Daily Reflections
January 20
“WE PAUSE … AND ASK”
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.87
Today I humbly ask my Higher Power for the grace to find the space between my impulse and my action; to let flow a cooling breeze when I would respond with heat; to interrupt fierceness with gentle peace; to accept the moment which allows judgment to become discernment; to defer to silence when my tongue would rush to attack or defend. I promise to watch for every opportunity to turn toward my Higher Power for guidance. I know where this power is: it resides within me, as clear as a mountain brook, hidden in the hills – it is the unsuspected Inner Resource. I thank my Higher Power for this world of light and truth I see when I allow it to direct my vision. I trust it today and hope it trusts me to make all effort to find the right thought or action today.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
January 20
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A., we’re all through with lying, hangovers, remorse and wasted money. When we were drinking, we were only half alive. Now that we’re trying to live decent, honest, unselfish lives, we’re really alive. Life has a new meaning for us, so that we can really enjoy it. We feel that we’re some use in the world. We’re on the right side of the fence, instead of on the wrong side. We can look the world in the face instead of hiding in alleys. We come into A.A. to get sober and if we stay long enough, we learn a new way of living. Am I convinced that no matter how much fun I got out of drinking, that life was never as good as the life I can build in A.A.?
Meditation For The Day
I want to be at one with the Divine Spirit of the universe. I will set my deepest affections on things spiritual, not on things material. As we think, so we are. So I will think of and desire that which will help, not hinder, my spiritual growth. I will try to be at one with God. No human aspiration can reach higher than this.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may think love, and love will surround me. I pray that I may think health, and health will come to me.
Walk In Dry Places
January 20
First things first
Order
Busy people often declare, with some exasperation, that they cannot do everything at once. People with emotional problems, a group that includes many alcoholics, often feel that they are trying to do everything at once. Quite often, this pressure means that we waste our time fretting about all the things facing us, becoming totally ineffective as a result.
The simple slogan “First things First” shows us how to set priorities in an orderly way. In every situation or problem, there is always one step we can take that is more important than the others. Following that, we find a step of second importance, another of third importance, and so on. Sometimes, a certain action comes first simply because other things depend on it.
By using “First things first” as a guiding principle in our lives, we can live in an orderly, disciplined manner. If we have to reduce our activities, we can decide which few ought to retain. Having made these decisions, we can be at peace about our choices. We cannot do everything at once and we need not feel guilty about it.
Knowing that order is Heaven’s first law, I’ll do things today in an orderly manner.
Keep It Simple
January 20
SERVICE–A beautiful word fallen upon bad days.
—Claude McKay
Service is really a beautiful word. Service means respect. When we serve others we’re part of the human race. We all need to help each other. Service is a sure way to stay sober. Helping someone else stay sober helps us stay sober. And service frees us from self-will. It teaches us about how to care for ourselves and others. It teaches us that we’re worthwhile. It teaches us that we make a difference. Service keeps us feeling good. Am I quiet when the topic of service comes ap at meetings? If so, how can I change this?
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, show me where I can be of help. Give me the courage to make a difference. Give me the courage to really serve others in need.
Action for the Day: I’ll list five ways service has made or can make my life better.
The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It’s overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.
–Leo BuscagliaToday, help me God, to let go of my resistance to change. Help me to be open to the process. Help me believe that the place I will be dropped off will be better than the place I was picked up. Help me to surrender, trust and accept, even if I don’t understand.
–Melody Beattie“You can read all the manuals on prayer and listen to other people pray, but until you begin to pray yourself you will never understand prayer. It’s like riding a bicycle or swimming: You learn by doing.”
–Evangelist Luis Palau“There are prayers that help us last through the day, or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey. And there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.”
–President George W. Bush
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
January 20
BELIEF
“One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interest.”
— John Stuart Mill
I believe in sobriety because it works for me. I believe in sobriety because it makes me feel good about myself. I believe in sobriety because it has enabled me to rejoin the human race; I was so tired of feeling lonely, ashamed and isolated.
Also this belief I have in me has rekindled a positive relationship with my higher power. Today God is a friend. Today I understand more about what He wants for me. Today I am broad enough in my thinking to find God in anything that is positive and creative — from music to hugs in the park!
Belief has developed with my spiritual program, and I am able to face the daily pains and conflicts of life. Today I know what it is to be a winner — and, thank God, it doesn’t mean I have to be perfect or in control. My total belief in God and self enables me to love me through my failings.
Master of the beliefs of all men, thank You for the gift of my believing in myself.
Daily Inspiration
January 20
Each of us can change the world one person at a time. Lord, grant that I may be a positive influence on just one person today.
You have a responsibility to be the best that you can be. Lord, may I find a good balance in my life so that I neither neglect myself and my duties nor my responsibility to those that need or depend on me.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
January 20
“The most important thing now is to reveal the inner temple of the soul with right thinking and right activity.”
–Willaru Huayta, QUECHUA NATION, PERU
The key to growing a strong tree is to have a good system of roots and to feed the roots with good medicine. If we put poison in the root system, it will affect the tree, and it will become obvious to the rest of the forest what is being fed to the roots. This is also true of the human being. We need to feed our roots with right thinking. If our thinking is right, it will become obvious to the rest of the people. We don’t need to tell people about ourselves with our mouth because our actions always tell them.
Great Spirit, direct my thinking today. Feed my roots.
Today’s Gift
January 20
The power of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.
—Blaise Pascal
The airplane kit is on the table in front of us. We have the glue, the little wooden pieces, and the instructions. We work for hours putting together each piece, step by step. A dab of glue here, a clamp there, maybe some rubber bands to hold the bigger pieces together. We work slowly, allowing the glue to set overnight, even though we want to see it fly right now.
We follow each step in order, even though we think we know how to do it on our own. Patience is the most important asset we bring to this activity–the willingness to allow each step its own time and proper place.
After we’ve done all the careful work and waited till the glue is firm, we take it out for a trial flight. It soars! So do we, when we allow ourselves time to learn each step of the way.
What part of my future am I assembling today?
Touchstones – Daily Meditation For Men
January 20
How good and how pleasant it is that brothers sit together.
—Psalm 133
Men are lonely and more vulnerable to addictions and codependency when they have no firm friendships with other men. Do we have one or two male friends who truly know us, know what really goes on in our lives, what we feel, and what our doubts are? If we do, these relationships are precious. We need to nourish them. If we do not, we need to find others who might become friends. We begin by taking small steps in the development of a friendship.
The joys of sharing with other men, finding humor in our mutual flaws, and joining in similar interests have no substitutes. Relationships develop when someone reaches out. It is easier for us to do this if we remember our friendship is a gift to someone else. We need friendships with both women and men in order to be whole. But understanding ourselves as men begins with closeness to other men.
I am grateful for precious friendships with men and women in my life. They help me grow. Today, can I strengthen my friendship with another man?
Daily TAO
January 20
HAPPINESS
Let us now follow vulgar leaders
Who exploit the fear of death,
And promise the bliss of salvation.
If we are truly happy,
They have nothing to offer us.
Some leaders use threats to win adherents. They invoke death to force good behavior and herd people toward paradise.
Others woo with grand promises. If you have no satisfaction, they offer bliss. If you feel inadequate, they offer success. If you are lonely, they offer acceptance.