For every moment of joy, a time of sadness. The process of living, for each of us, is pretty similar. Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me learn the “give-and-take” of talking and listening.Īction for the Day: Today, I’ll focus on listening, not only to other people but to my Higher Power’s voice. It’s great-the care, love, and help we find-just by listening. What a relief!Īnd we’re learning to listen better every day. But when we listen, we get better results. When we do all the talking, we’re trying to control what happens. When this happens, we need to stop, think, and listen. Sometimes, we find ourselves doing all the talking. It’s not enough to talk to plants, you also have to listen. I won’t be responsible for monitoring another’s sobriety. Today I’ll strive for a high-quality sobriety that includes cheerfulness, confidence, patience, and good humor. Recovery alcoholics must continue to have the freedom to select any quality of sobriety they choose. Our only responsibility is to treat these complaints with good humor and to avoid becoming cranky ourselves. Out of this crankiness come complaints about the way newcomers work the program. Some old-timers in Twelve Step programs develop crankiness that borders on resentment. If we do wish to voice any opinions, it should be in terms of our own inventory-not the other person’s. We may not be able to avoid noticing others’ actions that we consider to be wrong, but we can keep our thoughts and opinions to ourselves. We only have responsibility for the quality of our own sobriety, and it is not for us to decide how another should think or live. We’re on shaky ground, however, when we begin passing judgment on another person’s quality of sobriety. It’s generally accepted that sobriety ought to be something more than the single process of staying free from alcohol or drugs. There is such a thing as length-or quantity-of sobriety, and there is also quality. In our slow progress away from rebellion, true perfection is doubtless several millennia away.” “Apparently, the course of relative humility and progress will have to lie somewhere between these extremes. And we will be equally penalized if we presume in ourselves a perfection that simply is not there. “We know that if we rebel against doing that which is reasonably possible for us, then we will be penalized. “The real question is whether we can learn anything from our experiences upon which we may grow and help others to grow in the likeness and image of God. I pray that I may realize God’s purpose for my life. I pray that I may choose what is good for my soul. Thus the purpose of your life is being accomplished. Your soul is being trained by the good you choose. Reject it and God’s purpose for your life is frustrated, and your spiritual progress is delayed. Accept this belief and a wonderful molding of character is the result. God wants you to choose what suits the soul as well as the body. We often choose the way of life that best suits the body, not the way that best suits the soul. This life we live is not so much for the body as for the soul. Your life has been given to you mainly for the purpose of training your soul. We can never recapture the good times of the past. There is no exception to this rule in the whole history of A.A. No matter how long we have been sober, if we try liquor again, we’re as bad or worse than we ever were. I empty myself to be full of awareness, light, and love, and I am ready to face each day with hope. To let go and let God, I need only surrender my old ways to Him I no longer fight nor do I try to control, but simply believe that, with God’s help, I am changed and affirming this belief makes me ready. “Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. and toward others, I become ready by meditating and receiving direction. If I realize there are defects that hinder my usefulness in A.A. To become ready for change, I practice willingness, opening myself to possibilities of change. I have been given a daily reprieve contingent upon my spiritual condition, provided I seek progress, not perfection. … we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life - the one that did not work - for a new life that can and does work under any conditions whatever. With it comes the development of that kind of humility that makes it possible for us to receive God’s help. Self-searching is the means by which we bring new vision, action, and grace to bear upon the dark and negative side of our natures.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |