Today's Thought - March

[bluidkiti]

March 1

Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.

~Lorraine Hansberry

Those of us who have experienced cravings and compulsions have at times felt we had no choice but to use an addictive substance or behavior. Resolutions, promises, plans, others' needs, our own dreams and desires - nothing could stop us from acting on our compulsion. Guilt and shame followed, as we knew they would. Sometimes remorse slowed down our using for a while - until the next time.

Recovery offers tools that enable us to stop and think through the consequences of an action we may feel tempted to take. Whether it's picking up our primary addiction or engaging in behavior that feels out of sync with our lives in recovery - telling lies, keeping secrets, indulging in character assassination - we don't have to act instantly. We can call a trusted friend or sponsor, attend a meeting, read recovery literature, share with others, or pray. The same is true when the prospect of something positive arises. We needn't rush into a new job or relationship. We can give ourselves time to test the waters, see how we feel, and think through the consequences of our actions.

Today, I'm not in a rush to take actions or make commitments. I can allow myself time to think.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day

[bluidkiti]

March 2

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

~Step Three

Care. This is what we turn our will and lives over to: the care of our Higher Power. What peace follows! We see our Higher Power as caring, as loving. We turn everything over to this Higher Power, who can take better care of us than we can by ourselves.

Care can guide us. If we want to do something, we can ask ourselves, "Would my Higher Power see this as an act of care?" If the answer is yes, then we go ahead. If the answer is no, we don't do it. If we can't be sure, we wait and talk it over with our friends and sponsor. We wait until we know whether it would be an act of care or not. What wonderful guidance!
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I give to You my will. I give to You my life. I gladly jump into Your loving arms.
Action for the Day

Today I'll care about others. I'll find as many ways as I can to care for others.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 3

Everything comes at its appointed moment.

~Joseph R. Sizoo

Timing can be frustrating. We can wait and wait for something to happen, and it seems to be forever until it comes to pass. Or, suddenly, an event or circumstance is thrust upon us, catching us by surprise. Believing that things happen too slowly or too quickly is an illusion. Timing is perfect.

Today, I will trust and work with Divine Order. I will accept the timing in my life today and in my past as being perfect.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 4

The great, good God looked down and smiled and counted each His loving child, for monk and Brahmin, Turk and Jew, loved Him through the gods they knew.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sharing with another human being is called communication. Sharing with God is called prayer. There are different manners of praying, different times of praying, and different names used for the Higher Power. We don't all need to pray the same way - but we all need prayer.

Prayer works. An endless river of examples flows through our meetings and reflects that truth: Prayer works. At a tense time, a fearful time, a hard or a confused time, a time of celebration or thanksgiving - someone prayed. God was sought, the mental and spiritual doors were opened with a simple, "Help me; be with me," and that presence was there.

As feeble and hesitant as our efforts at conscious contact may be, God will bring the party to us if we only invite Him.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 5

We do not remember days, we remember moments.

~Cesare Pavese

I'll never forget peeling potatoes very early one morning preparing for the arrival of twenty-five guests. "We're not just making breakfast," said my friend. "We're making memories."

I don't remember the rest of that day, but I do remember making hash browns and chatting with my friend while the morning was still dark. Laughter filled our crowded cabin as our friends arrived at dawn.

The friendships we develop in recovery change our lives. We can have parties, plan adventures, and take healthy risks with our safe friends. We can make memories with the people we love, too.

In recovery, our wild and fun days are far from over, but now we will remember them!
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me be lively and share the fun of life with others. I want to make happy memories with my family and friends.
Today's Action

I will think of a happy moment I shared with someone, and I will reach out to say, “Remember the time…?”

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

[bluidkiti]

March 6

God alone can finish.

~John Ruskin

We may have been brought up with the idea that we always had to finish something once begun - a meal, a painting, a task, a project, a letter. In many cases this went along with our notions of perfectionism: if something is going to be done, it must be done perfectly - the way Dad does it or the teacher or God. And so, especially if we liked to experiment a bit or dream, we felt we really didn't measure up.

But many of the greatest artists - Leonardo, Cézanne, Picasso - left work unfinished, as if to show the margin between impossible perfection and their own striving. What mattered was the effort and the process and the struggle. Each viewer of an unfinished picture could, by responding to the work’s creative urging with her his imagination, fulfill the process.

Our lives are never finished - at least until we can no longer add any final touches. We are always in a process of change and becoming. That is why we keep taking the Steps in our program over and over - to remind us that our lives are journeys, always in the act of unfolding.

I feel relaxed when I view my life as an ongoing creative process rather than as a perfect work of art.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 7

Act as If...

In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action.

~Aristotle

The only way to get what we need is to "Act as if" we have it. The key word for us is act.

We have discovered that knowledge often follows action rather than vice versa. When we fake it in our early days, we find ourselves making it in later days.

In the beginning, we are asked to "Act as if" we are following instructions, trusting the program, listening to sponsors, and coming to believe. The amazing thing is that soon we were doing those very things.

We were never able to think our way into recovery. Our minds created a tremendous amount of trouble for us. We needed to turn our minds down (not off). We soon discovered the difference between doing and thinking.

The key to "Acting as if" is faith. With faith, the promises will come true for me. The way to faith is through my fears. I turn fears over to my faith and simply "Act as if."

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

[bluidkiti]

March 8

God insists that we ask, not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking.

~Catherine Marshall

An omniscient God must know what we desire before we ask. God knows that what we really need most is reliance on God. And how do we develop reliance? Like most other things, by practicing.

If it weren't for the need to remind ourselves daily or hourly that all power flows from our Creator, we could just say a quick prayer at the beginning of each week, or each year, and be done with it. Surely God could fill our requests a year ahead of time. But getting our wishes granted isn’t the purpose of prayer. Getting to know God is the purpose.

I need to be in touch with my Creator every hour of the day.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 9

People have always wanted to talk to me about their problems. I guess I'm a good listener. Maybe I have something to contribute after all.

~JoAnn Reed

No one is without value in this life. Maybe we haven't discovered our unique purpose or special gifts, but we each have a place in the universe, or we wouldn't be here. Each of us can offer friends a valuable gift every day - we can listen. Messages from our Higher Power often come through the words of others. We perform a wonderful service for our companions by listening and by sharing our own experience and advice.

Rapt attention - giving it and receiving it - is perhaps the most valuable contribution any of us can make. Let's never underestimate the sacredness of listening.

I will keep my own mind quiet if a friend wants to share her concerns today. That way, my heart may be able to offer her the wisdom she needs.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 10

All life is an experiment.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we take a trip, we might plan it pretty carefully. We have expectations for what we will see, who we will visit, and what we will do. But the real purpose of a trip is to experience what happens while we follow our plans. We leave our routine of controlled and predictable days to enter another space where we will find novelty and the unpredictable. In fact, our whole life, from beginning to end, is a trip.

Once we accept that much of life is outside of our control, we can step aside. We make plans and work toward our highest goals. We take great pleasure in working toward our achievements. At the same time, the substance of life is not in controlling the outcomes but in responding to what happens along the way.

Today, I will be open and respond to what happens while I follow my plans.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 11

AA Thought for the Day

Sometimes we try too hard to get this program. It is better to relax and accept it. It will be given to us, with no effort on our part, if we stop trying too hard to get it. Sobriety can be a free gift of God, which He gives us by His grace when He knows we are ready for it. But we have to be ready. Then we must relax, take it easy, and accept the gift with gratitude and humility. We must put ourselves in God's hands. We must say to God: "Here am I and here are all my troubles. I've made a mess of things and can't do anything about it. You take me and all my troubles and do anything you want with me." Do I believe that the grace of God can do for me what I could never do for myself?
Meditation for the Day

Fear is the curse of the world. Many are our fears. Fear is everywhere. I must fight fear as I would a plague. I must turn it out of my life. There is no room for fear in the heart in which God dwells. Fear cannot exist where true love is or where faith abides. So I must have no fear. Fear is evil, but "perfect love casteth out all fear." Fear destroys hope, and hope is necessary for all of humanity.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have no fear. I pray that I may cast all fear out of my life.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 12

From harmony, from heavenly harmony,
This universal frame began...

~John Dryden

Our family is like a small orchestra. Each of us has an important part to play. To achieve harmony we tune in to how others are sounding. We recognize that every orchestra needs a conductor, a center for direction. We rely on our Higher Power for this support and guidance, and we realize that our family's music exists in time. It changes, it passes, and we begin a new song. Our music comes and goes. It is not carved in marble. It is a free expression of family love.

No one of us has to play alone, because we are an ensemble. The time for soloing comes later. Today we rejoice that we can play together.

How can my music add to the family's symphony today?

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

[bluidkiti]

March 13
Hatred is never anything but fear - if you feared no one, you would hate no one.

~Hugh Downs

On those occasions when we find the bigger man within, we are more generous in spirit toward others. But sometimes we think too much about what is wrong with others and how they ought to change. That is a form of hate. If we are searching for what we have power to change in our families, in our friendships, in the world, we can learn to be big enough to set aside our fears.

Do we bear ill will toward someone today? When we are honest with ourselves, do we feel a sense of fear in relation to this person? What are we really afraid of? Perhaps the same person fears us. When we can do something about our fear, the hatred melts with no further effort. Then we are in touch with the bigger man within.

I have the inner strength to face my fears today. I will not send them outward as hatred.

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

[bluidkiti]

March 14

Honesty

Until I got honest about my addiction to drugs and alcohol, my codependency, my workaholism, there was no hope that I would recover from any of these things. Honesty about the things that are harming us can come in fits and starts for some of us.

It starts with self-honesty, the inner knowing, sometimes accompanied by a sinking feeling, that the jig is up, coupled with the inner knowing that something has got to give, go, or change. Maybe you remember when that moment was for you. The moment that you got honest with yourself.

The other moment, equally powerful, is when we speak our truth aloud to someone else. Sometimes we get honest with a partner, another family member, a friend, a physician, or a therapist. Other times we share in a meeting full of strangers. Who did you get honest with, for the first time? It's also possible that you haven't had either of these moments of honesty yet. That's okay. Each in our own time.

Getting honest with ourselves and then getting honest with others are big steps.

Today's reading is from the book She Recovers Every Day: Meditations for Women*

[bluidkiti]

March 15

Debating the program

In school we may have joined in debates. They went on and on, and nobody ever had any answers. In our personal training grounds, the world of the streets, we often heard or participated in lengthy debates about the evils of our society. Of course, nothing ever changed.

Some people get clean and sober and then start debating about the Twelve Steps. The "answers" come to those who live the program, but such debate is of little value.

Am I living the program?

Higher Power, grant me the courage to take action and thus truly live the program.

Today I will put the Steps into action by...

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