JUNE 22 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Resentment inside-out"

JUNE 22 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Resentment inside-out"

The minute we think about a twisted or broken relationship with another person, our emotions go on the defensive. To avoid looking at the wrongs we've done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he or she has done us. With a sense of triumph, we seize upon his or her slightest misbehavior as the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own. We have to remember that we're not the only ones plagued by sick emotions. Often, we're really dealing with fellow sufferers, including those whose woes we've increased. If I'm about to ask forgiveness for myself, why shouldn't I forgive the other person too? Today I Pray … When I blame or fault-find, may my Higher Power tell me to look under the rug for my own feeling of guilt, which I have neatly swept under it. May I recognize these behavior clues for what they really are. Today I Will Remember … Resentment, inside-out, is guilt. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 21 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "No puffery"

"Direct" is a key word in the Ninth Step. There are times, unfortunately, when many of us are hopeful that indirect amends will suffice, sparing us the pain and supposed humiliation of approaching people in person and telling them of our wrongs. This is evasion and will never give us a true sense of breaking with the wrongdoings of the past. It shows that we're still trying to defend something that isn't worth defending, hanging on to conduct that we ought to abandon. The usual reasons for sidestepping direct amends are pride and fear. As I make amends to others, do I realize that the real, lasting benefits accrue to me? Today I Pray … May I be sure that the best reward for coming on straight as I try to repair my damages is, after all, my own. But may I avoid making amends purely for my own benefit - to be forgiven, to be reinstated, to flaunt the "new me." Ego-puffing and people-pleasing are not part of the real "new me." God save me from opportunism. Today I Will Remember … No puffery or people-pleasing. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 20 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Honest selectivity"

When we take the Ninth Step, we must be willing to be absolutely honest. Obviously, though, indiscriminate "absolute honesty" would blow the roof off many a house and entirely destroy some relationships. We must hold nothing back through deceit and pride; we may need to hold something back through discretion and consideration for others. Just when and how we tell the truth-or keep silent-can often reveal the difference between genuine integrity and none at all. Am I grateful for the products of truth, which, through the grace of God, I have been privileged to receive? Today I Pray … May I have the wisdom to know the fine line difference between tact and dishonesty. In my eagerness to make restitution, may I not be the charmer, the flatterer, or the crawler who insists, "You're so good, and I'm so bad." All are forms of dishonesty and hark back to the role-playing days of my active gambling addiction. May I recognize them. Today I Will Remember … Tact is honest selectivity. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 19 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "Amends is mending"

The Gamblers Anonymous Program teaches us that only one consideration should qualify our desire to completely disclose the damage we've done. And that's where a full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we're making amends - or, just as important, others close to that person. We can hardly unload a detailed account of extramarital misadventures, for example, on the shoulders of an unsuspecting wife or husband. When we fearlessly make the burdens of others heavier, such actions surely can't lighten our own burden. Sometimes, in that sense, "telling all" may be almost a self-indulgence for us. So in making amends, we should be tactful, sensible, considerate, and humble-without being servile. As a child of God, do I stand on my feet and not crawl before anyone? Today I Pray … May God show me that self-hatred has no role in making amends to others. Neither has the play-acting of self-indulgence. I ask most humbly for my Higher Power's guidance as I strive to maintain a mature balance in interpersonal relations, even in the most casual or fragile ones. Today I Will Remember … Making amends is mending. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠

JUNE 18 REFLECTION FOR THE DAY "It's okay to like myself"

I believe today that I have a right to make spiritual progress. I have a right to be emotionally mature. I have a right to take pleasure in my own company, and that makes me more pleasant to be with. I also have a right to become willing - deeply willing, entirely willing to make amends to all those I've harmed. Because I can now accept myself the way I am, I can accept other people the way they are not entirely, but to a much greater degree than in the past. Have I begun to make friends with God, and thus with myself? Today I Pray … May God show me that it's okay to like myself, even while trying to repair old wrongs and rebuild from splinters. May I keep telling myself that I am different now. I have changed. I am a better and wiser and healthier person. I have made some good choices. As this "new person," may I find it easier to make atonements for what happened long ago and in another spiritual place. May those I have wronged also find it easier to accept my amends. Today I Will Remember … It's okay to like myself. A Day at a Time ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3EOjuiH⁠⁠⁠ G.A. A New Beginning ⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3E9YgPC⁠⁠