Daily Reflections
April 29
GROUP AUTONOMY
Some may think that we have carried the principle of group autonomy to extremes. For example, in its original “long form,” Tradition Four declares: “Any two or three gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that as a group they have no other affiliation.” . . . . But this ultra-liberty is not so risky as it looks.
–A.A. COMES OF AGE, pp. 104-05
As an active alcoholic, I abused every liberty that life afforded. How could A.A. expect me to respect the “ultra-liberty” bestowed by Tradition Four? Learning respect has become a lifetime job.
A.A. has made me fully accept the necessity of discipline and that, if I do not assert it from within, then I will pay for it. This applies to groups too. Tradition Four points me in a spiritual direction, in spite of my alcoholic inclinations.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
April 29
A.A. Thought for the Day
The A.A. program is one of faith, hope, and charity. It’s a program of hope because when new members come into A.A., the first thing they get is hope. They hear older members tell how they had been through the same kind of he!! that they have and how they found the way out through A.A. And this gives them hope that if others can do it, they can do it. Is hope still strong in me?
Meditation for the Day
The rule of God’s kingdom is perfect order, perfect harmony, perfect supply, perfect love, perfect honesty, perfect obedience. There is no discord in God’s kingdom, only some things still unconquered in God’s children. The difficulties of life are caused by disharmony in the individual man or woman. People lack power because they lack harmony with God and with each other. They think that God fails because power is not manifested in their lives. God does not fail. People fail because they are out of harmony with Him.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in harmony with God and with other people. I pray that this harmony will result in strength and success.
Walk in Dry Places
April 29
Remember the Past,
but don’t live in it.
Living today.
In some ways, the Twelve Step recovery process invites trouble in dealing with the past. We’re supposed to forget the past and live for today. But the opening thoughts delivered at meetings often review the past in painful detail, thus reinforcing the tendency to relive it. How should we approach this problem?
Our need is to remember the past while releasing any bitterness, regrets, or hurts connected with it. We must never live in the past, which we are doing when we feel either resentment or remorse about actions of others or ourselves. It is, however, helpful to remember what happened in the past so that we will no longer repeat the same mistakes.
We should also remember the past as a means of keeping ourselves both humble and honest. It should help us feel gratitude that we no longer have to live as we once did.
Remembering the past in open “lead” meetings is sometimes called “qualifying” as an alcoholic. It is an aid to carrying the message of recovery and a way of building more strength and understanding for today and tomorrow.
I’ll be pleased today that I can remember the past without living in it. I am free from the old hurts and problems that would keep me from directing all of my energies and attention to what I am doing here and now.
Keep It Simple
April 29
I’m as pure as the driven slush.
-Tallulad Bankhead
The Steps are filled with words and phrases like shortcomings, exact nature of our wrongs, persons we had harmed, and when we were wrong. The Steps help us accept all parts of who we are.
Our program asks us to share these parts of ourselves with others. We heal by doing this.
It’s hard to talk about how wrong we can be, but we must. It’s part of how we recover.
Remember, all of us have bad points. At times, we act like jerks. When we can talk about our mistakes, we end up having less shame inside of us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to love and accept myself—as You love and accept me. Give me the courage to share all my secret wrongs.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll review my Fourth Step. If I haven’t done this Step, I’ll start today.
The mind is like a parachute; it works much better when it’s open.
–Dpurpleldy
“A friend will see us at our worst, as well as our best. A friend will not close his or her heart when we have made a mistake. A friend will not condemn us but will compassionately support our return to a state of grace.”
–Marianne Williamson
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
–Carl Jung
We must release the old to make room for the new.
–Alan Cohen
“People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.”
–Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
April 29
ENJOYMENT
“Man, unlike the animals, has never learned that the sole purpose of life is to enjoy it.”
–Samuel Butler
Spirituality enables me to enjoy my life. I enjoy my sobriety. I enjoy the freedom of a “God as I understand Him”. I enjoy the fellowship of ideas and opinions that are based on love and honest sharing. The world is to be enjoyed and not endured! God is fun.
For years I thought that God was a judge to be feared; angry, hostile and revengeful. Strange how silly this all seems now, but for years I was afraid of God and feared His presence. Then I was introduced to a God who is beyond institutions and dogmas, free of creeds and punishments, a loving and joyous God who created me to be happy. Today I am enjoying my freedom.
God, the Father of the Universe, is also “Daddy” to us all.
Daily Inspiration
April 29
When someone makes you happy, let them know and you will both feel better. Lord, may Your love flow through me so that I can easily praise and encourage the goodness in others.
To have a great day isn’t always doing what you like, but trying to like what you must do. Lord, today I will spruce up my attitude and have a great day no matter what my circumstances.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
April 29
“The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power … The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing … ”
–Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX
Have you ever noticed the relationship between children and the soil? Watch how happily they are touching the dirt. The children play in it and eat it. If you are stressed, go to a spot on the Earth, sit down, put your fingers in the dirt, dig in it. Wash your hands in the soil. When you touch it, notice what it does to your hands. Our bodies love to touch the Earth. Sometimes we get too busy and forget these simple things. Maybe you’ll even want to plant a garden or flowers. These things are mentally healthy.
Great Spirit, today, let me touch the Earth so the Earth can touch me.
Today’s Gift
April 29
If there is a God, there must also be a Goddess. Neither is more important than the other, both are in balance, together they create a Whole.
—Marion Weinstein
In the olden days, the Goddess was seen as a Trinity: the Maiden or Virgin, the Mother, and the Crone. The Virgin was one-in-herself, owned by no man. The Mother was the one in the fullness of her creative powers, whether creating children, works of art, or other work out in the world. The Crone was the wise old woman.
Both women and men connected with the Triple Goddess. To women, the Goddess was a symbol of their innermost selves and the beneficent, nurturing, liberating power within. The Crone, for example, showed them that all phases of life are sacred, that age is a blessing rather than a curse. To men, the Goddess represented their connection with their own hidden female selves.
We are all made up of aspects of both sexes. This is our balance. When we accept what we know to be truly ourselves, which is often much more than the old role models for men and women allow, we become complete men and women.
What male and female strengths do I have within me?
Touchstones
Meditations for Men
April 29
I’ve never started a fight, but I never pulled back from a fight either.
—Billy Martin
Sometimes we walk around with chips on our shoulders. We’re like a tightly wound spring ready to jump at the slightest trigger, when other times we would let the same event go unnoticed. We even say self-righteously, “I didn’t start it.” Now that we are becoming more responsible for ourselves, we are owning our part in relationships. Maybe we have a problem with being like a spring ready to jump. When we are like that, we are difficult to live with or be around.
We can change by getting in touch with our pain. We need to explore our feelings. Perhaps we need to be honest with ourselves about low self-esteem, about feelings of loneliness or fear. Then we must talk with another person or our group about our feelings and continue to talk about them. In this way we become reconciled to ourselves and to our friends around us.
God, help me accept my own pain, and help me be tolerant of my friends’ mistakes.
Daily TAO
April 29
RESOURCES
Use a mirror in
difficult times:
You will see both cause and resolution.
When faced with adversity, you must ask whether you have
done
anything to bring misfortune upon yourself. If the present difficulties
are the unforeseen outcome of events that you yourself set in motion,
then it is necessary both to learn from your mistakes and to search for
any possible way to correct it. If the difficulties are due to character
flaws, then the situation should be resolved, and the basic fault must
afterwards be eradicated.
The wonderful part of all this is that the resources for
resolving
our problems are also within us. When we watch athletes in competition
and they outperform even their own high standards, we often say that
they reached deep down and were able to give something extraordinary.
When we are in the midst of our own confrontations, we must be the same
way. We need to reach deep within and use the utmost of our abilities to
overcome our obstacles. This is one manifestation of our continuing
efforts at self-development.
When confronted with problems, we have all the more power to
respond. When we triumph, we have even more confidence and facility to
handle future problems. Therefore, meet life head-on. Maintain your
self-cultivation, move forth to confront difficulties, and accumulate
the momentum that success will give you.
Daily Zen
April 29
In the Ch’an perspective wisdom is a state
That is free from attachments,
Free from measurement,
Free from self-reference
And empty of vexation.
– Sheng Yen