Daily Reflections
April 7
A WIDE ARC OF GRATITUDE
And, speaking for Dr. Bob and myself, I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.’s beginning.
–THE A.A. WAY OF LIFE, p. 67
Am I capable of such generous tribute and gratitude to my wife, parents and friends, without whose support I might never have survived to reach A.A.’s doors? I will work on this and try to see the plan my Higher Power is showing me which links our lives together.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
April 7
A.A. Thought for the Day
In A.A. alcoholics find a way to solve their personality problems. They do this by recovering three things. First, they recover their personal integrity. They pull themselves together. They get honest with themselves and with other people. They face themselves and their problems honestly, instead of running away. They take a personal inventory of themselves to see where they really stand. Then they face the facts instead of making excuses for themselves. Have I recovered my integrity?
Meditation for the Day
When trouble comes, do not say: “Why should this happen to me?” Leave yourself out of the picture. Think of other people and their troubles and you will forget about your own. Gradually get away from yourself and you will know the consolation of unselfish service to others. After a while, it will not matter so much what happens to you. It is not so important any more, except as your experience can be used to help others who are in the same kind of trouble.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may become more unselfish. I pray that I may not be thrown off the track by letting the old selfishness creep back into my life.
Walk in Dry Places
April 7
Deserving Happiness
Emotional Control
Somewhere in the course of living sober, we should realize that we can deserve to be happy. If happiness is eluding us, the fault may lie in a peculiar guilt from our past. In a perverse way, we may be using unhappiness as penance for our past wrongs.
We deserve to be happy if we are doing the things that should bring happiness to ourselves and others. Thinking and living rightly is a path to happiness. Meeting our obligations to society and others contributes to personal happiness. Placing the overall responsibility for our lives in God’s hands is yet another route to happiness.
We can also learn from our experience. Did any of us ever meet a truly happy person who was totally self-seeking? Do we remember any happy, serene people among our drinking companions? Did any of our temporary successes and victories bring permanent happiness?
AA experience gives us the answers we need. Happiness is always in the direction of love and service, never in anything selfish. We deserve to be happy, but we must plant seeds of happiness by our thoughts and actions.
I’ll be happy today. If I’m worrying about something, I’ll suspend the worry and let myself be happy in spite of it. I deserve to be happy and I am usually the person who is responsible for this happiness.
Keep It Simple
April 7
To make the world a friendly place One must show it a friendly face.
–James Whitcomb Riley
We are beginning to learn that we get what we expect. Why? If we believe that people are out to get us, we’ll not treat them well. We will think it’s okay to “get them” before they “get us.” Then, they’ll be angry and want to get even. And on it goes. It’s great when we can meet the world with a balance. We are honest people. We can expect others to be fair with us. We get the faith, strength, and courage to do this because of our trust in our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I put my life in Your care. Use me to spread Your love to others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll spread friendliness. I will greet people with a smile.
It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
–Vince Lombardi
If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don’t, they never were.
–Kahlil Gibran
“Devote uninterrupted chunks of time to the most important people in your life.”
–Brian Tracy
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
–John Powell
You can sit there choosing to live your life in pain, or you can choose to take action and free yourself from the bondage.
–Gary Barnes
Nothing is better than experiencing joy except sharing it with someone else.
–Deanna Smythe
There shall be an eternal summer in the grateful heart.
–Celia Thaxter
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
April 7
OLD AGE
“You just wake up one morning and you got it!”
–Moms Mabley
I am so busy living I don’t think about “getting old”. I am so grateful in my recovery from alcoholism that tomorrow, the future and age are secondary.
In my sickness I was always living in the future; what would tomorrow bring? Will I die crippled, lonely and afraid? My projections into the future produced an emotional pain.
Today I do not need to do this. I welcome old age because I bring into it the joy and experience of my sobriety. Will I be lonely? I doubt it if I stick to my recovery program; I have so many friends all over the world meeting together to face the disease on a daily basis. Also I know that nothing could ever compare with the loneliness of my drinking days.
My spiritual program reminds me to be grateful for my life and this includes the inevitability of old age.
Lord, as I grow in age may I also grow in wisdom and tolerance.
Daily Inspiration
April 7
One of the best parts of receiving blessings is enjoying them. Lord, may I take time to recognize my blessings and appreciate their wonder.
As a mother sets aside gifts for her children long before they need them, so, too, has God prepared for our needs long before we call out to Him. Lord, I give thanks and place my trust in Your loving arms.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
April 7
“Women. They have the power of generations. Women have the power to have children and not to have children.”
–Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK
The Woman is not only the key to life; she is also the key to future generations. An Elder once joked that the Woman only needs the man for one night. We need to look at and respect the power of the Woman. She is special and we need to treat her that way.
Great Spirit, today, let me show the greatest respect to our Women.
Today’s Gift
April 7
Take time every day to do something silly.
—Philipa Walker
Spring fever may bring out our longings and our sense of unfilled needs for attention, play, or laughter. We may be afraid to express these needs because they are not often taken seriously, but thought of as childish. We may even be afraid our needs are so enormous that they will never be satisfied, and so we keep them bottled up inside ourselves, and all we can express to others is frustration.
Spring is a reminder that we can find a way to satisfy our needs. We can give ourselves a break from work or study, laugh a little, and try to share our laughter with someone else. There are many ways to fulfill a need, and by giving what we have to offer, we may find ourselves getting back exactly what we really need, even though it may not be what we had hoped for.
In the act of giving we learn we are worth giving to also. We learn that we deserve to be loved, most of all by ourselves.
What do I think I need today?
Touchstones
Meditations For Men
April 7
Adversity introduces a man to himself.
—Anonymous
After difficult or challenging times we often say, “I never would have chosen to go through that, but I learned a lot from it.” It could be a job situation, a failed relationship, or trouble with the law. When we bump up against something hard something that pushes back at us, our strength is tested, forcing us to draw on unknown reserves. A mountain climber standing on a safe ledge finds it difficult to move forward onto a more frightening spot. After he has completed the route, he looks back and feels good about himself because he met a challenge. We meet these challenges in many ways in our lives, and they help us build our self-respect.
Whatever difficulty is facing us today, we may have to deal with it ourselves, but we do not have to be alone while we do it. We can reach out for support while we do what we must. This difficulty is part of being human and can help us see more fully who we are.
I pray for the courage to face my adversity when I must and the ability to learn from it.
Daily TAO
April 7
ENCOURAGEMENT
One thousand miles from home,
I open the same prayer book.
Some nights it was only obligation;
Tonight, it is comfort.
It’s best to be patient and persevering. Devotion may sometimes seem to be pure drudgery. Away from home, it’s possible to gain a new outlook. Taken from its usual context, our commitment can stand out all the more brilliantly. Something that may have become like a bit and bridle may now be warm and comforting. That is why one should master one’s emotions, and use discipline to even out the ups and downs of impulse.
When traveling, we are away from our usual surroundings, including those elements that suppress and restrict us. Nearly all of us have fears, frustrations, and inhibitions that we have acquired in the past; time and distance help us to assess them more clearly. To overcome them takes courage and initiative. How can we do it if our very problem is fear and timidity? That is when we need a friend to help and encourage us. They can give us the guidance and support to face our fears. Although they can neither live our lives nor solve our problems outright, they can provide an invaluable presence just when we most need it.
Within ourselves, our daily devotions are the way to encourage ourselves to persevere. With others, encouragement is the way to be compassionate.