Daily Reflection

JANUARY 21
SERVING MY BROTHER
The member talks to the newcomer not in a spirit of power
but in a spirit of humility and weakness.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE p. 279
As the days pass in A.A., I ask God to guide my thoughts
and the words that I speak. In this labor of continuous
participation in the Fellowship, I have numerous
opportunities to speak. So I frequently ask God to help me
watch over my thoughts and my words, that they may be the
true and proper reflections of our program; to focus my
aspirations once again to seek His guidance; to help me be
truly kind and loving, helpful and healing, yet always filled
with humility, and free from any trace of arrogance.
Today I may very well have to deal with disagreeable
attitudes or utterances—the typical stock-in-trade attitude of
the still-suffering alcoholic. If this should happen, I will
take a moment to center myself in God, so that I will be able
to respond from a perspective of composure, strength and
sensibility.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 20
"WE PAUSE . . . AND ASK"
As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or
doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 87
Today I humbly ask my Higher Power for the grace to find
the space between my impulse and my action; to let flow a
cooling breeze when I would respond with heat; to
interrupt fierceness with gentle peace; to accept the
moment which allows judgment to become discernment; to
defer to silence when my tongue would rush to attack or
defend.
I promise to watch for every opportunity to turn toward
my Higher Power for guidance. I know where this power
is: it resides within me, as clear as a mountain brook,
hidden in the hills—it is the unsuspected Inner Resource.
I thank my Higher Power for this world of light and
truth I see when I allow it to direct my vision. I trust it
today and hope it trusts me to make all effort to find the
right thought or action today.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 19
ROUND-THE-CLOCK FAITH
Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through
us, or we perish.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 16
The essence of my spirituality, and my sobriety, rests on a
round-the-clock faith in a Higher Power. I need to
remember and rely on the God of my understanding as I
pursue all of my daily activities. How comforting for me is
the concept that God works in and through people. As I
pause in my day, do I recall specific concrete examples of
God's presence? Am I amazed and uplifted by the number
of times this power is evident? I am overwhelmed with
gratitude for my God's presence in my life of recovery.
Without this omnipotent force in my every activity, I would
again fall into the depths of my disease—and death.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 18
WOULD A DRINK HELP?
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show
that years before we realized it we were out of control, that
our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was
indeed the beginning of a fatal progression.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 23
When I was still drinking, I couldn't respond to any of life's
situations the way other, more healthy, people could. The
smallest incident triggered a state of mind that believed I
had to have a drink to numb my feelings. But the numbing
did not improve the situation, so I sought further escape in
the bottle. Today I must be aware of my alcoholism. I
cannot afford to believe that I have gained control of my
drinking—or again I will think I have gained control of my
life. Such a feeling of control is fatal to my recovery.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 17
HAPPINESS COMES QUIETLY
"The trouble with us alcoholics was this: We demanded that
the world give us happiness and peace of mind in just the
particular order we wanted to get it—by the alcohol route.
And we weren't successful. But when we take time to find
out some of the spiritual laws, and familiarize ourselves
with them, and put them into practice, then we do get
happiness and peace of mind. . . . There seem to be some
rules that we have to follow, but happiness and peace of
mind are always here, open and free to anyone."
DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS, p. 308
The simplicity of the A. A. program teaches me that
happiness isn't something I can "demand." It comes upon
me quietly, while I serve others. In offering my hand to the
newcomer or to someone who has relapsed, I find that my
own sobriety has been recharged with indescribable
gratitude and happiness.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 16
HITTING BOTTOM
Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first?
The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice
the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For
practicing A. A. 's remaining eleven Steps means the
adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic
who is still drinking can dream of taking.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24
Hitting bottom opened my mind and I became willing to try
something different. What I tried was A.A. My new life in
the Fellowship was a little like learning how to ride a bike
for the first time: A.A. became my training wheels and my
supporting hand. It's not that I wanted the help so much at
the time; I simply did not want to hurt like that again. My
desire to avoid hitting bottom again was more powerful
than my desire to drink. In the beginning that was what kept
me sober. But after a while I found myself working the
Steps to the best of my ability. I soon realized that my
attitudes and actions were changing—if ever so slightly.
One Day at a Time, I became comfortable with myself, and
others, and my hurting started to heal. Thank God for the
training wheels and supporting hand that I choose to call
Alcoholics Anonymous.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 15
AN UNSUSPECTED INNER RESOURCE
With few exceptions our members find that they have
tapped an unsuspected inner resource which they presently
identify with their own conception of a Power greater than
themselves
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 569-70
From my first days in A.A., as I struggled for sobriety, I
found hope in these words from our founders. I often
pondered the phrase: "they have tapped an unsuspected
inner resource." How, I asked myself, can I find the Power
within myself, since I am so powerless? In time, as the
founders promised, it came to me: I have always had the
choice between goodness and evil, between unselfishness
and selfishness, between serenity and fear. That Power
greater than myself is an original gift that I did not
recognize until I achieved daily sobriety through living
A.A.'s Twelve Steps.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 14
NO REGRETS
We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 83
Once I became sober, I began to see how wasteful my life
had been and I experienced overwhelming guilt and
feelings of regret. The program's Fourth and Fifth Steps
assisted me enormously in healing those troubling regrets. I
learned that my self-centeredness and dishonesty stemmed
largely from my drinking and that I drank because I was an
alcoholic. Now I see how even my most distasteful past
experiences can turn to gold because, as a sober alcoholic, I
can share them to help my fellow alcoholics, particularly
newcomers. Sober for several years in A.A., I no longer
regret the past; I am simply grateful to be conscious of
God's love and of the help I can give to others in the
Fellowship.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 13
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT
We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a
daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our
spiritual condition.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85
The most common alcoholic fantasy seems to be: "If I just
don't drink, everything will be all right." Once the fog
cleared for me, I saw—for the first time—the mess my life
had become. I had family, work, financial and legal
problems; I was hung up on old religious ideas; there were
sides of my character to which I was inclined to stay blind
because they easily could have convinced me that I was
hopeless and pushed me toward escape again. The Big
Book guided me in resolving all of my problems. But it
didn't happen overnight—and certainly not automatically—
with no effort on my part. I need always to recognize God's
mercy and blessings that shine through any problem I have
to face.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 12
ACCEPTING OUR PRESENT
CIRCUMSTANCES
Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances
as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people
about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility
without which no genuine advance can even begin. Again
and again, we shall need to return to that unflattering point
of departure. This is an exercise in acceptance that we can
profitably practice every day of our lives.
Provided we strenuously avoid turning these realistic
surveys of the facts of life into unrealistic alibis for apathy
or defeatism, they can be the sure foundation upon which
increased emotional health and therefore spiritual progress
can be built.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 44
When I am having a difficult time accepting people, places
or events, I turn to this passage and it relieves me of many
an underlying fear regarding others, or situations life
presents me. The thought allows me to be human and not
perfect, and to regain my peace of mind.

Words of Wisdom from His Holiness Dalai Lama

Happiness arises as a result of different causes and conditions. If you harm someone out of anger, you may feel some superficial satisfaction, but deep down you know it was wrong. Your confidence will be undermined. However, if you have an altruistic attitude, you’ll feel comfortable and confident in the presence of others.

Daily Reflection

JANUARY 11
THE 100% STEP
Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission
we were powerless over alcohol can be practiced with
absolute perfection.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 68
Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew
without a doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with
this knowledge, I was unable to stop drinking. So, when
faced with Step One, I found it easy to admit that I lacked
the power to not drink. But was my life unmanageable?
Never! Five months after coming into A.A., I was drinking
again and wondered why.
Later on, back in A.A. and smarting from my wounds, I
learned that Step One is the only Step that can be taken
100%. And that the only way to take it 100% is to take
100% of the Step. That was many twenty-four hours ago
and I haven't had to take Step One again.