Daily Reflections - AA

I have learned to be less negative and more positive. I used to take a negative view of almost everything. Most people, in my estimation, were bluffing. There seemed to be very little good in the world, but lots of hypocrisy and sham. People could not be trusted. They would “take you ” if they could. All church-goers were partly hypocrites. It seemed I should take everything “with a grain of salt.” That was my general attitude toward life. Now I am more positive. I believe in people and in their capabilities. There is much love and truth and honesty in the world. I try not to run people down. Life now seems worthwhile and it is good to live. Am I less negative and more positive?

UNDERSTANDING

“Intelligence is proved not by ease of learning but by understanding what we learn.”
– Joseph Whitney

For years I learned things without understanding what the words, or the meaning behind the words, really meant. An example was alcoholism. Then a man said, “My name is Bill, and I am an alcoholic and a recovering human being!” Then it struck me; recovery from a drug — alcohol — was not simply about putting down the glass but about changing and developing a positive lifestyle as a human being.

The same is true with spirituality. It is not about being religious, going to church or accepting dogma. It is about finding God in my life, discovering God in the decisions and actions I take and seeing Him in the world around me. Today I understand spirituality to be the link that unites all peoples and is centered on what is true and real.

If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort.

– Pg. 25-26 – There is a Solution

The Spiritual Experience Is You

“When I look at people now, I don’t see issues,” he said. “I see souls.”

The man said he had a spiritual experience. Actually, he said he had four. He didn’t go to the mountains, or the ocean, or the desert to have them. He had his four spiritual experiences in the same place– in the parking lot outside a Shell gas station in Portland, Oregon. “The car filled with light. I filled with light. My heart just opened up and I forgave everyone I was resenting,” he continued. “Even my ex-wife.”

We don’t have to search for spiritual experiences. We are the spiritual experience– a spiritual being having a human life. Look at the people around you. Now look again and see souls. See them having many kinds of spiritual experiences in the form of human life.

When you look for holy ground, look down. That’s where your spiritual experience takes place. Right where you’re standing, wherever you are now.

I must learn to accept self-discipline. I must try never to yield one point that I have already won. I must not let myself go in resentments, hates, fears, pride, lust, or gossip. Even if the discipline keeps me separated from some people who are without discipline, nevertheless I will carry on. I may have different ways and a different standard of living than some others. I may be actuated by different motives than some people. But I will try to live the way I believe God wants me to live, no matter what others say.