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DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

RESCUED BY SURRENDERING

Characteristic of the so-called typical alcoholic is a narcissistic egocentric core, dominated by feelings of omnipotence, intent on maintaining at all costs its inner integrity. . . . Inwardly the alcoholic brooks no control from man or God. He, the alcoholic, is and must be the master of his destiny. He will fight to the end to preserve that position.

AA Comes of Age, p. 311

The great mystery is: "Why do some of us die alcoholic deaths, fighting to preserve the 'independence' of our ego, while others seem to sober up effortlessly in A.A.?" Help from a Higher Power, the gift of sobriety, came to me when an otherwise unexplained desire to stop drinking coincided with my willingness to accept the suggestions of the men and women of A.A. I had to surrender, for only by reaching out to God and my fellows could I be rescued.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

We got a kick out of the first few drinks, before we got stupefied by alcohol. For a while, the world seemed to look brighter. But how about the letdown, the terrible depression that comes the morning after? In A.A., we get a real kick: not a false feeling of exhilaration, but a real feeling of satisfaction with ourselves, self respect, and a feeling of friendliness toward the world. We got a sort of pleasure from drinking. For a while we thought we were happy. But it's only an illusion. The hangover the next day is the opposite of pleasure. In AA., am I getting real pleasure and serenity and peace?

Meditation for the Day

I will practice love, because lack of love will block the way. I will try to see good in all people, those I like and also those who fret me and go against the grain. They are all children of God. I will try to give love; otherwise, how can I dwell in God's spirit whence nothing unloving can come? I will try to get along with all people, because the more love I give away, the more I will have.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may do all I can to love others, in spite of their many faults. I pray that as I love, so will I be loved.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Goodwill

Page 34

"Goodwill is best exemplified in service; proper service is 'Doing the right thing for the right reason.' "

Basic Text, p. xv

The spiritual core of our disease is self-centeredness. In dealing with others, the only motive our addiction taught us was selfishness—we wanted what we wanted when we wanted it. Obsession with self was rooted in the very ground of our lives. In recovery, how do we root self-obsession out?

We reverse the effects of our disease by applying a few very simple spiritual principles. To counteract the self-centeredness of our addiction, we learn to apply the principle of goodwill. Rather than seeking to serve only ourselves, we begin serving others. Rather than thinking only about what we can get out of a situation, we learn to think first of the welfare of others. When faced with a moral choice, we learn to stop, recall spiritual principles, and act appropriately

As we begin “doing the right thing for the right reason,” we can detect a change in ourselves. Where once we were ruled by self-will, now we are guided by our goodwill for others. The chronic self-centeredness of addiction is losing its hold on us. We are learning to “practice these principles in all our affairs”; we are living in our recovery, not in our disease.

Just for Today: Wherever I am, whatever I do, I will seek to serve others, not just myself. When faced with a dilemma, I will try to do the right thing for the right reason.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

"Some people say, 'when things change, that's when I will be happy, but when I choose to be happy, that's when things will change.'" (From the book "Wisdom, Magic, and Miracles".)

In a healthy family the parents are there to meet the needs of the children.

In an unhealthy family the children are there to meet the needs of the parents.

A Gift...

We have this gift that we've been given, we open every day.

A gift that if we are to keep, we must learn to give away...

A gift that offers hope, for the future of tomorrow.

A gift we did incur, through much suffering and sorrow...

A gift that we do not deserve but so humbly accept.

A gift we've come to cherish, nurture, and respect...

Our gift comes not bejeweled, nor adorned with bow or ribbon.

We embrace this gift unwittingly as we trudge this road we've striven...

Our chains of bondage broken we no longer run adrift.

But for the grace of God does He bestow, our freedom with a gift...

Gordon R.

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

You should know that so far as Buddha-nature is concerned, there is no difference between an enlightened man and an ignorant one.

What makes the difference is that one realizes it, while the other is ignorant of it.

-The Sutra of Hui Neng

“How often do you win an argument with reality.” Adya Shanti

Native American

"Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood and so it is everything where power moves."

--Black Elk (Hehaka sapa), OGLALA SIOUX

In these modern times it is difficult to understand why we should think circles and seasons. People and society are always moving, through distance, over yonder, going here and going there-hurry up, grow up, be successful, climb the ladder of success, etc. The Elders tell us to slow down, to be patient, pray and think circles. Circle thinking applies to relationships, business and every area of our lives. We need to teach our awareness to look for seasons and cycles.

My Creator, teach me the seasons of growth.

Keep It Simple

We must believe the things we teach our children. --- Woodrow Wilson

It may be easy to say the words and phrases we've heard without really meaning them. Someone says something at a meeting that sounds good. Our counselor has a favorite saying. We may say these words, but are we taking the time to ask the question. Do I believe what I'm saying?

Step Two speaks of, "Came to believe..." By really believing in the Twelve Steps, we let them become part of us. The more we believe in the Steps the more we turn our lives over to them. Hopefully, over time, the Twelve Steps will guide us more and more. We'll speak to our family with respect we've found in the Twelve Steps. Our spirit must truly believe. Then we can work the Steps.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, believing is something that lasts a lifetime. Give me the power to believe even when doubt creeps in.

Action for the Day: My beliefs are changing. Today, in my inventory, I'll ask: Do I believe what I said today?

Big Book

"Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found

we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always

followed spiritual progress; it never preceded."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 127~

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The Wisdom of Surrender

Resistance Equals Persistence

Resistance tends to strengthen the energies it attempts to oppose by giving them power and energy to work against.

We all know the feeling of being repeatedly haunted by the same issue, no matter how we try to ignore it, avoid it, or run away from it. Sometimes it seems that we can get rid of something we don’t want by simply pushing it away. Most of the time, the more we push away, the more we get pushed back. There are laws of physics and metaphysics that explain this phenomenon, which is often summed up in this pithy phrase: That which you resist persists.

Resistance tends to strengthen the energies it attempts to oppose by giving them power and energy to work against. Additionally, resistance keeps us from learning more about what we resist. In order to fully understand something, we must open to it enough to receive its energy; otherwise, we remain ignorant of its lessons. There is a Tibetan story of a monk who retreats to meditate in a cave only to be plagued by demons. He tries everything—chasing, fighting, hiding—to get the demons out of his cave, but the thing that finally works is surrender. He simply lets them have their way with him and only then do they disappear.

Now, this wisdom must be applied practically. We are not meant to get ourselves physically injured. Instead, this story speaks of how, in essence, our demons are inside of us. What plagues and pursues us on an inner level has a way of manifesting itself in our environment in the form of people, events, and issues that appear to be beyond our control. But all these external expressions are reflections of our insides, and it is inside ourselves that we can safely experiment with surrendering to what we fear and dislike. It may feel scary, and we may find ourselves in the company of a lot of resistance as we begin the process of opening to what we fear. But the more we learn to surrender, and the more the demons that plague us disappear in the process, the more courageous we will become.