Red sea through pine lattice.
Islands kneel like vassals before headlands.
Rain clouds snag on coastal ridges.
Yarrow stands spectral in the lighthouse beam.
It is difficult to take in the details of a landscape all at once. Our eyes can only focus on one point at a time. We look near, then we look far. We look left, then we look right. Our view of any one subject, if it is large, is never whole but is a composite image in our minds. The same is true in regard to our approach to Tao.
Tao is continuous, flowing, and changing, but there is no knowing it in a single view. We rely on composite images that we form in ourselves. For a beginner, glimpses of Tao will be random and fleeting. You will stumble on it from time to time, or you will see it in the brief spaces between events. For the mature practitioner, your composite view comes from training, technique, research, and the experience of self-cultivation. But even after years, it is impossible to take in the totality.
There is a way to know Tao directly and completely. It requires the awakening of one’s spiritual force. When this happens, spirituality manifests as a brilliant light. Your mind expands into a glowing presence. Like a lighthouse, this beacon of energy becomes illumination and eye at the same time. Significantly, however, what it shows, it also knows directly. It is the light that sees.
When we alcoholics arrived at that point in our drinking careers that we commonly call “our bottom”; when difficulties were pouring in from every side; when there was no longer any room left to
retreat and all our defenses had crumbled – we found that we had no other alternative but take the last desperate effort of the totally beaten.AA proved, as history has often done, that the best defense is a strong offense.Published by Hazelden
Reflection for the DayBefore I became sober in the Program, I blamed all my problems on other people, or on places and things. Now I’m learning to look squarely at each difficulty, not seeking whom to “blame,” but to discover how my attitude helped create my problem or aggravate it. I must also learn to face the consequences of my own actions and words, and to correct myself when I’m wrong. Do I practice the Tenth Step by continuing to take personal inventory? When I am wrong, do I promptly admit it?
Today I PrayMay I know the blessed relief and unburdening that come when I admit I have done something wrong. May I learn—perhaps for the first time in my entire life—to take responsibility for my own actions and to face the consequences. May I learn again how to match actions with consequences.
Today I Will RememberTo take responsibility for my own actions.© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation
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Hardships
“We felt different… Only after surrender are we able to overcome the alienation of addiction.”
~ Basic Text p. 22
“But you don’t understand!” we spluttered, trying to cover up. “I’m different! I’ve really got it rough!” We used these lines over and over in our active addiction, either trying to escape the consequences of our actions or avoid following the rules that applied to everyone else. We may have cried them at our first meeting. Perhaps we’ve even caught ourselves whining them recently.
So many of us feel different or unique. As addicts, we can use almost anything to alienate ourselves. But there’s no excuse for missing out on recovery, nothing that can make us ineligible for the program—not a life-threatening illness, not poverty, not anything. There are thousands of addicts who have found recovery despite the real hardships they’ve faced. Through working the program, their spiritual awareness has grown, in spite of—or perhaps in response to—those hardships.
Our individual circumstances and differences are irrelevant when it comes to recovery. By letting go of our uniqueness and surrendering to this simple way of life, we’re bound to find that we feel a part of something. And feeling a part of something gives us the strength to walk through life, hardships and all.
Just for today: I will let go of my uniqueness and embrace the principles of recovery I have in common with so many others. My hardships do not exclude me from recovery; rather, they draw me into it.
© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc
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Overcoming A Bad Disposition
Temperament
People with bad dispositions, like people with drinking problems, do not recognize how difficult they are. They accept their bad disposition as normal. Some people even declare proudly that they’re in a bad mood until they’ve been awake several hours or had three cups of coffee.
We do not have to put up with a BAD DISPOSITION. If we find ourselves touchy or grumpy at times, we should immediately release this to our Higher Power. There is a better pattern of thought and feeling to replace anything that comes across to others as a bad disposition.
It’s surprising to learn that we don’t have to live with a bad disposition. What’s even more surprising is that we’ll also be happier and more relaxed without it.
A bad disposition, we learn, is just so much unnecessary baggage we don’t have to carry.
I’ll be relaxed and friendly at all times today. I have neither a need nor an excuse for a bad disposition.
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Overcoming A Bad Disposition
Temperament
People with bad dispositions, like people with drinking problems, do not recognize how difficult they are. They accept their bad disposition as normal. Some people even declare proudly that they’re in a bad mood until they’ve been awake several hours or had three cups of coffee.
We do not have to put up with a BAD DISPOSITION. If we find ourselves touchy or grumpy at times, we should immediately release this to our Higher Power. There is a better pattern of thought and feeling to replace anything that comes across to others as a bad disposition.
It’s surprising to learn that we don’t have to live with a bad disposition. What’s even more surprising is that we’ll also be happier and more relaxed without it.
A bad disposition, we learn, is just so much unnecessary baggage we don’t have to carry.
I’ll be relaxed and friendly at all times today. I have neither a need nor an excuse for a bad disposition.
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INCONSISTENCIES MADE CLEARThose who are perplexed by the difficulties and seeming inconsistencies of life should remember that at the present time we get only a partial view of things; and that a partial view of anything never shows the thing as it really is. If you were to show an Eskimo any number of pictures of sections of a horse, but never a picture of the whole horse, he would never know what the animal really looked like.
So it is with life. Some day (when we have enough spiritual growth) we will come to see that the seemingly disjointed happenings, the apparent accidents, are really part of an orderly pattern.
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (John 7:24).
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THE PURPOSE OF THE BIBLEExternally, the Bible is a collection of inspired documents written by men of all kinds, in all sorts of circumstances, and over hundreds of years of time. The documents are seldom original, but redactions and compilation of older fragments; and the names of the actual writers are seldom known for certain. This, however, does not affect the spiritual purpose of the Bible. The book, as we have it, is an inexhaustible reservoir of spiritual Truth, compiled under divine inspiration, and the actual route by which it reached its present form does not matter.History, biography, lyrical and other poetic forms are various mediums through which the spiritual message is given in the Bible; and above all, the parable is used to convey spiritual and metaphysical truth. In some cases what was never intended to be more than a parable was, at one time, taken for literal statement of fact; and this often made the Bible seem to teach things that are opposed to common sense.The spiritual key to the Bible rescues us from these difficulties, dilemmas, and seeming inconsistencies. And the Truth turns out to be nothing less than the amazing but undeniable fact that the whole outer world—whether it be the physical body the common things of life, the winds and the rain, the clouds, the earth itself—is amenable to man’s thought, and that he has dominion over it when he knows it.Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:6).© 1931 by Emmet Fox
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BEAR HUGS KETTLEThere is an anecdote of the Far West that carries a wonderful lesson. It appears that a party of hunters, being called away from their camp, left the campfire unattended, with a kettle of water boiling on it.Presently an old bear crept out of the woods, and, seeing the kettle with its lid dancing about on top, promptly seized it. The boiling water scalded him badly; but instead of dropping the kettle instantly, he proceeded to hug it tightly—this being a bear’s idea of defense. Of course, the tighter he hugged it the more it burned him; the more it burned him the tighter he hugged it; and so on in a vicious circle, to the undoing of the bear.This illustrates perfectly the way in which many people hug their difficulties to their bosoms by constantly rehearsing them to themselves and others.Whenever you catch yourself thinking about your grievances, say to yourself sternly: “Bear hugs kettle,” and think about God instead. You will be surprised how quickly some long-standing wounds will heal.Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord . . . (Psalm 25:15).
© 1931 by Emmet Fox
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From the beginning of recorded history man has had his difficulties to overcome. In fact, history is a recording of these ordeals.We, of this highly mechanized age, have turned our problems over to bigger and bigger machines to do our work for us. We have raised economic efficiencies to the point where we can provide all our needs and luxuries by easy work in just a few days a week. We are going soft.No wonder, then, that when a problem confronts us we try to escape it by hiding in a bottle. We try to escape the seriousness of living, forgetting that when life ceases to be serious it will become a joke—at our expense.
Published by Hazelden
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What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.
~ George Eliot
Always seeing our struggles as the fault of others is a good indication that we need an attitude adjustment. There is no better place to get one than in this program of recovery. The women around us and the Steps that guide us can help us discover the joy of cultivating a new attitude.
Trying to determine the grand purpose of our lives can be overwhelming and anxiety-provoking. As alcoholics, we gravitate toward complicating the simple. That’s why one of our slogans is “Keep it simple.” We can apply this to all our relationships. Asking ourselves what we can do to help someone else, at every opportunity, defines our purpose in life quite clearly. Moment by moment, we’ll never doubt what to do next.
My purpose is to help someone else today. If I think someone is causing me a problem, perhaps I should address my attitude.
© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation
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When Things are Not humanly possible.
Facing Difficulties
We’re reminded again and again that “No human power could have relieved our alcoholism.” Whatever it is that keeps us sober must come from a Higher Power … God as we understand Him.
This fact about our alcoholism also has broader application to the general conditions of life. There’s an almost endless list of conditions that are not humanly possible to change. Some of these conditions apply only to us; others, such as war and disease, cruelly afflict all of humankind. Looking at this sorry picture, many of us wish we had the power to apply Twelve Step principles to all human problems.
While we don’t have such power at the moment, we do have the power to take a spiritual view of all seemingly hopeless conditions. This includes trying to do whatever we can about any problem, while recognizing that the real solution must eventually come from a Higher Power. We must never lose hope that God will cork with us and through us to create a better world. In a small way, we can help by sharing what happened to us in our recovery from alcoholism. No human power could have relieved our alcoholism, but God could and did.
Though I live and work with people who may be frightened and cynical, I’ll hold to the idea that a Higher Power is working ceaselessly to improve the human condition in general. There is no reason why the miraculous healing power that relieved my alcoholism should not apply to other problems in my life.
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When Things are Not humanly possible.
Facing Difficulties
We’re reminded again and again that “No human power could have relieved our alcoholism.” Whatever it is that keeps us sober must come from a Higher Power … God as we understand Him.
This fact about our alcoholism also has broader application to the general conditions of life. There’s an almost endless list of conditions that are not humanly possible to change. Some of these conditions apply only to us; others, such as war and disease, cruelly afflict all of humankind. Looking at this sorry picture, many of us wish we had the power to apply Twelve Step principles to all human problems.
While we don’t have such power at the moment, we do have the power to take a spiritual view of all seemingly hopeless conditions. This includes trying to do whatever we can about any problem, while recognizing that the real solution must eventually come from a Higher Power. We must never lose hope that God will cork with us and through us to create a better world. In a small way, we can help by sharing what happened to us in our recovery from alcoholism. No human power could have relieved our alcoholism, but God could and did.
Though I live and work with people who may be frightened and cynical, I’ll hold to the idea that a Higher Power is working ceaselessly to improve the human condition in general. There is no reason why the miraculous healing power that relieved my alcoholism should not apply to other problems in my life.
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"The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves." ~Pema Chödrön
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There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer: no disease that love will not heal: no door that enough love will not open...It makes no difference how deep set the trouble: how hopeless the outlook: how muddled the tangle: how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world...” ― Emmet Fox
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It is very difficult for an alcoholic to remain sober in continued idleness, and this lesson has been learned the hard way by too many who have tried it.
It is also possible to overwork to the point where we think we need a stimulant to keep going.
There is a big difference between resting time and idle time. Rest is nec-essary, but that does not imply that resting time is idle time. A hobby, as an illustration, may be restful and yet be strenuous. Some of us have been so exhausted from our daily work that attendance at AA meetings was dreaded, yet we forced ourselves to go and the diversion caused us to leave the meeting rested and refreshed.
Published by Hazelden
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Reflection for the Day
“Difficulties are God’s errands, and when we are sent upon them, we should esteem it a proof of God’s confidence,” wrote Beecher.
I’ve come to realize that my past troubles were really of my own making. Although I hardly thought so at the time, I was a primary example of what the Program calls “self-will run riot.” Today I’ll accept my difficulties as signposts to growth and as evidence of God’s confidence in me. Do I believe that God will never give me more than I can handle?
Today I Pray
May I believe strongly that God has confidence in me to handle my troubles, that the difficulties I must face are in direct proportion to my strength and ability to bear up and keep a cool head in a crisis. May I also understand that it is my faith in God which keeps me from crumbling.
Today I Will Remember
God has faith in me, because I have faith in God.
© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation
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PEACE“We cannot find peace if we are afraid of the windstorms of life.”~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Psychiatrist and author of ‘On Death and Dying’) ~My life always seemed so filled with difficulty. I seemed to have more than my fair share of traumas and losses. Why was I always being tested like this? It just didn’t seem fair. I was so wrapped up in myself and the unfairness of my difficult life that I couldn’t see that each of these harsh experiences had been opportunities for growth. Instead of bemoaning my fate and blaming people or situations for what seemed to me to be the cause of the current difficulty, I never looked at what part I had played in the whole situation, or the lessons I could learn from each of these experiences.It has often been said that God doesn’t give us more than we can cope with. What I realized later, once I’d come into the program, was that each of these experiences had been a unique learning opportunity for me; they were a chance to grow and mature. I had been too stuck in self-pity and blame that I hadn’t seen the wonderful gifts that I was being given with each new life experience. When I was able to open myself up fully to the lessons that I could learn from life, I became a whole person. It was then that the promises of the program begin to be fulfilled in my life, and I began to know serenity and peace.One Day at a Time . . .I will look for what lesson my Higher Power wants me to learn from life. I am then able to grow and change, and by doing so, I will come to know serenity and peace.~ Sharon S.
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Ask For Mercy, Not Justice
“Many of us have difficulty admitting that we caused harm for others… We cut away our justifications and our ideas of being a victim.”
~ Basic Text p.37
Our lives are progressing nicely. Things are going good, and each year in recovery brings more material and spiritual gifts. We may have a little money in the bank, a new car, or a committed relationship. We have a little self-confidence, and our faith in a Higher Power is growing.
Then, something happens. Someone breaks into our new car and steals the stereo, or the person we’re in the relationship with becomes unfaithful. Right away, we feel victimized. “Where’s the justice?” we wail. But if we take a look back on our own behavior, we may find that we’ve been guilty of what’s just been done to us. We realize we wouldn’t really want justice – not for ourselves, and not for others. What we want is mercy.
We thank a loving God for the compassion we’ve been shown, and we take the time to appreciate all the precious gifts that recovery brings.
Just for today: I will pray for mercy, not justice. I am grateful for the compassion I’ve been shown, and will offer mercy to others.
© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.
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Handle Today’s Problem
Living Today
Many of us face seemingly insurmountable difficulties, perhaps because of our compulsion or simply through misfortune. Whatever the scale of our problems,One Day at a Time and First things First, are keys to handling them. Today, we can deal only with today’s problems. One of today’s problems, of course, may be worrying about the future. A good method of handling that problem is to turn our concern about it over to our Higher Power. But when we do have work that clearly should be done today, we must carry through with it. It’s neither reasonable nor sensible to put off things that we can and should do today.
There are certain tasks and responsibilities that must be dealt with today. I will not put them off.
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