05/07

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

RESPECT FOR OTHERS

Such parts of our story we tell to someone who will understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is we must be hard on ourself, but always considerate of others. Alcoholics Anonymous Page 74

Respect for others is the lesson I take out of this passage. I must go to any lengths to free myself if I wish to find that peace of mind that I have sought for so long. However, none of this must be done at another's expense. Selfishness has no place in the AA way of life.

When I take the Fifth Step it's wiser to choose a person with whom I share common aims because if that person does not understand me, my spiritual progress may be delayed and I could be in danger of a relapse. So I ask for divine guidance before choosing the man or woman whom I take into my confidence.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

It's very important to keep in a grateful frame of mind, if we want to stay sober. We should be grateful that we're living in a day and age when an alcoholic isn't treated as he often used to be treated before Alcoholics Anonymous was started. In the old days, every town had its town drunk who was regarded with scorn and ridiculed by the rest of the townspeople. We have come into A.A. and found all the sympathy, understanding, and fellowship that we could ask for. There's no other group like A.A. in the world. Am I grateful?

Meditation for the Day

God takes our efforts for good and blesses them. God needs our efforts. We need God's blessing. Together, they mean spiritual success. Our efforts are necessary. We cannot merely relax and drift with the tide. We must often direct our efforts against the tide of materialism around us. When difficulties come, our efforts are needed to surmount them. But God directs our efforts into the right channels and God's power is necessary to help us choose the right.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose the right. I pray that I may have God's blessing and direction in all my efforts for good.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Turning turmoil into peace

Page 133

"With the world in such a turmoil, I feel I have been blessed to be where I am."

Basic Text, p. 145

Some days it doesn't pay to turn on the news, we hear so many stories about violence and mayhem. When we used, many of us grew accustomed to violence. Through the fog of our addiction, we rarely got too disturbed by the state of the world. When we are clean, however, many of us find we are particularly sensitive to the world around us. As recovering people, what can we do to make it a better place?

When we find ourselves disturbed by the turmoil of our world, we can find comfort in prayer and meditation. When it seems like everything is turned upside down, our contact with our Higher Power can be our calm in the midst of any storm. When we are centered on our spiritual path, we can respond to our fears with peace. And by living peaceably ourselves, we invite a spirit of peace to enter our world. As recovering people, we can affect positive change by doing our best to practice the principles of our program.

Just for Today: I will enhance peace in the world by living, speaking, and acting peacefully in my own life.

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

Acceptance

Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation-- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake.

Reprinted from Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 417, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Thought to Ponder....

My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.

Recovery Related Acronym

A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change.

No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them.

~ William Goodwin

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

And so are there four noble truths:

Life is suffering thru' birth trauma, illness, old age, fear of approaching death, separation from what one loves, stuck with what one hates.

The cause of all suffering is desire

The cure for all suffering is to remove desire

To remove desire, follow the eight-fold path.

Eightfold path:

Right knowledge..understand four noble truths

Right thinking..decide to set life on the correct path

Right speech..don't lie,criticize others unjustly,no harsh language,no gossip

Right conduct..follow the five precepts

Right livelihood..earn a living that does not harm living things

Right effort..conquer all evil thoughts, strive to maintain good thoughts

Right mindfulness..become intensely aware of all the states in body, feeling and mind.

Right concentration..deep meditation to lead to a higher state of consciousness( enlightenment)

And the Five Precepts of right conduct:

Do not kill

Do not steal

Do not lie

Do not be unchaste

Do not take drugs or drink intoxicants

Native American

"We must all become caretakers of the Earth."

Haida Gwaii Traditional Circle of Elders

Mother Earth is the source of all life. We should not only be concerned about the part of the Earth we live on, but we should be concerned about the parts of the Earth that other people live on. The Earth is one great whole. The trees in Brazil generate the air in the Untied States. If the trees are cut in Brazil, it affects the air that all people breathe. Every person needs to conscientiously think about how they respect the Earth. Do we dump our garbage out of the car? Do we poison the water? Do we poison the air? Am I taking on the responsibility of being a caretaker of the Earth?

Great Spirit, today, I will be aware of the Earth. I will be responsible.

Keep It Simple

So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.

--- Will Rogers

Secrets help keep us sick. In our drinking and using days, we did things we weren't proud of. We lived in a secret world we were ashamed of. This part of the power of addiction. Our behavior and our secrets kept us trapped. Recovery offers us a way out of this secret world. In our groups, we share our secrets, and they lose their power over us. There may be things we're too ashamed to talk about in our groups. When we share these things in our Fifth Step, they lose their power over us.

We have a new life that we're not ashamed to talk about. When shame leaves, pride enters our hearts. We know we're good people!

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me live a good life.

Action for the Day: Do I have any secrets that get in my way? Do I need to do a Fifth Step? If so, I'll pick a date---today.

Big Book

Chapter 5 How It Works (pg 58 & 59)

RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it-then you are ready to take certain steps.

At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that One is God. May you find Him now!