Daily Recovery Readings - 6/12

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Daily Reflections

FORMING TRUE PARTNERSHIPS

But it is from our twisted relations with family, friends,
and society at large that many of us have suffered the most.
We have been especially stupid and stubborn about them. The
primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability
to form a true partnership with another human being.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53

Can these words apply to me, am I still unable to form a true
partnership with another human being? What a terrible handicap
that would be for me to carry into my sober life! In my
sobriety I will meditate and pray to discover how I may be a
trusted friend and companion.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we came into A.A., we made a tremendous discovery. We
found that we were sick persons rather than moral lepers. We
were not such odd ducks as we thought we were. We found other
people who had the same illness that we had, who had been
through the same experiences that we had been through. They
had recovered. if they could do it, we could do it. Was hope
born in me the day I walked into A.A.?

Meditation For The Day

"He that heareth these sayings and doeth them is like unto a
man who built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and
the floods came and the wind blew and beat upon that house and
it fell not for it was founded upon a rock." When your life is
built upon obedience to God and upon doing His will as you
understand it, you will be steadfast and unmovable even in the
midst of storms. The serene, steadfast, unmovable life - the
rock home - is laid stone by stone - foundation, walls, and
roof - by acts of obedience to the heavenly vision. The daily
following of God's guidance and the daily doing of His will
shall build your house upon a rock.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that my life may be founded upon the rock of faith.
I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision.

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As Bill Sees It

Imaginary Perfection, p. 181

When we early A.A.'s got our first glimmer of how spiritually prideful we could be, we
coined this expression: "Don't try to be a saint by Thursday!"

That oldtime admonition may look like another of those handy alibis that can excuse us
from trying for our best. Yet a closer view reveals just the contrary. This is our A.A. way
of warning against pride-blindness, and the imaginary perfections that we do not possess.

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

Only Step One, where we made the 100 per cent admission that we were powerless over
alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. The remaining eleven Steps state
perfect ideals. They are goals toward which we look, and the measuring sticks by which
we estimate our progress.

1. Grapevine, June 1961
2. 12 & 12, p. 68

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Walk In Dry Places

Being right or wrong____ Honesty
Step Ten advises us to promptly admit it when we're wrong. Perhaps there should be another Step warning us not to be too confident when we're sure we're right.
It's true that there are many times when we are right. It's also possible, however, that we might be only 99 percent right, and that tiny fractions of error could mean our downfall.
Something is also wrong when we find ourselves vigorously asserting that we're right. We don't have to "admit it" when we're right because being right speaks for itself. In the long run, truth and right action don't really have to be defended. Part of being right is the willingness to believe that we may be wrong, however hard that is to accept.
If I'm wrong today, I'll admit it. If I'm right, I'll refrain from announcing it with too much assurance.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Housewife Who Drank At Home

She hid her bottles in clothes hampers and dresser drawers. In A.A., she discovered she had lost nothing and had found everything.

I was never a very heavy social drinker. But during a period of particular stress and strain about thirteen years ago, I resorted to using alcohol in my home, alone, as a means of temporary release and of getting a little extra sleep.

p. 295

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition One - "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. Unity."

To many minds all this liberty for the individual spells sheer anarchy. Every newcomer, every friend who looks at A.A. for the first time is greatly puzzled. They see liberty verging on license, yet they recognize at once that A.A. has an irresistible strength of purpose and action. "How," they ask, "can such a crowd of anarchists function at all? How can they possible place their common welfare first? What in Heaven's name holds them together?"

pp. 129-130

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It is not enough to love those who are near and dear to us. We must
show them that we do so.
--Lord Eric Avebury

Never say more than is necessary.
--Richard Brinsley Sheridan

"The power behind me is greater than the problem in front of me."
--unknown

The surest sign of wisdom is constant cheerfulness.
--Montaigne

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, but only saps today of its
strength.
--A. J. Cronin

"... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but
are grateful for the abundance that's present--love, health, family,
friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us
pleasure--the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience
heaven on earth."
--Sarah Ban Brethnach

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

POTENTIAL

"There is no meaning to life
except the meaning man gives
his life by the unfolding of his
powers."
--Eric Fromm

My life was powerless when I was drinking. The drug alcohol stopped
me from reaching my full potential - I was depressed, tired, angry,
lonely and confused. Incredible as it may sound, I was the enemy to my
life. By drinking alcohol, I fed the disease and made my life
unmanageable.

Then I had a "moment" when I saw what I was doing to my life. The
pain caused by drinking outweighed any advantages. I had hit my
bottom. I began to change my life by refusing the first drink, and I
began to experience a new vitality and potential. A new and creative
life dawned. Friendships and relationships were possible again. God
became understandable in His world. My power as a human being
was unleashed in my sobriety.

Master, may I discover my potential in the loving decisions I
undertake.

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"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:25

Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate when people say unkind
things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what
God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it.
1 Peter 3:9

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

The LORD will continually guide you.
Isaiah 58:11

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Daily Inspiration

The more generous and kind we are, the more thoughtful and forgiving, the closer we come to awareness of God's powerful love. Lord, let Your love take over in me and lead and guide me to goodness.

You cannot ask too much if you use your blessings ceaselessly. Lord, help me to reflect on and live in Your spirit.

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
The more a diamond is cut the more it sparkles. --Anonymous
There is something of value to be found even in the worst of things. Consider the oyster. When a grain of sand penetrates an oyster's shell, it irritates the oyster, making it uncomfortable. The oyster relieves the pain by coating the sand with a soothing liquid. When this liquid hardens, a pearl is formed. The very process that healed the oyster creates a precious jewel for others to cherish and admire.
The way in which we deal with our own frustrations--painful though they may be--can make a difference. Pearls can be formed from our experiences, making us wiser and stronger, or grains of sand--anger, bitterness, resentment--can remain imbedded inside us. The choice is ours.
How can I turn my irritations into pearls today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe - you can't take a taxi. --Alan Alda
We are on an adventure trip in this program. Each of us is a wilderness that is only partly explored and mapped. We can't know exactly what we will find along the way, but we can expect to find some great and moving beauty, some spectacular experiences, as well as awesome and frightening ones, and some soft, pleasant rest spots. Any day will have a mixture of various feelings.
This program is not a map of the uncharted territory. It is a guide for survival in the wilderness. It tells us how to orient ourselves when there are no familiar landmarks and how to learn and grow from the experience. The more time we spend in this wilderness, exploring the mystery of living, the more comfortable we become with it and the greater appreciation we have for its unique beauty.
Today, I pray for the courage to explore the original person I was created to be.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
If people only knew the healing power of laughter and joy, many of our fine doctors would be out of business. Joy is one of nature's greatest medicines. Joy is always healthy. A pleasant state of mind tends to bring abnormal conditions back to normal. --Catherine Ponder
Feeling joy may not come naturally to us most of the time. We may, in fact, have to act "as if" with great effort. We may not even recognize genuine joy in the beginning. A technique for finding it is living fully in the present and with gratitude for all we can see, touch, and feel.
The open and honest expression of gratitude for the presence of the ones closest to us now creates a rush within our breasts, a rush that will be shared by our friends, too. Joy is contagious. Joy is freeing. Joy brings into focus our distorted perceptions. Greeting life with joy alters every experience for us and for those we share it with.
I will bring joy wherever I go today. I will give the gift of joy to everyone I meet.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Spontaneity and Fun
Practice being spontaneous. Practice having fun.
The joy of recovery is that we finally get to experiment. We get to learn new behaviors, and we don't have to do them perfectly. We only need to find a way that works for us. We even have fun experimenting, learning what we like, and how to do what we like.
Many of us have gotten into a rut with rigidity, martyrdom, and deprivation. One of the "normal" experiences many of us have been deprived of is having fun. Another one is being spontaneous. We may not have the foggiest notion what we would like to do for fun. And we may hold ourselves in check so tightly that we wouldn't allow ourselves to try something fun, anyway.
We can let ourselves go a little now and then. We can loosen up a bit. We don't have to be so stiff and rigid, so frightened about being who we are. Take some risks. Try some new activities. What would we like to do? What might we enjoy doing? Then, take another risk. Pick out a movie we'd like to see; call a friend, and invite him or her to go along. If that person says no, try someone else, or try again another time.
Decide to try something, then go through with it. Go once. Go twice. Practice having fun until fun becomes fun.
Today, I will do something just for fun. I will practice having fun until I actually enjoy it.


Today I will honor my own values and be open to change as a result of growth. --Ruth Fishel

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A Vision Of Hope

"Yes, we are a vision of hope...""
Basic Text, p. 51

By the time we reached the end of our road, many of us had lost all hope for a life without the use of drugs. We believed we were destined to die from our disease. What an inspiration it was, then, coming to our first meeting and seeing a room full of addicts who were staying clean! A clean addict is, indeed, a vision of hope.

Today, we give that same hope to others. The newcomers see the joyful light in our eyes, notice how we carry ourselves, listen to us speak in meetings, and often want what we have found. They believe in us until they learn to believe in themselves.

Newcomers hear us carry a message of hope to them. They tend to see us through "rose-colored glasses," They don't always recognize our struggle with a particular character defect or our difficulties with improving our conscious contact with our Higher Power. It takes them time to realize that we, the "old-timers" with three or six or ten years clean, often place personalities before principles or suffer from some other unsightly character defects. Yes, the newcomer sometimes places us on a pedestal. It is good, though, to openly admit the nature of our struggles in recovery for, in time, the newcomer will be walking through those same trials. And that newcomer will remember that others walked through that difficulty and stayed clean.

Just for today: I will remember that I am a beacon to all who follow in my path, a vision of hope.
pg. 170

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Wisdom for Today
Recovery is a spiritual journey. For each of us this journey is different. We all use the same steps, but the process is different and unique for each of us, even though we travel the same path. Each of us must find our own understanding of personal acceptance and surrender. Each of us must find our own personal relationship with a Power outside of ourselves. Each of must look deeply and honestly at ourselves. Each of us must make the changes necessary to live life in recovery. Each of us has our own repair work to do to restore the brokenness of our lives. And each of us must find a way to maintain our ongoing growth.
Yet, in all that we need do, there is one constant, none of what we must do can be done alone. All of what we must do to walk this walk is done in the spirit of “We.” This ‘We’ may be the relationships we build in and through the fellowship. It may be the relationship we build with a Greater Spirit, or it may be the unity we all share in the journey called recovery. All of what is described here is spiritual. It becomes a part of who we are, and this spiritual experience leads us along this journey. This common spiritual experience is what makes recovery work for each of us. Do I see the common spiritual experience working for me in my recovery?
Meditations for the Heart
Recovery brings us a sense of freedom and happiness we have never known before. We can, perhaps for the first time in our lives experience joy. Our problems seem to disappear as we work the steps and use the principles of this program to guide us. Those problems we still have do not trouble us, for we know that we have been given the tools we need to address whatever may come our way. One day after another passes, and we see the promises happen in our lives. From time to time we look back and see just how far we have come, but we also know that the journey is not over. Each day we will be given new tasks that we need pay attention to. Each day we are given opportunity for growth. Each day we gain new insights and new understanding of who we are and who our Higher Power is. Do I see each day as an opportunity for growth?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Deepen my understanding of who You are and how important You are for my recovery. Deepen my gratitude for the mystery of all that is spiritual. Expand my vision and open my ears to see and hear Your presence in my life. Let me continue on my personal spiritual journey this day wherever You may lead me.
Amen

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You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

More Than Bread

Without a Higher Power, we grasp at material things for security and inspiration. Since they do not give us the ultimate satisfaction we seek, we are left in despair. We need more than bread, but we do not know how to go about getting it.

OA leads us back to the spiritual basis of our lives which we may have lost. All we have to do is be willing to believe in a Power greater than ourselves. When we see what has happened to others who have suffered from the same hunger that plagues us and who have found meaning and fulfillment, we let go of some of our doubt and cynicism.

Lack of faith is perhaps our greatest impediment to spiritual progress. We have been thing-oriented for so long that it is difficult to change. We can agree, however, that the food we overate was not enough to satisfy us. That there is a spiritual source of nourishment which will be adequate for our needs is a conviction which grows stronger the longer we work the OA program.

I pray for the spiritual food which satisfies.

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Keep It Simple

The lust for power is not rooted in strength, but to weakness.

We believed Alcohol or other drugs could help us control our happiness. But now we’re learning to rely on faith for our happiness. Faith is about leaving things to our Higher Power's control. Instead of wanting the control ourselves, we trust our Higher Power will help us handle things that come along.
In recovery, we work at having more faith. Faith in a Higher Power. Faith in the Steps. Faith in our groups. Faith that our lives will get better, if we don't use chemicals and we work an honest recovery program. Faith makes life a lot easier.