[bluidkiti]

June 4

Step by Step

"We have been dealing with alcohol in its worst aspect. But we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world's troubles on our shoulders ...(T)hose of us who have tried to shoulder the entire burden and trouble of others find we are soon overcome by them." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 9, p 132.

Today, if in service work I take on others' addictions and recovery, let me remember that the lifeline of AA is tossed to us by another person but it is we as individuals who grabbed it. And if I should be the 12th-Stepper who throws out the lifeline, let me accept that it is not within my control to make the other person grab it. Likewise, let me not be tinged with cynicism or hopelessness of the state of the world because it, like the power of alcohol, is something I cannot control. Today, if the message I carry falls on deaf ears, I will not feel like a failure and, likewise, I will not bolster my ego by claiming "success" if the message is heard. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

THE VALUE OF TIME

Remember, the pursuit of happiness is futile. Happiness, peace of mind, and serenity are the results of the way YOU think God would have you live.

~ Anonymous ~

Relaxation and recreation are important to us all. Rest and entertainment prepare us for the challenges of life by giving us new energy and purpose.

During our sharing, we can all learn to use time well by preparing for the future. Of course, living in the now as well as we can, one day at a time, is our main concern.

A story goes that a carpenter was asked why he was repairing a judge's bench chair with extra care, and he replied, "Because I want it comfortable when I sit in it myself." And he actually did earn that honor some years later! Setting realistic goals now is using time well by preparing for the future.

If I didn't plan for the needs of my future, it would be like not planting seeds to build tomorrow's forests.

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

When it comes to staying young, a mind lift heats a face-lift any day.

~ Marty Bucella ~

We can choose to focus our attention on the image we present to others, or to focus on who we are on the inside. When we feel inadequate or empty, it may never occur to us to do something about how we feel about ourselves. Instead, we may have learned to try to control how others see us—as if that were the path to self-esteem. In our recovery, we learn that the basis of true self-esteem is to have values and follow them. No matter how successful a man becomes economically, no matter how many achievements he can point to in the world, it is never enough until he feels right about himself as a person.

We can be grateful for a program that points the way toward genuine success: true self-respect and self-acceptance. That doesn’t mean we never regret something we have done; it means we make distinctions between who we are and what we have done. When we have values and follow them, sometimes we fall short of our own standards. Then we admit our shortcomings and repair them. In so doing, our inner self-acceptance is maintained and we once again affirm who we are.

Today I am more concerned about the man I am than about the image I show to others.

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

We’re all recovering, all the time, from something; we’re growing out of the old and into the new.

~ Jan Lloyd ~

We are in a constant state of change. With each passing moment we are gathering new insights, collecting new experiences, defining new perspectives. Even when it feels as if our friends are passing us by, we can take comfort in knowing that we are not standing still.

The rate of growth is different for each of us. It depends on how quickly we assimilate the growth experiences and specific information our Higher Power wills for us. The more we struggle against the closing of a familiar passageway and the opening of a new door, the more our pace is hindered. We can quicken the pace by trusting that we are always given exactly what our Higher Power has in mind for our next stage of living.

Each day’s experiences are part of the trip that God has planned for us. We will never be in danger as long as we trust the spiritual guidance that speaks to us in the quiet places of our minds.

I am in safe hands. I can leave the old behind and trust the growth experiences I will receive today.

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

I am OK

I feel ashamed and small at times: stereotypes are hard to fight. Some people think that everyone with a mental health problem behaves bizarrely, looks odd, or is stuck in a hospital.

But it's not true. I have a mental health problem and I am in recovery. I hold a steady job, provide for my family, and I look like most of the other fathers on my block (except for the ones with more hair!) I believe that I am more like everyone else than I am different. And what's more important is that no matter what anyone else says (or thinks), I am OK.

I will list two ways that I am like everyone else or two ways that I am OK.

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

Listen, my friend, there is one thing in the world that satisfies, and that is a meeting with the Higher Power.

~ Kabir ~

How we choose to start a day will set the tone for the rest of the day. Will we make time to take care of all our needs today? It’s important to eat a healthy breakfast and exercise a little each day. Our bodies feel refreshed by a hot shower or a comforting soak in the bath. Our bodies need rest. Sometimes we need a good night’s sleep, other times just a nap. In this way we care for and nurture our physical selves. Are we also tuned to our spiritual needs? Do we make time to stop and visit with our Higher Power on a daily basis? Too often, we ignore our spiritual needs and our souls go hungry. A daily meeting with our Higher Power is as important to our spiritual health and growth as a meal is to our bodies.

This spiritual time we set aside each day offers our souls the opportunity to quench the thirst and satisfy the hunger for spiritual food and drink.

Today let me care for all my needs. Help me to respect my body as well as my soul.

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

So I close in saying that I might have had a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for.

~ Lou Gehrig ~

While much about Lou Gehrig’s battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was kept out of the public eye, today we know the debilitating effects of the illness that robbed him of his career in professional baseball. We understand more clearly how the disease creates a powerless person inside of an ever-weakening body.

Even Gehrig’s patience, strong will, and positive attitude could not cure him of his illness. Each day his body broke down a little more and made even the simplest of actions extremely difficult to perform. Yet he coped with pride and dignity, and drew strength from those who cared about him. In his farewell speech before thousands of fans, he proclaimed a statement that, even today, has the power to both humble and awe: “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth.”

Will you do the work in recovery that you need to do with pride and dignity, or will you have a defeatist attitude? Will you triumph over your addiction, or will you let your addiction get the better of you?

Today I will remember that there are others who face greater challenges and hardships, and they do so with a positive attitude.

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

In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.

~ Robert Frost ~

If we've ever dug in a garden and unearthed an ants’ nest, we can recall their first reaction to our unintended destruction: they do everything possible to save their lives and supplies. The ants scurry around, moving the larvae to an underground room. Exposed contents are then relocated to unseen passages. In a matter of minutes, the ants are again safely underground and ready to resume their daily routines.

How do we react when some catastrophe or unplanned event occurs? Do we want to crawl under a rock or are we as resilient as the ants? Instead of moaning over postponed plans or the loss of something in our lives, we can try to be like the ants and learn how to best work with circumstances that come our way.

Life doesn't stop for us to lick wounds or add fuel to grievances. Hours pass, we grow older, nature continues. Every event is part of life's cycle. We can't run away from anything. We must meet life head-on and adjust to its ebb and flow.

I can look at an unplanned event in my life as part of lie's cycle. I need to trust that life will go on.

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

Telling tales

We have such egos. Even when we talk about our troubled past, it often sounds as though we’re bragging. We seem to take pride in how we used drugs, how much and how often we used them. We build up our stories and often try to top the other guy’s drug-alogue. It seems we’re saying, “See how good I am! I don’t do those things anymore.”

But now that we’re in recovery, now that we have a choice in our behavior, trying to impress others with our past doesn’t show serene, spiritual people—it shows insecure, egocentric braggarts.

Am I a storyteller?

Lord, help me avoid glorifying my story to impress myself and others.

To keep my story straight today I will

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

You’ve no idea what a poor opinion I have of myself, and how little I deserve it.

~ W. S. GILBERT ~

Newcomer

I’ve been invited to speak at a meeting. It’s not one I usually go to; it’s out of my neighborhood, in an area where I’m pretty sure many people have had far worse experiences than mine. I’m afraid that they won’t take me seriously, and I’m nervous.

Sponsor

Let’s assume that most of the people in the room sincerely want recovery. Like you, they’ve learned that it’s better to identify than to compare. They’ll be listening for feelings similar to the ones they had when they were active in their addictions; they’ll be listening for the miracle—the choice of recovery over addiction—and for the dignity and self-esteem of a sober life. Like you, many of them will listen for one thing to take away that is useful in their recovery. There’s no way we can know ahead of time what will strike one of our listeners as helpful. And if what you say doesn’t keep anyone sober but yourself, that’s one life saved.

The more willing we are to set ego considerations aside, the more room there is for our Higher Power to flow through us and others.

Today, I pray to be useful.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

A split second separates the past, the present and the future. The course of history has been altered in a moment of decision on the part of one man. Inventions that have revolutionized our mode of living may have taken years to perfect but the idea behind them was born in a flash of thought between the ticks of a clock.

In that great day when you determined that you had had enough, that you were whipped, the resolve took but a fraction of a second, but in that instant you closed your past and opened your future.

A moment of thoughtlessness can put you back in the past again.

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

NEXT RIGHT STEP

God, please show me all through this day,
What is the next right step.
Give me the strength, faith, and courage
I need to take care of the problems in my life.
Show me the solutions, for I will take the
Next right actions. And, I ask to be free
From self-will and fear. Your will, not mine,
Be done. Amen.

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

SEEKING AND FINDING

People are very apt to find what they seek. You have noticed that people who go about looking for trouble, practically always find it. The popular proverb, "Listeners seldom hear good of themselves," is an example. We also know people who love to say that they never have any luck. When things seem to go against them, they exclaim triumphantly, “Wouldn't you know it? −that is what always happens to me!"

Now, such a mistaken person needs only to alter this habit and he will automatically alter his life. It is often difficult to get such people to make this alteration, but if they do the result is never in doubt. Spiritual law says that it is never too late to mend, and that when we seek God's help we find it.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; far I am God, and there is no one else (lsaiah 45:22 ).

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

Get a Job

Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle never know.

~ Charles Kingsley ~

My friend Stanley seemed to live an enviable life. At a young age, he inherited a fortune from his father, and subsequently never held a real job. Stanley spent most of his time traveling, visiting friends, and dabbling in various projects for fun. As I got to know Stanley, I noticed that he made poor choices in managing his life and his money. He was easily influenced, and he was a bad judge if character. When I discussed Stanley with my counselor, she noted dryly, "He needs a job."

A life that is too comfortable and cushy may weaken us. While there is nothing wrong with having a lot of money, and we are certainly not required to slave at an occupation we hate, there is a value in engaging in work that teaches us to manage our resources wisely and learn the importance of right service, activity, and integrity. Dealing in the marketplace moves us to stretch and enter into situations that challenge us to see and tell more truth, communicate, and grow.

After years of intensive traveling, lecturing, and dealing in the business world, my spirit needed a rest, and I took a sabbatical from work for a year. I spent the first month of my retreat doing nothing, thinking to myself, "This is the life! I am never going back to work again!" As the months went by, I felt more and more healed, and by the time the year was over, I was ready and enthusiastic to return to activity. I needed the rest, but I also needed the stimulation.

Work is not a bad thing; it builds muscles and opens doors that we would not access on our own. Right livelihood brings forth the greatness inherent in our soul and assists us to fulfill our purpose as creative beings.

I pray to put my strengths and talents to their best use, that I may serve and grow.

My work is a joyful and productive expression of my inner spirit.