This is a stressful time for many of us.  Our program has often discussed the benefit of using outside professionals .  One of the largest health insurers is providing a help line without charge. 
United Health Care is providing no-cost emotional support line.    Is available to ANY person.  Does not have to be a UHC enrolled employee or dependent.  866-342-6892.

Jacki has become our expert of connecting to virtual meetings and has made two utube videos that show how to connect from a pc and a phone.  
The addresses are as follows:

1.   https://youtu.be/OYQgObD97lo
2.  https://youtu.be/hi1qzn1knM

Copy this information into your browser address and you will connect to the video 
  

There is also a rocket launch today if you need another reason to look to the heavens.  The first launch of the Space Force is scheduled for 2:57 PM.  

1. DAILY PONDERABL  Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

   Daily ReflectionsTHE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you---until then. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164 These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them. In the beginning it was because I felt, "Oh no! The teaching is over. Now I'm on my own. It will never be this new again." Today I feel deep affection for our A.A. pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that---with God's blessing---the teaching is never over, I'm never on my own, and every day is brand new. From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

   Twenty-Four Hours A DayA.A. Thought for the Day Strength comes also from working with other alcoholics. When you are trying to help a new prospect with the program, you are building up your own strength at the same time. You see the other person in the condition you might be in yourself and it makes your resolve to stay sober stronger than ever. Often, you help yourself more than the other person, but if you do succeed in helping the prospect to get sober, you are stronger from the experience of having helped another person. Am I receiving strength from working with others? Meditation for the Day Faith is the bridge between you and God. It is the bridge that God has ordained. If all were seen and known, there would be no merit in doing right. Therefore God has ordained that we do not see or know directly. But we can experience the power of His spirit through our faith. It is the bridge between us and Him, which we can take or not, as we will. There could be no morality without free will. We must make the choice ourselves. We must make the venture of belief. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may choose and decide to cross the bridge of faith. I pray that by crossing this bridge I may receive the spiritual power I need. From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation

   NA - Just for TodayTrusting a sponsor - worth the risk Page 88"In seeking a sponsor, most members look for someone they feel they can learn to trust, someone who seems compassionate ..." IP No. 11, Sponsorship, RevisedThe idea of sponsorship may be new to us. We have spent many years without direction, relying only on self-interest, suspecting everyone, trusting no one. Now that were learning to live in recovery, we find we need help. We can't do it alone anymore; we must take the risk of trusting another human being. Often, the first person we take that risk with is our sponsor-someone we respect, someone we identify with, someone we have reason to trust. As we open up to our sponsor, a bond develops between us. We disclose our secrets and develop confidence in our sponsor's discretion. We share our concerns and learn to value our sponsor's experience. We share our pain and are met with empathy. We get to know one another, respect one another, love one another The more we trust our sponsor, the more we learn to trust ourselves. Trust helps us move away from a life of fear, confusion, suspicion, and indirection. In the beginning, it feels risky to trust another addict. But that trust is the same principle we apply in our relationship with a Higher Power-risky or not, our experience tells us we can't do without it. And the more we take the risk of trusting our sponsor, the more open we will feel about our lives. Just for Today: I want to grow and change. I will risk trusting my sponsor and find the rewards of sharing. From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

   Thought for TodayIn drunkeness I was surrendered by the bottle. In sobriety I was surrendered by life itself.  (Bob D. - 2018 Appalachian Regional Roundup) “Knowledge of a spiritual program gives the illusion of progress”. Dan S.

   Buddha/Zen Thoughts If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. -His Holiness the Dalai Lama

   Native American"In our modern world today, we may seem like drowning men because of the loss of much of our spiritual tradition." --Thomas Yellowtail, CROWOur spiritual tradition shows us the way to live in harmony, balance and respect. The tradition taught us how to behave and how to conduct ourselves. The spiritual way taught us to pray and to purify ourselves. Handed down from generation to generation were the teachings about a way of life. Our relationship to Mother Earth and to each other was very clear. The Modern World does not relate to spirituality but to materialism. If we do not allow spirituality to guide our lives, we will be lost, unhappy and without direction. We are spiritual beings trying to be human, not human beings trying to be spiritual. It is said, Know thyself. Grandfather, lead me to spirituality.

   Walk In Dry PlacesI can't.... God can.... I think I'll let God Guidance One of the delusions that keep alcoholics in bondage is the belief in the power of the personal will. "I still think I'm strong enough to whip it," alcoholics have declared defiantly, just before heading out for another debacle. Willpower has a role in recovery, but only in making a decision to turn the problem over to Higher Power. This sets in motion powerful forces that come to our assistance. We don't know how and why this process works as it does. We do know that it has worked repeatedly for those who sincerely apply it in their lives. What's needed to start the process is an admission of defeat, a willingness to seek a Higher Power, and at least enough open-minded-ness to give it all a fair chance. The outcome can be very surprising. There's also no need to be apologetic about our Higher Power after we've found sobriety. Nobody had a better plan, and we can remember that other severe problems can be handled in the same way. I'll do my best today to solve every problem and meet every responsibility. If something is too much for me, I'll turn it over in the same way I did my drinking problem.

   Big Book Chapter 1 BILL'S STORY (pg 13 & top 14) At the hospital I was separated from alcohol for the last time. Treatment seemed wise, for I showed signs of delirium tremens. There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do with me as He would. I placed myself unreservedly under His care and direction. I admitted for the first time that of myself I was nothing; that without Him I was lost. I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch. I have not had a drink since. My schoolmate visited me, and I fully acquainted him with my problems and deficiencies. We made a list of people I had hurt or toward whom I felt resentment. I expressed my entire willingness to approach these individuals, admitting my wrong. Never was I to be critical of them. I was to right all such matters to the utmost of my ability. I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within. Common sense would thus become uncommon sense. I was to sit quietly when in doubt, asking only for direction and strength to meet my problems as He would have me. Never was I to pray for myself, except as my requests bore on my usefulness to others. Then only might I expect to receive. But that would be in great measure. My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements. Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.