DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
EXPECTATIONS VS. DEMANDS
Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 98
Dealing with expectations is a frequent topic at meetings. It isn't wrong to expect progress of myself, good things from life, or decent treatment from others. Where I get into trouble is when my expectations become demands. I will fall short of what I wish to be and situations will go in ways I do not like, because people will let me down sometimes. The only question is: What am I going to do about it?" Wallow in self-pity or anger; retaliate and make a bad situation worse; or will I trust in God's power to bring blessings on the messes in which I find myself? Will I ask Him what I should be learning; do I keep on doing the right things I know how to do, no matter what; do I take the time to share my faith and blessings with others?
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
After that first drink, we had a single track mind. It was like a railroad train. The first drink started it off and it kept going on the single track until it got to the end of the line, drunkenness. We alcoholics knew this was the inevitable result when we took the first drink, but still we couldn't keep away from liquor. Our willpower was gone. We had become helpless and hopeless before the power of alcohol. It's not the second drink or the tenth drink that does the damage. It's the first drink. Will I ever take that first drink again?
Meditation for the Day
I must keep a time apart with God every day. Gradually I will be transformed mentally and spiritually. It is not the praying so much as just being in God's presence. The strengthening and curative powers of this I cannot understand, because such knowledge is beyond human understanding, but I can experience them. The poor, sick world would be cured if every day each soul waited before God for the inspiration to live aright. My greatest spiritual growth occurs in this time apart with God.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may faithfully keep a quiet time apart with God. I pray that I may grow spiritually each day.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
Honesty and spirituality
Page 46
"The right to a God of your understanding is total and without any catches. Because we have this right, it is necessary to be honest about our belief if we are to grow spiritually."
Basic Text, pp. 25-26
In meetings, over refreshments, in talks with our sponsor, we hear our NA friends talking about the way they understand their Higher Power. It would be easy to "go with the flow," adopting someone else's beliefs. But just as no one else can recover for us, so no one else's spirituality can substitute for our own. We must honestly search for an understanding of God that truly works for us.
Many of us begin that search with prayer and meditation, and continue with our experiences in recovery. Have there been instances where we have been given power beyond our own to face life's challenges? When we have quietly sought direction in times of trouble, have we found it? What kind of Power do we believe has guided and strengthened us? What kind of Power do we seek? With the answers to these questions, we will understand our Higher Power well enough to feel safe and confident about asking it to care for our will and lives.
A borrowed understanding of God may do on a short haul. But in the long run, we must come to our own understanding of a Higher Power, for it is that Power which will carry us through our recovery.
Just for Today: I seek a Power greater than myself that can help me grow spiritually. Today, I will examine my beliefs honestly and come to my own understanding of God.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
"Life is overflowing with the new. But it is necessary to empty out
the old to make room for the new to enter."
--Eileen Caddy
"If your coasting, you're going downhill"
Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.
- Winston Churchill
No “First Drink” Serenity Prayer
My Higher Power and God of My Understanding
GRANT ME
Serenity to accept that I am an Alcoholic
and that I am helpless and powerless over alcohol.
Courage, willingness and the ability to change my
thinking, my attitude and actions concerning alcohol
and not drinking – Today!
Wisdom to know that You are my Higher Power
and only with Your help, am I able to not take that
“first drink” today and stay sober today!
God, Grant me Your Grace
To accept I am powerless to not drink on my own will.
And the Wisdom to know that after my “First Drink”,
I am not the same person who promised . . .
“I will not drink today”!
Unfortunately, I would continue to drink and drink.
It Is . . . Only One Day at a Time!
Today … I will not drink that “First Drink”
James Patrick M.
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
As rain seeps into
an ill-thatched hut,
so passion,
the undeveloped mind.
As rain doesn't seep into
a well-thatched hut,
so passion does not,
the well-developed mind.
-Dhammapada, 1, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Native American
"Sometimes, life is very simple, but it is we two-leggeds, we who are thought to be smart that make it complicated."
--Larry P. Aitkin, CHIPPEWA
Sometimes it may take years for us to find out what we are really after-it is to be happy. The Elders say, lead a simple life. This doesn't necessarily mean poor, it means simple. There are some things that makes life complicated such as needing control, needing power or being resentful or angry. These things make complications happen. We need to walk in balance in every area of our lives.
Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.
Keep It Simple
Some things have to be believed to be seen. --- Ralph Hodgson
In recovery, we learn to trust. We trust that our Higher Power is on our side. Maybe we can't see our Higher Power , but once we start trusting things change. Step Two says, "Came to believe. . . " Once we come to believe, we start to see our Higher Power working in many ways. We make new program friends. We find new peace. Our family and friends trust us again. Life won't always be fair. We won't get all we want. But we'll find the love and care we need. If we're open to believing in love, the easy times will be easier and the harder times a bit softer. Do I believe in love?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me believe, especially when times are hard. Help me not blame You for the hard times.
Action for the Day: I will write what I believe the program and my Higher Power want for me.
Big Book
"We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now
believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power
greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe,
or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on
his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this
simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be
built."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47
Envy’s Enemy
Larry R.
I’ve heard it said PRIDE leads the list of seven deadly sins
That may be true most of the time, it’s where our faults begin
Yet, there is still another one that shares its claim to fame
This one can make us feel depressed and ENVY is its name
Most folks will have, from time to time, these thoughts that make them sad
They see the car they dreamed about and wish it’s what they had
And as the car goes out of view, the thought soon disappears
They start to think of other things, their minds have shifted gears
But not so those with our disease, don’t make them go away
We tend to get obsessed at why life’s treated us this way
Then pity rears its ugly head and tells us that we lose
The way we know to compensate is with a glass of booze
My alcoholic mind has often led me down this road
Of wanting what I did not have, not getting what I’m owed
He world is mean, its people wrong, give me what I deserve
For if you don’t, I’ll have to drink to settle down my nerves
That is the way I used to think before I joined AA
It happens very rarely now, the Steps have shown the way
When ENVY strikes, I recognize it and know what to do
I turn my thoughts to gratitude for all that has come true
Just recently my brother had us over for a bite
To show off the new house he built, a real impressive sight
The business that he’d started had become a huge success
So, he could now delight in all the splendor he possesses
We have a lovely evening but on leaving felt disturbed
I knew he built he business and deserved what he had earned
But, I’m the older brother, why should he have more than me
It’s then my AA training lit a light to help me see
For all his worldly prizes some important ones were missing
His son and he have not been close, relationship’s been drifting
His daughter has not talked to him for nigh on 15 years
He was no grandkids coming by to fill his house with cheers
That made me think of what I have instead of what I’ve not
Three kids, six lovely grandkids, they come over quite a lot
We gather round on holidays, at their home or at ours
To eat and laugh, enjoying time and grateful for these hours
So, there it is, the enemy of ENVY, loud and clear
It’s GRATITUDE, that’s what it takes to make it disappear
Now any time I’m envious of what others may possess
I have to stop, let gratitude help keep those thoughts suppressed
There will always be those people who have better stuff than me
A fancy boat, and airplane, a mansion by the sea
While all of that is fine it goes for naught is something’s lacking
The gratitude for what we have that stops ENVY attacking
Larry R.
To subscribe click the link below:
https://app.getresponse.com/site/dailyponderables/webform.html?wid=108246