Daily Reflections
February 1
GOAL: SANITY
” … Step Two gently and very gradually began to infiltrate my life. I can’t say upon what occasion or on what day I came to believe in a power greater than myself, but I certainly have that belief now.”
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 27
“Came to believe!” I gave lip service to my belief when I felt like it or when I thought it would look good. I didn’t really trust God. I didn’t believe He cared for me. I kept trying to change things I couldn’t change. Gradually, in disgust, I began to turn it all over, saying: “You’re so omnipotent, you take care of it.” He did. I began to receive answers to my deepest problems, sometimes at the most unusual times: driving to work, eating lunch, or when I was sound asleep. I realized that I hadn’t thought of those solutions–a Power greater than myself had given them to me. I came to believe.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
February 1
A.A. Thought For The Day
When we think about having a drink, we’re thinking of the kick we get out of drinking, the pleasure, the escape from boredom, the feeling of self-importance and the companionship of other drinkers. What we don’t think of is the letdown, the hangover, the remorse, the waste of money, and the facing of another day. In other words, when we think about that first drink, we’re thinking of all the assets of drinking and none of the liabilities. What has drinking really got that we haven’t got in A.A.? Do I believe that the liabilities of drinking outweigh the assets?
Meditation For The Day
I will start a new life each day. I will put the old mistakes away and start anew each day. God always offers me a fresh start. I will not be burdened or anxious. If God’s forgiveness were only for the righteous and those who had not sinned, where would be its need? I believe that God forgives us all our sins, if we are honestly trying to live today the way He wants us to live. God forgives us much and we should be very grateful.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my life may not be spoiled by worry and fear and selfishness. I pray that I may have a glad, thankful and humble heart.
Walk In Dry Places
February 1
Garbage in, Garbage Out
Releasing the Past
One thing we don’t need in our lives is garbage from the past. Yet many of us say that old thoughts and bitter memories often sneak devilishly back to spoil what should have been a pleasant day. Why do we let garbage from the past befoul our lives a second time?
Computer programmers use a certain expression when their systems turn up errors: “GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT.” If you feed erroneous, useless information into a computer, that’s what you get back.
We seem to have built-in computers that work the same way. If we waste time and energy talking about past injustices or old mistakes, we are unwittingly calling them back into our lives. We are bringing back garbage that should have been discarded permanently to make room for better things.
There is no benefit in bringing back old garbage. We can’t change the past. We can’t change our mistakes by brooding about them, and we can’t obtain justice by remembering how badly we were treated or by plotting revenge. When we bring back garbage, we allow it to occupy space that should be devoted to constructive and positive things.
If we don’t want garbage in our lives, let’s not put it there by bringing up matters that should have been released, forgiven, and forgotten.
I will keep my mind on the present, knowing that a positive attitude will help me make the best of the opportunities that come to me.
Keep It Simple
February 1
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
–Step Two
The Second Step directs us to believe there is hope for us. It may take time to believe this. Many of us had given up hope. But look around. Hope fills our meeting rooms. We are surrounded by miracles. This Power greater than ourselves has healed many. Listen as others tell their stories. They speak of how powerful this Power is. At times, we will not believe. This is normal, but in recovery, “coming to believe” means opening ourselves up to healing power found in the program.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, allow me to believe Help me to stay open to recovery.
Action for the Day: I will list three examples of my past insanity. I will share these examples with my group, sponsor, a program friend, or with my Higher Power. I will remember that I’m a miracle.
“He who cannot rest, cannot work; He who cannot let go, cannot hold on; He who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.”
–Harry Emerson Fosdick
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”
–Charles Buxton“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.”
–Hans Selye
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
February 1
RELIGION
“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”
— Jonathan Swift
Religion is a powerful influence in the world, but so often the “power” is negative. It has been used to judge, divide, separate and control people; rob them of their freedom and creativity; chain them to creeds and teachings that are not comprehensible. Unfortunately, religion has become dull and lifeless for many people and God’s love is missed.
But the power of creative spirituality is alive in God’s world. It unites and frees the people so that they can be discovered in their individuality. Difference is accepted, choice is respected and healing is perceived in our ability to love.
Let me ever bring the gift of God’s spirituality to those who have misplaced it.
Daily Inspiration
February 1
We have every reason to be at peace because God will either protect us from suffering or give us immense strength to see us through it. Lord, I set aside my anxieties because You care for me every day in every way.
If you exercise your mind, your spirit will never get old. Lord, give me the ability to rise above my worldly burdens and ability to always make things a little better.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
February 1
“You can’t just sit down and talk about the truth. It doesn’t work that way. You have to live it and be part of it and you might get to know it.”
–Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE
We all read books that have much information in them. Often we pick up on little sayings that we remember. Inside of us is the little owl, the owl of knowing. It talks to us- guiding us and nurturing us. Often when we get information, it’s hard to live by, but it’s easy to talk about. It’s living the Red Road that counts-Walk the Talk. If we really want freedom in our lives, if we really want to be happy, if we really want to have peace of mind, it’s the truth we must seek.
My Creator, help me in my search for the truth today.
Today’s Gift
February 1
It’s not enough to talk to plants, you also have to listen.
—David Bergman
Plants grow best when we pay attention to them. That means watering, touching them, putting them in places where they will receive good light. They need people around them to notice if they are drooping at the edges or looking particularly happy in the sunlight. The more attention a plant receives, the better it will grow.
We need to be noticed in the same way. If we notice a family member or friend is drooping, perhaps we can pay some special attention to him or her. All of us need someone to care about how we are and to truly listen to us. We can share and double someone’s happiness by noticing and talking about it also. We help the people around us to grow by listening to their droopy edges as well as their bright days. People need this as much as plants need light and water.
How can I help someone grow today?
Touchstones
February 1
Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults.
—Peter De Vries
Many of us, in entering recovery, are confronted with guilt about our roles as fathers. We can see so clearly with hindsight that we could have been better parents. Others of us recall the unfairness of our own parents and find it hard to forgive them.
This mixture of guilt and resentment is part of the package of recovery. If we remained the same and never learned anything new, we wouldn’t have to feel guilty about the past or face our need to let go of resentments. Our spiritual renewal requires that we forgive ourselves and accept the forgiveness of those around us. Even today our children are not helped by our guilt, but they will be helped – at any age – by our amended lives. And all generations are enriched when we are able to repair broken connections with our parents.
I can accept the increased consciousness that recovery brings without punishing myself for what I didn’t know.
Daily TAO
February 1
UBIQUITY
Tao is everywhere.
It cannot be kept from the sincere.
Tao originated in China and was an expression of that culture. It was intimately tied to a poetically agrarian view of the world, and it forged mysticism and pragmatism together. But now, most of us, even those in China, do not understand ancient words. Our farming is mechanized. Our poetry is written on computers. Does this make Tao invalid? No, it does not. Tao is still here, and if we are to follow Tao, we must rely not on old standards but on direct experience. Contemporary minds need contemporary concepts to interest them.
If following Tao is as great as the masters claim, then it ought to be applicable to any situation and any race. Neither time, nor place, nor culture should be a barrier to the sincere seeker. Tao surrounds us; we need only guidance and understanding in order to connect with it.
Tao is not something esoteric. It is right here. The masters allude to this all the time. For them, anything — from reading scriptures to attending the theater, from meditating to sweeping dung from the ground — is Tao. They understand the ubiquitous nature of Tao and act accordingly. If masters still know Tao in this world of jet planes and electronic communication, then we can also absorb the essential message of Tao. Those who succeed might never talk of it, and yet everything they do will be spontaneously in tandem with Tao.
Daily Zen
February 1
Finally, I had the sort of relaxing Sunday morning I’ve been craving for months. I spent it doing laundry and ironing.
You think I’ve lost my marbles—right? Wrong. Actually, I was finding them.
I really feel these days that things aren’t the way they used to be. Our grandparents used to sit out on the back porch at night and chat with passing neighbours, but today we’re all rushing around multi-tasking. Those who lived before power saws, washing machines, dishwashers and electric irons had plenty to keep them busy, but their tasks also kept them focussed—they pondered while they worked. By default, that pondering might be no more than daydreaming or spacing out, but it can also be put to good use by bringing a mindful focus into the equation.
As I iron, I watch the flow of the iron over the shirt, slow down to adjust for every seam and avoid unnecessary creasing. I’m attentive to every detail, and aware of my attentiveness too. This sort of multi-layered attention is the essence of mindfulness. It sharpens your wits, improves concentration and keeps you in the present moment. It’s one of the most effortless forms of meditation, not just calming but also clarifying.
I learned years ago that the most mundane physical tasks are ideal ways to preoccupy the body and free up the mind in a healthy way. It’s a terrible waste to despise washing dishes, sweeping the floor and folding towels. It’s got to be done anyway. With mindfulness, putting your life in order puts your mind in order too. This is just practice; later on when I’m in a tough situation, that little bit of extra mental space makes all the difference between letting go of the stress and identifying with it.