Thursday, May 7, 2015
May 7, 2015 - Op-ed: The hypocrisy of the anti-gay procreation argument
May 7, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:
A man takes a drink, the drink takes another, and the drink takes the man.
-- Proverb
Newcomer
I've heard Alcoholics Anonymous members say, "It's the first drink that gets you drunk," and Overeaters Anonymous members say, "Don't take that first compulsive bite." It seems a little extreme. Don't Twelve Step programs allow for the possibility of doing things in moderation?
Sponsor
There are numerous stories of addicted people who started with the idea that they'd have "just one" of whatever it was. Hours, days, or weeks later, they were still in the middle of a binge. Most of us, when we were active in our addictions, promised ourselves repeatedly that we'd be moderate, though we'd already accumulated plenty of evidence that we lacked the desire and the capacity for moderation. Once we started using, no matter how seemingly insignificant the beginning, we were under the control of our addiction. We experienced a craving that no quantity of a drug or repetition of an addictive behavior could satisfy.
There are people who can do in moderation what people filling the seats at meetings couldn't stop doing, once they started. But we are not those people.
Today, I'm strengthened by accepting my need to take special measures to protect my health and recovery.
A man takes a drink, the drink takes another, and the drink takes the man.
-- Proverb
Newcomer
I've heard Alcoholics Anonymous members say, "It's the first drink that gets you drunk," and Overeaters Anonymous members say, "Don't take that first compulsive bite." It seems a little extreme. Don't Twelve Step programs allow for the possibility of doing things in moderation?
Sponsor
There are numerous stories of addicted people who started with the idea that they'd have "just one" of whatever it was. Hours, days, or weeks later, they were still in the middle of a binge. Most of us, when we were active in our addictions, promised ourselves repeatedly that we'd be moderate, though we'd already accumulated plenty of evidence that we lacked the desire and the capacity for moderation. Once we started using, no matter how seemingly insignificant the beginning, we were under the control of our addiction. We experienced a craving that no quantity of a drug or repetition of an addictive behavior could satisfy.
There are people who can do in moderation what people filling the seats at meetings couldn't stop doing, once they started. But we are not those people.
Today, I'm strengthened by accepting my need to take special measures to protect my health and recovery.
You are reading from the book:
If You Want What We Have © 1998 by Joan Larkin
May 7, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
" ...(I)t is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday (we) will control and enjoy (our) drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. ...Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, Ch 3, p 30.
Today, if I have held onto the illusion that I can keep or resume drinking because of the myths of "controlled drinking" or abstinence for any length of time, I lied to myself when I "admitted (I am) powerless ..." and I am little more than a dry drunk. Also, I learned nothing or denied the cost of my past drinking and believe either the outcome of drinking yet to come might be better than it was in the past or that I am above responsibility to the consequences of my drinking. If so, I look today to a Higher Power for the humility to surrender myself and my will to His and, with His wisdom, find the honesty to work through my self-deception and get on with the Program. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
May 7, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
It's very important to keep in a grateful frame of mind if we want to stay sober. We should be grateful that we're living in a day and age when an alcoholic isn't treated as he often used to be treated before Alcoholics Anonymous was started. In the old days, every town had its town drunk who was regarded with scorn and ridiculed by the rest of the townspeople. We have come into AA and found all the sympathy, understanding and fellowship that we could ask for. There's no other group like AA in the world.
Am I grateful?
Meditation for the Day
God takes our efforts for good and blesses them. God needs our efforts. We need God's blessing. Together, they mean spiritual success. Our efforts are necessary. We cannot merely relax and drift with the tide. We must often direct our efforts against the tide of materialism around us. When difficulties come, our efforts are needed to surmount them. But God directs our efforts into the right channels, and God's power is necessary to help us choose the right.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may choose the right. I pray that I may have God's blessing and direction in all my efforts for good.
Hazelden Foundation
May 7, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Reflection for the Day
If I believe that it's hopeless to expect any improvement in my life, I'm doubting the power of God. If I believe I have reason for despair, I'm confessing personal failure, for I do have the power to change myself; nothing can prevent it but my own unwillingness. I can learn in The Program to avail myself of the immense, inexhaustible power of God - if I'm willing to be continually aware of God's nearness.
Do I still imagine that my satisfaction with life depends on what someone else may do?
Today I Pray
May I give over my life to the will of God, not to the whims and insensitivities of others. When I counted solely on what other people did and thought and felt for my own happiness, I became nothing more than a cheap mirror reflecting others' lives. May I remain close to God in all things. I value myself because He values me. May I have my being in his Being and be dependent only upon Him.
Today I Will Remember
Stay close to God.
Hazelden Foundation
May 7, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Thursday, May 7, 2015
We often wonder at the cooperation given us by non-alcoholics wherever AA takes root. A lot of it probably results from a high sense of public spirit; some lend their support because they have no valid reason for opposition; some because of admiration of the fact that we are one organization that hasn't got its hand out continually.
We strongly suspect, though, that most of it is due to the fact that the alcoholics, the near-alcoholics and the potential alcoholics represent a pretty fair majority of any community.
Hazelden Foundation
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
May 6, 2015 - Breaking new ground in the military: Helping men heal from sexual trauma
May 6, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
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| The Serenity Prayer |
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden is:
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
-- Joseph Addison
Having someone to bestow our love on - a child, friend, or lover, perhaps a pet - will provide us with a time each day for intimacy, a time for sharing affection, a time, which assures us our presence is counted on.
But having someone to love is not all we need for happiness. We must have dreams for the future, reasons for getting out of bed in the present, and the well-earned glow that accompanies past achievements. Dreams lose their glamour if that's all we have. If the reasons for rising don't excite us any longer, or the achievements ring hollow, we'll not come to know the happiness for which we've been created.
Happiness is our birthright so long as we live fully and love truly.
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
-- Joseph Addison
Having someone to bestow our love on - a child, friend, or lover, perhaps a pet - will provide us with a time each day for intimacy, a time for sharing affection, a time, which assures us our presence is counted on.
But having someone to love is not all we need for happiness. We must have dreams for the future, reasons for getting out of bed in the present, and the well-earned glow that accompanies past achievements. Dreams lose their glamour if that's all we have. If the reasons for rising don't excite us any longer, or the achievements ring hollow, we'll not come to know the happiness for which we've been created.
Happiness is our birthright so long as we live fully and love truly.
You are reading from the book:
Worthy of Love by Karen Casey. © 1985 by Hazelden Foundation
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