[bluidkiti]

October 12

Step by Step

” …(T)he best thing of all for me is to remember that my serenity is inversely proportional to my expectations. The higher my expectations …the lower is my serenity. I can watch my serenity level rise when I discard my expectations. But then my ‘rights’ try to move in, and they, too, can force my serenity level down. I have to discard my ‘rights,’ as well as my expectations, by asking myself, ‘How important is it, really? How important is it compared to my serenity, my emotional sobriety?’ And when I place more value on my serenity and sobriety than on anything else, I can maintain them at a higher level – at least for the time being.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Stopped in Time,” Ch 17 (“Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict”), p 452.

Today, sobriety with respect as a gift instead of a “right” that is no more a right than the ability to drink responsibly, a privilege I have lost. By thinking of sobriety as a gift, may other of my expectations of recovery be realistically framed: that I not expect the daily challenges or problems that non-alcoholics have, that I not feel entitled to a “free ride” without bumps, turmoils, even tragedies. Sobriety must be respected as a gift and not a right, a gift that requires development, nurturing and the constant reminder that it can be taken away – if I neglect it. Today, sobriety is a gift, sometimes fragile. I will handle it with care and respect. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

ALTERNATIVES

A person is usually not attached to anything more than their own suffering.

~ Anonymous ~

We all have a choice between widely separated alternatives. We can like ourselves or hate ourselves. We can lift ourselves up or put ourselves down. We can be for ourselves or against ourselves. Actions, attitudes, and thinking determine the direction of our choices. We can have more self-esteem and happiness or we can be depressed and miserable. The negative approach always is the easiest.

It takes little effort to be a sufferer. It is said that some addicted people can never feel comfortable unless they are uncomfortable. Fortunately, we don't have to think unkindly of ourselves, even when we are remembering what kind of person we used to be. We have alternatives. It is wise to take them.

I am responsible for my recovery. I have alternatives and the choices are mine. With the help of my Higher Power, I will make the right ones.

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

Unknowingly we plow the dust of stars, blown about us by the wind, and drink the universe in a glass of rain.

~ Ihab Hassan ~

Do we find it difficult to make conscious contact with a Power greater than ourselves? Does the spiritual plane seem out of reach? All we need to do is open our consciousness to the awesome big picture. We make contact with the ages of the universe by simply drinking a glass of water. The apple we eat is made of atoms and molecules that have been transformed countless times and only at this moment take the shape of an apple. Next they will become part of our human body.

This simple mindfulness puts us in direct contact with the vastness of space and time. Our senses taste, smell, and feel the contact while our rational mind simply feels awe. We were brought into being by forces that we cannot explain, and we will be carried forward on the wave of life. We can accept this ultimate force and relax into it.

Today I will be mindful of my constant contact with powers I cannot understand.

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

The more we give, the more we receive.

~ Veronica Ray ~

We blame human nature for our desire to get rather than give. There are people who focus on giving, however. We see them at meetings. We probably wonder how these people do it, and why. We’d be wise if we quit wondering and simply tried to imitate their behavior.

We’ve heard the advice “Give it away in order to keep it” often at meetings. In the early days we failed to understand the message. We can’t use that excuse any more. Our insecurity, or perhaps our stinginess, wants to hang on to our possessions, our well-being, our understanding of “how it works.” The paradox is that we’ll lose what we have if we don’t share it with others.

Every episode in our life is an opportunity to share the wisdom we have gained from living the principles of this program. It is no coincidence that we have been given this wisdom. Let’s share it.

I will be willing to share what I have learned with the others in my life today. At least one of them needs what I can offer.

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

I care about my health these days

In the last few months before I hit bottom with my dual disorder, I didn’t care what I ate or whether I slept. In a way, my body was not important. I seriously neglected my health, especially with my addiction. In a way, I wanted to feel nothing.

But nowadays in recovery, I am paying my body much more attention. I am starting to forgive myself and thus make amends to my body. I am learning that along with spiritual and emotional work, I feel best when I support the physical work of my recovery, too.

I will practice eating healthy food today and get some exercise.

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

When you’re through learning, you’re through.

~ Vernon Law ~

Recovery is a series of changes occurring over a period of time. Many people identify the beginning of recovery as the day they stopped drinking or using. That’s a beginning, a turning point, but the disease stays with us. It’s up to us to continue to learn, to continue to work our program, and to let our new knowledge give shape and meaning to our lives.

We may not have been able to comprehend all this a while ago. But the process goes on if we keep learning and growing in sobriety.

We may be unlucky to have been victimized by a lifelong, chronic disease. Sometimes we may feel discouraged as we work at our recovery and encounter new obstacles as we progress. But the fact is that our recovery is unique. By working our program, we can become even healthier than we ever were before our disease took hold. How many other people can look forward to that?

With an awareness of all that can be ours, and willingness to learn, we can find ourselves happier, healthier, and more fulfilled with each new day.

Today help me be open to change and growth in sobriety.

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

Prayer should he short, without giving God Almighty reasons why he should grant this, or that; he knows best what is good for us.

~ John Selden ~

A Native American belief holds that everyone is a house made up of four rooms—a physical room (the body), a mental room (the mind), an emotional room (feelings), and a spiritual room (connection with a Higher Power). The ideal is to “live” in each room equally, so that “occupancy” of one room is not in an imbalance with the others.

But how often do you live in only one or two rooms? Perhaps the room you visit the least is the spiritual room. This may be based on a spiritual disconnect that has gone on for a long time in your life, or may simply be because you are uncertain of how to develop a connection with your Higher Power.

Any spiritual connection begins with prayer. You can use familiar prayers from your youth or repeat a positive affirmation or a favorite slogan from the program. You can ask your Higher Power to watch over those people in your life who matter most to you. But what is most important is that you begin to spend more time in your spiritual room. Dust it off, tidy it up, and make it a comfortable space that you enjoy visiting.

I will set aside time each day for prayer.

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

If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.

~ Anonymous ~

Our growth depends on our mental, physical, and spiritual health. Yet too often we may spend more time on physical and mental growth than on spiritual growth. When this happens, all three suffer.

Through recovery, we may find we've been able to set aside time for hobbies and relaxation and for eating right and getting enough rest. Yet our spiritual side may be easily sacrificed due to time constrains. A little extra sleep in the morning may mean we have to skip our morning prayer and meditation. A long night of socializing, and our sleepy minds may opt for rest rather than a few moments of prayer.

When we start to cut back or postpone our spiritual times, we're eventually going to harm our mental and physical sides. We need to allow time for prayer and meditation and be able to stick to that time—no matter what!

Do I pray on a regular basis? Tonight let me spend time in prayer and meditation to benefit my mental and physical health.

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

Putting first things first

When we have loved ones who are also in the program, we must constantly remind our-selves where our priorities lie. We are told not to interfere in family members’ pro-grams. We have to take care of our own ad-diction first before attending to the affairs of others.

Once we turn our attention to loved ones, the same principle applies. We must respond to the addict in them first and then attend to other matters. Our responsibility to the addict in people must come first, or we may lose sight of our true priorities and mess up our own lives as well as theirs.

Do I put first things first?

My messages come from my Higher Power first. May they flow through me and then spread to loved ones and to all other areas of my life.

Today I will reassess my priorities and

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

It is better to protest than to accept injustice.

~ ROSA PARKS ~

Newcomer

I've started to realize that I'm not being paid adequately for my work. I don't know if it's possible to change that in my current position, but it's making me see that I've undervalued my abilities for a long time now, and that has led others to undervalue me as well. In the past, because of my low self-esteem, I always told myself that I was lucky to have any job and I couldn't afford to rock the boat. Now I'm beginning to see things differently.

Sponsor

We deserve to be appropriately compensated for the work we do. There are some fields and positions in which the degree of financial compensation is limited, but the other rewards are great; we may choose work that pays less than we'd like but that allows us an opportunity to do something we love. Each of us must determine our own priorities. We need to be honest with ourselves about whether we're being appreciated or simply exploited; whether we're accepting the reality that there's a current market value for what we do or are too timid to ask for what our work is worth. Change is always possible.

Today, I take an honest look at my relationship to work. If I'm dissatisfied with the work itself or the way I'm being compensated I take a step in the direction of change.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

There can be no liberty for any man unless he is free, and he can never be free as long as he is a slave to anything, save God himself.

If a person subjects himself, body and soul, to the Will of God, then he is indeed free, for then God resides in him and he in God. They become to a more or less degree one and the same. Blended into a-perfect oneness above all earthly domination and as free as God himself is free.

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

God Is Our Shelter

God is our shelter and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken
even if the seas roar and rage,
and the hills are shaken by violence.
The Lord Almighty is with us.

~ Psalm 46: 1-3, 11 ~

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

GOD WORKS WITH JOY

Don't pray or meditate as a duty. Realize that prayer is a visit with God and should be joyous.

Neither must you pursue your secular activities as necessary duties to be gotten over, that you may return to your prayer. In the light of Truth, there are no secular activities.

You must have regular recreation or you will become stale. Recreation, also, is to be enjoyed—as an expression of God—and not as a task to prepare yourself to pray better. An understanding joy in living is the highest prayer of all.

. . . in thy presence is fullness of joy . . . (Psalm 16:11).

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

Honesty and Truth

Ah, love, let us be true to one another!

~ Matthew Arnold ~

Do you know the difference between honesty and truth? Honesty means that your words and deeds are consistent with your experience. Truth means that your expressions are consistent with reality.

EST founder Werner Erhard did an experiment in which he gathered together various groups of people who knew each other and asked one person to sit in the center of each group. The people in the circle were asked to express their feelings and reactions to the person in the center. The group members spoke in turn, over and over until they had each communicated all of their deepest and most personal feelings.

Werner discovered a consistent pattern—the initial responses were usually negative communications: "l am upset about this” and "I don't like when you do that." At a certain point after each person had exhausted expressing their upsets, they began to spontaneously express their appreciation for the subject. Finally, nearly every person, without any coaching, spontaneously communicated, “I love you.”

This experiment tells me that at the core of our being we really love each other and we seek to express that love. Our fears and upsets cover the love at the center. When we honestly bring our upsets into the light, we unveil the love that was hidden. When these group members told of their angers and irritations, they were honest. When they declared their love, they were telling the truth.

We must be honest before we can be truthful. you cannot express the truth of love if you are harboring major areas of unspoken pain or upset. Be unafraid to speak of your upsets. lf you hold your communications with the intention of healing and awakening, they will bring you to the love that is the truth.

Show me the truth of my love.

I speak from the heart and illuminate the truth.