Daily Recovery Readings - 1/10

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Daily Reflections

UNITED WE STAND

We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that
we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that
we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.
Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 30

I came to Alcoholics Anonymous because I was no longer able to
control my drinking. It was either my wife's complaining about my
drinking, or maybe the sheriff forced me to go to A.A. meetings, or
perhaps I knew, deep down inside, that I couldn't drink like others, but
I was unwilling to admit it because the alternative terrified me.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women united against
a common, fatal disease. Each one of our lives is linked to every other,
much like the survivors on a life raft at sea. If we all work together, we
can get safely to shore.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When we were drinking most of us were full of pride and selfishness.
We believed we could handle our own affairs, even though we were
making a mess of our lives. We were very stubborn and didn't like to
take advice. We resented being told what to do. To us, humility looked
like weakness. But when we came into A.A., we began to be humble.
And we found out that humility gave us the power we needed to
overcome drinking. Have I learned that there is power in humility?

Meditation For The Day

I will come to God in faith and He will give me a new way of life. This
new way of life will alter my whole existence, the words I speak, the
influence I have. They will spring from the life within me. I see how
important is the work of a person who has this new way of life. The
words and the example of such a person can have a whole influence for
good in the world.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may learn the principles of the good life. I pray that I may
meditate upon them and work at them, because they are eternal.

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As Bill Sees It

Loving Advisers, p. 303

Had I not been blessed with wise and loving advisers, I might have
cracked up long ago. A doctor once saved me from death by
alcoholism because he obliged me to face up to the deadlines of that
malady. Another doctor, a psychiatrist, later on helped me save my
sanity because he led me to ferret out some of my deep-lying defects.
>From a clergyman I acquired the truthful principles by which we
A.A.'s now try to live.

But these precious friends did far more than supply me with their
professional skills. I learned that I could go to them with any problem
whatever. Their wisdom and their integrity were mine for the asking.

Many of my dearest A.A. friends have stood with me in exactly this
same relation. Oftentimes they could help where others could not,
simply because they were A.A.'s.

Grapevine, August 1961

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Walk in Dry Places

No Need for Envy___Overcoming Envy
We would be unusual people if we did not suffer from the common feeling of envy. Quite often, we are envious of people who surpass us in some activity or who threaten our self-esteem in some way. Even if we are high achievers in spite of our drinking, we might envy people who appear to be rivaling or overtaking us.
We can make choices about envy. We do not have to be envious of anybody when we fully accept ourselves and God's will for us. There is no reason to be envious of another if we are doing what God wants us to do and if we have turned our will and lives over to God.
We should be on guard for jealous feelings toward those close to us. Most of us can shrug when we read about strangers winning the million-dollar lottery, but how would we feel if a close friend or relative won? When those envious feeling surface, we might face them by admitting them to others and asking God's help in rising above them. And if we share these feelings in-group discussions, others will be helped by our display of honesty.
I will accept myself, as I am this day. I will not be jealous of anyone's status, possessions, or opportunities.

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Keep It Simple

I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.---Winston Churchill
We addicts are used to learning the hard way. Many of us think we're different and can do things our own way. But then we get in too much trouble or pain. The first AA members were just like us. They knew how it is to hate being told what to do. So they suggested we follow the Twelve Steps. They didn't say we have to do anything. They didn't say working the Steps is the only way to live sober. They just said the Steps worked for them. we're finding out that the Steps work for us too. We don't have to work them.
We don't have to stay sober. We just like our new sober life better than our old drinking or drugging life.
And we learned how to live this new life by working the Steps
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me be open to your lessons. Teach me gently and help me listen.
Action for the Day: I will list five ways that I get in the way of my own learning.

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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.

My sponsor was a living damper on my intolerance. But even more, he told me that it would be all right for me to doubt God, that A.A. was not a religious program and, to belong, I did not have to adhere to any set of beliefs.

p. 366

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

But all alcoholics who have drunk themselves out of jobs, family, and friends will need to cross-examine themselves ruthlessly to determine how their own personality defects have thus demolished their security.

pp. 51-52

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Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of others, but from doing something worthwhile. --Wilfred Grenfell (1865 - 1940)

Joy has nothing to do with material things, or with a man's outward circumstance... A man living in the lap of luxury can be wretched, and a man in the depths of poverty can overflow with joy. --William Barclay (1907 - 1978)

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. --Abraham Lincoln

Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. --Seneca

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

DIFFERENCE

As a recovering alcoholic I belong to a minority. As somebody with the
disease of addiction I am aware of my difference. And I have
experienced prejudice and injustice because I was not born like other
people.

But in a spiritual sense the acceptance of my disease has given me a
freedom that united me with other minorities, other "different" groups,
the countless shades of humanity. My disease has produced a spiritual
unity and bond with creation that makes me rejoice in my difference
and produces a tolerance of others that was not there before. In this
sense I thank God for my dis-ease.

You, who made the different, also created the unity; help me find both
in my life.

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"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." Psalm 5:3

May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.
Psalm 119:169-176

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Daily Inspiration

We have many doors, but it is our choice which one to open. Lord, bless me with the wisdom to make the best of my daily life.

Happiness comes from knowing that you can handle the things in your life. Lord, help me to become confident and see the power that is really within me.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment. --David D. Burns
Good thoughts are like bright colors in a painting. Negative thoughts are dark and dreary and drab. Each day we paint pictures of our own lives with our thoughts. If we step back and look at the canvas, we will see whether the picture is alive with bright colors or dreary and lifeless like a dark cloud. Our thoughts have the power to bring joy or sadness our way, depending on what we expect or look for in our surroundings. The choice of how we want our lives to be is ours. Since we paint a new picture each day, we are always free to change things when they don't please us. What better time than the present?
Is there something in my life I'd like to change today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
If you don't take chances, you can't do anything in life. --Michael Spinks
Many of us have done things that, in looking back, seem insane or dangerous. We may have had friends or family members who got into serious trouble and frightened us by their risky behavior. Out of fear, we may have become too cautious about everything.
Our dilemma is that growth is a risk, too. If we avoid all risk, we become stagnant. Life thrives on possibilities and options. Of course, risk means the outcome is unsure. We may not get the result we desire. But not all risk taking is as self-destructive as it was in our past. Now we have our relationship with our Higher Power and ourselves. Now taking a chance may help us grow, even when we don't get what we want.
Today let me see possibilities, and guide my inner sense of when to take a chance for growth.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
A complete revaluation takes place in your physical and mental being when you've laughed and had some fun. --Catherine Ponder
Norman Cousins, in his book Anatomy of an Illness, describes how he cured his fatal illness with laughter. Laughter recharges our entire being; every cell is activated. We come alive, and full vitality restores us physically and emotionally. Many of us need both emotional and physical healing, but perhaps we've overlooked the times to laugh because we've been caught in a negative posture.
Unfortunately, negativity becomes habitual for many of us. However, it's never too late to turn our lives around, to laugh instead of complain. Choosing to see the bright side of life, to laugh at our mistakes, lessens our pain, emotional and physical. Laughter encourages wellness. It is habit-forming and, better yet, contagious. Bringing laughter to others can heal them as well.
We all want health and happiness in ourselves and others, and we can find it by creating it. The best prescription for whatever ails us may well be a good laugh.
Today Ill seek out those chances to dispense a little medicine.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Fear
Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and. you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again; you shall never be so afraid of a tumble. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fear can be a big stopper for many of us: fear of fragility, fear of failure, fear of making a mistake, fear of what others might think, fear of success. We may second-guess our next action or word until we talk ourselves out of participating in life.
"But I failed before!" "I can't do it good enough!" "Look at what happened last time!" "What if.. .?" These statements may disguise fear. Sometimes the fear is disguising shame.
After I finished the first two chapters of a book I was writing, I read them and grimaced. "No good," I thought. "Can't do it." I was ready to pitch the chapters, and my writing career, out the window. A writer friend called, and I told her about my problem. She listened and told me: "those chapters are fine. Stop being afraid. Stop criticizing yourself. And keep on writing."
I followed her advice. The book I almost threw away became a New York Times best seller.
Relax. Our best is good enough. It may be better than we think. Even our failures may turn out to be important learning experiences that lead directly to - and are necessary for - an upcoming success.
Feel the fear, then let it go. Jump in and do it - whatever it is. If our instincts and path have led us there, it's where we need to be.
Today, I will participate in life to the best of my ability. Regardless of the outcome, that makes me a winner.


Today I am trusting the urge to move ahead... to grow...to risk new directions. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Decision

Someone has said that the hardest part of the OA program is making the decision to follow it. You can do just about anything once you make up your mind to do it! But the decision has to be firm and it must be the kind of commitment, which involves our deepest self.

Many of us who are compulsive overeaters have spent our lives looking for an easier way to lose weight. We feel that there should be a magic solution somewhere, which will enable us to eat our cake and be thin at the same time. Our first reaction to the OA program is often one of dismay. It seems so drastic, and we protest that there must be an easier way.

The OA program is not easy. Life is not easy. Rather than solving the problems and difficulties in our lives, overeating multiplies them. We in OA have been offered a new way of life. Each of us decides every day - and many times every day - whether or not we will choose the new life.

May I decide to follow the program today.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
Over time I have watched one newcomer after another walk in through the doors of the program. Many of these individuals have tried desperately to control their use of alcohol or drugs and failed. Many have tried to quit on their own and failed. Still others have been in one treatment program after another and failed. Yet, those that completely give themselves to this simple program find a way to get clean and sober. This fact in and of itself is amazing.
But what really astound me are the remarkable changes I see these individuals go through. Each of them, just like myself, had severe problems with their personality. There were clearly major problems with my thinking, emotional responses, behavior and beliefs. My disease process had corrupted my personality. Through working the Steps, I have watched myself change, and I have watched one newcomer after another change. If you need proof that the Steps work, just hang around and watch what happens to people in the program who really work the Steps. This evidence not only convinces me that "it works if you work it," but it also shows me that there is a Higher Power at work in our lives. What has happened to others and me is not luck, but it is the grace of God. Am I convinced that a Higher Power can help me change my personality?
Meditations for the Heart
Learning to cooperate with God is not always easy. Sometimes I am convinced that I am my own worst enemy – particularly when it comes to my character defects. It just seems that I really like some of them too much. So how do you give up something that you like? Not an easy task! When I looked closely at my defects of character and personality flaws, I could see how these things were just as destructive as my drinking and using. I knew if I was ever going to change these aspects of who I was and how I behaved, I would need to cooperate with God. This cooperation begins with openly seeking and acknowledging the presence of a Higher Power in our lives. As I became more conscious of the presence of God in my life, it was not hard to find direction for the needed changes. But cooperation means more than just acknowledging God's presence; it also means surrender. Over and over I have surrendered to my Higher Power. The problem is that some of those character defects I take back. I let go, but then I take them back. Over time though I have found that I take these defects back less and less often. I just don't need them anymore. Have I become ready to have God remove my defects?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Over time You have convinced me that the program does work. More importantly, You have convinced me that You work for me and for others in the program. Today I know my faith is stronger because of what You have done for me in my life. Help me to stay on the course and continue to work each of the Steps as I walk through this life. Help me to develop and attitude of cooperation with You.
Amen.