A Natural Annoyance

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UNDERSTANDING THE MALADY

When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible. Even when you understand the malady better, you may feel this feeling rising.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pg. 139

Having suffered from alcoholism, I should understand the illness, but sometimes I feel annoyance, even contempt, toward a person who cannot make it in A.A. When I feel that way, I am satisfying my false sense of superiority and I must remember, but for the grace of God, there go I.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

The skeptic and the agnostic say it is impossible for us to find the answer to life. Many have tried and failed. But many more have put aside intellectual pride and have said to themselves: Who am I to say there is no God? Who am I to say there is no purpose in life? The atheist makes a declaration: "The world originated in a cipher and aimlessly rushes nowhere." Others live for the moment and do not even think about why they are here or where they are going. They might as well be clams on the bottom of the ocean, protected by their hard shells of indifference. They are going nowhere and they do not care. Do I care where I am going?

Meditation for the Day

We may consider the material world as the clay which the artist works with, to make of it something beautiful or ugly. We need not fear material things, which are neither good nor bad in the moral sense. There seems to be no active force for evil- outside of human beings themselves. Humans alone can have either evil intentions-resentments, malevolence, hate, and revenge-or good intentions-love and goodwill, They can make something ugly or something beautiful out of the clay of their lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may make something good out of my life. I pray that I may be a good artisan with the materials that I have been given to use.

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Thought for Today


"There's lots of things to think about, but nothing to worry about."

--Matt Koepke
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Buddha/Zen Thoughts


The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

-Shunryu Suzuki, "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"


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Native American

"Flexible strength is better than inflexible. Let the storm flow over you, and then pop back up."

--Michael Kabotie, HOPI

Flexibility is taught by nature. You will see the trees bend in the wind. You will see that tree branches are flexible. To be rigid is to break. When we have life problems it is good for us to be flexible. Sometimes we need to flow with what is going on. If we resist, it becomes more painful. We need to be on the path of least resistance. Water flows down the mountain through the path of least resistance. Electricity flows through the path of least resistance. Power flows through the path of least resistance. As Indian people our strength has always been our flexibility.

Creator, I will be flexible today because I know You are with me.

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Keep It Simple

The truth is more important than the facts. --- Frank Lloyd Wright


Before recovery, we relied on false facts about addiction. We said things like, "I can quit anytime I want." "If you had my family, you'd drink too." The truth is, we were out of control. We couldn't manage our lives. We were sick. We were scared. When others pointed out this truth to us, we denied it. Honesty, the backbone of our program, is about truth. We even start our meetings with the truth about who we are. "Hi, my name is ___________, and I'm an alcoholic," or "Hi, my name is _______________, and I'm a drug addict." The truth frees us from our addiction. The truth heals us and gives us comfort. It's like a blanket on a cold winter night.


Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be an honest person. I pray for the strength to face the truth and speak it.


Action for the Day: Today, I'll list 3 ways I have used facts in a dishonest way.