Oct. 5, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013

The opportunities around us for doing good are so numerous that to do all the good things we would like to do is almost impossible. Nor is it necessary to read the papers for opportunities to help. They are near at hand and far more numerous than we suspect. Our eyes see what they are trained to see and a little practice will enable them to see many opportunities that you once failed to observe.

If your prayers include a request to never let a day go by without some opportunity of serving, you'll have your prayer answered and you will rejoice in the fact that you have so much to do, and your lone regret will be that you cannot do more.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 5, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Look, the wind vane fluttering in the autumn breeze
Takes hold of certain things that cannot be held.
 -- Feng Chih

When we think we are losing our grip, we have good reason to look up. Consider the moon suspended in the sky, how it continues to come and go, follows its natural law, and never really loses face. Consider the sun, the stars, the seasons, how they refuse to abandon us, to let go of their hold on our lives. And, come closer to home, we can marvel at the magic of small efficient things - the toaster and stove, the light in the room, the words in a good book that are permanent, faithful, and clear. We can consider how music, without saying a word, still speaks to us, and how a few friends, maybe miles away, continue to hang on to the strength of our small and faithful words.

We can keep in mind that we are part of a complex and loving system, and our grip can never be lost.

From the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

Today's Gift © 1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 4, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

"For me, AA is a synthesis of all the philosophy I've ever read, all of the positive, good philosophy, all of it based on love. I have seen that there is only one law, the law of love, and there are only two sins; the first is to interfere with the growth of another human being, and the second is to interfere with one's own growth." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 11 ("He Who Loses His Life"), p 542.

Today, I ask if AA is really a philosophy and how I not interfere with anyone's growth - emotional and spiritual - including my own. If the traditional definition of philosophy as an ideal state of life is applied to AA, then, no, AA is not a philosophy. Rather, it is a discipline because AA does not promise a rose garden with sobriety but gives us the tools to effectively deal with the thorns in the rosebed. And discipline is required to stick to the Steps that help us deal effectively with the thorns of life. How do I not impede anyone's personal growth, including my own? Simple: look to Step 11 and seek my Higher Power's will and the ability to carry it out. His will, not mine, be done. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Oct. 4, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
Am I critical of other members of AA or of new prospects? Do I ever say about other members: "I don't think they're sincere, I think they're bluffing, or I think they're taking a few drinks on the quiet?" Do I realize that my doubtful and skeptical attitude is hurting those members, if only in my attitude toward them, which they cannot help sensing? Do I say about new prospects: "They'll never make the program," or do I say: "They'll only last a few months?" If I take this attitude, I am unconsciously hurting those prospects' chances.

Is my attitude always constructive and never destructive?

Meditation for the Day
To be attracted toward God and a better life, you must be spirit-guided. There is wonderful illumination of thought given to those who are spirit-guided. To those who are material-guided, there is nothing in God or a finer life to appeal to them or to attract them. But to those who are spirit-guided, there is strength and peace and calm to be found in communion with an Unseen Lord. To those who believe in this God, they cannot see but whose power they can feel, life has a meaning and purpose. They are children of the Unseen Lord, and all human beings are their brothers and sisters.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be spirit-guided. I pray that I may feel God's presence and power in my life.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 4, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

Reflection for the Day
We are powerless over our addictions; that admission brought us to The Program, where we learn through unconditional surrender that there is victory in defeat. After a time, we learn in Twelfth Step work that we're not only powerless over our own addiction, but over the addictions of others. We cannot will another person to sobriety, for example, any more than we can hold back the sunset. We may minister to another person's physical needs; we may share with him, pray with him and take him to meetings. But we cannot get inside his head and push some sort of magic button that will make him - or her - take the all-important First Step.

Do I still sometimes try to play God?

Today I Pray
May I understand my all-too-human need to be the boss, have the upper hand, be the final authority - even in the humbling business of my own addiction. May I see how easy it would be to become a big-shot Twelfth Stepper. May I also see that, no matter how much I care and want to help, I have no control over another's addiction - any more than someone else has control over mine.

Today I Will Remember
I cannot engineer another's sobriety.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 4, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

You cannot sell a man a bill of goods without selling yourself. This is the experience of all those who speak at meetings or attempt to carry the message to other alcoholics.

Whether your talks help the other guy or not, you may never know. But your efforts have not been in vain for you will have undoubtedly helped yourself in the attempt.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 4, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The divided self exists in all of us.  -- Marie Lindquist

One gift of sobriety is the growing awareness that we are complex, whole individuals, more than just our dark side. Defeated, we came into this program of recovery certain that our lives would be forever fraught with problems. Little in our experience made us proud. Surviving our hateful, painful, and confusing lives was our proudest achievement.

The moment we admit our powerlessness over our drug of choice and over other people, a fresh start commences. Becoming willing to let a Higher Power influence our lives gives us a chance to glimpse the brighter side of our being. We discover it was there all the time.

We'll always have both sides, the dark and the light. We're human. Nevertheless, we tend to strengthen the part of our self that calls to us loudest. Which side we hear is up to us.

I am a complex human being. I have the next 24 hours to live as I choose.

From the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey. © 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

" ...I went to my first meeting. I was a very fortunate drunk. God has been good to me both in my drinking and in my sobriety. Because, thank God, since I came into this program, I haven't had any trouble. Oh yes, I get the dry jitters once in a while, but that isn't anything to worry about. It passes away. But I've never come close to that first drink. I took the advice of people I had heard at meetings, the people in the group. And I jumped in with both feet. Someone told me, 'When you drank, you didn't get half-drunk. You went all the way. In this program, there aren't any halfway measures. In here, you must go all the way, too.' So I attended as many meetings as possible." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 8 ("Desperation Drinking"), p 516.

Today, "half measures availed us nothing." Today, I will apply the full measures I exerted on drinking to get sober, and I will listen to the voices of experience and set aside the egoism that I think I know better than anyone else. And if a shot of the "dry jitters" creeps in, I have the Twelve Steps to fall back on and the promise that, "This, too, shall pass." But I must first get to the point that enough is enough as far as drinking goes and, today, I must give it up, face that enough is enough. With that desire for something better, I have taken my first baby step. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Oct. 3, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
How do I talk with new prospects? Am I always trying to dominate the conversation? Do I lay down the law and tell prospects what they will have to do? Do I judge them privately and feel that they have small chance of making the program? Do I belittle them to myself? Or am I willing to bare my soul so as to get them talking about themselves? And, then, am I willing to be a good listener, not interrupting, but feel deeply that they are my brothers or my sisters?

Will I do all I can to help them along the path to sobriety?

Meditation for the Day
"The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever." Only when the soul attains this calm, can there be true spiritual work done, and mind and soul and body be strong to conquer and bear all things. Peace is the result of righteousness. There is no peace in wrong doing, but if we live the way God wants us to live, quietness and assurance follow. Assurance is that calmness born of a deep certainty of God's strength available to us and in His power to love and guard us from all harm and wrong doing.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may attain a state of true calmness. I pray that I may live in quietness and peace.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

Reflection for the Day
I've learned in The Program that I'm wholly powerless over my addiction. At long last, I've conceded my powerlessness; as a result, my life has taken a 180-degree turn for the better. However, I do have a power, derived from God, to change my own life. I've learned that acceptance does not mean submission to an unpleasant or degrading situation. It means accepting the reality of the situation and then deciding what, if anything, I can and will do about it.

Have I stopped trying to control the uncontrollable? Am I gaining the courage to change the things I can?

Today I Pray
I ask my Higher Power for direction as I learn to sort out the things I can change from the things I can't, for that sorting process does, indeed, require God-given wisdom. May "the things I cannot change" not give me an excuse for inaction. May "the things I can" not include managing other people's lives. May I start to understand my own reality.

Today I Will Remember
Acceptance is not inaction. Change is not domination.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 3, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013

Promises, vows, pledges, resolutions, doctors, preachers, priests, psychologists, psychiatrists, hospitals, judges, jails, jitter-joints, in fact everything, but nothing worked.

One day, by the Grace of God, we found ourselves sober, and there can be no denying that it was the Grace of God alone that caused it. That same Grace will remain with you as long as you honestly seek it, and you will find that it will prove more than sufficient.

Hazelden Foundation