Activity

Good Day Folks
Sorry for being late posting the daily messages but we had a huge storm
in my city that knocked out power and trees came down on homes and cars.
Just got our power back after two days.
Take Care
Ken L YBIR

MAY 22 Reflection for the Day

When I first listened to people in Gamblers Anonymous talking freely and honestly about themselves, I was stunned. Their stories of their own gambling escapades, of their own secret fears, and of their own gnawing loneliness were literally mind-blowing for me. I discovered – and hardly dared believe it at first – that I’m not alone, I’m not all that different from everyone else and, in fact, we’re all very much the same. I began to sense that I do belong somewhere, and my loneliness began to leave me.

Do I try to give others what has been given freely to me?

Today I Pray
May I begin to see, as the life stories of my friends in GA unfold for me, that our similarities are far more startling than our differences. As I listen to their accounts of compulsive gambling and recovery, may I experience often that small shock of recognition, a “hey-that’s-me!” feeling that is quick to chase away my separateness. May I become a wholehearted member of the group, giving and taking in equal parts.

Today I Will Remember
Sameness, not differences.

MAY 23 Reflection for the Day

When newcomers to Gamblers Anonymous experience the first startling feeling that they’re truly among friends, they also wonder – with almost a sense of terror – if the feeling is real. Will it last? Those of us who’ve been in the Program a few years can assure any newcomer at a meeting that it is very real indeed, and that it does last. It’s not just another false start, nor just a temporary burst of gladness to be followed, inevitably, by shattering disappointment.

Am I convinced that I can have a genuine and enduring recovery from the loneliness of my compulsive gambling?

Today I Pray
Please, God, let me not be held back by my fear of recurring loneliness. May I know that the openness that warms me in this group will not suddenly close up and leave me out. May I be patient with my fear, which is swollen with past disappoints and losses. May I know that the fellowship of the group will, in time, convince me that loneliness is never incurable.

Today I Will Remember
Loneliness is curable.

MAY 24 Reflection for the Day

Getting over years of suspicion and other self-protective mechanisms can hardly be an overnight process. We’ve become thoroughly conditioned to feeling and acting misunderstood and unloved – whether we really were or not. Some of us may need time and practice to break out of our shell and the seemingly comfortable familiarity of solitude. Even though we begin to believe and know we’re no longer alone, we tend to sometimes feel and act in old ways.

Am I taking it easy? Am I learning to wear the Gamblers Anonymous Program and life like a loose garment?

Today I Pray
May I expect no sudden, total reversal of all my old traits. My abstinence from gambling is just a beginning. May I realize that the symptoms of my compulsion will wear off gradually. If I slip back, now and then, into my old self-pity bag or my grandiosity, may I not be discouraged, but grateful. At last, I can face myself honestly and not let my delusions get the best of me.

Today I Will Remember
Easy does it.