Daily Reflection

JUNE 23
TRUSTING OTHERS
But does trust require that we be blind to other people's
motives or, indeed, to our own? Not at all; this would be
folly. Most certainly, we should assess the capacity for
harm as well as the capability for good in every person that
we would trust. Such a private inventory can reveal the
degree of confidence we should extend in any given
situation.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 144
I am not a victim of others, but rather a victim of my
expectations, choices and dishonesty. When I expect others
to be what I want them to be and not who they are, when
they fail to meet my expectations, I am hurt. When my
choices are based on self-centeredness, I find I am lonely
and distrustful. I gain confidence in myself, however, when
I practice honesty in all my affairs. When I search my
motives and am honest and trusting, I am aware of the
capacity for harm in situations and can avoid those that are
harmful.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 22
TODAY, I'M FREE
This brought me to the good healthy realization that there
were plenty of situations left in the world over which I had
no personal power—that if I was so ready to admit that to
be the case with alcohol, so I must make the same admission
with respect to much else. I would have to be still and know
that He, not I, was God.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 114
I am learning to practice acceptance in all circumstances of
my life, so that I may enjoy peace of mind. At one time life
was a constant battle because I felt I had to go through each
day fighting myself, and everyone else. Eventually, this
became a losing battle. I ended up getting drunk and crying
over my misery. When I began to let go and let God take
over my life I began to have peace of mind. Today, I am
free. I do not have to fight anybody or anything anymore.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 21
The achievement of freedom from fear is a lifetime
undertaking, one that can never be wholly completed. When
under heavy attack, acute illness, or in other conditions of
serious insecurity, we shall all act to this emotion—well or
badly, as the case may be. Only the self-deceived will claim
perfect freedom from fear.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 263
Fear has caused suffering when I could have had more
faith. There are times when fear suddenly tears me apart,
just when I'm experiencing feelings of joy, happiness and a
lightness of heart. Faith— and a feeling of self-worth
toward a Higher Power—helps me endure tragedy and
ecstasy. When I choose to give all of my fears over to my
Higher Power, I will be free.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 20
RELEASE FROM FEAR
The problem of resolving fear has two aspects. We shall
have to try for all the freedom from fear that is possible for
us to attain. Then we shall need to find both the courage
and grace to deal constructively with whatever fears
remain.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 61
Most of my decisions were based on fear. Alcohol made
life easier to face, but the time came when alcohol was no
longer an alternative to fear. One of the greatest gifts in
A.A. for me has been the courage to take action, which I
can do with God's help. After five years of sobriety I had to
deal with a heavy dose of fear. God put the people in my
life to help me do that and, through my working the Twelve
Steps, I am becoming the whole person I wish to be and,
for that, I am deeply grateful.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 19
"A.A. REGENERATION"
Such is the paradox of A.A. regeneration: strength arising
out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one's old
life as a condition for finding a new one.
A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 46
A thousand beatings by John Barleycorn did not encourage
me to admit defeat. I believed it was my moral obligation
to conquer my "enemy-friend." At my first A.A. meeting I
was blessed with a feeling that it was all right to admit
defeat to a disease which had nothing to do with my "moral
fiber." I knew instinctively that I was in the presence of a
great love when I entered the doors of A.A. With no effort
on my part, I became aware that to love myself was good
and right, as God had intended. My feelings set me free,
where my thoughts had held me in bondage. I am grateful.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 18
A FELLOWSHIP OF FREEDOM
. . . if only men were granted absolute liberty, and were
compelled to obey no one, they would then voluntarily
associate themselves in the common interest
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 50
When I no longer live under the dictates of another or of
alcohol, I live in a new freedom. When I release the past
and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long, I
come to know freedom. I have been introduced into a life
and a fellowship of freedom. The Steps are a
"recommended" way of finding a new life, there are no
commands or dictates in A.A. I am free to serve from
desire rather than decree. There is the understanding that I
will benefit from the growth of other members and I take
what I learn and bring it back to the group. The "common
welfare" finds room to grow in the society of personal
freedom.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 17
"DEEP DOWN WITHIN US"
We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last
analysis it is only there that He may be found. . . . search
diligently within yourself. . . . With this attitude you cannot
fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to
you.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 55
It was out of the depths of loneliness, depression and
despair that I sought the help of A.A. As I recovered and
began to face the emptiness and ruin of my life, I began to
open myself to the possibility of the healing that recovery
offers through the A.A. program. By coining to meetings,
staying sober, and taking the Steps, I had the opportunity to
listen with increasing attentiveness to the depths of my
soul. Daily I waited, in hope and gratitude, for that sure
belief and steadfast love I had longed for in my life. In this
process, I met my God, as I understand Him.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 16
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
We have found that God does not make too hard terms with
those who seek Him. To us, the realm of spirit is broad,
roomy, all inclusive, never exclusive or forbidding to those
who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 7
Open-mindedness to concepts of a Higher Power can open
doors to the spirit. Often I find the human spirit in various
dogmas and faiths. I can be spiritual in the sharing of
myself. The sharing of self joins me to the human race and
brings me closer to God, as I understand Him.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 15
MAKING A.A. YOUR HIGHER POWER
". . . You can . . . make A.A. itself your 'higher power.'
Here's a very large group of people who have solved their
alcohol problem. . . . many members . . . have crossed the
threshold just this way. . . . their faith broadened and
deepened. . . . transformed, they came to believe in a
Higher Power. . . . "
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 27-28
No one was greater than I, at least in my eyes, when I was
drinking. Nevertheless, I couldn't smile at myself in the
mirror, so I came to A.A. where, with others, I heard talk of
a Higher Power. I couldn't accept the concept of a Higher
Power because I believed God was cruel and unloving. In
desperation I chose a table, a tree, then my A.A. group, as
my Higher Power. Time passed, my life improved, and I
began to wonder about this Higher Power. Gradually, with
patience, humility and a lot of questions, I came to believe
in God. Now my relationship with my Higher Power gives
me the strength to live a happy, sober life.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 14
WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH
 It is a design for living that works in rough going.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 15
When I came to A.A., I realized that A.A. worked
wonderfully to help keep me sober. But could it work on
real life problems, not concerned with drinking? I had my
doubts. After being sober for more than two years I got my
answer. I lost my job, developed physical problems, my
diabetic father lost a leg, and someone I loved left me for
another —and all of this happened during a two-week period.
Reality crashed in, yet A.A. was there to support,
comfort, and strengthen me. The principles I had learned
during my early days of sobriety became a mainstay of my
life for not only did I come through, but I never stopped
being able to help newcomers. A.A. taught me not to be
overwhelmed, but rather to accept and understand my life
as it unfolded.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 13
LIVING OUR AMENDS
"Years of living with an alcoholic is almost sure to make
any wife or child neurotic. The entire family is, to some
extent, ill."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 122
It is important for me to realize that, as an alcoholic, I not
only hurt myself, but also those around me. Making
amends to my family, and to the families of alcoholics still
suffering, will always be important. Understanding the
havoc I created and trying to repair the destruction, will be
a lifelong endeavor. The example of my sobriety may give
others hope, and faith to help themselves.

Daily Reflection

JUNE 12
FORMING TRUE PARTNERSHIPS
But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends, and
society at large that many of us have suffered the most. We
have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The
primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability
to form a true partnership with another human being.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53
Can these words apply to me, am I still unable to form a
true partnership with another human being? What a terrible
handicap that would be for me to carry into my sober life!
In my sobriety I will meditate and pray to discover how I
may be a trusted friend and companion.