Fear... of economic insecurity will leave us.
Having fear reduced or eliminated and having economic circumstances improve, are two different things. When I was new in A.A., I had those two ideas confused. I thought fear would leave me only when I started making money. However, another line from the Big Book jumped off the page one day when I was chewing on my financial difficulties: “For us, material well–being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded.” I suddenly understood that this promise was a guarantee. I saw that it put priorities in the correct order, that spiritual progress would diminish that terrible fear of being destitute, just as it diminished many other fears. Today I try to use the talents God gave me to benefit others. I've found that is what others valued all along. I try to remember that I no longer work for myself. I only get the use of the wealth God created, I never have “Owned” it. My life’s purpose is much clearer when I just work to help, not to possess.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A. we forget about the future. We know from experience that as time goes on, the future takes care of itself. Everything works out well, as long as we stay sober. All we need to think about is today. When we get up in the morning and see the sun shining in the window, we thank God that He has given us another day to enjoy because we're sober. A day in which we may have a chance to help somebody. Do I know that this day is all I have and that with God’s help I can stay sober today?
Meditation For The Day
All is fundamentally well. That does not mean that all is well on the surface of things. But it does mean that God's in His heaven and that He has a purpose for the world, which will eventually work out when enough human beings are willing to follow His way. “Wearing the world as a loose garment” means not to be upset by the surface wrongness of things, but to feel deeply secure in the fundamental goodness and purpose in the universe.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that God may be with me in my journey through the world. I pray that I may know that God is planning that journey.
Following a gossip binge, we can well ask ourselves these questions: “Why did we say what we did? Were we only trying to be helpful and informative? Or were we not trying to feel superior by confessing the other fellow’s sins? Or, because of fear and dislike, were we not really aiming to damage him?” This would be an honest attempt to examine ourselves, rather than the other fellow.
Inventory–taking is not always done in red ink. It’s a poor day indeed when we haven’t done something right. As a matter of fact, the waking hours are usually well filled with things that are constructive. Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see. Even when we tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of all.
Walk in Dry Places
Living One Day at a Time
Time management
It’s surprising that some alcoholics learn how to “Live one day at a time” while drinking. It had to work that way, or their drinking life would have been even more intolerable. It was convenient to shut off thoughts of tomorrow if one had enough money to drink today. It was also convenient to blot out thoughts of yesterday, which only meant remorse.
In sobriety, living one day at a time is an excellent way to focus our minds so we can pour our energies into the work at hand. In reviewing the wasted yesterdays, we can always find ways that we could have been more productive and effective. But we missed opportunities because we were still struggling with regrets or fearing what might happen in the future.
It's never too late to change all that. We need neither regret the past nor fear the future. The AA secret is to make the best of today's challenges. It may mean just chipping away at a massive problem that seems insurmountable. Living just for today, we can do today’s job well.
I'll live comfortably and happily in the here and now. This means releasing the past and accepting the future as something I’ll deal with at the proper time.
Keep It Simple
With each sunrise, we start anew. Like a tree, our life depends on new growth. There are many ways to bring new ideas and growth into our lives. We can attend Twelve Step retreats. We can study books and tapes on spirituality. We can attend different Twelve Step meetings.
But our spiritual newness may not just come from the Twelve Steps. We can do volunteer work or be active in other types of groups. We need to invite new ideas into our lives. We need to stay open to change. It doesn’t matter what renews our spiritual growth. What matters is that we keep our spiritual lives fresh and growing.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, spring is one of the four seasons. Help me feel like spring. Help me to be strong but not stuck Help me be firm yet open to spiritual growth.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll try to do something new. When I get stuck or stubborn, I’ll see that it’s due to my fear of trying new ideas.
Father Leo's Daily Meditation
Brotherhood
“I love my country better than my family; but I love humanity better than my country.” – Francois Fenelon
We need to think “Big”. We need to escape from those little concepts that keep us small. Life is more than we can ever perceive. We need to see it in its totality. The nuclear family can be restrictive if taken as the centre of our loyalty. Even our national citizenship needs to be placed in the context of the world. Our freedom rests in our universal humanity.
Spirituality is about thinking “Big”. It is finding God in the richness of His creation. Our insistence on our shared humanity is the path to world peace and serenity. Divisions should not exist for the humanitarian who seeks acceptance for all men simply because they are men.
May I seek to find the One in the many and the many in the One.
Daily Inspiration
God not only answers prayer, but He has all the answers to the prayers that we haven’t bothered to ask. Lord, when you said “Ask and you shall receive”, may I keep in mind that no request is too small. It is far wiser to ask God for what He thinks is good for us, than for what we think is good for us. Lord, Your Will not mine be done.
Contributed by Shreerang Karkare
