Fr. Leo's daily Meditation - - April 25 2026

             IMPERFECTION

“In the country of the blind a one-eyed king can still goof up.”
~ Anonymous ~

For years I tried to control everything and everybody.

There was a correct code of behavior, and everything had its place. I felt responsible for the universe and everyone in it.

Today I can laugh at my mistakes and the mistakes of others. When I catch myself organizing the world, I remember where the “perfect” yesterdays got me—and I laugh. God made me with a navel and flat feet; I would have preferred something different, but there is a loving message in my imperfections—it is okay to goof up! I relax in the humor of being human.

Thank You for making me an angel in the dirt. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.

~ Eugene Delacroix ~

Trying to be perfect puts distance between us and our Higher Power. Trying to be perfect shows we’re ashamed of being human. In recovery, we accept that we’re human. We try to be the best human we can be.

We used to get high to feel powerful and god-like. But God is not just power. God is also gentleness. Gentleness and love are the power we look for in recovery. We give up trying to be perfect. We work to be human. We work to know the loving, gentle side of ourselves and our Higher Power. Remember, if we try to be a god, we’ll fail. If we try to be human, we’ll win.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me give up trying to be perfect. Help me always keep in mind that I’m human—which means, I’m not perfect.

Action for the Day

Part of being human is making mistakes. Today, I’ll see my mistakes as chances to learn.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec

A.A. Thought For The Day

We should remember that all A.A.’s have “clay feet.” We should not set any member upon a pedestal and mark her or him out as a perfect A.A. Its not fair to the person to be singled out in this fashion and if the person is wise she or he will not wish it. If the person we single out as an ideal A.A. has a fall, we are in danger of falling, too. Without exception, we are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long we have been in A.A. Nobody is entirely safe. A.A. itself should be our ideal, not any particular member of it. Am I putting my trust in A.A. principles and not in any one member of the group?

Meditation For The Day

The inward peace that comes from trust in God truly passes all understanding. That peace no one can take from you. No person has the power to disturb that inner peace. But you must be careful not to let in the world’s worries and distractions. You must try not to give entrance to fears and despondency. You must refuse to open the door to distractions that disturb your inward peace. Make it a point to allow nothing today to disturb your inner peace, your heart-calm.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not allow those about me to spoil my peace of mind. I pray that I may keep a deep inner calm throughout the day. 

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FR. LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrecovery

IMPERFECTION

“In the country of the blind a one-eyed king can still goof up.”

~ Anonymous ~

For years I tried to control everything and everybody.

There was a correct code of behavior, and everything had its place. I felt responsible for the universe and everyone in it.

Today I can laugh at my mistakes and the mistakes of others. When I catch myself organizing the world, I remember where the “perfect” yesterdays got me—and I laugh. God made me with a navel and flat feet; I would have preferred something different, but there is a loving message in my imperfections—it is okay to goof up! I relax in the humor of being human.

Thank You for making me an angel in the dirt. 

© 2008 Leo Booth 

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

IMPERFECTION


“In the country of the blind the one eyed king can still goof up.”

–Anonymous

For years I tried to control everything and everybody. Things had their place; there was a correct code of behavior for doing things; everything had to have its place. I felt responsible for the universe and everybody in it.

Today I can laugh at my mistakes and the mistakes of others. When I catch myself organizing the world, I remember where the “perfect” yesterdays got me – and I laugh. God made me with a navel and flat feet; I would have preferred something different but there is a loving message within my imperfections. It is okay to goof up!

Today I relax in the humor of being human. Thank You for making me an angel in the dirt.

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As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

“Perfect” Humility, p. 106

For myself, I try to seek out the truest definition of humility that I can. This will not be the perfect definition, because I shall always be imperfect.

At this writing, I would choose one like this: “Absolutely humility would consist of a state of complete freedom from myself, freedom from all the claims that my defects of character now lay so heavily upon me. Perfect humility would be a full willingness, in all times and places, to find and to do the will of God.”

When I meditate upon such a vision, I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine.

I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and ever more fill my heart. This done, I can compare it with my last-taken personal inventory. Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that my journey toward God has scarce begun.

As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing.

Grapevine, June 1961

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofrecovery

PERFECTION


“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents, and I lay them both at His feet.”

–Mahatma Gandhi

I don’t know why I used to think that if something wasn’t done perfectly, it wasn’t worth doing. I was an all-time overachiever and to fail at anything was totally unacceptable. Since I set such impossibly high standards, it was hardly surprising that I couldn’t love — or even like — myself. I was constantly pushing to excel at those things I was good at, and I would beat myself up if I failed to meet my high expectations. I was especially critical of my body. I thought that if I had the perfect body, my life would be perfect.

When I came into the program I had to learn to not be so hard on myself. For the first time I began to realize that I was human and could still be loveable and worthy ~ even with all my imperfections and character defects. I am lovingly reminded by my sponsor and my friends in the fellowship to be gentler with myself. They remind me that I don’t even have to do the program perfectly. I just need to do the best I know how for that day; then I can see progress one day at a time. I don’t have to push myself to be perfect all the time in order to win approval or gain love. What a relief that is!

One day at a time…

I don’t have to be perfect all the time. I just need to be the best me that I can be for today…and that’s the way God intended me to be.

~ Sharon S.

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofrec

PERFECTION

“People throw away what they could have by insisting on perfection, which they cannot have, and looking for it where they will never find it.”

Edith Schaeffer

Time and time again I have felt like I was suspended from two ropes, being flogged for my imperfections. The tragic fact of that vision was that I was the person wielding the whip!

Before my heart and mind were opened by the Twelve Steps and Traditions, I sought perfection in everything I attempted. A simple letter would be written and rewritten until I was satisfied that perfection had been achieved and the letter could be sent. Frequently the goal was not reached and I would abandon the project in frustration and bitter disappointment with myself. Events that I organized had to be executed with the utmost precision. If, God forbid, a mistake was made, I would berate myself for days until sheer mental and emotional exhaustion prevailed.

Ironically, I never sought perfection in others and accepted that it was okay for them to be human. However, seeking perfection from myself became an obsession tangled with the search for self-acceptance. Needless to say, a rainbow cannot be seen through closed eyes, and I never found that which I sought. Through the teachings of the Twelve Steps I have come to appreciate that the beauty within myself is that I am not perfect. I can grow through my mistakes, and in my imperfections I can find serenity and release from the struggle.

One Day at a Time …
I will accept that I am perfectly imperfect.

~ Sue G. 

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Keep It Simple #essentialsofrec

Where there is no vision, a people perish.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Working our program teaches us to see things more clearly. We learn to look at who we really are. At first, we’re scared to see ourselves. But it turns out okay, even though were not perfect.

We also begin to see others more clearly. We see good in people we don’t like. And we see faults in people we thought we’re prefect. But we don’t judge people anymore. Nobody is perfect. Just as our program friends accept us as we are, we learn to accept others.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, sometimes I don’t like what I see. Help me to believe Your way will for me. Help me have a vision.

Action for the Day: I will use my new way of seeing thing to avoid trouble today.

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #Recovery #OA #Perfection

PERFECTION


“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents, and I lay them both at His feet.”

–Mahatma Gandhi

I don’t know why I used to think that if something wasn’t done perfectly, it wasn’t worth doing. I was an all-time overachiever and to fail at anything was totally unacceptable. Since I set such impossibly high standards, it was hardly surprising that I couldn’t love — or even like — myself. I was constantly pushing to excel at those things I was good at, and I would beat myself up if I failed to meet my high expectations. I was especially critical of my body. I thought that if I had the perfect body, my life would be perfect.

When I came into the program I had to learn to not be so hard on myself. For the first time I began to realize that I was human and could still be loveable and worthy ~ even with all my imperfections and character defects. I am lovingly reminded by my sponsor and my friends in the fellowship to be gentler with myself. They remind me that I don’t even have to do the program perfectly. I just need to do the best I know how for that day; then I can see progress one day at a time. I don’t have to push myself to be perfect all the time in order to win approval or gain love. What a relief that is!

One day at a time…

I don’t have to be perfect all the time. I just need to be the best me that I can be for today…and that’s the way God intended me to be.

~ Sharon S.

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Imperfection

   5
December

PERFECTION

My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents, and I lay them both at His feet.

~ Mahatma Gandhi 

I don’t know why I used to think that if something wasn’t done perfectly, it wasn’t worth doing. I was an all-time overachiever, and to fail at something was totally unacceptable. It was hardly surprising that I couldn’t like, let alone love, myself, since I set such impossibly high standards for myself. I was constantly pushing myself to excel at those things I was good at, and would beat up on myself if I failed to measure up to the high expectations I held. I was especially critical of my body and thought that if I had the perfect body, then my life would be perfect.

When I came into the program, I had to learn not to be so hard on myself. For the first time I began to realize that I was human and could still be loveable and worthy, even with all my imperfections and character defects. I am lovingly reminded by my sponsor and my friends in the fellowship to be more gentle on myself, and that I don’t even have to do the program perfectly. I just need to do the best I know how for that day; then I can see progress one day at a time. I don’t have to push myself to be perfect all the time in order to win approval or gain love. What a relief that is!

One day at a time . . .

I don’t have to be perfect all the time. I just need to be the best me that I can for today, and that’s the way God intended me to be.

~ Sharon S. 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Impatience

25
April 

IMPERFECTION


“In the country of the blind the one eyed king can still goof up.”

–Anonymous

For years I tried to control everything and everybody. Things had their place; there was a correct code of behavior for doing things; everything had to have its place. I felt responsible for the universe and everybody in it.

Today I can laugh at my mistakes and the mistakes of others. When I catch myself organizing the world, I remember where the “perfect” yesterdays got me – and I laugh. God made me with a navel and flat feet; I would have preferred something different but there is a loving message within my imperfections. It is okay to goof up!

Today I relax in the humor of being human. Thank You for making me an angel in the dirt.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?