February 17 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 2 | 2012 | Today's AA daily reflection: "from fear and punishment to love and acceptance." As the Beatles said in their song, "all we need is love" and this can be very difficult to understand after a long period of near drinking ourselves to death. We have no esteem, the brave face covering up our fears and trepidations and our worthiness to be alive at all…
It takes time to understand what redemption means in recovery, that there is opportunity to redeem ourselves and find what is possible in sober living. Our self reliance and self harm, self loathing and isolation is almost impenetrable in early days. The notion that a power greater than us can help restore us to sanity just for a day is very difficult to accept. Whatever we choose to be a higher power in our lives, needs to be based on love and forgiveness for ourselves and every single person we feel may have wronged us in our journey of life…
As newcomers, we may be impatient to be fixed and as regular members in our fellowship we can be impatient with newcomers. No single human in the context of recovery can assume responsibility for another without the danger of undermining the greater power and wisdom available in the fellowship. The accumulated wisdom of the many sharing experience, strength and hope is more balanced and broad than one single view, including me!
DonInLondon 2005-2011
The next right action is often a combination of all our personal attributes: some believe in God, some do not, and some who believe God exists have no faith and some who do not believe have faith! Fear, a brave face and ego exist in all of us. And courage, faith and confidence too. All these attributes exist and play their part in how we live, useful when in balance and harmful at extremes. Each attribute an asset or liability in our lives today...
We all have our mountains of problems, unravelling them gently with help as each day passes, we stop climbing and start walking the potholed road of happy destiny.. Socrates "If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart." -/-
Problem to solution ~ Edward Hodnett "A good problem statement often includes: (a) what is known, (b) what is unknown, and (c) what is sought." I knew I was being driven mad, I did not know why, I asked for help in a moment of clarity "I cannot do life well on my own.." Fellowship was and is the key
Potholes and puddles on the trudge of destiny are always a part of our happiness overall ~ W. C. Doane "Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps till the legend, "over steep ways to the stars," fulfils itself." -/- Without the sad, we could not know happiness and the difference we learn to cherish..
Denial comes before the madness, then the madness keeps us stuck ~ G. K. Chesterton "It isn't that they can't see the solution, it's that they can't see the problem." Ignorance is never bliss...
Embrace everything and ask for help when help is needed ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti "If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem." -/- Call your sponsor, ask a friend, seek professional help, let go self will, let in experience strength and hope...help is there if we ask the right source at the right time.. Don
Embrace both 6 & 7: Step 6 too much of [overly stuck] brave facing , fear and ego blocks us to; step 7, our need to develop [short on] courage, faith and confidence. Balance in life is always in the day, ~ Ralph J. Bunche "You can surmount the obstacles in your path if you are determined, courageous and hard-working. Never be fainthearted. Be resolute, but never bitter.... Permit no one to dissuade you from pursuing the goals you set for yourselves. Do not fear to pioneer, to venture down new paths of endeavour." -/-
"science" of life, reliance on self determination based on isolated thinking, "art" of life flowing with our feelings and thinking illuminated by our inclusion in the world and openness to learn ~ Bernard M. Baruch "The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them." -/- 12 steps of providence..
AA Daily Reflection: THE LOVE IN THEIR EYES ~ FEBRUARY 17, Some of us won’t believe in God, others can’t, and still others who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miracle. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 25
It was the changes I saw in the new people who came into the Fellowship that helped me lose my fear, and change my negative attitude to a positive one. I could see the love in their eyes and I was impressed by how much their “One Day at a Time” sobriety meant to them. They had looked squarely at Step Two and came to believe that a power greater than themselves was restoring them to sanity. That gave me faith in the Fellowship, and hope that it could work for me too. I found that God was a loving God, not that punishing God I feared before coming to A.A. I also found that He had been with me during all those times I had been in trouble before I came to A.A. I know today that He was the one who led me to A.A. and that I am a miracle.
Step 2 Reading Video Link:
"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity"
-/-
It takes time to understand what redemption means in recovery, that there is opportunity to redeem ourselves and find what is possible in sober living. Our self reliance and self harm, self loathing and isolation is almost impenetrable in early days. The notion that a power greater than us can help restore us to sanity just for a day is very difficult to accept. Whatever we choose to be a higher power in our lives, needs to be based on love and forgiveness for ourselves and every single person we feel may have wronged us in our journey of life…
As newcomers, we may be impatient to be fixed and as regular members in our fellowship we can be impatient with newcomers. No single human in the context of recovery can assume responsibility for another without the danger of undermining the greater power and wisdom available in the fellowship. The accumulated wisdom of the many sharing experience, strength and hope is more balanced and broad than one single view, including me!
DonInLondon 2005-2011
The next right action is often a combination of all our personal attributes: some believe in God, some do not, and some who believe God exists have no faith and some who do not believe have faith! Fear, a brave face and ego exist in all of us. And courage, faith and confidence too. All these attributes exist and play their part in how we live, useful when in balance and harmful at extremes. Each attribute an asset or liability in our lives today...
We all have our mountains of problems, unravelling them gently with help as each day passes, we stop climbing and start walking the potholed road of happy destiny.. Socrates "If all our misfortunes were laid in one common heap, whence everyone must take an equal portion, most people would be content to take their own and depart." -/-
Problem to solution ~ Edward Hodnett "A good problem statement often includes: (a) what is known, (b) what is unknown, and (c) what is sought." I knew I was being driven mad, I did not know why, I asked for help in a moment of clarity "I cannot do life well on my own.." Fellowship was and is the key
Potholes and puddles on the trudge of destiny are always a part of our happiness overall ~ W. C. Doane "Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps till the legend, "over steep ways to the stars," fulfils itself." -/- Without the sad, we could not know happiness and the difference we learn to cherish..
Denial comes before the madness, then the madness keeps us stuck ~ G. K. Chesterton "It isn't that they can't see the solution, it's that they can't see the problem." Ignorance is never bliss...
Embrace everything and ask for help when help is needed ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti "If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem." -/- Call your sponsor, ask a friend, seek professional help, let go self will, let in experience strength and hope...help is there if we ask the right source at the right time.. Don
Embrace both 6 & 7: Step 6 too much of [overly stuck] brave facing , fear and ego blocks us to; step 7, our need to develop [short on] courage, faith and confidence. Balance in life is always in the day, ~ Ralph J. Bunche "You can surmount the obstacles in your path if you are determined, courageous and hard-working. Never be fainthearted. Be resolute, but never bitter.... Permit no one to dissuade you from pursuing the goals you set for yourselves. Do not fear to pioneer, to venture down new paths of endeavour." -/-
"science" of life, reliance on self determination based on isolated thinking, "art" of life flowing with our feelings and thinking illuminated by our inclusion in the world and openness to learn ~ Bernard M. Baruch "The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them." -/- 12 steps of providence..
AA Daily Reflection: THE LOVE IN THEIR EYES ~ FEBRUARY 17, Some of us won’t believe in God, others can’t, and still others who do believe that God exists have no faith whatever He will perform this miracle. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 25
It was the changes I saw in the new people who came into the Fellowship that helped me lose my fear, and change my negative attitude to a positive one. I could see the love in their eyes and I was impressed by how much their “One Day at a Time” sobriety meant to them. They had looked squarely at Step Two and came to believe that a power greater than themselves was restoring them to sanity. That gave me faith in the Fellowship, and hope that it could work for me too. I found that God was a loving God, not that punishing God I feared before coming to A.A. I also found that He had been with me during all those times I had been in trouble before I came to A.A. I know today that He was the one who led me to A.A. and that I am a miracle.
Step 2 Reading Video Link:
"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity"
-/-
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