Daily Recovery Readings - August

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August 21

Daily Reflections

WE JUST TRY, p.242

My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that
I receive.
The Best Of Bill, pp. 46-47

As long as I try, with all my heart and soul, to pass along to others
what has been passed along to me, and do not demand anything in
return, life is good to me. Before entering this program of Alcoholics
Anonymous I was never able to give without demanding something
in return. Little did I know that, once I began to give freely of
myself, I would begin to receive, without ever expecting or
demanding anything at all. What I receive today is the gift of
"stability," as Bill did: stability in my A.A. program; within
myself; but most of all, in my relationship with my Higher Power,
whom I choose to call God.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Who are you to say there is no God? This challenge comes to all
of us. Are we capable of denying that there is a design and
purpose in all of life as we know it? Or are we willing to admit that
faith in some kind of Divine Principle is a part of our makeup, just
as much as the feeling we have for a friend? We find a great Reality
deep down within us, if we face ourselves as we really are. In the
last analysis, it is only there that God may be found. When we find
this Reality within us, we are restored to our right minds." Have I
found the great reality?

Meditation For The Day

"Behold, I make all things new." When you change to a new way of
life, you leave many things behind you. It is only the earth-bound
spirit that cannot soar. Loosen somewhat the strands that tie you to
the earth. It is only the earthly desires that bind you. Your new
freedom will depend on your ability to rise above earthly things.
Clipped wings can grow again. Broken wings can regain a strength
and beauty unknown before. If you will, you can be released and
free.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be freed from things that hold me down. I pray that
my spirit may soar in freedom.

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As Bill Sees It

The Value of Human Will, p. 232

Many newcomers, having experienced little but constant deflation,
feel a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever.
They have become persuaded, sometimes rightly so, that many
problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault
powered only by the individual's will.

However, there are certain things which the individual alone can do.
All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs
to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires
willingness, he is the only one who can then make the decision to
exert himself along spiritual lines. Trying to do this is actually an
act of his own will. It is the right use of this faculty.

Indeed, all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps require our sustained and
personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to
God's will.

12 & 12, p. 40

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Walk In Dry Places

Meeting needs in the Right Way.
Self-Understanding.
Bizarre as it is, the bad behavior of drunkenness has an underlying logic when it's really understood.
Why, for example, would people squander money buying drinks for total
strangers when their families are going without?
This is an insane way of meeting needs for intimacy and approval. 
It's true that these needs will never be met in this fashion, but try
telling that to a person who is still drinking!
In recovery, we can more easily forgive ourselves for past actions
when we realize they came out of a misguided attempt to meet basic
needs. A starving person will seek out garbage. Starved as we
were for necessities of life, we sought a form of garbage. The good
news in AA recovery is that sobriety will help us meet basic needs in the
right way.
I'll keep in mind today that as a human being I have certain needs
that should be met in proper ways.

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Keep It Simple

Beauty is not caused. It is.--- Emily Dickinson
Probably, there have been many times when we thought we weren’t beautiful. We thought we were ugly. We thought we were bad people. This is a natural part of addiction. Our program tells us we’re good, we’re beautiful. Do we believe this? Do we accept this part of the program?
Beauty is an attitude, just as self-hate is an attitude. We need to keep the attitude that we’re beautiful. We owe it to ourselves and to those around us. And, yes, it’s true that you must love yourself before you can love others. Remember, ours is a selfish program. We have to love and see ourselves as beautiful, before we can give it to others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me claim my beauty. Help me to see that, sometimes, I have to be selfish to grow.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll work at falling in love with myself.

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Each Day a New Beginning

With each new day I put away the past and discover the new beginnings I have been given. --Angela L. Wozniak
We can't recapture what is no more. And the minutes or hours we spend dwelling on what was or should have been only steal away from all that presently is. Today stands before us with promise. The opportunities for growth are guaranteed, as is all the spiritual help we need to handle any situation the day offers.
If today offers us a challenge, we can be grateful. Our challenges are gifts. They mean we are ready to move ahead to new awarenesses, to a new sense of our womanhood. Challenges force us to think creatively; they force us to turn to others; they demand that we change. Without challenges, we'd stagnate, enjoying life little, offering life nothing.
We each are making a special contribution, one that only we can make; each time we confront a new situation with courage. Each time we dare to open a new door. What we need to do today is to close the door on yesterday. Then we can stand ready and willing to go forward.
This day awaits my full presence. I will be the recipient of its gifts.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

“Two of the members of Alcoholics Anonymous came to see me. They grinned, which I didn’t like so much, and then asked me if I thought myself alcoholic and if I were really licked this time. I had to concede both propositions. They piled on me heaps of evidence to the effect that an alcoholic mentality, such as I had exhibited in Washington, was hopeless condition. They cited cases out of their own experience by the dozen. This process snuffed out the last flicker of conviction that I could do the job myself.

p. 42

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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."

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

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Don't worry about what's ahead. Just go as far as you can go - from
there you can see farther.
--unknown

Life's most difficult challenges, are our greatest teachers and an
opportunity for growth.
--unknown

Happiness is intrinsic, it's an internal thing. When you build it into
yourself, no external circumstances can take it away. That kind
of happiness is a twenty-four-hour thing.
--Leo F. Buscaglia

Spirit is at work through me, I am led to do the right and loving thing.
--Shelley

Stay committed to your growth process until you wake up one morning
and ask yourself, What is that strange thing I am feeling? Then know
what the answer is. The answer is joy.
--Melody Beattie

We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily
into the trap of being our own worst enemies.
--Roderick Thorpe

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

HAPPINESS

"We are looking in the wrong
places for happiness."
-- Robert J. McCracken

I sought happiness in the bottle. Others looked for "good feelings" in
drugs, food or other people. Today I know that nothing that is outside
of me can make me acceptable --- acceptance must come from within.

I need to discover that spiritual place where I can be acceptable to me.
Self-esteem is an essential part of my recovery and that can only be
realized by making the spiritual journey within.

Today I seek to discover me. I want to know me --- because You
created me.

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"Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your
steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you."
Psalm 38:21-22

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Luke 6:37

"The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he
will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you with his love."
Zephaniah 3:17a

"You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into
glory."
Psalm 73:24

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Daily Inspiration

By being less judgmental of others, you will eliminate much frustration. Lord, I pray for the peace that comes from understanding and compassion.

Because Jesus is with you, you can survive the darkest moment and emerge a better and stronger person. Lord, I trust quietly that you are working things out according to Your plan for me.