November 27
Daily Reflections
THE PERILS OF THE LIMELIGHT
In the beginning, the press could not understand our refusal of all personal publicity. They were genuinely baffled by our insistence upon anonymity. Then they got the point. Here was something rare in the world — a society which said it wished to publicize its principles and its work, but not its individual members. The press was delighted with this attitude. Ever since, these friends have reported A.A. with an enthusiasm which the most ardent members would find hard to match.
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 182
It is essential for my personal survival and that of the Fellowship that I not use A.A. to put myself in the limelight. Anonymity is a way for me to work on my humility. Since pride is one of my most dangerous shortcomings, practicing
humility is one of the best ways to overcome it. The Fellowship of A.A. gains worldwide recognition by its various methods of publicizing its principles and its work, not by its individual members advertising themselves. The attraction created by my changing attitudes and my altruism contributes much more to the welfare of A.A. than self-promotion.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
November 27
A.A. Thought For The Day
The way of A.A. is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation. We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We all come to A.A. to get sober, and we stay to help others get sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last and all the time. We cannot build any kind of decent life unless we stay sober. Am I on the A.A. way?
Meditation For The Day
To truly desire to do God’s will, therein lies happiness for a human being. We start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied. We take and we do not give. Gradually we find that we are not happy when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other peoples’ wills. But this again does not give us full happiness, and we begin to see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God’s will. In these times of meditation, we seek to get guidance so that we can find God’s will for us.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God.
I pray that I may be guided today to find His will for me.
Walk In Dry Places
November 27
Nobody “OD’s” on AA.
Balance
Do people really need daily AA meetings, perhaps even two or three a day? Frequent meeting attendance is usually considered beneficial in AA, but non-members may frown on the practice, especially if a person is neglecting other responsibilities in the meantime.
One thing to remember is that nobody can really “OD” on AA. The worst that can happen from attending so many meetings would be eventual boredom from too much of the same thing. But no harm can come form too much of what is essentially a good practice.
If a person is attending lots of meetings, this schedule may eventually be cut back to allow time for other activities. It’s better, especially in early recovery, to attend too many meetings than too few. We also have to let each person decide how many meetings are required at any stage in his or her recovery.
I know that everyone needs a balanced life, but that cannot happen without secure recovery. Meetings are may best way of staying active in the fellowship.
Keep It Simple
November 27
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost by minute, day by day, in all the thousands, small, uncaring ways.
-Stephen V. Benet
Our Twelve Step program promises us a new way of life. But most of us won’t just wake up one day with a new attitude. We only gain this new way of life if we get involved.
The Twelve Step are tools to build a new life. The more we use a tool, the easier it is to use. The same goes for the Twelve Steps, just as carpenters depend on their tools. If we only wait for the new way of life, it’ll never come. The quicker we get involved, the quicker we’ll get fixed.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me get involved. Help me build a new way of life.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for ways to use the Twelve Steps. If I have a problem, I’ll first stop and think of how the Twelve Steps can help me solve it.
“Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it.”
-David Guy PowersNo man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without
the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the
very existence of that goodness.
-Alan Alda“What appears to be your biggest problem in life may disguise your greatest
opportunity.”
-Brian TracyMoney is not required to buy one necessity of the soul.
-Henry David Thoreau
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
November 27
PREVARICATION
“Whenever science makes a
discovery, the devil grabs it
while the angels are debating
the best way to use it.”
-Alan Valentine
Sometimes we can spend so long deciding what to do that we miss an opportunity. We can prevaricate to the point of impotence. Nowhere is this more true than in the science of relationships. We see somebody that we like and we go home thinking about what we could have said or done. We create happenings in our mind that never happened in fact. We miss the spiritual opportunity of risk.
For years I used to be like this. I always thought that I was not good enough, not important, less than other people: the syndrome of low self-esteem.
Today it is getting better. Part of my spiritual growth is reaching out to other people. Today I make a point of saying “hello”. Today I will ask for a telephone number, invite people to dinner, risk a relationship.
Let me not debate myself into sickness and isolation.
Today’s Gift
November 27
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
-Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein knew in his heart that the source of all his knowledge was not himself, but a mystery–something or someone outside himself. And it left him in awe and wonder. He knew also that while genius may be ninety percent hard work and only ten percent inspiration, all the hard work in the world amounts to nothing without that outside, mysterious inspiration.
He was right. We can work hard and play hard. We can paint and draw and write and develop formulas all our lives, but none of it will be new or different unless we are open to inspiration from some power outside ourselves that also, somehow, is deep within us. To be really good at anything, whether it’s playing baseball, designing fashion clothing, fixing an engine, or cooking, we must believe in some creative force that helps us excel. When we see that force at work, we stand in awe at the wonderful and mysterious gift we have been given.
How have I been inspired to discover something?
Touchstones
November 27
The simplest questions are the most profound. Where were you born? Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing?
-Richard Bach
As we examine our personal answers to these simple questions, we find profound truths about ourselves. We may have been born in more places than the place of our biological birth. Some of us might say, “I truly was born the day I first felt the nurturing love of another person in my life,” or “My life began on the day I stood up to my father.” Most of us began new lives when we walked into our first meeting to begin recovery.
If we think about where our home is or where we are going and what we are doing as spiritual questions, we may find some comforting answers. Perhaps the place where we find rest, peace, and comfort is our home. That may be in a moment of meditation rather than in a physical place. If we are headed toward a manhood of self-respect, the problems of today are only challenges along the way. As we simplify our lives and let the truth be on the surface, we find profound meaning.
Today, I will keep my attention on the basics in my life.