MAY 22 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Sameness"

JUNE 3 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Love is"

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image," wrote Thomas Merton. "Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." As I replace my self-destructive addiction with a healthy dependence on the Gamblers Anonymous Program and its Twelve Steps, I'm finding that the barriers of silence and hatred are melting away. By accepting each other as we are, we have learned again to love. Do I care enough about others in the GA Program to continue working with them as long as necessary? Today I Pray … May I be selfless enough to love people as they are, not as I want them to be, as they mirror my image or feed my ego. May I slow down in my eagerness to love-now that I am capable of feeling love again and ask myself if I really love someone or only that someone's idea of me. May I remove the "self" from my loving. Today I Will Remember … Love is unconditional. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 2 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Caring makes it"

In the process of learning to love myself and, in turn, to love others freely with no strings attached, I've begun to understand these words of St. Augustine: "Love slays what we have been, that we may be what we were not." More and more, I feel the enormous power of such love in the Gamblers Anonymous Program; for me, the words "we care" also mean "we love." Just for today, will I try to be loving in every thought and action? Today I Pray … I pray that I may feel the enormity and the power of the love I find in Gamblers Anonymous. May my own caring be added to that great energy of love that belongs to all of us. May I care with my whole heart that my fellow members maintain their abstinence from gambling and are learning to live with it comfortably and creatively. May I never doubt that they care the same way about me. Today I Will Remember … Caring makes it happen. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 1 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Love is"

Slowly, but surely, I'm becoming able to accept other people's faults as well as their virtues. The Gamblers Anonymous Program is teaching me to "always love the best in others and never fear their worst." This is hardly an easy transition from my old way of thinking, but I'm beginning to see that all people-including me are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong. Am I approaching true tolerance? Am I beginning to see what real love actually means? Today I Pray … May God give me tolerance for any shortcomings or sick symptoms or insensitivities of others, so that I can love the qualities that are good in them. May God instruct me in the truest meaning of love-which must also include patience. May I not overlook the faults of those I love, but may I try to understand them. Today I Will Remember … Love is understanding. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

MAY 31 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Don't give to get"

Giving love is a fulfillment in itself. It must not matter whether love is returned or not. If I give love only to get a response on my terms, my love is canceled out by my motives. If I have the capacity to give love, then any return I get for it is a special bonus. It is through giving love, freely and without expectation of return, that we find ourselves and build ourselves spiritually. Have I begun to believe, in the words of Goethe, that "Love does not dominate; it cultivates..."? Today I Pray … May I, the inveterate people-pleaser and approval-seeker, know that the only real love does not ask for love back. May God be patient as I try to practice this principle. May I rid myself of pride that throws itself in the way of love. May I discard my silly cat-and-mouse games that have no place in real love. Today I Will Remember … I will not give love to get love. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

MAY 30 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Feel love, be loving"

Since I've been in Gamblers Anonymous, I've learned to redefine love. I've come to understand, for example, that sometimes it's necessary to place love ahead of indiscriminate "factual honesty." No longer, under the guise of "perfect honesty," can I cruelly and unnecessarily hurt others. Today, I must always ask myself, "What's the best and most loving thing I can do?" Have I begun to sow the seeds of love in my daily living? Today I Pray … May God's love show me how to be loving. May I first sense the feelings of love and caring within me and then find ways to show those feelings. May I remember how many times I cut myself off from relationships because I did not know how either to let myself feel love or to show what I did feel. Today I Will Remember … When I feel love, I will be loving. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠