Daily Recovery Readings - June

[bluidkiti]

June 1

Daily Reflections

A CHANGED OUTLOOK

Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

When I was drinking, my attitude was totally selfish, totally
self-centered; my pleasure and my comfort came first. Now that I am
sober, self-seeking has started to slip away. My whole attitude toward
life and other people is changing. For me, the first "A" in our name
stands for attitude. My attitude is changed by the second "A" in our name,
which stands for action. By working the Steps, attending meetings,
and carrying the message, I can be restored to sanity. Action is the
magic word! With a positive, helpful attitude and regular A.A. action,
I can stay sober and help others to achieve sobriety. My attitude now
is that I am willing to go to any length to stay sober!

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Some things I do not miss since becoming dry: that overall awful
feeling physically, including the shakes, a splitting headache, pains in
my arms and legs, bleary eyes, fluttering stomach, droopy shoulders,
weak knees, a three-day beard, and a flushed complexion. Also, facing
my loved one at breakfast. Also, composing the alibi and sticking to it. Also,
trying to shave or put on make-up with a shaky hand. Also, opening up my
wallet to find it empty. I don't miss these things, do I?

Meditation For The Day

You were born with a spark of the Divine within you. It had been all
but smothered by the life you were living. That celestial fire has to be
tended and fed so that it will grow eventually into a real desire to live
the right way. By trying to do the will of God, you grow more and
more in the new way of life. By thinking of God, praying to Him, and
having communion with Him, you gradually grow more like Him. The
way of your transformation from the material to the spiritual is the
way of Divine Companionship.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may tend the spark of the Divine within me so that it will
grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to
the new life.

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As Bill Sees It

Miraculous Power, p. 152

Deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of
God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other
things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power
greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that Power in
human lives are facts as old as man himself.

<< << << >> >> >>

"Faith may often be given through inspired teaching or a convincing
personal example of its fruits. It may sometimes be had through
reason. For instance, many clergymen believe that St. Thomas Aquinas
actually proved God's existence by sheer logic. But what can one do
when all these channels fail? This was my own grievous dilemma.

"It was only when I came fully to believe I was powerless over alcohol,
only when I appealed to God who just might exist, that I experienced a
spiritual awakening. This freedom-giving experience came first, and
then faith followed afterward--a gift indeed!"

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 55
2. Letter, 1966

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Walk in Dry Places

Selfish is always wrong
Inventory
It's unfortunate that members sometimes refer to the Twelve step idea as a SELFISH program. If selfishness is considered a human shortcoming, why should we describe our wonderful program as selfish?
What we're really trying to say, it seems, is that our true self-interest lies in the direction of helping others and sharing our experience and strength with them. To do this is to lose the "bondage of self" that is so destructive in the life of every compulsive person.
In this process, we'll probably also discover that too much self-concern has made us unhappy and ill. Selfish, we're likely to learn, is always bad.
When people say that ours is a selfish program, they really intend to convey the idea that it's a "self-improvement" program. It's our concern about others that leads to the higher forms of self-improvement.
Though exercising prudence and good judgment, I'll take a healthy interest in helping others and sharing with them today. I know that my Higher Power will be with me in all my actions.

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Keep It Simple

We're entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.---Step Six
Character defects include being stubborn, feeling self-pity, and wanting to always be in control. We must be ready to give up these defects, or they will hurt us. Being ready is our part of Step
Six. Our Higher Power will remove these defects. We don't need to know how. We just need to be ready to give them up when God asks for them. We don't need to know when. We just have to be ready.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, take away my self-pity, fears, anger, and anything else that hurts my recovery.
Help me make room for peace.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll get ready to have my character defects removed. I will list them and ask myself, "What do I get from keeping them?"

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Each Day a New Beginning

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Being selective in choosing activities, in choosing friends, in choosing material possessions fosters unexpected appreciation. Too much of any one thing negates whatever specialness might have been realized. If we surround ourselves with acquaintances, we never fully share in knowing a few people well. If we surround ourselves with "toys," we never learn how we really want to spend our time.
When we don't take life slowly, piece by piece (one shell at a time), we avoid the greatest discovery of all, the person within. When our attention to persons, places, things is deliberate and steady, the beauty within the object of our focus shines forth, and we, too, are made more beautiful in the process.
Today, I will take time to smell the flowers.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

With ministers, and the worlds religions, I parted right there. When they talked of a God personal to me, who was love, superhuman strength and direction, I became irritated and my mind snapped shut against such a theory.

p. 10

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

So intense, though, is our fear and reluctance to do this, that many A.A.'s at first try to bypass Step Five. We search for an easier way--which usually consists of the general and fairly painless admission that when drinking we were sometimes bad actors. Then, for good measure, we add dramatic descriptions of that part of our drinking behavior which our friends probably know about anyhow.

p. 55

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Two step formula for handling stress:
1. Don't sweat the small stuff.
2. Remember that it's all small stuff.
--Anthony Robbins

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.
--Joseph Fort Newton

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
--unknown

"God does not ask your ability or your inability. He asks only your availability."
--Mary Kay Ash

When I find myself exhausted, I can rest, in knowing God is unlimited strength.
--SweetyZee

Life's most rewarding gifts are those that don't look like presents at all.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

OLD

"Old age is when you realize other
people's faults are no worse than
your own."
--Edgar Shoaff

Age is a great leveler! I am on a journey to God and this involves
many stages of experience - some good and some bad, some painful
and some exceedingly joyful, some confusing and others
understandable. These experiences will take me into a period of life
called "old age".

Many people fear this period of life because it is connected with poor
health, helplessness and death. I was afraid of age because a part of
me feared the "mystery" of death. The "uncertainty" of death
brought with it a lack of control! I am sure that guilt and fear of God
were also involved.

Today I realize that we all have similar fears and concerns. Mystery
brings with it a sense of awe! Today I have a loving God. Today God is
involved in my life. Today, in my recovery, I have a perspective in my
life - I am not all bad! Age is bringing balance.

Thank You for the balance that comes with personal forgiveness.

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A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

"Love is patient."
I Corinthians 13:4a

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one
another in love."
Ephesians 4:2

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they
shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

Rekindle the gift of God that is within you.
2 Timothy 1:6

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Daily Inspiration

You will be more effective and get to the next thing that you want to do if you concentrate on what you are doing right now. Lord, help me recognize when my mind is jumping forward so that I can refocus.

Do not act as though you are watching a parade because we are each one of the marchers. Lord, things change so quickly. Help me to celebrate the constant newness of my life.