June 7, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Monday, June 7, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

One receives only that which is given. The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words, return to us sooner or later, with astounding accuracy. — Florence Scovel Shin

Each of us can attest to the truth or this passage. During the difficult times, however, it is not uppermost in our minds that “what goes around, comes around.” It feels all too easy to be justifiably resentful or to gossip or to ignore another’s presence. And the repercussions are seldom immediate. They will come, though.

Goodness is likewise repaid. Giving love, attention, and respect to the individuals who share our lives and to the people who cross our paths by chance will smooth our own passage day by day. The effects of our goodness will often be felt quickly. A smile elicits a smile. Kind thoughts bless us as well as the receiver. Life events do come full circle.

With a bit of effort, I can smile at someone today, even though I’m frowning inside. Both will be better for it.

Hazelden Foundation

June 7, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Monday, June 7, 2021

"Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him." - Step Three

"Our description of the alcoholic ...make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5, p 60.

Today, revisiting Step Three, I ask if I have the humility to turn my will and life over to the Higher Power of my understanding. The starting point is the admission that my life, "run on self-will," has never worked. If I can agree, I must give up running the show - my life - the way I want because to continue to do so is another guaranteed failure. So, I look outside and, if I can say even half-heartedly that I am still alive only "by the grace of God," I have begun to find my Higher Power. And because His grace is why I am alive, I can also say that I can trust Him more than myself to live serenely as a sober alcoholic. Today, I reaffirm my decision to surrender my will to my Higher Power because I've not done such a great job of doing it on my own. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

June 7, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, June 7, 2021

AA Thought for the Day
Alcoholism is a progressive illness. We go through the three stages of social drinking, trouble drinking and merry-go-round drinking. We land in hospitals and jails. We eventually lose our homes, our families and our self-respect. Yes, alcoholism is a progressive illness and there are only three ends to it - the insane asylum, the morgue or total abstinence.

Will I choose not to take the first drink?

Meditation for the Day
You not only can live a new life but you also can grow in grace and power and beauty. Reach ever forward and upward after the things of the spirit. In the animal world, the very form of an animal changes to enable it to reach that upon which it delights to feed. Your whole character changes as you reach upward for the things of the spirit - for beauty, for love, for honesty, for purity, and for unselfishness. Reaching after these things of the spirit, your whole nature becomes changed so that you can best receive and delight in the wonders of the abundant life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may reach forward and upward. I pray that my character may be changed by this reaching upward for the things of the spirit.

Hazelden Foundation

June 7, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Monday, June 7, 2021

Reflection for the Day
Few of us are entirely free from a sense of guilt. We may feel guilty because of our words or actions, or for things left undone. We may even feel guilty because of irrational or false accusations by others. When I'm troubled by a gnawing feeling of guilt, obviously I can't put into my day all I'm capable of. So I must rid myself of guilt - not by pushing it aside or ignoring it, but by identifying it and correcting the cause.

Have I finally begun to learn to "keep it simple?"

Today I Pray
May I learn not to let myself be "guilted," made to feel guilty when I don't consider that I am. Since I doubtless have the dregs of guilt left over from my addictive behavior, I do not need the extra burden of unreasonable blame laid on me. I count on God to help me sort out and get rid of these twinges and pangs of guilt, which whether justified or not, need to be recognized and unloaded.

Today I Will Remember
The verdict of guilty is not for life.

Hazelden Foundation

June 7, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, June 7, 2021

In our drinking days, most of us entertained frequent ideas about suicide, but we did nothing about it because we either lacked the nerve, lost our ability to make and carry through any decision or we still had some hope that sometime, somehow, something could be done. We were still in love with life, rotten as our living was.

The real joy of living came only when our living had some purpose, and it will stay sweet as long as we actively engage in constructive, purposeful living.

Hazelden Foundation

June 7, 2021 - Good morning and let's get psyched for another Monday and entire new week

Good morning and let's not empower another Monday and whole new week intimidate us and instead say we got this ...have a really marvelous Monday, make it productive but paced and calm, and allow nothing and no one the control to screw it up

June 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, June 6, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

True denial is a powerful protective device. — A Course in Miracles

Denial has gotten a bad reputation in recovery circles. One of the greatest obstacles to recovery from addiction is denial. Who would seek help for an illness that doesn’t exist? Many of us resisted help, suffered needlessly, and caused others to suffer while we went on denying that anything was wrong.

But sometimes denial can be a good thing, especially when it comes to fear. When we are afraid of anything, we are saying it has the power to hurt us. We give fear power by believing in it. But if God is for us, who can truly hurt us? Our fears are of our own making. When we deny the ability of any ungodly thought to bring us down, we are using denial properly.

My fears can hurt me only with my permission.

Hazelden Foundation

June 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Sunday, June 6, 2021

"Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. ...They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5, p 58.

Today, examination not only of my own honesty but the foundation on which it is built. Before I can start to develop the honesty required for a quality recovery, I first have to ask why I want recovery. Starting at the very beginning of the Program - Step One - I have to distinguish that over which I am powerless. Is it alcohol or the potential consequences of my misconduct while drunk? If I cannot admit that it is alcohol over which I am powerless, then I am lying to myself if I seek recovery to avoid or lessen the consequences of my drinking. Today, I have to be honest that I am powerless over alcohol and that my addiction is the basis for getting honest. To stop drinking for anyone or anything else is the foundation of a lie, one that is built on sand. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

June 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, June 6, 2021

AA Thought for the Day
Drinking is the way we alcoholics express our maladjustments to life. I believe that I was a potential alcoholic from the start. I had an inferiority complex. I didn't make friends easily. There was a wall between me and other people. And I was lonely. I was not well adjusted to life.

Did I drink to escape from myself?

Meditation for the Day
According to the varying needs of each person, so does each person think of God. It is not necessary that you think of God as others think of Him, but it is necessary that you think of Him as supplying what you personally need. The weak need God's strength. The strong need God's tenderness. The tempted and fallen need God's saving grace. The righteous need God's pity for sinners. The lonely need God as a friend. The fighters for righteousness need a leader in God. You may think of God in any way you wish. We usually do not turn to God until we need Him.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may think of God as supplying my needs. I pray that I will bring all my problems to Him for help in meeting them.

Hazelden Foundation

June 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Sunday, June 6, 2021

Reflection for the Day
Adjusting myself to things as they are and being able to love without trying to interfere with or control anyone else, however close to me - that's one of the important things I search for and can find in The Program. The learning is sometimes painful; however, the reward is life itself - full and serene.

Is The Program helping restore me to a sane and reasonable way of thinking, so I can handle my interpersonal relationships with love and understanding?

Today I Pray
May I respect those that I love enough to set them free - to stop controlling, manipulating, scheming, bailing them out of trouble. May I love them enough to let them make their own mistakes and take responsibility for them. May I learn to let go.

Today I Will Remember
Loving is letting go.

Hazelden Foundation

June 6, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Sunday, June 6, 2021

Before the philosophy or theory of AA was ever committed to writing in the "Big Book," it was devised by the Founders after many trials and errors, after many disheartening failures and setbacks.

Because of our phenomenal growth, we are prone to think our birth was painless.

AA was not invented; it was born in the labors of suffering men and women who, by pooling their common experiences, arrived at an answer to the alcoholic problem - one that would work.

Hazelden Foundation

June 6, 2021 - Good morning and try for a relaxing and renewal of self this beautiful Sunday and make it good for something

 

Good morning with a commitment to this beautiful Sunday to simply relax and renew our souls while making the day count for something productive ...have a sincerely worry- and fear-free day, and keep away from things and people wanting to disrupt the day

June 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Listening

Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear. — Anonymous

Our world is full of speechmakers who would serve better if they learned the importance of listening. The ability to hear is stressed within our group. It is true that we owe it to fellow members to tell the valuable lessons we learn while dealing with reality. But by listening, we can find truth from outside ourselves, too. Old-timers remind us to “take the cotton out of our ears and put it in our mouth.”

An old proverb says, “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.” Another tells us, “Find a teacher and you find a friend.” When we learn to be attentive, we continue to be students long after our school years are over. Even when we read, we can listen well to truths.

One gift of being a good listener is to hear unexpectedly some truth I may have been told but was not ready to hear.

Hazelden Foundation

June 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Saturday, June 5, 2021

"A body badly burned by alcohol does not often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling. We are convinced that a spiritual mode of living is a most powerful health restorative." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 9, p 133.

Today, patience to recover and overcome the years of physical, emotional and spiritual abuse to which I subjected my entire being with alcohol. The promise of a spiritual remedy we need - if we apply it honestly and diligently - will restore us to some level of physical, emotional and spiritual wellness and sanity. In my impatience that is exacerbated by my addiction, let me remember that I am, by nature, hungry for everything now but that not even my impatience can rush recovery. Today, I take it One Day at a Time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

June 5, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, June 5, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

We alcoholics are fortunate to be living in a day and age when there is such a thing as Alcoholics Anonymous. Before AA came into being, there was very little hope for the alcoholic. AA is a great rebuilder of human wreckage. It takes men and women whose personality problem expresses itself in alcoholism and offers them a program which, if they are willing to accept it, allows them not only to get sober but also find a much better way of living.

Have I found a better way of living?

Meditation for the Day

Very quietly God speaks through your thoughts and feelings. Heed the Divine voice of your conscience. Listen for this and you will never be disappointed in the results in your life. Listen for this small, still voice and your tired nerves will become rested. The Divine voice comes to you as strength as well as tenderness, as power as well as restfulness. Your moral strength derives its effectiveness from the power that comes when you listen patiently for the still, small voice.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may listen for the still, small voice of God. I pray that I may obey the leading of my conscience.

Hazelden Foundation