The road to recovery and clearing the path

Nov. 26, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013

Reflection for the Day
During our first days in The Program, we got rid of alcohol and pills. We had to get rid of our chemicals, for we knew they surely would have killed us. We got rid of the addictive substances, but we couldn't get rid of our addictions until we took further actions. So we also had to learn to toss self-pity, self-justifications, self-righteousness and self-will straight out the window. We had to get off the rickety ladder that supposedly led to money, property and prestige. And we had to take personal responsibility. To gain enough humility and self-respect to stay alive at all, we had to give up our most valued possessions - our ambition and our pride.

Am I well rid of the weights and chains that once bound me?

Today I Pray
May I give credit to my Higher Power not only for removing my addiction, but for teaching me to remove my old demanding, pushy "self" from all my spiritual and earthly relationships. For all the things I have learned and unlearned, for my own faith and for the grace of God, I am fully and heartily thankful.

Today I Will Remember
Gratitude for the grace of God.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 26, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013

In our drinking days, fear of everything and everybody was our constant companion. These fears continued until we finally, in desperate necessity, found the courage to surrender - to quit unconditionally. Then we found AA and a ray of Hope. Hope became desire, desire became determination. With necessity as our charger and with determination as our lance, we were adequately armed to overcome our despair.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 26, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

I would be honest, for there are those who trust me.
-- Howard Arnold Walter

Some of those around us seem to see only the good in us. They trust and respect us, even when we ourselves may not feel we deserve it.

A young girl once talked about her grandfather. She said, "He was the only person in my life who saw the good in me." She mentioned that she sought to please her grandfather and not disappoint the trust which he placed in her. He brought out the best in her because of the way that he looked at her. Each of us can be like this grandfather by focusing on the good in other people. We can use our spiritual eyes to see love, honesty, trustworthiness, and unselfishness in the heart of another. As we look for the good, we are doing our part to help create it.

Do I see the good in those around me right now?

From the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

Nov. 25, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Monday, Nov. 25, 2013

Today, when we are taught by tradition to be thankful, let me know that simply voicing gratitude is not sufficient but, additionally, that the measure and extent of that gratitude is reflected in my actions. Today, then, let me not be content with merely saying I am grateful and show me how to express it in my action and behavior as well, that is, to walk the walk while I talk the talk. If today someone for whom I say I am grateful is in need of my time or if I am called upon to make some sacrifice such as missing part of a football game or giving up the holiday dinner dessert, let me be willing to do so without reservation. We are compelled in the 12th Step to put our Program into action by being in service to others even if it might inconvenience us. If today I am called upon to do something that slows or impedes my schedule and I refuse the call, I will fail as an effective 12th-stepper and, later, I will probably regret not answering the call. Today, if I am asked to be thankful, let me go a step further and express my gratitude in more than mere words. And, today, that I am clean and sober in the current 24 Hours is literally everything. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Nov. 25, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, Nov. 25, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
I am not so envious of other people, nor am I so jealous of other people's possessions and talents. When I was drinking, I was secretly full of jealousy and envy of those people who could drink normally, who had the love and respect of their families, who lived a normal life and were accepted as equals by their friends. I pretended to myself that I was as good as they were, but I knew it wasn't so. Now I don't have to be envious any more. I try not to want what I don't deserve. I'm content with what I have earned by my efforts to live the right way. More power to those who have what I have not. At least, I'm trying.

Have I got rid of the poison of envy?

Meditation for the Day
"My soul is restless till it finds its rest in Thee." A river flows on, until it loses itself in the sea. Our spirits long for rest in the Spirit of God. We yearn to realize a peace, a rest, a satisfaction that we have never found in the world or its pursuits. Some are not conscious of their need and shut the doors of their spirits against the spirit of God. They are unable to have true peace.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel the divine unrest. I pray that my soul may find its rest in God.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 25, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, Nov. 25, 2013

Reflection for the Day
"What you have may seem small; you desire so much more. See children thrusting their hands into a narrow-necked jar, striving to pull out the sweets. If they fill the hand, they cannot pull it out and then they fall to tears. When they let go a few, they can draw out the rest. You, too, let your desire go; covet not too much ..." - Epictetus

Let me expect not too much of anyone, particularly myself. Let me learn to settle for less than I wish were possible, and be willing to accept it and appreciate it.

Do I accept gratefully and graciously the good that has already come to me in the Program?

Today I Pray
May I search my soul for those little hankerings of want which may keep me from delighting in all that I have. If I can just teach myself not to want too much, not to expect too much, then when those expectations are not satisfied, I will not be let down. May I accept with grace what the grace of God has provided.

Today I Will Remember
I, alone, can grant myself the "freedom from want."

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 25, 2013 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, Nov. 25, 2013

Probably the first permanent benefit we received in AA was received when we undertook a personal inventory of ourselves. Then for the first time our faults were dragged out into the open where we could meet them face to face and endeavor to do something about them.

Had we not recognized these defects, we would never have taken steps to eradicate them. It is dead certain that if we still had them in the same degree, we would not now be sober. It was a definite step toward getting wise to ourselves.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 25, 2013 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, Nov. 25, 2013

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

When I hear somebody sigh "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, compared to what?
-- Sydney J. Harris

We've probably heard all the negative quotations about life. There was also probably a time when we believed them all. Based on the state of our lives at the time, it was probably no surprise that life was difficult and brutal.

Certainly there are many things in life that are harsh and cruel; we see such things in the paper every day. But there are some very wonderful things, too. It's just that we've been conditioned to believe the horrors instead of the wonders.

Today may have been a long, tiring, boring day. But that doesn't mean all days are long, tiring, and boring. There's much good in life that we can see if we let ourselves. We can get off our life-is-difficult soapbox and hear the humor, see the smiles, and feel the caring. Life may be difficult at times, but it is also quite fulfilling.

I need to feel that life is good. Tonight I will consider what event happened today that I can feel good about.

From the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Nov. 24, 2013 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013

Today, or any other day, I cannot place too much significance on how many 24 Hours of sobriety I have, whether it be a single 24 Hours or five years' worth. All of us who follow or practice an AA program have only a day-to-day reprieve from where we once were, and those with years of sobriety are no less protected from a slip or relapse than those whose last drink was yesterday. This is not to say there is no benefit to being sober in terms of months or years; the major benefit is that we may need that long simply to emerge from the alcoholic fog, from the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual damage that we self-inflicted. And this is no overnight journey. But once we emerge from the fog, we may be better equipped to grasp the vision of the Program and put it to work. Yet even when we move from being dry to sober and embark on the journey to recovery, we are not insulated from surrendering in one foolish and potentially deadly second to the temptation or craving, or to some emotion we don't want to feel. Today, I am sincerely grateful for how many 24 Hours since my last drink. But I cannot risk the folly that it is promised tomorrow. That is why, today, we take everything one thing at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2013

Nov. 24, 2013 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013

AA Thought for the Day
Instead of pretending to be perfectionists, in AA we are content if we are making progress. The main thing is to be growing. We realize that perfectionism is only a result of false pride and an excuse to save our faces. In AA, we are willing to make mistakes and to stumble, provided we are always stumbling forward. We are not so interested in what we are as in what we are becoming. We are on the way, not at the goal. And we will be on the way as long as we live. No AA has ever "arrived." But we are getting better.

Am I making progress?

Meditation for the Day
Each new day brings an opportunity to do some little thing that will help to make a better world, that will bring God's kingdom a little nearer to being realized on earth. Take each day's happenings as opportunities for something you can do for God. In that spirit, a blessing will attend all that you do. Offering this day's service to God, you are sharing in His work. You do not have to do great things.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that today I may do the next thing, the unselfish thing, the loving thing. I pray that I may be content with doing small things as long as they are right.

Hazelden Foundation

Nov. 24, 2013 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013

Reflection for the Day
Although we came into The Program to deal with a specific problem, we soon became aware that we would find not only freedom from addiction, but freedom to live in the real world without fear and frustration. We learned that the solutions are within ourselves. With the help of my Higher Power, I can enrich my life with comfort, enjoyment and deep-down serenity.

Am I changing from my own worst enemy to my own best friend?

Today I Pray
May I praise my Higher Power for my freedoms - from addiction, from spiritual bankruptcy, from loneliness, from fear, from the seesaw of pride, from despair, from delusions, from shallowness, from doom. I give thanks for the way of life that has given me these freedoms and replaced the empty spaces with extra goodness and peace of mind.

Today I Will Remember
To give thanks for all my freedoms.

Hazelden Foundation