DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
ROUND-THE-CLOCK FAITH
Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 16
The essence of my spirituality, and my sobriety, rests on a round-the-clock faith in a Higher Power. I need to remember and rely on the God of my understanding as I pursue all of my family activities. How comforting for me is the concept that God works in and through people. As I pause in my day, do I recall specific concrete examples of God's presence? Am I amazed and uplifted by the number of times this power is evident? I am over whelmed with gratitude for my God's presence in my life of recovery. Without this omnipotent force in my everyday activity, I would again fall into the depths of my disease --- and death.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
On the foundation of sobriety, we can build a life of honesty, unselfishness, faith in God, and love of our fellow human beings. We'll never fully reach these goals, but the adventure of building that kind of a life is so much better than the merry-go-round of our old drinking life that there's no comparison. We come into A.A. to get sober, but if we stay long enough we learn a new way of living. We become honest with ourselves and with other people. We learn to think more about others and less about ourselves. And we learn to rely on the constant help of a Higher Power. Am I living the way of honesty, unselfishness, and faith?
Meditation for the Day
I believe that God had already seen my heart's needs before I cried to Him, before I was conscious of those needs myself. I believe that God was already preparing the answer. God does not have to be petitioned with sighs and tears and much speaking before he reluctantly looses the desired help. He has already anticipated my every want and need. I will try to see this, as His plans unfold in my life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may understand my real wants and needs. I pray that my understanding of those needs and wants may help to bring the answer to them.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
Making mountains into molehills
“When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably.”
Basic Text, p. 99
Some of us seem to make mountains out of molehills with our problems. Even those of us who’ve found some measure of serenity have probably blown a problem far out of proportion at some time in our recovery—and if we haven’t done so yet, we probably will before long!
When we find ourselves obsessed with a complication in our lives, we will do well to sharply remind ourselves of all that is going right. Perhaps we’re afraid we won’t be able to pay our bills for the month. Instead of sitting at the calculator, adding our financial liabilities over and over, we can take stock of our efforts to reduce expenses. Following this mini-inventory, we continue with the task at hand and remind ourselves that as long as we are doing the footwork, a loving Higher Power will care for our lives.
Mountain-sized problems happen sometimes, but we don’t need to create them. Trust in a loving God of our understanding will put most of our problems in their proper perspective. We no longer need to create chaos to feel excited about our lives. Our recovery gives us countless real-life opportunities for excitement and drama.
Just for today: I will take a realistic look at my problems and see that most of them are minor. I will leave them that way and enjoy my recovery.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
"Break the anger habit. It is a waste of valuable energy
to rail against adverse events. Stuff happens. Get over
it and move on." --Sibyl McLendon ("Do You Have a Solid Foundation?")
Don't be a SAM = Sober And Miserable
Diane Negril Sunset Group [RIP my good friend]
"When I don't accept my present reality I get angry" MOT
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
"Even if we were able to accept everything - unconditionally, and at all times - our hard-won sense of acceptance would quickly evaporate. This is because one cannot consciously focus on a steady state. It is like what people who live by railroad tracks report. They no longer hear the trains. They only "hear" breaks in the pattern - for instance, when a train fails to arrive on time.
So, even radical acceptance requires fluctuation or oscillation."
The Tao of Sobriety - David Gregson & Jay S. Efran
Native American
"Heal yourself-your physical and spiritual bodies. Regenerate yourself with light, and then help those who have poverty of the soul. Return to the inner spirit, which we have abandoned while looking elsewhere for happiness."
--Willaru Huayta, QUECHUA NATION, PERU
It is difficult to look inside ourselves, especially when we see conflict or confusion. During times of conflict we need to realize that we are talking to ourselves about our thoughts. This conversation is printing in our subconscious and forming our beliefs. During times of conflict we need to ask the spirit to control our self-talk. Only thorough finding that inner place and going there during troubled times will we ever find happiness.
Great Spirit, You are my peace and you dwell within me. Let me look for You within myself.
Keep It Simple
Study sickness when you are well. --- Thomas Fuller
Now is the time to learn about our sickness--chemical dependency. It is a chronic illness. That means it never goes away. We have to live with it the best we can. Luckily, we can live with it--very well! Our program of recovery is so simple, and it feels so good, that we think we'll never give it up. But we can't take our recovery for granted. Our disease is "cunning, baffling, and powerful." The more we know about it, the less we'll let it fool us. Some days we may find we're headed toward a slip. We must learn to recognize the first trouble signs in ourselves so we can get help to stay sober.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, my addiction is "cunning, baffling, and powerful." Don't let me use alcohol or others drugs again. Thank you for my sobriety today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll learn my warning signs: I'll list ten old thoughts, feelings, and actions that were part of my illness. I'll share this with my sponsor.
Big Book
"It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to
futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit
these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66
To subscribe click the link below:
https://app.getresponse.com/site/dailyponderables/webform.html?wid=108246