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Alcoholics Anonymous | March 14 2013 | Steps In Action | Step 3 "Your Higher Power" "building a new life and building new foundations takes time, new foundations in living do require humility in action…" What does humility mean to you? I can only speak for myself, humility means: courage to change, faith in action, developing self-confidence to try out new ways and let go an old life…

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"Building A New Life"

When I was a kid, Bruce Lee, kung Fu and "Enter the Dragon" inspired me and many to join kung Fu classes. The class was run by somebody who looked authentic, had skills and demonstrated what it was like to put kung Fu into action. He was so good, and I was just a kid, and very scrawny. I lasted one class and left knowing that it would take years to be like the teacher and I did not have the dedication, nor the appetite for ridicule, which was part of the teachers style… I was already good at other things and the dedication required meant I would have to give up so many other activities, including drinking and smoking! Sometimes we make poor judgements, sometimes we just don't know what will happen, and where we will end up. I was always attracted to the mystical and out of this world fantasies, so often ruined by reality, and the awfulness of reality was always a good reason for a drink… The good news is you can teach an old dog new tricks or in my case a new way of life one day at a time…

It took me thirty-five years at least to realise that I was powerless over alcohol and a drink would lead me into unmanageable territory. I liked unmanageable, out of control, less fearful, with a drink inside me, more able to share emotions, love the girl I was with, let go the girl I was with, always uncertain to outcomes and drifting in a superficial way, even though my feelings ran deep. The poker face, the brave face, pride and ego kept me at a distance from my own feelings, especially heartbreak. Alcohol, pride and ego would divorce me from myself and lessen the pain? The pain was always there, suppressed and deep. Learning to live life sober, with the help of a fellowship dedicated to emotional and spiritual well-being unlocked those deep feelings and helped me face myself and then face life on life's terms today…

Humility to live life on life's terms: open, honest and willing. Open to the feelings I have, and being honest about them and willing to share them. The old saying, "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Actually sticks and stones will break my bones, and I can heal from those. Words always hurt me, and they hurt everybody else too, we just didn't show it. Behind the words which would not hurt me were the words which hit my feelings hard and rather than deal with the feelings it was easier to deny them. Knowing my feelings these days, I am learning what they are. And I don't need to deny feelings, feelings inform me of my emotional and spiritual condition, always in the moment and learning from them, helps me find the right actions and if I don't know the right actions, humility helps me ask for help about what to do, and really live life on life's terms today…

Learning basics, learning how to love, harder is learning how to be loved back, and find useful endeavours today. Humility is taught me that it is perfectly okay to keep on learning the basics of life, because the basics of life. Apply to existing relationships and to any new relationship, we might begin from acquaintance to friend, to lover. Learning the basics: how to cherish and not be superficial or indifferent is all in the action and it is not about thinking, it is about the feelings we have for ourselves and other people. When we cherish people, we are not superficial or indifferent to them. My dad taught me this as he was dying, he had spent a life of superficiality and indifference toward himself and other people and was unable to connect and cherish as much as he had wished. At the end, he saw that fear, pride and ego had always blocked his ability to love and be in the moment of now. I am thankful for his words, the action in my heart was forgiveness for him and his forgiveness of me in our superficial and indifferent relationship and it tore deep into me and changed my life forever, a first step in becoming human again and still far from recovery and fellowship…

In recovery, emotional and spiritual learning: understanding my feelings in the moment of now, can still be quite difficult. Somebody may say to me that they love me, and it is almost unbelievable to hear such words, and before I know it, denial almost makes me brush the words to one side and then I stop myself and realise what is being said. And then I realise I love them too. And it feels overwhelming, this feeling of love, so often denied and yet so often heartbroken by love. It takes as long as it takes to really understand how much we do love each other. Underneath all the bravado, love is possible and love is happening today…

How am I feeling this morning? I feel good, I was listening to the news late last night on the radio and we have a new pope in the world, he sounded quite inviting and welcoming by saying, "good evening" in Italian. A new Somebody or someone doing something and we will find out what soon enough, the timbre of the voice reassuring at least with serenity and calmness. Mind you, I am not a Catholic, at the same time some kind of reassurance was unmistakable. We can learn wisdom from anyone, anywhere at any time. And this is the gift I've learned in fellowship, I learn from individuals far younger than me, and have more wisdom, about so many things. Every one of us has wisdom to share, experience of life, and some hope on offer to someone today. We don't know half the time, what is going on. And we learn on the hoof and we just don't know it. Being able to listen to the world makes me feel good today…

Even when we feel like everything has been ripped away from us, and we are still breathing and just about able to get back on our feet, we can start again. Courage to change, enough faith to do the next right thing and knowing it is okay to start from scratch means anyone anywhere can restart today. And when we start again, or we begin again we are not necessarily trying to rebuild the old life, rebuild the old foundations, far from it, we are building a new life with new foundations and just for today, we can put in the action and start over anytime and anywhere…

Alcoholics Anonymous | March 14 2012 | Steps In Action | Step 3 "Your Higher Power" Today's AA daily reflection: "key-stones." The wedge-shaped piece at the crown of an arch that locks the other pieces into place. Twelve steps: twelve key-stones each interdependent and work in the moment, where each is relevant as long as we pause long enough to recognise what is real right now…

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2009 - 2012

We are part of nature and in nature there is always purpose, and in recovery I have learned to live with acceptance of how life is today. Fellowship and nurture continually teaches me the nature of our lives is making the best possible choices which may be open to me today. Life on life's terms is facing reality, being open honest and willing to change and to not be afraid of asking the help. Yes, life is difficult and will always be difficult at the same time it is not a battle, it is an experience to be relished or detested sometimes…

I have heard it said by others, "there is no such thing as a bad day in recovery." Life is full of opposites, from good to bad experiences. We do learn from every experience if we are aware of what is happening. And most certainly we are more aware when life is very painful either emotionally or physically. I have had my fair share of "bad or difficult experiences," which has led me to understand the art and science of the possible, what can be done and what cannot be done and the wisdom to know the difference is lifelong learning day by day…

More words which suggest key-stones for me in recovery are: open, honest and willing (twelve steps) unity service and recovery (twelve traditions) and as I recall and remember these words, on a daily basis as part of my morning reflection, recovery is fresh and restored today, and that I am more able to keep on learning what life offers and what I offer to others in life…

-/-

DonInLondon 2005-2011

Inclusion in life, with choices and love is all we need to sustain emotional and spiritual connections ~ Eva Burrows "In family and "fellowship" life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony." Sober we find a path in living in the moment of now...

A moment of peace, a moment of turmoil, moment by moment, serenity in a heartbeat ~ Confucius "we must often change, we who would be constant in happiness or wisdom" -/- A breath of fresh air, and everything changes...

Courage restored daily? Anything is possible! ~ Miguel de Cervantes "He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses his courage loses all." -/- Faith courage and confidence, a part of daily living...

Learning how not to fix myself daily, or fix anything has been difficult. Now it is daily progress. I chatted with my 78 year old Mum earlier and asked about amends, if I had left anything unsaid which still rankles. “No, you are in recovery, you were unwell, you do what you can now.” I learn wisdom and acceptance every day..

A sign of rushing and being rushed, we add more and more to each day. I do when I forget to let something go, usually forgetting step one, powerless over people places and things, step two anything and everything can drive me insane and step three, let good prevail even when its not perfect as we might wish it so. Let go perfect, let life be a tangle...

-/-

AA Daily Reflection: THE KEYSTONE MARCH 14 He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62

A keystone is the wedge-shaped piece at the highest part of an arch that locks the other pieces in place. The “other pieces” are Steps One, Two, and Four through Twelve. In one sense this sounds like Step Three is the most important Step, that the other eleven depend on the third for support. In reality however, Step Three is just one of twelve. It is the keystone, but without eleven other stones to build the base and the arms, keystone or not, there will be no arch. Through working of all Twelve Steps, I find that triumphant arch waiting for me to pass through to another day of freedom.

-/-

Just For Today, and every day cherish always...

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AA Official Online Site: Daily Reflections

http://www.aa.org/lang/en/aareflections.cfm