May 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

May you live all the days of your life. — Jonathan Swift

Indeed, life is much like a game—both a deadly serious one and one that demands laughter, relaxation, and the ability to play. Either way, life demands attention.

There is much of life that is truly exciting and fascinating—are we watching for it? There is hilarity and humor—do we see it? There are aspects of life that are touching and full of heroism—are we open to seeing them?

All these are not only present in some general, nebulous way about life, but about our lives! Right here where we live, in our lives today, there will be the hero and the goat, there will be disappointment and reason for wild celebration, there will be the beautiful and the horrible. The soap opera is not out there; it is right here with us, in us, all around us. The task is to be present in our own lives, to get our heads out of others’ reality, and to find the enormous meaning and vitality of our own.

Life is precious. Today, I will not take my life for granted.

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, May 2, 2020

Today, if I have made sincere amends to those I wronged "except when to do so would hurt" them or others, I must progress beyond regret, shame and anger to what may be my single strongest and most meaningful amend: committing myself to sobriety and recovery. For all I might have said or done as an alcoholic and now sober, I cannot become the proverbial doormat and let anyone or anything hammer me for the mistakes I have tried to correct, especially by those who cannot or will not accept my apologies. I can allow a margin of regret that I may not be forgiven by all I have hurt, but I cannot afford to be kicked down repeatedly. Today, if I have been rebuffed or cannot make amends because doing so might lead to more damage, I can find reconciliation in being sober. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

May 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, May 2, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
In AA, we often hear the slogan, "Easy Does It." Alcoholics also do everything to excess. They drink too much. They worry too much. They have too many resentments. They hurt themselves physically and mentally by too much of everything. So when they come into AA, they have to learn to take it easy. None of us knows how much longer we have to live. It's probable that we wouldn't have lived very long if we had continued to drink the way we used to. By stopping drinking, we have increased our chances of living for a while longer.

Have I learned to take it easy?

Meditation for the Day
You must be, before you can do. To accomplish much, be much. In all cases, the doing must be the expression of the being. It is foolish to think that we can accomplish much in personal relationships without first preparing ourselves by being honest, pure, unselfish and loving. We must choose the good and keep choosing it before we are ready to be used by God to accomplish anything worthwhile. We will not be given the opportunities until we are ready for them. Quiet times of communion with the Higher Power are good preparation for creative action.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may constantly prepare myself for better things to come. I pray that I may only have opportunities when I am ready for them.

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, May 2, 2020

Reflection for the Day
When I was drinking, I was certain that my intelligence, backed by willpower, could properly control my inner life and guarantee me success in the world around me. This brave and grandiose philosophy, by which I played God, sounded good in the saying, but it still had to meet the acid test: how well did it actually work? One good look in the mirror was answer enough.

Have I begun to ask God each day for strength?

Today I Pray
May I stop counting on my old standbys, my "superior intelligence" and my "willpower," to control my life. I used to think, with those two fabulous attributes, that I was all-powerful. May I not forget, as my self-image is restored, that only through surrender to a Higher Power will I be given the power that can make me whole.

Today I Will Remember
Check for "head-tripping."

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, May 2, 2020

The United Nations and the old League of Nations both recognized the fact that man's conquest of time and space has brought the nations of the earth into such close and intimate relationship that national problems are now world problems and must be dealt with accordingly.

Their lack of success, up to the present time, stems from their inability to recognize the common Fatherhood of God and the inherent brotherhood of man. They attempt to settle world affairs without consulting the Power that made both the world and the men in it.

God put no problems in the world; they are all man-made and far too often, we fear, they bear the stamp "Made in the USA."

Hazelden Foundation

May 2, 2020 - Good morning and let's commit to a stress-, worry- and fear-free Saturday and weekend

Good morning with a goal to make this beautiful Saturday and week both worry- and fear-free and resolve to steer clear of everything and everyone bearing only tidings of doom

May 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Friday, May 1, 2020

Today, not as an alcoholic working to avoid a relapse but as a sober alcoholic embracing the addictive habit of recovery. I can now find the tragic irony of all I have wasted and lost only to be led to this point when I no longer have to drink - because sobriety has replaced my addiction to alcohol. I can be grateful for the relief that I now think in terms of wanting sobriety more than drinking because, now, I don't need the drink or high. I can be grateful for realizing I have made my journey in sobriety so needlessly complicated because I overlooked a simple and basic truth: I want sobriety more than drinking. With that, I can work the Steps with less fear and hesitation, a higher self-esteem - and the hope and faith that my sobriety has progressed to where I want recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

May 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Friday, May 1, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Healthy limits

Boundaries are vital to recovery. Having and setting healthy limits is connected to all phases of recovery: growing in self-esteem, dealing with feelings, and learning to really love and value ourselves.

Boundaries emerge from deep within. They are connected to letting go of guilt and shame, and to changing our beliefs about what we deserve. As our thinking about this becomes clearer, so will our boundaries.

Boundaries are also connected to a Higher Timing than our own. We’ll set a limit when we’re ready, and not a moment before. So will others.

There’s something magical about reaching that point of becoming ready to set a limit. We know we mean what we say; others take us seriously too. Things change, not because we’re controlling others, but because we’ve changed.

Today, I will trust that I will learn, grow, and set the limits I need in my life at my own pace. This timing need only be right for me.

Hazelden Foundation

May 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, May 1, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
The AA program is one of charity because the real meaning of the word "charity" is to care enough about other people to really want to help them. To get the full benefit of the Program, we must try to help other alcoholics. We may try to help somebody and think we have failed, but the seed we have planted may bear fruit some time. We never know the results even a word of ours might have. But the main thing is to have charity for others, a real desire to help them, whether we succeed or not.

Do I have real charity?

Meditation for the Day
All material things, the universe, the world, even our bodies, may be Eternal Thought expressed in time and space. The more the physicists and astronomers reduce matter, the more it becomes a mathematical formula, which is thought. In the final analysis, matter is thought. When Eternal thought expresses itself within the framework of space and time, it becomes matter. Our thoughts, within the box of space and time, cannot know anything first hand except material things. But we can deduce that outside the box of space and time is Eternal Thought, which we can call God.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be a true expression of Eternal Thought. I pray that God's thoughts may work through my thoughts.

Hazelden Foundation

May 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, May 1, 2020

Reflection for the Day
For those of us who have lost our faith, or who have always had to struggle along without it, it's often helpful just to accept - blindly and with no reservations. It's not necessary for us to believe at first; we need not be convinced. If we can only accept, we find ourselves becoming gradually aware of a force for good that's always there to help us.

Have I taken the way of faith?

Today I Pray
May I abandon my need to know the why's and wherefore's of my trust in a Higher Power. May I not intellectualize about faith, since by its nature it precludes analysis. May I know that "head-tripping" was a symptom of my disease, as I strung together - cleverly, I thought - alibi upon excuse upon rationale. May I learn acceptance - and faith will follow.

Today I Will Remember
Faith follows acceptance.

Hazelden Foundation

May 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, May 1, 2020

The aim of AA is not Sobriety but Happy Sobriety. The most effective and, incidentally, the soberest group, is the happiest group. It is possible that you can't speak at meetings, maybe you are not in a position to "carry the message," but you can and should show your happy sobriety in the radiance of your smile. It is our only advertisement and it should outshine in brilliance the gaudiest of neon sign.

The poor guy still in the gutter isn't interested in your sobriety; he's interested in the price of another drink. He is, however, very much interested in happiness. It's what he has been looking for all his life and thought he could buy by the "fifth."

Hazelden Foundation

May 1, 2020 - Good morning to a stress- and fear-free Friday and new month with reinvigorated faith and hope

Let's give a high-five for a wonderful Friday and new month with gratitude and hope that we can do this together day by day and look to a Power greater than man for faith

April 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Thursday, April 30, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

On the inner plane, the call to explore our edge involves risk, facing our fears, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. The essence of an adventure—inner or outer—is encountering the unknown and unpredictable, which can be both scary and exciting. For many men, venturing into the vast terrain of their feelings can be such a long, illuminating voyage. For others, really listening to their heart for the first time, dropping the noisy expectations of others so they might hear their own truth, can be a rewarding odyssey. Learning to perceive more clearly the feedback our body is offering us in terms of stress and anxiety can also be a novel frontier filled with helpful insights.

Being in treatment has helped us begin these perilous but rewarding journeys within. We finally grasp that creating lasting changes in the outer circumstances of our lives begins within. We have, no doubt, come to realize how much unexplored territory there is within our own being. Perhaps we have even become inspired by the imperative “know thyself,” which holds enormous relevance for us in our daily lives.

I am in awe of how much there still is to discover about myself.

Hazelden Foundation

April 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Thursday, April 30, 2020

Today, instead of an alcoholic, I'm a soberholic. If "alcoholic" calls attention to the fact that I am addicted to alcohol, can't "soberholic" stake my addiction to sobriety? Despite AA's progress in striking down the image of the alcoholic as the down-and-out'er sleeping in alleys or drying out in a flophouse, a jail's drunk tank or mental hospital, a stigma remains. Might I be able to erode that stigma by labeling my addiction to sobriety instead of to alcohol? If so, maybe I can renew my self-confidence and weaken any temptation or lingering doubt about drinking again. As someone addicted to sobriety, why do I need alcohol? Today, at the risk of angering those who warn against trading one addiction for another, I'll substitute dependence on alcohol for addiction to sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

April 30, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, April 30, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
The AA program is one of faith because we find that we must have faith in a Power greater than ourselves if we are going to get sober. We're helpless before alcohol, but when we turn our drink problem over to God and have faith that He can give us all the strength we need, then we have the drink problem licked. Faith in that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God is the essential part of the AA program.

Is faith still strong in me?

Meditation for the Day
Each one of us is a child of God, and as such, we are full of the promise of spiritual growth. A young person is like the springtime of the year. The full time of the fruit is not yet, but there is promise of the blossom. There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Each has some of God's spirit which can be developed by spiritual exercise. Know that your life is full of glad promise. Such blessings can be yours, such joys, such wonders, as long as you develop in the sunshine of God's love.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may develop the divine spark within me. I pray that by so doing I may fulfill the promise of a more abundant life.

Hazelden Foundation