July 30th

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

GIVING BACK

. . . he has struck something better than gold. . . . 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.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129

My part of the Seventh Tradition means so much more than just giving money to pay for the coffee. It means being accepted for myself by belonging to a group. For the first time I can be responsible, because I have a choice. I can learn the principles of working out problems in my daily life by getting involved in the "business" of A.A. By being self-supporting, I can give back to A.A. what A.A. gave to me! Giving back to A.A. not only ensures my own sobriety, but allows me to buy insurance that A.A. will be here for my grandchildren.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and perhaps its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. Do I still worry too much about tomorrow?

Meditation for the Day

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is not seeing, but believing. Down through the ages, there have always been those who obeyed the heavenly vision, not seeing but believing in God. And their faith was rewarded. So shall it be to you. Good things will happen to you. You cannot see God, but you can see the results of faith in human lives, changing them from defeat to victory. God's grace is available to all who have faith - not seeing, but believing. With faith, life can be victorious and happy.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have faith enough to believe without seeing. I pray that I may be content with the results of my faith.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Regular inventory

Page 220

"Continuing to take a personal inventory means that we form a habit of looking at ourselves, our actions, attitudes, and relationships on a regular basis."

Basic Text, p. 42

Taking a regular inventory is a key element in our new pattern of living. In our addiction, we examined ourselves as little as possible. We weren't happy with how we were living our lives, but we didn't feel that we could change the way we lived. Self-examination, we felt, would have been a painful exercise in futility.

Today, all that is changing. Where we were powerless over our addiction, we've found a Power greater than ourselves that has helped us stop using. Where we once felt lost in life's maze, we've found guidance in the experience of our fellow recovering addicts and our ever-improving contact with our Higher Power. We need not feel trapped by our old, destructive patterns. We can live differently if we choose.

By establishing a regular pattern of taking our own inventory, we give ourselves the opportunity to change anything in our lives that doesn't work. If we've started doing something that causes problems, we can start changing our behavior before it gets completely out of hand. And if we're doing something that prevents problems from occurring, we can take note of that, too, and encourage ourselves to keep doing what works.

Just for Today: I will make a commitment to include a regular inventory in my new pattern of living.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.

~John Newton, author of, "AMAZING GRACE"

Waiting at A Red Light

While driving home the other day without a need to speed

I saw a traffic light ahead and continued to proceed

Although there was no reason that could justify my flight

A voice inside my head said that I just had to make that light

I saw it turn to yellow and knew soon it would be red

My first thought was to run it, but I stopped at it instead

And as I sat there waiting for this object to turn green

My fingers tapped upon the dash, I cursed that damn machine

This bloody light is way too long, my time is being wasted

My self-absorbent thinking only made me more frustrated

It’s then my AA training helped my thought to rearranged

Impatience only makes it worse, accept what I can’t change

That made me think about how my whole life had been that way

Each time I wanted something new I needed it that day

I could not stand to wait in line when at the hardware store

Why can’t these cashiers hurry up, what are they waiting for

And when I wanted to feel good, I had no time to waste

A glass or two of alcohol would get me to that place

Beer and wine were social drinks, they did not do the trick

Whiskey, gin or vodka when I wanted fixing quick

These tendencies did not abate when I first joined AA

I wanted what was promised and I want it right away

But change did not come quickly, so my frustration grew

I needed help to understand what other members knew

My sponsor told me to relax, I had a path to climb

He said some things that puzzled me, a thing like “time takes time”

The program’s not a sprint, he said, more like a marathon

But day by day, like mile by mile, old thinking gets withdrawn

But I’m in need of fixing now, I can’t afford to wait

My life’s a mess and I hear others say how life is great

That’s what I want, I want it now, what do I have to do

Keep coming back and you’ll get there within a year or two

A year or two, is that a joke, I cannot wait that long

I’ll surely end up drunk again, I’m really not that strong

He said to me, that’s why WE’RE here, support you as we should

And while you try, repeat these words, “not feeling bad is good”

Then as he spoke, a light went on, it helped me comprehend

To get to where I wished to be, I needed time to mend

And as I did, be grateful that my life had gotten better

Be patient, more will be revealed, enjoy life’s simple pleasurers

These days I still have times when my impatience takes command

When something or some person won’t submit to my demands

It’s then I need to take a breath and think about that light

It’s red right now, but will turn green, so don’t get so uptight

Larry R.

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

It is not that anger and desire are inherently evil or that we should feel ashamed when they arise. It is a matter of seeing them as the delusions that they are: distorted conceptions that paint a false picture of reality. They are negative because they lead to unhappiness and confusion.

- Kathleen McDonald, "How to Meditate"

Native American

"You want to know who's a real medicine man? He's the one who doesn't say 'I'm a medicine man.' He doesn't ask you to come to him. You've got to go and ask him. And you'll find he's always there among his own people."

--Louis Farmer, ONONDAGA

The Medicine Man is a role model of what it is like to live in harmony and balance with the Creator. It takes a long time, a lot of sacrifice and discipline to become a Medicine Man. A Medicine Man is humble and never crass about anything. He knows he lives to do the will of the Great Spirit. He knows he is to help the people. He lives very low key - the more low key he lives, the more people seek him out - and such is life. The more one serves the people and is quiet about it, the more he is sought out. The quieter he is, the more powerful is his medicine.

Great Spirit, allow me this day to be humble. Allow me this day not to seek attention, but to live quietly and keep my focus and attention on serving You.

Keep It Simple

Beauty may be said to be God's trademark in creation. Henry Ward Beecher

Our addiction was like a veil over our heads. We saw the world as an ugly place.

We saw people as trouble. We thought our drinks and drugs were beautiful. But even they became ugly over time. Life became ugly because we had put distance between our Higher Power and ourselves.

Now we are blessed because the veil is lifted, and we are part of the healing process. We help others step into the beauty of recovery.

Our spirits are again free to seek a relationship with God and others. Through these relationships, we get our hope back. This hope help us focus on the beauty of the world. Hope is the rain that helps our souls grow.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, the world is both beautiful and ugly. For to long I only saw the ugly. Help me focus on the beauty.

Action for the Day: Today, I'll keep an eye out for the beauty recovery holds for me. Throughout the day, I'll pray for this.

Big Book

Chapter 10 To Employers (pg 146 & top 147)

As a class, alcoholics are energetic people. They work hard and they play hard. Your man should be on his mettle to make good. Being somewhat weakened, and faced with physical and mental readjustment to a life which knows no alcohol, he may overdo. You may have to curb his desire to work sixteen hours a day. You may need to encourage him to play once in a while. He may wish to do a lot for other alcoholics and something of the sort may come up during business hours. A reasonable amount of latitude will be helpful. This work is necessary to maintain his sobriety.

After your man has gone along without drinking for a few months, you may be able to make use of his services with other employees who are giving you the alcoholic run-around-provided, of course, they are willing to have a third party in the picture. An alcoholic who has recovered, but holds a relatively unimportant job, can talk to a man with a better position. Being on a radically different basis of life, he will never take advantage of the situation.

Your man may be trusted. Long experience with alcoholic excuses naturally arouses suspicion. When his wife next calls saying he is sick, you may jump to the conclusion he is drunk. If he is, and is still trying to recover, he will tell you about it even if it means the loss of his job. For he knows he must be honest if he would live at all. He will appreciated knowing you are not bothering your head about him, that you are not suspicious nor are you trying to run his life so he will be shielded from temptation to drink. If he is conscientiously following the program of recovery he can go anywhere your business may call him.