DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
A "SANE AND HAPPY USEFULNESS"
We have come to believe He would like us to keep our heads in the clouds with Him, but that our feet ought to be firmly planted on earth. That is where our fellow travelers are, and that is where our work must be done. These are the realities for us. We have found nothing incompatible between a powerful spiritual experience and a life of sane and happy usefulness.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 130
All the prayer and meditation in the world will not help me unless they are accompanied by action. Practicing the principles in all my affairs shows me that care that God takes in all parts of my life. God appears in my world when I move aside, and allow him to step into it.
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 have been given a new life just because we happened to become alcoholics. We certainly don't deserve the new life that has been given us. There is little in our past to warrant the life we have now. Many people live good lives from their youth on, not getting into serious trouble, being well adjusted to life, and yet they have not found all that we drunks have found. We had the good fortune to find Alcoholics Anonymous and with it a new life. We are among the lucky few in the world who have learned a new way to live. Am I deeply grateful for the new life that I have learned in AA.?
Meditation for the Day
A deep gratitude to the Higher Power for all the blessings that we have and that we don't deserve has come to us. We thank God and mean it. Then comes service to other people, out of gratitude for what we have received. This entails some sacrifice of ourselves and our own affairs. But we are glad to do it. Gratitude, service, and then sacrifice are the steps that lead to good A.A. work. They open the door to a new life for us.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may gladly serve others out of deep gratitude for what I have received. I pray that I may keep a deep sense of obligation.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
The Group
"The Twelfth Step of our personal program also says that we carry the message to the addict who still suffers.... The group is the most powerful vehicle we have for carrying the message."
Basic Text pg. 65
When we first come to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, we meet recovering addicts. We know they are addicts because they talk about the same experiences and feelings we've had. We know they are recovering because of their serenity - they've got something we want. We feel hope when other addicts share their recovery with us in NA meetings.
The atmosphere of recovery attracts us to the meetings. That atmosphere is created when group members make a commitment to work together. We try to enhance the atmosphere of recovery by helping set up for meetings, greeting newcomers, and talking with other addicts after the meeting. These demonstrations of our commitment make our meetings attractive and help our groups share their recovery.
Sharing experience in meetings is one way in which we help one another, and it's often the foundation for our sense of belonging. We identify with other addicts, so we trust their message of hope. Many of us would not have stayed in Narcotics Anonymous without that sense of belonging and hope. When we share at group meetings, we support our personal recovery while helping others.
Just for today: I will reach out to another addict in my group and share my recovery.
pg. 374
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to
begin -- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the
way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished
business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life
would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles
were my life.
--Alfred D'Souza
Stay comfortably uncomfortable in AA
Tim H. (Woodstock 2017)
Today I know that the light at the end of the tunnel is
an old-timer walking ahead of me with a lantern.
The 26 letters of the English alphabet are so intelligently arranged….
They show you the way of life….
"A"lways "B"e "C"ool.
"D"on't have "E"go with "F"riends and family.
"G"iveup "H"urting "I"ndividuals.
"J"ust "K"eep "L"oving "M"ankind.
"N"ever "O"mit "P"rayers.
"Q"uietly "R"e-member God.
"S"peak "T"ruth.
"U"se "V"alid "W"ords.
"X"press "Y"our "Z"eal.
If you are having a problem with Higher Power today,
Imagine the problem Higher Power is having with you.
(Stu K.)
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Think not of the faults of others, of what they have done or not done. Think rather of your own sins, of the things you have done or not done.
-Buddha
Native American
"Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA
We are created by God to be vision people. First we set the goal and then we see. If we create within ourselves a picture or vision and we hold that picture or vision in our mind, whatever we picture will show up in our reality. If we can see ourselves being educated, then schools and teachers will show up in our lives. If we picture in our mind a positive, spiritual person to be in our lives, we will attract this type of person in our relationships. How big can our dreams be?
Great Spirit, let my visions today be Your vision. Put within me a vision of the being you would have me be. Then help me to keep the vision in my mind.
Keep It Simple
We must all hang together or we will hang separately. ---Ben Franklin
We didn't get ourselves sober. And we don't keep ourselves sober. Our program does this. That is why the Twelfth Step is important. We must be willing to give service to our program whenever it's needed. When a friend calls and say he or she feels like using, we don't say we're sorry. We get our friend and take him or her to a meeting. Our survival depends on this kind of action. We are to carry the message. We carry the message by deeds, not words. We are part of a fellowship based on action. A fellowship guided by love. It is not words that keep us sober--it is action.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be ready whenever there's a need. Help me be ready to put my self-will aside. Give me strength.
Action for the Day: I will think of my group members. Who could use a supportive call or visit? I will call or visit those who need my help.
Big Book
"Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in
a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!"
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. 100
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Night Before Christmas - Big Book Style
'T'was the night before Christmas, we were all in the club,
Enjoying a meeting, instead of a pub,
The ashtrays were clean, and the coffee was made,
The Big Books were out and we all had prayed.
When out in the lot, there arose such a clatter,
We all jumped up to see what was the matter.
The Chair with his Big Book, and I with my smokes,
Headed outside to find these two blokes.
They came inside and sat at a table;
And said that they'd chair, as soon as they're able.
To start with, they said, "It's more than not drinking;
It's doing your best to fix your sick thinking."
"Think, Think, Think!" and the slogans we used,
Help keep the newcomer from getting confused.
Step 1 is a start, they said we should know,
But after Step 2, we'll be all aglow.
We make a decision when we got to Step 3;
Step 4 was real tough, we all could agree,
Step 5 is the one where we let it all out,
And after Step 6 and 7, we are left with no doubt.
When we got to Step 8, we made our list;
And then with Step 9, we have to persist.
After Step 9, the promises ring true;
We didn't just make that up, right out of the blue.
After that, it's on with the rest;
The things we must do, to be our best.
They put on their coats and got ready to leave;
A pretty good end, for this Christmas Eve.
As to their names, we only could guess;
Must have been Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.
The two men hopped into a '35 Ford,
And as they pulled out, one of them roared:
"We leave this message, for our sisters & brothers:
trust God, clean house, and be of service to others.
And for all of you people, I just want to say:
have a nice holiday, but don't drink today!"
~ Unknown
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Merry Christmas !!!
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