Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - January

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January 26

Step by Step

Today, my program as based on three concepts: choice, consequences, and responsibility. I understand now that drinking is a choice and the reasons I concoct to justify drinking are nothing more than rationalizations – excuses – or contributing factors to which I am surrendering my control. If I choose to drink, there are the inevitable consequences as all actions have, and my long history with drinking proves that the consequences are usually the same, are never less and usually worsen. And with those consequences comes responsibility to them, and the consequences are predictable – a hangover, regret for what I did or said when I was drunk, maybe another DUI, possibly waking up in the county jail’s drunk tank – again. Today, the consequences are too high for me, and I don’t want to be responsible to them. And if I don’t want to be responsible to the consequences of drinking, the choice is clear and logical – don’t drink. I choose not to. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HEALTHY PRIDE

Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself.

~ Schopenhauer ~

Pride should not be feared. It is listed among the “seven deadly sins,” but that is arrogance or false pride, not healthy pride which is a necessary part of self-esteem. Our Program teaches us that the pride that “goes before a fall” is an unhealthy state, a symptom of egotism, grandiosity, and arrogance.

No harm will come to spiritual growth from the pride experienced when we freely admit to ourselves that any accomplishment of ours was not made by us alone. Humble pride acknowledges the guidance of others and faith in a Higher Power whom we call upon for inspiration and motivation.

With humility and God’s help, lean learn to have healthy pride in my accomplishments and growth in the Program.

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

You alone can do it, but you cannot do it alone.

~ O. Hobart Mowrer ~

A guy likes to feel independent and self-sufficient. We all naturally want to feel competent and on top of our game. As we live our lives, we gain some savvy about this drive to be our own master. The young boy has a simple idea: the less he needs others, the stronger and better he will be. But the wiser, experienced man knows that a man is stronger and wiser if he is willing to accept the help that is available.

We alone can turn toward the help. We alone can decide to accept what we cannot change. We alone can open ourselves to spiritual grace and stop getting in the way of our Higher Power. The smarter man accepts the paradox that when we take our self-sufficiency too far, we become weaker. We are in the driver’s seat when we decide to receive the help of others and our Higher Power.

Today I will open myself to the help that surrounds me.

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

Having loosened our grip on the past, we are free to reach for the future.

~ Ann D. Clark ~

Every day of our lives we think of some situation we wish we had handled differently. Perhaps we left a job we now miss, disciplined a child needlessly, or responded rudely to a friend. Our Fourth Step inventory abundantly details our many regrets, but the past is gone. We can’t take back the job or the punishment or the rude responses. However, we can make certain the Tenth Step we do every night is not filled with similar regrets.

Recovery has given us a second chance. Let’s not waste this gift by hanging on to what can’t be changed. We all know what we don’t like about our behavior in the past. That’s all we need to remember when we decide how to behave in the present. We won’t be ashamed in the future, if we take charge of our present.

Today is a new beginning. Whatever happened in my past need not control what I do with today. Today is mine to be proud of.

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

I need to get out more

I feel shaky and fragile these days. I’ve been sad and quiet for so long—eating alone, working alone, being alone with my thoughts. It hurts and it’s hard to face the world.

On the other hand, maybe it hurts because I’m withdrawing, because I’m not facing the world. Perhaps I could call a friend to talk with or walk with; perhaps I could go to a coffee shop or to the zoo. (Of course, I could always go to a Twelve Step or support group meeting.) Although I don’t feel like taking action now, perhaps now is the best time to do something to help my mood. It will help if I can move toward the world instead of away from it.

Today I will try one new activity that involves other people.

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

All experience is an arch to build on.

~ Henry Brooks Adams ~

We can learn something from any experience, even one that is painful. In fact, we often learn more from painful experiences than from pleasant ones. When we say or do something foolish or hurtful that causes us embarrassment or guilt, pain gives us a reason to learn and behave differently next time. It may hurt to be arrested for drunk driving, but the pain of that experience may be the beginning of recovery for someone who is addicted.

We can’t change the experiences we have, but we can learn from them. Our life is a gift that comes wrapped in what we experience each moment. When we accept this gift and open it willingly, no matter what the wrapping looks like, we put ourselves in a position to discover unexpected treasures. We live life to the fullest, and we learn who we are as we grow. In that way, all experience is positive in building our new lives.

Today let me learn something that will help me grow in wisdom and maturity.

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

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical re-flection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?

~ James Thomson ~

There is the story of a religious teacher who spent hours preparing his daily sermons, seeking to impart the greatest wisdom and the most stirring observations. Parishioners often commented on how wonderful and inspiring his talks were.

He was about to deliver another of his sermons when a little bird came and alit on a nearby window sill. It began to sing away with a full heart and all those present listened. Then, as suddenly as it had arrived, the bird flew away. The preacher thought for a moment. He scanned the pages of his sermon, then looked out at the parishioners and announced, “The sermon for this morning is over.” While many things can be worked hard for, some things simply exist—and exist well. Appreciating nature and being able to connect with it in some way increases your ability to appreciate the blessings in your life and the beauty that surrounds you each day.

Today I will notice the natural beauty around me. I will marvel at the beautiful songs of the birds, the crispness in the air, and the sight of bare trees against a winter sky.

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

It is a matter first of beginning—and then following through.

~ Richard L. Evans ~

How many times have we started a project or a new path of living only to abandon it after a short time? We may have thought it wasn’t what we wanted or there wasn’t enough time. Instead of following through, we usually gave up just when it was getting challenging and difficult.

What are our dreams today? Do we wish we could speak a second language, know how to operate a computer, exercise regularly, or attend more meetings? What’s stopping us? Each task we’d like to accomplish can only be done by persistence and dedication. We learn a new language one word at a time, learn how to operate a computer one step at a time, exercise regularly one day at a time, and attend more meetings one night at a time.

We don’t have to give up an endeavor just because the hard work has begun. Instead of looking down the road where we want to be, we need to look at this moment. If we take a step toward our goals, we’ll be closer than if we never took that step.

I can walk toward my goal, remembering each step I take will bring me closer to achievement and personal reward.

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

Embracing virtues and new attitudes

Because of our addiction, our actions (and inaction) have fostered cynicism, futility, and distrust. How could we ever have hoped to succeed with attitudes like that?

Now we are cultivating the virtues of understanding, love, and patience. It is often slow and difficult. We know that our Higher Power loves us and will lead us, if we only ask.

Am I developing new virtues?

Higher Power, take my hand and lead me from the old attitudes toward new virtues.

I will work on the following virtues today

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

This is a “we” program.

~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~

Newcomer

Why must I have a sponsor? Can’t I do this on my own?

Sponsor

Sponsorship is a strong suggestion—not a rule. Yes, some people do stay in recovery without a sponsor. And no, we can’t recover on our own.

There are great advantages to taking the program suggestion to maintain a relationship with a sponsor. Recovery is a major change—it’s one of the most difficult, most courageous things we can do in our lives. A sponsor, someone who’s survived the ups and downs we’re facing in early recovery, can serve as a guide and mentor. He or she can answer our questions and help us through the Steps, giving us the benefit of his or her experience. With a sponsor present to witness our recovery process, to offer perspective and support, we may have a gentler ride.

When I was active in my addiction, I avoided the intimacy of relationships in which I might have to open myself to others or trust them. Even at times when there were many people in my fife, I managed to avoid “people situations” that made me uncomfortable. A sponsor-sponsee relationship can be the start of learning that human beings can depend on one another.

Today, I’m not alone in recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We alcoholics were up to our necks in the quicksand of yesterdays with a lifetime of tomorrows on our shoulders. Of course we sought escape in the bottle, for no man has courage and strength enough to survive this ordeal.

AA has taught us that TODAY is the only day we have. Those horrible TOMORROWS which we hold in such dread have no substance except such as we give them in our living of successive TODAYS.

Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t been, and may never be, born.

It is on the foundation of today that we build tomorrow.

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

1) If you want to put the world right—start with you.

2) FINE: Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional

3) Adult Child of Alien Invaders.

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

Enough to Need

Dear God, never allow me to think that I have knowledge enough to need no teaching, wisdom enough to need no correction, talents enough to need no grace, goodness enough to need no progress, humility enough to need no repentance, devotion enough to need no improvement, strength sufficient without Thy Spirit, lest, standing still, I fall back forevermore.

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

THE LAW OF PRACTICE

Practice makes perfect. This familiar proverb embodies one of the great laws of human nature and—being a law—it is never under any circumstances broken.

There is simply no achievement without practice and the more practice, provided it is done intelligently, the greater will the proficiency be and the sooner will it be attained. It is true in every conceivable branch of human endeavor. Practice is the price of proficiency.

In metaphysics the effects of this law are particularly striking. Thought control is entirely a matter of intelligent practice. And true religion may well be summed up as the Practice of the Presence of God.

. . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . (James 1:22)

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

Accept the Grace

By Grace I live. By Grace I am released.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

A doctor, lawyer, and engineer were lined up to be executed by guillotine. “Do you wish to face the blade, or look away?” the henchman asked the doctor.

“I’ll face the blade!” the physician replied, and placed his neck on the guillotine. The executioner released the blade, which fell to a point just inches above the doctor’s neck and stopped.

The assembled crowd buzzed excitedly. “This is obviously a sign from God,” announced the king. “You are pardoned.” Joyfully, the doctor arose and went on his way.

The lawyer, next in line, also chose to face the blade. Down it fell, and once more it stopped inches from the man’s naked throat. Again the throng tittered, and the king informed the prisoner that divine intervention had obviously been issued, and he, too, was free. Happily, he departed.

The final prisoner was the engineer who, like his predecessors, chose to face the blade. He fitted his neck into the crook of the guillotine and looked up at the apparatus above him. The executioner was about to pull the cord when the engineer pointed to the pulley system and called out, “Wait a minute!—I think I see the problem!”

Within us resides an overworking engineer who is more concerned with analyzing the problem than accepting the solution. Many of us have become so resigned to receiving the short end of the stick that if we were offered the long end, we would doubt its authenticity and refuse it. Often we do better to enjoy our good rather than analyze it.

I pray to be open to the good that is offered me. Help me go beyond my old ideas of punishment and accept love.

I choose my freedom, and I live in a forgiven world.