Daily Recovery Readings - 8/20

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Daily Reflections

TOWARD EMOTIONAL FREEDOM

Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always
been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no
field of investigation could yield more satisfying and valuable
rewards than this one.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 80

Willingness is a peculiar thing for me in that, over a period of
time, it seems to come, first with awareness, but then with a
feeling of discomfort, making me want to take some action. As I
reflected on taking the Eighth Step, my willingness to make amends
to others came as a desire for forgiveness, of others and myself.
I felt forgiveness toward others after I became aware of my part
in the difficulties of relationships. I wanted to feel the peace
and serenity described in the Promises. From working the first
seven Steps, I became aware of whom I had harmed and that I had
been my own worst enemy. In order to restore my relationships
with my fellow human beings, I knew I would have to change. I
wanted to learn to live in harmony with myself and others so that
I could also live in emotional freedom. The beginning of the end
to my isolation - from my fellows and from God - came when I
wrote my Eighth Step list.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"When many hundreds of people are able to say that the
consciousness of the presence of God is today the most important fact of
their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.
When we see others solve their problems by simple reliance upon
some Spirit of the universe, we have to stop doubting the power of
God. Our ideas did not work, but the God-idea does. Deep down in
every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. Faith
in a Power greater than ourselves and miraculous demonstrations of
that power in our lives are facts as old as the human race." Am I
willing to rely on the Spirit of the universe?

Meditation For The Day

You should not dwell too much on the mistakes, faults, and failures
of the past. Be done with shame and remorse and contempt for
yourself. With God's help, develop a new self-respect. Unless you
respect yourself, others will not respect you. You ran a race, you
stumbled and fell, you have risen again, and now you press on
toward the goal of a better life. Do not stay to examine the spot
where you fell, only feel sorry for the delay, the shortsightedness
that prevented you from seeing the real goal sooner.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not look back. I pray that I may keep picking
myself up and making a fresh start each day.

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As Bill Sees It

Trouble Becomes an Asset, p. 82

"I think that this particular General Service Conference holds
promise and has been filled with progress--because it has had
trouble. And it has converted that trouble into an asset, into some
growth, and into a great promise.

"A.A. was born out of trouble, one of the most serious kinds of
trouble that can befall an individual, the trouble attendant upon this
dark and fatal malady of alcoholism. Every single one of us
approached A.A. in trouble, in impossible trouble, in hopeless trouble.
And that is why we came.

"If this Conference was ruffled, if individuals were deeply
disturbed--I say, 'This is fine." What parliament, what republic, what
democracy has not been disturbed? Friction of opposing viewpoints is
the very modus operandi on which they proceed. Then what should
we be afraid of?"

Talk, 1958

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Walk In Dry Places

All that Glitters
Tempting Moments
Though real sobriety means all lose of desire to drink, it's not uncommon to have moments when the
old life takes on a sudden appeal. This appeal is never based on a realistic look at things as they
were. It is more a rush of feeling connected with some alluring aspect of the drinking life.
Such a false feeling will always pass if we let ourselves remember what happened to us and why we needed to seek recovery. We cannot have this rush of feeling when we remember the misery, despair, and other pain from that part of our lives.
All that glitters is not gold, goes an old saying. All the glittering scenes connected with drinking are not really golden moments, either. They are, for us, always preludes to disaster.
I'll remember today to let realistic thinking rule my life even if there are moments when my feelings run temporarily awry.

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Keep It Simple

Heaven and hell is right now. . .You make it heaven or you make it hell by your actions.----George Harrison
We used chemicals to feel better, but we started feeling worse. We were out of control. Life seemed like hell.
Now we have a program that tells us how to make life better. Some days, it even feels like heaven! But we have to work our program to make our own heaven.
Working the program isn’t too hard. And it makes us feel so good. So, why don’t we do it all the time? Maybe we’re a little afraid of heaven. It’s time to learn to love having a better life!
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me work my program each day, so each day has a little bit of heaven in it. Help me get used to having a better life.
Action for the Day: Tonight, I’ll think about the moments of kindness, joy, hope and faith that put a little bit of heaven into my life today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

HE LIVED ONLY TO DRINK - "I had been preached to, analyzed, cursed, and counseled, but no one had ever said, 'I identify with what's going on with you. It happened to me and this is what I did about it.'"
I drank so much that night that nobody believed I hadn't been drinking all the time, and I didn't get drunk, although there were parts of the evening that I didn't remember the next day. But more important than anything else that night, I belonged. I was at home in the universe; I was comfortable with people. Despite my active church and school life as a child, I had never really felt comfortable; I was actually very nervous and insecure around people and most of the time forced myself to be ongoing like my parents because I thought it was my duty. But this night in the bar was like no other time in my life. Not only was I completely at ease, but I actually loved all the strangers around me and they loved me in return, I thought, all because of this magic potion, alcohol. What a discovery. What a revelation!

p. 447
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Five - "Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry it's message to the alcoholic who still suffers."

"Shoemaker, stick to thy last!" ... better do one thing supremely well than many badly. That is the central theme of this Tradition. Around it our Society gathers in unity. The very life of our Fellowship requires the preservation of this principle.

p. 150

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Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value
your time, you will not do anything with it.
--M. Scott Peck

Let me tell thee, time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that
it's only given to us moment by moment.
--Amelia Barr

"You cannot give to people what they are incapable of receiving."
--Agatha Christie

"I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of
my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most
precious gift I have - life itself."
--Walter Anderson

If I love with my Spirit, I don't have to think so hard with my head.
--unknown

"For many people, change is more threatening than challenging. They
see it as the destroyer of what is familiar and comfortable rather than
the creator of what is new and exciting."
--Nido Qubein

Often when we're being tough and strong, we're scared. It takes a lot
of courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be soft.
--Dudley Martineau

Heaven and hell is right now. . .You make it heaven or you make it hell
by your actions.
--George Harrison

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

TOGETHERNESS

"A man who thinks of himself as
belonging to a particular national
group in Americas has not yet
become an American."
-- Woodrow Wilson

Today I know that I belong. I am not alone. I do not exist outside of
the human race. I am an important part of this world.

Addiction makes us feel different, separated and isolated. It keeps us
divided within ourselves, our family and relationships. So long as it can
do this, it wins.

Now I know that I belong. I make up a part of the whole. Something of
this universe is mine.

I am not an island unto myself. I am an essential part of the human
race. I am at home in my world.

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My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:2

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do
what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but
you must master it."
Genesis 4:7

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But
one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what
is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are
still angry."
Ephesians 4:26

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Daily Inspiration

Make peace with your imperfections and concentrate on your strengths. Lord, teach me to become more aware of my goodness so that little by little I will become even better.

We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Lord, help me to enjoy the person that I am.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward. --Soren Kierkegaard
Once, in a small village, there was a huge fire. The blaze spread and several homes and businesses were burned to the ground. After a long while, the fire was brought under control and put out. Villagers banded together to rebuild their town, but one quite persistent young man insisted on searching the rubble for the cause of the fire. Impatient townspeople scolded him, saying, "Why waste time searching for causes? Knowing them won't put out the blaze or repair the damage." "I know," replied the young man, "but knowing why might prevent other fires."
Sometimes we have to look at painful past experiences in order to prevent their recurrence. When we understand ourselves better, we can move beyond the past and walk toward the future with surer, safer steps.
How well can I use my past today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Every human being is a problem in search of a solution. --Ashley Montagu
Each of us is a strong and fragile creature. We're always subject to forces outside our control, and we're learning steps for living that helps us cope and rise above these problems. Our particular situation might seem special to us but in another sense, everyone's situation is a unique problem. Spiritual growth is the result of coming face to face with our own situation, feeling the brunt of our own puzzlement, recognizing no recipe will apply completely, and then trusting our Higher Power as we make unsure responses.
No school or parent can ever teach us enough to smooth our search for solutions. We become complete human beings by living through the muddle, by truly trusting our connections with God and other people to carry us along until we find clarity again. We progress into manhood when we meet our own particular life crises. We learn to see we have this process in common with every human being. Rather than resist our problems, we band together with others and pool our strength to find solutions.
My problems today are opportunities for spiritual growth.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change. So suffering must become love. That is the mystery.
--Katherine Mansfield
Acceptance of those conditions that at times plague us changes not only the conditions but, in the process, ourselves. Perhaps this latter change is the more crucial. As each changes, as we all change into more accepting women, life's struggles ease. When we accept all the circumstances that we can't control, we are more peaceful. Smiles more easily fill us up.
It's almost as though life's eternal lesson is acceptance, and with it comes life's eternal blessings.
Every day offers me many opportunities to grow in acceptance and thus blessings. I can accept any condition today and understand it as an opportunity to take another step toward serenity, eternal and whole.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Honesty in Relationships
We can be honest and direct about our boundaries in relationships and about the parameters of a particular relationship.
Perhaps no area of our life reflects our uniqueness and individuality in recovery more than our relationships. Some of us are in a committed relationship. Some of us are dating. Some of us are not dating. Some of us are living with someone. Some of us wish we were dating. Some of us wish we were in a committed relationship. Some of us get into new relationships after recovery. Some of us stay in the relationship we were in before we began recovering.
We have other relationships too. We have friendships. Relationships with children, with parents, with extended family. We have professional relationships - relationships with people on the job.
We need to be able to be honest and direct in our relationships. One area we can be honest and direct about is the parameters of our relationships. We can define our relationships to people, an idea written about by Charlotte Kasl and others, and we can ask them to be honest and direct about defining their vision of the relationship with us.
It is confusing to be in relationships and not know where we stand - whether this is on the job, in a friendship, with family members, or in a love relationship. We have a right to be direct about how we define the relationship - what we want it to be. But relationships equal two people who have equal rights. The other person needs to be able to define the relationship too. We have a right to know, and ask. So do they.
Honesty is the best policy.
We can set boundaries. If someone wants a more intense relationship than we do, we can be clear and honest about what we want, about our intended level of participation. We can tell the person what to reasonably expect from us, because that is what we want to give. How the person deals with that is his or her issue. Whether or not we tell the person is ours.
We can set boundaries and define friendships when those cause confusion.
We can even define relationships with children, if those relationships have gotten sticky and exceeded our parameters. We need to define love relationships and what that means to each person. We have a right to ask and receive clear answers. We have a right to make our own definitions and have our own expectations. So does the other person.
Honesty and directness is the only policy. Sometimes we don't know what we want in a relationship. Sometimes the other person doesn't know. But the sooner we can define a relationship, with the other person's help, the sooner we can decide on an appropriate course of conduct for ourselves.
The clearer we can become on defining relationships, the more we can take care of ourselves in that relationship. We have a right to our boundaries, wants, and needs. So does the other person. We cannot force someone to be in a relationship or to participate at a level we desire if he or she does not want to. All of us have a right not to be forced.
Information is a powerful tool, and having the information about what a particular relationship is - the boundaries and definitions of it - will empower us to take care of ourselves in it.
Relationships take a while to form, but at some point we can reasonably expect a clear definition of what that relationship is and what the boundaries of it are. If the definitions clash, we are free to make a new decision based on appropriate information about what we need to do to take care of ourselves.
Today, I will strive for clarity and directness in my relationships. If I now have some relationships that are murky and ill defined, and if I have given them adequate time to form, I will begin to take action to define that relationship. God, help me let go of my fears about defining and understanding the nature of my present relationships. Guide me into clarity - clear, healthy thinking. Help me know that what I want is okay. Help me know that if I can't get that from the other person, what I want is still okay, but not possible at the present time. Help me learn to not forego what I want and need, but empower me to make appropriate, healthy choices about where to get that.


Today I am beginning to experience all that I am, a unique and interdependent human being. I feel unique and alive and unlimited. I am free to experience love and joy. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Togetherness

In this program, we are able to do together what none of us could achieve alone. We may have tried many ways to control our disease before we came to OA, but they did not work or we would not be here.

We share a common illness and a common cure. Abstinence is possible as we share it with each other. The program works as we work it together. Each of us is an individual, but we function best with the support of the group. If we neglect to go to meetings and make phone calls, we cut ourselves off from the strength and inspiration we need.

Our Higher Power works through each of us as we share what we have been given. We do not achieve and maintain abstinence by ourselves. Most of us overate alone. Learning to live without overeating involves learning to live with other people. Our fellowship is our recovery, and together we grow.
Thank You for our togetherness.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
Wrestling, struggling, and fighting with the idea that I was an alcoholic or drug addict was my nature. Even when I first started attending meetings I was fully convinced that I was done fighting. At first I spent a lot of time trying to prove that I was different. I wanted to show myself and others that I was unique. But, slowly over time I began to see more and more evidence that I too had this disease. When I was finally convinced that I indeed was addicted to alcohol and drugs I began to look for the answers to recovery. I had a lot to learn and I had a lot to unlearn. I began to open my ears to the knowledge of others in the program. I picked up one resource after another. The more I read, the more I heard, the more I asked questions, the more I began to develop a sense of hope. I found myself fighting less often. I became more accepting of the “suggestions” given to me.

Today I still find that I can drift back into that state of terminal uniqueness. I still find there are times that I feel like my story is different. Fortunately, the fellowship of the program brings me back to reality. Am I still fighting?
Meditations for the Heart
There are things that are worth fighting for. Am I fighting for the right things? God has helped me recognize that I am worth fighting for. I did not always believe that. There was a time that I felt totally worthless. When I do have to go into “battle,” I need to remember to put my helmet on. I have to carry my shield. The wisdom of the Program is my helmet and openness, willingness, and truth is my shield. I have found these things do protect me from harm when I go into battle. I no longer have to run in fear and hide. Do I pick my battles wisely? When I do go into battle, do I strap my helmet on tight? Do I remember to carry my shield?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,

Help me this day to be open to the wisdom of others. Help me to choose my battles wisely and help me to know that I do not need to go into any battle alone. God help me to trust that you are with me each step of the way.

Amen