Daily Reflections
June 18
A FELLOWSHIP OF FREEDOM
… if only men were granted absolute liberty, and were compelled to obey no one, they would then voluntarily associate themselves in the common interest.
-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 50
When I no longer live under the dictates of another or of alcohol, I live in a new freedom. When I release the past and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long, I come to know freedom. I have been introduced into a life and a fellowship of freedom. The Steps are a “recommended” way of finding a new life, there are no commands or dictates in A. A. I am free to serve from desire rather than decree. There is the understanding that I will benefit from the growth of other members and I take what I learn and bring it back to the group. The “common welfare” finds room to grow in the society of personal freedom.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
June 18
A. A. Thought for the Day
The A. A. way of living is not an easy one. But it’s an adventure in living that is really worthwhile. And it’s so much better than our old drunken way of living that there’s no comparison. Our lives without A. A. would be worth nothing. With A. A., we have a chance to live reasonably good lives. It’s worth the battle, no matter how tough the going is from day to day. Isn’t it worth the battle?
Meditation for the Day
The spiritual life has two parts. One is the life apart, the life of prayer and quiet communion with God. You spend this part of your life apart with God. Every day your mind can be set in the right direction so that your thoughts will be of the right kind. The other is the life impart–imparting from others what you have learned from your own meditative experience. The victories you have won over yourself through the help of God can be shared with others. You can help them by imparting to them some of the victory and security that you have gained in your life apart.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may grow strong from my times apart with God. I pray that I may pass on some of this strength to others.
Walk In Dry Places
June 18
AA is an Automatic sprinkler system
Emotional emergencies
Wise managers install automatic sprinkler systems to protect their businesses. The system’s great value is that it goes into action during the first few minutes of a fire, before it gets out of control. This gives the fire department precious time to arrive and put the fire out.
Our AA program gives us something like an automatic sprinkler system. We never know when the flames of resentment might leap up, seemingly our of nowhere. If we’ve been working our program, something takes over automatically to being dealing with resentment.
This gives us time to bring more of our valuable spiritual tools into use. Knowing that resentment is burning away, we can try one thing and then another until it is brought to rest. Perhaps we will try prayer. We might also discuss our problem with a close friend or sponsor. Maybe we’ll attend a meeting and lay the matter out for the group attention. We may help somebody, even in a small way. An amazing healing of resentment can come from any helpful action. Even a simple action like helping a person in a stalled automobile can work wonders in deflecting the pain of ongoing resentment.
I need not fear the sudden appearance of resentment if I have been following my program. I already have within myself the methods for holding resentment at bay while I deal with it.
Keep It Simple
June 18
Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.
–Rodin
When we first start our recovery, it hurts a lot to look at our past. We feel sad. It feels like our life was a waste.
But it wasn’t a waste. The program promises that if we practice the Steps, we’ll not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. Hard to believe? Just look at all the happy old-timers in AA. Their lives were just as messed up as ours.
Because of our addiction, we’re learning a new way to live. We are getting to know ourselves, our Higher Power, and other people.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for helping me into recovery. Help me learn from my addiction.
Action for the Day: I’ll list three important things I’ve learned about life because of my addiction. I’ll talk to my sponsor about them.
“If we’ve been fighting something or someone, we can try gratitude & acceptance.”
–Melody Beattie
“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
–Oprah Winfrey
“Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions.”
–Earl Gray Stevens
“Whatever your problem, no matter how difficult, you can release spiritual power sufficient to solve your problem. The secret is–pray and believe.”
–Norman Vincent Peale
“When you focus on what might have been, it gets in the way of what can be.”
–Patricia Fripp
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
June 18
ACCEPTANCE
“Less is more.”
–Mies van der Rohe
As a gambler, I always wanted more. I wanted to win more, get more, have more, spend more – always my energy was in getting “the more”. But this constant and demanding lifestyle only gave me less. I could never stop to smell the roses. Activity robbed me of satisfaction. I was running through my life and missing it.
Then somebody told me to stop and rest awhile. Don’t chase life; enjoy it. The gambling had become a compulsive and obsessive disease that was ruining my life. I was losing. I was not only losing money – but family, intimacy, life. I was so busy trying to win that I missed the pain and loneliness of my daily losses.
Today I choose not to do this. I accept that the “less” in my life is giving me more. I take responsibility for me, and I share freely with other recovering gamblers.
God, teach me to see Your power and beauty in what I can give up.
Daily Inspiration
June 18
Live with gratitude for all that you are and all that you have because often what looks good on the outside is not really what it seems. Lord, remind me to spend a few moments each day appreciating my life and becoming aware of how good it really is.
Worse than being a quitter is the one who is afraid to begin. Lord, grant me the courage to believe in myself and the ability to focus on what I can do, not what I can’t do.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
June 18
“I am particularly fond of the little groves of oak trees. I love to look at them, because they endure the wintry storm and the summer’s heat, and, not unlike ourselves, seem to flourish by them.”
–Sitting Bull, SIOUX
Every season, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, has gifts that it gives to all creatures. The animals will develop thicker furs just before Winter and will shed this fur in the Spring. Squirrels will store their food in the Fall; other animals build up fat so they can hibernate during the Winter. We can watch all forms of nature and see all creatures work in harmony with the seasons. The secret for us is to learn by observing nature. Watch the trees. Learn from them. We human beings need to learn the gifts and blessings of the seasons.
Grandfather, Grandmother, teach me to live in harmony with the seasons.
Today’s Gift
June 18
Let your conscience be your guide.
—Jiminy Cricket
Crickets sing on summer nights because it’s their nature to do so. They don’t think about whistling or trumpeting or sleeping or changing the world. They’ve figured out their role on earth, and they do it.
We are a bit more complex than crickets, and most of the time that’s lucky. In most of our affairs it’s our conscience more than sheer instinct that helps us choose those thoughts and acts and feelings that are right for us.
Each of us has that little voice inside, relentless as a chirping cricket, telling us what to do. Even in the middle of our toughest decisions, we always have within us the solution that is right for us. All we have to do is listen-and trust.
What does my inner voice say about today’s decisions?
Touchstones
Meditation For Men
June 18
Choice of attention – to pay attention to this and ignore that – is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.
—W. H. Auden
Many of us have said, “I can’t help myself!” when we tried to stop our constant thinking about other people or their behavior.” I know it’s not good for me, but what can I do when they keep acting that way?”
Let us think of ourselves as living in a house with many windows. At each window is a different view, and within each view are many things to catch our attention. Perhaps there are some people, some traffic, some buildings, a horizon, and some trees. If we always go to the same window and focus on the same object, we are not using all our choices. We may have overlooked some things in our lives that need attention. There are many things we are totally powerless over. Our power exists in changing the focus of our attention.
Today, I will notice where I am choosing to pay attention. I pray for guidance in being aware of my options.
Daily TAO
June 18
Armor
Ripe fruit, crisp greens, live grain,
Vital roots, tender meat, spring water.
Growing essence nourishes your own.
Essence alloyed with breath makes you flexible but hard.
The sage’s body is armored.
The sage is impervious to death.
Those who follow Tao speak of three treasures in the body: essence, breath, and spirit.
Essence is the biochemical aspect of your body, nurtured by the food you eat. and regulated by the quality of your hormones. Therefore, all your food should be packed and glowing with energy. Eat food as close to its source as possible. Pray before you eat, for everything that you take whether plant or animal is living. You must consume to survive, but when you die acknowledge that you will become food for others.
To build the breath, work and exercise diligently. Build stamina and discipline yourself. You will gain great flexibility combined with hardened flesh, and you will be graceful. Immunity to minor physical traumas as well as many kinds of illness will be yours.
The ultimate training of the spirit begins with the question of death. The sages see beyond dying. Though they must die, they also know that nothing is lost because no one owns body or mind anyway. Those who follow Tao safeguard themselves and live their spirituality with a realistic appreciation of death. The establishment of essence, breath, and spirit is like wearing armor; the travails of the world mean nothing.