“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” - Albert Einstein

“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store.” Dr. Seuss

Take a breath and hold it. Take another and hold, hold, hold. You can see that you can't live on the inhale alone. The inhale is the breath of the program bringing you life. The exhale is you working with others.

I inhale healing for my soul and exhale hope for others.

- Pocket Sponsor

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It was an inward journey. The longest journey they say we will ever take, from the head to the heart.

It certainly wasn't done in a fast car in overdrive, although it was tried that way, and we had lots of pile ups, and a lot of "go back to jail or home or whatever else that came along the way.

I guess, if you don't go within, the biggest thing you miss is the good orderly direction, you get lost. You have no inner knowing. So you are travelling in doubt and fear. So if you are out you have no faith and hope, so you are walking blind and have no way of knowing where you are going.

If you go within, you have fellow travellers to walk with you and you are not alone. If you look without, you get many opinions, a lot of confusion and total bedlum, leading you to confusion and and disruptive paths.

When you go within, the Light will show you the way. You are no longer fumbling around in the darkness. You are guided, and you are gently shown the way to go. I was told there is no right way or wrong way, there is only the way that is right for you.

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This reminds me of what my spiritual adviser said to me many years ago, if you don't know, the time is not right. When the time is right, you will know.

I have been a very intuitive person for about 13 years. My friend and advisor says, if something is in your way and it is blocking you from the way you would go, did you ever think that your HP was directing your life and wanted you to go another way.

Sometimes I would see someone from recovery or someone who had been recovery and chose to go back out. When that didn't happen, I asked her how come. She said, "Did you ever think that maybe there was someone the other way and it was best for you, not to see that person or have anything to do with their energy. Who knows what is happening over there? If you pray and ask for what is in your best interest, you are guided in the way the Universe wants you to go.

When I have followed this way of thinking, I have received many blessings. For me it is those small things, that turn out to be big things like meeting an old friend as I was coming out of the market and she was going in. Her son belonged to the same group as me and she would often visit. I think I spoke more with her after I left the group than I did while I was a member.

I like the quote, because if the place is empty, that means I can make another decision, turn around and go back to where I am meant to be, even if I am late. I can fill that spot and leave the place I was in for the person who needed that space.

What a thought provoking statement? Not sure if I am right in my own summation, although I believe that the Spirit lead me to AA.

I went to AA because that was where my denial was. I always knew I was an addict. I used many things, food, men, pills, work, computers, etc. It all goes back to the old question, "Am I an addict because I am an alcoholic?" or "Am I an alcoholic because I am an addict?"

It really doesn't matter to me, what I do know is that I need to be in a 12 Step Fellowship. I went to Al-Anon periodically at first, but it became my mainstay in later years.

It doesn't matter what room you put me in, I qualify. I know I used alcohol like I used other substances, especially my relationships. My thinking was, why try to beat them when you can join them. I didn't want to wear a label I put on others, so I tried to shut out my actions under the influence of alcohol. I came to realize, "I can't match them drink for drink and be sober, even though I took them home, could walk and drive a straight line." It was all self-justification.

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Taken from a post I made on another site

Give others a piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind.

Patience is the key to paradise - A Turkish Proverb

"It is while trying to get everything straight in my head that I get confused."
-- Mary Virginia Micka

"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my eyes and all is born again."
-- Sylvia Plath

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Armed with the tools of recovery. I don't have to face the day alone!


Grateful addicts will never have a reason to pick up, lots of excuses but no reason!

Something I shared on another site.

Before sunlight can shine through a window, the blinds must be raised.

- An American Proverb

Learn from the Past...
Live in the Present...
Plan for the Future.

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SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO GIVE A FRIEND A PIGGY BACK RIDE! IT'S CALLED, BEING OF SERVICE.

Service comes in many forms. For many years, I went into the jails, detox, treatment centers, senior centers, shared my story at meetings and anniversaries, and now I get to share with people around the world on the internet. What a blessing it is to be of service.

I was told to take my recovery out of the rooms of recovery and bring it into my home and into the community.

A smile goes along way. A hug gives good feelings and makes my day. I wouldn't be clean and sober today if it wasn't for service. It started early in recovery, when I could open my mouth and say, "Hi! My name is JoAnne and I am an alcoholic."

You Work So Hard and Do so Much
 

Today's Daily Inspiration

Do not waste any time disliking who you are because of something you can no longer do anything about. Lord, help me to forgive myself all shortcomings of the past that I still hold on to and rather make the very best of this moment.

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Today's Daily Inspiration

Be yourself in all that you do and you will soon learn that you are very special. Lord, help me find the peace that You have already placed within my soul.

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Prayer is very powerful, but your life can be a living prayer.

- Sylvia Browne

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Today's Daily Inspiration

No matter who you are, it is your right to have peace. Lord, help me stay on my own path to peace and to turn my back on the distractions that are so intent on keeping me from it.

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Today's Daily Inspiration

For everyone there is a way to serve and honor God in this life on earth. Lord, let me seize every opportunity, no matter how small, to glorify You, make you better known and always bring myself and others closer to You.

Today's Daily Inspiration

If you are able to accept the hand of love that God extends to you, you will be able to free yourself of fears and show the full beauty of your inner spirit. Lord, we all suffer from weaknesses of one kind or another, so in our moments of strength, we ask that we may offer help, not judgment, to those who need it.

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" As intelligent as a person may be, lacking humility can make them imbecilic. Growth requires patience, reflection, accountability and quite often SILENCE as we need to LISTEN to those who came before us, to learn from their wisdom as well as their mistakes."
Written in 2014 by Erica Brown --- Michigan
Sometimes people get so wrapped up in titles that they forget that someone held the position before they did. We need to be humble and take guidance from others not only for a better outcome, but out of respect for the person who opened the door for you to walk through.
Motivate Us

Something I posted in 2011 on another site.

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Today's Daily Inspiration

You cannot really listen to someone and do something else at the same time. Lord, teach me to truly pay attention when someone speaks to me because it is in listening that I will gain wisdom.

Today's Daily Inspiration

Accept yourself for who you are because who you are has a purpose and an important reason for being. Lord, Your love for me makes me special and lovable.

Today's Daily Inspiration

Life will be so much easier if you can accept that things don't always go as planned and see that these are often magnificent opportunities. Lord, help me learn from the occurrences of today that seem to go awry and show me how to make the situation better through my own flexibility and creativity.

Today's Daily Inspiration

Allow your mind to become quiet and less judgmental and you will feel improvements in all areas of your life. Lord, help my mind avoid twisting the words I hear and misjudging the intentions of others in order to justify my own righteousness. Help me to spread Your peace.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am beginning to trust myself today. There is a place deep within me that tells me that I am okay and guides me along my path in recovery.

I am getting to know myself today. I accept who I am today. I like myself today.

Today I know that I can get through anything that happens in this day with the help of my Higher Power.

I have the right to have my needs met. In order to have them met, I am expressing them to the people who can help me today.

Today I trust the positive and loving people to whom I am attracted. Today I am free to share from my heart, knowing that what I say will be treated with love and respect.

There is something special waiting for me to do with this day. I know that when it is time I will be inspired from a place deep within myself. I trust that I will know what to do when the time is right.

Today I'm willing to share all of me with another human being.

I'm willing to trust that this process will free me from the burdens of my past. I am ready to let go.

Today I can look back with love in my heart, knowing that every moment, every experience of my life has been necessary, valuable and significant.

Whatever I am thinking right now is creating how I am feeling. I turn to positive and loving thoughts because I choose to feel good.

When I have done all the footwork I know to do and things are still not working out, I know today that it is time to meditate. I have faith that my answer is still to come.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its strength. - A.J. Cronin

A good one, and so true. It sometimes feels normal to worry, and yet on the whole it is a lack of faith when you go deep and get to the bottom of things. It really isn't about the other person, it is about us. We can't blame them for our feelings and as they say, just because I have a feeling, doesn't mean I have to act on it.

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Surrender is such a big part of my recovery. I have to surrender my thoughts, my problems, my joys and my very being over to the God of my understanding.

It is only by surrender that I am empowered to do what I need to do for myself on a daily basis. Of myself I am nothing, but through Him, I can become all things.

I must always remain teachable, open to all things, and most importantly self-honesty. Without that, I am living illusion and grandeur of my own self-importance rather than in love and humility.

Surrender to win. Surrender does not mean giving up. It means having hope.
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Sometimes, a few words can have a big meaning.

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“Everyone loves praise. Look hard for ways to give it to them.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr

Always like the saying, "Give credit where credit is due." Don't reward bad behaviour, but give praise when earned.

Respect need to be earned, it can't be founded on say so alone. It isn't going to happen if we just think it is our due, without doing something to warrant it.

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Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored, than to anything on which it is poured. Mark Twain