Daily Reflections
May 10
FREE AT LAST
Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our
defects to another human being is humility – a word often misunderstood … it
amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a
sincere attempt to become what we could be.
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 58
I knew deep inside that if I were ever to be joyous, happy and free, I had to share my past life with some other individual. The joy and relief I experienced after doing so were beyond description. Almost immediately after taking the Fifth Step, I felt free from the bondage of self and the bondage of alcohol. That freedom remains after 36 years, a day at a time. I found that God could do for me what I couldn’t do for myself.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
May 10
A. A. Thought for the Day
One thing that keeps me sober is a feeling of loyalty to the other members of the group. I know I’d be letting them down if I ever took a drink. When I was drinking, I wasn’t loyal to anybody. I should have been loyal to my family, but I wasn’t. I let them down by my drinking. When I came into A. A., I found a group of people who were not only helping each other to stay sober, but who were loyal to each other by staying sober themselves. Am I loyal to my group?
Meditation for the Day
Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first “be still and know that He is God.” Then I should act only as God directs me through my conscience. Only trust, perfect trust in God, can keep me calm when all around me are agitated. Calmness is trust in action. I should seek all things that can help me to cultivate calmness. To attain material things, the world learns to attain speed. To attain spiritual things, I have to learn to attain a state of calm.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may learn how to have inner peace. I pray that I may be calm, so that God can work through me.
Keep It Simple
May 10
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
–Andrew Carnegie
Doing something with our lives, not just talking about it, is important. When we were sick with our addiction, what we did was drink or use other drugs. We only talked about what we wanted to do. Now that we are sober, we can really live our lives.
We’ve already done a lot. we’ve gotten help for our chemical dependency. We’ve facing the harm we did to our families. We’ve let other people into our lives.
Before recovery, we didn’t have to tell people we were alcoholics and addicts. Our actions showed it, if people knew what to look for. Now we don’t have to tell people we were recovering, because our actions will show it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, let my actions show that I am getting better every day.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll let my actions speak louder than words. I’ll do one thing that I have been saying I want to do.
The bonds of matrimony aren’t worth much unless the interest is kept up.
–Cited in Even More of…The Best of BITS & PIECES
No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.
–Eleanor Roosevelt
“Cease to inquire what the future has in store, and take as a gift whatever the day brings forth.”
–Horace
Today, I will have some fun with life, with recovery, with people, and with my day.
–The Language Of Letting Go
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
May 10
CREATIVITY
“When one is painting, one does not think.”
–Raphael Sanzio
An artist is predominantly a person who feels rather than thinks; he is molding his most inner experiences into the finished product.
I am doing the same in my sobriety. Today I am molding something good and wholesome from a life that was negative and destructive. I am rediscovering God, not just in thoughts and ideas, but in the daily happenings of my life. God is not only an idea but He is alive in my relationships, behavior and daily acts of kindness.
God is a process in which I am involved. He is at the center of my life, regardless of the ordinariness of the event. Art is part of my life because I am a creative human being.
Teach me to look beyond the painting into myself.
Daily Inspiration
May 10
If you find only defects when you look into a mirror, you are definitely missing something. Lord, may I take comfort in my good points and use them as a foundation to grow.
God did not talk about how much He loves us. He showed us by sending us His Son. Lord, may I learn to love selflessly and speak through my actions.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
May 10
“When you go inside that power, there’s no fear. It’s so beautiful!! There’s no fear there. There’s no pain.”
-Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
Imagine you are standing on the edge of a stage. In the center of the stage is a spotlight shining from above. If you stand anyplace outside the spotlight, in the darkness, you will experience fear. But as soon as you step into the light in the center of the stage, all fear and pain go away. When we stand in the power, fear cannot exist. How do we find this place of power? We pray our way into it. We ask the Creator to take our hand and help us. When we get to that place, we will feel the fear go away.
Great Spirit, hold my hand and guide me today.
Journey to the
Heart
May 10
Go for the Ride
Not all sections of the road we travel are smooth, paved, easy riding. We may prefer the smooth sections of highway, but sometimes the road gets rough. And the rough section can go on for miles and miles.
That’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your way. It doesn’t mean the rough section and bumpy spots will last forever. You’re still on your path.
Relax. Wiggle your shoulders a bit. Get ready, for you just may be in for the ride of your life. Don’t try to ignore the bumps or pretend they’re not there. Not all roads are paved and smooth. Not all roads are meant to be. Slow down a bit if you need to, but don’t stop.
Accept each part of the journey as it comes. Let each stretch of your path be what it needs to be.
Today’s Gift
May 10
To apologize: to lay the foundation for a future offense.
—Ambrose Bierce
“I’m sorry,” said the blind man as he whipped the mare.” I’m sorry,” said the mare, as she kicked the blind man in return.
“We’re sorry,” they assured themselves, as they pushed each other around again and again. Often, we push our troubles with other people around, creeping along in the old rough way, refusing to change because we’re too involved to see another choice.
There’s little sorrow in being sorry all the time. A true apology doesn’t try to explain. Sometimes a true apology just breaks down and cries. Then maybe we’re ready to go on – take someone by the hand, tell the whole sad truth, and work to find a better way.
Are my apologies excuses, or requests to be forgiven?
Touchstones
Meditation for Men
May 10
“You are accepted!” … accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask the name now, perhaps you will know it later. Do not try to do anything; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything, do not perform anything, and do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact you are accepted.
—Paul Tillich
New possibilities opened up when we accepted our powerlessness. These possibilities came to us from beyond ourselves. We can open ourselves to acceptance by being responsible for ourselves and practicing the Twelve Steps. We can’t improve upon the message that we are accepted, nor can we nail it down. In fact, the very moment we try to impose our control over it, it begins to evaporate.
We can receive this message of acceptance only when we are humble and open to it. After learning to surrender in the First Step of this program, we are ready to yield to messages of acceptance.
I am grateful for the acceptance which has come my way.
Daily TAO
May 10
STRUGGLE
Life acquires meaning
When we face the conflict
Between our desires
And reality.
We all have differing personalities vying for predominance in our lives. Some come out at just the right moment. At other times, our aspirations and our fondest hopes find little support in our environment. Only a few can truly say that they are living their lives exactly according to their desires. For the majority of us, life is a series of conflicts between our inner ideas and outer constrictions. How will we test ourselves against the flexing of external circumstances?
Goals are important. Forbearance is also important. But the very process of struggle is equally essential. Rice must undergo the hardship of pounding in order to become white. Steel must endure the forge in order to become strong. Adversity is the tempering of one’s mettle. Without it, we cannot know any true meaning in our accomplishments. Of course, when things happen without struggle, it does not mean that we did not deserve it.