DAILY PONDERABLES Together WE Trudge The Road OF Happy Destiny

Daily Reflections TRUSTING OTHERS But does trust require that we be blind to other people's motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be folly. Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for harm as well as the capability for good in every person that we would trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the degree of confidence we should extend in any given situation. AS BILL SEES IT, p. 144 I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my expectations, choices and dishonesty. When I expect others to be what I want them to be and not who they are, when they fail to meet my expectations, I am hurt. When my choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am lonely and distrustful. I gain confidence in myself, however, when I practice honesty in all my affairs. When I search my motives and am honest and trusting, I am aware of the capacity for harm in situations and can avoid those that are harmful. From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought for the Day No chain is stronger than its weakest link. Likewise, if you fail in the day-by-day program, in all probability it will be at your weakest point. Great-faith and constant contact with God's power can help you discover, guard, and undergird your weakest point with a strength not your own. Intelligent faith in God's power can be counted on to help you master your emotions, help you to think kindly of others, and help you with any task that you undertake, no matter how difficult. Am I master of my emotions? Meditation for the Day You need to be constantly recharged by the power of the spirit of God. Commune with God in quiet times until the life from God, the Divine life, by that very contact, flows into your being and revives your fainting spirit. When weary, take time out and rest. Rest and gain power and strength from God, and then you will be ready to meet whatever opportunities come your way. Rest until every care and worry and fear have gone and then the tide of peace and serenity, love and joy, will flow into your consciousness. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may rest and become recharged. I pray that I may pause and wait for the renewing of my strength. From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation

NA - Just for Today Surrender Page 181 "We didn't stumble into this fellowship brimming with love, honesty, open-mindedness, or willingness...When we were beaten, we became willing." Basic Text, p.20 Surrender may be the necessary foundation for recovery, but sometimes we fight it. Most of us look back after some clean time and wonder why on earth we fought so hard to deny our powerlessness when surrender is what finally saved our lives. As we recovery, new opportunities to surrender present themselves. We can either struggle with everyone and everything we encounter or we can recall the benefits of our first surrender and stop fighting. Most of the pain we experience comes from fighting, not surrendering. In fact, when we surrender, the pain ends and hope takes its place. We begin to believe that all will be well and, after some time, realize that our lives are much better as a result. We feel the same way we did when we gave up the illusion that we could control our using - relieved, free, and filled with fresh hope. Just for Today: Is there a surrender I need to make today? I will remember my first surrender and remind myself that I don't need to fight anymore. From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Thought for Today Forgiveness is NOT about the other person and it is NOT about forgetting. It is simply about empowering ourselves to be able to move on and live our lives with love and happiness. "Your fears will not kill you; but running away from them might"   Jan L. Check in with yourself this Moment and ask your self this question. Are decisions being made in your life based on "Fear" or "Love"? If  decisions are being made based on "Fears" you are in the grips of the Ego. The Ego and Fear walk hand in hand in making sure you have no peace of mind. Stay in close contact with Sponsors and Spiritual Advisors to make sure you are making decisions based on Love. The Ego does not like you asking for help and bouncing scenarios off your Sponsors or Spiritual Advisors. In fact it finds it most distasteful.     ~Anonymous   (thanks Stu K.)

Buddha/Zen Thoughts "Selflessness," Mark Epstein and HH Dalai Lama in Thoughts Without a Thinker "Selflessness is not a case of something that existed in the past becoming nonexistent. Rather this sort of "self" is something that never did exist. What is needed is to identify as non-existent something that always was non-existent ... "It is not ego, in the Freudian sense, that is the actual target of Buddhist insight, it is, rather, the self-concept, the representational component of the ego, the actual internal experience of one's self that is targeted." (pg.98)

Native American "He [Wakan Tanka] walks with us along the pathways of Life, and He can do for us what we could never do on our own." --Fools Crow, LAKOTA With the Creator in our lives, we are everything. Without the Creator, we are nothing. When the Creator is in our life, suddenly the impossible becomes possible. The extraordinary becomes ordinary. Things we thought could never happen start to happen. Talents we never know we had, start to blossom. Resources appear. Help arrives to give us guidance and direction. We become happy. We have peace of mind and confidence. Oh Great Spirit, today I want You in my life. The days that I know You are with me are the days that are perfect. Let me be joyful today.

Keep It Simple Words are sacred, we must use them wisely. . . . They are a gift from God. Burton Pretty-On-Top, Crow Spiritual Leader We use words to bring peace to others. We can use words to tell God and others how much we care. Or we can use words to hurt others. We can curse them and scare them away. We often did when we used alcohol and other drugs. In recovery, we learn to use words in a kind, wise way. We treat words as a gift from God. We use words to build our relationships. Do I always use words in a kind way? Do I treat words as a powerful gift from God? Do my words make the world better or worse for those who hear me speak? Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, when I speak words, help me think about their power. Help me speak to others in a kind way. Action for the Day: Today, I'll speak to others with respect. My words will add a little kindness, honesty, and love to the world today.

Big Book Chapter 8  To Wives (pg 108 & 109) These are some of the questions which race through the mind of every woman who has an alcoholic husband. We hope this book has answered some of them. Perhaps your husband has been living in that strange world of alcoholism where everything is distorted and exaggerated. You can see that he really does love with his better self. Of course, there is such a thing as incompatibility, but in nearly every instance the alcoholic only seems to be unloving and inconsiderate; it is usually because he is warped and sickened that he says and does these appalling things. Today most of our men are better husbands and fathers than ever before. Try not to condemn your alcoholic husband no matter what he says or does. He is just another very sick, unreasonable person. Treat him, when you can, as though he had pneumonia. When he angers you, remember that he is very ill. There is an important exception to the foregoing. We realize some men are thoroughly bad-intentioned, that no amount of patience will make any difference. An alcoholic of this temperament may be quick to use this chapter as a club over your head. Don’t let him get away with it. If you are positive he is one of this type you may feel you had better leave him. Is it right to let him ruin your life and the lives of your children? Especially when he has before him a way to stop his drinking and abuse if he really wants to pay the price. The problem with which you struggle usually falls within one of four categories: One: Your husband may be only a heavy drinker. His drinking may be constant or it may be heavy only on certain occasions. Perhaps he spends too much money for liquor. It may be slowing him up mentally and physically, but he does not see it. Sometimes he is a source of embarrassment to you and his friends. He is positive he can handle his liquor, that it does him no harm, that drinking is necessary in his business. He would probably be insulted if he were called an alcoholic. This world is full of people like him. Some will moderate or stop altogether, and some will not. Of those who keep on, a good number will become true alcoholics after a while.