Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 27
GLOBAL SHARING
The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who
has found a key to sobriety. These legacies of suffering and
of recovery are easily passed among alcoholics, one to the
other. This is our gift from God, and its bestowal upon
others like us is the one aim that today animates A. A. 's all
around the globe.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151
The strength of Alcoholics Anonymous lies in the desire of
each member and of each group around the world to share
with other alcoholics their suffering and the steps taken to
gain, and maintain, recovery. By keeping a conscious
contact with my Higher Power, I make sure that I always
nurture my desire to help other alcoholics, thus insuring the
continuity of the wonderful fraternity of Alcoholics
Anonymous.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 26
ONE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—
a loving God as He may express Himself in our group
conscience.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 132
When I am chosen to carry some small responsibility for
my fellows, I ask that God grant me the patience, openmindedness,
and willingness to listen to those I would lead.
I must remind myself that I am the trusted servant of others,
not their "governor," "teacher," or "instructor." God guides
my words and my actions, and my responsibility is to heed
His suggestions. Trust is my watchword, I trust others who
lead. In the Fellowship of A.A., I entrust God with the
ultimate authority of "running the show."

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 25
A.A.'s HEARTBEAT
Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; . . .
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 125
Without unity I would be unable to recover in A.A. on a
daily basis. By practicing unity within my group, with other
A.A. members and at all levels of this great Fellowship, I
receive a pronounced feeling of knowing that I am a part of
a miracle that was divinely inspired. The ability of Bill W.
and Dr. Bob, working together and passing it on to other
members, tells me that to give it away is to keep it. Unity is
oneness and yet the whole Fellowship is for all of us.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 24
"BY FAITH AND BY WORKS"
On anvils of experience, the structure of our Society was
hammered out. . . . Thus has it been with A.A. By faith and
by works we have been able to build upon the lessons of an
incredible experience. They live today in the Twelve
Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which—God
willing—shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may
need us.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 131
God has allowed me the right to be wrong in order for our
Fellowship to exist as it does today. If I place God's will
first in my life, it is very likely that A.A. as I know it today
will remain as it is.

Objectivity is subjective.

Life is a subjective experience and that cannot be escaped. Every experience I have comes through my own, personal, unsharable viewpoint. There can be no peer reviews of my direct experience, no real corroboration. This has some major implications for how I live my life. The most immediate one is that I realize I must trust my own personal experience, because nobody else has this angle, and I only have this angle. Another is that I feel more wonder for the world around me, knowing that any “objective” understanding I claim to have of the world is built entirely from scratch, by me. What I do build depends on the books I’ve read, the people I’ve met, and the experiences I’ve had. It means I will never see the world quite like anyone else, which means I will never live in quite the same world as anyone else — and therefore I mustn’t let outside observers be the authority on who I am or what life is really like for me. Subjectivity is primary experience — it is real life, and objectivity is something each of us builds on top of it in our minds, privately, in order to explain it all. This truth has world-shattering implications for the roles of religion and science in the lives of those who grasp it.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 23
WHAT WE KNOW BEST
"Shoemaker, stick to thy last!" . . . better do one thing
supremely well than many badly. That is the central theme
of this Tradition [Five]. Around it our Society gathers in
unity. The very life of our Fellowship requires the
preservation of this principle.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 150
The survival of A.A. depends upon unity. What would
happen if a group decided to become an employment
agency, a treatment center or a social service agency? Too
much specialization leads to no specialization, to frittering
of efforts and, finally, to decline. I have the qualifications
to share my sufferings and my way of recovery with the
newcomer. Conformity to A.A.'s primary purpose insures
the safety of the wonderful gift of sobriety, so my responsibility
is enormous. The life of millions of alcoholics
is closely tied to my competence in "carrying the message
to the still-suffering alcoholic."

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 22
TRUE TOLERANCE
Finally, we begin to see that all people, including
ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as
frequently wrong and then we approach true tolerance and
see what real love for our fellows actually means
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 92
The thought occurred to me that all people are emotionally
ill to some extent. How could we not be? Who among us is
spiritually perfect? Who among us is physically perfect?
How could any of us be emotionally perfect? Therefore,
what else are we to do but bear with one another and treat
each other as we would be treated in similar circumstances?
That is what love really is.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 21
NOTHING GROWS IN THE DARK
We will want the good that is in us all, even in the worst of
us, to flower and to grow.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 10
With the self-discipline and insight gained from practicing
Step Ten, I begin to know the gratifications of sobriety—
not as mere abstinence from alcohol, but as recovery in
every department of my life.
I renew hope, regenerate faith, and regain the dignity of
self-respect. I discover the word "and" in the phrase "and
when we were wrong, promptly admitted it."
Reassured that I am no longer always wrong, I learn to
accept myself as I am, with a new sense of the miracles of
sobriety and serenity.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 20
SOLACE FOR CONFUSION
Obviously, the dilemma of the wanderer from faith is that
of profound confusion. He thinks himself lost to the comfort
of any conviction at all He cannot attain in even a small
degree the assurance of the believer, the agnostic, or the
atheist. He is the bewildered one.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 28
The concept of God was one that I struggled with during
my early years of sobriety. The images that came to me,
conjured from my past, were heavy with fear, rejection and
condemnation. Then I heard my friend Ed's image of a
Higher Power: As a boy he had been allowed a Utter of
puppies, provided that he assume responsibility for their
care. Each morning he would find the unavoidable "byproducts"
of the puppies on the kitchen floor. Despite
frustration, Ed said he couldn't get angry because "that's the
nature of puppies." Ed felt that God viewed our defects and
shortcomings with a similar understanding and warmth.
I've often found solace from my personal confusion in Ed's
calming concept of God.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 19
A.A'S "MAIN TAPROOT"
The principle that we shall find no enduring strength until
we first admit complete defeat is the main taproot from
which our whole Society has sprung and flowered.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 21-22
Defeated, and knowing it, I arrived at the doors of A.A.,
alone and afraid of the unknown. A power outside of
myself had picked me up off my bed, guided me to the
phone book, then to the bus stop, and through the doors of
Alcoholics Anonymous. Once inside A.A. I experienced a
sense of being loved and accepted, something I had net felt
since early childhood. May I never lose the sense of wonder
I experienced on that first evening with A.A., the
greatest event of my entire life.

Daily Reflection

OCTOBER 18
AN OPEN MIND
True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, . . .
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 33
My alcoholic thinking led me to believe that I could control
my drinking, but I couldn't. When I came to A.A., I realized
that God was speaking to me through my group. My mind
was open just enough to know that I needed His help. A
real, honest acceptance of AA. took more time, but with it
came humility. I know how insane I was, and I am extremely
grateful to have my sanity restored to me and to be
a sober alcoholic. The new, sober me is a much better
person than I ever could have been without A.A.

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