Today's Thought - August

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August 1

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.

~Charles A. Beard

We human beings seem to prefer to be in the light. Most of us rely on the daylight to move around safely and do our work. In the light we feel like we have more control. At night, when the world is dark, we feel less in control. We do two things: we turn on the lights so we can continue our daytime activity, or we go to sleep.

But darkness has gifts for us—different gifts than we get from light. Darkness changes how we see things. In the dark we see less, but we pay better attention. As we let go of our fears and let our eyes adjust to the dark, we find that we can see more than we first thought. We can see enough to take the next step. There are some things, like the stars, that we can see better in the dark.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, let me learn the lessons of loving the dark. Let me learn to really see the gifts that surround and support me, and the beautiful possibilities that life holds for me.
Today's Action

Tonight as I get ready for bed, I will get a different view of my surroundings. I will sit up in the dark for a few minutes. I will feel the floor or bed supporting me, and I will let my eyes adjust to the dark.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me, More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple

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August 2

Love your self’s self where it lives.

~Anne Sexton

How often have we wished we were someone else, anyone else, rather than who we are? If we’re intense, have we longed to be calmer? If we’re introverted, have we dreamed of being extroverted? And, of course, being an addict, have we wished we were “normal”?

The truth is that there is no such thing as “normal.” Each of us is special; we have the potential within to realize our unique destiny. The infinite growth of which we’re capable comes from qualities we now possess. We can change ourselves, but we can never put within us what simply isn’t there. To try to do so is perfectionistic and will focus our energy outside ourselves, which can trigger our addiction.

Instead, we can learn to be directed by what is inside of us. We can appreciate and love ourselves as we are and choose people in our life who do the same.

The more I appreciate the mystery of who I am, the less I’ll wish I were someone else.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart, Daily Meditations for Men and Women Recovering from Sex Addiction

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August 3

Moderation

Stay right-size.

~Anonymous

Today our target for a proper living pace is moderation. We know how easy it is to magnify, exaggerate, accent, and overindulge. The dependency and compulsion from which we are steadily recovering puts us among the world’s excessive people. Every day we need to tell ourselves that more is not necessarily better.

We also need to guard against unrestraint, greed, and envy. But we can adapt even dangerous instincts like fear and anger into self-improving assets if we can maintain moderation.

In our desire for perfection, however, we also need to practice moderation. We can’t want more than we are capable of achieving. We could destroy ourselves by trying to be perfect. In this, above all else, we need to practice moderation, for we will never be perfect.

When I create impossible dreams, they backfire and blow up and leave me with negative feelings. I want to practice moderation in all things, even the good things in life.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It, A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations

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August 4

A weed is but an unloved flower.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

We nurture each other’s special beauty by our loving actions. We all need to know we’re truly appreciated. We may already believe that our life is purposeful, and we may already appreciate our unique talents. And the contribution we’re making at a particular time may be evident to our friends or co-workers. Even so, our fears of not being lovable can still haunt us at times.

These fears are easily put to rest when we help someone else feel special. All it takes is a moment of thoughtfulness, perhaps the simple decision to offer a smile or a loving touch. Offering words of encouragement to friends who are feeling helpless, or simply taking time to listen when they need to talk, will assure them that they matter and that we care. Our Higher Power needs us as emissaries of love in the world.

I will help a friend blossom today, and I will grow as well.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care, Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery

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August 5

It takes time, love, and support to find peace with the restless one.

~Deidra Sarault

Restlessness is born of frustration. Perhaps we want to move ahead with our lives more quickly. Does a job have us trapped? Do past troubles haunt us still? Maybe perfectionism tarnishes every attempt to achieve. We can learn from our restlessness, if we let it guide us to our inner reservoir of peace and spiritual support.

The search for serenity often takes us farther from it. We mistakenly think a different job or home or relationship will answer all our needs. But we find that our restlessness has accompanied us to our new surroundings. Peace has its home within. And prayer opens the door to it. In the stillness of our patience, we are privy to its blessing.

Restlessness indicates our distance from our higher power. It may be time for a change in our lives. Change is good; however, our relationship with God will vouchsafe any needed changes. Restlessness is self-centered and will only hamper the steps we may need to take.

Restlessness is a barometer that reveals my spiritual health. Perhaps prayer is called for today.

Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning, Daily meditations for Women

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August 6

Next time you’re feeling at odds with yourself, make a list of your good qualities…things like generosity and patience and thrift. It will surprise you to discover how nice you really are.

~Audrey Corn

Some days we just feel out of sorts and down on ourselves. In this program, we place great importance on self-inventories. We confront our defects and our wrongs, and we make lists of them to hold ourselves responsible. Any good inventory counts both assets and liabilities. On a day when we feel burdened with guilt or weakness, we ought to remind ourselves of the best of who we are. Remember good deeds that we have done. Remember what we do well, and don’t minimize those assets. If we are going to build on our strengths, we have to see them for what they are.

Our attitude toward ourselves and toward life is partly a matter of mental discipline. It does no good for anyone if we sit passively in our negativity. We can learn to affirm that we are children of creation, and we have a right to be here. In spite of our imperfections, we are a force for good.

Today, I will carry in my thoughts some of my good qualities.'

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones, More Daily Meditations for Men

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August 7

AA Thought for the Day

When I find myself thinking about taking a drink, I say to myself: “Don’t reach out and take that problem back. You’ve given it to God and there’s nothing you can do about it.” So I forget about the drink. One of the most important parts of the AA program is to give our drinking problem to God honestly and fully, and never to reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. If we let God have it and keep it for good and then cooperate with Him, we’ll stay sober. Have I determined not to take the drinking problem back to myself?
Meditation for the Day

Constant effort is necessary if I am to grow spiritually and develop my spiritual life. I must keep the spiritual rules persistently, perseveringly, lovingly, patiently, and hopefully. By keeping them, every mountain of difficulty shall be laid low, the rough places of poverty of spirit shall be made smooth, and all who know me shall know that God is the Lord of all my ways. To get close to the spirit of God is to find life and healing and strength.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that God’s spirit may be everything to my soul. I pray that God’s spirit may grow within me.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day, A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life

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August 8

Love is always open arms.

~Leo Buscaglia

There is a story about a boy who left home and dishonored his father by spending a large amount of money on fast and reckless living. When the boy's money ran out, he was faced with the prospect of re* turning home to face his father, knowing the father had every reason to be disappointed in him. Filled with fear and shame he approached his home, his mind racing with words of apology. Before the boy could say a word, his father rushed to him with open arms and hugged his lost son in joy and love.

Have we done this? Have we found it in our hearts to approve whatever a loved one does, even if we would have wanted something different?

Love like this is the highest kind of love. It finds joy in others no matter what, because it recognizes the freedom of those we love, and doesn't chain them to our own wants. It is the same kind of love God has for us.

Are my arms open today?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift, Daily Meditations for Families

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August 9

I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God.

~Helen Keller

None of us ever wanted to be addicts. Many see addiction as an obstacle that slows us down and holds us back; while that might be the case, in recovery we learn that our disease can give us a new level of understanding. Now that we are sober, we are blessed to be open to others and patient with ourselves. Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, told of how her problems became her biggest gift. Through them, she found true meaning in her life.

We can accept our handicap—our addiction—and learn from it. The truth is, we’re all handicapped in some way. Recovery is about facing our addiction and learning to live with it. When we come face to face with our handicaps and our obstacles, we discover our need for our Higher Power.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me see myself as I really am. Give to me the serenity that comes from accepting my handicaps.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll list all the ways I am handicapped. I’ll ask myself, “What gift does each of these hold for me?”

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple, Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal

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August 10

The readiness is all.

~William Shakespeare

Our concept of control was flawed. This program leads us into a new world. Here we meet the fact that we are powerless to change some aspects of ourselves. But we can become ready to be changed. That makes all the difference. When we accept this truth, we are already changed and we are more in line with nature and the universe.

We can’t make ourselves less perfectionistic, but we can become ready to let go of our demand for perfection. We can’t force family harmony into our lives, but we can become more ready to be harmonious. We can’t make a lasting love appear for us on command—but we can become ready for such a relationship when the opportunities appear. Do we yearn for some change? How might we ready ourselves to receive it?

Today, I will try to become ready for the help and change I most need in my life.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones, A Book of Daily Meditations for Men

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August 11

Being different

Some of us feel so different that we think no person or group could help us or even understand us. We feel alone and isolated. Whatever these differences are, they can be lessened by concentrating on the purpose common to us all—we are learning to live a life free of alcohol or other drugs by connecting with a power greater than ourselves.

Our Higher Power does not want us to be alone. We are all more alike than different. We must recognize the love that is available to us. Are we looking for what we have in common, or are we looking for ways to be alone and different?

Do I realize that our common purpose can outweigh all differences?

Higher Power, help me feel connected by looking for what I share with my fellow members.

Today I will overlook all differences or look for what we share in…

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day, Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts

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August 12

Reflection for the Day

The program and my friends in the fellowship have provided me with a whole new set of tools for living. Even the slogans that once seemed so trite and corny are now becoming an important part of my daily life: “Easy does it”; “First things first”; “This too will pass.” If I use all of my tools regularly and well, they’ll also help rid me of such negative feelings as guilt, anxiety, rebellion, and pride. When I’m feeling depressed, do I use the tools that have been proven effective? Or do I grit my teeth and suffer in painful silence?
Today I Pray

I praise my wonder-working Higher Power for giving me the tools for recovery, once I admitted I was powerless over my addiction and gave myself over to the will of my Higher Power—as I’ve conceived of it. I give thanks for the Twelve Steps and for the fellowship of the group, which can help me see myself honestly. I give thanks for those words and phrases that become, as we understand them more completely, banners in our celebration of sobriety.
Today I Will Remember

Pass on the passwords to recovery.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time, Daily Reflections for Recovering People

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August 13

Strengthening assets minimizes defects.

Step Six asks us to become entirely ready to let God have our defects. What does that mean? None of us wants troublesome defects. And yet some of them served as survival skills in the past; thus today we may fear parting with them. Listening to sponsors and other program winners helps us see that every defect, in time, turns on us. While it might have helped us cope at one time, it now is killing our spirit, our hope, our relationships. It’s not easy to give up a defect to God. The void this leaves needs filling.

Fortunately, sponsors and other people suggest how to fill the void. And that’s where our assets come in. No matter how low our self-worth, regardless of how inadequate we feel, we all have special positive qualities too. We can take any one of them and demonstrate it in our lives, every day, or even many times a day. We’ll feel empowered, hopeful, and far less encumbered by the traits that have caused us so much pain.

I will focus on my assets today, and I’ll let others see them at work too.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own, Meditations on Hope and Acceptance

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August 14

All feelings are okay, but not all behaviors are. This is the basic guiding principle for our emotional lives. “Emotional fluency” is the ability to be in touch with whatever we are feeling inside and able to communicate those sensations to ourselves—and others—in ways that are life enhancing rather than destructive.

We develop this capacity for emotional fluency gradually, starting in childhood, as we learn to identify and name certain bodily sensations. We then expand the vocabulary we use to express the continuum of each core feeling. Using “I” statements, followed by a feeling word, helps us refine our ability to take responsibility and make these internal sensations our own. I feel scared when I see you drinking so much. I feel upset and angry with myself when I mess up.

Mood storms teach us about the ever-changing tempestuous nature of our emotional life. We all go through times when our emotions seem to have us in their grasp, more than we are having them. Through all these developmental phases, we learn to experience, recognize, name, and then express our internal experience to others. Addictions commonly interrupt this growth and tend to leave us with less mature skills in identifying and revealing our inner states. Sobriety allows us reclaim what we have been missing.

Whatever I am feeling is valid; how I choose to express it needs healthy boundaries.

Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery

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August 15

Gratitude

Sometimes in life, things happen too fast. We barely solve one problem when two new problems surface. We’re feeling great in the morning, but we’re submerged in misery by nightfall. Every day we face interruptions, delays, changes, and challenges. We face personality conflicts and disappointments. Often when we’re feeling overwhelmed, we can’t see the lessons in these experiences.

One simple concept can get us through the most stressful of times. It’s called gratitude. We learn to say, thank you, for these problems and feelings. Thank you for the way things are. I don’t like this experience, but thank you anyway.

Force gratitude until it becomes habitual. Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes. It is the key that unlocks positive energy in our life. It is the alchemy that turns problems into blessings, and the unexpected into gifts.

Today, I will be grateful. I will start the process of turning today’s pain into tomorrow’s joy.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go, Daily Meditations on Codependency