JUNE 30 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Stopping is starting"

JUNE 30 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Stopping is starting"

I've learned in the Gamblers Anonymous Program that the trick, for me, is not stopping gambling, but staying stopped and learning how not to start again. God knows, I tried to stop plenty of times, by lecturing myself on how it was affecting not only my life, but all aspects of my behavior. Gambling was actually changing who I seemed to be. To stay stopped, I've had to develop a positive, ongoing program of action. I've had to learn to live free from addiction, cultivating new patterns, new interests, and new attitudes. Am I remaining flexible in my new life? Am I exercising my freedom to abandon limited objectives? Today I Pray … I pray that my new life will be filled with new patterns, new friends, new activities, new ways of looking at things. I need God's help to overhaul my lifestyle to include all the newness it must hold. I also need a few ideas of my own. May my independence from compulsive gambling help me make my choices with an open mind and a clear, appraising eye. Today I Will Remember ... Stopping is starting. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 29 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Happenstance?"

Once we surrendered and came to the Gamblers Anonymous Program, many of us wondered what we would do with all that time on our hands. All the hours we'd previously spent planning, hiding, alibiing, losing our shirts, borrowing, juggling accounts and all the rest-threatened to turn into empty chunks of time that somehow had to be filled. We needed new ways to use the energy previously absorbed by our addiction. We soon realized that substituting a new and different activity is far easier than just stopping the old activity and putting nothing in its place. Am I redirecting my mind and energy? Today I Pray … I pray that, once free of the encumbrance of my addiction, I may turn to my Higher Power to discover for me how to fill my time constructively and creatively. May that same Power that makes human paths cross and links certain people to specific situations, lead me along good new roads into good new places. Today I Will Remember … Happenstance may be more than chance. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 28 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Life is a miracle"

Almost daily, I hear of seemingly mysterious coincidences in the lives of my friends in Gamblers Anonymous. From time to time, I've experienced such "coincidences" myself: showing up at the right place at exactly the right time; phoning a friend who, unbeknownst to me, desperately needed that particular phone call at that precise moment; hearing "my story" at an unfamiliar meeting in a strange town. These days, I choose to believe that many of life's so-called "coincidences" are actually small miracles of God, who prefers to remain anonymous. Am I continually grateful for the miracle of my recovery? Today I Pray … May my awareness of a Higher Power working in our lives grow in sensitivity as I learn, each day, of "coincidences" that defy statistics, illnesses that reverse their prognoses, hairbreadth escapes that defy death, chance meetings that change the course of a life. When the nonunderstandable happens, may I perceive it as just another of God's frequent miracles. My own death-defying miracle is witness enough for me. Today I Will Remember … My life is a miracle. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 27 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Put off"

Little by little, I'm getting over my tendency to procrastinate. I always used to put things off till tomorrow, and, of course, they never got done. Instead of "Do it now," my motto was "Tomorrow's another day." When I was in action, I had grandiose plans; when I came down from my high, I was too busy getting over my depression to start anything. I've learned in the Gamblers Anonymous Program that it's far better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all. Am I learning to "do it now"? Today I Pray … May God help me cure my habitual tardiness and "get me to the church on time." May I free myself of the self-imposed chaos of lifelong procrastination: library books overdue, appointments half missed, assignments turned in late, schedules unmet, meals half-cooked. May I be sure if I, as a compulsive gambler, led a disordered life, I, as a recovering compulsive gambler, need order. May God give me the serenity I need to restore order and organization to my daily living. Today I Will Remember … I will not be put off by my tendency to put off. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 26 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Living is changing"

How many of us would presume to announce, "Well, I'm on my way to way licking the gambling habit. What more can I want, or do? I'm fine just the I am." Experience has taught us that the price of such smug complacency - or, more politely, self-satisfaction - is an inevitable backslide, punctuated sooner or later by a very rude awakening. We have to grow, or else we deteriorate. For us, the status quo can only be for today, never for tomorrow. Change we must; we can't stand still. Am I sometimes tempted to rest on my laurels? Today I Pray … May I look around me and see that all living things are either growing or deteriorating; nothing that is alive is static. Life flows on. May I be carried along on that life-flow, unafraid of change, disengaging myself from the snags along the way that hold me back and interrupt my progress. Today I Will Remember … Living is changing. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠