Good Morning!!!
God grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change;
Courage to change
the things I can;
and Wisdom
to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.
*~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~*
April 4, 2024
CRYING FOR THE MOON
“This very real feeling of inferiority
is magnified by his childish sensitivity
and it is this state of affairs
which generates in him
that insatiable, abnormal craving
for self-approval and success
in the eyes of the world.
Still a child, he cries for the moon.
And the moon, it seems, won’t have him!”
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 102
While drinking I seemed to vacillate
between feeling totally invisible
and believing I was the center of the universe.
Searching for that elusive balance between the two
has become a major part of my recovery.
The moon I constantly cried for is,
in sobriety, rarely full;
it shows me instead its many other phases,
and there are lessons in them all.
True learning has often followed an eclipse,
a time of darkness,
but with each cycle of my recovery,
the light grows stronger and my vision is clearer.
******************************
COURAGE AND PRUDENCE
When fear persisted, we knew it for what it was,
and we became able to handle it.
We began to see each adversity
as a God-given opportunity
to develop the kind of courage
which is born of humility,
rather than of bravado.
Prudence is a workable middle ground,
a channel of clear sailing
between the obstacles of fear on the one side
and of recklessness on the other.
Prudence in practice creates a definite climate,
the only climate in which harmony,
effectiveness, and consistent spiritual progress
can be achieved.
"Prudence is rational concern without worry."
1. Grapevine, January 1962
2. Twelve Concepts, p. 62
3. Talk, 1966
**********
"I'm not in the results business.
I'm in the efforts business.
S.L.I.P. = Sobriety Lost Its Priority"
***************
Heard at AA Meeting
"Those who abandon their dreams
will discourage yours"
******************************
It is wealth to be content.
—Lao-tzu
On the evening of the first day of spring,
a woman gave her husband
a bright red geranium in a clay pot.
To celebrate, he placed it on the windowsill,
and together they marveled at the delicate petals.
In the harsher light of morning, though,
the man frowned at the geranium
and said to his wife,
"How shabby it makes the sofa look."
They spent the day at the furniture store
and came home with a new couch,
blue with red flowers, like the geranium.
They placed the couch in front of the windowsill
and admired together its grace
and line and fashionable upholstery.
But the next morning,
the man frowned at the couch and said,
"How shabby it makes the carpet look."
Soon they had a lavish new carpet,
which led to new curtains, lamps, and chairs.
When the room was completely redone,
they set the geranium back in the window
and surveyed the finest room in the neighborhood.
The man frowned. "The geranium," he said,
"it's out of place. It will have to go."
Will I be able to appreciate
life's simple pleasures today?
**********
"You don't have to see
the whole staircase at once,
just the first step, one step at a time."
******************************
Financial Responsibility
We are responsible for ourselves financially.
What a frightening, grown up thought
that is for many of us -
taking responsibility for money and our financial affairs.
For many of us, handing over responsibility
for our financial affairs has been part
of a codependent trade off in our relationships.
Some of our emotional dependency on others,
on this tight tie that binds us to others,
not in love, but in need and desperation,
is directly related to financial dependency.
Our fears and reluctance to take
responsibility for our financial affairs
can be a barrier to the freedom
we're seeking in recovery.
Financial responsibility is an attitude.
Money goes out to pay for necessities and luxuries.
Money must come in, in order to go out.
How much needs to come in
to equal that which is going out?
Taxes... savings plans...appropriate spending habits
that demonstrate an attitude of financial responsibility....
Part of being alive means learning to handle money.
Even if we have a healthy contract with someone
that allows us to depend on him or her for money,
we still need to understand how money works.
We still need to adopt an attitude
of financial responsibility for ourselves.
Even if we have a contract with someone else
to provide for our financial needs,
we need to understand
the workings of the money earned and spent in our life.
Self-esteem will increase when we increase
our sense of being financially responsible for ourselves.
We can start where we are, with what we have today.
God, help me become willing
to let go of my fears and reluctance
to face the necessary parts of handling money
responsibly in my life.
Show me the lessons I need to learn about money.
**********
"I'm not powerless over my recovery;
my recovery is progressive."
******************
Just a thought……………………
From the beginning, communication in AA
has been no ordinary transmission
of helpful ideas and attitudes.
It has been unusual and sometimes unique.
Because of our kinship in suffering,
and because our common means of deliverance
are effective for ourselves
only when constantly carried to others,
our channels of contact
have always been charged
with the language of the heart.
Bill W.,
July 1960
c. 1988 AA Grapevine,
The Language of the Heart, p. 243
Think about it………..
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.
Topic Question:
Does the quality of your recovery,
improve when you carry the message to others?
******************************
The universe is the primary revelation
of the divine, the primary scripture,
and the primary focus
of divine human communion.
—Thomas Berry
In this program we learn about being receptive.
A man in search of conscious contact with a Higher Power
can simply stand still
and open his eyes and ears to creation.
Forcing a spiritual awareness is mostly wasted effort.
Learning theology
doesn't create a spiritual experience either.
We only need to see and hear what is around us.
This is a vast and marvelous universe,
and it speaks for itself.
It has always been there,
and when we are ready to receive the message,
we will.
It stirs our spirit to be at a meeting
and hear another man describe
the awakening of his spirituality.
As we men become more receptive to the spiritual,
we open a whole new realm in our lives.
May my growing ability
to be a receptive man
lead me to a deeper spiritual contact.
**********
"I found this quote on a different website
and it has made an impact
on how I see things today...
"Whenever you are in conflict with someone
there is one factor
that can make the difference
between damaging your relationship
or deepening that relationship.......
that factor is ATTITUDE""
******************
Just considering……………
Every newcomer in AA is told, and soon realizes for himself, that his humble admission of powerlessness over alcohol is his first step toward liberation from its paralyzing grip. So, it is that we first see humility as a necessity. But this is the barest beginning. . . A whole lifetime geared to self-centeredness cannot be set in reverse all at once. Rebellion dogs our every step at first.
c. 1952 AAWS,
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,
pp. 72-3
Thought to consider . . .
Many people haven't even a nodding acquaintance
with humility as a way of life.
Topic Questions:
How important is humility to you?
Do you still rebel against certain things?
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