TGIF Readings

October 28

Daily Reflections

AN UNBROKEN TRADITION

We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far
greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a
thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob. How much more grounded I feel to be in
a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging. I am grateful that the energies of
A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual
sobriety. My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.'s
purpose -- so clearly stated fifty years ago -- is for me to keep sober. That purpose has
promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of intergroup and central
service offices, with their thousands of volunteers. Like the sun focused through a
magnifying glass, A.A.'s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts,
including mine.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us
can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my husband or my wife is on
an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its
place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding
recriminations, bickering, and resentment. A new companionship has developed which
bodes well for the future. "There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps
are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope,
with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope." Have I come home?

Meditation For The Day

We can bow to God's will in anticipation of the thing happening which will, in the long run,
be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time,
but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we
only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a
spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for
me.

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As Bill Sees It

Anonymity and Sobriety, p. 299

As the A.A. groups multiplied, so did anonymity problems.
Enthusiastic over the spectacular recovery of a brother alcoholic, we'd
sometimes discuss those intimate and harrowing aspects of his case
meant for his sponsor's ear alone. The aggrieved victim would then
rightly declare that his trust had been broken.

When such stories got into circulation outside of A.A., the loss of
confidence in our anonymity promise was severe. It frequently turned
people from us. Clearly, every A.A. member's name--and story,
too--had to be confidential, if he wished.

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

We now fully realize that 100 per cent personal anonymity before the
public is just as vital to the life of A.A. as 100 per cent sobriety is to
the life of each and every member. This is not counsel of fear; it is the
prudent voice of long experience.

1. 12 & 12, p. 185
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 293

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Walk In Dry Places

The new problems in sobriety
Fortitude
Sometimes sobriety turns up problems that were never apparent during one's drinking days. Some people, for example, encounter marriage problems that lead to divorce. It almost appears that some things were better when we were drinking.
But there are good reasons why sobriety brings new problems. One is that we become aware of problems that were there all the time, although not acknowledged. It's possible, too, that sobriety brings more responsibility, along with risks of failure. At the same time, we might be more sensitive to the real problems of living.
We should never use such problems as an excuse for drinking. It is true, as many people say, that drinking can only make matters worse. Nothing can be improved by a return to drinking.
I must remember today that sobriety means living on a new basis. This includes facing problems and dealing with them... not running from them as I did in the past.

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Keep It Simple

I wish you the courage to be warm when the world would prefer you to be cool.Robert A. Ward
Our program and the Steps have warmed us from the inside out. Just as a bonfire warms those who stand around it, the Steps take away the chill we have felt for so long.
At Times, we’ll be tempted to move away from the Steps. At times, we’ll get tired of looking at our behavior and attitudes. We are by nature, controlling people. We’ll want to
“prove our point” about something when our program tells us to let it go. We need to stay close to the Steps and the warmth they hold. Remember the chill of our disease.
Prayer for the Day: I need to member that the Steps and the fellowship of the program keep me sober, not me alone.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll thank about what the Steps have done for me. I will think of how they have kept me warm.

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Each Day a New Beginning
The most elusive knowledge of all is self-knowledge. --Mirra Komarovsky
Discovering who we are is an adventure, one that will thrill and sometimes trouble us and will frequently occupy our thoughtful reflections. We are growing and changing as a result of our commitment to the program. And it's that process of commitment that heightens our self-awareness.
We learn who we are by listening to others, by sensing their perceptions of us, by taking an honest, careful inventory of our own behavior. The inner conversations that haunt us while we're interacting with others are poignant guidelines to self-knowledge, self-definition. Just when we think we've figured out who we are and how to handle our flaws, a new challenge will enter our realm of experiences, shaking up all the understandings that have given us guidance heretofore.
It is not an easy task to discover who we really are. It's an even harder job to love and accept the woman we discover. But too many years went by while we avoided or denied or, worse yet, denounced the only person we knew how to be. The program offers us the way to learn about and love fully the person within. Nor will we find the way easy every day. But there's time enough to let the process ease our investigation.
I will be soft and deliberate today as I listen to others and myself.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

THE PERPETUAL QUEST - This lawyer tried psychiatrists. biofeedback, relaxation exercises, and a host of other techniques to control her drinking. She finally found a solution, uniquely tailored, in the Twelve Steps.

Late that night at home, there was a presence in the room with me, even though I lived alone. The next morning I knew I didn't have to drink. That night I went to a Step meeting where they discussed Step Two, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity," and I actually talked about God, the one who had abandoned me when I was very little, very frightened, and very hurt. In the weeks and months that followed, I did everything that was suggested to me. I went to a meeting every day, read the books and literature, and got a sponsor who told me to have quiet time every morning and to pray and meditate or at least sit still for a few minutes, before racing off for the day. Since I prided myself on adhering to the intellectual principle of not having contempt for anything prior to investigation, I tried to keep an open mind no matter what anyone said and how stupid I thought it was. That probably saved my life.

pp. 394-395
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Three - "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire
to stop drinking."

Not long after the man with the double stigma knocked for admission,
A.A.'s other group received into its membership a salesman we shall call
Ed. A power driver, this one, and brash as any salesman could possibly
be. He had at least and idea a minute on how to improves A.A. These
ideas he sold to fellow members with the same burning enthusiasm with
which he distributed automobile polish. But he had one idea that wasn't
so salable. Ed was an atheist. His pet obsession was that A.A. could get
along better without its "God nonsense." He browbeat everybody, and
everybody expected that he'd soon get drunk - for at the time, you see,
A.A. was on the pious side. There must be a heavy penalty, it was
thought, for blasphemy. Distressingly enough, Ed proceeded to stay sober.

p. 143

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As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 -1882)

Although we have been made to believe that if we let go we will end up with nothing,
life itself reveals again and again the opposite; that letting go is the path to real
freedom.
--Sogyai Rinpoche

This above all else: to your own self be true.
--unknown

Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If
people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.
--Sam Walton

The deeds you do today may be the only sermon some people will hear today.
--St. Francis of Assisi

Make big decisions in the calm.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

ORATORY

"The finest eloquence is that
which get things done."
-- David Lloyd George

I know how to talk. I know how to sound good. I know how to convince a person of my
good intentions --- indeed that was part of my manipulation for years.

Today I try to walk the talk. I try to demonstrate what I say in the behavior I exhibit.
The bottom line is action. Talking never stopped me from drinking --- my physical refusal
of the first drink was the start of my recovery.

God is to be discovered not merely in pious sentiments, as attractive as they may
sound, but rather in the small steps of altered behavior.

Am I doing what I am saying? Lord give me the courage to live my words.

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God blesses the people who patiently endure testing.
James 1:12

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart.
Psalm 86:11

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other,
just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."
Ephesians 4:31-32

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Daily Inspiration

It is usually easier to start a project than to finish it. Lord, help me spend less time thinking about what I want to do, so that I can have the time to feel the gratification of completing what I started.

Pray even when your heart has no words rather than to pray words with no heart. Lord, You faithfully answer all prayers. I will trust in Your answers and never take Your love for granted.