[bluidkiti]

March 25

Step by Step

Today, focus on compulsiveness so as not to react to anyone or anything with the heightened emotions that nurtured the defects of my character. From a behavioral standpoint, we alcoholics drank with compulsion. As such, my alcoholism is both physical and behavioral. To get the discipline and humility to prevent compulsion from gaining an upper hand in all my affairs, I can exercise Step Three as I begin this day by handing over to my higher power my will and ask instead for His will. Today, as I set out, I surrender my will – or self-will run riot – to my higher power with faith that He will strengthen me to act accordingly and responsibly instead out of the compulsion that contributed to my spiritual and mental disease. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

ONE DAY AT A TIME

Time ripens all things. No man’s born wise.

~ Cervantes ~

We come to understand time in a different way. Each day we discover there is an order to life that is only revealed day-to-day. The moments when life forces us to reconsider our schedule are no longer met with anger and frustration. We begin to trust our Higher Power to actually dictate what will happen in our lives. We find ourselves staying close to people who developed some measure of humility, for they seem to have a better sense of timing.

We remember the times when we demanded, “I want what I want when I want it.” The funny thing was, we were usually disappointed when we got what we wanted.

We are even finding a new appreciation for the seasons of the year, and for our lives. We find ourselves enjoying winter just as much as summer, our old age as much as our youth. Each new day deposits within us new wisdom.

Today I will remember that rather than fighting time, I will become time’s passenger.

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~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

~ Clarence Budington Kelland ~

The most powerful teaching is done by example. We all have strong feelings about our fathers and what we learned or didn’t learn from them. They are as unique to us as our own identity is unique. Some of us have fathers who stand as great examples of how we would like to live. Some of us have fathers who are negative examples that we want to avoid. Some of us feel we never really got to know our fathers. For most of us, it is a complicated mixture of all those things.

Now, as we continue to grow and change in adult-hood, we are faced with growing beyond what our parents taught us, both the good and the bad. We need to forge ahead and become our own growing version of adult men. There are many men who can serve as examples to us; some of them were in our past, and some of them are now friends and mentors. Sometimes the example is unconscious. It is always helpful to notice who we admire, who sets an example that we would like to follow. Take the best of what they have to offer and leave the rest.

Today I am grateful for what I received from my father and from all the other men who have set examples in my life.

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~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

I don’t train for a marathon when I simply want to run five-mile races.

~ Patricia Roth Wuertzer ~

Our insecurity, our fear that we’re inadequate, pushes us to overextend ourselves. We spent many years using alcohol and other drugs rather than ful-filling our dreams and aspirations. We may try to make up for lost time by demanding too much of ourselves now.

Making some progress every day is the best way to succeed at our goals. We’ll discover almost immediately how good it feels to say we’ll do some-thing and then do it. But we must be wary of the compulsion to do too much. We’re still addicts, after all.

Life is a process. Recovery is a process. Every day we get chances to learn whatever we didn’t master yesterday. No one is keeping score. Let’s ease up, make some progress, and leave time to smell the roses.

Today I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to complete a big project every day. Making some progress is enough.

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~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am grateful for my helper

When I first got into treatment, I told my counsellor how much I didn’t want to go. I insisted I wasn’t addicted and that I needed only two things: tranquilizers for my nerves, and freedom.

I’m glad I got this denial and anger out of my system. And I’m grateful for all my counselor’s help. First she just listened quietly and patiently. Then, slowly, she let me see that I was scared and in pain. Gently and with understanding, she helped me look at my drug use and my anxiety problems. She helped me feel better and then she helped me get on the path of recovery.

Today, I will thank my helpers and practise patience with my moods.

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~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven hurts.

~ Penelope Sweet ~

Carrying old sacks of anger and hurt on our backs often gives us a gloomy attitude. But many of us had no idea how much resentment and hurt we were carrying until it was removed. The sad part is that it takes a lot of energy and muscle for us to stay tied to someone else through resentment.

The solution is forgiveness, which is an act of courage that can’t be faked. When we forgive someone, we feel differently. We are flooded with a new sense of freedom. We actually feel lighter and seem to walk taller.

Forgiveness begins with an ounce of willingness. For many of us, the final act of forgiveness is like a miracle. Out of the seed of our willingness, a flower grows. A subtle internal shift seems to have occurred in us and the intensity of the old emotions is replaced with peace of mind. Resentments were a barrier to this growth; forgiveness is the beginning of a new freedom.

Today give me the courage to be willing to let go of old hurts and resentments.

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~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be.

~ Miguel de Unamuno ~

Sometimes it may feel as if your habit is constantly in your thoughts. You may find yourself driving by old haunts or running into people from your past. Or a scene from a movie or television show may spark a mental jour-ney down old habit memory lane.

Such times of remembrance—whether they cause you to feel pain, regret, sadness, yearning, or even happiness— are natural. Even though you have let go of your habits, they are still a part of your psyche and memory bank. That means that they will always be with you, even when they are no longer your constant companions.

That is why it is so important to identify yourself in meetings as someone who has an addiction. Through this acknowledgment you weaken the hold habits have on you and strengthen your resistance to temptation. You are also striving to minimize those times when memories of your habits gain unexpected entry into your mind. Telling yourself and others, with openness and honesty, that you are an addict confronts your habits head-on. It says, “I recognize what my habits are, and I will not let them rule my life or ruin my day.”

Expression, rather than suppression, will help to free my mind from the control of my addictions.

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~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

Do not look to small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great things being accomplished.

~ Confucius ~

The best work we can do is that which takes time. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the result of years of work. Barns built centuries ago still stand firm. The finest and most brilliant gems are the results of hours of study, cutting, and polishing.

Doing anything well means not merely getting the job done. We are probably very capable of quantity work when we want to be. But it’s the quality work—the kind we can step back from and admire today and for years to come—that really counts.

Whether we are working on ourselves, improving our relations with others, or restoring a fine piece of furniture, our best effort is the one that takes time and lasts.

I can work on one thing patiently and thoroughly, knowing the results will be better with time.

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~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Experiencing change

In recovery, there are great upheavals. Just as our whole drug world is let go, so too are many of our old ideas. Many a premise of our lives will prove weak and unreliable.

The only thing unshakable is God. Though fundamental change is shattering, our Higher Power will guide us through.

Am I experiencing a great upheaval?

Higher Power, help me to accept the need for change and to accept your help to endure it.

The area of my life I will work on changing today is

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it. ETHIOPIAN PROVERB

Newcomer

I’m getting closer to ninety days—I’m in the eighties now. I’m excited. It’s a miracle that I’ve been able to stay in recovery without interruption for this long. But I feel worried, too—or maybe I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m feeling!

Sponsor

“Anniversary anxiety” is something many of us experience in recovery. For the preceding days or weeks, we’re aware of the upcoming anniversary and its implications. We may anticipate speaking at a meeting or celebrating with recovering friends. Will we measure up to their expectations? To our own?

Perhaps we’ve been sharing our day count and enjoying the applause. As we approach ninety days, we may be afraid we’ll become “invisible” at meetings. Depending on local program and group customs, we may be eligible to chair meetings. Are we going to have to handle more responsibilities than we feel ready for? The day of the anniversary itself, and the days following it, may be a setup for feeling as if we’ve graduated or won an athletic event. We may be afraid that recovery will disappoint us, once the cheering dies down.

It helps to know that this phenomenon is a common one. If you’re experiencing it, one of the best antidotes is to share your concerns, both at meetings and with a sponsor. We’ve been there.

Today, I use the same tools of recovery that worked in the very beginning: meetings, sharing, reading recovery literature, prayer. They work.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

No man with certainty can see beyond this instant. Yesterday we had a friend, hale, hearty and bubbling over with energy and ambition. Today we write a letter of condolence to his widow. No one knows the day or the hour but this we do know – we are alive right now, we can help them right now.

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~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~

1) When we remove me from “blame” all that’s left is bla, bla, bla. . . .

2) Detachment comes with the development of spiritual trust.

3) Service is gratitude in action.

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~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Kindness and Service

O Lord, help me always to remember thankfully the work of those who helped me when I needed help. Reward them for their kindness and service, and grant that I may have the will, the time, and the opportunity to do the same for others.

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~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

COMFORT FOR MOURNING

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).

Mourning or sorrow is not in itself a good thing, for the will of God is that everyone should experience happiness and joyous success. Jesus says:

… I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

Nevertheless, trouble and suffering are often extremely useful, because many people will not bother to learn the Truth until driven to do so by sorrow and failure. Sorrow then becomes relatively a good thing. Sooner or later every human being will have to discover the truth about God, and make his own contact with Him at first hand. He will have to acquire the understanding of Truth, which will set him free, once and for all, from our three-dimensional limitations and their concomitants-sin, sickness, and death. There is really no need for man to have trouble, because if he will only seek God first, the trouble need never come. He always has the choice of learning by spiritual unfoldment or of learning by painful experience. Family troubles, quarrels and estrangements, sin and remorse, need never come at all if we seek first the Kingdom of God and Right Understanding; but if we will not do so, then come they must and for us this mourning will be a blessing disguise, for through it we shall be “comforted.” And by comfort the Bible means the experience of the Presence of God, which is the end of all mourning.

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~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

At Faith Value

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

~ Hebrews 11:1 ~

“Hurry up, or we’ll miss the bus!” shouted Paul. The streets of New York City became a blur as we jogged toward the bus terminal.

Two blocks in five minutes—was it possible?

“You guys go up and catch the bus, and I’ll get the tickets,” offered Tom. We ran up the long escalator, brushing past less anxious passengers. At the top of the ramp, we saw the bus closing its doors. Running full speed, we reached the bus just as it was pulling out of its parking space. We pounded on the door, and the driver let us in. “Can you wait for our friend?” I implored. “He’s getting our tickets.”

“Sorry, fellas, I’m already late.”

Paul stepped off the bus, looked toward the escalator, and exclaimed, “There he is!”

The driver rolled his eyes and indicated he would wait. Within moments, Tom showed up, short of breath, tickets in hand. As we made our way back to the bus, I told Paul, “It sure was great that you saw Tom coming; the bus would have left if you hadn’t.”

“That was good acting, don’t you think?” Paul retorted.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t see him coming; I only said that to stall the driver. We were lucky he showed up when he did!”

Real faith is acting as if your good is on its way even before you have evidence it is so. Jesus told us to give thanks for the answers to our prayers before we see the results. Faith is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes, and the more power you have to bring your good into visibility. Proclaim your good as if you already have it even before you see it, and you will see it.

Help me to celebrate my blessings before I can touch them. Make the invisible visible to me.

I believe in my good, and manifest it.