July 13th

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

Humility Is A Gift

As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will was missing.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 72

When I first came to A.A., I wanted to find some of the elusive quality called humility. I didn't realize I was looking for humility because I thought it would help me get what I wanted, and that I would do anything for others if I thought God would somehow reward me for it. I try to remember now that the people I meet in the course of my day are as close to God as I am ever going to get while on this earth. I need to pray for knowledge of God's will today, and see how my experience with hope and pain can help other people; if I can do that, I don't need to search for humility, it has found me.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

Before alcoholics come into A.A., they are "flying blind." But A.A. gives them a directed beam in the A.A. program. As long as they keep on this beam, the signal of sobriety keeps coming through. If they have a slip, the signal is broken. if they swing off course into drunkenness, the signal stops. Unless they regain the A.A. directed beam, they are in danger of crashing against the mountain peak of despair. Am I on the beam?

Meditation for the Day

Be expectant. Constantly expect better things. Believe that what God has in store for you is better than anything you ever had before. The way to grow old happily is to expect better things right up to the end of your life and even beyond that. A good life is a growing, expanding life, with ever widening horizons, an ever greater circle of friends and acquaintances, and an ever greater opportunity for usefulness.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may await with complete faith for the next good thing in store for me. I pray that I may always keep an expectant attitude toward life.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Humility in action

Page 203

"If we are hurting, and most of us do from time to time, we learn to ask for help."

Basic Text, p. 83

Sometimes recovery gets downright difficult. It can be even more difficult to get humble enough to ask for help. We think, "I have all this time clean. I should be better than this!" But the reality of recovery is simple: whether we have thirty days or thirty years clean, we must be willing to ask for help when we need it.

Humility is a common theme in our Twelve Steps. The program of Narcotics Anonymous is not about keeping up appearances. Instead, the program helps us get the most from our recovery. We must be willing to lay bare our difficulties if we expect to find solutions to problems that arise in our lives.

There's an old expression sometimes heard in Narcotics Anonymous: We can't save our face and our ass at the same time. It isn't easy to share in a meeting when we have a number of years clean only to dissolve into tears because life on life's terms has made us realize our powerlessness. But when the meeting ends and another member comes up and says, "You know, I really needed to hear what you had to say," we know that there is a God working in our lives.

The taste of humility is never bitter. The rewards of humbling ourselves by asking for help sweetens our recovery

Just for Today: If I need help, I will ask for it. I will put humility into action in my life.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

"Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realizing you were the prisoner!"

--Max Lucado

"God help me not to walk backwards through life. Keep me from being so focused on what is past that I fail to savor what is present or imagine what is to come. Let me learn my lessons that I may not repeat my own history of mistakes. Let me reflect on past glories but with enough humility to know they are memories not mandates. Free me from lingering regret, anger too long carried, hurt that haunts my dreams and steals the joy from what I should now cherish as your healing gift. Turn my face forward, God, that I may better see you coming to meet me."

Steven Charleston

“We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we began to be free.”

~AA Co-Founder, Bill W., March 1962, “What Is Acceptance?”, The Language of the Heart

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.

Native American

"Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and You are older than all need, older than all prayer...You are the life of all things."

--Black Elk, OGLALA SIOUX

Great Spirit - Sometimes I don't feel like praying. Sometimes when I have done something wrong, I'm ashamed to come to You. Even though You have always been there for me, I sometimes choose to stay away. It's hard for me to understand what all knowing is. Sometimes it's hard for me to see how much You really care. But I know if I take a few minutes and think about what I know to be true about You, the things change and I am able to realize Your power and Your love. Today, I'll start by thinking of You. I'll think about all the times You have helped and guided me in the past. You are life, You are love, You are power, You are desire, You are truth, Your are principle, You are intelligence, You are courage. With You I am everything; without You I am nothing.

Creator, thank You for allowing me to start my day with You.

Keep It Simple

A brother may not be a friend, but a friend will always be a brother.

---Benjamin Franklin

Many of us come from families that aren't very healthy for us. Many families have lots of love but aren't able to show it. Maybe our parents argued or drank to much. When we share our recovery with them, they may not seem happy with us. They may be doing the best they can, but they don't understand our new way of life.

We can have the love we wanted, but it might not come from our family. We can choose healthy friends to be our new "family." Some friends may seem like the sister or brother we always wanted.

A sponsor can give us advice we never got from our parents. We can have a full, healthy "family life" after all.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me choose good friend who will help me to be the best that I can be.

Action for the Day: The best way to have a friend is to be a friend. What will I do today to be a friend.

Big Book

Chapter 9 The Family Afterwards (pg 129 & top 130)

If the family cooperates, dad will soon see that he is suffering from a distortion of values. He will perceive that his spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like himself, a spiritual life which does not include his family obligations may not be so perfect after all. If the family will appreciated that dad’s current behavior is but a phase of his development, all will be well. In the midst of an understanding and sympathetic family, these vagaries of dad’s spiritual infancy will quickly disappear.

The opposite may happen should the family condemn and criticize. Dad may feel that for years his drinking has placed him on the wrong side of every argument, but that now he has become a superior person with God on his side. If the family persists in criticism, this fallacy may take a still greater hold on father. Instead of treating the family as he should, he may retreat further into himself and feel he has spiritual justification for so doing.

Though the family does not fully agree with dad’s spiritual activities, they should let him have his head. Even if he displays a certain amount of neglect and irresponsibility towards the family, it is well to let him go as far as he like in helping other alcoholics. During those first days of convalescence, this will do more to insure his sobriety than anything else. Though some of his manifestations are alarming and disagreeable, we think dad will be on a firmer foundation than the man who is placing business or professional success ahead of spiritual development. He will be less likely to drink again, and anything is preferable to that.