Quote:
August 07, 2014
The gratitude list
Page 229
"We focus on anything that isn't going our way and ignore all the beauty in our lives."
Basic Text, pg. 77
It's easy to be grateful when everything runs smoothly. If we get a raise at work, we're grateful. If we get married, we're grateful. If someone surprises us with a nice present or an unasked favor, we're grateful. But if we get fired, divorced, or disappointed, gratitude flies out the window. We find ourselves becoming obsessed with the things that are wrong, even though everything else may be wonderful.
This is where we can use a gratitude list. We sit down with a pen and paper and list the people for whom we are grateful. We all have people who've supported us through life's upheavals. We list the spiritual assets we have attained, for we know we could never make it through our present circumstances without them. Last, but not least, we list our recovery itself. Whatever we have that we are grateful for goes on the list.
We're sure to find that we have literally hundreds of things in our lives that inspire our gratitude. Even those of us who are suffering from an illness or who have lost all material wealth will find blessings of a spiritual nature for which we can be thankful. An awakening of the spirit is the most valuable gift an addict can receive.
Just for Today: I will write a list of things, both material and spiritual, for which I am grateful.
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Always have made that list maybe not always at night, but at some time during my day if I have forgotten.
Gratitude Checklist
1. Did you wake up this morning?
2. Were you able to see when you opened your eyes?
3. Were you able to stretch any part of your body (your
whole body or your arms or your legs)?
4. Were you sleeping on a bed?
5. Did you have a sheet and or blanket covering you
during the night?
6. Were you wearing a night shirt or pj’s to keep you
warm (if you wanted to)?
7. Did you have something available to eat when you woke up?
8. Was the sun shining outside and/or was there snow on
the ground and/or was it raining outside?
9. Did you have a bathroom available to use?
10. When you counted your fingers and toes this morning
were they all there?
11. Are you finding yourself able to breathe?
12. When you turned on your computer this morning did it work?
13. Is your electricity working?
14. If it is cold outside, do you have heat today?
15. Is there at least one person in this world who you care
about?
16. Is there at least one person in this world who cares about
you?
17. Is there a place nearby where you can take a walk, or if you
are in a wheelchair, is there a place outside where you can go
for a stroll in your chair?
18. Do you have access to a phone or email?
19. Do you have Internet access?
20. Are there phone or in-person meetings you can go to this
Thanksgiving if you are alone?
21. Is there a book you haven’t read yet that you could get
your hands on today and enjoy?
22. Is there a child you love that you could call on the phone
and say hello to?
23. Is there someone in your neighborhood or calling range
who could use a hello who you could reach out to so they will
have a better Thanksgiving Day?
24. If you have to work today, will you have the opportunity
to smile at, enjoy, and delight others who you come in contact
with?
25. If you are alone today, is there someone you can reach
out to in friendship, kindness, or love?
26. If you are alone today, can you for a moment at least,
enjoy the stillness, the quiet time, the peace?
27. If you are cooking for a whole lot of people, can you enjoy
the opportunity to bring your attitude of gratitude and your joy
of recovery to those you love, not through telling them about it,
but just through your state of being?
28. If you are exceptionally tired right now, can you feel that
exhaustion and know it is a sign of being very much alive and
a part of this world?
29. If you have people you’ve lost, can you feel the gratitude
for what they gave you during your time together?
30. If you have people in your life who are alive but caught in
the throes of addiction, can you think of a happy time you
shared or of something you love about them regardless of their
habit, and be grateful for that?
31. If so many things are going right in your life, but something
really big is very wrong and it’s shaken your world, can you
acknowledge that thing, breathe through it, know it is there,
and spend at least a few moments whenever you can to put
your focus on the things that are going right?
32. Do you have a pet you love or did you have one who brought
you joy that you can remember in gladness and gratitude for the
gifts he or she gave you?
32. Can you think of at least five other things to be grateful for
today? (start by thinking of your five senses and go from there)
Put this here because I had no gratitude before recovery. My attitude was that the world owed me a favour and aren't I so hard done by. No thought that I could over come life's situations let alone that they were often of my own creation and that i had a disease of perception.
You may be tired of hearing me saying it, but as my sponsor use to say "A grateful alcoholic/addict will never have a reason to pick up." It doesn't matter if your drug was liquid, solid, powdered or the flesh and blood variety, it all leads to the same soul sickness.