Emmet Fox - 15th December 2025

IS THAT YOUR HAT?

Why has not your prayer been answered? Perhaps it has. Strangely enough, it often happens that we receive an answer to our prayer and do not recognize it. Some of us have had demonstrations in our possession for weeks or months and have not known it. This mistake is caused by outlining. We have unconsciously decided that the demonstration must take a particular form, and because that form does not appear, we think we have failed. Actually we probably have an even better demonstration than we expected, but for the moment we are blind to it.

If a boy prayed for a man’s hat (because he thought it would look well on him or make him grown up) he would not get it; since divine Wisdom knows that he could not wear it. He would get a good hat of the sort that would be useful to him. We often pray for things for which we are not really prepared; but if we pray scientifically this will not matter, since Creative Intelligence will send us the thing that we really need.

Seek God for His own sake, for the joy of being with Him, and demonstrations will take care of themselves.

I will be glad in the Lord (Psalm 104:34).

© 1931 by Emmet Fox      

DAILY REFLECTIONS - 15th December 2025

DOING ANYTHING TO HELP

Offer him [the alcoholic] friendship and fellowship. Tell him that if he wants to get well you will do anything to help.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 95 

I remember how attracted I was to the two men from A.A. who Twelfth-Stepped me. They said I could have what they had, with no conditions attached, that all I had to do was make my own decision to join them on the pathway to recovery. When I start convincing a newcomer to do things my way, I forget how helpful those two men were to me in their open-minded generosity.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc    

JUST FOR TODAY - 15th December 2025

The Joy of Sharing

“There is a spiritual principle of giving away what we have been given in Narcotics Anonymous in order to keep it. By helping others to stay clean, we enjoy the benefit of the spiritual wealth that we have found.”

~ Basic Text pg. 47 

Time and again in our recovery, others have freely shared with us what was freely shared with them. Perhaps we were the recipients of a Twelfth Step call. Maybe someone picked us up and took us to our first meeting. It could be that someone bought us dinner when we were new. All of us have been given time, attention, and love by our fellow members. We may have asked someone, “What can I do to repay you?” And the answer we received was probably a suggestion that we do the same for a newer member when we were able.

As we maintain our clean time and recovery, we find ourselves wanting to do for others the things that someone did for us, and happy that we can. If we heard the message while in a hospital or institution, we can join our local H&I subcommittee. Perhaps we can volunteer on the NA help line. Or we can give of our time, attention, and love to a newcomer we are trying to help.

We’ve been given much in our recovery. One of the greatest of these gifts is the privilege of sharing with others what’s been shared with us, with no expectation of reward. It’s a joy to find we have something that can be of use to others, and that joy is multiplied when we share it. Today we can do so, freely and gratefully.

Just for today: I have been given much in my recovery, and I am deeply grateful for it. I will take joy in being able to share it with others as freely as it was shared with me.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc  

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY - 15th December 2025

A.A. Thought for the Day

Service to others makes the world a good place. Civilization would cease if all of us were always and only for ourselves. We alcoholics have a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the well-being of the world. We have a common problem. We find a common answer. We are uniquely equipped to help others with the same problem. What a wonderful world it would be if we took our own greatest problem and found the answer to it and spent the rest of our lives helping others with the same problem in our spare time. Soon we would have the right kind of a world. Do I appreciate my unique opportunity to be of service?

Meditation for the Day

Today can be lived in the consciousness of God’s contact, upholding you in all good thoughts, words, and deeds. If sometimes there seems to be a shadow on your life and you feel out of sorts, remember that this is not the withdrawal of God’s presence, but only your own temporary unwillingness to realize it. The quiet gray days are the days for doing what you must do, but know that the consciousness of God’s nearness will return and be with you again, when the gray days are past.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may face the dull days with courage. I pray that I may have faith that the bright days will return.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation      

AS BILL SEES IT - 15th December 2025

Page 170

Whose Will?

We have seen A.A.’s ask with much earnestness and faith for God’s explicit guidance on matters ranging all the way from a shattering domestic or financial crisis to a minor personal fault, like tardiness. A man who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God for replies, is a particularly disconcerting individual. To any questioning or criticism of his actions, he instantly proffers his reliance upon prayer for guidance in all matters great or small.

He may have forgotten the possibility that his own wishful thinking and the human tendency to rationalize have distorted his so-called guidance. With the best of intentions, he tends to force his will into all sorts of situations and problems with the comfortable assurance that he is acting under God’s specific direction.

~ TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 103-104
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc 

Walk In Dry Places - 15th December 2025

Watching our boundaries.

Personal relationships

Setting boundaries in personal relationships is how we manage actions that could otherwise get out of control. One firm boundary in AA, for example, is maintaining other members’ anonymity, as well as our own. We are always overstepping boundaries if we disclose another’s AA membership without permission.

It’s wise, too, not to expect the easy familiarity of the meetings to carry over into all other activities. One member who was employed by another AA member apparently wondered why his boss was so easygoing and cordial at AA meetings and so remote and businesslike in the factory. It made perfect sense, however; their relationship in the plant was different from their AA relationship and required another set of boundaries.

We can protect ourselves and others by being careful to establish proper boundaries for all relationships. This means that what’s appropriate for one setting may not be for another.

I’ll check to be sure that I’m observing proper boundaries, for myself and others. I must not violate others’ rights any more than I want my own violated.  

KEEP IT SIMPLE - 15th December 2025

An ass is beautiful to an ass, and a pig to a pig.

~ English proverb

When we see someone drunk and out of control, can we see the beautiful person inside them? If we can’t, who will? Step Twelve reminds us that we have to help the alcoholic or other drug addict who suffers.

This task has been given to us because we, most of all, should be able to look past the drunkenness and see the person. We were there. We know what it’s like to be trapped in a world without meaning. If these memories have faded, we may need to go back over Step One. We may find ourselves angry with the practicing drunk or other drug addict. This is a sign that we have gotten too far from our past. Remember, “But for the grace of God…”

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, Help me remember my past and what it’s like now. This helps me care about the person who still suffers.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll respect my illness. I’ll look for the beauty inside every drunk and other drug addict.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation  

Father Leo’s - 15th December 2025

POVERTY

“The poor you always have with you.”

— Jesus (John 12:8)

Whoever said that life was going to be easy? A great number of people are placed in circumstances that are beyond their control and they die in helpless poverty. The poor are always with us. I cannot understand this dilemma and I have few answers for most of the world’s suffering. However, I have a faith in God’s love being realized beyond the grave for everyone.

But many of “the poor” are spiritually destitute by their own making. They choose to live lives that are consistently destructive and they refuse to change. Alcoholics and drug addicts are committing suicide by their lifestyle! I know because for years I was one. This produces a spiritual poverty that need not remain. This is a poverty that can be overcome. Recovery is finding the hidden treasure that is within.

Let me find Your treasure in the loving care I give myself.   

A DAY AT A TIME - 15th December 2025

Reflection for the Day

Some people are such worriers that they feel sorry about the fact that they have nothing to worry about. Newcomers in the Program sometimes feel, for example, “This is much too good to last.” Most of us, however, have plenty of real things to worry about—old standbys like money, health, death, and taxes, to name just a few. But the Program tells us that the proven antidote to worry and fear is confidence—confidence not in ourselves, but in our Higher Power. Will I continue to believe that God can and will avert the calamity that I spend my days and nights dreading? Will I believe that if calamity does strike, God will enable me to see it through?

Today I Pray

May I realize that the worry habit—worry that grows out of broader, often unlabeled fears—will take more than time to conquer. Like many dependent people, I have lived with worry so long that it has become my constant, floor-pacing companion. May my Higher Power teach me that making a chum out of worry is a waste of my energy and fritters away my constructive hours.

Today I Will Remember

Kick the worry habit.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation  

ONE DAY AT A TIME - 15th December 2025

ACCOMPLISHMENT

The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for uswhich we could never do by ourselves.

~ Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous 

The one thing that I am absolutely certain of today is that our Creator, God, lives in my heart and works miracles in my life daily. The biggest miracle, I believe, is having an awareness of Him, and knowing that He is in control of all that happens in my life. His power is infinite. If I were not aware of God, then I don’t believe I could work this program. It is the realization that God can accomplish anything that is helping me to work daily toward achieving my goal of continued abstinence and a changed attitude regarding food.

I cannot change what’s in my heart, but God can. I cannot, of myself, break lifelong habits, but God can motivate me to change. I cannot forgive myself all the pain I’ve inflicted on myself and others, while suffering from this disease, but God can soften my heart, and help me to forgive by letting me know that He forgives me. There is nothing that I can’t accomplish when I take God’s hand and let Him lead me.

One Day at a Time . . .

I will let God guide me into an ever-deepening relationship with Him so that I may accomplish the great feat of arresting my compulsion to overeat.

~ Joycelyn     

Elder’s Meditation - 15th December 2025

“People are equal partners with the plants and animals, not their masters who exploit them.”

–Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders


As human beings, we are not above anything nor are we below anything. Because of being equal, we need to discuss a little about the value of respect. Not just respect when it comes to human beings, but respect when it comes to everything. We are not masters over things; we are caretakers for the Great Spirit. We need to treat all things with respect.

Great Spirit, let me accept and see all things as equal.    

Today's Gift - 15th December 2025

Promises that you make to yourself are often like the Japanese plum tree – they bear no fruit.
— Frances Marion

The resolve to fulfill commitments we make to ourselves and others may be lacking until we learn to rely on the wisdom and strength offered by our higher power–strength that will make us confident in any situation; wisdom that will insure our right actions. What is difficult alone is always eased in partnership.

We promise ourselves changed behavior, new habits, perhaps, or a positive attitude. But then we proceed to focus on our liabilities, giving them even more power, a greater hold over us. We can practice our assets, and they’ll foster the promises we want to keep.

No longer need we shame ourselves about unfulfilled promises. Whatever our desires, whatever our commitments, if for the good of others and ourselves, they will come to fruition. We can ask for direction. We can ask for resolve, and each worthy hope and unrealized promise will become reality.

My assets, when strengthened through use, pave the way for God‘s help. Any promise can bear fruit when I make it in partnership with God.

From the book:

                                                     Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey     

THE EYE OPENER - 15th December 2025

Faith is a fundamental requisite of success in retaining our sobriety — faith in God, faith in the Program, and faith in ourselves.

It can be likened to swimming: Every normal person can swim, if he has faith in the laws of buoyancy and allows himself to be submerged enough. Those people who cannot swim are those who are afraid of the water and try to raise themselves above it.

Faith in the laws of Nature and in yourself enables you to swim, and a like faith in God, the Program and yourself, will enable you to achieve our way of living.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation   

Daily Tao / 349 Water - 15th December 2025

Drops.
Water cleanses,
Gathers in the earth.
Tender. Invasive. Subtle.
Emerges a shining river.
When small, it is weak.
When great, it tumbles mountains,
Rendering great cliffs
Sand.

Classic wisdom says that there is nothing weaker than water, yet when united, it can become a titanic force. Like a tidal wave. Or a river that cuts through gorges. This is called the yielding overcoming the hard.

Let’s look at it another way. Water does not overcome because it yields. It overcomes because it is relentless. It perseveres and does not give up. It is constant. Rock can block water. Rock can even hold water in a lake for thousands of years. Why can’t the yielding overcome the hard then? Because it cannot move. It cannot work its magic of being relentless.

Just as water must be able to express its true nature in a relentless way, so too must we simultaneously and relentlessly express our true natures if we are to be successful in life. Otherwise, we will find ourselves hemmed in by the hard walls of reality, and we will never be able to break through.

But how do we acquire such perseverance? We start small. As drops.  

DAILY ZEN - 15th Decemeber 2025

A person of the Way fundamentally
Does not dwell anywhere.
The consistent action of
People of the Way is
Like the flowing clouds
With no grasping mind;
Like the full moon reflecting universally,
Not confined anywhere.
Thus have we heard:
The mind that
Embraces the ten directions
Does not stop anywhere.

- Hung–Chih (1091-1157)    

Questions & Answers ON Sponsorship 14th December 2025

Emmet Fox - 14th December 2025

“Nature always takes you at your own valuation. Believe you are the child of God-really believe it. Believe that you express Divine Life, Divine Truth, and Divine Love. Believe that Divine Wisdom guides you. Believe that God is your supply. Believe that God is helping and blessing humanity through you. Believe that you are a special enterprise on the part of God and that he is opening your way-and what you really believe, that you will demonstrate.”

~Emmet Fox    

DAILY REFLECTIONS 14th December 2025

REACHING OUT

Never talk down to an alcoholic from any moral or spiritual hilltop; simply lay out the kit of spiritual looks for his inspection. Show him how they worked with you.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 95

When I come into contact with a newcomer, do I have a tendency to look at him from my perceived ingle of success in A.A.? Do I compare him with the large number of acquaintances I have made in the Fellowship? Do I point out to him in a magisterial way the voice of A.A.? What is my real attitude toward him? I must examine myself whenever I meet a newcomer to make sure that I am carrying the message with simplicity, humility and generosity. The one who still suffers from the terrible dis- ease of alcoholism must find in me a friend who will allow him to get to know the A.A. way, because I had such a friend when I arrived in A.A. Today it is my turn to hold out my hand, with love, to my sister or brother alcoholic, and to show her or him the way to happiness.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc   

JUST FOR TODAY 14th December 2025

Addiction, Drugs, and Recovery

“Addiction is a physical, mental, and spiritual disease that affects every area of our lives.”

~ Basic Text pg. 20 ~

Before we started using, most of us had a stereotype, a mental image of what addicts were supposed to look like. Some of us pictured a junkie robbing convenience markets for drug money. Others imagined a paranoid recluse peering at life from behind perpetually drawn drapes and locked doors. As long as we didn’t fit any of the stereotypes, we thought, we couldn’t be addicts.

As our using progressed, we discarded those misconceptions about addiction, only to come up with another: the idea that addiction was about drugs. We may have thought addiction meant a physical habit, believing any drug that didn’t produce physical habituation was not “addictive.” Or we thought the drugs we took were causing all our problems. We thought that merely getting rid of the drugs would restore sanity to our lives.

One of the most important lessons we learn in Narcotics Anonymous is that addiction is much more than the drugs we used. Addiction is a part of us; it’s an illness that involves every area of our lives, with or without drugs. We can see its effects on our thoughts, our feelings, and our behavior, even after we stop using. Because of this, we need a solution that works to repair every area of our lives: the Twelve Steps.

Just for today: Addiction is not a simple disease, but it has a simple solution. Today, I will live in that solution: the Twelve Steps of recovery.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc    

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY 14th December 2025

A.A. Thought for the Day

The way of A. A. is the way of service. Without that, it would not work. We have been “on the wagon” and hated it. We have taken the pledge and waited for the time to be up with impatience. We have tried in all manner of ways to help ourselves. But not until we begin to help other people do we get full relief. It is an axiom that the A.A. program has to be given away in order to be kept. A river flows into the Dead Sea and stops. A river flows into a clear pool and flows out again. We get and then we give. If we do not give, we do not keep. Have I given up all ideas of holding A.A. for myself alone?

Meditation for the Day
Try to see the life of the spirit as a calm place, shut away from the turmoil of the world. Think of your spiritual home as a place full of peace, serenity, and contentment. Go to this quiet, meditative place for the strength to carry you through today’s duties and problems. Keep coming back here for refreshment when you are weary of the hubbub of the outside world. From this quietness and communion comes our strength.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may keep this resting place where I can commune with God. I pray that I may find refreshment in meditation on the Eternal.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation   

AS BILL SEES IT 14th December 2025

~ Page 160 

The Rationalizers and the Self-Effacing

We alcoholics are the biggest rationalizers in the world. Fortified with the excuse that we are doing great things for A.A., we can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money — the same implacable urges that, when frustrated, once caused us to drink.

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

Dr. Bob was essentially a far more humble person than I, and anonymity came rather easily to him. When it was sure that he was mortally afflicted, some of his friends suggested that there should be a monument erected in honor of him and his wife, Anne — befitting a founder and his lady. Telling me about this, Dr. Bob grinned broadly and said, “God bless ’em. They mean well. But let’s you and me get buried just like other folks.”

In the Akron cemetery where Dr. Bob and Anne lie, the simple stone says not a word about A.A. This final example of self-effacement is of more permanent worth to A.A. than any amount of public attention or any great monument.

~ A.A. COMES OF AGE
1. PP. 292-293
2. PP. 136-137
© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc   

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

THE BEST OF THE PAST

Living Today
We’re told that we should forget the past when we come into AA. Since we can’t change it, we should not waste time and energy reliving it.

Let’s be careful, however, not to take this advice too literally. There was much in our past that was good, even when we were drinking. We have a right and a need to treasure these important things.

The real dangers of living in the past come either from brooding about its mistakes or from thinking that our best days are already behind us. We can think of the past as a foundation for the good we expect today and in all the days ahead.

I’ll preserve the best in my memories of the past, knowing that these helped bring me to my present state of recovery.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation     

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KEEP IT SIMPLE 14th December 2025

Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is broken winged bird that cannot fly.

~ Langston Hughes

Many of our dreams died as our addiction got worse. We felt the loss but couldn’t speak it. With recovery, we regain our ability to dream. Dreams of sharing our lives with family and friends return. They push out thoughts of getting high. Dreams of pride and self-respect reappear. They replace the awful feeling of shame.

Like the quote above says, “Hold fast to dreams….” Our dreams are our wishes for the future. They hold a picture of who we want to be. In our dreams, we let our spirits soar. Often, we fell close to God, others and ourselves. Thanks God, we can dream again.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, thanks to you, my wings have been mended. Guide me as I fly.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll take time out to dream and share my dream with those I love.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation   

FR. LEO'S 14th December 2025

GOD

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

~ Matthew 27:46 

In my sickness, I was often angry with God. I was angry because God did not do what I wanted when I wanted it done. I acted like a spoiled child. I refused to understand that suffering could be an important part of my spiritual growth.

Today I know this to be true, and I appreciate it. The biggest part of my suffering, then and now, is the feeling of isolation: not knowing for certain if God hears me, not understanding completely what God’s will is for me, or not getting clear answers to my daily confusion.

Doubt is part of faith. The “not knowing” is some-times the answer. Today I trust in God as I focus on my recovery.

God, may my doubts lead to creative faith. 

© 2008 Leo Booth    

A DAY AT A TIME 14th December 2025

Reflection for the Day

Some of us in the Program are inclined to make the mistake of thinking that the few moments we spend in prayer and meditation—in “talking with God”—are all that count. The truth is that the attitude we maintain throughout the entire day is just as important. If we place ourselves in God’s hands in the morning, and throughout the day hold ourselves ready to accept His will as it is made known through the events of our daily life, our attitude of acceptance becomes a constant prayer. Can I try to cultivate an attitude of total acceptance each day?

Today I Pray

May I maintain contact with my Higher Power all through my day, not just check in for a prayer now and then. May my communion with God never become merely a casual aside. May I come to know that every time I do something that is in accord with God’s will I am living a prayer.

Today I Will Remember
Prayer is an attitude.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation 

ONE DAY AT A TIME 14th December 2025

CHANGE

To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.

~ Helen Keller

As far back as I can remember, I have always been fearful of change. I preferred to stay in my comfort zone, even when it became uncomfortable or painful. I suppose that was why I stayed in the disease for so long; it was what I knew. It was safe and predictable and I didn’t have to deal with painful emotions such as loss and rejection. This was also why I stayed so long in a bad marriage; I was terrified of what was outside the walls of my dysfunctional relationship. In truth, I didn’t really live, because fear of change prevented me from forming new relationships and doing new and exciting things. Even the move from one city to another was totally traumatic, because the old and familiar was what I knew, not because it was better. Even then, I spent so long looking at the closed door behind me that I failed to see the open door in front of me.

I know now that even when I fear change, I need only put one foot in front of the other, and do what is before me. Because I now have faith that my Higher Power will be with me every step of the way, I need only ask for help, and the help comes. Even though it still is not easy, I am aware of how many changes I have been able to make with the help of my Higher Power. In the past, I spent so much time obsessing about the outcome that I talked myself out of the change I was thinking of making. The biggest change that has happened for me is my newfound faith which enables me to take that leap into the unknown.

There have been other miraculous changes too. Now I have a more open and honest relationship with my children and others because I am able to take more risks and set boundaries, which I had never been able to do before. I have changed careers, undertaken flying overseas on my own, and in general am not the scared person I used to be. I also have a whole new family of wonderful friends in this fellowship who understand me and love me always.

One Day at a Time . . .

I continue to grow and change as God wills me to do, and I will not be afraid because I know that He will always be there to guide and help me.

~ Sharon S.    

ELDER'S MEDITATION 14th December 2025

“Male and female is fundamental to life; partners in work to be done.”

~ Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders 
The Great Spirit created a system which would allow us to reproduce, to have companionship, to love, to laugh, to cry and be happy. Man and Woman each have gifts the other doesn’t have. But, together they have these gifts to share with each other. The Great Spirit made it this way. So let us treat each other with respect. Let us look upon each other in a sacred way.

Grandfather, Grandmother, bring the spirits to teach us.   

THE EYE OPENER 14th December 2025

Our greatest enemy was alcohol and we have learned how to protect ourselves against it, but we are in constant danger from some of our well meaning friends. They constantly tell us how wonderful we are in that we have cut out our drinking and, unfortunately, we sometimes believe them to the point where our heads begin to swell.

At that very moment, that very necessary ingredient of sobriety, HUMILITY, goes out the window and sobriety frequently accompanies it.

Published by Hazelden

Daily Tao / 348 - Spine 14th December 2025

Tao is the road up your spine.
Tao is the road of your life.
Tao is the road of the cosmos. 



People are often confused about Tao because there are references to
it on so many different levels. After all, it permeates all existence.
Indeed it might be said that Tao is existence itself. It might seem odd
that we can talk about Tao on a level so mundane as physical exercise
and on a level as exalted as holiness itself. Those who follow Tao do
not think of divinity as something "up there." They think of it as
everywhere.

Tao can be tangible when it wants and intangible when it wants too.
One tangible aspect of Tao is the road in the very center of our spines.
That is the path of Tao in us. It is the spirit road connecting the
various power centers of our bodies.

On a philosophical level, Tao is the road through life. It is the
change from one stage to another, the dealing with circumstances, the
expression of your inner character against the background of nature and
society. On a metaphysical level, it is the evolution and movement of
the cosmos itself.

Now take these three levels -- the movement of energy up the spine,
the philosophical understanding of one's own path in life, and the very
progression of the universe -- and meld them all into one combined 
concept. Then you will have a glimpse of the genius of Tao.   

Daily Tao/ 352 - Template #essentialsofrecovery

Must you see nature as a machine?

Is your only learning chemistry, physics, and ontology?

What if poetry was your template for life?

Can't you know Tao by the feeling of mud in your sandals?

Thus are the sages called silly:

They have given up their prejudices.


The world appears as you perceive it. It is not that your perceptions are wholly shaped by a so-called objective world. The habit of interpretation is interactive; we do things to test our hypotheses until we have created a complicated web of sensory input and centrifugal manipulation. By the time we are "mature," we have created innumerable layers of interpretation and biased perception that become our templates for living. Of course, we could have some fun with this situation. We could change the templates that we use to interact with the world.What if we used poetry instead of science? What if we substituted spirituality for politics? The results of such experimentation are often fresh, happy, and unusual. Unfortunately, when carried to their logical conclusions, they are just as futile as any other method. Templates are essential for beginners, a hindrance for veterans. True followers of Tao give up all templates and are without prejudices. They return to the actions of infants. Thus they are called silly. But because they view the world with their inner eye, they transcend all the sorrows of life.

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DAILY ZEN 14th December 2025

If we live our lives continually motivated by anger and hatred, even our physical health deteriorates.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama 

A Newcomer Asks 13th December 2025

Emmet Fox 13th December 2025

LIBERATION

There seems to be a mystic Power that is able to transform your life so thoroughly, so radically, so completely, that when the process is completed your own friends would hardly recognize you, and, in fact, you would scarcely be able to recognize yourself.

It can lift you out of an invalid's bed, and free you to go out into the world to shape your life as you will. It can throw open the prison door and liberate the captive.

This Power can do for you that which is probably the most important thing of all in your present stage: it can find your true place in life for you, and put you into it.

This Power is really no less than the primal Power of Being, and o discover tha Power is the diving birthright of all men.

...the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21)
...seek ye first the kingdom of God...and all these things shall be added...(Matthew 6:33)    

Daily Reflections 13th December 2025

A CLEAN SWEEP

. . . . and third, having thus cleaned away the debris of the past, we consider how, with our newfound knowledge of ourselves, we may develop the best possible relations with every human being we know. 

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 77

As I face the Eighth Step, everything that was required for successful completion of the previous seven Steps came together: courage, honesty, sincerity, willingness and thoroughness. I could not muster the strength required for this task at the beginning, which is why this Step reads “Became willing. . . . ”

I needed to develop the courage to begin, the honesty to see where I was wrong, a sincere desire to set things right, thoroughness in making a list, and willingness to take the risk required for true humility. With the help of my Higher Power in developing these virtues, I completed this Step and continued to move forward in my quest for spiritual growth.   

Just For Today 13th December 2025

Difficult People

“By giving unconditional love … we become more loving, and by sharing spiritual growth we become more spiritual.” 

Basic Text, p.99

Most of us have one or two exceptionally difficult people in our lives. How do we deal with such a person in our recovery? First, we take our own inventory. Have we wronged this person? Has some action or attitude of ours served as an invitation for the kind of treatment they have given us? If so, we will want to clear the air, admit we have been wrong, and ask our Higher Power to remove whatever defects may prevent us from being helpful and constructive.

Next, as people seeking to live spiritually oriented lives, we approach the problem from the other person’s point of view. They may be faced with any number of challenges we either fail to consider or know nothing about, challenges that cause them to be unpleasant. As it’s said, we seek in recovery “to forgive rather than be forgiven; to understand rather than be understood.”

Finally, if it is within our power, we seek ways to help others overcome their challenges without injuring their dignity. We pray for their well-being and spiritual growth and for the ability to offer them the unconditional love that has meant so much to us in our recovery.

We cannot change the difficult people in our lives, nor can we please everyone. But by applying the spiritual principles we’ve learned in NA, we can learn to love them.

Just for today: Higher Power, help me serve other people, not demand that they serve me.     

Twenty-Four Hours A Day 13th December 2025

A.A. Thought For The Day

We come now to A.A. fellowship. It is partly group therapy. It is partly spiritual fellowship. But it is even more. It is based on a common illness, a common failure, a common problem. It goes deep down into our personal lives and our personal needs. It requires a full opening up to each other of our inner most thoughts and most secret problems. All barriers between us are swept aside. They have to be. Then we try to help each other get well. The A.A. fellowship is based on a sincere desire to help the other person. In A.A. we can be sure of sympathy, understanding and real help. These things make the A.A. fellowship the best that we know. Do I fully appreciate the depth of the A.A. fellowship?

Meditation For The Day

The Higher Power can guide us to the right decisions if we pray about them. We can believe that many details of our lives are planned by God and planned with a wealth of forgiving love for the mistakes we have made. We can pray today to be shown the right way. We can choose the good, and when we choose it, we can feel that the whole power of the universe is behind us. We can achieve a real harmony with God’s purpose for our lives.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may choose aright today. I pray that I may be shown the right way to live today.   

As Bill Sees It 13th December 2025

The Answer in the Mirror, p. 225

While drinking, we were certain that our intelligence, backed by will power, could rightly control our inner lives and guarantee us success in the world around us. This brave philosophy, wherein each man played God, sounded good in the speaking, but it still had to meet the acid test: How well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough.

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

My spiritual awakening was electrically sudden and absolutely convincing. At once I became a part–if only a tiny part–of a cosmos that was ruled by justice and love in the person of God. No matter what had been the consequences of my own willfulness and ignorance, or those of my fellow travelers on earth, this was still the truth. Such was the new and positive assurance, and this has never left me.

1. 12 &  12, p. 37
2. Grapevine, January 1962  

Keep It Simple 13th December 2025

Live and Let Live
-AA slogan

In our addiction, we didn’t car. We didn’t care about other people, even though we wanted to. We just didn’t come through for them in ways that mattered. We didn’t care for ourselves. We let bad things happen to us. We didn’t care about living. We set no goals, had no fun, smelled no flowers.

In our recovery, we do care. We care about others, ourselves, and life. Our spirits are on the move again.

There’s life in our hearts. Our bodies are getting well. And we’re daring to dream. We’re living!

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, put some life and energy into me today. Help me love my new life.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll focus on being alive. As I breathe in, I’ll gather more and more life energy from nature.     

Father Leo’s 13th December 2025

SUFFERING

“Man cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor.”

-Alexis Carrel

I know that I have grown through my sufferings. I know that I am able to understand and forgive other people because I have been there, too. I know that I am patient and considerate because of my sufferings. My anguish keeps me “earthed”. It stops me from playing God; it teaches me the reality of life that life hurts! It is wonderful, joyous, loving and eventful, but it also hurts. For many years I hid my sufferings and pretended they were not there; the result was loneliness and hypocrisy.

God, may my sufferings keep me real.      

A Day At A Time 13th December 2025

Reflection For The Day

A friend in The Program told me of a favorite hymn from her childhood: “Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.” In actuality, that is what The Program has done for me — it has opened my eyes so that I have come to see the true nature of my addiction, as well as the true nature of the joyous life that can be mine if I practice the principles embodied in The Program’s Twelve Steps to recovery.

Through prayer and meditation, am I also improving my inner vision, so that I can better see God’s love and power working in me and through me?

Today I Pray

May each glint of truth that I catch sight of as I work the Steps begin to take on the steadier shine of a fixed star. May I know that these stars are all that I need to chart my course and navigate safely. May I no longer feel the frantic need to put in to every unknown port along the way in search of direction. These stars are always rube ti steer by.

Today I Will Remember

Find the fixed stars and fix on them.   

One Day At A Time 13th December 2025

THE PAST

“Even God cannot change the past.”

-Agathon (ca. 448–400 BC)

Each day of recovery, I ask my Higher Power to help me stay focused on today. Although there are things I would like to change about the past, I know that it is not possible. I’ve let myself fall into traps, thinking “If only I had done … ” or “If only I’d said … ” When I think this way, I find myself wasting a lot of time and feeling bad. This doesn’t seem like healthy recovery thinking. If amends need to be made, then I make them. If not, then I let go of the past.

Worrying about the past is not productive. Regret will not fix anything. It will merely keep me from concentrating my efforts on where they belong … on the present moment.

One Day at a Time …

I will stay focused on what is going on around me and leave the past in the past.

Teresa S.    

Elder’s Meditation 13th December 2025

“In our language there is no word to say inferior or superiority or equality because we are equal; it’s a known fact. But life has become very complicated since the newcomers came here. And how does your spirit react to it?. It’s painful. You have to be strong to walk through the storm. I know I’m a bridge between two worlds. All I ask is for people to wash their feet before they try to walk on me.”

-Alanis Obomsawin, ABENAKI

For native people who speak their language, English can be very confusing. Many times you cannot express in English the true meaning of Indian words. When we hear something in English we sometimes react or our spirit reacts. Sometimes we need to use English words out of order to express our true meanings. We need to be patient and pray. Living in two worlds can be difficult. Life is painful sometimes. The pain of life is where the lessons are learned.

Creator, let me learn the lessons You have taught my people.   

Today’s Gift 13th December 2025

To heal ourselves is a reclamation of the power we all have as living beings to live in harmony with the life energy and to fulfill our potential as creatures among many on this planet.

—Chellis Glendinning

We live in a world that tells us healing only comes from outside ourselves. To some, it may seem odd to think each of us has the ability to heal ourselves.

How is this possible? Easy – we can do it if we believe we can. Whatever we believe we cannot do will remain beyond our ability. But believing we can heal ourselves gives us access to many healing ways. Self-acceptance is healing. Singing, playing, walking by a river are healing. Even helping others with their problems can be healing to us. There are as many ways of self-healing as there are people in the world. Once we experience what is healing for us, we can go on to discover many more healing acts to share with others.

What healing things do I like to do?   

Daily Tao / 347 - Clarify 13th December 2025

Express yourself:
That is meaning.

Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?"
Whatever it is, bring it out. But be judicious. The rantings of mad people do not yield greater freedom. Those who are with Tao use expression to find greater understanding of themselves and so find liberation from ignorance and circumstance.

All that is good and unique in you should be brought out. If you do not do this, you will be stunted. Never hold back, thinking that you will wait for a better time. The good in you is like the water in a well : The more you draw from it, the more fresh water will seep in. If you do not draw from it, the water will only become stagnant.

What is dark, perhaps even evil, inside you must be expressed in a proper way too. Lust, hatred, cruelty, and resentment -- these must all be carefully taken out of yourself, like finding a bomb and taking it to be detonated harmlessly. Your heart may be quite a mine field, but you must persevere in clearing it if you are to plant crops and frolic without concern.

Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?" Unless you can express it, you will not clarify your inner nature.

Express yourself:
That is meaning.

Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?"
Whatever it is, bring it out. But be judicious. The rantings of mad people do not yield greater freedom. Those who are with Tao use expression to find greater understanding of themselves and so find liberation from ignorance and circumstance.

All that is good and unique in you should be brought out. If you do not do this, you will be stunted. Never hold back, thinking that you will wait for a better time. The good in you is like the water in a well : The more you draw from it, the more fresh water will seep in. If you do not draw from it, the water will only become stagnant.

What is dark, perhaps even evil, inside you must be expressed in a proper way too. Lust, hatred, cruelty, and resentment -- these must all be carefully taken out of yourself, like finding a bomb and taking it to be detonated harmlessly. Your heart may be quite a mine field, but you must persevere in clearing it if you are to plant crops and frolic without concern.

Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?" Unless you can express it, you will not clarify your inner nature. 

Daily Zen 13th December 2025

Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion...is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception.   

A Letter To A Woman Alcoholic - Pamphlet 12th December 2025

EMMET FOX 12th December 2025

People sometimes accept the idea that a change of thought, plus turning to God in prayer, will transform their lives into harmony and freedom. The logic of this principle appeals to them, and they set to work upon it in earnest. Then, after a few days, they say, “Nothing has happened after all,” and they drop back into their old negative thinking.

That is extremely foolish. The results of many years of general negative thinking are seldom corrected in a few days. No one who goes upon a new physical diet or medical regimen expects to reap the advantages in so short a time. You must keep up the new way of thinking and refuse to be discouraged by seeming failures at first.

The right motive for adopting right thinking is that it is right, and that wrong thinking is wrong; and we should do right whether it seems to pay dividends or not. Of course, it does pay dividends—fabulous dividends—but it usually takes a little perseverance in the face of preliminary slowness.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

© 1931 by Emmet Fox  

DAILY REFLECTIONS 12th December 2025

A COMMON SOLUTION

The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 17

The most far-reaching Twelfth Step work was the publication of our Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Few can equal that book for carrying the message. My idea is to get out of myself and simply do what I can. Even if I haven’t been asked to sponsor and my phone rarely rings, I am still able to do Twelfth Step work. I get involved in “brotherly and harmonious action.” At meetings I show up early to greet people and to help set up, and to share my experience, strength and hope. I also do what I can with service work. My Higher Power gives me exactly what He wants me to do at any given point in my recovery and, if I let Him, my willingness will bring Twelfth Step work automatically.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc      

JUST FOR TODAY 12th December 2025

Fear of Change

“By working the steps, we come to accept a Higher Power’s will…. We lose our fear of the unknown. We are set free.”

~ Basic Text pg. 16

Life is a series of changes, both large and small. Although we may know and accept this fact intellectually, chances are that our initial emotional reaction to change is fear. For some reason, we assume that each and every change is going to hurt, causing us to be miserable.

If we look back on the changes that have happened in our lives, we’ll find that most of them have been for the best. We were probably very frightened at the prospect of life without drugs, yet it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us. Perhaps we’ve lost a job that we thought we’d die without, but later on we found greater challenge and personal fulfillment in a new career. As we venture forth in our recovery, we’re likely to experience more changes. We will outgrow old situations and become ready for new ones.

With all sorts of changes taking place, it’s only natural to grab hold of something, anything familiar and try to hold on. Solace can be found in a Power greater than ourselves. The more we allow changes to happen at the direction of our Higher Power, the more we’ll trust that those changes are for the best. Faith will replace fear, and we’ll know in our hearts that all will be well.

Just for today: When I am afraid of a change in my life, I will take comfort from knowing that God’s will for me is good.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc  

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY 12th December 2025

A.A. Thought for the Day

The clergy speak of the spiritual fellowship of the church. This is much closer to the A. A. way than mere group therapy. Such a fellowship is based on a common belief in God and a common effort to live a spiritual life. We try to do this in A.A. We also try to get down to the real problems in each others’ lives. We try to open up to each other. We have a real desire to be of service to each other. We try to go deep down into the personal lives of our members. Do I appreciate the deep personal fellowship of A. A.?

Meditation for the Day

Love and fear cannot dwell together. By their very natures, they cannot exist side by side. Fear is a very strong force. And therefore a weak and vacillating love can soon be routed by fear. But a strong love, a love that trusts in God, is sure eventually to conquer fear. The only sure way to dispel fear is to have the love of God more and more in your heart and soul.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that love will drive out the fear in my life. I pray that my fear will flee before the power of the love of God.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation  

AS BILL SEES IT 12th December 2025

Page 140

Defects and Repairs

More than most people, the alcoholic leads a double life. He is very much the actor. To the outer world he presents his stage character. This is the one he likes his fellows to see. He wants to enjoy a certain reputation, but knows in his heart he doesn’t deserve it.

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

Guilt is really the reserve side of the coin of pride. Guilt aims at self-destruction, and pride aims at the destruction of others.

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

“The moral inventory is a cool examination of the damages that occurred to us during life and a sincere effort to look at them in a true perspective. This has the effect of taking the ground glass out of us, the emotional substance that still cuts and inhibits.”

~ 1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 73
~ 2. GRAPEVINE, JUNE 1961
~ 3. LETTER, 1957


© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc    

WALK IN DRY PLACES 12th December 2025

THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTENANCE

Fortitude

In praising their success with AA, people sometimes overlook the importance of maintenance. AA not only helps us achieve sobriety, but it can also help us maintain our sobriety for a lifetime.

Members often touch on this matter when they admit that they were able to sober up hundreds of times, but didn’t know how to stay sober. It is staying sober that makes all the difference between life and death for us.

Our tools for staying sober—for maintaining our sobriety—are the simple ones that put us back on our feet in the first place. We continue to admit that we’re alcoholics and need the help of fellow members and our Higher Power. We also continue to attend meetings and to carry the message. We remind ourselves that we’re never out of the woods permanently, no matter how much our lives improve.

I’ll take the routine steps today that are needed for the maintenance of my sobriety. Doing this will help protect me from the terrible consequences of returning to drinking.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation      

KEEP IT SIMPLE 12th December 2025

God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.

~ James M. Barrie 

Do you remember what it was like to not have sobriety? Remember the shame? Remember the loneliness? Remember lying and wishing you could stop? Remember the powerlessness?

Do you remember, also, how it felt when you began to believe you had an illness? Your shame was lifted. Remember what it was like to look around at your meeting and know you belonged? Your loneliness was lifted. Remember when you family started to trust you again? Your dishonesty had been lifted.

Sobriety gives us many roses. Our memory will help to keep them fresh.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, never let me forget what it was like. Why? Because I’m only one drink or pill away from losing You.

Action for the Day:

I’ll find a friend I trust. I’ll tell that person what my life was like before sobriety. I’ll also talk about how I got sober.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation      

FR.LEO'S 12th December 2025

PRINCIPLES

“At the back of every noble life are the principles that have fashioned it.”

~ George Lorimer

God is found in principles—the suggested patterns of behavior that lead to happiness, freedom, and unity in the world. God is not just an intellectual philosophy or otherworldly entity; God is practical goodness that can be demonstrated and seen in my world.

Principles produce changes in my attitude and behavior and lead me to positive action. Principles must have a practical result. I often hear the phrase “Walk the talk,” meaning the principles I talk about in recovery should be evident in my daily life. Principles should also be seen in the small things: being courteous, smiling at a stranger, or offering a hug to a friend in pain. God is alive in the principles of life.

Help me practice the principles I believe. 

© 2008 Leo Booth 

A DAY AT A TIME 12th December 2025

Reflection for the Day

These days, if I go through an experience that is new and demanding, I can do so in a spirit of confidence and trust. Thanks to the Program and Twelve Steps, I’ve come to know that God is with me in all places and in all endeavors. His Spirit is in me as well as in the people around me. As a result, I feel comfortable even in new situations and at home even among strangers. Will I continue to flow along and grow along with the Program, trusting in the power and love of God at work in me and in my life?

Today I Pray

May God’s comfort be with me in all situations, familiar or new. May He rebuild the sagging bridge of my confidence. May I acknowledge God in me and in others around me. May that mutual identity in God help me communicate with people on a plane of honesty. If I can learn to trust God, I can learn to trust the ones who share this earth with me.

Today I Will Remember

God teaches me how to trust.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ELDER'S MEDITATION 12th December 2025

“In order for our children to survive in the world, they need a firm understanding and belief in the basic principles of sharing freedom and respect of individuality.”

~ Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

There is a saying: Tell me, I’ll forget; Show me, I’ll remember; Engage me; I’ll understand. The adults need to determine what the younger generation is to learn. The principle of sharing keeps the youth from being greedy and selfish. The principle of freedom teaches the youth about choices, decisions and consequences. The principle of respect keeps us from playing God and becoming a controller of all things. We need to learn these lessons so we may demonstrate them for our children.

Great Teacher, help me to understand Your principles.    

Today's Gift 12th December 2025

. . . what we want more deeply than winning.

When our relationship is in conflict, we may think that our partner always has the last word. We think it would feel good, just once, to come out on top. If our relationship is like a poker game, the winner takes all. We scramble to be the winner at almost any cost. If our partner wins, we feel like the loser. If we score a point, then our partner feels like the loser. In the end, if either one has lost, what have we won? Certainly not serenity.


What do we really want in our relationships? Do we want to stay in the fight until we score the final knockout? No. We want companionship and connection. To get beyond the game, one partner must stand up and say what she or he wants more deeply than winning. When we stand in favor of communication, our relationship improves.

Name what you really want in your relationship

From the book:

                           The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum   

The Eye Opener 12th December 2025

If our God. as we understand Him, is a personal God, then it is reasonable to assume that He is so close to us that He is residing in us. He is then part of us and we are part of Him. As we cannot have two different personalities at the same time, we can assume we are either worldly or Godlike, depending upon the characteristic that has dominance at the moment of any specific action.

We cannot expect this God in us to help us unless we are in accord with Him and are endeavoring to help ourselves; otherwise we would be working contrary to ourselves.

Give the God in you a chance—He has given you a thousand.

Copyright  Hazelden Foundation  

Daily Tao / 346 – Purpose 12th December 2025

Suddenly, things snap into focus.
I’ve been pursuing unity all my life,
But could only glimpse the monstrous vision in fragments;
It has haunted me for years.
Each time I sighted it, I struggled to make it concrete.
At first, it seemed I only had a sculptor’s yard of unfinished figures —
Then it slowly began to make sense,
Gathered from glimpses and inferences.
More and more, this mysterious life comes together.
It may take years more to reveal the whole.
That’s all right.
I’m prepared to go the distance.


One’s life’s destiny is not easily revealed. It’s too big. You may certainly set your sights early, but you will still have to make changes and adjustments as your true purpose is clarified. When it does begin to come together, there is a tremendous feeling of assurance.

Then with each step upon the path of Tao, your certainty rings from peak to peak.    

DAILY ZEN 12th December 2025

Meditation is like a single log of wood. Insight and investigation are one end of the log; calm and concentration are the other end. If you lift up the whole log, both sides come up at once. Which is concentration and which is insight? Just this mind.

-Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"     

Claudia B- - 11th December 2025

EMMET FOX - 11th December 2025

THE KING OF GLORY ENTERS HERE

Read Psalm 24.

He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face….

To many it may seem that the purification of the heart will be a long and wearisome task, but we have to remember that when we pray it is God who works and not we. If you will use the power of the Word, old habits of thinking will fall away and new ones come in; and this is because you will receive your righteousness, or right thinking, from God. You have sought His face, and you must begin to express something of His nature, for we always grow unto that which we contemplate.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Gates and doors symbolize understanding and it is only by the attainment of a higher degree of understanding that the King of glory—the vivid realization of God which we are seeking—can come to our souls. We are then told to ask ourselves who the King of glory is, and for what He stands. He is nothing less than the Lord; strong and mighty in battle, and the battle he fights, of course, is our battle.

The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.   

DAILY REFLECTIONS - 11th December 2025

“A GENUINE HUMILITY”

. . . we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This is to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 192 

Experience has taught me that my alcoholic personality tends to be grandiose. While having seemingly good intentions, I can go off on tangents in pursuit of my “causes.” My ego takes over and I lose sight of my primary purpose. I may even take credit for God’s handiwork in my life. Such an overstated feeling of my own importance is dangerous to my sobriety and could cause great harm to A.A. as a whole.

My safeguard, the Twelfth Tradition, serves to keep me humble. I realize, both as an individual and as a member of the Fellowship, that I cannot boast of my accomplishments, and that “God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.”

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc      

JUST FOR TODAY - 11th December 2025

Misery Is Optional

No one is forcing us to give up our misery.

~ Basic Text, p. 29 

It’s funny to remember how reluctant we once were to surrender to recovery. We seemed to think we had wonderful, fulfilling lives as using addicts and that giving up our drugs would be worse than serving a life sentence at hard labor. In reality, the opposite was true: Our lives were miserable, but we were afraid to trade that familiar misery for the uncertainties of recovery.

It’s possible to be miserable in recovery, too, though it’s not necessary. No one will force us to work the steps, go to meetings, or work with a sponsor. There is no NA militia that will force us to do the things that will free us from pain. But we do have a choice. We’ve already chosen to give up the misery of active addiction for the sanity of recovery. Now, if were ready to exchange today’s misery for even greater peace, we have a means to do just that if we really want to.

Just for today: I don’t have to be miserable unless I really want to be. Today, I will trade in my misery for the benefits of recovery.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc   

Twenty-Four Hours A Day - 11th December 2025

A.A. Thought For The Day

Doctors think of the A.A. fellowship as group therapy. This is a very narrow conception of the depth of the A.A. fellowship. Looking at it purely as a means of acquiring and holding sobriety, it is right as far as it goes. But it doesn't go far enough. Group therapy is directed toward the help that the individual receives from it. It is essentially selfish. It is using the companionship of other alcoholics only in order to stay sober ourselves. But this is only the beginning of real A.A. fellowship. Do I deeply feel the true A.A. fellowship?

Meditation For The Day

Most of us have had to live through the dark part of our lives, the time of failure, the nighttime of our lives, when we were full of struggle and care, worry and remorse, when we felt deeply the tragedy of life. But with our daily surrender to a Higher Power, comes a peace and joy that makes all things new. We can now take each day as a joyous sunrise-gift from God to use for Him and for other fellow people. The night of the past is gone, this day is ours.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may take this day as a gift from God. I pray that I may thank God for this day and be glad in it.   

AS BILL SEES IT - 11th December 2025

 Page 130

Our Problem Centers in the Mind

We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, he usually reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, in both the bodily and mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this.

These observations would be academic and pointless if our friend never took the first drink, thereby setting the terrible cycle in motion. Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in his body.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PP. 22-23 

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc    

WALK IN DRY PLACES - 11th December 2025

KEEP THE FOCUS ON PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Responsible Attitudes

Alcoholics often try to shift responsibility to others. We once thought it was possible to blame others for our drinking, and we had sneaky ways of manipulating family members so they would feel guilty and comply with our demands.

In sober living, we must not allow ourselves to slip back into this mode of thinking. Keeping the focus on personal responsibility is our best way of approaching all problems. “What is my responsibility in this?” is a good question to ask in evaluating our part in situations.

We are always responsible for our own sobriety. Beyond that, we’re also responsible for maintaining good attitudes and making sure that our own anger and pride do not make any situation worse than it already is.

I’ll be responsible today for my own thoughts, feelings, and actions. If any stressful issue or situation arises, I’ll keep my focus on personal responsibility.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation   

KEEP IT SIMPLE - 11th December 2025

When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.

~ Tuli Keupferberg 

Recovery has happened to us. We stopped drinking or using other drugs and, like magic, a new world appeared. Being sober sure shakes up a person’s life! It’s good to shake up our world every now and then. This way, we see there’s not just one “world”, but many. We grow each time we step into a new world and learn new things. Of course, the addict’s world was new and exciting to us at one time. But we got trapped and couldn’t find our way out. Our Higher Power had to free us. We need to try new worlds, but we always need to take our Higher Power with us–into worlds where there’s honesty, love, and trust.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, lead me to new worlds where I’ll learn more about living fully.

Action for the Day:

I’ll list 3 ways I can step into a new world today. For example, I could read something new, go to a museum, or eat a new food.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation     

Fr. LEO'S - 11th December 2025

TODAY

“The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.”

~ Mignon McLaughlin 

I do not need courage for a lifetime—just for the moment. I am helped by the philosophy that teaches me to live one day at a time, one hour at a time, or one moment at a time. It is too daunting to try to live tomorrow. Life is a process to be lived, not a future to be anticipated.

For years, I tried to anticipate what life would throw at me, and I always came away confused and exhausted. I missed the joy of the moment. I had a thousand questions I could not answer; nobody can answer for the future today.

I can only take responsibility for my life a day at a time. As I develop the courage to face the moment, I become a winner.

May I avoid the fantasy of tomorrow and enjoy the reality of today. 

© 2008 Leo Booth    

A DAY AT A TIME - 11th December 2025

Reflection for the Day

Before I came to the Program—in fact, before I knew of the Program’s existence—I drifted from crisis to crisis. Occasionally, I tried to use my will to chart a new course; however, like a rudderless ship, I inevitably foundered once again on the rocks of my own despair. Today, in contrast, I receive guidance from my Higher Power. Sometimes, the only answer is a sense of peace or an assurance that all is well. Even though there may be a time of waiting before I see results, or before any direct guidance comes, will I try to remain confident that things are working out in ways that will be for the greatest good of everyone concerned?

Today I Pray

May I not expect instant, verbal communication with my Higher Power, like directions on a stamped, self-addressed postcard. May I have patience, and listen, and sense that God is present. May I accept my new feeling of radiant warmth and serenity as God’s way of assuring me that I am, finally, making some good choices.

Today I Will Remember

Patience: God’s message will come.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation       

ONE DAY AT A TIME - 11th December 2025

REAL LIVING

“A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”

~ Tara Morice as Fran, from Baz Luhrmann’s film “Strictly Ballroom”) 

When I first saw this movie in 1993, it spoke volumes to my life and to my recovery. I had spent my life afraid, afraid of everything and everybody. If I crossed you, I feared your wrath. If I disappointed you, I dreaded the loss of your love. If things were going well, I wondered, often aloud, when the other shoe was going to drop. I had nowhere to go, no one to trust, nothing I could believe in, because I knew it would be taken away from me. The only safe haven I had was in the food, but I was afraid of the consequences. The biggest thing that kept me in my disease was the fear of what might be on the other side.

The bravest thing I ever did was walk through the doors of my first program meeting. I had been shamed into it by a therapist, but once I got there I sensed that my fears would be vanquished. I saw people who had been there, done that, and designed the t-shirt of fear that I was wearing. They showed me, through the Steps and Traditions, that there was more to life.

The program of recovery has taught me that a life of fear indeed is a life half-lived. Living in fear, I only succeeded in quashing the joy, the adventure, the zest for life that was naturally planted in me. It also eliminated the biggest fear … that of a Higher Power. It has given me faith, the diametric opposite of fear. Faith shined its light on the darkness of my life, and allowed me to live a fuller existence that cannot be taken from me, save for retreat into fearful despair. I am so immensely grateful for what I have been given: life, instead of mere existence.

One Day at a Time . . .

Faith in a Power greater than myself is a powerful antidote to a fearful, half-lived life. I pray to keep the light of faith shining brightly in my life.

~ Mark    

ELDER'S MEDITATION - 11th December 2025

“Peace… comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the Universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.”

~ Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa) OGLALA SIOUX 

If we are to know peace we must look within ourselves. In order to do this, we must learn to be still. We must quiet the mind. We must learn to meditate. Meditation helps us locate and find the center that is within ourselves. The center is where the Great One resides. When we start to look for peace, we need to realize where it is within ourselves. When we experience conflict we need to pause for a moment and ask the Power within ourselves, “How do you want me to handle this? What would you suggest I do in this situation?” By asking the High Power for help we find peace.

Creator, help me to find peace.  

Today's Gift - 11th December 2025

Our program is founded on wisdom, and the wisdom of the program is the light of our lives. It shines into the dark comers of the spirit where the myths lurk that would degrade rather than create, entrap rather than set free. Wisdom lets us see what and whose game is being played. Is it my game or yours? Not to know the difference is to dangle like a puppet from a set of strings hooked to head and limbs.




It may be a game of guilt, of taking responsibility for someone else’s life, of accepting peace at any price – or any number of enslaving games. Without the wisdom of the program, how could we know? Without wisdom, how could we learn to give ourselves credit for how far we have come rather than berate ourselves for how slow we are moving? What a relief and a comfort to be able to rely on our wise Steps and Traditions for fail-safe guidance.




Today, I am grateful for the program’s teachings.

From the book:

                          Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty