Daily Recovery Readings - 8/16

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Daily Reflections

"I HAD DROPPED OUT"

We might next ask ourselves what we mean when we say that we have
"harmed" other people. What kinds of "harm" do people do one
another, anyway? To define the word "harm" in a practical way, we
might call it the result of instincts in collision, which cause physical,
mental, emotional, or spiritual damage to people.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS , p. 80

I had been to Eighth Step meetings, always thinking, "I really
haven't harmed many people, mostly myself." But the time came when
I wrote my list out and it was not as short as I thought it would
be. I either liked you, disliked you, or needed something from you
- it was that simple. People hadn't done what I wanted them to do
and intimate relationships were out of hand because of my partners
unreasonable demands. Were these "sins of omission"? Because of my
drinking, I had "dropped out" - never sending cards, returning
calls, being there for other people, or taking part in their lives.
What a grace it has been to look at these relationships, to make
my inventories in quiet, alone with the God of my understanding,
and to go forth daily, with a willingness to be honest and
forthright in my relationships.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

"The alcoholic is absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of
self-knowledge. We must admit we can do nothing about it ourselves.
Willpower and self-knowledge will never help in the strange mental
blank spots when we are tempted to drink. An alcoholic mentally is
in a very sick condition. The last flicker of conviction that we can
do the job ourselves must be snuffed out. The spiritual answer and
the program of action are the only hope. Only spiritual principles
will solve our problems. We are completely helpless apart from Divine
help. Our defense against drinking must come from a Higher Power."
Have I accepted the spiritual answer and the program of action?

Meditation For The Day

Rest now until life, eternal life, flowing through your veins and
heart and mind, bids you to bestir yourself. Then glad work will
follow. Tired work is never effective. The strength of God's spirit
is always available to the tired mind and body. He is your physician
and your healer. Look to these quiet times of communion with God for
rest, for peace, for cure. Then rise refreshed in spirit and go out
to work, knowing that your strength is able to meet any problems
because it is reinforced by God's power.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that the peace I have found will make me effective. I pray
that I may be relieved of all strain during this day.

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As Bill Sees It

The Sense of Belonging, p. 117

Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the
sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely
hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless.

The moment we catch even a glimpse of God's will, the moment we
begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life,
we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the
contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God
lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will
be well with us, here and hereafter.

12 & 12, p. 105

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Walk In Dry Places

Who is the Key person?
Respecting others
The Twelve Step movement grew out of a society that practiced a Key Person strategy; If you
could win important persons into your group, others of high
standing would follow.
The experience of Alcoholics Anonymous led a different
strategy: Work with anybody who wants help, and let leaders
appear as they will. The leaders, whom we call
trusted servants, were sometimes very ordinary people in the
eyes of the world. Some were like Bill W., people of great ability
whose careers had been wrecked by alcoholism.
In any case, it is obvious that we are poor judge of who might become a
key person. In the sight of God, we're told, all humans
are equal. Our best success comes when we treat every newcomer as a
key person.
I'll remember today to view every person with the respect and
consideration that is usually extended to people whom the world considers
important.

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Keep It Simple

The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.---Benjamin Spock
In recovery, we each rebel against our disease. Each day we fight for the freedom to stay close to our Higher Power, friends and family.
It's mainly a quiet battle. It's fought daily. We fight and win by acting in a spiritual way. We fight and win every time we help a friend, go to meetings, or read about how to improve our lives
We move slowly but always forward. Rushing will only tire us out. Our battle will go on for life.
We are quiet fighters, but we're strong, for we do not fight alone. And we know what waits for us if we lose.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me stay free. When I want to give up, help me realize this is normal. Help me to keep fighting at these times.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll be a rebel. I will go to an extra meeting, or I'll talk with my sponsor. I'll find a way to help someone without the person knowing.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

My Chance To Live

A.A. gave this teenager the tools to climb out of her dark abyss of despair.

No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says: Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in. I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore. What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I'd never see the sun again. A.A. didn't pull me out of that hole. It did give me the tools to construct a ladder, with Twelve Steps.

p. 316

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Six - "An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

The minute we saw this compromising fact for what it was, we asked the prospective publicity director how he felt about it. "Great guns!" he said. "Of course I can't take the job. The ink wouldn't be dry on the first ad before an awful shriek would go up from the dry camp. They'd be out with lanterns looking for an honest A.A. to plump for their brand of education. A.A. would land exactly in the middle of the wet-dry controversy. Half the people in this country would think we'd signed up with the drys, the other half would think we'd joined the wets. What a mess!"
"Nevertheless," we pointed out, "you still have a legal right to take this job."
"I know that," he said. "But this is no time for legalities. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, and it comes first. I certainly won't be the guy to land A.A. in big-time trouble, and this would really do it!"
Concerning endorsements, our friend had said it all. We saw as never before that we could not lend the A.A. name to any cause other than our own.
pp. 158-159

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In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give
out completes the circle and comes back to us.
--Flora Edwards

There are only three possible outcomes for alcoholics: locked up,
covered up, or sobered up.
--unknown

Seven days without a meeting makes one weak.
--Herb B.

"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will
ever regret."
--Ambrose Bierce

If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time
with them, and half as much money on them.
--Abigail Van Buren

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred
days of sorrow.
--Cited in The Best of...BITS & PIECES

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

SACRIFICE

"To believe in sensible ideas is
easy, but to implement them
involves sacrifice."
-- Dorothy Fosdick

What am I prepared to sacrifice for what I want? I remember the time
I said I would do "anything". Today I know that anything must be
translated into something. No person, job or thing can be allowed to
come between myself and abstinence. This love of self will enable me
to love others. But I must remember to sacrifice my desire to please
others and place my needs as a priority in my life.

Today I know that if I do not love myself enough to make sacrifices,
then I can be nothing.

In gratitude I give up those things I know will hurt me.

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For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our
Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for
the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a
holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing
of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:7-10

"He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you."
Romans 8:11

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Daily Inspiration

Becoming overwhelmed creeps up slowly, one commitment at a time. Lord, help me regain my time and sanity, accomplish my priorities without major setbacks, and have quiet time left to nurture my spirit.

Be patient with others, but mostly be patient with yourself. Lord, help me to keep a smile on my face and to realize my goodness and refuse to dwell on my imperfections.

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
I'll be the sun upon your head, The wind about your face, My love upon the path you tread, And upon your wanderings, peace. --Gordon Bok
Today I will feel. I will feel wind and water, earth and sun. I will feel rain, the taste of it, and the soft sting of its coolness. I will feel the familiar touch of my shirt against my skin, my hair across my face in the wind.
Today I will feel love like a candle on a birthday cake that never goes out. No matter how much you blow on it. I will feel compassion like a toothache, a dull pain that lets me go about my business but never goes away. I will feel joy and sorrow, pain, and pleasure. Today I will feel. I will feel like a human being, unique as a snowflake, common as grass.
How many different ways do I feel today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
We did not all come over on the same ship, but we were all in the same boat. --Bernard M. Baruch
As we listen to others' stories and tell our own, we see roads into this program are different. Some of us hit bottom. Others were spared the worst catastrophes, getting the message of recovery early. In the final analysis, we are all in the same boat with our powerlessness. The differences are superficial. There is no higher or lower status for anyone in our program. When it comes to the power of our addictions and co dependencies, we are equally in need of help from our Higher Power.
Perhaps there was a time when we felt totally alone with our problems. But we were alone just like thousands of others needing recovery. Because we all have suffered and know our need for help, we can now have a caring and supportive group. We can turn to our brothers and sisters in the program knowing that they are in the same boat, and they will understand. No one else provides that kind of healing relationship.
I am grateful for the closeness I have with others who are in the same boat with me.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Love is a force. It is not a result; it is a cause. It is not a product; it produces. It is a power, like money, or steam or electricity. It is valueless unless you can give something else by means of it. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Love and feeling loved--how often both elude us! We have taken the first step, though. Let's be grateful for our recovery; this is an act of love. We have chosen to love ourselves, and the program opens the way to our loving others. Love and loving are balms for the soul sickness we experience. We are being healed. We are healing one another.
Loving others means going beyond our own selfish concerns, for the moment, and putting others' concerns first. The result is that others feel our love. They feel a caring that is healing. And our spiritual natures are likewise soothed.
We find God and ourselves through touching the souls of one another. Our most special gift is being loved and giving love. Every moment we spend with another person is gift-giving time.
Every day is a gift-giving holiday, if I will but make it so.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Rescuing Ourselves
No one likes a martyr.
How do we feel around martyrs? Guilty, angry, trapped, negative, and anxious to get away.
Somehow, many of us have developed the belief that depriving ourselves, not taking care of ourselves, being a victim, and suffering needlessly will get us what we want.
It is our job to notice our abilities, our strengths, and take care of ourselves by developing and acting on them.
It is our job to notice our pain and weariness and appropriately take care of ourselves.
It is our job to notice our deprivation, too, and begin to take steps to give ourselves abundance. It begins inside of us, by changing what we believe we deserve, by giving up our deprivation and treating ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.
Life is hard, but we don't have to make it more difficult by neglecting ourselves. There is no glory in suffering, only suffering. Our pain will not stop when a rescuer comes, but when we take responsibility for ourselves and stop our own pain.
Today, I will be my own rescuer. I will stop waiting for someone else to work through my issues and solve my problems for me.


It feels so good to know I'm making my own decisions and following my own path. My Higher Power is my guide and my inner voice is my teacher and my soul. --Ruth Fishel

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Up Or Down

"This is our road to spiritual growth. We change every day.... This growth is not the result of wishing but of action and prayer."
Basic Text, p. 35-36

Our spiritual condition is never static; if it's not growing, it's decaying. If we stand still, our spiritual progress will lose its upward momentum. Gradually, our growth will slow, then halt, then reverse itself. Our tolerance will wear thin; our willingness to serve others will wane; our minds will narrow and close. Before long, we'll be right back where we started: in conflict with everyone and everything around us, unable to bear even ourselves.

Our only option is to actively participate in our program of spiritual growth. We pray, seeking knowledge greater than our own from a Power greater than ourselves. We open our minds and keep them open, becoming teachable and taking advantage of what others have to share with us. We demonstrate our willingness to try new ideas and new ways of doing things, experiencing life in a whole new way. Our spiritual progress picks up speed and momentum, driven by the Higher Power we are coming to understand better each day.

Up or down - it's one or the other, with very little in between, where spiritual growth is concerned. Recovery is not fueled by wishing and dreaming, we've discovered, but by prayer and action.

Just for today: The only constant in my spiritual condition is change. I cannot rely on yesterday's program. Today, I seek new spiritual growth through prayer and action.
pg. 238

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Wisdom for Today
Be Careful. The temptation to drink or use again never leaves. The temptation will always be there, but know that when we face the urge to get high, many have gone before us. They have had to face these same urges and made it. The program does
not promise to eliminate our desire to use alcohol or drugs. Just that by using the tools we will have the courage to say no to our desires. Gratefully, old-timers say that it does get easier over time. Yet all of them can account for times when the desire to use
raises its ugly head again. Sometimes it is just a passing thought and at other times it may be more difficult. Do I trust that my Higher Power will give me the needed strength and wisdom to walk away from my unhealthy desires?
Meditations for the Heart
I know that my life in recovery is not trouble free and that I will have to face difficulties along the path of life. The program gives me the ability to face these difficulties with an inner peace. Serenity comes from following God’s will. This is a hard lesson to learn but over time it becomes apparent that by following the will of God I have no worries. The struggles I have last for only a moment when I continually turn them over to God. All I need to do is the next right thing. Do I trust God to give me what I need in the face of trouble?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,

Should I face difficulties today, God help me to trust that you are with me. Help me to be wise in the decisions I face. Strengthen my faith and guide me to the people who will help me along the way.

Amen

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You are reading from the book Food for Thought.

Today Is the Day

Many of us have spent most of our lives dreaming of the day when we would be thin and attractive and able to do the things we want to do. We have put off living to some indefinite time in the future. As long as we were fat, we had a reason to avoid challenges and delay satisfactions. By not attempting to realize our dreams, we averted the risks of failure and the possibilities of success.

The OA program teaches us how to live today. One step at a time, we begin today to do the things we were putting off until tomorrow. We learn that we can live now, day by day, instead of waiting for the future.

Abstaining from compulsive overeating brings self-respect and determination to develop our unique potential. The time to get a job, take dancing lessons, be a friend - that time is now, today.

Thank You for the opportunities of today.