Daily Recovery Readings - November

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November 17

Daily Reflections

OVERCOMING LONELINESS

Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by
loneliness. Even before our drinking got bad and people
began to cut us off, nearly all of us suffered the
feeling that we didn't quite belong.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 90

The agonies and the void that I often felt inside occur
less and less frequently in my life today. I have
learned to cope with solitude. It is only when I am
alone and calm that I am able to communicate with God,
for He cannot reach me when I am in turmoil. It is good
to maintain contact with God at all times, but it is
absolutely essential that, when everything seems to go
wrong, I maintain that contact through prayer and
meditation.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Everyone has two personalities, a good and a bad. We
are all dual personalities to some extent. When we were
drinking, the bad personality was in control. We did
things when we were drunk that we would never do when
we were sober. When we sober up, we are different people.
Then we wonder how we could have done the things we did.
But we drink again, and again our bad side comes out.
So we are back and forth, always in conflict with our
other selves, always in a stew. This division of our
selves is not good; we must somehow become unified. We
do this by giving ourselves wholeheartedly to A.A. and
to sobriety. Have I become unified?

Meditation For The Day

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into
the joy of Thy Lord." These words are for many ordinary
people whom the world may pass by, unrecognizing. Not
to the world-famed, the proud, the wealthy, are these
words spoken, but to the quiet followers who serve God
unobtrusively yet faithfully, who bear their crosses
bravely and put a smiling face to the world. "Enter into
the joy of Thy Lord." Pass into that fuller spiritual
life, which is a life of joy and peace.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not desire the world's applause.
I pray that I may not seek rewards for doing what I
believe is right.

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As Bill Sees It

Two Authorities, p. 319

Many people wonder how A.A. can function under a seeming anarchy.
Other societies have to have law and force and sanction and
punishment, administered by authorized people. Happily for us, we
found that we need no human authority whatever. We have two
authorities which are far more effective. One is benign, the other
malign.

There is God, our Father, who very simply says, "I am waiting for you
to do my will." The other authority is named John Barleycorn, and he
says, "You had better do God's will or I will kill you."

<< << << >> >> >>

The A.A. Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. We obey
them willingly because we ought to and because we want to. Perhaps
the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving
communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love.

1. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 105
2. A.A. Today, p. 11

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Walk In Dry Places

Are we doing well enough?
Success
Sometimes we can get off the track by mixing AA with the world's ideas of success.
In AA, success means staying sober while using the AA principles in our daily affairs. We can be successful people in all walks of life.
We should never think that a person is unsuccessful merely because he or she holds a low-paying job or has not regained any business or professional stature that has been lost. One of our members, for example, had once been the senior member of a lucrative law partnership before drinking himself into the gutter. In his sober years, he found great satisfaction in a relatively low- paying judgeship. In worldly terms, he could be seen as less successful. In AA terms, however, this period was the truly successful part of his life.
Our Higher Power will show us where our place in life should be. That should be success enough for any of us.
I'll do my best today in whatever job I have, grateful for the sobriety that helps me stay self-supporting and happy.

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Keep It Simple

Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.
---Herman Melville
We have hung on in hard times. We made it through our addiction. Some of us have lived through abuse. We’ve felt like our hearts were broken. But we’ve proven we are survivors. Now we’re learning that we can heal.
Being recovery doesn’t mean things will be easy. But we have a Higher Power to help us. We have friends who listen to us, care for us, and help us through the pain. Because of our recovery program, we’re able to keep hope and love in our lives---One Day at a Time.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me through the hard times. Help me trust in Your love and care.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll plan ahead with my sponsor. What will I do now so that I’ll have strong support when hard times come?

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Each Day a New Beginning

I think happiness is like the effect on an audience (when acting), if you think of it all the time you will not get it, you must get lost in the part, lost in your purposes and let the effect be the criterion of your success. --Joanna Field
Happiness is a gift that accompanies every instance of our lives if we approach each situation with gratitude, knowing that what's offered to us is special to our particular needs. The experiences we meet day to day are honing our Spirit, tempering our hard edges. For these we should offer gratitude.
Our well-being is the gift. Deciding what will make us happy, in fact, what we must have to be happy, prevents us from grasping the unexpected pleasure of the "chance" events of the moment. When we intently look for what we think we need, we may well be blind to more beneficial opportunities God has chosen for us.
Our self-centeredness hinders every breath we take. It prejudices every encounter. It stifles our creative potential. And most of all, it blocks any chance for a spontaneous reaction to the moment. Spontaneity is the breeding ground for creative living. And happiness is the byproduct.
Happiness is my decision, every moment.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 6 - INTO ACTION

We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily in this world. Rightly and naturally, we think well before we choose the person or persons with whom to take this intimate and confidential step. Those of us belonging to a religious denomination which requires confession must, and of course, will want to go to the properly appointed authority whose duty it is to receive it. Though we have no religious conception, we may still do well to talk with someone ordained by an established religion. We often find such a person quick to see and understand our problem. Of course, we sometimes encounter people who do not understand alcoholics.

pp. 73-74

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition One - "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. Unity."

Those who look closely soon have the key to this strange paradox. The A.A. member has to conform to the principles of recovery. His life actually depends upon obedience to spiritual principles. If he deviates too far, the penalty is sure and swift; he sickens and dies. At first he goes along because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he really wants to live. Moreover, he finds he cannot keep this priceless gift unless he gives it away. Neither he nor anybody else can survive unless he carries the A.A. message. The moment this Twelfth Step work forms a group, another discovery is made - that most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group. Realization dawns that he is but a small part of a great whole; that no personal sacrifice is too great for preservation of the Fellowship. He learns that the clamor of desires and ambitions within him must be silenced whenever these could damage the group. It becomes plain that the group must survive or the individual will not.

p. 130

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I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked
with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a
grand thing.
--Agatha Christie

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our
thanksgiving.
--W.T. Purkiser

The source of love is deep in us, and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One
word, one action, one thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring that person
joy.
--Thich Nhat Hanh

Never let the word "impossible" stop you from pursuing what your heart and spirit urge
you to do. Impossible things come true every day.
--Robert K. Cooper

Nothing is impossible to the willing heart.
--Thomas Heywood

H O P E = Happy Our Program Exists.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

EXPERIENCE

"Experience is not what happens
to a man. It is what a man does
with what happens to him."
-- Aldous Huxley

Today I experience the joy of sobriety. Today I experience God in my world. Today I
experience the peace and serenity that for years eluded me.

Experience is the key. It locates all that is in my life. Experience allows me to
appreciate what living is all about.

Love is to be felt. Forgiveness is to be experienced. Humility is to be lived in action.
Hope is to be recognized in the brightness of the eye.

Life is to be experienced. That is spirituality.

May the God that I experience be reflected in daily life.

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"God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:17

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth
in Thee.
Isaiah 26:3

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17

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Daily Inspiration

You will not create a new life by simply forgetting the old one. Lord, help me create new values and new goals so that I will become a peaceful spirit which will bring newness and freshness to my life and allow me to greet the day with enthusiasm.

Never underestimate the power of your presence nor your ability to comfort and encourage. Lord, thank You for my opportunities to do Your work.