Daily Recovery Readings - August

[bluidkiti]

August 30

Daily Reflections

THE ONLY REQUIREMENT. . .

"At one time. . .every A.A. group had many membership rules.
Everybody was scared witless that something or somebody would
capsize the boat. . .The total list was a mile long. If all those rules had
been in effect everywhere, nobody could have possibly joined A.A.
at all. . ."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 139-40

I'm grateful that the Third Tradition only requires of me a desire
to stop drinking. I had been breaking promises for years. In the
Fellowship I didn't have to make promises, I didn't have to
concentrate. It only required my attending one meeting, in a foggy
condition, to know I was home. I didn't have to pledge undying love.
Here, strangers hugged me. "It gets better," they said, and "One
day at a time, you can do it." They were no longer strangers, but
caring friends. I ask God to help me to reach out to people
desiring sobriety, and to, please, keep me grateful!

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure
immunity from drinking as extensive work with other alcoholics.
Carry the message to other alcoholics. You can help when no one
else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Life
will take on new meaning for you. To watch people recover, to see
them help others in turn, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a
fellowship grow about you, to have a host of friends, this is an
experience you must not miss." Am I always ready and willing to help
other alcoholics?

Meditation For The Day

One secret of abundant living is the art of giving. The paradox of
life is that the more you give, the more you have. If you loose your
life in the service of others, you will save it. You can give
abundantly and still live abundantly. You are rich in one respect – you
have a spirit that is inexhaustible. Let no mean or selfish thought
keep you from sharing this spirit. Of love, of help, of
understanding, and of sympathy, give and keep giving. Give your
personal ease and comfort, your time, your money, and most of all,
yourself. And you will be living abundantly.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live to give. I pray that I may learn this secret of
abundant living.

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

As Bill Sees It

Middle of the Road, p.241

"In some sections of A.A., anonymity is carried to the point of real
absurdity. Members are on such a poor basis of communication
that they don't even know each other's last names or where each
lives. It's like the cell of an underground.

"In other sections, we see exactly the reverse. It is difficult to
restrain A.A.'s from shouting too much before the whole public, by
going on spectacular 'lecture tours' to play the big shot.

"However, I know that from these extremes we slowly pull
ourselves onto a middle ground. Most lecture-giving members do not
last too long, and the superanonymous people are apt to come out
of hiding respecting their A.A. friends, business associates, and the
like. I think the long-time trend is toward the middle of the
road--which is probably where we should be."

Letter, 1959

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

Walk In Dry Places

THE MASKS ARE FALLING
Openness Individuals and families can be quite successful at masking personal problems and feelings. This doesn't always work very well with alcoholics, though some of us did manage to conceal our problem for long periods before our lives began to break down.
However, it is becoming more acceptable to admit to such problems, and it is no longer surprising to read that a prominent person is being treated for an addiction.
This new openness has also made it possible to abandon the masks we've been wearing to hide our feelings. When people learn they can be more open with their problems and need for help, it also becomes easier to admit that they are angry. fearful. unhappy, or even frightened.
Removing our masks and letting others see us as we are is only the first phase in the real honesty we're seeking. After expressing ourselves authentically, do we find we like who we are?
Now that we know and admit the truth about ourselves, what are we going to do to make needed changes?
I will face who and what I really am today. I will use my strengths and not let any shortcomings keep me from being effective.

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

Keep It Simple

Love is something if you give away, you end up having more. --- Malvina Reynolds
Service is how we give love away. It’s the “self” of self-help. Service is not a duty; a gift that’s been given to us. We help ourselves by helping others. It’s how we make sure the program will be here tomorrow. We “carry the message.” It’s just one way we see how important we are to others. The world needs us. The world needs our love.
Prayer for the Day: I pray for help in making service a big part of my program. Higher Power, help me to “carry the message.”
Action for the Day: Which people could use a kind word and a little love? I will go visit them or give them a call.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I like my friend for what is in her heart, not for the way she does things. --Sandra K. Lamberson
We find good in situations, experiences and people when we look for it. Generally we find just what we expect to find. The power attaching to our attitudes is awesome. Often it is immobilizing; too seldom is it positive.
We each create the personal environment that our soul calls home, which means that at any moment we have the power to change our perspective on life, our response to any particular experience and most of all, our feelings about ourselves. Just as we will find good in others when we decide to look for it, we'll find good in ourselves.
We are such special women, all of us. And in our hearts we want joy. What the program offers is the awareness that we are the creators of the joy in our hearts. We can relinquish the past and its sorrows, and we can leave the future in the hands of our higher power. The present is singular in its importance to our lives, now.
Behavior generally reveals attitudes, which are of the mind and frequently in conflict with the heart. I will strive for congruence. I will let my heart lead the way. It will not only find the good in others, it will imitate it.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

WE AGNOSTICS

If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn’t there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

pp. 44-45

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

In all these situations we need self-restraint, honest analysis of what is involved, a willingness to admit when the fault is ours, and an equal willingness to forgive when the fault is elsewhere. We need not be discouraged when we fall into the error of our old ways, for these disciplines are not easy. We shall look for progress, not for perfection.

p. 91

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

"When anger spreads through the breast, guard thy tongue from
barking idly."
--Sappho

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

Words are powerful, may I use them wisely.
--Shelley

Today I will do all that I am capable of doing at this time of my life
to free myself of past mistakes. And then I will let go and live in my
now...fully enjoying today.
--Ruth Fishel

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it."
-- Lou Holtz

We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us . . .

Sobriety is a gift, not a right.

AA is not something you join, it's a way of life.

Life didn't end when I got sober -- it started.

While it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LISTENING

"If other people are going to
talk, conversation becomes
impossible."
-- James McNeill Whistler

Part of my addiction was never listening to what people were saying.
This was part arrogance, part denial, part fear, part control, part ego
--- the bottom line was that I did not listen. I was bored and unhappy
with my life because I was a prisoner of my own thoughts.

My spiritual awakening --- which I consider a process rather than an
event, a process that is still going on in my life on a daily basis --- was
in allowing some new information into my life that led to admittance
and acceptance. The day that I was able to admit that I was an
alcoholic was the day I took a step towards acceptance.

Today I receive immense help and comfort from other people,
especially recovering alcoholics. Two people experiencing an honest
conversation are part of God's promised love for His world.

Let the words I hear be acceptable in Your sight

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

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who
dwell therein."
Psalms 24:1

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of
them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will
soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will
walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

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

Daily Inspiration

The best things in life aren't really things at all. Lord, thank You for all that I am and for all that I am able to be and thank You for my family, my friends, and for all those that touch my life in a special way.

Spend less time trying to change and more time making the best of who you are. Lord, help me daily to put Your words into action.

[willbe275]

RELEASE CONTROL God does not force Himself on us. Even when the consequences are extremely high, He gives us the choice to obey or disobey. How heartbreaking it must be when His children choose death…
unknown Author.

W.O.W 101