A Prayer & Some Thoughts - April

[bluidkiti]

April 12


Empathy Prayer

Gracious and merciful God of all creation,
You made us live together in communities.
We are nothing without relationships.
You have given us the virtue of empathy to ensure that we are able to identify with
and feel other people’s concerns.
We come to you now asking for the grace and strength to follow your plan and to form
a safe, caring, inclusive community. May your gift of empathy lead
us to know and feel your presence among us.
Amen

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Just a Thought

One 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.

So ............

Am I truly grateful for the grace of God?

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Just a Contemplation

Living with Families

We may love and care about our family very much. Family members may love and care about us. But interacting with some members may be a real trigger to a deep abyss of shame, rage, anger, guilt, and helplessness.

It can be difficult to achieve detachment, or an emotional level, with certain family members. It can be difficult to separate their issues from ours. It can be difficult to own our power. Difficult, but not impossible.

First is awareness and acceptance - simple acknowledgment, without guilt, of our feelings and thoughts. We do not have to blame our family members. We do not have to blame or shame ourselves. Acceptance is the goal - acceptance and freedom to choose what we want and need to do to take care of ourselves with that person. We can become free of the patterns of the past. We are recovering. Progress is the goal.

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Action

In shame and despair, I went to my first AA meeting. By some minor miracle, I was able to suspend opinion, analysis, judgment, and criticism, and instead to listen and hear. I heard someone say that AA works for those who work for it, those who put action into the program. . . I heard that I should forget about yesterday and instead concentrate on today and staying away from the first drink today -- now. I tried it and it worked.

Came To Believe Page 42

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Just a Quote

“Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life has empathy for those who have experienced loss.” ~ Anderson Cooper