Dec. 23, 2019 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener

Monday, Dec. 23, 2019

Every kind of deed, every noble act pays off double. You get your first pay-off the instant you do it provided, however, that you did not perform the act just for the pay-off. It will give you a bang that a shot or a goof-ball can’t approach.

The second pay-off comes later on, for no human action is exempt from repercussions. The world must eventually react to any act, good or bad, and the bread you cast upon the waters will be returned to you on some later tide.

Hazelden Foundation

Jan. 23, 2017 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift form Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Monday, Jan. 23, 2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Attitude is everything!

Today will be what we make it. Regardless of the weather, the kinds of work to be done, the personalities crossing our paths, we'll feel joy and peace if that is our choice.

Agonizing over circumstances that aren't to our liking or dwelling on our failure to control other people, whether friends or foes, has robbed us of the happiness that is always ours to experience. Depression, anger, fear, and frustration shadowed our steps because we didn't take control of the only thing that's ever been in our control absolutely - attitude.

It's so easy to blame others for every wrinkle in our lives. But as we grow accustomed to the idea of taking full responsibility for how we think and feel, we'll be empowered. No longer will our sense of self feel diminished. And, as Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, we will be just as happy as we make up our minds to be.

Nobody can mess with my attitude but me!

You are reading from the book:

 A Life ofMy Own by Karen Casey

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

Jan. 3, 2017 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017

You can't tell a drunk anything, but you can show him. All too frequently, we dry out on Monday, attend our first meeting on Tuesday and try our hand at Twelve Stepping on Wednesday.

With a sketchy conception of what it is all about, with little or no knowledge of the Program, sometimes with the smell of paraldehyde still on our breath, we venture forth to dry up the world and, when we fail, we wonder why.

Remember the 12th Step says, "Having had a Spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics." You can't carry the message before you receive it nor can you give it if you don't possess it.

Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 17, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Inches make champions.
 -- Vince Lombardi

What's the difference between success and failure? Ideal conditions? Half again as much effort? Twice the talent? Ten times "the breaks"? Or is it simply that some people have what it takes and some people don't?

Vince Lombardi, the football coach who brought the Green Bay Packers from fifteen losing seasons to successive world championships, thought success was a matter of inches. A bit more concentration, one extra push in practice, a consistent second effort for a tiny additional gain. He didn't ask his players to be something other than they were - he asked them to improve their best an inch at a time. He knew inches add up, in life as in sports.

In life as in football, it is often the little things that count: going to meetings when we feel like staying home, or speaking our minds, no matter how insignificant our opinion may seem. When we feel like simply hiding - inches make the difference.

Today, I will be aware that I am a champion in the making. I may not make a complete turnaround today, but I will make progress.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. © 1987, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

Dec. 13, 2016 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016

Reflection for the Day
A friend in The Program told me of a favorite hymn from her childhood: "Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me." In actuality, that is what The Program has done for me - it has opened my eyes so that I have come to see the true nature of my addiction, as well as the true nature of the joyous life that can be mine if I practice the principles embodied in The Program's Twelve Steps to recovery.

Through prayer and meditation, am I also improving my inner vision, so that I can better see God's love and power working in me and through me?

Today I Pray
May each glint of truth that I catch sight of as I work the Steps begin to take on the steadier shine of a fixed star. May I know that these stars are all that I need to chart my course and navigate safely. May I no longer feel the frantic need to put in to every unknown port along the way in search of direction. These stars are always mine to steer by.

Today I Will Remember
Find the fixed stars and fix on them.

Hazelden Foundation

May 25, 2016 - #mydepressionlookslike hashtag used to spread awareness and combat stigma

May 25, 2016 - GoodMenProject.com - #mydepressionlookslike Hashtag Used To Spread Awareness and Fight Stigma -