“We had so much fun laughing together at the silliness & mystery!”

Three readings. A song that says the rest. And inspiration for whatever this day is here to teach.

A lone surfer riding inside a great curling wave

Read — the readings that opened the day

MYSTERIOUS PARADOXES

“Such is the paradox of A.A. regeneration: strength arising out of complete defeat and weakness, the loss of one’s old life as a condition for finding a new one.” A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 46 “What glorious mysteries paradoxes are! They do not compute, yet when recognized and accepted, they reaffirm something in the universe beyond human logic. When I face a fear, I am given courage; when I support a brother or sister, my capacity to love myself is increased; when I accept a pain as part of the growing experience of life, I realize a greater happiness; when I look at my dark side, I am brought into new light; when I accept my vulnerabilities and surrender to a Higher Power, I am graced with unforeseen strength. I stumbled through the doors of A.A. in disgrace, expecting nothing from life, and I have been given hope and dignity. Miraculously, the only way to keep the gifts of the program is to pass them on.”

Adapted from Daily Reflections

A Deep Breath of Life

Alan Cohen

“We must be open to being new and seeing new; otherwise we freeze our friends and ourselves as we were, and we die to the life and power of the moment. Our only hope to truly live is to release our past in favor of the now moment. Ever since I came into the world of recovery, I’ve realized that anything is possible—if we let it be. Today, God, help me to see Your Spirit and Love in everything. I exchange everything that was, for everything that could be, and open to Your world of infinite possibilities being made available to me.”

Adapted from A Deep Breath of Life

God Is A Verb

“Mystics honor the experience of the essential mystery and the unknowability of God. They invite us to do the same; to take time to reflect on the limitations of human understanding. Every particle, every being in our universe is a shell that contains sparks of holiness. Our journey in the world of Spirit invites us to acknowledge and release each spark from the shell; to raise it up through acts of lovingkindness, of being in harmony with the universe, and through higher awareness."

Adapted from God Is A Verb

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Meditation for the Day “Love the busy life. It is a joy-filled life. Take your fill of joy in the spring. Live outdoors whenever possible. Sun and air are nature's great healing forces. Inward joy changes poisoned blood into a pure, healthy, life-giving flow. Never forget that the real healing of the Spirit comes from within, from a close, loving contact of your Spirit with God's Spirit. Keep in close communion with God's spirit day by day. Prayer for the Day I pray that I may learn to live the abundant life. I pray that I may enjoy a close contact with God this day and be glad in it.”

Reflect — Steve L.'s own words

Last night, my 10 year old grandson showed me a lot of magic tricks. We had so much fun laughing together at the silliness & mystery! Reading today's meditations, I reflected back on my introduction to recovery. The idea of powerlessness, of surrender was very hard to grasp. I called my sponsor. “What about all of the things that need to be done now; I want to fix everything; I should manage better.” He laughed and said, “Steve, let’s look at what recovery says about that.” Turning to the pages in We Agnostics, How It Works, and Appendix II, it instructs me not only to admit I’m powerless and can’t manage, but to turn to a new unsuspected inner resource, the vital sixth sense. We read and discussed those chapters at length; still today, as things in my life become unmanageable, I’m asked to deepen my spiritual life and to pass on my experience, strength & hope to others. Let it be; there will be an answer. It works; it really does!