Daily Reflections
May 7
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, p. 74
Respect for others is the lesson that 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 A.A. 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.
Twenty Four Hours A Day
May 7
AA 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 AA and found all the sympathy, understanding and fellowship that we could ask for. There’s no other group like AA 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.
Walk in Dry Places
May 7
Did I have a dysfunctional family?
Healing the Past.
We hear much about the long-term effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family. Many alcoholics, in fact, have bitter memories of their own parents’ drinking, and may feel this caused needless deprivation and misery.
Whether our families were dysfunctional or not, we must agree that most of our parents did the best they could. We cannot bring back the past—- nor can they, —-and it is best released, forgiven, and forgotten. Our wisest course is to use the tools of the program to reach the maturity and well-being that will bring happiness into our own lives. This will not happen, however, if we believe that growing up in a dysfunctional home has left us permanently impaired.
In our fellowship, we can find endless examples of people who used the Twelve Steps to overcome all kinds of emotional and physical disabilities. Just when we start thinking something in our past is a permanent handicap, we meet other people who survived the same bitter experiences and are
living life to the fullest. They’ve cleared away the wreckage of their past in
order to build wisely for the future.
I’ll remember today that I am not bound or limited by anything that was ever done or said to me. I face the day with self-confidence and a sense of expectancy, knowing that I am really a fortunate person with many reasons to be grateful.
Keep It Simple
May 7
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.
“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.”
–Aldous Huxley
“A happy life is made up of little things … a gift sent, a letter written, a call made, a recommendation given, transportation provided, a cake made, a book lent, a check sent.”
–Carol Holmes
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life.”
–John Homer Miller
We need to let the old go, so the new can emerge.
–Peggy Bassett
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
May 7
SUCCESS
“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”
–Elbert Hubbard
I produced the failure in my life. For years I would blame everything and everyone – my parents, the job, my health, low income, a cruel world, thoughtless friends, the weather! Today I am able to own my failures
because they are mine.
Today I am also able to see my successes – and this makes me a winner. I am able to see the things that I have achieved, the character defects I have confronted, the happiness that comes with an acceptance of self.
I may not be perfect but I am certainly not worthless. I may make mistakes but I am not evil. I have a heart that needs to love and also needs to be loved. Today I am able to reveal my vulnerability and discover its strength.
This underling is learning how to fly.
Master, may I continue to seek Your power and glory in my
life.
Daily Inspiration
May 7
Right now is a good time to free yourself of the burden of
that which needs to be done, but has been put off. Lord, little by little, help
me remove my procrastinations so that I can fully live in the present.
Live a God-filled life and it will be only natural that you
will express enthusiasm for life, joy, laughter and happiness. Lord, may the
way I live always express my love for You.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
May 7
“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.
Touchstones Meditation For Men
May 7
The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in relations between human beings; and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem of what to say and how to say it.
—Edward R. Murrow
We may reduce our difficulties with others to communication problems, yet the remedy may remain unclear. How can we become more responsible
for our share of the communication? Can we stop blaming others? When we improve in those ways, our relationships get better.
Clear, specific, and direct language will help us be more responsible and less blaming. We can use simple words that expose the truth rather than words that hide or sugarcoat it. We can use specific examples and give details rather than generalities or hints. We can be more direct by using you and me language. In the process, we yield to the truth within ourselves – and become more honest.
Today, I will be aware of communicating clearly,
specifically, and directly.
Daily TAO
May 7
CONCEALMENT
Hide what you know.
Conceal talent.
Shield your light.
Bide your time.
Once you can follow Tao with skill, hide your abilities. Privately accumulate extraordinary knowledge and skill, but keep a plain appearance.
There is great wisdom in being inconspicuous. Do not brag or try anything beyond your means. Don’t let yourself become unbalanced before you
have fully mastered an art. Thus, you will not be expected to use your talents on behalf of others unless you yourself volunteer, you will not become the victim of others’ resentment, and the depth of your character will not be judged. When you know how to hide, you avoid the attention and scorn of others, but retain the strategic advantage of surprise. You need to do this not for personal advantage, but to manage yourself and your skills well.