DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
SEEDS OF FAITH
Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing. We
can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34
As a child I constantly questioned the existence of God. To a
"scientific thinker" like me, no answer could withstand a thorough
dissection, until a very patient woman finally said to me, "You must
have faith." With that simple statement, the seeds of my recovery
were sown!
Today, as I practice my recovery -- cutting back the weeds of
alcoholism -- slowly I am letting those early seeds of faith to grow and
bloom. Each day of recovery, of ardent gardening, brings the Higher
Power of my understanding more fully into my life. My God has
always been with me through faith, but it is my responsibility to have
the willingness to accept His presence.
I ask God to grant me the willingness to do His will.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
We in A.A. are offering a kind of psychological program as well as a spiritual one. First, people must be mentally able to receive it. They must have made up their minds that they want to quit drinking, and they must be willing to do something about it. Their confidence must be obtained. We must show them that we are their friends and really desire to help them. When we have their confidence, they will listen to us. Then the A.A. fellowship is a kind of group therapy. Newcomers need the fellowship of other alcoholics who understand their problem because they have had it themselves. Individuals must learn to re-educate their minds. They must learn to think differently. Do I do my best to give mental help?
Meditation for the Day
"And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee." It is the flow of life eternal through spirit, mind, and body that cleanses, heals, restores, and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His spirit helping you. All that is done without God's spirit is passing. All that is done with God's spirit is life eternal.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in the stream of eternal life. I pray that I may be cleansed and healed by the Eternal Spirit.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
When is a secret not a secret?
Page 226
"Addicts tend to live secret lives...It is a great relief to get rid of all our secrets and to share the burden of our past."
Basic Text, p. 33
We've heard it said that "we're as sick as our secrets." What do we keep secret, and why?
We keep secret those things that cause us shame. We may hold onto such things because we don't want to surrender them. Yet if they're causing us shame, wouldn't we live more easily with ourselves if we were rid of them?
Some of us hold onto the things that cause us shame for another reason. It's not that we don't want to be rid of them; we just don't believe we can be rid of them. They've plagued us for so long, and we've tried so many times to rid ourselves of them, that we've stopped hoping for relief. Yet still they shame us, and still we keep them secret.
We need to remember who we are: recovering addicts. We who tried so long to keep our drug use a secret have found freedom from the obsession and compulsion to use. Though many of us enjoyed using right to the end, we sought recovery anyway. We just couldn't stand the toll our using was taking on us. When we admitted our powerlessness and sought help from others, the burden of our secret was lifted from us.
The same principle applies to whatever secrets may burden us. Yes, we're as sick as our secrets. Only when our secrets stop being secret can we begin to find relief from those things that cause us shame.
Just for Today: My secrets can make me sick only as long as they stay secret. Today, I will talk with my sponsor about my secrets.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
It takes a BIG person to accept full responsibility for their own happiness.
It takes an even bigger person to accept full responsibility for their own unhappiness.
But it takes a spiritual giant who, upon realizing any degree of unhappiness, decides to be the change they seek, in spite of having to endure the "same old, same old" that may still linger on for awhile.
~~The Universe
The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.
~Pierre Corneille (thanks Gene H.)
***************************************
DR. PAUL O.
There is More to Quitting Drinking Than Quitting Drinking
(Audio Book)
Introduction
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
AA CDs Literature and tapes
https://www.mediafire.com/sobrietyfirst
You Can’t Rush Trust
His wife had been away on a four-day business trip
She’d done the same thing many times and each time he would slip
Alone the bottle called to him and he’d answer the call
Buy this time he resisted, ‘twas determined not to fall
He had not had a drink for almost 30 hard fought days
And in his mind his abstinence would surely bring him praise
He told his wife that he stayed dry the whole time she was gone
Instead of praise, she doubted him, accused him of a con
She said you’ve lied so many times, I really can’t believe
A thing you say, heard it before, the many tales you’ve weaved
No matter how he tried to say “this time it’s really true”
She shook her head, went off to bed, and left him feeling blue
He shared this at a meeting, still hurting from its sting
Deep down he knew he’d earned her wrath, results his drinking brings
He sought advise from some of us, to get her to believe
That this time he was serious, afraid that she might leave
His story’s not uncommon, we’ve all known our share of doubt
From those who care the most for us, who try to figure out
If we had reached THE bottom, were committed to AA
Not just attend the meetings, really live the AA way
Recovery from alcohol takes time and dedication
We start out beat, alone, confused, estranged from our relations
But our program is a process, not an overnight repair
The same holds true for those we love, the ones that really care
Time takes time, the saying goes, and for us that holds true
We can’t expect our families not to doubt the things we do
They’ve heard us promise many times that this will be the last
They try and wish that it is true, then get their wishes smashed
Our words cannot convince them to believe that we have changed
Only time and how we act can show we’re not the same
As what we used to be when alcohol controlled our being
Talk is cheap, to gain their trust, the proof is in the seeing
Forgiveness comes more quickly; trust is something we must earn
Skeptical relations fear they someday may get burned
It’s up to us to show we’ve changed, for some it may take years
All we can do is stay the course, alleviate those fears
Once we KNOW that we’re all in, our drinking days are through
We let the program be our guide, good actions to accrue
And as they see us living free their thinking will adjust
Be patient, it will come to pass, you just cannot rush trust.
Larry R.
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
If you turn your light inwardly, you will find what is esoteric within you.
-The Sutra of Hui Neng
Native American
"Telling our lives is important for those who come after as, for those who will see our experience as part of their own historical struggle."
--Linda Hogan, CHICKASAW
How important it is for us to support one another. How important it is for us to know our culture and to share our experiences with one another. How powerful it is to be authentic. How important it is to hold no secrets. I am as sick as my secrets.
Grandfather, allow me today to be willing to share with my brother and sister. Let my eyes see You in their eyes. Let me not judge them but only love them. Grandfather, help me, for I am Your humble servant.
Keep It Simple
Let him that would move the world, first move himself. Socrates
Before recovery, most of us were big talkers. The Twelve Steps are for doers, not talkers. In the Steps we find action words: admitted, humbly asked, made direct amends, continued to take personal inventory. All these words speak of action, of doing. Recovery is about action. It's for doers.
An action may be very simple. Such as going to a meeting early to set up chairs. Or it could be helping a neighbor. The program teaches that spirituality active, we grow and change.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me movement. Give me spiritual movement. Help me be a doer, not just a talker. Teach me to work my program.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll remember the words actions go together.
Big Book
Chapter 11 A Vision For You (pg 152 & top 153)
We have shown how we got out from under. You say, "Yes, I’m willing. But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see? I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?"
Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find the fellowship, and so will you.
"How is that to come about?" you ask. "Where am I to find these people?"
You are going to meet these new friends in your own community. Near you, alcoholics are dying helplessly like people in a sinking ship. If you live in a large place, there are hundreds. High and low, rich and poor, these are future fellows of Alcoholics Anonymous. Among them you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your common journey. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may survive and rediscover life. You will learn the full meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
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