Oct. 31, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

"I spend a great deal of time passing on what I learned to others who want and need it badly. I do it for four reasons:
1. Sense of duty.
2. It is a pleasure.
3. Because in so doing I am paying my debt to the man who took time to pass it on to me.
4. Because every time I do it I take out a little more insurance for myself against a possible slip." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Personal Stories, Pioneers of AA", Ch 1 ("Doctor Bob's Nightmare"), pp 180-81.

Just for today, admitting that my motive to quit drinking was self-serving and hardly altruistic, I am required now to be responsible for the gift of sobriety I am receiving in the Program. That responsibility is no clearer in any other than the 12th Step, the one that gives us our marching orders to carry the message to people who need and want it. A dividend like sobriety that we have earned through blood, sweat and tears brings with it a responsibility to it, and we appreciate and treasure that dividend when we share it with someone else, and it works as well for them. As a drinking alcoholic, I "shared" my problems by blaming anyone and anything but myself, and it overwhelmed me; as a soberholic, so must I also share it and, hopefully, sobriety will become an even stronger condition than the attraction to alcohol. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 31, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
I have more peace and contentment. Life has fallen into place. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have found their correct position. Life is whole, all of one piece. I am not cast hither and yon on every wind of circumstance or fancy. I am no longer a dry leaf cast up and away by the breeze. I have found my place of rest, my place where I belong. I am content. I do not vainly wish for things I cannot have. I have "the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference."

Have I found contentment in AA?

Meditation for the Day
In all of us there is an inner consciousness that tells of God, an inner voice that speaks to our hearts. It is a voice that speaks to us intimately, personally, in a time of quiet meditation. It is like a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We can reach out into the darkness and figuratively touch the hand of God. As the Big Book puts it: "Deep down in every man, woman and child is the fundamental idea of God. We can find the Great Reality deep down within us. And when we find it, it changes our whole attitude toward life."

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may follow the leading of the inner voice. I pray that I may not turn a deaf ear to the urging of my conscience.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 31, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Reflection for the Day
If I'm to continue growing in The Program, I must literally "get wise to myself." I must remember that for most of my life I've been terribly self-deceived. The sin of pride has been at the root of most of my self-deception, usually masquerading under the guise of some virtue. I must work continually to uncover pride in all its subtle forms, lest it stop me in my tracks and push me backward once again to the brink of disaster.

When it comes to pride, do I believe, in Emerson's words, that "it is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself ...?"

Today I Pray
May I know that button-popping pride is inappropriate for me as a recovering addict. It hides my faults from me. It turns people off and gets in the way of my helping others. It halts my progress because it makes me think I've done enough self-searching and I'm "cured." I pray to my Higher Power that I may be realistic enough to accept my success in The Program without giving in to pride.

Today I Will Remember
Pride halts progress.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 31, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

The Founders of AA acted wisely when they fixed it so there would be no Big Shots in our fellowship. We are not the best people in the world when it comes to bearing heavy responsibilities. It has proven to be poison to many a good man.

After all, it is not necessary for your fame to spread around the world - there are more drunks on your own street than you can help.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 31, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. -- Mark Twain
Which of the Twelve Steps teach us how to handle our fear? The Steps that scare us the most! For many of us, that would be Step Three, Step Five, and Step Nine. These Steps ask us to move from one place in our life to a new place.

Step Three asks us to let go of the life we are leading and to step into a new life. We have faith that it is okay to do so because we have come to believe in a Higher Power that will restore us to balance and sanity.

Step Five asks us to move from a secret life to a life of openness. We have to leave our hiding place, take off our masks, and let someone else see us as we really are.

In Step Nine, we take responsibility for our past actions. We face the people we have hurt, and we do what we can to repair the damage we caused.

Each of these Steps teaches us courage.
Prayer for the Day
Higher Power, give me courage to move into the new life You have made open to me. All I need to do is take the Steps to get there.
Today's Action
Today I will think about my courage in my recovery.

From the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

God Grant Me. . . © 2005 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Oct. 30, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

"Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks - drinking which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change, there is very little hope of his recovery." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, "The Doctor's Opinion," pp xxvi-vii.

Just for today, if I cannot forget what the physician in the Big Book calls "the effect" of alcohol as I grew progressively drunker, let me never forget the morning after with its consequences, none of which I care to be responsible for anymore. If I can cling to what the morning-after costs were and that they were my "bottom," may they be potent enough to remove any desire to drink again because, should I drink again, there likely will be no stopping until another bottom hits - if I survive long enough. I abused that "firm resolution" not to drink again when I was hung over, or standing in front of a judge with my latest DUI or after I broke every promise I'd made to family and friends. A "firm resolution" is so easy then; it can be just as easy if I apply it to being sober - if I remember the consequence instead of "the effect." Today, I don't need or want to remember the effect; the consequences are enough. And our common journey continues. Just for today. -Chris M., 2012

Oct. 30, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
I have real friends, where I had none before. My drinking companions could hardly be called my real friends though, when drunk, we seemed to have the closest kind of friendship. My idea of friendship has changed. Friends are no longer people whom I can use for my own pleasure or profit. Friends are now people who understand me and I them, whom I can help and who can help me to live a better life. I have learned not to hold back and wait for friends to come to me, but to go halfway and to be met halfway, openly and freely.

Does friendship have a new meaning for me now?

Meditation for the Day
There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to have them, before we have earned the right to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may learn the lesson of waiting patiently. I pray that I may not expect things until I have earned the right to have them.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 30, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

Reflection for the Day
When I'm motivated by pride - by bondage of self - I become partly or even wholly blind to my liabilities and shortcomings. At that point, the last thing I need is comfort. Instead, I need an understanding friend in The Program - one who knows "where I'm at" - a friend who'll unhesitatingly chop a hole through the wall my ego has built so that the light of reason can once again shine through.

Do I take time to review my progress, to spot-check myself on a daily basis, and to promptly try to remedy my wrongs?

Today I Pray
God, I pray that the group - or just one friend - will be honest enough to see my slippery manifestations of pride and brave enough to tell me about them. My self-esteem was starved for so long, that with my first successes in The Program, it may swell to the gross proportions of self-satisfaction. May a view from outside myself give me a true picture of how I am handling the triumph of my sobriety - with humility or with pride.

Today I Will Remember
Self-esteem or self-satisfaction?

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 30, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

Each and every one of us have what we have only by the Grace of God. Even if we acquired all our possessions through our own industry and intelligence, still you must admit that you gave yourself none of these attributes that made your acquisition possible.

These were not necessarily inherited traits, for geniuses have had morons for children. You have what you have because God so willed it, so use them as God would will it.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 30, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed.... -- Joshua 1:9
It has been said when we are at the end of our rope, we can do one of three things: let go, tie a knot and hang on, or splice the rope and begin again. Whenever we feel there's nowhere to go but down and nobody to turn to, that's when we can start all over again. If we can learn to look beyond the end of something, we'll always see an exciting, fresh beginning.

At the end of every storm is calm. At the end of every argument is silence. At the end of one relationship there is another. Although life is composed of many endings, there are just as many new beginnings. "Life goes on" is even assured by the passage of time - at the end of each minute there's another.

Nights may have many endings, but they will also have just as many beginnings. Just as the sun will set, so the moon will rise and the stars will appear. Just as the day's activities will end, so the evening's activities will begin. And when those activities are over, there will be new experiences the next day.

I can be unafraid of endings because I know they are only the first half of beginnings.

From the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Night Light by Amy E. Dean. © 1986, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Oct. 29, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

" ...(A) terrible thing happened. I ran out of people! Even my family didn't have much use for me. When they saw me coming, they locked up the silverware and everything else of value. I felt very lonely and hurt, because nobody understood me. I felt very sorry for myself and attempted suicide on many occasions, making sure there was always somebody within reaching distance to see that I didn't finish the job. Any time I tried to kill myself, I was either drunk or pilled up or both ..." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 4 ("Belle of the Bar"), pp 478-79.

Just for today: " I ran out of people, " ...nobody understood me," "I felt very sorry for myself." What once was my prescription for life now sounds pathetic. Perhaps I refused or couldn't understand anyone else because I was too self-absorbed to understand them; maybe I felt sorry for myself because I had nothing to give or even offer anyone else; and possibly I ran out of people because I drove them away with my expectations that they make me and my wants or needs their total focus. As we sober up, we recover; as we recover, we can see what we allowed our addictions to do to us and, in the end, what it did made us pathetic souls. In sobriety, I have no use, no excuse, no need and don't want to be that pathetic creature who expects to be the focus of everyone else's attention and, when I'm not, lash out in self-righteous indignation. I may not be perfect even in sobriety, but I don't have to be and I'm grateful to say I'm not the pathetic self-seeker I once was. So it goes with the miracles of the Program. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 29, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me, have turned to me in confidence and trust and have forgotten the past as best they could. They have given me a chance for companionship that I had completely missed. I am their father or their mother now. Not just "that person that Mom or Dad married and God knows why." I am a part of my home now.

Have I found something that I had lost?

Meditation for the Day
Our true measure of success in life is the measure of spiritual progress that we have revealed in our lives. Others should be able to see a demonstration of God's will in our lives. The measure of His will that those around us have seen worked out in our daily living is the measure of our true success. We can do our best to be a demonstration each day of the power of God in human lives, an example of the working out of the grace of God in the hearts of men and women.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may so live that others will see in me something of the working out of the will of God. I pray that my life may be a demonstration of what the grace of God can do.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 29, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

Reflection for the Day
Virtually all of us suffered the defect of pride when we sought help through The Program, the Twelve Steps and the fellowship of those who truly understood what we felt and where we had been. We learned about our shortcomings - and of pride in particular - and began to replace self-satisfaction with gratitude for the miracle of our recovery, gratitude for the privilege of working with others, and gratitude for God's gift - which enabled us to turn catastrophe into good fortune.

Have I begun to realize that "pride is to character like the attic to the house - the highest part, and generally the most empty ...?"

Today I Pray
God, please tell me if I am banging my shins on my own pride. Luckily for me, The Program has its own built-in check for flaws like this - the clear-eyed vision of the group, which sees in me what I sometimes cannot see myself. May I know that any kind of success has always gone straight to my head, and be watching for it as I begin to reconstruct my confidence."

Today I Will Remember
"Success" can be a setback.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 29, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

We human beings are more miraculous than the ape organically. We do not even have some powers possessed by brute creation - for example, we cannot change color at will as can some reptiles. We can't change our physical make-up as the tadpole does when it becomes a frog, or a caterpillar when it changes into a butterfly.

Yet we are the miracle of all miracles, for we alone have a soul, which enables us to transcend this planet and commune with God himself.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 29, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Resentment

Of all the negative emotions, resentment diminishes us the most. It brings unwarranted anger toward those who have something we want, and self-pity for ourselves. It drains us of the energy we need to change our lives and work toward goals. Resentment keeps us in a rigid judgment of who "should" and who "should not" achieve success; all "should" attitudes are pointless, breeding discontent and wasting time. Above all, resentment is ugly to see and even uglier to feel. When I'm resentful, I feel hatred toward others and myself.

Today, I ask for the humility to accept my limitations, without resenting others who have exceeded them. I ask for the courage to pursue my own goals, not comparing myself to others.

From the book:

Help for Helpers by Anonymous

Help for Helpers © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Oct. 28, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Just for today, if even in sobriety I cling onto such all-consuming and self-destructive emotions like resentment, anger, grief or bitterness and will not or cannot yet free myself of them, today, I at least will not take on any more feelings that I cannot handle. Recovery is partly about getting rid of the garbage and self-defeatism that I acquired pre-alcoholic and during my drinking days; it is not about acquiring more of the same. In refusing to take on any more, I at least will having something less to work through and, in fact, might be able to take on what exists one thing at a time. Today, my recovery will focus on getting rid of what needs to be rid of and not on collecting more of what I do not need. All I need remember is to "Let Go and Let God," and not take back that which I let go. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 28, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my husband or my wife is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding, recriminations, bickering and resentment. A new companionship has developed which bodes well for the future. "There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope, with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope."

Have I come home?

Meditation for the Day
We can bow to God's will in anticipation of the thing happening which will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 28, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Reflection for the Day
"Pride, like a magnet, constantly points to one object, self; unlike the magnet, it has no attractive pole, but at all points repels." - Colton

When the earliest members of The Program discovered just how spiritually prideful they could be, they admonished one another to avoid "instant sainthood." That old-time warning could be taken as an alibi to excuse us from doing our best, but it's really The Program's way of warning against "prideful blindness" and the imaginary perfections we don't possess.

Am I beginning to understand the difference between pride and humility?

Today I Pray
May God, who in His mercy has saved our lives, keep us from setting ourselves up as the saints and prophets of The Program. May we recognize the value of our experiences for others without getting smug about it. May we remember with humility and love the thousands of other "old hands" who are equally well-versed in its principles.

Today I Will Remember
I will avoid "instant sainthood."

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 28, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Carrying your own troubles may be likened to a man trying to pick up a board that he is standing on. He has his own weight to contend with as well as the weight of the board.

It is much easier to carry the other man's burdens for we are standing away from the problem. We can view the problem impersonally and thoughtfully. We can show him where he is standing in his own way, direct him to take hold of his end of the problem and allow us to lift the other end. The weight, distributed between the two of us, will become relatively easy to handle.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 28, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

A.A. Thought for the Day

The length of time of our sobriety is not as important as its quality. A person who has been in A.A. for a number of years may not be in as good mental condition as a person who has only been in a few months. It is a great satisfaction to have been an A.A. member for a long time and we often mention it. It may sometimes help the newer members, because they may say to themselves, "If they can do it, I can do it." And yet the older members must realize that as long as they live, they are only one drink away from a drunk. What is the quality of my sobriety?

Meditation for the Day

"And greater works than this shall ye do." We can do greater works when we have more experience of the new way of life. We can have all the power we need from the Unseen God. We can have His grace, His spirit, to make us effective as we go along each day. Opportunities for a better world are all around us. Greater works can we do. But we do not work alone. The power of God is behind all good works.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may find a rightful place in the world. I pray that my work may be made more effective by the grace of God.

From the book:

Twenty-Four Hours a Day by Anonymous

Twenty-Four Hours a Day © 1975 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Oct. 27, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Reflection for the Day

Since I came to The Program, I've begun to recognize my previous inability to form a true partnership with another person. It seems that my egomania created two disastrous pitfalls. Either I insisted upon dominating the people I knew, or I depended on them far too much. My friends in The Program have taught me that my dependence meant demand -- a demand for the possession and control of the people and the conditions surrounding me. Do I still try to find emotional security either by dominating or being dependent on others?

Today I Pray

May I turn first to God to satisfy my love-hunger, knowing that all God asks from me is my faith. May I no longer cast emotional nets over those I love, either by dominating them or being excessively dependent upon them -- which is just another form of domination. May I give others the room they need to be themselves. May God show me the way to mature human relationships.

Today I Will Remember

To have faith in God's love.

From the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

A Day at a Time © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Reproduced from previous date due to server problem.

Oct. 27, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, Oct. 27, 2013
Today's Gift from Hazelden is:

We learn from making mistakes and repairing them.

We do not believe in perfection, we believe in mending. We make progress toward a goal, but we seldom move in a straight line toward it without missteps. Life is like a zigzag chain of events 
that first brings everything together just as we want and then spills it all over again. We try to do our best, but inevitably we make mistakes. So a large part of normal daily life is spent mending.

When we accept imperfection as a fact of life, we make peace with the constant need for repairs. Saying I made a mistake and I owe you an apology is never fun, but when we do it we grow stronger. Every disappointment, every complaint, points to an underlying hope or wish. We can use them to point us to repairs we would like to make. We do not learn anything new from correctly repeating what we already know. We learn from making mistakes and repairing them.

Select one complaint or one mistake that you want to mend and turn it into a learning experience.

From the book:
The More We Find In Each Other

by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

The More We Find in Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum. © 1992 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Oct. 27, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

Just for today, I must understand that recovery gives me the freedom not to live within the confines of alcoholism and, instead, offers the freedom to live in the boundless possibilities of sobriety. As a recovering alcoholic, I know - or at least, I better know - what I cannot do and, in trying to work toward or maintain sobriety I may be fighting what I cannot do. But in recovery, I am not confined by what I cannot do in alcoholism and any other "ism" and do not have to fight sobriety. As such, I need to understand the distinction between fighting not to drink and simply letting sobriety be. Today, I have the freedom to live not in the problem of fighting not to drink but living in the solution of simply not drinking; I choose to live in the solution, not in the problem. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 27, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
Seventh, I can help other alcoholics. I am of some use in the world. I have a purpose in my life. I am worth something at last. My life has a direction and a meaning. All that feeling of futility is gone. I can do something worthwhile. God has given me a new lease on life so that I can help other alcoholics. He has let me live through all the hazards of my alcoholic life to bring me at last to a place of real usefulness in the world. He has let me live for this. This is my opportunity and my destiny. I am worth something!

Will I give as much of my life as I can to AA?

Meditation for the Day
All of us have our own battle to win, the battle between the material view of life and the spiritual view. Something must guide our lives. Will it be wealth, pride, selfishness, greed or will it be faith, honesty, purity, unselfishness, love and service? Each one has a choice. We can choose good or evil. We cannot choose both. Are we going to keep striving until we win the battle? If we win the victory, we can believe that even God in His heaven will rejoice.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may choose the good and resist the evil. I pray that I will not be a loser in the battle for righteousness.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 27, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

Reflection for the Day
The Program's Fourth Step suggests that we make a fearless moral inventory of ourselves. For so many of us, especially newcomers, the task seems impossible. Each time we take pencil in hand and try to look inward, Pride says scoffingly, "You don't have to bother to look." And Fear cautions, "You'd better not look." We find eventually that this sort of pride and fear are mere wisps of smoke, the cloudy strands from which were woven the mythology of our old ideas. When we push pride and fear aside and finally make a fearless inventory, we experience relief and a new sense of confidence beyond description.

Have I made an inventory? Have I shared its rewards so as to encourage others?

Today I Pray
May I not be stalled by my inhibitions when it comes to making a moral inventory of myself. May I not get to the Fourth Step and then screech to a stop because the task seems overwhelming. May I know that my inventory today, even though I try to make it "thorough" and honest, may not be as complete as it will be if I repeat it again, for the process of self-discovery goes on and on.

Today I Will Remember
Praise God for progress.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 27, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

Gifts are usually given for favors already given or for favors expected. Even the sudden outburst of affection from friend-wife is frequently followed by a glowing description of a dress she saw downtown.

The gift of AA is one exception. We give AA away because it is the only way we can keep it ourselves.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 26, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Friday, Oct. 26, 2012

"Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings." - Step Seven

Just for today, I cannot be too eager to release my shortcomings or character defects without first laying the foundation that is cemented in Steps Four, Five and Six. I cannot be honest about my defects without first taking the self-inventory of Step Four and then giving them voice by acknowledging them to myself, the God of my understanding and to another person as required in Step Five. And I certainly cannot ask for those defects to be removed if I am not willing to let them go, as mandated in Step Six. It has been heard in meetings that some people hold onto defects because they are not ready to let them go. But if those defects I cling to are a roadblock to the quality of recovery I seek, I have to be willing to release them. Today, I can "humbly ask Him to remove my shortcomings," but only after I have done the homework to let them go. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

Oct. 26, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, Oct. 26, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
Sixth, I have AA meetings to go to, thank God. Where would I go without them? Where would I be without them? Where would I find the sympathy, the understanding, the fellowship, the companionship? Nowhere else in the world. I have come home. I have found the place where I belong. I no longer wander alone over the face of the earth. I am at peace and at rest. What a great gift has been given me by AA! I do not deserve it. But it is nevertheless mine. I have a home at last. I am content.

Do I thank God every day for the AA fellowship?

Meditation for the Day
Walk all the way with another person and with God. Do not go part of the way and then stop. Do not push God so far into the background that He has no effect on your life. Walk all the way with Him. Make a good companion of God, by praying to Him often during the day. Do not let your contact with Him be broken for too long a period. Walk all the way with God and with other people, along the path of life, wherever it may lead you.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may walk in companionship with God along the way. I pray that I may keep my feet upon the path that leads upward.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 26, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, Oct. 26, 2012

Reflection for the Day
From time to time when I see the slogan "But for the Grace of God," I remember how I used to mouth those words when I saw others whose addictions had brought them to what I considered a "hopeless and helpless" state. The slogan had long been a cop-out for me, reinforcing my denial of my own addiction by enabling me to point to others seemingly worse off than I. "If I ever get like that, I'll quit," was my oft-repeated refrain. Today, instead, "But for the Grace of God" has become my prayer of thankfulness, reminding me to be grateful to my Higher Power for my recovery, my life and the way of life I've found in The Program.

Was anyone ever more "hopeless and helpless" than I?

Today I Pray
May I know that "but for the grace of God," I could be dead or insane by now, because there have been others who started on addictive paths when I did who are no longer here. May that same grace of God help those who are still caught in the downward spin, who are heading for disaster as sure as gravity.

Today I Will Remember
I Have seen God's amazing grace.

Hazelden Foundation