Daily Reflections
November 18
A SAFETY NET
Occasionally, we are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won’t pray. When these things happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 105
Sometimes I scream, stomp my feet, and turn my back on my Higher Power. Then my disease tells me that I am a failure, and that if I stay angry I’ll surely get drunk. In those moments of self-will it’s as if I’ve slipped over a cliff and am hanging by one hand. The above passage is my safety net, in that it urges me to try some new behavior, such as being kind and patient with myself. It assures me that my Higher Power will wait until I am willing once again to risk letting go, to land in the net, and to pray.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
November 18
A.A. Thought For The Day
I have got over my procrastination. I was always putting things off till tomorrow and as a result that never got done. “There is always another day” was my motto instead of “Do it now.” Under the influence of alcohol, I had grandiose plans. When I was sober I was too busy getting over my drunk to start anything. “Some day I’ll do that” — but I never did it. In A.A. I have learned it’s better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all. We learn by trial and error. But we must act now and not put it off until tomorrow. Have I learned to do it now?
Meditation For The Day
“Do not hide your light under a bushel. Arise and shine, for the light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen in thee.” The glory of the Lord shines in the beauty of a man’s character. It is risen in you, even though you can realize it only in part. “Now you see as in a glass darkly, but later you will see face to face.” The glory of the Lord is too dazzling for mortals to see fully on earth. But some of this glory is risen in you when you try to reflect that light in your life.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may try to be a reflection of the Divine Light. I pray that some of its rays may shine in my life.
Walk In Dry Places
November 18
The old friends who dropped us.
Personal relations.
As our drinking progressed, most of us lost old friends. Sometimes it was our behavior that drove them away; at other times, it was because they didn’t want to associate with “losers.”
In sobriety, some of our old friendships have been restored. These are real friendships based on trust and true affection.
But sobriety can also give us a deeper and finer understanding of friendships. We may acquire a new set of values on this subject. We may find that some of those whom we considered friends were only fair-weather drinking acquaintances.
Drinking acquaintances will probably ease away from us if we really means business in staying sober. This need not bother us if we’re thinking rightly.
The great news in all of this is that in the fellowship, we’ll be making some of the best friends we can ever have. We’ll also learn how to be great friends with ourselves.
In my thinking about friendship today, I’ll seek people I trust and like, not people I can use.
Keep It Simple
November 18
Life is short: live it up.
-Nikita
We won’t stay sober long unless it’s more fun than using chemicals. The truth is, using chemicals wasn’t fun anymore. It was work. We just told ourselves it was still fun.
So live it up! Try new things. Meet new friends. Try new foods. Taking risks and having adventures are a basic human need. So go for it. Sobriety is fun. Living a spiritual life is fun. Get out there and live!
Prayer for the day: Higher Power ,teach me to play. Teach me to have fun. Teach me to live!
Action for the day: Today is for fun. I’ll try something new. I’ll see how many people I can get to smile. And I’ll celebrate the fact that I’m sober.
“What makes humility so desirable is the marvelous thing it does to us; it creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God.”
-Monica BaldwinWhat you are is God’s gift to you, What you do with yourself is your gift to God.
-White Buffalo Calf WomanRemember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator.
-Native American ProverbA baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.
-Carl SandburgHonesty is the best way to gain the trust of others. By being honest, feelings may or may not be hurt. Whichever the case you will end up respecting yourself more for it.
-unknown
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
November 18
STRENGTH
“All cruelty springs from weakness.”
-Seneca
My spiritual recovery means that I confront my disease and remember sick attitudes and behavior patterns. I would rather not talk about my disease because it is embarrassing and shameful particularly my cruelty to people and animals. My alcoholism made me lash out at the weak; yes, my weakness inflicted pain and cruelty on others.
I remember this only to rejoice in today’s strength that allows vulnerability. My past weaknesses made me act strong. Today my strength allows me to be weak.
God, the recognition of my past cruelties enables me to forgive and understand others.
Daily Inspiration
November 18
Your life is yours to live as you choose with the results that you want. Lord, help me to be full of life, full of energy and greet my opportunities with a peaceful smile and a gentle gratitude.
Faith grows by speaking daily with God. Lord, You teach me Your promises when times are good so that I will be able to trust in You when times are hard.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
November 18
“Power is not manifested in the human being. True power is in the Creator.”
-Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA
The Old Ones say the only true power is spiritual power. Sometimes our egos tell us we have power but really we don’t. Great Spirit power is called by other names such as love, forgiveness, intelligence, life, principles, and laws.
When the Creator uses this power to make the human being powerful, we must stay humble. We should constantly acknowledge that we are who we are. We do what we do because of the power of the Great One.
Great One, guide me to use Your power well. I will use it only to serve the people.
Journey to the Heart
November 18
Live with Unsolved Problems
Sometimes we need to live for a while with a particular behavior, problem, or situation before we’re ready to change it.
Sometimes we have to live with it so long– conscious that it’s a problem but unable yet to solve or change it– that we can hardly bear it. We’re fully aware that we want and need something different, but the situation still hasn’t changed. The answer has not yet arrived. We worry that the situation will continue eternally and the problem will never be solved. During those times of living with a problem and the desire to solve it, we may long for the old days, those days when our denial system was intact and we didn’t know what we were doing.
If you can’t solve it yet, if you can’t change it yet, it’s okay to live with it, just as it is. Something is happening. The situation is changing. You’re on your way to change.
Trust that the waiting part of change is necessary. Trust that your desire for change is the beginning of change. Trust that each moment you are moving closer to the change you desire.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
November 18
“Power is not manifested in the human being.
True power is in the Creator.”
-Oren Lyons, ONONDAGA
The Old Ones say the only true power is spiritual power. Sometimes our egos tell us we have power but really we don’t. Great Spirit power is called by other names such as love, forgiveness, intelligence, life, principles, and laws.
When the Creator uses this power to make the human being powerful, we must stay humble. We should constantly acknowledge that we are who we are. We do what we do because of the power of the Great One.
Great One, guide me to use Your power well. I will use it only to serve the people.
Today’s Gift
November 18
One comes in the end to realize that there is no permanent pure relationship and there should not be.
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Whether we are teenagers in love for the first time, or parents who have been married for twenty years, relationships can turn into obsessions if we’re not careful.
We can lose our sense of self and only feel complete when we’re with the other person. We can become totally attached and dependent on the primary person in our lives for all our needs.
We need to remember that we can be a good partner in a relationship only if we feel complete within ourselves. Keeping ourselves open to change in our surroundings, our loved ones, and especially ourselves helps us stay whole.
We learn, first, to be ourselves, to make independent choices. We dare to do things on our own. Things as simple as going for a walk by ourselves and smelling the scents of nature. Being ourselves means bringing our own world to meet the world of our loved ones, rather than depending on them to make our world.
Am I making my own happiness so I may share it with others?
Touchstones Meditations For Men
November 18
I always entertain great hopes.
—Robert Frost
In our honest journey, we must admit life is often difficult and painful. But these facts do not describe all of life, and they do not determine how we respond. The sun rises warm and bright after a cold and dark night. The open, generous smile of a small child reaches into the soft part of us all. To be strong and hardy men on this spiritual path, we must be truthful about the pain and unfairness in life while holding firmly to a belief in all the generous possibilities.
Surrendering to despair, we trade the uncertainty of options for the certainty of gloom. Then we might say, “At least I’m never disappointed this way.” Life isn’t filled only with difficulty and pain. It is also filled with people whose dignity and spirit rise above their circumstances. There are situations when great sacrifice or love and wisdom turn a problem into an opportunity and strength. If we look at what has happened in our own lives and in those of others, we have ample reason to hope.
My own experience in recovery gives me great hope in what can be.
Daily TAO
November 18
DECADENCE
Powdered concubine dressed in rich silks —
Feet bound, body soft, lips slack —
Views lotuses through binoculars.
A dragonfly alights on her motionless fan.
How do you know when your own life verges on decadence?
Certainly when the force of form becomes more important that the force of substance. When etiquette and morals become more important that understanding and righteousness. When procedure becomes more important than creativity. When gratifying your lust becomes more important than giving to others. When patriotism becomes more important than measured governing and enlightened treatment of other nations. When the act of eating becomes more important than considerations of nutrition. When the opera becomes more important than helping the poor and homeless. When one’s own comfort becomes more important than the suffering of loves ones. When ambition becomes more important than benevolence. When prestige becomes more important than charity. When the academy becomes more important than the streets. When loud expression becomes more important than listening to others. When outrageousness becomes more important than communication. When connoisseurship becomes more important than simple acts. When style becomes more important than function. When books become more important than teachers. When expediency becomes more important than the elderly.