Happy Thanksgiving

November 24

Daily Reflections

A UNIVERSAL SEARCH

Be quick to see where religious people are right.
Make use of what they offer.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87

I do not claim to have all the answers in spiritual
matters, any more than I claim to have all the
answers about alcoholism. There are others who are
also engaged in a spiritual search. If I keep an
open mind about what others have to say, I have much
to gain. My sobriety is greatly enriched, and my
practice of the Eleventh Step more fruitful, when I
use both the literature and practices of my
Judeo-Christian tradition, and the resources of other
religions. Thus, I receive support from many sources
in staying away from the first drink.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Instead of being pretended perfectionists, in A.A. we
are content if we are making progress. The main thing
is to be growing. We realize that perfectionism is
only a result of false pride and an excuse to save our
faces. In A.A. we are willing to make mistakes and to
stumble, provided we are always stumbling forward. We
are not so interested in what we are as in what we are
becoming. We are on the way, not at the goal. And we
will be on the way as long as we live. No A.A. has ever
"arrived." But we are getting better. Am I making
progress?

Meditation For The Day

Each new day brings an opportunity to do some little
thing that will help to make a better world, that will
bring God's kingdom a little nearer to being realized
on earth. Take each day's happenings as opportunities
for something you can do for God. In that spirit, a
blessing will attend all that you do. Offering this
day's service to God, you are sharing in His work. You
do not have to do great things.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that today I may do the next thing, the unselfish thing,
the loving thing. I pray that I may be content with doing
small things as long as they are right.

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As Bill Sees It

Welcome Criticism, p. 326

"Thanks much for your letter of criticism: I'm certain that had it not
been for its strong critics, A.A. would have made slower progress.

"For myself, I have come to set a high value on the people who have
criticized me, whether they have seemed reasonable critics or
unreasonable ones. Both have often restrained me from doing much
worse than I actually have done. The unreasonable ones have taught
me, I hope, a little patience. But the reasonable ones have always
done a great job for all of A.A. and have taught me many a valuable
lesson."

Letter, 1955

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Walk In Dry Places

Are there better paths to sobriety?
Self-honesty
Now that alcoholism recovery has been well established, alternatives to the AA program are being developed. These are designed to appeal to those who either will not or cannot accept AA.
Nobody in AA should feel threatened by these new programs. We should, in fact, be delighted if ways are found to reach those whom we are unable to help. The need is so great that we should welcome anything that helps alcoholics.
The only real test for any program is that it works. More important, it must work for us. No program is useful to us if we cannot apply it in our own lives.
If we have found sobriety in AA, we have no need to look further. If AA was able to help us in our hour of desperate need, it can help us as the days unfold into the future.
I'll be thankful today for the sobriety AA has given me. I'll also remember that my need for help in maintaining sobriety will never end.

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Keep It Simple

Freedom is not enough.---Lyndon B. Johnson
We are free of alcohol and other drugs. We’ve been given a second chance or third chance.
For that, we thank our Higher Power. We’ve started a new life. But to keep this life, we need to change. We need new friends. We need to let a Higher Power guide our hearts, minds, and bodies. We need new friends. We need to let a Higher Power guide our hearts, and bodies. We need to learn new values and how to stand up for them. We need to learn how to give and receive.
Freedom from dependence is not enough. We also want to be happy, and to do something with our lives. So each day we keep learning, we keep growing. Each day without alcohol or other drugs is a gift, a gift from God.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You set me free. Now teach me to stay free. Guide me, for keeping my freedom is a big task
Action for the Day: I will meditate on my freedom. I will take time to list all the ways I am now free.

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Each Day a New Beginning

"If onlys" are lonely. --Morgan Jennings
The circumstances of our lives seldom live up to our expectations or desires. However, in each circumstance we are offered an opportunity for growth or change, a chance for greater understanding of life's heights and pitfalls. Each time we choose to lament what isn't, we close the door on the invitation to a better existence.
We simply don't know just what's best for us. Our vision is limited. Less so today than yesterday, but limited still. The experiences we are offered will fail to satisfy our expectations because we expect so much less than God has planned for us in the days ahead.
We get what we need, in the way of relationships, adventures, joys and sorrows, today and every day. Celebrating what we get and knowing there is good in it eases whatever trial we are undergoing. We are cared for, right now. We need not lament what we think we need. We do have what we need. We will always get what we need, when we need it.
I will breathe deeply and relax. At this moment my every need is being attended to. My life is unfolding exactly as it should.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

A DRUNK, LIKE YOU - The more he listened at meetings, the more he came to know about his own drinking history.

A couple of weeks later the large company I was with, which had relocated me and my family at their expense, had a large staff cutback, and I was cut back--fired. I thought I was fire-proof. I was in a very important position, doing important work. I was the chief of researcher in developing a new product; I was sitting in on strategic planning meetings. I was very upset. After all, I was better now and back to being a good employee and team player again, but to no avail.

p. 403
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill A.A. into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem.

pp. 155-156

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You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.
--Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES

A light heart lives long.
--Irish Proverb

People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but
when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.
--Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.
--Marguerite Gardiner Blessington

Seven days without a meeting makes one weak.
--unknown

It takes only a moment to be kind, but the result can last a lifetime.
--unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SHAME

"If we are not ashamed to think
it, we should not be ashamed to
say it."
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero

I was afraid to tell you what I was thinking. I was afraid to speak or be noticed. I sat for
hours silent and at times I wished I could vanish into the furniture. I was afraid of my
shadow.

This reveals not only my lack of confidence but my low self-esteem. I did not think I
had anything to say, anything to offer, anything that might be considered interesting.
I would laugh at stupid things to please people.

Today I speak out. I do not hide what I am thinking. I believe I have something to
offer in the celebration of life. And it feels good. My spiritual growth is proportionate
to my willingness to let you know who I am and what I think.

I celebrate my joy in living by sharing it.

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Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love
does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong,
but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends...
I Corinthians 13

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory
to your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:16

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through
all generations."
Psalm 100:5

"Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us."
Ephesians 5:2

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Daily Inspiration

Much time is spent fearing that which isn't really there in the first place. Lord, help me conquer my fears and overcome my difficulties as they happen rather than giving up and letting my difficulties overcome me.

Our thoughts have a powerful effect on our bodies. Lord, may my thoughts be wholesome and loving and bear good results on me and my life.