Daily Reflection

AUGUST 31
A UNIQUE PROGRAM
Alcoholics Anonymous will never have a professional class.
We have gained some understanding of the ancient words
"Freely ye have received, freely give." We have discovered
that at the point of professionalism, money and spirituality
do not mix.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 166
I believe that Alcoholics Anonymous stands alone in the
treatment of alcoholism because it is based solely on the
principle of one alcoholic sharing with another alcoholic.
This is what makes the program unique. When I decided
that I wanted to stay sober, I called a woman who I knew
was a sober member of A.A., and she carried the message
of Alcoholics Anonymous to me. She received no monetary
compensation, but rather was paid by staying sober another
day herself. Today I could ask for no payment other than
another day free from alcohol, so in that respect, I am
generously paid for my labor.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 30
THE ONLY REQUIREMENT . . .
"At one time . . . every A. A. group had many membership
rules. Everybody was scared witless that something or
somebody would capsize the boat. . . . The total list was a
mile long. If all those rules had been in effect everywhere,
nobody could have possibly joined A.A. at all, . . . "
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 139-40
I'm grateful that the Third Tradition only requires of me a
desire to stop drinking. I had been breaking promises for
years. In the Fellowship I didn't have to make promises, I
didn't have to concentrate. It only required my attending
one meeting, in a foggy condition, to know I was home. I
didn't have to pledge undying love. Here, strangers hugged
me. "It gets better," they said, and "One day at a time, you
can do it." They were no longer strangers, but caring
friends. I ask God to help me to reach out to people desiring
sobriety, and to, please, keep me grateful!

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 29
I CHOOSE ANONYMITY
We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity, is the
greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever
have.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 187
Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want
to be, and so I choose anonymity. I want my God to use
me, humbly, as one of His tools in this program. Sacrifice
is the art of giving of myself freely, allowing humility to
replace my ego. With sobriety, I suppress that urge to cry
out to the world, "I am a member of A.A." and I experience
inner joy and peace. I let people see the changes in me and
hope they will ask what happened to me. I place the
principles of spirituality ahead of judging, fault-finding,
and criticism. I want love and caring in my group, so I can
grow.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 28
LIGHTENING THE BURDEN
Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the
very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now.
. . . the dark past is . . . the key to life and happiness for
others.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 124
Since I have been sober, I have been healed of many pains:
deceiving my partner, deserting my best friend, and
spoiling my mother's hopes for my life. In each case
someone in the program told me of a similar problem, and I
was able to share what happened to me. When my story
was told, both of us got up with lighter hearts.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 27

CENTERING OUR THOUGHTS

When World War II broke out, our A. A. dependence on a

Higher Power had its first major test. A.A.'s entered the

services and were scattered all over the world. Would they

be able to take the discipline, stand up under fire, and

endure . . . ?

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 200

I will center my thoughts on a Higher Power. I will

surrender all to this power within me. I will become a

soldier for this power, feeling the might of the spiritual

army as it exists in my life today. I will allow a wave of

spiritual union to connect me through my gratitude,

obedience and discipline to this Higher Power. Let me

allow this power to lead me through the orders of the day.

May the steps I take today strengthen my words and deeds,

may I know that the message I carry is mine to share, given

freely by this power greater than myself.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 26
GIVING IT AWAY
Though they knew they must help other alcoholics if they
would remain sober, that motive became secondary. It was
transcended by the happiness they found in giving
themselves to others.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 159
Those words, for me, refer to a transference of power,
through which God, as I understand Him, enters my life.
Through prayer and meditation, I open channels, then I
establish and improve my conscious contact with God.
Through action I then receive the power I need to maintain
my sobriety each day. By maintaining my spiritual
condition, by giving away what has been so freely given to
me, I am granted a daily reprieve.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 25
THE GIFT OF BONDING
Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy
will
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 63
Many times in my alcoholic state, I drank to establish a
bond between myself and others, but I succeeded only in
establishing the bondage of alcoholic loneliness. Through
the A.A. way of life, I have received the gift of bonding—
with those who were there before me, with those who are
there now, and with those yet to come. For this gracious
gift from God, I am forever grateful.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 24
A RIDDLE THAT WORKS
It may be possible to find explanations of spiritual
experiences such as ours, but I have often tried to explain
my own and have succeeded only in giving the story of it. I
know the feeling it gave me and the results it has brought,
but I realize I may never fully understand its deeper why
and how.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 313
I had a profound spiritual experience during an open A.A.
meeting, which led me to blurt out, "I'm an alcoholic!" I
have not had a drink since that day. I can tell you the words
I heard just prior to my admission, and how those words
affected me, but as to why it happened, I do not know. I
believe a power greater than myself chose me to recover,
yet I do not know why. I try not to worry or wonder about
what I do not yet know; instead, I trust that if I continue to
work the Steps, practice the A.A. principles in my life, and
share my story, I will be guided lovingly toward a deep and
mature spirituality in which more will be revealed to me.
For the time being, it is a gift for me to trust God, work the
Steps and help others.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 23
BRINGING THE MESSAGE HOME
Can we bring the same spirit of love and tolerance into our
sometimes deranged family lives that we bring to our A.A.
group?
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 111-12
My family members suffer from the effects of my disease.
Loving and accepting them as they are— just as I love and
accept A.A. members—fosters a return of love, tolerance
and harmony to my life. Using common courtesy and
respecting others' personal boundaries are necessary
practices for all areas of my life.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 22
SEEKING EMOTIONAL STABILITY
When we developed still more, we discovered the best
possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We
found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness,
and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing
else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn't
very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the
urge wholly to rely on human protection and care.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 116
All my life I depended on people for my emotional needs
and security, but today I cannot live that way anymore. By
the grace of God, I have admitted my powerlessness over
people, places and things. I had been a real "people addict";
wherever I went there had to be someone who would pay
some kind of attention to me. It was the kind of attitude that
could only get worse, because the more I depended on
others and demanded attention, the less I received.
I have given up believing that any human power can
relieve me of that empty feeling. Although I remain a
fragile human being who needs to work A.A.'s Steps to
keep this particular principle before my personality, it is
only a loving God who can give me inner peace and
emotional stability.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 21
WE JUST TRY
My stability came out of trying to give, not out of
demanding that I receive.
THE BEST OF BILL, pp. 46-47
As long as I try, with all my heart and soul, to pass along to
others what has been passed along to me, and do not
demand anything in return, life is good to me. Before
entering this program of Alcoholics Anonymous I was
never able to give without demanding something in return.
Little did I know that, once I began to give freely of myself,
I would begin to receive, without ever expecting or
demanding anything at all. What I receive today is the gift
of "stability," as Bill did: stability in my A.A. program;
within myself; but most of all, in my relationship with my
Higher Power, whom I choose to call God.

Daily Reflection

AUGUST 20
TOWARD EMOTIONAL FREEDOM
Since defective relations with other human beings have
nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes,
including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could
yield more satisfying and valuable rewards than this one.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 80
Willingness is a peculiar thing for me in that, over a period
of time, it seems to come, first with awareness, but then
with a feeling of discomfort, making me want to take some
action. As I reflected on taking the Eighth Step, my
willingness to make amends to others came as a desire for
forgiveness, of others and myself. I felt forgiveness toward
others after I became aware of my part in the difficulties of
relationships. I wanted to feel the peace and serenity
described in the Promises. From working the first seven
Steps, I became aware of whom I had harmed and that I had
been my own worst enemy. In order to restore my
relationships with my fellow human beings, I knew I would
have to change. I wanted to learn to live in harmony with
myself and others so that I could also live in emotional
freedom. The beginning of the end to my isolation— from
my fellows and from God—came when I wrote my Eighth
Step list.