Jan. 3, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, Jan. 3, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

A Year To Grow

This new year can be a time of growth in sobriety. While we have no crystal ball that tells us what luck and fortune the year will bring, we do have a program that gives us the power to make the best of this year, to grow in sobriety. We can make progress in overcoming resentment and selfishness, we can help others in their search for happy sobriety, and we can make better use of our talents and opportunities.

We can live sober, and we also can find happiness and true self-esteem in sobriety. In our drinking, a desperate search for happiness and self-esteem compelled us to drink, but we could never find our happy destiny in the bottle. No matter what came to us, things had a way of turning sour as we continued to drink and to take other harmful substances.

In our new life, we have good reason to feel confident and optimistic. We have friends who understand us; we have sponsors who will share with us their own experience and hope. We have a Higher Power who is, as the poet Tennyson said, ". . .closer to us than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." We face nothing alone, and in the new year all experiences can help us grow.

I face this day with confidence, courage, and optimism. I will know that my Higher Power is present in every person and situation.

From the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B. © 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 2, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014 

"I looked around me at people who seemed happy and tried to analyze their happiness, and it seemed to me that without exception these people had something or somebody they loved very much. I didn't have the courage to love; I was not even sure I had the capacity. Fear of rejection and its ensuing pain were not to be risked, and I turned away from myself once more for the answer, this time to the drinks I had always refused before, and in alcohol I found a false courage." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "They Lost Nearly All," Ch 12 ("Freedom From Bondage"), pp 546-47. 

Today, ..."in alcohol I found a false courage." Whether I am far into recovery or just beginning, the time has come to be done with all that is not true. If I am hinging my sobriety on my spouse or partner not leaving me, keeping my job or convincing a judge I deserve a break from my latest DUI, my motivation to get sober is linked to something that may never happen and, if it doesn't, my sobriety likely will not last. Whatever the untruths in my life and even in sobriety, the Fourth Step is my road map to the truth - the truth of my own life, my drinking, my recovery. May I not rely on some dry false courage as I set out to find my own truth. And our common journey continues. Step by step.- Chris M., 2014

Jan. 2, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
What makes AA work? The first thing is to have a revulsion against myself and my way of living. Then I must admit I was helpless, that alcohol had me licked and I couldn't do anything about it. The next thing is to honestly want to quit the old life. Then I must surrender my life to a Higher Power, put my drinking problem in His hands and leave it there. After these things are done, I should attend meetings regularly for fellowship and sharing. I should also try to help other alcoholics.

Am I doing these things?

Meditation for the Day
You are so made that you can only carry the weight of 24 hours, no more. If you weigh yourself down with the years behind and the days ahead, your back breaks. God has promised to help you with the burdens of the day only. If you are foolish enough to gather again that burden of the past and carry it, then indeed you cannot expect God to help you bear it. So forget that which lies behind you and breathe in the blessing of each new day.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may realize that, for good or bad, past days have ended. I pray that I may face each new day, the coming 24 hours, with hope and courage.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 2, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014

Reflection for the Day
Before I came to The Program, I hadn't the faintest idea of what it was to "Live In The Now." I often became obsessed with the things that happened yesterday, last week or even five years ago. Worse yet, many of my waking hours were spent clearing away the "wreckage of the future." "To me," Walt Whitman once wrote, "every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle."

Can I truly believe that in my heart?

Today I Pray
Let me carry only the weight of 24 hours at one time, without the extra bulk of yesterday's regrets or tomorrow's anxieties. Let me breathe the blessings of each new day for itself, by itself and keep my human burdens contained in daily perspective. May I learn the balance of soul that comes through keeping close to God.

Today I Will Remember
Don't borrow from tomorrow.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 2, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014

Probably in the history of the world no tyrant can be found who welded chains so strong upon his victims as did that "Ol' Debil Rum."

Even our most secret desires were controlled by his influence, and our families, our health and our very lives themselves were disregarded when opposed to the demands for a drink.

Fortunately for us in AA, we still had a freedom of choice of master and when we decided to "turn our will and our lives over to the care of God," we accepted a new Master, one even more demanding than the first, but with this one vast difference - our chains were now bonds of love.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 2, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

I will radiate love and good will to others that I may open a channel for God's love to come to all.
 -- Paramahansa Yogananda
Our spiritual well-being is hindered whenever we isolate ourselves, whenever we withhold our care and attention from the group or a friend. During these moments, our self-centeredness cuts off our connection to our Higher Power, causing peace to elude us and fear to set in.

The converse is also true. Whenever we selflessly express love and genuine concern for others, we can know the presence of God and can be exhilarated by that knowledge.

In this, we have freedom. No one else controls our thoughts or our decisions to give unconditional love and genuine attention to others. We are in charge. It is up to us to keep the channel to our Higher Power always open, always freely flowing. Our spiritual health is our responsibility and it's an easy one to handle. The only requirement is that we offer love and good will to others.

I will enhance my spiritual health today by focusing my love on the women and men on my path so that I may feel God's presence.

From the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey

In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 1, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014 

"FOREWORD TO SECOND EDITION

Figures given in this foreword describe the Fellowship as it was in 1955"Since the original Foreword to this book was written in 1939, a wholesale miracle has taken place. Our earliest printing voiced the hope 'that every alcoholic who journeys will find the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. Already,' continues the early text, 'twos and threes and fives of us have sprung up in other communities.'

"Sixteen years have elapsed between our first printing of this book and the presentation in 1955 of our second edition. In that brief space, Alcoholics Anonymous has mushroomed into nearly 6,000 groups whose membership is far above 150,000 recovered alcoholics." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Foreword to the Second Edition," p xv. 

Today, when tradition prods us to think in terms of new beginnings and make resolutions to work toward, the history of our Program as measured in the 16 years between 1939 and 1955 assures us of a new start - if we work toward and apply the Steps and Principles detailed in later pages. In the years since this foreword to the 1955 Second Edition of the Big Book, the number of recovered alcoholics has multiplied by more than 10 times. If the Program has worked for that vast a number of people, why, then, can it not work for me? It can, and if I have failed in the Program in the past, it is because I failed the Program and not that the Program failed me. On this day when we are encouraged to let go of the old and ring in the new, my recovery somehow appropriately begins with the hope that I, too, can be in that number of recovered alcoholics. So let the new begin. And our common journey continues. Step by step.- Chris M., 2014

Jan. 1, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
When I came into AA, was I a desperate person? Did I have a soul-sickness? Was I so sick of myself and my way of living that I couldn't stand looking at myself in a mirror? Was I ready for AA? Was I ready to try anything that would help me to get sober and to get over my soul-sickness?

Should I ever forget the condition I was in?

Meditation for the Day
In the new year, I will live one day at a time. I will make each day one of preparation for better things ahead. I will not dwell on the past or the future, only on the present. I will bury every fear of the future, all thoughts of unkindness and bitterness, all my dislikes, my resentments, my sense of failure, my disappointments in others and in myself, my gloom and my despondency. I will leave all these things buried and go forward, in this new year, into a new life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that God will guide me one day at a time in the new year. I pray that for each day, God will supply the wisdom and the strength that I need.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 1, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014

Reflection for the Day
In the old days, I saw everything in terms of forever. Endless hours were spent rehashing old mistakes. I tried to take comfort in the forlorn hope that tomorrow "would be different." As a result, I lived a fantasy life in which happiness was all but nonexistent. No wonder I rarely smiled and hardly ever laughed aloud.

Do I still think in terms of "forever?"

Today I Pray
May I set my goals for the New Year not at the year-long mark, but one day at a time. My traditional New Year's resolutions have been so grandly stated and so soon broken. Let me not weaken my resolve by stretching it to cover "forever" - or even one long year. May I reapply it firmly each new day. May I learn not to stamp my past mistakes with that indelible word "forever." Instead, may each single day in each New Year be freshened by my new-found hope.

Today I Will Remember
Happy New Day.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 1, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014

Without the introduction of a purpose into our lives, we would be but dried-up drunks, wallowing in self-pity for the loss of that which we were forced to deny ourselves in order to bring about some semblance of order in our lives. We would be "off the bottle" but not for a moment happy about it - never with any sense of security.

We who have found AA have introduced that something into our lives that enabled us, with the Grace of God, to "fix" ourselves.

We have not given up anything - we have acquired something; we are no longer frustrated people, because we have introduced into our lives a reliance in a Power greater than ourselves, that we did not have before. That Power has opened up a new way of life, free of worry, fear and frustration.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 1, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Living today

The beginning of the New Year will often bring back sad memories. This has been the big day for hangovers, coming down, remorse, guilt, and shame. But if we stay with our new purpose - staying clean and staying close to our Higher Power - we don't have to fear the New Year. God has forgiven our past mistakes and tomorrow is not yet here. If we do what we know is right today, all else will be taken care of.

It's not always easy to do what is necessary today, but it's impossible to change yesterday or to guarantee what tomorrow will bring. Our year will unfold better by living each day as it comes instead of regretting the past or anticipating the future.

Am I learning to live one day at a time?

I pray for the willingness to deal with today, instead of being obsessed with the past or the future.

From the book:

Day by Day - Second Edition by Anonymous

Day by Day © 1974, 1998 by Hazelden Foundation