Aug. 4, 2015 - Op-ed: Why the Equality Act is so vitally important
Aug. 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015
Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order.
-- Eudora Welty
We will experience no coincidence today. All situations that transpire in the next 24 hours have their purpose. No single event, not the tired, hurried smile from a boss, the phone call from a frantic friend, or the cold response from a co-worker is without impact on our current perception of life. However, we shouldn't try to evaluate the full significance of any passing event without God's help. Letting our Higher Power offer us clarity regarding the circumstances in our life will ensure a healthy perspective.
We've all experienced trauma because we exaggerated a problem rather than calmly let our inner wisdom guide us. We're only an impulsive thought away from a flurry of problems. Likewise, we're only an instant away from peace and enlightenment. The quiet mind will be ever present if that's our wish.
I'll truly understand the events of today if I quietly let God reveal their significance.
The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order.
-- Eudora Welty
We will experience no coincidence today. All situations that transpire in the next 24 hours have their purpose. No single event, not the tired, hurried smile from a boss, the phone call from a frantic friend, or the cold response from a co-worker is without impact on our current perception of life. However, we shouldn't try to evaluate the full significance of any passing event without God's help. Letting our Higher Power offer us clarity regarding the circumstances in our life will ensure a healthy perspective.
We've all experienced trauma because we exaggerated a problem rather than calmly let our inner wisdom guide us. We're only an impulsive thought away from a flurry of problems. Likewise, we're only an instant away from peace and enlightenment. The quiet mind will be ever present if that's our wish.
I'll truly understand the events of today if I quietly let God reveal their significance.
You are reading from the book:
In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015
" ...(S)ubconsciously I was in earnest about wanting to quit liquor forever. It was no momentary emotionalism born of self-pity in a maudlin condition. I was seeking something, and I was ready to learn. I did not need to be told that my efforts were and would be unavailing if I did not get help. ...(L)ittle by little, I learned how my need could be met. The story of Alcoholics Anonymous fascinated me." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Personal Stories," Ch 7 ("The News Hawk"), p 258.
Today, how much more the cost to answer how willing I am to get sober, when enough is enough, when I can take no more, when self-loathing and self-disgust are more than enough to motivate me to take responsibility for both my addiction and recovery and get to work on both. If I've reached the proverbial bottom but, more practically, if I've hit the point when not even I believe my lies anymore, when I've had enough of needing more whiskey or any other drug every day just to achieve normalcy or when the "buzz" doesn't buzz anymore and when I have no other option but to believe that there is something better - my time has come. The Twelve Steps are there; all I need do is begin working them, Step by Step. How much more is my addiction going to cost me? Starting today, no more. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2015
Aug. 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015
AA Thought for the Day
We in AA are offering a kind of psychological program as well as a spiritual one. First, people must be mentally able to receive it. They must have made up their minds that they want to quit drinking, and they must be willing to do something about it. Their confidence must be obtained. We must show them that we are their friends and really desire to help them. When we have their confidence, they will listen to us. Then the AA fellowship is a kind of group therapy. Newcomers need the fellowship of other alcoholics who understand their problem because they have had it themselves. Individuals must learn to re-educate their mind. They must learn to think differently.
Do I do my best to give mental help?
Meditation for the Day
"And this is life eternal, that they may know Thee." It is the flow of the life eternal through spirit, mind and body that cleanses, heals, restores and renews. Seek conscious contact with God more and more each day. Make God an abiding presence during the day. Be conscious of His spirit helping you. All that is done without God's spirit is passing. All that is done with God's spirit is life eternal.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in the stream of an eternal life. I pray that I may be cleansed and healed by the Eternal Spirit.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015
Reflection for the Day
One of the best ways to get out of the self-pity trap is to do some "instant bookkeeping." For every entry of misery on the debit side of our ledger, we can surely find a blessing to mark on the credit side; the health we enjoy, the illnesses we don't have, the friends who love us and who allow us to love them, a clean and sober 24 hours, a good day's work. If we but try, we can easily list a whole string of credits that will far outweigh the debit entries which cause self-pity.
Is my emotional balance on the credit side today?
Today I Pray
May I learn to sort out my debits and credits, and add it all up. May I list my several blessings on the credit side. May my ledger show me, when all is totaled, a fat fund for good things to draw on.
Today I Will Remember
I have blessings in my savings.
Hazelden Foundation
Aug. 4, 2015 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015
It is almost a general rule that no one achieves in life what they planned in their youth. The great ambitions of our teens never seem to materialize.
In spite of all our plans, it is a safe bet to say, however, that we are where we were intended to be, doing the things that we were intended to do, whether we like it or not. Apparently we are not running the world.
It is very probable that we would have made a terrible mess of it had we followed our wishes and would have wound up a much bigger flop than we did. No matter what our station in life, we can daily thank God that it is no worse than it is.
Hazelden Foundation
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Oct. 12, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step
Step by Step Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 ” …(T)he best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my exp...
-
Good morning and let's make it a drama- and trauma-free and worthwhile Saturday and let nothing and no one make it less -
The Eye Opener Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 We are not in a position to give an opinion on leprosy, jungle fever, hoof-and-mouth disease or other... -
Good morning and let's get going and make this gorgeous Friday as productive and worthwhile as we can