Daily Reflections
January 22
“LET’S KEEP IT SIMPLE”
A few hours later I took my leave of Dr. Bob. . . The wonderful, old, broad smile was on his face as he said almost jokingly, “Remember, Bill, let’s not louse this thing up. Let’s keep it simple!” I turned away, unable to say a word. That was the last time I ever saw him.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE, p 214
After years of sobriety I occasionally ask myself: “Can it be this simple?” Then, at meetings, I see former cynics and skeptics who have walked the A.A. path out of hell by packaging their lives, without alcohol, into twenty-four hour segments, during which they practice a few principles to the best of their individual abilities. And then I know again that, while it isn’t always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
January 22
A.A. Thought For The Day
In the beginning, you want to get sober, but you’re helpless, so you turn to a Power greater than yourself and by trusting in that Power, you get the strength to stop drinking. From then on, you want to keep sober, and that’s a matter of re-educating your mind. After a while, you get so that you really enjoy simple, healthy, normal living. You really get a kick out of life without the artificial stimulus of alcohol. All you have to do is look around at the members of any A.A. group and you will see how their outlook has changed. Is my outlook on life changing?
Meditation For The Day
I will never forget to say thank you to God, even on the greyest days. My attitude will be one of humility and gratitude. Saying thank you to God is a daily practice that is absolutely necessary. If a day is not one of thankfulness, the practice has to be repeated until it becomes so. Gratitude is a necessity for those who are seeking a better life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that gratitude will bring humility. I pray that humility will bring me to live a better life.
Walk In Dry Places
January 22
No Humiliation in Humility
Self-understanding.
With few exceptions, every alcoholic eventually meets humiliation and defeat. This is especially painful in a world that places high value on winning and on having the approval and admiration of others. We feel diminished by these defeats. Nobody likes to be humbled, to be made to appear less than other people.
Yet these humiliations serve a constructive purpose if they lead us to seek humility. Truly humble people cannot really be humiliated, because they no longer rely on the false supports of worldly praise and approval. We develop humility as we withdraw from a reliance on our own powers and personality and realize that we ourselves can do nothing; it is our Higher Power who does the work.
Still, there is a paradox in humility. The person who admits he or she can do nothing will, in the process, tap into powers that were never available in the previous state of mind. In truth, humility is never humiliation or weakness, though these may lead to it. Humility is really a road to the power that only God can give us.
I’ll watch myself today for the crazy things that set me up for humiliation. I won’t try to impress others or win their admiration today.
Keep It Simple
January 22
Go often to the house of your friend: for weeds soon choke up the unused path.
–Scandinavian proverb.
Our program has two parts: the Steps, and the fellowship. Both keep us sober. We can’t stay sober if we go it alone. We need to work the Steps. We also need people–the help of our friends daily
Recovery is about relationships. We get new friends. We get involved. We give. We get. In times of need, we may not want to ask our new friends for help. Maybe we don’t want to “burden them.”
“Maybe we’re afraid to ask for help.” Well, go ahead. Make that call. Ask your new friend to spend time with you. You deserve and need it. They deserve it; they need it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to get help from my friends as if my life depends on it.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll see or call two program friends and let them know how I’m doing.
Learn to listen to your inner voice. Listen to your heart. It’s your connection to God, to people, to the universe, and to yourself.
–Melody Beattie“The tree in which the sap is stagnant remains fruitless.”
–Hosea BallouPeople travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.
–St. Augustine
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
January 22
POETRY
“Poetry is not an assertion of truth, but the making of that truth more fully real to us.”
— T. S. Eliot
God is able to communicate Himself in a thousand different ways and one such way is poetry.
Spirituality is discovering God in His creation, and this involves more than religion or denominationalism. Spirituality is a comprehensive approach to God’s world and is the unifying factor at the center of the universe. Spirituality is about what is true — wherever it is found in the world.
Poetry and other art forms become part of the spiritual journey for us as we struggle to understand and communicate truth.
In poetry may I find an expression of Your love for me; in my use of poetry, may I express my love for You.
Daily Inspiration
January 22
Behave as though God is standing next to you because He is. Lord, we make a great team and together we are able to make a big difference.
If you think success and really believe it will happen, you will perform in a manner that leads to success. Lord, may I always avoid negative thoughts and visualize myself in the manner that You intended for me.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
January 22
“The first factor in the revolution of consciousness is the mystic death of the ego- the death of negative thinking, negative personalities. We must purify the soul of the inner enemies. Every time a defect manifests- envy, gluttony, anger, lust, whatever-that impulse to the heart. Ask, `Do I really need to invoke this?’ And then honor the heart.”
–Willaru Huayta, QUECHAU NATION, PERU
Our egos have character defects. These character defects we sometimes act out and they invariably bring results to our lives that we might not want. If we continue to use these character defects, we will continue to have undesirable results in our lives. How do we change ourselves or get rid of a character defect We can go to the heart-ask a question, make a decision-then honor the heart. For example, say I get angry today. I would go to the heart and ask, would I rather be right or would I rather be happy? How we answer this question can have an enormous impact on how our day goes. Once we decide the answer to this question, we need to honor the heart by saying, “Thank you for the power of changing my thoughts. I choose to be happy and to experience peace of mind.”
Great Spirit, today, let me teach only love and learn only love.
Today’s Gift
January 22
Animals are such agreeable friends they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.
—GEORGE ELIOT
A pet is often liked by everyone and seems to have no enemies. Why is this? Pets are friendly and interested in others. They seem to get joy out of just being with us. They do not have a critical attitude. When mistreated or neglected for a while, they are quick to forgive and quickly seek once again to be by our side.
Each of us is a valuable part of the family. When we treasure one another and don’t waste our time finding each other’s faults, we will begin to have fewer faults. When we accept our loved ones as they are and enjoy sharing our lives with them, our lives become more enjoyable, and our family love grows because we are each more lovable.
What can I accept in others today?
Touchstones – Daily Meditation For Men
January 22
The human heart in its perversity finds it hard to escape hatred and revenge.
—Moses Luzzatto
This program promises many rewards for those who follow it, but it does not promise to be easy. We search our conscience for resentments and face them. No man can progress in his recovery while holding onto resentments, old angers, and hatreds. When we hold them, we protect dark corners of our souls from the renewal we need. As we allow ourselves to be made new through this program, we no longer reserve those small corners for the game of power and resentment. They will eventually consume us and justify in our minds a return to the old patterns.
Nothing can be held back. We must be willing to surrender all – even if we do not know how. No one can stop being resentful simply by deciding to stop. When we are willing to be honest, to be humble, to be learners, to be led in a constructive direction, to allow time to be guided rather than seek instant cure, then we will learn trust and will surely make progress.
I do not need to know exactly how to let go of my resentments or what will happen after I do. I simply must be ready to let them go.
Daily TAO
January 22
COMMUNICATION
Movement, objects, speech, and words :
We communicate through gross symbols.
We call them “objective,”
But we cannot escape our point of view.
We cannot communicate directly from mind to mind, and so misinterpretation is a perennial problem. Motions, signs, talking, and the written word are all encumbered by miscommunication. A dozen eyewitnesses to the same event cannot agree on a single account. We may each see something different in cards set up by a circus magician. Therefore, we are forever imprisoned by our subjectivity.