Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - May

[bluidkiti]

May 19

Step by Step

" ...(W)hat about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink." - Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, Ch 2, p 21.

Today, no searching for a reason to deny my addiction by twisting the reference to a "real" alcoholic. If I drank only beer, how can I be an alcoholic? If I drank only on weekends or even one day a weekend, how can I be an alcoholic? If I drank only to relax or calm my nerves, how can I be an alcoholic? If I never lost a job, a spouse or partner, if I never got nailed for DUI or spent a night in the county jail's drunk tank, how can I be an alcoholic compared to the "real" one who drank every day, to the "real" alcoholic whose job history makes him now virtually unemployable, or to the "real" alcoholic who has been in jail so many times that he has his name engraved in the cell? Today, may I understand and finally accept that because I lost control over drinking regardless of how much or how often I drank, I am as much the "real" alcoholic as the one who now is serving a prison sentence for what he did when he was drunk. 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 THINKING

Knowledge of “the answers” never made anyone relapse. It was failing to practice “the answers” known.

~ Anonymous ~

The quality of our lives will always depend on the way we think. When anxiety, stress, and tension begin to threaten our hard-won piece of mind, we must not blame our retreat from serenity on outside forces. We can get back in line with comfortable living when we remind ourselves that we have been thinking wrong about something.

It may be complacency: “I’ve got all the right answers.” Perhaps we’ve been thinking selfishly or suffering twinges of jealousy and envy. Are we viewing others with anger or resentment, being fearful of falling short of goals? We learn in recovery to examine our thinking.

Positive thinking is my guarantee that serenity will continue to make me willing to accept myself as the author of my own attitudes, not a victim of outside forces.

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

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

~ Annie Dillard ~

Today is our life. Even though we are drawn to live in the past or have fears and hopes for the future, we only exist in the present. This moment is all we have, and it is enough. There is no need to center our thoughts on how things will turn out in the future because we are alive right now, and this is our life. Our memories exist only in our minds; they enrich the present, but we have no opportunity to relive them.

As we live in this moment and center our awareness in this moment, we have a sense that we can deal with it. Feeling overwhelmed comes from trying to take too big of a bite of time. It’s more than anyone can swallow. In this moment, as we sit in our place, we have sensations of sight and sound and touch. We can deal with this moment and that is all we need to do... ever. Centered in this very time and this very place, we regain our peace of mind and our ability to live well.

Today is all I need, for today is my life.

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

My parents told me that I could do and be any-thing I really wanted. I believed them.

~ Molly McDonald ~

The encouragement we get from other people strengthens our willingness to try new pursuits. Unfortunately, many of us did not receive an upbringing that nurtured our confidence; thus we have developed a reliance on trusted friends to give us the gentle forward push. Our courage to take a course, confront an intimidating situation or person, or apply for a more challenging job is often borrowed from a friend. And that is okay. In fact, that is good. Developing a healthy dependence on others’ honesty and sincere support deepens our connection to the human community.

The hand of a friend is a genuine blessing, a gift from one’s Higher Power. We will each need a hand on occasion, and we will just as often have opportunities to help another woman find her strength, her power, to make a new start. Being ready to give as well as receive the hand of encouragement is God’s will in action.

I will look for opportunities to encourage another person today. My own strength and courage will be enhanced in the process.

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

I can deal with this slip

I feel guilty. I feel ashamed. I loathe myself for having had a slip. Things were going along fine−my Twelve Step meetings, meds, outpatient treatment−and then I woke up with a hangover. What happened? What did I do? I feel like crawling under a rock.

And yet−I’ve come this far. I know what it’s like to be sober and stable. And I know what to do to stay sober and stable. I don’t want to let this slip turn into a full-blown relapse. I don’t want to slip back into the chaos of the old days, before I got help for my dual disorder. What I need know is prayer and a little more help.

I will talk to my sponsor to help me forgive myself and to explore what led up to the slip.

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

Fear knocked at the door.
Faith answered. No one was there.

~ Unknown ~

Fear invades so much of our lives, spreading like a blanket of heavy fog. Fear wears many masks: doubt, procrastination, alarm, timidity, shock, terror. Fear has knocked on our door and we have let it in.

To be human and accept our limitations is to accept that we cannot make it without help. When we accept our humanness, we learn we are truly deserving of the help available from our Higher Power. Recovery has brought us faith — faith that our Higher Power will show us a new way to live, with confidence in ourselves and our friends in recovery. Faith lights the way and burns off the blanket of fog that once shrouded our lives.

Faith is our weapon against fear, as fear slowly leaves our lives.

Today may I he open to the power of faith, and live in the light.

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

No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.

~ Carrie Snow ~

When the batteries wear down in a flashlight, first the light dims. You may shake the battery and, for a short time, the light may glow. But soon it will go out completely. By simply adding new batteries, you restore the light.

The same is true for your own level of energy and capacity for accomplishment. Work too hard, stubbornly refuse to leave a task unfinished, or burn the candle at both ends, and eventually you will be worn down. Your thinking will become confused and your body will feel exhausted. But by getting a good night’s rest, taking a short nap, or even taking a break, you can restore your energy so you can start anew.

Rest is not a matter of doing absolutely nothing. It simply means slowing your pace, becoming less active, and changing your focus to something different. Rest is a requirement for human restoration. Although you may not literally feel your body being rejuvenated when you break away from intense activity or fall into a deep sleep, you know how different you feel when you arise. Rest allows the time to release tension so you can return to a normal, balanced state.

Today I will remember to recharge my batteries through rest so I can shine brightly throughout the day.

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

Happiness is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.

~ William Saroyan ~

Do we believe happiness comes from material things? Yet stereos break down, clothes become worn, and cars attract scratches and dents. Do we believe we will be happy with a promotion or move? Yet new jobs and new homes soon become old jobs and old homes. We'll yearn again for another change, another challenge.

The struggle to attain happiness becomes easier when we realize we can be happy without having to struggle for it. We can be happy just by knowing we don't have to have the new car or the new home or perfection in our lives. Our happiness can come from just being ourselves, living each day, doing what we need to do for ourselves. To be happy means we don t need to struggle to find happiness.

Tonight I can be hoppy with myself and where I am right now.

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

Living according to principles

If we live according to spiritual principles, we will know harmony in our lives. If we ignore these principles, our harmony will be destroyed.

Fortunately the principles are constant. Once we recognize our mistakes, our task is to once again apply the principles we learned and harmony will return.

Am I living according to spiritual principles?

Higher Power, help me to be aware of and live according to principles.

Today I will apply my spiritual principles by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

You know, a heart can he broken but it keeps on beating just the same,

~ FANNIE FLAGG ~

Newcomer

I hear people at meetings talking about depression as if it’s a pretty serious thing. I wonder if I’m depressed; I feel down a lot of the time. But doesn’t everyone get sad?

Sponsor

There’s a big difference between sadness and depression. When we consistently block our tears, perhaps having been taught that they were wrong, perhaps not trusting that we’ll be safe if we shed them, our sadness remains dammed up inside us and depression sets in. For some, it’s not sadness that is being denied expression, but anger. Long-held anger, like unexpressed sorrow, acts like a toxic substance within us. Our connections to ourselves, other people, and our Higher Power are affected. There are chemical contributors to depression, too. Alcohol and other sedative drugs depress our physiological systems; antihistamine use can have a depressant effect, and so can excessive intake of the kinds of fats that clog our systems.

When we’re depressed for long periods, it’s hard for us to take initiative. Simple tasks seem like immense challenges. We feel emotionally flat. Our attitude toward others may be sullen. We didn’t get sober to drift in the no-world of depression. As with other ailments, there is help for depression in recovery.

Today, I release my feelings without self-censorship or shame.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Until man looks upon the faith of God, he cannot, with his limited faculties, know God. We can and do know some of His attributes as He has disclosed them to us in the world.

We can, however, study ourselves. We can cultivate these good qualities we discern and we can eradicate the bad. We do know many of the attributes of God and we can emulate them. We can aspire to Godlike virtues and if we thwn do not know God, perhaps God will know us.

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

THIS DAY

This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

~ Psalm 118:24 ~

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

YOUR GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Your present problem is your great opportunity. Your own mind−the Secret Place, as Jesus called it−is the council chamber where the arrangements and decisions for your whole life are made; it is also the drafting room where the plans for your destiny are formed. Your life is your laboratory. The world is your workshop.

The reason that you are here is that you may develop spirituality; and the way to do that is to meet the challenge of practical life. You do not develop spirituality by running away from life into some sheltered retreat. Nor do you grow in spiritual stature by gaining your point through will power.

It is the law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, must be exactly what you need most at the moment to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.

I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep from the evil (John 17:15).

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

Sleeping Beauty

My soul, sit thou a patient looker on;, judge not the play before the play is done; her plot has many changes, every day speaks a new scene, the last act crowns the play.

~ William Shakespeare ~

Rob and Angela had a very difficult time with their teenage daughter Mindy, who went through many turbulent adolescent trials that caused her parents to wonder if they had somehow failed. On the eve of Mindy’s departure for college, the family went out to dinner. As soon as everyone was seated, Mindy handed each of her parents and her younger brother an envelope. As the family read the enclosed cards, tears began to flow. Mindy had written long, sincere, heartfelt letters of appreciation to all of her family members, carefully thanking them for all the gifts of love they had given her, honoring them for preparing her so well to go out into the world as a whole person. “In that moment," Angela told me, “it was all worth it.”

When you serve or support someone, do not be fooled by appearances. Temporary circumstances may not be a true reflection of longterm benefits. Just keep offering the highest gifts you can, while trusting that one day you will be able to say, “It was all worth it.”

Help me to serve today without being attached to results. I will do my part, trusting You to do Yours.

The love I invest in my relationships returns to me multiplied many times over.