Daily Readings
Daily Reflections
May 11
A NEW SENSE OF BELONGING
Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn’t belong.
-TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 57
After four years in A.A. I was able to discover the freedom from the burden of buried emotions that had caused me so much pain. With the help of A.A., and extra counseling, the pain was released and I felt a complete sense of belonging and peace. I also felt a joy and a love of God that I had never experienced before. I am in awe of the power of Step Five.
Twenty-Four Hours
A Day
May 11
A.A. Thought For The Day
We can depend on those members of any group who have gone all out for the program. They come to meetings. They work with other alcoholics. We don’t have to worry about their slipping. They’re loyal members of the group. I’m trying to be a loyal member of the group. When I’m tempted to take a drink, I tell myself that if I did I’d be letting down the other members who are the best friends I have. Am I going to let them down, if I can help it?
Meditation For The Day
Wherever there is true fellowship and love between people, God’s spirit is always there as the Divine Third. In all human relationships, the Divine Spirit is what brings them together. When a life is changed through the channel of another person, it is God, the Divine Third, who always makes the change, using the person as a means. The moving power behind all spiritual things, all personal relationships between people is God, the Divine Third, who is always there. No personal relationships can be entirely right without the presence of God’s spirit.
Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be used as a channel by God’s spirit. I pray that I may feel that the Divine Third is always there to help me.
As Bill Sees It
More than Comfort, p. 148
When I am feeling depressed, I repeat to myself statements such as these: “Pain is the touchstone of progress.” “Fear no evil.” “This, too, will pass.” “This experience can be turned to benefit.”
These fragments of prayer bring far more than mere comfort. They keep me on the track of right acceptance; they break up my compulsive themes of guilt, depression, rebellion, and pride; and sometimes they endow me with the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Grapevine, March 1962
AA Grapevine Daily Quote
“We reject fantasizing and accept reality. And we find it beautiful. For, at last, we are at peace with ourselves. And with others. And with God.”
“Learning to Handle Sobriety,” Connecticut, March 1975, Best of Grapevine, Volume 2
Thought For The Day: Every day is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book) In Short
Takes
PART 3
They Lost Nearly All
Empty On The Inside
She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers—except when it came to her own life.
I excelled at something else also. Drinking was encouraged; the pilot persona was one of hard, gutsy flying with equally hard drinking, and attendance at happy hour was considered a duty. I did not need any encouragement and reveled in the squadron camaraderie, good-natured joking, and competition at these events.
Credits.
Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book), The Daily Reflections and As Bill Sees It are published by The General Services Office (GSO) of Alcoholics Anonymous. These and other A.A. literature can be purchased here.
Twenty-Four Hours A Day is Published by Hazelton Publishing. It and other Hazelton literature can be purchase here.
The AA Grapevine is published by The AA Grapevine, Inc. You can subscribe here.
