Daily Reflections
September 15
A NEW LIFE
Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. Life will mean something at last.
-ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 152
Life is better without alcohol. A.A. and the presence of a Higher Power keeps me sober, but the grace of God does even better; it brings service into my life. Contact with the A.A. program teaches me a new and greater understanding of what Alcoholics Anonymous is and what it does, but most importantly, it helps to show me who I am: an alcoholic who needs the constant experience of the Alcoholics Anonymous program so that I may live a life given to me by my Higher Power.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
September 15
A.A. Thought For The Day
“We all realize that we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to all of us. Ask Him in your morning meditations what you can do today for the person who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. See to it that your relationship with God is right and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. Give freely of what you find in A.A. But, obviously, you cannot transmit something which you haven’t got. So make a life-study of A.A.” Am I always looking for ways of presenting the A.A. Program?
Meditation For The Day
“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.: Confidence means to have faith in something. We could not live without confidence in others. When you have confidence in God’s grace, you can face whatever comes. When you have confidence in God’s love, you can be serene and at peace. You can rest in the faith that God will take care of you. Try to rest in God’s presence until His life-power flows through you. Be still and in that stillness the still, small Voice will come. It speaks in quietness to the human mind that is attuned to its influence.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may find strength today in quietness. I pray that I may be content today that God will take care of me.
Walk In Dry Places
September 15
Seeking Our Own
Harmony
Our feelings will often serve as good guides in determining what course of action we ought to follow. If there is a persistent feeling of discomfort about any situation, we should ask ourselves why we are feeling this way. Perhaps it’s because we are involved with people or activities that are not right for us.
In the same way, we will feel drawn to certain people and activities. This is undoubtedly because we’re in tune with these people or activities. In such circumstances, we can say that we are “seeking our own.” With our unique temperaments and abilities, we fit better in certain places and with certain groups of people than others.
We are indeed fortunate if we find that recovery in a Twelve Step program is a case of seeking and finding our own. This must certainly strengthen and enhance our program.
I’ll seek out only the people and activities that seem to belong in my life. If I do not belong in one situation, this merely means that a better one is available somewhere.
Keep It Simple
September 15
Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.
—Vittorio Alfiert
What brave people we are! We have chosen life. Okay, maybe we had a little push, maybe a big push from our family, police, or the pain of our disease. But still, we’ve chosen recovery. We choose daily to let our Higher Power run our lives. What trust! What faith! What courage!
We work hard at recovery. We do our meditate. We look for ways to serve others. Each one of us is building a miracle. We can be proud of this.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll have the courage to love myself. High Power, teach me to pat myself on the back when I deserve it.
Action for the Day: I will list three ways I am brave in recovery and share them with my group.
“When your life is filled with the desire to see the holiness in everyday life, something magical happens: ordinary life becomes extraordinary, and the very process of life begins to nourish your soul!”
–Rabbi Harold Kushner“If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”
–William PennA L C O H O L I C S = A Life Consisting Of Helping Others Live Is Called Sobriety.
I have learned that my actions are far more important than my thoughts.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
–Melody Beattie“The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.”
–Zig Ziglar
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
September 15
NONSENSE
“We find it hard to believe that other people’s thoughts are as silly as our own, but they probably are.”
– James Harvey Robinson
Today I am able to laugh at myself. I even “think” funny things. I sit at airports and look at the faces, postures and mannerisms of the people passing by and I smile, giggle and laugh in my handkerchief. Then I think about what a funny man I am — so ridiculously proud, so pompous about the silliest things, so preoccupied about my own importance — and it is funny.
Yes, today I am able to laugh at myself. I know that people are funny because I know I am. At meetings I hear people laughing about the day’s insanities and I can always identify. Even my relationships are humorous. I try so hard to make a good impression while at the same time offering the effect of detachment — trying to be “cool”.
God must have a sense of humor because He made you and me!
Thank You for the gift of humor — it allows true humility to develop.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
September 15
“Knowledge is a beautiful thing, but the using of knowledge in a good way is what makes for wisdom. Learning how to use knowledge in a sacred manner, that’s wisdom to me. And to me, that’s what a true Elder is.”
–Sun Bear, CHIPPEWA
We grow in wisdom by developing ourselves according to the four directions of the Medicine Wheel – emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. Let’s say we started drinking and drugging in our teenage years. Our emotional development will stop, but we will grow older physically. We could then develop into an immature adult. As adults we might be acting like we were teenagers. Once we stop drinking or drugging, our emotional development will begin again. We need to grow and nurture ourselves in all four directions. We need to involve the Great Spirit’s guidance in our development. That’s the only way we become wise individuals and live our lives in harmony and in a sacred way.
Oh Great Spirit, guide my thinking today. Let me walk in a sacred way on the Red Road. Let me be a learner of lessons and give me Your greatest gift – wisdom!
Touchstones Meditations For Men
September 15
When people are loving, brave, truthful, charitable, God is present.
—Harold Kushner
For many of us, our spiritual awakening began when we first heard our Higher Power might be our group. We learned that God may exist in the connections between people in our group just as well as within each individual. As we members exchange care and help with each other, as each struggles to achieve complete honesty and wrestles bravely with old temptations, God is truly in our midst. Closeness flourishes because we felt so alone but then found friends who suffered in similar ways. It is an expression of a spirit beyond our rational control.
When we ask another member to listen to us, we contribute to the strength of this spirit. When we give someone a ride to a meeting or spread the word about this program to other suffering men and women, we make a contribution and receive its benefits. Even now, if we need a renewal of confidence in God’s presence in our lives, we can telephone another member and just talk. We will quickly sense the spirit.
Today, I am grateful to feel God’s presence in my life and within the people around me.
Daily TAO
September 15
CLEANSING
Early autumn rain cleanses away smeared heat.
A grateful traveler takes in crystal skies and crisp air.
Distant mountains seem more vast and blue,
And the sound of the waterfall grows more loud.
Autumn is coming. The air becomes fresh and crisp. The fruits of summer are being harvested; the heat of labor is beginning to cool. There is a more relaxed feeling in the air : The fiery activity of summer is replaced by the celebrations of autumn.
In spring, we all had to struggle to make the ascendancy of the year. In summer, we reveled in the glory of fire and vigor. Now, we can begin to let things relax. Just as the pumpkins are beginning to fill out, the squash is hanging heavy and golden on the vines, and the leaves are starting to hint of warm colors, so too can we look forward to mellowness and quietness.
This is the time for harvest. But every planting and growing season also leaves behind excess and inevitable waste. The dust of summer still lingers. The stubble in the fields will have to be burned. We must harvest fully and then clean up fully. Harvest is also the time of cleansing and taking stock.
Daily Zen
September 15
I suddenly found myself upside-down
On level ground;
When I picked myself up,
I found there’s nothing to say!
If someone should ask me what this
Is all about, smiling,
I’d point to the pure breeze and
Bright moon.
– Zhenru