Just a nice blog about recovery and today's news

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Oct. 3, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
How do I talk with new prospects? Am I always trying to dominate the conversation? Do I lay down the law and tell prospects what they will have to do? Do I judge them privately and feel that they have small chance of making the program? Do I belittle them to myself? Or am I willing to bare my soul so as to get them talking about themselves? And, then, am I willing to be a good listener, not interrupting, but feel deeply that they are my brothers or my sisters?

Will I do all I can to help them along the path to sobriety?

Meditation for the Day
“The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever.” Only when the soul attains this calm, can there be true spiritual work done, and mind and soul and body be strong to conquer and bear all things. Peace is the result of righteousness. There is no peace in wrong doing, but if we live the way God wants us to live, quietness and assurance follow. Assurance is that calmness born of a deep certainty of God’s strength available to us and in His power to love and guard us from all harm and wrong doing.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may attain a state of true calmness. I pray that I may live in quietness and peace.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Oct. 3, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012

Reflection for the Day
I’ve learned in The Program that I’m wholly powerless over my addiction. At long last, I’ve conceded my powerlessness; as a result, my life has taken a 180-degree turn for the better. However, I do have a power, derived from God, to change my own life. I’ve learned that acceptance does not mean submission to an unpleasant or degrading situation. It means accepting the reality of the situation and then deciding what, if anything, I can and will do about it.

Have I stopped trying to control the uncontrollable? Am I gaining the courage to change the things I can?

Today I Pray
I ask my Higher Power for direction as I learn to sort out the things I can change from the things I can’t, for that sorting process does, indeed, require God-given wisdom. May “the things I cannot change” not give me an excuse for inaction. May “the things I can” not include managing other people’s lives. May I start to understand my own reality.

Today I Will Remember
Acceptance is not inaction. Change is not domination.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012

Promises, vows, pledges, resolutions, doctors, preachers, priests, psychologists, psychiatrists, hospitals, judges, jails, jitter-joints, in fact everyting, but nothing worked.

One day, by the Grace of God, we found ourselves sober, and there can be no denying that it was the Grace of God alone that caused it. That same Grace will remain with you as long as you honestly seek it, and you will find that it will prove more than sufficient.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Say when it's time to begin.

I have a friend who is always planning to start a writing project "as soon as she gets organized." She has read nearly every book, attended every seminar, and bought all the tapes on the subject. She has closets full of organizers, drawers stuffed with folders, and several related computer programs. There's only one problem. Instead of starting, she hides behind a mask of "firsts." "I'll start writing, but first I've got to learn this program." "I'll listen to that tape, but first I've got to read this book."

Are you hiding behind a mask of firsts? Is there always something that keeps you from beginning? Take off the mask. Start the project. Ask that special person for a date. Do that Fourth and Fifth Step. Stop making excuses. Eliminate them.

Learn to say when it's time to begin.

God, please help me eliminate excuses from my life. Show me how full my life can be when I pursue my dreams.

From the book:

More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Oct. 2, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012

”It would be wonderful were I able to tell you that my confidence in God and my application of the Twelve Steps to my daily living have utterly banished fear. This would not be the truth. The most accurate answer I can give you is this: Fear has never again ruled my life since that day …when I found that a Power greater than myself could not only restore me to sanity but could keep me both sober and sane. Never in 16 years have I dodged anything because I was afraid of it. I have faced life instead of running away from it.” - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous Number Three, Ch 9 (“The Man Who Mastered Fear”), pp 284-85.

Just for today: fear of what? Of trying to be free of the hellacious but predictable consequences of drinking? Of trying the unchartered and unfamiliar path of sobriety? Of taking responsibility for the consequences of my actions when drunk, when sober? Of telling someone I’m sorry? Of admitting that I can’t do it alone anymore, that I need something better and stronger than myself? Of the risk of opening myself knowing that once the heart is open that nothing ever again will be the same? Afraid of challenging fear? Afraid of what more fear can do to me? Today, if on nothing more than blind faith in something stronger and greater than myself, I challenge fear because I’ve empowered it far too long. In doing that, God granting, may I feel that I control fear - not the other way around. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 2, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
What makes an effective talk at an AA meeting? It is not a fine speech with fine choice of words and an impressive delivery. Often a few simple words direct from the heart are more effective than the most polished speech. There is always a temptation to speak beyond your own experience, in order to make a good impression. This is never effective. What does not come from the heart does not reach the heart. What comes from personal experience and a sincere desire to help the other person reaches the heart.

Do I speak for effect or with a deep desire to help?

Meditation for the Day
“Thy will be done” must be your oft-repeated prayer. And in the willing of God’s will there should be gladness. You should delight to do that will because when you do, all your life goes right and everything tends to work well for you in the long run. When you are honestly trying to do God’s will and humbly accepting the results, nothing can seriously hurt you. Those who accept the will of God in their life may not inherit the earth, but they will inherit real peace of mind.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a yielded will. I pray that my will may be attuned to the will of God.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 2, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012

Reflection for the Day
An entire philosophy of life is condensed in the slogan “Live and Let Live.” First we’re urged to live fully, richly and happily - to fulfill our destiny with the joy that comes from doing well whatever we do. Then comes a more difficult challenge: “Let live.” This means accepting the right of every other person to live as he or she wishes, without criticism or judgment from us. The slogan rules out contempt for those who don’t think as we do. It also warns against resentments, reminding us not to interpret other people’s actions as intentional injuries to us.

Am I becoming less tempted to involve my mind with thoughts of how others act or live?

Today I Pray
May I live my life to the fullest, understanding that pure pleasure-seeking is not pleasure-finding, but that God’s goodness is here to be shared. May I partake of it. May I learn not to take over the responsibility for another’s adult decisions; that is my old controlling self trying, just one more time, to be the executive director of other people’s lives.

Today I Will Remember
Live and let live.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 2, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012

Most of us have met persons whom we thought extremely homely until we knew them better. Then we ceased observing their lack of facial beauty and began to appreciate those persons for what they really were.

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were what might be called extremely homely men, yet the beauty and strength of their characters was such that practically all present-day pictures show little of their ugliness.

You can’t do a whole lot to improve an ugly face, but you can hide it behind a lovely character.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 2, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

I look in the mirror through the eyes of the child that was me. --Judy Collins

The child within each of us is fragile, but very much alive, and she interprets our experiences before we are even conscious of them. It is our child who may fear new places, unfamiliar people, and strange situations. Our child needs nurturing, the kind she may not have received in the past. We can take her hand, coax her along, let her know she won't be abandoned. No new place, unfamiliar person, or strange situation need overwhelm her.

It's quite amazing the strength that comes to us when we nurture ourselves, when we acknowledge the scared child within and hold that child making him or her secure. We face nothing alone. Together, we can face anything.

I will take care of my inner child today and I won't abandon that child to face alone any of the experiences the day may bring.

From the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

Monday, October 1, 2012

Oct. 1, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” - Step 11, Alcoholics Anonymous.

Just for today, whether I have fully embraced the concept of a Higher Power or am skeptical either as an atheist or agnostic, I remember again that Step 11 requires that I be at least open to the possibility of something greater and stronger than myself and, in doing so, seek the will and way of something other than my own. This is the definition of humility - to be open to learning and carrying out the will of that power which is stronger and wiser than me. I cannot be reminded or jolted enough that history has proven time and again that running my life on my terms has always led to the same disastrous results and outcome; thus, the insanity of addiction. Today, I will consciously remember that I am dependent on a wiser and stronger power to position me on a non-destructive course and that I am risking a slip or complete relapse if I forget that it hasn’t worked my way. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 1, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
AA will lose some of its effectiveness if I do not do my share. Where am I failing? Are there some things I do not feel like doing? Am I held back by self-consciousness or fear? Self-consciousness is a form of pride. It is a fear that something may happen to you. What happens to you is not very important. The impression you make on others does not depend so much on the kind of a job you do as on your sincerity and honesty of purpose.

Am I holding back because I am afraid of not making a good impression?

Meditation for the Day
Look to God for the true power that will make you effective. See no other wholly dependable supply of strength. That is the secret of a truly effective life. And you, in your turn, will be used to help many others find effectiveness. Whatever spiritual help you need, whatever spiritual help you desire for others, look to God. Seek that God’s will be done in your life and seek that your will conforms to His. Failures come from depending too much on your own strength.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel that nothing good is too much for me if I look to God for help. I pray that I may be effective through His guidance.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

Reflection for the Day
We can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. We can be all by ourselves and still feel happy and content. What makes the difference? We feel lonely if we look to other people for something they really can’t provide. No one else can give us peace of mind, an inner sense of acceptance, and serenity. And when we find ourselves alone, we needn’t feel lonely. God is with us; His presence is like a warm shawl enfolding us. The more we’re aware of ourselves as beloved by God, the more we’re able to feel content and secure - whether we’re with others or when alone.

Am I experiencing a sense of God and His love at all times and in all places?

Today I Pray
May I understand that we each have our own kind of loneliness - whether we are young and friendless, old and kept waiting by death, bereft, left, running away or just feeling out of it in a crowd. May my loneliness be eased a bit by the fact that loneliness is, indeed, a universal feeling that everyone knows first-hand - even though some lives seem more empty than others. May I - and all the lonely people - take comfort in the companionship of God.

Today I Will Remember
Shared loneliness is less lonely.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

Somewhere we read that alcoholics made their own bedlam and then lied out of it. This has not been our experience. We made our own bedlam, it is true, but unfortunately we were usually stuck with it. Somehow we could never successfully lie out of it. Lying somehow always failed and on the few occasions when we did get by with one, we were forced to tax our feeble brains for the balance of our days to guard it and not expose ourselves. A liar must of necessity have a good memory, or he’s sunk.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, Oct. 1, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Patience is needed with everyone, but first of all with ourselves. -- Saint Francis De Sales

One night Sandra was having trouble putting a puzzle together. Angrily, she pushed all the pieces into a huge pile.

"I can't do this," she said. She got up and walked over to the couch and plopped down.

"Let me tell you a story," said her dad, as he sat down next to her. "There was a daughter who helped her dad take care of her baby sister. Again and again, she helped her baby sister stand and try to walk. One day the daughter tried to put a puzzle together but gave up after only a few tries. She had forgotten how many times she had helped her baby sister."

We are all like Sandra, sometimes. We forget to allow ourselves to fail, even though our growth up to now has been a series of failures that we've learned from. With patience, we allow ourselves to take chances we might not otherwise explore, and we widen our world of possibilities. Life has been patient with us so far, now it's our turn.

What have I failed at that I can try again today?

From the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous