Daily Recovery Readings - August

[bluidkiti]

August 29

Daily Reflections

I CHOOSE ANONYMITY

We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity, is the
greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have.
12 & 12, p.187

Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want to be,
and so I choose anonymity. I want my God to use me, humbly, as
one of His tools in this program. Sacrifice is the art of giving of
myself freely, allowing humility to replace my ego. With sobriety,
I suppress that urge to cry out to the world, "I am a member of
A.A." and I experience inner joy and peace. I let people see the
changes in me and hope they will ask what happened to me. I place
the principles of spirituality ahead of judging, fault-finding, and
criticism. I want love and caring in my group, so I can grow.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"We cannot get along without prayer and meditation. On
awakening, let us think about the 24 hours ahead. We consider our
plans for the day. Before we begin, we ask God to direct our
thinking. Our thought lives will be placed on a much higher plane
when we start the day with prayer and meditation. We conclude
this period of meditation with a prayer that we will be shown
through the day what our next step is to be. The basis of all our
prayers is: Thy will be done in me and through me today." Am I
sincere in my desire to do God's will today?

Meditation For The Day

Breathe in the inspiration of goodness and truth. It is the spirit of
honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. It is readily available if we
are willing to accept it wholeheartedly. God has given us two things
– His spirit and the power of choice – to accept or not, as we will.
We have the gift of free will. When we choose the path of
selfishness and greed and pride, we are refusing to accept God's
spirit. When we choose the path of love and service, we accept
God's spirit and it flows into us and makes all things new.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may choose the right way. I pray that I may try to
follow it to the end.

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As Bill Sees It

Hard On Ourselves, Considerate Of Others, p. 240

We cannot disclose anything to our wives or our parents which will
hurt them and make them unhappy. We have no right to save our own
skins at their expense.

Such damaging parts of our story we tell to someone else who will
understand, yet be unaffected. The rule is, we must be hard on
ourselves, but always considerate of others.

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Good judgment will suggest that we ought to take our time in making
amends to our families. It may be unwise at first to rehash certain
harrowing episodes. While we may be quite willing to reveal the very
worst, we must be sure to remember that we cannot buy our own
peace of mind at the expense of others.

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 74
2. 12 & 12, p. 84

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Walk In Dry Places

Giving The Right Support
Carrying the Message
We're surrounded by people who need help-financial and otherwise.
It is sometimes tempting to believe that we can and should reach out to improve the conditions
of their lives.
This is not always an easy thing to do, or even a right thing to do. The early AA members
who tried this finally decided to limit most of their help simply to carrying the 1Welve Step message.
While this seemed callous, it was really the only practical approach to a difficult problem.
Many people are able to solve their own financial problems when they really understand and
practice the twelve Step program. If they still need other assistance, it is then given and received in
ways that work. In any case, we should always seek guidance and direction from our Higher Power
when considering or offering any kind of assistance. We'll then know that any support we give will
be the right kind.
I'll be willing today to assist others in any way I can. I will not, however, take responsibility for
running their lives.

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Keep It Simple

This day I choose to spend in perfect peace. --- A Course in Miracles
Today, let’s be gentle and kind. Lets talk to ourselves with love and respect. Let’s be gentle with others too.
Today, let’s be clear in how we think, speak, and act. And if we start to get mixed up, let’s stop thinking and listen for our Higher Power’s voice.
Today, we know that we have just a small job to do. It is to live today with love in our heart. We can’t take care of every problem in the world. But we make our actions today part of the answer instead of the part of the problem. Let's Keep It Simple.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me find Your calmness and peace in my heart today.
Action for the Day: Do I believe that peace starts with me? Today, I’ll listen to the simple voice of peace inside of me. And I’ll Keep It Simple.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. --Helen Keller
The next 24 hours are guaranteed to excite us, to lift us to new levels of understanding, to move us into situations with others where we can offer our unique contributions. All that is asked of us is a willingness to trust that we will be given just what we need at each moment.
We can dare to live, fully, just for today. We can appreciate the extraordinariness of every breath we take, every challenge we encounter. Within each experience is the invitation for us to grow, to reach out to others in caring ways, to discover more fully the women we are capable of being. We must not let a single moment go by unnoticed.
When we withdraw from life, we stunt our growth. We need involvement with others, involvement that perturbs us, humors us, even stresses us. We tap our internal resources only when we have been pushed to our limits, and our participation in life gifts us, daily, with that push. How necessary the push!
None of us will pass this way again. What we see and feel and say today are gone forever. We have so much to regret when we let things slip away, unnoticed or unappreciated.
A special series of events has been planned for me today. I shall not miss it.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Doctor Bob's Nightmare

A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. The birth of our Society dates from his first day of permanent sobriety, June 10, 1935.
To 1950, the year of his death, he carried the A.A. message to more than 5,000 alcoholics men and women, and to all these he gave his medical services without thought of charge.
In this prodigy of service, he was well assisted by Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, one of the greatest friends our Fellowship will ever know.

For the benefit of those experimentally inclined, I should mention the so-called beer experiment. When beer first came back, I thought that I was safe. I could drink all I wanted of that. It was harmless; nobody ever got drunk on beer. So I filled the cellar full, with the permission of my good wife. It was not long before I was drinking at least a case and a half a day. I put on thirty pounds weight in about two months, looked like a pig, and was uncomfortable from shortness of breath. It then occurred to me that after one was all smelled up with beer nobody could tell what had been drunk, so I began to fortify my beer with straight alcohol. Of course, the result was very bad, and that ended the beer experiment.

pp. 177-178

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Eight - "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all."

While the purpose of making restitution to others is paramount, it is equally necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal relations every bit of information about ourselves and our fundamental difficulties that we can. Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could yield more satisfying and valuable rewards than this one. Calm, thoughtful reflection upon personal relations can deepen our insight. We can go far beyond those things which were superficially wrong with us, to see those flaws which were basic, flaws which sometimes were responsible for the whole pattern of our lives. Thoroughness, we have found, will pay--and pay handsomely.

p. 80

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"God's strength behind you, His concern for you, His love within
you, and His arms beneath you are more than sufficient for the job
ahead of you."
--William Arthur Ward

Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbons.
--Ruth Ann Schabacker

"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and
effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world
outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in
getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness
is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few
drops on yourself."
--Og Mandino

People do not grow old; When they cease to grow, They become old.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help
others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for
me?"
--Brian Tracy

God knows what He's about. If He has you sidelined, out of the
action for a while, He knows what He's doing. You just stay
faithful--stay flexible--stay available--stay humble.
--Growing Strong In The Seasons Of Life, p.531

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

EDUCATION

"The university exists only to
find and communicate the
truth."
-- Robert Maynard Hutchins

Today in my recovery I know I am a student of Truth and will
hopefully be so until the day that I die. No longer do I search for the
cheap thrill or the quick fix --- now I desire lasting truths.

Spirituality is about finding God in things that are true and honest,
good and wholesome, creative and positive.

I battle daily with that sick side of me that is greedy, selfish and
dishonest --- I'm not perfect. Today I know that the sick and
dishonest way of living does not work. My history teaches me that it
does not work. I was never truly happy knowing that the gains came
at the expense of others. Now I am a student in the "university of
life", and I enjoy learning something new about me every day. Today
I am able to listen --- listen to those who are wiser than I. I know that
I do not have all the answers --- and with this knowledge comes
freedom.

God, who lives in and through Truth, continue to radiate and illuminate
my life.

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"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who
dwell therein."
Psalms 24:1

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of
them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will
soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will
walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

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Daily Inspiration

Count on God for what you lack. Would you not do the same for someone that you loved? Lord, I know that whatever I am doing, You can and will help.

Mistakes give us experience. Without them going forward is almost impossible. Lord, may I always look for the good and use it to make tomorrow better.