Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024
Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
People just want us to know that they mattter.
-- Oprah Winfrey
In recovery, we do service work. Service work should not just be seen as helping the still-suffering addict, though we are responsible whenever asked. Service work should include our families and our communities. We need to give back to them. Why? First, we have a debt to repay. But more importantly, it is in doing for others that we discover that our lives hold meaning. By stepping outside of the self-centered core of our addiction, we find value again.
During our using years, both our grandiosity and our self-pity were symptoms of how little we valued ourselves, how little we felt our lives counted. We were bent on destroying ourselves.
Remember, we have a basic human need to feel that our lives have meaning, that our lives make a difference to others. Service work is our shortest way to knowing we count. So we should get out there and make a difference. The world needs us.
Prayer for the Day
If self-pity or grandiose behavior start to develop in me, Higher Power, please give me service work to do. Help me see the needs of others and give me the power to satisfy those needs.
Today's Action
Today I will look to be of service to others, whether these others are in recovery or not. I will work on developing an attitude and lifestyle of service.
Hazelden Foundation
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