Monday, June 10, 2024

June 10, 2024 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Monday, June 10, 2024


Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:


Humor begets humor; trust begets trust; faith begets faith; and hope is the mainspring of life.

-- Henry L. Stimson

If anything characterized the severity of our addiction, it was hopelessness. How often had we tried to stop on our own, only to slip again into the shame of acting out? How often did we promise ourselves we would start over tomorrow, that today was hopeless and we might as well do whatever we wanted?

The problem was that we were trying to remove the addiction ourselves, relying on our willpower and intellect. We don't have to recover alone, and there is hope. There is a Higher Power -- each of us can choose what we name it -- who will straighten out the mess of our life and our behavior.

Of course, it would be nice if that happened right away, but as we become willing to wait, we find the strength and hope that allows us to live today. Feeling hopeful gives us a place from which to start changing. It gives us a reason to care, to keep going, no matter how great the odds, and to start again if we stumble.

May I never lose hope that I can grow and change. Today I will look around and see where there's hope in my life.

Hazelden Foundation

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