Daily Reflection

MARCH 12
A DAY'S PLAN
On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours
ahead. We consider our plans for the day. Before we begin,
we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it
be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86
Every day I ask God to kindle within me the fire of His
love, so that love, burning bright and clear, will illuminate
my thinking and permit me to better do His will.
Throughout the day, as I allow outside circumstances to
dampen my spirits, I ask God to sear my consciousness with
the awareness that I can start my day over any time I
choose; a hundred times, if necessary.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 11
GOOD ORDERLY DIRECTION
It is when we try to make our will conform with God's that
we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a most
wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been the
misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our
problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into
agreement with God's intention for us. To make this
increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve Steps,
and Step Three opens the door.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 40
All I have to do is look back at my past to see where my
self-will has led me. I just don't know what's best for me
and I believe my Higher Power does. G.O.D., which I
define as "Good Orderly Direction," has never let me
down, but I have let myself down quite often. Using my
self-will in a situation usually has the same result as forcing
the wrong piece into a jigsaw puzzle—exhaustion and
frustration.
Step Three opens the door to the rest of the program.
When I ask God for guidance I know that whatever
happens is the best possible situation, things are exactly as
they are supposed to be, even if they aren't what I want or
expect. God does do for me what I cannot do for myself, if
I let Him.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 10
TODAY, IT'S MY CHOICE
. . . we invariably find that at some time in the past we have
made decisions based on self which later placed us in a
position to be hurt.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62
With the realization and acceptance that I had played a part
in the way my life had turned out came a dramatic change
in my outlook. It was at this point that the A.A. program
began to work for me. In the past I had always blamed
others, either God or other people, for my circumstances. I
never felt that I had a choice in altering my life. My decisions
had been based on fear, pride, or ego. As a result,
those decisions led me down a path of self-destruction.
Today I try to allow my God to guide me on the road to
sanity. I am responsible for my action—or inaction—
whatever the consequences may be.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 9
SURRENDERING SELF-WILL
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the
care of God as we understood Him.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 34
No matter how much one wishes to try, exactly how can
one turn his own will and his own life over to the care of
whatever God he thinks there is? In my search for the
answer to this question, I became aware of the wisdom with
which it was written: that this is a two-part Step.
I could see many times where I should have died, or at
least been injured, during my previous style of living, and it
never happened. Someone, or something, was looking after
me. I choose to believe my life has always been in God's
care. He alone controls the number of days I will be granted
until physical death.
The matter of will (self-will or God's will) is the more
difficult part of the Step for me. It is only when I have
experienced enough emotional pain, through failed attempts
to fix myself, that I become willing to surrender to God's
will for my life. Surrender is like the calm after the storm.
When my will is in line with God's will for me, there is
peace within.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 8
TURNING IT OVER
Every man and woman who has joined A.A. and intends to
stick has, without realizing it, made a beginning on Step
Three. Isn't it true that in all matters touching upon alcohol,
each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the
care, protection, and guidance of Alcoholics Anonymous? .
. . Any willing newcomer feels sure A.A. is the only safe
harbor for the foundering vessel he has become. Now if this
is not turning one's will and life over to a newfound
Providence, then what is it?
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 35
Submission to God was the first step to my recovery. I
believe our Fellowship seeks a spirituality open to a new
kinship with God. As I exert myself to follow the path of
the Steps, I sense a freedom that gives me the ability to
think for myself. My addiction confined me without any
release and hindered my ability to be released from my selfconfinement,
but A.A. assures me of a way to go forward.
Mutual sharing, concern and caring for others is our natural
gift to each other and mine is strengthened as my attitude
toward God changes. I learn to submit to God's will in my
life, to have self-respect, and to keep both of these attitudes
by giving away what I receive.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 7
THE KEY IS WILLINGNESS
Once we have placed the key of willingness in the lock and
have the door ever so slightly open, we find that we can
always open it some more.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 35
The willingness to give up my pride and self-will to a
Power greater than myself has proved to be the only
ingredient absolutely necessary to solve all of my problems
today. Even the smallest amount of willingness, if sincere,
is sufficient to allow God to enter and take control over any
problem, pain, or obsession. My level of comfort is in
direct relation to the degree of willingness I possess at any
given moment to give up my self-will, and allow God's will
to be manifested in my life. With the key of willingness,
my worries and fears are powerfully transformed into
serenity.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 6
THE IDEA OF FAITH
Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual
terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they
mean to you.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 47
The idea of faith is a very large chunk to swallow when
fear, doubt and anger abound in and around me. Sometimes
just the idea of doing something different, something I am
not accustomed to doing, can eventually become an act of
faith if I do it regularly, and do it without debating whether
it's the right thing to do. When a bad day comes along and
everything is going wrong, a meeting or a talk with another
drunk often distracts me just enough to persuade me that
everything is not quite as impossible, as overwhelming as I
had thought. In the same way, going to a meeting or talking
to a fellow alcoholic are acts of faith; I believe I'm arresting
my disease. These are ways I slowly move toward faith in a
Higher Power.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 5
A LIFELONG TASK
"But just how, in these circumstances, does a fellow 'take it
easy?' That's what I want to know."
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 26
I was never known for my patience. How many times have
I asked, "Why should I wait, when I can have it all right
now?" Indeed, when I was first presented the Twelve
Steps, I was like the proverbial "kid in a candy store." I
couldn't wait to get to Step Twelve; it was surely just a few
months' work, or so I thought! I realize now that living the
Twelve Steps of A.A. is a lifelong undertaking.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 4
WEEDING THE GARDEN
The essence of all growth is a willingness to make a
change for the better and then an unremitting willingness
to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 115
By the time I had reached Step Three I had been freed of
my dependence on alcohol, but bitter experience has shown
me that continuous sobriety requires continuous effort.
Every now and then I pause to take a good look at my
progress. More and more of my garden is weeded each
time I look, but each time I also find new weeds sprouting
where I thought I had made my final pass with the blade.
As I head back to get the newly sprouted weed (it's easier
when they are young), I take a moment to admire how lush
the growing vegetables and flowers are, and my labors are
rewarded. My sobriety grows and bears fruit.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 3
OVERCOMING SELF-WILL
So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making.
They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme
example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't
think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of
this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62
For so many years my life revolved solely around myself. I
was consumed with self in all forms—self-centeredness,
self-pity, self-seeking, all of which stemmed from pride.
Today I have been given the gift, through the Fellowship of
Alcoholics Anonymous, of practicing the Steps and
Traditions in my daily life, of my group and sponsor, and
the capacity—if I so choose—to put my pride aside in all
situations which arise in my life.
Until I could honestly look at myself and see that I was
the problem in many situations and react appropriately
inside and out; until I could discard my expectations and
understand that my serenity was directly proportional to
them, I could not experience serenity and sound sobriety.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 2
HOPE
Do not be discouraged.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 60
Few experiences are of less value to me than fast sobriety.
Too many times discouragement has been the bonus for
unrealistic expectations, not to mention self-pity or fatigue
from my wanting to change the world by the weekend.
Discouragement is a warning signal that I may have
wandered across the God line. The secret of fulfilling my
potential is in acknowledging my limitations and believing
that time is a gift, not a threat.
Hope is the key that unlocks the door of discouragement.
The program promises me that if I do not pick up
the first drink today, I will always have hope. Having come
to believe that I keep what I share, every time I encourage,
I receive courage. It is with others that, with the grace of
God and the Fellowship of A.A., I trudge the road of happy
destiny. May I always remember that the power within me
is far greater than any fear before me. May I always have
patience, for I am on the right road.

Daily Reflection

MARCH 1
IT WORKS
It works—it really does.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 88
When I got sober I initially had faith only in the program of
Alcoholics Anonymous. Desperation and fear kept me
sober (and maybe a caring and/or tough sponsor helped!).
Faith in a Higher Power came much later. This faith came
slowly at first, after I began listening to others share at
meetings about their experiences—experiences that I had
never faced sober, but that they were facing with strength
from a Higher Power. Out of their sharing came hope that I
too would—and could—"get" a Higher Power. In time, I
learned that a Higher Power—a faith that works under all
conditions—is possible. Today this faith, plus the honesty,
open-mindedness and willingness to work the Steps of the
program, gives me the serenity that I seek. It works—it
really does.