September 1

DAILY PONDERABLES

Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections

WILLINGNESS TO GROW

If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 8

Sobriety fills the painful "hole in the soul" that my alcoholism created. Often I feel so physically well that I believe my work is done. However, joy is not just the absence of pain; it is the gift of continual spiritual awakening. Joy comes from ongoing and active study, as well as application from the principles of recovery in my everyday life, and from sharing that experience with others. My Higher Power presents many opportunities for deeper spiritual awakening. I need only to bring into my recovery the willingness to grow. Today I am ready to grow.

From the book Daily Reflections

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

"Be careful not to brand new prospects as alcoholics. Let them draw their own conclusion. But talk to them about the hopelessness of alcoholism. Tell them exactly what happened to you and how you recovered. Stress the spiritual feature freely. If they are agnostics or atheists, make it emphatic that they do not have to agree with your conception of God. They can choose any conception they like, provided it makes sense to them. The main thing is that they be willing to believe in a Power greater than themselves and that they live by spiritual principles." Do I hold back too much in speaking of the spiritual principles of the program?

Meditation for the Day

"I will never leave nor forsake thee." Down through the centuries, thousands have believed in God's constancy, untiringness, and unfailing love. God has love. Then forever you are sure of His love. God has power. Then forever you are sure, in every difficulty and temptation, of His strength. God has patience. Then always there is One who can never tire. God has understanding. Then always you will understand and be understood. Unless you want Him to go, God will never leave you. He is always ready with power.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may feel that God's love will never fail. I pray that I may have confidence in His unfailing power.

From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day

NA - Just for Today

Real values

Page 255

"We become able to make wise and loving decisions based on principles and ideals that have real value in our lives."

Basic Text, p.105

Addiction gave us a certain set of values, principles we applied in our lives. "You pushed me" one of those values told us, "so I pushed back, hard." "It's mine" was another value generated by our disease. "Well, okay, maybe it wasn't mine to start with, but I liked it, so I made it mine." Those values were hardly values at all-more like rationalizations-and they certainly didn't help us make wise and loving decisions. In fact, they served primarily to dig us deeper and deeper into the grave we'd already dug for ourselves.

The Twelve Steps give us a strong dose of real values, the kind that help us live in harmony with ourselves and those around us. We place our faith not in ourselves, our families, or our communities, but in a Higher Power-and in doing so, we grow secure enough to be able to trust our communities, our families, and even ourselves. We learn to be honest, no matter what-and we learn to refrain from doing things we might want to hide. We learn to accept responsibility for our actions. "It's mine" is replaced with a spirit of selflessness. These are the kind of values that help us become a responsible, productive part of the life around us. Rather than digging us deeper into a grave, these values restore us to the world of the living.

Just for Today: I am grateful for the values I've developed. I am thankful for the ability they give me to make wise, loving decisions as a responsible, productive member of my community

From the book Just for Today

Thought for Today

AA is not a self improvement program. We come here to learn to live with our limitations.

“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”

– Dr. Paul Farmer (thanks Stan F.)

My AA Balance Sheet

In business it’s important that you know just where you stand

Your P & L will show you if you’ve chosen the right plan

Another tool you’ll need to use is called the balance sheet

It shows you what you have or owe, to add or to retreat

Step Ten is like a balance sheet; it makes us take a look

At what we’ve gained and what we’ve lost, as stated in the Book

It helps us to consider when another day’s complete

On what we’ve done, both good and bad, an AA balance sheet

Another way to think concerns what we have lost or gained

The asset is serenity, liability was pain

They’re both part of this gift we got by coming through that door

To learn to live a better way, that’s what AA‘s there for

Unlike the business balance sheet that’s known to all of us

Where one side has a minus sign, the other has a plus

My AA balance sheet has many plusses on one side

And not too many minuses since the Steps have been applied

When I was forced to finally look at both sides of my ledger

I saw that I had lost control, consumed with seeking pleasure

I tried my best to justify the things that I had done

I’m hurting no one but myself, I’m only having fun

Then came the time the fun ran out, was forced to face the fact

That alcohol controlled my life, a slave to its impact

I did not want to drink again, but knew not how to stop

My doctor said to try AA, “do it before you drop”

I did not really want to go; my ego had been bruised

But go I did, for after all, what did I have to lose

It took a while to get onboard, but when I finally tried

I saw a change within myself that could not be denied

Now when I work Step number Ten, my ledger’s been revised

The good stuff far outweighs the bad, it’s made me realize

That things that were a negative, today have been replaced

Like how I felt when I awoke, no longer in disgrace

Most nights as I recount my day, I’m pleased with what I find

It’s not because of some great deed that enters in my mind

My balance sheet is positive because I work these Steps

To smile and greet my fellow man and treat them with respect

And should I fail in this attempt, I need to recognize

Where I’d been wrong, in word or deed, been quick to criticize

I owe amends to those I’ve harmed, make it without delay

Then work to make sure this mistake does not get a replay

So, when I tally up my score by practicing Step Ten

I’m mindful how my life has changed as I consider when

My balance sheet looked awful at the end of every day

Today the norm is positive since I have found AA

Larry R.

Buddha/Zen Thoughts

In the gloom and darkness of the night, when there is a sudden flash of light, a person will recognize objects; in the same way, the one with a flash of insight sees according to reality -- "This is how sorrow works; this is how it arises; this is how it can come to an end; this is the path leading to that end."

-Anguttara Nikaya

Native American

"Everyone has a song. God gives us each a song. That's how we know who we are. Our song tells us who we are."

--Charlie Knight, UTE

As we start to walk the Red Road and as we develop ourselves as Warriors, a song will come to us. This song is given to each of us from the Great Spirit. Whenever we sing this song, we will receive courage and strength not only for ourselves but if we sing this song for others, it will also help them. The song will give us power and make us feel really good. The song will make us see life in a sacred way. If you don't have your song yet, ask the Creator in prayer if He will give you your song. With the song comes a responsibility - the responsibility to act and conduct oneself as a Warrior according to your song.

Oh my Creator, let me live my song. Let my song honor Your way of life. Let me sing my song each day. At the end of today, let my song tell people who I am. I am a beautiful child of the Creator.

Keep It Simple

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible . . .

--- First half of Step Nine

In our illness, we harmed people. In Step Nine, we are to make amends. Making amends is about asking people we have harmed what we need to do to set things right. But making amends is more than saying, “I'm sorry.” If you ran a store and someone had stolen five dollars, you wouldn't want them to just say, ”I'm sorry.” You'd want the person to pay back the money. The same is true with amends.

Many people we've harmed ask only that we don't repeat our mistakes. Respect their wishes. Step Nine has healed many wounds. Step Nine allows us to grow up. Step Nine help us regain faith in ourselves. Remember, the best amend we make to all is to stay sober.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, give me courage. Help me face the trouble caused by my disease. Make me ready to help other heals from the harm I've caused.

Action for the Day: Today, I'll pray that those I've harmed will heal. I will be responsible for my actions.

TWELVESTEPS

and

TWELVE TRADITIONS

Step 3

pgs 39-40

At first that “somebody” is likely to be his closest A.A. friend. He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too. Of course the sponsor points out that our friend’s life is still unmanageable even though he is sober, that after all, only a bare start on A.A.’s program has been made. More sobriety brought about by the admission of alcoholism and by attendance at a few meetings is very good indeed, but it is bound to be a far cry from permanent sobriety and a contented, useful life.

That is just where the remaining Steps of the A.A. program come in. Nothing short of continuous action upon these as a way of life can bring the much-desired result.

Then it is explained that other Steps of the A.A. program can be practiced with success only when Step Three is given a determined and persistent trial. This statement may surprise newcomers who have experienced nothing but constant deflation and a growing conviction that human will is of no value whatever. They have become persuaded, and rightly so, that many problems besides alcohol will not yield to a headlong assault powered by the individual alone. But now it appears that there are certain things which only the individual can do. All by himself, and in the light of his own circumstances, he needs to develop the quality of willingness. When he acquires willingness, he is the only one who can make the decision to exert himself. Trying to do this is an act of his own will. All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust, to God’s will.

It is when we try to make our will conform with God’s that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into agreement with God’s intention for us. To make this increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.’s Twelve Steps, and Step Three opens the door.

Once we have come into agreement with these ideas, it is really easy to begin the practice of Step Three. In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done.”