Daily Reflections
March 24
ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE, p. 92
Before I joined A.A., I often did not think, and reacted to people and situations. When not reacting I acted in a mechanical fashion. After joining A.A., I started seeking daily guidance from a Power greater than myself, and learning to listen for that guidance. Then I began to make decisions and act on them, rather than react to them. The results have been constructive; I no longer allow others to make decisions for me and then criticize me for it.
Today–and every day–with a heart full of gratitude, and a desire for God’s will to be done through me, my life is worth sharing, especially with my fellow alcoholics! Above all, if I do not make a religion out of anything, even A.A., then I can be an open channel for God’s expression.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
March 24
A.A. Thought For The Day
Strength comes from honestly telling your own experiences with drinking. In religion, they call it confession. We call it witnessing or sharing. You give a personal witness, you share your past experiences, the troubles you got into, the hospitals, the jails, the break-up of your home, the money wasted, the debts, and all the foolish things you did when you were drinking. This personal witness lets out the things you had kept hidden, brings them out into the open, and you find release and strength. Am I receiving strength from my personal witnessing?
Meditation For The Day
We cannot fully understand the universe. The simple fact is that we cannot even define space or time, which we have manufactured by our own minds and on that depends all our so-called knowledge of the universe. The simple fact is that we can never know all things, nor are we made to know them. Much of our lives must be taken on faith.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that my faith may be based on my own experience of the power of God in my life. I pray that I may know this one thing above all else in the universe.
Walk in Dry Places
March 24
This Too Shall Pass
Fortitude
Growing older in sobriety, w soon become aware of the fact that both good and bad experiences eventually pass on. No matter how beautiful or ugly a situation becomes, it must change in time. In discussions, we catch this idea by reminding ourselves that “This too shall pass.”
We are very fortunate that this is true. Were it otherwise, intolerable conditions would last forever. Our business is to make sure that our own thoughts and actions lead to betterment, for ourselves and others. While we should be willing to accept unpleasantness if the re is no way of avoiding it, we should always hope … And work for improvement.
When unpleasant experiences do pass on. We must also be careful not to resurrect them by brooding about how badly we were treated or trying to get even with others. This only prolongs the trouble. The good news in AA is that we can survive any experience and put it behind us.
Whatever I’m facing today, I’ll know that it is temporary and has no power to keep me from the deeper happiness and gratitude I have in the 12 step program.
Keep It Simple
March 24
Love your enemy it will drive him nuts.
–Eleanor Doan
Love you enemy. It’s a lot easier on you! Hating someone takes so much time and energy.
Loving your enemy means, instead of trying to get even, you let your Higher Power handle that person. Of course, loving your enemy is also hard. It means giving up control. It means giving up self-will. We addicts naturally want to control things and people.
This is where we turn to our program for help. We learn to love our enemies, not for some grand reason. We simply do it because hate can cause us to use alcohol or other drugs again.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, watch over my family, friends, and my enemies. Take from me my desire to control. Take from me all reasons to get high.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list all my enemies. I’ll say each of their names, and then I’ll read the Third Step out loud.
Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you think of yourself less.
–Ken Blanchard“Recovery is a path, not a sudden landing.”
–Sandra B“The two major sources of value today are time and knowledge. Find new ways every day to use them better.”
–Brian TracyAction is the antidote to despair.
–Joan BaezEven though our love may waiver, God’s love for us never fails.
–Howard Coop
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
March 24
LANGUAGE
“Language is the light of the mind.”
–John Stuart Mill
When I was drinking, I never really thought about how I behaved, how I dressed or the language I used. Today I believe I should be responsible for the whole of me.
Language is important because it is my bridge to others; it is also the vehicle for understanding the ideas of others. Spirituality involves the concept of language because it is the means of growth, communication and relationship. My words help me to be known. My ability to understand the ideas and aspirations of others helps me to feel that I belong.
God is perceived in this world and the gift of language is one of the ways God is revealed. My words are spiritual.
May the light of God’s eternal truth be manifested in the way I talk and relate to others.
Daily Inspiration
March 24
A house becomes a home when it is filled with love and friendship. Lord, bless my life with laughter and many shared moments that I may in turn be a source of sunshine to others.
Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust. You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father. Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
March 24
Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors; the dreams of our old men, given them in the solemn hours of night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.
–Chief Seattle, SUQUAMISH
Our Spiritual ways have carefully been given to chosen people. Slowly, through our past generations, through past conflicts, our Elders prayed for guidance, which the Creator provided. Then it was passed down to the next generation through culture, ceremony and oral traditions. Our Indian religion has been tested and is about how we should behave and treat other people, animals and the earth. This knowledge is written in the heart of every person. We can find this knowledge by looking inside ourselves.
My Creator, today, when conflict occurs, I will look inside myself for the answers.
Journey to the Heart
March 24
Tap into Life’s Energy
Life is not something separate or apart from you, as you once believed. There is a power, a life force, that moves, guides, directs, and inspires you. You are one with life, with life’s energy.
Do things that energize you, charge your soul. Soak up the sun. Soak up color. Soak up beautiful sounds. Immerse yourself in nature, in a world the refreshes, restores, and renews. Don’t worry about the task or the day that looms ahead, the work, and love and play, the problems and choices that are on the way. If you energize yourself, restore yourself, the power to take action will come naturally like water from a spring.
Look around. What do you see that feels right to do? Which direction do you see as the right way to go? Trust the smallest glimmer. Give in to the urge, to the guidance that’s there. Do it once. Do it again. Soon you will find yourself in harmony.
You will have all the guidance, energy, ideas, creativity, power, and ability you need to do all you’re meant to do. And you will be given the power to enjoy it.
Today’s Gift
March 24
The things we hate about ourselves aren’t more real than things we like about ourselves.
—Ellen Goodman
It is so easy, and tempting, to get down on ourselves, to focus on an imperfect face, a dismal batting average, our fear of math, or our big feet. The trouble is, the more we feel sorry for ourselves, and the more we have to feel sorry about. And though it probably doesn’t hurt to indulge in a little self-pity once in a while, how unfortunate–and limiting–it can be to let those attitudes define us.
The things we hate about ourselves are no more real than the things we like about ourselves. The trick is to dwell on the things we like instead of those we don’t. Even on days when we are sure we are the least lovable creatures in the world, we can “act as if” we like ourselves. What a surprise at the end of the day, to find out that we actually do!
What can I like about myself today?
Touchstones Meditation For Men
March 24
I don’t like a man to be too efficient. He’s likely to be not human enough
—Felix Frankfurter
On our path we seek balance. Pursuing any single value and ignoring another, whether it is efficiency, hard work, or leisure, will make one-sided men of us. Psychology tells us our right brain is the creative, intuitive side and our left-brain is the concrete, fact gathering side. Spending our energies developing only one part of ourselves will leave us incomplete. We males have been taught we should be decisive, practical, and have our feet on the ground.
As men we are also creative and sensitive. We think in stories, pictures, and metaphors and we love music. At our best, we are willing to place people and relationships ahead of things and goals. When we are wisest and most human, we draw on the many sides of ourselves.
Today, I will use both the creative, intuitive part of me and the practical, decisive part that can get a job done.
Daily TAO
March 24
PARTING
You and I assumed forever
When we became companions.
But now, unhappy, you are leaving.
The sky turns to bitter candescence
Unslaked by resignation.
There are times when we have been lucky enough to have companions on our spiritual path, but the time of parting often comes without welcome. When our friends decide to leave, we are often left with doubt, confusion, and sometimes guilt. Anyone may leave the path. They won’t suffer damnation; they will only walk a different path.
The rule for those who follow Tao is this: Walk the path together as long as you can, and when you must part, never hold your companion back.
Should one seek to have no feelings at all regarding friends? After all, the sages constantly warn against attachment. Yet emotion is part of what makes us human. We may understand philosophically why a companion must leave, but we need not deny our feelings as we walk on alone.
Daily Zen
March 24
I view the colored peaks
Incised upon the autumn sky;
Listen to the pine grove
In the calm night.
Someone not seen
For a long time
Is practicing the Way
In snowy clouds.
– Chiao-jan (730-799)