[bluidkiti]

April 21

Daily Reflections

CULTIVATING FAITH

"I don't think we can do anything very well in this world
unless we practice it. And I don't believe we do A.A. too
well unless we practice it. . . . We should practice . . .
acquiring the spirit of service. We should attempt to
acquire some faith, which isn't easily done, especially
for the person who has always been very materialistic,
following the standards of society today. But I think
faith can be acquired; it can be acquired slowly; it has
to be cultivated. That was not easy for me, and I assume
that it is difficult for everyone else . . . . "
DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS, pp. 307-08

Fear is often the force that prevents me from acquiring
and cultivating the power of faith. Fear blocks my
appreciation of beauty, tolerance, forgiveness, service,
and serenity.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

After we've been in A.A. for a while, we find out that if
we're going to stay sober, we have to be humble people. The
men and women in A.A. who have achieved sobriety are all
humble people. When I stop to think that but for the grace
of God I might be drunk right now, I can't help feeling
humble. Gratitude to God for His grace makes me humble. When
I think of the kind of person I was not so long ago, when I
think of the person I left behind me, I have nothing to be
proud of. Am I grateful and humble?

Meditation For The Day

I must arise from the death of sin and selfishness and put
on a new life of integrity. All the old sins and temptations
must be laid in the grave and a new existence rise from the
ashes. Yesterday is gone. All my sins are forgiven if I am
honestly trying to do God's will today. Today is here, the
time of resurrection and renewal. I must start now, today,
to build a new life of complete faith and trust in God and
a determination to do His will in all things.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may share in making the world a better place
to live in. I pray that I may do what I can to bring
goodness a little nearer to the earth.

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As Bill Sees It

Complete Security?, p. 112

Upon entering A.A., the spectacle of years of waste threw us into
panic. Financial importance was no longer our principal aim; we now
clamored for material security.

Even when we were re-established in our business, terrible fears
often continued to haunt us. This made us misers and penny-pinchers
all over again. Complete financial security we must have--or else.

We forgot that most alcoholics in A.A. have an earning power
considerably above average; we forgot the immense good will of our
brother A.A.'s who were only too eager to help us to better jobs
when we deserved them; we forgot the actual or potential financial
insecurity of every human being in the world. And, worst of all, we
forgot God. In money matters we had faith only in ourselves, and not
too much of that.

12 & 12, pp. 120-121

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Walk in Dry Places

The Good that I do____ Action
Why do we hold back when we're offered the opportunity to help others or to do something unusually kind? Why is it that many people are reluctant to give of themselves unless rewarded with recognition or praise?
We may hold back because we do not understand that any good action always brings its own reward. Despite Shakespeare's timeless saying, the good we do is not "interred with our bones"… it does survive, now and in the future.
We've learned in Twelve Step programs that it's not really satisfying to work only for recognition and praise. There also has to be a confident feeling that our efforts are contributing to a large good with a worthwhile purpose. That's what makes AA so special to people who are completely devoted to it… we know that anything done for AA makes the world a better place.
We should also know that those who can help others are fortunate, well-favored people. Others may want to help, but lack the tools. We have the tools to give the help that changes lives---- and the world.
The good that I do today is a treasure I'll always possess. I need not fear the act of letting my higher self take over and guide me.

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Keep It Simple

One of the most important parts of the AA program is to give our drinking problem to God honestly and fully… Twenty-Four Hour a Day, March 1
We don’t handle our drinking or other drug problem. We don’t take care of this problem by ourselves. We turn our problem over to God as we understand Him. We need to be very clear about this. We can’t handle our drinking or other drug problem! Our Higher Power keeps us sober through the Steps and the fellowship of the program.
Our job is to hand over our problem to our Higher Power. We do this daily by acting like sober people.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I know I can’t handle drinking and using other drugs. I turn my problem over to you. Please take from me the urge to drink or use.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll remember why I can’t handle or take care of my problem with alcohol or other drugs. And I’ll remember why my Higher Power can.

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Each Day a New Beginning

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward. --Margaret Fairless Barber
When we contemplate last month, last year, the period of time just before we came into this Twelve Step program, we can see many changes, good changes, have come our way. But we take the changes for granted sometimes. Or maybe we fail to reflect on them at all. We get caught up in the turmoil of the present, believing it will last forever, forgetting that yesterday's turmoil taught us much that we needed to know.
The past, for most of us, was rife with pain. But now we have hope. We have gained on life. We may be back in the good graces of our family. Perhaps we have patched up some failed relationships. A career has beckoned to us. Good experiences have come to pass. But we aren't free of difficulties. They need not get us down again. Hindsight assures us that this, too, will pass. It also guarantees that we will move forward, just as we have again and again, if we have but faith.
I will take this moment to look back at last year or the last binge. I can rest assured that I am moving forward. I will continue to do so.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 5 - HOW IT WORKS

The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we are almost always in collision with something or somebody, even though our motives are good. Most people try to live by self-propulsion. Each person is like an actor who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way. If his arrangements would only stay put, if only people would do as he wished, the show would be great. Everybody, including himself, would be pleased. Life would be wonderful. In trying to make these arrangements our actor may sometimes be quite virtuous. He may be kind, considerate, patient, generous; even modest and self-sacrificing. On the other hand, he may be mean, egotistical, selfish and dishonest. But, as with most humans, he is more likely to have varied traits.

pp. 60-61

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Keys Of The Kingdom

This worldly lady helped to develop A.A. in Chicago and thus passed her keys to many.

"But, of course," he continued, "eventually the alcoholic loses all of his capacities as his disease gets progressively worse, and this is a tragedy that is painful to watch: the disintegration of a sound mind and body."

p. 272

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Foreword

This starting expansion brought with it very severe growing pains. Proof that alcoholics could recover had been made. But it was by no means sure that such great numbers of yet erratic people could live and work together with harmony and good effect.

pp. 17-18

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The only thing you get from sitting on the pity pot is a ring around
your butt and nobody to show it to!
--Anonymous

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."
--John Wooden

"Simmering resentment saps energy."
--Nido Qubein

"Pain is an experience. Suffering is a choice."
--Jeff Alexander

Open to a larger, more abundant source. That source is God. And
God's supply is the universe. When we look to God and the universe, we
open ourselves to a never-ending supply of what we need--love, energy,
teaching, support, information, guidance, and nurturing. Certain people
and places may help us along the way, but God is our source for love.
--Melody Beattie

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

VALUES

"A man who dares to waste one
hour of time has not discovered
the value of life."
--Charles Darwin

Life is not to be wasted. Time is not to be wasted. Friends, relationships,
opportunities are not to be wasted. Why? Because as vulnerable human
beings we do not have the ultimate control of our lives and none of us
know when our lives will end, when we shall die, when time and
opportunity will be no more! Life is too precious to waste.

During my years as an addict I did not value my life. I did not value time.
I did not value friends and relationships. Nothing was valued except the
alcohol! Life was meaningless. God was absent and I felt nothing - just a
"dullness" at the center of my being. Today this is not the case. Through
my pain I have found the value of life and I have discovered a God as I
understand Him.

God, let me value what I have while I have it.

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"Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes
to Him must believe that He exists, and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift
you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for
you.
1 Peter 5:6-7

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Daily Inspiration

Don't allow the difficult people around you to get you down. Lord, may I not make other people's problems my own and take on things that I can't do anything about anyway.

There is light behind every shadow. Lord, You are the light of the world. May I never forget to turn to You when my life fills with shadows.

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NA Just For Today

Fear

"We have found that we had no choice except to completely change our old ways of thinking or go back to using."
Basic Text, p. 21

Many of us find that our old ways of thinking were dominated by fear. We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to get our drugs or that there wouldn't be enough. We feared discovery, arrest, and incarceration. Further down the list were fears of financial problems, homelessness, overdose, and illness. And our fear controlled our actions.

The early days of recovery weren't a great deal different for many of us; then, too, fear dominated our thinking. "What if staying clean hurts too much?" we asked ourselves. "What if I can't make it? What if the people in NA don't like me? What if NA doesn't work?" The fear behind these thoughts can still control our behavior, keeping us from taking the risks necessary to stay clean and grow. It may seem easier to resign ourselves to certain failure, giving up before we start, than to risk everything on a slim hope. But that kind of thinking leads only to relapse.

To stay clean, we must find the willingness to change our old ways of thinking. What has worked for other addicts can work for us—but we must be willing to try it. We must trade in our old cynical doubts for new affirmations of hope. When we do, we'll find it's worth the risk.

Just for today: I pray for the willingness to change my old ways of thinking, and for the ability to overcome my fears.
pg. 115

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
In grief, healing helps us make peace with the meaning of death, which cannot be understood except as an unknown

part of life. --Alla Bozarth-Campbell
It is a sad occasion when we must say goodbye to a loved one or pet who has died. But grief is the only way we can

come to understand our losses, and sharing grief helps us experience it more fully.
Perhaps we wish to grieve for something else we've lost, like fading youth, a job, a possession, or a habit we had come

to enjoy. It's natural to feel grief over things like this, too.
We can share stories and good memories with other grievers, and give free reign to our tears. Sometimes it seems the

more we talk, the sadder we feel about our losses, but when we share these feelings with others, we turn our losses

into gain. We heal ourselves, pay tribute to those we grieve for, and share an intimate sense of loss with someone else.
Do I have grief to share?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The first skill needed for the Inner Game is called "letting it happen." This means gradually building a trust in the innate

ability of your body to learn and to perform. --W. Timothy Gallwey
A strange and intriguing mystery confronts us in the Twelve Steps. We are mending our ways; we are becoming

accountable; we are striving to do what is right, yet we are learning to let go. This seems like a contradiction of logic, but

it leads us to a spiritual awakening.
We are becoming like the accomplished tennis player who has practiced diligently to develop every detail of his skill. Yet

when he is playing the game, he cannot focus on control. He must get his ego out of the way and let himself go. It is in

letting go that he rises to his highest level of fulfillment. Today we will do what we must. We can make the choices we

are faced with. Then we allow ourselves to be carried along by our Higher Power to complete and fulfill the process.
I will look for opportunities to let it happen today.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of

looking forward. --Margaret Fairless Barber
When we contemplate last month, last year, the period of time just before we came into this Twelve Step program, we

can see many changes, good changes, have come our way. But we take the changes for granted sometimes. Or

maybe we fail to reflect on them at all. We get caught up in the turmoil of the present, believing it will last forever,

forgetting that yesterday's turmoil taught us much that we needed to know.
The past, for most of us, was rife with pain. But now we have hope. We have gained on life. We may be back in the

good graces of our family. Perhaps we have patched up some failed relationships. A career has beckoned to us. Good

experiences have come to pass. But we aren't free of difficulties. They need not get us down again. Hindsight assures

us that this, too, will pass. It also guarantees that we will move forward, just as we have again and again, if we have but

faith.
I will take this moment to look back at last year or the last binge. I can rest assured that I am moving forward. I will

continue to do so.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Waiting
Wait. If the time is not right, the way is not clear, the answer or decision not consistent, wait.
We may feel a sense of urgency. We may want to resolve the issue by doing something - anything now, but that action

is not in our best interest.
Living with confusion or unsolved problems is difficult. It is easier to resolve things. But making a decision too soon,

doing something before its time, means we may have to go back and redo it.
If the time is not right, wait. If the way is not clear, do not plunge forward. If the answer or decision feels muddy, wait.
In this new way of life, there is a Guiding Force. We do not ever have to move too soon or move out of harmony.

Waiting is an action - a positive, forceful action.
Often, waiting is a God guided action, one with as much power as a decision, and more power than an urgent, ill timed

decision.
We do not have to pressure ourselves by insisting that we do or know something before its time. When it is time, we

will know. We will move into that time naturally and harmoniously. We will have peace and consistency. We will feel

empowered in a way we do not feel today.
Deal with the panic, the urgency, and the fear; do not let them control or dictate decisions.
Waiting isn't easy. It isn't fun. But waiting is often necessary to get what we want. It is not dead time; it is not downtime.

The answer will come. The power will come. The time will come. And it will be right.
Today, I will wait, if waiting is the action I need in order to take care of myself. I will know that I am taking a positive,

forceful action by waiting until the time is right. God, help me let go of my fear, urgency, and panic. Help me learn the art

of waiting until the time is right. Help me learn timing. --Melody Beattie


It feels terrific letting go of perfection as my goal. As I let go of my judgments, all parts of me come together and I feel complete. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart

Trust What You Know

As you grow, as you evolve, as you continue on this journey, you’ll discover many special abilities, gifts, and powers. One is an increased sense of knowingness. We will begin to understand events and people on a level much deeper than we experienced before.

We will begin to know the feeling of a person, place, or thing. We will begin to feel its energy, not just its matter or physical form. We’ll talk to a person for a while and know if that person feels trapped, feels like a victim, or feels free. We’ll know if a place holds energy that’s good for us. Or we’ll know that the energy isn’t right for us, doesn’t currently complement our needs. We won’t judge. We’ll just know. And we’ll know what to do.

Powers appear when we open the heart. We find the powers of love, comfort, faith, joy. There are other powers,too, that come along the way. One of these is the quiet power of trusting what we know.

Open your heart. Let it show you what it knows. Learn to trust what you know. You’re wiser than you think.

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More Language Of Letting Go

Discern what’s important

Above all, I had learned to distinguish what was important in life and what was not. The important was often a handful of water, sometimes a protected bivouac site, a book, a conversation.
– Reinhold Messner, Free Spirit

A friend of mine, desiring to pursue a life of adventure by joining the skydiving community, quit a good job, sold all of his belongings, and moved on to an airport with a couple of duffle bags and a parachute. Today, he has realized his dream. He’s a professional sky diver, married, and living in a decent home close to his dream job– jumping out of airplanes. “I’ll never get rich doing this,” he explains. “But I get to wake up every day knowing that I get to do exactly what I want to do. And even more importantly, my years as a drop-zone bum taught me about whay was truly important, and what’s not.”

We get attached to our things. We fuss when someone spills soda on the couch, get angry over the slightest ding on our leased Honda, and make up for lost time with loved ones by bringing them more things.

Look closely at your life. Decide what’s really important to you. What would you genuinely miss, if you didn’t have it? What would you perhaps not even notice, if it was missing from your life? What might you be better off without?

Learn to distinguish between the essential and that which you don’t really need. You might find, like my friend, that you’d be happier with two duffel bags and a dream than you would be with a garage full of clutter that never gets used.

God, grant me the strength to pursue my dreams. Help me cut through the clutter and discover what’s truly important for me and my family.

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In God’s Care

Hindsight is an exact science.
~~Guy Bellamy

Sometimes we may think life would be much easier if we new just what to expect when we’re trying something new or making important plans. It’s true we wouldn’t have to deal with the uncertainty of life, but neither would we have the thrill of anticipation that comes with change.

How or life evolves over time, we entrust to God. God is here today, meeting our needs in ways we can’t predict. Our role is simply to trust and listen to our Higher Power and choose our actions accordingly. We no longer have to choose the thoughts and behaviors that foster anxiety.

When we quiet our inner dialogue, we’re open to what God wills for us and are available for the experiences that provide for our growth. We’ll find ourselves relying less on hindsight and more on our intuitive grasp of the moment. We’ll know the best way to proceed in every circumstance if we look to God for direction.

Today I will depend less on hindsight and trying to predict the future, and more on pausing to listen to my Higher Power.

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Acting Together for Good
Cooperation

Cooperation seems simple: working together toward a common goal for the benefit of all involved. But amazingly it can be quite challenging, even when we have so many successful examples all around us. Human society is based upon the concept of cooperation, but finding a balance to ensure the good of all members of society is difficult. In nature, symbiotic relationships form between unlikely allies: a bee and a flower, a bird and a rhinoceros, small fish and sharks. Yet nature also shows us instances of constant competition in which only the strongest survive. Given the choice, it seems most people would choose the more peaceful path of cooperation. Intellectually, we know that together we can create something greater than what one could do alone, but cooperation still seems to be one of the greatest challenges people face. We don’t always agree on how goals can be reached. Our priorities may be different, or our methods, but in the end, cooperation offers the best chance fo! r success.

So how can we learn to cooperate with each other? We can gain greater perspective by trying to understand one another’s point of view, perhaps even putting ourselves in their place. We can search for commonalities as well as differences, and look for the good in different approaches. There is always more than one way of doing things, and some approaches are better suited for certain situations than others. All this is easier when we let go of the necessity to be right and to call others wrong. More important, we must believe that there is a solution that benefits all involved, not just one side.

The results of cooperation can be as simple as effortlessly getting everyone in your household to their appointments to large-scale social shifts to changing minds and hearts or policies that affect the future. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Can I be wholeheartedly grateful for today? If so, I’m opening doors to more and more abundant good. What if I can’t be thankful for the “rain” that has fallen in my life — for the so-called bad times? What then? I can begin by giving thanks for all the sunshine I can remember, and for every blessing that ha come my way. Perhaps then I’ll be able to look back over the rainy periods of my life with new vision, seeing them as necessary; perhaps then, hidden blessings I’ve overlooked will come to my attention. Am I Grateful for all of life — both the sunshine and the rain?

Today I Pray

May I be grateful for all that has happened to me, good an bad. Bad helps to define good. Sorrow intensifies joy. Humility brings spirituality. Disease turns health into a a paradise. Loneliness makes love both human and Divine, the greatest gift of all. I thank God for the contrasts which have made me know Him better.

Today I Will Remember

I am grateful for the whole of life.

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One More Day

To know
That which lies before us in daily life,
Is the prime wisdom.
– John Milton

It isn’t easy becoming an adult. We have to pay the dues as we go along the path of life. As long as we have had joy and suffering, we may as well learn to use our well-earned adult perspective. After all, look how hard we worked to get here!

Enjoyment is still there, free for the taking. All the intangibles we enjoyed before are still there – love, honor, trust. We alone can decide, as we sift through the happenings of our days, whether to call our lives wreckage or success, whether to create delight or sorrow. A Change in circumstances or health doesn’t mean the end of joyful living. Such changes will wisely, with greater appreciation and understanding.

I will find and accept the gift of joyful living today.

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One Day At A Time

~ RELIGION ~

Religion is for people who don't want to go to hell.
Program is for people who have already been there.
Unknown

I was religious when I came into program and I was ready and willing to tell everyone what the "true" faith was. I went to church every Sunday. I was a religion teacher. I knew it all.

The truth is I didn't know ANYTHING. It didn't take long for me to begin to question my own religiosity. In fact, it began at Steps two and three. Before long, I wondered if there was a God at all. If there was, is God a He, a She or an It? Then I decided, yes there was a God, but did He/She/It care about me?

The real truth is God is who God needs to be to work through me. There's no right or wrong answer to my questions. What I DO know is that God loves me just the way I am.

The greatest gift my Higher Power gave me came on the day I looked up to "heaven" and told God, "I don't believe in You!" And that still, quiet voice inside of me asked, "Then to Whom are you speaking?"

One Day at a Time . . .
I don't have to have theological "proof" that there is a Power greater than myself. I just need to believe.
~ Debbie ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their services are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in following his case afterward. - Pg. 133 - The Family Afterward

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Your moods, your attitudes, and thoughts will unfold in ways that baffle you. Are you angry, resentful, frustrated or afraid now that you are committed to recovery? Probably. Despite this, you will experience moments of clarity when you realize there is Divine Order. Unexpectedly, confusion may be lifted for greater understanding, then just as quickly, you may feel baffled once again by your loss. Cling to the moments of clarity.

My Spiritual Source is preparing my way and restoring order to my world even when I feel out of control.

I Can Lift My Own Spirits

I will lift my own spirits today. I will look for that place in me that is still and serene, that isn't just constantly in response mode. Somewhere there is a constant, meditative place where the little and even the even big concerns of the day slip away and become less important. A place where life is just life and I can breathe in and out of a place of inner calm. Life doesn't have to prove itself to me today for me to treasure it. It is enough that I am here, that I have my freedom of thought and movement. I will appreciate the life I have.

I am connected with the divine

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

This is a 'We' program, not a 'Me' program. We do this together. Look at our steps. They all say 'We admitted' or 'We came to believe. Doing it together makes us stronger and less likely to fool ourselves with dysfunctional ways of thinking.

This is a self-help program that I can't do by myself.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Work the program hard; life is easy. Work the program easy; life is hard.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It feels terrific letting go of perfection as my goal. As I let go of my judgments, all parts of me come together and I feel complete.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Put the cork in the bottle and let your conscience be your guide. - Anon.