Feb. 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it. — Edward R. Murrow

We may reduce our difficulties with others to communication problems, yet the remedy may remain unclear. How can we become more responsible for our share of the communication? Can we stop blaming others?

When we improve in those ways, our relationships get better. Clear, specific, and direct language will help us be more responsible and less blaming. We can use simple words that expose the truth rather than words that hide or sugarcoat it. We can use specific examples and give details rather than generalities or hints. We can be more direct by using you and me language. In the process, we yield to the truth within ourselves—and become more honest.

Today, I will be aware of communicating clearly, specifically, and directly.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021

Today, motivated by Einstein's wisdom that individual happiness should be pinned on goals rather than a person or thing, I will build my sobriety and recovery to attain the goals of grace and redemption of the Program. In doing so, I will not gamble by basing my recovery on what another person does or does not do or on a situation that may or may not play out the way I want or fear. I am playing with fire, not to mention using manipulation and abusing AA if I decide I will not continue in recovery if the spouse who left me because of my drinking doesn't return or if the employer who fired me because of my drinking doesn't rehire me or if the judge hearing my DUI case doesn't dismiss charges because "I'm in recovery." In keeping my recovery goal-oriented, I am not only paying respect to the integrity of AA's Steps and Traditions, I am also reinforcing the truth that I and I alone am responsible for both my alcoholism and recovery. Neither is because I might have been dealt a bad hand in life. Today, I focus on the goal of sobriety instead of people or events to maintain my sobriety and recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

Feb. 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

Treating others to drinks gave us a kind of satisfaction. We liked to say, "Have a drink on me." But we were not really doing the other people a favor. We were only helping them to get drunk, especially if they happened to be alcoholic. In AA, we really try to help other alcoholics. We build them up instead of tearing them down. Drinking created a sort of fellowship. But it really was a false fellowship, because it was based on selfishness. We used our drinking companions for our own pleasure. In AA, we have real fellowship, based on unselfishness and a desire to help each other. And we make real friends, not fair weather friends.

With sobriety, have I got everything that drinking's got, without the headaches?

Meditation for the Day

I know that God cannot teach anyone who is trusting in a crutch. I will throw away the crutch of alcohol and walk in God's power and spirit. God's power will so invigorate me that I shall indeed walk on to victory. There is never any limit to God's power. I will go step by step, one day at a time. God's will shall be revealed to me as I go forward.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have more and more dependence on God. I pray that I may throw away my alcoholic crutch and let God's power take its place.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021

Reflection for the Day

Rare is the recovering alcoholic who will now dispute the fact that denial is a primary symptom of the illness. The Program teaches us that alcoholism is the only illness which actually tells the afflicted person that he or she really isn't sick at all. Not surprisingly, then, our lives as practicing alcoholics were characterized by endless rationalization, countless alibis and, in short, a steadfast unwillingness to accept the fact that we were, without question, bodily and mentally different from our fellows.

Have I conceded to my innermost self that I am truly powerless over alcohol?

Today I Pray

May The Program's First Step be not half-hearted for me, but a total admission of powerlessness over my addiction. May I rid myself of that first symptom - denial - which refuses to recognize any other symptom of my disease.

Today I Will Remember

Deny denial.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 4, 2021 - Readings in Recovery; The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021

In the hurry and press of our everyday living, too many of us fail to stop occasionally to allow our souls to catch up with us. We have no time to think upon those things which are of lasting value. We reserve our spiritual thinking for Sunday mornings and meeting nights, oblivious of the fact we must live every day. Find or make time this very day for just a minute with the Man Upstairs. Remember you need Him and He needs you.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 4, 2021 - Good morning to terrific Thursday, and let's make it productive but paced -- and SAFE

 

Time to get revved up for a fantastic Thursday with the plan to make it productive, but paced and safe ...have a truly far-out day, and give no time to anything and anyone wanting to screw it up

Feb. 3, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Keep coming back. — AA program slogan

Life is full of things we don’t want to do. Yet when all parts of us (mind, body, spirit) show up, things go okay. By being there, we can learn about ourselves and help others.

Showing up means we care about our program. It means we speak up at meetings. It means we care about our family, our friends, the world. It means we listen when a friend has a bad day. It means seeing ourselves in others. It means we talk to someone who bothers us. Showing up means we laugh when something seems funny. It means we cry when we feel sad. We’re important, and we need to bring our mind, body, and spirit with us—wherever we go.

Have I learned to show up, all of me?

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me show up for my life. Help me show up to do my part in Your plan today.

Action for the Day

As I go through my day, I’ll think about how I’m showing up for my life. I’ll be proud of myself for doing my part.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 3, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

Today, no self-destruction by believing I do not deserve recovery. If I am carrying into today the guilt, remorse and regret of yesterday, their strength lies in sabotaging my progress tin sobriety and setting me up for failure, i.e., relapse. But my Program of admission, surrender and service has empowered me with confidence, courage and strength, each endowed by a Higher Power, and they are strong enough to assure me that I am worth the gift of recovery. Today, by virtue of returning from the abyss, I am earning worthiness. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

Feb. 3, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

By drinking, we escaped from boredom for a while. We almost forgot our troubles. But when we sobered up, our troubles were twice as bad. Drinking had only made them worse. In AA, we really escape boredom. Nobody's bored at an AA meeting. We stick around after it's over and we hate to leave. Drinking gave us a temporary feeling of importance. When we're drinking, we kid ourselves into thinking we are somebody. We tell tall stories to build ourselves up. In AA, we don't want that kind of self-importance. We have real self-respect and honesty and humility.

Have I found something much better and more satisfactory than drinking?

Meditation for the Day

I believe that my faith and God's power can accomplish anything in human relationships. There is no limit to what these two things can do in this field. Only I believe, and anything can happen. St. Paul said,"I can do all things through Him who strengtheneth me." All walls that divide you from other human beings can fall by your faith and God's power. These are the two essentials. Everyone can be moved by these.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may try to strengthen my faith day by day. I pray that I may rely more and more on God's power.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 3, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

 

A Day at a Time

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

Reflection for the Day
The Program enables us to discover two roadblocks that keep us from seeing the value and comfort of the spiritual approach: self-justification and self-righteousness. The first grimly assures me that I'm always right. The second mistakenly comforts me with the delusion that I'm better than other people - "holier than thou."

Just for today, will I pause abruptly while rationalizing and ask myself, "Why am I doing this? Is this self-justification really honest?"

Today I Pray
May I overcome the need to be "always right" and know the cleansing feeling of release that comes with admitting, openly, a mistake. May I be wary of setting myself up as an example of self-control and fortitude, and give credit where it is due - to a Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember
To err is human, but I need to admit it.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 3, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

 

The Eye Opener

Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

To shut off from our minds the recollections of unpleasant yesterdays is, of course, impossible. But we can refuse to dwell on them unnecessarily or to lash the present with the cruel whip of the past. It was in the past that remorse, resentments and self-pity were found, but now we are doing our level best to lose them in order to insure a happy and sober present. Close the gate - we have passed through it.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 3, 2021 - Good morning to Hump Day Wednesday with a goal to make it productive but paced and SAFE

 

Time to kick it in gear for a wonderful Wednesday with faith that it's going to be magnificent ...make it a really great and productive but paced and safe day -- and never mind anything and anyone out to sabotage it

Feb. 2, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

 

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

A person can grow only as much as his horizon allows. — John Powell

Should you be a doctor or perhaps an astronaut? Maybe being a writer or an athlete appeals to you. Dreaming of what to be can be useful. It helps us set our goals and learn our values. Also, using our imagination lets us “try on” a future role. We learn about our life’s direction through our dreams of where to go and what to do.

Not all dreams are helpful, however. Sometimes we daydream about other things when we really do need to listen. Learning how to use our imagination to guide our plans for growing up takes practice.

Imagining ourselves happy and brave will help us feel both. Imagining ourselves as failures can be just as powerful. Let’s respect the power of the imagination and use it to form good images of our future.

How can I build goodness and success into my future today?

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 2, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

 

Step by Step

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021

Today, dependency is not confined to alcohol addiction and always impacts my relationships with other people. For years, I depended on alcohol to drown feelings I did not want or to "create" feelings I wanted and to shape my attitude and perspective. Is it no wonder that I depended on alcohol to define - in part - my relationships with other people? Honesty says yes! And my expectations in those relationships were either to dominate THEM, or to be so emotionally clinging and dependent on them that MY unrealistic expectations drove them away. Now, in sobriety, I have to admit that quitting drinking is not enough, that I must also be sober in my relationships and find the compromise between being the dominant one - and the needy one. Today, I begin the search for the way to be a contributor to healthy relationships. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2021

Feb. 2, 2021 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021

AA Thought for the Day

We got a kick out of the first few drinks, before we got stupefied by alcohol. For a while, the world seemed to look brighter. But how about the letdown, the terrible depression that comes the morning after? In AA, we get a real kick: not a false feeling of exhilaration, but a real feeling of satisfaction with ourselves, self-respect, and a feeling of friendliness toward the world. We got a sort of pleasure from drinking. For a while, we thought we were happy. But it's only an illusion. The hangover the next day is the opposite of pleasure.

In AA, am I getting real pleasure and serenity and peace?

Meditation for the Day

I will practice love, because lack of love will block the way. I will try to see good in all people, those I like and also those who fret me and go against the grain. They are all children of God. I will try to give love; otherwise, how can I dwell in God's spirit whence nothing unloving can come? I will try to get along with all people, because the more love I give away, the more I will have.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may do all I can to love others, in spite of their many faults. I pray that as I love, so will I be loved.

Hazelden Foundation