DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
TOTAL ACCEPTANCE
He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it. Then he will know loneliness such as few do. He will be at the jumping-off place. He will wish for the end.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 152
Only an alcoholic can understand the exact meaning of a statement like this one. The double standard that held me captive as an active alcoholic also filled me with terror and confusion: " If I don't get a drink I'm going to die," competed with " If I continue drinking its going to kill me." Both compulsive thoughts pushed me ever closer to the bottom. That bottom produced a total acceptance of my alcoholism-- with no reservations whatsoever-- and was a dilemma unlike anything I had ever faced, but as I found out later on, a necessary one if I was to succeed in this program.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
Have I turned to a Higher Power for help? Do I believe that each man or woman I see in A.A. is a demonstration of the power of God to change a human being from a drunkard into a sober, useful citizen? Do I believe that this Higher Power can keep me from drinking? Am I living one day at a time? Do I ask God to give me the power to stay sober for each twenty-four hours? Do I attend A.A. meetings regularly?
Meditation for the Day
I believe that God's presence brings peace and that peace, like a quiet-flowing river, will cleanse all irritants away. In these quiet times, God will teach me how to rest my nerves. I will not be afraid. I will learn how to relax. When I am relaxed, God's strength will flow into me. I will be at peace.
Prayer for the Day
I pray for that peace which passes all understanding. I pray for that peace which the world can neither give nor take away.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
Recovery at home
"We can enjoy our families in a new way and may become a credit to them instead of an embarrassment or a burden."
Basic Text, p.104
We're doing great in recovery, aren't we? We go to a meeting every day, we spend every evening with our friends in the fellowship, and every weekend we dash off to a service workshop. But if things are falling to pieces at home, we're not doing so great after all.
We expect our families to understand. After all, we're not using drugs anymore. Why don't they recognize our progress? Don't they understand how important our meetings, our service, and our involvement with the fellowship are?
Our families will not appreciate the change NA is working in our lives unless we show them. If we rush off to a meeting the same way we rushed off to use drugs, what has changed? If we continue to ignore the needs and desires of our partners and children, failing to accept our responsibilities at home, we aren't "practicing these principles in all our affairs."
We must live the program everywhere we go, in everything we do. If we want the spiritual life to be more than a theory, we have to live it at home. When we do this, the people we share our lives with are sure to notice the change and be grateful that we've found NA.
Just for Today: I will take my recovery home with me.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
Dear God, we spend so much of our life doing ordinary work, and we confess that we feel isolated from you at times. Help us to remember what you promised. Remind us that you are working in us and with us. As we move through our days, may we remember that you are our companion, offering strength and wisdom. Teach us to listen to you, and to remember that we are never alone. Amen.
THE SURVIVOR’S PRAYER FOR STRENGTH
Dear God, give me the strength to get thru the day.
Give me the words to know what to say.
Your love sustains me along the way.
Just give me wisdom for all my days.
In times of sorrow, times of distress, give me a word for those depressed.
In times of pain or serious illness, God, let me minister to those who are weakest.
God, if THY WILL for me, if my life is required for what I can’t see.
I pray YOUR will, not MINE to be, in times of trouble no matter how big it may be.
God, help me your will to discern, so I can trust your love govern.
And when I complain while going through the storm
Make my will to your will conform.
It's the friends you can call at 4 a.m. that matter.
~ Marlene Dietrich
Wrinkles will only go where smiles have been.
~Jimmy Buffett
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice (of religious ritual). Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results (of one's actions), because there follows immediate peace.
-Bhagavad Gita 12:12
Native American
"But first, let us join hands and pray."
--Starleaf, SHINNECOCK
Where two or more human beings joined together for a common cause, the helpers and the Grandfathers will show up to help. When our Indian people come together, the Elders say, "always pray first-do a ceremony and ask the Creator to be with us and to help us. We can never pray enough." The Elders also say, "pray in a circle because the Creator made things in circles. When we stand in a circle and pray together, a sacred hoop will form above the people. This is the spiritual way."
Oh Great Spirit, through my prayers I can find Your guidance. I pray You guide my path today. Touch my life with Your holy breath.
Keep It Simple
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. --- Chinese proverb.
Life holds so many choices now that we are sober. We'd like to go so many places. We'd like to see so many things. We have so much to do. We are slowly learning how to trust our dreams and reach for them. Our program teaches us that we live One Day at a Time. We make progress by doing First Things First. Easy Does It. Our dreams may seem very big and far away. We wonder if we'll ever get there. But our faith tells us to go for it. And we know how: one step at a time.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Higher Power, help me know this gentle truth: my life matters. Help me set goals that I can grow toward, one step at a time.
ACTION FOR TODAY: Today, I'll think about one of my goals. I will list ten little steps that will help me get there.
Big Book
"...I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I
would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my
problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness,
honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of
things, were the essential requirements."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 13~
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