Daily Recovery Readings - 1/19

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Daily Reflections

ROUND-THE-CLOCK FAITH

Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through
us, or we perish.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p.16

The essence of my spiritually, and my sobriety, rests
on a round-the-clock faith in a Higher Power. I need to
remember and rely on the God of my understanding as I
pursue all of my daily activities. How comforting for
me is the concept that God works in and through people.
As I pause in my day, do I recall specific concrete
examples of God's presence? Am I amazed and uplifted by
the number of times this power is evident? I am
overwhelmed with gratitude for my God's presence in my
life of recovery. Without this omnipotent force in my
every activity, I would again fall into the depths of
my disease - and death.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

On the foundation of sobriety, we can build a life of
honesty, unselfishness, faith in God, and love of our
fellow human beings. We'll never fully reach these goals, but
the adventure of building that kind of life is so much better
than the merry-go-round of our old drinking life that
there's no comparison. We come into A.A. to get sober,
but if we stay long enough we learn a new way of living.
We become honest with ourselves and with other people.
We learn to think more about others and less about
ourselves. And we learn to rely on the constant help of
a Higher Power. Am I living the way of honesty, unselfishness,
and faith?

Meditation For The Day

I believe that God had already seen my heart's needs
before I cried to Him, before I was conscious of those
needs myself. I believe that God was already preparing the
answer. God does not have to be petitioned with sighs and
tears and much speaking, before he reluctantly looses the
desired help. He has already anticipated my every want and
need. I will try to see this, as His plans unfold in my
life.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may understand my real wants and needs. I
pray that my understanding of those needs and wants may
help to bring the answer to them.

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As Bill Sees It

Love+Rationality=Growth, p. 294

"It seems to me that the primary object of any human being is to
grow, as God intended, that being the nature of all growing things.

"Our search must be for what reality we can find, which includes
the best definition and feeling of love that we can acquire. If the
capability of loving is in the human being, then it must surely be in his
Creator.

"Theology helps me in that many of its concepts cause me to
believe that I live in a rational universe under a loving God, and
that my own irrationality can be chipped away, little by little. This
is, I suppose, the process of growth for which we are intended."

LETTER, 1958

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Walk in Dry Places

Willpower Isn't the Power_____Power
We almost universally agree that willpower simply does not work as a direct force in overcoming alcoholism. The alcoholic who believes that a strong will and determination bring sobriety is probably headed for disaster.
In the same way, willpower is ineffective in dealing with a number of personal problems. In fact, the mustering of willpower seems to strengthen the problems or cuase them to take other forms. We know that we are using willpower on problems when there is a great deal of tension and anxiety in letting our Higher Power handle matters in a way that brings contentment and satisfaction. When excessive will is involved, we usually suppress feelings that ought to be expressed in positive ways.
The solution is not to fight problems in ourselves or in the outer world. By turning all matters over to the Higher Will, we will find the best way to deal with the evils within ourselves and with the opposition in our world. "Self-will run riot" was a problem in drinking, and it can be equality destructive in sobriety. Our will should be joined with the Higher Will for true success in living.
I will rely on my Higher power as I go through the day. God can do the many things I cannot do for myself.

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Keep It Simple

Study sickness when you are well.---Thomas Fuller
Now is the time to learn about our sickness--chemical dependency. It is a chronic illness. That means it never goes away. We have to live with it the best we can. Luckily, we can live with it--very well! Our program of recovery is so simple, and it feels so good, that we think we'll never give it up. But we can't take our recovery for granted. Our disease is "cunning, baffling, and powerful." The more we know about it, the less we'll let it fool us. Some days we may find we're headed toward a slip. We must learn to recognize the first trouble signs in ourselves so we can get help to stay sober.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, my addiction is "cunning, baffling, and powerful." Don't let me use alcohol or others drugs again. Thank you for my sobriety today.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll learn my warning signs: I'll list ten old thoughts, feelings, and actions that were part of my illness. I'll share this with my sponsor.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

FLOODED WITH FEELING - When a barrier to God collapsed, this self-described agnostic was at Step Three.

I had my first drink in my senior year of high school. That first night, I slipped out of the window so my parents wouldn't hear me leave. There were four of us, and we only brought four bottles of home brew. I never made that mistake again!

p. 369

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Five - "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

But of the things which really bother and burn us, we say nothing. Certain distressing or humiliating memories, we tell ourselves, ought not be shared with anyone. These will remain our secret. Not a soul must ever know. We hope they'll go to the grave with us.

pp. 55-56

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Knowing is not enough; We must Apply. Willing is not enough; We must Do. --Goethe

I shall stay in this 24 hours, and leave tomorrows burdens, cares, and worries, in Gods hands. --Shelley

It isn't enough to draw near to the light. Absorb it into you. Let it charge you and change you with its energy and its power. Healing is all around you. Wherever you are, whatever your resources, healing, energy, and joy are there. --Melody Beattie

Speaking without thinking is shooting without aiming. -- French Proverb

Three things that become more precious with age are old wood to burn, old books to read, and old friends to enjoy.

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." --English proverb

We in AA don't carry the alcoholic; we carry the message.

We are not living just to be sober; we are living to learn, to serve, and to love.

Don't mess up an amends with an excuse.

The First Step identifies the problem. The remaining eleven Steps are the solution.

S T E P S = Solutions To Every Problem, Sober.

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

EQUALITY

"Treat all men alike. Give them all
the same laws. Give them all an
even chance to live and grow."
-- Chief Joseph

Today it is important for me to remember that I am not the only human
being in this universe; I need to respect and be considerate of others.
Spirituality requires that I treat all people with dignity and respect
because they carry something of God within them --- the image of God
is with all men. In this way I show and give respect to self.

As an alcoholic I was selfish and demanding, wanting my way all the
time. Sobriety teaches me that "the way" must include others; my
fellow men are part of my life and journey. I cannot live in isolation and
be sober.

O Spirit of the World, teach me to respect all men as a service to
myself.

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"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:58

How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him. Psalm 147:1

"However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all." Ecclesiastes 11:8

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Daily Inspiration

People should be able to look at us and see that we are different. Lord, may I be an example of Your love and learn to rely on You at all times.

Nothing is ever quite as bad as it seems. Call on God and then practice expectancy and optimism and things will turn out better than you expect. Lord, thank You for tomorrow.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. --Chinese proverb
Even the strongest, most loving families always have room for growth. There is no such thing as a "perfect" family. If our family is far from perfect, that's okay. It only matters that we are working at getting better. Often, runners will say they can remember many days when they just did not feel like running; however, once they started, they felt more energy and were easily able to run the distance they had set for that day.
Whatever we need to do, we can do in small acts--a chore done without being asked, a helping hand with the dishes, a soft word, a surprise gift for no reason. These are small things, easily done. Love is made of small things; what is large is the love with which they are accomplished.
When we begin to work on our relationship with our family, we will feel the new energy, and quickly we will find ourselves making progress.
What is the first thing I can do today to improve my relationship with my family?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Self-realization is not a matter of withdrawal from a corrupt world or narcissistic contemplation of oneself. An individual becomes a person by enjoying the world and contributing to it. --Francine Klagsbrun
After we admitted our self-destructive patterns and gave them up, there were many days when we said, "Now what? Is that all there is? I need some answers. How should I live? How can I feel whole? How can I feel like a real person?" These questions may feel too painful to answer. These are among the first spiritual questions we encounter in recovery, and we must not hide or escape from them. They are valuable to us, and we need to follow their urgings.
We are asking these questions as if they were new and unique. But through the centuries many people have asked them too. They found answers we can learn from. They tell us to get engaged with life, take time for reflection, learn to enjoy it where we can, and try to make a contribution.
Today, I will listen to my questions and doubts as urgings from my Higher Power, pushing me to grow. I will be involved in living.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
The especial genius of women, I believe to be electrical in movement, intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency. --Margaret Fuller
We are women, and we are moving, together and alone. We are moving into new images of ourselves. There is a healing power that comes from moving, from sharing one's ideas and changing one's self. And it is by trusting ourselves and trusting others that we bring harmony, thoughtfulness, and courage to all our actions.
Life holds many possibilities, and we are able to realize them when we risk changing ourselves through taking action. Those of us struggling to recover are taking action; we are changing ourselves. And as we listen to and support one another, we encourage the necessary changes in our sisters. As one is healed, we are all healed.
Today holds a special promise for me. I can be in harmony. I can share with others. My courage will strengthen others, and others will strengthen me.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Owning Our Power
There is one feeling we need to pay particular attention to in recovery: feeling victimized. We do not need to become comfortable with that feeling.
How do we feel when we've been victimized? Helpless. Rageful. Powerless. Frustrated.
Feeling victimized is dangerous. Often, it can prompt us into addictive or other compulsive behaviors.
In recovery, we're learning to identify when we're feeling victimized, when we are actually being victimized, and why we're feeling victimized. We're learning to own our power, to take care of ourselves, and to remove ourselves as victims.
Sometimes, owning our power means we realize we are victimizing ourselves - and others are not doing anything to hurt us. They are living their lives, as they have a right to, and we are feeling victimized because we're attempting to control their process or we're unreasonably expecting them to take care of us. We may feel victimized if we get stuck in a codependent belief, such as. Other people make me feel.... Others hold the key to my happiness and destiny.... Or, I can't be happy unless another behaves in a particular way, or a certain event takes place...
Other times, owning our power means we realize that we are being victimized by another's behavior. Our boundaries are being invaded. In that case, we figure out what we need to do to take care of ourselves to stop the victimization; we need to set boundaries.
Sometimes, a change of attitude is all that's required. We are not victims.
We strive to have compassion for the person, who victimized us, but understand that compassion often comes later, after we've removed ourselves as victims in body, mind, and spirit. We also understand that too much compassion can put us right back into the victim slot. Too much pity for a person who is victimizing us may set up a situation where the person can victimize us again.
We try not to force consequences or crises upon another person, but we also do not rescue that person from logical consequences of his or her behavior. If there is a part that is our responsibility to play in delivering those consequences, we do our part - not to control or punish, but to be responsible for ourselves and to others.
We try to figure out what we may be doing that is causing us to feel victimized, or what part we are playing in the system, and we stop doing that too. We are powerless over others and their behavior, but we can own our power to remove ourselves as victims.
Today, I will take responsibility for myself and. show it to others by not allowing myself to be victimized, I cannot control outcomes, but I can control my attitude toward being victimized. I am not a victim; I do not deserve to be victimized.


My Higher Power guides me in making all healthy and positive decisions today. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Be Not Anxious

If we are conscientiously working the OA program, we may leave the results to our Higher Power. To worry is to insult God. When we admit that we are powerless over food and that our lives have become unmanageable, we can then ask for and receive strength and power beyond ourselves. When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him, we are free to live without anxiety.

At first, we are awkward. We turn over our problems and anxieties one minute and take them back the next. We forget that the Twelve Step program has worked for countless other compulsive people--alcoholics and drug addicts as well as overeaters. Doubting God's strength, we fall back on our own weakness, and the result is trouble.

Through our contacts with OA members, we can see lives changed and people made new in body, mind, and spirit. These examples are convincing testimony to the efficiency of our Higher Power. The more we trust His will for us, the more He is able to work miracles in our lives.

Take my anxieties, Lord. I pray that Thy will may be done.

[admin]

Wisdom for Today
Lack of awareness was another one of my shortcomings. The reality was that I had little or no awareness of how my behavior affected other people. I had been so wrapped up in my own self-centeredness that I just could not see what was happening. It was not just how my behavior affected others that I was missing, but also self-awareness. I had no idea how I really felt. I knew I felt good when people were leaving me alone, and I felt bad when I was being hassled. But as for my emotions, I had no idea what made me happy. I had lost touch with sadness, fear, anger, shame and hurt feelings. Everything was either good or bad.
As I began to come out of the fog, I began to see things for the first time. Anger was probably the first emotion I got in touch with. I was angry I had to go to all those meetings. I was angry that I couldn’t do things my way. I was angry I had this disease. As my anger subsided, I got in touch with other emotions – fear, sadness and shame. I began to see how my behavior was affecting others. I began to realize more and more that I had to change if I was ever going to stay in recovery. As I started to put others into the equation of life, my self-centeredness began to slip away. With regular inventory of myself I began to gain better understanding of my emotional responses. I began to see how my thinking, attitudes and behaviors had a lot to do with how I felt. Am I becoming more aware of my actions, my emotions and myself?
Meditations for the Heart
In the program I began to see that those who reached out to me were able to help because they truly understood what I was going through. They had been through many of the same things I was going through. It was one addict or alcoholic helping another. It was their understanding that allowed them to help me. As I hung around the program longer, I began to see that this was also true of my Higher Power. God was able to help me, not just because He was more powerful than I was, but also because He understood. I am not saying that God is an addict or an alcoholic, but He certainly understands pain, fear, sadness, anger and all the other emotions I experience. God also understands joy, serenity and peace of mind. These are things that I had to learn about from God and others. Today awareness is not always easy, but it is real, and I know I can deal with it. Do I reach out to others because I understand them?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
Today is a new day, and I do not yet know what this day will bring. Regardless of what cards may be dealt to me this day, I will work to remain aware of my choices. Help me this day to remain aware of my thinking, attitudes and behaviors. Give me courage to deal with my emotions in a healthy way. Let me always be understanding of the needs of others.
Amen.