OPEN-MINDEDNESS

A.A. Thought for the Day From Friendship House

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

We have found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the realm of the 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


But even faith is not the whole story. There must be service. We must give this thing away if we want to keep it. The Dead Sea has no outlet and it is stagnant and full of salt. The Sea of Galilee is clear and clean and blue, as the Jordan River carries it out to irrigate the desert. To be of service to other people makes our lives worth living. Does service to others give me a real purpose in life?
Meditation for the Day

Seek God early in the day, before He gets crowded out by life's problems, difficulties, or pleasures. In that early quiet time gain a calm, strong confidence in the goodness and purpose in the universe. Do not seek God only when the world's struggles prove too much and too many for you to bear or face alone. Seek God early, when you can have a consciousness of God's spirit in the world. People often only seek God when their difficulties are too great to be surmounted in any other way, forgetting that if they sought God's companionship before they need it, many of their difficulties would never arise.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not let God be crowded out by the hurly-burly of life. I pray that I may seek God early and often.

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Thought for Today
Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.
--Groucho Marx
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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

Joseph Goldstein on "Non-Self" -- from Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Vol. VI, #3
The Buddha described what we call "self" as a collection of aggregates - elements of mind and body - that function interdependently, creating the appearance of a woman or a man. We then identify with that image or appearance, taking it to be "I" or "mine," imagining it to have some inherent self-existence. For example we get up in the morning, look in the mirror, recognize the reflection, and think, "Yes, that's me again." We then add all kinds of concepts to this sense of self: I'm a woman or a man, I'm a certain age, I'm a happy or unhappy person -- the list goes on and on.
When we examine our experience, though, we see that there is not some core being to whom experience refers; rather it is simply "empty phenomena rolling on." It is "empty" in the sense that there is no one behind the arising and changing phenomena to whom they happen. A rainbow is a good example of this. We go out after a rainstorm and feel that moment of delight if a rainbow appears in the sky. Mostly, we simply enjoy the sight without investigating the real nature of what is happening. But when we look more deeply, it becomes clear that there is no "thing" called "rainbow" apart from the particular conditions of air and moisture and light. Each one of us is like that rainbow - an appearance, a magical display, arising out
of our various elements of mind and body.

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Native American
Grandfather, today, let me know all people are my teachers and I am the student.

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Walk in Dry Places
Solving our common problem

Recovery
Twelve Step programs bring together people who admit certain behaviors that society often views with pity or contempt. Some of these behaviors, such as alcoholism and gambling, are heavily stigmatized.

Though we often talk about "our common problem", the thing we have most in common with each other is that we're human beings who share the human condition. No one is really immune from the similar problems that beset us.
That's why somebody once remarked, only in half-jest, that "alcoholics are like normal people, only more so." We have to remember that the people around us are no different from us in that they are subject to such feelings as pride, resentment, self-pity, and discouragement.

Our common problem is really that we're human beings who need a spiritual life in order to become our true selves.

This can turn a problem into a new life if we accept the program.
Today I'll look upon all people with understanding and acceptance. Everyone shares the same feelings that drive me, and everyone deserves my warmth and understanding.

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passed on to me from my friend Cheryl T from New Zealand who got it from Angela from Dallas ... small world :-)

I want my Higher Power to live in my heart full time, but He'll only
take a 24-hour lease.

It's amazing how good I feel when I get connected to my Higher Power. I
do this when I pray and meditate in the mornings, or when I speak to or
help someone in the program, or when I attend meetings. I love the
peace I feel, the sense of belonging I have and the feelings of being
comfortable in my own skin.

It's also amazing how I can wake up the next day and feel so
disconnected. I've often asked my sponsor why I can't stay connected,
and he tells me it's the same reason I can't stay full after I've eaten
a meal. When I ask him to explain, he says:

"Because we are spiritual beings, we all have a hunger to connect with
our source. Once connected, we are filled with the peace and serenity
that is the nourishment of this union. As we go about our day expending
energy - the biggest energy drain caused by thinking about ourselves -
we quickly become depleted and hungry. That's why we need to
continually take actions to restore our connection and move God back
into our hearts."

"Even though my Higher Power will only take a 24-hour lease, I can take
actions to renew it daily."

Acceptance is the Answer to.......

ACCEPTING SUCCESS OR FAILURE

Furthermore, how shall we come to terms with seeming failure or success? Can we now accept and adjust to either without despair or pride? Can we accept poverty, sickness loneliness, and bereavement with courage and serenity? Can we steadfastly content ourselves with the humbler, yet sometimes more durable, satisfactions when the brighter, more glittering achievements are denied us?

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 112

After I found A.A. and stopped drinking, it took a while before I understood why the First step contained two parts: my powerlessness over alcohol, and my life's unmanageability. In the same way, I believed for a long time that, in order to be in tune with the Twelve Steps, it was enough for me "to carry this message to alcoholics." That was rushing things.

I was forgetting that there were a total of Twelve Steps and that the Twelfth Step also had more than one part. Eventually I learned that it was necessary for me to "practice these principles" in all areas of my life. In working all the Steps thoroughly, I not only stay sober and help someone else to achieve sobriety, but also I transform my difficulty with living into a joy of living.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought for the Day

I am glad to be a part of A.A., of that great fellowship that is spreading over the United States and all over the world. I am only one of the many A.A.'s, but I am one. I am grateful to be living at this time, when I can help A.A. to grow, when it needs me to put my shoulder to the wheel and help keep the movement going. I am glad to be able to be useful, to have a reason for living, a purpose in life. I want to lose my life in this great cause and so find it again. Am I grateful to be an A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

These meditations can teach us how to relax. We can be of service to other people in a small way, at least. And we can be happy while doing it. We should not worry too much about people we cannot help. We can make it a habit to leave the outcome of the things we do to the Higher Power. We can go along through life doing the best we can, but without a feeling of urgency or strain. We can enjoy all the good things and the beauty of life, but at the same time depend deeply on God.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may give my life to this worthwhile cause. I pray that I may enjoy the satisfaction that comes from good work well done.

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Thought for Today

"First keep peace with yourself, then you can also bring peace to others."

--Thomas Kempis

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Buddha/Zen Thoughts

If we do not try, we will not know.

-Ayya Khema, Be An Island

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Native American

"The way of knowledge is like our old way of hunting. You begin with a mere trail -- a footprint. If you follow that faithfully, it may lead you to a clearer train-a track- a road. Later on there will be many tracks, crossing and diverging one from the other. Then you must be careful, for success lies in the choice of the right road."

--Many Lightenings Eastman, SANTEE SIOUX

An entire apple tree is initially contained in the seed. Visions are initially contained in the idea. If you trace the path of a blooming flower backwards, it goes from the blooming flower back to a bud, back to a stem, back to a seed. So it is in the way of knowledge. Often we will experience a hunch or a feeling that we are supposed to do something. At first it may not make any sense. This is the seed stage. Once we start to investigate, more gets revealed. As more is revealed, the more knowledge we get. This is the way the Great Spirit guides us.

Great Spirit, help me to choose the right choices.

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Keep It Simple

To be emotionally committed to somebody is very difficult, but to be alone is impossible. --- Stephen Sondheim


Let's face it, relationships are hard to work! But we are lucky! Recovery is about relationships. We learn how to set limits. We learn how to listen to and talk to others. In Step One, we begin a new relationship with ourselves. In Step Two and Three, we begin a relationship with our Higher Power. In later Steps, we mend our relationships with family and friends. In our relationship with our sponsor, we learn about being friends. And our past relationships with alcohol and other drugs is being replaced by people and our Higher Power.


Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thank-you for all the new relationships. Thank-you for teaching me how to feel human again.


Action for the Day: Today, I'll make a list of all the new relationships I have now, due to my sobriety.

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