Daily Reflections
January 9
AN ACT OF PROVIDENCE
It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
January 9
A.A. Thought For The Day
When we were drinking, most of us had no real faith in anything. We may have said that we believe in God, but we didn’t act as though we did. We never honestly asked God to help us and we never really accepted His help. To us, faith looked like helplessness. But when we came into A.A., we began to have faith in God. And we found out that faith gave us the strength we needed to overcome drinking. Have I learned that there is strength in faith?
Meditation For The Day
I will have faith, no matter what may befall me. I will be patient, even in the midst of troubles. I will not fear the strain of life, because I believe that God knows just what I can bear. I will look to the future with confidence. I know that God will not ask me to bear anything that could overcome me or destroy me.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may put this day in the hands of God. I pray for faith, so that nothing will upset me or weaken my determination to stay sober.
Walk In Dry Places
January 9
Coming to grips with Fear
Finding courage.
Fear, a universal human emotion, strikes each of us in different ways. The brave parachute jumper may be afraid of public speaking, and the brilliant orator may have a fear of flying. An alcoholic’s drinking is partly an attempt to cope with the feelings of fear. The recovering person, now having no drug, must face fear by using the tools of the program. The sober way to deal with fear is to admit that one has fears, to discuss them with a sponsor or another understanding person, and to seek the help of one’s Higher Power in living with fear or having it removed.
When we share our experience with fear, we hear different kinds of stories. One person may declare that fear was completely removed by prayer. Another person, who prayed with what seemed to be the same degree of sincerity, may still be troubled by occasional fears. We cannot know exactly how the program will help each person cope with fear, but we can be confident that it will work for all of us. We have met fear successfully when we continue to stay sober and meet our responsibilities in all sorts of threatening situations.
I will not let fear keep me from any good thing today. My Higher Power can see me through any difficult or threatening situation.
Keep It Simple
January 9
Everything is funny as long as it happening to someone else.
–Will Rogers
We laugh when others do something silly. We’re amused when something funny happens to them. But if the same happens to us and people laugh, we might give them the evil eye. Yet, when others laugh, it can free us. It frees us to see the world through new eyes. Likewise, when we laugh at ourselves, we’re free to see ourselves with new eyes. Instead of trying to be perfect, we accept we’re human. To laugh at ourselves is to accept ourselves. There’s no room for shame when we laugh. We enjoy ourselves just as we are.
Can I accept the fact I’m human and I have limits?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, when I refuse to accept that I’m only human, be gentle with me. I know that, when I least expect it, You will remind me that I’m only human.
Action for the Day: I will share with a friend one or two stories about funny mistakes I’ve made.
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
–Robert Byrne
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
January 9
EXTREMISTS
“Extremists think that ‘communication’ means agreeing with them.”
— Leo Rosten
As an alcoholic I was an extremist. I was not only compulsive and obsessive about alcohol, but I became compulsive and obsessive about my opinions, my thoughts and my attitude towards life. Anybody who disagreed with me was wrong or a fool! I only listened to those who were saying what I wanted to hear.
For years I played at being God. But that spiritual part of me, that I believe exists in all of us, was isolated and unhappy with this behavior. Although I would never admit it, I knew that often I was wrong, bull-headed and in pain. I would spend sleepless nights thinking how I could say I was sorry without apologizing! For years my pride and ego kept me sick and unhappy.
Today I appreciate those who have a different view on life. Today I can disagree with my neighbor without carrying a grudge. Today I can live with difference.
I pray that I may always hear what my opponent is saying.
Daily Inspiration
January 9
If the strong won’t protect the weak, who will? Lord, grant me the courage to stand up for what I believe and the wisdom to be an encouragement to others.
God will never fail you or abandon you. Lord, I am sure that everything that happens is for the purpose of strengthening me and bringing me closer to You. I trust in You to continually bless me with all that I need to successfully handle my circumstances.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
January 9
“So, with the Native way, it’s not whether people find out about what you’ve done or not… that’s not nearly as strong as having your source of morality within you, having your morality arise out of an inner perception of what is wrong, ridiculous, or shameful. You are your own judge.”
–Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT
Inside each of us is a voice. It is a quiet voice. It is a guiding voice. If we listen for it, it will guide us, and help us avoid disaster. It is especially active when we are afraid, when we are in doubt, when we are scared, when we need help, and when we get angry. If we are excited emotionally, it is hard to hear this voice. If we are angry, it’s hard to hear this voice because it is usually quiet. The best thing we can do is to practice getting quiet. If we don’t get quiet, there is another voice called the judge. It tells us to attack or say bad things to other people or to judge ourselves. This voice is loud and usually gets us into trouble.
Creator, Great Mystery, help me listen for the quiet voice. Let me know this voice of Yours. Your ways are gentle. Guide me with this voice. Thank you.
Today’s Gift
January 9
Life gives us so much time to collect bizarre thoughts and feelings.
—Claire Weekes
As we go through life, we run into all kinds of negative messages: teasing on the school bus, insulting nicknames, and other put-downs. Pretty soon we may discover that some of these messages stick in our minds, repeating themselves over and over like broken records. These messages can make us feel bad about ourselves.
But when we hear one of these tapes playing inside us, we have the power to push the STOP button. Then we can record a new message. We can even say it out loud, so that our voice settles emphatically into our thoughts. We can’t make others stop saying these things, but we can stop listening to them. They only have power over us when we give it to them. We have the ability and freedom to let negative thoughts float by us, like water going downstream.
What positive message can I send to myself?
Touchstones Meditation For Men
January 9
Fear is an emotion indispensable for survival.
—Hannah Arendt
We men face fear many times in life. Sometimes it’s an inner voice, warning us of danger. Some fears remain from the paranoia caused by our former abuses and excesses. In recovery, we feel many new emotions, and we’re afraid because we don’t understand them. Any normal feeling can seem abnormal and frightening to a man who is feeling it for the first few times. We may think it isn’t manly to be afraid, so we become afraid of our fear! At these times, we need to turn to our Higher Power for guidance.
We have friends we can talk to. When we simply say, “I am afraid” to a trusted friend, the fear may vanish. Sometimes it’s not that easy, and we have to talk in detail about our fear. In the end, when we submit our lives to the care of our Higher Power, we know that whatever happens, nothing can separate us from the love of God.
In my fear, help me remember the comfort of my closeness to my Higher Power and my loved ones. I can reach out, and I am never alone.
Daily TAO
January 9
OPTIMISM
Clearing blue sky,
A promise in bare branches.
In winter, there are sunny days.
In adulthood, childhood can return.
In winter, all things appear dead or dormant. The rain and snow seem incessant, the nights long. Then one day, the sky clears to a brilliant blue. The air warms. A mist rises from the earth and the perfume of water, clay, and moss drifts through the air. Gardeners are seen preparing new stock, though they are only bare branches and a gray root ball. The people are optimistic : They know that there will be an end to the cold.
In adulthood, we often see responsibilities as something dreadful. Why should we dig the ground when the weather is disagreeable? We see activities only as obligations, and we strain against our fate. But there is a joy to working in harmony with the proper time. When we do things at just the right occasion and those efforts bear fruit later, the gratification is tremendous.