Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - October

[bluidkiti]

October 20

Step by Step

Today, step outside myself if I have retreated inward because of some problem or emotion that I haven’t confronted. And, instead, I will extend my hand to someone in need. Service to others is a fundamental and integral component of recovery and, by seeking out and offering someone who needs my help, I may understand that my own burden is not as heavy as another person’s. To permit some problem to hold me hostage within myself is empowering that problem and forcing me to ignore the needs of both myself and someone else. On a less altruistic level, the weight of another person’s burdens may humble me enough to realize that my own burdens may not be as heavy as I think. Today, I step outside myself and offer my help to someone who needs and wants it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Flying is largely a matter of having the right outlook.

~ E.B. White ~

We may not make it if we don't have the outlook that success is within our reach if we practice the principles of our Program. Nobody believed that it would ever be possible for man to fly. Then the Wright brothers proved that it could be done. What was said to be impossible was there to be achieved.

Naturalists have proved for centuries that the bumblebee technically can't fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it continues to amaze them by flying.

A positive outlook is necessary if we are to make our Program "fly." When we lose that positive outlook, we lose hope and crash. Optimism means letting go of worry about the future. The future is in the hands of our Higher Power, and there's no better place for it to be.

With a positive outlook, I can accomplish success in my recovery Program. Without it, I'm going nowhere.

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

Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.

~ Hermann Hesse ~

Many of us find out what we really think when we start talking. Putting ideas into words is sometimes hard to do, but when we hear ourselves speak, we realize what we have had on our minds. It’s an important way to go deeper into knowing ourselves. Other times we may have thoughts on our minds, but we first connect with the feelings when we say them to another person.

We are social animals and talking is a crucial part of our humanity. How often do we hear from our partners that we don’t talk to them? Maybe they tell us that we “never” talk about our feelings. They love us and crave the connection that talking brings. As we become more at peace with ourselves, we can learn to express more. It takes practice, and we might need to push ourselves to put things into words, but we get even more out of it than our listeners do.

Today I will push myself to talk to my trusted friends and my partner.

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

Grace is when we notice the near-misses we survived instead of the wishes that didn’t come true.

~ Nancy Hull-Most ~

We all have stories about the harrowing past: the times we woke up not knowing where we were, the open prescription bottle we couldn’t remember emptying, the bashed-in fender, or the open front door of our home. How did we get from there to here? And why?
“There but for the grace of God . . is a saying that we come to appreciate when our mind finally clears. We were saved, many times. We have all read about people who weren’t as lucky as we were. Curiously we wonder, Why me? Perhaps we should ponder, instead, what we can do with our lives now that we’re here.

We have a unique contribution to make to our loved ones, or we wouldn’t have “escaped.” The next step is to listen to our inner voice for guidance. We have a job to do. It’s time to get on with it.

It’s no accident that I am here. I may not know what my job is today, but God will help me understand.

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

I am practicing acceptance

With my dual disorder, sometimes I feel that the rest of the world is passing me by. Right now I can only work part-time and I'm not happy with that. I often feel like I'm wasting my time. I live by myself in a studio apartment. I can't drive, so I have to take the bus when I go anywhere.

At times like this I focus on the idea that maybe my higher power has chosen a different path for me. I suspect the most important thing in my life these days is not career or family. It's recovery. By staying abstinent and stable, I will be on my path and all will be well.

I will pray the Serenity Prayer and review my list of assets (from Step Four).

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

Ye have many strings to your bow.

~ John Heywood ~

Our recovery depends on our Twelve Step program and the principles we are learning. But we also need recreation and outside interests to stimulate our creativity and personal growth.

Most of us can remember beloved hobbies, crafts, and sports we enjoyed in childhood. For some of us, years have gone by since we last spent time on those interests. Now, we’re granted a second chance to rediscover those pastimes that so delighted us as children. Many of them were inexpensive, costing more in creativity than cash — perfect for early recovery when finances are often tight.

Outside interests can give our lives a new dimension of enjoyment. And whether we return to an old interest or find new ones, we need only please ourselves. A hobby can help us forget our troubles for a few minutes or a few hours as we give ourselves some simple, wholesome fun.

Today let me think of how I can enjoy my spare time.

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

I’ve been so lonely for long periods of my life that if a rat walked in I would have welcomed it.

~ Louise Nevelson ~

There is a story about an old donkey that fell into an abandoned well. Many heard the donkey’s cries and raced to the well. The donkey’s owner assessed the situation and realized it could not be rescued. The animal was old and had lived a long life, and the well no longer produced water, so the man decided to bury the donkey in the well.

He asked the others to help him. They grabbed shovels and began tossing dirt into the well. At first the donkey brayed loudly, but after a short while, the braying ceased, Its owner peered in and saw that as the dirt piled onto the donkey, the donkey shook off the dirt and stepped up on the dirt below it. The well began to fill with dirt and, as the donkey stepped on the ever-growing pile, came closer to the top of the well.

Energized by this turn of events, the people began to shovel dirt furiously into the well, bringing the donkey closer to the top and to its safe escape.

Today I will use my own strengths as well as the strength of the fellowship to succeed.

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

Happiness grows in our own firesides and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens.

~ Douglas Jerrold ~

The old saying "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is an appropriate sentiment for envious people. When we look at another couple or another family, we may only see the good points. We may look for the same good points in our relationships and families and not find them. We then conclude our happiness, security, and contentment can only occur if we have what others have.

In an old comedy routine, a restaurant customer points to another diner and says to the waiter, "I'll have what she's having." The waiter immediately takes the half-eaten food from the other diner and gives it to him. However, we can't take the good things that others have, nor can we share them. We can only learn from them, making things better in our relationships and families. Only we can make things good.

Have I been envious of other people and what they have? Tonight I can discover what good I'd like to have in my life. Then I can take steps to bring this good from within me.

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

Removing the defects

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character.” For us, this is the absolute truth. If we are impossible to live with, get-ting another spouse will not change our dis-agreeableness. If we constantly bum from friends, changing friends will not make us less of a bum. If we are inconsiderate to our neighbors, moving to another state will not make us more considerate.

But working our character-defect Steps can remove our undesirable characteristics. In fact, working these Steps will help us want to give up our faults.

Am I rid of all my defects of character?

Higher Power, help me realize that the only way to change my character defects is to change my character defects.

The defects I will work on today are

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Though my mouth be dumb, my heart shall thank you.

~ NICHOLAS ROWE ~

Newcomer

I've been thinking about some of the things I said to you when I was newer in recovery. I wonder how you put up with me I was so self-absorbed, and I took for granted that you'd be there for me each day.

Sponsor

Your questions help me to go deeper in my own reading and thinking about the Steps; to stay honest, I've had to deal with some issues of my own that I'd been procrastinating about in recovery. Listening to your experiences reminds me of my own. You help me to stay mindful of my past of active addiction-to remember what got me here, and to feel the importance and the joy of my own recovery.

Sponsoring you has given me an opportunity to show up for another person, to be there consistently, yet honor my need for boundaries-there's such a thing as being too helpful, and that's something I've been getting practice dealing with. I have the same addiction you do, and my issues aren't very different from yours.

Your trust is a gift. Thank you.

Today, I feel gratitude for my ability to give and to receive trust in a relationship with another recovering person.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

For a person who knew almost everything just a few years back, and who now knows more than he did then, it is indeed strange to have had that consciousness of just beginning to learn the most elementary facts of living.

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

Finding Home

Dear God, help me think of . . .
Stepping on shore, and finding it Heaven!
Of taking a hand, and finding it God's hand.
Of breathing new air and finding it celestial air.
Of feeling invigorated, and finding it immortality.
Of passing from storm and tempest to an unbroken
calm.
Of waking up, and finding it Home.

~ Author unknown ~

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

THE SPIRITUAL BASIS

One is either on the Spiritual Basis or he is not, for there is no halfway house in this.

You are on the Spiritual Basis:

If you definitely give all power to God, in the most literal, practical, and matter of fact sense of the phrase.

If you really believe that prayer can do anything.

If you really believe that your happiness and well-being are vitally important in the eyes of God.

If you realize that whatever ideas and beliefs you accept must be expressed in your surroundings, and in all your relationships and activities.

If you try to see the Presence of God everywhere.

If, in short, you understand that you are in a mental universe, that things are thoughts, and that one's life history is fundamentally the expression of his belief about God.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (James 4:8 ).

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

The Inside Story

The only true measure of success is happiness.

~ Anonymous ~

One of the most difficult things I have ever had to do was to walk into the college class that I was co-teaching and inform the students that our senior instructor had committed suicide. My task was especially onerous in light of the fact that the course was a self-improvement class for adults who were seeking motivation to get back into the job market. Dr. Doughty was a brilliant, personable, and vital man who had won the respect and appreciation of many; no one had any clue that he was so unhappy that he would take his own life.

The face that many successful people present to the world is a facade. Behind the smiles, charm, and bravado of many famous and admired people, there lies a great emptiness and pain. It is only when there is a tragedy such as a suicide, a violent crime, or a painful divorce that their inner life becomes obvious to the world.

Do not be fooled by appearances. The presentations of the world are deceptive. Many people in my seminars have described the glamorous lives they lived as successful business people or entertainers, followed by horror stories of how they were dying inside.

If you are smiling at the world but crying inside, you must begin to tell the truth about your experience. Share your real feelings with a friend or counselor, and make a commitment that you will not settle for a double life. Pray to be released from any activities that dishonor your spirit or your integrity.

Seek the company of people who are genuinely happy. The happiest are those who have nothing to prove or protect. I thoroughly enjoy "what you see is what you get” people. God created each of us in magnificent beauty. Every human being has enormous gifts to share and bless the world, if we will only be who we are instead of who we are supposed to be. Just be yourself.

I want to live from my heart. Help me to be me, without hiding or protection.

What I am is good enough.