• kenl posted an update in the group Group logo of CommunityCommunity 1 year, 9 months ago

    June 16 Reflection for the Day

    The Ninth Step of the Gamblers Anonymous Program is: “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. “To make restitution for the wrongs we’ve done can be extremely difficult, to say the least ;if nothing else, it deflates our egos and batters our pride. Yet that in itself is a reward, and such restitution can bring still greater rewards. When we go to a person and say we’re sorry, the reaction is almost invariably positive. Courage is required, to be sure, but the results more than justify the action.

    Have I done my best to make all the restitution possible?

    Today I Pray
    May I count on my Higher Power to stop me if I start to crawl out from under my Ninth Step responsibility. May I feel that blessed, liberating wash of relief that goes with saying, out loud, to someone I have harmed, “I was wrong. I made mistakes. I am honestly sorry.” May I not worry about cracking that brittle, cover-up crust of my ego, because the inside will be ore mature.

    Today I Will Remember
    Restitution is blessed.

    June 17 Reflection for the Day

    Readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very spirit of Step Nine. A casual apology, on the one hand, will rarely suffice in making amends to one we have harmed; a true change of attitude, in contrast, can do wonders to make up for past unkindnesses. If I’ve deprived anyone of any material thing, I’ll acknowledge the debt and pay it as soon as I’m able.

    Will I swallow my pride and make the first overtures toward reconciliation?

    Today I Pray
    God, show me the best ways to make “direct amends. “Sometimes simply admitting my mistakes may make it up to someone and unload my own simmering guilt. Other times restitution may take some creative thought. May I be wholly aware that I cannot take this Ninth Step unless I develop some caring, some real concern about how others feel, along with changes in my behaviour.

    Today I Will Remember
    First I care, then I apologize.