Daily Recovery Readings - September

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

WE AGNOSTICS

This world of ours has made more material progress in the last century than in all the millenniums which went before. Almost everyone knows the reason. Students of ancient history tell us that the intellect of men in those days was equal to the best of today. Yet in ancient times, material progress was painfully slow. The spirit of modern scientific inquiry, research and invention was almost unknown. In the realm of the material, men’s minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sort of fixed ideas. Some of the contemporaries of Columbus thought a round earth preposterous. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies.

p. 51

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eleven - "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support. As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God's reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace. To an amazing extent the facts of A.A. life confirm this ageless truth.

pp. 97-98

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"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

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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.

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"Only believe."
Mark 5:36

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

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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.