December 16

It is the act of forgiveness that opens up the only possible way to think creatively about the future at all.
-- Father Desmond Wilson

Today is full of endless possibilities and dreams. In many cases, we are limited only by our fear and lack of hope, in others and ourselves. Each new day we are given a clean page to live in our book of life.

What freedom we find when we choose to practice the art of forgiveness. Forgiving others and ourselves will allow us to step into this new day as free human beings. What can really hurt us in the present if we have the key to daily forgiveness? What could our friend, boss, or enemy possibly say that would be worth the emotional price of on-going resentment?

Freedom is a gift we give ourselves every time we choose not to react to a hurtful comment. Holding on to old resentments keeps our creative energy trapped and stifled. Our choices are these: new freedom or old resentment. We choose new freedom. It is the gift we give ourselves when we choose not to let the sun rise on yesterday's script.

Today let me forgive everyone and anything - past and present - that might distract me from my spiritual growth.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

December 17

Inches make champions. -- Vince Lombardi

What's the difference between success and failure? Ideal conditions? Half again as much effort? Twice the talent? Ten times "the breaks"? Or is it simply that some people have what it takes and some people don't?

Vince Lombardi, the football coach who brought the Green Bay Packers from fifteen losing seasons to successive world championships, thought success was a matter of inches. A bit more concentration, one extra push in practice, a consistent second effort for a tiny additional gain. He didn't ask his players to be something other than they were - he asked them to improve their best an inch at a time. He knew inches add up, in life as in sports.

In life as in football, it is often the little things that count: going to meetings when we feel like staying home, or speaking our minds, no matter how insignificant our opinion may seem. When we feel like simply hiding - inches make the difference.

Today, I will be aware that I am a champion in the making. I may not make a complete turnaround today, but I will make progress.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

December 18

"I can't help it" . . . that's what we all say when we don't want to exert ourselves.
--Eva Lathbury

Irresponsible behavior is not unfamiliar to us. Passivity is equally familiar. In the past, excusing ourselves of all responsibility prevented us from being blamed. We have learned that it also prevented us from feeling worthy, from fulfilling our potential, from feeling the excitement that comes with achievement.

Our fear of failure helped us to be irresponsible. We may still fear failure, but the program offers us an antidote. We can't fail if we have turned our lives over to our higher power. We will be shown the way to proceed. Our fellow travelers have messages for us that will smooth our path.

I have chosen recovery. I have already said, "I can help it." I will celebrate that I am taking responsibility for my life today.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

December 19

The readiness is all.
--William Shakespeare

Newcomer

I went to two different Step meetings this week, in different parts of town, and both of them were on the Fourth Step. I keep hearing that "there are no coincidences." Does this mean I'm supposed to start the Fourth Step now? How do I know if I'm ready?

Sponsor

First of all, I'm glad to hear that you're going to Step meetings, and I encourage you to keep it up. Your willingness has brought you a long way already, and it continues to be the key.

In approaching a new Step, I find it useful to ask myself if I've taken the Steps that precede it in a complete, whole-hearted way.

I review Step One and remember why I'm on this path of recovery in the first place: addiction brought me to spiritual depths I don't want to sink to again.

Reviewing Step Two reminds me that I'm not alone, and that I have faith that I'll be given what I need to become a whole and free person again.

Step Three reminds me that I've made a decision. I'm willing to do what's necessary for recovery and to trust the process. I remember that I only have to do my part; my progress in recovery isn't entirely up to me. My Higher Power will do the rest. When I reach Step Four, I trust that in the process of writing about the events of my addictive life, I'll be taken care of.

Today, I bring willingness and an open mind to the next stop in my recovery. I relax and trust that I am not alone.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

December 20

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
--Step Four of Alcoholic Anonymous

We avoid the Fourth Step. We put it off. We're scared of what we will find inside of us. We may find out we're mean, angry, selfish, and afraid. We might see how badly we've acted to others, to ourselves. We have power to hurt, and we've used it. We all have these things inside of us.

We also have love, trust, faith, and hope. We love art, music, nature, or sports. We have power to heal, and we have used it too.

The Fourth Step helps us to know our inner power. As we learn about our own power, we can use it carefully, on purpose, to do good.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me use my power to do Your will. Let Your power work through me too.

Action for the Day

Today I'll watch my own actions and words. I'll see how my power affects others. I'll talk about this with my sponsor.

You are reading from the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

December 21

Fine friendship requires duration rather than fitful intensity.
--Aristotle

Once we have embarked upon this program, we find spiritual recovery through relationships more than any other single factor. We find it through relationships with other people, with ourselves, and with our Higher Power. But most of us in recovery need to learn how to be in a relationship. We have to give up ideas that a friendship is an intense connection or a conflict-free blending of like minds.

A meaningful friendship is a long-term dialogue. If there is conflict or if we make a mistake or fail to do what our friend wants of us, we don't end the friendship. We simply have the next exchange to resolve the differences. Our dialogue continues over time, and time - along with many amends - builds the bond. With it develops a deepening sense of reliability and trusting one another. When we have lived with our friend through many experiences - or with our Higher Power - we gain a feeling that we really know him or her in a way we could never have in a brief intense connection.

Today, I will do what I need to do to be reliable in my friendships.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

December 22

All our loves are first loves.
--Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

When we fall in love with someone, it is a unique thing that comes from deep within us. Any relationship is the creation of two people who open themselves to each other and share themselves beyond the usual boundaries. That is the excitement of true love. Two people give each other the keys to their private world, just as we might share the key to our home, trusting that it will be used with care and respect. This intimacy isn't usually instantaneous. It builds on experience together.

In an intimate relationship, we have the responsibility to be good stewards of the trust given us. Looking at our partner's role is always so much easier than looking at our own, but we need to resist that easy temptation. Our first questions should always be - Do I make it safe for my partner to be open with me? Do I take my partner's vulnerability as a trust that I do not abuse? Am I gentle and respectful with the key my partner gave me?

Today I will be a good partner; honoring and guarding the trust I have been given.

You are reading from the book:

Wisdom to Know by Anonymous

December 23

If you would be loved, love and be lovable.
--Benjamin Franklin

We all desire to be loved. Our common human characteristic is our need to count in someone else's life. At least one other person needs us, we tell ourselves, when we feel least able to accept life's demands. How alike we all are. The paradox is that our own need for love is lessened when we bestow it on others. Give it away and it returns. A promise, one we can trust.

The reality about love and its path from sender to receiver and back again is often distant from our minds. More often we stew and become obsessed with the lack of love's evidence in our lives. Why isn't he smiling? Why didn't she care? Has someone more interesting taken our place? Choosing to offer love, rather than to look for it, will influence every experience we have. Life will feel gentler, and the rewards will be many and far reaching.

Loving others promises me the love I desire. But I can't expect it if I don't give it first.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

December 24

That life is a fragile shell on the beach I have thought of before. This Christmas I am thinking big basic wonders as if I were just born.
--Naomi Shihab Nye

The big basic wonders about our origin, and that of the stars, must still occur to us all, even though we're grown up and knowledgeable about astronomy and human reproduction. The germination of a seed is still much more wonderful, in a strict sense, than the mere electronic marvel of a calculator that makes twelve thousand computations in a second.

Do we ever let ourselves simply wonder? Do we still open ourselves to the awe that filled us once, when we first realized the vast intricacies of the solar system or of human physiology?

Every great ritual surrounds a story that is wonderful: the presence of a god; the deliverance of a people; the transformation of life or death. It's appropriate that we should respond to them with a thrill of wonder. Wonder is a gift; it contains the germs of reverence and of knowledge.

Life is frail and intricate, and it contains everything I need for fulfillment.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

December 25

To him, it was not the gift that mattered, but the giver.
--Walter de La Mare

In our material world today, we often get off track. We forget that what we really need in our lives is love and close friendships. It's too easy to take our relationships for granted. It's also too easy to take our sobriety for granted - the big gift of another chance at life.

For Christians, today marks the birth of Christ, the child who came to bring love and forgiveness to all. Whether we are Christian or not, as recovering people, we know that love and forgiveness do open the gates to new life. When we live in the light of our Higher Power - whether we call that power Jesus, Yahweh, Muhammad, Buddha, or Creator - we find ourselves living that new life.

Let each of us, in the name of our own Higher Power; spend this day in celebration of the new life we have been given.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, thanks for delivering new light into my life and giving me another chance. Teach me to live in the light of love and forgiveness. What a gift.

Today's Action

What gifts of love and forgiveness can I deliver to others today? What can I give from my heart that will bring someone light and joy? A smile and a hug? A phone call? An afternoon of conversation and play? I will remember to contact my sponsor today.

You are reading from the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

December 26

Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the Light, even though for the moment you do not see.
-- Bill W.

At times, we'll go through pain and hardship. At times, we'll have doubts. At times, we'll get angry and think we just don't care anymore. These things can spiritually blind us. But this is normal. Hopefully, we'll be ready for those times. Hopefully, we will have friends who will be there for us.

Thank God for these moments! Yes, hard times can make our spirits deep and strong. These moments tell us who we are as sober people. These moments help us grow and change. Spirituality is about choice. To be spiritual, we must turn ourselves over to the care of our Higher Power.

Prayer for the Day

God, help me find You in my moments of blindness. This is when I really need You.

Today's Action

Today I'll get ready for the hard times ahead. I will list my friends who will be there for me.

You are reading from the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

December 27

May you live all the days of your life.
--Jonathan Swift

Indeed life is much like a game - both a deadly serious one and one that demands laughter, relaxation, and the ability to play. Either way, life demands attention.

There is much of life that is truly exciting and fascinating - are we watching for it? There is hilarity and humor - do we see it? There is that in life which is touching and full of heroism - are we open to seeing it?

All these are not only present in some general, nebulous way about life, but about our lives! Right here where we live, in our lives today, there will be the hero and the goat, there will be disappointment and reason for wild celebration, there will be the beautiful and the horrible. The soap opera is not out there; it is right here with us, in us, all around us. The task is to be present in our own lives, to get our heads out of others' reality, and to find the enormous meaning and vitality of our own.

Life is precious. Today, I will not take my life for granted.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

December 28

Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way.
--Florence Scovel Shinn

Should we make this move? Should we change jobs? Should we talk to others about our feelings? We are seldom short on prayers when we're filled with fear and indecision. We are, however, short on answers. Our worries block them out.

No prayer ever goes unanswered. Of this we can be certain. On the other hand, the answer may not be what we'd hoped for. In fact, we may not have recognized it as the answer because we were expecting something quite different. It takes willingness on our part to be free of our preconceptions--free to accept whatever answers are offered.

Our answers come unexpectedly, a chance meeting on the street, a passage in a book or newspaper, a nagging feeling within. God speaks to each of us throughout the day. Our prayers are answered, our problems find solutions, our worries are eased, if we but attune ourselves to the messages. They are all around.

I will be attentive to all the signs from God today. Whatever answer I seek is finding its way to me.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

December 29

The Hares and the Frogs

One day the hares were discussing how they could hardly ever relax because of their fear of other animals.

Just then they felt the earth tremble and saw a herd of wild horses stampeding their way. They scampered about in a panic and soon were trapped near the edge of a lake. They decided they would rather leap into the lake and drown themselves than continue living in a state of perpetual panic. But just as they were about to leap, they startled some frogs that promptly hopped into the water.

The hares scanned the lake and saw that the frogs had disappeared. "Perhaps," said one hare, "things are not as bad as they seem."

The moral of the story: There is always someone worse off than you.

There are many others who are facing their own set of difficulties and challenges. To think that you are the only one who has problems, what you are going through is unique, or no one could possibly understand the hardships you face minimizes the needs of others. The program is for the good of all, not for the good of one. Rather than stay locked in your own mind-set and bemoan what you are facing, reach out to others.

I will remember there are others who also require attention, comfort, and care.

You are reading from the book:

Morning Light by Amy E. Dean

December 29

Proving ourselves

Long after a bitter failure, some of us still cling to the hope that we can erase the defeat in some spectacular way. One dream is to "prove ourselves" to those who scorned us or put us down.

This never really works, even when we do become winners at some later time. For one thing, we may be proving ourselves to people who never will like us. If we are striving to show others that we can succeed, we are still dancing to their tune. We are accepting their idea of what success should be.

Many of us failed simply because we were alcoholics and could do no better. We might have destroyed opportunities that will never arise again. But by finding sobriety, we may already have proved ourselves to those who really count in our lives including ourselves.

I can prove today that the Twelve Step program works and that a loving Higher Power is present in my life.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.