Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March

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March 27

Step by Step

Today, if I am afraid, anxious, worried and uncertain about anything, I can draw strength from the mercy and blessing of my higher power that guided me through the darkness and fear of alcoholism to face the challenges before me now. If I believe that drinking was the darkest chapter of my life but that I survived with the strength of a higher power, I can also believe that the same strength can lead me through a lesser turmoil. Step 2 of coming to believe in a higher power is refuge from any storm I am weathering now, and the Third Step of yielding to a greater power calms any fears or doubts with faith. Today, I can draw strength and hope from the yesterday when I had my last drink to believe that, with faith and strength in the power that got me through those days, I can get through anything less – with unconditional faith and by seeking His will over mine. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

FORGIVING

Joy to forgive and joy to be forgiven hang level in the balance of love.

~ Richard Garnett~

If we are unable or unwilling to forgive others for whatever they do, we won’t be able to forgive ourselves for our actions. The agony of resentment, guilt, remorse, and shame will overpower us. These emotions will halt our progress toward the comfortable and rewarding living we are promised in recovery.

Early in recovery, we often were told to pray for those whom we thought had wronged us. This philosophy is as old as civilization. Forgiveness will always triumph over guilt and shame. Recovery is one-third love and two-thirds forgiveness.

We’ve been our own worst enemies during most of our lives. We’ve often hurt ourselves over what we thought was justifiable anger and resentment.

Self-forgiveness is strength, not weakness. Gaining the strength is simple. I need only remind myself that “God has forgiven me. Why not forgive myself?”

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~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Somewhere in each of us we’re a mixture of light and of darkness, of love and of hate, of trust and of fear.

~ Jean Vanier ~

We have gone to extremes in our lives. We’ve got a penchant for seeing things as all or nothing, black or white. A real man is made up of mixtures and blends, but we tend to think of ourselves as either the greatest or the worst, the smartest or the dullest.

In our progress toward recovery, we see that we are not separate from other people. We are like all people. As we learn to know ourselves, we see parts that we like and parts that appall us. But honesty with ourselves trumps any other defect. So in the very act of admitting a defect, we lay the foundation for accepting ourselves.

Today I will be honest with myself about my many facets and accept the mixture as truly human.

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~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

To each particular person the world speaks a different, particular word and calls for a different, particular response.

~ Mary McDermott Shideler ~

It’s reassuring to hear that we are special. Most of us felt like failures for much of our lives. We lacked both confidence and enthusiasm. Occasionally we still tremble, fearing that we can’t handle what’s happening to us. However, we have been told that our experiences are unique and that no other woman could handle them in our specific way. We are coming to believe that this is true.

So many miracles are happening in our midst. The fact that we survived numerous dangerous moments should indicate that our work isn’t yet complete. But what will we be called upon to do today? Can we fulfill this request adequately? Never fear. That we are here means we can. It also means that whatever is about to happen needs each of us, specifically. This is wonderfully reassuring.

I am invited to experience particular situations today. My presence is needed if I am called.

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~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am learning to deal with a slip with my emotional illness

Yesterday I got extremely upset when I had a serious disagreement with my roommate. I felt angry and sad. When I woke up this morning, I convinced myself I couldn’t get out of bed, so I just stayed there until evening.

Tonight I feel a little better, even though we haven’t resolved our problem. While I didn’t solve it by sleeping, I don’t want to be hard on myself for staying in bed so long. It was a slip, and I want to forgive myself for it. Today I see yesterday’s events more clearly, and I can see better what I need to do differently tomorrow.

When I make a mistake today, I will try to forgive myself and concentrate instead on the question, What can I learn from it?

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~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

The house fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

~ Matthew 7:25 ~

Recovery is like building a house. First we need a solid plan. Next we need the materials. Last we need the manpower to build the house.

In recovery, the plan is the Twelve Steps. The materials are literature — books, pamphlets, tapes — and time to think and meditate. And the manpower is what we get from our sponsor and from our fellowship of other recovering people. It’s also what we look to our Higher Power for.

When we feel we’re at the bottom again and can’t take another step forward, sometimes the only difference we can see between now and the old days is that we’re not alone. There are probably many other differences. But it’s easy to forget them or dismiss them when we’re in pain.

Our Higher Power can give us the manpower we need to continue building our house when there’s a work slowdown. There’s a lot of construction, cleaning, and decoration yet to be done, but with our Higher Power as foreman we can enjoy the process of creation. And we can trust that we’ll be there to nail down the last shingle.

Today help me use all the resources available to me to build my recovery.

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~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

Long afterwards, she was to remember that moment when her life changed its direction. It was not predestined; she had a choice.

~ Evelyn Anthony ~

It used to be that choices in life were quite limited. The purchase of a consumable, product, for instance, often boiled down to this one or that one.

But today you exist in a world that has an over-whelming amount of choices. Do you want to drive to a particular destination? You can take any number of routes—toll road, highway, back roads, shortest route, fastest route. Do you want to order takeout for lunch? You can choose from Italian, Chinese, Thai, and more. Do you want to watch a movie? You can go to a multiplex or sit in the comfort of your living room and find a movie on cable TV or through an on-demand service.

While everyday life is much more complicated, the program offers clarity and consistency. It urges you to keep things simple in your recovery. The Twelve Steps are easy to understand and follow. Gathering in fellowship to share stories, experiences, and wisdom provides great support. Your choice to be in recovery is a simple one—one that you renew every day.

Today I choose to be clean and sober. I will show my commitment to this choice in all of my actions.

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~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

When, against one’s will, one is high-pressured into making a hurried decision the best answer is always no because no is more easily changed to yes than yes is changed to no.

~ Charles E. Nielson ~

There are many people we have never refused a favor or help. We may have even sacrificed our time, our schedules, or a friendship to accommodate as many people as possible. Then we entered the pro-gram and learned we didn’t have to do what everyone wanted. We could say no and that would be okay.

But there may be one or two people we find hard to refuse: a parent or a spouse or an ex-lover or someone we feel we owe. No matter what they ask us, no matter what our schedules, needs, or prior commitments, we may find it almost impossible to say no.

What are we afraid of if we say no? Do we think we’ll lose their love or approval, or they’ll say bad things about us? We aren’t working the program if we can say no to some people and not to others. To be our own persons, we need courage to refuse when we feel it is in our best interest.

I can practice saying no to someone who is difficult for me to refuse.

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~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Accepting myself

Accepting myself means not having to be rich, famous, powerful, or even “good.” It means not having to impress others. It means living authentically. It means being comfortable saying, “I don’t know.”

To be free from fear means that we can live as we choose; it means we don’t have to be anything in particular. We can just be aware and accepting.

Do I feel free to be me?

Higher Power, help me to accept myself just as I am.

I will practice accepting myself today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Before a secret is told, one can often feel the weight of it in the atmosphere.

~ SUSAN GRIFFIN ~

Newcomer

When I had a wisdom tooth pulled a few days ago, the dentist gave me a medication that contains codeine. I’ve heard people at meetings say they take their doctors’ prescriptions, so I knew it was okay to use it if necessary. As it turned out, I didn’t need to take any—the pain wasn’t that bad. I don’t know why, but I kept the pills. They’re still in my medicine cabinet. Codeine isn’t something I ever took when I was active.

Sponsor

You’re right in thinking that you are in a danger area here. I recommend that you throw out the medication right now, and I don’t mean just tossing it into the wastebasket. Flush the pills down the toilet, or put them in a rubbish bag and take it out of your house; I’ll wait here while you do it.

There are medical reasons to use some drugs as prescribed. It’s when we prescribe for ourselves, or start imagining pains to justify unnecessary doses, that we’re in trouble. We can let the doctor know that we have a history of abusing substances and that it may cause us problems to take home more pills than we’re likely to need. Knowing this, he or she may prescribe nonaddictive medicines when there is a choice.

Even if our use of pain killers is legitimate, sharing with a sponsor or at a meeting the fact that we have prescribed medicines in our possession is a good idea. If it’s not a secret, it may seem less compelling to us.

Today, I don’t have to have secrets. I stay on the recovery path by sharing feelings and events that might otherwise threaten my serenity.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Many of us can recall being fired from jobs for drinking and at the same time being given a letter of recommendation that spoke in going terms about our ability. Of course the former boss was trying to be kind in avoiding any mention of the drinking problem, but such letters are actually dishonest, and it was equally dishonest when we used them to procure new jobs.

How much better it would have been if they had tried to do something constructive about the problem rather than lowering us in our own esteem by making us a party to the deceit.

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~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~

1) HALTS FEAR: Hope, Acceptance, Love and Tolerance Stops Forgetting Everything’s All Right

2) When you feel needy, feel needy. You deserve more. You matter.

3) Detachment is neither kind nor unkind.

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~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Guide Me

Thank You, Higher Power, for this beautiful day, for strength, for health.
Help me to live this day for You.
Place in my path some way to serve others.
Help me to know that no other walks in my shoes; that there is something that only I can do today.
Guide my thoughts and deeds that I may feel Your presence today and in all the tomorrows.

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~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

INHERITING THE EARTH

Let us see how we are to go about inheriting the earth. This Beatitude say that dominion, that is, power over the condition of our lives, is to be obtained in a certain way, by nothing less than meekness.

The word meek in the Bible connotes a mental attitude for which there is no other single word available. It is a combination of open-mindedness, faith in God, and the realization that the will of God for us is always something joyous and interesting and vital. This state of mind also includes a perfect willingness to allow this will of God to come about in whatever way divine Wisdom considers to be best, rather than in some particular way that we have chosen for ourselves.

This mental attitude of teachableness, willingness to be led, is the key to dominion, or success in demonstration. There is no word for it in common speech, because the thing does not exist except for those who are up on the spiritual basis of the teaching of Jesus Christ. If we desire to inherit the earth we must absolutely acquire this “meekness.”

The lord reighneth; let the earth rejoice…(Psalm 97:1).

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~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Where to Build a Sidewalk

Shift your sail with the wind.

~ Italian proverb ~

I attended a conference at a Pennsylvania college, J enjoyed walking through a huge grassy mall between the buildings. The area was landscaped beautifully, and the sidewalks were laid out in an interesting, irregular pattern. When I com-mented on this to a friend, she told me, “The sidewalks were designed by the people who walked on them. When the mall first opened, the architects did not designate sidewalks; instead they waited for a few weeks to see where students walked. After the engineers determined the footpath patterns, they laid down the sidewalks. They realized that no matter where they put the sidewalks, people would walk where they wanted and just trample the grass. So they decided to save themselves some work and make it easier for the pedestrians.”

The sidewalk designers understood that there is a flow to life, and when we are one with it, we are empowered. When we tune into the energy flow, we can use it to our advantage, rather than struggling to make the world fit into our expectations. The ancient Tao Te Ching, recorded by Lao Tse, is a magnificent poetic instruction book on how to be strengthened by changes.

Jungle lore tells that monkeys learned how to evade capture by making use of ease rather than force. Hunters would put some nuts in a glass jar with a rim smaller than its base. A monkey of inferior intelligence would reach into the jar and grab the nuts, but because the hand with the nuts in it was too large to fit through the rim, the animal would stand there struggling, and the hunter would grab him. The smarter monkeys, however, didn’t reach into the jar; they simply opened one palm and tilted the jar so the nuts fell into it. If you are trying to clutch onto something that won’t fit into your life naturally, that’s when you get caught. Accept what shows up, and you are free. Take advantage of the tide of events, and life will support you in ways that you could not manipulate through anxious struggle.

Build on what is, rather than what isn’t, and you will be one with life.

Show me how to live. Help me move with energy, that I may be free and happy.

The door to my good is open now.