[Daily Reflections] THE GOOD AND THE BAD (0)
Posted 22 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘THE GOOD AND THE BAD‘
“My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad.” ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76
The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My shortcomings can be humbly placed in God’s loving care and be removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better way to seek humility than by giving all of myself–good and bad–to God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good.
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[Daily Reflections] A PRICELESS GIFT (0)
Posted 21 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘A PRICELESS GIFT‘
By this time in all probability we have gained some measure of release from our more devastating handicaps. We enjoy moments in which there is something like real peace of mind. To those of us who have hitherto known only excitement, depression, or anxiety–in other words, to all of us–this newfound peace is a priceless gift. 12 & 12, p. 74
I am learning to let go and let God, to have a mind that is open and a heart that is willing to receive God’s grace in all my affairs; in this way I can experience the peace and freedom that come as a result of surrender. It has been proven that an act of surrender, originating in desperation and defeat, can grow into an ongoing act of faith, and that faith means freedom and victory.
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[Daily Reflections] SHORTCOMINGS REMOVED (0)
Posted 20 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘SHORTCOMINGS REMOVED‘
But now the words “Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works” began to carry bright promise and meaning. 12 & 12, p. 75
When I put the Seventh Step into action I must remember that there are no blanks to fill in. It doesn’t say, “Humbly asked Him to (fill in the blank) remove our shortcomings.” For years I filled in the imaginary blank with “Help me!” “Give me the courage to,” and “Give me the strength,” etc. The Step says simply that God will remove my shortcomings. The only footwork I must do is “humbly ask,” which for me means asking with the knowledge that of myself I am nothing, the Father within “doeth the works.”
I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to “Come To”–so that they can “Come to Believe.” I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief.
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[Daily Reflections] FALSE PRIDE (0)
Posted 19 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘FALSE PRIDE‘
Many of us who had thought ourselves religious awoke to the limitations of this attitude. Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves of His help. 12 & 12, p. 75
Many false notions operate in false pride. The need for direction to live a decent life is satisfied by the hope experienced in the A.A. Fellowship. Those who have walked the way for years–a day at a time–say that a God centered life has limitless possibilities for personal growth. This being so, much hope is transmitted by the elder A.A.s.
I thank my Higher Power for letting me know that He works through other people, and I thank Him for our trusted servants in the Fellowship who aid new members to reject their false ideals and to adopt those which lead to a life of compassion and trust. The elders in A.A. challenge the newcomers to “Come To”–so that they can “Come to Believe.” I ask my Higher Power to help my unbelief.
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[Daily Reflections] GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE (0)
Posted 18 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I HAVE‘
During this process of learning more about humility, the most profound result of all was the change in our attitude toward God.
12 & 12, p. 75
Today my prayers consist mostly of saying thank you to my Higher Power for my sobriety and for the wonder of God’s abundance, but I need also to ask for help and the power to carry out His will for me. I no longer need God each minute to rescue me from the situations I get myself into by not doing His will. Now my gratitude seems to be directly linked to humility. As long as I have the humility to be grateful for what I have, God continues to provide for me.
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[Daily Reflections] SURRENDER AND SELF-EXAMINATION (0)
Posted 17 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘SURRENDER AND SELF-EXAMINATION‘
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of demanding that I receive. Thus I think it can work out with emotional sobriety. If we examine every disturbance we have, great or small, we will find at the root of it some unhealthy dependency and its consequent unhealthy demand. Let us, with God’s help, continually surrender these hobbling demands. Then we can be set free to live and love; we may then be able to Twelfth Step ourselves and others into emotional sobriety.
THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 238
Years of dependency on alcohol as a chemical mood-changer deprived me of the capability to interact emotionally with my fellows. I thought I had to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-motivated in a world of unreliable people. Finally I lost my self-respect and was left with dependency, lacking any ability to trust myself or to believe in anything. Surrender and self-examination while sharing with newcomers helped me to ask humbly for help.
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[Daily Reflections] A MEASURE OF HUMILITY (0)
Posted 16 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘A MEASURE OF HUMILITY‘
In every case, pain had been the price of admission into a new life. But this admission price had purchased more than we expected. It brought a measure of humility, which we soon discovered to be a healer of pain. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 75
It was painful to give up trying to control my life, even though success eluded me, and when life got too rough, I drank to escape. Accepting life on life’s terms will be mastered through the humility I experience when I turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With my life in God’s care, fear, uncertainty, and anger are no longer my response to those portions of life that I would rather not have happen to me. The pain of living through these times will be healed by the knowledge that I have received the spiritual strength to survive.
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[Daily Reflections] PRIDE (0)
Posted 15 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘PRIDE‘
For thousands of years we have been demanding more than our share of security, prestige, and romance. When we seemed to be succeeding, we drank to dream still greater dreams. When we were frustrated, even in part, we drank for oblivion. Never was there enough of what we thought we wanted. In all these strivings, so many of them well-intentioned, our crippling handicap had been our lack of humility. We had lacked the perspective to see that character-building and spiritual values had to come first, and that material satisfactions were not the purpose of living.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 71
Time and again I approached the Seventh Step, only to fall back and regroup. Something was missing and the impact of the Step escaped me. What had I overlooked? A single word: read but ignored, the foundation of all the Steps, indeed the entire Alcoholics Anonymous program - that word is “humbly”. I understood my shortcomings: I constantly put tasks off; I angered easily; I felt too much self-pity; and thought, why me? Then I remembered, “Pride goeth before the fall,” and I eliminated pride from my life.
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[Daily Reflections] A NOURISHING INGREDIENT (0)
Posted 14 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘A NOURISHING INGREDIENT‘
Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. 12 & 12, p.74
How often do I focus on my problems and frustrations? When I am having a “good day” these same problems shrink in importance and my preoccupation with them dwindles. Wouldn’t it be better if I could find a key to unlock the “magic” of my “good days” for use on the woes of my “bad days?” I already have the solution! Instead of trying to run away from my pain and wish my problems away, I can pray for humility! Humility will heal the pain. Humility will take me out of myself. Humility, that strength granted me by that “power greater than myself,” is mine for the asking! Humility will bring balance back into my life. Humility will allow me to accept my humanness joyously.
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[Daily Reflections] HUMILITY IS A GIFT (0)
Posted 13 July, 2009 in Daily Reflections
Daily Reflections has posted a new item, ‘HUMILITY IS A GIFT‘
As long as we placed self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of all humility, a desire to seek and do God’s will, was missing. 12 & 12, p.72
When I first came to A.A., I wanted to find some of the elusive quality called humility. I didn’t realize I was looking for humility because I thought it would help me get what I wanted, and I would do anything for others if I thought God would somehow reward me for it. I try to remember now that the people I meet in the course of my day are as close to God as I am ever going to get while on this earth. I need to pray for knowledge of God’s will today, and see how my experience with hope and pain can help other people; if I can do that, I don’t need to search for humility, it has found me.
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