Recovery, LGBT and in the news

Is Obama the most trans-friendly president ever?

Advocate.com: June 21, 2014 - Is Obama the Most Trans-Friendly President Ever? | Advocate.com.

One man's effort to understand the misunderstood: World Pride Day

The Good Men Project: June 21, 2014 - My Effort at Understanding the Misunderstood: World Pride Day -.

Louisville mayor Greg Fischer comes out in support of same-sex marriage

Advocate.com: June 21, 2014 - Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer Comes Out in Support of Marriage Equality | Advocate.com.

"The Normal Heart," star Matt Bomer take home Critics' Choice TV Awards

CBS News: June 21, 2014 - Critics' Choice TV Awards 2014 winners and highlights - CBS News.

Santorum regrets "mistake" of supporting judge who overturned gay marriage ban in Pennsylvania

Gay Star News: June 21, 2014 - Santorum admits 'mistake' in supporting judge who overturned Pennsylvania gay marriage ban | Gay Star News.

Texas man pleads guilty to kidnapping in abduction, beating of gay man, faces life in prison

LGBTQ Nation: June 21, 2014 - Texas man admits abducting, severely beating gay man he met online – LGBTQ Nation.

Massachusetts to expand health services to transgendered peopled

Associated Press: June 21, 2014 - Massachusetts to remove barriers to transgender related healthcare – LGBTQ Nation.

June 21, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, June 21, 2014
 
"The wars which had been fought, the burnings and chicanery that religious dispute had facilitated, made me sick. I honestly doubted whether, on balance, the religions of mankind had done any good. Judging from what I had seen in Europe and since, the power of God in human affairs was negligible, the Brotherhood of Man a grim jest. If there was a Devil, he seemed the Boss Universal, and he certainly had me." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 1 ("Bill's Story"), p 11.

Today, may I not reject the possibility that a higher power of good can exist despite all the bad - even evil - that I see every day. Just as Bill W. shared as co-founder of the Program, cynicism may block willingness for me to believe the possibility that something stronger and better than myself could exist to set me on the journey toward sobriety and recovery. Perhaps a beginning is to understand the distinction between religion and spirituality and that one has nothing to do with the other. The Program does not require me to adhere to any religious code; it does require that I come to believe in a Higher Power or God of my understanding. But how can I be reconciled to the bad that surrounds me, including wars and all other affairs? If I can accept that one of our most precious collective gifts is the freedom of choice, is it not plausible that the state of man is a direct consequence of his choices individually and collectively? If so, cannot what is bad around me be the consequence of man's self-will run riot and not because of a punitive god? Today, I set out to find my Higher Power of my understanding, not of man's religious concept. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

June 21, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, June 21, 2014
 
AA Thought for the Day
Intelligent faith in that Power greater than ourselves can be counted on to stabilize our emotions. It has an incomparable capacity to help us look at life in balanced perspective. We look up, around and away from ourselves, and we see that nine out of 10 things which at the moment upset us will shortly disappear. Problems solve themselves, criticism and unkindness vanish as though they had never been.

Have I got the proper perspective toward life?

Meditation for the Day
A truly spiritual man or woman would like to have a serene mind. The only way to keep calm in this troubled world is to have a serene mind. The calm and sane mind sees spiritual things as the true realities and material things as only temporary and fleeting. That sort of mind you can never obtain by reasoning, because your reasoning powers are limited by space and time. That kind of a mind you can never obtain by reading, because other minds are also limited in the same way. You can only have that mind by an act of faith, by making the venture of belief.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a calm and sane mind. I pray that I may look up, around and away from myself.

Hazelden Foundation

June 21, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, June 21, 2014
 
Reflection for the Day
"Direct" is a key word in the Ninth Step. There are times, unfortunately, where 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.

Hazelden Foundation