Daily Reflections
September 5
EMOTIONAL BALANCE
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible.
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 83
When I survey my drinking days, I recall many people whom my life touched casually, but whose days I troubled through my anger and sarcasm. These people are untraceable, and direct amends to them are not possible. The only amends I can make to those untraceable individuals, the only “changes for the better” I can offer, are indirect amends made to other people, whose paths briefly cross mine. Courtesy and kindness, regularly practiced, help me to live in emotional balance, at peace with myself.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
September 5
A.A. Thought For The Day
One of the mottoes of A.A. is “First Things First.” This means that we should always keep in mind that alcohol is our number-one problem. We must never let any other problem, whether of family, business, friends, or anything else, take precedence in our minds over our alcoholic problem. As we go along in A.A., we learn to recognize the things that may upset us emotionally. When we find ourselves getting upset over something, we must realize that it’s a luxury we alcoholics can’t afford. Anything that makes us forget our number-one problem is dangerous to us. Am I keeping sobriety in first place in my mind?
Meditation For The Day
Spiritual progress is the law of your being. Try to see around you more and more of beauty and truth, knowledge and power. Today try to be stronger, braver, more loving as a result of what you did yesterday. This law of spiritual progress gives meaning and purpose to your life. Always expect better things ahead. You can accomplish much good through the strength of God’s spirit in you. Never be too discouraged. The world is sure to get better, in spite of setbacks of war, hate, and greed. Be part of the cure of the world’s ills, rather than part of the disease.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may keep progressing in the better life. I pray that I may be a part of the forces for good in the world.
Walk In Dry Places
September 5
Battles we’ve won or lost.
Achievements.
Even the continuous sobriety we’re enjoying is no shield from traps we seem to set for ourselves. At times, we can find ourselves in the foolish game of continuing to fight battles we’ve won or lost.
One losing battle is the attempt to win the approval of someone who has always disliked us. That person may be gone, but we still fight….and lose….. the same battle when we find ourselves in a similar situation.
We also may have won some battles without knowing it. This can happen when we’ve set our goals unrealistically high. We may be fairly
successful in our work, for example, but still feel that we have failed because a high goal we set eluded us. That goal, however, may have been all but impossible to attain, and while we mourn our perceived failure, we ignore the successes we many have achieved in the meantime. Consequently, we should never let any of these battles interfere with our plan for sobriety. We must stay sober at all costs.
This day, I’ll not strive to impress people who may always disapprove of me. I will also accept my successes even if they fall short of my highest dreams.
Keep It Simple
September 5
I have never seen a greater monster or miracle than myself.
—Montaigne
We know we’ve hurt people. We’ve heard our family cry out from pain we’ve caused them. Because of alcohol and other drugs, we acted like monsters.
But we now live surrounded with love. We now work to make this world better. Recovery is a miracle. The rebirth of our spirit is our miracle.
It’s no wonder we love life the way we do! We’ve been given a second chance. Our joy is overflowing. Our Higher Power must love us very much.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me with the monster that lives within me. I pray it will never again be let out.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll see myself as a miracle. I’ll be grateful for my new life.
Xtra Thoughts
September 5
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve…
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things…
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy…
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men…
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need for God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life…
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, richly blessed.
–This prayer was found on an unidentified Civil War soldier
SMILES
A SMILE COSTS NOTHING, but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but he can be made rich by it.
A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is natures’ best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that it is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
–Anonymous
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
September 5
NATURE
“All are but parts of one stupendous whole. Whose body nature is and God the soul.”
– Alexander Pope
I belong to this world, this mighty universe — but more importantly, it belongs to me. I have a responsibility in this world and to this world. No longer can I abrogate my responsibility. God created and is creating through me. What I say, what I do, how I feel is important. I am important. I am terrific — because God made me and works through me.
Sometimes I feel the oneness. I stand on a mountain top and look at the rolling hills beyond and I feel noble. The birds sing, the streams murmur and I feel a tremendous sense of joy.
But I also feel the pain of the world. The people suffering, the pointlessness of man’s violence and the injustice of prejudice. All this I feel, too.
Spirituality involves this mixture, the paradox of my being an angel in the dust!
Thank You for including me in Your design for life. I tremble at the responsibility You have shared with me.
Daily Inspiration
September 5
To be completely at peace, avoid hurting anyone for any reason. Lord, I will act with kindness and when others are hurtful to me, I will focus on Your presence within them to give me courage to respond gently.
If we spend time thanking God for the good things in our lives, we won’t have time to do so much complaining. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of life and the many things that bring me joy.
One Day At A Time
September 5
SERVICE
“The world is full of willing people; some willing to work … the rest willing to let them.”
-Robert Frost
There is a time when we first come into program when we need to just sit back and receive. We come in a desperate state, empty of love and acceptance, with nothing to guide us and no place to go. We learn to feel our emptiness and to accept resting on others and being supported.
Then we begin to “get it.” The tingling excitement of hope is aroused in us. A source of power to live is discovered inside of ourselves.
At that point, a change must take place if we are to continue our success. While we will always remain a receiver, we must move into the ring of the givers. It requires a new role of courage and boldness to take this step. Fear of what to say, how to sound, and quality of performance must be overcome. This is called Step Twelve.
One Day at a Time …
God, grant me the courage to take Step Twelve, however imperfectly, to grow in my ability to share what I have so generously been given.
~ Mary Clare
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
September 5
“Decisions that have been made for the last couple of centuries have been decisions made without the presence of a real God….from the vision, not of God, but of money.”
–Tom Porter, MOHAWK
As we view the world today, it’s easy to see the people are off track. We are no longer living in harmony. Focusing on the material only leads us from the path of the Creator.
We must now pray for ourselves and the people in a pitiful way. We must be humble and ask the Great Spirit to intervene because if we don’t, our children will continue to have troubles. They are acting out our behavior as adults.
Today is a good time to start. We need to get the spiritual way back into our lives. We need to focus on the spiritual.
My Creator, help me to focus on the spiritual way.
Journey to the Heart
September 5
The Path Is One of Joy
I attended a church service at the Sanctuario de Chimayo in New Mexico. The church and its sacred healing ground had touched and healed me before. Today I came looking not for a miracle, but just a touch of its healing power to help me on my way. Instead, I found another miracle. The miracle of joy.When I entered the church, I noticed how glum and somber I became. I noticed how seriously, almost sadly, I approached much of spiritual growth. I believed that spirituality asked– required– this of me. If I was doing it properly, I would be demonstrating what a grim affair it was.
After the service, I stopped at the church’s gift shop and purchased some mementos to bring the energy of this holy place home with me– items to remind me of the spiritual powers available to us in everyday life, no matter where we are. I also visited another gift shop near the church. There I bought a string of chili peppers called holy chills. Then I brought all my gifts back to the priest to bless: a wooden cross for the wall, a rosary for my daughter, one that glows in the dark so she’ll know God’s there, a small bag of sacred earth from the church grounds to remind me of the healing powers in this universe, a small jar of holy water to remind me that all of the journey is sacred, and a string of holy chilis to help me remember to smile.
The path does not have to be such a grim affair. Let go of the heaviness in your heart and soul. Sometimes the best way to demonstrate your faith is by learning to enjoy life.
Today’s Gift
September 5
Take care of yourself my darling And I’ll take care of me Live your loneliness knowing That we can both be free.
—Mary Lee George
Loneliness is something inside us. It’s not caused by other people’s behavior, though what others do may let us know we are feeling lonely. We have all experienced being alone and really enjoying it- walking by the river or singing a song we like. Feeling lonely is when we feel like nobody cares about us or wants to be with us.
Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to feel lonely and know that we are okay no matter what we are feeling. Other times it may be wise to check with others if our feelings are true. We can ask our mother if she cares about us or ask a friend if he wants to play, and be open to the answer. When we feel lonely, we often ignore what others do or say that doesn’t agree with what we believe to be true. The important thing to remember is that we are okay no matter what choice we make.
Touchstones Meditations For Men
September 5
It is as important to cultivate your silence power, as it is your word power.
—William James
We bless ourselves with renewal and healing when we retreat from the world for a few private moments of silence. The power we cultivate in silence isn’t generated by us; that power comes to us. We can do this by deliberately withdrawing from all distractions. Then we quiet our inner selves by concentrating on deep relaxation, thinking about a brief reading, or by praying.
Most of us already have a personal island of renewal that we have turned to many times in the past for serenity and strength. We can use it and turn to it daily. This natural pattern is necessary for a strong and healthy life. It builds our relationship with our Higher Power and ourselves. In our problems with self-esteem, we often label as worthless the quiet, subtle things we do, but these very things are essential to build our strength and self esteem.
I will take time for silence to receive the power it gives in my life.
Daily TAO
September 5
RECEPTIVITY
I want to make myself an empty room:
Quiet whitewashed walls with slant sunshine
And a fresh breeze through open windows.
Some days are extremely fluid, and all possible courses of action are equally attractive. Rather than do something arbitrary, it is far better to empty oneself completely. Then the more subtle currents of life may be felt. One should avoid the mistake of random action.
Arbitrary action will most likely be out of accord with the times. It is artificial, a structure that we impose from our own thought. Such movements are invariably stilted and wooden; they do not have the fresh perfection of the natural.
We do not have enough peace. Yet peace will never be attained by perpetual action. Stirred water never has the chance to settle clear. A tree buffeted by winds can never grow straight. Give up all unnecessary activity. Give up all arbitrary actions. Make yourself receptive. The peace that you seek shall be quickly at hand.
Daily Zen
September 5
Perceive the way and you attain
A point of safety and anchorage.
Enter the way and you attain
The realm of danger and lose your life.
Safety and danger, life and death;
All come from where?
The activity of the great ones is,
When hanging over a cliff
One thousand feet high,
To be able to let go.
Yaahh!
– Sosan Taesa (1520-1604)