Oct. 8, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023

“In AA, we can begin again no matter how late it may be. I have begun again. At 54, I have had come true for me the old wish, ‘If only I could live my life over, knowing what I know.’ That’s what I am doing, living again, knowing what I know. I hope I have been able to impart …at least a bit of what I know; the joy of living, the irresistible power of divine love and its healing strength, and the fact that we, as sentient beings, have the knowledge to choose between good and evil, and, choosing good, are made happy.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Lost Nearly All,” Ch 11 (“He Who Loses His Life”), p 543.

Today, it’s not too late until it’s too late — and it’s too late only when I’ve died. Until then, I have the lifeline and the choice of sobriety, and all I need do is grab and hold onto the lifeline, the lifeline being recovery. Even if I cannot yet envision the Program’s promise of sobriety if I adhere to the Twelve Steps, I know already all too well the life I have if I don’t begin anew. In the end, the decision is a matter of choice — to continue in the life of active drinking that I already know with agonizing pain, or to choose something better. Today, I choose something better: it’s not too late because I’m here! And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Oct. 8, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023

AA Thought for the Day

There is such a thing as being too loyal to any one group. Do I feel put out when another group starts and some members of my group leave it and branch out into new territory? Or do I send them out with my blessing? Do I visit that new offshoot group and help it along? Or do I sulk in my own tent? AA grows by the starting of new groups all the time. I must realize that it’s a good thing for a large group to split up into smaller ones, even if it means that the large group — my own group — becomes smaller.

Am I always ready to help new groups?

Meditation for the Day

Pray — and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a feeling of communion with One who is near and ready to help. The thought of God is balm for our hates and fears. In praying to God, we find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In thinking of God, doubts and fears leave us. Instead of those doubts and fears, there will flow into our hearts such faith and love as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have the tolerance to live and let live.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that I may keep striving for these difficult things.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 8, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023

Reflection for the Day
Determination — our clenched-jaw resolve that we can do something about everything — is perhaps the greatest hindrance to achieving serenity. Our old tapes tell us, “The difficult can be done immediately; the impossible will take a little longer.” So we tighten up and prepare ourselves for battle, even though we know from long experience that our own will dooms us in advance to failure. Over and over, we are told in The Program that we must “Let Go and Let God.” And we eventually do find serenity when we put aside our own will while accepting His will for us.

Am I learning to relax my stubborn grip? Do I allow the solutions to unfold by themselves?

Today I Pray
May I loosen my tight-jaw, my tight-fists, my general up-tightness — outward indications of the “do-it-myself” syndrome which has gotten me into trouble before. May I know from experience that this attitude — of “keep a grip on yourself” and on everybody else, too — is accompanied by impatience and followed by frustration. May I merge my own will with the greater will of God.

Today I Will Remember
Let up on the strangle-hold.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 8, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023

A shipwrecked sailor on a desert island may eventually find another in a like predicament, but the poor alcoholic is all alone with himself, even in a world full of alcoholics.

That is one of the most brutal characteristics of the malady that separates us from the world about us and makes us men without a country, without a hope and without a friend.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 8, 2023 – Good morning and let’s make it an easy Sunday

 

Good morning and let’s all aim for a paced and productive but serene and easy Sunday …without the drama and trauma of people and things that don’t deserve our attention

Oct. 7, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are: and what we already are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.

— P. Liddon

In the ninth inning of the baseball game with a tie score and the bases loaded, the batter hit a home run. The fans and the team cheered wildly, and the batter was jubilant.

What many fans did not know was that he had been playing on baseball teams for fifteen years. Many times he struggled without being noticed. He wondered if he was any good or not, and there were days he had to make himself go out and practice. He made many mistakes, but his love and dedication for the game had always won out.

It is the years of discipline that prepare us for our big moments in life. Daily practice and love give our lives a direction, even through times of doubt and despair. By doing our best each day and learning from our mistakes, we prepare ourselves for the big moments – the home runs – in our lives.

How are my mistakes and pains today a part of my future success?

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 7, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

“The spark that was to flare into the first AA group was struck at Akron, Ohio, in June 1935, during a talk between a New York stockbroker and an Akron physician. Six months earlier, the broker had been relieved of his drink obsession by a sudden spiritual experience, following a meeting with an alcoholic friend who had been in contact with the Oxford Groups of that day. He had also been greatly helped by the late Dr. William D. Silkworth, a New York specialist in alcoholism …From this doctor, the broker had learned the grave nature of alcoholism. Though he could not accept all the tenets of the Oxford Groups, he was convinced of the need for moral inventory, confession of personality defects, restitution to those harmed, helpfulness to others, and the necessity of belief in and dependence upon God.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “Foreword to the Second Edition,” pp-xv, xvi.

Today, “moral inventory, confession of personality defects, restitution to those harmed, helpfulness to others, and the necessity of belief in and dependence upon God.” With that simple objective, the Twelve Steps guide us to recovery, serenity, humility and service. We need not complicate or make a mystery of our reasons to seek recovery or how to earn it. With our admission that we are powerless over alcohol and whatever else we cannot control and a determination and commitment to go to any length to make our lives one without alcohol, and to make it work, nothing exists to complicate our recovery. Today, being drunk 24/7 has had its run. I want recovery. Today, I begin. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

Oct. 7, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
Do I put too much reliance on any one member of the group? That is, do I make a tin god out of some one person? Do I set that person on a pedestal? If I do, I am building my house on sand. All AA members have “clay feet.” They are all only one drink away from a drunk, no matter how long they have been in AA. This has been proved to be true more than once. It’s not fair to any member to be singled out as a leader in AA and to always quote that member on the AA program. If that person should fail, where would I be?

Can I afford to be tipped over by the failure of my ideal?

Meditation for the Day
You must always remember that you are weak but that God is strong. God knows all about your weakness. He hears every cry for mercy, every sign of weakness, every plea for help, every sorrow over failure, every weakness felt and expressed. We only fail when we trust too much to our own strength. Do not feel bad about your weakness. When you are weak, that is when God is strong to help you. Trust God enough, and your weakness will not matter. God is always strong to save.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may learn to lean on God’s strength. I pray that I may know that my weakness is God’s opportunity.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 7, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

Reflection for the Day
When I first read the Serenity Prayer, the word “serenity” itself seemed like an impossibility. At the time, the word conjured up images of lethargy, apathy, resignation or grim-faced endurance; it hardly seemed a desirable goal. But I’ve since found that serenity means none of those things. Serenity for me today is simply a clear-eyed and realistic way of seeing the world, accompanied by inner peace and strength. My favorite definition is, “Serenity is like a gyroscope that lets us keep our balance no matter what turbulence swirls around us.”

Is that a state of mind worth aiming for?

Today I Pray
May I notice that “serenity” comes first, ahead of “courage” and “wisdom,” in the sequence of the Serenity Prayer. May I believe that “serenity” must also come first in my life. I must have the balanced, realistic outlook and acceptance that is part of this blessing of serenity before I can go on to the kind of action and decision-making that will bring order to my existence.

Today I Will Remember
Serenity comes first.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 7, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023

We alcoholics should be the last people on earth to give advice; first, because we never took it ourselves, and secondly, because our past record would not indicate that our advice is trustworthy.

The best advice that we can give is to show the new man that we did it, show him that he can do it just as we did it, that the best way to get “on the Program” is to emulate the example of those who have made a success of theirs.

Hazelden Foundation

Oct. 7, 2023 – Good morning to this beautiful Saturday

 

Good morning and let’s all have a paced but productive and worthwhile Saturday and shelve any worries, fears and insecurities we have at least for one day