Nov. 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Waiting Season

Today my husband and I are both veterans, and we’re recovering together. It wasn’t always this way. It took me doing some work on me and taking a hiatus from dating. My picker was broken. I was picking the wrong ones, and that was the problem — I would do the picking. I had to take a break. I let go and was like, You know what, God? I’m taking a break. You pick the next one. I’m leaving this in your hands. Your will be done. You know what’s best for me.

I stepped away from dating, from talking to anyone, from doing anything for a year and a half. A year and a half — nothing. My family was like, “You’re not dating?” I would say, “Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I’m waiting. I’m in a waiting season. I’ll know when it’s time when God’s ready for me to have someone. It’ll come.”

And then one day I was sitting in a meeting and my future husband tapped me on the shoulder and asked me for a reading. And we started laughing with each other. We’ve been together since then. And that’s all she wrote.

In his perfect timing, God supplies my needs rather than my wants.

— Karen A., U.S. Air National Guard, 1980‑1991

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

Today, understand that a substitute chemical to replace alcohol that alters my perception of reality is not working toward recovery. May I also understand that “mind- and mood-altering chemicals” may not necessarily include prescribed medications. If depression continues to be a condition even in recovery, for example, let me listen to reasons why anti-depressants may not compromise my sobriety but may even improve its quality. The debate in 12-Step programs that any substance which alters mood costs us our sobriety is as old as the Program itself. But the Program admits it is not a medical one, and that tells me it is my responsibility to seek knowledge from qualified sources to determine if my sobriety is at risk. Today, understanding that the substances I ingested are not the same as prescribed medications, let me also consider the possibility that acting as my own physician may be writing my own relapse. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
We have slips in AA. It has been said these are not slips but premeditated drunks, because we have to think about taking a drink before we actually take one. The thought always comes before the act. It is suggested that people should always get in touch with an AA before taking that first drink. The failure to do so makes it probable that they had decided to take the drink anyway. And yet the thoughts that come before taking a drink are often largely subconscious. People usually don’t know consciously what made them do it. Therefore, the common practice is to call these things slips.

Am I on guard against wrong thinking?

Meditation for the Day
“The eternal God is thy refuge.” He is a sanctuary, a refuge from the cares of life. You can get away from the misunderstanding of others by retiring into your own place of meditation. But from yourself, from your sense of failure, your weakness, your shortcomings, whither can you flee? Only to the eternal God, your refuge, until the immensity of His spirit envelopes your spirit and it loses its smallness and weakness and comes into harmony again with His.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may lose my limitations in the immensity of God’s love. I pray that my spirit may be in harmony with His spirit.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

Reflection for the Day
If you’re a negative thinker and are not yet ready to do an about-face, here are some guidelines that can keep you miserable for just as long as you wish to remain so. First, don’t go to meetings of The Program, especially discussion groups. If you somehow find yourself at a meeting, keep your mouth shut, your hands in your pockets and your mind closed. Don’t try to solve any of your problems, never laugh at yourself and don’t trust the other people in The Program. Above all, under no conditions should you try to live in the Now.

Am I aware that negative thinking means taking myself deadly serious at all times, leaving no time for laughter — and for living?

Today I Pray
If I am feeling negative, may I check myself in the mirror that is the group for any symptoms of a closed mind; tight lips, forced smile, set jaw, straight-ahead glance — and not a glimmer of humor. God, grant me the ability to laugh at myself — often — for I need that laughter to cope with the everyday commotion of living.

Today I Will Remember
To laugh at myself.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023

Many who are active in AA work come to feel that they just can’t carry on any longer. There is so much to do; so little time can be spared to do it; so few to do the work. There is a limit to their endurance. After all, a guy has just so much health, strength and patience.

When the burdens get too heavy and too numerous, take it up with the Big Boss, tell Him you like to do His work but that it is more than you can handle — ask Him for more help — and you’ll get it.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 30, 2023 – Good morning and let’s make it a grand Thursday

 

Good morning with gratitude for this beautiful Thursday and its potential for good …and that we don’t have to cave into people and things that bring nothing positive to our lives

Nov. 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Taking the Steps

We used drugs for many reasons. Often it was to take the edge off life. In the beginning drugs made the world more beautiful, more satisfying. Toward the end we used drugs to turn off our guilt, fear, and loneliness. The drugs began to cause more problems than they cured. Finally, using met none of our needs at all.

By working the Steps, however, we can learn to meet our needs in constructive, rather than destructive, ways.

Am I working all the Steps necessary to meet my needs without chemicals?

Higher Power, help me find those things in life — sober and clean — that I was trying to find by using drugs.

Today I will work on Step…

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023

Today, if my candle is burning at both ends with responsibilities, obligations and expectations,  I will not complain or seek adulation and, instead, will be grateful and humble that now I am trusted to carry out what is asked and expected of me. But if I feel overwhelmed at times, I can fall back on the edict “First Things First.” The first thing is sobriety. Without it, there is nothing; with it, there is everything. The benefits sobriety brings include service to the sufferer who needs and wants to hear the message, and I should not shirk or complain about being in service. Not only does what I contribute to another soul strengthen my own recovery against a possible slip or relapse, I need only to remember the days when I was drunk literally 24/7 and ask if those days were better than now. Today, my yesterdays are nowhere better than today, and today is where I will stay without complaining, without seeking recognition and instead ask in humility for the will of my Higher Power and the knowledge to carry it out. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023

AA Thought for the Day

The AA way is the way of sobriety, and yet there are slips. Why do these slips occur? Why don’t we all accept AA and stay sober from then on? There are many reasons, but it has been proved without exception that once we have become alcoholics, we can never drink successfully again. This has never been disproved by any case we know of. Many alcoholics have tried drinking after a period of sobriety from a few days to a few years, and no one that we know of has been successful in becoming a normal drinker.

Could I be the only exception to this rule?

Meditation for the Day

“We are gathered together in Thy name.” First, we are gathered together, bound by a common loyalty to God and to each other. Then, when this condition has been fulfilled, God is present with us. Then, when God is there and one with us, we voice a common prayer. Then it follows that our prayer will be answered according to God’s will. Then, when our prayer is answered, we are bound together in a lasting fellowship of the spirit.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be loyal to God and to others. I pray that my life today may be lived close to His and to theirs.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023

Reflection for the Day
Contrary to what some people think, our slogan “Let Go and Let God” isn’t an expression of apathy, an attitude of defeatism or an unwillingness to accept responsibility. Those who turn their backs on their problems are not “letting go and letting God” but, instead, are abandoning their commitment to act on God’s inspiration and guidance. They neither ask for nor expect help; they want God to do it all.

In seeking God’s guidance, do I realize that the ultimate responsibility is mine?

Today I Pray
May I not allow myself to be lazy just because I think God is going to do everything anyway. (Such apathy reminds me of my old powerless self, the one that moaned that the world was going up in smoke, civilization was going down the drain and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.) Neither may I use “letting God” do it as an excuse for shrugging off my problems without even trying. May God be my inspiration; may I be an instrument of God.

Today I Will Remember
God guides those who help themselves.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023

We find in life exactly what we are looking for. In your drinking days, you courted trouble constantly and you probably found more than your share of it.

Today we are looking for a better way of life and this, too, we find at every turn.

We get what we want if we put forth sufficient effort to look for it, if we have the ability to recognize it when we see it, and the tenacity to hold on to it when once we grasp it.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 29, 2023 – Good morning and let’s shoot for a productive and worthwhile Wednesday

 

Good morning and here’s a precious little pussy kitty to help get your Wednesday off to a great start …make it a terrific and productive, worthwhile day — and don’t bother with people and things that aren’t worth our time

Nov. 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundaiton

 

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Finding Hope

Since devoting myself to recovery, I’ve never been without hope. I’ve experienced some really dark times in recovery, and there have been times when hope was all that I had. There’s an Italian proverb that says “Hope is the last thing ever lost.” How beautiful. How inspiring. I now understand that sharing hope is the most important thing I can do. Hope can be planted like a seed. I confess I was once a dope dealer; now I’m a hope dealer. I can share my experience and my knowledge to inspire hope in others. I can show them how to share their hope. And hope will spread. Hope will grow.

Hope is really about believing that things just might be okay. We can hope for healed relationships. We can hope for fresh starts. We can hope to make it through the next hour, next day, next week, next month, and next year in our recovery. We can hope to feel joy again. Hope means glimmers of light in the darkness, in the darkest of despair.

We all have hope. Somewhere. We might have to dig deep, but it’s there.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

” …(W)e launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning, which many of us had never attempted. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. Our liquor was but a symptom. So we had to get down to causes and conditions.
“Therefore, we started upon a personal inventory. This was Step Four.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, Ch 5 (“How It Works”), pp 64-5.

Today, the “vigorous action” of the Fourth Step cannot and should not be done in one sitting. In our impatience and zeal to get sober, we risk skirting the depth of some Steps, and the Fourth is vulnerable. Without depth and absolute honesty, and neglecting to come to terms with some issues identified in our moral housecleaning, the benefit and effectiveness of subsequent Steps may be less than what they could and should be. We are urged to submit to Step Four and honestly assess both our character defects and attributes. But we should not expect that we can honestly compile a thorough list in one attempt, particularly when identifying the “causes and conditions” of which alcohol was “but a symptom.” After all, those defects will likely still be there tomorrow if we need a break today from the “vigorous action” that the Fourth requires. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
The AA way is the way of sobriety. AA is known everywhere as a method that has been successful with alcoholics. Doctors, psychiatrists and clergymen have had some success. Some men and women have got sober all by themselves. We believe that AA is the most successful and happiest way to sobriety. And yet AA is, of course, not wholly successful. Some are unable to achieve sobriety and some slip back into alcoholism after they have had some measure of sobriety.

Am I deeply grateful to have found AA?

Meditation for the Day
Gratitude to God is the theme of Thanksgiving Day. The pilgrims gathered to give thanks to God for their harvest which was pitifully small. When we look around at all the things we have today, how can we help being grateful to God? Our families, our homes, our friends, our AA fellowship: all these things are free gifts of God to us. “But for the grace of God,” we would not have them.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be very grateful today, I pray that I may not forget where I might be but for the grace of God.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

Reflection for the Day
Our faith in God’s power — at work in us and in our lives — doesn’t relieve us of responsibility. Instead, our faith strengthens our efforts, makes us confident and assured, and enables us to act decisively and wisely. We’re no longer afraid to make decisions; we’re not afraid to take the steps that seem called for in the proper handling of giving situations.

Do I believe that God is at work beyond my human efforts, and that my faith and trust in Him will bring forth results far exceeding my expectations?

Today I Pray
May my trust in my Higher Power never falter. May my faith in that Power continue to shore up my optimism, my confidence, my belief in my own decision-making. May I never shut my eyes to the wonder of God’s work or discount the wisdom of His solutions.

Today I Will Remember
Our hope in ages past, our help for years to come.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

Knowledge is of great value, and nothing of value is acquired without price. Wisdom is even more to be desired than knowledge, which can be but an accumulation of facts. Humility is greater than wisdom for there is no real wisdom without humility. The wise are humbled by the knowledge of the limitations of their knowledge.

No man is born with these characteristics, they are born of the vicissitudes of life. Sorrow, despair and failure are their breeding grounds.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 28, 2023 – Good morning with hopes of a great Tuesday for everyone

 

Good morning with determination to make this beautiful Tuesday as good and productive as you can, and don’t bother with people and things that aren’t worth our time

Nov. 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

He that to what he sees, adds observation, and to what he reads, reflection, is in the right road to knowledge.

— Charles Caleb Colton

We are not just feathers blown on the winds of a powerless life. We bring ourselves to our experiences. The dynamics of learning include, first, what happens – what we see or read or hear – and, second, what we make of it. So in our observations and reflections we consider what an event means to us.

As men in a spiritual program, we need some time to think and reflect. That is, we need time away from the phone, away from interruptions and work, where we can let ourselves learn and grow from our experiences. Some men get that by leaving the radio off while driving alone, others get it on the bus, others light a candle in a quiet room at home and meditate. In this way, we are conscious and aware of what is happening in our lives, and we bring our wisdom to it. Through time we deepen and grow stronger as we grow older rather than only accumulating more experiences.

Today, I will reflect on the meaning of my experiences and bring my wisdom to them.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

“There may be some wrongs we can never fully right. We don’t worry about them if we can honestly say to ourselves that we would right them if we could. Some people cannot be seen — we send them an honest letter. And there may be a valid reason for postponement in some cases. But we don’t delay if it can be avoided. We should be sensible, tactful, considerate and humble without being servile or scraping.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6 (“Into Action”), p 83.

Today, I can’t take on guilt — or be guilted — if I, in absolute honesty, cannot make an amend to someone I have hurt if that amend further injures them or someone else. This is a vital qualifier of the Ninth Step — that we make amends directly “except when to do so would injure them or others.” But this isn’t an out from making amends or accepting responsibility for the hurt we inflicted. It is possible to postpone making an amend if an immediate one inflicts hurt. It is just as possible that I can never make amends to someone if that person cannot be found or is no longer available. In any case, if for no one other than myself, I can make “indirect” amends by admitting my wrong in writing, in a private journal even if no one else will read it. In doing that, I am at least giving voice to a silent wrong. The benefit could be that the guilt or fear of me being “caught” is powerless because I have admitted my wrong and taken responsibility. If today I take the Ninth Step, I must temper my “confession” with the qualification that an act of atonement now could do what the Ninth warns against — inflicting further hurt. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2023

Nov. 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
The way of AA is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation. We could not have the others if we did not have sobriety. We all come to AA to get sober, and we stay to help others get sober. We are looking for sobriety first, last and all the time. We cannot build any decent kind of a life unless we stay sober.

Am I on the AA way?

Meditation for the Day
To truly desire to do God’s will, therein lies happiness for a human being. We start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied. We take and we do not give. Gradually we find that we are not happy when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other peoples’ wills. But this again does not give us full happiness, and we begin to see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God’s will. In these times of meditation, we seek to get guidance so that we can find God’s will for us.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God. I pray that I may be guided today to find His will for me.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

Reflection for the Day

The Program shows us how to transform the pipe-dream of our pasts into reality and a true sense of purpose, together with a growing consciousness of the power of God in our lives. It’s alright to keep our head in the clouds with Him, we’re taught, but our feet should remain firmly planted here on earth. Here’s where other people are; here’s where our work must be accomplished.

Do I see anything incompatible between spirituality and a useful life in the here and now?

Today I Pray

May my new “reality” include not only the nuts and bolts and pots and pans of daily living, but also my spiritual reality, my growing knowledge of the presence of God. May this new reality have room, too, for my dreams — not the drug-induced, mind-drifting fantasies of the past or the remnants of my delusions – but the products of a healthy imagination. May I respect these dreams, anchor them in earth’s possibilities and turn them into useful creativity.

Today I Will Remember

Heaven has a place in the here-and-now.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Monday, Nov. 27, 2023

Sorrow and happiness are mental states, but the effect they have upon our nervous system and our blood pressure is a recognized fact.

The “Atmosphere” of a hospital and its staff can lengthen or shorten the duration of an illness.

We alcoholics spent years driving nails into our coffins; let us spend today drawing those nails out.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 27, 2023 – Good morning to Monday and a brand new week

 

Good morning with confidence that we can handle whatever this Monday and new week have in store …have a truly great and worthwhile day, and don’t waste any of it on people and things that don’t deserve our time

Nov. 26, 2023 - Readings in Recovery; Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

I’m as pure as the driven slush.

— Tallulah Bankhead

The Steps are filled with words and phrases that help us be real with ourselves: shortcomings, exact nature of our wrongs, persons we had harmed, and when we were wrong. The Steps help us accept all parts of who we are.

Our program asks us to share these parts of ourselves with others. We heal by doing this. It’s hard to talk about how wrong we can be, but we must. It’s part of how we recover. Remember, all of us have bad points. At times, we all act like jerks. When we can talk about our mistakes, we end up having less shame inside of us.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me to love and accept myself as You love and accept me. Give me the courage to share all my secret wrongs.

Action for the Day

Today I’ll review my Fourth Step. If I haven’t done this Step, I’ll start today.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 26, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

“Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. A kindly act once in a while isn’t enough. You have to act the Good Samaritan every day, if need be. It may mean the loss of many nights’ sleep, great interference with your pleasures, interruptions to your business. It may mean sharing your money and your home, counseling frantic (spouses) and relatives, innumerable trips to police courts, sanitariums, hospitals, jails and asylums. Your telephone may jangle at any time of the day or night. …A drunk may smash the furniture in your home, or burn a mattress. You may have to fight with him if he is violent. Sometimes you will have to call a doctor and administer sedatives under his direction.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 7 (“Working With Others”), p 97.

Today, just as I was responsible for the consequences of my drinking, so I am responsible to sobriety and recovery. Both are a gift, and they require nurturing and work to grow. “(T)he foundation stone of …recovery” is helping others, that is, carrying the message to others who need and want it. But in our work, we must understand that we are also required to stress individual obligation to sobriety, that it is neither a right nor given without responsibility. The work of the truly effective and committed 12th-Stepper is seldom limited to just talking to someone who cries for help. But the work to carry the message and in the process holding onto it is nowhere near the work needed to get and stay drunk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Nov. 26, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
Continuing our thoughts about the rewards that have come to us as a result of our new way of living, we have found we have got rid of many of our fears, resentments, inferiority complexes, negative points of view, self-centeredness, criticism of others, over-sensitiveness, inner conflicts, the habits of procrastination, undisciplined sex, wasting money, boredom, false perfectionism, jealousy and envy of others. We are glad to be rid of our drinking, and we are also very glad to be rid of these other things. We can now go forward in the new way of life, as shown us by AA.

Am I ready to go forward in the new life?

Meditation for the Day
“He that has eyes to see, let him see.” To the seeing eye, the world is good. Pray for a seeing eye, to see the purpose of God in everything good. Pray for enough faith to see God’s care in His dealings with you. Try to see how He has brought you safely through your past life so that now you can be of use in the world. With the eyes of faith, you can see God’s care and purpose everywhere.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a seeing eye. I pray that with the eye of faith I may see God’s purpose everywhere.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 26, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

Reflection for the Day
During our first days in The Program, we got rid of alcohol and pills. We had to get rid of our chemicals, for we knew they surely would have killed us. We got rid of the addictive substances, but we couldn’t get rid of our addictions until we took further actions. So we also had to learn to toss self-pity, self-justifications, self-righteousness and self-will straight out the window. We had to get off the rickety ladder that supposedly led to money, property and prestige. And we had to take personal responsibility. To gain enough humility and self-respect to stay alive at all, we had to give up our most valued possessions — our ambition and our pride.

Am I well rid of the weights and chains that once bound me?

Today I Pray
May I give credit to my Higher Power not only for removing my addiction, but for teaching me to remove my old demanding, pushy “self” from all my spiritual and earthly relationships. For all the things I have learned and unlearned, for my own faith and for the grace of God, I am fully and heartily thankful.

Today I Will Remember
Gratitude for the grace of God.

Hazelden Foundation