Daily Recovery Readings - 9/2

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Daily Reflections

FINDING "A REASON TO BELIEVE"
The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual
development. As Bill Sees It, p.171

A line from a song goes, ". . . and I look to find a reason to believe .
. ." It reminds me that at one time I was not able to find a reason
to believe that my life was all right. Even though my life had been
saved by coming to A.A., three months later I went out and drank
again. Someone told me: "You don't have to believe. Aren't you
willing to believe that there is a reason for your life, even though you
may not know yourself what that reason is, or that you may not
sometimes know the right way to behave?" When I saw how
willing I was to believe there was a reason for my life, then I could
start to work on the Steps. Now when I begin with, "I am willing. .
. ," I am using the key that leads to action, honesty, and openness
to a Higher Power moving through my life.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"Outline the program of action to new prospects, explaining how you
made a self appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and
why you are now endeavoring to help them. It is important for
them to realize that your attempt to pass this on to them plays a
vital part in your recovery. The more hopeless they feel, the better.
They will be more likely to follow your suggestions. Tell them about
the fellowship of A.A. and if they show interest, lend them a copy of
the Big Book." Can I tell the A.A. story to another alcoholic?

Meditation For The Day

You should try to stand aside and let God work through you. You
should try not to block Him off by your own efforts, or prevent
His spirit working through you. God desires your obedient service
and your loyalty to the ideals of the new life you are seeking. If
you are loyal to God, He will give you protection against
mistakes. His spirit will plan for you and secure for you a
sufficiency of all spiritual help. You will have true victory and real
success, if you will put yourself in the background and let God work
through you.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not interfere with the working of God's spirit in me
and through me. I pray that I may give it full rein.

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As Bill Sees It

Giving Without Demand, p. 69

Watch any A.A. of six months working with a Twelfth Step prospect. If
the newcomer says, "To the devil with you," the twelfth-stepper only
smiles and finds another alcoholic to help. He doesn't feel frustrated or
rejected. If his next drunk responds, and in turn starts to give love and
attention to other sufferers, yet gives none back to him, the sponsor is
happy about it anyway. He still doesn't feel rejected; instead he
rejoices that his former prospect is sober and happy.

And he well knows that his own life has been made richer, as an extra
dividend of giving to another without any demand for a return.

Grapevine, January 1958

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Walk In Dry Places

Going with the Flow
Problem solving.
It's surprising how many problems solve themselves when we're willing to turn them over to our Higher
Power. This isn't a self-fulfilling prophecy brought about by suspicious beliefs we can actually find proof of this seemingly providential activity in our lives.
We don't have to convince anybody except ourselves that this process works. What we can prove is that some of our best opportunities come about by what we would call chance or coincidence. Indeed, the first meeting of two AA founders could be called such a chance event.
We need to believe that our Higher Power is working ceaselessly for the upward development of the human race, and Twelve Step programs can be essential forces in this upward development. In our own lives, we can go with this flow of ever-increasing good, as we continue to feel ourselves a part of it.
I will not wrestle with every problem today. Some problems will be
dealt with later and some will seem to solve themselves. I will
know that I am part of an upward development that is continuing.

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Keep It Simple

… except when to do so would injure them or others.
---Second half of Step Nine
We have to be careful when we make amends. We must think about people’s well being. Can we help heal by being direct with them? Or would it hurt them again? At times, this means not making direct amends. Sometimes, it’s better to make some other kind of amend. If you’re not sure how to make amends to someone, ask for advice from your sponsor and your group. And pray. Over time, you’ll know if making direct amends is the right thing to do. Remember, Step Nine means we’re responsible for our actions. In recovery, our actions can be healing. Healing takes place when we love ourselves and others. And love is what heals us.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, I’ve hurt people in the past. Please use me now to help those people heal. Give me good judgment, courage, and good timing.
Action for the Day: I will never be able to make direct amends to some people. I will think of amends I can make to them. I can pray daily for their healing.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

SAFE HAVEN - This A.A. found that the process of discovering who he really was began with knowing who he didn't want to be.

I recall too well the morning when another guy and I stole my dad's credit card and pickup truck so we could run off to California to become movie stars. We had a pistol so we could rob stores when the time came to stock up on beer, cash, and cigarettes. Before the first day of travel was over, however, I told my friend I couldn't go on any longer and needed to return home. I knew my mom and dad were climbing the walls with worry by now. My friend refused to turn back, so I let him out of the truck; I never saw him again. My parents may have recognized my behavior as some serious adolescent rebellion, but they had no idea it was fueled by the disease of alcoholism.

pp. 452-453
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Whereupon we tried A.A. hospitals - they all bogged down because you cannot put an A.A. group into business; too many busybody cooks spoil the broth. A.A. groups had their fling at education, and when they began to publicly whoop up the merits of this or that brand, people became confused. Did A.A. fix drunks or was it an educational project? Was A.A. spiritual or was it medical? Was it a reform movement? In consternation, we saw ourselves getting married to all kinds of enterprises, some good and some not so good. Watching alcoholics committed willy-nilly to prisons or asylums, we began to cry, "There oughtta be a law!" A.A.'s commenced to thump tables in legislative committee rooms and agitated for legal reform. That made good newspaper copy, but little else. We saw we'd soon be mired in politics. Even inside A.A. we found it imperative to remove the A.A. name from clubs and Twelfth Step houses.

pp. 156-157

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Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
--Abraham Lincoln

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do.
The hard part is doing it."
--General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

"I didn't learn humility with my head. I learned humility with my
heart."
--Unknown

For all my good intentions, there are days when things go wrong or I
fall into old habits. When things are not going well, when I'm grumpy
or mad, I'll realize that I've not been paying attention to my soul and
I've not been following my best routine.
--Robert Fulghum

When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and
brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.
--Jean Shinoda Bolen

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

MEMORY

"Every man's memory is his
private literature."
-- Aldous Huxley

What it was like. What happened. What it is like today. Memory. If I
am to stay sober, I need to remember. I need to remember on a daily
basis. I must never forget.

My life is reflected in my memory. The "writing on the wall" is
really in my head, but am I prepared to see it and acknowledge it?
For years I chose not to remember. I lived in a world of
make-believe. People were exaggerating the facts! With denial at
the center of my life I was able to forget the pain and drink again,
only to awake to yesterday's pain again.

My memory is the key to my recovery. Spirituality is about "seeing" --
seeing my life as it is, rather than how I imagined or hoped it would
be. My pain belongs in my life because it is mine! Alcohol always
works; but does it work for me or against me? My remembering
helps me answer that question today and hopefully tomorrow.

Thank You, God, for allowing my yesterdays to forge my tomorrows.

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The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times
of trouble.
Psalm 9:9

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them
out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than
all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father
are one."
John 10:27-30

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Daily Inspiration

Don't miss a single chance to enrich your life or the lives of others. Lord, Your blessings are countless. May I always be aware of Your presence in my life, share my blessings, and use my blessings to be a blessing to others.

Never judge. The heart of each one of us is so different, so complex, with so many different circumstances and sufferings that only God is truly able to know it. Lord, may I reach out to others with compassion when they need my support.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind. --Bob Dylan
A family is like a windchime; each member hangs in delicate balance with the others. When a problem develops for one family member, the rest of us often take on roles to try and deal with the situation. But what happens to our windchime when we're all pulling and pushing in different directions? Our balance is lost and we either all clash together or none of our chimes connect at all and there is only painful silence.
If we let go and trust in that spiritual force beyond ourselves, we discover that it is like the wind. It moves our windchime gently with a soothing breeze that allows us to relax in our places or move together as the force directs us. It brings out the beautiful harmonious notes we weren't able to produce ourselves.
How can I help us make better music together today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work. --Geoffrey Norman
Exercise changes our thought patterns in beneficial ways. Often we may feel irritable or blue and see nothing we can do about the situation. Then we are amazed at what simply going for a half hour walk will do. Although our situations don't change, we are changed in how we respond to them. Exercise - whether going for a walk, working in the garden, playing ball, or scrubbing a floor - clears our minds. After some physical movement we find our thoughts getting clearer. Ideas come to mind that help us cope, and our spirit is energized.
Science has demonstrated that many serious cases of depression respond just as well to a program of vigorous daily exercise as to traditional treatment. In a sense, our Higher Power speaks to us through our muscles and bones when we move them. This spiritual experience, like many others, never comes from thinking about it, only from doing it.
Today, I will make time for physical activity.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
If I had to describe something as divine it would be what happens between people when they really get it together. There is a kind of spark that makes it all worthwhile. When you feel that spark, you get a good feeling deep in your gut. --June L. Tapp
How lucky we are, that we can experience that divine spark with one another, and with all recovering women. The program offers us the chance, every moment of our lives from this day forward, to experience divinity. All we are asked to do is be there, for one another, to share fully who we are. Vulnerability gets easier as we learn that we can trust each other, that we can share pain, that it's okay to pull and prod and follow, first you and then me and then her.
What a thrill it is to leave our competition behind! The program bonds us together, and the bond will strengthen each of us, but it can elude us, too. It often does when we forget to be there, in one another's presence, when the opportunity comes.
I need these sparks to nurture my growth, singly and collectively. I will be part of a divine experience today.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Detaching with Love with Children
It's one thing to let go of my husband and let him suffer the consequences. But how do I let go of my children? Isn't it different with children? Don't we have responsibilities as parents?
We do have different responsibilities to our children than to other adults. We are financially responsible for our children; we are responsible for providing for their material and physical needs.
Our children need to be taught how to help themselves - from tying their shoes to making social plans. They need our love and guidance. They need consistent enforcement of boundaries, once we've established limits. They need a supportive, nurturing environment in which to grow. They need help learning values.
But we are not responsible for controlling our children. Contrary to popular belief, controlling doesn't work. Discipline and nurturing do - if combined. Shame and guilt interfere with our children's learning and our parenting. We need to respond to our children in a responsible way and hold them accountable for their actions at an age appropriate level. We need only do our best.
We can let our children have their own process of living; we can have our own process. And, we can take care of ourselves during that process. Seek balance. Seek wisdom, Seek not to have control, but to own our power as people who are parents.
Today, God, help me find an appropriate balance of responsibility to my children. Help me parent through nurturing and discipline, instead of control.


All my needs are being met easily and effortlessly today. I simply turn them over to my Higher Power and do the footwork.
--Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Stop Overeating, Start Living

Physical abstinence is just the beginning of the new life OA offers to us. When our Higher Power controls our life, we become free of the mental obsession with food. Then we are able to get down to the business of living, which we avoided with our illness.

Rather than reaching out with both hands to grab and hold on to all we can get, we begin to think in terms of giving and serving. We may start by sharing what OA has done for us with newcomers to the program. It is the newcomer who is our reminder of who we were and where we came from.

We find that though we can never eat spontaneously, we can live much more spontaneously than before. Because we feel less guilt and fear, we can experience the joy of acting from the center of our being. Knowing that our Higher Power is in control, we have trust and faith that the results of our actions will be okay. Each day becomes less of a trial and more of an opportunity.
Today, may I experience the spontaneity that comes with Your control.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
When I was busy getting high or wasted, whether at the bar or at a using buddy’s place, I was constantly worried about running out. I always had to keep the “fridge” filled with cold beer. I could never let my “stash” run out. I always had to have “more.” It became a way of life for me.

The twelve-step program is not so different. It too is a way of life. Each of us uses the principles of the program in different ways, but with the same purpose. Some of us use quiet time and meditation, some use meetings and sponsors, some use twelve-step social functions with the intent of learning a new way to live – clean and sober. One thing that we can’t forget is that
we need to be refilled constantly. Do I use the program to get refilled?
Meditations for the Heart
Prayer was a very difficult thing for me in early recovery. It was something I had to grow into. Then my sponsor told me it was simply “talking to a friend.” That was something I could do. A true friend was somebody that was willing to listen, someone who cared, and someone who would give me guidance. A true friend would look out for me and would pick me up if I stumbled. I true friend would point out the stumbling blocks along the way. Is my Higher Power my true friend?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,

There are times that my tank runs on empty. Remind me to continue to refill my recovery engine when I need to. Be my friend as I walk through this day and guide me along the way.

Amen