May 19 2012 | AA 12 Steps In Action | Step 5 Admit And Accept | Alcoholics Anonymous Today's AA daily reflection: "giving without strings…" How can we give without some sort of self interest? When I take away self-interest, what am I left with? In the fellowship of AA, the three legacies of unity, service and recovery come to mind. Giving what was freely given to me and sharing how to be sober one day at a time…
I can't honestly say I really understood what self-interest was until a rigourous step four yielded most things were about self-interest. Wanting to be loved with conditions. Wanting to be useful and never satisfied with what I was doing. These days unconditional love is that, there are no conditions… There is a balance in all things, a desire to be sober, a desire to love and be loved back and useful in whatever capacity I can be today…
Without strings… Needs met, understanding myself and how easily it is to overdo or overplay what love is. There is no control required in loving, it is simply a feeling and the gift of being loved is that it is genuine, when we know what love is. Take away the want and the conditional love that we may have experienced in the past, we really start to understand that powerlessness in most if not all instances is the key to understanding the purpose of life…
Where natural instincts have been distorted, and channelled into addiction it is hardly surprising that we cannot see what love and giving without strings really is until we put it into practice. And behind everything is purpose and love if we can but see it. To come to this realisation around how to love, be loved back and simply cherished in the moment of now is a beautiful reality, an emotional and spiritual experience in the moment of now…
DonInLondon 2005-2011
Spiritual life is bitter sweet and in the moment always. Forgiveness helps us harness and deepen our understanding of life, embracing what seems impossible, to love, be loved without conditions. Always there are consequences, to include or exclude. Letting go as anger and resentments subside, we can cherish and love people even when their behaviour is what it may be. We can love people and hate their behaviour.
No strings... unity service and recovery, we share, support and find recovery is a personal journey.. powerless over people, places and things, from "my way" on the highway, to "choices on the highway" of life today, realistic choices step by step..
Trusted servants, in recovery we connect with family, friends and fellowship. In community and work. We adopt roles and responsibilities, to be a part of, we take a lead for ourselves, with: a sweeping brush, running a household, running an enterprise, a kind word... we make a difference
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AA Daily Reflection: GIVING WITHOUT STRINGS... And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return... AS BILL SEES IT, p. 69
The concept of giving without strings was hard to understand when I first came into the program. I was suspicious when others wanted to help me. I thought, "What do they want in return?" But I soon learned the joy of helping another alcoholic and I understood why they were there for me in the beginning. My attitudes changed and I wanted to help others. Sometimes I became anxious, as I wanted them to know the joys of sobriety, that life can be beautiful. When my life is full of a loving God of my understanding and I give that love to my fellow alcoholic, I feel a special richness that is hard to explain...
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May 19 2007
Life Is A Mystery DonInLondon ‘Day In The Life’
Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me, you are a mystery
Just like a dream, you are not what you seem
Just like a prayer, no choice your voice can take me there
The More I Know The Less I Know
It is so true. How many people on this planet, and where we are, dictates a lot of what we know and understand. And there are billions of people in this world and billions who have gone before. Never though’ have there been so many people utilising everything we can to make sense of life and find some happiness. I guess happiness often comes some way down the agenda when life has taken so many twists one way or another.
From vast wealth to starving poor in material terms, we hear and know how hard this world is. And how hard it can be wherever we may be. Somehow we try to make sense and still we make life less than worthwhile no matter where we live if we are struck by melancholy.
And fear of course plays a big role in how we all live these days, whether we have plenty or hardly anything. As we are all prone to hoard and hold on, we find the more we have, the more we can become stuck in doing things we need do to preserve and keep a grip. Gripping on to some elements is hardly useful in our short lives and somehow the leveling in societies will inevitably happen. Corrupt manifest inequalities, will drive us once again into great changes, not because we want but because we all want, and because how the world is right now, is not sustainable.
Oddly it might be religion which drives and manufactures great conflicts as it has in all human history. And in conscience we will all see this as the decades stretch into inevitable chaos for all mankind. Economy however will level us as much as climate change and where we all end up.
In my lifetime?
Seeing as how much of my life centres on doing what is possible and practical on a day by day basis, forecasting doom and gloom is pretty easy. Anyone right minded will understand the social fabric of planet earth and humans is somewhat skewed and based on historic precedents which will cause further rifts and unsettling times. It is our nature to continually quest one way or another. I hope we have enough gumption to see what we are heading for, and that strategic matters are important as our politicians do really know. If only they were more able!
But like all humans, politicians and those of us in secure places, we get a bit slow and awkward in changing. The world will hit crisis points in this century. And its obvious life will change and torment some and help others.
Nature and Providence
We need conserve more, be more careful in all human doings. The plague of diseases awaiting us and the cures as they are coming into the reach of science, well we are becoming more interesting and so many elements of life are on offer and getting better. To an extent of course.
We humans are playing catch up always as life is made more sophisticated.
Yet civilisations in history reaching these points in their society have lost out and died out. Power shifts subtly always and before long it will again. No amount of weaponry will stop the tide and groundswell where those who have nothing will take their cut one way or another.
Today For Me
Good that I have a new and positive specialist psychiatrist, who delivered and recommended eminently sensible advice! Just like his predecessors I have indeed been very lucky in my journey in sobriety and managing various conditions involving my noggin and its internal works and my body and its deficits and painful reminders of wearing out and age and disease...
May sound a bit odd, to stop writing about the world and then write about me. Same thing really as global stuff and local stuff impact greatly on whether I am alive or not. And I realise the fragility and beauty life can be if we are so moved to comprehend and see it again.
From terror attacks to night terrors I have experienced over the years, terror is still terror. And how I cope these days is by knowing me better and what makes me tick.
When we realise there is life after major health problems and that life itself is so precious, even in the depths of depression I knew there was more to experience. Although every part of me shouted switch off and let life go.
Serenity
Has probably the greatest value to any human, through endeavour and understanding the hard times and softer times. Understanding how to be loved and love others, and have the humility to have love for ourselves too, even after the most awful events which any human can experience.
To be involved in a fellowship which simply offers a person a way out of their own hell, to be able to make simple human sized choices, regardless of their religious beliefs and their culture, and to experience life as is, real with all the grit and grist that life throws our way.
I ask myself has the journey been worthy of my time and the time of everyone who has helped back to sanity. Just in this one moment I can say without doubt the answer is yes. And my path is open and to be a part of life again. Maybe not so quick or fleet of foot, but I can support and be a part of life and do as I may to join in.
Gratitude
Beyond measure for everyone and anyone, through the hardest moments to the most serene and peaceful moments where love experienced without filters or denials, was complete and as long as eternity. As real as this universe in the moment of now.
Like a child you whisper softly to me
You’re in control just like a child
Now I’m dancing
Its like a dream, no end and no beginning
You’re here with me, its like a dream
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AA Official Site Daily Reflections
AA Official Online Site: Big Book And Twelve And Twelve
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"Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Chapter 6, Into Action, Big Book From: Page 72 Thru: Page 75, the bottom of the page. 12 And 12 Step 5."
May ~ All About Step Five:" Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs"
Step 5 "Admit And Accept" Reading Video Link:
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May ~ Video Reading Chapter Six Into Action Link:
I do not speak for Alcoholics Anonymous I speak for myself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of unique and authentic people who speak for themselves where they will to share experience, strength and hope about recovery on a daily basis. Anonymity affords
sanctuary to find how to live sober and be open, honest and willing to learn life day by day. For me "truth," "love" and "wisdom" offer the best spiritual experience by living reality today. Into the fabric of recovery from alcoholism are woven the Twelve Steps and the
Twelve Traditions, steps to be open, honest and willing to learn, traditions to live unity, service and recovery.
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Spiritual principles ~ Forgiveness Acceptance Surrender Faith Open-mindedness Honesty Willingness Moral-inventory Amends Humility Persistence Spiritual-growth Service
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