Daily Recovery Readings - July

[bluidkiti]

July 1

Daily Reflections

THE BEST FOR TODAY

The principles we have set down are guides to progress.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 60

Just as a sculptor will use different tools to achieve desired effects in
creating a work of art, in Alcoholics Anonymous the Twelve Steps are
used to bring about results in my own life. I do not overwhelm myself
with life's problems, and how much more work needs to be done. I let
myself be comforted in knowing that my life is now in the hands of my
Higher Power, a master craftsman who is shaping each part of my life
into a unique work of art. By working my program I can be satisfied,
knowing that in the doing the best that we can for today, we are
doing all that God asks of us."

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In following the A.A. program with its twelve steps, we have the
advantage of a better understanding of our problems. Day after day
our sobriety results in the formation of new habits, normal habits. As
each twenty-four-hour period ends, we find that the business of staying
sober is a much less trying and fearsome ordeal than it seemed in the
beginning. Do I find it easier as I go along?

Meditation For The Day

Learn daily the lesson of trust and calm in the midst of the storms of
life. Whatever of sorrow or difficulty the day may bring, God's
command to you is the same. Be grateful, humble, calm, and loving to
all people. Leave each soul the better for having met you or heard
you. For all kinds of people, this should be your attitude: a loving
desire to help and an infectious spirit of calmness and trust in God.
You have the answer to loneliness and fear, which is calm faith in the
goodness and purpose in the universe.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be calm in the midst of storms. I pray that I may pass
on this calmness to others who are lonely and full of fear.

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As Bill Sees It

The Reality of Spiritual Experiences, p. 182

"Perhaps you raise the question of hallucination versus the divine imagery of a genuine
spiritual experience. I doubt if anyone has authoritatively defined what a hallucination
really is. However, it is certain that all recipients of spiritual experiences declare their
reality. The best evidence of that reality is in the subsequent fruits. Those who receive
these gifts of grace are very much changed people, almost invariably for the better. This
can scarcely be said of those who hallucinate.

"Some might think me presumptuous when I say that my own experience is real.
Nevertheless, I can surely report that in my own life and in the lives of countless others,
the fruits of that experience have been real, and the benefactions beyond reckoning.

Talk, 1960

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Walk In Dry Places

Are we victimizing ourselves?
Finding the New Happiness
Some believe that people create their own trouble by attracting the wrong conditions and people in their lives. This may not be entirely true, but we can find that some element of it was at work with us. Time and time again during our drinking, we set ourselves up for abuse and rejection, though our motives seemed right.
Why did we do this? Supposedly to punish ourselves, the theory has it.
If this is true, then we should now call a halt to the process immediately. If we've emerged from the terrors of alcoholism, we've had all the punishment anybody needs.
We can change our bad patterns by looking carefully at the people and situations we seem to attract. Without resentment or condemnation, we can part company with any problems these have been bringing us. We can
start building new relationships and attracting better conditions that will be immensely successful in terms of happiness and well-being.
I'll remember today that in the new life I'm seeking, there's no need for punishment. I will not go out of my way to attract people or conditions that create problems in my life.

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Keep It Simple

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.---Step Seven
In Step Six, we got ready to give up our shortcomings. In Step Seven, we ask God to remove them. There is one catch. We humbly as God to remove them.
Being humble means we remember who we are: human beings who need God's help. Being humble means not pretending we're God. We admit we need God's help. Being humble means seeing ourselves as we are. We're a small but important part of God's plan. We can change much, but only God can change some things about us. This is why we ask. Being humble is not a weakness, but a true strength.
Prayer for the Day: God, please remove my shortcomings.
Action for the Day: Throughout the day, I'll pray to God to remove my shortcomings.

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Each Day a New Beginning

It's quite uncomfortable to be an adolescent at age thirty-two. --Peggy Cahn
Our lives are in process every moment, which means change is ever-present. As new information is sorted and acquired, old habits are discarded. We don't let go of some old behaviors easily, however. They are like comfortable shoes. They may be worn thin, and they probably embarrass us in certain company, but we slip them on unconsciously and then it's too late.
Maturity is an "as if" behavior, initially. Emotional development was stunted, for most of us, with the onset of our addictive behavior, thus, we often respond to situations like adolescents. Application of the "as if" principle will result both in new personal attitudes and unfamiliar, yet welcome, responses from others. Acting as if we are capable, strong, confident, or serene will pave the way for making those behaviors real, after a time. If we believe in ourselves and our ability to become the women we strive to be, we can then move forward confidently.
When my behavior embarrasses or shames me, I will accept the responsibility for changing it. Changing it offers immediate rewards. The people around me will react in refreshing ways, and I'll feel more fully alive.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

But what about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.

p. 21

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

What we must recognize now is that we exult in some of our defects. We really love them. Who, for example, doesn't like to feel just a little superior to the next fellow, or even quite a lot superior? Isn't it true that we like to let greed masquerade as ambition? To think of liking lust seems impossible. But how many men and women speak love with their lips, and believe what they say, so that they can hide lust in a dark corner of their minds? And even while staying within conventional bounds, many people have to admit that their imaginary sex excursions are apt to be all dressed up as dreams of romance.

pp. 66-67

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I welcome solitude into my life today. I welcome the peace, serenity,
wisdom and spirituality I find when I take that special time for me.
--Ruth Fishel

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you
plant.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we
give."
--Norman MacEwan

We're not invited into relationship with God at a deeper level in the
absence of our challenges, but in the midst of all of life, including our
challenges. Difficulties provide us a chance for greater closeness.
Every situation in life carries with it an incredible opportunity for
sweetness, depth and wonder. Receive every experience today as an
opportunity and a gift.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"It is easy enough to be pleasant, When life flows by like a song,
But the man worth while is the one who can smile, When everything
goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is troubled, And it always
comes with the years. And the smiles that is worth the praises of
earth, Is the smile that shines through tears."
--Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold
well.
--Josh Billings

"Character is what you are in the dark."
--Dwight L. Moody

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BELIEF

"Seek not to understand that you
may believe, but believe that you
understand."
--St. Augustine

For years I tried to understand my behavior around alcohol and I only
came away more confused. Sometimes my efforts to understand led
me into dishonesty and manipulation. I drank because I was lonely,
angry, happy, overworked or because I had problems with my parents.
You see, I tried to understand "why"!

Science has no definitive answer as to why some people are alcoholic
other than to postulate the disease factor, with the emphasized advice,
"Don't pick up the first drink." So today I don't understand why I am
an alcoholic. I also believe that I can never drink alcohol without
having alcohol problems. This cherished belief keeps me sober and
gives me a God I can understand; a life that I can love; and a world I
can live in.

Oh yes -- and I can remember where I have been today!

Help me to believe in what I know and to be content with the
imperfection of my knowledge.

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"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
John 14:1-3

"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."
Psalms 119:105

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Daily Inspiration

It's easy to give up, but no matter what the outcome is, if you do your best, you are always the winner. Lord, may I truly realize that it is the way I participate in life that counts for me.

Example is the best way to teach. Lord, may I teach Your goodness by the way I live my life.

[bluidkiti]

July 2

Daily Reflections

THE HEART OF TRUE SOBRIETY

We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the
program. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials
of recovery. But these are indispensable.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 570

Am I honest enough to accept myself as I am and let this be the "me"
that I let others see? Do I have the willingness to go to any length, to
do whatever is necessary to stay sober? Do I have the
open-mindedness to hear what I have to hear, to think what I have to
think, and to feel what I have to feel?

If my answer to these questions is "Yes," I know enough about the
spirituality of the program to stay sober. As I continue to work the
Twelve Steps, I move on to the heart of true sobriety: serenity with
myself, with others, and with God as I understand Him.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In the association with members of the A.A. group to which we belong,
we have the advantage of sincere friendship and understanding of the
other members who, through social and personal contact, take us away
from our old haunts and environments and help to remove in large
measure the occasions of alcoholic suggestion. We find in this
association a sympathy and a willingness on the part of most members
to do everything in their power to help us. Do I appreciate the
wonderful fellowship of A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

"Except ye become as little children, ye cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven." In this saying it is urged that all who seek heaven on earth or
in the hereafter' should become like little children. In seeking things
of the spirit and in our faith, we should try to become childlike. Even
as we grow older, the years of seeking can give us the attitude of the
trusting child. Not only for its simple trust should we have the childlike
spirit, but also for its joy in life, its ready laughter, its lack of criticism,
and its desire to share. In Charles Dickens's story, A Christmas Carol,
even old Scrooge changed when he got the child-spirit.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may become like a child in faith and hope. I pray that I
may, like a child, be friendly and trusting.

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As Bill Sees It

A Viewer-with-Alarm, p. 183

"I went through several fruitless years in a state called 'viewing with alarm for the good
of the movement.' I thought it was up to me to be always 'correcting conditions.' Seldom
had anybody been able to tell me what I ought to do, and nobody had ever succeeded in
effectively telling me what I must do. I had to learn the hard way out of my own
experience.

"When setting out to 'check' others, I found myself often motivated by fear of what they
were doing, self-righteousness, and even downright intolerance. Consequently, I seldom
succeeded in correcting anything. I just raised barriers of resentment that cut off any
suggestion, example, understanding, or love."

<< << << >> >> >>

"A.A.'s often say, 'Our leaders do not drive by mandate; they lead by example.' If we
would favorably affect others, we ourselves need to practice what we preach--and forget
the 'preaching,' too. The quiet good example speaks for itself."

1. Letter, 1945
2. Letter, 1966

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Walk In Dry Places

Sincerity at the Beginning
Self-Honesty
We were told at our first AA meeting that half-measures will avail us nothing. What's needed is a sincere desire to stop drinking and seek and way of life.
As we continue in the program, we learn that sincerity is an ingredient for success in everything we do. Quite often, we may find that we're failing in something simply because our heart isn't really in it.
We can't force ourselves into a sincere posture. Instead, the answer is to know ourselves well enough to know just how we feel about everything we do.
We'll learn to be careful about attempting to do something when our heart is not really in it. We may be doing something we dislike merely for the recognition and money it gives us. For real sincerity, we need more than that, and the truths of the program will help us find it.
I'll be conscious today of the sincerity I have about the things I am attempting to do. There may be some things I need to abandon or at least change.

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Keep It Simple

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. --- Albert Einstein
None of us know anything for sure about the future. We don't know if we'll be sober tomorrow.
But we can be sure of this moment. We get sober by moments. Our sober moments then stretch into hours, day, and years
Our program tell us to live in the present moment. This is because we can control this moment
We can't control the past or the future. We need to have a sense of control in our life. In our illness, we were out of control. This was because we wouldn't live from moment to moment.
Each moment is filled with as much life as we can handle. Each moment is filled with enough to keep us alive, interested, and growing.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me find You in each moment.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll stop and focus on the present moment. I will work to see how much control I can have if I stay with the moment at hand.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Humor is such a strong weapon, such a strong answer. Women have to make jokes about themselves, laugh about themselves, because they have nothing to lose. --Agnes Varda
Laughter can cure a physical condition; it can and will positively affect an emotional illness as well. Laughter ushers in a new perspective which gives vent to a changed attitude. And our attitude toward any situation, any individual, is all-powerful.
A negative, critical attitude toward our financial situation, toward our disease, toward our boss, or spouse, or children, determines how we feel moment by moment. In like manner, when we raise our sights, look at the world with lightness in our hearts, expecting to enjoy the day, the people, the activity, we'll succeed.
Finding humor in a situation, any situation prevents us from succumbing to feelings of powerlessness. Feeling powerless, behaving as victims, came easily for many of us before we chose this program and the Twelve Steps to live by. Choosing a humorous response, opting to laugh at our situation, at any point in time, keeps our personal power where it belongs--with ourselves.
My emotional health depends on my active involvement in deciding who I am, right now. Deciding to chuckle rather than snarl will give me an unexpected emotional boost.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

Here is a fellow who has been puzzling you, especially in his lack of control. He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking. He is a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is seldom mildly intoxicated. He is always more or less insanely drunk. His disposition while drinking resembles his normal nature but little. He may be one of the finest fellows in the world. Yet let him drink for a day, and he frequently becomes disgustingly, and even dangerously anti-social. He has a positive genius for getting tight at exactly the wrong moment, particularly when some important decision must be made or engagement kept. He is often perfectly sensible and well balanced concerning everything except liquor, but in that respect he is incredibly dishonest and selfish. He often possesses special abilities, skills, and aptitudes, and has a promising career ahead of him. He uses his gifts to build up a bright outlook for his family and himself, and then pulls the structure down on his head by a senseless series of sprees. He is the fellow who goes to bed so intoxicated he ought to sleep the clock around. Yet early next morning he searches madly for the bottle he misplace the night before. If he can afford it, he may have liquor concealed all over his house to be certain no one gets his entire supply away from him to throw down the wastepipe. As matters grow worse, he begins to use a combination of high-powered sedative and liquor to quiet his nerves so he can go to work. Then comes the day when he simply cannot make it and gets drunk all over again. Perhaps he goes to a doctor who gives him morphine or some sedative with which to taper off. Then he begins to appear at hospitals and sanitariums.

pp. 21-22

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

Self-righteous anger also can be very enjoyable. In a perverse way we can actually take satisfaction from the fact that many people annoy us, for it brings a comfortable feeling of superiority. Gossip barbed with our anger, a polite form of murder by character assassination, has its satisfactions for us, too. Here we are not trying to help those we criticize; we are trying to proclaim our own righteousness.

p. 67

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"In forgiving ourselves, we make the journey from guilt for what we
have done (or not done) to celebration of what we have become."
--Joan Borysenko

Pitying yourself will get you nowhere. Things aren't always going to
go the way you want them to, but still you must set the rules regarding
how you respond to them.

There is incredible beauty, in the gentle and quiet spirit, precious in
God's direction.
--SweetyZee

"He who cannot rest, cannot work; He who cannot let go, cannot hold
on; He who cannot find footing, cannot go forward."
--Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far
more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment."
--Benjamin Franklin

If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first
examine it and see whether it is not something that could be better
changed in ourselves.
--Carl Jung

Voices we prefer to ignore may speak words we need to hear.
--Don Deal

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BEAUTY

"Beauty is not caused. It is."
--Emily Dickinson

So many people think that beauty is what you do to yourself; what you
wear, makeup, clothes, hairstyles or expensive jewelry. Again it is so
easy to get caught up in "things". Reality is not about what we wear
but who we are.

The beauty that God has created comes from within. The twinkle in
the eyes that says "hello". The hug that says "I love you". The gentle
embrace and smile that says "I forgive you". The tear that cries "I
understand".

When God said to the world, "It is good", Beauty was born. Drugs and
crazy relationships only get in the way of us being what we were
intended to be: beautiful for God.

Today I seek to put God's beauty in my actions, words and attitudes.

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"Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the
Lord."
Psalm 31:24

For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from
being snared.
Proverbs 3:26

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Daily Inspiration


Avoid the tendency to presuppose that things will turn out for the worse. Lord, help me keep an open mind so that I am able to see other solutions to my situations and then give me the determination to make a difference when I can.

We take for granted so much of what God has planned for us. Lord, may I have sufficient preparation to meet the challenges of today and rejoice in the person that I am.

[bluidkiti]

July 3

Daily Reflections

EXPERIENCE: THE BEST TEACHER

Being still inexperienced and having just made conscious
contact with God, it is not probable that we are going to
be inspired at all times.
ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 87

Some say that experience is the best teacher, but I believe
that experience is the only teacher. I have been able to
learn of God's love for me only by the experience of my
dependence on that love. At first I could not be sure of
His direction in my life, but now I see that if I am to be
bold enough to ask for His guidance, I must act as if He
has provided it. I frequently ask God to help me remember
that He has a path for me.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous there were only two
persons. Now there are many groups and thousands of members.
True, the surface has only been scratched. There are probably
ten million or more persons in America alone who need our
help. More and more people are making a start in A.A. each
day. In the case of individual members, the beginning has
been accomplished when they admit they are powerless and turn
to a Power greater than themselves, admitting that their
lives have become unmanageable. That Higher Power works for
good in all things and helps us to accomplish much in
individual growth and in the growth of A.A. groups. Am I
doing my part in helping A.A. to grow?

Meditation For The Day

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Only in the fullness of faith can the
heart-sick and faint and weary be satisfied, healed, and rested.
Think of the wonderful spiritual revelations still to be found
by those who are trying to live the spiritual life. Much of life
is spiritually unexplored country. Only to the consecrated and
loving people who walk with God in spirit can these great
spiritual discoveries be revealed. Keep going forward and keep
growing in righteousness.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not be held back by the material things of the
world. I pray that I may let God lead me forward.

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As Bill Sees It

Meeting Adversity, p. 184

"Our spiritual and emotional growth in A.A. does not depend so deeply upon success as it
does upon our failures and setbacks. If you will bear this in mind, I think that your slip
will have the effect of kicking you upstairs, instead of down.

"We A.A.'s have had no better teacher than Old Man Adversity, except in those cases
where we refuse to let him teach us."

<< << << >> >> >>

"Now and then all of us fall under heavy criticism. When we are angered and hurt, it's
difficult not to retaliate in kind. Yet we can restrain ourselves and then probe ourselves,
asking whether our critics were really right. If so, we can admit our defects to them. This
usually clears the air for mutual understanding.

"Suppose our critics are being unfair. Then we can try calm persuasion. If they continue
to rant, it is still possible for us--in our hearts--to forgive them. Maybe a sense of humor
can be our saving grace--thus we can both forgive and forget."

1. Letter, 1958
2. Letter, 1966

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Walk In Dry Places

Battles we've won or lost.
Achievements.
Even the continuous sobriety we're enjoying is no shield from traps we seem to set for ourselves. At times, we can find ourselves in the foolish game of continuing to fight battles we've won or lost.
One losing battle is the attempt to win the approval of someone who has always disliked us. That person may be gone, but we still fight....and lose..... the same battle when we find ourselves in a similar situation.
We also may have won some battles without knowing it. This can happen when we've set our goals unrealistically high. We may be fairly successful in our work, for example, but still feel that we have failed because a high goal we set eluded us. That goal, however, may have been all but impossible to attain, and while we mourn our perceived failure, we ignore the successes we many have achieved in the meantime. Consequently, we should never let any of these battles interfere with our plan for sobriety. We must stay sober at all costs.
This day, I'll not strive to impress people who may always disapprove of me. I will also accept my successes even if they fall short of my highest dreams.

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Keep It Simple

We are only as sick as the secrets we keep.--- Anonymous
It is dangerous for us to keep secrets. Shame builds, and we'll want relief. We may turn to alcohol or other drugs. True relief comes by talking about our secrets, by sharing who we really are with others. Our program helps us live a life based on honesty. Our program helps us battle shame. We don't keep secrets anymore. We start our meetings and share what we tried to keep secret before.
" Hi, my name is____________, and I'm am alcoholic." " Hi my name is_____________, and I'm a drug addict." We keep telling our secret, and the shame gets less and less.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray to live an honest life.
Action for the Day: I'll list any secrets I've been keeping. I'll talk with my sponsor about them.

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Each Day a New Beginning

No one can build (her) security upon the nobleness of another person. --Willa Cather
Where do we look for our security? Do we look to our husbands or our lovers? Do we look to a parent or our children? Perhaps we seek our security in our jobs. But none of these avenues brings lasting contentment, as we've each probably discovered, just as pills, alcohol, or maybe food failed to give us lasting security.
Security of the spirit is with us from our birth. It's just that we haven't tapped into the source. Perhaps we don't even know the source, but it's been with us always, awaiting our realization of it.
No step do we ever take alone. Each breath we take is in partnership with the eternal source of strength and security within us. We have the choice to accept this partnership any time. And this guarantee of security in all things at all times is the gift of freedom.
Our desire for security is God-given. The security we desire is also given by God to us. We are secure today and every day.
Each step I take is in concert with my higher power. I need experience nothing alone. I can breathe in and tap the plentiful source of strength awaiting me, now.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

This is by no means a comprehensive picture of the true alcoholic, as our behavior patterns vary. But this description should identify him roughly.
Why does he behave like this? If hundreds of experiences have shown him that one drink means another debacle with all its attendant suffering and humiliation, why is it he takes that one drink? Why can’t he stay on the water wagon? What has become of the common sense and will power that he still sometimes displays with respect to other matters?
Perhaps there never will be a full answer to these questions. Opinions vary considerably as to why the alcoholic reacts differently from normal people. We are not sure why, once a certain point is reached, little can be done for him. We cannot answer the riddle.

p. 22

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

When gluttony is less than ruinous, we have a milder word for that, too; we call it "taking our comfort." We live in a world riddled with envy. To a greater or less degree, everybody is infected with it. From this defect we must surely get a warped yet definite satisfaction. Else why would we consume such great amounts of time wishing for what we have not, rather than working for it, or angrily looking for attributes we shall never have, instead of adjusting to the fact, and accepting it? And how often we work hard with no better motive than to be secure and slothful later on-- only we call that "retiring." Consider, too, our talents for procrastination, which is really sloth in five syllables. Nearly anyone could submit a good list of such defects as these, and few of us would seriously think of giving them up, at least until they cause us excessive misery.

p. 67

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Deep within us is a place where we have found God and God has found
us. Once in a great while, we come to this place within us and we
realize it is the goal of our seeking. It feels like home. We may not be
consciously aware of our seeking. We may be living our lives day by
day. The wonder is that while this searching goes on within us, there is
also the One who seeks us out, calling to us, desiring that we find the
home within. It is God who takes the initiative of seeking and places
the desire in our hearts to be found.
--Unknown

The world needs all of our power and love and energy, and each of us
has something to give. The trick is to find it and use it, to find it and
give it away so there will always be more. We can be lights for each
other, and through each other's illumination we will see the way. Each
of us is a seed, a silent promise, and it is always spring.
--Merle Shain

A true winner is one who congratulates the one receiving recognition
in heart felt words.
--unknown

Forgiveness is only one step in the healing process, but a very
important one to learn.
--unknown

Burdening yourself with trivial things only affects one person - YOU.
--unknown

There is no investment you'll ever make which will pay you so well as
the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer wherever you are.
--unknown

We see God through eyes of faith.
--SweetyZee

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CHOICES

"Destiny is not a matter of
chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be achieved."
--William Jennings Bryan

It is so important for us to see that we create our destiny. We create
our futures in the choices we initiate today. During my addiction I was
like a ship without a sail. I drifted through life and was tossed in a
thousand directions. Today I am able to point myself in the direction I
want to go.

I do not believe that this attitude takes anything away from the power
of God because He gave me freedom in the first place! He created me
to be free and to have the gift of decision-making. He is not a dictator
God, and I am not a puppet on a string. He loves me enough to allow
me to learn from my mistakes and take personal pride in my
achievements. Addiction made me powerless. Sobriety puts me in
touch with my God-given power.

I am forever grateful and thankful for my involvement in my own life.
I pray today that I might live responsibly a day at a time.

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"Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Matthew 19:21

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of
childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in
this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who
hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet
have, we wait for it patiently."
Romans 8:22-25

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full
armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
Ephesians 6:10-12

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like
a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm
in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the
world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
I Peter 5:8-9

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
I John 4:4

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

Daily Inspiration


Stay close to God because He is the solution to all problems. Lord, I will live in Your presence, protected by You and Your peace will be mine.

Our lives should be productive and useful and we should always make a difference because we are alive. Lord, You have brought me to this new day. Work with me so that I will have a successful day with many accomplishments whether they are great or small.

[bluidkiti]

July 4

Daily Reflections

A NATURAL FAITH

. . . deep down in every man, woman and child, is the fundamental idea
of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other
things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power
greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power
in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55

I have seen the workings of the unseen God in A.A. rooms around the
country. Miracles of recovery are everywhere in evidence. I now
believe that God is in these rooms and in my heart. Today faith is as
natural to me, a former agnostic, as breathing, eating and sleeping.
The Twelve Steps have helped to change my life in many ways, but none is
more effective than the acquisition of a Higher Power.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In Alcoholics Anonymous there is no thought of individual profit. No
greed or gain. No membership fees, no dues. Only voluntary
contributions of our money and ourselves. All that we hope for is
sobriety and regeneration, so that we can live normal, respectable
lives and can be recognized by others as men and women willing to do
unto others as we would be done by. These things we accomplish by
the help of each other, by following the twelve steps and by the grace
of God. Am I willing to work for A.A. without material gain to myself?

Meditation For The Day

What is sometimes called by religion as conversion is often only the
discovery of God as a friend in need. What is sometimes called
religion is often only the experiencing of the help and strength of
God's power in our lives. What is sometimes called holiness is often
only the invitation of God to be our Friend. As God becomes your
friend, you become a friend to others. We experience true human
friendship and from this experience we can imagine what kind of
Great Friend God can be. We believe Him to be a tireless, selfless, all
conquering, miracle-working Friend. We can reach out to the Great
Friend and figuratively take His hand in ours.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may think of God as a Great Friend in need. I pray that I
may go along with Him.

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

As Bill Sees It

Boomerang, p. 185

When I was ten, I was tall and gawky, and smaller kids could push me around in quarrels.
I remember being very depressed for a year or more, and then I began to develop fierce
resolve to win.

One day, my grandfather came along with a book about Australia and told me, "This
books says that nobody but an Australian bushman knows how to make and throw a
boomerang."

"Here's my chance," I thought. "I will be the first man in America to make and throw a
boomerang." Well, any kid could have a notion like that. It might have lasted two days
or two weeks. But mine was a power drive that kept on for six months, till I made a
boomerang that swung around the church yard in front of the house and almost hit my
grandfather in the head when it came back.

Emotionally, I had begun the fashioning of another sort of boomerang, one that almost
killed me later on.

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

Walk In Dry Places

Our common knowledge
Progress
One guiding factor in 12 Step groups is the sharing of experience and knowledge. The fact that a few people seem especially gifted as speakers and workers doesn't relieve us of the need for every person's participation.
Such group efforts are important to all human progress. For every outstanding person, there are hundreds who contribute to the success of any venture.
What we bring to the group is our experience as well as a strong commitment to the group's purpose. This makes our meetings warm, interesting, and helpful. The group can always be such a center if its members really are part of it.
I'll remind myself today that I can draw stength from the group and also make it stronger with my participation.

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

Keep It Simple

I have a dream.---Martin Luther King Jr.
During our addiction, maybe we dreamed of joy and laughter with our family---only to find tears and anger. Maybe we dreamed of respect at our job---only to be fired. Our dreams began to feel like burdens. We had lost hope.
With recovery, the hope starts to return. We start to trust ourselves again. We start to trust others again. We start to trust in our Higher Power. Over time, we even dare to dream again. In our dreams, we are loving people. We have something to offer others. We are not scared. This is a sign that hope is returning. We fall in love again with the world, our Higher Power, and ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for giving back my future. Thank-you for giving back my dreams.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll tell my dreams to a friend. Do my future dreams include improving myself through the program?

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

Each Day a New Beginning

One doesn't recognize in one's life the really important moments--not until it's too late. --Agatha Christie
Every moment is special and offers us an opportunity--to let an experience change us in an important way, to invite another person into our life, to nurture the growing, changing woman within. Life's events move so rapidly we seldom relish the moments individually, but each day teems with tiny gifts divinely designed for our well-being. The woman smiled at in the grocery store yesterday or the man acknowledged on the bus last week felt special. And we were softened, too, by our expression.
We change, and we change our world when we acknowledge one another's presence in it. The wonderful reality is that we are in another's world because of the special qualities we each have and are able to share with one another.
For many of us, in times past, no moment felt important. The days were simply long and painful. But now, we can relish even the past pain for what it taught us. We know now that we can look to this day before us with expectation. We can be conscious of every moment, thankful for every experience and every person we encounter.
In this inner game of life, I share the court, and I will have my turn to serve. To really live, I must participate fully.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, both in 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. If you ask him why he started on that last bender, the chances are he will offer you any one of a hundred alibis. Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholic’s drinking bout creates. They sound like the philosophy of the man who, having a headache, beats himself on the head with a hammer so that he can’t feel the ache. If you draw this fallacious reasoning to the attention of an alcoholic, he will laugh it off, or become irritated and refuse to talk.

pp. 22-23

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

Some people, of course, may conclude that they are indeed ready to have all such defects taken from them. But even these people, if they construct a list of still milder defects, will be obliged to admit that they prefer to hang on to some of them. Therefore, it seems plain that few of us can quickly or easily become ready to aim at spiritual and moral perfection; we want to settle for only as much perfection as will get us by in life, according, of course, to our various and sundry ideas of what will get us by. So the difference between "the boys and the men" is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God.

pp. 67-68

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

Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to.
--unknown

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
--John Cotton Dana

I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second
time into things that I am most certain of the first time.
--Josh Billings

A lot of growing up takes place between "It fell" and "I dropped it."
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together.
--Robert C. Dodds

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
--unknown

LIVE and let live
EASY does it
BUT for the grace of God
THINK think think
FIRST things first
When put in this order five of our sayings produce a sixth saying by
taking the first word of each one to make the sixth: LIVE EASY BUT
THINK FIRST.
--unknown

An old timer had shared in the meeting about praying for something,
and that God had answered her request. Someone asked her, "How
do you know it was God who granted your request?"
She replied... "I didn't ask anyone else."
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FREEDOM

"Freedom is nothing else but a
chance to be better."
--Albert Camus

Human beings are not puppets. Sometimes when you hear people talk
about God and prayer, they imply that we have no choice and that all
actions in life are determined by God alone: a moment's reflection
should make us hesitate from such a viewpoint. Murder, rape, child
molestation and prejudice do not stem from God but are the results of
God's gift of freedom to mankind.

Addicts and alcoholics need to comprehend on a daily basis that
prayers that are not accompanied by actions are mere words. God's
love for man does not obliterate man's need to love himself through
choice and decision. Sobriety and serenity should be experienced in
our lives when divinity is revealed in our choice.

God, help me to appreciate my involvement in my desire to be a
winner.

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

..."but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."
Philippians 3:12

Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.
Psalm 119:18

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

Daily Inspiration

To make no decision can be worse than making a wrong decision. Lord, help me to be an active part of my life and to realize that no decision is so firm that it can't be modified, corrected or improved on as time passes.

Worry about nothing, pray for everything, and thank God for His answers. Lord, I ask You to handle my problems with me and care for my needs.

[bluidkiti]

July 5

Daily Reflections

A NEW DIRECTION

Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient;
they failed utterly. . . Every day is a day when we must carry the
vision of God's will into all our activities.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.45,85

I hear talk of the "weak-willed" alcoholic, but I am one of the
strongest-willed people on earth! I now know that my incredible
strength of will is not enough to save my life. My problem is not one of
"weakness," but rather of direction. When I, without falsely
diminishing myself, accept my honest limitations and turn to God's
guidance, my worst faults become my greatest assets. My strong will,
rightly directed, keeps me working until the promises of the program
become my daily reality.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Until we came into A.A. most of us had tried desperately to stop
drinking. We were filled with the delusion that we could drink like our
friends. We tried time and again to take it or leave it, but we could do
neither. We always lapsed into ceaseless, unhappy drinking. Families,
friends, and employers threw up their hands in hurt bewilderment, in
despair, and finally in disgust. We wanted to stop. We realized that
every reason for drinking was only a crazy excuse. Have I given up
every excuse for drinking?

Meditation For The Day

Many things can upset you and you can easily get off the track. But
remember that God is near you all the time, ready to help you if you
call on Him. You cannot forever stand against God's will for you, nor
can you, forever upset God's plan for your life, even though Gods plan
may be postponed by your willfulness and deliberate choice of evil. A
whole world of men and women cannot permanently change God's
laws nor His purpose for the universe. The sea of life may look very
rough to us, but we can believe that our Captain steers the boat on a
straight course.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to steer a straight course. I pray that I may
accept God's direction in my life's journey.

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

As Bill Sees It

"The Only Requirement. . .", p. 186

In Tradition Three, A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications--even your crimes--we don't want to keep you out. We just want to be sure that you get the same
chance for sobriety that we've had."

<< << << >> >> >>

We do not wish to deny anyone his chance to recover from alcoholism. We wish to be just as inclusive as we can, never exclusive.

1. 12 & 12, p. 139
2. Grapevine, August 1946

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

Walk In Dry Places

What brings change?
Inventory.
In human affairs, vast changes sometimes take place almost spontaneously, bringing on revolutionary upheavals. What brings about such change?
These visible changes, for good or bad, occur because people come to accept new ideas. It's easy to see how this works in one person's life, but it works in the same way with socities.
The 12 Step movement is a most dramatic form of such change. We've become effective b ecause we have new forms of thinking to replace the old destructive forms that caused so much harm. Our movement will grow and develop only as long as we retain the new ways of thinging that first brought about this change.
I'll hold to the idea that my life can only be as good as the thoughts I choose.

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

Keep It Simple

If at first you don't succeed, you're running about average.---Ovid
Our program speaks of spiritual progress, not perfection. We can take all the time we need. Our bottom line is steady progress. We can ask ourselves, "Am I a little more spiritual than I was a year ago? A month ago?" If the answer is yes, we're doing great. If the answer is no, we should look at why.
Our illness pushes us to be prefect. In recovery, we learn that we are free to be what we are---human. Even the world's fastest runners are average in most other areas of their lives.. This is okay. Remember, "spiritual progress, not perfection."
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I'll not be ashamed of how average I am. I'll remember I'm average---and that's good.
Action for the Day: I'll list what is average about me. I'll share this with a friend. Than I'll ask my friend what is special about me.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

There are really only two ways to approach life--as victim or as gallant fighter--and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don't decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.
--Merle Shain
Being the victim is, or was, uncomfortably familiar to many of us. Perhaps some of us are only now realizing we have choices, that we need not let life happen to us. Becoming responsible to ourselves, choosing behavior, beliefs, friends, activities, that please us, though unfamiliar at first, soon exhilarates us. The more choices we make, the more alive we feel. The more alive we feel, the healthier our choices.
Our aim is recovery. Recovering means participating fully in our lives. It means self-assessment and self-direction. It means trusting to move forward, step-by-step, choice-by-choice, knowing all the while that no thoughtful action can trouble us.
Many opportunities to make choices will present themselves today. The choices I make will satisfy me; they will move me toward my goal of recovery.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

Once in a while he may tell the truth. And the truth, strange to say, is usually that he has no more idea why he took that first drink than you have. Some drinkers have excuses with which they are satisfied part of the time. But in their hearts they really do not know why they do it. Once this malady has a real hold, they are a baffled lot. There is the obsession that somehow, someday, they will beat the game. But they often suspect they are down for the count.
How true this is, few realize. In a vague way their families and friends sense that these drinkers are abnormal, but everybody hopefully awaits the day when the sufferer will rouse himself from his lethargy and assert his power of will.

p. 23

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

Many will at once ask, "How can we accept the entire implication of Step Six? Why--that is perfection!" This sounds like a hard question, but practically speaking, it isn't. Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. The remaining eleven Steps state perfect ideals. They are goals toward which we look, and the measuring sticks by which we estimate our progress. Seen in this light, Step Six is still difficult, but not at all impossible. The only urgent thing is that we make a beginning, and keep trying.

p. 68

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

God, guide me in making my commitments. Give me the courage to
make those that are right for me, the wisdom to not commit to that
which does not feel right, and the patience to wait until I know.
--Melody Beattie

Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the
time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something
to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the
angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives.
--Terry Lynn Taylor

Wisdom is using those things that work for you, for as long as they
work for you, and letting go of the things that are not working for you.
--John-Roger

"Allow God to speak through you and smile upon the earth through
you, because you are an unconditional giver, a purposeful being."
--Dr. Wayne Dyer

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will
ever regret.
--Ambrose Bierce

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FORGIVENESS

"Without forgiveness life is
governed by . . . an endless cycle
of resentment and retaliation."
--Roberto Assagioli

So much of what I resent in others springs from my unhappiness with
self. I hate in others what I know to be in myself: arrogance, pride,
narrow-mindedness, snobbery and dishonesty.

Today I am learning that as long as I refuse to forgive others, I am not
capable of forgiving myself. Part of my denial is reflected in my
attitudes towards others. Those character traits I refuse to forgive in
others are buried within myself. I know that without forgiveness there
is no freedom -- and I wish to grow in freedom.

Today I am learning the difference between forgiveness and
acceptance. I can forgive other people without accepting their
lifestyle. I can forgive myself and still see the need for change. In my
forgiveness is the hope for tomorrow.

Master, You taught that without forgiveness, there can be no pure
love. Help me grow in the forgiveness of self and others.

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

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when
you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
1 Peter 1:14-16

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and
glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you
have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For
you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,
through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like
grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass
withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever."
1 Peter 1:21-25

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

Daily Inspiration

If you want those around you calm, you must be calm. Lord, when life becomes frantic, help me focus on solutions and restore the peace that the events of the moment try to destroy.

We are not always what we ought to be or want to be, but through God's love we are not what we would be without Him. Lord, thank you for raising me to heights in this world that alone I could not reach and for giving me eternal life in the next.

[bluidkiti]

July 6

Daily Reflections

IDENTIFYING FEAR . . . .

The chief activator of our defects has been self -
centered fear. . . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 76

When I feel uncomfortable, irritated, or depressed, I
look for fear. This "evil and corroding thread" is the
root of my distress: Fear of failure; fear of other's
opinions; fear of harm, and many other fears. I have
found a Higher Power who does not want me to live in
fear and, as a result, the experience of A.A. in my
life is freedom and joy. I am no longer willing to live
with the multitude of character defects that
characterized my life while I was drinking. Step Seven
is my vehicle to freedom from these defects. I pray for
help in identifying the fear underneath the defect, and
then I ask God to relieve me of that fear. This method
works for me without fail and is one of the great
miracles of my life in Alcoholics Anonymous.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We tried to study our alcoholic problem, wondering what
was the cause of our strange obsession. Many of us took
special treatments, hospitalization, even confinement in
institutions. In every case, the relief was only temporary.
We tried through crazy excuses to convince ourselves that
we knew why we drank, but we went on regardless. Finally
drinking had gone far beyond even a habit. We had become
alcoholics, men and women who had been destroying
themselves against their own will. Am I completely free
from my alcoholic obsession?

Meditation For The Day

"Ask and ye shall receive." Never let yourself think you
cannot do something useful or that you never will be able
to accomplish a useful task. The fact is that you can do
practically anything in the field of human relationships,
if you are willing to call on God's supply of strength. The
supply may not be immediately available, because you may
not be entirely ready to receive it. But it will surely come
when you are properly prepared for it. As you grow spiritually,
a feeling of being plentifully supplied by God's strength will
possess you and you will be able to accomplish many useful
things.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may claim God's supply of strength by my faith
in Him. I pray that it shall be given to me according to my faith.

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

As Bill Sees It

Talk or Action?, p. 187

In making amends, it is seldom wise to approach an individual who still
smarts from our injustice to him, and announce that we have gone
religious. This might be called leading with the chin. Why lay ourselves
open to being branded fanatics or religious bores? If we do this, we may
kill a future opportunity to carry a beneficial message.

But the man who hears our amends is sure to be impressed with our
sincere desire to set right a wrong. He is going to be more interested in
a demonstration of good will than in talk of spiritual discoveries.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 77

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

Walk In Dry Places

Should we Intervene?
Recovery
The method of conducting interventions is considered an effective way of confronting alcoholics and drug addicts. Interventions are done with the hope that this confrontation will "raise the bottom," and that the addict will face the condition before there's further anguish.
However effective interventions may be, they're not part of the 12 Step program. Our work is based on attraction, not the admitted coercion that's part of intervention.
If we take part in interventions, this separation should be clearly understood. The person who still suffers should know that the 12 Step program depends on attraction, not any of the other methods that might be available.
It's important to make this point clear, because the intervention may fail. Whether it does or not, the individual must not be left with the idea that intervention is a 12 Step activity. At any stage, the fellowship is always available to him or her.
I'll probably see lots of people today who need help in facing their addiction. I'll know that their recovery comes in God's good time.

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

Keep It Simple

When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make lemonade.---Dale Carnegie
Our illness is one big lemon, but our recovery is lemonade. None of us signed up to be drunks or drugies, but we all signed up for recovery. That's when the happiness began. Yes, there will be pain, but the joy will far outweigh the pain. The sweet joy of recovery becomes our drink---our lemonade. And, do we drink!
We have new friends. We love ourselves, our Higher Power, our family, and much more. We are creative when we give joy, love and help to others and to ourselves. If your lemonade isn't sweet enough, add more of your program.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, it's easy to forget how much You've given me. Thank you for all the joy and love You have given me.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll write down what part of recovery I really enjoy. I will then share this list with my group or friend.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Peace, she supposed, was contingent upon a certain disposition of the soul, a disposition to receive the gift that only detachment from self made possible. --Elizabeth Goudge
Self-centeredness, egocentrism, and selfishness are familiar to most of us. We have judged our world and all the situations and people in it in terms of how their existence affects our own. We have become tied to him or to her or to a situation just as surely as an anchor to a boat. Most of us learned in very early childhood to read others' behaviors. And we determined our own worth accordingly.
As adult women we still struggle, trying to read another's actions, hoping to find acceptance. Which means we are always vulnerable, exposing our "self" to the whims of other, equally vulnerable "selves." What we search for is peace and security. We think if others love and accept us, we'll be at peace. We'll know serenity. A most important lesson for us to learn in this life is that peace is assured when we anchor ourselves to our God. Peace, well-being, serene joy will accompany our every step when we expose our vulnerable selves to God's care and only God's care. We'll no longer need to worry about the self we try to protect. It will be handled with care.
Peace awaits me today. I will look to God, and only God, to know that all is well, that I am all that I need to be.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

The tragic truth is that if the man be a real alcoholic, the happy day may not arrive. He has lost control. At a certain point in the drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no avail. This tragic situation has already arrived in practically every case long before it is suspected.
The fact is that most alcoholics, for some reason yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. our so-called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.

pp. 23-24

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

If we would gain any real advantage in the use of this Step on problems other than alcohol, we shall need to make a brand new venture into open-mindedness. We shall need to raise our eyes toward perfection, and be ready to walk in that direction. It will seldom matter how haltingly we walk. The only question will be "Are we ready?"

p. 68

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

Love yourself and all your emotions.
Be as honest with yourself as you can be.
Say how you really feel.
--Melody Beattie

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the
heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Though we travel the world to find the beautiful, we must carry it
within us or we will find it not.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

God, help me to lower my defenses today, to be open to the good in
the people around me and to the good that I have to offer them.
--Melody Beattie

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
--John Wooden

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

POWER

"The measure of man is what he
does with power."
--Pittacus

With my recovery has come a certain success, and with the success
comes power. Power comes with the spiritual program, but it must be
exercised responsibly. Just as the disease used alcohol to destroy my
life, so it can use power to destroy me in sobriety. Power is a
doubled-edged sword that has led many back to drinking. Certainly an
abuse of power is not consistent with sobriety.

Today I am respectful of power because I know it can lead to an
inflated ego or an arrogant personality that continues to destroy the
quality of life. Today I surround myself with friends who will remind
me of my roots.

Teach me not to use my White Anglo-Saxon Protestant heritage to
belittle or patronize those from minority groups.

Teach me to exercise power responsibly.

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

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:8-13

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

Daily Inspiration

Make few promises and keep the ones you make. Lord, grant me the strength to keep my commitments, especially the ones that I make to myself.

Life is what our thinking makes it. Lord, help me visualize myself richly living each day, believing, achieving, and then succeeding.

[bluidkiti]

July 7

Daily Reflections

. . . AND LETTING GO OF IT

. . . primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed
or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis
of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual
disturbance and frustration. Therefore, no peace was to be had
unless we could find a means of reducing these demands. The
difference between a demand and a simple request is plain to
anyone.
12 & 12, p.76

Peace is possible for me only when I let go of expectations. When
I'm trapped in thoughts about what I want and what should be
coming to me, I'm in a state of fear or anxious anticipation and
this is not conducive to emotional sobriety. I must surrender--over
and over--to the reality of my dependence on God, for then I find
peace, gratitude and spiritual security.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We had become hopelessly sick people; spiritually, emotionally,
and physically. The power that controlled us was greater than
ourselves--it was John Barleycorn. Many drinkers have said: "I
hadn't gone that far; I hadn't lost my job on account of drink; I
still had my family; I managed to keep out of jail. True, I took too
much sometimes and I guess I managed to make quite an a$$ of
myself when I did, but I still thought I could control my drinking. I
didn't really believe that I was an alcoholic." If I was one of these,
have I fully changed my mind?

Meditation For The Day

Painful as the present time may be; you will one day see the reason
for it. You will see that it was not only testing, but also a
preparation for the life-work which you are to do. Have faith that
your prayers and aspirations will someday be answered.
Answered in a way that perhaps seems painful to you but is the only
right way. Selfishness and pride often make us want things that
are not good for us. They need to be burned out of our natures.
We must be rid of the blocks which are holding us back, before we
can expect our prayers to be answered.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be willing to go through a time of testing. I pray that
I may trust God for the outcome.

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

As Bill Sees It

To Survive Trials, p. 188

In our belief, any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes wholly to shield the
sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. If the alcoholic tries to shield himself he
may succeed for a time, but he usually winds up with a bigger explosion than ever. We
have tried these methods. These attempts to do the impossible have always failed.
Release from alcohol, and not flight from it, is our answer.

<< << << >> >> >>

"Faith without works is dead." How appallingly true for the alcoholic! For if an alcoholic
fails to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he
cannot survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If he does not work, he will surely
drink again, and if he drinks, he will surely die. Then faith will be dead indeed.

Alcoholics Anonymous
1. p. 101
2. pp. 14-15

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

Walk In Dry Places

What should I have said or done?
Second thoughts
After an intense discussion, we might rehash what we said and wish we'd said something else. Perhaps some brilliant remark occurs to us long after the conversation has ended.
We can say only what comes to us at the time of the discussion. Our best preparation for any such discussion.... however important.... is to place the matter in God's hands, seeking the highest good for everyone involved.
It may be that the brilliant thoughts coming to us later would have actually been inappropriate. After all, important discussions also involve exchanges of strong feelings that influence the meeting. If our feelings are in line with the high principles of the program, the discussion should go well. In such cases, we will probably say what we're supposed to say.
I'll do my best today without trying to second-guess every word or action.

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

Keep It Simple

Be brave enough to accept the help of others
Often is the past, we acted like we didn't need anyone. It takes courage to let others help us.
As we get better, our courage grows. We invite people into our lives. We help others, and we let others help us.
We will learn to let others help us if we work our program. Why? Because we need others to stay sober. When we have a problem, we talk about it in our group. When we need a shoulder to cry on, we call a friend or our sponsor. Over time, our relationships become one of the biggest rewards of recovery.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see my need for others as a test---a test to see if I’ll be brave enough and wise enough to ask for help when I need it.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four times in my life when I needed help but didn't ask for it. I'll tell a friend about how these times would have been different if I had asked for help.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

. . . that is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way. --Doris Lessing
As we are changed by our experiences, that which we know also changes. Our experiences foster growth and enlightenment, and all awarenesses give way to new understandings. We are forever students of life blessed with particular lessons designed only for us. There is joy in knowing that learning has no end and that each day offers us a chance to move closer to becoming the persons we are meant to be.
To understand something more deeply requires that we be open to the ideas of others, willing to part with our present opinions. The program offers us many opportunities to trade in the understandings we've outgrown. Throughout our recovery we have discovered new interpretations of old ideas. And we will continue to expand our understanding.
Every situation, every person, every feeling, every idea has a slightly different hue each time we encounter it. The wonder of this is that life is forever enriched, forever fresh.
Each moment offers me a chance to know better who I am and to understand more fully the real contribution that is mine to make in this life. I will let the anticipation of my changing ideas excite me.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

The almost certain consequences that follow taking even a glass of beer do not crowd into the mind to deter us. If these thoughts occur, they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people. There is a complete failure of the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove.

p. 24

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

Looking again at those defects we are still unwilling to give up, we ought to erase the hard-and-fast lines that we have drawn. Perhaps we shall be obliged in some cases still to say, "This I cannot give up yet...," but we should not say to ourselves, "This I will never give up!"

pp. 68-69

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

The way in which we think of ourselves has everything to do with how
our world sees us.
--Arlene Raven

Don't believe everything you think.
--unknown

"Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life. And when a thought
or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought
that is more powerful -- a thought that is love."
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"Keep your face to the sunshine of His love and the shadows will fall
behind you."
--unknown

Take a walk with God. He will meet you at the Steps.
--unknown

It's easier to tear a hole than to mend one.
--Russian Proverb

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

RELIGION

"Doubt isn't the opposite of
faith; it is an element of faith."
--Paul Tillich

That part of me that does not know is vibrant in spirituality.
Problems are part of what it is to be human and an element of
doubt is essential. With the doubt comes the growth. However, as
a younger man I was told that it was a sin to doubt; God demanded a
steadfast faith and doubt could have no part of faith! I remember
going to confession and feeling guilty and ashamed about my doubts --
but I did doubt and doubt has always played a part in my life. In some
ways I think that my religious doubts have been the most creative part
of me -- certainly they have enabled me to grow and build a bridge of
understanding with others.

Master, hear, through the doubts, my love of You.

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

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret it only causes harm.
Psalm 37:7-8

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge
and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 81:1-2

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.
James 4:10

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors.
Proverbs 8:34

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

Daily Inspiration

Talking about how busy you are only adds stress to the stress you already feel. Lord, help me complete the tasks of my day and avoid taking on more than I can handle.

Rejoice and be happy for others when they are blessed. Lord, bless me with the ability to be free of envy so that I can truly share the joy of my neighbors.

[bluidkiti]

July 8

Daily Reflections

AN EVER-GROWING FREEDOM, p.198

The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our attitude
which permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from
ourselves toward others and toward God.
12 & 12, p.76

When I finally asked God to remove those things blocking me
from Him and the sunlight of the Spirit, I embarked on a journey
more glorious than I ever imagined. I experienced freedom from
those characteristics that had me wrapped up in myself. Because
of this humbling Step, I feel clean. I am especially aware of this
Step because I'm now able to be useful to God and to my fellows. I
know that He has granted me strength to do His bidding and has
prepared me for anyone, and anything, that comes my way today. I
am truly in His hands, and I give thanks for the joy that I can be useful
today.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We in Alcoholics Anonymous do not enter into theological
discussions, but in carrying our message we attempt to explain the
simple "how" of the spiritual life. How faith in a Higher Power can
help you to overcome loneliness, fear, and anxiety. How it can
help you get along with other people. How it can make it possible
for you to rise above pain, sorrow, and despondency. How it can
help you to overcome your desires for the things that destroy. Have
I reached a simple, effective faith?

Meditation For The Day

Expect miracles of change in people's lives. Do not be held back
by unbelief. People can be changed and they are often ready and
waiting to be changed. Never believe that human nature cannot be
changed. We see changed people everyday. Do you have the faith to
make those changes possible? Modern miracles happen every day
in the lives of people. All miracles are in the realm of personalities.
Human nature can be changed and is always being changed. But we must
have enough faith so that we can be channels for God's strength into
the lives of others.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have the faith to expect miracles. I pray that I
may be used by God to help change the lives of others.

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

As Bill Sees It

Experimenters, p. 189

We agnostics liked A.A. all right, and were quick to say that it had done miracles. But we
recoiled from meditation and prayer as obstinately as the scientist who refused to
perform a certain experiment lest it prove his pet theory wrong.

When we finally did experiment, and unexpected results followed, we felt different; in
fact, we knew different; and so we were sold on meditation and prayer. And that, we
found, can happen to anybody who tries. It has been well said that "Almost the only
scoffers at prayer are those who never tried enough."

12 & 12, p. 97

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

Walk In Dry Places

God’s will for us.
Spiritual Guidance.
"I was afraid God would want me to do something unpleasant, like go off to become a monk," a young man said at a 12 Step meeting. "That’s why I had a hard time seeking God’s will for me." This sort of comment is heard now and then at meetings. It reveals a belief that God is a harsh taskmaster who delights in imposing difficult conditions on us.
The truth is that God’s purpose is to help us be more of what we ought to be, which is always something better than what we’re experiencing now. Few people are ever called to be monks, but those who do are pleased with their choice and devote themselves to it.
We must always be interested in finding God’s direction in our lives. It will turn out to be something far better than anything we could have planned.
I need not fear God’s direction in my life. It’s actually what I need in order to reach my true place.

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

Keep It Simple

Pain can't be avoided. It's as natural as joy. - Unknown
We got into a lot of trouble trying to avoid pain. We used alcohol and other drugs to avoid pain. We didn't want to accept pain as a fact of life.
We can't avoid pain, but now we have the program. The program teaches us how to talk about our pain. The program teaches how to turn over our pain to our Higher Power.
We don't have to be alone when we face pain. We have friends to go to. Before, when we hurt, we ran to alcohol or other drugs.
Now, when we hurt, we run to the comfort of our sponsor and our program friends.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept pain as part of life. Help me remember that You are always there to help me with my pain. I'm not alone.
Today's Action: Today, I'll list three painful events in my life. I'll talk with a friend about them.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Women like to sit down with trouble as if it were knitting. --Ellen Glasgow
How often we turn minor challenges into monumental barriers by giving them undue attention, forgetting that within any problem lies its solution! However, the center of our focus must be off the problem's tangle if we are to find the solution's thread. The best remedy for this dilemma is the Serenity Prayer.
We cannot change our children, our husbands or partners, not even the best friends who we know love us. But with God's help we can change the attitude that has us blocked at this time. A changed attitude, easing up on ourselves, lessening our expectations of others, will open the door to the kind of relationships we seek, the smooth flowing days we long for.
We need not take life so seriously. In fact, we shouldn't take it so seriously. We can measure our emotional health by how heartily we laugh with others and at ourselves. The 24 hours stretching before us at this time promises many choices in attitude. We can worry, be mad, depressed, or frustrated, or we can trust our higher power to see us through whatever the situation. So, we can relax. It is our decision, the one decision over which we are not powerless.
I will be in control of my attitude today. I can have the kind of day I long for.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

The alcoholic may say to himself in the most casual way, “It won’t burn me this time, so here’s how!” Or perhaps he doesn’t think at all. How often have some of us begun to drink in this nonchalant way, and after the third or fourth, pounded on the bar and said to ourselves, “For God’s sake, how did I ever get started again?” Only to have that thought supplanted by “Well, I’ll stop with the sixth drink.” Or “What’s the use anyhow?”
When this sort of thinking is fully established in an individual with alcoholic tendencies, he has probably placed himself beyond human aid, and unless locked up, may die or to permanently insane. These stark and ugly facts have been confirmed by legions of alcoholics throughout history. But for the grace of God, there would have been thousands more convincing demonstrations. So many want to stop but cannot.

pp. 24-25

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

Let's dispose of what appears to be a hazardous open end we have left. It is suggested that we ought to become entirely willing to aim toward perfection. We note that some delay, however, might be pardoned. That word, in the mind of a rationalizing alcoholic, could certainly be given a long term meaning. He could say, "How very easy! Sure, I'll head toward perfection, but I'm certainly not going to hurry any. Maybe I can postpone dealing with some of my problems indefinitely." Of course, this won't do. Such a bluffing of oneself will have to go the way of many another pleasant rationalization. At the very least, we shall have to come to grips with some of our worst character defects and take action toward their removal as quickly as we can.

p. 69

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

All time spent angry is time lost being happy.
--Mexican Proverb

Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you
are.
--Anonymous

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you
can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people
you can, as long as ever you can.
--John Wesley

Most of us are just about as happy as we make up our minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln

"One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at
things."
--Henry Miller

Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only. Money is not required
to buy one necessity of the soul.
--Henry David Thoreau

"No one has ever done anything too bad to be forgiven."
--Ruth Sheppard

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ART

"There is no must in art because
it is free."
--Vasily Kandinsky

Now I understand why the religious people of the past persecuted
the artist. Now I understand why so many artists moved away
from religion and grew beyond it. The artist is always searching
for that which is different, that which cannot be contained or
codified; that which is free: Spirituality. As a drinking alcoholic I
found it necessary to control my life; control my thoughts and
behavior; control each and every situation -- and it was depressingly
exhausting. Today sobriety enables me to risk that which is new and
different. Sobriety allows me to experiment and take risks in God's
world. Sobriety is being free. I am discovering more of me in what
yesterday's artists wrote and produced. The "musts" of yesterday
have been replaced by the shoulds and needs today. I am free to
listen and consider the person because he is a person and not
simply because of his credentials.

Supreme Artist, let me hear You in the whisperings of Your creatures.

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

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26

You are from God, little children, and have overcome; because
greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you
would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and
have seen him."
John 14:5-7

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

Daily Inspiration

Keep your mind open to the possibility that things can turn out even better than expected. Lord, I trust in You and graciously accept all blessings that You send to me.

God gives us power, love and self-discipline, not fear and timidness. Lord, I will not be afraid to proclaim that You are my God. All will see it in my actions.

[bluidkiti]

July 9

Daily Reflections

I AM AN INSTRUMENT

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
12 & 12, p.70

The subject of humility is a difficult one. Humility is not thinking
less of myself than I ought to; it is acknowledging that I do certain
things well, it is accepting a compliment graciously. God can only do
for me what He can do through me. Humility is the result of knowing
that God is the doer, not me. In the light of awareness, how can I take
pride in my accomplishments? I am an instrument and any work I
seem to be doing is being done by God through me. I ask God on a
daily basis to remove my shortcomings, in order that I may more freely
go about my A.A. business of "love and service."

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Disillusionment and spiritual confusion mark our age. Many of us
have cast aside old ideas without acquiring new ones. Many men
and women are creeping through life on their hands and knees,
merely because they refuse to rely on any power but themselves.
Many of them feel that they are being brave and independent, but
actually they are only courting disaster. Anxiety and the inferiority
complex have become the greatest of all modern plagues. In A.A.
we have the answer to these ills. Have I ceased to rely on myself
only?

Meditation For The Day

Disillusionment and doubt spoil life. The doubting ones are the
disillusioned ones. When you are in doubt, you are on the fence.
You are not going anywhere. Doubt poisons all action. "Well. I
don't know"--so you don't know anything. You should meet life
with a "Yes," an affirmative attitude. There is good in the world
and we can follow that good. There is power available to help us to
do the right thing; therefore we will accept that power. There are
miracles of change in people's lives; therefore we will accept
those miracles as evidence of God's power.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I will not be paralyzed by doubt. I pray that I may go along
on the venture of faith.

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

As Bill Sees It

The A.A. Way in the Home*, p. 190

Though an alcoholic does not respond, there is no reason why you should neglect his
family. You should continue to be friendly to them, explaining A.A.'s concept of
alcoholism and its treatment. If they accept this and also apply our principles to their
problems, there is a much better chance that the head of the family will recover. And
even though he continues to drink, the family will find life more bearable.

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

Unless a new member's family readily expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles,
we think he ought not to urge them. They will change in time. His behavior will usually
convince them far more than his words.

Alcoholics Anonymous
1. p. 97
2. p. 83

*Today, the initiation of the A.A. way of life in the home is the central purpose of the Al-Anon
Family Groups of which there are (as of 1984) over 22,000 throughout the world. These are
composed of wives, husbands, and relatives of alcoholics. In restoring families to the good life,
Alan's success has been enormous.

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

Walk In Dry Places

What is the real cause?
Motivations.
Bringing her alcoholic husband home from a treatment center, a woman was dismayed when an argument ensued and he left the car in a rage. She blamed herself and their argument when he finally arrived home, DRUNK.
Seasoned veterans of alcoholic games will quickly understand that the argument had no part in “causing” the alcoholic to drink. Instead, the argument was something he started as a means of getting away from his wife. He still wanted and needed to drink.
In dealing with our compulsive illnesses, we must separate our excuses from what’s really going on. Arguments do not cause alcoholics to drink, but they can be used as convenient devices for getting our way.
I must take responsibility for my own behavior. If I have chosen sobriety, no person and no event can cause me to drink.

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

Keep It Simple

First say to yourself what you would be: and then do what you have to do. - Eptctetus
We often tell ourselves we want to be more peaceful, more in touch with our Higher Power. In other words, we want to become more spiritual. Acting as spiritual people is hard. Tho often, we choose the easy way. We make a nasty comment even if we know it'll only make things worse.
We say we have a program for living. Are we living our program? We'll find the answer in our behavior. Sober people act in sober ways. We attend meetings regularly. We study spiritual ideas. We work to bring joy to our lives and the lives of others. Just as we know a good friend by the way he or she behaves, we know a sober person by the way he or she behaves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be a person whose words and actions match up.
Today's Action: Today I'll take an inventory of my actions to see if they are those of a sober person.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Of course, fortune has its part in human affairs, but conduct is really much more important. --Jeanne Detourbey
It's not infrequent that we are faced with a dilemma; what is the best action to take in a certain situation? We can be guided, rightly, in every situation if we but turn inward and let our conscience direct our behavior. We have often heard it said at meetings that when we long for a message from God we will hear it, either through our conscience or in the words of our friends. Thus we can never really be in doubt; our conduct can always be above reproach if we but listen.
Right behavior leads to fortunate opportunities for those who look for them. Behavior that we're proud of seems to attract blessings in our lives. One's good fortune is really God-given and in proportion to one's willingness to act well toward others in all situations.
Simply, what goes around comes around. Our behavior comes back to us, manyfold. In our encounters with others today, we'll have numerous occasions to decide about the best behavior for the particular circumstance. We must not forget that our behavior elicits the responses we receive.
I will invite blessings today. I will also shower blessings on my friends.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self- searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at out feet. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed.

p. 25

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Six - "Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

The moment we say, "No, never!" our minds close against the grace of God. Delay is dangerous, and rebellion may be fatal. This is the exact point at which we abandon limited objectives, and move toward God's will for us. Haunting me through each day's stupor---and there were eighteen or nineteen such days in this man's home---was the thought: Where do I go when his family comes home? When the day of their return was almost upon me, and suicide was the only answer I had been able to think of, I went inot Ralph's room one evening and told him the t

p. 69

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

During the time of the darkest night, act as if the morning has already
come.
--The Talmud

The spiritual journey involves going beyond hope and fear, stepping
into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most
important aspect of being on the spiritual path may be just to keep
moving.
--Pema Chodron

God is my life, I express health, God is my supply, I express
abundance, God is trust, I express faith.
--SweetyZee

No one gives me worry, nothing causes me fear, I release them, and
trust Gods outcomes.
--SweetyZee

I am steadfast in my loyalty to God and truth.
--SweetyZee

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PESSIMISM

"There is no sadder sight than a
young pessimist."
--Mark Twain

I meet so many young people who have "aged" because of their
drug addiction. They have lost that "spark" of youth that is both
creative and hopeful. They reveal in their eyes a "powerlessness"
that keeps them prisoners of lethargy. They don't want to do
anything. They mumble rather than speak. They walk with no
purpose: young zombies! Addiction breeds pessimism.

Recovery is realizing that life need not be like this. True joy and
happiness comes with the experience of self, rather than the
confused experiences of chemicals. Reality is facing the pain and
problems in order to rediscover the dynamic spirituality of a
drug-free life. The "yes" to life begins with the "no" to drugs.
Happiness and confidence are discovered in the "yes" to life.

Let me see beyond the gloom to the promised sunrise of tomorrow.

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

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective."
James 5:16

"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Acts 2:38

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
I John 1:9

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

Daily Inspiration

We often don't realize how heavy the weight of worry is and how much energy it requires until we are able to let go of it. Lord, I place my trust in You to clear my thinking, help me resolve my concerns and bring me to a place of peace.

Keep yourself young in spirit always by thinking new thoughts and getting rid of old habits. Lord, may my spirit never become frail and my abilities never become barren.

[bluidkiti]

July 10

Daily Reflections

TOWARD PEACE AND SERENITY

. . . when we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have
discussed them with another, and have become willing to have
them removed, our thinking about humility commences to have a
wider meaning.
12 & 12, p.74

When situations arise which destroy my serenity, pain often
motivates me to ask God for clarity in seeing my part in the
situation. Admitting my powerlessness, I humbly pray for
acceptance. I try to see how my character defects contribute to the
situation. Could I have been more patient? Was I intolerant? Did I
insist on having my own way? Was I afraid? As my defects are
revealed, I put self-reliance aside and humbly ask God to remove
my shortcomings. The situation may not change, but as I practice
exercising humility, I enjoy the peace and serenity which are the
natural benefits of placing my reliance in a power greater than
myself.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We in Alcoholics Anonymous do not enter into theological
discussions, but in carrying our message we attempt to explain the
simple "how" of the spiritual life. How faith in a Higher Power can
help you to overcome loneliness, fear, and anxiety. How it can
help you get along with other people. How it can make it possible
for you to rise above pain, sorrow, and despondency. How it can
help you to overcome your desires for the things that destroy. Have
I reached a simple, effective faith?

Meditation For The Day

Expect miracles of change in people's lives. Do not be held back
by unbelief. People can be changed and they are often ready and
waiting to be changed. Never believe that human nature cannot be
changed. We see changed people everyday. Do you have the faith
to make those changes possible? Modern miracles happen every
day in the lives of people. All miracles are in the realm of
personalities. Human nature can be changed and is always being
changed. But we must have enough faith so that we can be
channels for God's strength into the lives of others.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have the faith to expect miracles. I pray that I
may be used by God to help change the lives of others.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Beginning of Humility, p. 191

"There are few absolutes inherent in the Twelve Steps. Most Steps
are open to interpretation, based on the experience and outlook of the
individual.

"Consequently, the individual is free to start the Steps at whatever
point he can, or will. God, as we understand Him, may be defined as a
'Power greater . . .' or the Higher Power. For thousands of members,
the A.A. group itself has been a 'Higher Power' in the beginning. This
acknowledgment is easy to make if a newcomer knows that most of
the members are sober and he isn't.

"His admission is the beginning of humility--at least the newcomer is
willing to disclaim that he himself is God. That's all the start he
needs. If, following this achievement, he will relax and practice as
many of the Steps as he can, he is sure to grow spiritually."

Letter, 1966

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

Walk In Dry Places

Foolish Risks
Maintaining the New Way
There are only a few practices that really must be considered unacceptable for recovering people. AA even concedes, for example, that there's nothing wrong with having lunch with a friend in a far if one's house is in order.
Under no circumstances, however, should recovering people do anything that puts their sobriety at risk. The stakes are TOO HIGH. Recovery is to precious. The new life is to important.
What practices might come under the heading of risky? A dangerous one, common among young and old alcoholics alike, is returning to the old crowd that's still drinking and drugging. It's risky to associate with our former drinking lifestyles, and we'll recognize this if we're working our program.
Part of the honesty I'll practice today is knowing my own motives for everything I do.

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

Keep It Simple

Everybody knows that when they're happy, than usually the people around them are happy.---George Harrison
Do we think we can't be happy until others are happy? Then nobody is happy. Our unhappy friends won't take our advice. They say,” Why should I do what you say? You are not happy either." And we answer, "I'll be okay when you're happy." We make them responsible for our happiness. What a mess!
We can only make one person happy---ourselves. How? By living as our Higher Power leads us. By working the Steps. By being grateful for the good things in our lives. By loving ourselves and others, just as we are.
And maybe when we're happy, our friends will learn from us. They can be happy too. But only our friends can make themselves happy.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, as I do my part in Your plan today, help me feel connected to You and to life.
Today's Action: Today I'll enjoy my happiness. I'll look for three ways to share it with others.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. --Eleanor Roosevelt
We are competent women. We made a wise choice for ourselves when we decided to recover. Each day that we continue working this program our Spirits are strengthened. And our gifts will multiply.
Feeling inferior can become a habit. Being passive and feeling inferior go hand-in-hand, and they prepare us for becoming dependent on alcohol, pills, food, and people. We didn't understand, instinctively, that we are just who we're meant to be. We grew up believing we were not smart enough, not pretty enough, not capable enough. We grew up too distant from the source of our real strength.
How wonderful for us that we found the program! How lucky we are to have, for the taking, all the strength we'll ever need to face any situation, to handle any problem, to resolve any personal relationship conflict. Feeling inferior can be only a bad memory. The choice is ours. The program promises a better life. The Steps promise the strength to move forward. Our friends promise us outstretched hands.
I will look forward to the challenges of today with hope and strength and know that I am able to meet them.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences* which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God’s universe. 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 us which we could never do by ourselves.

p. 25

*Fully explained - Appendix II.

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Since this Step so specifically concerns itself with humility, we should pause here to consider what humility is and what the practice of it can mean to us.

p. 70

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

Today, God, help me be open to the joy and good feelings available to me.
--Melody Beattie

This I know...
There is nothing, absolutely nothing, no circumstance, no trouble, no
test, that can ever touch me, until first it comes past God. If it has
come that far, it has great purpose. I may not understand at the
moment, but as I refuse to panic, as I lift my eyes to Him and accept it
as coming from God, as a blessing for my heart, no sorrow will disturb
me, no trial will disarm me, no problem will cause me to fret, and
absolutely nothing will make me drink. For I shall rest in the knowing
and joy of my Higher Power.
--unknown

Today I am learning to be gentle with myself. Today I can look in the
mirror and smile and know that I am okay just as I am. I am treating
myself softly today.
--Ruth Fishel

Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep
your foot on first.
--Frederick Wilcox

It takes time for nature to change things into what they're becoming.
It takes time for things to develop. Be patient with yourself and life.
Trust the process of growth.
--Melody Beattie

I open my heart to the love that is God in greater measure than ever
before. I expand my capacity to give and receive love, to serve
and be served, to seek and trust the guidance revealed in my heart.
--Linda Watson

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by
people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at
all.
--Dale Carnegie

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

THOUGHT

"Thought makes the whole
dignity of man; therefore
endeavor to think well, that is
the only morality."
-- Blaise Pascal

I think that human beings are very imitative creatures; we imitate
clothes, hair styles, mannerisms and lifestyles. A man's mind will
be influenced by what he listens to and what he reads. And what
we think is very important to sobriety.

Today I make an effort to examine my thinking and check it out with
a sponsor or in a support group. I know that my dignity in sobriety
is connected not only with what I do but also with my attitudes
and thoughts --- when my thinking begins to go crazy, I know I am
in a dangerous place and I need to talk. God created me with the
ability to think, therefore, I need to safeguard the information I put
in my mind.

Let me learn to develop morality of mind.

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

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
John 10: 28-29

"On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in
a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."
John 7:37

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

Daily Inspiration

Set aside your concerns while you spend a little time in prayer and allow God to be the one who comforts you. Lord, I accept the gift of Your love because it makes me feel safe and secure.

Rejoice. This is the day the Lord has made. Lord, my days pass so quickly. May I have a generous heart and the time to see the needs of those around me.

[bluidkiti]

July 11

Daily Reflections

A TURNING POINT, p.301

A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility
as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must
have.
12 & 12, p.75

Either the A.A. way of life becomes one of joy or I return to the
darkness and despair of alcoholism. Joy comes to me when my
attitude concerning God and humility turns to one of desire rather
than of burden. The darkness in my life changes to radiant light
when I arrive at the realization that being truthful and honest in
dealing with my inventory results in my life being filled with serenity,
freedom, and joy. Trust in my Higher Power deepens, and the flush
of gratitude spreads through my being. I am convinced that being
humble is being truthful and honest in dealing with myself and God.
It is then that humility is something I "really want," rather being
"something I must have."

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We in Alcoholics Anonymous do not try to chart the path for the
human soul or try to lay out a blueprint of the working of faith, as
one might plan a charity drive. We do tell the newcomer that we
have renewed our faith in a Higher Power. In the telling, our faith
is further renewed. We believe that faith is always close at
hand, waiting for those who will listen to the heartbeat of the
spirit. We believe there is a force for good in the universe and
that if we link up with this force, we are carried onward to a new
life. Am I in this stream of goodness?

Meditation For The Day

God will protect you from the forces of evil, if you will rely on
Him. You can face all things through the power of God which
strengthens you. Once God has set on you His stamp and seal of
ownership, all His strength will serve and protect you. Remember
that you are a child of the Father. Realize that the Father's help is
always ready and available to all His children, so that they can
face anything. God will do all that is necessary for your spiritual
well-being, if you will let Him live His way.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may rely on God as I go through this day. I pray that I
may feel deeply secure, no matter what happens to me.

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

As Bill Sees It

Carrying the Message, p. 192

The wonderful energy the Twelfth Step releases, by which it carries
our message to the next suffering alcoholic and finally translates the
Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs, is the payoff, the
magnificent reality of A.A.

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

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

1. 12 & 12, p. 109
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 95

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

Walk In Dry Places

The rewards of Truth
Seeking the Truth
The punishment of the liar is that he cannot believe anyone else, wrote one shrewd philosopher. This is another way of saying that we reap what we sow, or that we tend to judge others by our own actions.
But when we decide to be completely truthful, we are not immediately given the ability to discern whether others are lying or not. It's more important for us to realize that others lies don't have the power to hurt us permanently if we persevere in the program.
Some people would argue with this, pointing to lies that have hurt innocent people in the past. But having no way of knowing all the facts of these cases, we cannot be the judge.
In our own experiences, we'll find that God alone is the source of all truth and will give us the protection and care we need if we seek truthfulness in everything we do. Any fear of being victimized by living, we'll learn, will melt away as we follow this conviction.
I'll be as discreet as possible today, but I'll also be truthful. I'll find that this alone will lessen any fear of being victimized by a liar.

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

Keep It Simple

If you would be loved, love and be lovable.---Benjamin Franklin
We all want to be loved. and no matter how much we're loved, we always want more.
How can we be lovable? What does the mean? Should we try to be perfect? Should we act cute and helpless? No, being lovable means that we act ourselves. We let others get to know us. When others love us, we enjoy it. We tell them. We let them know that their love isn't wasted on us, that it's important to us. We are lovable, and we are loved!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept the love of others today. Help me be lovable.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list all the little things others do that show that they care for me.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I have listened to the realm of the Spirit. I have heard my own soul's voice, and I have remembered that love is the complete and unifying thread of existence. --Mary Casey
The act of loving someone else brings us together, closes whatever the gap between us. It draws us into the world of another, making richer the world we call our own. Love is the great equalizer.
We no longer wish to conquer or dominate those whom we love. And our love for one increases our capacity for loving others. Love heals another, and love heals ourselves, both giving it and receiving it.
Love from another acknowledges our existence, assuring us that we do count, that someone else values our presence. It is human to need these reminders, these assurances. But our need for them is lessened each time we acknowledge another person in our midst.
Where love is absent, people, even in a crowd, feel alone, forgotten, and unimportant. No doubt we can each recall times of quiet desperation moments of alienation. We must reach out to someone and send thoughts of love to someone who may need to be remembered. Our loving thoughts for persons close and far away always reach their destination. They do unify us.
Love is powerful. It can change the complexion of the universe. It will change the direction of my life.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort.

pp. 25-26

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Indeed, the attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.

p. 70

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

There are no burdens when everybody lifts.
--unknown

When someone is impatient and says, "I haven't got all day" I always
wonder, how can that be? How can you not have all day?
--unknown

Learn to say kind words, nobody resents them.
--unknown

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?
--Friedrich Nietzsche

First mend yourself, and then mend others.
--Jewish Proverb

Always look at your moccasin tracks first before you speak of
another's faults.
--Native American Proverb

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

CHANGE

"The foolish and the dead never
change their opinion."
--James Russell Lowell

Part of my understanding of spirituality is that I will change. I will
change my mind, my attitude and my opinion. My understanding of
sobriety is that I will grow, grow in an understanding of myself,
grow in an understanding of God's will for me, and grow in an
understanding of other people. Today I am not afraid to change my
thinking about life.

During my years as an addict I was fixed and rigid about everything.
I saw it as weakness to change my mind and opinions. Now I
understand that I was afraid of change, afraid not to have an answer,
afraid not to be seen as being "in charge".

In treatment I learned how to understand spirituality as reality;
seeing things as they are, rather than how I wanted them to be. I
began to accept that life is about change and that truth is a
process that we evolve towards.

In my journey towards You may I have the willingness to change.

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

"Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge."
Proverbs 23:12

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly."
John 10:10

"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our
transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your
hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 1:13
"as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts,
as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy
in all your conduct."
1 Peter 1:14-15

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

Daily Inspiration

The presence of God in us puts a joy in our soul that is beyond our ability to explain. Lord, when I open my self to this joy, I am renewed and peaceful.

Let today's difficulties make you better not bitter. Lord, guide me, protect me and work through me.

[bluidkiti]

July 12

Daily Reflections

GIVING UP CENTER STAGE, p.202

For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all.
. . Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in
adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.
12 & 12, p.70

Why do I balk at the word "humility"? I am not humbling myself
toward other people, but toward God, as I understand Him.
Humbly means "to show submissive," and by being humble I
realize I am not the center of the universe. When I was drinking, I
was consumed by pride and self-centeredness. I felt the entire world
revolved around me, that I was master of my destiny. Humility
enables me to depend more on God to help me overcome obstacles, to
help me with my own imperfections, so that I may grow spiritually. I
must solve more difficult problems to increase my proficiency and, as
I encounter life's stumbling blocks, I must learn to overcome them
through God's help. Daily communion with God demonstrates my
humility and provides me with the realization that an entity more
powerful than I is willing to help me if I cease trying to play God
myself.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Today is ours. Let us live today as we believe God wants us to
live. Each day will have a new pattern which we cannot foresee.
But we can open each day with a quiet period in which we say a little
prayer, asking God to help us through the day. Personal contact with
God, as we understand Him, will from day to day bring us nearer
to an understanding of His will for us. At the close of the day, we
offer Him thanks for another day of sobriety. A full, constructive
day has been lived and we are grateful. Am I asking God each day
for strength and thanking Him each night?

Meditation For The Day

If you believe that God's grace has saved you, then you must believe
that He is meaning to save you yet more and keep you in the way that
you should go. Even human rescuers would not save you from
drowning only to place you in other deep and dangerous waters.
Rather, they would place you on dry land, there to restore you.
God, who is your rescuer, would certainly do this and even more.
God will complete the task He sets out to do. He will not throw you
overboard, if you are depending on Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may trust God to keep me in the way. I pray that I may
rely on Him not to let me go.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Spiritual Alibi, p. 193

Our first attempts at inventories are apt to prove very unrealistic. I
used to be a champ at unrealistic self-appraisal. On certain occasions,
I wanted to look only at the part of my life which seemed good. Then I
would greatly exaggerate whatever virtues I supposed I had attained.
Next I would congratulate myself on the grand job I was doing in A.A.

Naturally this generated a terrible hankering for still more
"accomplishments," and still more approval. I was falling straight
back into the pattern of my drinking days. Here were the same old
goals--power, fame, and applause. Besides, I had the best alibi
known--the spiritual alibi. The fact that I really did have a spiritual
objective made this utter nonsense seem perfectly right.

Grapevine, June 1961

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

Walk In Dry Places

Pats on the back
Self-esteem
Recovery from a compulsive illness such as alcohoism often brings "pats on the back." This praise is a welcome change from the criticism our problems once raised.
We should accept such pats on the back graciously, but without taking the personal credit this sort of praise implies. We can become addicted to praise seeking, and we may even invite it as a way of building up self-esteem.
Moreover, much of our challenge is still ahead of us. The real victory may be in learning how to live after we've established our initial freedom. We learn that all human beings must face issues such as boredom and pain, which we tried to avoid with our drinking. We may get few pats on the back for our success in this everyday living, but our healthier lifestyle is reward enough.
If I receive praise today, I'll acknowledge it graciously, knowing that such praise is not necessary for my well-being.

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

Keep It Simple

Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.---Irene Peter
Our life changed a lot when we stopped drinking and using other drugs. But this is only a start. We need to go further.
Our old attitudes can kill us, even if we aren't drinking or drugging any more. This is called a "dry drunk." If we're on a dry drunk, we've changed the way we act without changing the way we think.
Our program shows us how to change the way we think. And we change how we treat ourselves and others. We learn to live a new life based on love and care.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me guard against my old attitudes. Help me keep changing.
Action for the Day: I'll list four ways I've changed because I'm sober. I'll list four ways I haven't changed yet.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

... those interested in perpetuating present conditions are always in tears about the marvelous past that is about to disappear, without having so much as a smile for the young future. --Simone de Beauvoir
Hanging on to any moment, once it's gone, deadens us to the joys and lessons of the present. We must learn to let go, to let go of persons, painful situations, and even meaningful experiences. Life goes on, and the most fruitful lesson before us is to move with the vibrations, be in tune with them.
Being open to the present is our only chance for growth. These experiences today in our lives beckon us forward along the path meant for us. We are not guaranteed only joy today. But we are promised security. We may not be free of twinges of fear or confusion, but we can learn to trust even in the midst of adversity. We can remember that power greater than ourselves whenever and wherever our steps are uncertain.
Dwelling, as we are wont to do, on our rebuffs, our rejections, invites further criticism. But neither should we dwell on past joys. Attention to now and to the persons here, now, is the only rightful response to life. Not being here, now, invites others to turn away, just as we have turned away.
I will celebrate the thrill of the present, squeeze the moments of today, and trust the outcome to God.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

A certain American business man had ability, good sense, and high character. For years he had floundered from one sanitarium to another. He had consulted the best known American psychiatrists. Then he had gone to Europe, placing himself in the care of a celebrated physician (the psychiatrist, Dr. Jung) who prescribed for him. Though experience had made him skeptical, he finished his treatment with unusual confidence. His physical and mental condition were unusually good. Above all, he believed he had acquired such a profound knowledge of the inner workings of his mind and its hidden springs that relapse was unthinkable. Nevertheless, he was drunk in a short time. More baffling still, he could give himself no satisfactory explanation for his fall.

p. 26

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Humility, as a word and as an ideal, has a very bad time of it in our world. Not only is the idea misunderstood; the word itself is often intensely disliked. Many people haven't even a nodding acquaintance with humility as a way of life. Much of the everyday talk we hear, and a great deal of what we read, highlights man's pride in his own achievements.

p. 70

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

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness."
--Seneca

"If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the
situation he has prepared for."
--Florence Shinn

Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
--American Proverb

Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.
--Kahil Gibran

"When we surrender to God, we let go of our attachment to how
things happen on the outside, and we become more concerned with
what happens on the inside."
--Marianne Williamson

Change your thoughts and you change your world.
--Vincent Norman Peale

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

VIOLENCE

"Violence is counter-productive
and produces changes of a sort
you don't want. It is a very
dangerous instrument and can
destroy those who wield it."
--John Gardner

I believed I wasn't violent when I drank but that is not true; I
wasn't physically violent but I used emotional and mental violence. I
did not hit, fight or mutilate people with my hands, but I could tear a
person apart with my tongue. My sarcasm and criticism made people
cry, feel demoralized and useless. Violence always removes the
"dignity" from man -- and I did this with my mouth!

Today I try to practice tolerance and patience, I count to ten, and
when I do lose my temper and hurt a person unfairly or unnecessarily,
I apologize. In my sobriety the anger, hate and need to hurt is
slowly going. I am progressively getting better a day at a time.

Teacher, let me offer the hand of peace, not the fist of violence.

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

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God."
Ephesians 2:8

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith.
1 Corinthians 16:13

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should
always pray and not give up..."
Luke 18:1

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:18

"My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your
word."
Psalm 119:28

"Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life
according to your word."
Psalm 119:37

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

Daily Inspiration

Turn to God's love when you become doubtful or discouraged. Lord, Your love for me is so great that with this knowledge I am able to face my biggest challenges without stress.

Never forget that home is Heaven and life on earth is only temporary. Lord, may I live with deep awareness of my spiritual nature and live a life of truth.

[bluidkiti]

July 13

Daily Reflections

HUMILITY IS A GIFT, p.203

As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a
Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all
humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was missing.
12 & 12, p.72

When I first came to A.A., I wanted to find some of the elusive
quality called humility. I didn't realize I was looking for humility
because I thought it would help me get what I wanted, and I would
do anything for others if I thought God would somehow reward me
for it. I try to remember now that the people I meet in the course
of my day are as close to God as I am ever going to get while on
this earth. I need to pray for knowledge of God's will today, and see
how my experience with hope and pain can help other people; if I can
do that, I don't need to search for humility, it has found me.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Before alcoholics come into A.A., they are "flying blind." But A.A.
gives them a directed beam in the A.A. program. As long as they
keep on this beam, the signal of sobriety keeps coming through. If
they have a slip, the signal is broken. If they swing off course into
drunkenness, the signal stops. Unless they regain the A.A.
directed beam, they are in danger of crashing against the
mountain peak of despair. Am I on the beam?

Meditation For The Day

Be expectant. Constantly expect better things. Believe that what
God has in store for you is better than anything you ever had
before. The way to grow old happily is to expect better things
right up to the end of your life and even beyond that. A good life is
a growing expanding life, with ever-widening horizons, an
ever-greater circle of friends and acquaintances, and an
ever-greater opportunity for usefulness.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may await with complete faith for the next good thing
in store for me. I pray that I may always keep an expectant
attitude toward life.

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As Bill Sees It

The Obsession and the Answer, p. 194

The idea that somehow, some day, he will control and enjoy his
drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The
persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates
of insanity or death.

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

Alcoholism, not cancer was my illness, but what was the difference?
Was not alcoholism also a consumer of body and mind? Alcoholism
took longer to do its killing, but the result was the same. So, I decided,
if there was a great Physician who could cure alcoholic sickness, I had
better seek Him at once.

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 61

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Walk In Dry Places

Solving Problems is the Proof
Spiritual Guidance.
Although we try, it's almost impossible for us to use logic to prove the existence (for nonexistence) of God. Our best proof of God's activity in our lives has to come from personal experience.
That's the message of the 12 Step movement: God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. We cannot be responsible for setting simmering religious and doctrinal issues that have been around for centuries. We can find our own help by following the example of others in the 12 Step program.
When spiritual guidance brings answers and solutions, we don't have to defend or justify our belief in our Higher Power. What better proof do we need than evidence that the program does work?
I'll follow my Higher Power today and then let the results speak for themselves.

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

Keep It Simple

A brother may not be a friend, but a friend will always be a brother. ---Benjamin Franklin
Many of us come from families that aren't very healthy for us. Many families have lots of love but aren't able to show it. Maybe our parents argued or drank to much. When we share our recovery with them, they may not seem happy with us. They may be doing the best they can, but they don't understand our new way of life.
We can have the love we wanted, but it might not come from our family. We can choose healthy friends to be our new "family." Some friends may seem like the sister or brother we always wanted.
A sponsor can give us advice we never got from our parents. We can have a full, healthy "family life" after all.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me choose good friend who will help me to be the best that I can be.
Action for the Day: The best way to have a friend is to be a friend. What will I do today to be a friend.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The trouble is not that we are never happy--it is that happiness is so episodical. --Ruth Benedict
Happiness is our birthright. The decision to be happy is ours to make, every day, when confronted with any experience. Too many of us grew up believing that life needed to be a certain way for us to be happy. We looked for the right lover, the right job, and the right dress. We looked outside of ourselves for the key to happiness. In time, we even looked to alcohol, drugs, and food perhaps--to no avail.
Happiness lies within. We must encourage it to spring forth. But first we need to believe that happiness is fully within our power. We must trust that the most difficult circumstances won't keep it from us when we have learned to tap the source within.
Life is a gift we are granted moment-by-moment. Let us be in awe of the wonder of it, and then revel in it. We can marvel at creation for a moment and realize how special we are to be participants. Happiness will overcome us if we let it. We can best show our gratitude for the wonder of this gift by smiling within and without.
That I am here is a wonderful mystery to which joy is the natural response. It is no accident that I am here.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

So he returned to this doctor, whom he admired, and asked him point-blank why he could not recover. He wished above all things to regain self-control. He seemed quite rational and well-balanced with respect to other problems. Yet he had no control whatever over alcohol. Why was this?
He begged the doctor to tell him the whole truth, and he got it. In the doctor’s judgment he was utterly hopeless; he could never regain his position in society and he would have to place himself under lock and key or hire a bodyguard if he expected to live long. That was a great physician’s opinion.
But this man still lives, and is a free man. He does not need a bodyguard nor is he confined. He can go anywhere on this earth where other free men may go without disaster, provided he remains willing to maintain a certain simple attitude.

pp. 26-27

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

With great intelligence, men of science have been forcing nature to disclose her secrets. The immense resources now being harnessed promise such a quantity of material blessings that many have come to believe that a man-made millennium lies just ahead. Poverty will disappear, and there will be such abundance that everybody can have all the security and personal satisfactions he desires. The theory seems to be that once everybody's primary instincts are satisfied, there won't be much left to quarrel about. The world will then turn happy and be free to concentrate on culture and character. Solely by their own intelligence and labor, men will have shaped their own destiny.

pp. 70-71

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The chains of alcohol were to soft to feel till they were to hard to
break. --heard at a meeting

Pay attention to the little things. Sometimes the greatest rewards are
behind something small.
--unknown

The actions and comments of others can only "get to you" if YOU
allow them to.
--unknown

Love is caring for another human being and allowing them to be who
they are and make their own choices without any demand that they
meet yours.
--Vickie Dishner

Love is like a brilliantly glowing candle. If you step into its presence
and ignite your own candle from the flame, there is not less light, but
more.
We are not meant to hoard light, but to shine and share it by becoming
love in action.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

Newcomer or long-timer, we are all the same in our need for each other.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

DIGNITY

"To behave with dignity is
nothing less than to allow others
freely to be themselves."
--Sol Chaneles

I believe that ultimately I can only be responsible for me. It is
impossible for me to live another person's life. It is disrespectful to
assume the role of decision-maker for another adult human being.
People must have the freedom to grow and be themselves. Dignity is
affording people this freedom.

Today I can see how I continued to keep members of my family sick
by taking on a responsibility that was not mine. I can see how I was
not giving dignity to my family; I was unintentionally withholding
dignity from those I loved. People, especially family members,
must be given the freedom to express their hurts. They have a
responsibility to deal with their pain -- because it is theirs!

I pray that I may give to others the dignity I desire in my own life.

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

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have
never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and
will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 7:17
Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8

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Daily Inspiration

Today is for living and giving because God's presence is in each of us always. Lord, may I truly live a full life because I am aware that You are unceasingly blessing me.

To have a great day isn't always doing what you like, but trying to like what you must do. Lord, today I will spruce up my attitude and have a great day no matter what my circumstances.

[bluidkiti]

July 14

Daily Reflections

A NOURISHING INGREDIENT, p.204

Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie
it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us
serenity.
12 & 12, p.74

How often do I focus on my problems and frustrations? When I am
having a "good day" these same problems shrink in importance
and my preoccupation with them dwindles. Wouldn't it be better if
I could find a key to unlock the "magic" of my "good days" for use
on the woes of my "bad days?"
I already have the solution! Instead of trying to run away from
my pain and wish my problems away, I can pray for humility!
Humility will heal the pain. Humility will take me out of myself.
Humility, that strength granted me by that "power greater than
myself," is mine for the asking! Humility will bring balance back
into my life. Humility will allow me to accept my humanness
joyously.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the best things about the A.A. program is the peace of
mind and serenity that it can bring us. In our drinking days, we
had no peace of mind or serenity. We had the exact opposite, a
kind of turmoil and that "quiet desperation" we knew so well.
The turmoil of our drinking days was caused partly by our physical
suffering, the terrible hangovers, the cold sweats, the shakes and
the jitters. But it was caused even more by our mental suffering,
the loneliness, the feeling of inferiority, the lying, the remorse that
every alcoholic understands. Have I achieved more peace of
mind?

Meditation For The Day

Try to look for God's leading in all your personal relationships, in
all your dealings with other persons. God will help you to take
care of all your relationships with people, if you are willing to let
Him guide you. Rejoice that God can protect you and keep you from
temptation and failure. God can protect you in all situations during
the day, if you will rely on His strength and go forward. You should
feel that you are entering upon the stage of success in the proper
way of living. You should not doubt that better things are ahead
for you. Go forward unafraid because you feel deeply safe under
God's protection.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that God may protect and keep me as long as I try to serve
Him. I pray that I may go forward today unafraid.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Language of the Heart, p. 195

Why, at this particular point in history, has God chosen to
communicate His healing grace to so many of us? Every aspect of this
global unfoldment can be related to a single crucial word. The word is
"communication." There has been a lifesaving communication among
ourselves, with the world around us, and with God.

>From the beginning, communication in A.A. has been no ordinary
transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes. Because of our kinship in
suffering, and because our common means of deliverance are effective
for ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our channels of
contact have always been charged with the language of the heart.

A.A. Today, pp. 7-8

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Walk In Dry Places

Self-esteem in responsible work
self-confidence.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might," goes an ancient saying. However long ago this was said, it applies to our work here and now.
Part of recovery lies in doing useful and satisfying work. We can't wait until the "perfect" job appears. Our success will come in doing the very best we can in our present situation. If we're unemployed, we can still be useful and active in ways that will help us find the right situation.
And as we work for a living, we'll find that another important benefit of our work will be greater self-esteem. We'll have more respect for ourselves as we contiue to be both productive and active.
Whatever my job is, I'll give it my best today. I'll be grateful for having the opportunity to work productively.

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

Keep It Simple

Most of the evils of life arise from man's being unable to sit still in a room.---Blaise Pascal
Our program teaches us to slow down. We learn to slow down by taking time out. During these times-outs, we look at our values and see if we're staying true to them.
Because of that, meditation is an important part of our program. It teaches us to slow down. Our Higher Power wants us to have fun and play. But we need to bring our Higher Power along. Remember, our Higher Power loves fun. We can have fun, but not at the expense of others.
Prayer for the Day: I pray for help so I can remember my values. Higher Power, teach me to have fun. Teach me to be true to You at the same time.
Action for the day: Today. I'll three times mischief has been good fun. I'll talk with a friend about the difference between trouble mischief and fun mischief.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Through spontaneity we are reformed into ourselves. Freed from handed-down frames of reference, spontaneity becomes the moment of personal freedom when we are faced with a reality, explore it, and act accordingly. --Viola Spolin
Living in the here and the now opens up untold possibilities for new growth. Our inner self is enticed in new directions when our attention is fully in the present. When our minds are still on last night's argument or tomorrow's board meeting, we wear blinders to the activity at hand. And God, as our teacher and protector, resides in this experience, in the hearts of these people present.
Every single moment has something for us. Maybe a new piece of information. A piece that solves a problem that's been puzzling us. Perhaps a chance to make a new friend, one who will be there in a time of need.
Letting go of yesterday frees us. We need not be burdened. It is gone. Our lives could be eased, so much, if we kept our focus on the experience at hand, where the problems we ponder have their solutions. Always.
I will greet today, skipping, smiling, ready for the answers, the truths, the directions meant only for me. The wonders of today will bless me.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

Some of our alcoholic readers may think they can do without spiritual help. Let us tell you the rest of the conversation our friend had with his doctor.
The doctor said: “You have the mind of a chronic alcoholic. I have never seen one single case recover, where that state of mind existed to the extent that it does in you.” Our friend felt as though the gates of hell had closed on him with a clang.
He said to the doctor, “Is there no exception?”
“Yes,” replied the doctor, “there is. Exceptions to cases such as yours have been occurring since early times. Here and there, once in a while, alcoholics have had what are called vital spiritual experiences. To me these occurrences are phenomena. They appear to be in the nature of huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them. In fact, I have been trying to produce some such emotional rearrangement within you. With many individuals the methods which I employed are successful, but I have never been successful with an alcoholic of your description.”*
Upon hearing this, our friend was somewhat relieved, for he reflected that, after all, he was a good church member. This hope, however, was destroyed by the doctor’s telling him that while his religious convictions were very good, in his case they did not spell the necessary vital spiritual experience.

p. 27

*For amplification---see Appendix II.

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Certainly no alcoholic, and surely no member of A.A., wants to deprecate material achievement. Nor do we enter into debate with the many who still so passionately cling to the belief that to satisfy our basic natural desires is the main object of life. But we are sure that no class of people in the world ever made a worse mess of trying to live by this formula than alcoholics. For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance. When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream still greater dreams. When we were frustrated, even in part, we drank for oblivion. Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted.

p. 71

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A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes
your lips will not return.
--Jewish Proverb

Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
--unknown

I have always heard that I have to "give it away to keep it" but I
could never figure out what "it" was. Now I know what it is...it is
HOPE!
--unknown

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
--Mother Teresa

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn here. The
spiritual journey is the relinquishment - or unlearning - of fear and the
acceptance of love back into our hearts.
--Marianne Williamson

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.
--Friedrich Nietzsche

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

GREATNESS

"The ability to accept
responsibility is the measure of
the man."
--Roy L. Smith

I believe the greatest insight into my life is that I am responsible;
my responsibility is an important and dignified gift from God.
My responsibility reveals my involvement in God's creation, in my
life and my recovery from alcoholism. Greatness is in the choices I
make, and the choices come with God's gift of freedom. Human
beings are more than puppets on a string or automated machines.
We are creative creatures who carry the burden and joy of
responsibility.

Along with the acceptance of my alcoholism I also accepted the
responsibility to remain sober in my decisions and lifestyle: such is
greatness.

Thank You for giving me the responsibility to co-create with You.

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

"Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Isaiah 43:18

But Jesus remains a priest forever; his priesthood will never end.
Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes
to God through him. He lives forever to plead with God on their
behalf.
Hebrews 7:24-25

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in
harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the
lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take
thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as
it depends upon you, live peaceably with all."
Romans 12:15-18

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such
things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we
live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
Galatians 5:22-25

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Daily Inspiration

By helping others, we enrich our own life even more. Lord, help me be a little kinder today, reach out a little quicker, and share a few more smiles.

God has already prepared you for everything that He plans for you to do. Lord, You believe in me, therefore I can believe in me, and will have all the necessary confidence to succeed in what I will be doing today.

[bluidkiti]

July 15

Daily Reflections

PRIDE

For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance.
When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream still greater dreams. When we were frustrated,
even in part, we drank for oblivion. Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted. In all these
strivings, so many of them well-intentioned, our crippling handicap had been our lack of humility. We had
lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material
satisfactions were not the purpose of living.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 71

Time and again I approached the Seventh Step, only to fall back and regroup. Something was missing and the
impact of the Step escaped me. What had I overlooked? A single word: read but ignored, the foundation of all the
Steps, indeed the entire Alcoholics Anonymous program - that word is "humbly". I understood my shortcomings:
I constantly put tasks off; I angered easily; I felt too much self-pity; and thought, why me? Then I remembered,
"Pride goeth before the fall," and I eliminated pride from my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day
After we had sobered up through the A.A. program, we gradually began to get a peace of mind and serenity which we never thought were possible. This peace of mind is based on a feeling that fundamentally all is well. That does not mean that all is well on the surface of things. Little things can keep going wrong and big things can keep on upsetting us. But deep down in our hearts we know that everything is eventually going to be all right, now that we are living sober lives. Have I achieved a deep down, inner calm?

Meditation For The Day
You are climbing up the ladder of life, which reaches into eternity. Would God plant your feet upon an insecure ladder? Its supports may be out of sight, hidden in secret places, but if God has asked you to step on and up firmly, then surely He has secured your ladder. Faith gives you the strength to climb steadily this ladder of life. You should leave your security to God and trust Him not to let you fall. He is there to give you all the power you need to keep on climbing.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may climb the ladder of life without fear. I pray that I may progress steadily through the rest of my life with faith and confidence.

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As Bill Sees It

Antidote For Fear, p. 196

When our failings generate fear, we then have soul-sickness. This
sickness, in turn, generates still more character defects.

Unreasonable fear that our instincts will not be satisfied drives us to
covet the possessions of others, to lust for sex and power, to become
angry when our instinctive demands are threatened, to be envious
when the ambitions of others seem to be realized while ours are not.
We eat, drink, and grab for more of everything than we need, fearing
we shall never have enough. And, with genuine alarm at the prospect
of work, we stay lazy. We loaf and procrastinate, or at best work
grudgingly and under half steam.

These fears are the termites that ceaselessly devour the foundations
of whatever sort of life we try to build.

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

As faith grows, so does inner security. The vast underlying fear of
nothingness commences to subside. We of A.A. find that our basic
antidote for fear is a spiritual awakening.

1. 12 & 12, p. 49
2. Grapevine, January 1962

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Walk In Dry Places

The Possible Dream
Reaching objectives.
Although we hear people ridicule the practice of daydreaming, we also hear them express admiration for people who pursued and realized their dreams. How do we know when we are pursing the right dreams?
Useful, effective dreams may seem farfetched, but they still have a possibility of fulfillment. In some ways, they're tied to what we can do if we have the right opportunities and use our talents properly.
Fantasies, or useless dreams, can never happen. Fantasies are often based on our past and how it might have been different. It's also useless to fantasize about feats that are completely beyond anything we could ever do. These dreams are a waste of time and energy.
What's exciting, however, is that very person can find dreams that are possible and based on reality. It's important to pursue these dreams and bring them into realization.
I'll keep my realistic dreams very much alive today, knowing they're the patterns I need for reaching my long-term objectives.

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Keep It Simple

Let there be spaces in your togetherness.---Kahil Gilran
We all need time alone. Then we can get to know our Higher Power better too.
When we were using chemicals, we were afraid of being alone. We didn't want to think too much.
So we got high.
Now we know we're never totally alone. Our Higher Power is with us. We can relax. We can rest.
We can think, read, and meditate. We can our own best friend.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me use my time alone to know myself better. Help me get to know You too.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll plan to spend two hours alone to get to know myself better. I could take a long walk, or enjoy a park, or my garden. What will I do, and when?

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Each Day a New Beginning

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin into his nest again, I shall not live in vain. --Emily Dickinson
The gift of attention to each other is "passing on" the love of God. In order to feel love, we have to give it away. We will know love when we give love.
Our attachment to the world, the sense of belonging most of us longed for the many years prior to recovery, awaits us, is showered upon us even as we reach out to someone else. We are no longer alone, scared, alienated when we let others know they are not alone. We can heal one another. The program opens the way for our healing.
Each day, each one of us can ease the pain of a friend, a co-worker, a child. The beauty of the program, the beauty of God's plan for us all, is that our own pain is relieved in the process of easing the pain of another. Love is the balm. Loving others makes our lives purposeful.
No day is lived in vain, if I but cherish someone else's presence.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

Here was the terrible dilemma in which our friend found himself when he had the extraordinary experience, which as we have already told you, made him a free man.
We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, “a design for living” that really works.

p. 28

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

In all these strivings, so many of them well-intentioned, our crippling handicap had been our lack of humility. We had lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material satisfactions were not the purpose of living. Quite characteristically, we had gone all out in confusing the ends with the means. Instead of regarding the satisfaction of our material desires as the means by which we could live and function as human beings, we had taken these satisfactions to be the final end and aim of life.

p. 71

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If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear.
--Jack Kornfield

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
--Buddha

"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
--Aristotle

Today, I will trust that God's will is happening as it needs to in my life. I will not make myself anxious and upset by searching vigorously for God's will, taking unnecessary actions to control the course of my destiny or wondering if God's will has passed me by and I have missed it.
--Melody Beattie

The greatest good we can do for others is not to share our riches with them, but to reveal their own.
--Author Unknown

In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth teaching others.
--Ibn Gabirol, poet and philosopher (ca. 1022-1058)

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MUSIC

"I know that the twelve notes in
each octave and the varieties of
rhythm offer me opportunities
that all of human genius will
never exhaust."
--Igor Stravinsky

There is so much to be gained in life. Just when you think you have exhausted all possibilities, a new insight is perceived, permutations and varieties appear in abundance. An example is sobriety. I thought it meant not drinking but today I see that it affects all areas of my life -- how I walk, the hugs I freely give, my acceptance of others, my willingness to trust and risk, my optimism for a new day.

Also God is comprehensive for me today. He is alive in church, the Bible and tradition but He is also alive in literature, scripture, sexuality and music. Today I can hear beyond the symphony into the unfathomable message of God's love for His creation. And always I hear something different and new.

Thank You, Lord, for Your messengers who love through the art of music.

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

He replied, "Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20

[God] is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.
Ephesians 3:21

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"
Matthew 19: 26

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
EX 15:2

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Daily Inspiration

Give thanks for not only all that you have, but all that you are. Lord, may I recognize the goodness within me and know that I am lovable even with my shortcomings.

To give of yourself is when you truly give. Lord, even in my busiest moments may I be able to make time when someone really needs me.

[bluidkiti]

July 16

Daily Reflections

"A MEASURE OF HUMILITY"

In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life.
But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It
brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a
healer of pain.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 75


It was painful to give up trying to control my life, even though success
eluded me, and when life got too rough, I drank to escape. Accepting
life on life's terms will be mastered through the humility I experience
when I turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I
understand Him. With my life in God's care, fear, uncertainty, and anger
are no longer my response to those portions of life that I would rather
not have happen to me. The pain of living through these times will be
healed by the knowledge that I have received the spiritual strength to
survive.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We can believe that God is in His heaven and that He has a
purpose for our lives, which will eventually work out as long as we
try to live the way we believe He wants us to live. It has been said
that we should "wear the world like a loose garment." That
means nothing should seriously upset us because we have a deep,
abiding faith that God will always take care of us. To us that
means not to be too upset by the surface wrongness of things, but to
feel deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the
universe. Do I feel deeply secure?

Meditation For The Day

Like the shadow of a great rock in a desert land, God is your
refuge from the ills of life. The old hymn says: "Rock of ages
cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee." God can be your shelter
from the storm. God's power can protect you from every temptation
and defeat. Try to feel His divine power--call on it--accept it--and
use it. Armed with that power, you can face anything. Each day,
seek safety in God's secret place, in communion with Him. You
cannot be wholly touched or seriously harmed there. God can be
your refuge.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may find a haven in the thought of God. I pray that I
may abide in that Strong Tower, strongly guarded.

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

As Bill Sees It

Where Rationalizing Leads, p. 197

"You know what our genius for rationalization is. If, to ourselves, we
fully justify one slip, then our rationalizing propensities are almost
sure to justify another one, perhaps with a different set of excuses.
But one justification leads to another and presently we are back on
the bottle full-time."

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

Experience shows, all too often, that even the "controlled" pill-taker
may get out of control. The same crazy rationalizations that once
characterized his drinking begin to blight his existence. He thinks that
if pills can cure insomnia so may they cure his worry.

Our friends the doctors are seldom directly to blame for the dire
results we so often experience. It is much too easy for alcoholics to
buy these dangerous drugs, and once possessed of them the drinker is
often likely to use them without any judgment whatever.

1. Letter, 1959
2. Grapevine, November 1945

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

Walk In Dry Places

Accepting and correcting mistakes.
Mature living.
Being in error now and then is part of our human existence. Many of us, however, feel unbearable self-reproach when we make a mistake. Some compulsive people even blame themselves for errors beyond their control.
But the worst mistake is the refusal, or denial, of responsibility for mistakes. This comes from a strange belief that we can erase the mistake by refusing to accept it. It may stem from the belief that we should be above mistakes. This is immature thinking.
We are learning and growing when we accept our mistakes graciously and immediately move to correct them. Most of the time, when this is done, the distress passes quickly and we can go on to other matters.
I'll take full responsibility for all of my actions today, and I'll move quickly to correct any of my mistakes.

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

Keep It Simple

We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
---Will Rogers
Humility is being thankful for the chance to watch the parade. There were days we thought that all that counted were the heroes. But our program has no heroes. It has many fine, spiritual people. . . but no heroes.
When someone is needed to make coffee or pick up after a meeting, we can be willing to do those things. Let's look at doing these little jobs as our way of looking for a good spot on the curb. . . .to watch the parade! The floats are so colorful, and the bands play so loud!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be proud of who I am, instead of always putting myself down because I'm not who I "should" be.
Action for the Day: I will look and help someone today. Service to others is service to my Higher Power.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I have come to believe in the "Sacrament of the Moment," which presupposes trust in the ultimate goodness of my creator. --Ruth Casey
The moment, realized, is like a bud blossoming. The day unfolds and with each minute we are moved along to the experiences right for us at this place and this time. Our resistance to certain experiences and particular people creates the barrier that blocks the good in store for us.
We can rest assured; our higher power is caring for us. Each breath we take is Spirit-filled, and the plan for our lives is an accumulation of necessary experiences that is helping us to grow and develop our special talents. What we often forget is that the difficult periods of our lives stretch us, enlighten us, ready us to be the women we desire within to be.
This moment is sacred. All moments are sacred. They will not come again. What is offered this moment for us to grow on will not be offered in exactly this way again. Our higher power knows our needs and is caring for them. We can trust the goodness of today.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

The distinguished American psychologist, William James, in his book “Varieties of Religious Experience,” indicates a multitude of ways in which men have discovered God. We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try. Those having religious affiliations will find here nothing disturbing to their beliefs or ceremonies. There is no friction among us over such matters.

p. 28

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

True, most of us thought good character was desirable, but obviously good character was something one needed to get on with the business of being self-satisfied. With a proper display of honesty and morality, we'd stand a better chance of getting what we really wanted. But whenever we had to choose between character and comfort, the character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we thought was happiness. Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in itself, something we would like to strive for whether our instinctual needs were met or not. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.

pp. 71-72

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

Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.
--Carl Sandburg

You can have fun and still be efficient. In fact, you will be more
efficient.
--Stress Fractures, p.155

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds
you plant.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up
and taking action.
--Al Batt

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind
word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of
caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
--Leo Buscaglia

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

DESIRE

"One must not lose desires. They
are mighty stimulating to
creativeness, to love, and to long
life."
--Alexander A. Bogomoletz

Today I desire to live. I have discovered value in my life. I have
experienced personal self-esteem. I am able to feel again, talk,
trust and laugh again. Today I desire to live.

But I can remember when I felt lonely, isolated, angry, shutdown
and hopeless. The desires I had were destructive, desiring
isolation mingled with alcohol. Then the pain became too great and
I experienced a vital "moment". I realized I needed to make a
choice -- was I to live or die? I chose to live!

This was the beginning of my spiritual journey into self from which
I discovered God and His world. Creative and positive desires
were re-born in my life, and I am able to live and love again.

O Lord, may I continue to desire those things that do not hurt me.

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

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
John 10:10b

If you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:26

God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
1 Corinthians 1:25

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

Daily Inspiration

More strength is found in the ability to be flexible than in stubborn determination. Lord, when life makes extra demands on me, guide me and help me adapt easily to the necessary changes for the best results.

Worse than being a quitter is the one who is afraid to begin. Lord, grant me the courage to believe in myself and the ability to focus on what I can do, not what I can't do.

[bluidkiti]

July 17

Daily Reflections

SURRENDER AND SELF-EXAMINATION

My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive. Thus I think it can work out with emotional sobriety. If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God's help, continually surrender these hobbling demands. Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to Twelfth Step ourselves and others into emotional sobriety.
THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 238

Years of dependency on alcohol as a chemical mood-changer deprived me of the capability to interact emotionally with my fellows. I thought I had to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-motivated in a world of unreliable people. Finally I lost my self-respect and was left with dependency, lacking any ability to trust myself or to believe in anything. Surrender and self-examination while sharing with newcomers helped me to ask humbly for help.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The new life of sobriety that we are learning to live in A.A. is slowly
growing on us and we are beginning to get some of that deep peace
of mind and serenity that we never thought were possible. At first we
may have doubted that this could happen to us, but after any
considerable length of time in A.A., looking at the happy faces
around us, we know that somehow it is happening to us . In
fact, it cannot help happening to anyone who takes the
A.A. program seriously day by day. Can I see my own happiness
reflected in the faces of others?

Meditation for the Day

God does not withhold His presence from you. He does not refuse to
reveal more of His truth to you. He does not hold back His spirit from
you. He does not withhold the strength that you need. His presence,
His truth, His spirit, His strength are always immediately available to
you, whenever you are fully willing to receive them. But they may be
blocked off by selfishness, intellectual pride, fear, greed, and
materialism. We must try to get rid of these blocks and let God's
spirit come in.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may remove all blocks that are keeping me from God. I
pray that I may let God come into my life with power.

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

As Bill Sees It

Tell the Public?, p. 198

"A.A.'s of worldly prominence sometimes say, 'If I tell the public that I
am in Alcoholics Anonymous, then that will bring in many others.'
Thus they express the belief that our anonymity Tradition is wrong--at
least for them.

"They forget that, during their drinking days, prestige and the
achievement of worldly ambition were their principal aims. They do
not realize that, by breaking anonymity, they are unconsciously
pursuing those old and perilous illusions once more. They forget that
the keeping of one's anonymity often means a sacrifice of one's desire
for power, prestige, and money. They do not see that if these strivings
became general in A.A., the course of our whole history would be
changed; that we would be sowing the seeds of our own destruction as
a society.

"Yet I can happily report that while many of us are tempted--and I
have been one--few of us in America actually break our anonymity at
the public-media level."

Letter, 1958

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

Walk In Dry Places

We never arrive
Finding Happiness.
We delude ourselves if we believe that our happiness and well-being will come when we reach a certain goal. Whatever happiness and well-being we obtain must come through the process of living in ordinary, everyday situations.
If we observe carefully, we'll find lots of happy people who are in situations or work that we might consider unpleasant. It is not the work or situation that creates happiness and fulfillment. What counts is the ATTITUDE toward it.
Those of us in 12 Step programs should have special insight into the issue of happiness. We tried to find it, here and now, in false ways. But it is available to us, here and now, in ordinary living.
I'll be happy today in knowing that I'm blessed with the ordinary tasks of life.

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

Keep It Simple

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.---Marie Curie
We have many sides, some good, and some bad. Maybe we're afraid to see our faults. But we don't need to be afraid. After all, we need to know our dark side before we can change it. When we see ourselves clearly, we can stop our dark side from causing trouble.
When we shine light on our fears and secrets, we'll begin to feel better about ourselves. We'll feel more safe about sharing our worries. The more honest we are with ourselves and others, the better and stronger we become. The goodness and love in us will blossom. We have a Higher Power and a program to help us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be brave enough to see myself clearly. Gently teach me to see who I really am. Help me know enough to stay sober today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll look myself in the eyes. I'll spend two minutes looking into my eyes in a mirror. I'll talk to my sponsor about what I see.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The problem is not merely one of woman and career, woman and the home, woman and independence. It is more basically: how to remain whole in the midst of the distractions of life; how to remain balanced, no matter what centrifugal forces tend to pull one off center; how to remain strong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery and tend to crack the hub of the wheel. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Before getting into this recovery program, many of us didn't cope with life's distractions except with the help of our addiction. We had no sense of wholeness and were constantly bouncing from one crisis to another. We may still feel pulled. The crises may still trip us up. But we have a center now that we are beginning to understand and rely upon. That center is our spiritual selves.
Slowing down, going within to our center, listening to the message therein, unravels our problem, smooths the waves of the storm. The strength to go forward awaits us.
We can absorb the shocks that "crack the hub of the wheel" and be enriched by them. Each moment we are weaving our tapestry of life. Each experience colors our design. Our pain and sorrow and joy give the depth that one-day will move us to say, "I see, I understand."
I will be grateful for the experiences today that give my tapestry its beauty.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members identify themselves with as individuals. this should be an entirely personal affair which each one decides for himself in the light of past associations, or his present choice. Not all of join religious bodies, but most of us favor such memberships.

p. 28

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

This lack of anchorage to any permanent values, this blindness to the true purpose of our lives, produced another bad result. For just so long as we were convinced that we could live exclusively by our own individual strength and intelligence, for just that long was a working faith in a Higher Power impossible. This was true even when we believed that God existed. We could actually have earnest religious beliefs which remained barren because we were still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we placed self reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was missing.

p. 72

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

With love and patience, nothing is impossible.
--Daisaku Ikeda

This is the way of peace. Overcome evil with good. Falsehood with truth, And hatred with love.
--Peace Pilgrim

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."
--George Bernard Shaw

The purpose of man is in action not thought.
--Thomas Carlyle

Thanks, but I won't need your help today.
--GOD

To attain Knowledge, add things every day. To attain Wisdom, remove things every day.
--Lao Tzu

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

NEGATIVITY

"My life has been nothing but a
failure."
--Claude Monet

I can identify with Claude Monet because for years I considered myself a complete failure. For years I wallowed on my pity-pot until it became too painful. Whatever the "pay-off" was in the previous years had dried up, and I was left with a rock bottom pain that forced me to consider the alternative: I needed to set about doing something to change things!

Astounding! Impossible! How could this ever be? I was forever to be a victim of alcoholism. "Not so." I heard a voice of hope from a recovering alcoholic who had made the change. Slowly I took small steps towards recovery and self-esteem.

I am a failure so long as I consider myself a failure. I am what I create in my life. God requires my cooperation to make miracles in my life. My decision to listen to those who had achieved sobriety provided the seeds for my recovery today. I wonder if Claude Monet was an alcoholic who never heard the words of hope?

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

The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,
and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.
Phil. 2:10

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with
God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
Romans 12:12-13

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

Daily Inspiration

Share the lighthearted moments of your life with others. Lord, may I be instrumental in relieving tensions by lifting the spirits of others with a little cheerfulness.

Be a patient person but, most of all, be patient with yourself. Lord, may I be blessed with a calm spirit and diligence as I do my work today.

[bluidkiti]

July 18

Daily Reflections

GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE, p.208

During this process of learning more about humility, the most profound result of all was the change in our attitude toward God.
12 & 12, p. 75

Today my prayers consist mostly of saying thank you to my Higher Power for my sobriety and for the wonder of God's abundance, but I need also to ask for help and the power to carry out His will for me. I no longer need God each minute to rescue me from the situations I get myself into by not doing His will. Now my gratitude seems to be directly linked to humility. As long as I have the humility to be grateful for what I have, God continues to provide for me.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Two things can spoil group unity--gossip and criticism. To avoid these divisive things, we must realize that we're all in the same boat. We're like a group of people in a life-boat after the steamer has sunk. If we're going to be saved, we've got to pull together. It's a matter of life or death for us. Gossip and criticism are sure ways of disrupting any A.A. group. We're all in A.A. to keep sober ourselves and to help each other to keep sober. And neither gossip nor criticism helps anyone to stay sober. Am I guilty of gossip or criticism?

Meditation For The Day

We should try to be grateful for all the blessings we have received and which we do not deserve. Gratitude to God for all His blessings will make us humble. Remember that we could do little by ourselves, and now we must rely largely on God's grace in helping ourselves and others. People do not care much for those who are smug and self-satisfied or those who gossip and criticize. But people are impressed by true humility. So we should try to walk humbly at all times. Gratitude to God and true humility are what make us effective.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may walk humbly with God. I pray that I may rely on His grace to carry me through.

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

As Bill Sees It

Arrogance and Its Opposite, p. 199

A very tough-minded prospect was taken to his first A.A. meeting,
where two speakers (or maybe lecturers) themed their talks on "God
as I understand Him." Their attitude oozed arrogance. In fact, the
final speaker got far overboard on his personal theological convictions.

Both were repeating my performance of years before. Implicit in
everything they said was the same idea: "Folks, listen to us. We have
the only true brand of A.A. -- and you'd better get it!

The new prospect said he'd had it -- and he had. His sponsor protested
that this wasn't real A.A. But it was too late; nobody could touch him
after that.

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

I see "humility for today" as a safe and secure stance midway
between violent emotional extremes. It is a quiet place where I can
keep enough perspective and enough balance to take my next small
step up the clearly marked road that points toward eternal values.

Grapevine
1. April, 1961
2. June, 1961

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

Walk In Dry Places

What is a new freedom?
Release
We're promised a "new freedom" in the 12 Step program. How does this differ from the "old freedom" we've known?
The new freedom is an inner feeling of release from the bondage of compulsion. We are no longer serving as our own jailers. We are free from useless things that have held us back. Think of the burdens we had assumed by fearing others, by holding grudges, by having needless regrets.
This new freedom has nothing to do with political or civil liberties, which we hope to enjoy as our birthright. But nobody can give us freedom if we are locked into compulsions that bind us. We must seek the new freedom within ourselves.
Throughout the day, I'll think of myself as a completely free person. I'm free at last from the bondage I imposed upon myself.

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

Keep It Simple

It takes twenty years to become an overnight success.---Eddie Cantor
Successful people make life look easy. But it's not. Years of hard work, trial and error, and learning probably went on into each success. The key is this: We must choose to do what we really like. If we want to be successful, we'll have to work at it. We'll have letdowns, and we'll get bored at times. But we'll be happy because we're doing what we want, what we know is best for us. Real success has to do with our own happiness.
In our programs, we'll meet many successful people. They've worked hard at recovery, and they are still learning. And they're happy to share their success with us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for the success the program has already given me.
Action for the Day: I'll list three ways I know I am a success today. Number one: I'm sober!

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

Each Day a New Beginning

Have the courage to act instead of react. --Darlene Larson Jenks
Taking the time to be thoughtful about our responses to the situations we encounter offers us the freedom to make choices that are right for us. Impulsive behavior can be a thing of our past, if we so choose. It seldom was the best response for our well being.
Decision-making is morale boosting. It offers us a chance to exercise our personal powers, an exercise that is mandatory for the healthy development of our egos. We need to make careful, thoughtful choices because they will further define our characters. Each action we take clearly indicates the persons we are becoming. When we have consciously and deliberately chosen that action because of its rightness for us, we are fully in command of becoming the persons we choose to be.
Our actions reveal who we are, to others and ourselves. We need never convey an inaccurate picture of ourselves. We need only take the time and risk the courage necessary to behave exactly as we choose. We will know a new freedom when we are in control.
I will exercise my power to act and feel the fullness of my being.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

In the following chapter, there appears an explanation of alcoholism, as we understand it, then a chapter addressed to the agnostic. Many who once were in this class are now among our members. Surprisingly enough, we find such convictions no great obstacle to a spiritual experience.
Further on, clear-cut directions are given showing how we recovered. These are followed by three dozen personal experiences.

pp. 28-29

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

For us, the process of gaining a new perspective was unbelievably painful. It was only by repeated humiliations that we were forced to learn something about humility. It was only at the end of a long road, marked by successive defeats and humiliations, and the final crushing of our self sufficiency, that we began to feel humility as something more than a condition of groveling despair. Every newcomer in Alcoholics Anonymous is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward liberation from its paralyzing grip.

pp. 72-73

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

Seldom will we remember next week what bothers us so much today.
--Karen Casey

Words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels.
--Hazrat Inayat Khan

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
--Elbert Hubbard

"The impossible is often the untried."
--Jim Goodwin

"There is no point at which you can say, `Well, I'm successful now. I might as well take a nap.'"
--Carrie Fisher

Present-moment living, getting in touch with your "now," is at the heart of effective living. When you think about it, there really is no other moment you can live. Now is all there is, and the future is just another present moment to live when it arrives. One thing is certain, you cannot live it until it does appear.
--Wayne Dyer

Man Plans..... God Laughs!
--unknown

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

VOCATION

"It is well for a man to respect his
own vocation, whatever it is, and
to think himself bound to uphold it
and to claim for it the respect it
deserves."
--Charles Dickens

Nobody else is quite like me. Nobody else can view the world, experience the world, feel the world in the way I can. I am the center of the universe. Other people can love -- but it is not the same as my love. Other people can offer the hand of friendship -- but it is not the same as the friendship that I can offer. Other people can utter a kind word -- but the phrasing of my words belong to me. I am unique and I must remember that. Even my space in the world is special. Nobody can take up the place that I have on the earth; you cannot get into my space. We may both be looking at the same scene, but I see it from my place in the world. Today I respect my uniqueness.

Let me continue to discover something of Your unique image in my life.

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

Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
Psalm 50:15

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in him."
I John 4:15-16

If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.
2 Cor 5:13-14

You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.
Prov. 19:21

Human plans, no matter how wise or well advised, cannot stand against the LORD.
Prov. 20:31

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

Daily Inspiration

Share the lighthearted moments of your life with others. Lord, may I be instrumental in relieving tensions by lifting the spirits of others with a little cheerfulness.

We are as weak as our fears and as strong as our faith. Lord, with Your help, I can do.

[bluidkiti]

July 19

Daily Reflections

FALSE PRIDE, p.209

Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the
limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had
deprived ourselves of His help.
12 & 12, p. 75

Many false notions operate in false pride. The need for direction to
live a decent life is satisfied by the hope experienced in the A.A.
Fellowship. Those who have walked the way for years--a day at a
time--say that a God centered life has limitless possibilities for
personal growth. This being so, much hope is transmitted by the elder A.A.s.

I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through
other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the
Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to
adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders
in A.A. challenge the newcomers to "Come To"--so that they can
"Come to Believe." I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Gossip about or criticism of personalities has no place in an A.A.
clubroom. Every man in A.A. is a brother and every woman is a sister,
as long as he or she is a member of A.A. We ought not to gossip
about the relationships of any man or woman in the group. And if we
say about another member, "I think she or he is taking a few drinks
on the side," it's the worst thing we could do to that person. If a
woman or a man is not living up to A.A. principles or has a slip, it's
up to her or him to stand up in a meeting and say so. If they don't do
that, they are only hurting themselves. Do I talk about other members
behind their backs?

Meditation for the Day

To God, a miracle of change in a person's life is only a natural
happening. But it is a natural happening operated by spiritual forces.
There is no miracle in personalities too marvelous to be an everyday
happening. But miracles happen only to those who are fully guided
and strengthened by God. Marvelous changes in people's nature
happen so simply, and yet they are free from all other agencies than
the grace of God. But these miracles have been prepared for by days
and months of longing for something better. They are always
accompanied by a real desire to conquer self and to surrender one's
life to God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may expect miracles in the lives of people. I pray that I
may be used to help people change.

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

As Bill Sees It

Source of Strength, p. 200

When World War II broke out, our A.A. dependence on a Higher
Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the services and were
scattered all over the world.

Would they be able to take discipline, stand up under fire, and endure
the monotony and misery of war? Would the kind of dependence they
had learned in A.A. carry them through?

Well, it did. They had even fewer alcoholic lapses or emotional binges
than A.A.'s safe at home did. They were just as capable of endurance
and valor as any other soldiers. Whether in Alaska or on the Salerno
beachhead, their dependence upon a Higher Power worked.

Far from being a weakness, this dependence was their chief source of strength.

12 & 12, pp. 38-39

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

Walk In Dry Places

Hurrying up to wait?
Practicing Serenity.
We often urge ourselves to hurry up when there's no good reason for it. At such times, all we really do is create needless tension and anxiety.
The slogan "EASY DOES IT" is our answer to such calls to hurry. The slogan suggests that we simply move into the rhythms of life and "go with the flow."
It's not hurrying but steady effort that finally brings achievement. We've had entirely too much hurry and impatience. What we really need is confident, persistent effort in the right direction. We should be especially reminded of hits when we see anxious, impatient people speeding through traffic only to be forced to wait at traffic lights, risking life and limb to save a few seconds. A good seady pace is what we need, and it will win the game.
I"ll be active today, but not overactive. I'll look for rhythm and efficiency in everything I do.

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

Keep It Simple

We grow small trying to be great.
We dreamed of being great. Trying to be great is about control. We've caused a lot of trouble trying to control things. We've been afraid to just let things happen, We're not very trusting. Many of us have good reasons not to trust. Whatever the reasons, we had put our trust in getting drunk or high. We thought that was one thing we could control. What really happened? We got sick.
Recovery is based on trust. We must learn to trust that it's best for us to give up control. It will seem strange at first. But letting go and trusting can become a way of life. The Steps, our groups, our sponsor, and our Higher Power---here, we find love and caring. We can trust them.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that day by day, I'll put more trust in my program and in my Higher Power.
Action for the Day: I'll list five reasons why I can trust my Twelve Step program.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice. --Maya Angelou
We had to surrender to a power greater than ourselves to get to where we are today. And each day, we have to turn to that power for strength and guidance. For us, resistance means struggle--struggle with others as well as an internal struggle.
Serenity isn't compatible with struggle. We cannot control forces outside of ourselves. We cannot control the actions of our family or our co-workers. We can control our responses to them. And when we choose to surrender our attempts to control, we will find peace and serenity.
That which we abhor, that which we fear, that which we wish to conquer seems suddenly to be gone when we decide to resist no more - to tackle it no more.
The realities of life come to us in mysterious ways. We fight so hard, only to learn that what we need will never be ours until the struggle is forsaken. Surrender brings enlightenment.
Life's lessons are simple once I give up the struggle.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THERE IS A SOLUTION

Each individual, in the personal stories, describes in his own language and from his own point of view the way he established his relationship with God. These give a fair cross section of our membership and a clear-cut idea of what has actually happened in their lives.
We hope no one will consider these self-revealing accounts in bad taste. Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, “Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.”

p. 29

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

So it is that we first see humility as a necessity. But this is the barest beginning. To get completely away from our aversion to the idea of being humble, to gain a vision of humility as the avenue to true freedom of the human spirit, to be willing to work for humility as something to be desired for itself, takes most of us a long, long time. A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once. Rebellion dogs our every step at first.

p. 73

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

All things are difficult before they are easy.
--Italian Proverb

"If you are afraid of your future, you don't have a present."
--James Petersen

How joyful to look upon the Awakened and to keep company with the wise. Follow then the shining ones, the wise, the awakened, the loving, for
they know how to work and forbear. But if you cannot find friend or master to go with you, travel on alone ~ like a king who has given away his kingdom, like an elephant in the forest.
--Buddha, from the Dhammapada (Sayings of the Buddha)

When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe

It is never too late to start doing what is right!
--Growing Deep In The Christian Life, p.380

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

YOUTH

"We are none of us infallible --
not even the youngest of us."
--W. H. Thompson

When I was a young man I did not want to listen to older people because I felt that they did not understand me. With hindsight I see that I did not want to hear what they were saying about my lifestyle.

Today now that I am a "mature man" with a few years of sobriety, I must avoid having the same attitude towards the young, not listening to them because I think they are "too young" or do not understand! I must not repeat, in reverse, yesterday's mistakes!

None of us are infallible. We are not God. We can learn from each other if we have the patience to listen. Sometimes we need to seek the meaning behind the words.

God, teach me to listen with the ear of understanding and patience.

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

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 3:26

"Sunshine is sweet; it is good to see the light of day. People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live…"
Ecclesiastes 11:7-8

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Joel 2:32

Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35

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

Daily Inspiration

Never look back with regret because life is never perfect, but it offers us the perfect moment to start anew which is right now. Lord, help me to live with enthusiasm and recognize that each new day is an adventure.

Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust. You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father. Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires?

[bluidkiti]

July 20

Daily Reflections

SHORTCOMINGS REMOVED

But now the words "Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the
works" began to carry bright promise and meaning.
12 & 12, p. 75

When I put the Seventh Step into action I must remember that
there are no blanks to fill in. It doesn't say, "Humbly asked Him to
(fill in the blank) remove our shortcomings." For years I filled in
the imaginary blank with "Help me!" "Give me the courage to,"
and "Give me the strength," etc. The Step says simply that God
will remove my shortcomings. The only footwork I must do is "humbly
ask," which for me means asking with the knowledge that of myself I
am nothing, the Father within "doeth the works."

I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through
other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the
Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and
to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The
elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to "Come To"--so that
they can "Come to Believe." I ask my Higher Power to help my
unbelief.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We must be loyal to the group and to each member of it. We must
never accuse members behind their backs or even to their faces.
It's up to them to tell us themselves if anything is wrong. More than
that, we must try not to think bad things about any members, because
if we do, we're consciously or unconsciously hurting that person. We
must be loyal to each other if A.A. is going to be successful. While
we're on this lifeboat, trying to save ourselves and each other from
alcoholism, we must be truly and sincerely helpful to each other. Am I
a loyal member of my group?

Meditation For The Day

Carry out God's guidance as best you can. Leave the results to Him.
Do this obediently and faithfully with no question that if the working
out of the guidance is left in God's hands, the results will be all
right. Believe that the guidance God gives you has already been
worked out by God to produce the required results according to your
case and in your circumstances. So follow God's guidance according
to your conscience. God has knowledge of your individual life and
character, your capabilities and your weaknesses.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may live according to the dictates of my conscience. I
pray that I may leave the results to God.

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

As Bill Sees It

Unlimited Choice, p. 201

Any number of alcoholics are bedeviled by the dire conviction that if
they ever go near A.A. they will be pressured to conform to some
particular brand of faith or theology.

They just don't realize that faith is never an imperative for A.A.
membership. that sobriety can be achieved with an easily acceptable
minimum of it, and that our concepts of a Higher Power and God--as
we understand Him--afford everyone a nearly unlimited choice of
spiritual belief and action.

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

In talking to a prospect, stress the spiritual feature freely. If the man
be agnostic or atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to
agree with your conception of God. He can choose any conception he
likes, provided it makes sense to him.

The main thing is that he is willing to believe in a Power greater than
himself and that he live by spiritual principles.

1. Grapevine, April 1961
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 93

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

Walk In Dry Places

Spiritual guidance.
If we go through the day with a confidence that our Higher Power is with us, events will go better than they would if we hadn't held to this belief. We will be more effective in everything we do. We will actually have more power in all activities.
This is what is meant in the Eleventh Step; "the power to carry that out." Knowing that the Higher power is in our lives, we also find the power to do what we believe to be God's will for us. As this confidence strengthens and is seasoned by experience, it becomes part of our nature.
Eventually, we'll sense our Higher Power working in our lives. We can learn to accept this with the same sure belief that we accept the sun's rising and the changing of the seasons. And we'll have the power to do whatever must be done by us.
A conscious contact with God can raise my daily activities to higher levels, giving me the power of achievement.

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

Keep It Simple

Living so fully. I can't image what any drug would do for me.---Joan Baez
When we were using alcohol and other drugs, our lives kept getting emptier. We tired to keep new things out of our lives. We were scared and tired. We saw feelings as bad. So we got high instead of feeling them.
Now we can live fully every day. We don't want to block our feelings. We aren't afraid to opening up to new things and people.
And the more we open up, the happier we are. Our feelings are free. They bounce around. They don't get stuck. We feel alive. Sure, we feel pain and fear sometimes. But we feel joy, love, and laughter too. And, more and more often, we feel alive.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me live fully today. Help me notice my feelings.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list five things I've enjoyed in the last twenty-four hours.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

It is ironic that the one thing that all religions recognize as separating us from our Creator--our very self-consciousness--is also the one thing that divides us from our fellow creatures. --Annie Dillard
Getting outside of ourselves, moving beyond our own egos, opens the door to real communication with the people we'll meet today. We have to learn to look with loving appreciation into the soul of that person or child who stands before us. We have to practice being concerned with their needs before our own, and in time our concern will be genuine. The separation between us will exist no more.
This division from others, the barrier that keeps us apart, comes from our individual insecurities. We have grown accustomed to the quick comparisons of ourselves with those we meet. Either inferior or superior we determine them to be, and thus ourselves. Whatever gifts we have to offer each other are left unwrapped, at least for now.
Let's come together, truly together, with someone we've been holding off until now. We can trust that the people who have come into our lives are there by design. We are equal to them, and they to us. We need what they have to offer us, and their growth needs our gifts, too.
I will appreciate the design of my life today. I will draw myself close to the day.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

MOST OF US have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death.
We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.

p. 30

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

When we have finally admitted without reservation that we are powerless over alcohol, we are apt to breathe a great sigh of relief, saying, "Well, thank God that's over! I'll never have to go through that again!" Then we learn, often to our consternation, that this is only the first milestone on the new road we are walking. Still goaded by sheer necessity, we reluctantly come to grips with those serious character flaws that made problem drinkers of us in the first place, flaws which must be dealt with to prevent a retreat into alcoholism once again. We will want to be rid of some of these defects, but in some instances this will appear to be an impossible job from which we recoil. And we cling with a passionate persistence to others which are just as disturbing to our equilibrium, because we still enjoy them too much. How can we possibly summon the resolution and the willingness to get rid of such overwhelming compulsions and desires?

p. 73

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

Truth gives a short answer; lies go round about.
--German Proverb

People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish
things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor
passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in
their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life's
circumstances to push them down and hold them under.
--Charles Swindoll

An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
--Mahatma Gandhi

He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he
himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has
need to be forgiven.
--George Herbert

One doesn't recognize in one's life the really important moments....
not until it's too late.
--Agatha Christie

We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap
as they go by.
--Will Rogers

Man is a creature whose substance is faith. What his faith is, he is.
--Bhagavad Gita

"Learn to see in another's calamity the ills which you should avoid."
--Publius Syrus

............ that is what learning is. You suddenly understand something
you've understood all your life, but in a new way.
--Doris Lessing

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WORRY

"When I look back on all these
worries, I remember the story of
the old man who said on his
deathbed that he had had a lot
of trouble in his life, most of
which never happened."
--Winston Churchill

I know I can worry myself into the grave. I can project an incident
into a calamity. I can make mountains out of molehills.

I worried about what people meant by what they said; I always
looked for a hidden criticism; I worried about what people did not
say; I worried about what people were thinking or were going to do or
were plotting. If I had nothing to worry about, then I worried because
I felt I should have something to worry about! I created most of the
worry in my life.

Today I have a program that helps me deal with this. Of course I still
worry, but I have a "checklist" that keeps me sane and allows me to
laugh at the insanity of my projections. Today the worry in my life is
less destructive and negative.

Let me bring my worry to You in prayer. Then let me sleep!

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

"Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in Heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." Deuteronomy 4:39

I cling to you, and your hand keeps me safe. Psalm 63:8

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

Daily Inspiration

Place yourself in God's hands first thing in the morning so that your entire day will be in His care. Lord, may my prayer and my attitude be one so that my relationship with You never becomes casual.

As we help those in need or comfort those in trouble, God's great love and divine glory is revealed to the world. Lord, I am Your servant. May others know more of You through me.

[bluidkiti]

July 21

Daily Reflections

A PRICELESS GIFT

By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of
release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in
which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who
have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety--in other
words, to all of us--this newfound peace is a priceless gift.
12 & 12, p. 74

I am learning to let go and let God, to have a mind that is open and a
heart that is willing to receive God's grace in all my affairs; in this
way I can experience the peace and freedom that come as a result
of surrender. It has been proven that an act of surrender,
originating in desperation and defeat, can grow into an ongoing act
of faith, and that faith means freedom and victory.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

If we feel the need of saying something to put another member on the
right track, we should try to say it with understanding and
sympathy, not with a critical attitude. We should keep everything
out in the open and aboveboard. The A.A. program is wonderful, but
we must really follow it. We must all pull together or we'll all be
sunk. We enjoy the privilege of being associated with A.A. and we
are entitled to all its benefits. But gossip and criticism are not
tolerance, and tolerance is an A.A. principle that is absolutely
necessary to group unity. Am I truly tolerant of all my group's
members?

Meditation For The Day

"Faith can move mountains." That expression means that faith can
change any situation in the field of personal relationships. If you
trust Him, God shows you the way to "move mountains." If you are
humble enough to know that you can really do little by yourself to
change a situation, if you have enough faith to ask God to give you
the power you need, and if you are grateful enough for the grace He
gives you, you can "move mountains." Situations will be changed for
the better by your presence.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have enough faith to make me really effective. I
pray that I may learn to depend less on myself and more on God.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Hour of Decision, p. 202

"Not all large decisions can be well made by simply listing the pros and
cons of a given situation, helpful and necessary as this process is. We
cannot always depend on what seems to us to be logical. When there
is doubt about our logic, we wait upon God and listen for the voice of
intuition. If, in meditation, that voice is persistent enough, we may
well gain sufficient confidence to act upon that, rather than upon logic.

"If, after an exercise of these two disciplines, we are still uncertain,
then we should ask for further guidance, and, when possible, defer
important decisions for a time. By then, with more knowledge of our
situation, logic and intuition may well agree upon a right course.

"But if the decision must be now, let us not evade it through fear.
Right or wrong, we can always profit from the experience."

Letter, 1966

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

Walk In Dry Places

Creating good impressions
Attitude
There's a saying that we have only one chance to make a good first impression. That's true, but we always have the opportunity to make good lasting impressions.
The secret of making good impressions is contained in one word: ATTITUDE. Whatever we really feel will be expressed to others as our true character and the impression we give will be authentically us.
The way to control the impressions we are making is simply to continue cultivating an attitude that's consistent with humility, acceptance, and graciousness. We should have others' best interests at heart without being meddlesome. We should be genuinely helpful.
This attitude will create any good impressions we need to make.
Working to make sure I'm thinking the right way. I'll forget about the impressions I'm making. If my attitude is right, the impression will take care of itself.

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

Keep It Simple

There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise. ---Gore Vidal
Many of us used a "know it all" act to keep people away. We kept everyone around us on edge. They were afraid of our judgments, just we were secretly afraid of theirs. Why were we so busy with everyone else's life? So we didn't have to look at our own! We were afraid of what was happening to us. But we didn't want to see how sick we were becoming. Now we're not afraid. We don't need to keep people away. We don't need to run their lives. We have our life to live. And we're enjoying it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are the expert, not me. Teach me. I am Your student.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list the ways I chased away those who cared about me.. I'll work on the Steps on these items for the next week.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I wake each morning with the thrill of expectation and the joy of being truly alive. And I'm thankful for this day. --Angela L. Wozniak
Being open to the day's offering, all of it, and looking for the positive experiences therein, becomes habit only after a firm commitment and dedicated practice. Today is special for each of us.
These next twenty-four hours will be unlike all others. And we are not the persons we were, even as recently as yesterday. Looking forward to all of the day's events, with the knowledge that we are in the care of our higher power, in every detail, frees us to make the most of everything that happens.
We have been given the gift of life. We are survivors. The odds against survival in our past make clear we have yet a job to do and are being given the help to do it. Confidence wavers in all of us, but the strength we need will be given to each of us.
In this day that stands before me, I can be certain that I'll have many chances for growth, for kindness to others, for developing confidence in myself. I will be thoughtful in my actions today. They are special and will be repeated no more.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals—usually brief—were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any considerable period we get worse, never better.

p. 30

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

But again we are driven on by the inescapable conclusion which we draw from A.A. experience, that we surely must try with a will, or else fall by the wayside. At this stage of our progress we are under heavy pressure and coercion to do the right thing. We are obliged to choose between the pains of trying and the certain penalties of failing to do so. These initial steps along the road are taken grudgingly, yet we do take them. We may still have no very high opinion of humility as a desirable personal virtue, but we do recognize it as a necessary aid to our survival.

pp. 73-74

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

Ability is what you're capable of doing... Motivation determines what
you do... Attitude determines how well you do it.
--unknown

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of
throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.
--Buddha

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of
getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and
appreciating what we do have.
--Fredrick Koeing

Instead of being aggressive toward a difficulty, be quiet before it,
and notice the new feeling.
--Vernon Howard

P R O G R A M = People Relying On God Relay A Message.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IGNORANCE

"Not ignorance, but ignorance of
ignorance is the death of
knowledge."
--Alfred North Whitehead

How little I understood when I was living as an alcoholic. How little
I wanted to know. Ignorance was bliss in my addiction. And the
real tragedy was that I was ignorant of the extent of my ignorance!
I had no idea how serious my alcoholism was, how pervasive in all
areas of my life it had developed, how destructive and negative I had
become until I was made to "see" reality in treatment. Reluctantly I
opened my eyes to see my ignorance and I knew I needed to change
my attitude if I was to recover.

The enemy of the spiritual life is ignorance because it stops us
from realizing that the strength and healing power of spirituality
has been given by God -- all we need do is discover it and appreciate
it.

I pray that I and others will have the courage to confront the
ignorance in my life.

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

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Corinthians 3:17

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that
seeketh Him.
Lamentations 3:24-25

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No one will come before My
Father except through me."
John 14:6

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

Daily Inspiration

Forgiveness is a wonderful way to lift yourself up and it is the best way to encourage yourself and others to do better. Lord, grant me greater understanding and wisdom so that I can move past my problems into a new day.

Keep your feet firmly planted in your faith and your eyes raised to the heavens. Lord, You are my strength, my encouragement and my source of all that is good.

[bluidkiti]

July 22

Daily Reflections

"THE GOOD AND THE BAD"

"My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good
and bad."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I
may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My
shortcomings can be humbly placed in God's loving care and be
removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better
way to seek humility than by giving all of myself--good and bad--to
God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its
membership. We come from all walks and stations of life. All types
and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group. Being
different from each other in certain ways, we can each make a
different contribution to the whole. Some of us are weak in one
respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the strong points of all
its members and can disregard the weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not
only because we all have the same problem, but also because of the
diversified talents of its members. Each can contribute his part. Do I
recognize the good points of all my group's members?

Meditation For The Day

"And greater works than these shall ye do." Each individual has the
ability to do good works through the power of God's spirit. This is the
wonder of the world, the miracle of the earth, that God's power goes
out to bless the human race through the agency of so many people who
are actuated by His grace. We need not be held back by doubt,
despondency and fear. A wonderful future can lie before any person
who depends on God's power, a future of unlimited power to do good
works.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I may have
confidence that I can be effective for good.

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

As Bill Sees It

True Tolerance, p. 203

Gradually we began to be able to accept the other fellow's sins as well
as his virtues. We coined the potent and meaningful expression "Let
us always love the best in others--and never fear their worst."

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

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to
some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong. When this
happens, we approach true tolerance and we see what real love for
our fellows actually means.

1. Grapevine, January 1962
2. 12 & 12, p. 92

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

Walk In Dry Places

The Right Place for my Type
The Right Work
"You cannot change your type, but you can make yourself a brilliant success I that type," Wrote Emmet Fox. This is a reminder for people who are discontented with their lot in life, and this includes most people who participate in 12 Step programs.
There are many different TYPES of people, and all types are good. We only need t find where our type is required and then do our best in that place. We will have immediate advantages, because all of our energies and talents will then be applied in the right way.
We should never spend a moment envying other types of people who are brilliantly successful in their activities. Our happiness is to be found in our place, not theirs.
If I'm doing what's right for my type, I'll give it my very best. If I'm in the wrong place, I'll know that my Higher Power is guiding me toward the right outlet for my talents.

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

Keep It Simple

. . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. ---Luke 17:21
We want so much to be good. Even when we used alcohol or other drugs, we wanted to believe we were good people. But we often felt we couldn't measure up. We thought we had to live by a set of rules that we could never follow.
Now we're finding the goodness inside us. Goodness isn't something we do. Goodness is just being what we already are. Our Higher Power speaks to us in many ways, including through our hearts and minds. We don't have to try so hard top be good. We just learn to relax and invite our Higher Power to be part of our lives.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have put peace, knowledge, love and joy in my heart today. Help me to always find these things.
Action for the Day: How's my Higher Power like a loving king or queen? How can I have a kingdom inside me? I'll talk with my sponsor about this today.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

How I relate to my inner self-influences my relationships with all others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other people are directly proportional. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Hateful attitudes toward others, resistance to someone's suggestions, jealousy over another woman's attractiveness or particular abilities are equally strong indications of the health of our spiritual programs. Our security rests with God. When that relationship is nurtured, the rewards will be many and satisfactions great.
Our inner selves may need pampering and praise. They have suffered the abuse of neglect for many years, no doubt. In many instances we have chided ourselves, perhaps shamed ourselves. Learning to love our inner selves, recognizing the value inherent in our very existence, takes effort, commitment, and patience--assets we may only just now be developing in this recovery program.
Our inner selves are the home of our Spirit wherein our attachment to all strength, all courage, all self-esteem, and all serenity resides. Our Spirit is one with our higher power. We must acknowledge the presence and utilize the comforts offered.
My relationships with others are as healthy and fulfilling as my communication with God.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men. We have tried every imaginable remedy. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse. Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing a making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn’t done so yet.

pp. 30-31

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

But when we have taken a square look at some of these defects, have discussed them with another, and have become willing to have them removed, our thinking about humility commences to have a wider meaning. By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety--in other words, to all of us--this newfound peace is a priceless gift. Something new indeed has been added. Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity.

p. 74

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

"Success is a journey, not a destination."
--Ben Sweetland

A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.
--Madeleine L'Engle

Peace is the ability to wait patiently in spite of panic brought on by
uncertainty.
--Stress Fractures, p.50

Worrying and fear are the opposite of love. Love yourself more than
you ever have. Love yourself enough to stop worrying. Love yourself
enough to give yourself the gift of peace.
--Melody Beattie

It is easy to love those who are at their best. But it is during those
times we are unlovable that we may need love the most. And what a
beautiful thing when we get it. And even more beautiful when we find
the grace to give it.
--unknown

"May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
--Irish Blessing

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIVING

"It is not death that a man
should fear, but he should fear
never beginning to live."
--Marcus Aurelius

For years I did not live I simply existed. What many people take
for granted I did not have: friends, vacations, job satisfaction,
gratitude, family, communication and love of self. An aspect of my
disease, my denial, was that I thought I was happy without having
any evidence for such a feeling. Indeed, my lifestyle indicated
progressive isolation. That's illusion. A recovering alcoholic priest
shared that early in recovery he saw a sunset and remarked, "How
long has that been happening?" Like him, I missed so much!

Life is to be lived or endured. My spiritual recovery means that
every day I reach out to life and grasp it, hold it, smell it--and smile.

God of life, let me live today. Let my "high" be the glory of the day.

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

My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one."
Luke 10: 27-30

The LORD's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His
compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy
faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

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

Daily Inspiration

When things go wrong, it is far more productive to see if you can learn something from it rather than just getting upset. Lord, help me to remain peaceful and patient enough in my trying moments so that in some way I can grow from them.

God will give you strength because He gives of Himself. Lord, bless us, deliver us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

[bluidkiti]

July 23

Daily Reflections

I ASK GOD TO DECIDE

"I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character
which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will
and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I don't
decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get
removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask God to
decide which defects stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and to
others, and then I humbly ask Him to remove them.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

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

Meditation For The Day

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

Prayer For The Day

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

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

As Bill Sees It

The Building Of Character, p. 204

Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't
strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose.
When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us
with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is
the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God
wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character
defects, or, if you wish, of our sins.

If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions. But in no case
does he render us white as snow and keep us that way without our
cooperation. That is something we are supposed to be willing to work
toward ourselves. He asks only that we try as best we know how to
make progress in the building of character.

12 & 12, p. 65

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

Walk In Dry Places

Sensing Rejection
Self-Esteem and Maturity
We laugh when a recovering person tells how he "learned to quit just before he got fired." We sometimes can tell when a rejection is coming, and we take steps.... such as quitting.. To avoid further pain and humiliation.
In the recovery process, there still may be times when we sense a coming rejection. If it does come, we must remember that rejections is part of living. People receive rejection for all sorts of reasons, including wrong ones.
When we do sense any kid of a rejection in the works, our best course is to let it happen, accept it, and put it behind us. If we are living our program, we don't need to feel pain or humiliation, as rejection is simply part of normal human experience.
I'll try today to be as accepting as possible in everything I do. If others choose to reject me, I will also accept this without resentment or self-reproach.

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

Keep It Simple

Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.---Laurence Couglin
"Do I talk to much?" Most of us wonder this sometimes. There are some ways to find out.
Asked yourself these questions: "How much do I know about people in my life?"
"What do they think and feel?" "Do I listen to them?" "Do I often feel that I say too much?"
Then ask a few trusted friends these questions: "Do you think I talk to much?" "How well do you think I listen to you?"
Silence help us listen---to ourselves, to others, and to our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me enjoy the silent moments in my day.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll think before I speak. what do I really want to say.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

For this is wisdom; to live, To take what fate, or the Gods, may give. --Laurence Hope
We can't control the events of our lives, but we do have mastery over our attitudes. The chances will be many, today, to react negatively or positively to circumstances we find ourselves in. We can consider that each circumstance has something special in it for us.
Positive expectations regarding the planned as well as spontaneous activities of the day will influence the activity's flow, our involvement with it, and our interactions with the other people involved. A positive attitude seems to breed positive experiences. In other words, we attract into our lives that which we expect. How often do we get up angry, feeling behind when the day has only begun, short-tempered with our children, "ready" for a tough one at work? And we generally find it.
The Serenity Prayer offers us all the knowledge, all the wisdom we'll ever need. We can accept what has to be, change what we can, and not get confused between the two. We can inventory our attitude. Are we taking charge of it? Our attitude is something we can change.
I won't get trapped today by a negative attitude. I will accept the challenge of turning my day around.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

Despite all we can say, many who are real alcoholics are not going to believe they are in that class. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people!

p. 31

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

This improved perception of humility starts another revolutionary change in our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing. Until now, our lives have been largely devoted to running from pain and problems. We fled from them as from a plague. We never wanted to deal with the fact of suffering. Escape via the bottle was always our solution. Character-building through suffering might be all right for saints, but it certainly didn't appeal to us.

p. 74

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

The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your
mind, but how to get old ones out.
--Dee Hock

"One faces the future with one's past."
--Pearl S. Buck

This day is not a rehearsal. It is real. What you choose to do with it
will have lasting consequences for you and for those around you. It is
an awesome responsibility and a tremendous opportunity. Give it the
best that you have.
--Ralph Marston

As you teach, you learn.
--Jewish Proverb

At the beginning of your day, spend a few minutes in silence to
commune with God. At the end of your day, do the same. And in the
course of your day, join with others. Pray for those in your life and
allow them the honor of praying for you. The energy you hold in
prayer is real, and over time, will take form.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"Notice the acts of kindness other people do rather than their
wrongdoing. This is how the loving presence views you. We are all
good, decent, loving souls who occasionally get lost. When you can
focus on the good in another and hold that in your mind, you are acting
from your higher self. This can help dissipate fear and anger.
--Wayne Dyer

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WEALTH

"The only question with wealth
is what you do with it."
--John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Prosperity, if it is truly to be appreciated, needs to be shared.
Wealth only makes sense when it is put to use for the benefit of the
many. To horde treasure is to miss the value of that treasure. Money
makes the world go around but it can only produce joy and excitement
when it is spent or put to work.

This is also true for those who have a "wealth" of ideas or talents --
they need to be expressed, shared and valued by others to be of any
real benefit. A writer needs to write, a musician needs to play, a
painter demands a canvas -- and the world needs to appreciate.

God is at work in His world and He requires recognition.

Let me find You in the talents that You have shared with me.

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

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
Proverbs 15:30

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength
is made perfect in weakness."
2 Corinthians 12:9

Then I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have
come to do your will, O God.'"
Hebrews 10:7

"O God, why have you abandoned me? I sit and wait for you and you
do not come. I watch everyone who passes, but it is not you. I sit by
myself on the side of life and cry to you, but you do not come. I
stand and look from the window, but you are nowhere in sight. I need
you, O God, but you have left me all alone. I try to talk myself into
believing that you're on the way, perhaps tomorrow, or the next
day...but you do not appear. How can I walk in this pain all alone?
How can I stand knee-deep in suffering without you? Where are you,
O God of my life? Where are you when I'm in such danger? Will you
let me slip away simply because you didn't get here on time? O God of
mercy, do not abandon me. Show me your face at my window and
wipe the tears from my life. Please come to me. Please take care of
me. I will shout your name from the rooftops! I will dance your praise
among the stars. I will tell the world that you would never abandon
me."
Psalm 15

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

Daily Inspiration

You will be happier if you spend less time insisting that everything be your way. Lord, help me remain objective and open to new ideas when they are presented, but at the same time give me the courage to not compromise my beliefs and values.

How easy it is to blame God for circumstances that don't go as we want. Lord, grant me wisdom and understanding to know that You are Love and, as a loving God, You only want the best for me.

[bluidkiti]

July 24

Daily Reflections

HELPING OTHERS

"Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant
thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 20

Self-centeredness was my problem. All my life people had been doing
things for me and I not only expected it, but I was ungrateful and
resentful they didn't do more. Why should I help others, when they
were supposed to help me? If others had troubles, didn't they deserve
them? I was filled with self-pity, anger and resentment. Then I
learned that by helping others, with no thought of return, I could
overcome this obsession with selfishness, and if I understood humility,
I would know peace and serenity. No longer do I need to drink.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

A.A. is like a dike, holding back the ocean of liquor. If we take one
glass of liquor, it is like making a small hole in the dike and once such a
hole has been made, the whole ocean of alcohol may rush in upon us.
By practicing the A.A. principles we keep the dike strong and in
repair. We spot any weakness or crack in that dike and make the
necessary repairs before any damage is done. Outside the dike is the
whole ocean of alcohol, waiting to engulf us again in despair. Am I
keeping the dike strong?

Meditation For The Day

Keep as close as you can to the Higher Power. Try to think, act, live
as though you were always in God's presence. Keeping close to a
Power greater than yourself is the solution to most of the earth's
problems. Try to practice the presence of God in the things you think
and do. That is the secret of personal power. It is the thing that
influences the lives of others for good. Abide in the Lord and rejoice in
His love. Keep close to the Divine Spirit in the universe. Keep God
close behind your thoughts.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may keep close to the Mind of God. I pray that I may live
with Him in my heart and mind.

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

As Bill Sees It

Virtue and Self-Deception, p. 205

I used to take comfort from an exaggerated belief in my own honesty.
My New England kinfolk had taught me the sanctity of all business
commitments and contracts, saying, "A man's word is his bond." After
this rigorous conditioning, business honesty always came easy; I never
flim-flammed anyone.

However, this small fragment of readily won virtue did produce some
interesting liabilities. I never failed to whip up a fine contempt for
those of my fellow Wall Streeters who were prone to shortchange
their customers. This was arrogant enough, but the ensuring
self-deception proved even worse.

My prized business honesty was presently converted into a
comfortable cloak under which I could hide the many serious flaws
that beset other departments of my life. Being certain of this one
virtue, it was easy to conclude that I had them all. For years on end,
this prevented me from taking a good look at myself.

Grapevine, August 1961

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

Walk In Dry Places

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.

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

Keep It Simple

The work of adult life is not easy.---Gail Sheehy
We used to look for a easier, softer way. We tried to take care of ourselves by staying clear of hard task. The result? We haven't known what the work of adult life is.
The work of adult life is this: to become spiritually centered. And to do this, we work at getting rid of our self-will. There will be many great rewards for doing this. We will wake up spiritually. We will connect with those we love. The result? We will receive self-love to replace self-will. Our work will not be easy, but it will be rewarding.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to give all to my recovery program. Then help me to be open to the rewards this will bring.
Action for the Day: I will list the hard parts of my program. Then I'll talk about them with my sponsor, friends, family, and Higher Power.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

... The idea has gained currency that women have often been handicapped not only by a fear of failure--not unknown to men either, but by a fear of success as well. --Sonya Rudikoff
It was our practice, before coming to this program, to eat, drink, and smoke our fears away. What we came to realize, profoundly, was that the fears couldn't be escaped even while high. This program is helping us to understand that fears are human, normal and survivable when we let God and our friends in the program lend a helping hand.
Drugs and alcohol distorted our perceptions. Our fears, whether large or small, were distorted. And we still distort those fears, on occasion, because we move away from the spiritual reality of our lives. Remember, we are confronted with no situation too big to handle, no experience for which we are unprepared, if we but turn to that greater power that the program offers us.
We cannot fail in whatever we try today. The outcome of any task attempted is just as it should be. And however we succeed today, we will be shown the steps, at the right time, to make use of that success.
I shall not fear failure or success. I am not alone in experiencing either; both are stepping-stones on my life's journey.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums —we could increase the list ad infinitum.

p. 31

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Then, in A.A., we looked and listened. Everywhere we saw failure and misery transformed by humility into priceless assets. We heard story after story of how humility had brought strength out of weakness. In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. We began to fear pain less, and desire humility more than ever.

p. 75

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

"Our ability to identify a teacher and to learn is directly related to
how open-minded we are and the attitude with which we approach
everyone and everything that comes our way."
--Bonnie Friedman

"When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart
instead of the head."
--anonymous

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

"The remarkable thing we have is a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. "
--Charles Swindoll

"Just when I found out the meaning of life, they changed it!"
--George Carlin

Don't talk unless you can improve the silence.
--Laurence Couglin

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LONELINESS

"This great misfortune -- to be
incapable of solitude."
--Jean de la Bruyere

Today I am able to live with my loneliness. I know the difference
between being "alone" and being "lonely" -- and even in sobriety I
experience loneliness. But today I can live with it.

When I was drinking, I had an overwhelming feeling of being lost and
isolated; today it is tolerable. I can live with it. It is part of being
"imperfect". I am not God.

The reality of spirituality demands that I do not escape into a fantasy
that denies my feelings of loneliness. It is part of my journey towards
God. I will never appreciate perfect happiness until I rest in God. This
I accept. In sobriety I have many days of happiness and moments of
joy --- but I am, at times, lonely -- with feelings of being lost. Today I
can accept this -- and talk about it.

I accept that part of me will be forever lost until I rest in God.

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

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as in Christ God forgave you."
Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat
or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
his life?"
Matthew 6:25

For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred
us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
Colossians 1:13

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

Daily Inspiration

The things in life that mean the most have no price tag. Lord, thank you for the moments that I am able to spend with my family and friends.

If your family is a mess, you are not a success. Lord, bless me with the wisdom and strength to bring unity and peace to my family.

[bluidkiti]

July 25

Daily Reflections

THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER

For us, if we neglect those who are still sick, there is unremitting
danger to our own lives and sanity.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151

I know the torment of drinking compulsively to quiet my nerves and
my fears. I also know the pain of white-knuckled sobriety. Today, I
do not forget the unknown person who suffers quietly, withdrawn and
hiding in the desperate relief of drinking. I ask my Higher Power to
give me His guidance and the courage to be willing to be His
instrument to carry within me compassion and unselfish actions. Let
the group continue to give me the strength to do with others what I
cannot do alone.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We are living on borrowed time. We are living today because of A.A.
and the grace of God. And what there is left of our lives we owe to
A.A. and to God. We should make the best use we can of our
borrowed time and in some small measure pay back for that part of
our lives which we wasted before we came into A.A. Our lives from
now on are not our own. We hold them in trust for God and A.A. And
we must do all we can to forward the great movement that has given
us a new lease on life. Am I holding my life in trust for A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

You should hold your life in trust for God. Think deeply on what that
means. Is anything too much to expect from such a life? Do you begin
to see how dedicated a life in trust for God can be? In such a life
miracles can happen. If you are faithful, you can believe that God has
many good things in store for you. God can be Lord of your life,
controller of your days, of your present and your future. Try to act as
God guides and leave all results to Him. Do not hold back, but go all
out for God and the better life. Make good your trust.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may hold my life in trust for God. I pray that I may no
longer consider my life as all my own.

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

As Bill Sees It

Praying For Others, p. 206

While praying sincerely, we still may fall into temptation. We form
ideas as to what we think God's will is for other people. We say to
ourselves, "This one ought to be cured of his fatal malady" or "That
one ought to be relieved of his emotional pain," and we pray for these
specific things.

Such prayers, of course, are fundamentally good acts, but often they
are based upon a supposition that we know God's will for the person
for whom we pray. This means that side by side with an earnest
prayer there can be a certain amount of presumption and conceit in us.

It is A.A.'s experience that partially in these cases we ought to pray
that God's will, whatever it is, be done for others as well as for
ourselves.

12 & 12, p. 104

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

Walk In Dry Places

Dealing with Disagreeable people
Personal relations
At every turn in the road, we=re likely to meet disagreeable people, sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes, we=re forced to deal with them.
The 12 Step program does not make this entirely painless, but it smooths the process. One thing we=ve learned is not to react with anger and contempt when we meet a disagreeable person, because such feelings on our part will only set off an explosion.
The 12 Step program shows us how to give the ASoft Answer Which Turns away Wrath.
It will not be us, but our Higher Power who does the work. In time, we will respond in this way naturally. This is not cowardice---- it is really another courageous way of dealing with human weaknesses.
I'll be calm and controlled today, no matter who or what comes into my life. My Higher Power supports me in my responses.

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

Keep It Simple

If the spirit within us withers (dies), so to will all the world we build around us.---Theodore Roszab
This is what happened during our illness---our spirits were dying. Our relationships were dying. this is because addiction is death.
And recovery is life! The Steps breathe like into us. Our groups breathe life into us. We start to heal because we once again feel hope. We're less afraid of what tomorrow may bring. As our hope grows, others feel it too.
We're starting to slowly rebuild our world. We're building our world on the Twelve Steps and their message of hope.
Prayer for the Day: I give myself to life. Higher Power, work with me as I rebuild my world.
Action for the Day: I'll talk with a friend about hope. I'll see my hope as a sign of how close I am to my program.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

I have a clear choice between life and death, between reality and fantasy, between health and sickness. I have to become responsible--responsible for mistakes as well as accomplishments. --Eileen Mayhew
Choosing to participate actively in our own lives ushers in joy and sometimes fear. We are energized by our conscious involvement; making thoughtful choices regarding our development heightens our sense of well-being. But occasionally we may fear potential failure. About as frequently, we may fear probable success.
Not every day do we want the responsibility for our lives; but we have it. On occasion we only want the loving arms of a caretaker. The beauty of our lives at this time is that we do have a caretaker at our beck and call, a caretaker who has demonstrated repeatedly a concern for our safety, a caretaker who will help us shoulder every responsibility we face.
Clearly, our coming to this program shows that we have chosen to act responsibly. And just as clearly, every day that we ask for the guidance to live to the best of our abilities, we will be helped to accomplish the tasks right for us in this stage of our lives.
All I have to do is make the right choices. I will always know which they are, when I ask for guidance.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself, Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition.

pp. 31-32

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

During this process of learning more about humility, the most profound result of all was the change in our attitude toward God. And this was true whether we had been believers or unbelievers. We began to get over the idea that the Higher Power was a sort of bush-league pinch hitter, to be called upon only in an emergency. The notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate. Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. But now the words "Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works" began to carry bright promise and meaning.

p. 75

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You can get off the elevator anytime, but if you get back on it's only
going down.
--unknown

Happy memories never wear out. Relive them as often as you want.
--Anonymous

Our pasts are perfect in a way our minds can never fully understand.
We would not have the opportunities for awakening and experiencing
that are ours today, without exactly what happened. Now, it's what
we do with our pasts that provides the opportunity for growth. Today,
spend some time thinking about the gifts in your past that you may
have overlooked.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

Live your life and forget your age.
--Norman Vincent Peale

In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber; so
long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage, so
long are you young. When the wires are all down and your heart is
covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, and then
only, are you grown old.
--General Douglas MacArthur

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul."
--Yiddish Proverb

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that
endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events
that occur."
--Vince Lombardi

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MISFORTUNE

"Experience has taught me this,
that we undo ourselves by
impatience. Misfortunes have their
life and their limits, their sickness
and their health."
--Michel de Montaigne

Nothing lasts forever. At times I feel sad, angry, resentful and
ashamed -- but it passes. In my recovery I have learned to live in "my
day" and accept the consequences of that day. I can only deal with life
as I experience it. Tomorrow is a new day with new experiences. And
some of the experiences are painful. Reality teaches me this. At times
I wish I could go through life without pain or rejection but I know that
is fantasy. Sobriety does not mean that everything will be perfect --
only better!

Nothing is so bad that I need to drink or use over it. Today I know that
alcohol increases my pain; it is never a solution. God, who has given
me today, will also give me a tomorrow -- and time eases the pain if I
work my program. Misfortunes are not worth drinking over. Nothing
lasts forever.

Thank You for the gift of a tomorrow.

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

My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Jesus says," Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can
bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me."
John 15:4

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."
Psalm 54:4

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we
must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus
himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Acts 20:35

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

Daily Inspiration

God wants us happy right now and continually points us in that direction even when we look the other way. Lord, grant that nothing will turn me away from doing Your will.

They are wise who depend on God. Lord, Your perfect law revives my soul. Keeping Your law makes me rich.

[bluidkiti]

July 26

Daily Reflections

THE "WORTH" OF SOBRIETY

Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside
contributions.
TWELVE AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 160

When I go shopping I look at the prices and if I need what I see, I buy
it and pay. Now that I am supposed to be in rehabilitation, I have to
straighten out my life. When I go to a meeting, I take a coffee with
sugar and milk, sometimes more than one. But at the collection time, I
am either too bust to take money out of my purse, or I do not have
enough, but I am there because I need this meeting. I heard someone
suggest dropping the price of a beer into the basket, and I thought,
that's too much! I almost never give one dollar. Like many others, I
rely on the more generous members to finance the Fellowship. I forget
that it takes money to rent the meeting room, buy my milk, sugar and
cups. I will pay, without hesitation, ninety cents for a cup of coffee at a
restaurant after the meeting; I always have money for that. So, how
much is my sobriety and my inner peace worth?

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we come to the end of our lives on earth, we will take no
material thing with us. We will not take one cent in our cold, dead
hands. The only things that we may take are the things we have given
away. If we have helped others, we may take that with us; if we have
given our time and money for the good of A.A., we may take that with
us. Looking back over our lives, what are we proud of? Not what have
we gained for ourselves, but what few good deeds we have done.
Those are the things that really matter in the long run. What will I
take with me when I go?

Meditation For The Day

"Hallowed be Thy Name." What does that mean to us? Here "name"
is used in the sense of "spirit." The words mean praise to God for His
spirit in the world, making us better. We should be especially grateful
for God's spirit, which gives us the strength to overcome all that is
base in our lives. His spirit is powerful. It can help us to live a
conquering, abundant life. So we praise and thank Him for His spirit in
our lives and in the lives of others.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be grateful for God's spirit in me. I pray that I may
try to live in accordance with it.

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

As Bill Sees It

The Fellowship's Future, p.207

"It seems proved that A.A. can stand on its own feet anywhere and
under any conditions. It has outgrown any dependence it might once
have had upon the personalities or efforts of a few of the older
members like me. New, able, and vigorous people keep coming to the
surface, turning up where they are needed. Besides, A.A. has reached
enough spiritual maturity to know that its final dependence is upon
God."

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

Clearly, our first duty to A.A.'s future is to maintain in full strength
what we have now. Only the most vigilant caretaking can assure this.
Never should we be lulled into complacent self-satisfaction by the wide
acclaim and success that are everywhere ours. This is the subtle
temptation which could render us stagnant today, perchance
disintegrate us tomorrow. We have always rallied to meet and
transcend failure and crisis. Problems have been our stimulants. How
well, though, shall we be able to meet the problems of success?

1. Letter, 1940
2. A.A. Today, p. 106

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

Walk In Dry Places

Never withholding ourselves..............Living Sober.
We may have let ourselves believe that were supposed to display an attitude that expresses our opinions of others. If a person is crude and boorish, we should be cool and defensive for our self-protection. If a person is warm and friendly, we should respond in warm and friendly ways.
If we have believed these things, then were actually letting others control our attitudes and behavior. We are letting personalities interfere with the high principles we are learning in AA. We are not living at the best possible level.
In reality, we should always display an attitude that reflects kindness, optimism, friendliness, and concern. There other persons disposition, whether its sour or sweet, should have nothing to do with our being what we want to be. We should never withhold the fine inner qualities that develop and grow as we continue to live the program.
In time, we begin to learn that this attitude always comes back to us in the form of greater peace and happiness. And what's great about it is that its always under our direct control.
As I go about my business today, I will express a kindliness and concern toward everybody. Nobody's behavior can make me adopt a suspicious or defensive attitude

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

Keep It Simple

I was never less alone when by myself.---Edward Gibson
To stay in this program, we need to accept that we have an illness. We need to accept that we were
out of control. And we need to accept that we need others and they need us. At times, we won't want to accept these facts. We will want to deny we have an illness and our lives were out of control.
Many of us get into trouble when we don't accept that we need others. This is why helping others is so important. It teaches us that we need others, and others need us. By helping others, we learn about the give-and-take of human relationships. There is no give-an-take in addiction. There is just take. Now, finally, we can give too!
Prayer for the Day: I pray to remember that I need other people.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll help out. I will make coffee at the next meeting or offer to do the Step next week. I will let a fellow addict know I'm glad he or she is sober.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts than to change the preconceptions. --Jessamyn West
To live fully and creatively, to contribute what is only ours to give, requires that we be receptive, wholly, to the reverberations of each present moment. Even anticipation of what may transpire next can prejudice our minds, our level of awareness. Preconceptions cloud our senses. They prevent the actual situation from being fully realized. And it is only in the now, as sensed moment by moment, that we find our cues to proceed along the path chosen for us.
As we grow more comfortable with Step Three, daily turning our lives and wills over to the care of God, we'll see how much more rewarding our experiences are. We'll see, too, how much greater are our own contributions. Preconceptions of any situation, persons, anticipated experience, dulls the magic, the depth of the moment. And only when we attune ourselves to the invitation of the moment do we give of ourselves, wholly. Our partnership with God lives now, as we go forth in this moment.
I will look to each moment with childish eyes. I'll find joy and contentment.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time. We have heard of a few instances where people, who showed definite signs of alcoholism, were able to stop for a long period because of an overpowering desire to do so. Here is one.

p. 32

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beaten into humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching for it as it could from unremitting suffering. A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted, rather than as something we must have. It marked the time when we could commence to see the full implication of Step Seven: "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

p. 75

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

The future starts today, not tomorrow.
--Pope John Paul II

Don't live in the past...you have already been there.
--Cited in BITS & PIECES

The secret lies in how we handle today, not yesterday or
tomorrow. Today...that special block of time holding the key that
locks out yesterday's nightmares and unlocks tomorrow's dreams.
--Charles Swindoll

Let everyone try and find that as a result of daily prayer he adds
something new to his life, something with which nothing can be
compared.
--Mahatma Gandhi

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize
they were the big things."
--Robert Brault

As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in
his way.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

The paradox of control is simple. The more we try to control life, the
less control we have.
--Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ADVERSITY

"Adversity reveals genius,
prosperity conceals it."
--Horace

Today I believe that the only way to understand God, the world,
my neighbor and myself is through some degree of suffering. Pain
and suffering are humbling in the truest sense; they stop you from
being arrogant, selfish and "prideful".

I know this because I was a spoiled child. My family tried to give
me everything. Whatever I wanted was given to me; my way or no
way! This sick love robbed me of humility and separated me from
humanity: it made me feel different, selfish and place me on a
pity-pot. Being spoiled stopped me experiencing the real world and
stopped me from growing.

Today adversity is part of life and part of being human. Not to
grow through adversity is to die. To have everything is to
experience nothing. To feel in life -- to have emotion -- demands
adversity and pain.

Teach me to be grateful for the suffering that leads to growth.

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

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in
me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Phillipians 4:4-9

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD
require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly
with your God?"
Micah 6:8

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

Daily Inspiration

Avoid being self-conscious and you will have more time to have fun and enjoy the moment. Lord, help me take myself less seriously and place my focus on those around me.

Courage gives us the trust in God to follow our hearts no matter what obstacles seem to block our way. Lord, I love You.

[bluidkiti]

July 27

Daily Reflections

GIVING FREELY

We will make every personal sacrifice necessary to insure the unity of
Alcoholics Anonymous. We will do this because we have learned to
love God and one another.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 234

To be self-supporting through my own contributions was never a
strong characteristic during my days as a practicing alcoholic. The
giving of time or money always demanded a price tag.
As a newcomer I was told "we have to give it away in order to keep
it." As I began to adopt the principals of Alcoholics Anonymous in my
life, I soon found it was a privilege to give to the Fellowship as an
expression of the gratitude felt in my heart. My love of God and of
others became the motivating factor in my life, with no thought of
return. I realize now that giving freely is God's way of expressing Himself
through me.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

To paraphrase the psalm: "We alcoholics declare the power of liquor
and drunkenness showeth its handiwork. Day unto day uttereth
hangovers and night unto night showeth suffering. The law of A.A. is
perfect, converting the drunk. The testimony of A.A. is sure, making
wise the simple. The statutes of A.A. are right, rejoicing the heart.
The program of A.A. is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the
first drink is clean, enduring forever." Have I any doubt about the
power of liquor?

Meditation For The Day

"Walk humbly with thy Lord." Walking with God means practicing the
presence of God in your daily affairs. It means asking God for
strength to face each new day. It means turning to Him often during
the day in prayer for yourself and for other people. It means thanking
Him at night for the blessings you have received during the day.
Nothing can seriously upset you if you are "walking with God." You
can believe that He is beside you in spirit, to help you and to guide you
on your way.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to walk humbly with God. I pray that I may turn
to Him often as to a close friend.

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

As Bill Sees It

Reason--a Bridge to Faith, p. 208

We were squarely confronted with the question of faith. We couldn't
duck the issue. Some of us had already walked along the bridge of
reason toward the desired shore of faith, where friendly hands
stretched out in welcome. We were grateful that reason had brought
us so far. Perhaps we had been relying too heavily on reason that last
mile, and we did not like to lose our support.

Yet, without knowing it, had we not been brought to where we stood
by a certain kind of faith? For did we not believe in our own
reasoning? Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What
was that but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful to the god of
reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been
involved all the time!

Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 53-54

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

Walk In Dry Places

No tap dancing around problems.
Inventory
Our program calls for a "searching and fearless" moral inventory, not only in the beginning, but as we continue to follow our new way of life.
What this means is complete honesty about who and what we really are. We should not tap-dance around our problems in order to evade responsibility. This willnot bring the cleansing we need for real sober living. We need deep changes, not mere surface ones.
Difficult as it is to be fully honest, it's made easier when we remind ourselves that it's all for our own recovery. We benefit in proportion to the amount of honesty we bring to our inventory. If it's searching and fearless, the results will be far-reaching and substantial.
I will not shirk from facing the truth about myself as I go through the day. What I need for self-improvement will be revealed to me.

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

Keep It Simple

To enjoy freedom, we have to con troll ourselves. Virginia Woolf
Freedom is a funny thing, in a way, it makes life harder. We are free to do what we want but every choice makes a difference in our lives. Some choices make us happy and some bring trouble.
We can make good choices. We can control our actions. We can start by having control in little ways: follow the law, pay the rent, and make the bed every day. These choices put order in our lives. Eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. These choices make us strong enough to live each day to the fullest.
These kinds of choices set us free.
Prayer for the day: Higher Power, I was drinking and drugging. I couldn't enjoy my freedom. I had no control over the little things in my life. Help me stay sober today.
Action for the day: Today, I'll be grateful for having some control. I will list five way I am more free because I can control my actions.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it. --Mother Teresa
Our spiritual nature must be nurtured. Prayer and meditation lovingly kindle the flame that guides us from within. Because we're human, we often let the flame flicker and perhaps go out. And then we sense the dreaded aloneness. Fortunately, some time away, perhaps even a few moments in quiet communion with God, rekindles the flame.
For most of us, the flame burned low, or not at all, for many years. The flickering we may feel today, or tomorrow, or felt yesterday, will not last, so we may put away our fears. We can listen to the voice of our higher power in others. We can listen, too, as we carry the message. Prayer surrounds us every moment. We can fuel our inner flame with the messages received from others. We can let our spirit spring forth, let it warm our hearts and the hearts of others.
We each have a friend whose flame may be flickering today. I will help her and thus myself. A steady flame can rekindle one that's flickering.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and quieted himself with more liquor. He was ambitious to succeed in business, but saw that he would get nowhere if he drank at all. Once he started, he had no control whatever. He made up his mind that until he had been successful in business and had retired, he would not touch another drop. An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career. Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has—that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle. In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. He tried to regulate his drinking for a little while, making several trips to the hospital meantime. Then, gathering all his forces, he attempted to stop altogether and found he could not. Every means of solving his problem which money could buy was at his disposal. Every attempt failed. Though a robust man at retirement, he went to pieces quickly and was dead within four years.

pp. 32-33

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

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

As we approach the actual taking of Step Seven, it might be well if we A.A.'s inquire once more just what our deeper objectives are. Each of us would like to live at peace with himself and with his fellows. We would like to be assured that the grace of God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have seen that character defects based upon shortsighted or unworthy desires are the obstacles that block our path toward these objectives. We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.

p. 76

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

Today, I will focus on practicing one recovery behavior on one of my
issues, trusting that this practice will move me forward. I will
remember that acceptance, gratitude, and detachment are a good
place to begin.
--Melody Beattie

"God gives us abundance in all things, that we might use it on behalf of
the healing of the world."
--Marianne Williamson

"We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among
those who don't."
--Frank A. Clark

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I
can change."
--Carl Rogers

He that gives should never remember, he that receives should never
forget.
--Talmud

"With every prayer and every thought of love, we release the light
that will cast out darkness. One light alone seems small and weak, but
no one's light is ever alone, for all our lights are part of God."
--Marianne Williamson

All time spent angry is time lost being happy.
-- Mexican Proverb

Progress comes from caring more about what needs to be done than
about who gets the credit.
--Dorothy Height

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

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IDEAS

"Ideas shape the course of history."
--John Maynard Keynes

I get so excited about my sobriety because it has given me ideas.
Today I can think, ponder and create. God is such a big idea today --
every thing is involved.

For years I had made God a prisoner of the Church or an idea in
history, but in my sobriety I have discovered Him in art, poetry, music
and literature. God is found in friendship, advice, sharing and
sexuality. God is forcibly experienced in nature, sunsets, animals and
the sea.

God can be found through my failures. He is perceived in suffering,
loneliness and resentments. The acknowledgment of my disease has
brought me closer to God as I understand Him.

My idea of God is alive and it makes me want to live.

May my ideas and thoughts always reflect Your beauty.

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

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
James 1:2-4

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with
joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Psalms 16:11

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:26

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

Daily Inspiration

Talents are not just artistic. They include the talent for compassion, care and for bringing harmony to our environment. Lord, help me to say the right words when what I say can make a helpful difference.

If we look to God for guidance, we will not be weighed down by the circumstances of our life. Lord, free me from the worries that come to distract me and keep me focused on that which is important.

[bluidkiti]

July 28

Daily Reflections

THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER

Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do
well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for
everybody.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 232

A.A. groups exist to help alcoholics achieve sobriety. Large or small,
firmly established or brand-new, speaker, discussion or study group
has but one reason for being: to carry the message to the
still-suffering alcoholic. The group exists so that the alcoholic can find
a new way of life, a life abundant in happiness, joy, and freedom. To
recover, most alcoholics need the support of a group of other
alcoholics who share their experience, strength and hope. Thus my
sobriety, and our program's survival, depend on my determination to
put first things first.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

To continue the paraphrase of the psalm: "The judgments of the
Twelve Steps are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired
are they than whiskey, yea, than much fine whiskey, sweeter also than
wine. Moreover, by them are alcoholics warned and in keeping of them
there is great reward. Who can understand our alcoholism? Cleanse us
from secret faults. Keep us from presumptuous resentments. Let them
not have dominion over us. Then shall we be upright and free of the
great transgression." Am I resolved that liquor will never again have
dominion over me?

Meditation For The Day

God can be your shield. Then no problems of the world can harm you.
Between you and all scorn and indignity from others is your trust in
God, like a shining shield. Nothing can then have the power to spoil
your inward peace. With this shield, you can attain this inward peace
quickly, in your surroundings as well as in your heart. With this inward
peace, you do not need to resent the person who troubles you. Instead,
you can overcome the resentment in your own mind which may have
been aroused by that person.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may strive for inward peace. I pray that I may not be
seriously upset, no matter what happens around me.

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

As Bill Sees It

Never the Same Again, p. 209

It was discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of
another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the
same again. Following every spree, he would have to say to himself,
"Maybe those A.A.'s were right." After a few such experiences,
often before the onset of extreme difficulties, he would return to us
convinced.

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

In the first years, those of us who sobered up in A.A. had been grim
and utterly hopeless cases. But then we began to have success with
milder alcoholics and even some potential alcoholics. Younger folks
appeared. Lots of people turned up who still had jobs, homes, health,
and even good social standing.

Of course, it was necessary for these newcomers to hit bottom
emotionally. But they did not have to hit every possible bottom in
order to admit that they were licked.

1. 12 & 12, p. 23-24
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 199

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

Walk In Dry Places

The True Security
Security
We can feel insecure for many reasons, but the fundamental reason is that we do not have a firm anchorage in our Higher Power. This anchorage must be our true security, and it is really the only form that can survive any attack.
Regardless of who we are, we can know and feel that our Higher Power is guiding and directing us at all times. If we find ourselves being threatened by a person or situation, we can deal with it by knowing that our Higher Power is in charge of all outcomes. If we envy somebody, we must get back to an acknowledgment of God as the source of everything.
If we feel inadequate around people who seem to be immensely self-confident and secure, we should not try to imitate their manner and behavior. Rather, we should simply put our trust in our own Higher Power, and our feeling of true security will express itself in proper ways.
All the things we view today as being secure are probably only temporary. Our ture security can come only from God.

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

Keep It Simple

The best leaders are those who know how to follow.---Anonymous
Am I a leader or a follower? The fact is, I am responsible for where I end up. If I choose to be a follower, I'd better follow leaders who know where they are going. And I had better know where they're going.
If I choose to be leader, I'd better know that I'm responsible for getting myself on the right path. I also must be honest with my followers, so they can make good choices. I'm not responsible for my followers choices, but I must give them the truth. Being a leader doesn't always mean that I know where I'll end up. But it can mean that I know I'm on the right path, following the lead from my Higher Power---one step at a time.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me the faith and courage to choose good leaders to follow. When it is Your will, help me be a good leader.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list my leaders. They might be a Higher Power, a sponsor, or a friend. I'll think of why I choose to follow these leaders.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The beauty of loving someone is the feeling of "wholeness" that I experience. The need for that individual in my life, the "I'm part of you and you're part of me" feeling that connects two people and makes them necessary to each other. --Kathleen Andrus
All that is asked of us by our Creator is that we love one another. Where love doesn't flow easily, perhaps we can just decide to not hurt someone. If we each avoided hurting all people, for just one day, lives would be transformed. We'd each see the world with a fresh perspective.
The more we love others, any others, the deeper our love will grow for all others. Loving lifts our hearts and lightens our burdens. Every day's tribulations can become triumphs when we carry love in our hearts. Love fills us up, and the more we share it, the fuller we become.
We are connected--each of us to one another, all of us together. Our contributions to the whole are necessary. Its completion is made perfect by our presence.
As I pass a friend today, I will be grateful for her contribution to my wholeness, too.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

This case contains a powerful lesson. most of us have believed that if we remained sober for a long stretch, we could thereafter drink normally. But here is a man who at fifty-five years found he was just where he had left off at thirty. We have seen the truth demonstrated again and again: “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” Commencing to drink after a period of sobriety, we are in a short time as bad as ever. If we are planning to stop drinking , there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.

p. 33

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

The chief activator of our defects has been self-centered fear--primarily fear that we would lose something we already possessed or would fail to get something we demanded. Living upon a basis of unsatisfied demands, we were in a state of continual disturbance and frustration. Therefore, no peace was to be had unless we could find a means of reducing these demands. The difference between a demand and a simple request is plain to anyone.

p. 76

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Spirit has placed a dream in your heart for a better world, starting
with your family, extending to your work, community, country and
stretching beyond your nation. Speak your truth and inspire others, for
you are meant to make a significant and sizable difference.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"Guidance isn't being told which action to take or not to take.
Guidance is God's gift of peace - from which we proceed. The peace
dissolves the question, and we simply do what we do in peace."
--Hugh Prather, Spiritual Notes to Myself

Today, I will ask my Higher Power for what I want and need. I will not
demand -- I will ask. Then I will let go.
--Melody Beattie

Spiritual community is created when we come together on a regular
basis with a common intention: to extend love beyond our immediate
families. Through this shared affinity, we encourage, challenge and
remind one another that nothing is impossible.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

Be gentle with yourself. Don't force it. But don't run away from your
feelings, either. You might feel like cooked spaghetti for a while,
but what's really softening up is your heart. God, help me face and
feel any feelings.
--Melody Beattie

Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.
--American Proverb

"Know that every struggle holds a blessing. Uncover the blessing and
say thanks."
--Unknown

If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing
that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to
write a new page.
--Mark Houlahan

To love is to be patient, thoughtful, kind and meek. Lord, increase my
ability to love so that I can see You working in my life.
--unknown

"Love is not blind - It sees more, not less. But because it sees more, It
is willing to see less."
--Julius Gordon

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SIMILARITY

"Whatever you may be sure of,
be sure of this -- that you are
dreadfully like other people."
--James Russell Lowell

For many years I saw the differences and not the similarities. I was
always considering how I was unlike other alcoholics, rather than
perceiving the striking similarities. I kept myself on the outside, not
only in recovery from alcoholism but also in life.

Then I heard from another recovering alcoholic not only "my story"
but also my feelings. I belonged. I was with people who knew my
loneliness, isolation, confusion, guilt and despair. I had come home to
live amongst my people.

Thank You for enabling me to see that I am a member of the human
family and a recovering alcoholic.

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

"But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'"
Luke 18:16

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Matthew 5:16

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Daily Inspiration

Patience with others brings peace to our own soul. Lord, help me to display patience even when I do not feel patient because everyone will benefit, but me most of all.

Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.". Lord, I pray, I believe, and I thank you even before it is fulfilled.

[bluidkiti]

July 29

Daily Reflections

ANONYMOUS GIFTS OF KINDNESS

As active alcoholics we were always looking for a handout in one way
or another.
"THE TWELVE TRADITIONS ILLUSTRATED," p. 14

The challenge of the Seventh Tradition is a personal challenge,
reminding me to share and give of myself. Before sobriety the only
thing I ever supported was my habit of drinking. Now my efforts are a
smile, a kind word, and kindness.
I saw that I had to start carrying my own weight and to allow my new
friends to walk with me because, through the practice of the Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions, I've never had it so good.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry,
two days that should be kept from fear and apprehension. One of
these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and
blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond
our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single
word we said. Yesterday is gone beyond recall. Do I still worry about
what happened yesterday?

Meditation For The Day

"God will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able, but
with the temptation He will also find a way of escape, that you may be
able to bear it." If you have enough faith and trust in God, He will give
you all the strength you need to face every temptation and to
overcome it. Nothing will prove too hard for you to bear. You can face
any situation. "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."
You can overcome any temptation with God's help. So fear nothing.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may face every situation without fear. I pray that nothing
will prove too hard for me to bear.

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

As Bill Sees It

Out of Bondage, p.210

At Step Three, many of us said to our Maker, as we understand
Him: "God, I offer myself to Thee--to build with me and to do with
me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of bondage of self, that I may better
do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that my transcendence
over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy power, Thy
love, and Thy way of life. May I do Thy will always!"

We thought well before taking this Step, making sure we were
ready. Then we could commence to abandon ourselves utterly to
Him.

Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 63

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

Walk In Dry Places

Flattery or Praise?
Human relations
Flattery and praise are social lubricants that serve human purposes. But flattery is merely manipulative, while genuine praise is beneficial to everybody.
Many of us with troubled back grounds also have trouble giving and accepting praise.Sometimes we mistake flattery for praise and use it either to manipulate otehs or allow ourselves to bemanipulated. Perhaps we're either too proud or too self-conscious to deal with real praise.
Another mistake is in believing that praise should be given out only sparingly, only after outstanding achievement. Not so, we need to give and receive praise continuously in order to reach higher levels of achievement. Knowing it's importance, we'll alsolearn howto avoid flattery.
I'll offer both verbal and silent praise today in my dealing with others. We'll all benefit from it.

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

Keep It Simple

They have rights who dare defend them. ---Roger Baldwin
In recovery, we regain our right to have choices, our right to have honest relationships. Do we claim these rights, or do we let them go by?
Sometimes, standing up for our rights will mean going against the crowd. It will mean turning down that drink when everyone else has one. It will mean telling your honest opinion when it's different from the others think. Being sober will mean, at times being different. Lots of times, we find being different hard. We want to fit in. This is normal.
But we don't stand alone. We have friends who will stand with us during hard times. We have a Higher Power who will guide and comfort us. We are people with rights. Let's work hard so nothing takes away our rights.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, please help me keep and defend my dignity and human rights.
Action for the Day: I'll take time out to list the rights I've gotten back due to my recovery.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Harmony exists in difference no less than in likeness, if only the same keynote governs both parts. --Margaret Fuller
Harmony exists everywhere, as an entity of itself. Our personal attitudes bring the disharmony to a situation. An attitude of love can bless all situations and all people.
The converse is likewise true. We all desire harmony in our relationships. And we will find it, every time we bring an attitude of honest gratitude into a situation.
How we feel, today, about this person or that situation, reflects the strength of our relationship with God. When we experience life in the company of our higher power, we will let life flow. We will observe harmony, then, even in the midst of difference.
All of life's elements are moving toward a state of total and perfect harmony. We need not fear. We can trust the company of our higher power and know that every situation, no matter how adverse its appearance, is contributing to a harmonious outcome if we'd but lend a trusting attitude.
Harmony is everywhere. I will celebrate it. I will trust the present. I will trust the future.

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

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

Young people may be encouraged by this man’s experience to think that they can stop, as he did, on their own will power. We doubt if many of them can do it, because none will really want to stop, and hardly one of them, because of the peculiar mental twist already acquired, will find he can win out. Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had been drinking twenty years.

p. 33

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Seven - "Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our attitude which permits us, with humility as our guide, to move out from ourselves toward others and toward God. The whole emphasis of Step Seven is on humility. It is really saying to us that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. If that degree of humility could enable us to find the grace by which such a deadly obsession could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other problem we could possibly have.

p. 76

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Today, I will remember that God has not abandoned me. I can trust
that God is leading, guiding, directing, and planning in love each detail
of my life.
--Melody Beattie

God, help me become fluent with my emotions. Help me learn to feel
whatever I feel, then regularly restore myself to that centered,
balanced place.
--Melody Beattie

Today I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher
Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs
about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that
God understands me.
--Melody Beattie

A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes
your lips will not return.
--Jewish Proverb

Enjoy life, that's what God intended.
--unknown

Live life to the fullest and make the best of what today has to offer
without worry and fear of what tomorrow might bring.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

GOD-PLAYING

"I determine who is a Jew."
--Herman Goring

Playing God. How well I remember this attitude in my drinking days
when, because I had said it, it must be so! Arrogance and pride kept
me lonely and isolated.

Today my spiritual program teaches me to "play" God in a different
way. It requires that I seek to discover the values I associate with God
and live them out in my own life. Because I believe that God is loving
and accepting, I seek to reveal these qualities in my daily associations.
It makes no sense to worship a God of truth if I continue the life of
"the liar". Belief must determine change.

As a recovering alcoholic I seek to "play" God in the joy, acceptance
and love I show to myself and other people. However, I know (oh how
I know!) that I am not God!

Let my statements always be open to the "pure light" of change.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.
Proverbs 15:1-6

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Daily Inspiration

Every decision that you make opens the door to many new opportunities and experiences. Lord, help me make the most of my opportunities because it is through them that I am able to grow.

A blessing is an explosion of joy from God that ripples through your heart and fills your mind with God's light and hope. Lord, help me speak the words of blessing when they are needed by someone who is lonely, or who is dying or who is depressed.

[bluidkiti]

July 30

Daily Reflections

GIVING BACK

. . . . he has struck something better than gold. . . . He may not see at
once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay
dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving
away the entire product.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129

My part of the Seventh Tradition means so much more than just giving
money to pay for the coffee. It means being accepted for myself by
belonging to a group. For the first time I can be responsible, because I
have a choice. I can learn the principals of working out problems in my
daily life by getting involved in the "business" of A.A. By being
self-supporting, I can give back to A.A. what A.A. gave to me! Giving
back to A.A. not only ensures my own sobriety, but allows me to buy
insurance that A.A. will be here for my grandchildren.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible
adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor
performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of
clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for
it is as yet unborn. Do I still worry too much about tomorrow?

Meditation For The Day

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen." Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there
have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing
but believing in God. And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to
you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see God, but you
can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to
victory. God's grace is available to all who have faith-not seeing, but
believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray
that I may be content with the results of my faith.

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

As Bill Sees It

Reaching for Humility, p. 211

We saw we needn't always be bludgeoned and beatened into
humility. It could come quite as much from our voluntary reaching
for it as it could from unremitting suffering.

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

"We first reach for a little humility, knowing that we shall perish
of alcoholism if we do not. After a time, though we may still
rebel somewhat, we commence to practice humility because this is
the right thing to do. Then comes the day when, finally freed in
large degree from rebellion, we practice humility because we
deeply want it as a way of life."

1. 12 & 12, p. 75
2. Letter, 1966

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Walk In Dry Places

Founders with clay feet
Sound thinking
With any organization or society, the time comes when people find fault with the founders. The faults of these pioneering leaders are examined and perhaps even used to discredit them.
Founders are only human beings, and they are likely to exhibit the human shortcomings all of us have. If these founders turn out to have clay feet, perhaps the fault is ours for idolizing them in the first place.
The real role of a founder is to lay the foundation for further building. Unless the society grows, improving over what the founder had in mind, it is not likely to survive. Its real work should be to surpass the fonder so as to be of greater service to others.
I'll be careful not to put anyone on a pedestal and then complain about his or her clay feet.

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Keep It Simple

Beauty may be said to be God's trademark in creation.---Henry Ward Beecher
Our addiction was like a veil over our heads. We saw the world as an ugly place.
We saw people as trouble. We thought our drinks and drugs were beautiful. But even they became ugly over time. Life became ugly because we had put distance between our Higher Power and ourselves.
Now we are blessed because the veil is lifted, and we are part of the healing process. We help others step into the beauty of recovery.
Our spirits are again free to seek a relationship with God and others. Through these relationships, we get our hope back. This hope help us focus on the beauty of the world. Hope is the rain that helps our souls grow.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, the world is both beautiful and ugly. For to long I only saw the ugly. Help me focus on the beauty.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll keep an eye out for the beauty recovery holds for me. Throughout the day, I'll pray for this.

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Each Day a New Beginning

It is the creative potential itself in human beings that is the image of God. --Mary Daly
God's presence is within us, now and always, even though we feel alone, alienated, scared, and forgotten much of the time. We often overlook God's presence because we don't recognize it. Our talents, our desires, and our pursuits are the evidence--all the evidence we'll ever need once we understand it--that God is present within and about us all the time.
The creative potential goes unrealized among so many of us, perhaps because we have a rigid definition of what creativity is. We are creative. We are all, each of us, creative. We must be because God's presence is here now. When we choose to let it guide us, we'll be able to offer our own unique gifts to the world of friends around us. Encouraging creativity, our own and someone else's, may mean breaking old habits. It surely does mean stepping out of our own way. It also means giving ourselves fully to the experience of the moment and trusting that God's presence will prompt the deliverance of our special gift.
In the moment lives God within us. In the moment I am creative, blessed with gifts like no other. I will stay in the moment and offer them, guided by the God within.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are gone beyond recall in a few years. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. We, who are familiar with the symptoms, see large numbers of potential alcoholics among young people everywhere. But try and get them to see it! *
* True when this book was first published. But a 1989 U.S./Canada membership survey showed about one-fifth of A.A.'s were 30 and under.

pp. 33-34

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

Steps Eight and Nine are concerned with personal relations. First, we take a look backward and try to discover where we have been at fault; next we make a vigorous attempt to repair the damage we have done; 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.

p. 77

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Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone; it has to be made, like bread,
remade all the time, made new.
--Ursula K. Le Guin

If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and the worries of
tomorrow, you have no today for which you can be thankful.
--Anonymous

God will never give you more than you & Him together can handle.
--unknown

"As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for
helping yourself, the other for helping others."
--Audrey Hepburn

AA is my "God with skin on."
--unknown

If you drink at the bad news you got today, you'll never know you
could get through it without drinking.
--unknown

"Every single act of love releases blocked energy in your body.
Unconditional love heals the body and the mind. Keep reminding
yourself of this truth until it becomes your reality. Love is a frequency
that you can choose to tune into, just as you tune into a frequency on
the radio."
--Wayne Dyer

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

WORDS

"Hear the meaning within the word."
--William Shakespeare

When I hear or see the word "sobriety", I am made to think of
relationships: my relationship with God, man and, more importantly,
myself. Sobriety means humor, hope and joy. It means a silence at the
center of my being that "wonders" at it all. Sobriety means a sexuality
that is both noble and free -- that risks rejection and criticism.
Sobriety argues against prejudice and bigotry. It builds a bridge to
"the different" and reflects on the creative variety of man. It allows
me a God as I understand Him but also respects tradition and the
ancient philosophies of the world.

Sobriety evokes a feeling that is beyond words. It echoes the spiritual
life.

Let me learn to pray beyond words. Let my relationship with You
grow in silence.

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

"Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me."
Micah 7:8

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice.
Ephesians 4:31

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with
the glory that will be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to
listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger
does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore,
get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and
humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."
James 1:19-21

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Daily Inspiration

Much can be said by the look on your face. Lord, may I be quick to smile and display an attitude of graciousness and peace so that I am able to put those around me at ease and bring out the best in them.

God's blessings come in packages both large and small. Sometimes they are expected and sometimes not. Sometimes they are recognized and sometimes not. Lord, thank you for the joy You light in me, even in times of sorrow. Please use me to bless someone else.

[bluidkiti]

July 31

Daily Reflections

A PRAYER FOR ALL SEASONS

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change.
Courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the
difference.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 125

The power of this prayer is overwhelming in that its simple beauty
parallels the A.A. Fellowship. There are times when I get stuck while
reciting it, but if I examine the section which is troubling me, I find the
answer to my problem. The first time this happened I was scared, but
now I use it as a valuable tool. By accepting life as it is, I gain serenity.
By taking action, I gain courage and I thank God for the ability to
distinguish between those situations I can work on, and those I must
turn over. All that I have now is a gift from God: my life, my
usefulness, my contentment, and this program. The serenity enables
me to continue walking forward.
Alcoholics Anonymous is the easier, softer way.

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

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

This leaves only one day - today. Anyone can fight the battles of just
one day. it is only when you and I add the burden of those two awful
eternity's, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the
experience of today that drives us mad. It is the remorse or bitterness
for something that happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow
may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time.
Am I living one day at a time?

Meditation For The Day

Give God the gift of a thankful heart. Try to see causes of
thankfulness in your everyday life. When life seems hard and troubles
crowd, then look for some reasons for thankfulness. There is nearly
always something you can be thankful for. The offering of
thanksgiving is indeed a sweet incense going up to God throughout a
busy day. Seek diligently for something to be glad and thankful about.
You will acquire in time the habit of being constantly grateful to God
for all His blessings. Each new day some new cause for joy and
gratitude will spring to your mind and you will thank God sincerely.

Prayer For The Day

I pray for a truly thankful heart. I pray that I may be constantly
reminded of causes for sincere gratitude.

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

As Bill Sees It

Faith and Action, p. 212

Your prospect's religious education and training may be far superior
to yours. In that case, he is going to wonder how you can add
anything to what he already knows.

But he will be curious to learn why his convictions have not
worked and yours seem to work so well. He may be an example of
the truth that faith alone is insufficient. To be vital, faith must be
accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.

Admit that he probably knows more about religion than you do,
but remind him that, however deep his faith and knowledge, these
qualities could not have served him very well, or he would not be
asking your help.

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

Dr. Bob did not need me for his spiritual instruction. He had
already had more of that than I. What he did need, when we first
met, was the deflation at depth and the understanding that only one
drunk can give to another. What I needed was the humility of
self-forgetfulness and the kinship with another human being of my
own kind.

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 93
2. A.A. Today, p. 10

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

Walk In Dry Places

Group Intelligence
Getting Ideas
"All of us know more than any one of us" is the saying that applies to 12 Step groups. No matter how much experience any single individual has, it's surpassed by the collective knowledge of the group.
That's a good reason in itself for drawing upon these groups. And there are others as well. We need the pool of intelligence that the groups build up over time. We need the group's strength when our own is waning.
We also learn help that comes in surprising ways. The person in the group who seems just knowledgeable may express an idea that is just what we need at the time.
The group can meet many of our needs if we give it a chance. Regular attendance at meetings will keep us in touch with the group's ideas.
I'll stay in touch today with ideas that come from members of my group. Joined together, we have lots of knowledge.

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

Keep It Simple

Less is more.---Mies Vander Rohe
Our program is simple. It has four equal parts: sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith.
Sobriety means we don't use alcohol or drugs any more.
Fellowship means we let people into our lives. We work at having a life that's rich with friends.
Service means we help when we see the need. It means knowing we have much to offer.
Faith means we believe in a loving, caring Higher Power. It means using our Higher Power as a guide in life.
Ours is a simple, easy program. Just remember sobriety, fellowship, service and faith.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I may keep my program simple. I pray for sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith.
Action for the Day: Throughout the day, I'll remind myself that less is more.

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

Each Day a New Beginning

The child is an almost universal symbol for the soul’s transformation. The child is whole, not yet divided….
When we would heal the mind… we ask this child to speak to us. ~ Susan Griffin
Was there ever a time when we did not feel divided from ourselves? Occasionally we get a glimpse of what such spiritual wholeness would be like, but most of the time we struggle with feelings of conflict, unevenness, a divided heart. Perhaps “the child” is a metaphor for a spiritual guide, like our own higher power, that can help us in our journey toward self-acceptance.
“I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent,” writes author Ashleigh Brilliant. If we can be happy with this proud, funny boast then perhaps we can stop berating ourselves for our imperfections. If we dwell on our own contradictory impulses, we give them too much importance, too much power.
Let me trust to my glimpses of harmony and wholeness and be grateful for the richness of my spirit.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our will power. If anyone questions whether he has entered this dangerous area, let him try leaving liquor alone for one year. If he is a real alcoholic and very far advanced, there is scant chance of success. In the early days of our drinking we occasionally remained sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later. Though you may be able to stop for a considerable period, you may yet be a potential alcoholic. We think few, to whom this book will appeal, can stay dry anything like a year. Some will be drunk the day after making their resolutions; most of them within a few weeks.

p. 34

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

This is a very large order. It is a task which we may perform with increasing skill, but never really finish. Learning how to live in the greatest peace, partnership, and brotherhood with all men and women, of whatever description, is a moving and fascinating adventure. Every A.A. has found that he can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake. To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts to see how many people he has hurt, and in what ways. This reopening of emotional wounds, some old, some perhaps forgotten, and some still painfully festering, will at first look like a purposeless and pointless piece of surgery. But if a willing start is made, then the great advantages of doing this will so quickly reveal themselves that the pain will be lessened as one obstacle after another melts away.

pp. 77-78

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In the rush and noise of life, as you have intervals, step within
yourselves and be still. Wait upon God and feel His good presence;
this will carry you through your day's business.
--William Penn

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
--Thomas Paine

God is gentle with me. I am gentle with myself. I am in awe of God's
power; however it is God's gentleness that moves me. God's will for
me is that which is best for me; yet God does not force anything upon
me. Patiently, God waits for me to be still, to turn within and listen.
God's gentle spirit is my foundation. When the cares of the world
seem to overwhelm me and when challenges cause me to forget the
truths that support me, God's spirit gently caresses me, uplifting
and sustaining me. Because God is gentle with me, I am gentle with myself
and others. I do not condemn or speak hurtful words to others. My
actions are ones that encourage the unfoldment of God's divine plan in
myself and others. Through gentleness and love, God's work is done.
--unknown

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies
inside of us while we live."
-- Norman Cousins

"Worry is like a rocking chair it gives you something to do but it
doesn't get you anywhere."
--Dorothy Galyean

There's as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something.
--Trammell Crow

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TEMPTATION

"What makes resisting
temptation difficult for many
people is that they don't want to
discourage it completely."
--Franklin P. Jones

Usually I am tempted because I want to be. I allow myself to get too
close to the object of my desire or I invite the problem into my life
knowing that I will not resist it. Then I use my "imperfection" as an
excuse! In this way I manipulate my spiritual program and become
dishonest.

When I first got sober, I did not allow alcohol in my house; I did not go
to bars; I did not spend time with heavy drinkers; I avoided airplanes
or places that I would associate with alcohol. This disciplined approach
to sobriety worked. If you don't invite the enemy in, you won't get
beaten up. I need to continue to remember these simple rules and not
get complacent in my sobriety.

Let me keep temptation out of my life by avoiding it.

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"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:20b

If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in
Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers
of living water."
John 7:37-38

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek
Him."
Hebrews 11:6

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

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Daily Inspiration

The more of God's love that you share, the more you receive. Lord, help me to be compassionate when someone needs an ear and encouraging when someone needs a little support.

When you are troubled, comfort someone more troubled, when lonely, reach out to one that is lonelier and when unsure, give encouragement to the weary. To care for another makes us forget our own sorrows. Lord, You comfort me. Help me now to be a comforter.