Today's Thought - June

[bluidkiti]

June 16

Finish each day and be done with it.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Often we want to carry the worries or the successes of today into tomorrow. As we put our heads on our pillows, we need to let go of today. Each new day needs to begin with a fresh mind. Each new day deserves our full attention. The purpose of the Tenth Step is to allow us to concentrate our energies on the present. Worries, past and future, scatter our energies. Step Ten helps us keep our energies focused and available for today.

Why is this important? It is only in the present that we can truly connect with others and our Higher Power. The present is our gateway to the eternal. Worries and even successes make us less able to step across this gateway into a better relationship with our Higher Power and others. We need to allow ourselves to travel light into tomorrow.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me live in the present. Help me develop more and more willingness to live in the moment.
Today's Action

Today I will use the Tenth Step to think about where I am with the world and change the things I can, let go of the things I need to, and recommit to living in the present.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me: More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple*

[bluidkiti]

June 18

And when I see you happy, well, it sets my heart free.
I'd like to be as good a friend to you as you are to me.

~Joni Mitchell

Friends are one of the greatest gifts of our recovery, and they come as a result of a life that's sane and manageable. It takes time and energy to make and keep good friends, but the rewards are worth it. To these special people we can gladly give our honesty, our fidelity, our trust, and our unconditional acceptance.

As friendship grows, we find ourselves more able to understand our friend's needs. Is there a child to be watched or a kitchen that needs cleaning? Can we listen empathetically, without judging, to whatever a friend is going through? When a friend is sick, are we ready to help out? Can we put aside our needs because a friend's need is greater at the moment than our own?

As our recovery helps us develop the skills it takes to be a good friend, we can let go and let our friendships develop naturally. Then we will be able to trust the bond of love between our friends and us.

I will call a friend today and let that person know how much he or she means to me.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

[bluidkiti]

June 18

I would be honest, for there are those who trust me.

~Howard A. Walter

Some of those around us seem to see only the good in us. They trust and respect us, even when we ourselves may not feel we deserve it.

A young girl once talked about her grandfather. She said, "He was the only person in my life who saw the good in me." She mentioned that she sought to please her grandfather and not disappoint the trust which he placed in her. He brought out the best in her because of the way that he looked at her.

Each of us can be like this grandfather by focusing on the good in other people. We can use our spiritual eyes to see love, honesty, trustworthiness, and unselfishness in the heart of another. As we look for the good, we are doing our part to help create it.

Do I see the good in those around me right now?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

[bluidkiti]

June 19

The Recovering Young

The program is a school in which we are all learners and all teachers regardless of age.

~Anonymous

The younger generation in the program embraces the program with enthusiasm that can only be attributed to the young. And, of course, abstinence is never wasted on anyone, let alone young people whose whole lives are in front of them.

Today a larger percentage of young men and women are flooding recovery units and meeting halls. Although older members may have long abstinence, they are often bested by the eagerness the young devote to working their program.

Many who are new to recovery ask the same question: "What will I do with all my time now that I’ve stopped using?" Young people learn that service work and sober activities with fellow members keep them busy.

I know the future of our program is secure because of the many good young people who are working it.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

[bluidkiti]

June 20

Each day is a "workshop." Let's remember to keep our minds and hearts open so we won't miss our opportunities.

~Dudley Martineau

Looking at every day as a workshop for more productive or rewarding living eases the dread of new or unfamiliar circumstances. Developing the belief that we will be given exactly what we need to learn will change how we meet every twenty-four hours.

Before recovery we expected life to be hard. Our jobs often felt like drudgery. Our families seldom gave us the affirmation we longed for. Friends were unavailable. What we felt we deserved and sought, we often didn't find. That was then. This is now.

It’s a simple change in perspective to come to believe that we are given what we need from our jobs, our families, our friends, every day. Accepting this belief will influence the outcome of every experience. Our lives will never seem the same.

I paid my dues for today's workshop by committing to recovery. What I will learn is up to me.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

[bluidkiti]

June 21

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.

~John Burroughs

In the Twelve Steps, we see the term God several times. But from the program's beginning, there have been atheists and agnostics using and valuing the Steps as their guide for life. Many people do not relate to a personal God. They do, however, experience the meaning and spirit of their group and the restoring powers of nature. That is why the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous included the phrase "God as we understood Him."

Whether a personal God is real to us or not, nature is there for us as a healing and refreshing source. We don't have to go on a major trip to the mountains or fishing in the wilderness to find this source. We find it in the sky, the clouds, and the magical moon; we find it in the intricate structure of a leaf, a massive tree in the park, or a wild bird on a window ledge. There is no more clear evidence of the generous gifts that come unbidden than in nature. And we can rest in the Power greater than ourselves shown in creation and the forces of nature.

Today, I will be soothed and healed by nature all around.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

[bluidkiti]

June 22

AA Thought for the Day

Alcoholics are unable or unwilling, during their addiction to alcohol, to live in the present. The result is that they live in a constant state of remorse and fear because of their unholy past and its morbid attraction, or the uncertain future and its vague forebodings. So the only real hope for the alcoholic is to face the present. Now is the time. Now is ours. The past is beyond recall. The future is as uncertain as life itself. Only the now belongs to us. Am I living in the now?
Meditation for the Day

I must forget the past as much as possible. The past is over and gone forever. Nothing can be done about the past, except to make what restitution I can. I must not carry the burden of my past failures. I must go on in faith. The clouds will clear and the way will lighten. The path will become less stony with every forward step I take. God has no reproach for anything that He has healed. I can be made whole and free, even though I have wrecked my life in the past. Remember the saying: "Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more."
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not carry the burden of the past. I pray that I may cast it off and press on in faith.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

[bluidkiti]

June 23

Let us open our natures, throw wide the doors of our hearts and let in the sunshine of good will and kindness.

~Orison Swett Marden

Kindness is among the gifts we can most easily spread among others. The more we give of kind words and deeds, the more we discover that kindness is like a burning candle which lights many other candles without losing a trace of its own brightness. Our kindnesses are assets which return unexpected dividends when we invest them in the happiness of others. Kindness is the very basis of love. It softens the most severe anger and gladdens the hardest hearts.

No kindness is too small to win and hold the affection of others because it is made up of gentleness, love, generosity, unselfishness, and caring.

What kindness do I have to offer today?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

[bluidkiti]

June 24

Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.

~Yehuda Berg

The words we choose to use have immense power. We can use words to bring peace to others. We can use words to tell our Higher Power and others how much we care. Or we can use words to hurt others. We can curse them and scare them away. We often did this when we used alcohol and other drugs.

In recovery, we learn to use words in a kind, wise way. We treat words as a gift. We use words to build our relationships.

Do I use words in a kind way? Do I treat words as a powerful gift? Do my words make the world better or worse for those who hear me speak?
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, when I speak words, help me think about their power. Help me speak to others in a kind way.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll speak to others with respect. My words will add a little kindness, honesty, and love to the world today.

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

[bluidkiti]

June 25

As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.

~Marian Anderson

Because of our resentments, we sometimes get tense. We say we aren't going to have contact with our parents until they do something we expect of them. Or we hold out on a friend because we want an apology for an injury or injustice.

Sadly, we become tenser, more limited in our own joy, by holding someone else to our expectations. Our lives can be much richer and more fulfilled when we let go of these expectations. We can let go of manipulating or drawing forth the responses we want. Our manipulations and pouting make life too boring and limited. No one else need stand in the way of our pleasure of being adult men.

Today, I will let go of my claims on others so I can be free to soar.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

[bluidkiti]

June 26

Giving it away each day

Talent, heroism, and physical attractiveness. Although society admires such qualities, they don't count much when it comes to our all-important Twelfth Step work. This work draws on all our talents and powers, but in ways that are subtle, warm, and personal.

With the help of our Higher Power, we develop the power to soothe, suggest, endure, and love. The Step Twelve encounters that happen every day are more important than the work of the statesman or hero. Our program exists and grows through the giving of Step Twelve.

Do I give it away each day?

Higher Power, help me to see the joy of being loving and self-sacrificing.

Today I will practice giving by...

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

[bluidkiti]

June 27

Two Lives in One

I'm surrounded by people in recovery. For eight and a half years now, I've lived this life that is so amazing. I've been given an opportunity to reengage in my sons' lives. In 2020, right before COVID, I got married again. My wife is in recovery too. My oldest son is twenty-eight. My youngest is eighteen and will soon be my middle child, because my wife is currently pregnant with another boy. My wife is twenty-two years younger than me. She also has two kids that she did not raise because of what she went through with her family and addiction.

It's been challenging, but with those challenges come sunshine, hope, and the rainbows we see in our dreams. I love this way of life. I've been given an opportunity to live two lives in one lifetime.

Today I will see my second chance at life - my second chance in recovery.

~Armando S., U.S. Army, 2006–2009

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

[bluidkiti]

June 28

Reflection for the Day

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image," wrote Thomas Merton. "Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." As I replace my self-destructive addictions with a healthy dependence on the program and its Twelve Steps, I'm finding that the barriers of silence and hatred are melting away. By accepting each other as we are, we have learned again to love. Do I care enough about others in recovery to continue working with them as long as necessary?
Today I Pray

May I be selfless enough to love people as they are, not as I want them to be, as they mirror my image or feed my ego. May I slow down in my eagerness to love - now that I am capable of feeling love again - and ask myself if I really love someone or only that someone’s idea of me. May I remove the "self" from my loving.
Today I Will Remember

Love is unconditional.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

[bluidkiti]

June 29

We are much more than our defects.

Having a balanced view of ourselves is one of our goals in recovery. Typically, though, our shortcomings are more obvious than our assets, particularly to others: We're bossy. We're pouty and manipulative. We're shaming. But we have many positive traits too. Fortunately, the Fourth Step asks us to give attention to our whole self, to our assets along with our defects.

Discerning our assets may seem difficult, perhaps because our faults are more glaring. However, acknowledging our strengths is a key to growth. Let's remember yesterday. What did we do that we were proud of? What behavior felt right and pleased others? Taking pen to paper and detailing our positive actions help us recognize who we are in a broader sense. This is all the Fourth Step means. There is no mystery to it. It’s far less difficult than most of us make it. And it's far more rewarding.

Before going to bed I will do a brief inventory of my behavior. Knowing who I really am is important to me.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

[bluidkiti]

June 30

A good education is another name for happiness.

~Ann Plato

Most of us think of education as something attained through schools and degree programs. And, in fact, increased self-esteem and courage have opened many of us to possibilities for furthering our formal education. But healing and spiritual growth are the result of another sort of education that is open to all of us each day. Opportunities to awaken our spirits continue throughout life.

The pain we may have suffered in our families and in society, personal traumas, mistakes we have made, things we may wish we’d done differently - we can put all of these experiences to use. Whatever we have suffered can expand our perspective on human life and increase our usefulness to others. Knowledge of life and overcoming obstacles can make us wiser and more compassionate as community members, mentors, lovers, and friends. We know that the education of our hearts, like that of our minds, takes time and study.

Today, I am grateful for all of my experience.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day