Daily Reflections
September 14
PEACE OF MIND
Do we lay the matter before our sponsor or spiritual adviser, earnestly asking God’s help and guidance–meanwhile resolving to do the right thing when it becomes clear, cost what it may?
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p p. 86-87
My belief in a Higher Power is an essential part of my work on Step Nine; forgiveness, timing, and right motives are the other ingredients. My willingness to do the Step is a growing experience that opens the door for new and honest relationships with the people I have harmed. My responsible action brings me closer to the spiritual principles of the program — love and service. Peace of mind, serenity, and a stronger faith are sure to follow.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
September 14
A.A. Thought For The Day
“How does A.A. grow? Some of us sell A.A. as we go about. Little clusters of twos and threes and fives keep springing up in different communities, through contact with the larger centers. Those of us who travel drop in at other groups as often as we can. This practice enables us to lend a hand to new groups which are springing up all over the land. New groups are being started each month. A.A. is even spreading outside the United States and is slowly becoming world-wide. Thus we grow.” Am I doing all I can to spread A.A. wherever I go?
Meditation For The Day
“Lord we believe. Help Thou our unbelief.” This cry of the human heart is an expression of human frailty. It signifies the soul’s sincere desire for progress. As a person feels the existence of God and His power, that person believes in Him more and more. At the same time, a person is more conscious of his falling short of absolute trust in God. The soul’s progress is an increasing belief, then a cry for more faith, a plea to conquer all unbelief, all lack of trust. We can believe that that cry is heard by God and that prayer is answered in due time. And so our faith grows, little by little, day by day.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that with more power in my life will come more faith. I pray that I may come to trust God more each day.
Walk In Dry Places
September 14
Am I getting too busy?
Time Management.
It’s always risky when a recovering person gets too busy for meetings. It’s also dangerous when business and personal concerns crowd out interest in the program.
We should never deceive ourselves by thinking that we’re somehow safe just because our time is filled with useful and interesting work. Many of us have a tendency to become addicted to “busy-ness”. Though less destructive than drinking, this serves as an escape, just as alcohol did.
The danger is that when the work no longer satisfies us, we’ll find our lives becoming empty again. We could then be very vulnerable to taking a drink. We should never be too busy for the wonderful, constructive work of the program.
Far from taking time away from our other actives, work in the program will enhance everything we do.
I’ll try to balance my activities today, making sure that I have time for the program.
Keep It Simple
September 14
You must look into people, as well as at them.
—Lord Chesterfield
When we were using alcohol and other drugs, we only looked at people.
We treated them like objects. Often, we could only see how they helped us get high, or how they got in our way.
Now we can see others as people. We look into them. We learn about their feelings and thoughts.
We care about them. What a wonderful change! We are fully human again. We can have relationships.
When we look into others, we see life. We see beauty, courage, hope and love. We see bits of ourselves and our Higher Power. What a miracle life is.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be fully human today. Help me see You in others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look into someone. I’ll do this by having a talk with a friend. And I’ll really listen.
“What helps me to go forward is that I stay receptive. I feel that anything can happen.”
–Anouk Aimee“No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.”
–George Jean NathanTo exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
–Herni Bergson“Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination to be happy under all outward circumstances.”
– J. Donald Walters“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”
– William Makepeace Thackeray
Father Leo’s Daily Meditation
September 14
MIDDLE-AGE
“Middle-age is when you begin to smile at things that used to cause you to laugh.”
– Anonymous
Today I feel so young at heart. I love to laugh, I mean really laugh; I love to play and act silly in my life; I love discovering my “child” that comes out to give balance to my life.
This was not always the case. Not too many yesterdays ago I was serious, depressed, affecting a smile that did not come from within. Alcoholism made me an unhappy man. Before I got sober my so called “high” had changed into a boring “low”!
I was middle-aged before I was thirty. Today I feel younger than I did twenty years ago — and it shows. You are what you drink. Today I am sober!
Thank You for the gift of “play” in my life.
Elder’s Meditation of the Day
September 14
“Follow the Old One’s advise.”
–Tom Porter, MOHAWK
The Old One is called by many different names – Grandfather, The Four directions, Father Sky, Mother Earth. We should seek the advice of the Old One to help us build our vision. He will put inside of our mind and heart the vision that we are to follow. This vision is recognizable by the feeling that it has with it. This feeling is hard to describe. It feels “right,” it feels calm, it feels joyful, it feels warm, it feels sacred. The Old One has a way of letting us know it really it His advice. Listen carefully!
Grandfather, I’m listening.
Touchstones Meditations For Men
September 14
When a person drowns himself in negative thinking he is committing an unspeakable crime against himself.
—Maxwell Maltz
Negative thoughts can rule our lives as compulsively as an addiction. The feelings of power we get from holding a dismal and gloomy outlook deprive us of the positive and pleasant parts of life. Some of us have said, “If I expect the worst, I won’t be disappointed. If I think the worst about myself, no one else can cut me down.” It is like taking a driving trip and looking only for trash and garbage in the ditches, ignoring the beauty beyond. Indeed, what we see may be real, but it is a very limited piece of the picture.
When we have relied on negative thinking, it feels risky to give it up. We cannot do it in one day. We can begin by imagining ourselves with a more open attitude toward the world and ourselves. Then we can try it out as an experiment in little ways, with no commitment. Finally we reach the point where we can take a risk and entrust our Higher Power with the outcome.
Today, I will experiment with hopeful and positive thoughts about what happens.
Daily TAO
September 14
Breakthrough
In late summer, heaven’s breath is damply hot.
It smothers the earth with dullness.
Suddenly, thick clouds gather :
A wave of polar air passes like a frigid rake.
Acorns fall like bullets,
And a new wind breaks through.
When the air is hot and humid, there is a feeling of dullness and stagnation. Everyone is oppressed by lassitude. As the seasons begin changing, fresh air comes from the arctic. Clouds that have been building up begin to dispense rain, and damp air is exchanged for fresh, cool breezes. At night, the heavens are changing so quickly that lightning flashes from colliding clouds, and thunder heralds the revolving of the skies.
The same is true of human life. If the heavens cannot endure stagnation for long, how can stagnation last with us? If we find ourselves blocked and frustrated in life, we must look for the inevitable outlet. Nothing is permanent, so how can our obstacles last? We need to look for the first opportunity to set things moving again.
On the other hand, sometimes stagnation comes from our own laziness or incompetence. In this case, then it is we who must show initiative and stimulate a breakthrough in dull circumstances. As soon as we see a chance, we must act. Unless we engage ourselves and events fully, we cannot expect to act sufficiently.
Daily Zen
September 14
If you don’t climb a thousand crags,
How can you learn
All things are empty?
The mountain’s head is white and mine is too.
December dies, the year
Runs out its string as all things do.
At the summit: one rude hut, the snow,
This lonely body, and the wind.
I lean on the rail, heart sudden struck:
The moon rises from the Great River: there.
– Yuan Me (1716-1798)