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April 11

Step by Step

Today, seek new friends, acquaintances and relationships that sobriety holds and turn away from the bittersweet memories of what was lost in our drinking days. Instead of languishing in regret or mourning what is gone and cannot be replaced, remember that we are sober, and sober thinking opens itself to working for what can be and not pining for what was and never again will be. If attending meetings is the extent of our participation in AA, we can spring into service as a 12th-Stepper, or sponsor or simply talking and listening to a co-member to lay the foundation of a new life with new friends, new acquaintances and new relationships. And should we be blessed with someone who today takes us out of the emotional baggage of yesterday, we can start to believe that a new and better life in sobriety is indeed possible. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

BEAUTY

Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable; what it is or what it means can never be said.

~ George Santayana ~

Beauty is among our most useful and most used words as we progress towards spiritual goals. The kind of beauty that guides our thinking in recovery does not lie on the outside, but rises from within. When we learn to see that beauty in the words, actions, and attitudes of others as well as in the principles we follow, we are choosing well.

Our friends have beauty because of who they really are, not what they appear to be. The emotions we feel and the living guides we follow are beautiful simply because we need them.

I will have no trouble finding spiritual beauty in our Program. True beauty never dies. It is found in all thoughts, attitudes and emotions, if only I seek it,

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

Where there is fear, we lose the way of our spirit.

~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

We don’t like to admit that we are afraid. But when we won’t admit the feeling, we can’t deal with it. By denying our fears, we don’t get stronger, we weaken ourselves. Denying fear doesn’t get rid of problems, it only reinforces them. In the end, if we don’t handle fear well, it rules us.

Fear is a universal human emotion, and we cannot eradicate it. We must learn how to handle the hot coals of fear. When we learn how, they don’t have to be destructive. Handling fear begins with self-knowledge. We first learn that the unsettling feeling we have may be fear. Our desire to run away, or the tight knot in our gut, may be fear. That admission to ourselves can be followed by talking about it to a friend or a sponsor. Sometimes just speaking the fear out loud to someone we trust is enough to put it back in perspective. We have handled it.

Today I will notice my feelings and respond to feeling of fear in constructive ways.

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

I can have my way more often if I have more than one way.

~ Stephanie Abbott ~

We find ourselves doing battle with the world if we turn every dispute into a confrontation. Seldom do any two of us see something in exactly the same way. This diversity is what makes life interesting— rich and educational. If any one ego dominated how all of us perceived every incident, life would be boring at best.

We all want our own opinion to dominate, whether it’s over when to eat or what movie to see. Perhaps it’s merely human to want our ego in charge. Or maybe that’s only true of people as insecure as us. In the program, at least, we’re in the right place. We can change. We can learn to let others be right too.

There are many reactions to any situation. Our own way will serve occasionally. We have the opportunity to learn alternative responses too.

There are many ways to interpret my experiences today. I will be flexible and occasionally look from another’s vantage point.

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

I Can Handle My Changes

I’m not using alcohol or drugs these days and I’m getting help for my depression. Overall I feel much better (although the side effects of the medication are a nuisance). But so much is changing. Sometimes I don’t feel like myself or I wonder about who I am. (Is this due to the medication?) I feel in a word, unsettled.

It helped when I brought this up with my doctor. She understood and supported me, saying that recovery is very unsettling and uncomfortable for everyone. It will get better over time, she added, especially once the medication is optimized. Knowing how normal I am makes this stage much easier for me to accept.

I will talk with two members of my support group today about how they handled all the changes of my dual recovery.

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

Turn it over.

~ Program Saying ~

“How do you ‘turn it over?’” We often hear this question in meetings. The struggle isn’t as much with the “turning over” as with making a decision. When something happens and we feel confused, it generally boils down to one simple question: Are we going to do it our way (again), or follow the lead of our Higher Power?

Deep down, we know the right thing to do. It may not be easy or familiar, but we need to do it. Resisting change and getting caught up in managing our own lives, the lives of other people, places, or things is the start of our problems. That way, we take a simple task and turn it into a major chore. But if we keep it simple and do the next right thing, we are “turning it over.”

We need to listen to our inner voice. Sometimes it is easy to hear; other times it’s difficult, because we don’t like what it’s saying. We need to sit quietly, become peaceful and open. The answer will come. If we can’t quiet ourselves, we can go to others in the program and listen to them. They will often tell us what we need to hear.

Today I pray for the courage to accept direction and the courage to follow through into action.

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

Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the action stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.

~ Anais Nin ~

Steve Ross, who put together the Time Warner merger and left millions in his estate when he died, structured his life around being a dream maker. When he was a teenager, he was summoned to his father’s deathbed and given this advice: There are those who work all day, those who dream all day, and those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. “Go into the third category,” his father told him, “because there is virtually no competition.”

The biggest roadblock to realizing a dream is the fear you will fail. The second biggest roadblock is the fear you will succeed. Both can keep you mired in the same spot, neither advancing nor retreating from your dreams. But dreams are your hopes and desires for the future. They are symbols of your commitment to who you can become.

So today, go ahead and dream—and then take the steps that will help you to move closer to your dream. You have the power to make a dream come true, but only if you try.

Today I will focus on one of my dreams. I will do at least one thing that will help make this dream a reality.

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

We need the courage to start and continue what we should do, and courage to stop what we shouldn’t do.

~ Richard L. Evans ~

What is courage? Many of us think it involves surviving against all odds. Some of us believe courage is personified by an individual like Helen Keller, who coped with many physical defects to vastly change her life and the lives of those around her. Others of us believe courage is personified by people like astronaut John Glenn, who took risks trying something new knowing he could fail.

Are we courageous? Compared to those people we would probably say no. Yet we are because we have taken risks to change our lives. Being willing to change is an act of courage. Believing in change and forging ahead on the new, uncharted path is an act of courage.

We are the only ones who can change ourselves. Just as Helen Keller and John Glenn made decisions to alter their lives, so do we make decisions to risk changes. Whether we started on our new way of life years ago, days ago, or even hours ago, we are filled with courage because of the decisions we made.

I can say the Serenity Prayer and remember my courage.

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

Being free

Some psychologists believe that some people don’t want to be free. In the middle of our addiction, we certainly had no freedom. We lost it all to the call of that fix, pill, or drink. We lost our freedom because we lost the power to decide how we wanted to behave. We had no choice.

Now we have a choice, and although we can never be free from our addiction, we can be free in our addiction! We can never be a former alcoholic or an ex-addict, but never again must we take those chemicals and de-stroy our being. The choice is ours.

Am I choosing to be free?

I pray to realize that if I let go and let God, I will be free.

I will honor my freedom today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Say what you mean and mean what you say, hut don’t he mean when you say it.

~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~

Newcomer

At a meeting I went to, the chairman made comments every time someone shared. Isn’t that what they call “cross talk”?

Sponsor

Certain customs vary from meeting to meeting. I’ve heard more than one definition of “cross talk” and seen some differences in whether or not it’s considered permissible to respond when others are sharing.

At most meetings, it’s not customary to respond directly to what another person shares by offering opinions or advice. It’s fine, though, to identify with what’s been said and to share our own experience on a related feeling or topic. At some meetings the speaker responds to sharing, but rarely interrupts, even with a brief, good-humored comment. At others, the speaker simply says “thank you”—or nothing at all. Limiting cross talk promotes the habit of tolerance and helps create an atmosphere in which it’s safe to share openly and honestly.

Other customs, too, vary from fellowship to fellowship, from place to place throughout the country, even from meeting to meeting in the same city or town. Some meetings give out chips to mark anniversaries; some celebrate them with cakes and presentations. Some meetings sell raffle tickets; the prize is usually program literature. Some meetings prohibit smoking. Such policies may be dictated by local custom or decided at business meetings or “group conscience” meetings.

Recovery keeps offering us opportunities to become more flexible and tolerant.

Today, I am open and flexible. I cultivate lightness as I look and listen.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We alcoholics have learned that if we fight liquor we are bound to lose. We always have. Our only hope is a complete abandonment of any ideas that we might have once entertained that we can drink. We must get sober and learn to like it. We should throw ourselves into all group activities, read all AA literature and other spiritually inspiring books we can get, brush up on our praying.

As you practice this you will find that whisky will get further and further from your minds and when you do think of it you will regard it as a beverage for some guys, but poison for yourself.

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

1) From Rave to Grave

2) If you used enough to get to NA, you used enough.

3) Serenity comes when you stop expecting and start accepting.

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

Eleventh Step Prayer

Higher Power, as I understand You, I pray to keep open my connection with You and to keep it clear from the confusion of daily life. Through m prayers and meditations I ask especially for freedom from self-will, rationalization, and wishful thinking. I pray for the guidance of correct thought and positive action. Your will, Higher Power, not mine, be done.

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

LOOSEN UP!

Loosen up. To be tense is the surest way to fail in any undertaking great or small.

To desire success is a splendid thing but to pursue success too tensely is to make certain of missing it. The carefree approach in any endeavour is a shortcut to success. In music, in sport, in study, in business life, many people fail, or advance very slowly, because they make hard work of it.

Treat your work as fun. Regard the difficulties as part of the game, laugh off the annoyances. This, of course, is the real difference between work and play.

Take it easy. Loosen up!

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

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

My Invisible Partner

You and God are a majority.

~ Anonymous ~

After Mr. Taylor experienced several business failures, in exasperation he turned to God and declared, “Okay, I give up trying to do it all by myself. I invite You to be my partner in all future endeavors. If You want something to be, I trust You to manifest it; if it is not Your will, I will not struggle.”

Mr. Taylor’s next venture was a small department store. True to his promise, this time he proceeded with ease and peace, knowing that with God as his partner, he would not have to fight for his good. As a result, the store flourished, and Mr. Taylor went on to create a hugely successful chain—Lord and Taylor.

Trying to do it all yourself leads to frustration, exhaustion, and failure. While it is important to be responsible and self-reliant, it is equally important to be open to receive support. Everything in nature gives to other living beings; we cannot do it all alone. All good things are overseen and supported by a higher power. Do all you can without anxiety or struggle, and trust Spirit to do the rest.

I invite You to be my partner. I allow You to do for me what I cannot do for myself. I let go of fear and struggle, and step onto the path of joy.

I am empowered by Spirit. Together we must succeed.