***********************************************************

As Bill Sees It

"Loners"--but Not Alone, p. 53

What can be said of many A.A. members who, for a variety of reasons,
cannot have a family life? At first many of these feel lonely, hurt, and
left out as they witness so much domestic happiness about them. If
they cannot have this kind of happiness, can A.A. offer them
satisfactions of similar worth and durability?

Yes-- whenever they try hard to seek out these satisfactions.
Surrounded by so many A.A. friends, the so-called loners tell us they
no longer feel alone. In partnership with others--women and
men--they can devote themselves to any number of ideas, people, and
constructive projects. They can participate in enterprises which would
be denied to family men and women. We daily see such members
render prodigies of service, and receive great joys in return.

12 & 12, p. 120

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Walk In Dry Places
 
Staying on course___Power in purpose
When riding in an airplane on automatic pilot, I marvel at the way the aircraft stays on course even while bouncing and shaking through pockets of turbulence. Even more significant is the pilot's calm indifference to these minor movements as he checks occasionally to make sure the plane continues on the right course.
Many things that happen to us each day are no more important than the routine turbulence and aircraft encounters.  But as sick, compulsive people, we sometimes view every disturbance as a terrible storm and become panicky or enraged over things that are of little consequence in the long run.  "I could accept a major calamity, but a broken fingernail ruined my day,"  one speaker said at an AA meeting.
We can set our lives on "automatic pilot" by choosing continuing recovery as our major goal and letting all things fall in line with that. The turbulence of ordinary living cannot deflect us from our true course if we calmly accept it as natural, unavoidable, and non-threatening. Even if a real storm blows up and gives us anxious moments, we can stay on the recovery course we have chosen.
Disappointments and annoyances are part of the human condition.  I will be cheerful and optimistic today even if I am bounced around a bit.  There is within me an automatic pilot, through which my Higher Power leads me to continued recovery and true fulfillment as a person.

***********************************************************

Keep It Simple

To thine own self be true.--AA medallions
Sometimes we hear that we have a "selfish program." Being "selfish" means that we ask for help when we need it. We only go to places that are safe for us, no matter what others are doing. Being selfish comes to mean safety for us.
Being selfish doesn't mean we act like brats. We must act in ways that show respect and love---for ourselves and for others. being selfish means we do what is good for us. What is good for us? First, we have to save our lives by stopping our drinking and drugging. Next, we start working the Steps. We come to know a loving Higher Power. This is how we come to know our true self.
Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me be true to myself and my values. Help me be "selfish" about spending time to talk with You each day.
Action for the Day:  I'll list ten ways I need to be "selfish" in recovery. If I get stuck, I'll be "selfish" and ask for help.

***********************************************************

Each Day a New Beginning

Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind.  --Helen Keller
Facing conditions we would like to change, letting go of people we wish were different, takes growth, patience, tolerance. We're so easily enticed into thinking we'd be happier, "If only he'd change," or "If I had a better job," or "If the kids would settle down." Yet we carry the seed of happiness within us every moment. Learning tolerance for all conditions will nurture that seed.
Intolerance, impatience, depression, in fact, any negative attitude is habit-forming. Many of us in this recovery program continue to struggle with the habits we've formed. Bad habits must be replaced with new, good habits. We can develop a new behavior, one that pleases us, like smiling at every stranger in a checkout line. We can repeat it in every line. It becomes a habit and a good one.
Toleration of others opens many doors, for them and for us. It nurtures the soul, ours and theirs. It breeds happiness. Those of us sharing these Steps are truly blessed. We're learning about love, how to give it and how to receive it.
There are so many eyes I'll look into today that don't know love. I will give some away with unconditional tolerance. It's a gift--to myself and others.

***********************************************************

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 7 - WORKING WITH OTHERS

If he is not interested in your solution, if he expects you to act only as a banker for his financial difficulties or a nurse for his sprees, you may have to drop him until he changes his mind. This he may do after he gets hurt some more.

p. 95

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

The Vicious Cycle

How it finally broke a Southerner's obstinacy and destined this salesman to start A.A. at Philadelphia.

Around this time our big A.A. book was being written and it all became much simpler; we had a definite formula which some sixty of us agreed was the middle course for all alcoholics who wanted sobriety, and that formula has not been changed one iota down through the years.  I don't think the boys were completely convinced of my personality change, for they fought shy of including my story in the book, so my only contribution to their literary efforts was my firm conviction, being still a theological rebel, that the word God should be qualified with the phrase "as we understand him"--for that was the only way I could accept spirituality.

p. 229

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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."

When listing the people we have harmed, most of us hit another solid obstacle. We got a pretty severe shock when we realized that we were preparing to make a face-to-face admission of our wretched conduct to those we had hurt. It had been embarrassing enough when in confidence we had admitted these things to God, to ourselves, and to another human being. But the prospect of actually visiting or even writing the people concerned now overwhelmed us, especially when we remembered in what poor favor we stood with most of them. There were cases, too, where we had damaged others who were still happily unaware of being hurt. Why, we cried, shouldn't bygones be bygones? Why do we have to think of these people at all? These were some of the ways in which fear conspired with pride to hinder our making a list of all the people we had harmed.

pp. 78-79

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If you find a flaw in someone else it means that you first found the flaw in yourself, otherwise you would not have recognized it.

Forgiveness is the way to true health and happiness. By not judging, we release the past and let go of our fears of the future. In so doing, we come to see that everyone is our teacher and that every circumstance is an opportunity for growth in happiness, peace and love.  --Gerald G. Jampolsky

Whoever makes no mistakes is doing nothing.  --Dutch Proverb

Today, I will take time to smell the flowers.

Joy isn't the absence of pain - it's the presence of God.

Worry is like a rocking chair--it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.  --Dorothy Galyean

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!  --Barbara Hoffman

God is making something wondrous of my life.  --Anita J. McIntosh

God calls us in the small choices of each day.  --John Covington

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PATRIOTISM

"For us, patriotism is the same
as the love of humanity."
-- Mohandas Gandhi

Today I am on the side of mankind. I am convinced that my welfare is
generated by the peace and stability of the world. The love and joy
that produces spiritual growth stems from my relationships in the
world: we cannot exist alone.

Today I strive to bring the world and people together; we must not
seek to be the same but rather rejoice in the richness of difference.

Drugs always divide, separate and isolate; spirituality unites. Today I
am an optimist for mankind because of what has happened in my own
life.

Thank You for a humanity that can be shared.

***********************************************************

Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance.  Proverbs 1 : 5

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him."  Psalm 62:5

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait on the Lord.  Psalm 31:24

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Daily Inspiration

When you need to feel better about yourself, do something nice for someone else. Lord, help that I may make someone's day a little happier.

To have courage, think courageous, act courageous, and pray to God for courage. Lord, You are full of love for all who come to You.

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NA Just For Today

God's Will, Or Mine?

"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."
Step Ten

In Narcotics Anonymous, we've found that the more we live in harmony with our Higher Power's will for us, the greater

the harmony in our lives. We use the Tenth Step to help us maintain that harmony. On a daily basis, we take time to

look at our behavior. Some of us measure each action with a very simple question: "God's will, or mine?"

In many cases, we find that our actions have been in tune with our Higher Power's will for us, and we in turn have

been in tune with the world around us. In some cases, however, we will discover inconsistencies between our

behavior and our values. We've been acting on our own will, not God's, and the result has been dissonance in our

lives.

When we discover such inconsistencies, we admit we've been wrong and take corrective action. With greater

awareness of what we believe God's will for us to be in such situations, we are less likely to repeat those actions. And

we are more likely to live in greater concord with our Higher Power's will for us and with the world around us.

Just for today: I wish to live in harmony with my world. Today, I will examine my actions, asking, "God's will, or mine?"

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. --Anne Frank
In the face of being hunted for extermination, Anne Frank could write this from her hiding place in an attic. Was she

naive? No. She deeply believed in the goodness of creation and the goodness of all creatures, including those who

persecuted and murdered her people.
Somehow, young as she was, Anne Frank knew a truth we sometimes lose: that it is not what people do that makes

them good or evil. It is who they are. And for Anne Frank, all people are made in the image of God--and therefore, deep

down at their core, must be good. She was able to see through the brutality and hatred to that true creation of God.
We are left in awe at such faith and love. But we can draw from it too, and when our brother or sister or parent or child

does something to hurt us, we can remember Anne Frank's ability to see what is good. We can look beneath the

hurtful actions and forgive.
Can I forgive someone who has hurt me today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. --Seneca
When we reach a stressful time in our lives, our vision gets narrow. We fail to see the options and possibilities we

have. If we give ourselves over to our worries and fears, our sight closes down even further. Finally, we reach the

point of blindness to reality and to all the support around us. In our fearful blindness we say with conviction, "This is too

difficult! There is nothing I can do."
The spiritual man strives to keep one eye on the horizon, even in a worrisome situation. He breaths deeply so he does

not tighten up or closes off his exchange with the world. He returns to the relationship he has with his Higher Power,

trusting the process to carry him through, and he opens his eyes to quietly take in the possibilities before him.
Close to my Higher Power, I have a place of calm in the midst of difficulty and see the possibilities and dare to act

upon them.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Solving Problems
I ask that You might help me work through all my problems, to Your Glory and Honor.' --Alcoholics Anonymous
Many of us lived in situations where it wasn't okay to identify, have, or talk about problems. Denial became a way of life

our way of dealing with problems
In recovery, many of us still fear problems. We may spend more time reacting to a problem than we do to solving it.

We miss the point; we miss the lesson; we miss the gift Problems are a part of life. So are solutions
A problem doesn't mean life is negative or horrible. Having a problem doesn't mean a person is deficient. All people

have problems to work through.
In recovery, we learn to focus on solving our problems. First, we make certain the problem is our problem. If it isn't,

our problem is establishing boundaries. Then we seek the best solution. This may mean setting a goal, asking for

help, gathering more information, taking an action, or letting go.
Recovery does not mean immunity or exemption from problems; recovery means learning to face and solve

problems, knowing they will appear regularly. We can trust our ability to solve problems, and know we're not doing it

alone. Having problems does not mean our Higher Power is picking on us. Some problems are part of life; others are

ours to solve, and we'll grow in necessary ways in the process.
Face and solve today's problems. Don't worry needlessly about tomorrow's problems, because when they appeal,

well have the resources necessary to solve them.
Facing and solving problems working through problems with help from a Higher Power means we're living and

growing and reaping benefits.
God, help me face and solve my problems today. Help me do my part and let the rest go. I can learn to be a problem

solver.


God is guiding me on my path to self-sufficiency and independence today. As I become willing to let go of my feelings

of inferiority and weakness, my Higher Power gives me all the strength that I need for all that comes up for me today.

--Ruth Fishel

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Journey to the Heart

Magic Is in the Air

I left Washington’s Hob Rain Forest, pausing near the moss-covered trees. My walk through Moses Park had indeed

been a trip to an enchanted forest.

Centuries-old trees, trees covered with mossy hair, shared their stories with me. Felled trees lying on their backs

beckoned me to touch, to sit, to rest a while. Sunlight glistened through the entangled underbrush. The air smelled of

nature’s sawdust. The ground was warm, moist. Nature sprites danced and played along the path. The birds

serenaded me with calls, whistles, and songs, like sounds emanating from a flute. Magic was in the air.

We can visit places that are magical to us, enchanted forests that remind us of life’s wonders. We can visit them

knowing that when we leave, we take their magic with us.

We’ll see more and more of life’s wonders in ourselves, in others, in the world we live in. People will appear in our

lives at just the right time, saying the very words we need to hear. A book will speak to us. A new way to earn money

will be revealed. A loved one may leave to follow his or her own path, and a new love will come into our lives. Old

issues will be resolved. Healers will show up on our path. Ideas will come to us, seemingly out of the blue. They’re

gifts from the universe. We can have them whenever we want and wherever we go.

Come with me to the enchanted forest. Trust the magic in the air; it is real. Take it with you wherever you go, for the

magic you feel and want is yours if you simply believe.

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More Language Of Letting Go

Stop throwing that blame around

“There are two kinds of people in the world,” a friend explained to me one day. “There are the ones who blame other

people for everything that happens. And there are the ones who blame themselves.”

Have you ever watched a movie where one of the actors used a flamethrower? In a movie I watched one day, they

called this instead a “blame thrower.” It’s a lit torch of fiery rage that we throw at either others or ourselves when

situations don’t work out the way we planned.

Blaming can be a healthy stage of grieving or letting go. But staying too long in this stage can be unproductive. It can

keep us from taking constructive action. Blaming ourselves too long can turn into self-contempt; blaming others can

keep us heavy and dark with resentments, and fuel the victim within.

If you’re going through a loss, or if life has twisted on you, pick up your blame thrower– in the privacy of your own

journal. Give yourself ten or twenty minutes to blame without censorship. Get it out. Write out everything you want to

say, whether you’re throwing blame at someone else or at yourself.

It may take longer if the loss is larger, but the point is to give yourself a limited amount of time for a blame-throwing

session, then cease fire. Stop. Move on to the next stage in living, which is letting go, accepting, and taking

responsibility for yourself.

God, help me search myself to see if I’m holding on to blame for myself or someone else. If I am, help me get it out in

the open, then help me let it go.

******************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

When I came to The Program, I found people who knew exactly what I meant when I spoke finally of my fears. They

had been where I had been; they understood. I’ve since learned that many of my fears have to do with projection. It’s

normal, for example, to have a tiny “back-burner” fear that the person I love will leave me. But when the fear takes

precedence over my present and very real relationship with the person I’m afraid of losing, then I’m in trouble. My

responsibility to myself includes this: I must not fear things which do not exist. Am I changing from a fearful person into

a fearless person?

Today I Pray

I ask God’s help in waving away my fears — those figments, fantasies, monstrous thoughts, projections of disaster

which have no bearing on the present. May I narrow the focus of my imagination and concentrate on the here-and-

now, for I tend to see the future through a magnifying glass.

Today I Will Remember

Projected fears, like shadows, are larger than life.

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One More Day

The soul would have no rainbow
Had the eyes no tears.
– John Vance Cheney

That familiar tightening in the throat, the welling of tears behind the eyes, and deep emotional pain are all signs of an

intense need to cry. Why do we try so hard to be “brave little soldiers” and not cry when our bodies are screaming for

release?

If we hide behind false smiles and continue to keep the well of emotion untapped, eventually that well will go dry.

Deprived of this natural outlet, our minds and bodies exhaust themselves as they battle tension and stress. We lose

our ability to express ourselves emotionally. There may be no more opportunity for tears. Tears cleanse and allow

other emotions to move in and take over until we need to cry again.

Crying releases me and gives me the freedom to experience my full range of feelings.

************************************

Food For Thought

Spirituality

Ours is a program for living spiritually as well as physically. We have found that without daily spiritual nourishment we feel an emptiness, which no amount of material things can fill. We have also found that when we were overeating and were physically glutted, we were less receptive to spiritual food.

In Step Eleven, we seek to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand Him. We do this through daily prayer and meditation. Our contact with our Higher Power is most effective and satisfying when we are carrying out the physical part of the program by maintaining abstinence.

When we came into OA, most of us wanted to eat less in order to lose weight. As we grow through the Twelve Steps, we gradually learn that eating less physical food enables us to make more spiritual progress. The rewards of working the OA program are far greater than we had imagined! The spiritual food, which we receive from our Higher Power, begins to satisfy the emptiness which we had foolishly tried to fill with excess calories. Not only do we maintain abstinence in order to control our weight, but we also maintain it in order to grow in spirituality.

May I remember to seek spiritual food.

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One Day At A Time

~ CHILDLIKE ~

Anxiety is the rust of life,
destroying its brightness and weakening its power.
A childlike and abiding trust in Providence
is its best preventive and remedy.
Tyron Edwards

Like so many of us in OA, I grew up as a little adult. My parents didn't know better - treating me like an adult seemed a good way to them of both showing love to me and making their difficult post-war life easier. Providence was something that intervened once in a while, and in ways that were weighty and important. God was there - but God had to attend to serious matters.

There was little room in God's and my parents' life for the seemingly unimportant details of a child's world. I had no trouble internalizing that message. I learned very soon that no-one was going to take care of my "little" problems and anxieties, that I had to shove them out of the way, and that I could do that very well by daydreaming, by making sure I was the little adult my parents were so proud of - and by eating.

The trouble was that there were times when these coping mechanisms didn't work seamlessly and those anxieties would break through. Panic attacks were the result, and dogged attempts to do more of the insanity: more retreating from the world, more "adult" behaviour, more eating.

One of the things I'm learning in recovery is that paradoxically, in order to really grow up, I need to risk the vulnerability of being more childlike. I need to learn that my Higher Power is not too busy worrying about world peace to listen and deeply care about my little booboos. I need to, I WANT to develop an abiding trust that I am safe with and cared for by my Higher Power, like a baby in a mother's arms.

One day at a time ... I let go of the rust of anxiety so that like a child, I may marvel at and participate in the brightness and wonder of God's world.
~ Isabella ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful. - Pg. 102 - Working With Others

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

It has been said that there are only two times you have to diligently work this program, the first 30 days and every day after that! Actually if you think about it, that only means one day, today.

Help me work this program to the best of my ability today.

Opening to the New

Today I will be open to what life offers to me. The world comes to greet me like an old friend each morning. My daily habits comfort and ground me. The thought of moving into my day pleases me. Life unfolds one second at a time and today I will be present to witness it. How much of my life do I let pass by unnoticed? How many of my feelings go unfelt? Today I will recognize that my time on Earth is limited. I choose to value my life a day at a time and embrace it while I have it.

I am open to life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'You should not be esteemed by others if you have no real inner virtue.' -Dogen, The Pocket Zen Reader You get esteem by doing something esteeming.

I never have to worry about low self-esteem when I do esteeming things.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Character is how we act when we think no one is watching.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

God is guiding me on my path to self-sufficiency and independence today. As I become willing to let go of my feelings of inferiority and weakness, my Higher Power gives me all the strength that I need for all that comes up for me today.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Wondering why I was an alcoholic was like being a man standing on a bridge, looking down at a gently flowing stream beneath. But my pants are on fire. And I'm saying: 'I wonder how these pants got on fire, was it hereditary or environmental?' Who cares. You jump in the water. - Doug D.

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AA Thought for the Day

February 22, 2014

Laughter
When my AA sponsor began to laugh
and point out my self-pity and ego-feeding deceptions, I was annoyed and hurt,
but it taught me to lighten up and focus on my recovery.
I soon learned to laugh at myself and eventually I taught those I sponsor to laugh also.
Every day I ask God to help me stop taking myself too seriously.
- Daily Reflections, p. 59

Thought to Ponder . . .
Take time to laugh -- it is the music of the soul.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
T H I N K = The Happiness I Never Knew.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Acceptance
Our very first problem is to accept
our present circumstances as they are,
ourselves as we are, and the people about us as we are.
This is to adopt a realistic humility
without which no genuine advance can even begin.
Again and again, we shall need to return
to that unflattering point of departure.
This is an exercise in acceptance
that we can profitably practice every day of our lives.
Bill W., AAGrapevine, March 1962
c. 1967 AAWS, As Bill Sees It, p. 44

Thought to Consider . . .
My serenity is directly proportional to my level of acceptance.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A B C = Acceptance, Belief, Change

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Philosophy
>From "Happiness":
"It appears to me that most of the wrenching turmoil in people's lives whether or not they are alcoholic derives from too
stubborn persistence in trying to resolve insoluble problems. That is why the philosophy contained in the Serenity Prayer
is one of the most important guidelines I've found in A.A."
1973 AAWS, Inc.; Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 111

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Consider the problem of the fast-growing overseas centers just now emerging from their pioneering time -- how they
have slowly gained the confidence of medicine, religion, and the press; how they have finally grown into unity through an
ever better application of our Twelve Traditions; how they have tried to make good their desperate lack of language
translations; and how they have well begun to cross all barriers of race, creed, or social condition."
AA Co-Founder, Bill W., October 1960
From: "Our Pioneers Overseas"
The Language of the Heart

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"...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."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132

"I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that
really goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic
situations righted; feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I
have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the
lives of their families and communities. Business and professional
men have regained their standing. There is scarcely any form of
trouble and misery which has not been overcome among us."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill's Story, Page 15~

When the Twelfth Step is seen in its full implication, it is really talking about the kind of love that has no price tag on it.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 106

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

'Loners' - but Not Alone
What can be said of many A.A. members who, for a variety of reasons, cannot have a family life? At first many of these
feel lonely, hurt, and left out as they witness so much domestic happiness about them. If they cannot have this kind of
happiness, can A.A. offer them satisfactions of similar worth and durability?
Yes - whenever they try hard to seek out these satisfactions. Surrounded by so many A.A. friends, the so-called loners
tell us they no longer feel alone. In partnership with others - women and men - they can devote themselves to any
number of ideas, people, and constructive projects. They can participate in enterprises which would be denied to family
men and women. We daily see such members render prodigies of service, and receive great joys in return. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 120

Prayer for the Day: Dear Father, thank you for always hearing my prayers. I ask only that you grant me wisdom to follow
your will so I do not head down the wrong path.