July 12th

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

GIVING UP CENTER STAGE

But without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. . . . Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 70

Why do I balk at the word "humility"? I am not humbling myself toward other people, but toward God, as I understand Him. Humility means "to show submissive respect," and by being humble I realize I am not the center of the universe. When I was drinking, I was consumed by pride and self-centeredness. I felt the entire world revolved around me, that I was master of my destiny. Humility enables me to depend more on God to help me overcome obstacles, to help me with my own imperfections, so that I may grow spiritually. I must solve more difficult problems to increase my proficiency and, as I encounter life's stumbling blocks, I must learn to overcome them through God's help. Daily communion with God demonstrates my humility and provides me with the realization that an entity more powerful than I is willing to help me if I cease trying to play God myself.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

Today is ours. Let us live today as we believe God wants us to live. Each day will have a new pattern which we cannot foresee. But we can open each day with a quiet period in which we say a little prayer, asking God to help us through the day. Personal contact with God, as we understand Him, will from day to day bring us nearer to an understanding of His will for us. At the close of the day, we offer Him thanks for another day of sobriety. A full, constructive day has been lived and we are grateful. Am I asking God each day for strength and thanking Him each night?

Meditation for the Day

If you believe that God's grace has saved you, then you must believe that He is meaning to save you yet more and to keep you in the way that you should go. Even human rescuers would not save you from drowning only to place you in other deep and dangerous waters. Rather, they would place you on dry land, there to re- store you. God, who is your rescuer, would certainly do this and even more. God will complete the task He sets out to do. He will not throw you overboard, if you are depending on Him.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may trust God to keep me in the way. I pray that I may rely on Him not to let me go.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Patience

Page 202

"We were trapped by our need for the instant gratification that drugs gave us."

Basic Text, p. 25

"I want what I want, and I want it now!" That's about as patient as most of us ever got in our active addiction. The obsession and compulsion of our disease gave us a "one-track" way of thinking; when we wanted something, that's all we thought about. And the drugs we took taught us that instant gratification was never more than a dose away. It's no wonder that most of us came to Narcotics Anonymous with next to no patience.

The problem is, we can't always get what we want whenever we want it. Some of our wishes are pure fantasy; if we think about it, we'll realize we have no reason to believe those wishes will be fulfilled in our lifetimes. We probably can't even fulfill all our realistic desires; we certainly can't fulfill them all at once. In order to acquire or achieve some things, we will have to sacrifice others.

In our addiction we sought instant gratification, squandering our resources. In recovery we must learn to prioritize, sometimes denying the gratification of some desires in order to fulfill more important long-term goals. To do so requires patience. To find that patience, we practice our program of recovery, seeking the kind of full-bodied spiritual awakening that will allow us to live and enjoy life on life's terms.

Just for Today: Higher Power, help me discover what's most important in my life. Help me learn patience, so that I can devote my resources to the important things.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

To Thee I Pray

...for this day,

and to receive my daily bread,

that You will lend me shelter,

to rest my weary head.

I pray only for knowledge,

of Your will for me today,

that from my head I move to heart,

what I must do and say.

To Thee I Pray

…that You will cleanse my soul,

and fill my heart with inspiration,

as I seek Your conscience contact,

through prayer and meditation.

Grant me strength and courage,

as I draw upon this day,

stay with me, that I may flourish,

in all Your loving sway.

To Thee I Pray

…that I am now the man,

You intend for me to be,

open wide my faithful eyes,

that I may clearly see.

Guide my thoughts and direct my actions,

hush my mind and lay me still,

remove temptations and distractions,

that I may better do Thy will.

To Thee I Pray

…for Your love and Your protection,

and render basic needs,

that as I grow on fertile ground,

You’ll supply the seeds.

I cannot sustain without it,

Nor commence through night or day,

No query or no doubt about it,

my life is boundlessly abundant when,

...To Thee I Pray.

Gordon R

"I couldn't lower my standards quick enough to meet my last bottom"

Mario (MOT - MOT Overtime)

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

[The] defilements are like a cat. If you feed it, it will keep coming around. Stop feeding it, and eventually it will not bother to come around anymore.

-Ajahn Chah, "Still Forest Pool"

Native American

"Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit."

--Sitting Bull, TETON SIOUX

Our bodies are both physical and spiritual. At our very center we are spiritual. Our bodies are built around the spiritual. The center is the unseen world. Therefore, we cannot see it with our eyes and we tend to judge the body because we can see it. The body is not who we are. We can see the spiritual if we are spiritual ourselves. We won't see this always with our physical eyes. Usually we will see it with our spiritual eye. We will hear ourselves say "I know this to be true."

At the center of all human beings is the place of good. That includes myself. At my very core is good. I can find this place by staying free of resentments, fear, dishonesty and self-seeking motives.

My Creator, keep me free this day of resentment, selfishness, dishonesty and fear.

Keep It Simple

Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed.

--- Irene Peter

Our life changed a lot when we stopped drinking and using other drugs. But this is only a start. We need to go further.

Our old attitudes can kill us, even if we aren't drinking or drugging any more. This is called a "dry drunk." If we're on a dry drunk, we've changed the way we act without changing the way we think.

Our program shows us how to change the way we think. And we change how we treat ourselves and others. We learn to live a new life based on love and care.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me guard against my old attitudes. Help me keep changing.

Action for the Day: I'll list four ways I've changed because I'm sober. I'll list four ways I haven't changed yet.

Big Book

Chapter 9 The Family Afterwards (pg 128 & top 129)

Assume on the other hand that father has, at the outset, a stirring spiritual experience. Overnight, as it were, he is a different man. He becomes a religious enthusiast. He is unable to focus on anything else. As soon as his sobriety begins to be taken as a matter of course, the family may look at their strange new dad with apprehension, then with irritation. There is talk about spiritual matters morning, noon and night. He may demand that the family find God in a hurry, or exhibit amazing indifference to them and say he is above worldly considerations. He may tell mother, who has been religious all her life, that she doesn’t know what it’s all about, and that she had better get his brand of spirituality while there is yet time.

When father takes this tack, the family may react unfavorably. The may be jealous of a God who has stolen dad’s affections. While grateful that he drinks no more, they may not like the idea that God has accomplished the miracle where they failed. They often forget father was beyond human aid. They may not see why their love and devotion did not straighten him out. Dad is not so spiritual after all, they say. If he means to right his past wrongs, why all this concern for everyone in the world but his family? What about his talk that God will take care of them? They suspect father is a bit balmy!

He is not so unbalanced as they might think. Many of us have experienced dad’s elation. We have indulged in spiritual intoxication. Like a gaunt prospector, belt drawn in over the ounce of food, our pick struck gold. Joy at our release from a lifetime of frustration knew no bounds. Father feels he has struck something better than gold. For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself. He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product.