[bluidkiti]

May 24

Daily Reflections

"HAPPY, JOYOUS AND FREE"

We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. We cannot
subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once
was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we made our own
misery. God didn't do it. Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of
misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity
to demonstrate His omnipotence.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 133

For years I believed in a punishing God and blamed Him for my
misery. I have learned that I must lay down the "weapons" of self in
order to pick up the "tools" of the A.A. program. I do not struggle
with the program because it is a gift and I have never struggled when
receiving a gift. If I sometimes keep on struggling, it is because I'm still
hanging onto my old ideas and ". . . the results are nil."

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

In twelfth-step work, the third thing is conviction. Prospects must be
convinced that they honestly want to stop drinking. They must see and
admit that their life is unmanageable. They must face the fact that
they must do something about their drinking. They must be absolutely
honest with themselves and face themselves as they really are. They
must be convinced that they must give up drinking and they must see
that their whole life depends on this conviction. Do I care enough
about other alcoholics to help them reach this conviction?

Meditation For The Day

There is no limit to what you can accomplish in helping others. Keep
that thought always. Never relinquish any work or give up the thought
of any accomplishment because it seems beyond your power. God will
help you in all good work. Only give it up if you feel that it's not God's
will for you. In helping others, think of the tiny seed under the dark,
hard ground. There is no certainty that, when it has forced its way up
to the surface, sunlight and warmth will greet it. Often a task seems
beyond your power, but there is no limit to what you can accomplish
with God's help.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may never become discouraged in helping others. I pray
that I may always rely on the power of God to help me.

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As Bill Sees It

Blind Trust?, p. 144

"Most surely, there can be no trust where there is no love, nor can
there be real love where distrust holds its malign sway.

"But does trust require that we be blind to each other people's
motives or indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most
certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the
capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a
private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should
extend in any given situation.

"However, this inventory needs to be taken in a spirit of
understanding and love. Nothing can so much bias our judgment as
the negative emotions of suspicion, jealously, or anger.

"Having vested our confidence in another person, we ought to let him
know of our full support. Because of this, more often than not he will
respond magnificently, and far beyond our first expectations."

Letter, 1966

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Walk in Dry Places

Guidance and Power in making Decisions.
Higher power
The Twelve Step movement grews out of an earlier society that emphasized taking "quiet times" and seeking continous guidance in a group setting. While this isn't usually practiced by 12 step groups anymore, such exercises are still recommended for individuals.
Our needs in seeking guidance are twofold; FIRST, we msut reach a belief that our higher power is always available to supply the guidance and power we need. SECOND, we must take care to set aside personal opinions and prejudices while letting real guidance come through. We can easily fall into serious error by assuming that our own impulses and prejudices are "the will of God" for ourselves and others.
How can we identify real guidance when it comes? Usually, we have a sense of peace and rightness about a God-inspired decision. This will be accompanied by a confidence that the correct way will bed shown to us, perhaps a step at a time. The right decision will also be morally correct, involving no harm to others.
I'll seek the guidance of my Higher power in all things today, knowing that I have within myself the capacity to heed such guidance and follow it.

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Keep It Simple

The way to love anything is to realize it might be lost. ---G.K. Chesterton
Every day we take so much for granted. But we can count certain blessings: a roof over our head, food, clothing, family, and friends, freedom, a Higher Power we trust. These things are special.
Thinking about them wakes up our happiness. Our recovery program shows us how happy. we just have to remember to do what it tells us!
Step Ten helps us wake up our happiness. Each evening, as we think about our day, we can give thanks for the things we love: our recovery, our health, and the special people in our lives. If we spend part of our day thinking about these important areas, we wont lose them.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me make the most of my blessings today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll tell five people I love that I'm glad to have them in my life. And I'll tell each of them one reason why.

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Each Day a New Beginning

It's ironic, but until you can free those final monsters within the jungle of yourself, your life, your soul is up for grabs. --Rona Barrett
We all have monsters. Maybe it's depression over the past or present circumstances, or resentment about another's behavior, or fear of new situations. Maybe it's jealousy of other women. The more attention we give the monsters, the more powerful they get. The harder we try to resist the jealousy or depression or fear, the greater it becomes.
The program offers us the way to let go. And we find the way through one another. When we share ourselves fully with one another, share our monsters with one another, they no longer dominate us. They seek the dark recesses of our minds, and when we shine the light on them, they recoil. The program offers us an eternal light.
I will let the program shine its light in my life today. My monsters will flee for the day.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.

p. 8

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."

But all alcoholics who have drunk themselves out of jobs, family, and friends will need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have thus demolished their security.

pp. 51-52

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"Humility leads to strength and not to weakness. It is the highest form
of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them."
--John (Jay) McCloy

I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst
from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable
misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to
them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to
sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can
choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I
have - life itself.
--Walter Anderson

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for
responsibility.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness
without action."
--Benjamin Disraeli

Appreciate the time that you have been given. Don't procrastinate,
because you just may not get the chance to do something you have
been meaning to do.
--unknown

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for
those who love, time is eternity.
--Henry Van Dyke

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IMMATURITY

"My mother loved children - she
would have given anything if I
had been one."
--Groucho Marx

For too many years I allowed myself to be treated as a child. I played
the child role in order to avoid responsibility. Part of my
people-pleasing was living as a thirty-year-old child! I was afraid to
say "no". Afraid to disappoint or hurt another's feelings. Afraid to tell
my parents how they were hurting me by their need to control my life.
God, when I think about it, I spent years feeling guilty and afraid.

Today I am willing to deal with this pain in my life; today I am willing
to talk about it. My biggest relief comes in knowing that I am not
alone. There are millions of us out there. The difference is I have a
program today that enables me to talk about it.

God, help me to be child-like without being childish. Help me to grow
into maturity with a smile.

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Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to
the bones.
Proverbs 16:24

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
Psalm 37:1-9

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Daily Inspiration

Do not be upset by events of the past, rather be upset by the time and energy you are devoting to them. Lord, help me to enjoy each moment by completely letting go of the past.

Appreciate every moment of life because even in your darkest moment God is with you. Lord, I know that when things become too difficult for me, You will take my burden and carry me. I am not afraid.