Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - January

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January 29

Step by Step

Today, I will harness courage, strength, hope, wisdom of my Higher Power, compassion, passion and work them for another person’s whose needs are far more urgent and desperate than mine. I will not accept that other person’s intellect or others barrier as an excuse to permit his voice from being heard. Today, MY voice will be HIS, and his desperate struggle for help will no longer be his silent and lonely fight. And in helping this person who cannot help himself, I am driven by the knowledge that my Higher Power has sent this person to me and He will give me the knowledge to carry out His will. And, in the end, if I am effective in helping someone else, I will NOT accept congratulations save my ego being fueled. And, in advocating for someone else today, I won’t have the time, I’ll have no reason or excuse, to use or drink. I will be too busy carrying out the commandment of the program – carrying the message. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

THE BLUES

How do you know when you’ve hit bottom? When you stop digging!

~ Anonymous ~

We learn in recovery how to deal with the down times. Our Program constantly reminds us that we hit bottom when we stop digging. Therefore we can stop a downward spiral by simply letting go and letting God and our friends help us. Our Higher Power and the Program will provide a ladder with which we can crawl out of our hole. We just need to remember to use the ladder.

God will never take away our free will. If we use our will to do the business of our Higher Power and work the Steps, we will be surrounded by love and have strength. It is when we sometimes use our free will to do the bidding of our own ego and set expectations too high that we fall into a bottomless pit.

Working with and helping others is the basic “ladder” at my disposal when I deal with the blues and down times. So I always keep in touch with my fellow travelers.

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

Can you accept the idea that some things happen for no reason, that there is randomness in the universe?

~ Rabbi Harold S. Kushner ~

Whenever something bad happens to us, we ask, why? We want to make sense out of our misfortune. How could this happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this tragedy? Sometimes we even explain our pain by saying we deserve it for being bad. It is true that many bad things have happened because of bad choices we made. But many things happen for no reason. Illness, death, and pain come into every life. There is no reasonable explanation except that these things are random.

So we accept that fact. We take reasonable precautions, drive carefully, and take our vitamins. Most of all, we hold close to our human connections because we are all in this together. The comforting bonds of trusted friends and loved ones form the human net that holds us up through tough challenges. Within our human network, we celebrate our good times, we play and take joy in life, and we support each other when we need it.

Today I will go beyond the question why? and hold close to the life-giving bonds of human love.

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

My thoughts guide my day. Noticing how I awake can help me save the day.

~ Kelley Vickstrom ~

We may envy friends who seem happy and peaceful. Why aren’t they troubled as we so often are? The fact is, we can take actions to become more content too. One of the simplest is to ask our Higher Power for a positive attitude before we even throw back the bed covers.

Being in charge of what we dwell on is easier than we might imagine. We can practice the art of focusing our minds on the positive. Begin by stopping a thought, any thought, in midsentence. Think, instead, of how lucky we are to be in recovery. Focus on a blessing that is obvious today. Anytime an unhealthy thought surfaces, drop it, replacing it with a blessing. This can become a way of life if we make the choice.

We have felt enough pain and experienced enough harm. Today can be much better. And it will be if we carefully select our thoughts.

I am as happy as I truly want to be today. No one can steal peacefulness from me if that’s what I really want.

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

I am learning about patience and rest

At night I have trouble falling asleep. During the day I have racing, tumbling thoughts. The medication isn’t helping as much as I had hoped. I feel tired much of the time.

Fortunately, my doctor is supportive. He reassures me that many people feel this way as they begin to recover from addiction and emotional illness. He says that once the medication is at full strength, my thinking will get clearer and sleep will come easier. I’m glad I can trust my doctor. I will give this more time to begin resolving.

I will take some quiet time during the day and go to sleep early tonight.

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

When one door closes, fortune will usually open another.

~ Fernando De Rojas ~

Sometimes, especially in early recovery, we concentrate on our losses instead of our gains. We see a chapter in our life closing, and we mourn. We must leave some friends behind, or say good-bye to a social life we enjoyed. We must give up active addiction, which had become our best friend and only comfort. We may even have to leave our families, at least for a time, in order to concentrate on our own needs.

We need to grieve all these losses. Then we can see more clearly what recovery has brought us. For every loss, we’ve gained blessings. For every friend gone, we have the chance to make many more. A whole new sober life awaits us when we’re ready to be part of it.

When we gave up the false comforts of addiction, we found genuine comfort in sound sleep and healthy bodies, in peaceful days and serene nights. When we were ready to give up anger and resentment, we found generosity and forgiveness toward other people, and toward ourselves, too. In recovery, it’s true, one door has closed. But another, better door has finally opened.

Today help me be grateful for my new life. Help me grieve my losses so I can appreciate all that awaits me.

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

We run heedlessly into the abyss after putting something in front of us to stop us seeing it.

~ Blaise Pascal ~

Although recovery places you firmly in the present, the work you oftentimes need to do requires you to look at your behaviors and actions of the past. These memories are hard to accept as being part of your history, and for many years you may have successfully repressed them.

To move forward, you first need to accept that you are your past. To deny your past is to deny yourself; the life you lived up to this point comprises who you are today. So, you cannot fully grow or change without reflecting upon the past with honesty. You may think, “Why should I remember the horrible things I said or did when I was using? No good can come of it. There is nothing I can do about such things now.”

But there are many things you can do. You can use the Steps to finally put those bad memories behind you. You can tell your story at meetings, share your past his-tory with your sponsor, admit to your Higher Power your transgressions, and make a searching and fearless moral inventory. Such honest reflections will lead you to bring about positive change.

Today I will look at my past with honesty and share this past with others.

© 2011 by Hazelden Foundation

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

Whatever men attempt, they seem driven to overdo.

~ Bernard Baruch ~

It’s usually very difficult for us to bring balance into our lives. We may find it hard not to put in overtime at work. We may be obsessed about housework or yardwork to the extent that we work long hours at it. Whatever we do, whatever we have, whatever we want, it’s usually not enough for us.

Any activity or commitment needs a certain amount of time, concentration, and energy. But some of us may be too absorbed in physical fitness to notice we are always tense, always on the go. Some of us may be so obsessed with money that we take on additional work, not noticing we are often hard to get along with. Some of us may be so fascinated by a hobby that we ignore people in our lives who need our time and attention, too.

Tonight we need to recognize the obsessive areas of our lives and begin to make changes. It may mean assigning time limits to different activities. Or it may mean altering our schedules, even letting go of an activity. Tonight is the time to begin to bring balance into our lives, gently and gradually.

I know I need more balance in my life. What are some changes I can make to bring the scales more in balance?

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

Letting go of fear

Those of us who have been sober and clean for a period of time share newcomers’ concerns for the future, but we do not share their fear. We know how unsafe they feel, but we know how safe they are. The richness of life is often overlooked by giving minor events too much attention.

By working the Steps, going to meetings, and sharing in the fellowship—the newcomer will learn to relax. The newcomer will feel the richness of life and lose his or her fear by working the program and staying clean and sober.

Am I losing my fear?

Higher Power, help me let go of my fear so that I can be ready to experience the richness of life as it comes my way.

Today I will combat my fear by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

They try to pass along something they themselves have not yet received.

~ LEWIS HYDE ~

Newcomer

What do I do if someone I don’t know offers to be my sponsor?

Sponsor

Sometimes, a volunteer sponsor is the best thing that could happen to a newcomer who’s floundering or confused and who would do well with strong guidance. Sometimes it’s not such a good thing. What are the motives of someone who walks up to me and announces, “I’m your sponsor”? How do I know the difference between someone whose offer of service is sincere and someone who has the wish to control me? Or worse, who wants to prey on me—sexually or in some other way?

Control is an issue for most of us in recovery. As a sponsor, I have to be careful about my impulse to try to “fix” another person. It may make me feel powerful to think I’ve got the answers; it may distract me from my own unsolved problems. Over responsibility can be an addiction, too.

If I have doubts about what someone in recovery is offering me, I can take some time to talk and to listen. I can trust my instincts. If I listen, I may discover that I already have the answer inside me.

Today, I’m grateful for the unconditional love offered by others in recovery. I trust my ability to make good choices as I form relationships with people I meet, here and elsewhere.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

On that awful day when the world had toppled about us, when all hope had departed and only wild desperation remained, then was the night darkest and nearest was the dawn. At this darkest hour we “hit our bottom.” There was no way to go but UP.

As dawn follows darkness in Nature’s scheme, so darkness follows again in its turn. All things, save God, are transitory and what one day can bring, another day can take away. Let us not feel too secure in our sobriety, for darkness will come in the regular course of events, and we must be sure we have provided ourselves with the Light which will enable us to keep our footing on the slippery paths ahead.

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

1) ALL “shoulds” are a lie.

2) God does not make junk, but some of the goods do have defects.

3) The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you

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

For Those Who Have Relapsed

O God of all mercies and comfort, Who helps us in time of need, we humbly ask You to behold, visit, and relieve those who have relapsed for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of Your mercy; comfort them with a sense of Your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of their addiction; and give them patience under their affliction. In Your time, restore them to the Program and physical, mental, and spiritual health. And help them, we pray, to listen, believe, and do Your will.

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

THE LAW OF GROWTH

What you think upon grows. This is an Eastern maxim, and it sums up nearly the greatest and most fundamental of all laws of mind.

What you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind you magnify in your life. Whether the subject be good or bad, the law works and the condition grows. Any subject that you keep out of your mind tends to diminish in your life, because what you do not use atrophies.

The more you think about your grievances or the injustices that you have suffered, the more such trials you will continue to receive; the more you think of good fortune you have had, the more good fortune will come to you.

This is the basic fundamental, all inclusive law of mind, and actually all psychological and metaphysical teaching is little more than commentary upon this.

What you think upon grows.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever thins are of good report; if they be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).

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

The Search for Myself

All the music I write is a search for myself.

~ Bruce Hornsby ~

While writing my first book, I came upon a Buddhist text in which the author confessed, “I have no pretension that I am writing this book for any purpose other than my own awakening.” His candor struck a chord deep within me as I realized that I, too, write primarily for the healing of my own mind and spirit. Since then, I have spoken to countless creative artists who agree that even if no one else ever read their books, saw their paintings, or listened to their music, all of their efforts would be worth the sheer joy of producing the work.

For whom are your creative efforts directed? Do you write, sing, or dance for worldly approval, or are you hearkening to the inner writer, singer, or dancer calling to express and celebrate?

We teach what we need to learn. Sometimes teachers are reluctant to admit that they need to study what they are teaching, but that is the very reason we are in a particular position. In college, I learned a famous re–laxation technique developed by a renowned psychologist. My friend met the man and described him as “one of the most uptight people I have ever met.” Was he a hypocrite? Not necessarily. If you teach what you have mastered, even while you’re learning more, you are in integrity. The technique this man developed for his own healing helped many people who applied it.

Your right place is the one in which you are receiving the most edification. The fact that other people receive a benefit is the icing on the cake. Do what is healing to your spirit, and without effort you will offer the world healing in return.

Direct me to the work that will feed my soul, that I may feed others.

I do what I love, and the world loves what I do.