Activity

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.

JUNE 18 Reflection for the Day
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.