Daily Reflections Recurring Post
January 18, 2021
WOULD A DRINK HELP?
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was indeed the beginning of a fatal progression.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 23
Click link for today’s full reading: https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
I fully believe I was born an alcoholic. As a child I’d hoard sugar in my room. Then as I got older I’d make myself screwdrivers so I could sleep in high school. And when I entered college it was off to the races. Of course had someone pointed out my behavior before it could be arrested I wouldn’t have believed them anyway! But through hearing other people’s stories in the room and working the steps I came to see that alcohol was truly a symptom. In sobriety I’ve slipped into food, shopping, members of the opposite sex as replacement behaviors at times- and they didn’t bring me peace any more than alcohol did. I’m grateful for the gift of awareness and hearing and sharing our experience, strength and hope with one another.
January 22
"LET'S KEEP IT SIMPLE"
A few hours later I took my leave of Dr. Bob. . . . The wonderful, old, broad smile was on his face as he said almost jokingly, "Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple!" I turned away, unable to say a word. That was the last time I ever saw him.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE, p. 214
After years of sobriety I occasionally ask myself: "Can it be this simple?" Then, at meetings, I see former cynics and skeptics who have walked the A.A. path out of hell by packaging their lives, without alcohol, into twenty-four hour segments, during which they practice a few principles to the best of their individual abilities. And then I know again that, while it isn't always easy, if I keep it simple, it works.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
Thank you for these inspirational words. My dad always said: I don’t need to make it through the rest of my life without a drink, I just need to make it through today....
Bowl Leader
31
January
OUR COMMON WELFARE COMES FIRST
The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has. . . . We stay whole, or A.A. dies.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 129
Our Traditions are key elements in the ego deflation process necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. The First Tradition reminds me not to take credit, or authority, for my recovery. Placing our common welfare first reminds me not to become a healer in this program; I am still one of the patients. Self-effacing elders built the ward. Without it, I doubt I would be alive. Without the group, few alcoholics would recover.
The active role in renewed surrender of will enables me to step aside from the need to dominate, the desire for recognition, both of which played so great a part in my active alcoholism. Deferring my personal desires for the greater good of group growth contributes toward A.A. unity that is central to all recovery. It helps me to remember that the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts.
Bowl Leader
19
January
ROUND-THE-CLOCK FAITH
Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 16
The essence of my spirituality, and my sobriety, rests on a round-the-clock faith in a Higher Power. I need to remember and rely on the God of my understanding as I pursue all of my daily activities. How comforting for me is the concept that God works in and through people. As I pause in my day, do I recall specific concrete examples of God's presence? Am I amazed and uplifted by the number of times this power is evident? I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my God's presence in my life of recovery. Without this omnipotent force in my every activity, I would again fall into the depths of my disease—and death.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
I'll admit that some mornings I forget to pray, or I set about immediately after my prayer into my defects, and forget to thank him at night for keeping me sober. thank goodness that my HP sticks with me and likes to show off! There are so many instances of a HP clearing obstacles in my way allowing me to see more clearly, throwing up obstacles to direct me in another path and just showing that they love me. When I was drinking, I didn't think God wanted anything to do with me. Today I have a god of my understanding and a spirituality that works for me.
"WE PAUSE . . . AND ASK"
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87
Today I humbly ask my Higher Power for the grace to find the space between my impulse and my action; to let flow a cooling breeze when I would respond with heat; to interrupt fierceness with gentle peace; to accept the moment which allows judgment to become discernment; to defer to silence when my tongue would rush to attack or defend.
I promise to watch for every opportunity to turn toward my Higher Power for guidance. I know where this power is: it resides within me, as clear as a mountain brook, hidden in the hills—it is the unsuspected Inner Resource.
I thank my Higher Power for this world of light and truth I see when I allow it to direct my vision. I trust it today and hope it trusts me to make all effort to find the right thought or action today.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
Yes! I’ve never been able to answer yes to all three of those questions...
January 23, 2021
HAVING FUN YET?
. . . we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 132
When my own house is in order, I find the different parts of my life are more manageable. Stripped from the guilt and remorse that cloaked my drinking years, I am free to assume my proper role in the universe, but this condition requires maintenance. I should stop and ask myself, Am I having fun yet? If I find answering that question difficult or painful, perhaps I'm taking myself too seriously—and finding it difficult to admit that I've strayed from my practice of working the program to keep my house in order. I think the pain I experience is one way my Higher Power has to get my attention, coaxing me to take stock of my performance. The slight time and effort it takes to work the program—a spot-check inventory, for example, or the making of amends, whatever is appropriate — are well worth the effort.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
I have had more fun in sobriety than I ever could have imagined drinking. It's as if going from black and white to color - my experiences sober are much more rich! The first concert I went to sober I was overcome with emotion and cried -- I was so happy to be able to fully experience this band I loved and the feeling of sharing in this experience with 25,000 other fans without spending my whole time in line for a drink. My hope for all of us is a sobriety filled with happiness, joy, and freedom. :)
Pro
FREEDOM FROM GUILT
Where other people were concerned, we had to drop the word "blame" from our speech and thought.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 47
When I become willing to accept my own powerlessness, I begin to realize that blaming myself for all the trouble in my life can be an ego trip back into hopelessness. Asking for help and listening deeply to the messages inherent in the Steps and Traditions of the program make it possible to change those attitudes which delay my recovery. Before joining A.A., I had such a desire for approval from people in powerful positions that I was willing to sacrifice myself, and others, to gain a foothold in the world. I invariably came to grief. In the program I find true friends who love, understand, and care to help me learn the truth about myself. With the help of the Twelve Steps, I am able to build a better life, free of guilt and the need for self-justification.
Pro
January 28, 2021
THE TREASURE OF THE PAST
Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest possession you have—the key to life and happiness for others. With it you can avert death and misery for them.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124
What a gift it is for me to realize that all those seemingly useless years were not wasted. The most degrading and humiliating experiences turn out to be the most powerful tools in helping others to recover. In knowing the depths of shame and despair, I can reach out with a loving and compassionate hand, and know that the grace of God is available to me.
Pro
The fact that I can turn my darkest moments into something useful is one of the greatest gifts of sobriety. Sharing my past with others, hearing others share and seeing the miracle that we can put ourselves and others through hell AND recover is amazing. In AA's big book it states "no matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others". To mean that means I can share my past with others so they know that they are not alone, they are not the only ones to have done things they regret, and that through the steps we can correct our wrongdoings and move forward in a new way of life.
Bowl Leader
24
January
GETTING INVOLVED
There is action and more action. "Faith without works is dead." . . . To be helpful is our only aim.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 88-89
I understand that service is a vital part of recovery but I often wonder, "What can I do?" Simply start with what I have today! I look around to see where there is a need. Are the ashtrays full? Do I have hands and feet to empty them? Suddenly I'm involved! The best speaker may make the worst coffee; the member who's best with newcomers may be unable to read; the one willing to clean up may make a mess of the bank account—yet every one of these people and jobs is essential to an active group. The miracle of service is this: when I use what I have, I find there is more available to me than I realized before.
https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection
Pro
When I was drinking I would have scoffed at this. All that mattered was my “needs”. What I’ve discovered is that service feels good and gives me purpose. I try to be of service at work at home and to my fellow AAs and sponsees. What’s also great is that service doesn’t have to be huge- a simple hi to the newcomer, remembering their name.
Bowl Leader
26
January
RIGOROUS HONESTY
Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer? Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to carry A.A.'s message to the next sufferer? No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect — unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24
I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what power, energy, and emotion this simple statement generates in me! But it's really all I need to know for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I willing to stay sober today? Am I willing to ask for help and am I willing to be a help to another suffering alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of my situation? What must I do, today, to stay sober?
Pro
January 29
THE JOY OF SHARING
Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends—this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 89
To know that each newcomer with whom I share has the opportunity to experience the relief that I have found in this Fellowship fills me with joy and gratitude. I feel that all the things described in A.A. will come to pass for them, as they have for me, if they seize the opportunity and embrace the program fully.
Bowl Leader
4
February
WHEN FAITH IS MISSING
Sometimes A.A. comes harder to those who have lost or rejected faith than to those who never had any faith at all, for they think they have tried faith and found it wanting. They have tried the way of faith and the way of no faith.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28
I was so sure God had failed me that I became ultimately defiant, though I knew better, and plunged into a final drinking binge. My faith turned bitter and that was no coincidence. Those who once had great faith hit bottom harder. It took time to rekindle my faith, though I came to A.A. I was grateful intellectually to have survived such a great fall, but my heart felt callous. Still, I stuck with the A.A. program; the alternatives were too bleak! I kept coming back and gradually my faith was resurrected.
Bowl Leader
9
February
GETTING THE "SPIRITUAL ANGLE"
How often do we sit in AA meetings and hear the speaker declare, "But I haven't yet got the spiritual angle." Prior to this statement, he had described a miracle of transformation which had occurred in him—not only his release from alcohol, but a complete change in his whole attitude toward life and the living of it. It is apparent to nearly everyone else present that he has received a great gift; ". . . except that he doesn't seem to know it yet!" We well know that this questioning individual will tell us six months or a year hence that he has found faith in God.
— THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 275
A spiritual experience can be the realization that a life which once seemed empty and devoid of meaning is now joyous and full. In my life today, daily prayer and meditation, coupled with living the Twelve Steps, has brought about an inner peace and feeling of belonging which was missing when I was drinking.
Bowl Leader
10
February
I DON'T RUN THE SHOW
When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 53
Today my choice is God. He is everything. For this I am truly grateful. When I think I am running the show I am blocking God from my life. I pray I can remember this when I allow myself to get caught up into self. The most important thing is that today I am willing to grow along spiritual lines, and that God is everything. When I was trying to quit drinking on my own, it never worked; with God and A.A., it is working. This seems to be a simple thought for a complicated alcoholic.