us hard to live with. This will be a very different occasion, and in sharp contrast with those hangover mornings when we alternated between reviling ourselves and blaming the family (and everyone else) for our troubles. At this first sitting, it is necessary only that we make a general admission of our defects. It may be unwise at this stage to rehash certain harrowing episodes. Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time. While we may be quite willing to reveal the very worst, we must be sure to remember that we cannot buy our own peace of mind at the expense of others.

pp. 83-84

************************************************** *********

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve...
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things...
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy...
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men...
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life...
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, richly blessed.
--This prayer was found on an unidentified Civil War soldier

SMILES
A SMILE COSTS NOTHING, but gives much. It enriches those who
receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a
moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich
or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but he
can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business,
and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer
to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is natures' best antidote
for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it
is something that it is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
--Anonymous

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

NATURE

"All are but parts of one
stupendous whole. Whose body
nature is and God the soul."
-- Alexander Pope

I belong to this world, this mighty universe -- but more importantly, it
belongs to me. I have a responsibility in this world and to this world.
No longer can I abrogate my responsibility. God created and is
creating through me. What I say, what I do, how I feel is important. I
am important. I am terrific -- because God made me and works
through me.

Sometimes I feel the one-ness. I stand on a mountain top and look at
the rolling hills beyond and I feel noble. The birds sing, the streams
murmur and I feel a tremendous sense of joy.

But I also feel the pain of the world. The people suffering, the
pointlessness of man's violence and the injustice of prejudice. All this
I feel, too.

Spirituality involves this mixture, the paradox of my being an angel
in the dust!

Thank You for including me in Your design for life. I tremble at the
responsibility You have shared with me.

************************************************** *********

"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light."
Micah 7:8

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do
not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

To be completely at peace, avoid hurting anyone for any reason. Lord, I will act with kindness and when others are hurtful to me, I will focus on Your presence within them to give me courage to respond gently.

If we spend time thanking God for the good things in our lives, we won't have time to do so much complaining. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of life and the many things that bring me joy.

[bluidkiti]

September 6

Daily Reflections

REMOVING THREATS TO SOBRIETY
. . . . except when to do so would injure them or others. . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS , p. 59

Step Nine restores in me a feeling of belonging, not only to the
human race but also to the everyday world. First, the Step makes
me leave the safety of A.A., so that I may deal with non-A.A.
people "out there," on their terms. It is a frightening but
necessary action if I am to get back into life. Second, Step Nine
allows me to remove threats to my sobriety by healing past
relationships. Step Nine points the way to a more serene sobriety
by letting me clear away past wreckage, lest it bring me down.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Live and Let Live." This, of
course, means tolerance of people who think differently than we do,
whether they are in A.A. or outside of A.A. We cannot afford the
luxury of being intolerant or critical of other people. We do not
try to impose our wills on those who differ from us. We are not
"holier than thou." We do not have all the answers. We are not better
than other good people. We live the best way we can and we allow
others to do likewise. Am I willing to live and let live?

Meditation For The Day

"And this is life eternal, that we may know Thee, the only true
God." Learning to know God as best you can draws the eternal life
nearer to you. Freed from some of the limitations of humanity, you
can grow in the things that are eternal. You can strive for what
is real and of eternal value. The more you try to live in the
consciousness of the unseen world, the gentler will be your passing
into it when the time comes for you to go. This life on earth should
be largely a preparation for the eternal life to come.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live each day as though it were my last. I pray
that I may live my life as though it were everlasting.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

We Need Outside Help, p.248

It was evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of
our defects based upon that alone, wouldn't be nearly enough.
We'd have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit
the truth about ourselves--the help of God and of another human
being.

Only by discussing ourselves, holding back nothing, only by being
willing to take advice and accept direction could we set foot on the
road to straight thinking, solid honesty, and genuine humility.

********************************

If we are fooling ourselves, a competent adviser can see this quickly.
And, as he skillfully guides us away from our fantasies, we are
surprised to find that we have few of the usual urges to defend
ourselves against unpleasant truths. In no other way can fear,
pride, and ignorance be so readily melted. After a time, we realize
that we are standing firm on a brand-new foundation for integrity,
and we gratefully credit our sponsors, whose advice pointed the
way.

1. 12 & 12, p.59
2. Grapevine, August 1961

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Change is sometimes necessary
Improvement.
Despite the fact that many of us live turbulent, chaotic lives, we may
find in sobriety that we don't like change. This causes us to seek
our security in familiar places, rather than reach out for the unknown
that lies ahead.
This may not be real security, however, because familiar places and situations
also change. Our resistance to change may simply be the fear of trying
something new.
If we find that fear of change is causing us to put up with a situation that's
become unsatisfactory, we need to adjust our attitude toward it.
While we view change as risky, it may be the necessary route for
improvement. Let's start by simply accepting the idea that change is
sometimes necessary. After that, we can expect our Higher Power to guide
us to the new situations that are right for us.
Today I may find myself fearing change. I'll remind myself that
nothing ever stays the same, and that only change can bring the true good
I'm always seeking.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Addiction is answering the spiritual calling inside us by going to the wrong address.
---Chris Ringer
Where can we go to feel better, to feel spiritually alive? Not to alcohol or
other drugs. Not to compulsive spending, gambling, or sex. Not to overeating
or overworking. When we turn to these things to feel better, we’re trading
one addiction for another, we’re going to the “wrong address.”
What is the right address? Our inner needs. Our Higher Power. Our recovery
program. Our friends. Soon, we become part of a network of “safe addresses.”
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, keep me on the right path. I don’t want to
go to the wrong address anymore.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll make sure I have at least three “right address”
in my wallet or purse. I’ll list names and day and evening phone numbers of
people who will love and help.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

We can build upon foundations anywhere if they are well and firmly laid. --Ivy Compton-Burnett
Recovery is a process, one that rebuilds our lives. And the Twelve Steps provide
the foundation to support our growth as healthy, productive women. But each Step
must be carefully and honestly worked, or the whole foundation will be weakened.
How lucky we are to have found this program and the structure it offers. We looked
for structure in our past. We searched, maybe for years, running from one panacea to
another, hoping to find ourselves. Booze--pills--food--lovers--causes; none gave us
the security we longed for. We couldn't find ourselves because we hadn't defined
ourselves. At last we've come home. Self-definition is the program's guarantee.
Not only can we discover who we are, now, but also we can change, nurture those
traits that we favor, diminish those that attract trouble.
My actions today are the key. They tell who I am at this moment. Who I become
is up to me. I will pick a Step and reflect before I move ahead. The strength of my
foundation depends on it.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

Unlike most of our crowd, I did not get over my craving for liquor much during the first two and one-half years of abstinence. It was almost always with me. But at no time have I been anywhere near yielding. I used to get terribly upset when I saw my friends drink and knew I could not, but I schooled myself to believe that though I once had the same privilege, I had abused it so frightfully that it was withdrawn. So it doesn't behoove me to squawk about it, for after all, nobody ever used to throw me down and pour any liquor down my throat.

p. 181

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Much the same approach will apply at the office or factory. We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our drinking, and who have been most affected by it. But even in these cases, we may need to use a little more discretion than we did with the family. We may not want to say anything for several weeks, or longer. First we will wish to be reasonably certain that we are on the A.A. beam. Then we are ready to go to these people, to tell them what A.A. is, and what we are trying to do. Against this background we can freely admit the damage we have done and make our apologies. We can pay, or promise to pay, whatever obligations, financial or otherwise, we owe. The generous response of most people to such quiet sincerity will often astonish us. Even our severest and most justified critics will frequently meet us more than halfway on the first trial.

p. 84

************************************************** *********

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an
understanding of ourselves.
--Carl Jung

During his lifetime, an individual should devote his efforts to creating
happiness and enjoy it.
--Ch'enTu-hsiu

"It takes less time to do things right than to explain why you did it
wrong."
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to
you."
--Madeline Bridges

Understanding a person does not mean condoning; it only means
that one does not accuse him as if one were God or a judge placed
above him.
--Erich Fromm

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FEAR

"The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself."
-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Fear is a killer. It is a killer because it drains us of life, energy and
creativity. Fear petrifies the human spirit.

I spent a lot of yesterdays afraid. Afraid of people finding out. Afraid
of the telephone. Afraid of where it would all end. Afraid of me! I did
not realize that I was feeding the fear with my behavior. I drank
myself into fear. The day I stopped drinking alcohol was the day I
stopped giving energy to my fear.

Today I live my life without abnormal or unrealistic fears. Today I
enjoy my life. I work through my problems. I am not afraid of my
shadow. Today I love me.

Lord may I always connect my unrealistic fears with my behavior
-- and begin the change.

************************************************** *********

"I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give
them gladness for sorrow."
Jeremiah 31:13

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out
weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying
sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:5-6

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

In everything imitate God and you will come to know Him better and better.
Lord, I ask Your help to come close to You in my thoughts and bring Your love to this earth.

If you are prepared to die, you will also be prepared to live.
Lord, You have given me life and made ready the Kingdom of Heaven. I dedicate myself to You.

[bluidkiti]

September 7

Daily Reflections

"OUR SIDE OF THE STREET"

We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that
nothing worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never
trying to tell him what he should do. His faults are not discussed.
We stick to our own.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 77-78

I made amends to my dad after I quit drinking. My words fell on
deaf ears since I had blamed him for my troubles. Several months
later I made amends to my dad again. This time I wrote a letter in
which I did not blame him nor mention his faults. It worked, and at last
I understood! My side of the street is all that I'm responsible for
and--thanks to God and A.A.-- it's clean for today.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "Easy Does It." This means that we
just go along in A.A. doing the best we can and not getting steamed up
over problems that are in A.A. or outside of it. We alcoholics are
emotional people and we have gone to excess in almost everything we
have done. We have not been moderate in many things. We have not
known how to relax. Faith in a Higher Power can help us to learn to
take it easy. We are not running the world. I am only one among many.
We are resolved to live normal, regular lives. From our A.A.
experience we learn that "easy does it." Have I learned to take it
easy?

Meditation For The Day

"The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the
everlasting arms." Sheltering arms express the loving protection
of God's spirit. Human beings, in their troubles and difficulties need
nothing so much as a refuge, a place to relax where they can lay
down their burdens and get relief from cares. Say to yourself:
"God is my refuge." Say it until its truth sinks into your very soul. Say
it until you know it and are sure of it. Nothing can seriously upset you
or make you afraid, if God is truly your refuge.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may go each day to God as a refuge until fear goes and
peace and security come. I pray that I may feel deeply secure in the
Haven of His spirit.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

God's Gifts, p.249

We see that the sun never sets upon A.A.'s Fellowship; that more
than three hundred and fifty thousand of us have now recovered
from our malady; that we have everywhere begun to transcend
the formidable barriers of race, creed, and nationality. This
assurance that so many of us have been able to meet our
responsibilities for sobriety and for growth and effectiveness in
the troubled world where we live, will surely fill us with the deepest
joy and satisfaction.

But, as a people who have nearly always learned the hard way, we
shall certainly not congratulate ourselves. We shall perceive these
assets to be God's gift, which have been in part matched by an
increasing willingness on our part to find and do His will for us.

Grapevine, July 1965

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

A New approach to Freedom
Staying Sober
Most of us discover that we've had mixed-up ideas about the nature of freedom.
Real freedom is not simply doing exactly as one pleases; privileges would be
the correct term for that. And desirable as political freedom is,
it cannot give us what we're really seeking.
We should approach freedom by recognizing that we're really seeking release from
the bondage of self. This self-concern can be one of the worst tyrannies
humans face. As we are released from the bondage of self, we learn that our choices
begin to multiply. We make wise decisions instead of being driven to certain actions.
We are truly free.
Today I'll enjoy a freedom that is available to anybody who seeks it
wholeheartedly. I'll know it as the freedom only God can offer.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

A lair needs a good memory. --- Quintilian
Many of us wasted a lot of energy trying to keep track of whom
we had told what. For example, we’d tell our boss one story and
our family another. Then we’d work hard to make sure they never met.
How wonderful to be done with that way of life! We now have a
life based on honestly. We can now be ourselves where we go.
Our program tell us that to get sober, we must live a life of strict
honesty. Honesty is our rule to get and stay sober. Life is much
more simple this way. We can relax and think of the happy details of life.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to live honestly.
Being honest brings me closer to You. Help me become closer to You.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll read the first three pages of Chapter
Five in Alcoholics Anonymous (Third Edition).
Here, I’ll learn why honesty is so important to my recovery.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Remember your good memories, but live for today and keep the
memories behind you. --Jodi K. Elliott
The stuff of our memories comprises who we have become.
Each recollection is akin to an ingredient in a simmering pot of stew.
The full flavor of our lives is enhanced by each additional experience,
whether it is painful or joyful.
Our experiences have a way of dovetailing, of grouping themselves,
perhaps even tailoring themselves, to provide us the best advantage.
So human is our tendency to linger in thought on past times that we
fail to take advantage, to be fully present in the moment, which is
assuredly making a necessary contribution to the total panorama of our lives.
Who are we to judge the value of any single experience? It's how
all experiences have mingled, that we must trust. We can be certain
in retrospect, that those situations that created the most inner turmoil
also offered us the most as growing, developing women.
The experiences offered today, in the 24 hours ahead, are significant
because they are unique. I will cherish them for the addition they are
making to my total person.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride which keeps you from accepting what is in this book, I feel sorry for you. If you still think you are strong enough to beat the game alone, that is your affair. But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know that we have an answer for you. It never fails if you go about it with one half the zeal you have been in the habit of showing when getting another drink.
Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!

p. 181

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

This atmosphere of approval and praise is apt to be so exhilarating as to put us off balance by creating an insatiable appetite for more of the same. Or we may be tipped over in the other direction when, in rare cases, we get a cool and skeptical reception. This will tempt us to argue, or to press our point insistently. Or maybe it will tempt us to discouragement and pessimism. But if we have prepared ourselves well in advance, such reactions will not deflect us from our steady and even purpose.

p. 85

************************************************** *********

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish one's
growth without destroying one's roots.
--Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what God has done.
--unknown

"Whatever you are trying to avoid won't go away until you confront
it."
--Anonymous

Serenity isn't freedom from the storm, it is peace within the storm.
--unknown

"We learn the magical lesson that making the most of what we have
turns it into more."
--Codependent No More

Inner peace should not be determined by outward experiences.
--unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WORK

"Without work all life goes rotten."
-- Albert Camus

A spiritual discovery that I have made is that I work in order to be,
not simply to exist. To work is human. Work opens the door to the
meaning of life, and it stops life from being boring and dull. Work is
creative. When I was drinking, I did not have this understanding of
work and so it became a burden, something I had to get through,
something I had to do for money or security. I missed the creative
dynamic of work and how it could enable me to feel good about myself.

In recovery I work, create and grow not only in my job, but also in
my leisure hours. Indeed the distinction between the two often
overlaps because the program I take into the office is the same
program I take into the party or disco.

Today God is to be found in everything.

************************************************** *********

"Happy are those...whose hope is in the Lord their God."
Psalm 146:5

"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"
Luke 9:23

"I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the
middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river
stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit
every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations."
Revelation 22:1-2

Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for
the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

"To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul."
Psalm 25:1

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

The way to freedom is the belief that we have the ability to choose. Lord, help me
make good choices and never be blinded by the false idea that I am a victim of circumstances.

The more difficult your burden, the stronger you are after you overcome it. Lord,
bless me as You bring me to everlasting life.

[bluidkiti]

September 8

Daily Reflections

"WE ASKED HIS PROTECTION"

We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

I could not manage life alone. I had tried that road and failed. My
"ultimate sin" dragged me down to the lowest level I have ever
reached and, unable even to function, I accepted the fact that I
desperately needed help. I stopped fighting and surrendered
entirely to God. Only then did I start growing! God forgave me. A
Higher Power had to have saved me, because the doctors doubted
that I would survive. I have forgiven myself now and I enjoy a
freedom I have never before experienced. I've opened my heart
and mind to Him. The more I learn, the less I know - a humbling
fact - but I sincerely want to keep growing. I enjoy serenity, but
only when I entrust my life totally to God. As long as I am honest
with myself and ask for His help, I can maintain this rewarding
existence. Just for today, I strive to live His will for me - soberly. I
thank God that today I can choose not to drink. Today, life is
beautiful!

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Another of the mottoes of A.A. is "But for the Grace of God." Once
we have fully accepted the program we become humble about our
achievement. We do not take too much credit for our sobriety.
When we see another suffering alcoholic in the throes of
alcoholism, we say to ourselves: "But for the Grace of God, there
go I." We do not forget the kind of people we were. We
remember those we left behind us. And we are very grateful to
the grace of God which has given us another chance. Am I truly
grateful for the grace of God?

Meditation For The Day

A consciousness of God's presence, as One who loves you makes all
life different. The consciousness of God's love promotes the
opening of your whole being to God. It brings wonderful relief from
the cares and worries of our daily lives. Relief brings peace and
peace brings contentment. Try to walk in God's love. You will have
that peace which passes all understanding and a contentment that
no one can take from you. Feel sure of God's unfailing love and
care for you and for all His children. There is freedom and serenity
in those who walk in God's love, held safe in His loving care.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may walk in God's love, I pray that, as I go, I may feel the
caring of God's power in my steps and the joy of His love in my heart.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Prayer Under Pressure, p.250

Whenever I find myself under acute tensions, I lengthen my daily
walks and slowly repeat our Serenity Prayer in rhythm to my
steps and breathing.

If I feel that my pain has in part been occasioned by others, I try
to repeat, "God grant me the serenity to love their best, and
never fear their worst." This benign healing process of repetition,
sometimes necessary to persist with for days, has seldom failed to
restore me to at least a workable emotional balance and
perspective.

Grapevine, March 1962

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Admitting a Wrong
Inventory.
It is all but impossible for some people to make the simple admission, I was wrong.
We might have a problem with such admissions because we tend to believe that
they place us at a disadvantage.
The reality is that the sooner we can admit a wrong, the more rapidly it can
be corrected and put behind us. The refusal to admit a wrong, the more
rapidly it can be corrected and put behind us. The refusal to admit a
wrong means making more of the same mistakes, thus bringing further harm
to ourselves and others.
We may have trouble admitting a wrong because we once faced excessive
punishments when we were found wrong. We can find our true course
by realizing that admission of our wrongs is the route to well-being and
improvement.
I'll continue to take every opportunity to learn when I might be
wrong, thus helping to avoid such mistakes in the future.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

I have an intense desire to return to the womb---Anybody’s ! ---Woody Allen
Some days the world just doesn’t seem safe. Maybe a friend died and you are hurting.
Maybe you argued with a loved one. You just want somebody to take care of you.
You want to feel safe and warm.
Turn to the spiritual part of the program. Let your Higher Power hold you with warm,
loving care. Pray. Pray to feel the programs will find you. Why? Because you’ve
opened your heart to recovery. To be loved, you have to open up to love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray for an open heart. I pray that love of the program will
find me and comfort me. Higher Power, I need Your love as a child needs the love of parents.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list three times the world has felt unsafe. I’ll meditate
on how things would have been different if I had turned to my Higher Power for comfort.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

It's astonishing in this world how things don't turn out at all the way
you expect them to! --Agatha Christie
Probably every day of our lives, a plan goes awry. Often we have
counted heavily on a particular outcome. We generally assume we
have all things under control and know exactly what's best for us,
and everyone else as well. But such is not the case. There is a bigger
picture than the one we see. The outcome of that picture is out of our hands.
Our vision is limited, and again divinely so. However, we are able to see
all that we need to see, today. And more important, if we can trust our
inner guidance regarding the events of today, we'll begin to see how each
day fills in a shade more of the bigger picture of our lives. In retrospect
we can see how all events have contributed, in important ways, to the
women we are becoming. Where today's events are leading we can't
know, for certain, but we can trust the divine plan.
I will anticipate with faith what lies ahead today. All experiences carry me
forward to fulfill my goal in life. I will be alert for the nudge.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

ONE OF FIVE children, I was born on a Kentucky farm in Carlyle County. My parents were well-to-do people and there marriage was a happy one. My wife, a Kentucky girl, came with me to Akron where I completed my course in law at the Akron Law School.

p. 182

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

After taking this preliminary trial at making amends, we may enjoy such a sense of relief that we conclude our task is finished. We will want to rest on our laurels. The temptation to skip the more humiliating and dreaded meetings that still remain may be great. We will often manufacture plausible excuses for dodging these issues entirely. Or we may just procrastinate, telling ourselves the time is not yet, when in reality we have already passed up many a fine chance to right a serious wrong. Let's not talk prudence while practicing evasion.

p. 85

************************************************** *********

The world has a way of giving what is demanded of it. If you are
frightened and look for failure and poverty, you will get them, no
matter how hard you may try to succeed. Lack of faith in yourself, in
what life will do for you, cuts you off from the good things of the
world. Expect victory and you make victory.
--Preston Bradley

Today is a day of opportunities. I am open and ready to find them all,
knowing that I am receiving all the guidance I need to be forward and
be happy.
--Ruth Fishel

"By giving unconditional love ... we become more loving, and by
sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual."
--Just For Today, p. 99

Today, I will remind myself as often as necessary that I am not a
victim, and I do not need to be victimized by whatever comes my way.
I will work hard to remove myself as a victim, whether that means
setting and enforcing a boundary, walking away, dealing with my
feelings, or giving myself what I need. God, help me let go of my need
to feel victimized.
--Melody Beattie

"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye."
--H. Jackson Brown Jr.

None of us has the power to make someone else love us.
But we all have the power to give away love, to love other people.
And if we do so, we change the kind of person we are,
and we change the kind of world we live in.
--Rabbi Harold Kushner, in Handbook for the Heart

Wisdom cannot be taught. It can only be learned.
--Source Unknown

You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with.
--Wayne Dyer

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIES

"A liar needs a good memory."
-- Quintilian

I lied to impress. I lied to hide my guilt and shame. I lied to cover my
mistakes. I lied to bridge the silence. I lied to fantasize. I lied to hurt
and destroy. I lied to hide the real me. Then I lied to cover the lies.
Then I lied to cover the lies I told to cover the original lies! So it
went on. Endless. Exhausting. Meaningless. A part of me always
loathed the lies I told. Then I grew to hate myself.

Today, because I understand spirituality to be based on truth, I try
not to tell lies. When I do lie, I make an effort to correct myself
and apologize. Today lying is painful for me. Today I try to use my
mind, imagination and memory for better things.

O God, who gave mankind the miracle of language and
communication, let me not abuse Your gift with destructive deceit.

************************************************** *********

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our
sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the
silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O
LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your
consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:17-19

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to
bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so
that they will be like his glorious body.
Phillipians 3:20-21

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Those that meet you will most likely not forget you, but how you are remembered is your choice. Lord, may I live with kindness, mercy, and love in my heart.

Our body is the temple of God and our soul is His image. It is the devil's work to make us forget that and feel useless, incapable and worthless. Lord, I will not deny Your existence in me. I am strong and capable because You live and work through me.

[bluidkiti]

September 9

Daily Reflections

OPENING NEW DOORS

They [the Promises] are being fulfilled among us - sometimes quickly,
sometimes slowly.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

The Promises talked about in this passage are slowly coming to life for
me. What has given me hope is putting Step Nine into action. The Step
has allowed me to see and set goals for myself in recovery. Old habits
and behaviors die hard. Working Step Nine enables me to close the
door on the drunk I was, and to open new avenues for myself as a
sober alcoholic. Making direct amends is crucial for me. As I repair
relationships and behavior of the past, I am better able to live a sober
life! Although I have some years of sobriety, there are times
when the "old stuff" from the past needs to be taken care of, and
Step Nine always works, when I work it.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When an alcoholic is offered a life of sobriety by following the A.A.
program, he will look at the prospect of living without alcohol and he
will ask: "Am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring
and glum, like some of the righteous people I see? I know I must get
along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient
substitute?" Have I found a more than sufficient substitute for
drinking?

Meditation For The Day

In God's strength you conquer life. Your conquering power is the
grace of God. There can be no complete failure with God. Do you
want to make the best of life? Then live as near as possible to God,
the Master and Giver of all life. Your regard for depending on God's
strength will be sure. Sometimes the reward will be renewed power to
face life, sometimes wrong thinking overcome, sometimes people
brought to a new way of living. Whatever success comes will not be all
your own doing, but largely the working out of the grace of God.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to rely more fully on the grace of God. I pray
that I may live a victorious life.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Face the Music, p.251

"Don't be too discouraged about that slip. Practically always, we
drunks learn the hard way.

"Your idea of moving on to somewhere else may be good, or it may
not. Perhaps you have got into an emotional or economic jam that
can't be well handled where you are. But maybe you are doing just
what all of us have done, at one time or another: Maybe you are
running away. Why don't you try to think that through again
carefully?

"Are you really placing recovery first, or are you making it
contingent upon other people, places, or circumstances? You may
find it ever so much better to face the music right where you are
now, and, with the help of the A.A. program, win through. Before
you make a decision, weigh it in these terms."

Letter, 1949

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Compliance isn’t acceptance
Honesty
We are sometimes mystified when people come into the AA program,
respond to its message for months or years, and then disappear, seemingly without
a trace. Later, we may be shocked to learn that they’re drinking again.
While we have no way of knowing the real reason, one possible explanation
is that they were practicing compliance without really accepting the program. The
danger of compliance is that it may simply be an outward show of working the
program while leaving one’s real thoughts and feelings unchanged.
At the same time, we often urge people to practice what is really only a form
of compliance. We then the, for example, to “bring the body” to meetings in the
belief that they heart will follow. This does little good if one’s heart does not
follow!
The only solution is to continue the difficult but rewarding search for
honesty in all things. When we examine ourselves honestly, we will recognize
when we are truly accepting and when we are merely complying.

I’ll remember today that the real success of AA is not in the number of people
who show up at meetings, but in how we truly accept the program.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears---by listening to them. ---Dean Rusk
We hate being told what to think. We like to make up our own minds.
It helps to talk things out with another person who, listens to us.
Someone who care what we think.
We can give this respect to others. We can listen their point of view.
We can try to understand them and care about what they think.
When we do this, others start to care what we think too. We share ideas.
The ideas get a little more clear. They change a little. We get a little
closer to agreement. We both feel good.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know when to listen and
when to talk today. Work for me and though me. Thanks.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for chances to listen to others
when I really want to talk. I’ll say, “Tell me more about that.” And I’ll listen.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

I do not want to die . . . until I have faithfully made the most of
my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the
last small twig has grown. --Kathe Kollwitz
There's so much to do before we rest . . . so much to do. We each
are gifted with talents, similar in some respects to others' talents,
but unique in how we'll be able to use them. Do we realize our talents?
We need only to dare to dream, and there they'll be.
It's so easy to fall into the trap of self-pity, thinking we have no
purpose, fearing we'll take life nowhere, dreading others' expectations
of us. But we can turn our thinking around at any moment. The choice
is ours. We can simply decide to discover our talents, and nurture them
and enrich the lives of others. The benefits will be many. So will the joys.
We have a very important part to play, today, in the lives we touch. We
can expect adventure, and we'll find it. We can look for our purpose;
it's at hand. We can remember, we aren't alone. We are in partnership
every moment. Our talents are God-given, and guidance for their full
use is part of the gift.
I will have a dream today. In my dream is my direction.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

My case is rather unusual in one respect. There were no childhood episodes of unhappiness to account for my alcoholism. I had, seemingly, just a natural affinity for grog. My marriage was happy and, as I have said, I never had any of the reasons, conscious or unconscious, which are often given for drinking. Yet, as my record shows, I did become an extremely serious case.

p. 182

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

As soon as we begin to feel confident in our new way of life and have begun, by our behavior and example, to convince those about us that we are indeed changing for the better, it is usually safe to talk in complete frankness with those who have been seriously affected, even those who may be only a little or not at all aware of what we have done to them. The only exceptions we will make will be cases where our disclosure would cause actual harm. These conversations can begin in a casual or natural way. But if no such opportunity presents itself, at some point we will want to summon all our courage, head straight for the person concerned, and lay our cards on the table. We needn't wallow in excessive remorse before those we have harmed, but amends at this level should always be forthright and generous.

pp. 85-86

************************************************** *********

Today, help me, God, to let go of my resistance to change. Help me to
be open to the process. Help me believe that the place I'll be dropped
off will be better than the place where I was picked up. Help me
surrender, trust, and accept, even if I don't understand.
--Melody Beattie

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
--Mahatma Gandhi

Today I will spend some time putting my own needs aside to help
someone else. It is so good to know that I can be filled with such good
feelings and I get so much when I give of myself.
--Ruth Fishel

God loves all of us, whether we walk away pain-free or not. Keep
taking care of yourself, no matter what. God, transform my pain into
compassion for others and myself.
--Melody Beattie

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up.
--Jesse Jackson

My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but
doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next
moment.
--Oprah Winfrey

"If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were
always yours. And if they don't, they never were."
--Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet"

Don't wait for your ship to come in, swim out to meet it...
--unknown

The task before you is never greater than the power behind you...
--unknown

Always, He will watch over us and comfort us.
--Ernest Holmes

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

RELIGION

"Science without religion is
lame, religion without science is
blind."
-- Albert Einstein

In the field of addiction we need to work together and listen to the
professionalism we all bring: the answer will be in "the many".

So often we divide ourselves up into "ghettos" of learning and miss
what "the others" are saying -- and the disease wins! This is
reminiscent of the old days in the church when science was seen as
the enemy, the world was flat and the earth was the center of the
universe. Pride and ego kept people sick, isolated and afraid -- and
thousands suffered and died. However, people began to listen to each
other and the world benefited from the shared wisdom.

As addictionologists and recovering people we need to listen to each
other.

Help me to see You in the honest experience of every man.

************************************************** *********

Help me, O LORD my God; save me in accordance with your love.
Let them know that it is your hand, that you, O LORD, have done it.
Psalm 109:26-27

With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I
will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to
save his life from those who condemn him.
Psalm 109:30-31

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
James 1:2-3

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

If a part of your past continues to haunt you and rob you of your joy, forgive.
Lord, I can not undo the past, but with Your help, I can let go by forgiving myself
and everyone else that has hurt me.

Do not let yourself be judged by others or ruled by approval or disapproval.
Lord, may I always trust in myself and You and live each day accordingly.

[bluidkiti]

September 10

Daily Reflections

RECOVERY BY PROXY?

They [the Promises] will always materialize if we work for them.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS p. 84

Sometimes I think: "Making these amends is going too far! No one
should have to humble himself like that!" However, it is this very
humbling of myself that brings me that much closer to the sunlight of
the spirit. A.A. is the only hope I have if I am to continue healing and
gain a life of happiness, friendship and harmony.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Here are answers to the question of how a person can live without
liquor and be happy: "The things we put in place of drinking are more
than substitutes for it. One is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In this company, you find release from care, boredom, and worry. Your
imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The
most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Among other
A.A.s you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with
new and wonderful ties." Does life mean something to me now?

Meditation For The Day

Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving
God and all the satisfactions of the world also? It is not easy to serve
both God and the world. It is difficult to claim the rewards of both. If
you work for God, you will still have great rewards in the world. But
you must be prepared to sometimes stand apart from the world. You
cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards that life
has to offer. If you are trying sincerely to serve God, you will have
other and greater rewards than the world has to offer.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not expect too much from the world. I pray that I
may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Alone No More, p.252

Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded
by people who loved us. But when our self-will had driven
everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced
to play the big shot in cheap barrooms. Failing even in this, we
had to fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of
passers-by.

We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by
being dependent upon others. Even when our fortunes had not totally
ebbed, we nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world. We still
vainly tried to be secure by some unhealthy sort of domination or
dependence.

For those of us who were like that, A.A. has a very special meaning. In
this Fellowship we begin to learn right relations with people who
understand us; we don't have to be alone any more.

12 & 12, pp. 116-117

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Watch those feelings
Feelings.
In AA's early years, there was very little talk about "feelings' or "emotions."
The phrase "getting in touch with your feelings" had not been popularized, yet
the AA pioneers knew that bitter and resentful feelings were destructive, while
warm and optimistic feelings enhanced sobriety.
Now we know that feelings are extremely are extremely important for groups as
well as individuals. We know that some AA groups can give off feelings that make
them more attractive than others. Some groups are considered "cold," while
others are "warm." Such differences are rooted in the feelings of each member
of the group.
How can we be sure that our feelings will make our groups warm and inviting to
others? We can "tune" our feelings by looking at our attitudes. If we are truly
dedicated to our principles and want to share them with others, the feelings we
project will be welcoming. Whatever we really feel will be expressed in our daily
affairs and in our group activities.
I'll check my attitude today for good feelings as I go about my work and activities.
These feelings will, in turn, send out signals that everyone can understand and appreciate.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

If you want a thing done “right,” you have to do it yourself.---Anonymous
We addicts can be very picky. We think there’s only one way to do things. It’s our way,
But we call it the right way. When we think like this, three things happen. First, we put
down other people. Second, we end up doing all the work. Third, everyone feels bad.
The other person feels hurt that we don’t respect him or her. And we feel angry
because we “had” to do all the work.
We need to know that there are many ways to do things. It’s okay when others don’t
do things our way. Their way probably works just fine for them. If they want your
advice they’ll ask for it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept other people and their ways.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll watch how other people do things. Maybe I’ll
learn a better way to do some things.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill
climb back to sanity and faith and security. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making
together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you,
and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can
only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional
boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still
achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here.
We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes
easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them
in the past. I will do so again.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

Before my drinking had cut me down completely, I achieved a considerable measure of success, having been a City Councilman for five years and a financial director of Kenmore, a suburb later taken into the city itself. But, of course, this all went up the spout with my increased drinking. So, at the time Dr. Bob and Bill came along I had about run out my strength.

p. 182

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

There can only be one consideration which should qualify our desire for a complete disclosure of the damage we have done. That will arise in the occasional situation where to make a full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we are making amends. Or--quite as important--other people. We cannot, for example, unload a detailed account of extramarital adventuring upon the shoulders of our unsuspecting wife or husband. And even in those cases where such a matter must be discussed, let's try to avoid harming third parties, whoever they may be. It does not lighten our burden when we recklessly make the crosses of others heavier.

p. 86

************************************************** *********

Today, I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher
Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs
about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that
God understands me.
--Melody Beattie

We are enrolled in a full time, informal school called, "Life." Each day
of this school, we have the opportunity to learn lessons. We may like
the lessons or hate them, but they are part of the curriculum. The
greatest lessons we learn are about love and fear, that every action is
either an expression of love, or a call for love. And the great blessing
is that every lesson repeats itself until we learn it.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today. I trust
that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for
these 24 hours.
--Ruth Fishel

Those who withhold forgiveness only withhold it from themselves."
--Paul Ferrini

Happiness is an inside job.
--Unknown

Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?
--Gerald Jampolsky

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

NEIGHBORS

"The good neighbor looks beyond
the external accidents and
discerns those inner qualities that
make all men human and,
therefore, brothers."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a drunk I said cruel things about other people. My prejudices hid
my fears and insecurities. I condemned in others what I saw in myself.
I deflected attention from me by the name-calling others: sick
manipulations. "Neighbor" was only a word that I could spell and
interpret, useful for religious homilies or pretentious innuendoes but
not something I really experienced.

Today I am able to be the "good neighbor" to many people, known and
unknown. My recovery has brought people into my life. Relationships
mean something; friends are important; the world is one. Black, Asian,
Hispanic -- all add a variety to my life that enable me to get in touch
with buried feelings of my "difference". In the stranger I discover
something of myself; the foreigner has become both friend and
neighbor.

God, I never cease to be amazed at the mystery and variety that is
"me".

************************************************** *********

But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already
has?"
Romans 8:24

"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to
be poor, yet has great wealth."
Proverbs 13:7

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

If a person or a situation causes you to feel insecure, you have forgotten who you really are. Lord, You are my Father. I am Your child. How can I ever feel like less.

God gives abundantly to those who pass His gifts on to others.
Lord, let Your blessings flow in to me and then out from me. I will neither be selfish nor let my gifts stagnate.

[bluidkiti]

September 11

Daily Reflections

MAKING AMENDS

Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not
delaying because we are afraid.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 87

To have courage, to be unafraid, are gifts of my recovery. They
empower me to ask for help and to go forth in making my amends with
a sense of dignity and humility. Making amends may require a certain
amount of honesty that I feel I lack, yet with the help of God and
the wisdom of others, I can reach within and find the strength to
act. My amends may be accepted, or they may not, but after they are
completed I can walk with a sense of freedom and know that, for
today, I am responsible.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Continuing the answers to the question of how a person can live
without liquor and be happy, we say: "You will be bound to the other
A.A.s with new and wonderful ties, for you and they will escape
disaster together and all will commence shoulder to shoulder the
common journey to a better and more satisfactory life. You will know
what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and
rediscover life. You will become happy, respected, and useful once
more. Since these things have happened to us, they can happen to
you." Have these things happened to me?

Meditation For The Day

God manifests Himself in human lives as strength to overcome evil
and power to resist temptation. The grace of God is that power which
enables a human being to change from a useless, hopeless individual
to a useful, normal person. God also manifests Himself as love--love
for other people, compassion for their problems, and a real
willingness to help them. The grace of God also manifests itself as
peace of mind and serenity of character. We can have plenty of power,
love, and serenity in our lives if we are willing to ask God for
these things each day.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may see God's grace in the strength I receive, the love
I know, and the peace I have. I pray that I may be grateful for the
things I have received through the grace of God.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

"Look Before You Leap"?, p.253

"Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of
prudence. They know that without this all important attribute
little wisdom is to be had.

"Mere 'looking before we leap' is not enough. If our looking is
charged with fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked
or acted at all."

********************************

"We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize
that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the
experience. Should our decision be the right one, we can thank God
for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act."

Letters, 1966

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

With Whom are we Honest?
Honesty
"When you're up before a judge, you can't be honest with the court,"
an AA member said, with some regret. "If you are, the judge will throw
the book at you."
This member was right in the sense that court-room disclosures must
always be made with prudence. What's more important is that we are
always completely honest with ourselves and the close friends who serve
as our sponsors. As for what is disclosed in a court situation, for example,
we follow sound professional advice. Under no circumstances, of course,
should we tell an outright lie, however.
Our practice of honesty also does not require us to tell every person we
know about our alcoholism. We are entitled to our privacy as well as anonymity.
Others, in turn, need not be burdened with complete knowledge about our lives.
Our Higher Power will guide us along honest paths once we're committed to the
program. We will know when and how to make the right disclosures about ourselves.
I'll practice rigorous honest today. At the same time, I will be prudent in the way
I disclose personal information.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

This above all: To thine own self be true.
---William Shakespeare
What does this saying mean: “To thine own self be true”? Hadn’t we thought
only of ourselves before recovery? The answer is no. That wasn’t the real us.
Each of us lost touch with our real self because of our addiction. We lost our
goals, our feelings, our values. We chased the high. In this way, we lost our
spirit. We became addicts.
With sobriety, we find ourselves again---and it feels great! We stop playing a
role and become ourselves---and it’s wonderful. We follow our dreams and
beliefs, not some addictive wild goose chase. We are again free to be ourselves.
Thank you. Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Today, I pray to be myself, to know all of me. I can trust
myself because my spirit is good.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll pray: “thine own self be true.”

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

I used to think I'd never know the difference between serenity and depression
because depression subdued me. --S.H.
Depression is familiar to us all, and less incapacitating than it used to be. We
have made progress, we can be assured. "This too shall pass" is not an empty slogan.
Each of us can recall, with ease probably, a period we thought we'd never survive.
Maybe our problem was family-related, or a tough on-the-job situation. Or maybe
we felt inadequate and lacking in strength to cope with all situations. But we managed.
Here we are today, taking charge of our lives and moving forward in search of serenity.
Serenity no doubt eludes us, again and again, throughout the day. But we can let our
minds rest. We can give our thoughts to the wind, and serenity will find us. Serenity's
peace nurtures us, strengthens us to withstand the turmoil ahead. There is always
turmoil ahead. Life's lessons are found there. The irony is that a life with no problems
doesn't offer the opportunities we must have if we are to grow.
I will let the serene moments wash over me. I will cherish them. They soften me.
And the blows of today's tumultuous storm will be lessened.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

The first time I became intoxicated I was eight years old. This was no fault of my father or my mother, as they were both very much opposed to drinking. A couple of hired hands were cleaning out the barn on the farm and I would ride to and fro on the sled, and while they were loading I would drink hard cider out of a barrel in the barn. On the return trip, after two or three loads, I passed out and had to be carried to the house. I remember that my father kept whiskey around the house for medical purposes and entertainment, and I would drink from this when no one was about and then water it to keep my parents from knowing I was drinking.

pp. 182-183

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Many a razor-edged question can arise in other departments of life where this same principle is involved. Suppose, for instance, that we have drunk up a good chunk of our firm's money, whether by "borrowing" or on a heavily padded expense account. Suppose that this may continue to go undetected, if we say nothing. Do we instantly confess our irregularities to the firm, in the practical certainty that we will be fired and become unemployable? Are we going to be so rigidly righteous about making amends that we don't care what happens to the family and home? Or do we first consult those who are to be gravely affected? Do we lay the matter before our sponsor or spiritual adviser, earnestly asking God's help and guidance--meanwhile resolving to do the right thing when it becomes clear, cost what it may? Of course, there is no pat answer which can fit all such dilemmas. But all of them do require a complete willingness to make amends as fast and as far as may be possible in a given set of conditions.

pp. 86-87

************************************************** *********

Few is the number of those who think with their own mind and feel
with their own heart.
--Albert Einstein

"I think everybody has to experience a certain amount of pain on the
way to maturity."
--Ruth Casey

"The great mind knows the power of gentleness."
--Robert Browning

God is guiding me in all my thoughts and plans and actions. I have
given up all my struggling and self-defeating messages and have
turned over all my thoughts to the power and energy of goodness and
love.
--Ruth Fishel

Today, I will not run from myself, my circumstances, or feelings. I will
be open to myself, others, my Higher Power, and life. I will trust that
by facing today to the best of my ability, I will acquire the skills I need
to face tomorrow.
--Melody Beattie

We do not possess our home, our children, or even our own body. They
are only given to us for a short while to treat with care and respect.
--Jack Kornfield

"Two things are hard on the heart - running upstairs and running down
people."
--Unknown

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

THOUGHT

"To be able to be caught up in a
world of thought -- that is being
educated."
-- Edith Hamilton

For years I didn't think I reacted. Things happened and I felt I had to
respond -- but rarely was it a considered response. I had no
program for my life. I was like a boat without a sail.

Today I think before I speak. I talk things over with a sponsor or
friends before I make an important decision. I listen to the opinions
of others before I make a choice. Today I am caught up in a world
of thought and it isn't simply my own. God knows my best thinking
nearly killed me!

The world only makes sense because people share. It is the giving
and receiving that makes life worthwhile. To be an island unto
myself is isolation. I know what it was to be lonely. Today I desire a
relationship of mind, body and feelings.

Let me find You in my neighbor and be sustained by the stranger.

************************************************** *********

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends."
John 15:13

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto
the hearers."
Ephesians 4:29

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many
seeds."
John 12:24

If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full
measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and
running over. Whatever measure you use in giving "large or small" it
will be used to measure what is given back to you.
Luke 6:38

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

The little moments of the day are as important in building our foundation as the impact of great events.
Lord, thank You for my blessings and my crosses. Graciously bless me with the courage to grow closer
to You with all that fills my day.

Never doubt the power, the wisdom and the love that God has for you.
Lord, thank You for Your constant care and the certainty of Your love for me.

[bluidkiti]

September 12

Daily Reflections

I AM RESPONSIBLE

For the readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to
take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the
very spirit of Step Nine.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 87

In recovery, and through the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, I learn
that the very thing I fear is my freedom. It comes from my tendency
to recoil from taking responsibility for anything: I deny, I ignore, I
blame, I avoid. Then one day, I look, I admit, I accept. The freedom,
the healing and the recovery I experience is in the looking, admitting and
accepting. I learn to say, "Yes, I am responsible." When I can speak
those words with honesty and sincerity, then I am free.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"What draws newcomers to A.A. and gives them hope? They hear the
stories of men and women whose experiences tally with their own. The
expressions on the faces of the women, that undefinable something in
the eyes of the men, the stimulating atmosphere of the A.A.
clubroom, conspire to let them know that there is haven at last. The
very practical approach to their problems, the absence of intolerance
of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny
understanding that these people in A.A. have is irresistible." Have I
found a real haven in A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

"If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." The eye
of the soul is the will. if your will is to do the will of God, to serve Him
with your life, to serve Him by helping others, then truly shall your
whole body be full of light. The important thing is to strive to attune
your will to the will of God, a single eye to God's purpose, desiring
nothing less than that His purposes be fulfilled. Try to seek in all
things the advance of His kingdom, seek the spiritual values of honesty
and purity, unselfishness and love, and earnestly desire spiritual
growth. Then your life will emerge from the darkness of futility into
the light of victory.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that my eye may be single. I pray that my life may be lived in
the light of the best that I know.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Satisfactions of Right Living, p.254

How wonderful is the feeling that we do not have to be specially
distinguished among our fellows in order to be useful and
profoundly happy. Not many of us can be leaders of prominence,
nor do we wish to be.

Service gladly rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well
accepted or solved with God's help, the knowledge that at home or
in the world outside we are partners in a common effort, the fact
that in God's sight all human beings are important, the proof that
love freely given brings a full return, the certainty that we are no
longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that
we can fit and belong in God's scheme of things--these are the
satisfactions of right living for which no pomp and circumstance, no
heap of material possessions, could possibly be substitutes.

12 & 12, p.124

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Handle the Old tapes with care.
Releasing the Past.
A large number of recovering people have a tough time coming to terms
with the abuse and abandonment of childhood days. Sometimes we play
those "old tapes" while reliving the past in a mood of self-pity and resentment.
This is destructive.
We cannot completely erase the past, but we can turn it over to our friends and
our Higher power. Our goal should be to transform past experiences into constructive examples.
We can start by reminding ourselves that all unhappy experience is a product
of the world's sickness and ignorance. Far from being unusual, our misery
was a common thing that we're only now beginning to overcome.
We can also practice God's forgiveness, remembering that real forgiveness
is humanly impossible. We should resist the temptation to tell others about
our past sufferings in order to gain sympathy. At all times, the old tapes must
be handled with care.
Whatever happened in the past cannot affect me today unless I let it.
I'll play the old tapes only when it can be done constructively.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

When angry, count to ten before you speak: if very angry, a hundred.
---Thomas Jefferson
Sometimes we just want to yell. Maybe a family member or a friend messed
up, and we want to “set them straight.” Start counting. Maybe we got chewed
out at work and we want “to get even.”
Start counting.
We get drunk on anger. We may feel powerful when we “set someone straight.”
But like an alcohol high, an anger high last only a short time and can hurt others.
We must control our anger. This is why we count.
Cool down. Think out what you need or want to say. Use words that you’ll not be
ashamed of later. Learning how to respect others when we’re angry is a sign of recovery.
Prayer for the Day : Higher Power, teach me to respect others when I’m angry.
Action for the Day: Today, when I feel angry I’ll count. I’ll work at not controlling other with my anger.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

No person is your enemy, no person is your friend, and every person is
your teacher. --Florence Scovel Shinn
We can open ourselves to opportunities today. They abound in our lives.
No circumstance we find ourselves in is detrimental to our progress. No
relationship with someone at work or at home is superfluous to our development.
Teachers are everywhere. And as we become ready for a new lesson, one will appear.
We can marvel at the wonder of our lives today. We can reflect on our yesterdays
and be grateful for the lessons they taught. We can look with hopeful anticipation
at the days ahead--gifts, all of them. We are on a special journey, serving a special
purpose, uniquely our own. No barrier, no difficult person, no tumultuous time is
designed to interrupt our progress. All experiences are simply to teach us
what we have yet to learn.
Trusting in the goodness of all people, all situations, all paths to progress will
release whatever our fears, freeing us to go forth with a quicker step and an
assurance that eases all moments.
The Twelve Steps help us to recognize the teachers in our lives. They help us
clear away the baggage of the past and free us to accept and trust the will of God,
made known to us by the teachers as they appear.
I am a student of life. I can learn only if I open my mind to my teachers.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

This continued until I enrolled in our state university and, at the end of the four years, I realized that I was a drunk. Morning after morning I would awake sick and with terrible jitters, but there was always a flask of liquor sitting on the table beside my bed. I would reach over and get this and take a shot and in a few moments get up and take another, shave and eat my breakfast, slip a half pint of liquor in my hip pocket, and go on to school. Between classes I would run down to the wash room, take enough to steady ny nerves and then go on to the next class. This was in 1917.

p. 183

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Nine - "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not delaying because we are afraid. For the readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine.

p. 87

************************************************** *********

"Pray to God, but keep rowing to the shore."
--Russian Proverb

The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.
--Flora Whittemore

One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing
is to be open and ready for it.
--Henry Moore

"Lord, make me a channel of thy peace--that where there is hatred, I
may bring love--that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of
forgiveness--that where there is discord, I may bring harmony--that
where there is error, I may bring truth--that where there is doubt, I
may bring faith--that where there is despair, I may bring hope--that
where there are shadows, I may bring light--that where there is
sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to
comfort than to be comforted--to understand, than to be
understood--to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that
one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one
awakens to Eternal Life. Amen."
--12 & 12, p. 99

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SELF-LOVE

"To love oneself is the
beginning of a life-long
romance."
-- Oscar Wilde

Today I am able to say that I love myself. To love myself is to love
God and the world in which I live. I cannot befriend, hug, help or
create without first having a relationship with myself. Without me,
there is no meaning to my life. I am the most important thing in my
life. This is not said to be conceited but is an aspect of self-love. It
reveals a healthy pride and respect for my life. And it feels good.

For years I thought that to love "self" was wrong and sinful, a
misuse of energy and time. What people thought about me was so
important; what people said about me was a constant worry. And the
more I looked out of myself for meaning, the more lost, isolated
and confused I became. Then I heard that God loved me and he
wanted me to love me. Today I live and love through me.

O God who created me to love, let me begin with me.

************************************************** *********

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie
down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores
my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love
will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of
the LORD forever.
Psalm 23

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

No one has the power to take your happiness or keep you from being happy and at peace unless you allow it.
Lord, help me remember that I am sustained and supported by Your love for me who wants only for my safety
and goodness.

Enthusiasm keeps the mind young and the spirit growing.
Lord, may I always see wonder in the ordinary happenings of my day.

[bluidkiti]

September 13

Daily Reflections

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE

Good judgment, careful sense of timing, courage and prudence -
these are the qualities we shall need when we take Step Nine.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 83

To make amends can be viewed two ways: first, that of repairing
damage, for if I have damaged my neighbor's fence, I "make a mend,"
and that is a direct amend; the second way is by modifying my
behavior, for if my actions have harmed someone. I make a daily
effort to cause no further harm. I "mend my ways," and that is
an indirect amend. Which is the best approach? The only right
approach, provided that I am causing no further harm in so doing,
is to do both. If harm is done, then I simply "mend my ways."
To take action in this manner assures me of making honest amends.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"No one is too discredited, nor has sunk too low, to be welcomed
cordially into A.A., if he or she means business. Social
distinctions, petty rivalries and jealousies are laughed out of
countenance. Being wrecked in the same vessel, being restored
and united under one God, with hearts and minds attuned to the
welfare of others, the things which matter so much to some people
no longer signify much to us. In A.A., we have true democracy and
true brotherhood."

Meditation For The Day

When you call on God in prayer to help you overcome weakness,
sorrow, pain, discord, and conflict, God never fails in some way
to answer the appeal. When you are in need of strength for yourself
or for the help of some other person, call on God in prayer. The
power you need will come simply, naturally, and forcefully. Pray
to God not only when you need help, but also just to commune
with Him. The spirit of prayer can alter an atmosphere from one
of discord to one of reconciliation. It will raise the quality of
thought and word and bring order out of chaos.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may bring peace where these is discord.
I pray that I may bring conciliation where these is conflict.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Wider Understanding, p.255

To reach more alcoholics, understanding of A.A. and public good will
towards A.A. must go on growing everywhere. We need to be on
still better terms with medicine, courts, prisons, mental hospitals, and
all enterprises in the alcoholism field. We need the increasing
good will of editors, writers, television and radio channels. These
publicity outlets need to be opened ever wider.

********************************

Nothing matters more to A.A.'s future welfare than the manner in
which we use the colossus of modern communication. Used unselfishly
and well, it can produce results surpassing our present
imagination. Should we handle this great instrument badly, we
shall be shattered by the ego manifestations of our own people.
Against this peril, A.A. members' anonymity before the general
public is our shield and our buckler.

1. Twelve Concepts, p.51
2. Grapevine, November 1960

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Learning to Cut my Losses
Honesty
Business people speak of “cutting their losses” when it becomes clear that
a venture is going sour. As recovering alcoholics, we need to practice the
same principle when we’re obviously on the wrong track.
If a resentment is developing, for example, the sooner we spot it and clear
it out, the less damage we suffer. In the same way, we may be engaging in
selfish but destructive behavior, or perhaps something that borders on being
illicit or dishonest. We minimize our losses by admitting the wrong and getting
back to our basic principles of living.
In cutting our losses, the usual barriers are pride and self-deception. While
these shortcomings will probably always dog us, we at least have experience
in dealing with them, or we wouldn't have made any progress in sobriety.
If a course of thought or action isn't working out well, perhaps it’s time
today to cut my loses in order to get back on the right track.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

People seldom improve when they have no model but themselves to copy.---Oliver Goldsmith
If we had to get well by ourselves, we’d be in trouble. We’ve already tried this route.
We need to learn a new way to live, not the old way we already know.
That’s why we have sponsors in Twelve Step programs. Sponsors are one of the best
things about our recovery. We pick people who are happy and doing well in recovery.
Then we copy them. We copy them because sponsors are special people who have
what we want. They have sobriety. They have happiness. They have common sense.
They have peace and serenity. And they will help us get those things too. We learn
a new way to live from them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me pick good models. Help me copy what works for them.
Action for the Day: If I don’t have a sponsor now, I’ll work today on getting one.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

Nobody told me how hard and lonely change is. --Joan Gilbertson
Pain, repeatedly experienced, indicates a need for self-assessment, an inventory
of our behavior. Honest self-appraisal may well call for change, a change in
attitude perhaps, a change in specific behavior in some instances, or maybe a
change in direction. We get off the right path occasionally, but go merrily on
our way until barriers surface, doors close, and experiences become painful.
Most of us willingly wallow in our pain a while, not because we like it, but
because its familiarity offers security. We find some comfort in our pain because
at least it holds no surprises.
When our trust in God is high, we are more willing to change. And we open
ourselves to the indications for movement in a new direction. Each of us must
find our own willingness. Each of us must develop attentiveness to the signs
that repeatedly invite changes in our behavior. But most of all, each of us has
to travel the road to change, singly. Changes we must find the courage to make
will never be exactly like someone else's changes.
Courage to change accompanies faith. My fears are telling me to look within
to the spiritual source of strength, ever present but often forgotten.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

I left the university in the latter part of my senior year and enlisted in the army. At the time, I called it patriotism. Later, I realized that I was running from alcohol. It did help to a certain extent, since I got in places where I could not obtain anything to drink, and so broke the habitual drinking.

p. 183

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

As we work the first nine Steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or foul. Then comes the acid test: can we stay sober, keep in emotional balance, and live to good purpose under all conditions?

p. 88

************************************************** *********

None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up
from our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down
and helped us.
--Thurgood Marshall

Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The
second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.
--Henry James

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used
when we created them."
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"Listen or Thy tongue will keep Thee deaf."
--American Indian Proverb

Rather than regretting that I wasted half of my life drinking, I am
just grateful that God has given me the rare opportunity to live two
lives in one lifetime.

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MINORITY

"The greatest good of a minority
of our generation may be the
greatest good for the greatest
number of people in the long
run."
-- Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr.

I belong to a minority. I am a recovering alcoholic. I use a spiritual
program that keeps me sober a day at a time. I have a God that I can
understand today. I do a daily inventory and make amends when
appropriate, and I feel good about myself.

This spiritual program is reaching out to the world: gamblers,
overeaters, cocaine addicts, the families of addicts, the children of
compulsive people; obsessive people can all be helped by this daily
program of acceptance.

Perhaps the recovering drunk has stumbled upon a miracle that can
bring the world back to God!

Lord, the more I talk about my "difference" with people, the more
they and I feel the same.

************************************************** *********

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit
lead me on a level path."
Psalm 143:10

"You have let me sink down deep in desperate problems. But you will
bring me back to life again, up from the depths of the earth!"
Psalms 71:20

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

Talent is the ability to do easily that which others find difficult.
Lord, help me to recognize and value the abilities that I have been given and use them gratefully.

Simple trust in God is all that is required to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Lord, I love You. I trust in You. I am Your child.

[bluidkiti]

September 14

Daily Reflections

PEACE OF MIND

Do we lay the matter before our sponsor or spiritual adviser,
earnestly asking God's help and guidance--meanwhile resolving
to do the right thing when it becomes clear, cost what it may?
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p p. 86-87

My belief in a Higher Power is an essential part of my work on
Step Nine; forgiveness, timing, and right motives are the other
ingredients. My willingness to do the Step is a growing
experience that opens the door for new and honest relationships
with the people I have harmed. My responsible action brings me
closer to the spiritual principles of the program -- love and
service. Peace of mind, serenity, and a stronger faith are
sure to follow.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"How does A.A. grow? Some of us sell A.A. as we go about.
Little clusters of twos and threes and fives keep springing
up in different communities, through contact with the larger
centers. Those of us who travel drop in at other groups as
often as we can. This practice enables us to lend a hand to
new groups which are springing up all over the land. New
groups are being started each month. A.A. is even spreading
outside the United States and is slowly becoming world-wide.
Thus we grow." Am I doing all I can to spread A.A. wherever I go?

Meditation For The Day

"Lord we believe. Help Thou our unbelief." This cry of the
human heart is an expression of human frailty. It signifies
the soul's sincere desire for progress. As a person feels the
existence of God and His power, that person believes in Him
more and more. At the same time, a person is more conscious of
his falling short of absolute trust in God. The soul's progress
is an increasing belief, then a cry for more faith, a plea to
conquer all unbelief, all lack of trust. We can believe that
that cry is heard by God and that prayer is answered in due
time. And so our faith grows, little by little, day by day.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that with more power in my life will come more faith.
I pray that I may come to trust God more each day.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

A "Special" Experience?, p.256

I was the recipient of a tremendous mystic experience or
"illumination," and at first it was very natural for me to feel that this
experience staked me out as somebody very special.

But as I look now back upon this tremendous event, I can only feel
very grateful. It now seems clear that the only special features of my
experience were its suddenness and the overwhelming and immediate
conviction that it carried.

In all other respects, however, I am sure that my own experience was
essentially like that received by any A.A. member who has strenuously
practiced our recovery program. Surely, the grace he receives is also
of God; the only difference is that he becomes aware of his gift more
gradually.

Grapevine, July 1962

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Am I getting too busy?
Time Management.
It's always risky when a recovering person gets too busy for meetings.
It's also dangerous when business and personal concerns crowd out
interest in the program.
We should never deceive ourselves by thinking that we're somehow
safe just because our time is filled with useful and interesting work.
Many of us have a tendency to become addicted to "busy-ness".
Though less destructive than drinking, this serves as an escape, just
as alcohol did.
The danger is that when the work no longer satisfies us, we'll find our
lives becoming empty again. We could then be very vulnerable to taking a drink.
We should never be too busy for the wonderful, constructive work of the program.
Far from taking time away from our other actives, work in the program will
enhance everything we do.
I'll try to balance my activities today, making sure that I have time for the program.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

You must look into people, as well as at them.
---Lord Chesterfield
When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we only looked at people.
We treated them like objects. Often, we could only see how they helped
us get high, or how they got in our way.
Now we can see others as people. We look into them. We learn about
their feelings and thoughts.
We care about them. What a wonderful change! We are fully human
again. We can have relationships.
When we look into others, we see life. We see beauty, courage, hope
and love. We see bits of ourselves and our Higher Power. What a miracle life is.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be fully human today.
Help me see You in others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look into someone. I’ll do this by having a
talk with a friend. And I’ll really listen.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

What a strange pattern the shuttle of life can weave. --Frances Marion
How shortsighted is our judgment about today's experiences! We'll see
with clarity where they may lead us only after we've reached our destination.
Of one thing we can be certain: Today's experiences, in concert with
yesterday's and all that's gone before, are combining to weave an intricate
life design, unique, purposeful, and for our ultimate good.
We need not feel remorse over lost chances or unproductive behavior in
the past. Our destination remains the same, and our arrival is guaranteed.
Our actions and decisions are never wrong. We may veer off course for a
time, but the design for our lives will pull us back on the track.
The program is part of the design for our lives. It's helping us to stay on
course. In fact, when we're working the Steps, we're at ease with our
direction, and we trust the outcome of our efforts to the power of the
program. We will add to the richness of our design, today, just as
we have every day of our lives. We can anticipate today's experiences
with an excited heart.
There is something special going on in my life today. I will give
everybody and every event my full attention.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

Then Prohibition came into effect, and the facts that the stuff obtainable was so horrible and sometimes deadly, and that I had married and had a job which I had to look after, helped me for a period of some three or four years, although I would get drunk every time I could get hold of enough to drink to get started. My wife and I belonged to some bridge clubs and they began to make wine and serve it. However, after two or three trials, I found this was not satisfactory because they did not serve enough to satisfy me. So I would refuse to drink. This problem was soon solved, however, as I began to take my bottle along with me and hide it in the bathroom or in the shrubbery outside.

pp. 183-184

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

When a drunk has a terrific hangover because he drank heavily yesterday, he cannot live well today. But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not. That is the emotional hangover, the direct result of yesterday's and sometimes today's excesses of negative emotion--anger, fear, jealousy, and the like. If we would live serenely today and tomorrow, we certainly need to eliminate these hangovers. This doesn't mean we need to wander morbidly around in the past. It requires an admission and correction of errors now. Our inventory enables us to settle with the past. When this is done, we are really able to leave it behind us. When our inventory is carefully taken, and we have made peace with ourselves, the conviction follows that tomorrow's challenges can be met as they come.

pp. 88-89

************************************************** *********

"What helps me to go forward is that I stay receptive. I
feel that anything can happen."
--Anouk Aimee

"No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched."
--George Jean Nathan

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to
go on creating oneself endlessly.
--Herni Bergson

"Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination to
be happy under all outward circumstances."
-- J. Donald Walters

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house."
-- William Makepeace Thackeray

***********************************************

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MIDDLE-AGE

"Middle-age is when you begin
to smile at things that used to
cause you to laugh."
-- Anonymous

Today I feel so young at heart. I love to laugh, I mean really laugh; I
love to play and act silly in my life; I love discovering my "child" that
comes out to give balance to my life.

This was not always the case. Not too many yesterdays ago I was
serious, depressed, affecting a smile that did not come from within.
Alcoholism made me an unhappy man. Before I got sober my so called
"high" had changed into a boring "low"!

I was middle-aged before I was thirty. Today I feel younger than I did
twenty years ago -- and it shows. You are what you drink. Today I am
sober!

Thank You for the gift of "play" in my life.

************************************************** *********

"Only believe."
Mark 5:36

"For nothing is impossible with God."
Luke 1:37

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

It is nice to have the things money can buy, but be sure that you don't lose the
things money can't buy in the process. Lord, never let me forget who I am and
that which truly means the most.

When you have faith in yourself and God, you will know that you are loved and
safe and never alone. Lord, I am these things because You are always with me.

[bluidkiti]

September 15

Daily Reflections

A NEW LIFE

Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that.
It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous . . . .
Life will mean something at last.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 152

Life is better without alcohol. A.A. and the presence of
a Higher Power keeps me sober, but the grace of God does
even better; it brings service into my life. Contact with
the A.A. program teaches me a new and greater understanding
of what Alcoholics Anonymous is and what it does, but most
importantly, it helps to show me who I am: an alcoholic who
needs the constant experience of the Alcoholics Anonymous
program so that I may live a life given to me by my
Higher Power.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"We all realize that we know only a little. God will
constantly disclose more to all of us. Ask Him in your
morning meditations what you can do today for the
person who is still sick. The answers will come, if
your own house is in order. See to it that your
relationship with God is right and great events will
come to pass for you and countless others. Give freely
of what you find in A.A. But, obviously, you cannot
transmit something which you haven't got. So make a
life-study of A.A." Am I always looking for ways of
presenting the A.A. Program?

Meditation For The Day

"In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.:
Confidence means to have faith in something. We could
not live without confidence in others. When you have
confidence in God's grace, you can face whatever comes.
When you have confidence in God's love, you can be
serene and at peace. You can rest in the faith that God
will take care of you. Try to rest in God's presence
until His life-power flows through you. Be still and in
that stillness the still, small Voice will come. It
speaks in quietness to the human mind that is attuned
to its influence.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may find strength today in quietness.
I pray that I may be content today that God will take care of me.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Key to Sobriety, p.257

The unique ability of each A.A. to identify himself with, and bring
recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning,
his eloquence, or any special individual skills. The only thing that
matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety.

********************************

In my first conversation with Dr. Bob, I bore down heavily on the
medical hopelessness of his case, freely using Dr. Silkworth's words of
describing the alcoholic's dilemma, the "obsession plus allergy"
theme. Though Bob was a doctor, this was news to him, bad
news. And the fact that I was an alcoholic and knew what I was
talking about from personal experience made the blow a shattering
one.

You see, our talk was a completely mutual thing. I had quit preaching.
I knew that I needed this alcoholic as much as he needed me.

1. 12 & 12, pp. 150-151
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, pp. 69-70

************************************************** *********

Walk In Dry Places

Seeking Our Own
Harmony
Our feelings will often serve as good guides in determining what course
of action we ought to follow. If there is a persistent feeling of discomfort
about any situation, we should ask ourselves why we are feeling this way.
Perhaps it’s because we are involved with people or activities that are not
right for us.
In the same way, we will feel drawn to certain people and activities. This is
undoubtedly because we’re in tune with these people or activities. In such
circumstances, we can say that we are “seeking our own.” With our unique
temperaments and abilities, we fit better in certain places and with certain
groups of people than others.
We are indeed fortunate if we find that recovery in a Twelve Step program
is a case of seeking and finding our own. This must certainly strengthen
and enhance our program.
I'll seek out only the people and activities that seem to belong in my life.
If I do not belong in one situation, this merely means that a better one is available somewhere.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.---Vittorio Alfiert
What brave people we are! We have chosen life. Okay, maybe we had a
little push, maybe a big push from our family, police, or the pain of our disease.
But still, we’ve chosen recovery. We choose daily to let our Higher Power run
our lives. What trust! What faith! What courage!
We work hard at recovery. We do our meditate. We look for ways to serve others.
Each one of us is building a miracle. We can be proud of this.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll have the courage to love myself. High Power,
teach me to pat myself on the back when I deserve it.
Action for the Day: I will list three ways I am brave in recovery and share them with my group.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

When our myths, dreams, and ideals are shattered, our world topples.
--Kathleen Casey Thiesen
The act of "becoming" topples our world, and rightly so. We outgrow yesterday's
ideals, and we have begun realizing, in our unfolding, the dreams of last year.
Now new dreams call us. Recovery has toppled our world. Hallelujah!
In our abstinence, each day offers us fresh opportunities to "create" new
realities to replace the outworn, outgrown myths of the using days. But letting
go of the old takes patience, persistence, and strength. The old comforted us,
when there was little else.
Perhaps we need reminding that were it not for the shattered myths of last year
or last week, we'd not be progressing, unfolding, as the bigger picture calls us.
We have a part to play in this life, as do our sisters, our friends, our children.
New dreams and ideals will lead us on our way. Old dreams served us yesterday,
and the past is gone. They can't direct our present.
I will look with excitement at my toppling world. It signifies growth - intellectual,
emotional and spiritual. Old ideals will bind me--I will dare to dream new dreams
and go where they lead with confidence.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three

Pioneer member of Akron's Group No. 1, the first A.A. group in the world. He kept the faith; therefore, he and countless others found a new life.

As time went on my drinking became progressively worse. Away from my office two or three weeks at a time; horrible days and nights when I would lie on the floor of my home, lying awake and reaching over to get the bottle, taking a drink and going back into oblivion.

p. 184

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Ten - "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."

Although all inventories are alike in principle, the time factor does distinguish one from another. There's the spot check inventory, taken at any time of the day, whenever we find ourselves getting tangled up. There's the one we take at day's end, when we review the happenings of the hours just past. Here we cast up a balance sheet, crediting ourselves with things well done, and chalking up debits where due. Then there are those occasions when alone, or in the company of our sponsor or spiritual adviser, we make a careful review of our progress since the last time. Many A.A.'s go in for annual or semiannual housecleanings. Many of us also like the experience of an occasional retreat from the outside world where we can quiet down for an undisturbed day or so of self-overhaul and meditation.

p. 89

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"When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness
in everyday life, something magical happens: ordinary life
becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to
nourish your soul!"
--Rabbi Harold Kushner

"He who laughs, lasts."
--Mary Pettibone Poole

If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any
fellow being, let me do it, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass
this way again.
--William Penn

A L C O H O L I C S = A Life Consisting Of Helping Others Live Is Called Sobriety.

I have learned that my actions are far more important than my thoughts.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal
into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of
our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
--Melody Beattie

"The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more
things you will have to express gratitude for."
--Zig Ziglar

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

NONSENSE

"We find it hard to believe that
other people's thoughts are as
silly as our own, but they
probably are."
-- James Harvey Robinson

Today I am able to laugh at myself. I even "think" funny things. I sit
at airports and look at the faces, postures and mannerisms of the
people passing by and I smile, giggle and laugh in my handkerchief.
Then I think about what a funny man I am -- so ridiculously proud, so
pompous about the silliest things, so preoccupied about my own
importance -- and it is funny.

Yes, today I am able to laugh at myself. I know that people are funny
because I know I am. At meetings I hear people laughing about the
day's insanities and I can always identify. Even my relationships are
humorous. I try so hard to make a good impression while at the same
time offering the effect of detachment -- trying to be "cool".

God must have a sense of humor because He made you and me!

Thank You for the gift of humor -- it allows true humility to develop.

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"What is impossible with man is possible with God." Luke 18:27

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,
slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring
about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:19-20

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will
and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without
complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which
you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order
that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Philippians 2:12-16

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Daily Inspiration

Every day renew your purpose because without purpose your life will be empty.
Lord, grant that I am able to truly see the worth and value of my existence
and know that my presence does make a difference.

The value of each gift God gives us is doubled when we share it with someone else.
Lord, may I freely give without expectation of something in return even though
I know Your constant generosity.