Daily Reflections
May 27
NO MAUDLIN GUILT
Day by day, we try to move a little toward God’s perfection. So we need not be consumed by maudlin guilt …
-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 15
When I first discovered that there is not a single “don’t”
in the
Twelve Steps of A. A., I was disturbed because this discovery swung
open a giant portal. Only then was I able to realize what A. A. is for
me:
A. A. is not a program of “don’ts”, but of “do’s.”
A. A. is not martial law; it is freedom.
A. A. is not tears over defects, but sweat over fixing them.
A. A. is not penitence; it is salvation.
A. A. is not “Woe to me” for my sins, past and present.
A. A. is “Praise God” for the progress I am making today.
Twenty-Four Hours A
Day
May 27
A. A. Thought for the Day
In twelfth-step work, the fifth thing is Continuance. Continuance means our staying with prospects after they have started on the new way of living. We must stick with them and not let them down. We must encourage them to go to meetings regularly for fellowship and help. They will learn that keeping sober is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must continue to help prospects by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or writing them so that they don’t get out of touch with A. A. Continuance means good sponsorship. Do I care enough about other alcoholics to continue with them as long as necessary?
Meditation for the Day
Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded while at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary. Without a strong root, it would soon wither. The higher the growth upward, the deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot flower into success and helpfulness unless it is rooted in a strong faith, or unless it feels deeply secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel deeply secure.
Walk in Dry Places
May 27
Who is important?
Respect for people.
The Twelve step movement grew out of an earlier society, the Oxford group, whose members believed in “key People.” They embraced the idea that attracting promising individuals with high standing would, in turn, attract others.
We’ve also had such people in AA and other 12 step groups, and we are grateful for their examples and efforts. We’ve learned, however, not to view one person as more important than another’s. We could even harm a recovering person by focusing on his or her personal prestige in the community. Our purpose is to help people get well, not to run a club emphasizing social standing.
We’ll find our program working much better if we treat all people equally, and view them as equal in the sight of God. We have a standing in God’s sight that is eternal and everlasting.
I’ll extend kind and generous thoughts toward every person I meet today. We are all children of equal standing in the sight of God.
Keep It Simple
May 27
It’s only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to God.
-Henry David Thoreau
The biggest danger we face as recovering people is self-will. Do we try to control others?
Do we always put ourselves before others? Are we full of self-pity? These are all ways that bind us to our self-will.
In recovery, we put our lives in the hands of a loving God. Here, we find a new home. Our goal is to lose as much of our self-will as we can. We than put love in place of self-will. Recovery is truly about love.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I pray and offer my self-will to You, Self-will is a danger to my sobriety. I pray that I may be closer to You than to myself.
Action for the Day: I’ll list the areas that self-will get in my way. I’ll read my list every day next week, and I’ll try to put love in place of self will.
“What worries you, masters you.”
–Haddon W. Robinson
God, help me to have the strength to set reasonable limits for myself and to tell others when I cannot help them. Help me learn to say no.
–Melody Beattie
God is watching over me, making my path easy.
–Alan Cohen
The Way To God “Start the Day with Love; Spend the Day with Love; Fill the Day with Love; End the Day with Love; This is the way to God.”
–Sathya Sai Baba
Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.
–Native American Proverb
Time is like a river – it flows by and doesn’t return.
–Chinese Proverb
Father Leo’s Daily
Meditation
May 27
MOTIVES
“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.”
–Michelangelo
I must always “think big”, not in an egotistical sense but as an adventure in spirituality. When I had a small God, I always remained a small person, with small aspirations and dreams. Today I have an all-embracing inclusive God that fills the universe. Today I have hope in my dreams.
As an alcoholic I missed so much. I observed very little about myself and God’s world, people and friends became inconsequential; nothing really mattered except the desire to drink. My spiritual potential was lost in my alcoholism.
Today I am realizing my potential and I can risk in sobriety. My motto has become “go for it”. Behind my dreams is my growth. I have a sense of so much joy in the world that I wish to enthusiastically experience my life.
God, I am so grateful to be alive.
Daily Inspiration
May 27
Too much of a good thing can actually diminish the joy and make it a burden. Lord, help me avoid excess and keep my life simpler and freer.
To know someone doesn’t mean to know every detail of that person’s life. It means to feel affection, confidence and to believe in that person. Lord, may I really know You and have it reflect in how I treat others.
Elder’s Meditation
of the Day
May 27
“One of the things the old people taught me about the spirits was to never have a doubt.”
–Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA
The spirit world is sometimes hard to believe in because we can’t see it. Our minds convince us to seek proof for everything. We need to believe that the Unseen World exists and the Unseen World is guided by principles, laws, and values. If we have doubts, we can pray to the Great Spirit to remove the doubt. He understands how difficult it can be sometimes, so He’s always ready to help us during our doubtful times. We are lucky to have such an understanding and helpful Father.
Great Spirit, today, divorce me from doubt.
Today’s Gift
May 27
If your life is ever going to get better, you’ll have to take risks. There is simply no way you can grow without taking chances.
—David Viscott
One sunny day a caterpillar who was afraid of the dark came to a tunnel, which lay squarely in its path. It had a choice of going back where it started, or summoning the courage to crawl into the darkness.” What shall I do?” wondered the caterpillar.” If I go back home, I won’t get where I want to go, but I’m so afraid!”
Just then, a voice called out from the tunnel.” I can hear you, Mr. Caterpillar. I am Mr. Beetle. I am here in the tunnel and I can see the other end. If you come through, you won’t lose your fear of the dark, but you will get where you want to go.”
We are all like the caterpillar once in a while. But if we let our fear stop us from doing things, which are necessary to our growth, we will never realize what courage we really have.
Is my fear a necessary part of new experiences?
Touchstones
Meditation For Men
May 27
At times almost all of us envy the animals. They suffer and die, but do not seem to make a “problem” of it.
—Alan Watts
When we sit quietly and open ourselves to contact with our Higher Power, problems may come to mind. We seek some wisdom beyond ourselves to help us meet the challenges of this day. For many of us men, the greatest problem is our thinking rather than the situations we have to deal with.
Unlike animals, we complicate what is very simple. The pain we face is never fair, so we need not waste time trying to understand the justice or injustice of it. Our problems may seem large or overwhelming from today’s perspective. By tomorrow or next month most of them will be resolved in some way, and we may not even remember them. Our spiritual path teaches us to do first things first each day and not fret about the outcome. We turn outcomes over to the will of God.
Today, I will use the simplicity of the animals as my guide.
Daily TAO
May 27
SUBSERVIENCE
Out-of-season rain
Dashes crowns of princely trees.
Perplexed travelers ask for reasons,
Huddling under worn eaves.
Those who follow Tao make much of knowing and acting in conformity to the cycle of seasons. They have made a science of studying the exact ways in which events progress. Some have become so skillful that their lives are admired as nearly magical. Yet when things happen out of turn, even these wise ones are surprised.
Such is the case with unseasonable rain. It is supposed to be hot summer, yet it is a day like midwinter. What is there to do but to accept it? Following cycles does not mean that you can then expect things to occur with precision and regularity. The actual ways that circumstances develop will always remain beyond complete regimentation. Nature doesn’t act according to human theories. Rather, our sciences are imperfect at analyzing nature.