Today's Thought - December

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December 1

As far as my life is concerned, poetry has saved me again and again.

~Muriel Rukeyser

Reading and writing are among the tools many of us find most powerful in our process of personal transformation. For those who struggle with issues of identity or who are recovering from the isolation and denial of addiction, both reading and writing offer inspiration and validation.

It is rare that we turn to such media as newspapers, television, or the products of popular culture for reflections of our real selves, our struggles, and our celebrations. But we do find lives like our own represented in a wealth of literature, whether of liberation or recovery, whose purpose is to tell the truth and to tell it in memorable language.

It’s not surprising that so many of us—whether or not we are professional writers—find healing expression in creating poems, stories, and plays, keeping journals, or making written inventories as part of the Twelve Step recovery process. We can write truthfully from our deep places. Whether or not we wish to share our writing with others, we can use it as part of our process of healing and growth.

Today, I use reading and writing as ways to connect to the truth within me.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day

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December 2

Accepting Our Best

We don’t have to do it any better than we can—ever. Do our best for the moment, then let it go. If we have to redo it, we can do our best in another moment, later. We can never do more or better than we are able to do at the moment. We punish ourselves and make ourselves feel crazy by expecting more than our reasonable best for now.

Striving for excellence is a positive quality. Striving for perfection is self-defeating. Did someone tell us or expect us to do or give or be more? Did someone always withhold approval?

There comes a time when we feel we have done our best. When that time comes, let it go. There are days when our best is less than we hoped for. Let those times go too. Start over tomorrow. Work things through, until our best becomes better.

There is a time for constructive criticism, but if that’s all we give ourselves, we’ll give up. Empowering and complimenting ourselves will not make us lazy. It will nurture us and enable us to give, do, and be our best.

Today, I will do my best, then let it go. God, help me stop criticizing myself so I can start appreciating how far I’ve come.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency*

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December 3

God respects me when I work, but He loves me when I sing.

~Rabindranath Tagore

What image does the word “God” conjure up? For many of us, the word “God” simply throws up the image of yesterday—unexamined, untested, uncontested. Like so many other concepts, our old idea of God needs to be considered again in the light of recovery.

Many of yesterday’s images would have God as some stern, white-clad figure sitting above, casting a critical eye on all we are and do. We may have believed that God’s only desire for us is that we work hard and suffer bravely. Oftentimes the God of our childhood thinks work is all that counts.

Upon consideration, however, we may come to a more enlightened, loving image of God. As we learn more about what love is and looks like, we may come to the understanding that what God most wants for us is our happiness, contentment, and peace. We may arrive at the lovely situation of coming to understand that God is as happy with us at play as He is with us at work. Or even more so.

Today, I know that “God the task maker” was a figment of my imagination. As I come to know myself better, I am coming to know God better.

Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy: Daily Meditations for Adult Children*

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December 4

We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects and in our common striving to overcome them.

~Bill Wilson

Our primary purpose in recovery is to help each other and those who will come after us. What an interesting task for self-centered people! By helping each other overcome defects of character, we forget about ourselves, and the voice of our ego grows less intense. The fellowship of recovery works to break down self-centeredness and to remind us that we cannot do it alone.

We must never forget that it is in the “we” of the program that we find relief from the “me” of addiction. It is in the “we” that we find the answers to the troubles and challenges life will give us. Loving relationships ask that we step outside of ourselves into a larger world. Do we believe more in the “we” of recovery or in the “me” of ego?
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me overcome my defects of character by guiding me deeper into the “we” of recovery.
Today's Action

Today I will call my sponsor and talk with him or her about how I can be of better service to others.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me: More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple*

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December 5

At the bottom of the modern man there is always a great thirst for self-forgetfulness, self-distraction … and therefore he turns away from all those problems and abysses which might recall to him his own nothingness.

~Henri Amiel

Do we rush around or slide off into the world of fantasy to distract ourselves from looking at ourselves too closely? Are we afraid that we might find nothing but our own … nothingness? Is our acting out a misguided search for some kind of identity at any price?

Identity is not something given, once and for all. And perhaps there is never a fixed point at which we can say, “I am that.” Life is process, upheaval, reversal, change, and a continuous process of becoming. If we are brave enough to welcome change and the pains it can cause, we may never have to fear the vertigo of nothingness or the madness of distraction that becomes self-destruction.

I ask for the courage to welcome change so that I may continue to participate in the energy of the life process.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

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Deccember 6

Tomorrow

The future you shall know when it has come; before then, forget it.

~Aeschylus

The fellowship keeps us grounded in the current moment. We learn to live today. Our planning and scheming and dreaming about tomorrow becomes less time consuming. The idea of living one day at a time makes sense to us. Our program teaches us that life is not about to happen, it is happening, and each moment is important.

When we concentrated only on the future, we couldn’t be happy with today. We thought if we could only get to tomorrow, things would be better. Tomorrow never comes, so we were always trapped in a hopeless situation. Now we live one day at a time and grow moment by moment.

Recovery is about today and living life in the present. Since I no longer have to manage the universe, I have only myself to worry about today. I can let my Higher Power take care of tomorrow.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

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December 7

So often we try to alter circumstances to suit ourselves, instead of letting them alter us.

~Mother Maribel

Our attempts to control the uncontrollable—the people we work with, the traffic, or friends—tire us out emotionally. And yet, many of us keep trying. Some people and situations might change to our liking, but we have less to do with that than we might think.

It’s far easier on our emotional health to change ourselves. When we make this choice, we find ourselves coming back to the people we work with and the traffic and our friends with a new attitude. Our serenity is very dependent on our attitude. When we cultivate an attitude of acceptance and gratitude for what is, we find the energy to change what we can, and the serenity to let go of the rest.

God can do what we can’t. When we understand, once again, our partnership with God, our struggles quietly vanish.

I will let God be in charge of my life—and everyone else’s—today.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

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December 8

Life is short; eat dessert first.

~Joy Sommers

Some say that attitude is everything. Many of us have endured abusive families, unreasonable bosses, and the uncertainty of illness. But not all of us carry the pain and fear of the past into the present. We have found new patterns of thinking and behaving now that we’ve come to this program for help. Here we cultivate the attitude that we each are doing the best we can with the knowledge we have. We can forgive ourselves for our transgressions.

When we decide to let go of experiences that can’t be changed, we find so much more joy in the present. The decision to seek joy and love now is like eating dessert first. The quickening pace of our lives as we age is reason enough to grasp every moment and savor its joy.

Being more light-hearted today promises me memories worth savoring.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

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December 9

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.

~Proverbs 8:22

All of God’s creation deserves respect. Many of us have felt that we were bad or worthless, or beyond the reach of genuine acceptance. If we believed in God, perhaps we thought we deserved God’s condemnation more than we deserved grace. Today, we are reminded that we are part of creation. God is everywhere in creation and within us.

Certainly, some of our actions were wrong. Certainly, we must be accountable for our bad deeds. But what we do is not who we are. Our deeds are not our spirit. At the core, we are sacred creatures of God. Being accountable is a high and noble thing, and it is one way that we pay respect to ourselves and our God.

Today, I will respect myself as part of God’s work.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

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December 10

AA Thought for the Day

“We must continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We should grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter; it should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We must not rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve, contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” Am I checking my spiritual condition daily?
Meditation for the Day

Happiness cannot be sought directly; it is a byproduct of love and service. Service is a law of our being. With love in your heart, there is always some service to other people. A life of power and joy and satisfaction is built on love and service. Persons who hate or are selfish are going against the law of their own being. They are cutting themselves off from God and other people. Little acts of love and encouragement, of service and help, erase the rough places of life and help to make the path smooth. If we do these things, we cannot help having our share of happiness.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may give my share of love and service. I pray that I may not grow weary in my attempts to do the right thing.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

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December 11

It may be those who do most dream most.

~Stephen Leacock

Where would we be without the dreamers of the world—the ones who took the time to balance on the edge of wonder? Amazing connections, powerful images, and creative ideas come to us in daydreams. They creep in when we least expect them, like sleek cats, then make their presence known to us with a gentle pounce.

When we give ourselves permission to daydream—to sit for a while and do nothing but be quiet with our thoughts, we give ourselves a precious gift. And who knows, we just might be giving the world a priceless gift, too! Out of the seeds of some of our dreams, great ideas will blossom.

What first step can l take today to make a dream come true?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

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December 12

You will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

~AA Promises

As we work the Steps, we fix our broken life. Many things in our life have been painful. Our addiction to alcohol or drugs made it all worse. But if things hadn’t gotten so bad, we might not have gotten into recovery.

We have changed so much! We have learned so much! Why? Because we have to learn so much about life, our Higher Power, and ourselves in order to fix our lives. We can’t act like nothing in the past matters. It does matter, because it brought us to this new life. And it’s better already!
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me face my past and heal my wounds and others’ wounds.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll list three things I’m ashamed of. How can I make amends for them when I work Step Nine? I will call my sponsor if I need help.

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

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December 13

The irony of your present eating habits is that while you fear missing a meal, you aren’t fully aware of the meals you do eat.

~Dan Millman

Many of us have had problems with eating. Some of us eat compulsively. We may have become overly focused on diet or abused ourselves by mindlessly indulging in unhealthy eating.

We all grow by becoming more aware of our relationship to food. Our spiritual life is nourished by fully experiencing all our sensations concerning food. We can begin with awareness of our empty stomach and take pleasure in feeling hungry. We can give time to eating and use a meal as a time for relationships. Taking pleasure in the preparation of healthy food, making it look attractive, smelling the aromas, tasting the flavors, and enjoying the fullness and renewed energy after eating are all ways of growing spiritually as we become healthier in our use of food.

Today, I will take pleasure as I eat. I will make room in my life for healthy nourishment of body and spirit.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

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December 14

Paying attention

Planning our own speech during a discussion meeting makes it hard to listen. Recovery requires silence and attention.

Sometime, somewhere, something we’ve heard in a meeting may come to mind just when we need it. But if we sit at meetings engrossed in our own thoughts, we can’t pick up on the suggestions we may need to help us in times of danger.

Do I pay close attention at meetings?

Higher Power, help me to open my ears and close my mouth just a little more today.

I will practice staying focused today by…

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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December 15

Planting Seeds

Being a leader in the military is a lot like being a sponsor. If you take that responsibility to heart, you’re helping people every day. It’s not just with alcoholism—it’s helping them to be a better person, worker, air traffic controller, parent, father, mother, whatever it is that you’re helping them with.

If you’re truly being a leader, it’s rewarding. You invest in people. You don’t do it for you; you do it for them. You’re planting seeds. I planted a lot of seeds in my life, my career.

It’s not often that you talk about your accomplishments in recovery, and they’re so intertwined with the accomplishments of your profession. When you combine the two, they go hand in hand.

A rewarding role in leadership is rooted in recovery.

~Joe H., U.S. Navy, 1988–2015

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*