Reflections for Everyday of the Year - March

[janbear]

Gabby P. Says:
When I get really frustrated and I think I'm not "getting well" fast enough I remember what I heard when I first came around, "You didn't get sick in a day and you won't get well in a day either." It helps me remember that recovery is a process, despite the fact that I hate that word! Anything worth keeping needs to be earned and I think that is true with sobriety. I feel that if my higher power led me on this path and saved my life as long as I continue on it I will recover one day at a time.

[janbear]

Beverly Says:
I have been clean and sober for over a year. What an experience. Life is good. I still chose to continue in my out patient rehab. Recovery is a day to day process and on my mind constantly throughout my day. When life's situations become uncertain or complicated, I just remember the phrase "Keep it Simple." Sounds too easy and of course, it is not. This small phrase with such powerful meaning has helped me through many obstacles of everyday life.

[janbear]

Fagan Says:
Reading these Thoughts of the Day everyday has made a real impact on my life. I didn't know anything about alcoholism and its destructive nature. The ramifications have carved and scarred a major highway through our lives. Understanding what is really going on with my ex-husband and his addictions has made all the difference

[janbear]

Herbert Says:
As long as I follow those who have come befor me, I have a little more insurance not to slip

[janbear]

Jennifer A. Says:
Making my sobriety the most important thing in my life has changed everything for me. It has brought about a change in attitude that is noticed by all who know me. AA has truly helped me be happy, joyous, and free.

[janbear]

David G. Says:
I have been recieving your emails for a little over 2 yrs. Thats how I choose to start my day. I go online every day before work, and on my day off, and read your Thoughts of the Day. It helps me to stay grateful for my life now, by reminding me of the gruesome reality of my previous life.

[janbear]

Shaun Says:
To me being an alcoholic is like being in an empty silo with no way to grip the sides. Then when I finally admitted to my self that I had a problem I found that I could hold onto the sides and edge my way out of this great abyss. Once out of the silo I climbed down to the ground, and started one day at a time moving away from this prison, and gradually it disappeard into the distance. Every day I know that I am getting further and further away from that silo. I have been sober now for 14 years.
Note

[janbear]

Ron C. Says:
Before AA I judged everything and everyone. Now I am learning to not even judge myself. I was harder on myself than anyone else. Now I simply look at my behavior, and if it is not recovery behavior, I modify it.

[janbear]

Jean F. Says:
Something I hear a lot in meetings that helps me with patience during my growing is first, "I came... then I came to... then I came to believe."

[janbear]

Rebecca J. Says:
With the start of a new year, I am excited knowing I am starting out clean and sober. I am new in the program with right under 6 months of sober time, and I am so very thankful for every day of it, I look forward to the new strength I am building each and every day.

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/daily/p/mar10.htm

[janbear]

Clarice P. Says:
I'm a very grateful member of Al-Anon. I am most grateful for AA and Al-Anon! My son, an addict-alcoholic, will celebrate 12 years straight and sober this year. This is a miracle!

[janbear]

Elissa G. Says:
When I first came into the rooms, some said I would be brainwashed. It was suggested that at that point in time my brain needed a good washing. My way got me there. It was time to listen, take direction, and try a way that helped countless others like me.

[janbear]

March 13

For me, it's One Day At A Time ... this slogan helps me realize that all I have is this particular 24-hour segment of time. I don't have to project anything into the future, nor keep dwelling on my past mistakes or nightmares.

[janbear]

Betty Ann Says:
Willingness seems to come and go for me some days, and it seems that once I know of the proper action to take, God then increases my pain until I become willing to take it. Once I begin to work the steps on a particular issue, the follow through is very important. If I make my way through four and five, and then balk I find myself back at powerlessness pretty quickly. That's why they're in order for a reason

[janbear]

Trish Says:
Thinking clearly and being able to make good decisions is easier when you take care of yourself, but also takes some adapting when you've abused your body for so long. Plus it feels much better to be in control of myself and emotions rather than letting people and other substances control me. You can't trust other people to always treat you well, but you can always trust yourself to be good to you.

[janbear]

Shawila Says:
I came into AA with many expectations, and those thoughts failed me. I had one day of being clean and I wanted 10 years like some others I knew. I thought time (quanity) clean from alcohol and drugs was a award or something. How much I had discovered in time the true meaning of time in sobriety. It probably wasn't until I was close to 12 years sober in this program did I really know how much time had been a gift to me. Time is time and nothing more.

[janbear]

Tom N. Says:
All I ever thought about was drinking. I became an expert at budgeting my money so that I always had enough to get through the month without going without alcohol. It was at this point that I realized I was out of control and alcohol was ruling my life every minute, wheather I was drinking then or planning my next drink. I made a decision to take control and stop. It has been a year now and everyone I know has told me how much I have grown, and become more pleasant to be around.

[janbear]

Jack Says:
Spirituality is the key to unlocking fears of Sobriety. LIFE - Living It For Eteternity! When you can grasp this, you can begin to live again.

[janbear]

Walt B. Says:
Through the gifts of Alcoholic's Anonymous (The steps, literature, fellowship and service) I am able to see who I was, the horrors I put myself and my family through and the miracle of what can be, as long as I insist on keeping the "plug in the jug." Once I choose to pick up, all bets are off on my ability to live a respectful, decent, social and moral existence.

[janbear]

Debra Says:
In the almost six years I have been sober, I have found for me that gratitude is the "drink" of AA. Whenever I am in confusion, fear or ego, if I go to gratitude, I have that warm feeling going down to my heart -- that which alcohol used to achieve.

[janbear]

Cheryl H. Says:
My husband stayed in total denial for 5 years. In and out of rehab, but never with the mindset to succeed. I will never forget his last hospitalization when I told him he was dying. He had a look of total amazement on his face - like "are you talking to me?" Al-Anon helped me retain my sanity in spite of his problem.

[bluidkiti]

BooBoo Says:
I am thankful to my Higher Power to be starting a new year clean and sober. Lots of tests have come my way lately, but something tells me things are going to be okay.

[janbear]

Harry Says:
The book entitled, "Living Sober," says that the road to sobriety starts with one sober hour. Those hours can multiply into one sober day, but if you don't complete the first day, the next day beckons. Each day stands alone and can be filled with joy or misery as you wish. In the days of my 41 years as a member of the fellowship, I've managed to remember that each day is one unto itself, so I live it to the best of my ability in happiness and sobriety.

[janbear]

Radar Says
I have come to believe that what is true for me, that my mother is an alcoholic, does not have to be true for everyone else -- my mother, father, siblings -- who in varying degrees deny that there is any problem. My reality that my mother is an alcoholic and that this has drastically affected my life in the past is mine alone for me to learn about and deal with for myself and no one else and certainly not the alcoholic

[janbear]

Colleen Says:
If I keep God first, practice the steps on a daily basis, my life is good. It is only when I get in the driver's seat and do it my way, I start heading back to the old me and old way of life. I have to renew myself on a daily basis. I have done this successfully for 23 years.

[janbear]

Maryann Says:
I am absolutely convinced when I try it on my own, HP shows me I can't. My moods become darker, I become miserable and snap at anyone. HP has shown me I need a face-to-face meeting. Until I get to a meeting I need to read my literature. It's is if I were a boat stranded on a reef and I won't get off until I sit patiently for the tide to gently lift me off and set my sail in the proper direction.

[janbear]

Tina Says:
The longer I live, the more I realize that in a negative situation or circumtance, 30 percent of my pain comes from the situation, and 70 percent of my pain comes from my own thoughts and attitudes I have in my head. If I can clear out the 70 percent of my own stinking thinking, may the actual 30 percent won't seem so bad anymore.

[janbear]

Lynn D. Says:
My drug of choice is alcohol and being able to have a place to go to admit out loud to a room full of people who and what I am is such a relief. I am a fully active member of AA and will be eternally grateful to the members of the fellowship

[janbear]

Jill A. Says:
When I came to AA five months ago, I thought my only problem was alcohol abuse. Through AA meetings and reading the Big Book, I realize, what most AA members have, my fears were eased by alcohol at the beginning. Then, came the addiction that made the fears worse and changed my personality to someone I did not like. I am very gratiful for AA, without it I could not change the unmanageable patterns. It works!

[janbear]

Tina Says:
I thank my higher power everyday for my friends in AA and Al-Anon. They fill the areas of my life that my biological family is not capable of filling. There is no rule that all the things we have been deprived as a child has to be fulfilled by our family of origin. They can be fulfilled by our family of choice just the same. Let's stop going to the hardware store to buy bread.