Daily Reflections
June 17
“DEEP DOWN WITHIN US”
We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. Search diligently within yourself … With this attitude you cannot fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you.
-ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55
It was out of the depths of loneliness, depression and despair that I sought the help of A. A. As I recovered and began to face the emptiness and ruin of my life, I began to open myself to the possibility of the healing that recovery offers through the A. A. program. By coming to meetings, staying sober, and taking the Steps, I had the opportunity to listen with increasing attentiveness to the depths of my soul. Daily I waited, in hope and gratitude, for that sure belief and steadfast love I had longed for in my life. In this process, I met my God, as I understand Him.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
June 17
A. A. Thought for the Day
We in A. A. have the privilege of living two lives in one lifetime. One life of drunkenness, failure, and defeat. Then, through A. A., another life of sobriety, peace of mind, and usefulness. We who have recovered our sobriety are modern miracles. And we’re living on borrowed time. Some of us might have been dead long ago. But we have been given another chance to live. Do I owe a debt of gratitude to A. A. that I can never repay as long as I live?
Meditation for the Day
Thinking about God in love and worship drives away evil. It is the thought before that the hosts of evil flee. The thought of a Power greater than yourself is the call for a life-line to rescue you from temptation. The thought of God banishes loneliness and dispels gloom. It summons help to conquer your faults. Think of God as often as possible. Use the thought prayerfully and purposefully. It will carry your thoughts away from material things and toward the spiritual things that make life worthwhile.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may think of God often. I pray that I may rest in peace at the thought of His love and care.
Walk in Dry Places
June 17
Is the Golden Rule
Applicable?
Inventory
Some people say the Golden Rule is impractical or believe it can work only if everybody begins following it at the same time.
We learn in 12 Step programs that the Golden Rule does work. We start by taking our own inventory, whether nor not others do. We make amends for our own wrongs, even when amends are not made to us. We think rightly about others, no matter how they think about us.
From time to time, we also receive a cosmic hint that the Golden Rule is far more than a mere human ideal expressed in an ancient time. It really appears to be one way of stating a law of life. We should treat others as we want to be treated because, in time, this is how we will be treated.
Nothing will help me more with my program today than to practice the Golden Rule, even in the face of trying situations. This will show me, more than word ever can, that God is really in charge of my life.
Keep It Simple
June 17
Each day provides its own gifts.
—Ruth D. Freedman
Life is full of wonderful gifts. Recovery is life’s greatest gift to us. If we’re not excited about being sober, we need to check ourselves. Are we keeping something secret? Is there a sadness we need to talk about? Are we stuffing anger? These things eat away at our excitement for life.
Many addicts never get the gift of recovery. Those of us in recovery are special. We’ve been given a new life. There will be hard times. But the joy of getting a second chance will be stronger. Am I grateful that I’ve been given recovery?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me see recovery as a gift. I deserve this gift because I’m human. Help me to always accept this gift.
Action for the Day: At the end of the day, I’ll list three gifts that this day has given me.
When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.
–Edward Teller
Take time each day to seek out stillness, to find that sacred spot. Let your mind and soul be at ease. Don’t grasp and grab for the magic and miracles. When you reside in that place of stillness, the joy, miracles, and magic you’re seeking will find you.
–Melody Beattie
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I only have to be what I am, no more, no less.
–Robbie Rocheford
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
June 17
SELF-LOVE
“Only a person who can live with himself can enjoy the gift of leisure.”
–Henry Greber
As an addict I could not tolerate my own company for long. I
was
forever telephoning somebody, going over to a friend’s house, inviting people
in, creating an “occasion” so I did not have to think or, at least, think about
myself. Being alone terrified me. I was terrified because I would begin to
think about what was happening in my life and I did not want to face it.
Spirituality is reality. Some years ago I decided to encounter the “real” me, painful but necessary. I began to develop an awareness of who I am. Acceptance followed: I am an alcoholic.
Today I know me; today I like me; today I can love me – and this awareness brings with it a knowledge of God, self and my neighbor.
Today I can be alone without feeling lonely.
Daily Inspiration
June 17
The best thing to let go of is your past. Lord, the goodness of my past is part of whom I am now, but the rest only serves to pull me away from You. Help me to keep my thoughts only on this moment.
Imagine that you were paid for every kindness and charged for every unkindness. Would you be rich or poor? Lord, I often pray for material wealth. Let me not neglect my soul by now praying for the ability to build my spiritual wealth also.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
June 17
“Your power comes from the songs.”
–Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN
If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you’ll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit’s hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.
My Grandfather, teach me a song today.
Today’s Gift
June 17
You will jump to it someday. Then you’ll fly. You’ll really fly. After that you’ll quite simply, quite calmly make your own stones, your own floor plan, your own sound.
—Anne Sexton
A young man sat beside a whispering creek all day for years, never moving. The townsfolk who watched him wondered whether he heard the gurgling creek sounds, or felt the sting of insects, or saw the raccoons when they came at night to sip from the cool, dark waters.
One day the young man rose and dashed up the hill above the creek. There, using all the healing strength of the stream, which he had quietly absorbed over the years, he gathered stones. He arranged them layer-by-layer to fit the plan he had thought out by the creek, and feverishly he built his home. When done, he let out a brassy, booming holler of joy. Imagine the townsfolk’s surprise when they turned their eyes to that lonely spot by the creek and saw a huge castle of stone above the place where the young man once rested.
What plans can I make during my idle hours today?
Touchstones
Meditation for Men
June 17
The loneliness each man feels is his hunger for life itself…. It is the yearning that makes fulfillment possible.
—Ross Mooney
Many different journeys have been taken by the men who finally entered this program in search of hope. Most of us have known our own brand of desperation, but we have one thing in common – the loneliness we felt. Some of us felt left out of our families and other groups. We were appalled by what was happening in our lives, alone with our secrets, as if no one truly knew us. Some of us even romanticized our loneliness as a form of heroism.
As we gave up our controlling behaviors, false pride, over-competitiveness, and striving for power, we made our weak spots and secrets more obvious. We became more accessible to friends. As we count the blessings of recovery, high on our list is that we are no longer lonely.
In part, what kept me going and led me to this program was my hunger for life. I’m grateful for the friends who truly know me now, and still accept me.
Daily TAO
June 17
Sage
Ancient sages lived in forests and
Wandered from village to village,
Sharing openly, teaching the people
Without profit or ownership.
There were more holy aspirants in ancient times. These men and women cultivated themselves in the mountains or wandered among forests and streams. When they came to a village and saw there was some knowledge that could be imparted to the people, they did so openly. Once they taught what was necessary, they disappeared, knowing that others would follow behind them. They did not establish religious schools, temples, or philosophies bearing their names. They knew knowledge did not belong to anyone. It could not be owned, parceled out for profit, or withheld selfishly.
Nowadays, many people regard knowledge as a mere commodity to be packaged, marketed, and sold. Their interest is not in benefit for others’ souls but for their own pocketbooks. For example, one contemporary master requires a thousand ounces of gold before he will teach a single technique. We live in a world where the selfless sharing of knowledge is no longer a virtue.
The more knowledge you give away, the more will come to you. The more you hoard, the less you will accumulate. Be compassionate to others. What do you have to fear by being open?