April 30, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Monday, April 30, 2012

Just for today, I'll use a novel tactic: instead of an alcoholic, I'll be a soberholic. If "alcoholic" calls attention to the fact that I am addicted to alcohol, can't "soberholic" state that my addiction is sobriety? Arguably, despite the progress of AA in striking down the image of the alcoholic as the down-and-out'er sleeping in alleys or drying out in a flop house, jailhouse or mental hospital, a stigma remains. Might I be able to erode that stigma by labeling my addiction sobriety instead of alcohol? If so, maybe the implication that my addiction is sobriety can renew my self-confidence and weaken any temptation or lingering doubts as drinking again. As someone addicted to sobriety, why do I need alcohol? Today, at the risk of angering those who warn against trading one addiction for another, I'll substitute dependence on alcohol to addiction to sobriety. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 30, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, April 30, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Patience is a particular requirement. Without it, you can destroy in an hour what it might take you weeks to repair. -- Charlie W. Shedd
Enjoying the moment, in its fullest, makes possible a peaceful and patient pace. Progress is guaranteed if our minds are centered in the present, on the only event deserving of our attention. We can be certain that error and frustration will haunt us if our attentions are divided.
Patience will see us through a troubled time, but how much easier it is to savor patience when it's accompanied by faith. We can know and fully trust that all is well - that our lives are on course - that individual experiences are exactly what we need at this moment. However, faith makes the knowing easier and the softness of the patient heart eases us through the times of challenge and uncertainty.
Patience slows me down long enough to notice another, and to be grateful for the gifts of the moment. Patience promises me the power to move forward with purpose. Today's fruits will be in proportion to my patience.

From the book:

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

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey & Martha Vanceburg. © 1983, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 30, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, April 30, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
The AA program is one of faith because we find that we must have faith in a Power greater than ourselves if we are going to get sober. We're helpless before alcohol, but when we turn our drink problem over to God and have faith that He can give us all the strength we need, then we have the drink problem licked. Faith in that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God is the essential part of the AA program.

Is faith still strong in me?

Meditation for the Day
Each one of us is a child of God, and as such, we are full of the promise of spiritual growth. A young person is like the springtime of the year. The full time of the fruit is not yet, but there is promise of the blossom. There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Each has some of God's spirit which can be developed by spiritual exercise. Know that your life is full of glad promise. Such blessings can be yours, such joys, such wonders, as long as you develop in the sunshine of God's love.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may develop the divine spark within me. I pray that by so doing I may fulfill the promise of a more abundant life.

Hazelden Foundation

April 30, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, April 30, 2012

Reflection for the Day
We're taught in The Program that "faith without works is dead." How true this is for the addicted person. For if an addicted person fails to perfect or enlarge his or her spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, s/he can't survive the certain trials and low spots ahead. If s/he doesn't work, s/he'll surely return to his or her addiction; and if s/he rerturns to addiction, s/he'll likely die. Then faith will be dead indeed.

Do I believe, through my faith, that I can be uniquely useful to those who still suffer?

Today I Pray
May my faith in my Higher Power and in the influence of The Program be multiplied within me as I pass it along to others who are overcoming similar addictions. May I be certain that my helping others is not simply repaying my debts, but it is the only way I know to continue my spiritual growth and maintain my own sobriety.

Today I Will Remember
The more faith I can give, the more I will have.

Hazelden Foundation

April 30, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, April 30, 2012

It is most discouraging to many of us to find, after many weary months of trying to work on our moral inventory and studied efforts to eliminate some of our worst character defects, that the more we do the more we find to do. It is not that we are not making progress, but as we steady ourselves from a coldly analytical viewpoint, we find more defects than we ever realized we possessed.

Do not become discouraged when this situation exists. It is very evident proof of progress that you have come to a conscious realization that these new defects exist and you are at least bringing them out in the open where you can get a crack at them.

Hazelden Foundation

April 29, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Sunday, April 29, 2012

Just for today, let me accept that service to other people or causes is the essential element in my program of recovery in AA, that expending some of my attention to anything other than myself may put my problems in a more accurate perspective. Service can range from giving a lead talk, talking on a sponsor or sponsee, volunteering to make the coffee for a meeting to simply listening to someone else's problems or issues. And possibly, the problems I have, or think I have and maybe exaggerate, may seem somewhat less burdensom. Adversely, I must respect prudence in not expending myself to the extreme that my own needs and problems are sacrificed and neglected. In the end, my Program requires that I not focus all that I have completely on myself and that, by sharing or volunteering for some degree of service work may make my own problems less heavy. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 29, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, April 29, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Proving ourselves

Long after a bitter failure, some of us still cling to the hope that we can erase the defeat in some spectacular way. One dream is to "prove ourselves" to those who scorned us or put us down.

This never really works, even when we do become winners at some later time. For one thing, we may be proving ourselves to people who never will like us. If we are striving to show others that we can succeed, we are still dancing to their tune. We are accepting their idea of what success should be.

Many of us failed simply because we were alcoholics and could do no better. We might have destroyed opportunities that will never arise again. But by finding sobriety, we may already have proved ourselves to those who really count in our lives including ourselves.

I can prove today that the Twelve Step program works and that a loving Higher Power is present in my life.

From the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B. © 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 29, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, April 29, 2012

Thought for the Day
The AA program is one of faith, hope and charity. It's a program of hope because when new members come into AA, the first thing they get is hope. They hear older members tell how they had been through the same kind of hell that they have and how they found the way out through AA. And this gives them hope that if others can do it, they can do it.

Is hope still strong in me?

Meditation for the Day
The rule of God's kingdom is perfect order, perfect harmony, perfect supply, perfect love, perfect honesty, perfect obedience. There is no discord in God's kingdom, only some things still unconquered in God's children. The difficulties of life are caused by disharmony in the individual man or woman. People lack power becuase they lack harmony with God and with each other. They think that God fails because power is not manifested in their lives. God does not fail. People fail because they are out of harmony with Him.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in harmony with God and with other people. I pray that this harmony will result in strength and success.

Hazelden Foundation

April 29, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, April 29, 2012

Reflection for the Day
As I grow in The Program - sharing, caring and becoming more and more active - I find that it's becoming easier to live in the Now. Even my vocabulary is changing. No longer is every other sentence salted with such well-used phrases as "could've," "should've," "would've," "might've." What's done is done and what will be will be. The only time that really matters is Now.

Am I gaining real pleasure and serenity and peace in The Program?

Today I Pray
That I may collect all my scattered memories from the past and high-flown schemes and overblown fears for the future and compact them into the neater confines of Today. Only by living in the Now may I keep my balance, without bending backwards to the past or tipping forward into the future. May I stop trying to get my arms around my whole unwieldy lifetime and carry it around in a gunny sack with me wherever I go.

Today I Will Remember
Make room for today.

Hazelden Foundation

April 29, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, April 29, 2012

Effort has been made to carry AA into schools and young people's organizations, but the effective response has been so negligible that it has usually been abandoned after a short trial.

AA is a program for ALCOHOLICS - persons suffering from alcoholism. It was designed to appeal to them and them only. It is probably true that we can tell the kids a lot about drinking, but it will fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately, we must be pricked by the sharp thorn of experience in order to learn.

Hazelden Foundation

April 28, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Saturday, April 28, 2012

Just for today, I will not turn away from a mistake with a sense of failure or "blame" someone else for a the mistake I make. No Program of recovery reaches for perfection because no person will or can ever achieve it; likewise, I cannot and must not impose that unreachable goal on myself. AA's 10th Step says, in part, that we "promptly admitted" WHEN we are wrong - not IF. Thus, let me not be so vain as to place responsibility for my mistakes, big and small, on someone or something else; adversely, let me not be discouraged by a sense of failure when I err in word, thought and deed. Instead, let me be open to owning my mistakes, identifying the reason for them - and correct the reason so that I do not repeat it again. Today, I am not mistake-proof and I cannot expect myself to be - nor can I expect anyone and anything else to be likewise. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 28, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, April 28, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Taking it slowly
Let's not make haste and demand perfection at once - this would only blind us. If we are impatient, we cannot work a daily program. But by exercising patience, we learn to recognize daily opportunities for growth.

It is worth waiting for, striving for, and working to develop a relationship with our Higher Power. It cannot be done overnight. Let's not go too fast, but count each day as a new opportunity.

Am I learning to take it slowly?

Higher Power, I pray that I may meet each day with patience and grow closer to You.

From the book:

Day by Day - Second Edition by Anonymous

Day by Day © 1974, 1998 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 28, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, April 28, 2012

Thought for the Day
We're so glad to be free from liquor that we do something about it. We get into action. We come to meetings regularly. We go out and try to help other alcoholics. We pass on the good news whenever we get a chance. In a spirit of thankfulness to God, we get into action. The AA program is simple. Submit yourself to God, find release from liquor and get into action. Do these things and keep doing them and you're all set for the rest of your life.

Have I got into action?


Meditation for the Day
God's eternal quest must be the tracking down of souls. You should join Him in His quest. Through briars, though waste places, through glades, up mountain heights, down into valleys. God leads you. But ever with His leadership goes your helping hand. Glorious to follow where the Leader goes. You are seeking lost sheep. You are bringing the good news into places where it has not been known before. You may not know which soul you will help, but you can leave all results to God. Just go with Him in His eternal quest for souls.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may follow God in His eternal quest for souls. I pray that I may offer God my helping hand.

Hazelden Foundation

April 28, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, April 28, 2012

Reflection for the Day
I will resolve to observe with new interest even the commonplace things that happen today. If I learn to see everything with a fresh eye, perhaps I'll find I have countless reasons for contentment and gratitude. When I find myself trapped in the quicksand of my negative thoughts, I'll turn away from them - and grab for the lifesaving strength of sharing with others in The Program

Do I carry my weight as an all-important link in the worldwide chain of The Program?

Today I Pray
I pray that God will open my eyes to the smallest everyday wonders, that I may notice and list among my blessings things like just feeling good, being able to think clearly. Even when I make a simple, unimportant choice like whether to order coffee or tea or a soft drink, may I be reminded that the power of choice is a gift from God.

Today I Will Remember
I am blessed with the freedom of choice.

Hazelden Foundation

April 28, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, April 28, 2012

The span of human life is such a small part of eternity that the length of your life, whether it be 20 years or 100, is of no moment. Yet the life span of some men has, and will continue to have, great influence upon many succeeding generations.

If you can by one single act do something that will benefit just one person 50 years from now, you will have done more than millions who have before you. Few leave anything to posterity when they die that will outlive their tombstone.

Hazelden Foundation

April 27, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Friday, April 27, 2012

Just for today, I will work on my character defects of frustration and impatience as they relate to my interpersonal relationships and communications. As a drinking alcoholic, frustration and impatience walked hand-in-hand when it came to dealing with others: frustration with impatience of people who did not react how and when I expected. As a recovering alcoholic, frustration and impatience still walk hand-in-hand in dealing with others. Clearly, little change; also clearly, abstaining from the bottle isn't all that recovery requires. A fundamental change in character and emotional development is needed. If I over-react when people do not respond when and how I believe they should, maybe I am the problem by not opening myself to the possibility that I might learn or understand something that someone could offer when their thought processes don't match up with mine. Today, I will work consciously and conscientiously on my defects of frustration and impatience by considering the possibility that someone other than myself might have a better idea. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 27, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, April 27, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. -- Niccolo Machiavelli

Acceptance may be one of the most difficult things to learn, for it means we must give up the desire to control our life and its outcome. Once we have truly received this great gift we will learn that acceptance need not take away our strength - on the contrary, we will have an inner strength we never thought possible.

When we decided to meet the challenge of a sober life we took the first step toward acceptance - we accepted the fact that we have a disease, a chronic disease that will always be with us. By accepting this fact we will be able to cope with our lifelong struggle. This way we willingly accept the friendship of our group members and the wisdom they offer us. They have been where we are coming from, they have suffered as we suffer, and they have felt the hope we now feel.

We are being offered a way of life that, if we follow it, will bring us a peace of mind we may never have felt. By our surrender we are now willing to receive something that is being offered to us - the beginning of a new way of life.

Today let me accept my powerlessness and any help.

From the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

Body, Mind, and Spirit © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 27, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, April 27, 2012

Thought for the Day
By submitting to God, we're released from the power of liquor. It has no more hold on us. We're also released from the things that were holding us down: pride, selfishness, and fear. And we're free to grow into a new life, which is so much better than the old life that there's no comparison. This release gives us serenity and peace with the world.

Have I been released from the power of alcohol?

Meditation for the Day
We know God by spiritual vision. We feel that He is beside us. We feel His presence. Contact with God is not made by the senses. Spirit-consciousness replaces sight. Since we cannot see God, we have to perceive Him by spiritual perception. God has to span the physical and the spiritual with the gift to us of spiritual vision. Many persons, though they cannot see God, have had a clear spiritual consciousness of Him. We are inside a box of space and time, but we know there must be something outside of that box - limitless space, eternity of time, and God.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may have a consciousness of God's presence. I pray that God will give me spiritual vision.

Hazelden Foundation

April 27, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Friday, April 27, 2012

Reflection for the Day
Am I so sure I'm doing everything possible to make my new life a success? Am I using my capabilities well? Do I recognize and appreciate all I have to be grateful for? The Program and its Twelve Steps teach me that I am the possessor of unlimited resources. The more I do with them, the more they will grow - to overshadow and cancel out the difficult and painful feelings that now get so much of my attention.

Am I less sensitive today than when I first came to The Program?

Today I Pray
May I make the most of myself in all ways. May I begin to look outward to people and opportunities and wonderful resources around me. As I become less ingrown and understand myself better in relation to others, may I be less touchy and thin-skinned. May I shrug off my old "the world-is-out-to-get-me" feeling and see that same world as my treasure-house, God-given and foundless.

Today I Will Remember
My resources are unlimited.

Hazelden Foundation

April 27, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, April 27, 2012

Real reforms are in people, not in movements. All the laws and demands of church, state and family could not make us change our drinking habits. But the day eventually came when we wanted to change and then, and then only, was the change possible. Prohibition legislation was only a challenge to us and we drank the more because they said we could not. We were determined to show those So-and-So's they couldn't stop us.

Only when we, ourselves, wanted to do something about it was any real reformation possible.

Hazelden Foundation

April 26, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Just for today, grant me the wisdom and prudence to appreciate the power of the spoken word, that one spewed in anger, fear, frustration or sarcasm can inflict more damage than any destructive action of my drinking days. Let me understand that a single wrong word can do hurt and injury that might not be healed by any amend I might make. And even if my amend or apology is accepted, the injury and hurt may cut so deeply in the person against whom the wrong work is spoken, something can still be lost permanently. I pray for guidance in the 12th Step that I practice all the Program's principles in each of my affairs, including not to cave into the impulsitivity of unleashing a word that is intended to impose hurt. Today, I must think before I speak, especially if I am angry, frustrated or afraid, because I cannot unspeak it - and atonement may not be enough to repair the damage. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 26, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Thursday, April 26, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Speaking from the Heart

Through fellowship, we offer each other mutual support. Since we believe that the Higher Power works through the group, what one of us is prompted to say is probably just what another member needs to hear.

Sometimes we are reluctant to speak of what is in our heart for fear of being embarrassed, belittled, or betrayed. We are so accustomed to masking our true feelings that we often lose touch with them. In the program we are assured that what we say will be received in a spirit of acceptance and love. We do not need to be afraid of revealing our deeper selves.

It is a healing experience to belong to a group, which is dedicated to honest communication with a minimum of game playing. When we make a genuine attempt to describe where we are in our program, we are met with a warm and supportive response. Our Higher Power opens the way for meaningful communication and mutual love.

Open our hearts to You and to each other.

From the book:

Food for Thought by Elisabeth L.

Food for Thought by Elisabeth L. © 1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 26, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, April 26, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
The AA program is one of submission, release and action. When we're drinking, we're submitting to a power greater than ourselves - liquor. Our own wills are no use against the power of liquor. One drink and we're sunk. In AA, we stop submitting to the power of liquor. Instead, we submit to a Power, also greater than ourselves, which we call God.

Have I submitted myself to that Higher Power?
Meditation for the Day
Ceaseless activity is not God's plan for your life. Times of withdrawal for renewed strength are always necessary. Wait for the faintest tremor of fear and stop all work, everything, and rest before God until you are strong again. Deal in the same way with all tired feelings. Then you need rest of body and renewal of spirit-force. St. Paul said: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." This does not mean that you are to do all things and then rely on God to find strength. It means that you are to do the things you believe God wants you to do and only then can you rely on His supply of power.


Prayer for the Day
I pray that God's spirit may be my master always. I pray that I may learn how to rest and listen, as well as how to work.

Hazelden Foundation

April 26, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Reflection for the Day
When I first came to The Program, I was stunned by the constant sound of laughter. I realized today that cheerfulness and merriment make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into laughter over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have helped others to recover. What greater cause could there be for rejoicing than this?

Have I begun to regain my sense of humor?

Today I Pray
May God restore my sense of humor. May I appreciate the honest laughter that is the background music of our mutual rejoicing in our sobriety. May I laugh a lot, not the defensive ego-laugh which mocks another's weakness, not the wry laugh of the self-putdown, but the healthy laugh that keeps situations in perspective. May I never regard this kind of laughter as irreverent. I have learned, instead, that it is irreverent to take myself too seriosly.

Today I Will Remember
A sense of humor is a sign of health.

Hazelden Foundation

April 26, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, April 26, 2012

Many of us came into AA either in middle life or beyond and feel that with our reasonable life expectancy, it is practically impossible to atone for our previous wrong actions. The thief at the Crucifixion probably thought the same thing but, by one single act, he brought the promise that "this day, thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

Hazelden Foundation

April 25, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Just for today, let me begin to understand that I cannot claim credit if someone I sponsor or to whom I have carried the message has found sobriety. By the same token, let me not feel that I have failed a sponsee or co-member who continues in the throes of active alcoholism. To claim credit for anyone else's sobriety or blame for their active addiction fires my ego beyond the Program's boundaries and, because of it, I have broken the commandment to be only a messenger of the Message. Just as I cannot credit anyone for my sobriety other than the Program or blame my drinking on someone or something else, I cannot claim credit for another person's recovery any more than I can be responsible for his dis-ease. Today, let me remember that I am a humble messenger, not the Message. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 25, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

No decision has to bind us forever.

Most of us are no longer sure what we want to be doing a year or even a month from now. When we are called upon to make decisions, any decision that commits us to a certain path in the future, we shudder. Will we be allowed to change our minds?

What a change this is from earlier years. Many of us led very controlled lives. We felt safest when we knew exactly what we were going to do. We liked it best when we were able to control others' lives too, even though we failed at that much of the time.

Although we may have responsibilities at work and at home, we are so much freer now. And we can decide, moment-by-moment, what we need to do for ourselves. At first it feels irresponsible, not being responsible for everyone, changing our minds when we need to.

However, we will grow into this new way of living. And we'll love it!

My decisions today will be for this day only. I can change my mind tomorrow.

From the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey. © 1993 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 25, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
I don't believe that AA works because I read it in a book or because I hear people say so. I believe it because I see people getting sober and staying sober. An actual demonstration is what convinces me. When I see the change in people, I can't help believing that AA works. We could listen to talk about AA all day and still not believe it, but when we see it work, we have to believe it. Seeing is believing.

Do I see AA work every day?

Meditation for the Day
Try saying: "God bless her (or him)" of anyone who is in disharmony with you. Also say it of those who are in trouble through their own fault. Say it, willing that showers of blessings may fall upon them. Let God do the blessing. Leave to God the necessary correcting or disciplining. You should only desire blessing for them. Leave God's work to God. Occupy yourself with the task that He gives you to do. God's blessing will also break down all your own difficulties and build up all your successes.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may use God's goodness so that it will be a blessing to others. I pray that I may accept God's blessing so that I will have harmony, beauty, joy and happiness.

Hazelden Foundation

April 25, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Reflection for the Day
I have much more to be grateful for than I realize. Too often, I don't remember to give thought to all the things in my life that I could enjoy and appreciate. Perhaps I don't take time for this important meditation because I'm too preoccupied with my own so-called woes. I allow my mind to overflow with grievances; the more I think about them, the more monumental they seem. Instead of surrendering to God and His goodness, I let myself be controlled by the negative thinking into which my thoughts are apt to stray unless I guide them firmly into brighter paths.

Do I try to cultivate an "attitude of gratitude?"

Today I Pray
May God lead me away from my pile-up of negative thoughts, which make for detours in my path of personal growth. May I break the old poor-me habits of remembering the worst and expecting the most dire. May I turn my thoughts ahead to a whole new world out there. May I allow myself to envision the glory of God.

Today I Will Remember
Keep an attitude of gratitude.

Hazelden Foundation

April 25, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Man is a pretty smart duck, but after all these centuries of study, experimentation and reasoning, we still don't know what we are, where our life came from or what happens to it when we die. True, we have certain faiths and beliefs, but who can say with certainty and with personal knowledge exactly what the answer to the Great Enigma really is?

We have unlocked many of the secrets of Nature, but we still don't know what we are, how we got here or where we will go when we leave.

God still has many secrets. If man knew them all, there would be no incentive to know God better.

Hazelden Foundation

April 24, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Just for today, I begin to understand the link between consequences and responsibility - and to appreciate that I and I alone am responsible to the consequences of all my behavior and choices, including drinking, and that excuses and justifications will not spare me either consequences or accountability. The Program's 12th Step requirement to "practice these principles in all (my) affairs" implies that to live by the Program's principles I must not fall back on the weak defenses of my days of drinking to weazle out of owning my feelings, actions and behavior and the consequences of each. If, for example, I slip or relapse, I cannot "blame" anyone or any situation or feeling because, in the end, I made the decision to drink, no one tied me down and poured it down my throat and I and no one else will be endure the physical and emotional pangs of my drinking. Today, I am mindful that all I say, do and feel will bear consequences and that I and I alone will be responsible to those consequences. And if I want to avoid responsibility for consequences, the "out" is clear: don't do whatever I don't want to be responsible for. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 24, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Gratitude is larger than life.

One day, a friend called me on the phone. He was going through a difficult time and wondering if and when things would ever turn around and improve. I knew he was in a lot of pain, I didn't know then that he was considering suicide.

"If you could give a person only one thing to help them," he said, "what would it be?"

I thought carefully about his question, and then I replied, "It's not one thing, it's two: gratitude and letting go." Gratitude for everything, not just the things we consider good or a blessing. And letting go of everything we can't change.

A few years have passed since that day my friend called me on the phone. His life has turned around. His financial problems have sorted themselves out. His career has shifted. The two very large problems he was facing at that time have both sorted themselves out.

Someone once asked the artist Georgia O'Keeffe why her paintings magnified the size of small objects - the petals on a flower - making them appear larger than life, and reduced the size of large objects - like mountains - making them smaller than life. "Everyone sees the big things," she said. "But these smaller things are so beautiful and people might not notice them if I didn't emphasize them."

That's the way it is with gratitude and letting go. It's easy to see the problems in our lives.
They're like mountains. But sometimes we overlook the smaller things; we don't notice how truly beautiful they are.

God, teach me to use gratitude and letting go to reduce the size of my problems.

From the book:

More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

More Language of Letting Go © 2000 by Melody Beattie. All rights reserved.

April 24, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
It's been proved that we alcoholics can't get sober by our willpower. We've failed again and again. Therefore, I believe there must be a Higher Power which helps me. I think of that power as the grace of God. And I pray to God every monring for the strength to stay sober today. I know that Power is there because it never fails to help me.

Do I believe that AA works through the grace of God?

Meditation for the Day
Once I am "born of the spirit," that is my life's breath. Within me is the life of life, so that I can never perish. The life that down the ages has kept God's children through peril, adversity and sorry. I must try never to doubt or worry, but follow where the life of the spirit leads. How often, when little I know it, God goes before me to prepare the way, to soften a heart, or to overrule a resentment. As the life of the spirit grows, natural wants become less important.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that my life may become centered in God more than in self. I pray that my will may be directed towards doing His will.

Hazelden Foundation

April 24, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Reflection for the Day
We come to know in The Program that there is no deeper satisfaction and no greater joy than in a Twelfth Step well done. To watch the eyes of men and women open with wonder as they move from darkness to light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, and above all to watch them awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives - these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry the message of The Program.

Am I learning through Twelfth Step experiences that gratitude should go forward, rather than backward?

Today I Pray
May my Twelfth Steps be as wholehearted and as convincing and as constructive as others' Twelfth-Stepping has been to me. May I realize that the might of The Program and its effectiveness for all of us come through "passing it on." When I guide someone else to sobriety, my own sobriety is underlined and reinforced. I humbly ask God's guidance before each Twelfth Step.

Today I Will Remember
To pass it on.

Hazelden Foundation

April 24, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The reasoning of the practicing alcoholic is in such foul shape that he is apt to take any attitude on the drinking question and usually does.

It is unreasonable to expect them to view their own or anyone else's sobriety in a rational way. Naturally plain common sense is not possible in the midst of an alcoholic fog, but why - oh, why - do so many practicing alcoholics, including slipees, invariably persist in looking for the most insecure member of AA in their quest for a drinking partner?

If you are homesick for the gutter, go on back to it. But don't take anyone with you.

Hazelden Foundation

April 23, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Monday, April 23, 2012

Just for today, I have to reflect on the choices and responsibilities of sponsorship. If I have progressed to a point in my sobriety that I need to consider asking someone to sponsor me, where and how do I begin. My home group is the fertile starting point, and I may think about selecting three or four members, narrow them down to those I feel I can trust most and then approach that potential sponsor in confidence. If I am being asked to sponsor someone, however, I ask my Higher Power for the wisdom and responsibility before taking on such a sacred trust. Let me understand that sponsorship does not mean I am the sponsee's pseudo-priest and that the job does not me to be the "preacher." Today, I begin to extend my recovery to include asking to be sponsor and, God willing, consenting to someones' request to extend my hand to his. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 23, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Monday, April 23, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream - whatever that dream might be. -- Pearl S. Buck

No new door is opened without the inner urge for growth. Dreams guide us, encourage us, stretch us to new heights - and leave us momentarily empty when they are dashed.
Recovery has given us resilience and a multitude of reasons for living. We have come to understand that when one dream serves us no longer, it is making way for an even better one. Our dreams are our teachers. When the student is ready, a new one comes into focus.

Dreams in our earlier years often came to naught. They couldn't compete for our attention as effectively as the self-pity. The direction they offered was lost. Each day that we look forward with positive anticipation, we put the wreckage of the past farther from our minds.

Our dreams are like the rest areas on a cross-country trip. They refresh us, help us to gauge the distance we've come, and give us a chance to consider our destination.

Today's dreams and experiences are points on the road map of my life. I won't let them pass unnoticed.

From the book:

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey

Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey. © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 23, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, April 23, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
Men and women keep coming into AA, licked by alcohol, often given up by doctors as hopeless cases, they themselves admitting they're helpless to stop drinking. When I see these men and women get sober and stay sober over a period of months and years, I know that AA works. The change I see in people who come into AA not only convinceds me that there must be a Power greater than ourselves which helps us to make that change.

Am I convinced that a Higher Power can help me to change?

Meditation for the Day
Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives. All else follows naturally. Cooperation with God is the result of our consciousness of His presence. Guidance is bound to come to us as we live more and more with God, as our consciousness becomes more and more attuned to the great Consciousness of the universe. We must have many quiet times when we not so much ask to be shown and led by God, as to feel and realize His presence. New spiritual growth comes naturally from cooperation with God.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that God may supply me with strength and show me the direction in which He wants me to grow. I pray that these things may come naturally from my cooperation with Him.

Hazelden Foundation

April 23, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, April 23, 2012

Reflection for the Day
No matter what it is that seems to be our need or problems, we can find something to rejoice in, something for which to give thanks. It is not God who needed to be thanked, but we who need to be thankful. Thankfulness opens new doors to good in our life. Thankfulness creates a new heart and a new spirit in us.

Do I keep myself aware of the many blessings that come to me each day and remember to be thankful for them?

Today I Pray
May God fill me with a spirit of thankfulness. When I express my thanks, however fumbling, to God or to another human being, I am not only being gracious to Him or that other person for helping me, but I am also giving myself the greatest reward of all - a thankful heart. May I not forget either the transitive "to thank," directed at someone else, or the intransitive "giving thanks," which fills my own great need.

Today I Will Remember
Thank and give thanks.

Hazelden Foundation

April 23, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, April 23, 2012

It would be possible for a nation, or even the world, to exist without many of the natural resources we have. But no nation could exist without men. The strength of the nation is the strength of its men.

The men who comprise the population of the nation are individuals, and the sum total of the virtues of the individuals is the character of the nation.

Our value to society is not our newfound sobrity but our new character as developed by our new and better way of living.

Hazelden Foundation

April 22, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Sunday, April 22, 2012

Just for today, I will stop running from the pain of regret, shame, guilt, loss and all other anguish borne in my drinking days. While I cannot and will not embrace my pain, I must finally come to terms and reconciliation with it. By taking each Step in the Program with absolute honesty and the wisdom of my Higher Power's leadership, I will instead look to the lessons to be learned from my actions that eventually pooled together to create the pain I may still carry. Regret and shame might be eased by perhaps the single strongest amend I can make: by not drinking today. I can release guilt by learning from the mistakes of my behavior that created it, and the sense of loss might be less painful if I can be grateful that I even had what I lost and accept that I might not have been ready to be responsible for what I had but lost. Today, I will work on weaking the hurt of pain not by running from or denying it, but by confronting it and find the comfort in it - and even in pain, there is comfort. But, in the end, if I deny or do not allow myself to feel and deal with the pain, the good might not feel as good as it might otherwise. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 22, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, April 22, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. -- Martha Washington

We all have friends who seem happy even though they run into lots of bad luck. And we all know other people who seem grumpy all the time. Nothing makes them very happy. It's puzzling, but some people have decided, maybe without even knowing it, that life is fun and should be enjoyed. No bit of bad luck has to make us miserable unless we let it.

A broken bike, a lost math assignment, a rained-out picnic are things that might make us miserable. But, we can decide they won't. Feeling happy can be a habit - just like brushing teeth before bedtime.

Will I stop and think today before I let things make me unhappy?

From the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

Today's Gift © 1985, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

April 22, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, April 22, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
People believe in AA when they see it work. An actual demonstration is what convinces them. What they read in books, what they hear people say doesn't always convince them. But when they see a real honest-to-goodness change take place in a person, a change from a drunkard to a sober, useful citizen, that's something they can believe because they can see it. There's really only one thing that proves to me that AA works.

Have I seen the change in people who come into AA?

Meditation for the Day
Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the Divine Principle in the universe and that He is the Intelligence and the Love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation and being willing to do the right thing at all times.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may always be under Divine Control and always practice unquestioning obedience to God. I pray that I may be always ready to serve Him.

Hazelden Foundation

April 22, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, April 22, 2012

Reflection for the Day
As I attend meetings of The Program, my eyes open wider and wider. Other people's problems make mine look small, yet they are facing them with courage and confidence. Others are trapped in situations as bad as mine, but they bear their troubles with more fortitude. By going to meetings, I find many reasons to be grateful. My load has begun to lighten.

Do I expect easy solutions to my problems? Or do I ask only to be guided to a better way?

Today I Pray
Make The Program my way of life. Its goals are my goals. Its members are my truest friends. May I pass along the skills for coping I have learned there. May my turnabvout and the resulting transformation in my life inspire others, as others have inspired me.

Today I Will Remember
May I be grateful.

Hazelden Foundation

April 22, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, April 22, 2012

When we take the first drink, we invite the dead certainty of physical illness, untold sorrows, shame and degradation. That first drink has built more hospitals, jails, poorhouses and insane asylums than any other cause. All the drinks that follow are simply compounding the felony.

There are some people that can drink intelligently, but these people avoid difficulties. We are not in that class, and experience has proven it. Years of sobriety will not enable us to join that class and, again, experience has proven it. Why do you persist in trying, what are you trying to prove? That you are the exception to the rule? If you are the exception, you automatically become a freak.

Hazelden Foundation

April 21, 2012 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Just for today, I am okay! I will not let the clutter of my alcoholic past, the regrets of my past and uncertainty of my future clutter my mind with preoccupation and neglect of today. If I cannot simply BE and feel okay today, I have a weak foundation for any tomorrow's. But I will not let even that worry about tomorrow impair me today. If today I do not drink, then I am more alive than I ever was when I was drinking. If I can make and keep today okay, then I am making some progress. Hopefully today's progress will stretch into another 24 Hours and being okay will turn into something better, something the Program promises - one day at a time. Today, I am okay. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 21, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, April 21, 2012
Today's thought from Hazelden is:

There's a big difference between being dishonest and respecting my own privacy.

There might be things that have happened in my past that I don't need or want to share with others. I don't have to share private thoughts or situations with everyone. I can choose when and with whom I will share this information. I can decide what I want to share with others without being dishonest.

Telling the truth is necessary to move forward in my healing, but sharing every detail about myself is not. If people ask questions about my past and I don't feel comfortable answering them, I don't have to. I can simply say, "I don't feel comfortable discussing that" or "That's too personal, and I don't want to talk about it." When working with my therapist, I will be totally honest about everything. When I'm applying for a job or meeting new friends in a social setting, I can respect my own privacy by not revealing everything about me. I will use my best judgment when deciding what to share and when to be honest. Ultimately the most important person to be honest with is myself.

Today I will be honest with myself and learn when to share personal information with others.

From the book:

Time to Fly Free by Judith R. Smith

Time to Fly Free © 2001 by Judith R. Smith. All rights reserved.

April 21, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, April 21, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
After we've been in AA for a while, we find out that if we're going to stay sober, we have to be humble people. The men and women in AA who have achieved sobriety are all humble people. When I stop to think that but for the grace of God I might be drunk right now, I can't help feeling humble. Gratitude to God for His grace makes me humble. When I think of the kind of person I was not so long ago, when I think of the person I left behind me, I have nothing to be proud of.

Am I grateful and humble?

Meditation for the Day
I must arise from the death of sin and selfishness and put on a new life of integrity. All the old sins and temptations must be laid in the grave and a new existence rise from the ashes. Yesterday is gone. All my sins are forgiven if I am honestly trying to do God's will today. Today is here, the time of resurrection and renewal. I must start now, today, to build a new life of complete faith and trust in God and a determination to do His will in all things.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may share in making the world a better place to live in. I pray that I may do what I can to bring goodness a little nearer to the earth.

Hazelden Foundation

April 21, 2012 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Reflection for the Day
Can I be wholeheartedly grateful for today? If so, I'm opening doors to more and more abundant good. What if I can't be thankful for the "rain" that has fallen in my life - for the so-called bad times? What then? I can begin by giving thanks for all the sunshine I can remember, and for every blessing that has come my way. Perhaps then I'll be able to look back over the rainy periods of my life with new vision, seeing them as necessary; perhaps then, hidden blessings I've overlooked will come to my attention.

Am I grateful for all of life - both the sunshine and the rain?

Today I Pray
May I be grateful for all that has happened to me, good and bad. Bad helps to define good. Sorrow intensifies joy. Humility brings spirituality. Disease turns health into a paradise. Loneliness makes love, both human and Divine, the greatest gift of all. I thank God for the contrasts which have made me know Him better.

Today I Will Remember
I am grateful for the whole of life.

Hazelden Foundation

April 21, 2012 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Saturday, April 21, 2012

The churches in their quarrels over purely sectarian issues have done much to divert attention from the primary purpose of religion, which is spirituality.

Some pastors take a more critical attitude toward the neglect of church duties than they do toward moral transgressions.

AA should be kept free of all controversial questions. We have but one purpose, and that is to help the suffering alcoholic. Ours is a way of life; not a way of worship.

Hazelden Foundation

April 20, 202 - Just for Today

Just for Today
Friday, April 20, 2012

Just for today, I will yield to the wisdom of taking small steps instead of an "easier, softer way" of giant leaps to reach my goal of recovery as full as it can be. Most likely, my alcoholism and its companion physical, emotional and spiritual dis-eases developed over a period of time; their solution is thus likely to take as much if not more time. But impatience is a characteristic of most alcoholics, and it cannot be allowed to tempt me to take the short route of skimming through the Steps in my thirst for the promises of sobriety. Failing to give full and complete attention to each Step in my zeal may set me up for frustration and disappointment - and together they put me at risk for a so-called slip or relapse. Today, grant me the wisdom of patience in taking the Steps step by step and in understand that it is through working that we earn what we pursue. And our common journey continues. Just for today. - Chris M., 2012

April 20, 2012 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, April 20, 2012

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Each day is different and has a surprise in it, like a Cracker Jack box. -- Alpha English

It's interesting to ponder the notion of surprise. Not every one of them is all that welcome. Hearing bad news about a friend or having a special trip we'd been counting on canceled can leave us dismayed and worried, right along with surprised. Seeking solace from others while cultivating a willingness to accept that all things happen for a reason gives us the armor we need to make the best of every situation and disappointment.

It's an interesting image to think of each day as a box of Cracker Jacks. The moments of our lives have been very tasty. Some were sweet, some were a bit salty, and there were always wholly unexpected moments, the surprises that we were ready for even though we may not have imagined as much. We can look forward to the same daily agenda throughout the remaining years.

Does it help to know that there is a divine plan unfolding in our lives? Many of us find comfort in that. All of us can cultivate that belief.

I am ready for my surprise today! It is meant for me at this time.

From the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

Keepers of the Wisdom © 1996 by Karen Casey. All rights reserved.

April 20, 2012 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, April 20, 2012

AA Thought for the Day
The satisfaction you get out of living a sober life is made up of a lot of little things, but they add up to a satisfactory and happy life. You take out of life what you put into it. So I'd say to people coming into AA: "Don't worry about what life will be like without liquor. Just hang in there and a lot of good things will happen to you. And you'll have that feeling of quiet satisfaction and peace and serenity and gratitude for the grace of God."

Is my life becoming really worth living?

Meditation for the Day
There are two paths, one up and one down. We have been given free will to choose either path. We are captains of our souls to this extent only. We can choose the good or the bad. Once we have chosen the wrong path, we go down and down, eventually to death. But if we choose the right path, we we go up and up, until we come to the resurrection day. On the wrong path, we have no power for good because we do not choose to ask for it. But on the right path, we are on the side of good and we have all the power of God's spirit behind us.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be in the stream of goodness. I pray that I may be on the right side, on the side of all god in the universe.

Hazelden Foundation