Daily Reflections
February 28
WHAT? NO PRESIDENT?
When told that our Society has no president having authority to govern it, no treasurer who can compel the payment of any dues … our friends gasp and exclaim, “This simply can’t be … ”
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 132
When I finally made my way to A.A., I could not believe that there was no treasurer to “compel the payment of dues.” I could not imagine an organization that didn’t require monetary contributions in return for a service. It was my first and, thus far, only experience with getting “something for nothing.” Because I did not feel used or conned by those in A.A., I was able to approach the program free from bias and with an open mind. They wanted nothing from me. What could I lose? I thank God for the wisdom of the early founders who knew so well the alcoholic’s disdain for being manipulated.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
February 28
A.A. Thought For The Day
We should be free from alcohol for good. It’s out of our hands and in the hands of God, so we don’t need to worry about it or even think about it any more. But if we haven’t done this honestly and fully, the chances are that it will become our problem again. Since we don’t trust God to take care of our problem for us, we reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. Then it’s our problem again and we’re in the same old mess we were in before. Do I trust God to take care of the problem for me?
Meditation For The Day
No work is of value without preparation. Every spiritual work must have behind it much spiritual preparation. Cut short times of prayer and times of spiritual preparation and many hours of work may be profitless. From the point of view of God, one poor tool working all the time, but doing bad work because of lack of preparation, is of small value compared with a sharp, keen, perfect instrument working only for a short time, but that turns out perfect work because of long hours of spiritual preparation.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may spend more time alone with God. I pray that I may get more strength and joy from such times, so that they will add much to my work.
Walk In Dry Places
February 28
Seeking Excitement
Seeking Serenity
“I haven’t found anything to replace the excitement I felt while drinking,” a member complained. “Sure, I’m grateful to be sober. But sometimes it’s so darned boring!
Let’ talk about that need for excitement, or “high.” For many of us, it was an important part of our drinking. At times, our drinking was exciting—it came with celebrations, graduations, marriage receptions, engagements, and just about anything else out of the ordinary. Along with it, we wanted other excitement: exciting love affairs, exciting experiences, exciting stories.
For us, however, excitement always ended with a crash, often a terrible one. Waking up after an exciting binge was a horrible moment. It stretched out to become horrible It never seemed to have a happy ending.
We can take this addiction to excitement in hand by recognizing it as a component of our alcoholism. We’ll still be able to be excited at times, but it must be a type of excitement that brings neither crash nor hangover.
I will not let boredom push me into actions that I know will be destructive in the long run. I do not want thrills at the expense of my self-respect and sense of well-being.
Keep It Simple
February 28
Leave yourself alone.
—Jenny Janacek
We often pick on ourselves. We put ourselves down. But doing this isn’t part of our recovery.
In fact, it goes against our program. Our program is based on loving care. We have turned our lives over to a caring, loving Higher Power who will give us the answers. We are told Easy Does It. We back off. As recovering addicts, we learn not to judge. Instead, we learn to be kind to ourselves. Our job is not to figure out the world, butt to add more love to it. Let’s start with ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, stop me from judging. Help me know what You want to do. Help me work the Steps Two and Three.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll leave myself alone. I will remember that picking on myself is another from of control.
Xtra Thoughts
February 28
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.
– Nido Qubein
On the recollection of so many and great favours and blessings, I now, with a high sense of gratitude, presume to offer up my sincere thanks to the Almighty, the Creator and Preserver.
– William Bartram
Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?
– Fulton J. Sheen
If you’re going to put your product in beta – put your business model in beta with it.
– Joe Kraus
I’m always afraid of failing. It’s great motivation to work harder.
– Mark Cuban
The essence of profound insight is simplicity.
– Jim Collins
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
February 28
PERFECTION
“He that is without sin amongst you, let him cast the first stone.”
— Jesus Christ
It is so easy for me to focus on the failings of others and miss my own. My attraction to gossip is that it is usually about other people and that keeps the attention away from me. Sometimes I am made to “feel good” by exposing the weaknesses of others.
This attitude needs to be changed if I am ever to fully enjoy the fruits of sobriety. I do not need to be drinking to behave like a drunk; gossip and character assassination are reminiscent of my past addictive behavior. I do not need the side of me that seeks to destroy the character of others. With my spiritual program, I am trying to change.
May I grow in my forgiveness and acceptance of others.
Daily Inspiration
February 28
Set your priorities daily because some things in our path are just not important enough to use up our time and energy. Lord, with Your help I can have a full and enjoyable day.
God doesn’t always end the storm, but He will calm your spirit and give you the courage you need. Lord, I have come to know and believe in the love You have for me.
Journey to the Heart
February 28
Let Life’s Rhythm Find You
I sat in my room, a small cabin in Chimayo, New Mexico. The clock whizzed through the hours, but I didn’t whiz through my morning. I felt overwhelmed. Lost. I had more to do than I could handle. I didn’t know where to begin. So there I sat. Stuck.
Genera, who ran the hostel, knocked on my door about noon. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Come have coffee and fruit with us.” Her quiet kindness, her gentle concern, and the simple act of having coffee and fruit with a friend brought me back to balance.
There’s a life force, a movement, a momentum that transcends our fears and hopes, our limitations, our overwhelmed feelings, and even our confusion. There’s a heartbeat, a rhythm to life and the universe. It’s gentle, easy, natural. It’s in us; it’s around us. It comes gently, naturally, like a friend knocking quietly on the door, asking if we are okay, if we have lost our way.
There is purpose, meaning, and rhythm to each step, each beat of your life. Each step, each feeling, each beat of your life is another mile traveled on your journey, your journey to your heart.
If you’ve lost your way and can’t find life’s rhythm, don’t worry. Keep your heart open and it will find you.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
February 28
“Ultimately, nature will do the teaching.”
–Tom Porter, MOHAWK
There are things man has control over, and there are things man does not have control over. No matter how smart we get, whether it be in technology or science, there are things we will never control. The Great Spirit carefully protected and hid the control over certain things in the Unseen World. There are forces in the Unseen World that make sure humans don’t mess things up. The bottom line is, no matter what we do, nature will have the last say. Nature is the teacher, we are the students. May we honor and respect our teacher.
Great Spirit, today, help me to live in harmony with people, principles, and life.
Today’s Gift
February 28
Nothing that is worth doing can be done alone, but has to be done with others.
—Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr
We who are blessed with a closely-knit family life, where thoughts and actions can be discussed and developed, are aware that what is given is not as important as what is shared. As we help one another, we learn that sharing can never exist unless we care first. This is the major ingredient of love.
Albert Schweitzer described human service toward a common goal as the greatest of deeds. Charles Dickens assured us that when we lighten the burdens of another, we can never consider ourselves useless. Those of us who are led today may show the way tomorrow. In giving, we receive, and in getting we cannot avoid being givers.
What do I receive by giving today?
Touchstones Meditations For Men
February 28
All of my life I been like a doubled up fist… poundin’, smashin’, drivin’ — now I’m going to loosen these doubled up hands and touch things easy with them.
—Tennessee Williams
Every man has many sides. Some sides are highly developed and other sides aren’t at all. We need not fear turning to a new side and exploring it. This recovery program has enabled us to pursue sides of ourselves that were closed before. When we were lost in our narrow world of codependency and addiction, we had fewer options. Now we have far greater access to our strength and our self-esteem, and we find new parts of ourselves.
Many of us have found relationships, which were never possible before, job choices we would never have had, and the pleasure of greater involvement in life. It is reassuring to see that we don’t always have to give up one side of ourselves to add new ones.
Thanks to God for the many options opening up to me in this renewed life.
Daily TAO
February 28
SOURCE
Wellspring of energy
Rises in the body’s core
Tap it and be sustained.
Channel it, and it will speak.
The source of all power is within yourself. Although external circumstances may occasionally hamper you, true movement comes solely from within yourself. The source is latent in everyone, but anyone can learn to tap it. When this happens, power rises like a shimmering well through the center of your body.
Physically, it will sustain and nourish you. But it can do many other things as well. It can give you gifts ranging from unusual knowledge to simple tranquility. It all depends on how you choose to direct your energies.
We cannot say that a person will become enlightened solely by virtue of having tapped this source of power; energy is neutral. It requires experience, wisdom, and education to direct it. You may gain power from your meditations, but it is possible for two people with the same valid attainment to use it in two different ways, even to the extremes of good and evil. Finding the source of spiritual power is a great joy; deciding how to direct it is the greatest of responsibilities.
Daily Zen
February 28
The splendor of the tathagata
Is the compassion that dwells
At the center of all minds.
The clothing of the tathagata
Is the gentleness and patience
That dwell in every mind.
The seat of the tathagata
Is the emptiness of all phenomena.
– Lotus Sutra