God Grant Me . . .

[cassie]

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

What do we see when we look at people? What do we look for? Our society seems to tell us that how people look is the most important thing. If we believe that, we will miss out on their qualities that are really important. These qualities include how they treat people, whether they have a sense of humor, or if they're honest.

We must remember that material things don't have anything to do with friendship or love or trust. They don't offer us support or understanding. They don't teach us how to fill the loneliness in our hearts and offer love to others.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Help me be a real human being, Higher Power. Help me know with my heart what is truly important.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will sit down and list my qualities. I will work to be more invested in the spiritual way than in the materialism that surrounds me.

[cassie]

The persistent human cry is, "Hold me tight."
DONALD JOY

We need to be loved. We need to be held tight, and we need to hold others tight. Many of us are scared, and for good reasons. During our using years, we held tight to addiction, but this attachment created serious wounds.

In recovery, first we let go of old behaviors, attitudes, and ideas. Then we grab hold and hold tight to the Steps, our sponsor, the fellowship, and the principles of the program. The tighter we attach to recovery, the quicker its care and love become part of our being. The tighter we hold, the deeper the values of recovery get planted in our minds, hearts, and souls.

It is, then, our job to hold on tight and allow the safety of recovery to hold us tight. We need to go to meetings, call our sponsor, read, pray and meditate regularly, allowing the care found in the Third Step to grab hold of us and heal our wounds.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I need Your love. Plese hold me tight, especially when I'm scared or when I'm angry. Hold me until I can feel Your love.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will meditate on how I can tighten my grip on recovery and how I can let recovery hold me tighter.

[cassie]

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
STEVEN WRIGHT

We need to make careful choices about how we spend our time. It's important to ask: Am I happy with the things I spend my time on? Do I find meaning in the things I spend time on?

When we are working, do we put our attention into our work? Do we spend enough time taking care of ourselves and our family? Do our friends add quality to our lives?

Addiction has taught us to waste our time on hurting ourselves. And it did become the most important thing in our lives. Taking back our lives, with the help of our Higher Power, means taking back our time to spend on the things that give--not take--life. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, there are so many dangerous moments in my day when my Addict wants to take me back to using or to using people and places. Please fill my time today with healthy thoughts and help me spend my time on living well, not on the slow death of addiction.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of the things that I need and want to spend my time on in order to be healthy and live a life I like and am proud of. Then I will consider how I can spend more time on these things.

[cassie]

Humans are smarter than people think.
EDDIE IZZARD

As addicts, we could be very ingenious at using our wits to create mischief or to manipulate things to our advantage. Now in recovery, we seem to get smarter when we can come together for the greater good, such as being of service to others. Recovery gives us back our brains and also gives us the gift of choice.

Recovery asks that we use our smarts to create miracles. We need to let our minds be guided by spiritual forces and then use them for good. When we do, we will surprise even ourselves at how smart we can be. We must ask ourselves, "Am I using my brain to make the world a better place or for selfish motives?"

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, You have given me back my brain; this is one of the gifts of recovery. Now help me use it, not in selfish ways, but for good.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think of three specific ways I can be of service to others.

[cassie]

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
WILLIAM JAMES

Our first job in recovery is to become sober. Our second job is to become smart so we can stay sober. Our third job is to learn how to make the most of our life.

Becoming sober takes awhile. Our ability to think clearly is impaired for a long time after our last use of alcohol or drugs. When we can think clearly enough to look for help, the program is there to help us. All we have to do is work for it.

Wisdom comes in as we learn to quiet the voice of our addiction and pay attention, instead, to the things in life that are truly important: our spirituality, our mental and physical health, and our relationships. We come to understand that we matter, to the people who love us and to our Higher Power.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, the Addict in me wants to make a big deal of all the wrong things, tempting me to relapse. Please help me quiet the voice of my Addict and pay attention, instead, to the important thing--living in Your care for me today.

TODAY'S ACTION
What Step am I working on today? This is a good thing to pay attention to. I will talk with my sponsor about it.

[cassie]

He who requires urging to do a noble act will never accomplish it.
KAHLIL GIBRAN

The Third Step speaks of willingness. Willingness puts our hearts and souls into the task at hand. Willingness doesn't get rid of the fears, but it helps us find the courage to work through them. Willingness doesn't give us the knowledge to solve the problem, but it may give us the energy to leave our isolation and seek out others with the knowledge. Willingness doesn't do away with ego; it just shows us an alternative to ego. Willingness is the voice of our Higher Power saying, "I believe in you and want you to do the same." Willingness is the seed wanting to break through the soil to see the light of day, to be what it is meant to be.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
I pray for willingness to do the next right thing. I seek courage, knowledge, the support of others, and my Higher Power's guidance.

TODAY'S ACTION
I will work to notice how willingness is behind all actions. I will work today to be a willing participant in my own life, and in my own recovery.

[cassie]

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
MARK TWAIN

When we take Step Eight, we think about people we have harmed and make a list of them. We may have cheated, lied to, beaten up, or stolen money from these people. Some are people we asked to love us.

When we love someone, it changes us forever. It changes how we think about our lives. Loving someone makes up open and raw and tender and real. It makes us loyal and attached to one person.

If we asked someone to love us, we must pay attention to how our disease has affected him or her. Perhaps we couldn't help it, but this person was probably hurt very badly. How can we help him or her heal? How can we help this special individual trust again and love again?

This is one of the hardest problems we face in recovery. We can get help from professional counselors as well as our recovery friends when dealing with tough relatinship issues.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me face the pain my disease has caused those who love me. Help me careefuly decide how to make amends.

TODAY'S ACTION
Who are the people in my life that I am attached to? Is it a good attachment? What can I do about the attachments that are harmful?

[cassie]

The pleasure of criticizing robs us of the pleasure of being moved by some very fine things.
JEAN DE LA BRUYERE

Criticizing others is a defense against joy. Addicts become afraid of joy because this is what our illness attacks. Just as lung cancer attacks the lungs, addiction attacks joy and intimacy. Anything important to us will have to be betrayed or surrendered to our addiction. Over time, we become afraid to find joy in anything.

When fear overwhelms us and we seek refuge in the negative, let us remember our program. Recovery shows us through the Steps how to change bad into good, pain into joy. Being willing to invest in joy again will make us vulnerable. And that means we can be hurt again.

But now we don't stand alone. If we lose our joy, we know where to go to find it or whom to ask to help us create more. Are we willing to risk again, or do we hide in negativity because we're afraid to step back into life?

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me turn away from my desire to be negative. Help me be an example of joy in motion.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about the last time I was critical of something. I will talk to my sponsor about it and try to find the ways I was using being negative as a defense. How could I use the program to change that?

[cassie]

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
ee cummings

One of the true gifts of recovery is that we learn to laugh again. No matter how beat up our spirits have been by our addiction, no matter how heavy or hard our hearts have become, one day we find ourselves laughing. The lightness in our hearts lets us know life is good.

It may happen in a meeting as we suddenly stop taking ourselves so seriously. It may happen as we learn to socialize again and share a joke or score a goal in a group of our new friends. It may happen as we look into the eyes of someone who loves us and our hearts bubble over with joy.

Laughter heals us. It is one of our heart's songs. There is always some in our life, somewhere--and we need only look in order to find it.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, please give me something today that will tickle me with joy or humor. Help me give in to the urge to laugh. I know my laughter is music to Your ears.

TODAY'S ACTION
When I notice something to laugh or smile about today, I will share it with others. Humor and joy are meant to be shared.

(please note that the author cited above actually used lower case signature in this format - he was a poet and painter. :smile:)

[cassie]

[She] didn't want her kindness returned. She wanted it passed on.
KAREN T. TAHA

Pass It On. Keep Nothing--Especially the Joy and Happiness You Experience. How crazy these types of statements sounded when we first heard them. We may have even said to ourselves, "Cheap little slogans." Now they echo in our minds and offer us comfort during troubled times. Now they are a way of life. Why? Because we're sefish and love joy and happiness--and working to make others happy about life creates more happiness for us! Recovery taught us that cheap little slogans were, in reality, challenges.

Our slogans teach us to Keep It Simple. When things get tough, Easy Does It is the way to proceed. When we want to hide in the past or in the future, we hear the challenge, Just for Today. When we get afraid and think that a lifetime of recovery will be too hard for us, cheap little slogans will save our lives One Day at a Time.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Others have given me their joy and kindness when I had none. Higher Power, help me to Pass It On.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will seek not to receive kindness, but to give it, expecting nothing in return, Just for Today.

[cassie]

Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.
PSALM 25:3

Our day might seem better if everyone would just do what we tell them to do. But God doesn't override people's will, and we are not to do so either. Instead of trying to control people, pray that they will "hear" God leading them.

If someone persists in doing something his or her own way today, show your confidence in God by stepping aside. You may learn that you were wrong, or they may learn that you were right. God is big enough to get both you and them out of any mess they may make. Either way, He will get the glory, if you put your trust in Him.

[cassie]

"The pursuit of happiness" is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness, you'll never find it.
CHARLES PERCY SNOW

Happiness is a funny thing. We all want it, but we don't quite know what it is or how to get it. Looking for it led us to try alcohol or drugs. But for us, that was a dangerous experiment; it led to our addiction and nearly cost us our lives. We have a deadly disease.

Some people look for happiness in power, some in owning things, some in gambling or sex or danger. None of these paths lead to happiness.

Happiness comes from being who we are meant to be. There is a reason each of us is here. We have things to learn and things to do and people to love. We will discover these things through prayer and meditation and through listening to people who are happy. That's why we choose a stable and content sponsor.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, please help me keep my goals straight. I want happiness, that is, I want to be on my right path. Help me listen today for Your directions.

TODAY'S ACTION
As I pray or meditate today, I will make sure I am clear about who I want directions from--my Higher Power, not my Addict!

[cassie]

We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects and in our common striving to overcome them.
BILL WILSON

Our primary purpose in recovery is to help each other and those who will come after us. What an interesting task for self-centered people! By helping each other overcome defects of character, we forget about ourselves, and the voice of our ego grows less intense. The fellowship of recovery works to break down self-centeredness and to remind us that we cannot do it alone.

We must never forget that it is in the "we" of the program that we find relief from the "me" of addiction. It is in the "we" that we find the answers to the troubles and challenges of life will give us. Loving relationships ask that we step outside of ourselves into a larger world. Do we believe more in the "we" of recovery or in the "me" of ego?

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me overcome my defects of character by guiding me deeper into the "we" of recovery.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will call my sponsor and talk with him or her about how I can be of better service to others.

[cassie]

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
HAVELOCK ELLIS

Our addiction led us to let go of everything important to us and hold on to our alcohol and drugs. Now that we are sober, we can do it the other way around. We can let go of alcohol and drugs and the other things that make us sick, and we can hang on to the things that help us get well and stay healthy.

What should we let go of as we learn to live in recovery? Alcohol and drugs. Cravings. Shame. Fear. Being stubborn. Big egos. Having to be in control of outcomes. Having to be in control of other people.

What should we hang on to? Our sponsor. Our Twelve Step group. Our Higher Power. The process of working the Steps. Our values. Our faith. Love. Our dignity and self-esteem. Routines and rituals that keep us healthy.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, finding the right balance of letting go and holding on isn't easy. Please help me today.

TODAY'S ACTION
Am I a person who has more trouble letting go or more trouble hanging on? I will talk about this with my sponsor.

[cassie]

We have met the enemy, and he is us.
WALT KELLY

We have also met the solution, and he[or she] is also us. It is as simple as this: The men and women who choose to face their lostness face their illness. And once we move into the recovery community, our fellow members remind us of what waits for us if we place principles before personalities. Our fellow members also remind us of the Steps and how in working them we find freedom and serenity. But freedom and rebuilding of our lives can only come after we surrender.

When we find ourselves at war with ourselves, as we will, we are to turn to the solution, the fellowship, and the Steps. We need to let the war be over. Surrender needs to be a daily event. It is time to rebuild and recover what we lost to our addiction. We have been our own worst enemy long enough. Now it is time to be a friend to ourselves.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, fill me with Your peace. I surrender so I can be of service to You and others who still suffer.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today is a good day to surrender. I will write down five problems I am having. I will surrender to my Higher Power through prayer and meditation. I will surrender them to the program by talking to my sponsor or group about them.

[cassie]

People are what they believe.
ANTON CHEKHOV

What we believe helps us build a framework for our lives. Our most important beliefs, our core beliefs, tell us what kind of person we should be. When we are healthy, our core beliefs are based in love, kindness, courage, and good work.

When we are not healthy, it is hard to live fully and feel good about ourselves. Our disease got us into that situation. We couldn't live fully; we couldn't feel good or act like a good person. Even before our addictions, many of us were told as children that we were not good enough or even that we were no good.

That's why changing what we believe is a big part of recovery. Finding a Higher Power to believe in, seeing ourselves as good people who can do good things in life--these are important core beliefs in recovery. When we believe these things, we become them.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me believe and think in right ways that are helpful to me and to those around me.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will list the five things I believe are the most important guides for how to live my life. I will talk with my sponsor about them.

[cassie]

Everything is clearer when you are in love.
JOHN LENNON

Addiction is an illness in which we betray love. We turned our backs on concern, on the love of others. Even when our Higher Power would whisper words of concern, telling us that we were in trouble, we turned away. Love and care came to feel like an acid on our skin. Love, care and concern would activate our shame, our fears. We became confused.

Recovery is about love. In the Third Step, we're asked to turn our will and lives over to "care." We, as members of the fellowship, love each other back to health. As we do this--as we surround ourselves with our Higher Power's love and spiritual principles--things become clearer. Addiction is not our purpose.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me see things clearly. Help me to embrace love even when the challenges of love scare me.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of all the things I lost because of my addiction. I will share this list with recovery friends.

[cassie]

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are somthing to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
JOSEPH ADDISON

As we become more comfortable in our new sober life, we begin to get an inner feeling about what we can do with our time, our talents, and our skills. We know at a deep level that it is important to work, to care for family members, and to keep the world going. We need to feel like we earn our keep in some way.

We need love too. Our program teaches us a great deal about love--how it begins with honesty, forgiveness and acceptance. It grows with gratitude, action, and communication. We learn to share. We learn to help others. We learn to love.

We also learn to hope. In Step Two, we came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity. Now we are pretty much sane--most of the time--and we believe that our Higher Power has a plan for us that will be better than our own ideas and dreams.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, You are doing for me what I could not do for myself. You are giving me health and sanity. Please, don't stop there! I believe You will give me love, good work, and a full life. Help me accept these things. Thank You.

TODAY'S ACTION
What did I do today that was worthwhile? Did I act in a caring, loving way toward any person? Are there any mistakes that I would like to fix tomorrow? I will write down my thoughts. Now I have done Step Ten.

[cassie]

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
KAHLIL GIBRAN

Fellowship and friendship, how nice it is to have found both. But with them comes responsibiity. At a meeting, I once heard a woman say that the only reason she was there was to give a friend a ride to help her stay sober. Then she admitted that she cared more about her friend's recovery than she did about her own. She had been planning a drunk in her head because she was tired and angry. However, the two women were going to go out to supper after the meeting and just talk, learning more together on how to stay sober one day at a time.

Often we learn to care for ourselves by caring for others. Our illness taught us to hate ourselves, to hurt ourselves. Recovery--its fellowship, its friendships--gives us the opportunity to love again, to care again, and eventually, to love ourselves again. The miracle of service and friendship to others is the miracle of finding self and purpose again.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me accept the responsibility of friendship, to call my friends to offer support when needed. Help me be part of the miracle.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will write down all the responsibilities I believe friendship asks of me. I will share this list with a friend.

[cassie]

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
STEP SEVEN OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

We learned to be humble--to see clearly who we really are--when we took Step Five. We faced many things about ourselves that we didn't like. We started to realize we'd need a miracle to change all the things about us that need to be changed.

In Step Seven, we ask our Higher Power to work that miracle. We open ourselves to becoming all that we can be, all that our Higher Power wants us to be. We know what we are asking for will mean change--and change is not easy. That's why we need all Twelve Steps.

Step Seven changes our lives. All the Steps before Step Seven get us ready. All the Steps after Step Seven help us reapir the damage from our old life and live successfully in our new life.

It's exciting and amazing, isn't it? With our own hard work and a miracle from our Higher Power, we get to live new lives.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, thank You for giving me a second chance at life. Thank You for the direction and fellowship of recovery, allowing me to live as a new spiritual person.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about the people at my meetings who have been clearly changed. I will make a phone call to one of those people today and ask about his or her experience with Step Seven.

[cassie]

There must be more to life than having everything!
MAURICE SENDAK

Greed can cause us to want everything and more. The more we get, the emptier we feel. Then the pain of feeling empty leads us to want more. We think because we hurt, we deserve some kind of reward. Addiction is greed in a very pure form.

Recovery asks that we feel our spirits, not our desires. It asks that we see pleasure as a by-produce of deeds done well, not something we are entitled to. It asks that we be of service, that we seek to give instead of just take, that we seek enough instead of more. The miracle is that when we live a life of sobriety, hope, and service, we have mroe than we ever dreamed we could have.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me to find balance between wants and needs. Help me be less greedy.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will write out five reasons why greed can be dangerous to me and my sobriety.

[cassie]

At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane's departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, "I love you, I wish you enough."
She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."

They kissed good-bye and she left.

He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his
privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "

Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me.
Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.

So I knew what this man was experiencing.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?" I asked.

"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and
the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, " he said.

"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.'
May I ask what that means?" He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone."

He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were
wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Good-bye.."

received in e-mail

[cassie]

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breath more; talk less, say more, and all good things will be yours.
SWEDISH PROVERB

The Swedes are practical people. What they are basically saying in the proverb above is this: "Keep it simple. Get out of your own way. Just do the next right thing, and life will go okay."

That is good advice. So often we make things harder than they need to be. We need to work our program every day. When we start out with prayer or meditation, we see the day more clearly. Sometimes we need help or information, so we have to ask for it. That's not as hard as it used to be.

Why? Because the program has given us a great gift--humility. We know we are not better or worse than everyone else. We are who we are, we know what we know, we need help sometimes, and that's all okay. We all need each other.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I believe that whatever I need to do You will show me how to do it. I will relax and just do it.

TODAY'S ACTION
Have I ever gotten stuck on little or big things because I didn't ask for the information or help that I needed? I will list three times I have gotten stuck and what I did to get unstuck.

[cassie]

We're all only fragile threads, but what a tapestry we make.
JERRY ELLIS

What a wonderful quote to describe the fellowship of recovery! As we meet in our healing circles, we weave together beautiful new lives, beautiful new tapestries. We take bits of wisdom and color from each other and add them to our lives. Together we weave a magical rug on which we journey to new lives and witness grand sunrises and sunsets. Alone we are fragile, but together we are strong and colorful.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me to remember that my strength is not in standing alone, but in standing in the middle of many.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about the threads that go into my recovery tapestry. Who are the people I most treasure? What are my most valued experiences.

[cassie]

A man is what he thinks about all day long.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

This is true for women too. We sure learned that about our disease as well. It kept us thinking about alcohol or drugs all day every day until we could think of little else. Finally we became addicts, gobbled up by our all-consuming thoughts and cravings.

Now in recovery, we can be something else. We are becoming free of our addiction, and our minds can think about other things. What do we want to think about? What do we want to be?

It's easy to let the noise around us tell us what to think about. At the end of the day, we can end up feeling out of touch with who we are. We've been giving our minds to whatever is on the radio, television, or the gossip grapevine at work or school. That's why it's good to spend part of each day thinking about things we truly think are important and worthwhile.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me understand that what I do with my mind, and my time is important. What I do with my mind is my inner life. What I do with my time is my outer life. Together they define who I am.

TODAY'S ACTION
I will think about the way I used my mind and my time today. What feels good and fits for me? Is there anything I want to do differently tomorrow?

[cassie]

Man loves company even if only that of a small burning candle.
GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTENBERG

Our illness kept us alone. As it got worse, we placed alcohol or drugs ahead of people more and more often. And we ended up more and more alone. Even people we care about refused to be around us because of the way we acted. There were places we were not welcome anymore. Many of us got to a place where we couldn't even stand our own company.

Being part of the fellowship of recovery meant we never have to be alone again. This can scare those of us who learned how to survive alone. We pretended we didn't need others. We now need to allow ourselves to embrace our new friends and the fellowship of recovery. Within the fellowship, we will find people to be with. We'll also find the answers on how to live productive, joyous lives. The light of each of our candles burning together lights our way.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, You have brought me into recovery for a purpose. I don't always know the purpose, but I know I'm to help and nurture the fellowship. I'm to help others feel not so alone.

TODAY'S ACTIONS
Today I will think of ways I may still be keeping myself alone. I will talk with my sponsor or group about how I can move deeper into the fellowship.

[cassie]

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
DEEPAK CHOPRA

Finding the stillness inside ourselves is a lifesaver. If we think back, we can remember how badly we wanted peace when the craziness of addiction would get too awful to bear. We can remember how sometimes we may have considered ending it all just to find peace. Nearly all of us have felt that way at times.

But now in recovery, we have a much better way to find peace. When the craziness gets big around us, we can say a prayer, breathe deeply, and take a step back for a moment. We can see that the craziness is just out there; it is not in us. It will pass. We are actually okay. All we need to do is let go of our panic. Trust in our Higher Power. Breathe. Be ourselves. We know what to do when we go to that still place inside of us. We know.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me stay calm inside today. Help me stay connected to you through all the day's busy action and activity, even if it gets crazy. With Your help, I can stay sane and centered.

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about the kinds of craziness that sometimes pop up in my day. Perhaps my kids are squabbling. My boss is in a bad mood. Traffic is snarled up. My meetings are going nowhere. I get a flat tire when I'm in a hurry. So what? I need to stop these things from taking my serenity away from me by thinking of two things I can do to stay calm and centered.

[cassie]

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
WATTY PIPER
THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD

Often in early recovery, we question whether we can be one of the winners. We doubt ourselves, for we had promised ourselves too many times before that we would turn things around, but we did not do it. We were fighting our addiction alone. We thought we were just making bad decisions; we did not know that we suffered from a dangerous and powerful illness.

This time is different, however. We are each other's hope. When we doubt our ability to stay sober, we see others worse than we are working the program. We tell each other, "You help me stay sober today, and I'll help you stay sober tomorrow." Together we know we can do it. The longer we work together for sobriety, the more the doubts fade away. If we ever have doubts, we need only turn the "we" of recovery and let it nurture us past the doubts.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me to see that doubts are just signs that I need to move closer to You and my recovery friends. Help me run to You with my doubts instead of hiding in them.

TODAY'S ACTION
What doubts am I wrestling with today? I will list these and share them with my Higher Power and another person.

[cassie]

The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings.
HENRI FREDERIC AMIEL

The culture we live in is not very good for our hearts and souls. If we look carefully at the messages we hear every day about what is important, this is what we hear: It's important to have a sexy smile. It's important to use the right furniture polish, toothpaste, deodorant, hair color. It's important to be rich. It's important to look right. It's important to have a new car. Booze makes us sexy. Cigarettes make us sexy. Being skinny makes us sexy. Sex is better than love. Power is better than sex. Being rich is better than anything.

According to the outside world, we are never good enough. We never have enough things. It's a trap.

How do we get out of the trap? We let go of the messages we hear from outside. We listen to our spirit, our Higher Power, and our friends in recovery. We focus on things that matter and have real meaning.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me avoid the trap of society's hype. One Day at a Time. Help me find out who I am by listening to You and Your messengers. Thank You.

TODAY'S ACTIONS
Today I will list the things I do each day that keep me out of society's traps.

[cassie]

Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you what you are.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES

Once we were addicted to alcohol or drugs, our priorities changed. Our families wanted our time, but we gave our time to alcohol or drugs. We found new friends who used like we did or at least wouldn't ask questions about how we used.

Recovery asks us to "stick with the winners." What do these winners look like? They are women and men who show up and work to live the spiritual principles of recovery. These spiritual principles are obvious in the company they keep. They do the service work; they give rides to people who need to get to meetings; they make the coffee; they calll people to offer encouragement and see how they are doing. They are the winners because of the company they keep.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, today I will keep company with You. I will work to be the person you want me to be.

TODAY'S ACTION
I will make a list of all the recovery winners I know. I will connect with at least three of them today.

[cassie]

Aim at nothing and you will succeed.
ANONYMOUS

We have an inner need to do something worthwhile. When we have no goals, we are likely to become depressed since there is nothing to live for.

But life does need us. There are things we are here to do--each of us. Our Higher Power will give us the clues we need to find our reasons for being here. All we have to do is keep an open mind. We might be surprised at the path we find for ourselves.

It could just be that our reason for being here is not all about us. We are here to give, to help, to contribute to this group effort we call life. But what if we don't know our path? Then we suit up and show up and see what needs to be done.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me pay attention to where You are leading me. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will write down any secret wishes and goals in my heart that I don't talk about. Then I will write about the reasons I keep them secret. It's okay for today--I don't have to tell anyone.

[cassie]

Service is the rent you pay for room on this earth.
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

As active addicts, we become very self-centered, acting as if we were the center of the universe. We demand free rent. Many of us forgot why we were placed on this earth: We are here to be of service. What does being of service mean? It means being available, and it means doing. It is action, not just thoughts of action. We are to be doers. In our program, we help others get and stay sober. But we also clean coffee pots, answer phones, and attend meetings. We see a need, and we address it.

Outside of our program, we are to help those in need. If we have a friend who is hurt and can't get around, maybe we do some of this person's chores. If we have an elderly neighbor who can't get out, maybe we offer to do his or her shopping. Or maybe it means volunteering at a local agency. Service helps us by freeing ourselves of ego--if we let go. We need to pay our rent, and we need to pay it on time.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me to be of service. Often I forget my true purpose in life, which is to be of service to You and others. Help me to remember. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
I will make a list of four things I can do today to help others. I will do all four things.

[cassie]

What was hard to endure is sweet to recall.
CONTINENTAL PROVERB

"We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it" (Alcoholics Anonymous, 83). This is one of the promises of our recovery program. No matter how terrible the times in our lives have been because of our addiction, we will know that they have made our recovery all the sweeter.

It takes a long time and a lot of work to get to that point. The Big Book says that we will get this feeling while we are working Step Nine, making amends to those we have harmed. It's hard to imagine, is it not? The idea that facing the people we hurt will heal us?

Yet that is exactly what happens. As we make our amends, we realize that we are all on this life journey, together or separately. And we all face challenges and tests. We all do the best we can to learn our lessons of faith, love, and hope, and to the live more fully.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me keep my life in perspective. Help me be happy for where I am today. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will list two or three times that were very hard when they happened but in the end had some good come out of them.

[cassie]

Thou hast only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it.
MARGUERITE DE ANGELI

Sometimes we are stumped. We want to do the Next Right Thing, but we just don't know what it is. It seems like there is an invisisble wall in front of us, blocking our visions and holding us back.

If we keep praying and listening, we begin to see the shape of the wall in front of us, and we can explore that wall. Sooner or later, we find a way to a door that leads to the other side.

It's a funny thing, but we seem to always find that door at just the right time--in our Higher Power's time. Once we get used to this happening in our recovery, we understand that our Higher Power uses these walls to guide us sometimes. They are okay. We asked for guidance, and now we are getting it. We learn to welcome the walls and to welcome the doors through them.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me learn to appreciate the walls as well as the doors. The walls keep me safe until it is the right time to go through.:195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Was there a time when I stood face-to-face with a wall I could not get through? What happened? Today I will write three lesssons I learned from
that experience.

[cassie]

It's not easy to learn to whistle if there's no one to show you how.
JANUSZ KORCZAK

How lucky we are for those who have gone before us. They have worked hard to find sobriety and develop it into a program where millions can be touched by it. They developed the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions so we have guides in how to get sober and develop lives of dignity and respect.

We also need to see that we are responsible to teach those who need to learn to whistle. We are responsible to serve and reach out to the still-suffering addicts around us. We will teach those we meet to whistle, and they will teach still others to whistle. This is our way. We are to be there for each other and for those who will follow. We pass it on so we can keep it and allow it to get deeper into our hearts and souls.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me to embrace my responsibilities for the still suffering of the world. Help me use my energy to serve. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will reach out to the newest members of my group. I will call them to see how they are doing and to see if they want to go out for coffee. My treat.

[cassie]

The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next.
MIGNON MCLAUGHLIN

One of the gifts of recovery is that we become the people we want to be. We want our lives to reflect our new values, values lke honesty, generosity, caring, and fairness.

Becoming a new person can be tricky, however, because the reality of living out our values means we have to face life in a new way. Being honest means we stop lying. This includes even quick little fibs that don't seem to hurt anyone. Being generous means we give something up--money, time, attention--in order to give to someone else. Being fair means we accept the consequences we have earned.

Living out our new beliefs and values requires courage to face life on life's terms. We stop the slippery behavior we have used in the past to slide past our moments of opportunity. Yes, opportunity--to be the person of courage and values that we want to be.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, please give me the courage today to stand up for what I believe and to do Your will instead of looking for an easier, softer way. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about the day that just passed. Were there moments when I chose the easier, softer way instead of standing up for what I believe? What could I have done instead?

[cassie]

I have lost my favorite teacup. I can have lost my teacup and be miserable. I can have lost my teacup and be all right. Either way the teacup is gone.
CHINESE PROVERB

It does little good to look back with sadness or shame about the past. One of the promises of recovery is that we will neither regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We are to admit and accept. We work to stay in the moment, for in this moment we can work for our future. If we stay sober in this moment, we increase our chances of being sober in the future.

In recovery, we use our energies and attitudes to live in the present. We are to be willing to let the past be the past and just focus on today. Remember this: It is only in this moment that we have choice and influence. It is in this moment where we choose to act to end our isolation or to increase our isolation from family, friends, values, and our Higher Power. And once this moment is gone, we must let it be gone.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I can only connect with You in each moment. Help me to have the courage to live in the present and not hide in the past or the future. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will work to develop my skills of living in the moment. I will use awareness and attitude to stay in the present and pull myself back into the moment.

[cassie]

To him (or her) who is afraid, everything rustles.
SOPHOCLES

We addicts know fear. Some of us denied our fear totally, acting strong and tough. Some of us carried real weapons--guns and knives--but most of us used our mouths to scare others away. It worked. They stayed away, and we were alone and scared.

Some of us did not deny our fear. In fact, we drowned in our fear--using alcohol or drugs to soothe ourselves. We looked for someone to take care of us, protect us. But we never trusted. We stayed alone and scared.

In recovery, we learn real courage. We stand in the light of reality. No toughness, no weakness, no weapons, no whining. We learn to face each moment with new tools and a new outlook. How can we make such a huge change? With the help of our friends. In recovery, we are no longer alone.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me remember that You will give me whatever strength I need to get through anything that comes my way. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will list ten things that I was afraid of durng my using days. How do I feel about those fears now? Do I have new fears? I will talk with my sponsor about my experiences with fear and faith.

[cassie]

I hesitated posting this today, in light of Tammy's journal post. I know this program isn't about personalities and am praying that the post helps everyone somehow "seek to understand."

love and respect
cassie

[cassie]

Heartbreak is life educating us.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Addicts are children of pain. As our illness progressed, it created more and more pain to let us know we were lost. Pain is a by-product of betrayal, and ours is an illness of betrayal. As we betrayed our values, pain was how our values called to us to return home. Our values were trying to get our attention and educate us about how lost we had become.

Recovery involves listening and learning from our pain or the pain of others. The more we listen, the more we learn. We hear of mistakes made and heartbreak created. We learn that in heartbreak lies the seeds of new beginnings. We learn that our Higher Power enters through the wound of our broken hearts and is always ready to help us transform anger into patience, sadness into serenity, fear into courage. Are we willing to be students of our pain?

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I bring my trouble, my problems, and my heartbreaks to You. Use them to teach me how to be a better person. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will visit or call an old-time in my group and ask how the recovery process and this person's Higher Power have used heartaches to teach him or her.

[cassie]

And envy and pride, like weeds, kept growing higher and higher in her heart, so that day and night she had no peace.
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES

Why is it that we constantly compare our lives to those of other people? Like the wicked queen in Snow White, we hate to think that anyone is prettier, smarter, or richer than us. Our envy and our pride can rob us of peace of mind and can destroy our soul.

Luckily recovery teaches us that our job is to be the best we can be, not to compete with others. Each of us has our own work to do in life, and we have been given the talent and tools to do that work. Our gifts are different from other people's gifts. Our work is simply to be our best selves.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me understand my gifts and my work. Help me see what I can bring to the world that is special. Help me see and claim my special gifts. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of the people I envy. Beside each name, I will write down what it is that he or she has that I want. What can I learn from seeing this list? I will talk it over with someone.

[cassie]

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.
DR. BENJAMIN SPOCK

Have any of us ever worried that maybe we really are bad or evil? Our addiction put us in a downward spiral of bad behavior and bad feelings. With all that badness in our life history, how can we trust ourselves?

That's where the fellowship of recovery comes in. We learn to trust ourselves by opening up our thoughts and feelings to others and listening to their feedback. With their help, we sort through the beliefs and attitudes we have picked up over the years. We keep some, fix some, and throw some away.

We need to trust ourselves. As we dig deeper into what we really know, believe, and want--what gives us purpose--we will fiind that we are good people, and we know more than we think we do.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, people tell me You don't make junk. Help me trust that I am good beause You made me. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will write down ten good things I know about myself. Then I will put my hand over my heart and read these ten things to myself, out loud.

[cassie]

What man was ever content with one crime?
JUVENAL

What alcoholic has ever been content with one drink? What addict has ever been content with one pill or one shot? One is not in our nature. We are the people of more. Ours is an illness of more.

We can also think of our illness as a criminal. We can think of all the things it worked hard to steal from us. Did it not steal oour self-esteem, dignity, and integrity? Did it not steal our family, career, and health?

Recovery works to protect us from this thief. Like a homeowner who installs a security system, we are able to install spiritual principles into our lives. We also bring other recovering people into our lives to help protect us from relapse. Many make the mistake of believing they can protect themselves, but we cannot. We need to let others help and guard us. In turn, we must help others guard against this thief called addiction.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, You are my greatest protection from the thief of addiction. Help me accept Your help through the acions of others. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will list the things my addiction has stolen from me. If I have friends or family members who I have lost to this illness, I will place them at the top of the list.

[cassie]

How can I believe in a Higher Power? I was taught that God is just an idea that weak people use as a crutch.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEMBER

After we admit how serious our addiction is, we have to face our fear and sadness. Without the help of a Higher Power, we are hopeless. That's why we each must find a Higher Power that can give us the help we need.

Some of us don't like Step Two because we think it asks us to believe in somebody else's idea of God. It doesn't. It doesn't even ask us to believe in our own idea of God. The most important thing is to find a Higher Power--not necessarily the Highest Power--to help us stay sober, one that can teach us to succeed in sobriety and one that we trust.

We don't have to understand this Higher Power. We just have to believe it works.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I ask You to come into my life and show me how to trust and understand You. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of three people or things that know more about recovery than I do. I will circle the one I trust the most.

[cassie]

You have to stop when you're lonely and listen.
CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW

Every one of us gets lonely sometimes. It's part of being human. We seem to be made so that we hunger for love and understanding from others.

When we were into our addiction, we turned to alcohol and drugs to fill that lonely, empty feeling. They can't. Substances and things can't fill our emotional needs.

Now that we are in recovery, we know that lonliness will often visit us and try to move in. When it does, we know where to go--to people who understand and love us. To our sponsor and our recovery friends. To our family. To our Higher Power.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, please come into my heart and fill any emptiness that I may feel today. Easy my lonliness with Your gentle peace. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will listen to the voices of others. I will listen to the voices of nature. I am not alone. I will listen.

[cassie]

There is but one secret to success--never give up.
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL

Never give up! Never give up! Even if we slip or relapse, we must never give up. Recovery will never give up on us. If we start to feel hopeless, we need only go deeper into our recovery village--to live at the center of the village. We need to surround ourselves with recovery. To get ourselves so busy in recovery and the actions of recovery that we must let go of any feelings of hopelessness. But never give up.

One member said at a meeting, "The only reason I have thirty years of sobreity is because recovery never gave up on me. Even after repeated relapses, they kept a chair open for me." Remember this: The recovery community needs us, and there is always a chair open for us.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, when I have a moment of wanting to fail, help me to be a success. Get me to a meeting. Have me call my sponsor or a friend. Give me service work to do. Thank You for never giving up on me even when I gave up on myself. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will write down a plan of what I will do if I ever feel like giving up. Whom will I call? What are my favorite readings that bring me hope? Where are my places of sanctuary?

[cassie]

Get busy living, or get busy dying.
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

In order to really be in sobriety, we have learned to surrender to the fact that we have a disease. In Step One, we get our ego out of the way and admit that our disease has control. In Step Two, we find something or someone we believe can lead us back to sanity.

By the time we get to Step Three, we make the big decision: "Get busy living, or get busy dying." We choose. That is true freedom.

If we choose to get busy living--to work a recovery program--we need to take a big step into the program. Right now. We're in or we're not. If we step into recovery, we stay free. We have all the help we need to stay sober and get well. If we don't step in, we're on our own--and we know where that got us.

Change is always scary, but it's worth a try. So we step into recovery. If we don't like sanity, health, and serenity, we can back out and have our old life again.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I am stepping into recovery for today. Please help me get busy living. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will find a place to be alone for a few minutes. I will stand tall, feet slightly apart, hands held open, and chest high. I wil say the prayer for the day. Then I will listen.

[cassie]

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
MAHANDAS GANDHI

We live in a fast-paced world. It will not be slowing down. And as addicts, we often enjoyed the intensity and drama that living a fast-paced life creates. The rhythm of addiction is fast and chaotic.

Recovery has a different rhythm, a different pace. We need to go at a pace that allows us to stay conected. Connected to others, connected to our Higher Power, connected to our values. In recovery, we reduce our speed. We meditate. We sit in meetings and adjust ourselvs to the pace of the meeting. In slowing down, we start to see the details of life; it is in the details that we find meaning, answers, solutions, and the beauty of life. We need to resist the pace of the world around us and embrace the pace of the spirit.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me slow down to Your pace. Yours is a steady, sure pace like the sun moving across the sky, slow and steady. Help me reist the temptations of this world, one of them being speed. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will work to be conscious of the pace I move at. I will ask this question throughout my day: "Am I moving at a pace that allows me to stay connected to my Higher Power and to recovery?"

[cassie]

I've looked inside both good and bad, evil and righteousness, and have seen hope and felt fear.
ERIK JOHNSON

A recovering brother, taken from us before his time, wrote this quotation. His heart gave out, some say because it had grown too big for his body. But he died sober, living his dream. In the time he had been sober, he gave much to those he loved. He knew life was paradoxical. He knew that each of us has two sides, and life demands that we choose and be responsible for our choices.

We need to choose love and choose hope. In doing so, we will always be turning our will and lives over to the care of our Higher Ppower. These were Erik's choices.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me live life with respect and dignity. Help me honor those of us who have gone before. Watch over all of us and help me to not just find hope and love, but to be living examples of hope and love. :195:

TODAY'S ACTON
Today I will call someone who is important to me and tell that person how important he or she is to me and why.

[cassie]

The strongest principle of growth lies in that of human choice.
George Eliot

Recovery's biggest gift to us is the gift of choice. We are given back free will; we are free as long as we stay sober. Our illness, our dependency on alcohol or drugs took away our ability to choose. We didn't choose to be an addict, however; our illness made that choice for us. We lost the ability to say no. In our hearts we wanted to say no, but our addiction wouldn't allow it.

Now that we have the gift of choice back, we have to ask, "How am I using this gift? Are my choices mainly self-indulgent, self-centered choices? Or do I work to be of service to others and my Higher Power?" Growth means choosing to place principles and others ahead of oneself.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, I choose You. Please help me to put this choice into action. Show me the tasks that You want me to do. Give me the power and will to do them. Help me to not be self-centered. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of all the ways I was a taker during my active addiction. Then I will ask myself, "Am I still acting in these ways? Can I make better choices?"

[cassie]

Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
WILLIAM JAMES

We addicts are not known for being willing to accept the truth. For years we pretended there was no problem. Some of us, even in recovery, pretend that our problem was less than it was. The Serenity Prayer asks us to "accept the things we cannot change." We hear people say at meetings, "I think I finally accepted the First Step." Why so much talk about acceptance? The function of acceptance is energy conservation. We addicts waste a huge amount of time and energy struggling to make things happen that will never happen. In recovery, we work to practice acceptance because we need the energy to build a sober life.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, today help me to accept the things I cannot change, to change the things I can, and to have the wisdom to know the difference. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will reflect on this question, "What are the things I'm not willing to surrender over to my Higher Power?" I will then write out my answer.

[cassie]

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.
PEARL S. BUCK

During our active addiction, we may have had some moments of insight where we saw that alcohol or drugs were starting to own our lives. But we got scared and ran deeper into the forest we were already lost in. Why? Because facing the truth would mean we were lost addicts who needed others and a Higher Power.

Recovery teaches us to stop and reflect. We develop these skills by daily prayer and meditation, by doing the Fourth and Fifth Steps, by doing the Eighth and Ninth Steps, and by taking a daily inventory. The better we learn to stop and reflect, the better we can protect against relapse. By learning to slow down, we start to see those split seconds where mistakes can be made or be avoided. We see those split second when we can reach out to others and our Higher Power and let them help guide our decisions. Have we learned to slow down?

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me slow down and spend time talking with You and my friends. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will take time out to sit and reflect on how my impulsiveness has gotten me in trouble. I will work to walk slower through my day.

[cassie]

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.
THEODORE RUBIN

As long as we live and breathe, we'll have problems. They are simply a part of life. We need to get used to that fact and stop getting upset about every problem that comes along.

We can use the same process to solve our problems as we use to stay sober. First we take a good look at the issue and decide how big it really is. Then we decide whether it is something we can handle by ourelves. If we need help, we get it. Then we think through all the parts of the problem and decide how to fix it. We can talk it over with someone else for feedback.

Next we take action. Sometimes fixing a problem takes time, and we have to have patience. Sometimes it can't be fixed and we need to learn to live with it.

Remember, having problems is just part of life, and overall, life is a lot better than it used to be.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, help me pay attention and do what I need to do about my problems and then let go. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will make a list of my problems. I will decide if I am doing the right things to work on them today. Then I will relax and do something fun.

[cassie]

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world and the best that we can find in our travels is an honest friend.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Addiction destroyed many of our relationships. It took away our ability to get close to others. The above quotation reminds us that real friends are more important than the people we hung around with while using alcohol or drugs.

Recovery is all about bettering our relationships. Our lives depend upon this. We find honest friends in recovery. We are not alone anymore. We are honest with each other about character defects and work to help each other have better, ever-closer relationshps. Our lives also depend upon this. We work to help each other find a way out of the wilderness or at times just survive in the wilderness. Over time, we see that, even though people can be a pain at times, friendships and relationships are the best things in life.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power, teach me how to be a good, honest friend. Comfort me as I travel in the wilderness of life. :195:

TODAY'S ACTION
Today I will think about what makes a good friend. Then I will do an honest inventory of what type of friend I am. Am I there for others in the bad times as well as the good times.

[cassie]

The things we take with us when we die will nearly all be small things.
STORM JAMESON

When we die, we will pick up our spirit and go. What does this mean? What will we take with us?

Smiles, Memories of hugs and laughter and looking into the eyes of our loved ones. The warm feeling of holding our lover, of a child on our lap, of the hand of another addict joined in ours at a meeting.

Courage. We have taken many leaps of faith in our life. Getting sober and turning our life and will over to our Higher Power was the biggest leap of faith. It took courage. When we die, we will take another leap of faith.

Curiosity and hope. The love and goodness we have found in life is enough. But they are only a drop in the bucket of the love and goodness that exists in the realm of our Higher Power.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Higher Power,let me live each day so that I have many wonderful small things to take with me when I die. :195:

TODAY'S ACTIONS
Today I will make a list of the people and experiences I cherish. Do I need to be more nurturing of these people and experiences on a daily basis?