Daily Recovery Readings - June

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June 9

Daily Reflections

LIVING IN THE NOW

First, we try living in the now just in order to stay sober -- and it
works. Once the idea has become a part of our thinking, we find that
living life in 24 hour segments is an effective and satisfying way to
handle many other matters as well.
LIVING SOBER, p. 7

"One Day At A Time." To a newcomer this and other one-liners of
A.A. may seem ridiculous. The passwords of the A.A. Fellowship can
become lifelines in moments of stress. Each day can be like a rose
unfurling according to the plan of a Power greater than myself. My
program should be planted in the right location, just as it will need to be
groomed, nourished, and protected from disease. My planting will
require patience, and my realizing that some flowers will be more
perfect than others. Each stage of the petals' unfolding can bring
wonder and delight if I do not interfere or let my expectations override my
acceptance -- and this brings serenity.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

We finally came to the bottom. We did not have to be financially
broke, although many of us were. But we were spiritually bankrupt.
We had a soul-sickness, a revulsion against ourselves and against our way of
living. Life had become impossible for us. We had to end it all or do
something about it. Am I glad I did something about it?

Meditation For The Day

Faith is not seeing, but believing. I am in a box of space and time and
cannot see spacelessness or eternity. But God is not within the shell of
time and space. He is timeless and spaceless. He cannot be fully
comprehended by our finite minds. But we must try to make a union
between our purposes and the purposes of God. By trying to merge
our minds with the mind of God, a oneness of purpose results. This
oneness of purpose puts us in harmony with God and others. Evil
comes from being in disharmony with God and good comes from being
in harmony with Him.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be in harmony with God. I pray that I may get into
the stream of goodness in the universe.

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As Bill Sees It

The Rationalizers and the Self-Effacing, p. 160

We alcoholics are the biggest rationalizers in the world. Fortified with the excuse
that we are doing great things for A.A., we can, through broken anonymity, resume
our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and
money--the same implacable urges that, when frustrated, once caused us to drink.

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

Dr. Bob was essentially a far more humble person than I, and anonymity came rather
easily to him. When it was sure that he was mortally afflicted, some of his friends
suggested that there should be a monument erected in honor of him and his wife,
Anne--befitting a founder and his lady. Telling me about this, Dr. Bob grinned
broadly and said, "God bless 'em. They mean well. But let's you and me get
buried just like other folks."

In the Akron cemetery where Dr. Bob and Anne lie, the simple stone says not a word
about A.A. This final example of self-effacement is of more permanent worth to A.A.
than any amount of public attention or any great monument.

A.A. Comes Of Age
1. pp. 292-293
2. pp. 136-137

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Walk in Dry Places

Do I feel uneasy? Serenity
When facing difficult situations, we can expect to feel a certain amount of discomfort. What's more often a problem for compulsive people is being tense and apprehensive even when things seem to be going well.
Although many explanations are offered for this unpleasant feeling, the solution is to be found in the 12 Steps. The more secure we feel in our program, the less apprehension we'll have in facing the problems of living. With the program as our foundation, we will continue to develop more self-assurance as we go along.
We may not immediately find this self-assurance, yet we should not hold back from normal duties and responsibilities. Most of the world's work and accomplishments are undertaken by people who do not necessarily feel confident and self-assured all the time. Why should it be any different for us?
Whether I feel confident or not, I'll do my best today. I know that my fellowship, my program, and my Higher Power are fully supporting me.

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Keep It Simple

Anyone can blame; it takes a specialist to praise.---Konstantin Stanislawski
Are we blamers? We sure were blamers when we were using alcohol and other drugs. Then everything was someone's fault. Some of us did our blaming out loud. And some of us blamed others silently.
It's harder to praise than to blame people. Faults stand out like street
signs, but the good things about people may be harder to see. We can see the good in people when we slow down, watch, and listen.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me pay attention to people around me. Help me praise them.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll list three people who mean a lot to me. I'll write what I like about each of them. I'll talk to them and tell them what I wrote.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. For every gain there is a setback. For every success, a failure. For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. For every hope realized, one is dashed. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
The balance of events in our lives is much like the balance of nature. The pendulum swings; every extreme condition is offset by its opposite, and we learn to appreciate the gifts . . . of the bad times as well as the periods of rest.
On occasion we'll discover that our course in life has changed direction. We need not be alarmed. Step Three has promised that we are in caring hands. Our every concern, every detail of our lives will be taken care of, in the right way, at the right time.
We can develop gratitude for all conditions, good or bad. Each has its necessary place in our development as healthy, happy women. We need the sorrows along with the joys if we are to gain new insights. Our failures keep us humble; they remind us of our need for the care and guidance of others. And for every hope dashed, we can remember, one will be realized.
Life is a process. I will accept the variations with gratitude. Each, in its own way, blesses me.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

BILL'S STORY

The real significance of my experience in the Cathedral burst upon me. For a brief moment, I had needed and wanted God. There had been a humble willingness to have Him with me---and He came. But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself. And so it had been ever since. How blind had I been.

pp. 12-13

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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."

More realism and therefore more honesty about ourselves are the great gains we make under the influence of Step Five. As we took inventory, we began to suspect how much trouble self-delusion had been causing us. This had brought a disturbing reflection. If all our lives we had more or less fooled ourselves, how could we now be so sure that we weren't still self-deceived? How could we be certain that we had made a true catalog of our defects and had really admitted them, even to ourselves? Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was probable we couldn't appraise ourselves fairly at all. Too much guilt and remorse might cause us to dramatize and exaggerate our shortcomings. Or anger and hurt pride might be the smoke screen under which we were hiding some of our defects while we blamed others for them. Possibly, too, we were still handicapped by many liabilities, great and small, we never knew we had.

pp. 58-59

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Love should never be a conditional emotion. It should be a gift where
you expect nothing in return.
--unknown

Take the program seriously, not yourself.
--unknown

We all have within us the capacity to be happy and to suffer. It all
depends on which one our mind chooses to feed.
--unknown

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be
changed until it is faced."
--James Baldwin

"There is no greater treasure than the respect and love of a true
friend."
--Anonymous

"Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with
what you have."
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

IDEALS

"Every dogma has its day, but
ideals are eternal."
--Israel Zangwill

For too long I lived in a box of rules and dogma. Life had to have
definable answers and everything needed to be structured. Then the
answers didn't seem to work. Nobody seemed interested in the
answers I was giving. The world had moved on!

I realized that life had to be lived, not simply talked about. Having the
answers to questions that nobody was asking (including myself)
seemed a waste of time. I was uncomfortable. I was living in the past.

Spirituality is reality. It is okay to benefit from a tradition and then
move on. I was not disloyal or a traitor because I had changed my
mind. God and truth live in a changing world and if we are to grow, our
perception of ourselves and life must change. Today I can accept this.

Give me the willingness to change in my life.

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I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God.
Romans 12:1-2

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

"I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with
your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD."
Jeremiah 39:18

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:37-39

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Daily Inspiration

Seek God's guidance, but know that the responsibility to act on it is yours. Lord, may I not be lazy because I have prayed and expect You to do everything for me.

It is a bigger mistake to fear making a mistake than to actually make one. Lord, give me the confidence to live a full life and the ability to try again if I stumble.