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October 11

Step by Step

” …A body badly burned by alcohol does not often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling. We are convinced that a spiritual mode of living is a most powerful health restorative. We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health. …
“But this does not mean that we disregard human health measures. God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists and practitioners of various kinds. Do not hesitate to take your health problems to such persons.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 9 (“The Family Afterward”), p 133.

Today, recovery from extended daily drinking will come in time and only if I allow it by total abstinence. It took a long time for my body, mind and spirit to become part of the alcoholic culture; it may take as long or longer to recover. In my zeal to recover, let me understand that my physical recovery may take weeks or months but that my spiritual and emotional recovery will take longer – perhaps a lifetime longer. And until my spiritual and emotional health is back on an even playing field although my body has recovered, I need to realize that the Twelve Steps are the way for me to recover. But should I suspect a need for medical or psychological treatment, let me not be reluctant to seek it out. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

FAITH AND TRUST

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.

~ Anonymous ~

We had only to meet the first person that greeted us in the first meeting we attended in our recovery to know that the Program worked. Our faith in how it works is illustrated for us by the lives of millions of men and women who are recovering.

If we rely on miracles to develop a faith, our Program can be an unlimited provider of them. The real issue for the person in recovery is one of trust, the day-in, day-out, come-what-may trust in a Higher Power. What was discovered by the early members of our Fellowship has been rediscovered time and again in every meeting where members gather to share their recovery: that we can unreservedly trust in God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

I have learned a new meaning to the word faith: trust in a Higher Power, in the Program, and in myself.

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

Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

Mature love is a powerful and wonderful thing that has to be learned in adulthood. Children are certainly capable of loving and receiving love, but they are not yet fully formed as individuals. Adult intimacy is like a bridge spanning the space between two people. When our intimate partner confides in us and becomes vulnerable, our task is to make that moment safe. And when we become vulnerable, we have a right to the same safety—which means no disrespect and no demeaning or abusive behavior. When someone puts trust in us, it is our duty to honor it.

Some of us grew up in families where love was paired with abuse and disrespect. The very people who loved us sometimes deliberately hurt us. As adults we may find ourselves being more decent and polite to strangers than to our loved ones. This becomes our adult challenge: to act respectfully to our loved ones and protect and honor the trust they have placed in us.

Today I will be most respectful of my intimate partner, who is the most vulnerable to me.

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

What honest heart denies that many delights are based on the premise that others will not, even cannot, do what you do?

~ Florida Scott-Maxwell ~

Seldom do our successes come easy, so taking pride in our accomplishments is appropriate. But being grateful for our Higher Power’s help is even more appropriate. This partnership assures us of success, even when we think we have done it alone.

Our culture admonishes us to be self-reliant, independent, strong. None of these qualities are inherently wrong, but they leave us short-changed. We also need to depend on God, to be vulnerable, and to look to other people for support and love, just as they look to us.

No one can do anything in exactly the way we do. And that empowers us. We bring our unique perception to every undertaking, and this vision, coupled with God’s participation, interprets and guides our understanding and our response.

I have an assignment today. Every day, in fact, I am doing God’s work. I’ll have help if I accept it.

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

I can make my needs known

When I experience symptoms of my psychiatric illness, my friends and family can sometimes make the situation worse. I think they get afraid—perhaps because they don't understand me or my problems. Sometimes they want to "fix" my problem (which is not appropriate) or else they expect me to just change the way I feel or behave (which is unrealistic).

In the past I've felt angry and frustrated about this sort of treatment. But now that I've had counseling for a while, I've learned more about my problems and especially about what helps me feel better and get stable again. For instance, when I'm having symptoms, I think I do better when, instead of a fix or a demand, I get some flexibility, a friendly ear, and an open mind.

I will write down two important needs when I'm having symptoms and talk about them with my counselor and a trusted friend.

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

What great thing ever came into existence that was not first fantasy?

~ Carl Jung ~

Many of us used to be great dreamers. During active addiction, we often settled for the dream itself instead of working to make that dream come true. It’s true that dreams do come true, but they often require work. Perhaps we don’t feel that we deserve to have our dreams come true. Perhaps we tell ourselves it won’t happen because our dream is unrealistic. Maybe we’re afraid of all the work we’d need to do.

When we have doubts, we can remind our-selves of how much we’ve accomplished so far. Not long ago we were on a one-way street to destruction. Now we are regaining our health, taking care of ourselves in ways we’d not dreamt of before. Perhaps in working toward one dream we will accomplish something totally unexpected, something we hadn’t foreseen, but which was a part of God’s plan for us all along. God has given us dreams for a reason, and He has given us this moment to take a small step toward those dreams, a small step into His plan for us. Now is the time for us to step into life’s great adventure.

Today let me have the courage to believe in my dream.

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

I have always known that at last I would take this road, but yesterday I did not know it would be today.

~ Narihira ~

Itis not always easy to set goals in your life. Sometimes you may know exactly what you want to do and how to achieve it. Other times you may know what you would like, but have no idea how to get it. And there may be times when you simply do not know what it is that you want.

The best way to approach setting goals is to begin by writing down the things you would like to achieve. Perhaps you would like to speak at a meeting or develop a new circle of friends. Next consider the steps you need to take for each of these things. To speak at a meeting, first create an outline for what you would like to say and rehearse your talk. To make new friends in the program, Attend different meetings, volunteer at a meeting, or arrive at a meeting early so you have time to mingle with others.

When you do this, you create an action plan for achievement. It is one that provides you with direction as well as manageable activities that will lead you in the right direction.

I will consider what I need to do to achieve a goal, rather than focus on a goal.

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

People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.

~ Will Rogers ~

We may have learned rage at a very early age from an alcoholic parent. We may have found we could manipulate people and distance them by taking off at them like a rocker. We found they had no choice but to take cover or speedily undo what they had done to make us angry.

Today, we may feel a need to fly into a rage because we fear someone will see our human, vulnerable side. Now that we're dealing in feelings, our rage may simply be a symptom of our own frustration in the slow process of recovery.

If a mirror were placed in front of us during one of our rages, we probably wouldn't recognize the person in the reflection. We can do far more harm than good, more damage than repair, and generate more feelings of dislike than like. Do we need to fly into a rage anymore? Tonight we can treat raging behavior as a thing of the past and move on to mature, constructive behavior.

Do I remember my last rage? What did it accomplish? Tonight I can work on new scenarios for old, immature behaviors.

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

Using the program

Some nonaddicted people accuse us of using our program as a crutch. They are quick to put down what they don’t understand. But let’s question this reasoning. People have to work to earn a living; we have to work our program to live. Is a job a crutch?

A job is a form of support, and our fellow-ship is also a form of support. We need never be ashamed of our glorious fellowship, which has brought so much joy into so many lives.

Do I use the program to the fullest?

Higher Power, may I know that I do not have to justify my program, my addiction, or my existence.

Today I will use the program by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to enough either.

~ GOLDA MEIR ~

Newcomer

I've gotten closer to myself lately. I'm not as afraid to accept the truth of where I've been, and what I've lost. It hurts, though. As I clear up, I can see the wreckage of the past far more vividly than I did even as recently as a few months ago, but I still have a lot of grieving to do.

Sponsor

As I become more whole, I grieve for the lost soul I now see myself to have been. I grieve for the person who was so damaged. I've changed so much; I'm still connected to my previous self but I'm no longer where I was. In a sense, that person has had to die in order for me to be here today, alive and grateful. My past experience is part of what brought me here, and I thank the person I used to be for letting me survive.

For those who are willing, recovery makes it possible to have an intimate, loving relationship with ourselves. Like intimacy with others, intimacy with ourselves opens us to a wide array of feelings. Sober, we risk a deeper experience of feelings we previously tried to avoid.

Today, as I become whole, I grieve for the person I used to be.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We are not in a position to give an opinion on leprosy, jungle fever, hoof-and-mouth disease or other minor ailments like that, but when it comes to the really "big sickness"—hang-overs—we can speak with some authority.

How any piece of mechanism could take the rough treatment we gave our human bodies would make it appear, on the surface, that Nature intended to make us live to punish ourselves in a manner that Nature itself could not duplicate. Outraged Nature could only confine its retribution to the body. The mental and spiritual beating we took was administered by ourselves. That was the most cruel of all.

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

Fear No More

I will not fear those who have hurt me,
For You have given me power.
I shall sleep without nightmares;
You have given me peace.
I shall awaken with a clear and rested mind;
You have given me clarity.
I shall start my day happy, joyous, and free;
You have given me my recovery;
You have given me a new life.
For Your grace,
I will demonstrate my gratitude
In useful and positive action
Throughout this day.

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

FREE WILL OR FATE

The capriciousness of destiny was a favorite subject with the old-fashioned novelists. In their three-volume world, people’s lives were at the mercy of trifling accidents from day to day. A person’s whole life was spoiled because one letter was stolen or went astray. The hero rose from obscurity to wealth and fame through meeting a casual stranger in a railroad car, or through saving someone from drowning at the seashore. One false step ruined an otherwise promising career.

All this is nonsense. We are not at the mercy of accidents for there are no accidents, and trifles have only trifling effects. In the long run your own character makes or breaks you. This is true of the individual, of a nation, of a parry or of any institution.

. . . thou upholdest me in mine integrity . . . (Psalm 41:12).

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

Don't Wait for Worth

Think not you lack a special value here.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

In all his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh sold a single painting for a pittance. At a recent auction, one of Van Gogh's paintings sold for $82.5 million-an all-time high for a piece of artwork. Currently four of his paintings are among the ten highest-priced paintings ever sold.

It's ironic that Van Gogh was not acknowledged during his lifetime, and posthumously has become the highest-valued painter in history. This tells me that the immediate reaction or acknowledgment of the world is not always an indication of true quality. Quite often great artists and geniuses are overlooked in the early stages of their careers or during their lifetime.

When setting out to create art, music, or literature, to invent an object or method of service, or to choose a career, consult your own heart rather than the world. If you build your creations around the opinions of others, you will give your power away rather than draw it from within. As you allow your creations to spring from your inner vision, you will be a master of your own destiny and ultimately render great service.

Anyone can plug numbers into a formula. Many movie, television, novel, and song writers play on stock storylines that are sure to sell to the masses; some successful writers crank out plot after plot that simply dress old puppets in new clothing. True art, on the other hand, moves beyond what has been, and invites viewers to look at life from a grander perspective. Here is where originality, spirituality, and vision are called for. Such inventors must play on the cutting edge of their own creativity and call the masses to be bigger than they were.

Allow your genius to come forth uniquely-it is your greatest hope to live your destiny.

I pray to be a channel for fresh and wonderful ideas that bring healing and empowerment.

The mind of God within me creates beauty, service, enlightenment, and success.