Daily Recovery Readings
May 15, 2023
Daily Reflection
KNOW GOD; KNOW PEACE
“It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. . . . But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave.”
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 66
Know God;
Know peace.
No God;
No peace.
From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Big Book Quote
“Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness. I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill’s Story, pg. 14~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
In A.A. we find a new strength and peace from the realization that there must be a Power greater than ourselves that is running the universe and that is on our side when we live a good life. So the A.A. program really never ends. You begin by over coming drink and you go on from there to many new opportunities for happiness and usefulness. Am I really enjoying the full benefits of A.A.?
Meditation for the Day
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” We should not seek material things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will come to us, as we honestly work for them. Many people seek material things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual things. You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. The first requisites of an abundant life are the spiritual things: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Until you have these qualities, quantities of material things are of little real use to you.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may put much effort into acquiring spiritual things. I pray that I may not expect good things until I am right spiritually.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Taking Risks
Take a risk. Take a chance.
We do not have to indulge in obviously foolhardy or self-defeating risks, but we can allow ourselves to take positive risks in recovery. We cannot afford to keep ourselves paralyzed.
We do not have to keep ourselves stymied and trapped out of fear of making a mistake or failing. Naturally, we will make mistakes and fail from time to time. That’s part of being fully alive. There are no guarantees. If we are waiting for guaranteed courses of action, we may spend much of our life waiting.
We do not have to shame ourselves or accept shame from anyone else, even those in recovery, for making mistakes. The goal of recovery is not to live life perfectly. The goal of recovery is to live, learn our lessons, and make overall progress.
Take a risk. Do not always wait for a guarantee. We don’t have to listen to “I told you so.” Dust yourself off after a mistake, and then move on to the success.
God, help me begin to take healthy risks. Help me let go of my fear of failure, and help me let go of my fear of success. Help me let go of my fear of fully living my life, and help me start experiencing all parts of this journey.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
“If you can’t fight and you can’t flee, flow.”
—Robert Eliot
Too often, we men have lived with a single answer to every situation: win. We saw our friendships in competitive terms, so we couldn’t let our guard down. We looked at life as a challenge to be conquered rather than something to be enjoyed. Therefore, our first impulse was to fight and come out a winner. Many of us have played life like a game with only winners and losers, and we have neglected the deeper meaning in our experiences. Living that way, many of us have felt like losers.
We all experience moments when a situation is much more powerful than we are. Those moments feel like defeat unless we allow them to open a whole new viewpoint on our lives. When we can flow with a situation, which will have its own way anyhow, we have become more mature men. We can breathe a sigh of relief because much of the tension in our lives is reduced when we stop trying to conquer every moment and instead simply flow with it.
Today, I will practice playing a new game of flowing and thereby deepen my awareness of life.
Elder’s Meditation
“We must have respect and understanding for women and all female life on this Earth which bears the sacred gift of life.”
–Traditional Circle of Elders. ONONDAGA
At a gathering of Native Elders we were told that many men of today had lost their ability to look at the Woman in a sacred way. They said we were only looking at Her in a physical sense and had lost the ability to look at Her sacredness. They said the Woman has a powerful position in the Unseen World. She has the special ability to bring forth life. They told us to start showing Her respect and to look upon her in a sacred manner. We must start this today.
Grandfather, show me how to see in a sacred way.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
Your passion for your beliefs could be at a high point now. You may be willing to identify yourself with them in an especially public way in order to achieve some major goal. While the visible Moon in your 10th House of Reputation conflicts with people-pleasing Venus in your identity sector, you might get noticed more than you’re used to — but the attention won’t necessarily all be positive. Be realistic about whether not being liked is worth it in this case.
The Wandering Enigma 