Daily Reflections "A.A. REGENERATION" Such is the paradox of A.A. regeneration: strength arising out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one's old life as a condition for finding a new one. A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 46 A thousand beatings by Barleycorn did not encourage me to admit defeat. I believed it was my moral obligation to conquer my "enemy-friend." At my first A.A. meeting I was blessed with a feeling that it was all right to admit defeat to a disease which had nothing to do with my "moral fiber." I knew instinctively that I was in the presence of a great love when I entered the doors of A.A. With no effort on my part, I became aware that to love myself was good and right, as God had intended. My feeling set me free, where my thoughts had held me in bondage. I am grateful. From the book Daily Reflections © Copyright 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day A.A. Thought For The Day We have this choice every day of our lives. We can take the path that leads to insanity and death. And remember, our next drunk could be our last one. Or we can take the path that leads to a reasonably happy and useful life. The choice is ours each day of our lives. God grant that we take the right path. Have I made my choice today? Meditation For The Day Your real work in life is to grow spiritually. To do this you must follow the path of diligently seeking good. The hidden spiritual wonders are revealed to those who diligently seek this treasure. From one point to the next, you have to follow the way of obedience to God's will until finally you reach greater and greater spiritual heights. Work on the material plane should be secondary to your real life's work. The material things that you need most are those that help you to attain the spiritual. Prayer For The Day I pray that I may keep growing spiritually. I pray that I may make this my real life's work. From the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day © Copyright 1975 by Hazelden Foundation

NA - Just for Today A sense of humor Page 177 "We find that when we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free." Basic Text, p. 107 The laughter in our meetings often surprises the newcomer. As a group, we appreciate the healing that healthy laughter brings. Even if we are deeply troubled, the joy that often fills the meeting rooms allows us, for a time, to have some fun with our recovery. Through humor, we can be temporarily relieved of our obsession with self. Life on life's terms is often anything but funny. But if we can keep a sense of humor about us, things that might overwhelm us can be made bearable. How often have we allowed ourselves to be upset by incidents that, taken with a bit of humor, are not all that intolerable? When we become annoyed with people and events, a search for the humor in the situation can put things in a brighter perspective. An ability to find humor in a difficult situation is a gift to develop. Just for Today: I will look to find the humor in adversity. When I make mistakes, I will find a way to laugh at the humor of my imperfections. From the book Just for Today © Copyright 1991-2013 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Thought for Today You don't have to be well to help someone, but you have to help someone to be well.    Keith G. My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and inverse proportion to my expectations.  ~ Michael J. Fox   You keep calling my name But I know it won’t ever be the same Once you made me feel on top Then came the day I could not stop Hands a tremblin,covered in sweat Till once again we met Days and nights all a blur That’s just how things were Try to stop, life I could not face So off to oblivion I would race Friends and family I did not care You left me with no feelings to spare All I wanted was sweet sweet relief  In return you took all of me like a thief Of course the time came you gave relief no more You had nothing left for me, yet I wanted more I begged stop the pain As my tears fell like rain What could this be but pure insanity Ask for help, what about my vanity Where do I go from here Which way do I steer So full of fear I want outta here Don’t wanna live don’t wanna die Feels as if its all a lie Tired of the fight Just ain’t right I must stop just give in Is the only way to win Surrender my will Peace I’ll feel   Bill D

Buddha/Zen Thoughts A gold Buddha can't get through a furnace, a wood Buddha can't get through a fire, and a clay Buddha can't get through water. The real Buddha sits within: enlightenment, nirvana, suchness, and Buddha-nature are all clothes sticking to the body. -Chao-chou

Native American "Respect should be given those indigenous nations who still carry on their ceremonies; still following the ancient laws of nature with songs and ceremonies." --Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders Many of our Tribes still have the ceremonies, songs and traditions. Today, the ceremonies and songs are coming back even stronger. The Elders have a lot of this knowledge. The young people need to learn these songs and traditions from the Elders. This is the strength of the people. The ancient Wisdom and Knowledge of ancient Laws are hidden in the ceremonies and songs. We should seek out these songs and ceremonies. Great Spirit, teach me the songs and ceremonies. Make my eyes open to see.

Keep It Simple If you tell the truth, you don't need to remember anything. --- Mark Twain One thing is a lot easier in life now is this---we can keep our story straight! We are learning that there's one really good way to get along with people. Keep It Simple. Just tell the truth.  It's hard to do at first. We might think, "If people see the real me, what will happen?" We might be afraid of what will happen if we don't lie or make excuses. But telling the truth works! We find out we never did fool anyone anyway! Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, make me honest. Action for the Day: I'll list all the ways honesty will help me in recovery. I'll sign-up to give a meeting on honesty.

Big Book Chapter 8    To Wives  (pg 104 & 105) WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, our book thus far has spoken of men. But what we have said applies quite as much to women. Our activities in behalf of women who drink are on the increase. There is every evidence that women regain their health as readily as men if they try our suggestions. But for every man who drinks others are involved-the wife who trembles in fear of the next debauch; the mother and father who see their son wasting away. Among us are wives, relatives and friends whose problem has been solved, as well as some who have not yet found a happy solution. We want the wives of Alcoholics Anonymous to address the wives of men who drink too much. What they say will apply to nearly everyone bound by ties of blood or affection to an alcoholic. As wives of Alcoholics Anonymous, we would like you to feel that we understand as perhaps few can. We want to analyze mistakes we have made. We want to leave you with the feeling that no situation is too difficult and no unhappiness too great to be overcome. We have traveled a rocky road, there is no mistake about that. We have had long rendezvous with hurt pride, frustration, self-pity, misunderstanding and fear. These are not pleasant companions. We have been driven to maudlin sympathy, to bitter resentment. Some of us veered from extreme to extreme, ever hoping that one day our loved ones would be themselves once more.