Daily Recovery Readings - September

[bluidkiti]

September 17

Daily Reflections

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot,
then we found we could live at peace with ourselves
and show others who still suffered the same fears
that they could get over them, too. We found that
freedom from fear was more important than freedom
from want.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 122

Material values ruled my life for many years during
my active alcoholism. I believed that all of my
possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt
bankrupt after I obtained them. When I first came
into A. A., I found out about a new way of living.
As a result of learning to trust others, I began to
believe in a power greater than myself. Having faith
freed me from the bondage of self. As material gains
were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life
became manageable. I then chose to share my
experiences with other alcoholics.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step One is, "We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
This step states the membership requirement of A.A.
We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must
accept the fact that we are helpless before the
power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked
as far as drinking is concerned and that we need
help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact
that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must
make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the
inevitable fact that we just stop drinking. Is it difficult
for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Meditation For The Day

"Show us the way, O Lord, and let us walk in Thy paths."
There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way.
You can make a practical test. When you live the right
way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live
the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you.
You seem to take out of life about what you put into it.
If you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that
you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and
moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy.
By following the laws of nature, and the spiritual laws
of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can
expect to be reasonably healthy and happy.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to live the right way.
I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life.

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As Bill Sees It

Servant, Not Master, p.259

In A.A., we found that it did not matter too much what our
material condition was, but it mattered greatly what our spiritual
condition was. As we improved our spiritual outlook, money
gradually became our servant and not our master. It became a
means of exchanging love and services with those about us.

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One of A.A.'s Loners is an Austrian sheepman who lives two thousand
miles from the nearest town, where yearly he sells his wool. In order
to be paid the best prices he has to get to town during a certain
month. But when he heard that a big regional A.A. meeting was to be
held at a later date when wool prices would have fallen, he gladly
took heavy financial loss in order to make his journey then. That's
how much an A.A. meeting means to him.

1. 12 & 12, p.122
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p.31

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Walk In Dry Places

The world will recover
Belief
If our recovery program is working properly, an amazing thing can
happen. Instead of being the bad actors of society, we become people
who can be considered solid citizens in every way.. So square that we
might even have sharp corners.
We might then start becoming critical of the world in general. "I've
recovered, so why does the rest of the world have to be the way it is?"
A person might say. "Why don't other people do something about their
resentments and fears, just as I have?"
In asking such a question, we're already in danger of becoming self-righteous.
We can remember, however, that our Higher Power has the same concern for
others that was shown to us. By the grace of God, and in God's own good time,
the world can and will recover.
I'll remember today that God is in charge of the world and will set all things
straight, just as I was brought to recovery.

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Keep It Simple

It is better to be wanted too much than not a all.---Anonymous
It may seem that so many people want our time and love. Parents say we
don’t call often enough. Children demand our time. Our partners say we’re
gone to much. Our sponsor tells us to check in more often.
When we feel off balance by all these people, we need to stop and rest. We
need to remember how lonely we were when we were using. No one wanted
our time and love then! Now we’re important to others again.
You can handle all this by giving people what they need and ask for, within
reason---not what you think they need, which may be way too much. Maybe
you need Al-Anon, to learn to love others while taking care of yourself.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me put my time and energy to
best use today. Help me find the balance I need between work, play,
loving others, and self-care.
Action for the Day: When I feel I have to give too much today, I’ll stop
and ask my Higher Power for guidance.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Desire and longing are the whips of God. --Anna Wickham
Our dreams and desires inspire us to reach beyond our present stopping-place.
That which we can achieve will draw our attention, and with certainty, a partner
is on hand to help us chart the steps for realizing the goal.
Before our introduction to the Twelve Steps, we experienced desires and set
many goals. Some we attained. What we often lacked was confidence, and then
our commitment wavered. The program is helping us realize that all pure desires
are attainable when we invite the program's structure into our daily planning.
Our lives are purposeful. Each of us is fulfilling a necessary role. The longings
that tug at us, longings that bring no harm to others, or ourselves push us to
realize our full potential.
Courage and strength, ability and resourcefulness are never lacking when we
follow the guidance within and trust in its direction. All the wisdom necessary
for succeeding at any task, completing any goal, charting any desire, is as close
as our attention is to God.
I will pay heed to my desires today. I will pray for the wisdom to fulfill them.
All doors will open and my steps will be guided, when the desire is spiritually sound.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

WE AGNOSTICS

We had to ask ourselves why we shouldn’t apply to our human problems this same readiness to change our point of view. We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people—was not a basic solution of these bedevilments more important than whether we should see newsreels of lunar flight? Of course it was.

p. 52

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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."

We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of us, to flower and to grow. Most certainly we shall need bracing air and an abundance of food. But first of all we shall want sunlight; nothing much can grow in the dark. Meditation is our step out into the sun. How, then, shall we meditate?

p. 98

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"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."
--Kahlil Gibran

Yesterday is a canceled check,
tomorrow is a promissory note,
today is cash in the bank.

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow's a mystery,
Live just for today.

Today is a gift that is why they call it the present.

When special feelings come your way,
let them flow into your heart.
When miracles try to find you, don't hide.
When special people come along,
let them know what a blessing they are.
Let your smiles begin way down, deep inside.
--Collin McCarthy

"I can do nothing to change the past except stop repeating it in the present."
--Courage to Change

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PEOPLE-PLEASING

"I cannot give you the formula
for success, but I can give you
the formula for failure, which is
try to please everybody."
-- Herbert Bayard Swope

Part of my recovery is not that I never "people-please" but that I
know when I am doing it . . . and I am doing it less!

My low self-esteem was revealed in the way I would say what I felt
you wanted to hear, do what you wanted to do, go where you wanted
to go -- and for years I missed me. For years I missed my life because I
was preoccupied with other people. And I wasn't honest. I hated being
that way but I wouldn't admit it. Now I see that my guilt around my
addiction led me into this sick cycle, and recovery is taking me out of
it. Today I say "I don't want to go." "I don't agree with what you are
saying." "I refuse to do that."

My dignity is being discovered in my straight forwardness.

God, may I have the courage to share my true feelings.

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"Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my
salvation; for you I wait all day long."
Psalm 25:5

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken
hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:12-14

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Daily Inspiration

When something threatens your peace, do not give it an importance it doesn't have
by allowing it to fester in your mind. Lord, there is no situation beyond Your ability to correct.

Use the power of positive images in your mind to bring about good experiences. Lord, I
will let my faith in You nourish my thoughts so that I can develop a healthy and joyful reality.