Thank you

TOPICS 6/18/25 💌

DAILY REFLECTIONS

1) … if only men were granted absolute liberty, and were compelled to obey no one, they would then voluntarily associate themselves in the common interest.

-AS BILL SEES IT, p. 50

When I release the past and all the excess baggage I have carried for so very long, I come to know freedom.The Steps are a “recommended” way of finding a new life, there are no commands or dictates in A.A. I am free to serve from desire rather than decree. 

WALK IN DRY PLACES -EMOTIONAL EMERGENCIES

2) Our AA program gives us something like an automatic sprinkler system. We never know when the flames of resentment might leap up, seemingly our of nowhere. If we’ve been working our program, something takes over automatically to being dealing with resentment.

This gives us time to bring more of our valuable spiritual tools into use. Knowing that resentment is burning away, we can try one thing and then another until it is brought to rest. Perhaps we will try prayer. We might also discuss our problem with a close friend or sponsor.

I need not fear the sudden appearance of resentment if I have been following my program. I already have within myself the methods for holding resentment at bay while I deal with it.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

3) Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

–Rodin

When we first start our recovery, it hurts a lot to look at our past. We feel sad. It feels like our life was a waste.

But it wasn’t a waste. The program promises that if we practice the Steps, we’ll not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

Because of our addiction, we’re learning a new way to live. We are getting to know ourselves, our Higher Power, and other people.

EACH DAY A NEW BEGINNING

4)… we could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world.

—Helen Keller

We chase after joy, like a child after a firefly, being certain that in joy all problems are solved, all questions are answered. Joy has its rewards, and we deserve them. But life has more to teach us.

We need to learn tolerance; through tolerance our appreciation of another’s individuality is nurtured. We need to learn self-respect; self-respect prepares us to contribute more freely to our experiences, and we find wholeness.

Life’s travails are our opportunities for lasting, enriching joy. The rough spots deepen our understandings. And these help us to bring joy to the lives of the friends near and dear.