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10-09-2008, 05:29 PM
Wisdom for Today
Trouble and more trouble were all I was getting from my alcohol and drug use. Yes, there were those brief moments when I would experience some relief from the insanity of my use; but trouble invariably followed. When I was using alcohol or drugs, problems would occur. When I wasn’t using, I didn’t feel right. I had to use just to feel normal. In spite of all the consequences and problems, I held onto the belief that somehow, someway, drugs and alcohol could bring me happiness.
I started to go to Twelve Step meetings. At first I looked at how I was different from everyone else. I wanted to find a reason that made me different from all “those” people. What I found was that I was different in only one way. They were happy, and I wasn’t. I listened as person after person told of the problems they had experienced because of using. I listened as they told of how the program had helped them to resolve their problems. I watched them laugh, and I watched them speak of the triumphs they had in recovery. Do I want what the program offers? Do I believe that alcohol and drugs are poison for me?
Meditations for the Heart
“Throw me a rope, God. Get me out of this hole, and I promise I will be different.” This kind of prayer never worked for me, because I always wanted a different kind of rope. I didn’t want to accept the help that God was so freely willing to provide. In recovery I have learned that there are two ends to that rope. On one end is my willingness and faith to grab onto the rope and hold on for dear life. On the other end of the rope is God’s power. I can come up with all kinds of reasons not to grab the rope or even let go of the rope, but it is only when I learn to trust that God indeed has the power to help me and wants to help me that rescue seems possible. Am I still trying to get out of that hole all by myself?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Today I want to learn to trust in Your power to help me in my struggles. Teach me to trust and rely on Your power. Show me that I can’t do this without Your help. Give me the strength I need to hold on to recovery today.
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
October 10
Consequences
"Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking."
Basic Text p. 87
Ever been tempted to do something even when you knew the results would be disastrous? Ever thought about how much it was going to hurt to do what you were tempted to do, then proceed to do it anyway?
It is said that there are consequences to every action. Before we got clean, many of us simply didn't believe this. But now we know exactly what it means. When we act, we know there will be consequences to pay. No longer can we decide to do something in ignorance when we know full well that we won't like the price we'll have to pay.
There's a prize and a price. It's okay to act despite the consequences if we're willing to pay the price, but there's always one to pay.
Just for today: I will think about the consequences of my actions before I take them.
pg. 296
-----
October 10 - Daily Feast
If you argue with stupid reasoning you end up being stupid. Expressing an opinion can run you out of bounds and into areas that are not yours to argue. And no one has any business matching wits with someone who hasn't a notion of honor. Consider what good can possibly come from a heated debate with someone who is in it for the argument alone. When there is noise and insult, the reason is weak. Someone said ignorance is behind every argument - but let's not let it be ours.
~ You pretty good fighter, Quanah, but you not know everything. ~
QUANAH PARKER - COMANCHE, 1800s
'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 10
"I think that's what unity is - knowing one another and coming together and working with no conflict."
--Chief Alan Wilson, HAIDA
When we are aligned with spiritual values, we cannot be in fear or conflict. When we are aligned to spiritual values, we have the Creator whispering solutions in our ears. Unity is one of the spiritual values. When we value unity we value solutions. If we think this way, then we have no conflict within ourselves.
Great Spirit, let me see through Your eyes.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
We all know that if it were not for the little kindnesses, the helping hands that we receive from those who touch our lives daily, we would fall more often and much harder. Yet, we must remember there comes a time when we cannot expect others to rush to our aid. It is then that we test the strength of our own self-reliance.
We should make every effort to be worthy of the concern and help of others. It is sharing all phases of life that makes living more than just an existence. But none of us can support others for long who have no will to use their self-reliance. It is said that God helps those who help themselves, but even God cannot help where help is refused.
Then, how much can we depend on ourselves? How could we react to the same situations we see other people experiencing daily? We, who depend on much on our external advantages to pull us through, cannot truthfully foretell our actions in a crisis. But we can have a reserve of faith and strength behind us so that when others reach out to lift us up, we will be worthy of their time spent in helping to build our self-reliance.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
The stubbornness of a child is a wonder to behold at times. I may have run across a situation where a child was told he wouldn't be able to watch TV until he had picked up his toys. Instead of taking the few minutes that was needed to do so, he rebelled, and an hour later finally picked up the last toy before sitting in front of the TV.
I'll probably smile at such an example, but if I look at my own behavior, I might be surprised to find that I do the same kinds of things in our relationship at times. I get into a battle of wills, where I refuse to do something, until my partner takes care of something I want them to.
What does this accomplish for me? I might get the temporary satisfaction of having things my way for a bit, but at a much greater cost than I realize. I go around with a knot in my stomach and resentment touching everything I do. If my efforts don't succeed, I throw up my hands in despair because I went through so much turmoil in trying to get my way, and none of it worked anyway.
If instead, I simply did what I felt needed to be done and whatever else I wanted to do, I'd likely find that each day became filled with more and more good moments regardless of what my SO did, or didn't do.
Just for Today
Do my choices bring me a lot of turmoil when I wait for my partner to do something, before I act on something?
Today I'll think about how I let my feelings depend on what others do, or don't do. My happiness is too important to be left in the hands of someone else.
We reach the end of our rope quicker when it has a lot of nots. - BH
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Powerless
I am powerless over food. By myself, I am unable to control what I eat or manage my life. Thanks to OA, I have found a Higher Power by which I am learning to live a new life.
So that this Higher Power may live in me, I surrender myself. No longer do I try to live by my own efforts; no longer do I try by myself to control what I eat. Since I am powerless over food and cannot manage my life, I give myself to God as I understand Him and ask that He live through me.
When I surrender, my Higher Power takes over. Then, instead of being weak and powerless, I become strong through His strength. So very simple. I wonder why it takes so long to learn? The only requirement is, in the words of T.S. Eliot, "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything."
May I remember that without You I am powerless.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Look, the wind vane fluttering in the autumn breeze
Takes hold of certain things that cannot be held. --Feng Chih
When we think we are losing our grip, we have good reason to look up. Consider the moon suspended in the sky, how it continues to come and go, follows its natural law, and never really loses face. Consider the sun, the stars, the seasons, how they refuse to abandon us, to let go of their hold on our lives. And come closer to home. We can marvel at the magic of small efficient things--the toaster and stove, the light in the room, the words in a good book that are permanent, faithful, and clear. We can consider how music, without saying a word, still speaks to us, and how a few friends, maybe miles away, continue to hang on to the strength of our small and faithful words.
We can keep in mind that we are part of a complex and loving system, and our grip can never be lost.
How do I see my unity with my surroundings today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes. --Victor Frankl
When we stand and look at a mountain, it looks awesome, majestic, and perhaps intimidating. To climb the mountain we will need to select a route. Which approach will give us success? Which will provide a beautiful view? Which is safest? What are the rewards and trade offs among the paths available?
In our lives, we usually cannot choose the mountains that face us, but we can choose the best paths to approach them. One path may be a very negative attitude. It may feel safe like a narrow, protected passageway. It is predictable, but it keeps us cut off from others. Another path may be filled with too many self-indulgent pleasures and never progress in any direction. Another path may be hard and include some risks, but it allows us to be in contact with others and to appreciate the beauty along the way. When we make positive choices about our attitudes, although the mountain is challenging, we are liberated to become the kind of men we're meant to be.
Today, I will choose friendly attitudes toward myself that will help me on my journey.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose. --Billie Holiday
Our struggles with other people always take their toll on us. They often push us to behavior we're not proud of. They may result in irreparable rifts. They frequently trigger an emotional relapse. No battle is worth the damage to the psyche that nearly any battle can cause. Nonresistance is the safer way to chart our daily course.
Bowing with the wind, flowing with the tide, eases the steps we need to take, the steps that will carry us to our personal fulfillment. Part of the process of our growth is learning to slide past the negative situations that confront us, coming to understand that we are in this life to fulfill a unique purpose. The many barriers that get in our way can strengthen our reliance on God if we'll let them. People or situations need never thwart us. We will profit from taking all experiences in our stride. The course we travel is the one we chart. The progress we make toward our life goals is proportionate to the smoothness of our steps.
I will flow with the tide. It will assuredly move me closer to my destination.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Payoffs from Destructive Relationships
Sometimes it helps to understand that we may be receiving a payoff from relationships that cause us distress.
The relationship may be feeding into our helplessness or our martyr role.
Maybe the relationships feeds our need to be needed, enhancing our self-esteem by allowing us to feel in control or morally superior to the other person.
Some of us feel alleviated from financial or other kinds of responsibility by staying in a particular relationship.
"My father sexually abused me when I was a child," said one woman. "I went on to spend the next twenty years blackmailing him emotionally and financially on this. I could get money from him whenever I wanted, and I never had to take financial responsibility for myself."
Realizing that we may have gotten a codependent payoff from a relationship is not a cause for shame. It means we are searching out the blocks in ourselves that may be stopping our growth.
We can take responsibility for the part we may have played in keeping ourselves victimized. When we are willing to look honestly and fearlessly at the payoff and let it go, we will find the healing we've been seeking. We'll also be ready to receive the positive, healthy payoffs available in relationships, the payoffs we really want and need.
Today, I will be open to looking at the payoffs I may have received from staying in unhealthy relationships, or from keeping destructive systems operating. I will become ready to let go of my need to stay in unhealthy systems; I am ready to face myself.
Today I will do something very special just for me. I will treat myself to something I want to have or do and feel good about myself while I do it. My life is very important to me and I have the right to be happy. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!
Trouble and more trouble were all I was getting from my alcohol and drug use. Yes, there were those brief moments when I would experience some relief from the insanity of my use; but trouble invariably followed. When I was using alcohol or drugs, problems would occur. When I wasn’t using, I didn’t feel right. I had to use just to feel normal. In spite of all the consequences and problems, I held onto the belief that somehow, someway, drugs and alcohol could bring me happiness.
I started to go to Twelve Step meetings. At first I looked at how I was different from everyone else. I wanted to find a reason that made me different from all “those” people. What I found was that I was different in only one way. They were happy, and I wasn’t. I listened as person after person told of the problems they had experienced because of using. I listened as they told of how the program had helped them to resolve their problems. I watched them laugh, and I watched them speak of the triumphs they had in recovery. Do I want what the program offers? Do I believe that alcohol and drugs are poison for me?
Meditations for the Heart
“Throw me a rope, God. Get me out of this hole, and I promise I will be different.” This kind of prayer never worked for me, because I always wanted a different kind of rope. I didn’t want to accept the help that God was so freely willing to provide. In recovery I have learned that there are two ends to that rope. On one end is my willingness and faith to grab onto the rope and hold on for dear life. On the other end of the rope is God’s power. I can come up with all kinds of reasons not to grab the rope or even let go of the rope, but it is only when I learn to trust that God indeed has the power to help me and wants to help me that rescue seems possible. Am I still trying to get out of that hole all by myself?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Today I want to learn to trust in Your power to help me in my struggles. Teach me to trust and rely on Your power. Show me that I can’t do this without Your help. Give me the strength I need to hold on to recovery today.
Amen.
-----
NA Just For Today
October 10
Consequences
"Before we got clean, most of our actions were guided by impulse. Today, we are not locked into this type of thinking."
Basic Text p. 87
Ever been tempted to do something even when you knew the results would be disastrous? Ever thought about how much it was going to hurt to do what you were tempted to do, then proceed to do it anyway?
It is said that there are consequences to every action. Before we got clean, many of us simply didn't believe this. But now we know exactly what it means. When we act, we know there will be consequences to pay. No longer can we decide to do something in ignorance when we know full well that we won't like the price we'll have to pay.
There's a prize and a price. It's okay to act despite the consequences if we're willing to pay the price, but there's always one to pay.
Just for today: I will think about the consequences of my actions before I take them.
pg. 296
-----
October 10 - Daily Feast
If you argue with stupid reasoning you end up being stupid. Expressing an opinion can run you out of bounds and into areas that are not yours to argue. And no one has any business matching wits with someone who hasn't a notion of honor. Consider what good can possibly come from a heated debate with someone who is in it for the argument alone. When there is noise and insult, the reason is weak. Someone said ignorance is behind every argument - but let's not let it be ours.
~ You pretty good fighter, Quanah, but you not know everything. ~
QUANAH PARKER - COMANCHE, 1800s
'A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II' by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
Elder's Meditation of the Day - October 10
"I think that's what unity is - knowing one another and coming together and working with no conflict."
--Chief Alan Wilson, HAIDA
When we are aligned with spiritual values, we cannot be in fear or conflict. When we are aligned to spiritual values, we have the Creator whispering solutions in our ears. Unity is one of the spiritual values. When we value unity we value solutions. If we think this way, then we have no conflict within ourselves.
Great Spirit, let me see through Your eyes.
*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*<<<=-=>>>*
'THINK on THESE THINGS'
by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
We all know that if it were not for the little kindnesses, the helping hands that we receive from those who touch our lives daily, we would fall more often and much harder. Yet, we must remember there comes a time when we cannot expect others to rush to our aid. It is then that we test the strength of our own self-reliance.
We should make every effort to be worthy of the concern and help of others. It is sharing all phases of life that makes living more than just an existence. But none of us can support others for long who have no will to use their self-reliance. It is said that God helps those who help themselves, but even God cannot help where help is refused.
Then, how much can we depend on ourselves? How could we react to the same situations we see other people experiencing daily? We, who depend on much on our external advantages to pull us through, cannot truthfully foretell our actions in a crisis. But we can have a reserve of faith and strength behind us so that when others reach out to lift us up, we will be worthy of their time spent in helping to build our self-reliance.
-----
Daily Relationship Reading
The stubbornness of a child is a wonder to behold at times. I may have run across a situation where a child was told he wouldn't be able to watch TV until he had picked up his toys. Instead of taking the few minutes that was needed to do so, he rebelled, and an hour later finally picked up the last toy before sitting in front of the TV.
I'll probably smile at such an example, but if I look at my own behavior, I might be surprised to find that I do the same kinds of things in our relationship at times. I get into a battle of wills, where I refuse to do something, until my partner takes care of something I want them to.
What does this accomplish for me? I might get the temporary satisfaction of having things my way for a bit, but at a much greater cost than I realize. I go around with a knot in my stomach and resentment touching everything I do. If my efforts don't succeed, I throw up my hands in despair because I went through so much turmoil in trying to get my way, and none of it worked anyway.
If instead, I simply did what I felt needed to be done and whatever else I wanted to do, I'd likely find that each day became filled with more and more good moments regardless of what my SO did, or didn't do.
Just for Today
Do my choices bring me a lot of turmoil when I wait for my partner to do something, before I act on something?
Today I'll think about how I let my feelings depend on what others do, or don't do. My happiness is too important to be left in the hands of someone else.
We reach the end of our rope quicker when it has a lot of nots. - BH
-----
You are reading from the book Food for Thought.
Powerless
I am powerless over food. By myself, I am unable to control what I eat or manage my life. Thanks to OA, I have found a Higher Power by which I am learning to live a new life.
So that this Higher Power may live in me, I surrender myself. No longer do I try to live by my own efforts; no longer do I try by myself to control what I eat. Since I am powerless over food and cannot manage my life, I give myself to God as I understand Him and ask that He live through me.
When I surrender, my Higher Power takes over. Then, instead of being weak and powerless, I become strong through His strength. So very simple. I wonder why it takes so long to learn? The only requirement is, in the words of T.S. Eliot, "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything."
May I remember that without You I am powerless.
-----
You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Look, the wind vane fluttering in the autumn breeze
Takes hold of certain things that cannot be held. --Feng Chih
When we think we are losing our grip, we have good reason to look up. Consider the moon suspended in the sky, how it continues to come and go, follows its natural law, and never really loses face. Consider the sun, the stars, the seasons, how they refuse to abandon us, to let go of their hold on our lives. And come closer to home. We can marvel at the magic of small efficient things--the toaster and stove, the light in the room, the words in a good book that are permanent, faithful, and clear. We can consider how music, without saying a word, still speaks to us, and how a few friends, maybe miles away, continue to hang on to the strength of our small and faithful words.
We can keep in mind that we are part of a complex and loving system, and our grip can never be lost.
How do I see my unity with my surroundings today?
You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitudes. --Victor Frankl
When we stand and look at a mountain, it looks awesome, majestic, and perhaps intimidating. To climb the mountain we will need to select a route. Which approach will give us success? Which will provide a beautiful view? Which is safest? What are the rewards and trade offs among the paths available?
In our lives, we usually cannot choose the mountains that face us, but we can choose the best paths to approach them. One path may be a very negative attitude. It may feel safe like a narrow, protected passageway. It is predictable, but it keeps us cut off from others. Another path may be filled with too many self-indulgent pleasures and never progress in any direction. Another path may be hard and include some risks, but it allows us to be in contact with others and to appreciate the beauty along the way. When we make positive choices about our attitudes, although the mountain is challenging, we are liberated to become the kind of men we're meant to be.
Today, I will choose friendly attitudes toward myself that will help me on my journey.
You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose. --Billie Holiday
Our struggles with other people always take their toll on us. They often push us to behavior we're not proud of. They may result in irreparable rifts. They frequently trigger an emotional relapse. No battle is worth the damage to the psyche that nearly any battle can cause. Nonresistance is the safer way to chart our daily course.
Bowing with the wind, flowing with the tide, eases the steps we need to take, the steps that will carry us to our personal fulfillment. Part of the process of our growth is learning to slide past the negative situations that confront us, coming to understand that we are in this life to fulfill a unique purpose. The many barriers that get in our way can strengthen our reliance on God if we'll let them. People or situations need never thwart us. We will profit from taking all experiences in our stride. The course we travel is the one we chart. The progress we make toward our life goals is proportionate to the smoothness of our steps.
I will flow with the tide. It will assuredly move me closer to my destination.
You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Payoffs from Destructive Relationships
Sometimes it helps to understand that we may be receiving a payoff from relationships that cause us distress.
The relationship may be feeding into our helplessness or our martyr role.
Maybe the relationships feeds our need to be needed, enhancing our self-esteem by allowing us to feel in control or morally superior to the other person.
Some of us feel alleviated from financial or other kinds of responsibility by staying in a particular relationship.
"My father sexually abused me when I was a child," said one woman. "I went on to spend the next twenty years blackmailing him emotionally and financially on this. I could get money from him whenever I wanted, and I never had to take financial responsibility for myself."
Realizing that we may have gotten a codependent payoff from a relationship is not a cause for shame. It means we are searching out the blocks in ourselves that may be stopping our growth.
We can take responsibility for the part we may have played in keeping ourselves victimized. When we are willing to look honestly and fearlessly at the payoff and let it go, we will find the healing we've been seeking. We'll also be ready to receive the positive, healthy payoffs available in relationships, the payoffs we really want and need.
Today, I will be open to looking at the payoffs I may have received from staying in unhealthy relationships, or from keeping destructive systems operating. I will become ready to let go of my need to stay in unhealthy systems; I am ready to face myself.
Today I will do something very special just for me. I will treat myself to something I want to have or do and feel good about myself while I do it. My life is very important to me and I have the right to be happy. --Ruth Fishel
God help me to stay sober and clean today!