Daily Recovery Readings - 1/6

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Daily Reflections

THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER

We perceive that only through utter defeat are we able
to take our first steps toward liberation and strength.
Our admissions of personal powerlessness finally turn
out to be firm bedrock upon which happy and purposeful
lives may be built.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21

When alcohol influenced every facet of my life, when
bottles became the symbol of all my self-indulgence and
permissiveness, when I came to realize that, by myself,
I could do nothing to overcome the power of alcohol, I
realized I had no recourse except surrender. In
surrender I found victory - victory over my selfish
self-indulgence, victory over my stubborn resistance
to life as it was given to me. When I stopped fighting
anybody or anything, I started on the path to sobriety,
serenity and peace.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Keeping sober is the most important thing in my life.
The most important decision I ever made was my decision
to give up drinking. I am convinced that my whole life
depends on not taking that first drink. Nothing in the
world is as important to me as my own sobriety. Everything
I have, my whole life depends on that one thing. Can I afford
ever to forget this, even for one minute?

Meditation For The Day

I will discipline myself. I will do this disciplining now.
I will turn out all useless thoughts. I know that the
goodness of my life is a necessary foundation for its
usefulness. I will welcome this training, for without it
God cannot give me his power. I believe that this power
is a mighty power when used in the right way.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may face and accept whatever discipline is
necessary. I pray that I may be fit to receive God's power
in my life.

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As Bill Sees It

Circle and Triangle, p. 307

Above us, at the International Convention at St. Louis in 1955, floated
a banner on which was inscribed the then new symbol for A.A., a circle
enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A.,
and the triangle stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity,
and Service.

It is perhaps no accident that priests and seers of antiquity regarded
this symbol as a means of warding off spirits of evil.

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

When, in 1955, we oldtimers turned over our Three Legacies to the
whole movement, nostalgia for the old days blended with gratitude for
the great day in which I was now living. No more would it be
necessary for me to act for, decide for, or protect A.A.

For a moment, I dreaded the coming change. But this mood quickly
passed. The conscience of A.A. as moved by the guidance of God
could be depended upon to insure A.A.'s future. Clearly my job
henceforth was to let go and let God.

A.A. Comes of Age
1. p. 39
2. pp. 46.48

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Walk in Dry Places

No Need to be Perfect____ Perfectionism.
We often declare that we suffered from perfectionism while we were drinking. This did not mean that we did things perfectly or always met high standards. More likely, it meant that we had grandiose ideas of the perfect people we wanted to be, but felt deep inadequacy about our failure to meet these high standards.
While we should develop good standards and values for our lives, we place an impossible demand on ourselves by wanting to be perfect in every way. What is this but a secret desire to be better than others, to occupy a superior position that will enable us to look down on others and, at the same time, to receive their approval and admiration?
In some manufacturing fields, there is a useful saying that serves as a guideline for inspectors: "Good enough is best." If something is good enough for its intended purpose, it may be equal to the best. If my performance and actions this day are good enough, it maybe that they are as good as they have to be or as God wants them to be.
I will not expect impossible things from myself today. I will meet reasonable standards without permitting myself to become tense or strained.

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Keep It Simple

"We."---First word of the Twelve Steps.
We. This little word says a lot about the Twelve Steps. Our addiction made us lonely. The "we" of the program makes us whole again. It makes us a member of a living, growing group of people. Our addiction isolated us from others. We couldn't be honest. We felt a lot of shame. But all this is in the past. The "we" of the program helps us live outside ourselves. Now we tell each other about our pasts. We comfort each other. We try to help each other.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to join the WE of the program. Help me to admit and accept my illness, so the healing can begin.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work to make the WE of the program even stronger. I'll find someone to help.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

TIGHTROPE
Trying to separate worlds was a lonely charade that ended when this gay alcoholic finally landed in A.A.

I called my former lover, and he put me in contact with an individual who took me to my first meeting. Although I can barely recall anything about that meeting, I heard two things I have never forgotten. The first was "You don't have to drink again." This was a total revelation to me. For a long time I had believed that alcohol was one of the few positive things left in my life. I looked forward to my first drink every evening and thought that alcohol was holding my life together. I had to drink to survive, let alone to have any comfort. Yet here, people who had been in the same boat were telling me that I didn't have to drink. I don't think I believed them that night, but it gave me enough hope to avoid drinking the rest of the day.

pp. 364-365

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."

By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life; that unless he is now willing to work hard at the elimination of the worst of these defects, both sobriety and peace of mind will still elude him; that all the faulty foundation of his life will have to be torn out and built anew on bedrock. Now willing to commence the search for his own defects, he will ask, "Just how do I go about this? How do I take inventory of myself?"

p. 50

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Do not spit into the well you may have to drink out of. --French Proverb

"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have for instance." --Franklin P. Jones

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." --Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I still can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." --Helen Keller

"Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." --Henry Van Dyke

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BOREDOM

"Nothing is interesting if you
are not interested."
-- Helen MacInnes

There is a subtle distinction between the "dry" alcoholic and the "sober" alcoholic.
The sober alcoholic chooses not to drink because he has accepted his alcoholism. The
"dry" alcoholic is "not drinking" but is invariably angry and resentful --- and he is not
expressing these feelings. His abstinence is not exciting because he is not interested
in it --- he is bored.

The "dry" alcoholic is also boring to be around. Why? Because he is bored. His
boredom makes him boring. He really wants to drink. He has stopped drinking for
reasons that do not include the acceptance of the disease; he is still a victim of the
disease.

Sobriety, by contrast, is an adventure into self. It greets the new day with enthusiasm
and energy. Sobriety is the spiritual discovery of God in our lives.

Let me always remember that my interests in life reflect my interest in You.

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We are to grow up in all aspects into Him. Ephesians 4:15

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27

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Daily Inspiration

Everyone is important; very important. Lord, help me to always treat those in my life with respect and speak with a gentle heart.

Our lives should be productive and useful and we should always make a difference because we are alive. Lord, You have brought me to this new day. Work with me so that I will have a successful day with many accomplishments whether they are great or small.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
We, too, the children of the earth, have our moon phases all through any year; the darkness, the delivery from darkness, the waxing and waning.
--Faith Baldwin
Let us think, for a moment, about the changes of the moon. In the beginning of its cycle, it is just a sliver in the darkness. Each night it grows larger until it reaches its full size. When the moon is full and rising, its orange glow fills the sky. All night its gentle light brightens everything it touches. But this fullness is only part of the life of the moon. For a while it grows smaller, then turns its dark side toward us before reappearing as a sliver and growing again to fullness. We are children of the earth, and we have our different moods and phases, too. There will be periods of darkness when we try to find our way by the light of the stars. Again and again we will grow to our full size, only to fade and grow again in a new way.


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Being human is difficult. Becoming human is a lifelong process. To be truly human is a gift. --Abraham Heschel
The processes of becoming more human, becoming a real person, and finding spiritual enlightenment are very similar. They require slow growth over time. We can only follow these paths in small steps, one day or one hour at a time. Many of us grew up in families with an addicted parent. We, too, went to great excesses and have been abusive to others and ourselves. Because of these problems, we developed a distorted outlook on life. Now we still demand quick and complete fixes for recovery.
Our program says, "Look to this day." It is a difficult path to learn, but we only take it in small steps. There are no instant fixes for any human being. Yet, when we surrender to the reality of life, we are given the gift of true humanity. We feel like real people, we love others, and we enjoy the pleasure of true contact with them.
I am grateful I can be a part of the process. Help me give up my drive to control it.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
There are as many ways to live and grow as there are people. Our own ways are the only ways that should matter to us.
--Evelyn Mandel
Wanting to control other people, to make them live as we'd have them live, makes the attainment of serenity impossible. And serenity is the goal we are seeking in this recovery program, in this life.
We are each powerless over others, which relieves us of a great burden. Controlling our own behavior is a big enough job. Learning to behave responsibly takes practice. Most of us in this recovery program have behaved irresponsibly for much of our lives. Emotional immaturity is slow to depart, but every responsible action we take gives us the courage for another--and then another. Our own fulfillment is the by-product of the accumulation of our own responsible actions. Others' actions need not concern us.
Today, I will weigh my behavior carefully. Responsible behavior builds gladness of heart.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Relationships
If we are unhappy without a relationship, we'll probably be unhappy with one as well. A relationship doesn't begin our life; a relationship doesn't become our life. A relationship is a continuation of life. --Beyond Codependency
Relationships are the blessing and bane of recovery. Relationships are where we take our recovery show on the road.
Each day, we are faced with the prospect of functioning in several different relationships. Sometimes, we choose these relationships; sometimes, we don't. The one choice we usually have in our relationships concerns our own behavior. In recovery from codependency, our goal is to behave in ways that demonstrate responsibility for us.
We're learning to acknowledge our power to take care of ourselves in our relationships. We're learning to be intimate with people when possible.
Do we need to detach from someone who we've been trying to control? Is there someone we need to talk to, even though what we have to say may be uncomfortable? Is there someone we've been avoiding because we're afraid to take care of ourselves with that person? Do we need to make an amend? Is there someone we need to reach out to, or show love?
Recovery is not done apart from our relationships. Recovery is done by learning to own our power and to take care of ourselves in relationships.
Today, I will participate in my relationships to the best of my ability. I will make myself available for closeness and sharing with people I trust. I will ask for what I need and give what feels right.


Even when I have doubt I know a power greater than myself is guiding me on my path today. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Withdrawal

Eliminating all refined sugar and flour may seem difficult, if not impossible at the beginning. Making the decision to avoid these foods, which trigger the craving for more and more, is what opens the door to freedom. Freedom from the craving and freedom from fat.

We do not become free immediately. Some of us experience withdrawal discomfort, which is sometimes physical, sometimes psychological, and sometimes both. It is important to remember that the discomfort will pass, the craving will pass, and that if we remain abstinent, we will eventually feel much better. So much better that our bodies and our lives will seem new.

In order to walk into the world of freedom, we must go through the door of abstinence. We need not fear the pains of withdrawal. Growth is often painful. Many have gone before us and report that the eventual freedom is well worth the temporary suffering. Our Higher Power will give us the strength to endure and will never push us farther than we can go. When we are tempted to give in, a prayer and a phone call can save us.

Lead us into freedom, we pray.

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Wisdom for Today
Quiet satisfaction is the best way to describe what I felt after completing my Fifth Step. There was this deep sense of calmness in my heart, knowing that God and another person both had listened to my disclosure, and neither had rejected me. I also did not want to reject myself. I still did not like everything that I had talked about, but now it seemed less overwhelming. I had finished talking and was told by the recovering pastor that now that I had done my Fifth Step that it was time to be quiet and listen for God's response. We said a prayer together, and then I left his office and went and sat in the church for a while.
I sat there quietly and wondered about what God would have me do. It was as if the whole nature of my prayers had changed. I had spent months asking God for help and asking for guidance. I spent time asking for strength just to make it one hour at a time. Now, for the first time, sitting in the dark church, I was asking what God wanted me to do. I wasn't asking for something, I was asking how I could serve God. Not only was there an inner quietness, but also there was a satisfaction in knowing that I no longer needed to be self-centered. I could now begin to make changes in my life – in who I was – and became ready to do the needed repair work to put my life back in one piece. Have I begun to pray about what I can do for God?
Meditation for the Heart
From this point on, the path I was walking did not seem so difficult. There was a gentle rise as I walked forward. I had a sense that wonderful discoveries could now be made. My vision was clearer, and I now had something I had only glimpsed previously. I could see my hand in God's hand as I walked along this pathway to recovery. I could now see the power I had been given and how I had been kept safe throughout my life. I could now see that God had always been there with me, even in my addiction, and how He had protected me from too great harm. I could also see clearly that I needed to continue my journey through the steps and that I would learn new things every day. Has my sense of hope become stronger?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
I know that there will still be times when I need to call on You for strength. I know that You will satisfy my every need. Today let me serve You and do Your will. Let me reach out to others and share what I have been taught.
Amen.