Daily Recovery Readings - 7/22

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Daily Reflections

"THE GOOD AND THE BAD"

"My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good
and bad."
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

The joy of life is in the giving. Being freed of my shortcomings, that I
may more freely be of service, allows humility to grow in me. My
shortcomings can be humbly placed in God's loving care and be
removed. The essence of Step Seven is humility, and what better
way to seek humility than by giving all of myself--good and bad--to
God, so that He may remove the bad and return to me the good.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

One of the finest things about A.A. is the diversity of its
membership. We come from all walks and stations of life. All types
and classes of people are represented in an A.A. group. Being
different from each other in certain ways, we can each make a
different contribution to the whole. Some of us are weak in one
respect, but strong in another. A.A. can use the strong points of all
its members and can disregard the weaknesses. A.A. is strong, not
only because we all have the same problem, but also because of the
diversified talents of its members. Each can contribute his part. Do I
recognize the good points of all my group's members?

Meditation For The Day

"And greater works than these shall ye do." Each individual has the
ability to do good works through the power of God's spirit. This is the
wonder of the world, the miracle of the earth, that God's power goes
out to bless the human race through the agency of so many people who
are actuated by His grace. We need not be held back by doubt,
despondency and fear. A wonderful future can lie before any person
who depends on God's power, a future of unlimited power to do good
works.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I may have
confidence that I can be effective for good.

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As Bill Sees It

God-Given Instincts, p. 142

Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we wouldn't
be complete human beings. If men and women didn't exert
themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest
food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't
reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social
instinct, there would be no society.

Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed
their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they
drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives.

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

We tried to shape a sane ideal for our future sex life. We subjected
each relation to this test: Was it selfish or not? We asked God to
mold our ideals and help us to live up to them. We remembered
always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good,
neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed.

1. 12 & 12, p. 42
2. Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 69

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Walk In Dry Places

The Right Place for my Type
The Right Work
"You cannot change your type, but you can make yourself a brilliant success I that type," Wrote Emmet Fox. This is a reminder for people who are discontented with their lot in life, and this includes most people who participate in 12 Step programs.
There are many different TYPES of people, and all types are good. We only need t find where our type is required and then do our best in that place. We will have immediate advantages, because all of our energies and talents will then be applied in the right way.
We should never spend a moment envying other types of people who are brilliantly successful in their activities. Our happiness is to be found in our place, not theirs.
If I'm doing what's right for my type, I'll give it my very best. If I'm in the wrong place, I'll know that my Higher Power is guiding me toward the right outlet for my talents.

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Keep It Simple

. . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. ---Luke 17:21
We want so much to be good. Even when we used alcohol or other drugs, we wanted to believe we were good people. But we often felt we couldn't measure up. We thought we had to live by a set of rules that we could never follow.
Now we're finding the goodness inside us. Goodness isn't something we do. Goodness is just being what we already are. Our Higher Power speaks to us in many ways, including through our hearts and minds. We don't have to try so hard top be good. We just learn to relax and invite our Higher Power to be part of our lives.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You have put peace, knowledge, love and joy in my heart today. Help me to always find these things.
Action for the Day: How's my Higher Power like a loving king or queen? How can I have a kingdom inside me? I'll talk with my sponsor about this today.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

Blackouts became my goal. Though it may sound strange, they never frightened me. My life was ordered by school and home. When I blacked out, I simply went on autopilot for the remainder of the day. The thought of going through my teen years without a single memory of its passing was very appealing.

p. 310

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Four - "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."

When A.A. was still young, lots of eager groups were forming. In a town we'll call Middleton, a real crackerjack had started up. The townspeople were as hot as firecrackers about it. Stargazing, the elders dreamed of innovations. They figured the town needed a great big alcoholic center, a kind of pilot plant A.A. groups could duplicate everywhere. Beginning on the ground floor there would be a club; in the second story they would sober up drunks and hand them currency for the back debts; the third deck would house an educational project - quite noncontroversial, of course. In imagination the gleaming center was to go up several stories more, but three would do for a start. This would all take a lot of money - other people's money. Believe it or not, wealthy townsfolk bought the idea.

p. 147

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"Success is a journey, not a destination."
--Ben Sweetland

A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.
--Madeleine L'Engle

Peace is the ability to wait patiently in spite of panic brought on by
uncertainty.
--Stress Fractures, p.50

Worrying and fear are the opposite of love. Love yourself more than
you ever have. Love yourself enough to stop worrying. Love yourself
enough to give yourself the gift of peace.
--Melody Beattie

It is easy to love those who are at their best. But it is during those
times we are unlovable that we may need love the most. And what a
beautiful thing when we get it. And even more beautiful when we find
the grace to give it.
--unknown

"May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."
--Irish Blessing

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIVING

"It is not death that a man
should fear, but he should fear
never beginning to live."
--Marcus Aurelius

For years I did not live I simply existed. What many people take
for granted I did not have: friends, vacations, job satisfaction,
gratitude, family, communication and love of self. An aspect of my
disease, my denial, was that I thought I was happy without having
any evidence for such a feeling. Indeed, my lifestyle indicated
progressive isolation. That's illusion. A recovering alcoholic priest
shared that early in recovery he saw a sunset and remarked, "How
long has that been happening?" Like him, I missed so much!

Life is to be lived or endured. My spiritual recovery means that
every day I reach out to life and grasp it, hold it, smell it--and smile.

God of life, let me live today. Let my "high" be the glory of the day.

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My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me. The Father and I are one."
Luke 10: 27-30

The LORD's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His
compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy
faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

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Daily Inspiration

When things go wrong, it is far more productive to see if you can learn something from it rather than just getting upset. Lord, help me to remain peaceful and patient enough in my trying moments so that in some way I can grow from them.

God will give you strength because He gives of Himself. Lord, bless us, deliver us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
A good laugh heals a lot of hurts. --Madeleine L'Engle
The ability to laugh at ourselves has always been important. In old days, fools and jesters held an important place in the royal courts. Today we have clowns who make us laugh.
If we look closely at a clown's face, we will often notice a bit of sadness around the eyes. Clowns are able to move easily from sad expressions to ones full of delight very easily. For all of us, laughter and tears come from the same deep well inside. And often, after a good cry, we find ourselves ready to laugh, easily and joyfully.
Laughter is a gift waiting for us on the other side of our sadness.
Can I begin to laugh by smiling now?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Suffering is a journey, which has an end. --Matthew Fox
Pain is part of life. To live a masculine spiritual life, we need a way to understand the suffering we sometimes endure. Looking back at other difficult times can give us a better perspective of the pain we feel today. All of us can recall a loss or a sudden difficult change that we never would have chosen for ourselves. Perhaps it brought us face to face with insecurities or doubts about our survival. Now, after the suffering has ended, we see how much we grew. We changed; we were strengthened and, perhaps, were liberated by what happened to us.
Thoughts about today's suffering may not be clear as to what good it holds for us. But we are on a journey, and it can only happen one step at a time. We know that journeys teach us great lessons and they do have endings. Our pain today affirms that we are vital and alive people. We know others suffer as we do, and we can turn to each other to give and receive comfort while we are on the journey.
My pain will teach me something I need to know, and it will have an end. I will pay attention to its lessons.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
How I relate to my inner self-influences my relationships with all others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other people are directly proportional. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Hateful attitudes toward others, resistance to someone's suggestions, jealousy over another woman's attractiveness or particular abilities are equally strong indications of the health of our spiritual programs. Our security rests with God. When that relationship is nurtured, the rewards will be many and satisfactions great.
Our inner selves may need pampering and praise. They have suffered the abuse of neglect for many years, no doubt. In many instances we have chided ourselves, perhaps shamed ourselves. Learning to love our inner selves, recognizing the value inherent in our very existence, takes effort, commitment, and patience--assets we may only just now be developing in this recovery program.
Our inner selves are the home of our Spirit wherein our attachment to all strength, all courage, all self-esteem, and all serenity resides. Our Spirit is one with our higher power. We must acknowledge the presence and utilize the comforts offered.
My relationships with others are as healthy and fulfilling as my communication with God.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Learning to Trust Again
Many of us have trust issues.
Some of us tried long and hard to trust untrustworthy people. Over and again, we believed lies and promises never to be kept. Some of us tried to trust people for the impossible; for instance, trusting a practicing alcoholic not to drink again.
Some of us trusted our Higher Power inappropriately. We trusted God to make other people do what we wanted, then felt betrayed when that didn't work out.
Some of us were taught that life couldn't be trusted, that we had to control and manipulate our way through.
Most of us were taught, inappropriately, that we couldn't trust ourselves.
In recovery, we're healing from our trust issues. We're learning to trust again. The first lesson in trust is this: We can learn to trust ourselves. We can be trusted. If others have taught us we cannot trust ourselves, they were lying. Addictions and dysfunctional systems make people lie.
We can learn to appropriately trust our Higher Power - not to make people do what we wanted them to, but to help us take care of ourselves, and to bring about the best possible circumstances, at the best possible times, in our life.
We can trust the process - of life and recovery. We do not have to control, obsess, or become hypervigilant. . We may not always understand where we are going, or what's being worked out in us, but we can trust that something good is happening.
When we learn to do this, we are ready to learn to trust other people. When we trust our Higher Power and when we trust ourselves, we will know who to trust and what to trust that person for.
Perhaps we always did. We just didn't listen closely enough to ourselves or trust what we heard.
Today, I will affirm that I can learn to trust appropriately. I can trust Higher Power, my recovery, and myself. I can learn to appropriately trust others too.


Today I am growing in my faith that I dare to look at what is really disturbing my serenity. Today I trust that by searching deep within for my own truth, I will discover the door to freedom and peace. --Ruth Fishel

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Spiritual Death

"For us, to use is to die, often in more ways than one."
Basic Text, p.78

As newcomers, many of us came to our first meeting with only a small spark of life remaining. That spark, our spirit, wants to survive. Narcotics Anonymous nurtures that spirit. The love of the fellowship quickly fans that spark into a flame. With the Twelve Steps and the love of other recovering addicts, we begin to blossom into that whole, vital human being our Higher Power intended us to be. We begin to enjoy life, finding purpose in our existence. Each day we choose to stay clean, our spirit is revitalized and our relationship with our God grows. Our spirit becomes stronger each day we choose life by staying clean.

Despite the fact that our new life in recovery is rewarding, the urge to use can sometimes be overwhelming. When everything in our lives seems to go wrong, a return to using can seem like the only way out. But we know what the consequence will be if we use - the loss of our carefully nurtured spirituality. We have traveled too far along the spiritual path to dishonor our spirit by using. Snuffing the spiritual flame we have worked so hard to restore in our recovery is too dear a price to pay for getting high.

Just for today: I am grateful that my spirit is strong and vital. Today, I will honor that spirit by staying clean.
pg. 212

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Wisdom for Today
One thing that addiction robbed me of was my ambition. I lost interest in life and had no initiative to accomplish any of the goals or dreams I once had. I lost any discipline I once had to stick with a task until I finished what I started. There was no fuel in my engine; and I sat on the side of the road waiting for life to bring good things to me, which never happened. Instead life just passed me by. All my wishing did nothing, and I couldn't seem to get going on anything except my next drink or high. I became this pathetic blob that never could initiate even the first step to get anything done.
In recovery I was able to regain this part of myself that had been lost. I again gained interest in life and wanted to accomplish something. I had ambition to accomplish new goals. Early on these goals were very simple. I simply wanted to get through the day clean and sober. I would get up in the morning and make my bed, clean myself up and make a beginning at getting through the day. Later my sponsor coached me though the Twelve Steps, and I wanted to do things like finish the repair work in my life. I became motivated spiritually to expand my conscience contact with a Higher Power. My dreams for life came back to life. Out of the ashes of addiction arose a fiery hope for a new a different agenda in life. Have I regained the discipline and energy I once lost?
Meditations for the Heart
Out of the desperate despair of addiction grew a new flower of happiness. This was not accomplished all at once, but step by step as I accomplished one task after another. I found a new joy. I discovered that real happiness does not come in a bottle or in some pill. No pile of white powder ever gave me a true sense of happiness, only a brief reprieve from the stark darkness of addiction. Real happiness and joy are not only possible in recovery, but they are the outcome of using the program and the steps one day at a time. As we walk this path called recovery, new seeds are sown. The flowers of joy and happiness do grow and blossom in our lives. We discover that it comes in the little things of life that happen each day in this journey. We learn to share this happiness and joy with other people in our lives. As our lives are rebuilt by and with a Power greater than ourselves, happiness and joy blossom fully in our lives. Do I see the seeds of happiness and joy blossoming in my life?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Here is another new day that You have blessed me with, and in it I know You will grant me new energy and determination. Give me this day the discipline to finish the tasks set before me. Let me follow Your lead so that I might complete the next steps in my journey of recovery. I am grateful this day for the new happiness You have bought into my life.
Amen.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

The Power of Abstaining

Abstaining from compulsive overeating fills us with new strength. When we become honest and determined in this area of our life, our resolution and clarity flow into other areas, too. The new order and discipline are reflected in all that we do.

We establish abstinence as the most important thing in our life. As mind and body are released from the dullness and apathy caused by too much food, we are more efficient and we function more effectively. Other priorities and values sort themselves out. Instead of being torn by conflicting desires, we are able to decide which projects and activities are of most value. Instead of being paralyzed by fear and depression, we have the motivation and energy to do what needs to be done.

Accepting life-long abstinence as the will of our Higher Power enables us to push food out of the center of our life.

Thank You for the power of abstaining.