Jan. 31, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Giving

Learning to be a healthy giver can be a challenge. Many of us got caught up in compulsive giving — charitable acts motivated by uncharitable feelings of guilt, shame, obligation, pity and moral superiority.

We now understand that caretaking and compulsive giving don’t work. They backfire. Caretaking keeps us feeling victimized.

Many of us gave too much, thinking we were doing things right; then we became confused because our life and relationships weren’t working. Many of us gave so much for so long, thinking we were doing God’s will; then in recovery, we refused to give, care, or love for a time.

That’s okay. Perhaps we needed a rest. But healthy giving is part of healthy living. The goal in recovery is balance — caring that is motivated by a true desire to give, with an underlying attitude of respect for ourselves and others.

The goal in recovery is to choose what we want to give, to whom, when, and how much. The goal in recovery is to give, and not feel victimized by our giving.

Recovery includes a cycle of giving and receiving. It keeps healthy energy flowing among us, our Higher Power, and others. It takes time to learn how to give in healthy ways. It takes time to learn to receive. Be patient. Balance will come.

God, please guide my giving and my motives today.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 31, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

Today, live just for today. I cannot nor do I want to forget yesterday for it has lessons to carry into tomorrow. Nor do I want to be so preoccupied with tomorrow that I neglect today for I may miss some good that someone or some experience have to offer. I can plan for tomorrow, but I cannot fret over it and dread what demons or challenges my yesterdays have programmed me to expect. But that programming from my yesterdays was fueled by a whiskey bottle and, God granting, there is no whiskey bottle in my today. I therefore cannot fear that what I do today will poison my tomorrow. My life, my sobriety, my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my recovery — all are today. Today is all I have, and I must not be lax in strengthening it to make tomorrow’s today the promise of something good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

Jan. 31, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

AA Thought for the Day

Drinking cuts you off from God. No matter how you were brought up, no matter what your religion is, no matter if you say you believe in God, nevertheless you build up a wall between you and God by your drinking. You know you’re not living the way God wants you to live. As a result, you have that terrible remorse. When you come into AA, you begin to get right with other people and with God. A sober life is a happy life because, by giving up drinking, we’ve got rid of our loneliness and remorse.

Do I have real fellowship with other people and with God?

Meditation for the Day

I believe that all sacrifice and all suffering is of value to me. When I am in pain, I am being tested. Can I trust God, no matter how low I feel? Can I say, “Thy will be done,” no matter how much I am defeated? If I can, my faith is real and practical. It works in bad times as well as in good times. The Divine Will is working in a way that is beyond my finite mind to understand, but I can still trust in it.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may take my suffering in my stride. I pray that I may accept pain and defeat as part of God’s plan for my spiritual growth.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 31, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

Reflection for the Day

One of the most constructive things I can do is to learn to listen to myself and get in touch with my true feelings. For years, I tuned myself out, going along, instead, with what others felt and said. Even today, it sometimes seems that they have it all together, while I’m still stumbling about. Thankfully, I’m beginning to understand that people-pleasing takes many forms. Slowly but steadily, I’ve also begun to realize that it’s possible for me to change my old patterns.

Will I encourage myself to tune in to the real me? Will I listen carefully to my own inner voice with the expectation that I’ll hear some wonderful things?

Today I Pray

I pray that I may respect myself enough to listen to my real feelings, those emotions which for so long I refused to hear or name or own, which festered in me like a poison. May I know that I need to stop often, look at my feelings, listen to the inner me.

Today I Will Remember

I will own my feelings.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 31, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024

Nothing great was ever achieved without overcoming great obstacles, and no hero of history deserves more acclaim than those who were triumphant over self. But do not let us swell up too much with pride. If we are honest, we know that with our character-weakened souls, with our “fogbound” brains, we could accomplish nothing of ourselves. It was only when we, in our desperate surrender, threw our lives and our wills into His keeping that He, in His mercy, removed the obstacle. Unknown, even to ourselves, there must have slept in us that Faith of a mustard seed, that can remove mountains.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 31, 2024 – Good morning and let’s usher out the month by having a terrific Wednesday

 

Good morning and let’s not fret or worry about things that weigh us down and simply have a fantastic Wednesday

Jan. 30, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundaiton

 

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

This laboring through what is still undone, as though, legs bound, we hobbled along the way, is like the awkward walking of the swan.

— Rainer Maria Rilke

How close to perfection will we have to come before we’re satisfied with our relationships, work, and creative efforts? Some see every ragged edge, unsolved problem, or obstacle as evidence of failure. We may criticize ourselves even more harshly than we do others. We forget that we are works in progress, that our defects don’t keep others from loving us.

None of us has reached perfection. Our journeys — including bumps and ruts in the road, including failures that have been our teachers — have made us more human, more compassionate toward others. We must view ourselves realistically and tenderly. To make mistakes is a part of our lives as they unfold and blossom. We can let go of the myth of perfection and begin to live with greater spontaneity and pleasure.

Today, I accept what’s good, even though it may not be perfect.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 30, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

Today, progress, not perfection. In recognizing the difference, I might learn patience over impatience not only with others but with myself. Progress requires that I focus on just this day while perfection forces me to look to the unrealistic and unattainable goals beyond tomorrow. And by preoccupying myself with tomorrow, I am likely to neglect something today — and that failure will likely sabotage any tomorrow I might have. Tomorrow will hold nothing good if I neglect today. Today, then, will be focused on one thing at a time and first things first. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

Jan. 30, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
A drinking life isn’t a happy life. Drinking cuts you off from other people and from God. One of the worst things about drinking is the loneliness. And one of the best things about AA is the fellowship. Drinking cuts you off from other people, at least from the people who really matter to you, your family, your co-workers and your real friends. No matter how much you love them, you build up a wall between you and them by your drinking. You’re cut off from any real companionship with them. As a result, you’re terribly lonely.

Have I got rid of my loneliness?

Meditation for the Day
I will sometimes go aside into a quiet place of retreat with God. In that place, I will find restoration and healing and power. I will plan quiet times now and then, times when I will commune with God and arise rested and refreshed to carry on the work which God has given me to do. I know that God will never give me a load greater than I can bear. It is in serenity and peace that all true success lies.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may strengthen my inner life, so that I may find serenity. I pray that my soul may be restored in quietness and peace.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 30, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

Reflection for the Day
Have I gained freedom simply because one day I was weak and the next day I became suddenly strong? Have I changed from the helpless and hopeless person I once seemed to be simply by resolving, “from now on, things will be different …?” Is the fact that I am more comfortable today than ever before the result of my own willpower? Can I take credit for pulling myself up by my own bootstraps? I know better, for I sought refuge in a Power greater than myself — a Power which is still beyond my ability to visualize.

Do I consider the change in my life a miracle far beyond the workings of any human power?

Today I Pray
As the days of sobriety lengthen, and the moment of decision becomes farther behind me, may I never lose sight of the Power that changed my life. May I remember that my sobriety is an ongoing miracle, not just a once-in-a-lifetime transformation.

Today I Will Remember
Life is an ongoing miracle.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 30, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

After several years on the Program, we still have to guard against rationalizing. When it comes to selling ourselves a bill of goods, we are tops. Our drinking was most always occasioned by a “good reason,” or so we thought; the real reason — the fact that we were alcoholics and therefore compulsive drinkers — never occurred to us. A good reason can always be found for our actions, but the real reason is frequently obscure. Lord, teach us to know the difference.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 30, 2024 – Good morning and let’s commit to having a fantastic Tuesday

 

Good morning with wishes of a great Tuesday for everyone and without the garbage of people and things that aren’t worth our attention

Jan. 29, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundaiton

 

Monday, Jan. 29, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

We do not have to handle our problems alone

Thinking that we needed no one’s help made us feel strong and proud. We were capable, we were good managers, we had the answers. It’s not easy to accept that our perceived ability to manage may well have been a facade for gross unmanageability and excessive control! Our attempts to handle the lives of too many people may have been our way of denying that other people had problems that were theirs to fix.

Help for solving problems comes wrapped in many dressings. Seeking help doesn’t mean we have to let someone else force us to do something against our will. It does prove we’re growing. We’re learning that two heads are generally better than one, and we’re coming to believe that wherever “two or more are gathered,” God’s presence will guide us.

We no longer will have to handle our problems alone if we seek the steady, loving guidance of sponsors, friends, and God. The real gift is that we’ll feel strong once again, and we’ll know why.

I will feel strong and capable today if I am willing to listen to others and to God when I have a problem to solve.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 29, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Monday, Jan. 29, 2024

Today, if I am holding onto a resentment that I have turned over to my Higher Power but have taken back, I will do what the Program suggests: pray daily for two weeks for the target of my resentment. We are told that the Program‘s suggestions give us serenity and freedom from the character defects that weigh us down. No defect that weighs us down is stronger than resentment. Today, I’ll give the Program‘s suggestion to pray for the person I resent a try, however grudgingly, and admit my prayers aren’t totally altruistic. They are actually for me …because neither the person I resent nor anyone else is worth the mental and physical cost of holding and feeding my resentment and anger. Enough is enough: no more empowering someone else to mess with my recovery and serenity and live in my brain rent-free. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

Jan. 29, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Monday, Jan. 29, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
What a load wasting money puts on your shoulders! They say that members of AA have paid the highest initiation fee of any club members in the world, because we’ve wasted so much money on liquor. We’ll never be able to figure out how much it was. We not only wasted our own money, but also the money we should have spent on our families. When you come into AA, that terrible load of wasted money falls off your shoulders. We alcoholics were getting round-shouldered from carrying all those loads that drinking put on our shoulders. But when we come into AA, we get a wonderful feeling of release and freedom.

Can I throw back my shoulders and look the whole world in the face again?

Meditation for the Day
I believe that the future is in the hands of God. He knows better than I what the future holds for me. I am not at the mercy of fate or buffeted about by life. I am being led in a very definite way, as I try to rebuild my life. I am the builder, but God is the architect. It is mine to build as best I can, under His guidance.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may depend on God, since He has planned my life. I pray that I may live my life as I believe God wants me to live it.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 29, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Monday, Jan. 29, 2024

Reflection for the Day
I used to imagine my life as a grotesque abstract painting; a montage of crises framed by end-upon-end catastrophies. My days all were grey and my thoughts grayer still. I was haunted by dread and nameless fears. I was filled with self-loathing. I had no idea who I was, what I was or why I was. I miss none of those feelings. Today, step by step, I am discovering myself and learning that I can be free to be me.

Am I grateful for my new life? Have I taken the time to thank God today for the fact that I am clean and sober — and alive?

Today I Pray
May calm come to me after the turmoil and nightmares of the past. As my fears and self-hatred dissipate, may the things of the spirit replace them. For in the spiritual world, as in the material world, there is no empty space. May I be filled with the spirit of my Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember
Morning scatters nightmares.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 29, 2024 - Reading sin Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener

Monday, Jan. 29, 2024

On that awful day when the world had toppled about us, when all hope had departed and only wild desperation remained, then was the night darkest and nearest was the dawn. At this darkest hour, we “hit our bottom.” There was no way to go but UP.

As dawn follows darkness in Nature’s scheme, so darkness follows again in its turn. All things, save God, are transitory and what one day can bring, another day can take away. Let us not feel too secure in our sobriety, for darkness will come in the regular course of events, and we must be sure we have provided ourselves with the Light which will enable us to keep our footing on the slippery paths ahead.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 29, 2024 – Good morning and get psyched for another Monday and new week

 

Good morning and let’s commit to a fantastic and productive Monday and not be deterred by people and things that offer nothing but discouragement

Jan. 28, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Reflection for the Day

When we first came to the program, whether for ourselves or under pressure from others, some of us were all but sickened by the concept of “surrender.” To admit to defeat flew in the face of our lifelong beliefs. And so we secretly vowed, at first, that the very idea of surrender was unthinkable.

Have I truly come to believe that only through utter defeat am I able to take the first step toward liberation and strength? Or do I still harbor reservations about the principle of “letting go and letting God”?

Today I Pray

May I really believe that the complete surrender of my whole being to a Higher Power is the way to serenity. My Higher Power alone has the power to make me be and feel whole, so I can only be whole through my Higher Power. May I do away with any feelings of wanting to “hold out” and never admit defeat. May I unlearn the old adage that tells me I must “never give up” and realize that such pridefulness could keep me from recovery.

Today I Will Remember

From wholly one with my Higher Power to whole.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 28, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024

Today, at day’s end, I will look back and know by the grace of God that I did the best I could in all my affairs. If in prayer and meditation I find that I have not fully surrendered to my Higher Power some problem or character defect, I will know I have asked for the wisdom and humility to surrender it once and for all and that, if there is a tomorrow for me, I may be one day closer to that total surrender. I will not have reason to regret some communication with someone else because I was either cruel or indifferent to their needs or feelings. I will be grateful that I was not tempted to take the first drink that always leads to disaster, and I will go to sleep tonight with the comfort that my Higher Power blessed me with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

Jan. 28, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
What a load hangovers put on your shoulders! What terrible physical punishment we’ve all been through. The pounding headaches and jumpy nerves, the shakes and the jitters, the hot and cold sweats! When you come into AA and stop drinking, that terrible load of hangovers falls off your shoulders. What a load remorse puts on your shoulders! That terrible mental punishment we’ve all been through. Ashamed of the things you’ve said and done. Afraid to face people because of what they might think of you. Afraid of the consequences of what you did when you were drunk. What an awful beating the mind takes! When you come into AA, that terrible load of remorse falls off your shoulders.

Have I got rid of these loads of hangovers and remorse?

Meditation for the Day
When you seek to follow the way of the spirit, it frequently means a complete reversal of the way of the world which you had previously followed. But it is a reversal that leads to happiness and peace. Do the aims and ambitions that a person usually strives for bring peace? Do the world’s awards bring heart-rest and happiness? Or do they turn to ashes in the mouth?

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not be weary, disillusioned or disappointed. I pray that I may not put my trust in the ways of the world, but in the way of the Spirit.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 28, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024

Reflection for the Day
Now that I am in The Program, I am no longer enslaved by alcohol and other drugs. Free, free at last from the morning-after tremors, the dry heaves, the three-day beard, the misplaced eyelashes. Free, free at last from working out the alibis and hoping they won’t unravel; free from blackouts; free from watching the clock so that I can somehow get that desperately needed “first one.”

Do I treasure my freedom from chemical enslavement?

Today I Pray
Praise God that I am free of chemicals. This is my first freedom, from which other freedoms will develop – freedom to appraise my behavior sanely and constructively, freedom to grow as a person, freedom to maintain relationships with others on a sound basis. I will never cease to thank my Higher Power for leading me away from enslavement.

Today I Will Remember
Praise God for my freedom.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 28, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024

Man was created in the image of God. We are told that the heart of man is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. A realization of this fact makes the desecration of the body as sacrilegious as the desecration of any church.

We alcoholics have a lot of mess to clean up in our Temples in order to make them a fit place for communion with the God in us.

If we really want God to work in and through us in the rehabilitation of other alcoholics, we must provide Him at least a clean workshop.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 28, 2024 – Good morning and let’s try for a quiet but productive Sunday

 

Good morning with hopes of a productive and worthwhile but paced and quiet Sunday …and try to put aside all the cares and worries we have and simply enjoy the day

Jan. 27, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Family Consequences

My daughter was noticeably impacted by my drinking. She developed some anger at me for more or less emotionally abandoning her for all those years. One of the ways she coped with my drinking was to try and fix me. I’d be passed out on the couch, and she would go into the trash can and get all the empty beer cans, and lay them on my chest and spread them out. So when I came to, or woke up, beer cans would go flying.

That was her way of saying, Hey, go quit this shit. But thankfully, she’s been supportive of me in recovery. That’s another thing I have to be grateful for.

Today I will remember the past without regret, because I have made changes to stay sober today.

— Mike D., U.S. Marine Corps, 1970–1974

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 27, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024

Today, “Let Go and Let God” does not absolve me from responsibility to be an active participant in my redemption from the damage and pain to others of my drinking days. “Let Go and Let God” commands that I turn my will over to my Higher Power for knowledge of HIS will for me and “the power to carry (it) out.” It does not give me the easy out by expecting God to do it for me. In accepting an active role in my recovery instead of expecting it to come to me by reading the Big Book and going to meetings, I understand that recovery is a two-level process. On the surface, I cannot drink; on a deeper level, I cannot expect a change in spiritual and emotional sicknesses that come solely by not drinking. I am responsible for my condition as an alcoholic; likewise, I am responsible for my recovery. “Let Go and Let God” does not excuse me from either responsibility. Today, I “Let Go and Let God” by surrendering MY self-will and listening to my Higher Power for HIS will and the knowledge to carry it out. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

Jan. 27, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
Alcoholics carry an awful load around with them. What a load lying puts on your shoulders! Drinking makes liars out of all of us alcoholics. In order to get the liquor we want, we have to lie all the time. We have to lie about where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing. When you are lying, you are only half alive because of the fear of being found out. When you come into AA and get honest with yourself and with other people, that terrible load of lying falls off your shoulders.

Have I got rid of that load of lying?

Meditation for the Day
I believe that in the spiritual world, as in the material world, there is no empty space. As fears and worries and resentments depart out of my life, the things of the spirit come in to take their places. Calm comes after a storm. As soon as I am rid of fears and hates and selfishness, God’s love and peace and calm can come in.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may rid myself of all fears and resentments, so that peace and serenity may take their place. I pray that I may sweep my life clean of evil, so that good may come in.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 27, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024

Reflection for the Day
I can attain real dignity, importance and individuality only by a dependence on a Power which is great and good, beyond anything I can imagine or understand. I will try my utmost to use this Power in making all my decisions. Even though my human mind cannot forecast what the outcome will be, I will try to be confident that whatever comes will be for my ultimate good.

Just for today, will I try to live this day only, and not tackle my whole life problem at once?

Today I Pray
May I make no decision, engineer no change in the course of my lifestream, without calling upon my Higher Power. May I have faith that God’s plan for me is better than any scheme I could devise for myself.

Today I Will Remember
God is the architect. I am the builder.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 27, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024

We alcoholics are the world’s greatest squanderers. During our drinking days we squandered our money, our health, our time, our intellect, our reputations, in fact everything — not for a purpose, but to make ourselves oblivious to the fact that we were doing so.

We who have accepted the AA way of living must never give up our old habit, but we should learn to spend ourselves for a constructive purpose.

That purpose is to help the other alcoholic. We are the best qualified people in the world for the job. Years of conditioning and thousands of dollars went into the process of making us experts. We have no other means of atoning for the past, no other way of showing our appreciation for the Grace of God which saved us, but to squander ourselves for this world-needed purpose.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 27, 2024 – Rise ‘n shine for a splendid Saturday and serene weekend

 

Good morning and let’s focus today only on what needs to be done, make it a worthwhile and productive Saturday and ignore people and things who don’t deserve our attention

Jan. 26, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Friday, Jan. 26, 2024

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Changing our ways

We must be willing to grow in understanding. When we were using, we understood everything in one way, a way that caused us pain and misery. When we quit drinking or using other drugs, we began to see things in another way.

This new way of seeing things means we’ve had to make some changes in our way of living, and any new way of thinking means new ways of being. Are we willing to make the changes in our living that correspond with our new ways of thinking?

Am I changing my ways of living?

Higher Power, give me the courage, belief, and willingness I need to allow change to take place in my life.

One way of living that I will change today is .

Hazelden Foundation