Daily Recovery Readings - May

[bluidkiti]

May 31

Daily Reflections

READINESS TO SERVE OTHERS

. . . our Society has concluded that it has but one high mission--to
carry the A.A. message to those who don't know there's a way out.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151

The "Light" to freedom shines bright on my fellow alcoholics as each
one of us challenges the other to grow. The "Steps" to self-
improvement have small beginnings, but each Step builds the "ladder"
out of the pit of despair to new hope. Honesty becomes my "tool" to
unfurl the "chains" which bound me. A sponsor, who is a caring
listener, can help me to truly hear the message guiding me to freedom.

I ask God for the courage to live in such a way that the Fellowship
may be a testimony to His favor. This mission frees me to share my
gifts of wellness through a spirit of readiness to serve others.

************************************************** *********

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I shall not wait to be drafted for service to A.A. I Shall volunteer. I
shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my
criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give
to A.A. my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and most of all,
myself. Do I also accept this as my AA. credo?

Meditation For The Day

Prayer is of many kinds, but of whatever kind, prayer is the linking up
of the soul and mind to God. So, if prayer is only a glance of faith, a
look or a word of love, or just a feeling of confidence in the goodness
and purpose in the universe, still the result of that prayer is added
strength to meet all temptations and to overcome them. Even if no
supplication is expressed, all the supply of strength that is necessary is
secured, because the soul, being linked and united to God, receives
from Him all spiritual help needed. The soul, when in its human body,
still needs the things belonging to its heavenly habitation.

Prayer For The Day
I pray that I may be taught how to pray. I pray that I may be linked
through prayer to the mind and will of God.

************************************************** *********

As Bill Sees It

Start by Forgiving, p. 151

The moment we ponder a twisted or broken relationship with another
person, our emotions go on the defensive. To escape looking at the
wrongs we have done another, we resentfully focus on the wrong he
has done us. Triumphantly we seize upon his slightest misbehavior as
the perfect excuse for minimizing or forgetting our own.

Right here we need to fetch ourselves up sharply. Let's remember
that alcoholics are not the only ones bedeviled by sick emotions. In
many instances we are really dealing with fellow sufferers, people
whose woes we have increased.

If we are about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we
start out by forgiving them, one and all?

12 & 12, p. 78

************************************************** *********

Walk in Dry Places

Are Sobriety Dates Important?
Practical Thinking
Observing anniversaries of getting sober has become a time-honored custom in AA. Many group name lists include the individual members' sobriety dates. It's also customary in many groups to celebrate anniversaries with cakes and to award coins with numerals denoting years of sobriety.
To outsiders, this custom may seem frivolous. What is the benefit in celebrating the day one too the last drink or in adding up the number of sober years?
These celebrations of sobriety dates actually underscore the important goal of staying continuously sober. We may know alcoholics who "went back out" from time to time, and then failed to come back at all. Members who slip and do come back to tell us that it was an agonizing experience, and that they feared they wouldn't have another chance to lead a sober life. We also hear people say: "I may have another drunk in me, but I'm not sure I can find another sobering up."
The message is clear: Get sober mark that date, and continue to build on it. We stress the importance of sobriety when we acknowledge the importance of sobriety dates.
I'll stay sober today. Whatever my length of sobriety, I want to honor it and build on it.

************************************************** *********

Keep It Simple

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.---Ethel Barrymore
There was a time when we wouldn't let anyone laugh at us---even ourselves. We had to much shame. We had to much pain. We took the world too seriously. If we laughed it was at others---not at ourselves. Over time , real honest laughter returns to us. Laughter is a way of accepting ourselves as human. To be human means we can make mistakes. It means we can lighten up. It also means growing up. And growing up means being happy with all of who we are---even parts of us that may seem odd or funny. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we shut ourselves off from the world. We shut ourselves off from the parts of us we need to accept. Am I willing to accept the fact that I'm human.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, You made laughter. Help me us it to make my life easier. Help me accept all of me a funny mistake I've made.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll share with someone close to me a funny mistake I've made.

************************************************** *********

Each Day a New Beginning

That reality of life and living--movement from one place to another either in a project or in a state of mind, does not conform with what we imagine or expect or think we deserve so we often leave things hanging unfinished or unstarted. --Sandra Edwards
Being dissatisfied--discontented with the experiences life gives us - forever hampers our growth. Reality is not our bane but our gift. The particular reality perceived by any one of us is of special significance because in that reality are our lessons--the very lessons that will awaken us to the awareness that what life offers is just what we deserve, and more.
It's our interpretation of life's realities that is at fault. But as we grow, spiritually, the clouds will disappear. We'll come to understand the interplay between our realities. And we'll willingly move ahead, fulfilling our part in life's bigger picture.
Sometimes all I can do is trust that all is well, even though it's not as I had hoped. On bad days I need only to reflect on the past to know that I am moving in the right direction.

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

WE AGNOSTICS

Hence, we saw that reason isn’t everything. Neither is reason, as most of us use it, entirely dependable, thought it emanate from our best minds. What about people who proved that man could never fly?
Yet we had been seeing another kind of flight, a spiritual liberation from this world, people who rose above their problems. They said God made these things possible, and we only smiled. We had seen spiritual release, but liked to tell ourselves it wasn’t true.

pp. 54-55

************************************************** *********

Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

A DRUNK, LIKE YOU - The more he listened at meetings, the more he came to know about his own drinking history.

My story starts in the middle. What happened? My family and I were attending a relative's bris, a Jewish ritual circumcision and baby-naming ceremony. After the ceremonies, and brunch I fell asleep. When it was time to leave, they woke me up. The car ride home was very quiet. The wife and my two kids said nothing. Later that day I found out what the problem was.

p. 398

************************************************** *********

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Tradition Four - "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."

AUTONOMY is a ten-dollar word. But in relation to us, it means very simply that every A.A. group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when A.A. as a whole is threatened. Comes now the same question raised in Tradition One. Isn't such liberty foolishly dangerous?
Over the years, every conceivable deviation from our Twelve Steps and Traditions has been tried. That was sure to be, since we are so largely a band of ego-driven individualists. Children of chaos, we have defiantly played with every brand of fire, only to emerge unharmed and, we think, wiser. These very deviations created a vast process of trial and error which, under the grace of God, has brought us to where we stand today.

p. 146

************************************************** *********

How can we possibly describe feeling the Presence of God? It is the difference between being a child left alone in an empty house at night and a child who knows that her mother is in the next room. Even though she can't see or hear her mother, she feels comforted by her warm, loving, protective presence. And while a human parent can't always be with us, our spiritual parent will never abandon us.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

"A good love relationship can reinforce self-esteem, but it cannot
create it. Many people carry a lot of unfinished business from
childhood into relationships, and look to their partners to fulfill their
unmet needs. So you get immature, dependency-type relationships that
tend not to work.
The more you can complete unfinished business from childhood, the
better your chance in relationships as an adult."
--Nathaniel Branden, The Art of Living Consciously

Life's lessons are not taught in classrooms.
--unknown

Forgiveness is an inner correction that lightens the heart. It is for our peace of mind first. Being at peace, we will now have peace to give to others, and this is the most permanent and valuable gift we can possibly give."
--Gerald Jampolsky

"Character is defined by what we are willing to do when the spotlight is
turned off, when the applause has died down, and no one is around to
give us credit."
--Unknown

************************************************** *********

Father Leo's Daily Meditation

AMBITION

"Show me a thoroughly satisfied
man - and I will show you a
failure."
--Thomas Alva Edison

I need to strive for new things in my life. I need to push out into new
areas and discover the richness of God's world. I need to explore the
varied creativity of creation.

There is so much that I have not done because of the wasted years of
my addiction. So much that I have not seen, countries that I have not
visited, languages that I have not learned and experiences that I have
missed. My compulsive and obsessive behavior left me a prisoner of
self - and also a victim of self.

The spiritual recovery I enjoy today says it is okay for me to have
things, enjoy things and do things.

Help me to realize the energy and ambition You have created within
me.

************************************************** *********

While we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:10

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you
know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
I Corinthians 15:58

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the
LORD."
Psalm 27:14

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."
Psalm 130:5

************************************************** *********

Daily Inspiration

To feel good about yourself, do things that really matter to you. Lord, help me to know my priorities and act in a manner that will fulfill them.

Loneliness happens when you build walls instead of bridges. Lord, bless me with a welcoming spirit for those that might need me today.

************************************************** *********

NA Just For Today

Keep It Simple

"We live a day at a time but also from moment to moment. When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably."
Basic Text, p. 96

Life often seems too complicated to understand, especially for those of us who've dodged it for so long. When we stopped using drugs, many of us came face to face with a world that was confusing, even terrifying. Looking at life and all its details, all at once, may be overwhelming. We think that maybe we can't handle life after all and that it's useless to try. These thoughts feed themselves, and pretty soon we're paralyzed by the imagined complexity of life.

Happily, we don't have to fix everything at once. Solving a single problem seems possible, so we take them one at a time. We take care of each moment as it comes, and then take care of the next moment as it comes. We learn to stay clean just for today, and we approach our problems the same way. When we live life in each moment, it's not such a terrifying prospect. One breath at a time, we can stay clean and learn to live.

Just for today: I will take comfort in my conscious contact with a Higher Power. I am never alone.

************************************************** *********

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. --Antoine de St. Exupery
A tuning fork is a small tool that is used to tune musical instruments. It is tapped softly and then set down. As it vibrates, it gives off a musical tone. When its vibrations perfectly match the vibrations of the note played on the instrument, the instrument is in tune. When the note matches the tuning fork, this can be both felt and heard.
Our hearts work like a tuning fork. When the heart feels completely in tune with a decision or thought or action in our lives, then we know it is the right one for us. We can actually feel the harmony inside our bodies.
Sometimes what we know deep in our hearts gets clouded over by doubts and questions and other people's opinions and judgments. We need to clear away such clouds and listen to our hearts, for our hearts carry the wisdom of God.
Am I in tune with my heart today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
Compassion is the ultimate and most meaningful embodiment of emotional maturity. It is through compassion that a person achieves the highest peak and deepest reach in his or her search for self-fulfillment. --Arthur Jersild
Being compassionate is similar to what we call support in this program. We get outside our own self-centered egos and care about someone beyond ourselves. In the process we are helped and changed - perhaps more than the person we are helping.
As we mature, we learn that not all help is beneficial. It is more helpful to confront a friend in his delusion than to accept his misguided actions. Such tough honesty supports his strength and his ability to work the Steps. Sometimes it is hard to be a friend to a man in great pain. We might prefer to pull away rather than be with him as he suffers, but we can be more compassionate if we accept our powerlessness to cure his pain. Compassion has a reverberating effect in relationships. Not only do we give it and grow from the experience, we also become the receivers of what we send out.
Today, I will practice compassion in my relationships.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
That reality of life and living--movement from one place to another either in a project or in a state of mind, does not conform with what we imagine or expect or think we deserve so we often leave things hanging unfinished or unstarted. --Sandra Edwards
Being dissatisfied--discontented with the experiences life gives us - forever hampers our growth. Reality is not our bane but our gift. The particular reality perceived by any one of us is of special significance because in that reality are our lessons--the very lessons that will awaken us to the awareness that what life offers is just what we deserve, and more.
It's our interpretation of life's realities that is at fault. But as we grow, spiritually, the clouds will disappear. We'll come to understand the interplay between our realities. And we'll willingly move ahead, fulfilling our part in life's bigger picture.
Sometimes all I can do is trust that all is well, even though it's not as I had hoped. On bad days I need only to reflect on the past to know that I am moving in the right direction.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
What If?
I was talking to a friend one day about something I planned to do. Actually, I was worrying about how one particular person might react to what I intended to do.
What if he doesn't handle it very well? I asked.
Then, my friend replied, you're going to have to handle it well.
What if's can make us crazy. They put control over our life in someone else's hands. What if's are a sign that we have reverted to thinking that people have to react in a particular way for us to continue on our course.
What if's are also a clue that we may be wondering whether we can trust ourselves and our Higher Power to do what's best for us. These are shreds of codependent ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, and they signal fear.
The reactions, feelings, like or dislikes of others don't have to control our behaviors, feelings, and direction. We don't need to control how others react to our choices. We can trust ourselves, with help from a Higher Power, to handle any outcome - even the most uncomfortable. And, my friend, we can trust ourselves to handle it well.
Today, I will not worry about other peoples reactions, or events outside of my control. Instead, I will focus on my reactions. I will handle my life well today and trust that, tomorrow, I can do the same.


Today I continue to remove any barriers that keep me from being fully who I am in this universe. As I continue to trust my inner guidance, I receive all the inspiration I need to grow in courage and faith and love. --Ruth Fishel

**************************************************

Journey to the Heart

Let Yourself Be Alive

In Sedona, as I drove from the sweat lodge back to the room I was renting. I felt exhilarated. My excitement wasn’t only about the experience I had just been through. For so long I had limited my choices, limited my freedom. I was thrilled that I was finally giving myself permission to live more fully.

Have you been limiting your choices, telling yourself there are only a few options available? Have you been limiting your choices, saying you’ve seen and done everything you can in this world? Have you been limiting yourself and your life, then wondering why life is so limiting?

Set yourself free. Give yourself permission to experience and taste more of life. You are here to live your life– fully, richly, passionately. The journey has been about more than cleansing, healing, and spiritual growth. You have a body, emotions, passion, and thought. You are here to bring all parts to life, to connect the parts, and to fully live your life.

Partake of the abundance of the universe. You’re sitting at a banquet table. Let yourself feast. Move on from monitoring, watching, limiting. Experience all of life that you can.

**************************************************

More language of letting go

Let go of timing

“Melody, it just isn’t time yet,” my friend Virginia said to me one day. “You wouldn’t be out on your lawn trying to pull the blades of the grass up, forcing them to grow.”

“Yes, I would,” I said, “if I thought it would help.”

Persistence, determination, clarity, and commitment can be our greatest assets. We gather energy, we use our determination to get things done– whether it’s cleaning our house, visiting a therapist for help with an issue that’s become more than we can handle alone, looking for a new job, or beginning a relationship.

Goals are good. Setting our sights on the task ahead is helpful.

So is letting go, and working with the seasons of our lives.

We are one with everything that is. The same energy and spirit that permeates the ocean, the mountains, the forest, and the creatures also permeates us. Who are we to think that we don’t have our rhythms, seasons, and cycles.

Who are we not to trust the rhythms of life?

Plant the seeds. Water them, if there’s a drought. But let it go. The grass will grow itself.

God, help me let go of impatience. Help me align myself with the natural cycles of my life. Help me trust your timing in my life.

Activity: Pick one segment of nature and study it. Maybe you’ll choose the sunrise and the sunset. Or choose a favorite park. Or the ocean. Even a lake will do. Don’t just think about it. Actually do it, for your meditation time today. Spend ten minutes to half an hour just sitting with and contemplating a segment of nature that speaks to you.

**************************************************

Going with the Flow
Working with a Larger Energy by Madisyn Taylor

Going with the flow means we are open to multiple ways of getting where we want to be.

The expression going with the flow is a metaphor that applies to navigating a river. When we go with the flow, we follow the current of the river rather than push against it. People who go with the flow may be interpreted as lazy or passive, but to truly go with the flow requires awareness, presence, and the ability to blend one’s own energy with the prevailing energy. Going with the flow doesn’t mean we toss our oars into the water and kick back in the boat, hoping for the best. Going with the flow means we let go of our individual agenda and notice the play of energy all around us. We tap into that energy and flow with it, which gets us going where we need to go a whole lot faster than resistance will.

Going with the flow doesn’t mean that we don’t know where we’re going; it means that we are open to multiple ways of getting there. We are also open to changing our destination, clinging more to the essence of our goal than to the particulars. We acknowledge that letting go and modifying our plans is part of the process. Going with the flow means that we are aware of an energy that is larger than our small selves and we are open to working with it, not against it.

Many of us are afraid of going with the flow because we don’t trust that we will get where we want to go if we do. This causes us to cling to plans that aren’t working, stick to routes that are obstructed, and obsess over relationships that aren’t fulfilling. When you find yourself stuck in these kinds of patterns, do yourself a favor and open to the flow of what is rather than resisting it. Trust that the big river of your life has a plan for you and let it carry you onward. Throw overboard those things that are weighing you down. Be open to revising your maps. Take a deep breath and move into the current. Published with permission from Daily OM

**************************************************

A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Giving love is a fulfillment in itself. It must not matter whether love is returned or not. If I give love only to get a respons3e on my terms, my live is cancelled out by my motives. If i have the capacity to give love, then any return I get for it is a special bonus. It is through giving love, freely and without expectation of return, that we find ourselves and build ourselves spiritually. Have I begun to believe, in the words of Goethe, that “Love does not dominate; it cultivates?

Today I Pray

May I, the inveterate people-leaser and approval-seeker, know that the only real love does not ask for love back. May God be patient as I try to practice this principle. May I rid myself of pride that throws itself in the way of love. May I discard my silly cat-and-mouse games that have no place in real love.

Today I Will Remember

I will not give love to get love.

**************************************************

One More Day

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.
– Arnold Glasow

Good friends laughing together can warm the heart of even a casual onlooker. Unlike medicine, laughter cost us nothing and can be partaken of as often as we see fit.

When illness clouds our lives, it’s nice to know that one thing stays the same — we can still laugh. At ourselves. With friends. At a funny television program.

A good healthy laugh is therapy for our minds and bodies. Mirthful laughter can cause a remarkable feeling of well-being and joy. Laughter loosens all the cares and woes of the day and makes them somehow easier to bear.

Laughing openly and spontaneously will always make me feel better.

************************************

Food For Thought

Friends Are For Helping

Now that we have found our place in a fellowship of sympathetic friends, we no longer need to be lonely. We have friends who understand us, even though we may only know their first names. Since we are all compulsive overeaters, we share similar experiences and feelings.

Reaching out to others in the program helps us to better understand and accept ourselves. The new life OA gives us needs to be shared in order to be kept. Calling newcomers, sharing transportation, keeping in touch with someone who is having trouble - these contacts strengthen our defenses against old habits and prevent us from slipping back into loneliness. The friends we make through OA are related to us by a deep spiritual bond.

When we are in trouble, we should not be too proud to ask for help. We cannot control this disease by ourselves. Our phone call to another member in time of difficulty is not an imposition but another link in the chain of mutual support.

May I be a giver and receiver of help and friendship.

*****************************************

One Day At A Time

THE TITANIC
“Men at some time are masters of their fates.”
William Shakespeare

Our early days in OA can be compared to being a passenger on the Titanic. As we took our beloved and wonderfully-powerful first three steps, we were taking a voyage. In Step One we realized we were on the Titanic and that we were doomed. In Step Two we spotted a lifeboat. And in Step Three we took our seats in the lifeboat.

My voyage began with Step One when I realized the connection between the weight I was carrying and some health issues I had last year. I had developed "pitting edema" in both ankles. That was a sign of congestive heart failure. I was on the Titanic! In addition to my physical health condition, I discovered that my inner-health was also challenged. I had lived my life filled with resentments and negative thinking which ate at my very being. I had lost much of my spiritual strength and was in need of spiritual renewal. I was indeed a passenger on my own personal Titanic.

My voyage continued with Step Two. I can't even remember how I found The Recovery Group online, but I know that my Higher Power must have brought me here. Though I didn't believe at that time what the fellowship said in the meetings, I "acted as if" I believed my Higher Power could relieve me of these horrible compulsions to overeat and to live in resentment and negativity. That was all it took. I had spotted the lifeboat and was "acting as if" I believed it had come for me.

I was being changed. My early days of abstinence were difficult, but achievable. I had gotten into the lifeboat. I will always remember where I was when I suddenly realized that God had relieved me of the compulsion to eat between meals and at night. That realization had a huge impact on me. That day I took my seat on the lifeboat. I have been blessed with so much recovery. The ride I am on in this lifeboat isn't a free ride; it requires that I work this program on a daily basis. But when I consider the alternative, I love the ride I am on and I truly cherish the passengers with whom I am sharing this boat!

One day at a time...
I will cherish the lifeboat that this program has given me.
~ Karen A.

*****************************************

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The less people tolerated us, the more we withdrew from society, from life itself. As we became subjects of King Alcohol, shivering denizens of his mad realm, the chilling vapor that is loneliness settled down. It thickened, ever becoming blacker. Some of us sought out sordid places, hoping to find understanding companionship and approval. Momentarily we did - then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen - Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair. Unhappy drinkers who read this page will understand! - Pg. 151 - A Vision For You

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Often times late at night, we fear that someone might break in, spirits might invade our body, or that our heart may stop beating. At these times we must turn to our Higher Power, surrender our fears and our fate. In that surrender, we cease struggling, cease fear.

In order for my Spiritual Source to guide me, I cease struggling ( which means getting my will for me ) and surrender my fear and my fate.

Owning My Own Anger Responsibly

Today, I am willing to take responsibility for the anger that I carry within me. I am not a bad person because I feel angry. No one wants to think of himself or herself as an angry person, and I am no exception. But when I refuse to acknowledge the anger and resentment that I have stored within me, (1) I turn my back on me and refuse to accept a very important part of myself, and (2) I ask the people close to me to hold my feelings for me, to be the containers of my unconscious or the feelings inside me that I do not wish to see. Because I deny my anger to myself does not mean that it goes away. Today, I am willing to consider that there might be something more to it, that I may be carrying feelings of anger that I need to accept.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

It's not your Higher Power's Will that makes you miserable. It's your resistance to HP's Will that causes the damage. Turning it over will set you right again.

God's will is when I turn it over. Self-will is when I've over turned it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Law of Sobriety: You can't fall off the floor.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I continue to remove any barriers that keep me from being fully who I am in this universe. As I continue to trust my inner guidance, I receive all the inspiration I need to grow in courage and faith and love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Resentment is a poison I take to hurt you. - Unknown origin.