Daily Recovery Readings - 9/10

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Daily Reflections

RECOVERY BY PROXY?

They [the Promises] will always materialize if we work for them.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS p. 84

Sometimes I think: "Making these amends is going too far! No one
should have to humble himself like that!" However, it is this very
humbling of myself that brings me that much closer to the sunlight of
the spirit. A.A. is the only hope I have if I am to continue healing and
gain a life of happiness, friendship and harmony.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Here are answers to the question of how a person can live without
liquor and be happy: "The things we put in place of drinking are more
than substitutes for it. One is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In this company, you find release from care, boredom, and worry. Your
imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The
most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Among other
A.A.s you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with
new and wonderful ties." Does life mean something to me now?

Meditation For The Day

Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving
God and all the satisfactions of the world also? It is not easy to serve
both God and the world. It is difficult to claim the rewards of both. If
you work for God, you will still have great rewards in the world. But
you must be prepared to sometimes stand apart from the world. You
cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards that life
has to offer. If you are trying sincerely to serve God, you will have
other and greater rewards than the world has to offer.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not expect too much from the world. I pray that I
may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.

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As Bill Sees It

Resolving Fear, p. 61

Fear somehow touched about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil
and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through
with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us
misfortune we felt we didn't deserve. But did we not often set the
ball rolling ourselves?

<< << << >> >> >>

The problem of resolving fear has two aspects. We shall have to try
for all the freedom from fear that is possible for us to attain. Then
we shall need to find both the courage and the grace to deal
constructively with whatever fears remain.

1. Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 67-68
2. Grapevine, January 1962

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Walk In Dry Places

Watch those feelings
Feelings.
In AA's early years, there was very little talk about "feelings' or "emotions." The phrase "getting in touch with your feelings" had not been popularized, yet the AA pioneers knew that bitter and resentful feelings were destructive, while warm and optimistic feelings enhanced sobriety.
Now we know that feelings are extremely are extremely important for groups as well as individuals. We know that some AA groups can give off feelings that make them more attractive than others. Some groups are considered "cold," while others are "warm." Such differences are rooted in the feelings of each member of the group.
How can we be sure that our feelings will make our groups warm and inviting to others? We can "tune" our feelings by looking at our attitudes. If we are truly dedicated to our principles and want to share them with others, the feelings we project will be welcoming. Whatever we really feel will be expressed in our daily affairs and in our group activities.
I'll check my attitude today for good feelings as I go about my work and activities. These feelings will, in turn, send out signals that everyone can understand and appreciate.

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Keep It Simple

If you want a thing done “right,” you have to do it yourself.---Anonymous
We addicts can be very picky. We think there’s only one way to do things. It’s our way,
But we call it the right way. When we think like this, three things happen. First, we put down other people. Second, we end up doing all the work. Third, everyone feels bad. The other person feels hurt that we don’t respect him or her. And we feel angry because we “had” to do all the work.
We need to know that there are many ways to do things. It’s okay when others don’t do things our way. Their way probably works just fine for them. If they want your advice they’ll ask for it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept other people and their ways.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll watch how other people do things. Maybe I’ll learn a better way to do some things.

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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.

In Alcoholics Anonymous, I knew I had found a protective haven. But during the ensuing
4 1/2 years I fell into the category known, in A.A. parlance, as a "chronic slipper." I might get a good six months of sobriety under my belt, but then I would get a bottle to celebrate.

p. 455
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Seven - "Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions."

Probably no A.A. Tradition had the labor pains this one did. In early times, we were all broke. When you add to this the habitual supposition that people ought to give money to alcoholics trying to stay sober, it can be understood why we thought we deserved a pile of folding money. What great things A.A. would be able to do with it! But oddly enough, people who had money thought otherwise. They figured that it was high time we now--sober--paid our own way. So our Fellowship stayed poor because it had to.

p. 160

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Today, I will be open to growing in my understanding of my Higher
Power. I will be open to letting go of old, limiting, negative beliefs
about God. No matter how I understand God, I will be grateful that
God understands me.
--Melody Beattie

We are enrolled in a full time, informal school called, "Life." Each day
of this school, we have the opportunity to learn lessons. We may like
the lessons or hate them, but they are part of the curriculum. The
greatest lessons we learn are about love and fear, that every action is
either an expression of love, or a call for love. And the great blessing
is that every lesson repeats itself until we learn it.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

I have all the time in the world to do God's Will for me today. I trust
that my Higher Power is filling me with all the energy that I need for
these 24 hours.
--Ruth Fishel

Those who withhold forgiveness only withhold it from themselves."
--Paul Ferrini

Happiness is an inside job.
--Unknown

Do you want to be happy or do you want to be right?
--Gerald Jampolsky

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

NEIGHBORS

"The good neighbor looks beyond
the external accidents and
discerns those inner qualities that
make all men human and,
therefore, brothers."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a drunk I said cruel things about other people. My prejudices hid
my fears and insecurities. I condemned in others what I saw in myself.
I deflected attention from me by the name-calling others: sick
manipulations. "Neighbor" was only a word that I could spell and
interpret, useful for religious homilies or pretentious innuendoes but
not something I really experienced.

Today I am able to be the "good neighbor" to many people, known and
unknown. My recovery has brought people into my life. Relationships
mean something; friends are important; the world is one. Black, Asian,
Hispanic -- all add a variety to my life that enable me to get in touch
with buried feelings of my "difference". In the stranger I discover
something of myself; the foreigner has become both friend and
neighbor.

God, I never cease to be amazed at the mystery and variety that is
"me".

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But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already
has?"
Romans 8:24

"One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to
be poor, yet has great wealth."
Proverbs 13:7

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Daily Inspiration

If a person or a situation causes you to feel insecure, you have forgotten who you really are. Lord, You are my Father. I am Your child. How can I ever feel like less.

God gives abundantly to those who pass His gifts on to others. Lord, let Your blessings flow in to me and then out from me. I will neither be selfish nor let my gifts stagnate.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you. --Madeline Bridges
Sometimes we feel lazy or bored, and then we don't do our best work. Maybe our writing becomes hard to read, or we miss a porch when delivering newspapers. Perhaps we are daydreaming instead of listening closely to what a friend is trying to tell us. When we are not really paying attention to our activities or the people around us, we'll likely miss out on something important because we do receive in equal measure what we give. And this truth works in every aspect of our lives.
When we treat our friends, our families, even people we don't know well with kindness, we'll experience kindness in return. Our own actions and attitudes toward others are what we can expect from others as well.
How can I increase the kindness in the world today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It is not a question of how a husband and wife can be equal and alike. But rather, it is a problem of how a couple can be equal and different. --Pierre Mornell
In seeking closeness with loved ones, we have often made the mistake of looking only for similarities. Although common ground helps understanding, we must learn how to get close to others by "borrowing their eyes and ears." We expand our understanding of others by accepting that what we see, hear, think, and feel will not be exactly what anyone else does. We can deepen our relationships by exchanging our experiences with others.
We don't have to agree on everything. Simply learning about each other's differences and letting each other know that we hear and understand will create a feeling of intimacy.
I will be receptive and appreciate differences in those I love.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
It isn't for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the long uphill climb back to sanity and faith and security. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Most of us are on a long uphill climb at this moment. It is a climb we are making together, and yet a climb we can't do for each other. I can reach out my hand to you, and you can grasp my hand in return. But my steps are my own, just as you, too, can only take one-step at a time.
For brief periods we skip, even run, along the uphill path. The rocks and the occasional boulder momentarily trip us up. We need patience and trust that the summit is still achievable. We can help one another have patience. We can remind one another to trust.
We look back at the periods that devastated us so long ago. And now we are here. We have climbed this far. We are stronger, saner, and more secure. Each step makes easier the next step--each step puts us on more solid ground.
I may run into some rocks or even a boulder today. I have stepped around them in the past. I will do so again.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Self-approval
Most of us want to be liked. We want other people to think of us as nice, friendly, kind, and loving. Most of us want the approval of others.
Since childhood, some of us have been trying to get approval, trying to get people to like us and think highly of us. We may be afraid people will leave us if they disapprove of our actions. We may look for approval from people who have none to give. We may not know that we're lovable now and can learn to approve of ourselves.
In order to live happily, to live consistently with the way our Higher Power wants us to live, and to tap into a way of life that is in harmony with the universe, we need to let go of our extreme need for approval. These unmet needs for approval and love from our past give others control over us today. These needs can prevent us from acting in our best interest and being true to ourselves.
We can approve of ourselves. In the end, that's the only approval that counts.
Today, I will let go of my need for approval and my need to be liked. I will replace them with a need to like and approve of myself. I will enjoy the surprise I find when I do this. The people who count, including myself, will respect me when I am true to myself.


Peace is flowing through me everywhere today, pouring all over my mind and my body... releasing all my tensions and anxiety... emptying me of all my negativity and fear.... I am being filled with peace and love and serenity. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Listening

As we learn to listen to our Higher Power, we also learn to listen with more awareness to others and ourselves. Being willing to spend time alone, in quiet, is essential to listening. We often fear silence and being alone, and we escape into distractions and busy work.

Prayer is not so much telling and asking as it is listening. Prayer in this sense may be practiced continually during the day. By taking Step Three, we are giving up our will and becoming receptive to the will of our Higher Power. We focus less on our egotistical concerns and more on God, as we understand Him. That understanding grows through listening.

By listening, we become aware of needs, feelings, and responses within ourselves, which we had previously ignored. Knowing ourselves better, we are more direct and honest with others and more responsive to them. The communication which develops with our Higher Power is on a level deep enough to relate us more meaningfully to everyone around us.
I will listen today to Your voice.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
I believe that each of has an inner desire to be loved. We want others to care for us, often times secretly. We want to know that others will be there and reach out to us when we are in need. With addiction to alcohol or drugs, often times this inner desire gets skewed. We look to alcohol or drugs to fulfill this inner desire. In the height of my addiction I looked to drugs and alcohol for comfort, love and to satisfy my inner desires.

In recovery I need to recognize how easy it is to misplace this desire for love. It is easy to misplace this desire on to things, people and even my Higher Power in unhealthy ways. If I am honest with myself, and others and even God, as I understand Him, I can find healthy ways to accept love. I do not need to try and manipulate the process to satisfy my inner desire. Am I still trying to manipulate others or God into accepting me?
Meditations for the Heart
Perhaps one of the best ways to assure that I am not trying to manipulate is to learn how to love myself. I need to realize and accept that I am valuable and worthy of love. I do this by loving myself. This means that I care enough about myself to correct myself when I am wrong, just like a father corrects his children when they do things that are hurtful, dishonest or manipulative. This is an act of self-love in a healthy way. Step Ten teaches us to admit our wrongs. Do I see that I wrong myself when I try to hide or manipulate others or try to hide or manipulate the way I view myself rather than seeing me as I really am?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,

Someone once told me, “God don’t make junk.” Help me value myself as You value and love me. Help me to recognize and accept love from others in the program. Help me not to try and manipulate to satisfy my inner desire for love. Give me courage for this day.
Amen.