Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Daily Reflections
I ASK GOD TO DECIDE
“I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows.”
-ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76
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Just for today
Surrendering self-will
“We want and demand that things always go our way. We should know from our past experience that our way of doing things did not work.”
Basic Text, p. 93
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All of us have ideas, plans, goals for our lives. There’s nothing in the NA program that says we shouldn’t think for ourselves, take initiative, and put responsible plans into action. It’s when our lives are driven by self-will that we run into problems.
When we are living willfully, we go beyond thinking for ourselves—we think only of ourselves. We forget that we are but a part of the world and that whatever personal strength we have is drawn from a Higher Power. We might even go so far as to imagine that other people exist solely to do our bidding. Quickly, we find ourselves at odds with everyone and everything around us.
At this point, we have two choices. We can continue in our slavery to self-will, making unreasonable demands and becoming frustrated because the planet doesn’t spin our way. Or we can surrender, relax, seek knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry that out, and find our way back to a condition of peace with the world. Thinking, taking initiative, making responsible plans—there’s nothing wrong with these things, so long as they serve God’s will, not merely our own.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
We should remember that all A.A.’s have “clay feet.” We should not set any member upon a pedestal and mark her or him out as a perfect A.A. Its not fair to the person to be singled out in this fashion and if the person is wise she or he will not wish it. If the person we single out as an ideal A.A. has a fall, we are in danger of falling, too. Without exception, we are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long we have been in A.A. Nobody is entirely safe. A.A. itself should be our ideal, not any particular member of it. Am I putting my trust in A.A. principles and not in any one member of the group?
Meditation For The Day
The inward peace that comes from trust in God truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world’s worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may not allow those about me to spoil my peace of mind. I pray that I may keep a deep inner calm throughout the day.
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As Bill Sees It
The Building Of Character, p. 204
Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn’t strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose. When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins.
If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case does he render us white as snow and keep us that way without our cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to make progress in the building of character.
12 & 12, p. 65
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Walk In Dry Places
Sensing Rejection
Self-Esteem and Maturity
We laugh when a recovering person tells how he “learned to quit just before he got fired.” We sometimes can tell when a rejection is coming, and we take steps…. such as quitting.. To avoid further pain and humiliation.
In the recovery process, there still may be times when we sense a coming rejection. If it does come, we must remember that rejections is part of living. People receive rejection for all sorts of reasons, including wrong ones.
When we do sense any kid of a rejection in the works, our best course is to let it happen, accept it, and put it behind us. If we are living our program, we don’t need to feel pain or humiliation, as rejection is simply part of normal human experience.
I’ll try today to be as accepting as possible in everything I do. If others choose to reject me, I will also accept this without resentment or self-reproach.
Self-Esteem and Maturity
We laugh when a recovering person tells how he “learned to quit just before he got fired.” We sometimes can tell when a rejection is coming, and we take steps…. such as quitting.. To avoid further pain and humiliation.
In the recovery process, there still may be times when we sense a coming rejection. If it does come, we must remember that rejections is part of living. People receive rejection for all sorts of reasons, including wrong ones.
When we do sense any kid of a rejection in the works, our best course is to let it happen, accept it, and put it behind us. If we are living our program, we don’t need to feel pain or humiliation, as rejection is simply part of normal human experience.
I’ll try today to be as accepting as possible in everything I do. If others choose to reject me, I will also accept this without resentment or self-reproach.
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Keep It Simple
Don’t talk unless you can improve the silence.
—Laurence Couglin
“Do I talk to much?” Most of us wonder this sometimes. There are some ways to find out.
Asked yourself these questions: “How much do I know about people in my life?”
“What do they think and feel?” “Do I listen to them?” “Do I often feel that I say too much?”
Then ask a few trusted friends these questions: “Do you think I talk to much?” “How well do you think I listen to you?”
Silence help us listen—to ourselves, to others, and to our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me enjoy the silent moments in my day.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll think before I speak. what do I really want to say.
—Laurence Couglin
“Do I talk to much?” Most of us wonder this sometimes. There are some ways to find out.
Asked yourself these questions: “How much do I know about people in my life?”
“What do they think and feel?” “Do I listen to them?” “Do I often feel that I say too much?”
Then ask a few trusted friends these questions: “Do you think I talk to much?” “How well do you think I listen to you?”
Silence help us listen—to ourselves, to others, and to our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me enjoy the silent moments in my day.
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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
WEALTH
“The only question with wealth is what you do with it.”
–John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Prosperity, if it is truly to be appreciated, needs to be shared. Wealth only makes sense when it is put to use for the benefit of the many. To horde treasure is to miss the value of that treasure. Money makes the world go around but it can only produce joy and excitement when it is spent or put to work.
This is also true for those who have a “wealth” of ideas or talents – they need to be expressed, shared and valued by others to be of any real benefit. A writer needs to write, a musician needs to play, a painter demands a canvas — and the world needs to appreciate.
God is at work in His world and He requires recognition. Let me find You in the talents that You have shared with me.
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A Day At A Time
Reflection For The Day
Today I’ll try to settle for less than I wish were possible, and be willing to not only accept it but to appreciate it. Today, I’ll not expect too much of anyone — especially myself. I’ll try to remember that contentment comes from gratefully accepting the good that comes to us, and not from being furious at life because it’s not “better.” Do I realize the difference between resignation and realistic acceptance?
Today I Pray
May I not set my sights unrealistically high, expect too much. May I look backwards long enough to see that my self-set, impossible goals were the trappings of my addiction; too often I ended up halfway there, confronted by my own failure. Those “foiled-again,” “I’ve-failed-again” feelings became monumental excuses to give in to my compulsion, which blanketed my miseries. May I avoid that sick old pattern. May I be realistic.
Today I Will Remember
Good is good enough.
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One Day At A Time
CHOICES
“Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”
–William Jennings Bryan
I have often wished that my life were easier. I have resented the fact that others seemed to have been given a free ride, whereas I have had to walk the distance. I often prayed that on waking one morning, I would find that the shadow I cast the day before had been vastly reduced overnight.
Wallowing in self-pity has taken me nowhere. It has wasted time that I could have spent reaching my recovery. I could choose to waste my days wishing for something that I obviously don’t have — and will never have — unless I actively do the legwork to obtain it. I could sit back and expect the world to come to my door, but I would find that it passes me by.
Often I find myself slipping down the emotional slide into the depths of depression. In those dark times, walking through life is as easy as walking waist-deep through wet tar. It’s a place where the sun never shines, thus its warm rays don’t land on my skin.
Recovery comes only when I make the choice and do the work needed to attain it.
One day at a time …
I choose to use the wisdom, strength and shelter of God; my Higher Power. I choose to follow the Twelve Steps and use the tools provided in the recovery program. I choose to be guided by the Big Book. In essence … I choose life
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Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“ … the greatest strength is in gentleness.”
–Leon Shenandoah, ONONDAGA
Our Elders have taught us many lessons about becoming a Warrior and how to think and act like one. We have been told about the power of gentleness. We have been told about the power of the stillness. Physical power is about effort. Mental power is the opposite. It’s about being effortless or less any effort. Gentleness is one of the greatest attributes of the Warrior and one of the greatest mental powers. It takes a lot of love to be gentle. Gentleness is not an ego word. Gentleness is the weapon of the Great Spirit.
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Today’s Gift
There is no reality except the one contained within us.
—Herman Hesse
Claude Gellee painted lovely pictures of the English countryside. Europeans loved his landscapes with their blue hues and mild distortions. But when the people went for the carriage rides in the country, they were disappointed because it didn’t look the way Gellee had painted it. Then someone discovered that if you held blue glass up to your eyes and looked through it, the trees and hills and sky looked just like a Gellee painting! Soon everyone was looking through “Claude glasses” when they traveled.
We often let others do our seeing for us. We get lazy and rely on the images of television and movies, instead of really seeing with our own eyes. Our world becomes distorted and we lose sight of the natural beauty that surrounds us.
Each of us carries reality inside ourselves, and as we grow stronger within, we discover that we can see clearest when we trust our own eyes. There is a glorious world, full and rich, just waiting for us to glimpse it.
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The Eye Opener
We alcoholics feared loneliness as much as anything else on earth. Even the companionship of the bull pen was preferable to being alone. The quality of our company made no difference, for it was preferable to our own thoughts; certainly, it was not as critical. We just couldn’t stand our own company.
In AA, we were told to establish conscious contact with the Man Upstairs and we marveled at the ease with which this was accomplished after a little effort on our part. Now we are never less alone than when we are alone.
Hazelden Foundation
In AA, we were told to establish conscious contact with the Man Upstairs and we marveled at the ease with which this was accomplished after a little effort on our part. Now we are never less alone than when we are alone.
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Daily Tao / 204 - ACCOMPLISHMENT
The more you cultivate,
The more you accomplish.
Why doubt?
When distance separates you from others,
They cannot overtake you.
In the beginning of training, it may seem as if you are doing very little. You compare yourself to your teachers and to more accomplished people, and you may despair at every reaching their levels. But if you are diligent, then it is inevitable that you will make something of yourself. Once you reach such a plateau, you will be able to relax a bit and contemplate where you are on your journey.
One of the most refreshing things to realize is that you now have something that no one can take away from you. Spirituality is yours to keep, yours to touch. No one else can gain access to it, yet this precious accomplishment can sustain and guide you. If will give you increased health, and it will give you knowledge that you could not gain through normal means. Once you tap into this source, you have gained a foothold on the spiritual path.
Uncertainty will not plague you. Who can argue with you? You have seen it yourself. So once you have reached this milestone on your journey, it is proper to rejoice a little, indulge in a little contentment. Then take up the journey once again.
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Daily Zen
Summary of Zen Practice
When you're settled in Zen, your mind is serene, unaffected by worldly distractions. You enter the realm of enlightenment, and transcend the ordinary world, leaving the world while in the midst of society.
~Zen Master Fenyang
When you're settled in Zen, your mind is serene, unaffected by worldly distractions. You enter the realm of enlightenment, and transcend the ordinary world, leaving the world while in the midst of society.
~Zen Master Fenyang
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