[bluidkiti]

December 18

Daily Reflections

HONESTY WITH NEWCOMERS

Tell him exactly what happened to you. Stress the spiritual
feature freely.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 93

The marvel of A.A. is that I tell only what happened to me.
I don't waste time offering advice to potential newcomers,
for if advice worked, nobody would get to A.A. All I have to
do is show what has brought me sobriety and what has changed
my life. If I fail to stress the spiritual feature of A.A.'s
program, I am being dishonest. The newcomer should not be
given a false impression of sobriety. I am sober only through
the grace of my Higher Power, and that makes it possible for
me to share with others.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Unless we have the key of faith to unlock the meaning of life,
we are lost. We do not choose faith because it is one way for
us, but because it is the only way. Many have failed and will
fail. For we cannot live victoriously without faith; we are at
sea without a rudder or an anchor, drifting on the sea of life.
Wayfarers without a home. Our souls are restless until they
find rest in God. Without faith, our lives are a meaningless
succession of unrelated happenings, without rhyme or reason.
Have I come to rest in faith?

Meditation For The Day

This vast universe around us, including this wonderful earth on
which we live, was once perhaps only a thought in the mind of
God. The nearer the astronomers and the physicists get to the
ultimate composition of all things, the nearer the universe
approaches a mathematical formula, which is thought. The
universe may be the thought of the Great Thinker. We must try
to think God's thoughts after Him. We must try to get the
guidance from the Divine Mind as to what His intention is for
the world and what part we can have in carrying out
that intention.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not worry over the limitations of the human
mind. I pray that I may live as though my mind were a reflection
of the Divine Mind.

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As Bill Sees It

Those Other People, p.268

"Just like you, I have often thought myself the victim of what other
people say and do. Yet every time I confessed the sins of such
people, especially those whose sins did not correspond exactly with
my own, I found that I only increased the total damage. My own
resentment, my self-pity would often render me well-nigh useless to
anybody.

"So, nowadays, if anyone talks of me so as to hurt, I first ask myself if
there is any truth at all in what they say. If there is none, I try to
remember that I too have had my periods of speaking bitterly of
others; that hurtful gossip is but a symptom of our remaining
emotional illness; and consequently that I must never be angry at the
unreasonableness of sick people.

"Under very trying conditions I have had, again and again, to forgive
others--also myself. Have you recently tried this?"

Letter, 1946

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Walk In Dry Places

The Fear Of Loneliness
Raising Self-Esteem
The fear of being alone brings strange results. It may cause us to cling to arrangements and relationships that are unsatisfactory or destructive. Some of us become enablers for loved ones who are still drinking; quite often this can involve putting up with abuse we shouldn't have to endure.
We endure such relationships because we fear we'll be alone and defenseless without them. We may even put up with friends who are manipulative or treacherous because we can't visualize having happier, healthier friendships.
When we recognize that we are holding on to unsatisfactory relationships for such reasons, we need to apply the program more diligently in our own lives. Usually, we need more self-esteem--a belief that we deserve satisfactory relationships. We do not have to be alone, but neither do we have to endure what amounts to abuse and rejection.
WhetherI'm with people or alone today, I'll know that all of my relationships should be satisfactory for everybody involved. I'll let my Higher Power guide me to the relationships that are right for me.

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Keep It Simple

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."Franklin D. Roosevelt
As addicts, we had lots of fear. Some of us were afraid of failure. So we didn't try to do much. Or else we tried too hard all the time. We used alcohol and other drugs to forget our fear, but it didn't go away. It got worse. Now we know we don't have to be afraid. When our lives are in the care of our Higher Power, we're safe. Faith is the cure for out fear. But still, fear keeps creeping back inside us. That's okay. It's normal. There is so much that's new in our sober life! We don't know what will happen next. It's hard to always remember to trust our Higher Power. It's hard to always do what our Higher Power says. It's hard to always have faith. We have to practice turning our fear over to our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, be with me when I'm afraid. Help me remember to have faith to believe in You, even when my fear tells me not to.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll notice my fear and pray each time get afraid.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Destruction. Crashing realities exploding in imperfect landings. Ouch. It's my heart that's breaking, for these have been my fantasies and my world.
--Mary Casey
We frequently aren't given what we want--whether it's a particular job, a certain relationship, a special talent. But we are always given exactly what we need at the moment. None of us can see what tomorrow is designed to bring, and our fantasies are always tied to a future moment. Our fantasies seldom correlate with the real conditions that are necessary to our continued spiritual growth.
Fantasies are purposeful. They give us goals to strive for, directions to move in. They are never as far-sighted as the goals our higher power has in store for us, though. We have far greater gifts than we are aware of, and we are being pushed to develop them at the very times when it seems our world is crashing down.
We can cherish our fantasies--but let them go. Our real purpose in life far exceeds our fondest dreams. The Steps have given us the tools to make God's plan for us a reality.
How limited is my vision, my dreams. If one of mine is dashed today, I will rest assured that an even better one will present itself, if I but let it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"
That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last.
It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!

p. 12

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Vicious Cycle

How it finally broke a Southerner's obstinacy and destined this salesman to start A.A. at Philadelphia.

However, here I probably took my first step toward my coming alcoholism by developing a terrific aversion to all churches and established religions. At this school we had Bible readings before each meal, and church services four times on Sunday, and I became so rebellious at this time that I swore i would never join or go to any church, except for weddings or for funerals.

pp. 221-222

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Two - "For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience."

Now comes the election. If the founder and his friends have served well, they may - to their surprise - be reinstated for a time. If, however, they have heavily resisted the rising tide of democracy, they may be summarily beached. In either case, the group now has a so-called rotating committee, very sharply limited in its authority. In no sense whatever can its members govern or direct the group. They are servants. Theirs is the sometimes thankless privilege of doing the group's chores. Headed by the chairman, they look after public relations and arrange meetings. Their treasurer, strictly accountable, takes money from the hat that is passed, banks it, pays the rent and other bills, and makes a regular report at business meetings. The secretary sees that literature is on the table, looks after the phone-answering service, answers the mail, and sends out notices of meetings. Such are the simple services that enable the group to function. the committee gives no spiritual advice, judges no one's conduct, issues no orders. Every one of them may be promptly eliminated at the next election if they try this. And so they make the belated discovery that they are really servants, not senators. These are universal experiences. Thus throughout A.A. does the group conscience decree the terms upon which its leaders shall serve.

p. 134

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Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it is only given to
us moment by moment."
--Amelia Barr

Pain is never permanent.
--Saint Theresa of Avila

Meetings: A checkup from the neck up.
--unknown

Don't give up before the miracle happens.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FREEDOM

"You are free and that is why
you are lost."
-- Franz Kafka

Part of my understanding of spirituality is that we have many choices and we live in
moments of "not knowing". Part of being human is that we have feelings of being lost.
These feelings can lead to fear and loneliness or they can be seen as the essence of
man's risk and adventure. With freedom comes daily uncertainties; nothing is
predestined or made to happen God is in the choice. Herein lies true greatness. The
fact is that we do not have all the answers. We are not sure of the results. The joys
are mingled with the pain and sorrows such is the divinity of life. And yet still we
choose to live!

Sobriety is accepting the reality of this uncertain life. My responsibility is accepting
this freedom and making a daily choice not to drink.

May I accept my "lostness" until I return home to You.

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"...behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of
David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his
people from their sins."
Luke 1:20-21

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love, and His wonderful deeds for men.
Psalm 107:15

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
Psalm 107:19

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Daily Inspiration

If you are not happy with what you have, how will you be happy with what you want to have? Lord, may I appreciate the good things in my life and refuse to feel sorry for myself or compare myself to others.

Many joys come from the simple things. Lord, open my eyes that I may see the wonders in my life and take the time to enjoy them.