Daily Recovery Readings - 9/17

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Daily Reflections

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

When, with God's help, we calmly accepted our lot,
then we found we could live at peace with ourselves
and show others who still suffered the same fears
that they could get over them, too. We found that
freedom from fear was more important than freedom
from want.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 122

Material values ruled my life for many years during
my active alcoholism. I believed that all of my
possessions would make me happy, yet I still felt
bankrupt after I obtained them. When I first came
into A. A., I found out about a new way of living.
As a result of learning to trust others, I began to
believe in a power greater than myself. Having faith
freed me from the bondage of self. As material gains
were replaced by the gifts of the spirit, my life
became manageable. I then chose to share my
experiences with other alcoholics.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Step One is, "We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."
This step states the membership requirement of A.A.
We must admit that our lives are disturbed. We must
accept the fact that we are helpless before the
power of alcohol. We must admit that we are licked
as far as drinking is concerned and that we need
help. We must be willing to accept the bitter fact
that we cannot drink like normal people. And we must
make, as gracefully as possible, a surrender to the
inevitable fact that we just stop drinking. Is it difficult
for me to admit that I am different from normal drinkers?

Meditation For The Day

"Show us the way, O Lord, and let us walk in Thy paths."
There seems to be a right way to live and a wrong way.
You can make a practical test. When you live the right
way, things seem to work out well for you. When you live
the wrong way, things seem to work out badly for you.
You seem to take out of life about what you put into it.
If you disobey the laws of nature, the chances are that
you will be unhealthy. If you disobey the spiritual and
moral laws, the chances are that you will be unhappy.
By following the laws of nature, and the spiritual laws
of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love, you can
expect to be reasonably healthy and happy.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may try to live the right way.
I pray that I may follow the path that leads to a better life.

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As Bill Sees It

To Deepen Our Insight, p. 54

It is necessary that we extricate from an examination of our personal
relations every bit of information about ourselves and our
fundamental difficulties that we can. 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.

Calm, thoughtful reflection upon personal relations can deepen our
insight. We can go far beyond those things which were superficially
wrong with us, to see those flaws which were basic, flaws which
sometimes were responsible for the whole pattern of our lives.
Thoroughness, we have found, will pay--and pay handsomely.

12 & 12, p. 80

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Walk In Dry Places

The world will recover
Belief
If our recovery program is working properly, an amazing thing can happen. Instead of being the bad actors of society, we become people who can be considered solid citizens in every way.. So square that we might even have sharp corners.
We might then start becoming critical of the world in general. "I've recovered, so why does the rest of the world have to be the way it is?" A person might say. "Why don't other people do something about their resentments and fears, just as I have?"
In asking such a question, we're already in danger of becoming self-righteous. We can remember, however, that our Higher Power has the same concern for others that was shown to us. By the grace of God, and in God's own good time, the world can and will recover.
I'll remember today that God is in charge of the world and will set all things straight, just as I was brought to recovery.

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Keep It Simple

It is better to be wanted too much than not a all.---Anonymous
It may seem that so many people want our time and love. Parents say we don’t call often enough. Children demand our time. Our partners say we’re gone to much. Our sponsor tells us to check in more often.
When we feel off balance by all these people, we need to stop and rest. We need to remember how lonely we were when we were using. No one wanted our time and love then! Now we’re important to others again.
You can handle all this by giving people what they need and ask for, within reason---not what you think they need, which may be way too much. Maybe you need Al-Anon, to learn to love others while taking care of yourself.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me put my time and energy to best use today. Help me find the balance I need between work, play, loving others, and self-care.
Action for the Day: When I feel I have to give too much today, I’ll stop and ask my Higher Power for guidance.

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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.

One of the things I have committed to do in return for God's grace is to immediately become active in a correctional committee upon my release. Bringing the A.A. message back into jails and prisons is extremely important to me and my own sobriety today.
From experience, I've realized that I cannot go back and make a brand-new start. But through A.A., I can start now and make a brand-new end.

p. 457
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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

"I heard all this quite plainly, as I was piously trying to convert a newcomer who sat next to me. The hat came in my direction, and I reached into my pocket. Still working on my prospect, I fumbled and came up with a fifty-cent piece. Somehow it looked like a very big coin. Hastily, I dropped it back and fished out a dime, which clinked thinly as I dropped it in the hat. Hats never got folding money in those days.

p. 163

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"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart."
--Kahlil Gibran

Yesterday is a canceled check,
tomorrow is a promissory note,
today is cash in the bank.

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow's a mystery,
Live just for today.

Today is a gift that is why they call it the present.

When special feelings come your way,
let them flow into your heart.
When miracles try to find you, don't hide.
When special people come along,
let them know what a blessing they are.
Let your smiles begin way down, deep inside.
--Collin McCarthy

"I can do nothing to change the past except stop repeating it in the present."
--Courage to Change

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

PEOPLE-PLEASING

"I cannot give you the formula
for success, but I can give you
the formula for failure, which is
try to please everybody."
-- Herbert Bayard Swope

Part of my recovery is not that I never "people-please" but that I
know when I am doing it . . . and I am doing it less!

My low self-esteem was revealed in the way I would say what I felt
you wanted to hear, do what you wanted to do, go where you wanted
to go -- and for years I missed me. For years I missed my life because I
was preoccupied with other people. And I wasn't honest. I hated being
that way but I wouldn't admit it. Now I see that my guilt around my
addiction led me into this sick cycle, and recovery is taking me out of
it. Today I say "I don't want to go." "I don't agree with what you are
saying." "I refuse to do that."

My dignity is being discovered in my straight forwardness.

God, may I have the courage to share my true feelings.

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"Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my
salvation; for you I wait all day long."
Psalm 25:5

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. 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 3:12-14

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Daily Inspiration

When something threatens your peace, do not give it an importance it doesn't have by allowing it to fester in your mind. Lord, there is no situation beyond Your ability to correct.

Use the power of positive images in your mind to bring about good experiences. Lord, I will let my faith in You nourish my thoughts so that I can develop a healthy and joyful reality.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
--Emily Dickinson
We often hum and sing to ourselves because it makes us feel content. It is the melody itself that makes us feel good--words and thoughts do not matter.
Having hope for ourselves and for our universe is like having a melody always moving inside us. The melody may be calm or exciting, but most of all it brings with it beauty and a sense of peace. Hope can overcome the need for words and thoughts and promises. Hope is the melody that keeps us going, the hum that continues even when there are no words to the song. Hope is not a melody we think about--it must come when we believe in the goodness of our world. If we have faith in a power greater than ourselves, we will be able to find the melody of hope inside us at all times.
What is my hope for today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting. --William Shakespeare
An important part of our lives is simply tending to our basic needs --sitting down daily to share a meal with loved ones, getting enough sleep, setting time aside for haircuts and polishing shoes, spending leisure time with friends. Paying attention to these things only when they become crises makes our lives unbalanced and crisis oriented. Many men have neglected themselves because they felt it was the mark of a tough guy. Others have been so lost in an addiction or so codependent that a respectful self-caring life was not possible.
As we regain our sanity, we find balance in the basics. Self-love allows us to be responsible for our care, and it puts us in a stronger position to help others, to be creative, and to assert our right to recovery.
Today, I will look after the essentials of my personal care and my family's care before I take on other things.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Desire and longing are the whips of God. --Anna Wickham
Our dreams and desires inspire us to reach beyond our present stopping-place. That which we can achieve will draw our attention, and with certainty, a partner is on hand to help us chart the steps for realizing the goal.
Before our introduction to the Twelve Steps, we experienced desires and set many goals. Some we attained. What we often lacked was confidence, and then our commitment wavered. The program is helping us realize that all pure desires are attainable when we invite the program's structure into our daily planning.
Our lives are purposeful. Each of us is fulfilling a necessary role. The longings that tug at us, longings that bring no harm to others, or ourselves push us to realize our full potential.
Courage and strength, ability and resourcefulness are never lacking when we follow the guidance within and trust in its direction. All the wisdom necessary for succeeding at any task, completing any goal, charting any desire, is as close as our attention is to God.
I will pay heed to my desires today. I will pray for the wisdom to fulfill them. All doors will open and my steps will be guided, when the desire is spiritually sound.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
New Relationship Behaviors
We talk much about new relationship behaviors in recovery: allowing others to be themselves without over reacting and taking it personally, and owning our power to take care of ourselves. We talk about letting go of our need to control, focusing on self-responsibility, and not setting ourselves up to be victims by focusing on the other person while neglecting ourselves. We talk about having and setting healthy boundaries, talking directly, and taking responsibility for what we want and need.
While these behaviors certainly help us deal with addicted people, these are not behaviors intended only for use in what we call "dysfunctional relationships."
These behaviors are our new relationship behaviors. They help us in stressful relationships. They can help us get through times of stress in healthy relationships.
The recovery behaviors we are learning are tools - healthy relationship skills - that help us improve the quality of all our relationships.
Recovery means self-care - learning to take care of ourselves and love ourselves - with people. The healthier we become, the healthier our relationships will become. And we'll never outgrow our need for healthy behaviors.
Today, I will remember to apply my recovery behaviors in all my relationships - with friends and co-workers, as well as in any special love relationship. I will work hard at taking care of myself in the troublesome relationships, figuring out which skill might best apply. I will also consider ways that my healthy relationships might benefit from my new relationship skills.


Today I continue to find people who are positive, healthy and nurturing. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

God Is Here

The Power, which restores us to sanity, is not something remote and abstract, which we must search for by reading books and performing great feats. Our Higher Power is with us constantly and is involved in the minute details of every day. We do not have to wait and work to become acceptable to God. He accepts us now, just as we are.

What gets in the way of our awareness of God is self. If we are narrowly focused on the concerns of ego and self-will, we ignore the presence of a Higher Power. Then we become weak and confused in our aloneness.

To be aware of the presence of God in our lives every day, all we need is the willingness to be open to Him. We find that He is indeed "closer than breathing and nearer than hands and feet." What we may have spent years searching for or denying turns out to be the ground of our existence and the Power that sustains us every minute.
Increase my awareness of You, I pray.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
What an incredible beating alcohol and drugs put me through! Waking up in the morning with my head feeling three sizes too big, jumpy nerves and nausea, pounding headaches - all were a part of the physical beating. Then there was the mental punishment. The worry, anxiety, fear seemed constant. The remorse, regret and guilt were constant companions. The shame of realizing what I had done to the people I cared about and the inability of being able to even look at myself in the mirror were all a part of the mental pain I claimed because of my use. Then came the loss of freedom and the loss of dreams and even the loss of self in the spiritual demise that addiction provided.

It was an awful beating that alcohol and drugs provided. The physical, mental and spiritual devastation was complete. Yet the insanity of the disease told me that next time would be different. But it was not. My family told me to get out. They had had enough. Am I convinced that I am beaten? Am I ready to give up?
Meditations for the Heart
When you reach the point of defeat, you are left with no choice but to give up. But this brings on the question of what or who can help me if I cannot help myself. When I sought the path of the Divine Spirit, it meant that everything in my life suddenly had to change direction. I could no longer continue on the path I was on. The reversal of direction was not easy. My body had to heal physically, my mind needed time to clear, and I had to admit that I was not God. This new path seemed very rocky at first, and I had no idea where it would lead. But I had to stay the course because I knew where the other path I was on would end up - total destruction of my life. Soon I found that this new path led me to something I did not expect - peace of mind and hope. No one said it would be easy, but it was simple -- follow the principles of the program. Do I see that this new path can only bring me good?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,

Today guide me along this new path. Help me to hold onto the hand that recovery offers, and lead me to a place of peace. Help me to heal physically, mentally and spiritually. Give me the gift of hope in this new way of living. Give me the courage and strength to stay on this path and not go back to the one that led to my destruction.

Amen.