DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
WE CAN'T THINK OUR WAY SOBER
To the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman, many A.A.'s can say, "Yes we were like you --- far too smart for our own good. . . . Secretly, we felt we could float above the rest of the folks on our brain power alone."
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 60
Even the most brilliant mind is no defense against the disease of alcoholism. I can't think my way sober. I try to remember that intelligence is a God given attribute that I may use, a joy --- like having a talent for dancing or drawing or carpentry. It does not make me better than anyone else, and it is not a particularly reliable tool for recovery, for it is a power greater than myself who will restore me to sanity --- not a high IQ or a college degree.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
Sometimes we can't help thinking: Why can't we ever drink again? We know it's because we're alcoholics, but why did we have to get that way? The answer is that at some time in our drinking careers, we passed what is called our "tolerance point." When we passed this point, we passed from a condition in which we could tolerate alcohol to a condition in which we could not tolerate it at all. After that, if we took one drink, we would sooner or later end up drunk. When I think of liquor now, do I think of it as something that I can never tolerate again?
Meditation for the Day
In a race, it is when the goal is in sight that heart and nerves and muscles and courage are strained almost to the breaking point. So with us. The goal of the spiritual life is in sight. All we need is the final effort. The saddest records are made by people who ran well, with brave, stout hearts, until the sight of the goal and then some weakness or self indulgence held them back. They never knew how near the goal they were or how near they were to victory.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may press on until the goal is reached. I pray that I may not give up in the final stretch.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
The ties that bind
Page 45
"As long as the ties that bind us together are stronger than those that would tear us apart, all will be well."
Basic Text, p. 60
Many of us feel that without NA we would surely have died from our disease. Hence, its existence is our very lifeline. However, disunity is an occasional fact of life in Narcotics Anonymous; we must learn to respond in a constructive way to the destructive influences that sometimes arise in our fellowship. If we decide to be part of the solution instead of the problem, we are headed in the right direction.
Our personal recovery and the growth of NA is contingent upon maintaining an atmosphere of recovery in our meetings. Are we willing to help our group deal constructively with conflict? As group members, do we strive to work out difficulties openly, honestly, and fairly? Do we seek to promote the common welfare of all our members rather than our own agenda? And, as trusted servants, do we take into consideration the effect our actions might have on newcomers?
Service can bring out both the best and the worst in us. But it is often through service that we begin to get in touch with some of our more pressing defects of character Do we shrink from service commitments rather than face what we might find out about ourselves? If we bear in mind the strength of the ties that bind us together-our recovery from active addiction-all will be well.
Just for Today: I will strive to be of service to our fellowship. I will be unafraid to discover who I am.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge."
-- Daniel I. Boorstin
"I raced from the man in the mirror, but he was always in front of me"
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
What people expect to happen is always different from what actually happens. From this comes great disappointment; this is the way the world works.
-Sutra Piñata
Native American
"I wanted to feel, smell, hear and see, but not see with my eyes and my mind only. I wanted to see with CANTE ISTA-the eye of the heart."
--Lame Deer, LAKOTA
Why is it what some people seem to have peace of mind every day? How do some people remain so darn positive? How do you stay positive if you work or live in a negative environment? How is it that two people can observe the same difficult situation, but one person is upset about it, and other isn't? Two people experiencing the same situation react entirely different. If each morning we ask the Creator to allow us to see with His understanding and with His love, we will open a new way of "seeing". This eye of the heart is a free gift given to us if we ask for it in prayer each day.
Grandfather, allow me to see the world and all things You have made through "the eye of my heart.
Keep It Simple
Tomorrow doesn't matter, for I have lived today. --- Horace
Life is found in the present. One of the first things we hear when we enter the program is, One Day at a Time. We break life into short time periods. This give us the power to change. We're not sure we can stay sober for a lifetime. But we know that with God, and our program, we can stay sober for today.
This holds true for many other things in out lives. We're not sure we can go a lifetime without feeling self-pity, but we can give it up for a day. By living One Day at a Time, we become more sure of our strength. We have the power to change things only in the present. The present holds much for us, if we get a hold on it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You are found in the moment. You are here. I will stay with You minute by minute.
Action for the Day: I will ground myself in the present. Today, I'll not worry about the past or the future.
Big Book
"We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can
laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness.
Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is
that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust
their God. We never apologize for God. Instead we let Him
demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our
fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once,
we commence to outgrow fear."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~
As Bill Sees It
In God's Hands
When we look back, we realize that the things which came to
us when we put ourselves in God's hands were better than
anything we could have planned.
<< << << >> >> >>
My depression deepened unbearable, and finally it seemed to
me as though I were at the very bottom of the pit. For the
moment, the last vestige of my proud obstinacy was
crushed. All at once I found myself crying out, "If there is a
God, let Him show Himself! I am ready to do anything,
anything!"
Suddenly the room lit up with a great white light. It seemed to
me, in the mind's eye, that I was on a mountain and that a
wind not of air but of spirit was blowing. And then it burst
upon me that I was a free man. Slowly the ecstasy subsided. I
lay on the bed, but now for a time I was in another world, a
new world of consciousness. All about me and through me
there was a wonderful feeling of Presence, and I thought to
myself, "So this is the God of the preachers!"
1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 100
2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 63
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