Oct. 1, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

I have never seen a greater monster or miracle than myself. — Montaigne

We know we’ve hurt people. We’ve heard our family cry out from the pain we’ve caused them. Because of alcohol and other drugs, we acted like monsters.

But we now live surrounded with love. We now work hard to make this world better. Recovery is a miracle. The rebirth of our spirit is our miracle.

It’s no wonder we love life the way we do! We’ve been given a second chance. Our joy is overflowing. The way we have been transformed through the will of our Higher Power and our work in the program is truly a marvel.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me manage the monster that lives within me. I pray that it will never again be let out.

Action for the Day

Today I’ll see myself as a miracle. I’ll be grateful for my new life.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 1, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

"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

Today, whether I have embraced a Higher Power or am skeptical either as an atheist or agnostic, Step 11 suggests that I be at least open to the possibility of something greater and stronger than myself. I must also 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 a power 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 alcoholism. Today, I remember that I am dependent on a wiser and stronger power to guide me on a non-destructive course and that I am risking a slip or relapse if I forget that it hasn't worked my way. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

Oct. 1, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

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

 

A Day at a Time

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

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, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Friday, Oct. 1, 2021

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, 2021 - Good morning to a fantastic Friday and new month

 

Good morning with enthusiasm for this fabulous Friday and brand new month ...have a really terrific but productive and safe day, and don't allow anything and anyone to say otherwise

Sept. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

One must lose one’s life in order to find it. — Anne Morrow Lindbergh

We are often so busy trying to control the outcome of the happenings in our daily lives, so intent on projecting our tomorrows, that we let life slip by. Life is today. This is all we have for sure—the moments in our lives we cannot hold. Sometimes it feels as if those moments were beyond time and place, gifts from God to receive and give up at the same time, like a dragonfly that lights on our hand and will either be crushed or will fly away if we try to close our fingers over it.

Life is a series of things to let go of — our friends and loved ones, our children as they grow, our dreams. or our youth. Only we ourselves, our inner selves, are a constant to be found and learned about every day, in the present moment.

How well can I enjoy each moment today?

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021

"11. - Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal anonymity. We think AA ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and pictures as AA members ought not be broadcast, filmed or publicly printed. Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to let our friends recommend us." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Appendices, "The Twelve Traditions" (long form), p 567.

Today, no "praise" for my recovery, be it years of sobriety or my first meeting tonight. While it is appropriate to give a quick pat on the back for working toward recovery, the overwhelming "credit" belongs to the Program without which we have no lifeline to grab and hold onto. If I should boast about my sobriety as my own achievement, if I become complacent in sobriety or if I neglect to do what the Program suggests, I have probably neglected my responsibility to be one of its "success" stories anonymously. Today, I will be stingy in claiming my sobriety as my own accomplishment and instead remember that the credit is AA's. And our common journey continues. Step by Step. - Chris M., 2021

Sept. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021

AA Thought for the Day
There are no leaders in AA, except as they volunteer to accept responsibility. The work of carrying on AA - leading group meetings, serving on committees, speaking before other groups, doing twelfth-step work, spreading AA among the alcoholics of the community - all these things are done on a volunteer basis. If I don't volunteer to do something concrete for AA, the movement is that much less effective. I must do my fair share to carry the load. AA depends on all its members to keep it alive and to keep it growing.

Am I doing my share for AA?

Meditation for the Day
When you look to God for strength to face responsibility and are quiet before Him, His healing touch causes the Divine Quiet to flow into your very being. When in weakness you cry to God, His touch brings healing, the renewal of your courage and the power to meet every situation and be victorious. When you faint by the way or are distracted by feelings of inferiority, then rely on the touch of God's spirit to support you on your way. Then arise and go forth with confidence.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may lay myself open today to the healing touch of God. I pray that I may not falter or faint by the wayside, but renew my courage through prayer.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021

Reflection for the Day
No matter what other people do or don't do, we have to remain sober and free from other addictions for ourselves. When our program of recovery becomes contingent on the actions or inactions of another person - especially someone with whom we're emotionally involved - the results are invariably disastrous. We need to also remember that intense dislike is as much an emotional involvement as newfound romantic love. In short, we have to cool any risky emotional involvements in the first few months of our recovery, trying to accept the fact that our feelings could change quickly and dramatically. Our watchword must be "First Things First," concentrating on our number one problem before anything else.

Am I building a firm foundation while steering clear of slippery emotional areas?

Today I Pray
May I always remember that healthy relationships with people are necessary for my recovery. But - that substituting an obsession with either a love or hate object is as dangerous to my self-being as any other addiction.

Today I Will Remember
A dependency is a dependency is a dependency.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021

Our AA philosophy is an idealistic philosophy. It has to be in order to be a happy philosophy. Some may declare that it is too much so, that we ignore more materialistic facts. Let us take from our philosophy all the good and the joy it promises. Let us give our gold no acid test.

If our philosophy is unreal and foolish in the eyes of the more materialistic world, then what of it? It enables us to be happier than those that have good sense.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 30, 2021 - Good morning with zeal for another beautiful Thursday and its potential

 

Good morning and let's kick it in gear for what we plan to make a stress-, worry- and fear-free Thursday ...have a really terrific and productive but safe day, and don't empower anything and anyone to make it less

Sept. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

AA Thought for the Day

“What draws newcomers to AA and gives them hope? They hear the stories of men and women whose experiences tally with their own. The expressions on the faces of the women, that undefinable something in the eyes of the men, the stimulating atmosphere of the AA clubroom conspire to let them know that there is haven at last. The very practical approach to their problems, the absence of intolerance of any kind, the informality, the genuine democracy, the uncanny understanding that these people in AA have is irresistible.”

Have I found a real haven in AA?

Meditation for the Day

“If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” The eye of the soul is the will. If your will is to do the will of God, to serve Him with your life, to serve Him by helping others, then truly shall your whole body be full of light. The important thing is to strive to attune your will to the will of God, a single eye to God’s purpose, desiring nothing less than that His purposes be fulfilled. Try to seek in all things the advance of His kingdom, seek the spiritual values of honesty and purity, unselfishness and love, and earnestly desire spiritual growth. Then your life will emerge from the darkness of futility into the light of victory.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that my eye may be single. I pray that my life may be lived in the light of the best that I know.

Hazelden Foundation

Sept. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021

"12. - ...(W)e of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Appendices, "The Twelve Traditions" (long form), pp 567-68.

Today, Traditions 9-12, that anonymity of all those in the Program is a principle rather than a courtesy. If we can understand that a principle is an ethic that governs AA, any personal grievances we have become insignificant and futile in the goal of our individual recoveries and the effectiveness of the Program as a whole. As the 12th Tradition promises, anonymity has the spiritual power for us to be hungry for "genuine humility," or our desire to know and carry out the will of our Higher Power as we understand Him  and not our will. Today, I renew my commitment to respect the 12th Tradition and all others as AA's code of ethics. In the process, God grant that I know the humility of the principle of anonymity and, maybe more, develop a higher sense of responsibility to my sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

Sept. 29, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021

AA Thought for the Day
Having got this far, shall we pause and ask ourselves some searching questions? We need to check up on ourselves periodically. Just how good an AA am I? Am I attending meetings regularly? Am I doing my share to carry the load? When there is something to be done, do I volunteer? Do I speak at meetings when asked, no matter how nervous I am? Do I accept each opportunity to do twelfth-step work as a challenge? Do I give freely of my time and money? Am I trying to spread AA wherever I go? Is my daily life a demonstration of AA principles?

Am I a good AA?

Meditation for the Day
How do I get strength to be effective and to accept responsibility? By asking the Higher Power for the strength I need each day. It has been proved in countless lives that for every day I live, the necessary power shall be given me. I must face each challenge that comes to me during the day, sure that God will give me the strength to face it. For every task that is given me, there is also given me all the power necessary for the performance of that task. I do not need to hold back.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may accept every task as a challenge. I know I cannot wholly fail if God is with me.

Hazelden Foundation