Aug. 3, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The most important move is to begin

We begin weaving by stringing vertical threads on a loom to form the foundation of a new cloth. Then horizontal threads are interlaced back and forth, and we create a fabric. As the cloth begins to form, new possibilities open before us. After we weave in the first color we can then envision other colors that will work with it. The most important move is to begin.

Sometimes new possibilities occur to us only through action. If we take the risk of the first step and keep our eyes open, we will see the next step. Too much planning, too much carefulness and analysis, may block all action.

With our partner we might sometimes feel stuck in a pattern. We may even feel hopeless. Rather than thinking excessively, we could take action, do one thing that we know people in good relationships do. We might be able to take the risk of that first step with the help of our Higher Power. When we take one hopeful step at a time, each step produces information that leads to the next.

Name one interesting thing you can do today. You need not justify it or understand where it will lead. Just try it.

From the book:

The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

The More We Find in Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum. © 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 3, 2014 - Step by Step

Get on the Wagon

Step by Step
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014

Today, I'm fed up - filled to the rim with those self-destructive, self-absorbed character defects like anger, self-pity and anxiety about what's been said and done, and what's ahead. And, today, I'm sick of carrying the garbage, the excess baggage that I acquired in my drinking days and may still be toting even without the booze. I want what the Program promises - if I work for it. That means, finally, getting out from under the ponderous weight of that chip on my shoulder, and letting go means letting God and working with the Program so as not to take that weight back. Even if in sobriety I can rationalize or justify whatever resentment and any other ill feeling I harbor for someone or something, the Program commands that it has no role in my recovery and, in fact, can derail it like a super-train jumping its track at 200 mph. The predictable outcome? Total self-destruction. I didn't come this far this long to fall apart or to implode because of whatever self-destructive trap I set. Today, I need to know how it feels to be free of anger, self-pity, worry and resentment and, today, I'm fed up enough to get with the Program. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

Aug. 3, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
We in AA must remember that we are offering something intangible. We are offering a psychological and spiritual program. We are not offering a medical program. If people need medical treatment, we call in a doctor. If they need a medical prescription, we let the doctor prescribe for them. If they need hospital treatment, we let the hospital take care of them. Our vital AA work begins when a person is physically able to receive it.

Am I willing to leave medical care to the doctors?

Meditation for the Day
Each moment of your day which you devote to this new way of life is a gift to God. The gift of the moments. Even when your desire to serve God is sincere, it is not an easy thing to give Him many of these moments: the daily things you had planned to do, given up gladly so that you can perform a good service or say a kind word. If you can see God's purpose in many situations, it will be easier to give Him many moments of your day. Every situation has two interpretations - your own and God's. Try to handle each situation in the way you believe God would have it handled.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may make my day count somewhat for God. I pray that I may not spend it all selfishly.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 3, 2014 - A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014

Reflection for the Day
The Twelve Steps were designed specifically for people like us - as a shortcut to God. The Steps are very much like strong medicine which can heal us of the sickness of despair, frustration and self-pity. Yet we're sometimes unwilling to use The Steps. Why? Perhaps because we have a deep-down desire for martyrdom. Consciously and intellectually, we think we want help; on a gut level, though, some hidden sense of guilt makes us crave punishment more than relief from our ills.

Can I try to be cheerful when everything seems to be leading me to despair? Do I realize that despair is very often a mask for self-pity?

Today I Pray
May I pull out the secret guilt inside that makes me want to punish myself. May I probe my despair and discover whether it is really an impostor - self-pity with a mask on. Now that I know that the Twelve Steps can bring relief, may I please use them instead of wallowing in my discomforts.

Today I Will Remember
The Twelve Steps are God's stairway.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 3, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014

The educated person knows things, but the wise man knows people. It is not possible to know life without knowing the individuals that make up the world.

A man is not a thing - he's a combination of certain good and bad traits that make him distinctive among his fellow men. Each one is an influence for good or evil, whether we realize it or not. When we rub elbows with our associates, we exchange some of our characteristics with them. Watch, therefore, your companions for, if they are unclean, they are sure to soil your clothes.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 2, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

At 70, my dad is just like he was at 35 - only more so. It's frightening that the same thing could happen to me.
 -- Jerry Z

More of the same gets more of the same. What we were given to practice, we practiced. What we practiced, we became. What we became, we are continuing to become - only more so - every day of our lives. We can do ourselves a favor by being aware of what we practice. Has the past taught us to withdraw? Think of how isolated we'll be twenty years from now! Have we practiced generalized distrust? Imagine how deep the roots of fear are growing.

But there's another side to that truth. If we practice finding beauty today, we'll find twice as much beauty tomorrow. If we work on forgiveness today, tomorrow we may be free of resentments. If we choose to relate rather than isolate, we can walk with friends through all the years that stretch before us. What will the future bring us? Whatever we have invested in it.

I pray for the wisdom to see my future as largely the work of my own hands and heart. I pray for the courage to take responsibility for choosing my own direction.

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

Aug. 2, 2014 - Step by Step

The Serenity Prayer

Step by Step
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014

" ...I had my first drink and I still remember it, for every 'first' drink afterwards did exactly the same trick - I could feel it go right through every bit of my body ...But each drink after the 'first' seemed to become less effective and, after three or four, they all seemed like water. ...(T)he more I drank, the quieter I got, and the drunker I got, the harder I fought to stay sober. ...Even that first night I blacked out, which leads me to believe that I was an alcoholic from my very first drink." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, "Personal Stories," Ch 6 ("The Vicious Cycle"), p 241.

Today, grant that I always remember my last drink if I cannot remember my first - for it is the last one that brought me to my knees and set me on my search for something better. Even if I cannot remember the first drink or whether I became alcoholic with my first or 1,000th one, I cannot forget that I was in alcoholism with my last drink. And if I can't remember my last drink, it might not really be my last one; thus, the reason for AA . Regardless of how recently or long ago my last drink was, the Program is here to strengthen and guide me from taking the next one. Today, I am only as good as the guy whose last drink was yesterday even if mine was a thousand yesterdays ago and, today, I will remember my last drink. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

Aug. 2, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014

AA Thought for the Day
Alcoholics Anonymous has no quarrel with medicine, psychiatry or religion. We have great respect for the methods of each. And we are glad for any success they may have had with alcoholics. We are desirous always of cooperating with them in every way. The more doctors, the more psychiatrists, the more clergymen and rabbis we can get to work with us, the better we like it. We have many who take a real interest in our program and we would like many more.

Am I ready to cooperate with those who take a sincere interest in AA?

Meditation for the Day
God is always ready to pour His blessings into our hearts in generous measure. But like the seed-sowing, the ground must be prepared before the seed is dropped in. It is our task to prepare the soil. It is God's to drop the seed. This preparation of the soil means many days of living, choosing the right and avoiding the wrong. As you go along, each day you are better prepared for God's planting, until you reach the time of harvest. Then you share the harvest with God - the harvest of a useful and more abundant life.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that my way of living may be properly prepared day by day. I pray that I may strive to make myself ready for the harvest which God has planted in my heart.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 2, 2014 - A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014

Reflection for the Day
When I begin to compare my life with the lives of others, I've begun to move toward the edge of the murky swamp of self-pity. On the other hand, if I feel that what I'm doing is right and good, I won't be so dependent on the admiration or approval of others. Applause is well and good, but it's not essential to my inner contentment. I'm in the Program to get rid of self-pity, not to increase its power to destroy me.

Am I learning how others have dealt with their problems so I can apply these lessons to my own life?

Today I Pray
God, make me ever mindful of where I came from and the new goals I have been encouraged to set. May I stop playing to an audience for their approval, since I am fully capable of admiring or applauding myself if I feel I have earned it. Help me to make myself attractive from the inside, so it will show through, rather than adorning the outside for effect. I am tired of stage make-up and costumes, God; help me be myself.

Today I Will Remember
Has anyone seen ME?

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 2, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014
 
The very basis of AA is kindness to the suffering alcoholic, but the question often arises as to what is the kind thing to do. Sometimes we have to do things that might be considered cruel in order to be kind.

There are occasions when it is an act of kindness to have a man locked up if he is apt to hurt himself or others. Sometimes drastic steps have to be taken to prevent a man from driving his car when he is drunk. Occasionally it might be the best thing for a man if his boss should fire him or if his family left him.

We are frequently called upon for this kind of advice. Who are we to decide such issues? God has the answer, and it is best to turn the query over to Him.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 1, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

The Serenity Prayer

Friday, Aug. 1, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

The darkness was encumbering only because I relied upon my sight for everything I did, not knowing that another way was to let power be the guide.
 -- Carlos Castaneda

We don't need to be blind in order not to see. Remember how long it took for us to "see" our addictions? Remember how the blindfold of denial kept us from seeing the reality of our lives?

But it took a person or people to help us "see" our way into the program. And now that we are members, we still need others to guide us in our recovery. Sometimes pride gets in the way and tells us we can do it alone, yet those are the times when we stumble and fall. Perhaps today was a day when we refused the guidance of others. We may have felt we were strong enough to "go it alone." But we will feel the effects of such blind groupings if we don't remember that we need others.

Just as the blind person has a cane or a companion or an animal for guidance, so must we rely upon the power of the group and our Higher Power to help us "see" our way.

Have I been blind to the help offered by others? Can I ask for help to "see"?

From the book:

Night Light by Amy E. Dean

Night Light by Amy E. Dean. © 1986, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 1, 2014 - Step by Step

Get on the Wagon

Step by Step
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
 
Today, grant me the wisdom not to pervert "Take It Easy" into procrastination or neglect of the new responsibilities that sobriety has given me. "Take It Easy" affords me not only the luxury but the necessity to tend to my own spiritual and emotional care lest I be unqualified to help someone else with their own. Adversely, "Take It Easy" does not bestow "permission" to put off or ignore responsibilities to myself, others and the 12th Step edict to carry the Program's message to the alcoholic who still suffers. The Program shows me how to balance the scale between taking it easy and procrastination, and if it's weighted down by taking it easy at the expense of responsibility to myself and others, I am as irresponsible dry as I was when I was drinking. Today, I seek that balance between taking it easy all the time and giving all my time to everything and everyone else. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

Aug. 1, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

The Serenity Prayer

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
 
AA Thought for the Day
The Alcoholics Anonymous program has borrowed from medicine, psychiatry and religion. It has taken from these what it wanted and combined them into the program which it considers best suited to the alcoholic mind and which will best help the alcoholic to recover. The results have been very satisfactory. We do not try to improve on the AA program. Its value has been proved by the success it has had in helping thousands of alcoholics to recover. It has everything we alcoholics need to arrest our illness.

Do I try to follow the AA program just as it is?

Meditation for the Day
You should strive for a union between your purposes in life and the purposes of the Divine Principle directing the universe. There is no bond of union on earth to compare with the union between a human soul and God. Priceless beyond all earth's rewards is that union. In merging your heart and mind with the heart and mind of the Higher Power, a oneness of purpose results, which only those who experience it can even dimly realize. That oneness of purpose puts you in harmony with God and with all others who are trying to do His will.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may become attuned to the will of God. I pray that I may be in harmony with the music of the spheres.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 1, 2014 - A Day at a Time

The Serenity Prayer

A Day at a Time
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
 
Reflection for the Day
Self-pity is one of the most miserable and consuming defects I know. Because of its interminable demands for attention and sympathy, my self-pity cuts off my communication with others, especially communication with my Higher Power. When I look at it that way, I realize that self-pity limits my spiritual progress. It's also a very real form of martyrdom, which is a luxury I simply can't afford. The remedy, I've been taught, is to have a hard look at myself and a still harder one at The Program's Twelve Steps to recovery.

Do I ask my Higher Power to relieve me of the bondage of self?

Today I Pray
May I know from observation that self-pitiers get almost no pity from anyone else. Nobody - not even God - can fill their out-sized demands for sympathy. May I recognize my own unsavory feeling of self-pity when it creeps in to rob me of my serenity. May God keep me wary of its sneakiness.

Today I Will Remember
My captor is my self.

Hazelden Foundation

Aug. 1, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Serenity Prayer

The Eye Opener
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
 
It has been observed by many in AA that the surest bet to get our Program is the man who needs it most desperately. His very desperation lends strength to his efforts. He has been backed up to a wall and he must fight his way out of his dilemma or else he must die. There is no alternative.

Only the coward quits in despair, and the alcoholic can't be a coward for, if he was, he would have quit the unequal game long before his alcoholism was fully developed.

Yes, it takes a brave man to fight his way to the gutter, and it takes a brave and desperate man to fight his way out.

Hazelden Foundation