Daily Recovery Readings - 1/7

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Daily Reflections

AT THE TURNING POINT

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We
asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

Every day I stand at turning points. My thoughts and actions can
propel me toward growth or turn me down the road to old habits and
to booze. Sometimes turning points are beginnings, as when I decide
to start praising, instead of condemning someone. Or when I begin to
ask for help instead of going it alone. At other times turning points are
endings, such as when I see clearly the need to stop festering
resentments or crippling self-seeking. Many shortcomings tempt me
daily; therefore, I also have daily opportunities to become aware of
them. In one form or another, many of my character defects appear
daily: self-condemnation, anger, running away, being prideful,
wanting to get even, or acting out of grandiosity.
Attempting half measures to eliminate these defects merely
paralyzes my efforts to change. It is only when I ask God for help,
with complete abandon, that I become willing -- and able -- to change.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When temptation comes, as it does sometimes to all of us, I will say to
myself: "No, my whole life depends on not taking that drink and
nothing in the world can make me do it." Besides, I have promised
that Higher Power that I wouldn't do it. I know that God doesn't
want me to drink and I won't break my promise to God. I've given up
my right to drink and it's not my decision any longer. Have I made
the choice once and for all, so that there's no going back on it?

Meditation For The Day

In silence comes God's meaning to the heart. I cannot judge when it
enters the heart. I can only judge by results. God's word is spoken to
the secret places of my heart and, in some hour of temptation, I find
that word and realize its value for the first time. when I need it, I find
it there. "Thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may see God's meaning in my life. I pray that I may
gladly accept what God has to teach me.

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As Bill Sees It

Is Happiness The Goal?, p. 306

"I don't think happiness or unhappiness is the point. How do we meet
the problems we face? How do we best learn from them and transmit
what we have learned to others, if they would receive the knowledge?

"On my view, we of this world are pupils in a great school of life. It is
intended that we try to grow, and that we try to help our fellow travelers
to grow in the kind of love that makes no demands. In short, we try to
move toward the image and likeness of God as we understand Him.

"When pain comes, we are expected to learn from it willingly, and help
others to learn. When happiness comes, we accept it as a gift, and
thank God for it."

Letter, 1950

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Walk in Dry Places

Erasing Old Tapes___Living Today
The human brain works like a tape recorder. With great fidelity, this built-in recorder stores up old memories that are recalled at surprising times. There are two kinds of these "old tapes" that are dangerous to the recovering alcoholic.
One dangerous old tape is a bitter memory of an unkind word or cruel action that hurt us deeply. This kind of memory comes back to destroy our peace of mind or to intensify feelings of low self-esteem.
Equally dangerous is another old tape: the recollections of a drinking experience that may have seem enjoyable. When we run an old tape of this kind, we are revealing that we still wish we could drink.
Our recovery shows us how to erase these old tapes. Forgiving the people who hurt us can erase bitter memories and resentments. We can eliminate the desire to relive pleasure in drinking experiences by looking honestly at the total effect of alcohol on our lives. We cannot relive the past, but we can use the lessons of the past to make our lives what they can be today.
Today, I will not be troubled by anything from the past. I cannot change what happened five minutes ago, but I can refuse to entertain thoughts that will harm me.

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Keep It Simple

A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice.---E.W. Howe
Do you let yourself be afraid of your illness? Many of us were scared into sobriety. Often, a spiritual awakening directly follows a good scare. Fear seems to improve our vision. Are you smart enough to run from your addiction? The First Step should create fear inside us. It's about looking honestly at our addiction and what would happen to us if we kept using. Looking at Step One regularly will give us the respectful fear we need to stay sober. Often fear is seen as bad, but it can be good, if we listen to it.
It can be a great mover. When you're afraid, your spirit is trying to tell you something.
Prayer for the Day: God, direct my fear. Have me go to You, family, friends, and others who love me. Help me see my fear and listen to it's message.
Action for the Day: I'll list five ways that my fear has taught me important lessons. I'll see that my fear can help me as long as I listen to it and not live it.

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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.

The second thing I heard was "You don't have to be alone anymore." This too was a revelation. For years I had rejected or been rejected by friends, lovers, family, and God. I was alone and afraid. My life had narrowed to work and the bottle, and work remained in the picture only because it was necessary to enable me to buy the bottle. The isolation and loneliness that alcoholism brought weighed heavily on me, and those words lifted an immense burden of fear. Again, I'm not sure that I completely believed, but I felt hope for the first time in years.

p. 365

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Since Step Four is but the beginning of a lifetime practice, it can be suggested that he first have a look at those personal flaws which are acutely troublesome and fairly obvious. Using his best judgment of what has been right and what has been wrong, he might make a rough survey of his conduct with respect to his primary instincts for sex, security, and society. Looking back over his life, he can readily get under way by consideration of questions such as these:
When, and how, and in just what instances did my selfish pursuit of the sex relation damage other people and me? What people were hurt, and how badly? Did I spoil my marriage and injure my children? Did I jeopardize my standing in the community? Just how did I react to these situations at the time? Did I burn with a guilt that nothing could extinguish? Or did I insist that I was the pursued and not the pursuer, and thus absolve myself? How have I reacted to frustration in sexual matters? When denied, did I become vengeful or depressed? Did I take it out on other people? If there was rejection or coldness at home, did I use this as a reason for promiscuity?

pp. 50-51

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Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step. --Samuel Smiles

Expectation is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today. --Seneca

"The more you teach positive ideas to others, the better you learn them yourself." --Brian Tracy

Laughter is the sound of recovery. --unknown

C A R D S =
Call your sponsor,
Ask for help from your Higher Power,
Read the Big Book,
Do the Twelve Steps,
Stay active in your group.
--unknown

A recovering alcoholic without a sponsor is much like a ship without a rudder. --unknown

SPONSOR = Sober Person Offering Newcomer Support Of Recovery. --unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

GOD

"I could not say I believe. I
know! I have had the experience
of being gripped by something
that is stronger than myself,
something that people call
God."
-- Carl Jung

God is beyond our comprehension, and in a sense we are all agnostics --- none of us
KNOW know; uncertainty is part of faith.

However, there are "moments" when God is alive and vivid in new and stimulating
experiences that are beyond explanation other than --- "that's God". Loving
relationships, friendships, the beauty of nature, the complexities of life and the
universe; not to mention music, poetry and the conscience of man: all speak of God.
History is full of holy men who carry the message: God is love and He is to be

God, known and yet incomprehensible, help me to discover You in my doubts and
confusions.

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"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17

"My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." Isaiah 32:18

See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God. 1 John 3:1

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself. Philippians 2:3

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Daily Inspiration

When you act out of love and selfless concern, you are doing that which is right. Lord, I am Your servant in my daily life.

Never make the mistake of taking more credit than is due or less credit than you are worth. Lord, You have created me in Your image. Therefore, I am goodness and with You can accomplish great things.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
To affect the quality of the day--that is the highest of the arts. --Henry David Thoreau
We are the sculptors of our day. We can mold it creatively into a wonderful masterpiece. We control the amount of moisture we mix into our clay. We pound it, shape it, stroke it, love it. Others can offer suggestions, and we gain new perspectives from their advice, but it is finally our own creation. Our knife may occasionally slip, or our mixture of earth may be too dry. Any great artist suffers temporary setbacks. Besides, imperfections in art often make it all the more interesting.
How creative can I be in my life today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
To be happy one must risk unhappiness; to live fully one must risk death and accept its ultimate decision. --Judd Manner
All of us, in confronting our powerlessness, have felt the truth of this paradox. If we truly admitted how far out of control our drinking was, would we be able to survive without alcohol? If we stopped caretaking, would we have any place in our relationships? If we let go of our food obsessions, would there be any pleasure left in life? Yet, we can see much of our behavior was destroying us. We had to let go of it to begin learning a better way of living.
We can face our powerlessness in very specific ways. Let us look at today's concerns as spiritual issues with lessons for us. Does an opportunity seem like a problem because of the risk involved? Are we frustrated because we cannot accept the limits of our control? We will face our powerlessness today in ways we cannot fully anticipate. When we are honest with ourselves and face it directly, we can take the risk of letting go.
Let me not be so tied to what I have or to what I want that I cannot lean on God's love and take a risk for growth.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The greatest gift we can give one another is rapt attention to one another's existence. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
We all want to matter to others. Very often in the past and sometimes in the present, our behavior screams for the attention we seek from others. Perhaps, instead of trying to get attention, we ought to give it. The program tells us we have to give it away in order to keep it. Wisdom of the ages also dictates that in life there are no accidents. Those people close to us and those just passing through our lives have reason to be there. Giving attention to another's humanity is our calling.
I will fully attend to another person I have occasion to be with today. She will matter to me, and my attention will matter to her.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Dealing with Painful Feelings
Feelings of hurt or anger can be some of the most difficult to face. We can feel so vulnerable, frightened, and powerless when these feelings appear. And these feelings may trigger memories of other, similar times when we felt powerless.
Sometimes, to gain a sense of control, we may punish the people around us, whether they are people we blame for these feelings or innocent bystanders. We may try to "get even," or we may manipulate behind people's backs to gain a sense of power over the situation.
These actions may give us a temporary feeling of satisfaction, but they only postpone facing our pain.
Feeling hurt does not have to be so frightening. We do not have to work so hard to avoid it. While hurt feelings aren't as much fun as feeling happy/ they are, still, just feelings.
We can surrender to them, feel them, and go on. That does not mean we have to seek out hurt feelings or dwell unnecessarily on them. Emotional pain does not have to devastate us. We can sit still, feel the pain, figure out if there's something we need to do to take care of ourselves, and then go on with our life.
We do not have to act in haste; we do not have to punish others to get control over our feelings. We can begin sharing our hurt feelings with others. That brings relief and often healing to them and to us.
Eventually, we learn the lesson that real power comes from allowing ourselves to be vulnerable enough to feel hurt. Real power comes from knowing we can take care of ourselves, even when we feel emotional pain. Real power comes when we stop holding others responsible for our pain, and we take responsibility for all our feelings.
Today, I will surrender to my feelings, even the emotionally painful ones. Instead of acting in haste, or attempting to punish someone, I will be vulnerable enough to feel my feelings.


I am worthy of positive changes today. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Don't Take the First Compulsive Bite

OA says that if you don't take the first compulsive bite, you won't overeat. It is that first extra bite that gets us into trouble. The first bite may be as "harmless" as a piece of lettuce, but when eaten between meals and not as part of our daily plan, it invariably leads to another bite. And another, and another. And we have lost control. And there is no stopping.

It is the first compulsive bite that breaks abstinence. When we take it, we cheat ourselves and fall back into slavery to our appetites. To rationalize by saying that just a little deviation won't make any difference is like saying that someone is just a little bit pregnant.

All we have to give up is the first compulsive bite. Then we do not have to worry about the rest of them. Simple. Once we decide not to take the first one, our problem is solved. Abstinence is a lifeboat. It is possible to stay afloat in the lifeboat as long as we do not jump out by taking the first compulsive bite.

Thank you, Lord, for the saving gift of abstinence.

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Wisdom for Today
There are a lot of little things that go into making recovery what it is, but all those little things add up over time. I'm not sure I could even begin to describe all the little things that go into it. I have just come to accept that when all it is added up, life is good. This is not to say that there are no more problems, just better ones, or at least better ways to cope with the problems that come up in life. I have been fortunate enough to put together a good deal of time under my belt, but it has all been done one day at a time.
One of the more important little things is to find gratitude in recovery. I know for certain that gratitude was not present early in my recovery process. Yes, I was glad I had stopped drinking and using, but I was not happy right away. In fact, I was pretty miserable for a while. I'm not even sure when gratitude first came into the picture, but I know it was solidified when I completed Step Five. I became grateful for the inner calm and the quiet satisfaction I felt. I became grateful for the ability to forgive myself. I became grateful for the forgiveness I felt from my Higher Power. Have I begun to see the little things add up?
Meditations for the Heart
I came to a fork in the road of recovery when I completed Step Five. One path led nowhere because it was the path on which I see too many addicts and alcoholics stop. Too many times I have seen individuals finish Step Five and skip the repair work, jumping ahead to Step Ten, or even Twelve. This path seems to go nowhere because it just goes in circles. I know, because I walked on this path for a time. The other path leads on to Step Six, a process of preparation and letting go. I thought that the path that went nowhere would allow me some time to rest, but I found going in circles was not easy. I knew the other path would not be easy either, but at least it led somewhere. If I was going to hang onto that sense of gratitude, then the choice was simple. It was time to move on. Am I ready to move forward in my recovery?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
You never said this road would be easy, but the directions You provide are simple enough. Today I will be glad for the journey. I will seek out the things in my life for which I can be grateful, and I will acknowledge the gifts that I receive from You. Help me to make good and healthy choices today.
Amen.