Today's Thought - September

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September 16

Our work brings people face to face with love.
--Mother Teresa

Whether we are sowing a garden, tending the sick, role modeling for children, or climbing the corporate ladder, many opportunities are present for acting from a posture of love. Love is an attitude, one born from gratitude for all we have, all we are, and all we hope to be. We cultivate a loving outlook just as surely as we cultivate gardens and friendships.

The guilt or shame we sometimes feel prompts us to remember those moments when we were faced with the choice to love but failed to love - those times we barked answers, scowled at someone special, slammed drawers and doors. Fortunately, we need not be perfect. Each moment promises us a new opportunity to choose love as our response to the many people and the changing events in our lives.

Some decisions can be made once for all time. Using seat belts is such a decision. So is offering love to the world that greets us.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

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September 17

Surrender to the pain. Then learn to surrender to the good. It's there and more is on the way.
--Beyond Codependency

Our goal in recovery is to make ourselves feel comfortable, peaceful, content, happy. We want to be at peace with ourselves and our environment. Sometimes, to do that, we need to be willing to face, feel, and get through discomfort.

I am not talking about being addicted to misery and pain. I am not talking about creating unnecessary pain. I'm talking about the legitimate discomfort we sometimes need to feel as we heal.

When we have surgery, the pain hurts most the day after the operation. When we do the kind of work we are facing in recovery, we are doing an emotional, mental, and spiritual surgery on ourselves. We're removing parts of us that are infected and inflamed.

Sometimes the process hurts. We are strong enough to survive discomfort and temporary feelings of emotional pain. Once we are willing to face and feel our discomfort and pain, we are almost to the point of release.

Today, I am willing to face my discomfort, trusting that healing and release are on the other side. Help me, God, be open to feeling whatever I need to feel to be healed and healthy. While I am doing this, I will trust I am cared for and protected by myself, my friends, my Higher Power, and the Universe.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

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September 18

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.
--Pearl S. Buck

We make mistakes because we are human, we are imperfect, we are frequently out of touch with the rhythms of the moment. When our minds are one place, either still trapped by the past or in limbo due to fear of the future, we fail to revere the experience of the present. And only when we salute completely the moment do we respond accurately to its meaning.

Seldom is a mistake as important as we allow it to be. Always we can rechart our steps; never is a task completed without some modifications along the way. Perhaps we'd do well to consider all mistakes as simply modifications in the original plans. Corrections triggered by mistakes may well be responsible for better outcomes. In fact, mistakes may be part of the process necessary to keep our spiritual program focused. Their role in our lives may be of greater significance than we'd ever imagined. However, we shouldn't dwell on the mistake but, rather, on the remedy.

Today I'll have to modify my steps, probably a few times. And that's to be expected.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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September 19

The power of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing.
--Blaise Pascal

The airplane kit is on the table in front of us. We have the glue, the little wooden pieces, and the instructions. We work for hours putting together each piece, step by step. A dab of glue here, a clamp there, maybe some rubber bands to hold the bigger pieces together. We work slowly, allowing the glue to set overnight, even though we want to see it fly right now. We follow each step in order, even though we think we know how to do it on our own. Patience is the most important asset we bring to this activity - the willingness to allow each step its own time and proper place.

After we've done all the careful work and waited till the glue is firm, we take it out for a trial flight. It soars!

So do we, when we allow ourselves time to learn each step of the way.

You are reading from the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

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September 20

Reflection for the Day

Now that I am in The Program, I am no longer enslaved by alcohol and other drugs. Free, free at last from the morning-after tremors, the dry heaves, the three-day beard, the misplaced eyelashes. Free, free at last from working out the alibis and hoping they won't unravel; free from blackouts, free from watching the clock so that I can somehow get that desperately needed "first one." Do I treasure my freedom from chemical enslavement?

Today I Pray

Praise God that I am free of chemicals. This is my first freedom, from which other freedoms will develop - freedom to appraise my behavior sanely and constructively, freedom to grow as a person, freedom to maintain relationships with others on a sound basis. I will never cease to thank my Higher Power for leading me away from my enslavement.

Today I Will Remember

Praise God for my freedom.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

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September 21

In me there is darkness. But with you there is light.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A speaker at a meeting said, "To continue something when I'm making mistakes takes emotional courage." She was talking about making a decision to turn her will and life over to her Higher Power, and how it works in her life. To keep turning our wills and our lives over to God's care moves us into unknown territory. We will make mistakes, which is why we need God's care as we experience it in the Third Step.

It's hard to keep going after we stumble, especially when we keep stumbling over and over again. With abstinence comes the clarity and awareness to look honestly at ourselves and our mistakes. We want to stop making them. We want to be perfect. We're impatient to change. But change doesn't work that way. Instead, a caring God cushions us when we fall, loves us without conditions, and gives us everything we need. If God can forgive us when we make a mistake, how can we not do the same?

If I fall today, I will fall into the arms of my Higher Power. And then I'll get up again.

You are reading from the book:

Answers in the Heart by Anonymous

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September 22

Inertia is a powerful force. So is compulsive behavior.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results," writer Earnie Larsen has said for years. I think it goes one step further. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over because we can't find the button that says, "Stop."

"My mom was dying," a woman said. "I went to live with her, take care of her. We had our issues, like most mothers and daughters. But I love my mom, and this was the end of her life.

"She had a studio apartment. We both lived in that one room. I had to get out of there once in a while. Whenever I returned from being out, I knew what to expect. My mom would slam me with sarcastic remarks. She'd say things like, 'It's nice to know that I'm not as important to you as your friends.'

"My mom had used sarcasm to cover her emotions all my life. I had tried to explain this to her, and how I felt when she was sarcastic with me. She either didn't get it, or she didn't want to change.

"I had to keep taking breaks. I couldn't be there twenty-four hours a day. But I'd cringe when I came home, dreading her caustic remarks. One night, I tiptoed in. I was praying to God that Mom would be asleep. She wasn't. She was lying there waiting for me to walk through the door.

"I took off my coat, said I had a nice night and asked her how she was doing. 'I'm glad you had a good time,' Mom said. 'But I feel really sad and scared when I'm alone. And I feel better now that you're here.'

"I couldn't believe what I heard. Don't tell me it's too late to do things differently. My mom made a choice and took the action to change in the last week of her life."

Putting values into action in our lives takes courage and hard work. Sometimes the little steps we take mean a lot.



You are reading from the book:

52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie

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September 23

The sufferings of love should ennoble, not degrade.
--George Sand

Only in the imagination does love promise happiness forever. Through experience we discover the myriad dimensions of love. Sometimes love is joy. Sometimes passion. Sometimes moments of serenity amongst the laughter and sadness. Generally love is soft. But it also may sting. Love is forever changing.

All that love is, there's much it is not. Love is not shaming. Nor is it punishing. Love does not gloat, criticize, degrade, or diminish. At times we think we're filled with love and yet we selfishly serve our needs before another's. And when we truly express our love to another, there's no mistaking the warm glow that fills the body.

How simple to be a giver of love and yet how forgetful we are when the opportunities arise.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

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September 24

. . . concern should drive us into action and not into depression.
--Karen Horney

If a situation in our lives causes concern, be it mild disgruntlement or serious frustration, we should understand that our concern indicates that we need to act responsibly. Events that attract our attention need our action.

Our actions can take many forms. Occasionally we will be called upon to take charge of a situation. More often, offering emotional support to another is all that's needed. Perhaps most frequently, our prayers are enough.

There is always a proper response to any circumstance that causes us concern. If we choose no response, our inaction will only heighten our concern and preoccupation will hinder the day's activities.

My actions today should reflect my concerns and be appropriate to the need.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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September 25

Forewarned, forearmed; being prepared is half the victory.
--Miguel de Cervantes

There will be hard times in our program. There will be hard times in our life. That's the way life is. It helps if we accept this. Then we can prepare for tough times. We can prepare by getting a good set of habits and sticking to them. We can make it a habit to give time to our program each day.

Sticking to good habits is like having a savings account: when hard times come, we can take the "investment" we've made and overcome our problems.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me accept that there will be hard times. Help me prepare for them. With Your help, I'll stay close to You, my friends, and the program.

Action for the Day

I'll put something into my program "savings account" today. I'll make that extra call. I'll read a little longer or go to an extra meeting.

You are reading from the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

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September 26

It may be those who do most, dream most.
--Stephen Leacock

Where would we be without the dreamers of the world - the ones who took the time to balance on the edge of wonder? Amazing connections, powerful images, and creative ideas come to us in daydreams. They creep in when we least expect them, like sleek cats, and then make their presence known to us with a gentle pounce.

When we give ourselves permission to daydream - to sit for a while and do nothing but be quiet with our thoughts, we give ourselves a precious gift. And who knows, we just might be giving the world a priceless gift, too! Out of the seeds of some of our dreams, great ideas will blossom.

What first step can I take today to make a dream come true?

You are reading from the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

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September 27

Iron rusts from disuse, water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.
--Leonardo da Vinci

After a long day of working or doing errands, we may want to sit and not do a thing. But although our bodies may be physically tired, our minds may be just the opposite.

If we're plagued by tired, cranky thoughts after a day's activity, we might discover our minds are too hooked into our feelings. We can separate the mind from the body and learn to chase away stinking thinking. We might treat our tired bodies to a bath while we treat our minds to a good book. While we're soaking our feet or resting in an easy chair, we can put on some music. Or we can put aside the hectic pace of the day and throw our creative energies into preparing a new recipe.

There are countless ways to wake up our minds even if our bodies are tired. Instead of collapsing in front of the television or eating junk food, we can change our focus. We can tune out the signals of the day and turn on our minds.

Did I exercise my mind tonight?

You are reading from the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

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September 28

. . . concern should drive us into action and not into depression.
--Karen Horney

If a situation in our lives causes concern, be it mild disgruntlement or serious frustration, we should understand that our concern indicates that we need to act, responsibly. Events that attract our attention need our action.

Our actions can take many forms. Occasionally we will be called upon to take charge of a situation. More often, offering emotional support to another is all that's needed. Perhaps most frequently, our prayers are enough.

There is always a proper response to any circumstance that causes us concern. If we choose no response, our in-action will only heighten our concern. And preoccupation will hinder the day's activities.

My actions today should reflect my concerns and be appropriate to the need.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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September 29

She had trouble defining herself independently of her husband, tried to talk to him about it, but he said nonsense, he had no trouble defining her at all.
--Cynthia Propper Seton

To recover means to learn who we are, independent of friends, children, parents, or intimate partners. It means knowing how we want to spend our time, what books we like to read, what hobbies interest us, what our favorite foods are. It means understanding self-direction. It means charting a daily personal course and staying on it. It means defining our responsibilities and carrying them out.

Having an independent identity does not preclude depending on others for certain needs. Perhaps we revel in massage - both getting and giving. Maybe we share the expenses of a household or the responsibilities of raising children. Depending on others to meet their responsibilities does not negate our independent identity; it strengthens it. We choose where and when to be dependent. Healthy dependency complements healthy independence.

Recovery is giving me options. Each day gives me new opportunities.

You are reading from the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

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September 30

Handle Today's Problems Today

Many of us face seemingly insurmountable difficulties, perhaps because of our compulsion or simply through misfortune. Whatever the scale of our problems, "One day at a time" and "First things first" are keys to handling them.

Today, we can deal only with today's problems. One of today's problems, of course, may be worrying about the future. A good method of handling that problem is to turn concern about it over to our Higher Power.

But when we do have work that clearly should be done today, we must carry through with it. It's neither reasonable nor sensible to put off things that we can and should do today.

There are certain tasks and responsibilities that must be dealt with today. I will not put them off.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.