May 31, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

— Marie Curie

Fear usually comes from ignorance, and it paralyzes usually only as long as we remain in the dark. For addicts, fear is often free-floating anxiety that overtakes us inexplicably and pushes us toward unaccountable actions.

Anxiety and fear have causes, and if we are brave enough we can explore them and put the bogeymen to rest. We can’t always do it alone, though, because we need to hear some reaction to our insights and hunches about where our fear comes from. We can often find our true selves in the shared struggles of another person or in the words given back to us as we tell others about our fears and hopes. Most of us have been alone too long with our feelings trapped inside.

We are striving toward understanding, however long and painful the journey may be. We need to remember as we go that we are accompanied by good and loyal companions. Every step we take can be a yard won back from fear as we become familiar with the new and uncharted territory.

I will think and speak my way out of ignorance and fear, accepting the companionship of others along the way.

Hazelden Foundation

May 31, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

“…(D)eep down in every man, woman and child is the fundamental idea of God. It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in some form or other it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 4 (“We Agnostics”), p 55.

Today, if I expect the Program to work for me, I must work with it, and I must knock down the wall that separates me from a Power greater than myself in my recovery. If I am struggling or even rejecting the possibility of such a Power, let me read and embrace these words and accept on blind faith the hope that somewhere inside me is a “fundamental idea of God.” He, God, need not be a religious entity but a spiritual one, and a “spiritual awakening,” even if it is a basic change in my psyche or character, is required if I am to achieve any kind of quality recovery. Today, I must put aside any resistance and open myself to the idea of a Power greater than myself so that I can earn the benefits of recovery. If alcohol is stronger than me, I have to believe that a force stronger than alcohol can restore me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. —  Chris M., 2023

May 31, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
I shall not wait to be drafted for service to AA. 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 AA 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.

Hazelden Foundation

May 31, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

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 response on my terms, my love 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-pleaser 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.

Hazelden Foundation

May 31, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, May 31, 2023

For a person to attempt to live apart from this world is as useless as for a drop of water to live apart from the ocean. God put everything in this world, and He takes nothing out. To endeavor to withdraw from the world’s activities is another way of fooling yourself. We are an influence for good or evil regardless of our attempts to hide from society at large.

When a rock falls from a cliff into the sea, it is not merely that the land is one rock less, it means the contour of the whole continent has changed. However, it is still a part of God’s Universe whether it can be seen by man or not.

Hazelden Foundation

May 31, 2023 – Good morning to a marvelous Wednesday

 

Good morning and what better way to set the tone for a great Wednesday than a cute little pussy kitty? Have a really fantastical day, everyone, and don’t allow anything and anyone the control to screw it up

May 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Friendship

Friendship of a kind that cannot easily be reversed tomorrow must have its roots in common interests and shared belief.

— Barbara W. Tuchman

We find the meaning of friendship in our fellowship. We no longer take hostages or allow ourselves to be hostages. We give and take freely in a spirit of good-natured affection. The friendship we find in our program is one where hidden agendas are left at the door. We relate to one another as human beings and fellow travelers.

We leave sharp, jealous attitudes in our old life, where they belong. We are careful to honor each individual. We remember that every person we meet has something to teach us. When we extend our hand to a person who is still suffering, we do not forget that it wasn’t so long ago someone extended a hand to us.

I find myself able to become friends with individuals I disliked at one time. They may not have changed, but I most certainly have. The world in general has become a much friendlier place.

Hazelden Foundation

May 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

“The old pattern reasserted itself, but it was no longer once every six months. The intervals grew shorter. The binges were longer. They were harder to get off. I wasn’t the type that could taper off. I had to stop cold. My last binge followed the previous one by two weeks. I had just come off a good one, and I went back on to the next one.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Lost Nearly All,” Ch 3 (“Desperation Drinking”), p 514.

Today, guard against the passage of time and my last drunk from fading the memory of what my drinking days were really like — pure desperation. If it is true that the best predictor of my future is my past conduct, I cannot afford to “romanticize” my drinking, that it was “fun” and that it didn’t rip a path of destruction through myself and others. God grant me the honesty and humility to remember the desperation that finally pushed me to seek help after I exhausted all the denials, justifications and rationalizations. Let me understand and accept that desperation is all that awaits me again if I am not honest with myself in remembering what active alcoholism is truly like. Today, the desperation that is always there to greet me again can wait. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

May 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
I am part of AA, one among many, but I am one. I need the AA principles for the development of the buried life within me. AA may be human in its organization, but it is Divine in its purpose. The purpose is to point men toward God and a better life. Participating in the privilege of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly but joyfully. To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, AA fails. To the extent that I succeed, AA succeeds.

Do I accept this as my AA credo?

Meditation for the Day
“Praise the Lord.”  What does praising God mean? It means being grateful for all the wonderful things in the universe and for all the blessings in your life. So praise God by being grateful and humble. Praise of this kind has more power to vanquish evil than has mere resignation. The truly grateful and humble person who is always praising God is not tempted to do wrong. You will have a feeling of security because you know that fundamentally all is well. So look up to God and praise Him.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be grateful for all my blessings. I pray that I may be humble because I know that I do not deserve them.

Hazelden Foundation

May 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Reflection for the Day
Since I’ve been in The Program, I’ve learned to redefine love. I’ve come to understand, for example, that sometimes it’s necessary to place love ahead of indiscriminate “factual honesty.” No longer, under the guise of “perfect honesty,” can I cruelly and unnecessarily hurt others. Today, I always must ask myself, “What’s the best and most loving thing I can do?”

Have I begun to sow the seeds of love in my daily living?

Today I Pray
May God, in His love, show me how to be loving. May I first sense the feelings of love and caring within me and then find ways to show those feelings. May I remember how many times I cut myself off from relationships because I did not know how either to let myself feel love or to show what I did feel.

Today I Will Remember
When I feel love, I will be loving.

Hazelden Foundation

May 30, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, May 30, 2023

We are all familiar with that class of people who have a drinking problem; they know they have it and they know that they can do nothing about it themselves. They also know that we had a similar problem and that we did something about it; their own eyes bear testimony to that effect — yet they refuse to take the message we bring them. They have ears, yet they will not hear. It is not our purpose to sell them a bill of goods. Our message is only for those who want it. They aren’t ready yet, so conserve your efforts for those who are hungry for what we have to give.

Hazelden Foundation

May 30, 2023 – Rise ‘n shine for a fantastical Tuesday

 

Good morning and let’s kick it in gear for this post-holiday Tuesday and do it proud …and don’t let things and people who don’t warrant our time screw it up

May 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Monday, May 29, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Letting Go and Trusting God

My treatment counselors had seen people like me before, and they suggested I see someone for my military issues. They made an appointment for me at the local veteran center. In July 1993, just six weeks sober, I went. On the walls were some memorabilia — pictures of military things.

By the time I got in to see the counselor, all these emotions were pretty close to the surface. He asked me to describe a couple of events I found troubling. When I did, I noticed he was crying. He happened to be a Vietnam vet who had twelve years of sobriety. By the time I ended my session, I had what he called a flooding experience. Everything stuffed deep down inside came back all at once. I was terrified, and more than anything I wanted another drink.

What I did instead, I stopped at the local Vietnam memorial on my way home. I got down on my knees and asked God for help. I decided to turn my will over to a God I had abandoned twenty-five years ago. And I didn’t realize it immediately, but the compulsion to flee to alcohol and drugs was gone.

Even though I was sober, it took turning my will over to God for me to finally stop the automatic urge to drink or use drugs.

— Doc D., U.S. Army, 1968–1970

Hazelden Foundation

May 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Monday, May 29, 2023

“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” — Step Two

Today, whether a newcomer or veteran of the Program, if the term Higher Power discourages me because my faith has been ravaged by alcohol or a less than serene sobriety, let me re-read and understand the literal interpretation of Step Two. We are not asked to believe but come to believe in the possibility of a Higher Power. If I shrug off that possibility, I need only look to why I sought recovery. And in doing that, I also reached for the possibility that some help I desperately needed exists. But if I cannot yet grasp the concept of a Higher Power, let me believe that Step Two is telling me that coming to believe in and accepting a Higher Power is a dynamic process, or one that might evolve. Just as I did not become sober after my last drink however long ago it was and went from dry to sober, so it goes with developing an understanding of the Principles of the Twelve Steps. Today, I will not give up if I do not  believe in that Higher Power and instead will proceed with the promise of Step Two that I will one day find it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

May 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, May 29, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
We who have learned to put our drink problem in God’s hands can help others to do so. We can be used as a connection between an alcoholic’s need and God’s supply of strength. We in Alcoholics Anonymous can be uniquely useful just because we have the misfortune or fortune to be alcoholics ourselves. Do I want to be a uniquely useful person?

Will I use my own greatest defeat and failure and sickness as a weapon to help others?

Meditation for the Day
I will try to help others. I will try not to let a day pass without reaching out an arm of love to someone. Each day I will try to do something to lift another human being out of the sea of discouragements into which he or she has fallen. My helping hand is needed to raise the helpless to courage, to strength, to faith, to health. In my own gratitude, I will turn and help other alcoholics with the burden that is pressing too heavily upon them.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may be used by God to lighten many burdens. I pray that many souls may be helped through my efforts.

Hazelden Foundation

May 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Monday, May 29, 2023

Reflection for the Day
When we first reached The Program and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was exhilarating. We felt that the problem of isolation had been solved. We soon discovered, however, that while we weren’t alone any more, in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn’t belong. Step Five was the answer.

Have I found through the Fifth Step the beginning of true kinship with my fellows and God?

Today I Pray
May God help me learn to share myself, my attributes and my failings, not just as I take the Fifth Step but in a continuing give-and-take process with my friends. May I cultivate an attitude of openness and honesty with others, now that I have begun to be honest with myself. May I remember who I used to be – the child in a game of hide-and-seek, who hid so well that nobody could find her/him and everyone gave up trying and went home.

Today I Will Remember
I will be open to friendship.

Hazelden Foundation

May 29, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Monday, May 29, 2023

Life has been hard on us, but most of it was made hard by ourselves. The hard life, however, taught us much: it strengthened our muscles; it broadened our experiences. We are better men because of it. We have known much of hunger, pain, defeat, mental anguish, despair and shame. Only the good survived this ordeal, and we can alleviate the sufferings of the world all the better because we have suffered also.

God was not punishing us …He was conditioning us.

Hazelden Foundation

May 29, 2023 – Good morning to a holiday Monday and brand new week

 

Good morning to a Memorial Day Monday and new week, and face both with determination to make them worthwhile and productive but, as always, ignore things and people who don’t warrant our attention

May 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

How unhappy is the person who cannot forgive himself or herself.

— Publilius Syrus

One of the most important things we do in recovery is to forgive ourselves. It is so important that it takes the first nine Steps to teach us to do it fully.

Our path to self-forgiveness is a difficult one. First we have to take a hard look at how we have lived and what we have done. Once we face the facts, we can decide to get well.

Why do we find it so hard to let go of blaming ourselves? Because our ego insists that we are in control and so we are to blame. We need to give up that idea and accept the facts. We have a disease that is stronger than we are.

Now we can face the damage, repair it, and move on with our lives. Now we can learn how to manage our disease — with help from our Higher Power and our program — and live a good and useful life.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I can’t be free to do your will for me when I am bound up in ego and self-blame. Help me let go, accept my disease, and forgive myself.

Today’s Action

Today I will call my sponsor and talk about the ways I am being responsible for dealing with my disease. Then I can talk about self-forgiveness.

Hazelden Foundation

May 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Today, my character defects in my Fourth and the amends in my Eighth steps are not confined to wrongs of commission but also to my wrongs of omission. With that, my Fourth and Eighth steps, hopefully, will be more honest. My moral inventory and amends I have tried before have focused on things I have done or said, but they have not included my wrongs done by not saying or doing what I should have. Maybe I neglected or refused to return love or support that someone who stood beside me in my darkest days, or maybe I didn’t answer someone’s call for help. Today, I return to my Fourth and Eighth steps to decide if I owe restitution not for what I did and said, but for what I didn’t do and say. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

May 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, May 28, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
In AA, we learn that since we are alcoholics we can be uniquely useful people. That is, we can help other alcoholics when perhaps somebody who has not had our experience with drinking could not help them. That makes us uniquely useful. The AA’s are a unique group of people because they have taken their own greatest defeat and failure and sickness and used it as a means of helping others. We who have been through the same thing are the ones who can best help other alcoholics.

Do I believe that I can be uniquely useful?

Meditation for the Day
I should try to practice the presence of God. I can feel that He is with me and near me, protecting and strengthening me always. In spite of every difficulty, every trial, every failure, the presence of God suffices. Just to believe that He is near me brings strength and peace. I should try to live as though God were beside me. I cannot see Him because I was not made with the ability to see Him else there were no room for faith. But I can feel His spirit with me.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may try to practice the presence of God. I pray that by doing so I may never feel alone or helpless again.

Hazelden Foundation

May 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Sunday, May 28, 2023

Reflection for the Day
We’ve all had times when we felt alienated, when it seemed we had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. When we don’t know which way to turn, when there seems to be no one to help us, even then we’re not alone or without help — the presence of God is always with us. When we need strength or courage or comfort, God is there with us as the help we need. Even before we turn to God, His love reaches out to us; His loving Spirit in us hears our cry and answers us.

Do I truly believe that I no longer need be alone?

Today I Pray
May I never be alone, even in a place by myself, if I take time to talk to my Higher Power. May He be my companion, my joy, my ever-present help in trouble. May the knowledge of His constant presence fill me with calm, so that I will not fear either the solitude of my own room or alienation in a roomful of people.

Today I Will Remember
Listen for the presence of God.

Hazelden Foundation

May 28, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Sunday, May 28, 2023

Love is as necessary to a human being as sunshine is to a plant. Without it, the soul of man withers, shrivels and dies. Fortunate is the man who has love given to him, but even more fortunate is he who earns it. The only way to earn love is to love. Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself.

He who hoards love shall lose it, but he who scatters love about him as he moves through life finds that it takes root and surrounds him on every side.

Hazelden Foundation

May 28, 2023 – Good morning to a restful and quiet Sunday

 

Good morning to this beautiful and fantastical Sunday, and let’s try to keep it drama- and stress-free and without people and things who don’t deserve our attention

May 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, May 17, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

In dealing with other people, remember the three C’s: You didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, and you can’t cure it.

— Lorna P.

None of us lives in a vacuum. We all live in relational networks called systems. There are family systems, work systems, and church systems. We are constantly surrounded by and interacting with others. Some of those “others” have problems. Some of those closest to us have problems.

Adult children often display an exaggerated sense of responsibility — as if they’re responsible for those problems getting solved. With this in mind, we set out to “fix” the other. The fact is we didn’t cause those problems, nor can we control the problems of another, and we surely can’t cure them.

Recovery is an intensely personal matter — for us and for others. They will deal with their problems when they are ready and work as hard as they choose to overcome the problems they face.

Today, I will allow others the dignity of living as they wish to live.

Hazelden Foundation

May 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Saturday, May 27, 2023

Today, appreciation of the spouse, companion, brothers and sisters, parents, children and friends who wanted to help me as I spiraled out of control but who I shut out, who were and are still there in my recovery. In being focused on my recovery and working the Steps, I have probably been negligent to admit that the hell I put someone else through might have been worse than my own. And I have to acknowledge that they, too, have their own recoveries to work. Today, I will be grateful and offer to anyone who stayed with me a simple thank you and, to them, my superior amend is that, today, I can and will stay sober. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2023

May 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, May 27, 2023

AA Thought for the Day
In Twelfth-Step work, the fifth thing is continuance. Continuance means our staying with prospects after they have started on the new way of living. We must stick with them and not let them down. We must encourage them to go to meetings regularly for fellowship and help. They will learn that keeping sober is a lot easier in the fellowship of others who are trying to do the same thing. We must continue to help prospects by going to see them regularly or telephoning them or writing them so that they don’t get out of touch with AA. Continuance means good sponsorship.

Do I care enough about other alcoholics to continue with them as long as necessary?

Meditation for the Day
Every strong and beautiful flower must have a strong root in the ground. It must send a root down so that it may be rooted and grounded while at the same time it sends a shoot up to be the flower that shall gladden the world. Both growths are necessary. Without a strong root, it would soon wither. The higher the growth upward, the deeper must be the rooting. My life cannot flower into success and helpfulness until it is rooted in a strong faith, or unless it feels deeply secure in the goodness and purpose of the universe.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that my life may be deeply rooted in faith. I pray that I may feel deeply secure.

Hazelden Foundation

May 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Saturday, May 27, 2023

Reflection for the Day
When I have only myself to talk to, the conversation gets sort of one-sided. Trying to talk myself out of a drink or a pill or a “small wager” or just one chocolate eclair is sort of like trying self-hypnosis. It simply doesn’t work; most of the time, it’s about as effective as trying to talk myself out of a case of diarrhea. When my heart is heavy and my resistance low, I can always find some comfort in sharing with a true and understanding friend in The Program.

Do I know who my friends are?

Today I Pray
May I be convinced that, as part of God’s master plan, we were put here to help each other. May I be as open about asking for help as I am ready to give it, no matter how long I have been in The Program. May the experiences of countless others be enough to prove to me that “talking myself out of it” seldom works, that the mutual bolstering that comes from sharing with a friend usually does.

Today I Will Remember
When I ask for help, I am helping.

Hazelden Foundation

May 27, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Saturday, May 27, 2023

To follow the letter of the law is not enough. You can be moral without difficulty in “solitary.”

Do not let your morality be simply restraining and abstaining. Be constructive in your goodness. Be good for something.

Hazelden Foundation

May 27, 2023 – Good morning to a super Saturday and holiday weekend

 

Good morning with hopes of a fantastical Saturday and quiet holiday weekend for everyone, and that nothing and no one are so empowered that they wreck the day

May 26, 2023 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Friday, May 26, 2023

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Feeling Good

Make yourself feel good.

It’s our job to first make ourselves feel better and then make ourselves feel good. Recovery is not only about stopping painful feelings; it is about creating a good life for ourselves.

We don’t have to deny ourselves activities that help us feel good. Going to meetings, basking in the sun, exercising, taking a walk, or spending time with a friend are activities that may help us feel good. We each have our list. If we don’t, we’re now free to explore, experiment, and develop that list.

When we find a behavior or activity that produces a good feeling, put it on the list. Then, do it frequently.

Let’s stop denying ourselves good feelings and start doing things that make us feel good.

Today, I will do one activity or behavior that I know will create a good feeling for me. If I’m uncertain about what I like, I will experiment with one behavior today.

Hazelden Foundation