August 6th

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

DRIVEN

Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and

self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.

ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS , p. 62

My selfishness was the driving force behind my drinking. I drank to

celebrate success and I drank to drown my sorrows. Humility is the

answer. I learn to turn my will and my life over to the care of God. My sponsor tells me that service keeps me sober. Today I ask myself: Have I sought knowledge of God's will for me? Have I done service for my A. A. group?

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Psychologists are turning to religion because just knowing about

ourselves is not enough. We need the added dynamic of faith in a

power outside of ourselves on which we can rely. Books on psychology

and psychiatric treatments are not enough without the strength that

comes from faith in God. And clergy and rabbis are turning to

psychology because faith is an act of the mind and will. Religion must

be presented in psychological terms to some extent in order to satisfy

the modern person. Faith must be built largely on our own

psychological experience. Have I taken what I need from both

psychology and religion when I live the A.A. way?

Meditation For The Day

Refilling with the spirit is something you need every day. For this

refilling with the spirit, you need these times of quiet communion,

away, alone, without noise, without activity. You need this dwelling

apart, this shutting yourself away in the very secret place of your

being, away alone with your Maker. >From these times of communion

you come forth with new power. This refilling is the best preparation

for effective work. When you are spiritually filled, there is no work

too hard for you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be daily refilled with the right spirit. I pray that I

may be full of the joy of true living.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

The joy within

Page 228

"Since the beginning of our recovery, we have found that joy doesn't come from material things but from within ourselves."

Basic Text, p. 103

Some of us came to Narcotics Anonymous impoverished by our disease. Everything we'd owned had been lost to our addiction. Once we got clean, we put all our energy into recovering our material possessions, only to feel even more dissatisfied with our lives than before.

Other members have sought to ease their emotional pain with material things. A potential date has rejected us? Let's buy something. The dog has died? Let's go to the mall. Problem is, emotional fulfillment can't be bought, not even on an easy installment plan.

There's nothing inherently wrong with material things. They can make life more convenient or more luxurious, but they can't fix us. Where, then, can true joy be found? We know; the answer is within ourselves.

When have we found joy? When we've offered ourselves in service to others, without expectation of reward. We've found true warmth in the fellowship of others-not only in NA, but in our families, our relationships, and our communities. And we've found the surest source of satisfaction in our conscious contact with our God. Inner peace, a sure sense of direction, and emotional security do not come from material things, but from within.

Just for Today: True joy can't be bought. I will seek my joy in service, in fellowship, in my Higher Power - I will seek within.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

Forward Momentum

The Train as Metaphor

People can be like trains, making unscheduled stops along the way, but inevitably always arriving at our proper destination.

The rails that crisscross the countryside and cut through cities have long captured people’s imaginations. Just the idea of taking a ride on a luxury train, an express commuter line, or a cargo train can often evoke a sense of freedom, adventure, or romance. Trains are like people in that they must inevitably arrive at their destinations. They make scheduled and unscheduled stops along the way and move at their different speeds. Some trains can travel for hours and are mindful of only a single destination; other trains meander from busy stop to busy stop. The route and purpose of any train may change as the years go by.

Our lives stretch out in front and behind us like train tracks, and we are the train, its passengers, and the engineer. The way you choose to live your life and the goals you are working toward are the route and destinations you have chosen. Like a passenger riding a train, you have the choice to get on and off, find new routes, pick new places to visit, or just stop and enjoy the view for awhile. Perhaps you like to move quickly through life as if you were an express train. Or maybe, like a commuter passenger, you like taking the same routes over and over again. You may even want to stop just riding along and choose a different direction you’d like you’re life to take.

If you have examined the tracks of your life and are feeling unsatisfied, you may want to explore changes you could make to find a more fulfilling path to follow. Perhaps you’d like to slow down a little bit more and take a windier path rather than just traveling down the straight and narrow. Or maybe, you’d like to experience your life more as an adventure rather than just a ride that gets you where you need to go. Changing your route can sometimes give you a chance to “get on the right track.” You may even discover that the something new you’ve been waiting for is just around the bend.

"A misty morning does not signify a cloudy day."

--Ancient proverb

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.

W. Clement Stone

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Compassion is the best healer.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Ultimate Healing

Native American

"We have to have one mind for the Four Directions. Until we reach that one mind, we cannot be filled with understanding.... The Creator will not answer until you have just one mind, just like if you have one person."

--Grandfather William Commanda, ALGONQUIN

The Elders have taught us to balance our lives emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. If I am out of control emotionally, I get angry, doubtful or erratic, I am out of balance. If I trigger bad mental pictures of my brothers and sisters, I am out of balance. If I get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, I am out of balance physically. If I don't pray and talk to the Creator daily, I am out of balance spiritually. To be centered, I must be in balance. The Creator talks to me in the quiet and still place. So if I get angry, what I should do first is to pause and get still so I can hear the guidance of the Grandfathers.

Oh Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the winds, protect and keep me safe today - hear my prayers.

Keep It Simple

Fear of people and economic insecurity will leave you. --- Alcoholics Anonymous

We don't have to fear people. They can't wreck our spirit. We don't have to

fear money problems. We won't have to starve to death. Our Higher Power

will lead us on a safe path through life.

Our Higher power wants us to be safe, happy, and wise. Our Higher power

wants us to feel loved.

We'll learn to trust our Higher Power. And we'll learn to trust the

happiness we find in our new way of life. People may still hurt us, but

there will be much more love to carry us through.

Prayer For the Day: Higher Power, I know You protect me and care for me. Help me stop worrying.

Action for the Day: Today, I'll list four fears I have. I will talk with my sponsor about how to turn these over to my Higher Power.

Big Book

Chapter 11 A Vision For You (pg 154 & top 155)

Bitterly discouraged, he found himself in a strange place, discredited and almost broke. Still physically weak, and sober but a few months, he saw that his predicament was dangerous. He wanted so much to talk with someone, but whom?

One dismal afternoon he paced a hotel lobby wondering how his bill was to be paid. At the end of the room stood a glass covered directory of local churches. Down the lobby a door opened into an attractive bar. He could see the gay crowd inside. In there he would find companionship and release. Unless he took some drinks, he might not have the courage to scrape an acquaintance and would have a lonely week-end.

Of course he couldn’t drink, but why not sit hopefully at a table, a bottle of ginger ale before him? After all, had he not been sober six months now? Perhaps he could handle, say, three drinks-no more! Fear gripped him. He was on thin ice. Again it was the old, insidious insanity-that first drink. With a shiver, he turned away and walked down the lobby to the church directory. Music and gay chatter still floated to him from the bar.

But what about his responsibilities-his family and the men who would die because they would not know how to get well, ah-yes, those other alcoholics? There must be many such in this town. He would phone a clergyman. His sanity returned and he thanked God. Selecting a church at random from the directory, he stepped into a booth and lifted the receiver.

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EVERYONE IS HUNGRY… ( Chaplin Bill L. )

…Hungry for something more. Addiction provides a graphic illustration of the human condition. I’m not questioning the disease concept. I am merely looking at the bigger picture. Humans are natural born soul-searchers. We are equipped with spiritual sonar and sensors that cause us to reach for more and dig deeper. Not bad.

Little kids dig holes in the sand because by God, they are going to find China on the other side of the dig. Kids don’t just sit at the beach. They dig and scratch beneath the surface. Older kids take brief breaks from the dig and skim the surface on boogie boards or surf boards. The older we get and the more we move into maturity we begin searching again - to the far horizons, to the sky, stars, and sun. We want transcendent moments. We want moments which introduce us to the divine mystery, to the One who makes us tick and sets the cosmos to ticking. This is altogether human. The curiosity and the capacity to reflect and act upon our discoveries humanize us. Cats are curious but non reflective. Humans are engaged in the search for significance and meaning. We want to get to the bottom of things. We want to touch the fabric and fiber of existence. Get to the heart of the matter.

One of the older cross-cultural stories that span generations and ethnic groups is a creation story. The Greeks had one. Remember the story of Pandora’s Box. One of the gods, Mercury asked Pandora to guard the box. She was curious. What’s in the box? “Don’t look into the box, Pandora. You will unleash all kinds of chaos.” But curiosity killed this cat. She opened the box. Out flew every possible defect of character and all manner of vermin. Chaos reigned. There was no relief in sight from the swirling dervishes until she listened to the advice of the gods to dig into the box one more time. She did and she pulled out hope. Humans live with drama and chaos in their lives but they also search for hope.

The more familiar creation story is the one about Adam and Eve. They had complacency and boredom made in the shade until the urge for more “Kickapoo” from life got to them and they reached for forbidden fruit. It is an illustration of our dissatisfaction with status quo and same old same old. Theirs was a spiritual quest.

Addiction is the human experience and part of the human condition. We are not weird because of the cravings we experience. Craving is not a foreign or evil object in our bones. This is part of being a living creature. Picture a baby robin – mouth open and waiting for mama. The trouble begins when craving forbidden fruit is no longer a choice but an obsession and then a compulsion – it has us; we don’t have it. Eventually – the baby robin gets the boot from the nest and flies and feeds on its own. We need to fly without depending upon the worm or someone to give it to us. This is where trouble germinates. Brain cells, neurotransmitters, physical tolerance, and dependency are thrown into the mix and we become “meshuggah” on addiction.

The need for more and the desire to get more is going to stay with us until we are ten toes up…not because we are complete wacko’s but because we are completely human. The wacko part comes when the objects of our desire control us. Obsession kicks in. The disease of addiction takes over. Compulsion and sheer stupidity move into “my space” to nag and nettle us like an old Aunt Nelly.

Most of us object to a simplistic surrender to a higher power if it means we must deny our humanity and submit to the God of our understanding at every turn. Must we check in morning noon and night to see if we are doing the right thing? This is sick religious dependence. We intuitively know right from wrong. It is not healthy spirituality. God urges us to cleanse our soul not sell it or knuckle under to God’s every whim. God formed us in his image. We are free to make our own decisions. Be creative. Replenish the earth. Be productive. Leave the forest cleaner than when we entered. Love one another for God’s sake. Self respect for our own sake. Man up. Woman up. Consult with a higher power – but don’t be a slave to it. A higher power worthy of the name empowers; it does not own. It sets us free to be all that we are and all that we can be. It does not put us under the burden of, “Do this but don’t do that or you will rot in hell.” God is not a cosmic co-dependent, who needs us to need Him. God takes no pleasure in bowing, scraping or groveling. God is the healthy mother who wants her children to scour the earth, discover stuff, play nice with the neighbor kids, and go on great adventures. God is not the old lady in the shoe who needs her kids to hang on to her apron strings while they whine relentlessly, complain pitifully, and beg incessantly. God gives us cards necessary to play the game of life and says, “Play on.” God cheers for and empowers us but does not “play life” for us. We are not puppets on God’s cosmic string.

Once upon a time, a long time ago in a galaxy far away, people scrambled all over the countryside to get a peak at Jesus, to get a morsel, a crumb, a word of wisdom, a healing touch, a quick fix from the master. Jesus called them on it: you follow me around like puppies because of the puppy chow…not because you have seen a sign and wonder of God’s presence in the mist and midst of your life.

Jesus was a rabbi who was into the transcendent moments we hanker for - moments to draw us out of ourselves, out of the narrows, out of the valley of the shadow, out of closed mindedness. Kids get it right when they dig for China. There is something more to life than sun bathing. A transcendent moment captured Bill W. in what he calls a spiritual awakening. An “Aha” life changing moment of truth. Thank God.

Though our drug of choice seems to take us where we want to go – it brings us far from where we truly want to go: freedom, choices, peace – to our full humanity.

People satisfy their hunger for more – their hunger for God if you will, through different paths. Here are a few:

1) Nature. Commune with it. Find God in a bright red cardinal (for example) Be a tree hugger.

2) Find God mystically through holy moments such as prayer, praise, or meditation. Transcendent moments often come through direct communion with God.

3) Do the right thing on behalf of a better world and a better you - and you will experience God.