May 19, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

The hard rain and wind are ways the cloud has to take care of us.

--- Rumi

It's the nature of human life to keep changing. Sometimes, instead of joy, life seems to bring only problems. At times we may feel overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment. As a problem is resolved, it explodes with myriad seeds of new ones. The more we embrace life, the more we risk.

We can no longer withdraw into isolation or retreat from involvement with other people and life for more than a brief time. That option is no longer open to us. Whether through coming out or entering recovery -- both, for many of us -- we’ve taken an irrevocable step into a life touched by the lives of others. We are blessed to experience both joy and sadness as part of this life. Our griefs, instead of diminishing us, can expand our hearts with compassion for others.

Today, grief teaches me to be more compassionate and loving.

Hazelden Foundation

May 19, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Sunday, May 19, 2024

” …(W)hat about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, Ch 2, p 21.

Today, no searching for an excuse to deny my addiction by twisting the reference to a “real” alcoholic. If I drank only beer, how can I be an alcoholic? If I drank only on weekends or even one day a weekend, how can I be an alcoholic? If I drank only to relax or calm my nerves, how can I be an alcoholic? If I never lost a job, a spouse or partner, if I never got nailed for a DUI or spent a night in the county jail’s drunk tank, how can I be an alcoholic compared to the “real” one who drank every day, to the “real” alcoholic whose job history makes him now virtually unemployable, or to the “real” alcoholic who has been in jail so many times that he has his name engraved in the cell? Today, may I understand and finally accept that because I lost control over drinking regardless of how much or how often I drank, I am as much a “real” alcoholic as the one who now languishes in the gutter. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

May 19, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, May 19, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
Fellowship is a big part of staying sober. The doctors call it group therapy. We never go to an AA meeting without taking something out of it. Sometimes we don’t feel like going to a meeting and we think of excuses for not going. But we usually end up by going anyway. And we always get some lift out of every meeting. Meetings are part of keeping sober. And we get more out of a meeting if we try to contribute something to it.

Am I contributing my share at meetings?

Meditation for the Day
“He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” The first part, “He brought me up out of a horrible pit,” means that by turning to God and putting my problems in His hands, I am able to overcome my sins and temptations. “He set my feet upon a rock” means that when I trust God in all things, I have true security. “He established my goings” means that if I honestly try to live the way God wants me to live, I will have God’s guidance in my daily living.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that my feet may be set upon a rock. I pray that I may rely on God to guide my comings and goings.

Hazelden Foundation

May 19, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Reflection for the Day
“When I was driven to my knees by alcohol, I was made ready to ask for the gift of faith,” wrote AA co-founder Bill W. “And all was changed. Never again, my pains and problems notwithstanding, would I experience my former desolation. I saw the universe to be lighted by God’s love; I was alone no more.”

Am I convinced that my new life is real and that it will last so long as I continue doing what The Program and Twelve Steps suggest that I do?

Today I Pray
May God be the ever-present third party in my relationships with others, whether they are casual or involve a deep emotional commitment. May I be aware that if there is real friendship or love between human beings, God’s spirit is always present. May I feel His spirit in all my human relationships.

Today I Will Remember
God is the Divine Third.

Hazelden Foundation

May 19, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Until man looks upon the face of God, he cannot – with his limited faculties — know God. We can and do not know some of His attributes as He has disclosed them to us in the world.

We can, however, study ourselves. We can cultivate those good qualities we discern and we can eradicate the bad. We do know many of the attributes of God and we can emulate them. We can aspire to Godlike virtues and, if we then do not know God, perhaps God will know us.

Hazelden Foundation

May 19, 2024 – Good morning and here’s hoping for a peaceful and productive Sunday for everyone

 

Good morning and head out on this beautiful Sunday with determination to make it productive, worthwhile and fulfilling …and don’t blow any of it on people and things who don’t deserve our attention

May 18, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Impulsive reactions never benefit us.

Immediate responses to every situation aren't necessary. But sometimes we make snap decisions because we fear looking inadequate or stupid. Unfortunately, because we don't pause long enough to think through a response or to ask God for guidance, we often do look ignorant -- just what we had hoped to avoid.

Our recovery program gives us permission to slow down, to wait for guidance from our Higher Power. It also helps us assess our strengths along with our weaknesses. Understanding that each of us is a worthwhile human being with a unique purpose is a gift of this program.

My contribution to every experience today can be according to God’s will, if I ask for knowledge of it.

Hazelden Foundation

May 18, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Saturday, May 18, 2024

Today, no inflated pride in a job or thing well done to the extent that I elevate myself above others, nor will I embellish any mistake to the degree that my self-confidence is so devastated that I con myself into believing I can do nothing right. Either way, the source of excess pride and a shattered self-image is an ego not centered but too far to the left or right. In the end, egoism is the character defect that, had I been thorough and honest in my Fourth Step, remains with me. And I ask my Higher Power to strike the proper balance through humility. May I understand that a job well done is no license to toot my own horn and that deep disappointment with myself for making a mistake blinds me to a basic edict of the Program — progress over perfection. Today, I will strive for progress and leave perfection to the Power that is truly perfect. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

May 18, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Saturday, May 18, 2024

AA Thought for the Day

We’re in AA for two main reasons: to keep sober ourselves and to help others to keep sober. It’s a well-known fact that helping others is a big part of keeping sober yourself. It’s also been proved that it’s very hard to keep sober all by yourself. A lot of people have tried it and failed. They come to a few AA meetings and then stay sober alone for a few months, but usually they eventually get drunk.

Do I know that I can’t stay sober successfully alone?

Meditation for the Day

Look by faith into that place beyond space or time where God dwells and whence you came and to which you shall eventually return. “Look unto Him and be saved.” To look beyond material things is within the power of everyone’s imagination. Faith’s look saves you from despair. Faith’s look saves you from worry and care. Faith’s look brings a peace beyond all understanding. Faith’s look brings you all the strength you need. Faith’s look gives you a new and vital power and a wonderful peace and serenity.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have faith’s look. I pray that by faith I may look beyond the now to eternal life.

Hazelden Foundation

May 18, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Saturday, May 18, 2024

Reflection for the Day
I considered myself a “loner” in the days when I was actively addicted. Although I was often with other people — saw them, heard them, touched them — most of my important dialogues were with my inner self. I was certain that nobody else would ever understand. Considering my former opinion of myself, it’s likely that I didn’t want anybody to understand. I smiled through gritted teeth even as I was dying on the inside.

Have my insides begun to match my outside since I’ve been in The Program?

Today I Pray
May my physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual selves become one, a whole person again. I thank my Higher Power for showing me how to match my outside to my inside, to laugh when I feel like laughing, to cry when I feel sad, to recognize my own anger or fear or guilt. I pray for wholeness.

Today I Will Remember
I am becoming whole.

Hazelden Foundation

May 18, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Saturday, May 18, 2024

Think back to those days when we would creep off to our dens where we were holed up, and there like animals try to satisfy our appetites alone — so horribly alone. Just drinking, drink after drink, and dying slowly of despair. If we had a friend in the world, we didn’t know it. We just wanted to drink and die alone.

It was people who brought us out of this pit, people of marvelous sympathy and understanding and now, joining hands with these people, we have learned the joy of living – not alone but with, and a part of a community, of people.

Hazelden Foundation

May 18, 2024 – Good morning and let’s have a worthwhile and great Saturday

 

Good morning with hopes of a fantastic Saturday for everyone and without the bother of people and things that aren’t worth our time

May 17, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Friday, May 17, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

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 am grateful for all of the contrasts that have helped me connect more deeply with my Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember

I am grateful for the whole of life.

Hazelden Foundation

May 17, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Friday, May 17, 2024

“He was drinking to hold on to his job, to hold on to his wife, to hold on to his sanity. Finally, he was drinking to keep away those little men, and those strange voices, and the organ music that came out of the walls.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, Ch 8, p 512.

Today, the reasons and excuses to justify drinking are now the reasons I cannot drink — and don’t want to.. If I drank out of fear of losing a job, let me not drink to keep it. If I drank with uncertainty that I might lose a spouse or loved one, let me not drink to have a chance at salvaging the relationship. If I drank to stop the hallucinations that were not real, let me not drink to extinguish them forever. The desperate excuses I used to drink can now, ironically, become the reasons not to drink. In the end, I am only drying out and not recovering if I hinge my recovery on something other than for myself. Today, I choose not to drink for myself and not to avoid a possible consequence. Today, if I can be sober for myself, I may find the strength and courage to deal effectively with whatever consequences of my alcoholism await me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

May 17, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, May 17, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
A lot of well-meaning people treat an alcoholic like the priest and the Levite. They pass by on the other side by scorning him and telling him what a low person he is, with no willpower. Whereas, he really has fallen for alcohol in the same way as the man in the store fell among robbers. And the member of AA who is working with others is like the Good Samaritan. Am I moved with compassion?

Do I take care of another alcoholic whenever I can?

Meditation for the Day
I must constantly live in preparation for something better to come. All of life is a preparation for something better. I must anticipate the morning to come. I must feel, in the night of sorrow, that understanding joy that tells of confident expectation of better things to come. “Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Know that God has something better in store for you, as long as you are making yourself ready for it. All your existence in this world is a training for a better life to come.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that when life is over, I will return to an eternal, spaceless life with God. I pray that I may make this life a preparation for a better life to come.

Hazelden Foundation

May 17, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Friday, May 17, 2024

Reflection for the Day
If we felt guilty, degraded or ashamed of either our addiction itself or the things we did while “under the influence,” that served to magnify our feelings of being outcasts. On occasion, we secretly feared or actually believed that we deserved every painful feeling; we thought, at times, that we truly were outsiders. The dark tunnel of our lives seemed formidable and unending. We couldn’t even voice our feelings and could hardly bear to think about them. So we soon drank or used again.

Do I remember well what it used to be like?

Today I Pray
May I remember how often, during my days of using chemicals, I felt alone with my shame and guilt. The phony jollity of a drinking party or the shallow relationships struck up at a bar could not keep me from feeling like an outsider. May I appreciate the chance to make new friends through the fellowship of the group. May I know that my relationships now will be saner, less dependent, more mature.

Today I Will Remember
Thank God for new friends.

Hazelden Foundation

May 17, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Friday, May 17, 2024

Our great triumph was not because of our victory over alcohol, but because of our complete defeat. It was only when we were beaten to our knees that we sought the only help that could save us. So we came into AA, not as boastful conquerors but as cringing and bloody casualties of an unequal fight. We were whipped; we knew it; we gave not a damn who else knew it. For us, it was unconditional surrender. There were and could be no reservations.

Hazelden Foundation

May 17, 2024 – Good morning and let’s work for a productive and worthwhile Friday

 

Good morning and who’s not going to have a serene and worry-free Friday ... have a truly great and productive day, and don’t be discouraged by people and things that offer nothing good

May 16, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Avoiding blame

It is not uncommon to hear in group, "Why do these things always happen to me?" If these things are always happening to us, the obvious answer is that we somehow bring them on ourselves. We are largely unconscious of what we're doing (wrong) until, slowly, eventually, we manage to dig ourselves out from the results. (It seems incredible that we actually seek to be hurt, but in a way many of us do so, with regularity.)

But blaming others for our problems and indulging in self-pity don’t move us along in our program.

Am I still blaming others?

Higher Power, help me take responsibility for myself and my actions, because blaming others will only keep me stuck.

I will take greater responsibility for myself today by...

Hazelden Foundation

May 16, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Thursday, May 16, 2024

“The fact is that most alcoholics …have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically non-existent. We are unable …to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.” — Alcoholics Anonymous, Third Edition, 1976, Ch 2, p 24.

Today, the lie of “just one” and the truth that my defense rests on a Higher Power of my understanding. I need only to review with honesty my drinking history and its trail of broken bottles that were opened on the promise of “just one.” And if the Big Book is correct that the memory of “the suffering and humiliation” of my last try at just one drink doesn’t last more than a month at best, I pray for the wisdom to search beyond the powerlessness of my own devices to overcome any temptation. Today, that search leads me to my Higher Power in whom I must place my trust, faith, hope and confidence to rise above temptation. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

May 16, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, May 16, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and Levite both passed by on to the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?

Meditation for the Day
Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need, as a result of this communion.

Hazelden Foundation

May 16, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Thursday, May 16, 2024

Reflection for the Day
Many of us in The Program share the memory that we originally drank or used other chemicals to “belong,” to “fit in” or to “be a part of the crowd.” Others of us fueled our addictions to “get in” — to feel, at least for a short time, that we fitted in with the rest of the human race. Sometimes, the chemicals had the desired effect, temporarily assuaging our feelings of apartness. But when the chemicals’ effects wore off, we were left feeling more alone, more left out, more “different” than ever.

Do I still sometimes feel that “my case is different?”

Today I Pray
God, may I get over my feeling of being “different” or in some way unique, of not belonging. It was this feeling that led me to my chemical use in the first place. It also kept me from seeing the seriousness of my addiction, since I thought, “I am different. I can handle it.” May I now be aware that I do belong, to a vast fellowship of people like me. With every shared experience, my “uniqueness” is disappearing.

Today I Will Remember
I am not unique.

Hazelden Foundation

May 16, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Thursday, May 16, 2024

Is revenge really sweet? Some louse has offended you, so you get even, thus offending him and becoming a louse yourself.

Do you really want revenge? Then do the guy a favor. It will hurt him deep down in his heart as nothing else can. It will be a great source of satisfaction to your wounded pride, and it may be that you will be additionally rewarded by the acquisition of a friend.

Hazelden Foundation

May 16, 2024 – Good morning and let's have a terrific Thursday

 

Good morning from this cute little pussy kitty who’s here to get your Thursday off to a fabulous start …do the day well, and don’t waste it on people and things who aren’t worth our time

May 15, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Decluttering Our Thoughts

Clutter isn't only those piles of belongings on floors or shelves that serve as barriers to comfort and serenity in your home. The clutter between my ears causes me the most stress: all those things that take up space that I really don't need anymore. My brain can be a messy place, an interesting place, and, without a doubt, an overcrowded place.

Thanks to therapy and mindfulness practice, I've learned how to pare down my thoughts. As I have made a practice of cleaning up my physical space, I can regard and contemplate the piles of thoughts that I've created in my head, decide what I need to keep and what I can throw away. Lately, I've been throwing out self-judgment and harshness. I've reorganized outdated ideas about what I need to be doing with my days and my life, scrapped fear and insecurity. Clearing out the negative mental clutter has created a lot more space for curiosity, positivity, and creativity.

How do you sort through your clutter? What are you making room for?

I hang on to thoughts that serve me well and chuck the rest.

Hazelden Foundation

May 15, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Today, no immersing myself so deeply into service or 12th-Step work that I neglect my own basic needs. To put into anything the passion I spent on drinking, I will predictably suffer the same outcome of physical, emotional and spiritual exhaustion — and resentment. While we are called in the 12th Step to commit ourselves to service, the quality of that service will be negligible if I have not reserved enough of myself to offer something worth giving. Today, I will guard against becoming hungry, angry, lonely and tired – HALT – to assure that I can be the best of what the 12th Step asks of us — an effective carrier of the message. Today, I will listen to the message again. And our common journey continues. Step by step. — Chris M., 2024

May 15, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

AA Thought for the Day
In AA, we find a new strength and peace from the realization that there must be a Power greater than ourselves which is running the universe and which is on our side when we live a good life. So the AA Program really never ends. You begin by overcoming drink and you go on from there to many new opportunities for happiness and usefulness.

Am I really enjoying the full benefits of AA?

Meditation for the Day
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”  We should not seek material things first, but seek spiritual things first and material things will come to us as we honestly work for them. Many people seek material things first and think they can then grow into knowledge of spiritual things. You cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. The first requisites of an abundant life are the spiritual things: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. Until you have these qualities, quantities of material things are of little real use to you.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may put much effort into acquiring spiritual things. I pray that I may not expect good things until I am right spiritually.

Hazelden Foundation

May 15, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

Reflection for the Day
Looking back at those last desperate days before I came to The Program, I remember more than anything the feelings of loneliness and isolation. Even when I was surrounded by people, including my own family, the sense of “aloneness” was overwhelming. Even when I tried to act sociable and wore the mask of cheerfulness, I usually felt a terrible anger of not belonging.

Will I ever forget the misery of “being alone in a crowd?”

Today I Pray
I thank God for the greatest single joy that has come to me outside of my sobriety — the feeling that I am no longer alone. May I not assume that loneliness will vanish overnight. May I know that there will be a lonely time during recovery, especially since I must pull away from my former junkie friends or drinking buddies. I pray that I may find new friends who are recovering. I thank God for the fellowship of The program.

Today I Will Remember
I am not alone.

Hazelden Foundation

May 15, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener
Wednesday, May 15, 2024

There is such an abundance of religions, sects, creeds and cults that it is little wonder that many thousands of non-alcoholics have thrown up their hands in disgust and proceeded to ignore them all. The poor confused alcoholic certainly could not be expected to wade through this maze of contradictions.

To them, the simplicity of the AA program has been its greatest attraction. Here they have been asked only to seek a God of their own understanding and to accept a spirituality based on common sense and universally accepted moral standards.

Hazelden Foundation

May 15, 2024 – Good morning and let’s commit to a terrific Wednesday

 

Good morning and let’s take a cue from Snoopy and Woodstock and make it a marvelous Wednesday ...and not be discouraged by people and things that don't deserve our attention

May 14, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

The human heart in its perversity finds it hard to escape hatred and revenge.

-- Moses Luzzatto

This program promises many rewards for those who follow it, but it does not promise to be easy. We search our conscience for resentments and face them. No man can progress in his recovery while holding on to resentments, old angers, and hatreds. When we hold them, we protect dark corners of our souls from the renewal we need. As we allow ourselves to be made new through this program, we no longer reserve those small corners for the game of power and resentment. They will eventually consume us and justify in our minds a return to the old patterns.

Nothing can be held back. We must be willing to surrender all -- even if we do not know how. No one can stop being resentful simply by deciding to stop. When we are willing to be honest, to be humble, to be learners, to be led in a constructive direction, to allow time to be guided rather than seek instant cure, then we will learn trust and will surely make progress.

I do not need to know exactly how to let go of my resentments or what will happen after I do. I simply must be ready to let them go.

Hazelden Foundation

May 14, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step
Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Today, no more wasting energy on the thought I can’t drink by saying I neither need nor want to drink. I don’t need, want or have to drink because recovery has bestowed in me a fundamental character change that is rooted deeper than merely abstaining from alcohol. That change is that I have been given the strength, courage and honesty to look at and correct the character defects that took me to alcoholism. Today, I don’t need to regret that I cannot drink now or ever again because my recovery has taken away the need and desire. But may I not rest on the laurels of sobriety and conscientiously practice Step 10 every day: taking a continuing moral inventory and readily admitting and taking responsibility for my choices and their consequences. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M., 2024