DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
I'M PART OF THE WHOLE
At once, I became a part -- if only a tiny part -- of a cosmos...
AS BILL SEES IT, up. 225
When I first came to A.A., I decided that "they" were very nice people -- perhaps a little naive, a little too friendly, but basically decent, earnest people (with whom I had nothing in common). I saw "them" at meetings--after all, that was where "they" existed. I shook hands with "them" and, when I went out the door, I forgot about "them."
Then one day my Higher Power, whom I did not then believe in, arranged to create a community project outside of A.A., but one which happened to involve many AA members. We worked together, I got to know "them" as people. I came to admire "them," even to like "them" and, in spite of myself, to enjoy "them" "Their" practice of the program in their daily lives--not just in talk at meetings--attracted me and I wanted what they had. Suddenly the "they" became "we." I have not had a drink since.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
I go to the A.A. meetings because it helps me in my business of keeping sober. And I try to help other alcoholics when I can, because that's part of my business of keeping sober. I also have a partner in this business and that's God. I pray to Him every day to help me to keep sober. As long as I keep in mind that liquor can never be my friend again, but is now my deadly enemy, and as long as I remember that my main business is keeping sober and that it's the most important thing in my life. I believe, I'll be prepared for that crucial moment when the idea of having a drink pops into my mind. When that idea comes, will I be able to resist it and not take that drink.?
Meditation for the Day
I will be more afraid of spirit-unrest, of soul-disturbance, of any ruffling of the mind, than of earthquake or fire. When I feel the calm of my spirit has been broken by emotional upset, then I must steal away alone with God, until my heart sings and all is strong and calm again. Uncalm times are the only times when evil can find an entrance. I will beware of unguarded spots of unrest. I will try to keep calm, no matter what turmoil surrounds me.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that no emotional upsets will hinder God's power in my life. I pray that I may keep a calm spirit and a steady heart.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
Self-pity or recovery - it's our choice
Page 53
"Self-pity is one of the most destructive of defects; it will drain us of all positive energy."
Basic Text, p. 80
In active addiction, many of us used self-pity as a survival mechanism. We didn't believe there was an alternative to living in our disease-or perhaps we didn't want to believe. As long as we could feel sorry for ourselves and blame someone else for our troubles, we didn't have to accept the consequences of our actions; believing ourselves powerless to change, we didn't have to accept the need for change. Using this "survival mechanism" kept us from entering recovery and led us closer, day by day, to self-destruction. Self-pity is a tool of our disease; we need to stop using it and learn instead to use the new tools we find in the NA program.
We have come to believe that effective help is available for us; when we seek that help, finding it in the NA program, self-pity is displaced by gratitude. Many tools are at our disposal: the Twelve Steps, the support of our sponsor, the fellowship of other recovering addicts, and the care of our Higher Power. The availability of all these tools is more than enough reason to be grateful. We no longer live in isolation, without hope; we have certain help at hand for anything we may face. The surest way to become grateful is to take advantage of the help available to us in the NA program and to experience the improvement the program will bring in our lives.
Just for Today: I will be grateful for the hope NA has given me. I will cultivate my recovery and stop cultivating self-pity.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
It is always easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them .
~Alfred Adler(thanks Gene H.)
Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.
"I had to drink until I had to stop and I stopped until I had to drink"
Cindy H. (High Point, NC)
Disease
Kirsten R.
You tell me I don't belong
that I can do it on my own.
Drink like a normal person...
well, it's been way too long.
I've tried over and over
still haven't regained control.
So what do you know?!?
You tell me to be all alone
no one wants to see me
no one wants to know me
but is that the truth?
Maybe you're the one trying
to control me.
Just take the poison.
It will make everyone and
everything disappear.
That I know will be clear.
There is no
margarita on the beach.
Just a sick, sinking feeling
that my entire life will be
nearing to an end.
Eventually...
you are not my friend.
you are my disease.
you are my enemy
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
It is not that anger and desire are inherently evil or that we should feel ashamed when they arise. It is a matter of seeing them as the delusions that they are: distorted conceptions that paint a false picture of reality. They are negative because they lead to unhappiness and confusion.
-Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"
Native American
"Every thing or living being that exists in this world, be it trees, flowers, birds, grasses, rocks, soil of the earth, or human beings, has its unique manner of existence --its essence, its spirit that makes it what it is. That is what is meant by connectedness."
--Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA
Scientists are finally realizing what the Elders have taught for thousands of years-every- thing is connected. Because everything is interconnected, whatever you do to any one thing, you do to everything. If you poison any part of the earth, the poison eventually affects everything else. If you poison the plants, the birds will eat the plants, which poisons the birds. The birds are eaten by humans which poisons the humans. The humans will have babies who could be deformed because the plants were poisoned. We must learn to live in harmony with the earth. We must learn to think good things. Every good thought is felt by everything, which causes everything to be happy.
Creator, let my thoughts only be good thoughts.
Keep It Simple
It easier to speak of love, than to practice it. --- Anonymous
Do we help our neighbor who is in need? We must help when we see the need, not just when it fits our schedule. In the program, this becomes our goal. We work at helping out. For example, when someone is needed to run the meeting, we offer. We see that the needs of the group are also our needs. We are the group. Over time, the idea of service spreads to the rest of our lives. Maybe we help a family down the street. We start to see that we have something to offer the world; ourselves. We start to see that the needs of the world are also our needs. We are an important part of the world.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, make me quick to act when I see a need. Please don't let my fear stop me.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list what I have to offer the world. I will think of two ways I can use these gifts my Higher Power has given me.
Big Book
"We, in our turn, sought the same escape with all the desperation of
drowning men. What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be
the loving and powerful hand of God. A new life has been given us
or, if you prefer, "a design for living" that really works."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 28~
Personality Change
A weekend meeting I attend with men at half past eight
Is one I try to never miss and never to be late
The meeting starts, as most ones do, then someone brings a topic
The speaker’s talk on AA life is rarely found myopic
Recently a member talked about how he had changed
Some aspects of his personality’s been rearranged
That struck a chord with me when I then began to think
About how I had thought and acted when I used to drink
Quick to find fault, criticize, with things I disagree
I wanted all to go my way, my edict by decree
If someone failed to do what they had promised me to do
Anger was my first response, a bitter bone to chew
It made no difference why they failed to meet their obligation
Some unsuspected incident with a friend or close relation
That mattered not, I was put out, regardless of the cause
I later came to learn in times like this it’s best to paise
The pause did not come naturally, I normally provoked
An argument, how they were wrong, which usually evoked
A terse response from those who tried explaining what occurred
To make them not fulfill the thing to which I had referred
Anger is a sorry state, it hurts us more than those
Those we presume have done us wrong, or people we appose
When big events occur that only make our anger grow
We need to pause, get over it, and let those feelings go
Folks will sometimes disappointment us, it’s a natural part of life
It may come from an unknown source, a friend, a child, a wife
It’s how we act when it occurs that dictates how we feel
That’s what we’ve learned inside the rooms, our anger to repeal
A member told of how he planned to give his wife a gift
A puppy to replace the one they had to set adrift
He wanted to surprise her and the pup to be delivered
At 12PM, right to their house, and she the new caregiver
He planned to be there well before the puppy should arrive
But the pup was there ahead of time, to dampen the surprise
He wanted to receive it as the bell began to ring
Present it to his lady and to see the joy it brings
Some friends had known what he had planned and could not understand
Why he did not get angry at the people and demand
That they apologies and compensate him for the cost
Since they had not delivered as they should, surprise was lost
He admitted disappointment, that his plan had fallen through
But getting mad or angry was not something he could do
The pup was here, his wife was glad, in all a big success
Enjoy the whole experience, no need to feel distressed
He then said this experience had proved the speaker’s theme
The AA way of living helps to expand your self esteem
Where others sought to criticize, revenge to be arranged
He enjoyed the fact his personality had changed
Larry R.
To subscribe click the link below:
https://app.getresponse.com/site/dailyponderables/webform.html?wid=108246