DAILY PONDERABLES
Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny
Daily Reflections
THE JOY OF SHARING
Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends --- this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89
To know that each newcomer with whom I share has the opportunity to experience the relief that I have found in the Fellowship fills me with joy and gratitude. I feel that all the things described in A.A. will come to pass for them, as they have for me, if they seize the opportunity and embrace the program fully.
From the book Daily Reflections
© Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought for the Day
What a load wasting money puts on your shoulders! They say that members of A.A. have paid the highest initiation fee of any club members in the world, because we've wasted so much money on liquor. We'll never be able to figure out how much it was. We not only wasted our own money, but also the money we should have spent on our families. When you come into A.A., that terrible load of wasted money falls off your shoulders. We alcoholics were getting round shouldered from carrying all those loads that drinking put on our shoulders. But when we come into A.A., we get a wonderful feeling of release and freedom. Can I throw back my shoulders and look the whole world in the face again?
Meditation for the Day
I believe that the future is in the hands of God. He knows better than I what the future holds for me. I am not at the mercy of fate or buffeted about by life. I am being led in a very definite way, as I try to rebuild my life. I am the builder, but God is the architect. It is mine to build as best I can, under His guidance.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may depend on God, since He has planned my life. I pray that I may live my life as I believe God wants me to live it.
From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day
© Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation
NA - Just for Today
The First Step—an action step
“Do we understand that we have no real control over drugs?”
Basic Text, p. 18
At first, many of us may have thought the First Step required no action—we just surrender and go on to Step Two. But Step One does require action!
The action we take in the First Step will be evident in the way we live, even from our first day clean. If we truly believe that we are powerless over our addiction, we will not choose to be around drugs. To continue to live with or associate with practicing addicts may indicate a reservation in our program. An absolute belief that the First Step applies to us will insure that we clear our homes of all drugs and paraphernalia.
As time goes on, we’ll not only continue with the basics but add new actions to our First Step repertoire. We’ll learn to feel our feelings rather than trying to control them. We’ll stop trying to be our own and only guides on our recovery journey; self-sponsorship will cease. We’ll begin looking to a Power greater than ourselves more and more for spiritual satisfaction rather than trying to fill that void with something else.
Surrender is only the beginning. Once we surrender, we need to learn how to live in the peace we have found.
Just for today: I will take all the action necessary to practice the First Step. I truly believe it applies to me.
From the book Just for Today
© Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Thought for Today
“I admit I am powerless, but that does not mean helpless or hopeless.”
(thanks Tim R.)
"It's not the load that brings you down. It's the way you carry it"
~Barbara Johnson
Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune
at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
Buddha/Zen Thoughts
The Goal of Buddhism and the Meaning of Life...
The Buddhist goal is the achievement of human perfection, which should be the real purpose of life. It is in this sense that life has meaning, and which should inform the most salient aspects of human activity. A person who has made good progress along the Buddhist path would have reached a high degree of happiness, contentment and freedom from fear. Sometimes material affluence is seen as the goal of many persons, but these do not necessarily bring about the happiness which the Buddha sought to promote. Many religions look upon the present life as a ground for laying the foundation in a future life after physical death. Some Buddhists also adopt this attitude and try to secure a good rebirth or even Nirvana without residue. Exhortations from the Buddha could be produced to this effect. But the Buddha also affirms that we must make use of the present life, of which we are sure, and that the pursuit of the Noble Eightfold Path is the best way of doing so regardless of any consequences that may happen after death.
Buddhism recognizes no creeds whose uncritical acceptance is expected of its followers. Instead the Buddha enunciated certain basic laws and truths whose veracity he invited his followers to test for themselves. One of the traditional epithets of the Dharma is "ehipassiko" (meaning literally "come and see") which is an appeal to the empirical verification of the Dharma. In his very first discourse the Buddha identified Four Noble Truths as forming the core of the Dharma. These four Truths have since become a convenient way of stating the fundamentals of the Dharma. They are often regarded as the most basic teaching of the Buddha. In addition, the Buddha proclaimed several other doctrines, the most important being those of karma and re-birth. The validity of such doctrines is more difficult for an ordinary person to verify, but their dogmatic acceptance is not expected as a fundamental requirement of those who go for refuge to the "Three Gems" (Buddha, Dharma,Sangha) of Buddhism .
Tomorrow the 4 Noble Truths
Native American
"We grieve more because we have been disconnected from our earth, our first Mother, our spiritual Mother."
--Larry P. Aitken, CHIPPEWA
Where does all life come from? The Earth. Where does everything return to? The Earth. Where do values come them? The Earth. Many people are lost because they don't know the importance of connection to the Earth. They connect to money, to relationships, to success, to goals. When we are disconnected from the Earth, we have feelings of being sad or lost. When we are connected to the Earth, we feel warm and secure.
Great Spirit, help me to stay connected to the Mother Earth.
Keep It Simple
An alcoholic spends his life committing suicide on the installment plan.
-- Laurence Peter
None of us woke up one morning and found we had suddenly turned into an addict. We got to be one by practice. And we practiced often. We ignored our families--we left work early--and went drinking and drugging. Daily, we chose chemicals over anything else. Likewise, getting sober is no accident. We work the program. At meetings, we're reminded to help others. We all get sober on the installment plan. A day at a time. We got sick one day at a time; we recover one day at a time.
Prayer for the Day: Today, with my Higher Power's help, I'll be happier, more honest, more sober. Sobriety is like a good savings account. Higher Power, help me to put in more than I take out.
Action for the Day: I'll go over my Step One to remind myself it's no accident I'm an addict.
Big Book
"The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 83~
Reminders
by Larry R.
A song comes on the radio, a tune we used to sing
It stirs up joyful memories, a person, place or thing
That first true love, a camping trip, a ski house in Vermont
The times we shared with friends inside our favorite restaurant
Yet, there are other memories we desire to forget
Our alcohol obsession, words and actions we regret
Both good and bad, they do arise, and then they fade away
Till someone or thing rekindles them and puts them on display
A member at a meeting shared what he was going through
He had not drank for thirty days, his program very new
He told of how each day a battle raged inside his head
The urge to drink still haunted him, was easily misled
He’d fought the urge and did not drink, then asked is someone knew
How long that he would be this way, what did he have to do
We’ve all been there, keep coming back, the other members said
It may take time, but be assured, there’s better days ahead
For me, those days are in the past, obsession’s been removed
Thanks to AA, my life today has greatly been improved
Rarely does a drinking thought ever get completed
When it occurs, before it sets, it’s readily depleted
His share was a reminder that I too had felt that way
Not knowing if I had the will to not drink one more day
It did take time, but slowly drinking thoughts began to fade
So, there I sat, unlike our friend, content I had it made
But then another thought arose, was subtlety implanted
I needed to remember not to take my GIFT for granted
Just because I have not had a drink for many years
I am not CURED, the demon hides somewhere between my ears
Another fellow joined a different meeting I attend
The story that he told was very hard to comprehend
He had been dry for thirty years without attending meetings
He took one drink, and just like that, his old ways were repeating
It started with a beer or two, no harm, he had control
Within two week his life had changed, the liquor took its toll
Right back where he’d left off, alcohol consumed his thinking
He knew he must rejoin AA or end up dead from drinking
He’s been back in the program now for two successful years
Just like that other fellow it began with doubts and fears
He got a sponsor, worked the steps, and helped me to remember
That I still need to hear these things from other AA members
It’s good to be reminded of the time we were like them
Unsure if we would make it, would we ever start to mend
Reminders have a way to lead us to appreciation
And let us know we’re still in school, there is no graduation
Larry R.
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