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

 

Step by Step
Monday, Aug. 28, 2023

“I realize that all I’m guaranteed in life is today. The poorest person has no less and the wealthiest has no more — each of us has but one day. What we do with it is our own business; how we use it is up to us individually.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Lost Nearly All,” Ch 2 (“Promoted to Chronic”), p 473.

Today, fully understand and accept that all I have today is just that – today! Whether I have little to nothing, or all and more than I need materially, I am no less and no better than anyone because, in the end, all we take with us to our final chapters is ourselves. But, especially in recovery, I cannot foolishly look too far beyond the forest in my goal to achieve a landmark anniversary in recovery or any other goal; one of the trees in the forest could cold-cock me. Grant me wisdom and prudence to see first what is in front of me instead of beyond and what must be done to get me to the long-range destination. Today, I do with what I have — today. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

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

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Aug. 28, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
“We must continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We should grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter; it should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We must not rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve, contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.”

Am I checking my spiritual condition daily?

Meditation for the Day
Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a by-product of love and service. Service is a law of our being. With love in your heart, there is always some service to other people. A life of power and joy and satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are selfish are going against the law of their own being. They are cutting themselves off from God and other people. Little acts of love and encouragement, of service and help, erase the rough places of life and help to make the path smooth. If we do these things, we cannot help having our share of happiness.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may give my share of love and service. I pray that I may not grow weary in my attempts to do the right thing.

Hazelden Foundation

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

 

A Day at a Time

Monday, Aug. 28, 2023

Reflection for the Day 

”Prayer does not change God,” wrote Soren Kierkegaard, “but it changes him who prays.” Those of us in The Program who’ve learned to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we’d turn down sunshine, fresh air or food — and for the same reason. Just as the body can wither and fail for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God’s reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace.

Do I thank God for all that He has given me, for all that He has taken away from me, and for all He has left me?

Today I Pray

Dear H.P.: I want to thank you for spreading calm over my confusion, for making the jangled chords of my human relationships harmonize again, for putting together the shattered pieces of my Humpty Dumpty self, for giving me a sobriety present, a whole great expanded world of marvels and opportunities. May I remain truly Yours, Yours truly.

Today I Will Remember

Prayer, however simple, nourishes the soul.

Hazelden Foundation

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

 

The Eye Opener

Monday, Aug. 28, 2023

The subconscious aim of practically all men is to get the most and the best out of every day of their lives. It is a simple creed and if honestly followed, day by day, act by act, it cannot help but lead to greater heights.

Like AA, it is so simple it is incredible. Why not try it? It’s what you honestly want anyway.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 28, 2023 – Rise ‘n shine for another Monday and brand new week

 

Good morning with confidence that we can handle whatever another Monday and new week have in store and that we don’t need to waste time on people and things that are worth it

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

 

Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Progress, not perfection.

— Alcoholics Anonymous Slogan

We don’t expect our lives to be perfect. We don’t expect ourselves to be perfect. We just want to stop the insanity of addiction and begin to live lives that make sense.

We don’t expect to be perfect, but most of us do want to be good. We can actually live up to that goal now that we are sober. It takes a lot of work, and we are always seeing new ways to improve. Working the Steps helps us learn a great deal about how we can be better people. Having the love and support of our recovery friends and the guidance of our sponsor gives us the strength and help we need.

In fact, the work of being a good person brings many rewards. We invite spiritual teachers into our lives, we make true friends, we gain respect for ourselves, and we find that others respect us, too.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me see today how I can pitch in to make things better in some way at work, at home, or for someone who needs a bit of kindness.

Today’s Action

What’s one small thing I am willing to do in the next twenty-four hours to bring a bit of goodness to a situation? Call a friend who needs support? Bring flowers to work to brighten the day? Take time to really visit with a child? I will make a decision to do one special thing — and do it!

Hazelden Foundation

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

 

Step by Step
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023

“I will never know all the people I hurt, all the friends I abused, the humiliation of my family, the worry of my business associates or how far-reaching it was. I continue to be surprised by the people I meet who say, ‘You haven’t had a drink for a long time, have you?’ The surprise to me is the fact that I didn’t know that they knew my drinking had gotten out of control. That is where we are really fooled. We think we can drink to excess without anyone knowing it. Everyone knows it. The only one we are fooling is ourselves. We rationalize and excuse our conduct beyond all reason.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Stopped in Time,” Ch 10 (“It Might Have Been Worse”), p 376.

Today, may my experience with “hiding” serve as a hint that I’m hiding nothing and fooling no one but myself about my drinking. If I am drinking today, let me give up the illusion that no one is paying attention and turn my energies that I expend on “hiding” to sobering up. And if I am not drinking, let me consider that I may have missed in my Eighth Step people to whom I owe amends because I may not know or remember who I have hurt. To them, my greatest amend may be continued abstinence. Today, if I am hiding, let me see that I am hiding in plain sight for all to see and, if I can’t remember all the people who are owed amends, let me make them by staying sober. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

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

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
“We must be willing to make amends to all the people we have harmed. We must do the best we can to repair the damage done in the past. When we make amends, when we say: ‘I’m sorry,’ the person is sure at least to be impressed by our sincere desire to set right the wrong. Sometimes people we are making amends to admit their own faults, so feuds of long standing melt away. Our most ruthless creditors will sometimes surprise us. In general, we must be willing to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences may be for us.”

Have I made a sincere effort to make amends to the people I have harmed?

Meditation for the Day
The grace of God cures disharmony and disorder in human relationships. Directly you put your affairs, with their confusion and their difficulties, into God’s hands. He begins to effect a cure of all the disharmony and disorder. You can believe that He will cause you no more pain in the doing of it than a physician, who plans and knows that he can effect a cure, would cause his patient. You can have faith that God will do all that is necessary as painlessly as possible. But you must be willing to submit to His treatment, even if you cannot now see the meaning or purpose of it.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may willingly submit to whatever spiritual discipline is necessary. I pray that I may accept whatever it takes to live a better life.

Hazelden Foundation

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

 

A Day at a Time
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023

Reflection for the Day
Taking a long hard look at those defects I’m unwilling or reluctant to give up, I ought to rub out the rigid lines I’ve drawn. Perhaps, in some cases, I’ll then be able to say, “Well, this one I can’t give up yet …”  The one thing I shouldn’t say: “This one I’ll never give up.”  The minute we say, “No, never,” our minds close against the grace of God. Such rebelliousness, as we have seen in the experiences of others, may turn out to be fatal. Instead, we should abandon limited objectives and begin to move toward God’s will for us.

Am I learning never to say “never …?”

Today I Pray
May God remove any blocks of rebellion which make me balk at changing my undesirable qualities. Out of my delusion that I am “unique” and “special” and somehow safe from consequences, I confess to God that I have defied the natural laws of health and sanity, along with Divine laws of human kindness. May God drain away the defiance which is such a protected symptom of my addiction.

Today I Will Remember
Defiance is an offspring of delusion.

Hazelden Foundation

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

 

The Eye Opener
Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023

Everyone agrees that excessive drinking is an evil. The alcoholic is convinced that for him it is a necessary evil. He thinks he would surely die if he didn’t drink. We know now that it only appeared necessary while we were doing our thinking with our appetites.

No evil is necessary except in the sense that friction is. Without it, we couldn’t get traction and without traction we could not move onward and upward.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 27, 2023 – Rise ‘n shine for a relaxing but productive Sunday

 

Good morning and let’s have a relaxing but productive and worthwhile Sunday and do it without people and things that aren’t worth our time and efforts