Daily Reflections reading November 1st
I Cannot Change The Wind
It
is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS, p. 85
My
first sponsor told me there were two things to say about prayer and meditation:
first, I had to start and second, I had to continue. When I came to A.A. my
spiritual life was bankrupt; if I considered God at all, He was to be called
upon only when my self-will was incapable of a task or when overwhelming fears
had eroded my ego.
Today
I am grateful for a new life, one in which my prayers are those of
thanksgiving. My prayer time is more for listening than for talking. I know
today that if I cannot change the wind, I can adjust my sail. I know the
difference between superstition and spirituality. I know there is a graceful
way of being right, and many ways to be wrong.
© Alcoholics Anonymous World Services
My thoughts on November 1st Reading
I can not
change the wind but I do not have to set sail in a raging storm like I did in
my drinking days today I know when it is safe to set sail and move on in the wind,
my life is now in the hands of a power greater then myself He gave me the tools
to find recovery
We have so many tools to help us in
recovery, I some times wonder where I would be without them, my first tool was
given to me at my first meeting a gift from the group a big book, I was told
the answers are all in there between the covers, just open it and start reading
If you need help just ask anyone at any
meeting we are all here to stay sober, many other tool like books, meetings,
sponsor, sayings, slogans, acronyms, being active the steps, the spirituality
of finding a power greater than oneself, using this power to change
The fellowship is a tool where we come to
share our own experience strength and hope, there are so many more tools to
recovery, to a new way of life living sober, for me to stay sober I need to
give back what was given to me, this is the basics of what AA is all about
The fellowship, the twelve steps of
recovery and the willingness to change ourselves, for me to find this and with
out the steps to guide me into this new way of looking at myself, I would just
be a sober drunk, I would still have the same God like qualities of my past
I had to learning about all twelve of the
steps not just step one, I found that higher power and began to get a little
sanity thru using step two, then the biggie step three, Yes I found the God of
my understanding, a loving and forgiven God, who led me right into steps four
and five
Sure was hard looking at myself thru the
eyes of another, but in order to use the rest of my spiritual tools I needed to
do the inventory and share it with another human being, this is where the third
step pray came in to my life given myself to God
There are many ways we can enrich our
spiritual journey, there is no set path we must follow, in order to live a
spiritual life we need to look at them all, journaling is one of the most
powerful and useful tools I had in my spiritual toolbox
When I wrote in my journals I was
communicating with myself putting my feelings on paper, where I could not
project on them, it also helps with the fourth step, I felt like I was sharing
my thoughts goals and concerns with myself later to share with a sponsor
As I dug deeply into my mind I expressed
my emotions, the writing helped me to look at my spiritual progress, it is
great to be able to sit and read all the earlier writings, then I have the
eleventh step prayer of St Francis this helped me to channel my thoughts and
beliefs into a path to help others
It is better to give that to receive this
also helped me to forgive others and myself, meditating made me feel closer to
the God of my new understanding and led me to my spiritual experience, the
night I prayed to God to remove the desire to drink and all that was troubling
me
I felt His presents in my life that night,
I knew He was doing for me what I could not do myself, I felt child like as if
He picked me up into His arms, held me close to Him comforting, me tell me
every thing is now going to be alright I am with you
I laid on my mom’s sofa bed for 36 hours
to wake up to a sense of peace, I call total serenity as if the whole world was
right, I could always be at peace, yes that night I believed in a power greater
than myself a sense of interconnectedness with all
An awareness of the purpose and meaning
of life, the finding personal values, although spirituality is often associated
with religion, I believe my personal spirituality was found and developed
outside of religion, in the halls of AA
God bless you Al M
Please feel free to mail
suggestions or comments
