Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - September

[bluidkiti]

September 1

Step by Step

Today, the "spiritual awakening" asked in Step 12, the culmination of fierce and thorough practice of the previous 11 steps and mandated of us to be effective carriers of the program's message. There is no single definition of spiritual awakening for it is as unique to the individual as his or her recovery program. But, in general, if I can say honestly that I no longer schedule my day around my drinking and don't want to, if I can say I am healthier mentally and emotionally by weakening those character flaws that fed my drinking, if I can say in honesty that I want to help the addict still using, if I can admit that my will is self-will run riot and that the will of a wiser and stronger higher power must be my guide - then, and only possibly then, can I say I have undergone the awakening of a "new" and better character than the one that prevailed in my drinking days. On the other hand, if I can say honestly I have not undergone a fundamental change in character, emotion and morality, I best backtrack to the very beginning, to Step One: "Admitted (I am) powerless ..." And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

LIVE AND LET LTVE

No matter how it feels, we’re moving forward. No matter how good it gets, the best is yet to come.

~ Anonymous ~

It is hard to live more than one life at a time. Try as we did to organize everyone’s life according to our plan, it just didn’t work. We learned in our First Step that we were not masters of the universe, that our very best efforts got us into the Program. We had to file away the little manager in our heads that found it necessary to bark out all the orders to God.

Once we did, and took our rightful place as just a fellow traveler on the road to recovery, we finally began to live and allow others the opportunity to live.

Live and let live is a simple idea that, when practiced, produces lasting results, more serenity, and peace of mind. It permits us to turn over our self-assumed responsibility for other people's lives to our Higher Power. And what a relief that is!

Live and let live is the 12 Step way of life. When I live my own life and let others live theirs, I am letting go and letting God be in charge.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

I have a great deal more respect for someone who keeps coming back after losing heartbreaker after heart- breaker than I do for the winner who has everything going for him.

~ Wilt Chamberlain ~

One aspect of recovery is dealing with relapse. After we have been in recovery and then fall back into our addiction or codependent behaviors, we are filled with regret. We may also be stricken with strong feelings of shame and a defeatist attitude. But if we come back to our meetings and get back on the program, we deserve only self-respect. We are not defeated unless we give up on ourselves.

No bad experience is a total loss unless we refuse to learn something from it. Recovery from relapse begins when we relearn that we are powerless over our addiction. It calls for us to make something positive out of the negative experience. We examine the point where we resumed our addictive and codependent thinking, even before we realized it. Experienced people in the program know that we learn to prevent relapse by returning to recovery after we have fallen away.

Today I have the greatest respect for those who keep coming back.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

We get so bogged down in worldly things, we don’t understand that we’re here for a spiritual quest.

~ Oprah Winfrey ~

Those of us in recovery are perhaps luckier than most; we have learned that our journey is spiritual. We have come to believe that we each have a special mission and that a Higher Power travels every step with us. However, we can get bogged down. We can get upset by the experiences that come to us hour by hour, forgetting they are part of our unfolding divine life.

Because we are human and imperfect, we forget that we are in God’s care at every moment. We also forget that the people who share our lives now are helping us learn the lessons we need for this stage of our development. Some people will leave us and others will join us when the time is right. The plans have been made. All we have to do is show up and peacefully trust that God is in charge.

I am here for a purpose bigger than I might imagine. God’s guidance will be clear if I follow my inner voice throughout this day.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I can accept my shortcomings

It hurt to become so aware of my shortcomings through Step Four. I did feel better—less guilty and shameful—when I admitted them to another person in Step Five. But what I really wanted was to get rid of them quickly and completely

However, I am slowly coming to see that my shortcomings are not all bad. Some were useful to me at one time-and some are now blocking my spiritual progress. Only my higher power knows which are which. What I need to do is to work Steps Six and Seven by accepting myself, becoming open to change, and by letting my higher power decide which shortcomings to remove and when to remove them.

I will pray the Serenity Prayer and pray to follow the will of my higher power.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Spirituality is an individual matter. I can tell you what it means to me, but it might be different for you.

~ Jake T. ~

Many of us get confused when we begin to talk about religion and spirituality. We hear newcomers ask if the two are the same. If they aren’t, how are they different?

The simplest explanation we’ve heard is this one: you can be spiritual but not necessarily religious. Or you can be religious and spiritual. But being religious doesn’t necessarily mean you are also a spiritual person.

We have found our spirituality clearly reflected in our daily lives: how we treat others, how we treat ourselves. Are we honest? Caring? Sharing? Do we listen? Do we have time for other people?

For many of us, spirituality does not come easy. Our feelings have been numbed by alcohol, food, and other substances. We lost touch with our faith and became isolated from the world. We were left with a tremendous inner void. Now, we’re learning that spirituality can help us fill it. Our spiritual growth is one sure signpost on the road to recovery.

Today through prayer and meditation, guide me to find what spirituality means to me. Help me become a spiritual person..

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

~ Step Nine ~

A prayer is a humble and heartfelt communication with a power greater than yourself. A prayer can admit a weakness, communicate a need, or convey praise and gratitude. Prayers can unburden your heart, give you strength and courage, and deepen your faith and trust in a Higher Power. Use the following prayer as you work on your understanding and acceptance of Step Nine.

Step Nine Prayer

Higher Power, I have made a list of those I have harmed in my addiction. I have become willing to make amends lo them all. I ask for your help now so that I may have the courage to make direct amends. I ask for your wisdom and guidance. I need to face those I have let down or mistreated and those to whom I have told lies in an effort to avoid giving up my addiction. I will not let shame lead me down a path of falsehood. I will speak with sincerity, openness, and honesty.

Grant me the wisdom to exhibit actions that are reflective of a person who has compassion and understanding. Let me be your humble servant who shows patience, kindness, respect, and love to everyone. Higher Power, thank you for listening to my prayer.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.

~ Willa Cather ~

If a tree's soil becomes dry or low in valuable minerals, it can't pull up its roots and move to a better place. Instead, the tree spreads its roots deeper and wider, seeking fertile ground. It makes the surrounding soil richer by dropping dead branches and leaves to mulch the ground below. It remains firm in the wind, bends but doesn't break under the weight of ice and snow, and gives shade, shelter, and nourishment to the ground below.

Beginning tonight, if we think of ourselves as trees firmly placed, we can learn to be more accepting of our surroundings. We can learn to grow no matter how difficult it may seem. Such growth can enrich our lives and make us stronger so we don't break with the weight of problems or difficulties. We, too, can be as strong and enduring as trees.

I can learn to move with the winds of change and bend with the weight of difficulties—and still stand tall and firm.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Coming to believe

Many of us come to the Twelve Step program with little or no belief in a Higher Power. Perhaps we tried religion and it didn’t help, or perhaps we prefer science to religion. In either event, we need not turn away from the program; what we need is support until we can take Step Two.

It will help if we can see that alcohol and other drugs can no longer be our Higher Power, that we cannot recover on our own, and that a Higher Power may be anything that helps us stay clean and sober.

Can I find something to believe in?

I know I need help. I want to find someone or something in which I can put my faith.

Today I will look for a Higher Power by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

God grant me the serenity
To accept he things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

~ THE SERENITY PRAYER ~

Newcomer

What if the person to whom I'm trying to make amends is still too angry to accept my apology or doesn't want anything to do with me?

Sponsor

This is an important question. When we speak our amends aloud or write them in a letter as long as we have acknowledged the harm we've done and are committed to doing things differently, then our amends are genuine and we've done our part.

One of the things over which we have no control is the way another person reacts to our amends. He or she may be understanding, even loving and generous, or may not be as ready to forgive us as we are to acknowledge harm we've done. Hearing from us may revive old anger or pain. Some may think we're trying to get off easy. Our recovery itself may cause resentment.

In time, friends' or relatives' attitudes may change—or they may not. We can't force other human beings to forgive us or to want us in their lives, and we can't make things happen on our timetable.

Today, I do my part by taking appropriate actions; I turn over the results of those actions to my Higher Power.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The alcoholic is usually conscious of his shortcomings but he resents any well-meant attempt to discuss the matter with him. He knows that has no defense. Logic is against him; lying frequently backfires on him and is therefore unreliable. He has but one avenue of escape and that is the bottle, the very thing the well intentioned friend is trying to avoid.

Our only approach that makes sense to him is the visible evidence that we are doing it, and acquainting him with the fact that it can be done.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Change Me—Ruth C.'s Prayer

Change me, God,
Please change me.
Though I cringe
Kick
Resist and resent.
Pay no attention to me whatsoever.
When I run to hide
Drag me out of my safe little shelter
Change me totally.
Whatever it takes.
However long You must work at the job.
Change me—and save me
From spiritual self-destruction.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

DIVINE LOVE NEVER FAILS

Read 1 Corinthians 13.

Divine Love never fails. Divine Love solves every problem. Statements like these appear again and again in metaphysical books, and, of course, they are perfectly true; certain it is that many people firmly believe them, and yet have obviously been unable to prove them in demonstration. Why is this?

The explanation is that, consciously or unconsciously, people think of Love as some sort of Power outside of themselves; and they expect that presently, if they beg hard enough, this Power will come down and rescue them. There is, in fact, no such outside power, and therefore you cannot receive help in that way. The only place where Love can exist, as far as you are concerned, is in your own heart. Any love that is not in your heart does not exist for you.

The thing for you to do, then, is to fill your own heart with Love, by thinking it, feeling it, and expressing it; and when this sense of Love is vivid enough it will heal you and solve your problems, and it will enable you to heal others too. That is the Law of Being and none of us can change it.

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love . . . (Jeremiah 31:3).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

The Matchmaker

Resign your destiny to higher powers.

~ William James ~

Susan's friend Tanya insisted that she would be a good match for Gerald, a wealthy and successful New York executive after she initially resisted, Susan took Gerald's phone number and contacted him when she was in New York several months later. Although he was surprised by Susan's call, Gerald made a date to meet her after work that day. While waiting for him, Susan called Tanya and left a message on her answering machine, letting her know she was about to meet the man Tanya had referred her to. Susan and Gerald met, sparks of romance flew, and the couple spent a delightful evening together. When Susan returned to her hotel room, she found 11 messages from Tanya, who frantically pleaded, "Call me immediately!"

Susan called her back to hear Tanya confess, "My suggestion to call Gerald was a joke; he was just a famous guy I heard of; I don't know him at all." Upon further investigation, Susan learned that Tanya was a pathological liar. This, however, did not preclude Susan and Gerald's marriage a year later.

The Cosmic Coincidence Control Center gets people together in any number of ways. Sometimes important meetings occur consciously, and often they occur through means that seem haphazard, chaotic, or downright ridiculous. Nevertheless, there is a wise and meaningful plan behind the appearances.

Even when we do something foolish or unkind, we may be participating in a plan that ultimately serves everyone involved. In retrospect, even those who tried to hurt us ultimately contributed to our healing if we are better off after an adventure, we can thank everyone involved, no matter what part they played in the drama.

Trust that good things can come out of an apparent mistake. The big picture reveals that love is always present.

Help me to trust that I am serving You always. I pray to have faith in the divine plan.

My life is guided by intelligent action.

[bluidkiti]

September 2

Step by Step

Today, simplify the program as it relates to my recovery to three basic concepts: choice, consequences, and responsibility. If I take the infamous first drink or use, after all the excuses or justifications I can think of and all the blame I can put on other people or circumstances, drinking or using is my choice. And with that choice comes consequences, and with the consequences comes personal responsibility. Ultimately, I am the only one who will be responsible to the consequences of my choice, and the consequences of my drinking became simply too high for me to want to face the responsibility of my choice to drink or use again. And we must honestly remember the consequences of our choice to use or drink - separation from or loss of family and-or friends, loss of a job or the threat of it, standing before a judge after spending the night in the county jail's drunk tank after being nailed for another DUI or for physically hurting someone else like a passing motorist or whoever we picked a fight with. Today, I can pray that the high cost of the consequences of choosing to drink and now not wanting to be responsible to those consequences will keep me clean and sober another 24 Hours. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

UNDERSTANDING

I shall light a candle of understanding in thine heart which shall not be put out.

~ Apocrypha ~

When we found an understanding of the disease that made us captives to addiction, we came to a realization of both our problem and the solution. But we needed to fully understand. There could be no guess work. If some experienced relapses, we could acknowledge the fact that their understanding was not complete. As spiritual progress continues, we become more and more certain that there is no room in our Program for half-measures and old ideas.

Understanding helps us cope with both the problems we face and our success in dealing with them. We will neither have doubts about the fact that our Program works if we work it, nor will we be stubbornly insistent that we have all the answers.

In my Second Step, when I came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity, I began to understand my problems and what I must do to find solutions.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

It is with our passions as with fire and water: they make good servants but bad masters.

~ Aesop ~

Our passions—whether they be sex, anger, love, or an intense interest in a hobby—are energizing and enriching dimensions of our lives. On the other hand, who hasn’t made mistakes with his passions? Who hasn’t had regrets about his actions when a drive became a master rather than a servant? Some of us are recovering from problems with anger or sex. Many of us are subject, in our recovery, to over involvement with some new passion, such as work or a hobby, that once again takes us away from our relationships and our peace of mind.

A man grows up by making mistakes and learning from them. We learn to steer a car by turning the wheel, overcorrecting, and recorrecting. It is when we refuse to acknowledge that our passion has become our master that we cannot make the needed adjustments to keep our passions in balance. Keeping an honest, unflinching personal inventory is what a strong man does.

Today I am grateful for the passions that serve my well-being.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Whether one has a natural talent or not, any learning period requires the willingness to suffer uncertainty and embarrassment.

~ Gail Sheehy ~

We are all multitalented, but if we grew up in dysfunctional families, we may have failed to understand this. Households encumbered by tension, conflict over values or expectations, and confusion about roles of family members kept nurturing to a minimum. We grew up shortchanged. Fortunately, it is never too late to develop the talents that lie within us.

This recovery program will nurture our talents; the friends we make here will help us understand our worth. As we attempt the “new,” we’ll be helped along by the support of our Higher Power who promises to love, guide, and care for us.

I have the talent to do whatever I need to today if I let God and my friends help me.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am learning not to reject myself for mistakes

I had a slip in my recovery from addiction. I felt sorry and ashamed. I felt like a failure—unworthy of help, unworthy of recovery.

Fortunately, I remembered to get a hold of my sponsor. I told her what I'd done and how I felt about myself. She listened to me calmly, carefully. When she spoke, she offered support without judging. Soon I felt lighter, no longer so alone: I felt accepted. It only took one other person to let me know that, even though I'd had a slip, I was still OK. I was not rejected—even though I'd rejected myself. Perhaps now I can begin to forgive myself.

I will talk about my mistakes, and forgiving myself, with my group.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

The day I made my self-care a priority was the day I also opened myself up to more truly loving others.

~ Naomi Roscoe ~

Overcommitment is a juggling act in which we try to keep several balls in the air at once. We juggle our job, family, and self-care responsibilities at a furious speed until we tire or feel overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, the first ball we usually drop is self-care, promising ourselves we will pick it up again “when we have time.”

But we can easily change the pace and speed of our act instead of neglecting our personal needs. Nothing feels better than being well rested, and physically and emotionally fit. When we remember how it feels to be in great condition, we wonder why we ever stopped taking good care of ourselves.

We can begin today to get our priorities straight again and put our own needs at the top of our daily list. If we love ourselves enough to make self- care a top priority, everything else will fall into place.

Today let me remember that I can give to others in direct proportion to my ability to nurture my own needs.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

No one can look back cm his schooldays and say with truth that they were altogether unhappy.

~ George Orwell ~

When you were a child, you may have been filled with anticipation at the start of a new school year. Perhaps you shopped for new clothes and school supplies. Perhaps, in advancing to a new grade, you had greater opportunities for sports or clubs.

As an adult, you can view this time of year as a period in your recovery in which you return to a fresh start in the “school of sobriety.” You can think of your meetings as classroom sessions and listen with greater attention to the discussion. You can resolve to gain deeper understanding about your addiction. You can review the Twelve Steps to determine what you have left undone and make up your mind to no longer put off Step work you have avoided. You can reread the Big Book and strive to gain greater knowledge.

When you think of September as an opportunity for opening yourself up to new discoveries, you can become more deeply involved in all aspects of your recovery: in your mind, your body, and your spirit. What you choose to do can help you to continue on your new path in life— one in which you are clean and sober.

I dedicate this month to renewing and strengthening my commitment to recovery.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

And this is my way o' looking at it: there's the sperrit o' God in all things and all times—weekday as well as Sunday—and i' the great works and inventions, and i' the figuring and the mechanics. And God helps us with our headpieces and our hands as well as with our souls. . . .

~ George Eliot ~

The concept of a Higher Power may have been difficult for us to understand as children. But many of us still question the existence of anything beyond us that will help us get well.

A Higher Power's existence can be evidenced in many nonreligious ways. The creative gifts given to an artist, people who smile at us and call us friends—these are evidence of a Higher Power.

The Higher Power of the program is an overriding feeling of peace and serenity. We can rake in that feeling when we detach, when we say the Serenity prayer, when we ask for help, even when we breathe deeply and relax. There is a greater Power for all of us who want to believe, whenever we're ready.

I believe I can find peace and serenity in my life. Tonight I can ask for help to find it.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Practicing spiritual principles

Just exactly what can we do to put our spiritual principles into practice? Here are some ideas.

We can say love when others say hate. We can say people when others say money. We can speak up when others are silent. We can carry on when others give up. We can offer help when others withdraw. We can follow the program while others search for a softer way.

How active is my spiritual life?

Higher Power, help me find the courage to practice my spiritual principles.

The spiritual principle I will practice today is

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Action is eloquence.

~ WILLIAM SHAKESPEATTE ~

Newcomer

I think I'm willing to make amends, but what if the person I'm making amends to doesn't let me? I have family and friends who are uncomfortable if I talk about feelings or about anything having to do with the past.

Sponsor

Some people in our lives may not be quick to believe that we've gone through significant changes. If they’re not ready to rely on us, to trust that things will be different, it may be less painful for them not to hear us speak of how we’ve harmed them in the past. Accepting that we caused harm in the past as a result of our addictions may trigger feelings of guilt about their role in their relationship with us, and it may require that they look at the role of addiction in their own lives. It may be painful for people to remember how they've been hurt by you or me. Or, as you're suggesting, they may simply be people who are uncomfortable talking about or listening to feelings.

Making amends isn't just saying we’re sorry. What “making amends" really means is changing. We can amend relationships with other people by taking sober actions, by not repeating the kind of behavior that caused harm in the past. In time, they may be able to see that we are dependable and consistent, and that our role in relationships has changed for the better.

Our sense of completion with Step Nine doesn't depend on the way others respond. The change is within us.

Today, my self-esteem comes from doing things differently.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The secret of cutting any tree down, regardless of size, is to hew it one chip at a time.

Men are not put in a position to do great things until they have established the reputation for doing many small things well.

If you have the great ambition to bring happiness to a whole world, a good starting point is within your own undershirt.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Blaming the Past

O Lord, help me stop blaming the factors that I think contributed to my addiction: parents, relatives, friends, the church, and most important, myself. Help me realize that understanding may be helpful, but blaming is always counterproductive. The Program teaches that the reasons are not that important. My progress and growth in recovery are based on the spiritual. God, help mc focus on how Your Spirit, in me and through me, guides me away from blaming the past.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION

The old adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is just as true in the spiritual life as it is in the material world. A great many people wait to make their contact with God until a serious difficulty is upon them and then they hasten to find a spiritual solution. Of course, it is better to seek God under such circumstances than never to find Him at all. But why wait for trouble? Many a difficulty could be prevented or lightened if we were to make our contact with God now.

The Bible says now is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time.

If you will put your life in God's hands now through daily prayer and meditation and complete willingness to do His will, you will find that your problems will grow less as time goes on, and you will have acquired that serenity and poise that only God can give. Then, come what may, nothing shall disturb you.

And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee (Psalm 39:7).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

True Offering

What the Holy Spirit does with gifts you give each other, to whom He offers them and where and when is up to Him.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

In Bali I attended a service at a stately ancient temple on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. During the service, a large basket of fresh fruit was placed on the altar as an offering to the gods. After the ceremony, a group of monkeys emerged from the adjacent forest, made a beeline for the altar, ravaged the fruit, and cast banana peels on the floor. As I observed this destruction, I felt somehow violated. I found an old temple-keeper and pointed out to him, "The monkeys are eating the offering to the gods!"

He smiled and calmly answered, "Yes, they do that every day," and went on with his sweeping. Then I understood the whole point of an offering: lf the people made an offering to the gods, and the gods decided to give it to the monkeys, who was I to try and boss the gods? The chances were slim that the bodiless gods would just strike the altar with lightning and consume the fruit by vaporizing it into thin air. No, physical meals end up in physical bodies; even if the monkeys did not get to the fruit first, it would be eaten by bugs or some other critters. Why not feed God's creatures?

True offering requires that we release the gift after we offer it; otherwise we're tainting the gift with our need to control its destiny. Then it is not a gift at all; it is a guilt bargain.

Communication is an offering. When you tell someone your truth, you must release your expectation of what the other person should do with it. They may thank you profusely, love you forever, argue with you, or ignore you. It doesn't matter. Of course we hope the gift will be received with appreciation and thanks. But if it isn't, we must not dictate. We've done our part, and we must trust the universe to do the rest.

I offer my truth without attachment to results. I offer all my gifts to You, trusting You to use them in the highest way possible.

I give and let go. I trust God to use my gifts wisely.

[bluidkiti]

September 3

Step by Step

"Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." - Step Ten

" ...Step Ten ...suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. ...Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6 ("Into Action"), p 84.

Today, let me not neglect Step 10 as the extension of the Fourth Step, that the reason for the 10th is to maintain for the rest of my life the clean-up from the Fourth. It does little good if the character defects and conduct I acknowledged and reconciled in my Fourth crop up again but are not quickly acknowledged and corrected. To do so could diminish the quality of my sobriety at best and, at worst, build up to explode in a slip or relapse. Going through the brute honesty of a Fourth does not guarantee that the wrongs I found will not creep up again and, today, if they do, give me the wisdom of honesty and humility to admit them and come to terms. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

ADMISSION

There are defeats more triumphant than victories.

~ Montaigne ~

When we were using, did we ever admit anything without leaving ourselves a way out? Did we once unconditionally surrender and admit we were absolutely licked? How many times did we reach the end of the road and pretend it really wasn't? Why did it seem that enough was never enough for us? If there was any more misery or agony to be squeezed out of our lives, we seemed compelled to do so. What was it that held us back from a firm and final admission of our powerlessness over our addiction?

It was when we were flat on our backs with the heel of life pressed down on our throats that we heard ourselves moan to God, "this is, indeed, the bottom." It was then and only then that we made our First Step admission, a no-holds-barred surrender that the time had finally come to give it all up.

Admitting I was powerless seemed like the worst possible defeat. But I have come to realize it was the beginning of the greatest victory.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Our faith should quell our fears, never our courage.

~ William Sloane Coffin ~

Courage is a core value for a man, but without fear, there is no need for courage. Our path to this point in our lives was governed by fear more than most of us ever realized or wanted to admit. We were driven into the arms of addiction and codependency by fear and anxiety. Our substance of choice gave us a feeling of control, and we developed a knee-jerk habit of grasping for it. Even before our fears for our well-being could rise to consciousness, we were scanning the world for ways to gain that sense of control. For some of us that meant anxiously controlling the people around us; for others it meant running off to the casino or escaping into pornography.

The centerpiece of our recovery is a completely different way to soothe our uneasiness. It is a belief that if we turn to a Higher Power, we can quell our fears and find serenity without the destructiveness of our old habits. We learned the old ways over time and this new way takes time to learn as well. We can start immediately to turn our life over to a Higher Power and as we do, we will find greater comfort in return.

Today I will admit my fears and anxieties, finding courage by turning to faith in a Higher Power.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Don’t waste your time hating a failure.

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes ~

We are members of the human community. We make mistakes as we trek through this forest. We must remember that our mistakes offer us opportunities for new understanding. If we lived without error, our lives would be static, unchanging. Our emotions remind us that we are very much alive.

Self-hatred has been common among us. Anger, resentment, remorse, and terror are likewise familiar. Emotions will always play key roles in our lives. They can inspire us to action; they can also impede us. One of the most important lessons of recovery is knowing when to act and when to be still, when to forgive ourselves and when to feel shame, when to let go and when to take charge.

Deciding to move ahead instead of being shamed by a failure is evidence that we are recovering.

I will accept my failures today as part of my humanity and part of my education. I am here to learn.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I feel better this month

Last month I didn't want to accept addiction on top of my emotional illness. I wanted to quit taking medication and I thought about skip- ping my Step meetings. I even thought about having a drink—just one. It was a period of anger, conflict, and denial.

But I worked through it with the support of my therapist, and now I'm working hard again on my dual recovery. Things are looking up. I got my meds adjusted so I am not as tired all the time and I asked a friend in my home group to be my sponsor and she said yes. I'm feeling better about myself these days. I admit that I have two problems and I am glad that I am dealing with them, little by little.

Today I will start keeping a list of any changes I make as I recover.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Let the events about to come, come!

~ Kabir ~

If we stay open to the will of our Higher Power, everything happens as it should. Sometimes we don’t understand or can’t get the “big picture.” Since we can’t see into the future, we can become angry and resentful with the way events are unfolding. We’re sure we know a better way, or just don’t think our Higher Power really knows what He’s doing. This grandiosity can lead to the loss of both our serenity and acceptance of our powerlessness. We want to change the things we can’t, which leads to frustration and general ill will.

Do we really trust our Higher Power? Can we be patient and learn the meaning of events in our Higher Power’s time, not ours? If so, we can live for today. We will be given only what we can handle in each day. We needn’t project and worry about tomorrow or yesterday. We are beginning to trust our Higher Power in a new way by letting go of the need to have everything explained to us before it is permitted to happen. We know our Higher Power loves us and will guide us through the events that are to come.

Today help me welcome the day and the opportunities to grow and learn what my Higher Power has in store for me.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Good for the body is the work of the body, and good for the soul is the work of the soul, and good for either is the work of the other.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Police officers and those in the military wear equipment that offers critical protection from bullets and bombs. Deep- sea divers must wear gear that will insulate them from cold temperatures and regulate their internal pressure so they can ward off the crushing pressure of the depth.

Over the years, you may have fashioned your own protective gear. You may have created an outer shell designed to protect you from feeling your emotions, from opening yourself up to new opportunities, and from developing a spiritual connection. You may have kept yourself locked up within this shell, engaging in your habit while you kept the outside world from entering your life.

Your journey in recovery can be likened to entering a new environment. It is a safe place in which you do not need protective armor and where you can change how you approach life. By developing an attitude of acceptance, openness, and a willingness to take risks, you can free your body from the imprisonment of addiction. You can experience life in all of its richness and fullness and, in so doing, flourish.

I will shed my protective armor so I can grow with a positive, open, and welcoming attitude.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Avoid friends and followers who are detrimental to thy peace of mind and spiritual growth.

~ Tibetan Rosary of Precious Gems ~

Who are the friends we love tonight? Are they healthy in mind, body, and spirit? Do we learn from them and grow with them? Are they an important part of our lives?

Through our growth in the program, we may look at our friends of the past and recognize they were not the best influences on us. In fact, they may have been as needy, sick, confused, obsessive, and miserable as we were. Perhaps that's why they were our friends: they were just like us. But now we may have different friends and they may be like us: healthier, happier, more mature, and more capable.

The people we choose as our friends validate us and our growth. If we choose to be around unhealthy people, then we, too, are unhealthy. Yet if we choose to be around people concerned about their growth, who ask for help when necessary, who can receive yet also give, then we are like those people. They are the mirrors through which we see ourselves.

When I look in the mirror, what do I see? How can I improve my image and my personal growth?

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Giving tough love

We need to support those who still suffer, but it doesn’t help to pity them. That’s unfair.

To get well, they need to know exactly what they’re up against and what they need to do. They need the whole story about ad-diction and the hope of recovery.

Can I be candid and caring at the same time?

Higher Power, help me to see how I can best help those who still suffer.

Today I will practice being honest and direct by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Friends, though absent, are still present.

~ CICERO ~

Newcomer

Some of the people on my list of amends have moved, and I have no idea how to locate them.

Sponsor

Our new willingness to take responsibility for our choices has begun a process of healing within us. If we've made sincere efforts to locate people on our amends list, but haven't succeeded perfectly, then it's time to let go. Step Nine begins "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible" (emphasis added). There are circumstances over which we have no control.

My own experience, like that of many people in Twelve Step fellowships, is that once we're in recovery, threads from the past begin to weave themselves back into our lives. Surprisingly often, unexpected opportunities to make amends present themselves.

If such opportunities haven't yet arisen, we can be calm and confident that we have done our part simply by recognizing that amends are called for and by having the willingness to make them. Knowing this, we can have a measure of serenity when we think of people who aren't part of our present lives.

Today, I have the willingness for healing in all of my relationships.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Faith is probably the first natural virtue that the human being acquires. A baby’s reaction to its mother is different from earliest infancy. It is an instinctive faith that this one person, above all others, can and will supply all its needs. This faith in mother decreases as the child develops and becomes more self-reliant. He loses faith in the parent as he develops faith in himself. Finally he arrives at a point where he depends upon himself entirely. When Alcoholism develops and he begins to lose faith in himself, he feels completely helpless.

He must then start rebuilding faith, first in the Group or his Sponsor, then in the Program itself, and finally in God. When this is accomplished then faith returns in himself.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Stop Fixing Others

Dear Higher Power, when I am overly dependent on others, I try to fix them. I have a real talent in pinpointing what is wrong with other people. But the very thing that enables me to see their defects most often blinds me to the same, sometimes even worse, shortcomings in myself. Help me stop fretting about others and instead focus on correcting my own character defects.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT

As children of the Most High we have a divine heritage and therefore a right to expect that God will take care of us in every way. The Bible is full of promises as to what God will do for His children, but perhaps Jesus put it the most plainly when he said,

What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matthew 7:9-11).

So you have a divine right to expect all these good things from God. But what does God expect of us? Well, God has a right to expect that we will put Him first in our hearts. Then God expects us to have a lively faith. Faith in itself is a reliance upon the goodness of God.

And lastly, God expects us to go to Him in prayer—as a son who knows that even before he has asked, the loving Father has answered.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Simple Gifts

My advice is: Go outside…enjoy nature and the sunshine...and try to recapture the happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that is still left in you and around you and be happy.

~ Anne Frank ~

In the hotel lounge, a talented young pianist introduced a percussionist would join him on the next selection with some impromptu drumming. The guest took out two drum brushes and began beating them on a thick Portland telephone book. Following some fine jazz improvisations, the drummer took an extraordinary solo. Afterward, the duo received a rousing wave of cheers from the small but enthusiastic audience. The drummer reported, "Over the course of my career, I must have bought at least $3O,OOO worth of sophisticated electronic drum equipment, but I must say that nothing I have ever played electronically compares with brushes and a phone book." I had to agree. The fellow had taken an inert object and made it sing.

Increasing the complexity of life does not always deepen its quality. To the contrary, when we make our world complicated, we lose the truth that was obvious when we began.

In a l950s survey, about 60 percent of the population described themselves as happy. When a similar poll was conducted in the mid-199Os, about 60 percent said they were relatively happy. During the 40 years between the two studies, technology advanced immeasurably. But people are not necessarily happier. That is because happiness comes from inside, not out.

I pray to find beauty in the world as You created it. Help me to be satisfied with simple gifts.

My life is enough because I am enough.

[bluidkiti]

September 4

Step by Step

Today, remember gratitude and its importance in recovery. I can be grateful that the AA lifeline was tossed to me when I needed it, grateful for the peers in the program who stood with me and picked me up when I stumbled and fell, grateful that the 12 Steps have kept me clean and sober the last 24 Hours and, maybe most importantly, grateful that whatever problems I have even in sobriety are nowhere near as bad as they were in my drinking days. In feeling with sincerity a gratitude that my life in sobriety is far better than it was in my drinking, I can hope to develop the humility that is required to make progress in my sobriety - humility being my total surrender to my higher power and seeking His will for my life, not mine. Today, I measure my gratitude with the goal to bolster it for the sake of progress. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

UNITY

All your strength is in your union. All your danger is in discord.

~ Longfellow ~

History is full of examples of how important unity in purpose and execution is in any act. Joining forces can create the triumph of good and the defeat of evil. "United we stand, divided we fall" has been a battle cry voiced by men and women from all nations and levels of society when they unite for a common cause.

Those in the Program know from the very beginning of their recovery that building control over their addiction can never happen without the aid of others who have the same problems.

Early in our program of growth, we were told about our First Tradition, that common welfare always comes first. Unless we recognize the fact that we need the help of other members, and are willing to go to any lengths to achieve success, we are headed for failure.

"One for all and all for one" applies to my recovery. I can't do it alone.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.

~ Doug Larson ~

We win admiration for work, achievement, and competitiveness. We are told that a good man is a good provider. These are external rewards, but the rewards of relaxing, of rest and quiet solitude, of recreation are not external. We feel those rewards internally. They are the rewards of personal growth. Work addiction is a tempting mistake for us recovering men. We had big problems in the past and it feels wonderful to know that we can be competent in our work. We lived in crisis and our lives were out of control; that memory can haunt us for a lifetime, so work may now provide a welcome structure. But too much work can be another distraction from the important things.

Sometimes we may need to schedule some free time with our families and with our friends, time simply for loafing. Taking a half hour each day for quiet thought and reflection, with no external sign of accomplishment, helps us to become better men.

Today I will lighten my focus on work and make time for play.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

There is a purpose for our existence which, at times, transcends human understanding.

~ Aphrodite Matsakis ~

In the midst of our pain-filled past, few of us believed there was purpose to our lives. Most moments were frantically lived and accompanied by burning dread. How long has it been since we felt that way? What a changed perspective we have cultivated now that we are clean and sober!

We may not feel entirely safe every minute of every day. Old habits are not easily replaced. But we are coming to believe that it is no accident that we are in this program. The more we hear that our lives have purpose, the more comfortable we are with this understanding. As we progress through the Steps, it becomes easier to see the contribution past experiences made to current circumstances. Every piece has played its part, and we continue to evolve.

I am fulfilling a greater purpose given to me by God. I may not understand my role today, but it will become clear in time.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I want to live

I am slowly changing my life. I no longer use street drugs. I have given up my using friends. I have let go of my chemical defense against my emotional illness. I admit my serious problem, a dual disorder.

These days I wake up feeling clearheaded. I am learning about my illnesses and coming to accept them. My new recovering friends care about me more than my old using ones. More and more I am facing the world and taking care of myself the best I can. I have developed some strength and courage. I truly want to live.

Today I will feel my strength and take a healthy risk.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

We have to learn
not only why we are in the world,
but also what the timing of things is.
Thy time, not my time.

~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross ~

When we look at the patterns in our lives, it seems that doors open and events happen at exactly the right time. Even when we don’t think so, even when it seems that the worst thing happens at the worst possible moment, God’s plan is operating perfectly. Letting the current of life carry us along works better than swimming upstream. When the time for change is near, the forces of nature seem to be cooperative and we find ourselves at the right place.

It is frustrating to feel ready for change but stuck in a seemingly unchanging situation. God often seems to be watching a different clock that doesn’t chime and doesn’t bring us what we think we want, when we want it. Trust, patience, and a wider vision can be our best friends as we wait for the right door to open. Trusting that God knows what’s best for us will help us focus on the daily miracles we find along the road to change and renewal.

Today let me realize that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be at this moment.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

He was paralyzed with the impossibility of either belief or disbelief.

~ L. M. Boston ~

A spiritual leader had embarked on a mission to spread the word of God. One of his followers served as a scout, ensuring the roads ahead were clear. One day the scout returned with bad news: torrential downpours had caused a small stream to swell beyond its banks and they could not advance. The leader instructed them to make camp. The next morning, the leader asked the scout to check on the stream.

“But we could not cross it yesterday,” the scout answered. “Please check,” said the leader. So the scout went ahead and checked. He returned with the same news.

Each morning for a week, the leader asked the doubting scout to check on the stream. Once more the scout was sent to check, and this time he returned with good news: they could cross the stream. “There is a lesson to be learned in this,” the leader said. “One doubt should not breed eternal doubt. God ensures that what was yesterday is not the same as today. And so it is with faith. To believe, you must replace doubt with faith. Each day you must awaken with faith because one day your faith will be rewarded.”

I will be steadfast in my faith so I can overcome my doubts and fears.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Loneliness is a bitter thing . . . more bitter when you think you have been freed from it and find it returning again.

~ Anne Cameron ~

It is a rare person indeed who never feels lonely. Even when we are surrounded by co-workers, friends, or family, we can still feel lonely. Now that we have the program and our Higher Power, why shouldn't we have feelings of loneliness? "What's wrong with me?" we may cry, thinking we are doing something to cause these feelings.

But feelings of loneliness can reveal our need to get out more, to be with people. We may be so withdrawn into ourselves that we cannot see or hear others around us. Yet they are there. They have been there all day today, and they will continue to be there for us.

If we listen to ourselves, we will be able to hear our needs crying out for attention. If we pay attention to our lonely feelings, we can open ourselves up to the "cures"—a phone call, a walk with a friend, a meeting, or a few hugs!

Help me listen to my loneliness. I can then open myself up to others.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Coping with fear

After getting clean and sober, we may suddenly become very fearful. Situations that never bothered us in our using days loom up at us. Some of us feel terror when riding with a careless driver. Some of us feel pan-icky at the thought of a burglar. Some of us fear losing our jobs for no good reason.

As we regain our sanity, we may feel our lives become extraordinarily valuable. This is good, but it will help if we can practice trusting in our Higher Power and the fellowship.

In time, our fears will diminish.

Am I learning to handle fear?

Higher Power, help me to believe that my process is normal and that I am not alone.

I will deal with my fear today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Prayer needs no speech.

~ MOHANDAS GANDHI ~

Newcomer

How can I make amends to someone who has died?

Sponsor

Relationships are healed in the heart. Loving communication need not be limited by time or space. It's useful to remember that our purpose in taking Step Nine is to amend ourselves and our behavior toward others, to end the cycle of guilt and isolation that will lead us back to active addiction.

There are many ways of making amends to someone who has passed away. Those that I've personally experienced as beneficial and deeply healing include the following: (1) We can write a letter of amends and share it with a sponsor, spiritual adviser, or trusted friend in recovery. (2) We can speak to the person in our hearts, praying both before and after for a complete, healing communication. (3) We can use our imagination to create a simple ritual for an amends "visit." For example, to make amends to my mother, I prepared to spend an evening with her, cooked and ate food she used to enjoy, lit candles, and listened to a tape I was fortunate enough to have of her voice. Then I spoke aloud to her as if she were present, and made amends. I listened, in meditation, for a loving response. The power of this experience was far greater than I'd expected.

When we make amends, whether or not the person to whom we're making them is physically present, we must be willing to forgive ourselves for what we wish we'd done differently.

Today, I let go of all obstacles to making amends.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Too many of us ex-drunks expect too much when we get dried out. We, with characteristic impatience, see no reason why we can't, overnight, regain all our lost ground and get the fifteen thousand dollar job that other sober men get.

Drying-out only gives us the opportunity to realize our ambitions. Ability always has been, and always will be, a factor to be reckoned with. Getting sober won’t make a musician out of a boilermaker.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

For a Sane and Sound Sex Life

Dear God, I pray for a sane and sound ideal for my sex life. I will subject each relation to this test—Is it selfish or not? I ask You to mold my ideals and help me live up to them. I will remember always that my sex powers are God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly, nor to be despised and loathed. I must be willing to grow toward this ideal.

I will treat sex as any other problem, and ask You what I should do in each specific situation.

The right answer will come, if I want it. I earnestly pray for the right ideal, for guidance in each questionable situation, for sanity, and for strength to do the right thing.

~ Adapted from material in Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition, pages 69-70 ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPETH

Most hotel rooms are furnished with a notice that says "do not disturb." The guest has only to hang this outside the door and he can sleep in peace as long as he wishes. Some people appear to have hung such a notice on their brains; they deeply resent anything like a new idea, or even a new and better way of considering familiar things. They are slumbering away their lives in a kind of semi-coma; repeating mechanically the time-worn phrases and threadbare ideas of the past. Not dead, but sleepeth, might very well be said of them, and, indeed, their consciousness is a mental cemetery.

If you have been sleeping like this, pull yourself together, rub the mental sleep from your eyes. Now is the day of salvation. Start right in today to handle at least one important part of your life in a new way. Break at least one rusty fetter today, and once this process begins you will be astonished to find how far you will go, and what wonderful things you will attain to.

Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Ephesians 5:14).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

How Big Is Your Wheelbarrow?

Your reasoning is excellent; it’s just that your premise is all wrong.

~ Ashleigh Brilliant ~

When a laborer in a hardware factory asked the company president for a promotion, the CEO gruffly told him that he didn't have enough business savvy to be a manager. The laborer answered, "I'll bet you I can make it appear as if I'm bringing the company business, but I'll be robbing the organization blind without you knowing how. If I can pull this off, will you give me a promotion?" The president, a sportsman at heart, could not resist such a challenge.

The next day at 5:00 P.M., the laborer showed up at the cash register of the factory store with a wheelbarrow full of items for purchase, One by one, the checkout clerk rang up each article, which the laborer paid for and took home. The next day he did the same, and the next, and the next. The president, watchful for the laborer's deception, gave strict orders to be sure that every item in the wheelbarrow was paid for, and that the laborer was searched for concealed articles. After a few weeks, the company showed a loss in profits, and by the end of the quarter, it was in the red. Finally the president called the laborer into his office and conceded the bet. "Now you must tell me how you've gotten away with your plot under such scrutiny. What have you been stealing?"

A sneaky grin grew on the laborer's face as he answered, "Wheelbarrows."

You can work profusely to make cosmetic changes in your life, but unless you address the foundation of your belief system, no real change will occur. Our consciousness is the wheelbarrow that carries all of our activities, and if our container is faulty, everything in it is liable to leak. Do you believe in a universe of abundance, love, and support, or do you think in terms of lack, loss, and separation? It will do you no good to make a change in the outer world unless you first change your consciousness. Change your mind about the nature of life, and accept the presence of God in it, and everything else will change automatically.

Be in my thoughts today. With You at my center, all must go well.

I build my world on the reality of Spirit.

[bluidkiti]

September 5

Step by Step

"Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." - The Fifth Tradition
Today, as a humble member of one of thousands of AA groups, I look to the this tradition to determine if my contribution to my group is sufficient or if I can find more that I can and should do. And what I do must be within the command of the Fifth Tradition - to reach out to the alcoholic who still suffers. This tradition does not limit itself to the drinking alcoholic, however, and includes those who still struggle in recovery. As part of my group, let me remember that not only is my group there for me, but I am there for the group, and my example to those who continue to hurt must be a reflection of the program itself. Today, I try to understand that my sobriety comes with the responsibility to represent the program that led me to sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

ACT MEDIUM

Sign at a 12 Step Meeting: Nobody act big; nobody act small; everybody act medium.

~ Anonymous ~

When we live medium, do we necessarily deny our greatness and our potential? The answer is no. When we live according to the slogan, "Nobody act big, nobody act small, everybody act medium,” we acknowledge that everybody has greatness, and our greatness is not superior to anyone else's. This is hard for us because we are used to feeling special, sometimes low, sometimes high, but always special. Self-centeredness has caused us to want to be higher or lower than others. The Fellowship and our Traditions teach us to rise side by side.

At our meetings we are careful to distinguish between our opinions and our experiences. It isn't as important to us that anyone listen to what we have to say as it is important that we freely share with the hope that it might be helpful to someone.

My ego fits itself to my heart and soul. If my heart and soul are in line with my Higher Power, my ego is inline.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Nothing happens unless first a dream.

~ Carl Sandburg ~

Knowing ourselves is partly a matter of forming our dreams for who we want to become. These dreams are constantly evolving as long as we live. They give us purpose in our daily lives and point us in the direction we want to go. We can advance our growth by taking pencil and paper and quickly jotting down our dreams and goals. This simple list can be carried in our billfold, and we can react to it and modify it over time.

Sometimes we resist writing these things down, or even thinking about them, because we may not dare to admit our true motivations and dreams. But even if we don’t admit our dreams, they still shape our behavior. When we acknowledge what we most want, we become better men.

Today I will take the risk to form a clear idea of my fondest dreams.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Never pass up an opportunity to tell your loved ones you love them.

~ Sharon Walters ~

We all know how wonderful it feels to be told we are loved. As children, however, some of us seldom heard this. And as adults we may have been in relationships that didn’t nurture us. We, too, may have trouble telling other people how much we care. So often we imitate the very behaviors we have grown accustomed to, even if they are self- defeating.

We are learning through this program that we can develop new behaviors. We are also learning to be patient with ourselves when our learning curve is longer than we had anticipated. Old patterns are not easily broken. Fortunately, we are surrounded by wonderful friends and caring sponsors who will help us work on the behaviors we want to change.

Through the program we are learning that God’s main lesson involves learning how to give and receive love. Initially we may have to act as if we love others. We may have to force the words. But we will grow comfortable with loving others.

I will share my love with a friend or a relative today. My need to give love may even exceed the other per-son’s need to receive it.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am learning to live with my feelings

In one way, using alcohol and drugs was exciting. I could just take a drink or pop a pill to change my mood (even if it lasted only a short time). I felt I had some control and power.

But now that I am abstinent, I use no alcohol or street drugs. With nothing to alter my mood, I am more aware of how I am feeling at any time. Sometimes there's pain, sometimes boredom. (There's certainly less control.) And more and more, there's even some joy. In short, I am slowly learning to accept and to live with my feelings. I believe that the reward of long-term recovery is worth it.

I will pray for strength to handle my feelings (and call for support as needed).

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

~ William Wordsworth ~

When life seems filled with stress, nature can help us find harmony between our bodies, minds and spirit. Walking on the beach on a Sunday morning, hearing the sound of the waves crashing against the breakwater, we can hear our own thoughts, and all of life, more clearly.

When we jog, the rhythm of our steps and the fresh air draw us inward. We form a closer relationship with our inner self. Complex problems take on simpler dimensions and our confidence grows.

At times like these, we feel a profound intimacy with our Higher Power and the best that is in us. Our new awareness of nature’s simplicity and harmony brings us a great sense of peace and well-being. Confident in our Higher Power’s love, we can face the future with serenity.

Today help me feel close to nature and my Higher Power. Help me find harmony in all areas of my life.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Perhaps loving something is the only starting place there I is for making your life your own.

~ Alice Koller ~

Because you may have been hurt by feeling and expressing love in the past, you may have learned to equate love with pain and disappointment. Because the love you were shown may have been conditional, given to you only when a parent or a partner was in a good mood, you learned that love was inconsistent.

Without knowing love as a wonderful experience that builds you up rather than tears you down, you may have learned to fear the emotion. When others showed you love, you may have felt that there was something wrong with them or there was an ulterior motive to their love. You may have believed that love was never meant to last and doubted that you were even deserving of love.

Love is simply part of the foundation on which you build who you are as a person. It is a cornerstone from which you can learn and grow. Love that is neither felt nor expressed presents you with an incomplete life. Develop a love of your self, a love of a Higher Power, and a love for the goodness of others, and you will find there is nothing to fear in love.

Today I will express and feel love.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Rest is not a matter of doing absolutely nothing. Rest is repair.

~ Daniel W Josselyn ~

When we are sick, it is evident we need rest because our bodies tell us so. But when we are healthy, it is more difficult to hear those messages. So we may work overtime, stay up later, or spend more time on chores or projects.

But if we learn to listen to our bodies, we will pick up subtle messages that signal a need for rest. Tight muscles, a backache, a slight headache, and tired eyes are some o[ those messages. When the batteries wear down in a flashlight, the light becomes dimmer until it finally goes out. Before our "bulbs' go out and we fall victim to ill health, we need to remember our inner batteries can't run without rest.

Resting doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing. Rest is slowing our pace, becoming less active, less tense. Going to a meeting can be restful. Reading literature, watching television or a movie, listening to music, or talking to friends are all forms of rest. Resting recharges our batteries so we can continue to shine bright and strong.

Tonight I will recharge my batteries so I can shine tomorrow.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Practicing abstinence

We must always remember that absolute abstinence is the keystone to our recovery. Using any mood-altering chemicals will prevent us from working the program effectively. They flip our thinking back into old patterns and eventually con us back into full-blown addiction.

There are many products we must be careful of: antihistamines, cough syrups, over- the-counter sleeping pills, caffeine tablets, and others. If we experience addiction and compulsions, we must be extremely careful about what we put into our mouths.

Am I staying absolutely clean?

Higher Power, help me to accept my addiction and the need to abstain from any mood-altering chemicals.

I will strengthen my abstinence today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

~ JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE ~

Newcomer

How is making amends going to change me?

Sponsor

For me, the experience of making amends was—and is—profoundly life-changing. I'd been carrying a burden of guilt with me everywhere. Even when I didn't realize it, a large part of my mental and physical energy was being used to carry it. It was always with me, keeping me from feeling free. When I finally started to make amends, all that weight I was carrying disappeared.

An amend doesn't stop with apologizing or making restitution. It's a commitment to change. Having gone through the process of admitting that I'd done some damage, accepting that the work of restitution was mine, and making the required amends, I became morally awake. I began to understand the consequences of my behavior.

Not that I've become perfect; I still do things that harm others. But seeing and admitting my responsibility for what I do and say has become a habit. With old amends over and done with, we don't have to be afraid of whom we'll meet. We don't have to hide from ourselves or anyone else.

Today, I'm free. I don't have to pick up my addiction. I don't have to behave in old, familiar ways.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

If you are a Person who likes his drink and yet has to forego his pleasure in order to retain some semblance of order in your life, you will naturally be miserable.

For you there is but one remedy. Get busy on the Program, talk it, work it, preach it, think it, pray it, live it—then you will find that you like it.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Quiet My Mind

Dear Lord, teach me to quiet my mind.
Stop my thoughts from racing from one thing to another.
Stop me from the obsessive thinking about the lives of others.
Help me rest and quiet my mind.
Help me let go of trying to control the lives of others.
Free my mind to be at rest.
This I pray.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

THE CAPTAIN IS ON THE BRIDGE

The world is not going to the dogs. The human race is not doomed. Civilization is not going to crash. The captain is on the bridge. Humanity is going through a difficult time, but humanity has gone through difficulties many times before in its long history and has always come through, strengthened and purified.

Do not worry yourself about the universe collapsing. It is not going to collapse, and anyway that question is none of your business. The captain is on the bridge. If the survival of humanity depended upon you or me, it would be a poor lookout for the Great Enterprise, would it not?

The captain is on the bridge. God is still in business. All that you have to do is to realize the Presence of God where trouble seems to be, to do your nearest duty to the very best of your ability; and to keep an even mind until the storm is over.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them (Psalm 119:165).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Tell Me Why

The only meaningful contribution the healer can make is to present an example of one whose direction has been changed for him, and who no longer believes in nightmares of any kind.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

My friends Cheeah and Fairoh are a lovely couple who have dedicated themselves to peaceful living, and they make a real effort to walk their talk. As a result, they exude a quietness that is inspiring; simply to be in their presence is a delight. While giving a talk on creative writing at a community college, they opened the floor to questions. "Something about you is different," one student noted sincerely. "What is it?" The young woman had been touched by the gentleness of the couple's presence, which was a welcome contrast to the sharpness of many teachers she had known.

To walk with the peace of God in your heart is to transform the world by your presence. When love is your keynote, there is nothing in particular you need do; your gift is your being. Many people seek to change the world by getting everyone to join their religion or organization, use their product, agree with their philosophy, or replicate their experience. But real transformation does not come from manipulating people or events; it proceeds naturally from inner awakening and then living the light.

Often our attempts to create social change are a distraction from the real work of changing ourselves. Ram Dass observed angry bickering on the board of an organization dedicated to bringing health care to Third World countries. "What's the use of working for world peace," Ram Dass asked, "if you cannot even get along with the person working at your side?"

Jesus suggested that we be in the world, but not of it. Let us move through our daily activities with the peace of God in our hearts, and thus establish love on the planet.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Help me give healing by my being.

I am the light of the world. I live the truth I know.

[bluidkiti]

September 6

Step by Step

Today, amends to myself among those I damaged in my drinking days. There is wisdom that I cannot be thoroughly honest and humble to others if I do not first make amends to myself, amends in the form of accepting my behavior and its consequences and, most importantly, amends in forgiving myself. In making amends, we seek forgiveness, and we cannot expect forgiveness from others if we do not first forgive ourselves. And how can we forgive ourselves? We start by acknowledging and accepting the pain and damage we inflicted and be willing to accept the consequences instead of dodging or deflecting them. In some cases, we may never be able to atone for our sins, but our highest amend may be to be clean and sober in this day, one day at a time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

INTEGRITY

Tell me to live by yes and no: yes to everything good, no to everything bad.

~ William James ~

When we were practicing our addictions, we lost track of what was right and wrong, honest or dishonest. Pride was defended. Anger was justified. Lust was accepted. Gluttony was encouraged. Envy was normal. Greed was there to be satisfied. Laziness was a way of life.

In recovery, regaining our integrity is difficult and confusing. Learning to be honest is hard when we've lost track of our souls. Working the Steps puts us in touch with our Higher Power, who is guiding us back to truth.

We finally come to recognize and rediscover the integrity in ourselves by simply knowing that what is right is what we feel good about and what is wrong is what we feel bad about.

I examine every thought and action to make sure it's right or wrong for me. If I don't feel good about it, I connect it as soon as it becomes clear to me that I've made a mistake. Learning to trust my thoughts and feelings again takes time and practice.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time. Some people bear all three—all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have.

~ Edward Everett Hale ~

Learning to manage our worries and our darker memories is part of becoming a stronger person. If we don’t exercise some choice over them, we can get swallowed up in a chain reaction: one problem ignites fear and pain about all the others. Understanding the wisdom of powerlessness becomes an excellent guide for us in focusing our mind when troubles assail us.

We accept that many things aren’t within our control to create or to stop. All we can do is hope and pray and turn the results over to our Higher Power. We don’t subject ourselves to a pity session or a major anxiety attack by letting one challenge remind us of everything that has gone wrong in the past or could go wrong tomorrow. We live in the present, we deal with what is before us at the moment, and we pray for the serenity to accept the rest.

Today I will live in the present.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

My daughter has changed my life completely. For the first time I have stepped out of myself and given absolute, unconditional love to someone.

~ Robyn Halsema ~

Deciding to step outside of ourselves, whether to love another person or to focus less on ourselves, is healthy. Being obsessed with ourselves, which we alcoholics and other addicts tend to do, exaggerates every element of our lives, making it nearly impossible for us to maintain a balanced, healthy perspective.

Our self-consciousness and self-absorption isolate us. The more our attention centers on us, the less we grow in our understanding of how life is designed to unfold. Our growth suffers when we cut ourselves off from the other women and men who are in our lives to act as our teachers.

We will learn much about who we are and what we are here to do when we join with other people and express our gratitude and love for their presence in our lives.

I can resist the temptation to isolate myself today. Expressing even a small token of love or gratitude to another woman will give me peace and a measure of health.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I need to practice letting go

Before recovery I worried about losing my job. My symptoms were getting worse and it was getting harder to go to work and be productive. Briefly I tried to keep it together through will-power. Then I tried medicating my symptoms with alcohol and drugs. But in the long run, they didn't help either. I simply developed an addiction on top of my emotional problems.

Now I'm finally accepting help with my dual disorder through a therapist and a Twelve Step program. But at times I still worry about losing my job. Fortunately, these days I can take a spiritual approach to my fears. Less and less do I have to "fix" them. Instead, for instance, I can work Step Three again and practice letting go. If I keep up my medication, stay sober, and turn my worry over to my higher power—if I do what I can do for myself today—perhaps my job will take care of itself.

I will read about Step Three in the Big Book today and be sure to go to an extra meeting this week.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

God has no office hours.
There is never a time when God is unavailable.

~ Emmet Fox ~

What a wonderful comfort to know God is always there to help us. There is no desert too distant or ocean too wide to get lost from God. God seems to like our simple prayers; sometimes just saying “please help me” will bring us a blessed feeling of peace and relief.

Remembering to remember God’s constant presence is the answer. As soon as we recall God’s love, we feel a deep down letting go of our cares. We relax and sigh, "Yes, this is the solution.” But then we seem to forget again and rush about.

Maybe we can find a way to tie a mental string around our finger to remind us that every problem we have has a spiritual solution. The more we practice pausing and letting God’s comfort flow through us, the safer life becomes. God is always there.

Today help me remember that God never goes off duty.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

It has been said that a butterfly flapping its tender wings in an Amazon rainforest can cause a tsunami in Indonesia.

~ Author unknown ~

One of the most amazing things about life is how inter-connected and united everything is. One small imbalance or a minor improvement can affect entire ecosystems and the ways in which people live. This is also true for the fellowship within the program of recovery.

Imagine what would happen if one member decided to use the fellowship as a platform to encourage others to drink or use. Consider what might happen if one member presented the group with a different set of Steps to follow.

A fellowship that is not united in a common purpose, that does not follow the guidelines of AA, or that allows even one member to disrupt meetings may put the recovery of others at risk. This can harm the physical health of others, their trust and faith in the fellowship, and their connection to a Higher Power. That is why it is important to remember that you are part of a much larger fellowship. You play an important role in ensuring that your fellowship does not become a personal platform for others.

I will do my part to ensure my connection to AA follows the Traditions and Steps of the program.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Life is an experience of ripening. The green fruit has but small resemblance to that which is matured.

~ Charles B. Newcomb ~

When a lion cub is born, it bears little resemblance to its adult form. As it matures, it still is a far cry from being king of the jungle. It has tiny teeth, small paws, and a clumsy sense of balance. With training and time for growth, it learns to stalk and kill. Finally, it becomes a full-grown, mature lion with thick mane, long teeth, and powerful claws.

Sometimes we are like that cub. We are acquiring skills, learning to grow emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Our footing may be clumsy, our efforts not always successful. But there are others who are experienced and can show us the way.

There is a lion inside of each of us: strong, sure, and proud. We are growing and maturing toward this final form. Every day our footing becomes a little surer, our confidence greater, and our beliefs in our abilities stronger. Life is a process of growing from cub to lion, and each day takes us closer.

Tonight I can feel the growth within me. I have strength, sureness, and pride that are just beginning to bud.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Dealing with now

When we were using, we kept avoiding the present moment (it was too painful) by using mood-altering chemicals. Clean and sober, we see that right now is all we have. If we avoid it, we avoid life.

Whether it’s getting to school or work, taking care of other daily duties, or staying clean and sober, am I doing what I need to be doing right now?

Higher Power, help me be strong enough to do what I need to do right now.

Today I will improve my level of awareness by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

They who forgive most, shall be most forgiven.

~ PHILIP JAMES BAILEY ~

Newcomer

Some of the people I owe amends to aren't very kind or forgiving. How is making amends to them going to change anything?

Sponsor

The amends are ours, no one else's. We have no control over their effect on another person. Making amends changes us, whether we're met with silence, anger, or love.

For me, taking Step Nine significantly improved my relationships with myself and with other people, but not because everyone understood or wanted to restore our former association. Rather, my action of asking other people to hear my apology was the beginning of deep healing for me.

One woman with whom I'd had a financial disagreement had been writing angry letters to me from a distance for over two years. When I wrote to her admitting that I'd had an addictive problem and finally gave her the information she needed, she simply said, "That explains a lot." It was enough. I no longer had to cringe when I went to the mailbox: that was freedom. The amends you make will change you, whatever the response of those to whom you make them.

Today, I trust myself enough to speak the simple truth.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The amount of compensation you get for your labors depends on the value of the currency, not the denomination of the bills. A million dollars in Chinese coin would break your back carrying it, but might not buy you a suit of clothes.

The greatest compensation would therefore be that which would buy those things which you need and want.

For services rendered your fellow men, God gives you his I.O.U., and they are better than cash on the line in any currency.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Amelia Earhart's Prayer

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.
The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things;
Knows not the livid loneliness of fear nor mountain heights,
where bitter joy you can hear the sound of wings.

~ by Amelia Earhart ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

CAN HUMAN NATURE CHANGE?

Shallow thinkers sometimes say doggedly and pessimistically, "Human nature never changes," or, "You can't change human nature." The truth is that there is no need for human nature to change. The nature of man is such that he can bring an unlimited quantity of good into his life. That is his nature, and no better arrangement could be imagined.

Human nature is such that man can turn to God anywhere at any time, and by believing in His care and protection, and thinking in accordance with this belief, fill his heart with peace and poise, rebuild his body into health and strength, and surround himself with harmonious and joyous conditions.

I am come that they might have life, and that they might love it more abundantly (John 10:10).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Miracles, Nonetheless

Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

There is a debate among Biblical scholars as to whether God actually parted the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites, or if it just happened to be low tide when they arrived. Was the occurrence natural or supernatural?

It doesn't really matter—it was a miracle, nonetheless. If you showed up at the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his army in hot pursuit, and you were able to get across by the hand of God, low tide, or the Staten Island Ferry, you would be elated to escape, and you'd thank God for the gift of freedom, no matter how it manifested itself.

While many miracles occur through inexplicable, supernatural means, many come about through seemingly mundane "coincidences." It is not so important how miracles happen, but that they do happen. Meeting the right person at the right time for the right purpose is just as valuable as if God plunked the person in front of you. While the reasoning mind wants to analyze and question, the childlike heart accepts blessings as gifts. When we habitually doubt, we paint ourselves into a corner and miss out on the greatest joys of life.

A Course in Miracles suggests that each day be devoted to miracles. Keep your mind, heart, and eyes open for events that override the expectations of the fearful mind and demonstrate that we are loved. The more we look, the more we will find.

Help me to be miracle-minded. Give me a childlike heart, that I may recognize You in all.

I create miracles because I look for them.

[bluidkiti]

September 7

Step by Step

Today, respect of the recovery programs of other individual members without imposing my own. What works for me in AA may not work for another individual, and vice versa. I can look at my own experience through the years and see that what works for me today would not have worked three years ago, and that what works for me today may not work a year from now. For life is an evolving process of change, as it should be. It is not my right to criticize someone else's program if it is keeping that person clean and sober and on the road of progress. Today, I respect that the program that works for me may not work for someone else and that another's program, if it works for him or her, is not "wrong" if it might not work for me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

RAINY DAYS

Unhappy sailors curse the rain for which poor farmers prayed in vain.

~ Anonymous ~

We lived our lives like a horse wearing blinders. We had tunnel vision and viewed the things around us with short-sightedness. Our attitudes were based on very few alternatives. We believed we could change things we couldn't.

What if the day turns out to be rainy? We can't call room service and order up a different kind of day! We either adjust our attitude to a rainy day or we elect to pout and sulk because it is raining.

The problem with many of us is that we have limited our outlook to just a few options. When we wake up to a rainy day and we check our "glad bag," we can't find our rainy-day joy-filled attitudes, because we have never cultivated an attitude of joy during bad weather. Sometimes we only have a sunny-day attitude in our glad bag and that does not fit a rainy day.

Loving and accepting myself requires that I learn to be good to myself each day. I can only work on what my attitude toward that day will be, whether it brings rain or shine.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

~ Harper Lee ~

We came to this spiritual path with habits and addictions that had trapped us in a very childish and self- centered mind. Our strong need for control, our sense that we could count only on ourselves blocked us from learning to understand others. Now we are finding a fellowship in which we don’t have to be alone. Others reach out to us in helpful and generous ways. We have friends.

The wonderful thing about a good friend is that we gain the opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes. We can borrow this person’s life experiences as if they were our own and learn those lessons without making the same mistakes. Or we can borrow our friend’s feeling of hope when our own hope is flagging. It’s not necessary to agree with someone to see things from his point of view. Sometimes we simply enlarge our scope by saying, “I see why you could feel that way.” The fellowship of good friends is one of the most humanizing experiences we can have.

Today I will listen to others and try to borrow their eyes and ears.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

I find myself wondering whether serenity is really attainable for women with small children.

~ Mary Casey ~

Serenity is a state of mind. Children, animals, co-workers, careers, traffic, ringing phones, bad weather, drinking partners—all can steal our serenity if we let them. Even beautiful weather and loving companions can’t guarantee serenity. Deciding to free our minds of the clutter that keeps us agitated is what assures our serenity.

Focusing on our Higher Power and seeking guidance will bring us peace. Even during the most troubling times, we can be at peace if we quiet our minds, focus on the Spirit within us, and remember that our lives are uniquely purposeful. We are needed; we have a specific role to play; in the stillness we can best decipher our particular part.

In the midst of havoc I can find the stillness, if that’s my desire.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am coming to believe

It has not been easy for me to believe in a higher power. I grew up with no one to trust. When I hit bottom with addiction and emotional illness—that is, when street drugs made the psychiatric symptoms worse—I felt hopeless and helpless, and realized I had nowhere to turn.

But eventually I found a higher power in the spiritual fellowship of dual recovery. Slowly I am learning to talk to my higher power, to pray. Slowly I am learning to listen to my higher power, to meditate. These days I feel closest to my higher power at meetings, where I witness my fellow members' strength and feel their hope.

Today I will tell my higher power about one problem I need help with.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Be not afraid of life.
Believe that life is worth living
and your belief will help create the fact.

~ William James ~

It is normal to feel once in a while that when everything is going wrong in life, maybe it would be better if life were over. But it is dangerous to nurture that feeling. Many things can and do go wrong, even in recovery. Someone else gets the job or promotion we were expecting. We break up with our boyfriend or girlfriend. A loved one is tragically killed in an accident.

When things go wrong, the question often raised is, “What’s the use? We do our best, work hard, go to meetings, but things still go wrong, so what’s the use?”

The answer is in our attitude. If we believe everything should always go our way, we will be disappointed and discouraged when things don’t. But if we believe life is the most precious gift we can have, no matter what pain or loss we experience, we will endure. In recovery, we’re learning that life can be good, and that God and others will help us through the bad times. We’re mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared for all that life may bring us. We are becoming grateful for life, our blessings, and even our problems.

Today help me to believe that life is precious so I may not fear it, but rejoice in it daily.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

A cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the ! wheels as they run.

~ Ouida ~

Social media have become a fertile ground for spreading lies and rumors, which can sometimes border on bullying. Such postings inflict emotional hurt and make life so miserable for the subjects of such falsehoods that they can have devastating results.

It is human nature to be drawn to gossip and innuendo. But to engage in it—even by listening—runs contrary to the need to be honest and respectful of others. You can let those who enjoy spreading gossip know that you will not tolerate listening to their rumors by asking them three questions.

1. “Is what you are going to share based on something that is truthful?”
2. “Is what you are going to share something nice or good about someone?”
3. “Is what you are going to share useful to know?”

By asking these questions, you create a means of turn-ing aside rumor or gossip. You may also be able to raise the awareness of the speaker about the nature of gossip— that it is hurtful, rather than helpful.

I will not engage in gossip or rumor about others in the program.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

~ Inscription in crypt of Allegheny, Observatory, University of Pittsburgh ~

Some people so love their work or hobbies that they almost seem to become different people when they're involved with what they love to do. Their voices becomes animated, their eyes light up, and they feel energized all over. What do we have in our lives that makes us feel that way?

If we don't love doing something—just one thing—then we are missing out on an experience that drives us and challenges us to learn and grow.

Loving what we do teaches us much about our abilities. Through the program of recovery, we may be learning we have a great deal of skill and talent we never knew we had. Developing these skills and talents can yield us more pleasure than we've ever had.

What do I love to do? Tonight I can find pleasure in recognizing my skills and talents.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Finding the common bond

We are one among so many and may feel “terminally unique.” We need help; we need each other.

If we see that we’re all in the same boat, that we’re more alike than different, we can diminish whatever seems to separate us. Then we can offer each other our experience, strength, and hope.

Can I look for the common bond?

Higher Power, help me find what I share with my fellow travelers.

To make a connection with one other person today, I will

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

To be positive: to be mistaken at the top of one's voice.

~ AMBROSE BIERCE ~

Newcomer

I have what I think is a spiritual problem. There's someone I had a major conflict with in my days of active addiction. He did something unforgivable to me, yet he blames me! He never made amends to me, and I'm sure he never will. I've heard that he still goes around bad-mouthing me to other people. I'm furious! How should I handle seeing him?

Sponsor

I'm glad that you see this as a spiritual issue that needs some resolution. It's important to find some way of dealing with the sense of being injured by an "enemy." Our days of gossip and criticism are over, and violent retaliation is not an option if we want to stay in recovery.

Even after we have done Steps Eight and Nine, there may be people whose presence in our lives makes us profoundly uncomfortable. We don't have to be friends with everyone, and not everyone wants to be friends with us.

You and this other person have shared a small piece of the past. It is the past, and it can stay there. When you see him, you can nod or say "hello" in acknowledgment of this mutual past, and move on; in all likelihood, he'll take the cue from you and move on, too. You might consider praying to refrain from further conflict with him, praying to heal the memories that disturb you, praying to live in the freedom of the present. You'll be surprised how much lighter your feelings will become.

Today, I take my Higher Power with me wherever I go, even into my past.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Remember those days when you walked around with a chip on your shoulder—daring any and all the hostile world to knock it off and you were beaten and kicked at every turn. You were constantly fighting alcohol, and people, and things.

The day finally came when you had had enough; you were beaten to your knees; the chips toppled from your shoulder when you surrendered, and your burdens became lighter at once. Actually you had only been fighting yourself all the time.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Looking for God

Higher Power, I remember when I was new to recovery I was told to go out and find You. I made little progress until I realized, through surrendering my will, You had always been trying to find me. I then began to recognize the ways You are already here with me. Once I learned to feel Your presence, in my good and bad days, it became much easier to trust You and to surrender to Your will.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

NO GRAVE ROBBING

Don't, be a grave robber. Let corpses alone. In due course nature disposes of such remains, if they are left undisturbed. Every time you dig up an old grievance or an old mistake by rehearsing it in your mind or, still worse, by telling someone else about it, you are simply ripping open a grave—and you know what you may expect to find.

Live the present. Prepare intelligently for the future—and let the past alone. This is what Jesus meant when he said, . . . let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:22).

Make a law for yourself today that you are not going to touch mentally any negative thing that has happened up to the present moment—and keep that law. Life is too precious for grave robbing. The past is past—liquidate it. If a negative memory comes into your mind, cremate it with the right thought (the fire of Love) and forget it.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Experience, Not Opinion

Stay at home in your mind. Don't recite the opinions of others.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Vinny was a fellow with whom I enjoyed working. He was always very kind to me, and he followed through on his business agreements. When I spoke to others about Vinny, I heard quite a different story. I was astounded by the number of people he had managed to alienate, all of whom complained about his lack of integrity. When one of Vinny's competitors invited me to break my association with Vinny and work with him instead, I had to dig into my soul to determine my truth. While it was obvious that Vinny had created poor business relationships with nearly everyone else, that was not my experience with him. For whatever reason, he had shown me only kindness and fairness. I realized I would be out of integrity if I jumped ship because other people had had a bad experience with him. I told the other fellow that I was satisfied working with Vinny, and until I had an experience to the contrary, I would stay with him.

No matter what experiences other people create, we have only our own to go by. Looking back, I see that it would have been cruel and unkind of me to leave Vinny because other people did not like him. My relationship with him was what it was, and it did not depend on what other people thought of him.

In the film A Man for All Seasons, Thomas More was an English nobleman who faced extreme pressure to side with a criminal king. More was brought before a kangaroo court of his peers and urged to sign an oath of allegiance "for the sake of camaraderie." More's response: "When you go to heaven for following your conscience, and I go to hell for not following mine, will you join me there 'for the sake of camaraderie'?"

Honor your friends by being true to your own experience.

Help me be confident in my own truth, and live it.

I create according to my own consciousness.

[bluidkiti]

September 8

Step by Step

Today, choose to live in the solution of sobriety instead of the problem of alcoholism. Alcoholism isn't a problem unless we feed it, and the program strengthens us with the choice not to drink by guiding us through a thorough and honest inventory of ourselves with the purpose of deciding if drinking is worth the consequences it entails. I am an alcoholic. It's not a problem as long as I choose not to drink, though. And I choose not to whine that I cannot drink responsibly or moderately because, as an alcoholic, I do not have the luxury of responsible and moderate drinking anymore. Today, I can choose not to drink and live in the solution of being sober instead of the problem of fighting not to drink. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

CHOICES

Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit — and man is his own gardener.

~ John Leonard ~

Evil thoughts and destructive attitudes are not forced on us by fate. They are choices we make as we act and react to events in our lives.

Before the Program, when negative things happened, our first reaction was to choose to react negatively: "Life's not fair." "Why did that have to happen to me?" "I hate them for doing that." "I'm going to get even if it's the last thing I do." It is easy to react positively when good things happen. But we have often chosen to react negatively to even good events.

Good can be found in even the worst situations if we look for it. Bankruptcy can provide a fresh start. Defeat can allow rebuilding in a new and better way. Evil teaches us what is good. Death brings new life. Admitting our powerlessness finally gave us the freedom to make choices.

By choosing good thoughts and attitudes, the garden of my soul will thrive. By choosing bad ones, it will shrivel and die.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Learn the alchemy true human beings know: The moment you accept what troubles you've been given, the door will open.

~ Rumi ~

Step One requires us to admit the trouble we face. We now know that until we do that, no progress can be made. Some of us honestly didn’t see the true nature of our powerlessness. Others knew the truth but re-fused to admit it. Once we have faced up to such a big admission of powerlessness, we start to see an important pattern. Now we can apply it to many everyday situations. Owning up to the truth of a problem opens the door. Something changes and we begin to deal with problems in a new and more effective way.

Whether we have diabetes that needs daily attention, or a child with special needs, or a work situation that never improves, the formula is the same. Accept the matter for what it is, as hard as that may be, and new answers begin to emerge. In part, this is a spiritual process that seems to naturally lead us to the next step of turning to our Higher Power for comfort and guidance. This readies us for new possibilities.

Today I will try to accept the reality that I face so that I am ready for new answers.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Education is a private matter . . . and has little to do with school or college.

~ Lillian Smith ~

Every experience educates us in some respect. Whether these experiences cause us pain or joy, they teach us about life. Some philosophers believe that our whole reason for being is to become more enlightened about the nature of the human and the divine.

Our responses to every circumstance we encounter can instruct us about our inner self. Paying attention to how we act and, more important, react increases our understanding of who we are at specific moments. Taking charge of those reactions is always possible; it demonstrates willingness to “channel” our education.

Does it really matter why we are here? All of us have been called to participate in this life. Growing in acceptance that all matters concerning us are like books to be read gives us confidence that no experience will be beyond our capacity to absorb.

I eagerly anticipate what I will learn about myself today. I have been called to this moment. I am here.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am responsible for my recovery

Because I have a dual disorder, I need help from different caregivers. I need to learn to trust them, but I also need to listen to myself.

When I first got help for my problems, I was treated for depression, then addiction, then depression again. Nobody really knew what was going on with me or how best to help me. Eventually I realized something: I needed to assume more responsibility for my recovery. With any treatment, I need to keep talking about what is—and what is not—working for me. I am the only one who really knows what I am feeling. When I speak up, I am taking care of myself.

At some point in my day, I will take a quiet moment to find out how I am feeling.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

The only way to have a friend is to be one.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Growing up in a dysfunctional home taught us not to talk or trust or feel. Spending all our energy trying to survive, we were probably not taught how to have or be a friend. But we are learning this now.

Although it requires some intense self-evaluation, the rewards outweigh the risks. The first step toward developing healthy friendships is to understand the disease that has afflicted us. When we know why we reacted the way we did, we can learn how not to repeat these behaviors. No longer sick and confused, we are making better choices now, and are able to act on them.

Now we can find people who have shared our problem, people who can help us break out of our isolation. By attending meetings and talking with our sponsor, we learn to trust again. Sometimes it is hard, because we are trying to change behaviors that have been with us since childhood. But now we have a Higher Power to help us and sustain us.

The friends we have now will last a lifetime. Soon we will feel confident that we can be a friend and will finally feel the warmth we’ve missed for so long.

Today help me learn how to be a friend.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.

~ John Flavel ~

Do you ever watch the news about some catastrophic natural disaster and expect to see people so devastated that they are nearly nonfunctional? And yet what you may see are people who exhibit calmness and even an eagerness to do whatever it is they need to in order to improve their situation. What you may hear is how deeply the people believe in God and the faith they have that things will get better.
When do you turn to a Higher Power for guidance and support? For some, it is when a major calamity strikes. For those who are addicts, it may be when they finally hit bottom and come to the realization that they cannot sink any deeper.

Through your helplessness and hurt, prayer to a Higher Power can help you begin the process of rebuilding. Prayer conveys your willingness to accept help. It gives you time in which to reflect upon your priorities and reevaluate them so you can consider new or different ways of doing things. It opens you up so you can learn better or more useful ways of navigating through a difficult period or trauma. And it builds a spiritual relationship that can last a lifetime.

I reach out to a Higher Power so I may learn how to rebuild myself and my life.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Don't try to saw sawdust.

~ Dale Carnegie ~

The pile of sawdust that gathers under our wood-working can never go back to its previous form. The lumber used to build a house can never return to the forest as a tree. That is a law of nature: whatever takes on a new form can never return to its original state. We may believe this statement as a law o[ nature, but may not believe it also applies to the past,

We can never go back to the past; the past can never become the present. We are not the same people today that we were when we were five years old, ten years old, or twenty years old. If we are always trying to live in the past, then we are trying to saw sawdust. To live in the present, we must work with new pieces of wood and make new piles of sawdust.

Tonight, I can stop living the past and see the present for what it really is: clean, fresh, and new.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Feeling the joy

Through this program we learn to live, we learn to work, we learn to play. We learn to be happy alone or with others. We learn love, and the result is joy.

This joy in living sets us free: Our choices expand; what was out of reach before now comes into our reach. Recovering in the program is a form of walking joy.

Am I experiencing and expressing joy?

Higher Power, help me to see the great change in my life, to feel the joy.

Today I will express my joy by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Things get better. You don't necessarily get things.

~ WOMAN IN RECOVERY ~

Newcomer

I heard a speaker bubbling about how recovery had miraculously given him his life back. He shared about how he'd finally gotten all these things he wanted: a house, a cat a relationship. I thought that wasn't the point of recovery at all—but I do have to admit that I felt envious of his charmed life.

Sponsor

There's a saying sometimes heard at AA meetings: "If you don't drink one day at a time, then you don't drink one day at a time." To some, this statement suggests that recovery is limited, promising nothing but a change in habits where our addictive substance or behavior is concerned. To others it suggests more: life is uncertain and unpredictable but those of us who don't pick up are guaranteed sobriety and a new way of life. The AA Big Book goes further, promising that significant emotional peace and freedom always result from taking the Steps with care and thoroughness.

The measure of our growth in recovery is not the number and quality of possessions we've been able to accumulate but whether we're comfortable in our own skin, at peace with ourselves and others, able to treat ourselves and our fellow human beings with respect and care.

Today, I work to allow the promises of recovery to materialize in my life.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

In our introduction into AA we were admonished "Easy does it," in order to guard against the evil of trying to swallow more than we could digest. There is so much to AA that there is always the danger of taking an overdose. The wise AA doctor prescribes for alcoholism as a physician would for tuberculosis, very little medicine to be taken internally, but lots of fresh air and sunshine to be absorbed from day to day.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

The Miracle of Meetings

Thank You, God, for one of the great miracles of Twelve Step recovery—the wisdom, insight, and encouragement I receive in our meetings. As I listen to others share their adventures in letting go, surrendering to Your will, taking inventory, and practicing recovery principles, I always hear something that comforts or challenges me. Often the meetings alert me to a problem I am having and then give me hope and determination to keep pressing on. God, make me ever aware that what I do between meetings is what is really important.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

THE UNICORN

As long as we insist upon telling God His business, nothing very much can come of our prayers.

The ox, the mule, the donkey, will obediently pull your plow and your cart, and take them where you want to go; but you have to know where that is, and how to get there. The unicorn will not do chores. He will not pull a cart or tum a mill. He will not take orders. The unicorn knows where he is going, and it is always somewhere that you could not choose because you never heard of it; and in your present consciousness you could not even dream that such a place could exist.

Nevertheless, there are such places, and the unicorn knows them, and is not interested in anything less. Some day it may happen, probably when you least expect it, that the unicorn will suddenly appear at your side, eyes flashing, nostrils quivering, pawing the ground with impatience. When that happens, do not try to put a bridle on him, or to look for some task for him to do. He will not do it, and there will not be time. No sooner, seemingly, has he appeared than off he will go again. So do not pause, but leap upon his back, for he is a flying steed, and he wings his way to the gates of the morning.

On that ride problems are not solved—they disappear.

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? (Job 39:9-10).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Ripcord Grandma

Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age, and to imagine right up to the brink of death that life is only beginning.

~ George Sand ~

When 98-year-old Hildegarde Ferrara's friend offered to pay for a skydive for Hildegarde's next birthday, she was joking. When Hildegarde answered, I'd be delighted!" she was not. The offer was right in line with Hildegarde's life of endless adventure. At the age of 93, she had her naked body slathered with mud by the Mud Men of New Guinea, and was flattered that one Mud Man offered 500 pigs-10 times the going rate-for her hand in marriage. She has dined with headhunters, slept in King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle, and savored termites and eggs for breakfast. Her flare for individuality erupted in 1917 when she was suspended from an all-girls Catholic high school for posing for a photo in which she brazenly exposed her shoulders. There are only a few places on earth Hildegarde has not visited, and she advises, "Go out and see the world before it's too late." Apparently for Hildegarde, it's never too late.

Hildegarde is not an exception to life, but an example of its possibilities. She has not fallen prey to the notion that age determines our abilities or activities; she chooses to live from joy, and life supports her in manifesting her dreams.

There is a Hildegarde in each of us. We may not desire to see all the world, but we do yearn to be all that we can be. What have you been holding off doing because you are too old, sick, poor, inexperienced, uneducated, unqualified, tired, or unhappy? What if none of these conditions had any power to stop you from being what you want to be? What if, at this very moment, you could take action to mobilize the visions you have had on the shelf? What would you do if I dared you to put down this book right now and take a step toward one of your hidden dreams?

Now is the moment you have been waiting for. Live it to the fullest.

I pray to live my life in brilliant joy. Turn up my flame.

I can do anything I choose. I am unlimited. I am free.

[bluidkiti]

September 9

Step by Step

Today, accept that I need a higher power for a quality sobriety. To those in the program who might say a higher power is a myth or an entity that does not exist, look back on our experience as a drinking alcoholic when we conducted ourselves without regard to the needs or feelings of others, when we made decisions based only on our wants. I didn't do such a great job running my life on my own, and it was only when I sought and found a power stronger and wiser than myself that I began my journey of spiritual awakening. And the higher power that the program suggests we all need is not necessarily the God of organized religion or even a god. That higher power can be nothing more simple than a development of a moral conscience that dictates how we manage our lives and choices. Today, I ask if I need a higher power. Yes. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

SERENITY

Serenity = Reality = Inner peace and strength.

~ Anonymous ~

Most of us chased an elusive thing called serenity for years. We thought our journeys outside reality brought us peace and serenity. When we returned to reality we found harshness and pain that caused us to run back to using. So it went, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Run, escape, pain; run, escape, pain.

Then something happened. Our addiction wouldn't let us escape any more. We no longer found what we were' seeking. We tried using more heavily. Finally, all that was left of our lives was the pain.

The Fellowship shows us that reality is not a problem. Trying to escape reality is a problem. When we continued to turn our wills and lives over to a Higher Power, the serenity that results creates a reality of inner peace and strength.

I trust and believe that the changes I am going through in my recovery are necessary and good for me.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

~ Franz Kafka ~

We ask ourselves, what really counts when everything else is stripped away? What do we still value? Beauty is one of those values for many of us. It might be the beauty of the outdoors, solitude in the wilderness, a symphony, a special painting, or the athletic grace of a pitcher as he hurls the baseball across home plate. Something stirs within us when we see beauty. Many would call that a spiritual experience because it seems to touch the soul of our being.

We can feel vulnerable when we have such experiences, and some of us have learned to rim roughshod over those moments. We smother that part of our soul so that we don’t have to feel our manhood threatened. Now we are learning new lessons. We are growing into stronger, more open, and more spiritual men. Beauty, wherever we see it, is part of our spiritual life.

Today I am open to the stirring in my soul when I see beauty.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

To change a behavior, we must become willing to experience a certain degree of discomfort.

~ Marie Lindquist ~

Many of us believe that all our problems are someone else’s fault. If others were more under-standing, less critical, easier to love, we’d be happier, we think. But that’s not true, and we’re lucky it’s not. If our happiness were tied to others’ whims, we’d be happy far less often.

To have more happiness and security in our lives, we may have to change how we act. That’s not always easy. Old behaviors are like old shoes: comfortable; they fit. But when happiness eludes us too often, we must look to ourselves for the remedy. The changes we may need to make won’t be comfortable at first; they may pinch the ego like a tight shoe pinches the toes.

But relying on our Higher Power to keep us willing to change makes the transition possible. What once pinched will feel comfortable in time. Let’s trust.

Today I’ll release my impatience and keep my mind on the Serenity Prayer. My happiness is up to me.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I want to settle down

I am sad and anxious and angry about this emotional illness I've got. It's hard to think straight. I feel confused. I feel like I'm floundering.

Yet those who support me don't seem worried. What I am picking up is that these problems are not unusual in dual recovery. I've started a new medication and I gather that in a couple of weeks, as it takes effect, I'll be able to settle down, not think so hard or worry so much. I wish things were better right now, but it seems I need to cope a while longer. With the help of my higher power, I will manage.

Today I will take two walks and call two friends on the phone.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

To be everywhere is to be nowhere.

~ Og Mandino ~

Sobriety has taught us the value of a sense of purpose, a center to target our energies. Too often, we tried to be all things to all people, then ran in too many directions at one time. The typical result was frustration and poor accomplishments. This left us with low self-esteem and even less willingness to pursue healthy goals.

We can apply the principles we’ve learned in Twelve Step recovery to any area of our lives and steer a more direct, spiritually sound course. We can focus on doing “first things first,” and taking small steps toward what we want. It is far more dignified and joyous to arrive somewhere, tasks fulfilled, than to dart about and achieve nothing.

We needn’t change everything at once. We can repair our bodies with a modest exercise program, get a little more rest, and add a few healthy foods to our diet. To activate our minds we can take a single class or pursue a lost hobby. And to enrich our spiritual lives, we can take a few minutes each day to pray and meditate. By taking small, humble steps, we stay within our abilities and focus on the true direction we need in our new sober life.

Today let me concentrate on each small step 1 take toward my goals.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

My evil genius Procrastination has whispered me to tarry ’til a more convenient season.

~ Mary Todd Lincoln ~

While it may seem that as you grow older time moves faster, that is just a fallacy. Each person has the same twenty-four hours in a day. But how you make use of each day reflects whether you are a can-do person or a someday person.

If you are a can-do person, you make full use of your time. You know what you need to do and set about doing it. At the end of the day you likely experience a sense of accomplishment. But if you are a someday person—who prefers to get things done “someday”—at the end of the day you may feel that you have done very little. While you may have been a great someday person when you were using, recovery and procrastination are not good partners.

Consider someday as today. Think about something you have been putting off for a while—in recovery or in your personal or professional life—and break it down into small steps. You may feel uncomfortable about something you need to do, but then do it. Ask for help on tasks you find daunting or confusing rather than put them off. Then, at the end of the day, celebrate all that you have accomplished.

Someday has arrived! Today I will act rather than procrastinate.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

It would all be so beautiful if people were just kind . . . what is more wise than to be kind? And what is more kind than to understand?

~ Thomas Tryon ~

Sometimes we may think life is pretty unkind. Such a feeling could have started years ago when we were brought up in an alcoholic home. That feeling might have continued as we agonized through our addictions. Now we may even be able to make mental lists of those unkind things in our lives: family, loved ones, bosses, major disappointments, disease. “Life has dealt me a terrible blow!" we may moan.

But kindness can start with us! How many times today could we have smiled instead of frowned? Couldn't we have let someone ahead of us in traffic instead of barreling on by? Perhaps we could have picked up the telephone and spoken a few kind words to a friend or family member.

We can't change the unkindness of today. But we can make changes in how we behave tomorrow.

Is there someone who needs my kindness and understanding? How can I show this kindness?

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Letting go of pain

When we focus on positive thoughts, resentment and fear can hardly touch us. Positive thoughts protect us and lead us forward.

When our minds are full of negative thoughts, we suffer; negative thoughts make us vulnerable and hold us back. Do we really want to suffer?

Can I practice letting go of pain?

Higher Power, help me believe that letting go of pain really does bring relief.

Today I will practice letting go of pain by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

A good garden may have some weeds.

~ THOMAS FULLER ~

Newcomer

I've done a few things I'm not proud of, but isn't that part of being human? Other people aren't perfect, either.

Sponsor

Looking honestly and unflinchingly at our behavior, while at the same time having compassion for ourselves, is a powerful combination. Steps Four through Nine offer us a simple process for clearing up the wreckage of the past so that we can live without the burden of regret. In recovery, we have the opportunity to change for the better, not to demand perfection of ourselves or others.

My perfectionism sometimes makes me forget that I’m engaged in a process of change over time. It also lets me exaggerate both how "good" and "bad" I am. If I’m not “the greatest" in some situation, I decide, in my arrogance, that I must be "the worst." What a strange way of giving myself importance! One of the program sayings reminds me not to compare my insides with other people's outsides. I have my own unique gifts; accepting and nurturing these gifts brings me joy and allows me to contribute to the human community.

We're capable of feeling love and compassion for others who are far from perfect. In recovery, we can learn to extend that love and compassion to ourselves.

For today, I delete "perfect" from my vocabulary and practice using the word "better."

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

There can be no improvement in the world without the improvement of the people who constitute it. There can be no improvement in people unless it is in improved actions motivated by improved thinking and a higher morality code.

Aside from the immediate benefits described by the alcoholics and their families from the AA program, it has done much to raise the character of a large segment of society.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

A Summer Prayer

Long warm days . . .
The pace of life slows . . .
A time of picnics, and rest in the shade . . .
A time to celebrate the Spirit of Nature.

Father of Light,
help me rest awhile in the cooling shade
of Your presence.

Slow down my restless heart and anxious mind
and fill me with gentle compassion for all
Your people.

As the Program teaches me, this I pray, to
"lit ourselves to be of maximum service to God
and the people about us."

~ Author unknown ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

FEAR

The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the beginning of knowledge. This has misled many people, because the truth is that fear is entirely evil and is indeed the only enemy we have. You can heal any condition if you can get rid of the fear attaching to it. Trouble or sickness is nothing but subconscious fear outpictured in our surroundings. It is true at all times that "we have nothing to fear but fear."

How then do we account for the texts quoted? The answer is that in the Bible the fear of God means reverence for God, nor fear in the usual sense of the word. Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom. How do we show reverence for God? By seeing God everywhere, refusing to recognize anything unlike Him, and by living the Christ life.

Confidence is worship. You worship whatever you trust. Are you trusting more in fear or in God? What are you worshiping? That is the test.

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace (Job 22:21).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Again!

When your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme.

~ from the song, "When You Wish Upon a Star," by Ned Washington ~

The film Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken is based upon the true story of Sonora Webster, a girl whose deepest dream was to ride the diving horse in the famous act on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Sonora found the man who trained the horses for the act, and in spite of rejection after rejection, she convinced him to teach her to mount a running horse. In her first attempt, Sonora fell flat on her face, leaving the trainer laughing.

"Again!" Sonora shouted, and again she fell, hurting herself. "Again!" she repeated, over and over, until after many painful falls, this courageous girl mastered the mount and eventually went on to become a very famous diver. Sonora lost her eyesight later in her career, and she continued to dive blind.

It is said that "the only time we fail is the last time we try." Errors or setbacks are nothing to be ashamed of. Keep trying, and eventually mastery will be yours.

Give me the strength not to give up. Help me walk past discouragement. I will live in You as You live in me.

I can do all things through God who strengthens me.

[bluidkiti]

September 10

Step by Step

Today, if life in sobriety jolts me with a reality that in the end is truly hopeless, I will not yield to hopelessness and instead will reach for the hope - and the first word in hopelessness is hope. If the program has impressed anything on me, it is that hope exists in all things and that hopelessness is empowered only if I bow to it. In hope, there is faith and promise that the hopeless will be overcome by hope; in hopelessness, there is loss of faith and inviting all those lethal feelings like fear, dread, self-pity and selfishness that, together, spell a slip or relapse. And either can send me back to that dark pit from which the program guided me. In hopelessness, the power of hope can and will take me from that dark place - as long as I keep the steps close to heart. Nothing, including the despair that life in sobriety will sometimes present, justifies my giving up all I have gained through in AA. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

*************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

OPINIONS

Look for similarities rather than differences.

~ Anonymous ~

By relating our experiences rather than our opinions, we allow the listener to form their own ideas, rather than be placed in a position of having either to agree or disagree with us.

For instance, if we express an opinion that "they should be honest," the listener may be out off.

However, if we tell an experience similar to their problem where honesty worked best for us, we aren't obligating the listener to solve their difficulty the same way. They're not forced into accepting or rejecting an opinion. They're still free to choose to solve their problem whatever way they see fit, and to profit from whatever experience results.

Opinions force me to take sides and "should" on myself and others. By sharing experiences instead of opinions, I am free to grow and to allow others to grow.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation> hard work, learning from failure.

~ Colin Powell ~

Preparation consists of becoming entirely ready. On this path, where we have faced the ultimate truth of powerlessness, we accept the deep wisdom of adulthood: some things cannot be changed by the force of our will. So our work is to make ourselves ready for change to come to us. We work on our willfulness, our moral character, our honesty, and our openness to the spiritual presence. Readiness means that when opportunities for change appear, we accept them. It means that change comes as a gift, not of our own invention.

As our relationship with ourself grows, our relationships with others improve. As our relationship with our Higher Power grows, the cravings that we could not subdue by force of will are simply and quietly lifted. It is a spiritual paradox: this is not a passive path we are walking; it requires hard work. And yet the success we find is a gift that comes to us and we can only accept it.

Today I will continue to work, making myself ever more ready to receive the gifts of the spirit.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

I believe we all have a purpose in this life, and each day is a step in the journey toward achieving that purpose.

~ Kathy McGraw ~

It is not always easy to remember that each of us has a unique purpose, one that is unfolding every moment of our lives. Many of our days seem lacking in excitement, devoid of momentous decisions or undertakings. Periods of our lives may seem to have evaporated: for example, we may recall nothing of our elementary school years or of parts of an earlier marriage or a painful relationship.

Trusting that our lives have purpose changes us. As our understanding deepens, we feel empowered and far more conscious of the opportunities our Higher Power offers us every day. We begin to see that every experience is purposeful.

We are here by assignment. Our homework is to learn and change, if necessary. We may never fully know our purpose, but with God’s help we will trust how our lives are unfolding.

I may not understand all that is happening in my life at the present, but if I trust that my Higher Power is helping me to fulfill my purpose, I can accept the experience.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am beginning to lighten up

Before I got help for my addiction and depression, I was typically serious and sad. I spent little time with other people and spoke little. Laughing didn't feel natural; eventually my smile went away.

Even in recovery it's still hard to come out of my shell, but the truth is, I am worn out from all this gravity and intensity. It's a good thing, too. I believe I'm finally gaining some perspective—maybe even a sense of humor. Perhaps I'm getting ready to let go of some pain. I hope so. It would be a welcome relief.

I will rent an old favorite comedy movie and just see how hard I have to work not to laugh at least once.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men!

~ Phillips Brooks ~

Prayer is something that often does not come easy to us. We usually start out praying for what we want. Gradually, though, our recovery program teaches us to pray for knowledge and understanding—knowledge of what God wants for us today. This helps bring our lives in tune with our surroundings, and helps us let go of the need to control others and the events around us. It offers us the chance to use our energy for living in the moment, rather than worrying about outcomes. And it brings peace to our hearts to have faith that God will take care of outcomes.

When we begin to pray for knowledge of God’s will, we free ourselves. We give up the need to be “the boss” on everything, the need to be in control, the need to be responsible for everything. Prayer is our one-way ticket to peace and serenity.

Today let me accept gratefully what is God’s will.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

There are people who live lives little different than the beasts, and I don’t mean that badly. I mean that they accept whatever happens day to day without struggle or question or regret.

~ Celeste De Blasis ~

Learning to live with what you were born with—from your appearance and innate talents to your failures and shortcomings—is a process of acceptance. Making an honest assessment of who you are—one that is focused on you and not based on comparisons to others—requires acceptance. No one is perfect. But sometimes you can feel disappointed when you know that you have not lived up to the expectations others have of you, or when you recognize how you have fallen short of achieving your goals. You may doubt you can ever become a better person.

Acceptance can be strengthened and developed by making good use of the tools available to you each day in the program—the Serenity Prayer, the Twelve Steps, belief in a power greater than yourself, and fellowship.

The program teaches acceptance, not perfection. Each day presents you with an opportunity to accept all of your qualities—both the good and the not-so-good—so you can gain greater knowledge about yourself. You can then utilize this knowledge to change those things that you can.

Working the program will help me to develop greater acceptance of myself.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Nowadays some people expect the door of opportunity to be opened with an electric eye.

~ Anonymous ~

"Great Expectations" may be an appropriate title for certain scenes in our lives. If we act a certain way, do certain things, or think in a certain way, we may believe these actions will have an expected reaction. But we'll have a rude awakening when we find this isn’t necessarily so.

It's as if we stepped on the automatic doormat to a grocery store when the mat wasn't operating. We'll crash into the door if we expect it to open every time. Similarly, we can't have expectations about the people in our lives or we'll crash into defeat, hurt, and rejection.

It's okay to behave toward others in a loving and kind manner. In return, others may become more kind and loving toward us. This treatment won't come to us because of our expectations, but because others decide to treat us in this way. If we change our expectations, we may receive many pleasant surprises.

Do I expect people to treat me in a way they don't want to? Tonight I can let go of my expectations. What's most important in my behavior.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Comparing

We are proud of the fact that if someone wants to join the program, sex, age, race, status, sexual orientation, or religious preferences do not matter. Yet we may still find ourselves judging the kind or severity of another’s addiction.

How can we possibly judge another’s pain? Or problems? Or recovery needs? And why bother? Don’t we have enough pain and problems of our own?

Have I stopped judging others?

Higher Power, help me to see that comparing separates me from myself and others.

I will practice accepting all my fellow travelers in recovery today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

First things first.

~ PROGRAM SLOGAN ~

Newcomer

I have such a full life now. I don't even mind having to deal with problems that are coming up with other people—they make me feel alive. But still, I'm looking forward to not having to go to so many meetings.

Sponsor

It's good to hear how rich and diverse your experiences have become, and to see that there are people and activities that mean so much to you. We're living our lives today; that's the point of recovery. But as we become more engaged with life, we may forget the hold that our addictive craving formerly had over us, how we were driven to do whatever it asked of us. By continuing to come to meetings, we stay conscious of our powerlessness over addiction.

I need to remember what brought me here. If I become casual about my recovery, I may convince myself that I can try “just a little" of my drug of choice. If I do that, then, inevitably, my moderation will give way to active addiction. We're still powerless over this disease; that doesn't change. By putting recovery first, we can continue enjoying the rich life we have today.

What kept me sober in the early days of my recovery are the same things that keep me sober today.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Charity would be absolute foolishness if this life was the beginning and ending of all things. If there were no closer relationship between men than between animals, then we would be animals.

We know, however, that a mystical bond does unite mankind, and it is best exemplified in the practice of charity. As it lifts man above the level of animals, it also lifts man closer to the angels.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

To Be Useful

Thank You, God, for I am glad to be useful,
to have a reason for living,
to have a purpose in life.

I want to lose my life in this wonderful
Fellowship and so find it again.

I need the Twelve Step Principles for the
development of the buried life within me,
the good life I misplaced before the Program.

Thank You, God, for this recovery life within me
is growing slowly but surely, with setbacks and
mistakes, but still developing. I cannot yet know
what it will be, but I know it will be good. That's
all I want to know. It will be good.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

SALVATION

The word salvation appears more than 120 times in the Bible. It was in constant use among religious people of past generations, and while it is not so often heard today, the fact remains that it is one of the most important words in the Bible and among the least well understood.

The word salvation in the Bible means perfect health, harmony, and freedom. These things are the will of God for man—for you personally; and the Bible was written to tell us how to attain to them.

We gain salvation by seeking God and letting Him work through us.

The Lord is my light and my salvation (Psalm 27:1).
He only is my rock and my salvation (Psalm 62:2).
He hath raised up a horn of salvation for us . . . (Luke 1:69).
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6).

Such texts as these are typical of the Bible promises concerning salvation.

Salvation comes to a few people gently and easily, but the majority have to work out their salvation with a certain amount of "fear and trembling" for the time being. The actual way in which it comes is not really important, for come it will—when we seek it with our whole heart.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Turn on Everything

You can have it all.

~ Arnold Patent ~

After I built a sauna at my home, I began to have electrical outages. I discovered that when the sauna was on at the same time as the hot tub, the house's main breaker would trip off. I concluded that the power required by the sauna and spa was too much for the house's electrical capacity, so I made the rule that the sauna and hot tub could not be used at the same time. When my electrician friend Gil came by, I told him about the problem, and he instructed me, “Turn on everything in the house."

"Won't that blow the circuit?" I asked him.

"There's no way it should. Your electrical capacity is great enough to handle everything you have and more." I went around the property and turned on the sauna, spa, oven, washer, dryer, and other major appliances (inwardly praying that Gil knew what he was doing). As everything was humming along, Gil opened up the electrical box and called, “Aha! I think I see your problem." He called me over and showed me, "This screw is loose. When you have a loose screw, the circuit heats up and trips the breaker." He tightened the screw and told me, “This should solve the problem. Now you can run anything you want at any time.”

I couldn't have asked for a better lesson on abundance. I had been thinking in terms of a limited universe: "There’s just so much available, so I better start choosing between things that I want because there’s not enough to go around." Gil, on the other hand, held a huge consciousness that there's enough supply for everything I needed. I was thinking small, and he was thinking big.

If you feel you must compromise what you want or need because there's not enough to go around, reconsider your belief system. The circuit may be much bigger than you thought, and your problem might not be that your supply is limited, but that one little screw is loose. Don't curse the source; tighten the screw.

Help me to remember that t live in a universe of abundant supply.

I can have everything I need to be happy.

[bluidkiti]

September 11

Step by Step

"We must learn to walk before we can run. That's why we have these slogans. I use that 'Easy Does It' every day, to slow me down a little. I have to watch myself all the time. So I don't just take the inventory at night - I take it continually throughout the day. Before I step out and do anything, I stop and check it over first, and then let my conscience be my guide.
'For me, AA has become a way of life." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 8 ("Desperation Drinking"), p 516.

Today, talking the talk isn't enough, nor is walking the walk. Both have to be in my soul, spirit, character and mind if I have any chance of a meaningful, serene, peaceful and honest recovery. Nor is the quality of my recovery truly measured when I am dry and life is generally good. It is measured when life situations arise that require practical but diligent application of the steps. Even if I emerge from those situations sober but my reaction and response to those situations do not meet the program's standards, I need another 10th Step. Today, I may talk the talk and walk the walk, but if AA has not become a way of life in all I say, do and feel, I start working again on talking the talk, walking the walk and feeling the feeling. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

REFLECTION

Those who ask receive. Those who seek will find. And to those who knock, the door will be opened.

~ Matthew ~

Prayer is seeking answers and direction in life. Meditation is listening for answers from a Higher Power and developing the faith within us to accept those answers. Reflection is the study of ways to change the answers we get from prayer and meditation into action.

Reflection is the study of the meaning and uses of the Twelve Steps. It is not snap judgment. It requires consideration of the pros and cons of our possible choices and determination of what directions we will take to give us the best results.

The progress of spirituality from prayer to meditation to reflection is active, not passive. It is taking part in the joy of putting the results of prayer and meditation into action.

I have learned through times of quiet reflection to work into my life the answers my Higher Power has given me as a result of my prayer and meditation.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

I don’t have to be what you want me to be.

~ Muhammad Ali ~

We only truly become ourselves from the inside out. During our active addiction many of us tried so hard to please others that we lost any sense of who we were, or we created an external image that would get others to like us. Some of us lost ourselves in codependently taking care of others. So much focus on others never led us to know ourselves or truly develop our interior private self.

This program, with its twelve suggested Steps, is really a road map for the formation of a true self. At the beginning we may feel empty inside, as if hardly any self exists. But at least some small, undeveloped self is always there, and it will grow. By taking inventory of ourselves, by becoming accountable for our actions, and by developing our spirituality, we become truly whole.

Today I will be the person I know from inside myself and not try to create an image to please others.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Instead of worrying about being different from others, I will love myself for being unique.

~ Kelley Vickstrom ~

Where did we learn to compare ourselves with other women? Why is the process so seductive? We seldom measure up, in our eyes. Every woman we see, at first glance, seems smarter or wittier, and certainly more attractive. Self-doubt sets in again and again. Those few times we “win” the comparison test, we feel smug, but the victory is short-lived because another woman soon enters our space.

Meditating often about the gift of uniqueness that our birth guaranteed will bring us closer to understanding that gift. Why would God have made us all unique unless we were here to handle a very special assignment? At first this may not seem realistic. But think for a moment of the women you know in recovery. Are they setting identical goals for their lives? Do they think and act exactly alike? Our lives may be complementary and we may be walking similar paths, but our assignments are unique. God needs each of us for the divine picture to be whole.

I am who I need to be to fulfill my role in this divine world. What I have to offer is important.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am coming out of hiding

I used to believe that given a chance, most people would only hurt me or use me. I could not trust them. I could not ask anything of them. So I kept to myself. Being alone was one way I could feel safe.

But these days I am learning that being alone and afraid and untrusting won't help me recover from my dual disorder. What does help, among other things, is when my counselor talks to me, asks me how I feel, listens to me, treats me with gentleness and respect. He helps me feel good about myself and shows me that people are not all bad. As I begin to find safe people and trust again, I gain faith that I will recover.

Today I will take a risk and ask a member of my support group if I can call him when I need support.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Keep coming back. It works.

~ Program Saying ~

These words mean a lot to us. They remind us that our recovery program really does work.

When we feel doubt, it helps to think back to where we were before recovery. Our drinking, drugging, gambling, compulsive eating, or starving was out of control. The pain we felt was indescribable, although we denied it at the time.

Now, when someone says, “Keep coming back, it works,” the words remind us why we are coming back — to get the love, understanding, and support that we need to keep our lives sane and spiritually sound.

It isn’t easy. We often lose track of where we are. We are tempted to go back to the old ways. But we can’t. We’ve had a taste of real spirituality, and we yearn for more. Knowing the program works keeps us coming back for the love and support we need to recover one day at a time.

Today help me remember that my life is so much better than when I was using. Thank You for the gift of recovery and my new life.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

~ Theodore Roosevelt ~

A Chinese parable tells of a humble man who daily carried water from a stream to his home. He used two pots—one balanced on each end of a pole—to carry the water. One pot was perfect; the other had a crack in it. The perfect pot was proud of its ability. But the cracked pot was ashamed of its flaw. One day the cracked pot spoke as the man was filling it. “Why haven’t you thrown me away?” it asked.

The man silently placed the cracked pot on his pole and slowly began the walk back to his home. Finally, he spoke, “Little cracked pot, please look along your side of the path. What do you see?”

“Flowers,” the cracked pot answered.

If “That is correct,” said the man. “Each spring I plant flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day when we walk back to my home, your leak helps to water the seeds. Now there are flowers, which I can take home and put on my table. Without you being the way you are, there would not be beauty that I can enjoy on my journey home.”

Today I will see value and beauty in all that I am and all that I do.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Our belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that insures the successful outcome of our venture.

~ William James ~

How often have we heard ourselves say, “Well, I'll try, but I probably won't do it right." We're setting ourselves up for defeat, right from the start. With that much negative energy, certainly our ventures will turn out just the way we predicted. If pessimists had always been right, we would be living differently. We might still believe the world is flat, because Columbus wouldn't have taken his voyage. We might still be reading by candlelight, because Edison wouldn't have invented the light bulb. It would take us days to cross the country, because the Wright brothers would have believed only birds can fly.

Some things we do will succeed, and some will fail. But in order to make successes happen, we need to believe they can occur. And we also need to believe in ourselves, believe that we can make things happen. Since we've lived for so long without faith in ourselves, what will it hurt to give it a try?

Higher Power, help me fill my mind tonight with thoughts of success and a belief in myself.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Making mistakes

As addicts we made a lot of mistakes; as addicts, we blanketed those mistakes in denial. Clean and sober, denial is no longer an option. Yet we still make plenty of mistakes.

But mistakes are okay, because we’re learning that every situation, good or bad, is an opportunity for growth. And with the right attitude, we can make the most of it.

Can I let go of my mistakes enough to learn from them?

Higher Power, help me to forgive my mistakes and to accept them as a useful way to learn.

Today I will practice what I learned from my most recent mistake by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

I accept reality and dare not question it.

~ WALT WHITMAN ~

Newcomer

I keep hearing that acceptance is the key to being happy. I think I'm still a long way from accepting myself just the way I am.

Sponsor

In my own early recovery I was able to admit pretty quickly that I was powerless over my addiction; accepting that fact was a different story, however. For people like us, acceptance isn't likely to come overnight. Even when we've begun to get a feel for it, we need to maintain it a day at a time.

Accepting that we are alcoholics, addicts, compulsive overeaters, debtors, gamblers—whatever our addictions or compulsions—involves more than simply becoming aware that a particular craving has been in charge of our lives. It means unreservedly accepting that we have a disease for which there is treatment and reprieve, but no cure. Our lives themselves, and our potential for serenity and freedom, depend on this acceptance.

Acceptance means that when I come home from work feeling tired and thinking I'd like to skip my usual meeting and watch TV instead, I eat my supper and head for the meeting. It means I don't take time off from recovery for good behavior. It means keeping recovery at the top of my list of priorities, continuing to make daily use of the tools and suggestions that have brought relief and serenity in the past.

Today, I accept my addiction as a basic reality.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We are attempting to build a new house on the site of the old wrecked one. The type of house we build will be determined by the plans, and specifications we select. Exactly the same materials can be used to build either a palace or a hovel; the difference will be chiefly one of design. The palace requires more material and a great deal more labor, however.

In your rebuilding be sure that the basement is DRY; the corners SOUARE: the walls UPRIGHT and TRUE, and your house will stand, even after you, the builder, are dead and gone.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Avoiding Gossip

God of Reason, help me be faithful to
placing principles before personalities
Before I gossip or find fault with others,
help me remember to ask myself'
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it useful?

If I can't answer yes to these questions,
I will not gossip.
Help me talk about principles, not personalities
This I pray.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

WICKED

The word wicked occurs more than three hundred times in the Bible and is one of the most important terms to be found therein. In the Bible the word wicked really means "bewitched" or "under a spell." The Law of Being is perfect harmony, and that truth never changes, but man uses his free will to think wrongly, and thus he builds up false conditions around him, and then believes them to be real. They look real, and so he forgets that it was he himself who made them, and thus he bewitches himself, or throws himself under a kind of spell; and of course as long as he remains bewitched he has to suffer the consequences. Nevertheless, it is only illusion, or a spell, and it can be broken by turning to God.

The only way to break such a spell is to think of God. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you . . . ? (Galatians 3:1), said Paul, when he heard that some of his students had begun to believe evil in this way. The wicked flee when no man pursueth (Proverbs 28:1).

Let us awaken from the spell under which the whole race lives, and know instead that God is all Power, infinite Intelligence, and boundless love.

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him . . . (Isaiah 55:7).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

The Choice for Happiness

Everyone is about as happy as they make up their mind to be.

~ Abraham Lincoln ~

Connie's mother-in-law was a very unhappy person. Among her many complaints, she griped that she hadn't been on a vacation in years. So Connie and her husband decided to give Mrs. Fraser a luxurious Caribbean cruise. "Perhaps this will give her a lift and let her know that she is loved!" the couple hoped. After Mrs. Fraser received the notice of the gift in the mail, the couple was surprised to receive a phone call from her turning down their offer. The present did not include a flight to Miami, where the cruise originated, and Mrs. Fraser did not want to have to pay the fare from South Carolina.

If someone is intent on being unhappy, you cannot make them happy. A negative mind will seize on any excuse to find fault; it will find the 1/50th of the glass that is empty, overlooking the other 49 parts.

It is not within your power to choose happiness for another person, nor is it your right or purpose. If you could, you would violate their free will; perhaps they chose this situation to help them reconsider how they are living, and ultimately choose a more rewarding path. You cannot afford to make your happiness dependent on another's. You can love, bless, nurture, suggest, support, give, and honor, but in the long run the only way the other person will be happy is if they choose to do so.

If you offer love or gifts to someone, and they are not received in the spirit of love, do not take it personally. The rejection is a statement of the person's pain, not your inadequacy. If you have tried for a long time to make certain people happy and have not succeeded, then just give love. Assume that they are where they need to be for a reason, and someday they will make another choice. In the meantime, be happy yourself.

I place my loved ones in Your care. I pray for their happiness, and I release them to choose.

I give happiness by nurturing peace within my own heart.

[bluidkiti]

September 12

Step by Step

Today, I will not feed anger to poison my actions and words for which, inevitably, I will have to answer. If I forget I have only today and reach back into yesterday and resurrect some anger or resentment, justified or not, I will Let Go and Let God because I don't WANT to add any excess baggage and I DON'T want to give power to an emotion that might derail me if I don't control IT. If I get angry today, I will walk away from the source until I can think with reason and logic, without emotion. And if I get the chance to talk to a person who has made me angry, I will confine my words to how I feel instead of, "YOU made me feel ...," "YOU shouldn't have ..." and "YOU had no right ..." In that context, I am risking taking another person's Fourth, and the job as moral gatekeeper has been taken by a power greater and stronger than myself. As a drinking alcoholic, I had no control and let my anger gain the upper hand; today, as a recovering alcoholic, I have the choice to NOT allow anger to dictate my words and thought. Today, I choose to weaken any potentially lethal emotion by NOT feeding it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

ANGER

Anger is but one letter away from danger.

~ Anonymous ~

Many of us once nursed long-standing resentments. Every time we thought about them, we got angry. What makes anger so dangerous is that it burns without consuming. It feeds on itself until it overwhelms all other emotions. Anger is poison.

When anger takes over, it acts with uncontrollable rage. We say things, feel things, and do things way out of line. Anger is emotional drunkenness. It leads to resentments, and it is a dangerous setup for a relapse.

Because we are in recovery doesn’t mean we won't get angry, but the Steps give us a process of working through anger. We learn that what usually fuels anger is fear and guilt. When we deal with fear and guilt, we can dissolve anger. The remedy for fear is faith, for faith means courage.

When I replace my anger with faith, the fear and guilt that causes the anger is worked through, and the anger is reduced.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Abuse is something that is done to us. It is not who we are.

~ Euan Bear and Peter Dimock ~

Everyone has some experience with being treated badly. Sometimes that experience leaves us with scars that affect us for years. Abuse is the feeling of being overwhelmed by someone’s power to hurt us or use us. It steals our basic human dignity. Afterward we feel belittled, as if something basic about us is missing or blemished.

Recovery means we restore our feeling of personal dignity. To begin that part of our recovery, we first name the abuse. Someone beat us up, someone called us names, or someone used our body for his or her own pleasures. Abuse may even come from someone we love and trust. After we name the abuse, we tell a trusted friend what happened. In this process we start the work of placing those experiences outside of ourselves instead of holding them deep inside where they confuse us. Ultimately, our recovery frees us.

Today I understand that even though bad things happened to me, I am basically good, just like everyone else.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

If we are to realize a peaceful, spiritual awareness, there are mental practices we must engage in.

~ Margaret R. Stortz ~

To some people, having a meaningful life means being busy all the time. While it’s true that we need activities that get us outside of ourselves, we can easily become too busy. While using alcohol and other drugs, many of us left too many projects unfinished. Perhaps we drifted, making resolutions to change, to work, to accomplish a goal, but never succeeding.

It’s not surprising that we feel we must make up for lost time now. The problem with this approach is that we need to be still, with a quiet mind, to know the peace of a truly meaningful life.

We have to make a habit of becoming quiet. We need to practice freeing our minds of the thoughts that compete for our attention. In silence will come our knowledge of God. Our serenity and security reside in our quiet moments.

I can still my mind and know God’s presence and will for me today.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am learning to forgive

My parents and I have not been friends for years. I couldn’t tell them when I got sick; one of them is a practicing alcoholic. They would not have believed, or accepted, my addiction—let alone my emotional illness. Still I missed them—I needed them—when I hit bottom.

In recovery however, I feel differently about them. I see them now as people who have made mistakes, who have let me down, but who did for me what they could. Somehow I have renewed faith that each in their own way cares about me, and I can tell that I still care about them too. When I phoned recently, it felt good just to hear their voices.

I will write out an affirmation that says, “I can forgive. I can let go."

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Order is a lovely thing;
On disarray it lays its wing,
Teaching simplicity to sing.

~ Anna Hempstead Branch ~

There is a spiritual quality about order. Even scientists who are atheists have come to believe in God when they study the order in nature and the universe. Is there any greater spiritual experience than watching a beautiful sunset, or seeing the infinite number of stars in the sky at night?

Order in our lives helps us relax and think and plan creatively. We tend to be more serene and hopeful when there is order, rather than when there is chaos.

And when we recognize our place in the order of nature and the world, we begin to have a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. We know, now, we are children of God, with a special place in the world.

Today I thank you for the order You have created in my life.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Many people are so concerned with adding days to their life that they forget to add life to their days.

~ Harriet Meyerson ~

How can you live in the moment when life is full of dis-tractions or when your thoughts are constantly tumbling you forward into the future or causing you to slip back-ward into the past? Whether your thoughts move you forward or backward in time, such movement wastes the precious moments in the present you have been given and can influence the way you feel. Even though you may not have awakened feeling sad, thinking about the past may cast a pall over how you feel during the day. Or you may feel anxiety or dread about things that have yet to happen.

Living in the moment is not easy to do. Living in the moment means taking charge of your thoughts so you control them, rather than let them dictate what you think about and how you feel.

There are many techniques you can use to live more in the moment—from reminding yourself of what you are doing at any given time to meditating or enjoying a hobby. Practice living more fully in the moment, and you will be more capable of immersing yourself in and appreciating the day.

Today I will not let thoughts of the past or future intrude upon my ability to live in the moment.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Love does not consist of gazing at each other but in looking together, in the same direction.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~

When we're addicted to a person all we can see is that person. Time moves slowly when we're apart, but passes quickly when we're together. We may feel panicky during even the most minor of separations and believe that we are fused into one being.

Loving relationships are not made by taking prisoners. Love is neither hypnotism nor possessiveness. Love is simply a sharing between two people. Many times this sharing involves movement in the same direction toward a mutual goal. Even though we're sharing the same path, we're not sharing the same body and mind.

A successful relationship is one in which we feel it would be okay even if we weren't with the other person. To be able to stand alone as firmly as when we're with another means we've found some sense of self-esteem and self-respect. We can love another and, at the same time, love ourselves.

Is my loving relationship healthy? Tonight I can work on my self-esteem and self-respect and trust I am a good person with or without a partner.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Avoiding intellectual pride

Intellectual pride can be a great downfall for those of us with addiction. We shouldn’t con ourselves into thinking that program guidelines don’t apply to “smart” people. Besides, if we’re so smart, how did we end up here in the first place?

Whether we finish high school or college, whether our collar is blue or white, all aspects of this program apply to us. Until we realize that the solution to our problem is our common bond—not our training, job, or lifestyle—we will make little progress. Our problem is no respecter of persons, but our solution is valid for all.

Can I keep my “smarts” from getting in my way?

Higher Power, help me realize that intellectual pride can prevent me from working my program.

Today I will practice humility by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (THE AA BIG BOOK) ~

Newcomer

Nothing much seems to have changed for me lately. I still have the same problems and issues I had months ago.

Sponsor

The Serenity Prayer asks me "to accept the things I cannot change." I used to think that meant things were never going to change—and that I'd better accept it! Now I realize not only that everything is capable of being changed, but that change is a fact of reality and I can't stop it. What the phrase "to accept the things I cannot change" means to me today is that there are many things that only my Higher Power can change. That doesn't mean things won't change, only that I can't force them to. I have the courage to do my part; I have faith that change takes place in my Higher Power's time.

I can't be sure I'm going to be offered a particular job; but I can shower, dress appropriately, show up for the interview on time, and represent my capabilities with honesty and dignity. If I'm persistent in these efforts, the right job will come in time. Or perhaps I'd like my weight to change. I can't control the numbers on my scale, but if I exercise and eat moderately, over time a moderate body will show up.

Our Higher Power's timetable often differs from our own; accepting that is a source of serenity.

Today, I let my Higher Power work in my life. I have the courage to have faith.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

If the price we Paid when we took a drink was the only price we had to pay, it would not be too expensive. It was the terrible price we had to pay after the drinks that really put the screws on us. For $3.50 most any bartender will contract to deliver you ten drinks of whiskey but the busted-up car that results can run the costs up to a first class funeral.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

My Chosen Life

Dear God, help me live the life I have chosen and allow others to do the same. It's hard to live more than one life at a time. Keep me free from trying to organize everyone's life according to my plan. Help me turn over my self-assumed responsibility for other people’s lives to You. Live and let live is the Twelve Step way of life.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

JUDGEMENT

Judgment, in the Bible, means deciding upon the truth or falsity of any thought. This process necessarily goes on in our minds all the time we are awake, and the extent to which we "judge righteous judgments" determines the character of our lives. To accept evil at its face value is to judge wrongly, and bring its natural punishment. To decline to believe in evil and to affirm the good is righteous judgment and brings the reward of happiness and harmony.

Thus The Judgment is not a great trial to take place at the end of time; it is a process that goes on every day. When Jesus said, judge not, that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1), he meant that to condemn our brother out of hand instead of seeing the Christ within him, is to put ourselves in danger because we are making a reality of those appearances in him, and whatever we make real we must demonstrate in our own lives.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

The Diet That Always Works

The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough is love.

~ Henry Miller ~

I heard about a woman who is performing miracles with anorexic and bulimic patients. She takes emaciated 50-pound women out of the hospital and brings them to her home, where she holds them, cradles them, looks into their tired eyes, and tells them, "l love you...I want you to live...I believe in you. " She has had a remarkable success rate, far beyond any medical or psychotherapeutic modality. She has cut past all intellectual models and belief systems, and has gone to the core of our existence: the giving and receiving of love.

A Course in Miracles tells us that every act we do is either an expression of love or a call for it. Love is the only diet, therapy, or activity that always works. When we cut past all our facades, many of our actions stem from our need to know we are lovable. To love ourselves and each other as we are, is to become utterly Godlike.

The next time people become upset with you, give them love. And the next time you lose your peace, give yourself love. We are here to love; nothing else will satisfy us.

I pray to love as You love. Show me how to live from my heart.

I live to love. and I love to live.

[bluidkiti]

September 13

Step by Step

"Above all, I was suffering inner pain because my performance and my accomplishments in life failed to live up to my own expectations of myself. I had to anesthetize that pain with alcohol. Of course, the more I drank, the more unrealistic my expectations became and the poorer my performance, and the gap widened. So the need to drink grew still greater." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 13 ("AA Taught Him to Handle Sobriety"), p 557.

Today, understand the reasons I concocted to drink were and are little more than excuses and, more, that maybe I should work a program that keeps me sober instead of keeping me from drinking. It's a fine line between struggling to keep from drinking and working to stay sober: by working only for the purpose not to drink, I probably am not applying the program's principles to get me sober. If so, I am not coming to terms with the "reasons" that I "had" to drink. And, by neglecting the psychological and spiritual sickness, I run the risk of losing or simply giving up the battle to keep from drinking. In the end, AA is intended to help us handle our living problems and not our drinking problem. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

PUSHING BUTTONS

Our family, parents, and loved ones can "push our buttons." That's because they installed them.

~ Anonymous ~

Many of us grew up shame-based, and it has continued into our later lives. Addiction and shame go together. We were told, we could do better in school. We were told we weren't living up to our potential. We learned there was something wrong with us. We should do better. Guilt is when we make a mistake; shame is when we are a mistake.

Our recovery allows us to identify and work out of our shame-based past. We can't force the people in our lives who push our buttons to change. We can change our attitudes and the way we react to button-pushers and the old unmanageable tapes in our heads. Not being perfect no longer means not being worthwhile.

Today, I am learning not to let the button-pushers affect my outlook. My sponsor and fiends are always there to make sure my button-pushers have much less power over me.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat.

~ Christy Mathewson ~

We all know the face of painful defeat. We tried to win, but some of our ways led to disgrace and shame. We used unwise and self-indulgent methods to cope with life’s problems. Those defeats were devastating. But it’s not only bad choices and mistakes that create loss and heartache. Inevitably, adult life forces everyone to face powerlessness. That is a spiritual lesson that some of us accept more readily than others. Many guys don’t easily give up the heady feeling of power and the pride of doing things their own way, even when their own way brings repeated defeat.

With only victories, we might remain as superficial boys for the rest of our lives. What would push us to learn? From the broken pieces of painful events we are forced to learn something new. We can no longer hold on to our voracious appetites and our stubborn willfulness. We have to finally open our minds to the wisdom of others. Through our failures we are strengthened In facing powerlessness, we truly grow from boyishness into genuine manhood

Today I am grateful for all that I have learned from my defeats.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

There comes a time in everyone’s recovery when we must begin to focus on wellness.

~ Julie B. ~

We have admitted we have a disease. We have also agreed to get help. We address our disease by doing the maintenance necessary to stay clean and sober—going to meetings, calling our sponsor, reading recovery literature, and staying away from slippery places.

Cultivating wellness is the next step in our process. Being free of hangovers isn’t really well-ness, even though we feel much better. Being well means being fit, physically. That comes from eating healthy food, exercising regularly, getting enough rest, and seeking the advice of professionals if mental or physical problems arise.

Before we stopped using chemicals, we couldn’t comprehend what wellness meant. Each sober day that we eat right and exercise moves us toward a more rewarding life. That’s wellness.

I can stay clean and sober with a little effort. And I can be well in mind, body, and spirit with a little extra effort today.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am facing my powerlessness

I'm following my dual recovery plan, but for some reason, it doesn't seem to be working these days. I feel better for a while and then feel worse again (which makes me feel worse still). At times I wonder if I'll ever recover-and then I lapse into thoughts about giving up completely.

On the other hand, I wonder if I am expecting too much too soon. Or maybe I am trying too hard. Perhaps I simply can't see that I am, in fact, getting better because I'm so close to it. When I think about it this way, I leave myself some room for faith. Perhaps I just need to keep working my program and in time (my higher power's time), I will settle down and find a measure of peace.

I will pray for strength and call a friend or sponsor for reassurance and support.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

~ William Shakespeare ~

When something or someone makes us angry and we deny or ignore it, it will become a resentment one day. Resentments hurt us because we suffer, but the person we’re angry with does not.

Resentments eat away at us, they make us into angry, negative, short-tempered, or depressed people. The key to preventing resentment is to start expressing our feelings, either directly or in writing. We can also talk to a third party, someone else we feel safe with. But we must somehow express our anger so we can move past it.

We do this not to change the other person, but to unload the poison of resentment from ourselves. Once we’ve acknowledged it, we often are able to forgive or forget. We no longer carry that burden. Anger does not have to bum in our hearts today. We can let go of anger, and that feels wonderful.

Today help me accept my feelings, express them in a safe way, and then turn them over to my Higher Power.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

It is easier to gaze into the sun, than into the face of the mystery of God. Such is its beauty and its radiance.

~ Hildegard of Bingen ~

When you were a child, you may have thought less about yourself and more about the wonder of the world around you, asking questions such as, “Do fish sleep at night?” As you grew older, your questioning may have been based less on the world around you and more on all of the things you were anxious to have or do: “Why can’t I have a puppy?” When you became an adult, you may have thought little about your place in the world or the value of others and asked questions such as, “Why do you always have be on my case?” When you entered the program, you may have asked, “Why do I have to go to meetings?” But as the program gradually became a new way of life for you, your questions changed: “How did I manage to stay olive using when others I know died?”

Asking questions—even those that have no clear answers—helps you to look outside of yourself and to recognize that the world is vast and filled with many mysteries.

Even if I do not know all of the answers, I will continue to ask questions. The more I learn about life, the more I want to learn.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

The cure for grief is motion.

~ Elbert Hubbard ~

Anniversaries of death, separation, and loss are difficult times. We can be feeling fine one month and then suddenly feel tremendous sadness, pain, and anger during the next. A quick look at our calendars may reveal a reason for our feelings, for we may have experienced something particularly trying at that time.

It's okay to relive an event and our feelings about it, as long as we don't wallow in the past or try to use the event as a reason for all our present difficulties. Grieving is a process that can proceed only when we are in motion.

How do we get in motion? We can imagine we're sitting in a small room of horrible-smelling cigar smoke. We can sit there and feel uncomfortable or even nauseous, or we can leave the room. That’s how we get in motion—by simply getting up and moving.

Tonight I can move out of my chair of painful memories. I can think of ways to get in motion and cure these sad feelings. Then I can relax and have a peaceful night's sleep.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Developing a sense of humor

We may not believe this, but it helps to think that life isn’t strictly serious. There’s much humor in it and a sense of humor often eases pain. If we can laugh, chances are we can forgive both ourselves and others.

It may not feel like it, but recovery isn’t strictly serious either. Getting clean and sober (and helping others do the same) is often a process full of joy.

Can I find something to laugh at today?

Higher Power, help me see the humor in all my seriousness, help me laugh.

Today I will work on my sense of humor by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

I wonder if this new reality is going to destroy me.

~ BARBARA GUEST ~

Newcomer
I got the promotion I've been praying for. Now I'm afraid I'm not up to doing the job well enough. What if I'm a failure at it?

Sponsor

First of all, congratulations! But remember, you'll never fully experience how positive this moment is if you move right into the next available negative emotion.

Like you, I'm used to maintaining my daily quotient of doubt and fear. Success, however I've defined that word for myself throws me off balance. I can belittle the accomplishment itself brush it off pretend it doesn't mean much. Or I can belittle myself: "I was just lucky," or "They must have made a mistake." I can even put my recovery at risk, finding substitute addictions in an effort to numb my discomfort at having a success.

Successes, like disappointments, are opportunities for surrender. I've watched you work hard for this success; you deserve it. You deserve, too, to take it in fully, to share about it, to celebrate it. It's time to take a few deep breaths and really feel this moment.

Today, I celebrate a success, large or small.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

In spite of evidence to the contrary, we still persist in wondering what would happen, after our several months of sobriety, if we again took a drink.

We definitely know that we don't want "a" drink. We never did in our drinkingest days. We know that we have graduated from the ranks of happy drinkers. We know of no one in all our experience who has made the experiment to his or anyone else's satisfaction—yet we might be the exception.

It is this type of curiosity that has killed many a cat. Don't try it. Even if you are right—you're wrong.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

My Family

Help me accept the potent emotions I may feel toward family members. Help me be grateful for the lesson they are teaching me. I accept the golden light of healing that is now shining on me and my family. I thank God that healing does not always come in a neat, tidy package.

~ From The language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie, page 117 ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

REPENTANCE

To repent means, really, to change one's mind concerning something. When a person realizes that a particular action, or a certain line of conduct, or perhaps the whole direction of his life, has been wrong, and honestly resolves to change his conduct, he has repented. The Bible makes true repentance an essential condition for any spiritual progress, and for the forgiveness of sin, Jesus said, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3).

Repentance does not mean grieving for past mistakes, because this is dwelling in the past, and our duty is to dwell in the present and make this moment right. Worrying over past mistakes is remorse, and remorse is a sin, for it is a refusal to accept God’s forgiveness.

John the Baptist said, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2). This means that you should change your thought and know that the Presence of God is where you are.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Destiny by Choice

Chance plays no part in God's plan.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

In the film Mr. Destiny, James Belushi plays a man who wishes that his life were otherwise. For many years, Larry agonizes over striking out in a crucial situation while playing high school baseball under observation by major league scouts. He knows that if he had gotten a hit, he would have landed a professional baseball contract, generated a huge income, and married a woman as enticing as his boss's wife. Then Larry meets a shaman who shows him what his life would have been like if he had taken the glamour road. While Larry is initially in bliss, the demands placed upon a rich and famous person soon catch up with him, and he realizes that he created a hell, not a heaven. Finally, he prays to return to his regular life, which, although mediocre, is joyful for him. The caption on the movie poster asks, "Would you trade everything you have for everything you want?"

While it may be tempting to fantasize about how it all might have been different if a key decision from your past had turned out another way, trust that it actually turned out in your best interests. On a deep level, our soul knows what will best serve our destiny, and the situations we manifest are in harmony with where we need to be for a particular purpose. Where else could you be but where you are, and who else could you be but who you are?

Don't waste a moment regretting past mistakes or wishing it were otherwise. Ask yourself how you would like it to be now, and invest your energy in building the life you believe in. Then your life will reflect your choices, not your fears.

Help me trust that the decisions You make through and around me are perfect.

I am in my right place on my right path. I cannot lose because God is with me.

[bluidkiti]

September 14

Step by Step

"Why sit with a long face in places where there is drinking, sighing about the good old days? If it is a happy occasion, try to increase the pleasure of those there; if a business occasion, go and attend to your business enthusiastically. If you are with a person who wants to eat in a bar, by all means go along. Let your friends know they are not to change their habits on your account. ...While you were drinking, you were withdrawing from life little by little. Now you are getting back into the social life of this world. Don't start to withdraw again just because your friends drink liquor." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 7 ("Working With Others"), p 102.

Today, what "good old days" of my drinking? If they were so good, why am I in AA? And because I am in AA, do I skirt responsibility for my alcoholism by expecting or asking others to accommodate me by not having alcohol in their houses or serve it when I'm there? Do I expect a friend to take me to a new restaurant if the one we frequented serves liquor? And if others don't alter their habits to convenience me, do I repeat what I did as my drinking progressed by steadily withdrawing? Today, I begin taking responsibility for my own addiction and recovery by making changes from within and not expecting them from outside. By failing to do that, I am doing little else than living in the problem of struggling not to drink instead of the answer of sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

NEW FRIENDS

Our friends are people who know all about us and still like us.

~ Anonymous ~

Because we are people who need people in order to maintain a happy recovery, we know that making friends can be one of our most important activities. We have over-come our "terminal uniqueness," isolation, and feelings of "being alone in a crowd." Sharing with friends in recovery is vital to our Program.

We are told we can be an example of how our Program works. When we make new friends in recovery, sharing our experiences and learning from theirs, we carry the message. To be a loner is to deny this to others. As recovering people, we need others in order to survive. Again we are reminded that no one can do it for us, but we can't do it alone.

By sharing with friends and making new ones, I've overcome my "terminal uniqueness." I carry the message and work my Program.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

I began to have an idea of my life, not as the slow shaping of achievement to fit my preconceived purposes, but as the gradual discovery and growth of a purpose which I did not know.

~ Joanna Field ~

When we pledge to turn our life and our will over to the care of God, we have taken a profound step. With those words we enter into the mystery of the spiritual life. We move from feeling alone to trusting that our Higher Power will guide our choices. We move from focusing on what we want to focusing on who we will become. We stop trying to control everything and become open to the mystery that underlies life.

For some of us, today presents challenges and worries. Some of us are anxious about a problem at work or within our family. We may have a painful dispute with our life partner. In the wisdom of the spiritual path, we can lean back on the faith that we don’t have to deal with these things alone. We can do what is possible, and we can rely on the care of God to work in the ways of God.

Today I am grateful for the care and purposes of God to lead me in dealing with life.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Sharing secrets requires trust. Accepting secrets requires an open heart.

~ Kathleen Tierney Andrus ~

Sometimes we feel so different, so out-of-place with our co-workers, siblings, or even friends. Self- consciousness overwhelms us when we hide parts of ourselves from other people, fearing they’d reject us if they knew who we really were. Living in fear and isolation with our secrets gives others far too much power over us. We’re not comfortable when we try and hide so much of ourselves.

If we take notice, we’ll see that at least one woman at every Twelve Step meeting risks her anonymity to talk about a dark area of her life. She is a wonderful example to us. Our acceptance of her heals her. Her sharing with us begins our own healing process.

Accepting the secrets a friend needs to share today will help her heal. I will benefit too. My secrets will no longer reign so powerful.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I need to keep "first things first"

In recovering from my dual disorder, I have two "first things": abstinence in my addiction and stability in my psychiatric illness. I can't simply choose either abstinence or medication. I need to stay free of street drugs and keep up my prescribed psychiatric medication. I can't simply choose between Twelve Step meetings or my group therapy meetings prescribed by my psychiatrist. They're different and I need them both, one for each illness. Each part supports the other.

I must keep in mind that I have two no-fault illnesses that can affect one another and so place my recovery at greater risk. I am coming to believe that my very first thing—the most important thing in my life—is recovery.

I will put my daily dual recovery activities first.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Glance at negatives
but focus on positives.

~ Maxwell Maltz ~

It is always easy for a chemically dependent person to focus on the negatives. Up until now we have had little experience with positives. But now we can learn to use life’s negatives as tools for learning rather than as an outline for continued failure.

Taking an inventory will turn them into such tools and rid us of the excess baggage we’ve been carrying for so long. By making a searching and fearless moral inventory, writing it all down on paper, we can see the past for what it was, recognize what caused it, and think about what we can learn from it. Then, and only then, can the past be disposed of.

Our disease has kept us from looking at the positive side of many things. But already we can find many positive changes in our lives. We are more healthy, more emotionally stable. Our minds are clear again. And we have a Higher Power to protect and love us. Soon we’ll be able to find joy wherever we look, and realize the value of positive thinking.

Today help me see the positives in my negatives.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.

~ Jim Rohn ~

Imagine that you have signed up for a white-water rafting weekend. As you head off down the river on your first day, your guide shouts commands and issues warnings of upcoming hazards. When the raft nearly flips over in a particularly rough patch of water, he says you are doing an awful job. By the end of the day, you feel like a failure.

But the next day you have a new guide. As you head out in the raft, the guide offers instruction to paddle with greater strength. As you negotiate gnarly twists in the river, the guide praises your efforts. Even when the raft is almost upended, the guide gives soothing guidance and positive feedback. You enjoy this day far more than the previous day.

Some people strive to instill fear in you and speak with anger and impatience. They rarely give praise or guidance. When you are around such people, you feel weak and uncertain of yourself. Others provide support and good advice. They recognize your strengths and give praise. When you are around such people, you feel strong and self-assured. Whom do you choose to be with today as you navigate the river of life?

I choose to associate with people who recognize my strengths and help build my confidence.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

~ Sir Rabindranath Tagore ~

The bird that sings long before the sun has risen is strong evidence of faith. For that bird trusts the sky will soon lighten, the sun will rise, and the world will come alive. It is when the bird won't sing at such a time that we know it has lost faith in the great continuum of things.

Even when things seem darkest for us, we can still sing. Even in our grief or loneliness or fear, we can find a voice within us that will help us have faith that all things change, all wounds heal, all is eased through the passage of time.

We hear people tell us things get better. They do. Of that we can be certain, for it’s as sure as the rising sun. There isn't a day that won't have light. There isn’t a night that won’t have a rising sun at its end. There isn't a problem that won’t have a solution, a teardrop that won't have a smile, a weary soul that won't be energized once again. Tonight we can sing, for we can have faith in the rising sun.

Things aren't as bad as they may seem tonight. There as hope, because there is always change.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Being patient

Over time, we get what we want out of this program. If we seek a better way of life, for example, we will develop it. If we want to diminish our pain, we will find relief. If we want love, we will learn how to give it and receive it.

Over time, our lives can improve a great deal through the Twelve Step program. Thus, our job is to keep coming to meetings and working the Steps.

Can I do what I need to do to get what I want?

Higher Power, help me to be patient with myself, the program, and the process of change.

I will continue my process of recovery today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

All the stories have been told long ago. Your job is retelling. Relighting.

~ PAM GEMS ~

Newcomer

I can't believe how nervous I was about speaking at a neighborhood meeting. I was thinking, "These people already know all about me; I've got nothing to share that they haven't heard before." But after the meeting, lots of people thanked me

Sponsor

Every meeting is somehow different- Perhaps some people have heard us before, but most likely they bring a new awareness each time they hear us' What we say, as long as it's honest, will touch and connect with what's on other people's minds. What others have to share at the meeting is as important as the speaker's contribution. As all of us listen, identify, and speak in our various ways, our experience, strength, and hope become the warp and woof of another meeting. If our speaking keeps any one of us from acting out our addictions today, it's a success.

Speaking is a tool for staying sober and a service to the rest of us who listen. Your presence, your willingness to show up and share, speaks volumes all on its own.

Today, I have the self-esteem and the humility to share myself as I am.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Beauty that only appeals to the eye is shallow and is of short duration. A thought is only beautiful if it inspires beautiful action. A masterpiece of painting is a masterpiece only if it inspires people to beautiful thinking. Mechanical perfection is only good craftsmanship unless it provides a need for humanity.

A thing of beauty is one that serves a beautiful purpose. If your actions are not motivated by lofty ideals and purposes you are denying yourself much that in beautiful in life.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Knowledge

God, may I not fear new ideas and the wisdom offered to me in my recovery. Help me keep my mind open to hear the help that is offered and leave judgment to You. I'm able to hear more clearly when I work the Steps and let You work in my life. May I keep growing and accepting the knowledge that comes my way. When I don't know something, I will admit it. Knowing that I don't know is also knowledge.

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

KEY WORDS IN THE BIBLE

LIFE

Jesus said that he had come that we might have life and that we might "have it more abundantly." The Bible often uses the word life, and always with the implication that it is the greatest of all blessings. With long life will I satisfy him (Psalm 91:16). Thou wilt show me the path of life. . . (Psalm 16:11). Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus says that those who follow him shall have the light of life. And the great goal of man is said all through the Bible to be eternal life.

Now what is this life of which the Bible speaks? You experience life when you feel yourself to be free and useful and joyous, and unconscious of either fear or doubt. Everyone has known such periods. Though they are much rarer than they should be, those are the times that you were alive. At other times you did not have life, in the Scriptural sense.

So when the Bible promises us long life, under certain conditions, it promises us a long period of joy and freedom. When it promises eternal life, it promises the enjoyment of these things forever, on the condition that we keep the Great Law—by seeking more knowledge of God, and putting Him first in our lives.

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

What a Job Is Worth

Get happiness out of your work, or you may never know what happiness is.

~ Elbert Hubbard ~

In a classic Woody Allen scene in the movie What's New, *****cat? Woody meets a friend on a Paris street and tells him he has just gotten a new job helping the lovely dancers of the Folies Bergere to get dressed before their performances. "How much is the pay?" asks his friend. "Twenty sous per week," answers Allen. "Twenty sous per week? That's next to nothing!" the friend chides him.

"I know," Woody answers. "But it was all I could afford."

You know you are in your right job when you have a sneaky feeling you should be paying someone for the opportunity to do it. While this does not mean you need to pay to do it (indeed, the universe will pay you to be in your right place), it points to the truth that right livelihood blesses the giver of a service as much as the receiver.

If you're searching for your right livelihood or evaluating your current work in light of your vision, a good question to ask is, "What would I be doing even if I weren't getting paid for it?" What turns you on so much that you would do it for sheer delight? That is the arrow to follow toward work that will bring you joy as well as prosperity.

Prosperity is not a level of income; it is a consciousness. If you are happy, productive, and giving service in a profession, you are living in the abundance consciousness. This attitude will move you to produce quality work and draw to you plentiful good in the form of money or other material support. When you do what you do not love, you affirm that the universe cannot provide you with joyful livelihood, and that compromise is required of a divine being. The universe will also mirror this attitude if you hold it.

I receive as much from writing and teaching as do the readers or students. Even if no one ever reads what I write, it would still be entirely worth writing it. Work from your heart, and the universe will work for you.

Help me to serve in a way that brings me joy, as well as others.

The universe supports me as I follow my bliss.

[bluidkiti]

September 15

Step by Step

" ...I can only say that whatever growth or understanding has come to me, I have no wish to graduate. Very rarely do I miss the meetings of my neighborhood AA group, and my average has never been less than two meetings a week. I have served on only one committee in the past nine years, for I feel that I had my chance the first few years and that newer members should fill the jobs. They are far more alert and progressive than we floundering fathers were, and the future of our fellowship is in their hands." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Alcoholics Anonymous Number Three," Ch 6 ("The Vicious Cycle"), pp 249-50.

Today, words that instill the program as a lifelong exercise and call to service. If I remain reluctant for whatever reason to propel myself into visible service, my own continued sobriety and emotional and spiritual growth can serve the newcomer by witnessing my own example that the program works. And, hopefully, with continued growth and nurturing, I may someday be able - even eager - to serve in a visible capacity such as a speaker, moderator at a meeting or giving a ride to a meeting to someone who needs it. Today, I strengthen my sobriety with more than gratitude by respecting it because, in the end, my own recovery and that of everyone else may well determine "the future of our fellowship." And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

SHORTCOMINGS

The unexamined life is not worth living.

~ Socrates ~

None of us who strive for serenity will ever be tempted to say that we are leading a life that has gone unexamined. Our Program places great emphasis on the Steps concerned with taking inventory of our lives and making definite moves to rid ourselves of shortcomings we find are slowing our progress. These Steps continue to stress a spiritual progress that can be maintained if we expect to cope with our problems.

We in recovery know that the inventory of defects of character needs to be fearless and thorough. Subsequent Steps involve us in admitting our wrongs to a Higher Power and humbly seeking God's help in relieving our lives of those handicaps. We continue to look at our behavior and make daily assessments of how we are living and handling our problems.

I am getting to know myself through my inventory taking. By examining and working to remove my shortcomings and character defects, my life has become worth living.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

It’s not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game even starts.

~ Addison Walker ~

Being considerate, civil, generous, and interested in others forms the basis of good character and good relationships with others. When we stop being so focused on ourselves, when we stop trying to come out ahead of everyone else, our world opens up. We suddenly have good, supportive friendships that are more valuable than material winnings.

The Golden Rule is ancient advice that is expressed in many languages and world religions. It says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is a small man who takes away someone else’s power to advance his own. A strong man can confidently cheer for the strength of others.

Today I am grateful for the good friends in my life.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Maturity doesn’t come with age or intellectual wisdom, only with love.

~ Ruth Casey ~

We may have thought being mature meant being “grown-up.” This meant acting rationally, showing good judgment, no longer exhibiting childish behavior. It’s doubtful that we ever considered the expression of love as an act of maturity. However, we are learning that the key to sustained growth is the ability to love one another and ourselves.

It seems so much easier to focus on others’ faults than on their assets. In childhood we learned to compete with our classmates, and this taught us to be critical of one another. No teacher tested us on how we expressed love; rather, we worked on spelling and multiplication tables, and we were pitted against other students for the gold stars.

Now we are discovering how much more comfortable life is when we all get gold stars. We are handling every situation more sanely now that we have realized the gift of serenity that accompanies our expression of love.

My growth, my maturity in this program, can best be measured by my attitude today. Am I loving, or am I still competing with the others?

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I want to stay abstinent

When I was using, some days I'd wake up and look at myself in the mirror. I looked awful. I felt awful. I'd stare into my eyes and silently plead with myself to quit the chemicals. I couldn't keep it up anymore. I was falling apart and things were falling apart all around me. I was scared. I no longer had control.

I'm grateful today that I finally became willing to accept this problem and that I finally got help. Sometimes I still feel like caving in, but there is something inside me that still wants to hang on, still wants to get better, still wants to stay abstinent. I need to pay close attention to that desire.

When I feel like using again, I will tell a friend and ask for help.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

If you pray for bread and bring no basket to carry it,
you prove the doubting spirit
which may be the only hindrance to the boon you ask.

~ Dwight L. Moody ~

If we have been introduced to the fellowship of a Twelve Step program, how can we still doubt the power of prayer? When we were hopeless and our lives were in a shambles, didn’t we ask, wish, or plead for deliverance?

Whether we thought we were praying or not, our prayers have been answered. It doesn’t matter if we think it was God or the miracle of the Twelve Steps or some other Higher Power that came through for us. What matters is we asked, and we were answered. If this doesn’t demonstrate the power of prayer, what will?

We are letting go of doubt and suspicion. It is time to remember that even in our day-to-day lives, there is a Power greater than ourselves we can turn to. We no longer have to resign ourselves to suffering. Faith is our “basket.” If we bring the basket to carry the bread, we will never be alone.

Today help me summon my faith so I can accept the gifts that await me.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

A milkmaid walked to the village with a pail of milk balanced on her head. She began to think about what she I would do with the money she would make when the milk was sold, and decided she would buy some chickens. They would lay eggs, which would bring in a good price at the market. “Then I will use the money I earn to buy a new dress and hat,” she said. “I will go to the market dressed so nicely, and all the young men will notice me. All the women will be jealous of me.”

Eager to get on with her plans, she began to walk a little faster. “I will just look at those women, smile, and toss my head in the air.” With that, she actually tossed her head. The pail fell to the ground and all of the milk spilled out.

The moral of the story: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

While it may be tempting to think being clean and sober means you can show others they were wrong about you, this is not the purpose of recovery. Recovery is a program that helps you stay clean and sober. Your work in the program is something you do for yourself.

I will not use my recovery as a means of retaliation or personal gain.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires . . . courage.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

When we first entered the program, someone may have said to us, "Oh, you don't have a problem. You don't need that program." That person may have dismissed our reasons with countless excuses, saying that our decision was silly or foolish, that someday we'd come to our senses.

At first we may have believed our critics. The program certainly wasn't easy. Maybe our circumstances weren't as bad as we thought, compared to others’. Maybe we looked around the meeting room and didn't see people of the same age, the same sex, or the same background. Maybe we felt we didn't belong.

But as we became familiar with the Steps and the principles of the program, we realized we could relate to others and benefit from what they had to say. We, too, belonged.

Tonight, help me be grateful for the courage it took for me to stay in the program.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Learning how to pray

Step Eleven may give us concern: I haven’t prayed in so many years! What do I do? I don’t even know where to begin.

Fortunately, praying can be as simple as it is important. It need not be long or formal. It needs no particular prayer, time, or place. It is simply thinking good thoughts, saying our feelings, or reviewing our day. Whatever we do as praying is a good thing.

Am I learning how to pray?

Higher Power, help me pray.
Help me stay in touch with my spiritual self.

Today I will pray by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

When you forget the beginner's awe, you start decaying.

~ NOBUKO ALBERY ~

Newcomer

I'm surprised at something I've recently felt happening to me at meetings. It's a kind of serendipity: whatever the speaker's story whatever the topic or the literature being read, it seems to apply perfectly to what's going on in my life.

Sponsor

Some of us have this experience at the first meeting we attend. We're ready to be shown a way to live without addiction, to hear the words that will help us to heal. The experience of that first meeting slakes a spiritual thirst even greater than we knew we had. Some of us are blessed to be able to listen with the same kind of active, focused attention throughout our recovery; some of us gradually grow in our ability to identify with others and to feel gratitude. Whenever we listen with the expectation of hearing something that will meet our needs, we hear it.

You're feeling a connection to other people's sharing, in part because of the willingness, empathy, and gratitude you bring to meetings. When we are open and receptive, we can almost always count on someone's saying words that seem to speak directly to us.

Today, I listen actively; I hear words that are meant for me.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The greatest battles of life are won or lost without the sound of a single shot. Suppose Christ had lost His battle with Satan at the time of His temptation? Its repercussions would have been greater than all the battles of history.

Your greatest victory, your greatest display of courage in your fight against Alcohol was not accomplished amid flying banners and the flourish of trumpets but in the quiet of your own heart.

The most courageous thing a man can do when he has fought a good fight and realizes that he is up against unconquerable odds, is to admit that he is whipped. General Robert E. Lee's reputation for courage suffered not one bit by his surrender at Appomattox.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, help me pray and concentrate my thoughts on You,
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with You there is light;
I am lonely, but You do not leave me,
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help,
I am restless, but with You there is patience;
I do not understand Your ways,
But You know the way for me.

~ From "I Cannot Do This Alone, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

AFTER YOUR HEALING

Healing is only the beginning. When you are completely healed of everything wrong in your life—your body, your business, difficulties in personal relationships, obvious faults in your own character—you will not have finished your work. Your real work will only be commencing.

Your real work is to show and experience the glory of God, to build the spiritual consciousness, "the house magnifical." Conscious fear will have gone, and your whole world will be different. The physical world will be different because it will be clothed in a new glory—"the light that never was on sea or land." Then people will be different because you will be beginning to know their real selves instead of merely the outer shell, and, of course, everyone else will notice that you are different, too.

This is not to say that healing is unimportant—it has to precede the building. Let us endeavor to get our own healing completed as soon as possible in order to help the world that is needing it so much.

Bless the Lord . . . who healeth all thy diseases . . . who crowneth thee with lovingkindness . . . (Psalm 103:2-4).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Bought the T-Shirt

To see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone.

~ Buddha ~

When opera star Beverly Sills retired from the stage to become a director, she was constantly asked, "How could you give up such a glorious and lucrative career?" Finally, Beverly had a little gold pendant made displaying the letters "I.A.D.T.'' When someone at a party would question Beverly about leaving the stage, she would hold up the pendant and recite, “I already did that.''

Just because something has worked for a long time, that does not mean you must do it forever. lf you still feel enlivened and emotionally rewarded in it, carry on. But if the juice is gone, you must ask yourself where your heart really calls you, and move in a new direction.

To keep rubber-stamping an old activity is not a career; it is hiding. Some writers, musicians, or artists produce a dearth of works that are but variations on an old formula or theme. The products sell, but on the inside, these souls are dying artistically. What is required is not more of the same, but a leap of faith to do something new and different.

If you can say, "Been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt,” it's time to venture onward. To live is to explore, reach out, and risk. The only real security lies in adventure.

Give me the courage to try something new. I want each day to be more alive than the last.

I launch into uncharted territory, trusting that spirit is guiding me.