Daily Recovery Readings - 6/22

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Daily Reflections

TODAY, I'M FREE

This brought me to the good healthy realization that there
were plenty of situations left in the world over which I
had no personal power--that if I was so ready to admit that
to be the case with alcohol, so I must make the same
admission with respect to much else. I would have to be
still and know that He, not I, was God.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 114

I am learning to practice acceptance in all circumstances
of my life, so that I may enjoy peace of mind. At one time
life was a constant battle because I felt I had to go through
each day fighting myself, and everyone else. Eventually, this
became a losing battle. I ended up getting drunk and crying
over my misery. When I began to let go and let God take over
my life I began to have peace of mind. Today, I am free. I
do not have to fight anybody or anything anymore.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

If you have any doubt, just ask any of the older members of
the A.A. group, and they will readily tell you that since they
turned their lives over to the care of God as they understand
Him, many of their problems have been banished into the
forgotten yesterdays. When you allow yourself to be upset over
one thing, you succeed only in opening the door to the coming
of hundreds of other upsetting things. Am I allowing myself to
be upset over little things?

Meditation For The Day

I would do well not to think of the Red Sea of difficulties
that lies ahead. I am sure that when I come to that Red Sea,
the waters will part and I will be given all the power I need
to face and overcome many difficulties and meet what is in
store for me with courage. I believe that I will pass through
that Red Sea to the promised land, the land of the spirit where
many souls meet in perfect comradeship. I believe that when
that time comes, I will be freed of all the dross of material
things and find peace.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may face the future with courage. I pray that I
may be given strength to face both life and death fearlessly.

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As Bill Sees It

Dividends and Mysteries, p. 171

"The A.A. preoccupation with sobriety is sometimes misunderstood. To some, this
single virtue appears to be the sole dividend of our Fellowship. We are thought to be
dried-up drunks who otherwise have changed little, or not at all, for the better. Such a
surmise widely misses the truth. We know that permanent sobriety can be
attained only by a most revolutionary change in the life and outlook of the
individual--by a spiritual awakening that can banish the desire to drink."

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

"You are asking yourself, as all of us must: 'Who am I?' . . . 'Where am I?' . . .
'Whence do I go?' The process of enlightenment is usually slow. But, in the end, our
seeking always brings a finding. These great mysteries are, after all, enshrined in
complete simplicity. The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual
development."

1. Letter, 1966
2. Letter, 1955

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Keep It Simple

The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.---St. Augustine.
We started recovering the minute we admitted we were powerless over our illness. We crossed over from dishonesty to honesty.
Often, we don't see what power honestly has. Maybe we still aren't sure that being honest is best for us. It is! This is why the authors of the Big Book ask us to be totally honest from the start.
Just as denial is what makes addiction work, honesty is what makes recovery work.
Honesty means self-respect. Honesty heals. Honesty let us look people in the eyes. What comfort we'll feel as we deeper into our program.
Prayer for the Day: I pray that I'll let go totally. I pray that I'll keep no secrets that could put my sobriety at risk.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll read the first three pages of "How It Works" in the Big Book.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Housewife Who Drank At Home

She hid her bottles in clothes hampers and dresser drawers. In A.A., she discovered she had lost nothing and had found everything.

I figured I'd be all right if I could find something I liked to do. So when the children were in school from nine to three, I started up a nice little business and was fairly successful in it. But not happy. Because I found that everything I turned to became a substitute for drink. And when all of life is a substitute for drink, there's no happiness, no peace. I still had to drink; I still needed that drink. Mere cessation from drinking is not enough for an alcoholic while the need for that drink goes on. I switched to beer. I had always hated beer but now I grew to love it. So that wasn't my answer either.

p. 299

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Two - "For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience."

Now comes the election. If the founder and his friends have served well, they may - to their surprise - be reinstated for a time. If, however, they have heavily resisted the rising tide of democracy, they may be summarily beached. In either case, the group now has a so-called rotating committee, very sharply limited in its authority. In no sense whatever can its members govern or direct the group. They are servants. Theirs is the sometimes thankless privilege of doing the group's chores. Headed by the chairman, they look after public relations and arrange meetings. Their treasurer, strictly accountable, takes money from the hat that is passed, banks it, pays the rent and other bills, and makes a regular report at business meetings. The secretary sees that literature is on the table, looks after the phone-answering service, answers the mail, and sends out notices of meetings. Such are the simple services that enable the group to function. the committee gives no spiritual advice, judges no one's conduct, issues no orders. Every one of them may be promptly eliminated at the next election if they try this. And so they make the belated discovery that they are really servants, not senators. These are universal experiences. Thus throughout A.A. does the group conscience decree the terms upon which its leaders shall serve.

p. 134

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As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you
only get to play one round.
--Ben Hogan

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are
infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."
--Oscar Wilde

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it
seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up
then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe

My partnership with God is steady, strong and certain.
--SweetyZee

I let go of everything that is unkind and seek to enter the spirit of
kindness, and compassion.
--SweetyZee

"The measure of our life is not whether others know our name, but
whether we have touched the lives of others."
--author unknown

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

INDIVIDUALITY

"You'll never really know what I
mean and I'll never really know
exactly what you mean."
--Mike Nichols

There is a certain loneliness in life with which we must all live;
perhaps this is the price of individuality. I am not always sure that I
know what I am feeling or thinking and so I know I cannot be
absolutely sure of what you are feeling or thinking. Today when I say
"I know how you feel", it is with this reservation.

Another problem I face daily is finding words to express what I feel --
language seems so inadequate. Words, although bridges to meaning,
are often barriers to understanding. What I mean by what I say is
often misunderstood.

This awareness provides me with the stimulus to be more precise,
explicit and creative in my methods of communication and
understanding. Today I consider more seriously what the other person
is trying to say, rather than just listening to the words. Because I am
sensitive to my difficulties in being understood, I am becoming patient
with my neighbor.

Teach us never to become victims of our language.

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"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and ONLY Son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the
skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice
like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How
priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find
refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of
your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with
you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your
love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in
heart.
Psalms 36:5-10

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Daily Inspiration

We will live life fully only when we become aware of our own inner power which is our connection with God. Lord, the more I rely on You, the more I am able to accomplish.

When you need to calm your emotions, stop and turn to God. Lord, I know that You are my help right now and will show me simple answers to what seems complicated and impossible.

[admin]

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make lemonade. --Dale Carnegie
Good fortune is built on misfortune. By losing a race we learn what mistakes to avoid next time we run. A burglar may make us install the lock that will keep out a murderer. Each time a toddler falls is a lesson in how to walk.
We can never assume that, because things are not going the way we want, they are not following a better plan. God is a better manager than we can hope to be. If things aren't shaping up the way we like, let's wait with curiosity to see that better things are in store for us. Let's look for lights in the darkness and follow them to the bright day that always will follow. We will remember our lessons of misfortune with gratitude.
What can I learn from delay today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. --Clarence Budinton Kelland
We learn much of what we need to know about being men from models we have in other men. Some of us have fond memories of being next to our fathers and imitating their ways. Many of us also have the feeling of a gap in our models. Perhaps our fathers weren't around enough, or we may have rejected some of their habits and values, creating an uncertainty about masculine roles. We may feel unsure of ourselves, or we may berate ourselves for what we don't know.
It is well to remember how much we have already learned in our adult years. It is never too late. No man ever reaches adulthood having learned everything from his father that he will need to know about masculinity. We can look around us for more models in the men we know. For a man to be our model, we first choose someone we admire and then get to know him well. In this way, we carry on the human tradition of one man learning from another.
I am continuing to grow, and I can learn from the men I know now.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others. --Amelia Earhart
Fear of failure plagues many women, not just those who get into trouble with drugs, alcohol, food. Those of us in this recovery program may still fear failure. Halting our addiction doesn't solve all our problems, but it does allow us to realistically take stock of our assets. Knowing our assets and accepting them provides the confidence we need to attempt a project, to strive for a goal.
Another plus of this recovery program is the help available from our groups and our higher power. All things become possible when we understand we are not alone. Seeing other women strive and succeed or strive, fail, and strive again, undefeated, creates an energy flow that can spur us on, if we choose. Feeling good about others' accomplishments can motivate each of us.
Today, I will pay particular attention to the accomplishments of other women, those close to me and those I read or hear about. I will believe their example and feel the forward push.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Work Histories
Just as we have relationship histories, most of us have work histories.
Just as we have a present circumstance to accept and deal with in our relationship life, we have a present circumstance to accept and deal with in our work life.
Just as we develop a healthy attitude toward our relationship history - one that will help us learn and move forward - we can develop a healthy attitude toward our work history.
I have worked many jobs in my life, since I was eleven years old. Just as I have learned many things about myself through my relationships, I have learned many lessons through my work. Often, these lessons run parallel to the lessons I'm learning in other areas of my life.
I have worked at jobs I hated but was temporarily dependent on. I have gotten stuck in jobs because I was afraid to strike out on my own and find my next set of circumstances.
I have been in some jobs to develop skills. Sometimes, I didn't realize I was developing those skills until later on when they become an important part of the career of my choice.
I have worked at jobs where I felt victimized, where I gave and gave and received nothing in return. I have been in relationships where I manufactured similar feelings.
I have worked at some jobs that have taught me what I absolutely didn't want; others sparked in me an idea of what I really did want and deserve in my career.
Some of my jobs have helped me develop character; others have helped me fine tune skills. They have all been a place to practice recovery behaviors.
Just as I have had to deal with my feelings and messages about myself in relationships, I have had to deal with my feelings and messages about myself, and what I believed I deserved at work.
I have been through two major career changes in my life. I learned that neither career was a mistake and no job was wasted time. I have learned something from each job, and my work history has helped create who I am.
I learned something else: there was a Plan, and I was being led. The more I trusted my instincts, what I wanted, and what felt right, the more I felt that I was being led.
The more I refused to lose my soul to a job and worked at it because I wanted to and not for the paycheck, the less victimized I felt by any career, even those jobs that paid a meager salary. The more I set goals and took responsibility for achieving the career I wanted, the more I could decide whether a particular job fit into that scheme of things. I could understand why I was working at a particular job and how that was going to benefit me.
There are times I have even panicked at work and about where I was in my employment history. Panic never helped. Trust and working my program did.
There were times I looked around and wondered why I was where I was. There were times people thought I should be someplace different. But when I looked into myself and at God, I knew I was in the right place, for the moment.
There were times I have had to quit a job and walk away in order to be true to myself. Sometimes, that was frightening. Sometimes, I felt like a failure. But I learned this: If I was working my program and true to myself, I never had to fear where I was being led.
There have been times I couldn't survive on the small amount of money I was receiving. Instead of bringing that issue to a particular employer and making it his or her fault, I have had to learn to bring the issue to my Higher Power and myself. I've learned I'm responsible for setting my boundaries and establishing what I believe I deserve. I've also learned God, not a particular employer, is my source of guidance.
I've learned that I'm not stuck or trapped in a job no more than I am in a relationship. I have choices. I may not be able to see them clearly right now, but I do have choices. I've learned that if I really want to take care of myself in a particular way on a job, I will do that. And if I really want to be victimized by a job, I will allow that to happen too.
I am responsible for my choices, and I have choices.
Above all else, I've learned to accept and trust my present circumstances at work. That does not mean to submit; it does not mean to forego boundaries. It means to trust, accept, then take care of myself the best I'm able to on any given day.
God, help me bring my recovery behaviors to my career affairs.


Today I know I am not the best or the worst. I am just me. God is guiding me to become the best me I can be and that is very exciting. --Ruth Fishel

[admin]

Accepting Life As It Is

"In our recovery, we find it essential to accept reality. Once we can do this, we do not find it necessary to use drugs in an attempt to change our perceptions."
Basic Text, p. 87

Drugs used to buffer us from the full force of life. When we stop using drugs and enter recovery, we find ourselves confronted directly with life. We may experience disappointment, frustration, or anger. Events may not happen the way we want them to. The self-centeredness we cultivated in our addiction has distorted our perceptions of life; it is difficult to let go of our expectations and accept life as it is.

We learn to accept our lives by working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. We discover how to change our attitudes and let go of character defects. We no longer need to distort the truth or to run from situations. The more we practice the spiritual principles contained in the steps, the easier it becomes to accept life exactly as it comes to us.

Just for today: I will practice self-acceptance by practicing the Twelve Steps.
pg. 180

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Wisdom for Today
There is nothing more powerful than one drunk or user helping another. This is the last principle of the program. When I stop and reflect back on all the things that have helped me along the journey of recovery, certainly what I have heard from those around the tables and from my sponsor leads the way. At my first meeting someone got up and shared their story. It was like they had followed me around and now were relaying what had happened in my life. Sometimes it is a catchy one-liner, and other times it has been through hours of discussion that the light finally gets turned on inside my head, and the pieces of the puzzle come together. Regardless of how I have learned what I needed to learn, most of it came from the mouth of someone else who had been there.
I still look for answers in this way, but I also find that I get answers by sharing my own story. Sometimes telling my story again helps me to see things from a different perspective. Sometimes it is the questions I am asked by others that makes me dig deeper in to the mysteries and miracle or recovery. I also find that it is important for me to share not just my successes, but my failures, struggles and what has not worked. In sharing these things, I find I am reminded of what does work. I know today that I need to carry the message to others in the program. This helps me stay clean and sober. Am I responsible, and do I reach out to carry the message to others?
Meditations for the Heart
Recovery for me is like turning on lights. It is important for me to shine the lights of the program on all that I do. In this way I can see clearly any dirt that I need to clean up in my life. With the lights of recovery shining brightly, I can see the path that I am to take. It is easier to see what God's will for me is with the lights on. This is the exact opposite of what I did in my addiction. Then I wanted nothing but darkness - darkness that would hide the shame and guilt I carried with me - darkness that would hide the fear and darkness that would keep me going in circles with my disease. The light of the program is found in the principles of recovery. It brightens my spirit; and it shines on the mirror of the twelve steps, which in turn reflects back to me what I need to do next. Have I been drawn to the light of recovery?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
This day shine brightly in my life. Continue to guide my steps, and give me willingness to give back to the program. Guide me when I speak, and grant me words to help others on this path. Let me always seek out others with any need that I may have. Help me to listen to the suggestions I receive. Let me take these suggestions as a roadmap to the freedom that recovery brings.
Amen

[admin]

You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

God Is a Verb

We cannot contain our Higher Power at a fixed point or in a closed system. However we may understand God, our understanding is always limited. The Power that rescues us from compulsive overeating is an active force which constantly beckons us to move on. What we were to do yesterday is past; a new day brings new challenges and opportunities.

Our compulsion had us trapped in a pattern of self-destructive repetition. We did the same dumb thing over and over again. When we turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him, we are linking up with the source of newness and creativity. God moves, and if we are linked with Him, we also move. His spirit changes us, and what we thought and did yesterday is not adequate to the demands of today.

Trusting our Higher Power means acting according to His promptings. We follow Him as He leads us into new tasks and activities and ideas. We learn from experience that He is always more than adequate for our needs.

May I follow where You lead.