Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - July

[bluidkiti]

July 20

Step by Step

"I had my first drink when I was 15 and my alcoholic potential had ripened me to the point of necessary escapism. I needed alcohol from that night on, and it in turn used me, ruling my life for three years.
"I never drank socially; I drank as often and as much as I could. My eventual goal was to drink myself to death. All my life, it seemed, was spent on the outside looking in. I had been unhappy, lonely and scared for so long that the discovery of liquor seemed to be the answer to all my problems." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Part II ("They Stopped in Time"), Ch 7 ("A Teenager's Story"), p 353.

Today ... out of the mouths of babes. This sufferer who crossed the threshold of alcoholism at age 15 and began recovery at 18 speaks to all of us on multiple levels. First, youth and even a relatively short drinking career do not shield us from alcoholism; second, if like this child we are drinking or drank as an "escape" or a solution "to all (our) problems," we have by clinical definition established the link between alcohol and addiction even if it is emotional or psychological. If I have any deep-seeded worry about my drinking or if I am desperately clawing for excuses to quiet others who have their worries, grant me the strength and honesty to heed the voices of warning. Their experience may be the lifeline I might not yet know I need. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

HUMILITY

The 12 Step way of life is humble, not necessarily meek

~ Anonymous ~

The picture many of us get of a humble person is someone afraid of their own shadow, whose self-image is so low they're afraid to stand up for themselves. We learn that this image of humility is not what is meant in the Program. We realize that the people who have stayed abstinent for some time are all humble.

For those who have made progress in the Program, humility is simply a clear recognition of what and who they are. They have gotten down to their own right size. Humility is understanding that they're worthwhile. It's the middle ground between the extremes of grandiosity and intense shame. They have a sincere desire to be and become the best they can be.

Today, I will remember that humility is not being meek. It's being me. Humility for me means staying my "right size."

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

Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where’s it going to end?

~ Tom Stoppard ~

Looking at the stars on a clear night or the vastness of the open sea gives us a sense of how small we are. It may feel frightening to contemplate—and at the same time comforting. What are we but a bit of earth sparked to life by a force we didn’t initiate? This rich mixture of fear, comfort, and awe is what we can call spirituality.

In our program of recovery, we are guided to a spiritual path. The very search for a sense of meaning is a spiritual quest. We are told to have faith in the God of our understanding, and the paradox is that God is beyond our understanding. God exceeds the confines of a human definition. When we can relax into that realization, we find comfort in the vastness and we focus on being the best kind of man we know how to be.

I can be at peace, knowing that what is eternal exceeds my understanding

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

I do not have to always be right!

~ Mary Zink ~

Where does the need to be right come from? No doubt from our youth and the shaming reprimands that were heaped on us by parents and teachers when we made mistakes. We mastered the idea that we weren’t worthy unless we knew everything and lived mistake-free lives. Of course this was Impossible; thus, we felt like failures most of the time. That is, until we discovered this program.

We are free at last. Free from the torment of trying to be perfect. Free from the torment of trying to know everything. Free from the torment of trying to control others against their will. Free from the agitation that came all too easily even in minor disagreements. We feel as if we have been born anew, and we have, more or less.

We are right part of the time, but the burden of having to be right in order to be at all is gone. And that has made all the difference.

I will be right part of the time today. I’ll let others be right their fair share too.

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

I need to remember HALT

Suddenly I feel very irritated. Why? I don't know. I know I'm upset, but I don't know what to do. I feel out of control. I feel like using. This has happened before and I don't know what's going on.

When I have these sudden changes in mood, I need to recall the tried and true slogan, HALT (Hungry Angry, Lonely, Tired). Several times I've heard about this tool for staying in touch with four important feelings. When I sense a change in mood, which often happens to me these days, I need to ask myself whether I am feeling especially hungry, angry lonely, or tired. If I know what I'm feeling, I feel less out of control, and I can figure out what to do next—even if it's nothing.

I will make a HALT flash card and carry it with me as a reminder.

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

Is recovery part of Glasnost, too?

~ Earle P. ~

Although the Twelve Steps were conceived in America, their benefits are being felt worldwide. There are now groups all over the world, even the Soviet Union. In fact, the Soviet government has helped encourage the growth of Twelve Step recovery there. Alcoholism has been a terrible health problem in the Soviet Union and destroyed many lives.

It is gratifying to think how much help is now available worldwide. Treatment centers, Twelve Step programs, and support for recovery are springing up everywhere. It thrills us to think of our partners in recovery in cities and countries around the world, not just around the corner. We may never meet in person, but we find great joy in knowing that our spiritual counterparts are all over the world.

Today I am grateful that support groups are now available in most countries of the world. I am thankful that recovery is now virtually worldwide.

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

I have had, and may still have, a thousand friends, as they are called, in life, who are like one’s partners in the waltz of this world—not much remembered when the ball is over.

~ Lord Byron ~

In the online world, you may have dozens of friends through connections facilitated by social networks and forums. Chances are you have never met these friends. You could be standing behind one in a grocery store line and never know that the two of you have been exchanging daily e-mails. While your online friends may give helpful advice and may “be there” for you whenever you are online, it is important to distinguish between those who are true friends and those who have “friended” you.

True friends are there in times of misfortune as well as times of gladness. They can be helpful when you are sick or need a hug. They may understand you better than you understand yourself. They love you, even when you do not love yourself. They will tell you the truth, even when you do not want to hear it.

While your online community can be of value to your life, just be aware of how much time you devote to those people so you do not take away time and attention from your true friends.

I will limit my online friends so I have more time to devote to my true friends.

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

Sickness tells us what we are.

~ Proverb ~

Our lives are made up of many things that define who we are. Our salaries and savings tell how rich we are. Our clothes tell the colors and styles we like. The cars we drive show our tastes and transportation needs. Our homes reflect our family size and the type of furniture we like.

But those are outer, material reflections. We also have inner, emotional reflections that show who we are. Our feelings reflect whether we are happy or sad. Our muscles show whether we are relaxed or stressed. Our health reflects whether we're taking good care of ourselves or not.

Many of our stressful or emotional times are accurately reflected by a cold or flu, or negative thinking. The sick feeling we may have inside about things we are dealing with can erupt into outward signs of sickness. It's okay to be sick, but it's important to look at the sickness and come in touch with what may be going on inside. Our body defines us and expresses this definition in many ways. By noticing all expressions, we are that much more in touch with who we are.

Tonight I can observe myself and the things that define me

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

Making a decision

We made a decision, a decision to try this program because all else had failed. (We still doubted it would work, but we were desperate.) This decision was made mostly on hope and a belief. At first, it did not reflect belief in a Higher Power but belief in other people.

When we make a decision to do whatever is necessary, our belief can grow. It can grow to a point where no power on earth can shake our foundation. And from this foundation we can, in turn, offer hope to others in need. We can plant in them the same seeds of belief that made it possible for us to be clean and sober.

Is my belief growing?

Higher Power, help me stay strong in the program and help others who need to establish roots.

Today I will renew my commitment to the program and its members by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

God is not some kind of divine bellhop, to be summoned to the service of our desires or needs.

~ ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL ~

Newcomer

At a meeting about the Seventh Step, I heard the word "humility” over and over. I’m uncomfortable at the thought of people humiliating themselves; haven’t we been through enough? I’m proud of my time in recovery, and I’m learning to be proud of myself.

Sponsor

I’m glad to hear that you’ve become skeptical about humiliation: degradation, disgrace, and shame have no place in our sober lives. Humility, though some of us have confused it with humiliation, is something else entirely. For me, humility is the simple recognition that we’re not our own Higher Power. We don’t always know what’s best for us or for others. We can’t order our Higher Power around, then despair when we don’t get what we want when we want it.

Step Seven suggests that we continue cultivating the attitude of surrender that we assumed in Steps One, Two, and Three. It reminds us that we don’t do everything by ourselves. We are willing to accept help from others and from the Spirit within that wants us to heal.

In Step Seven, we ask that characteristics and behaviors that stand in the way of our sobriety be removed. We don’t demand instantaneous healing, but we do invite the process of change to begin by acknowledging our desire for it and our need for help.

Today, I’m strong enough in recovery to be willing to ask for help.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

In all great emergencies, people instinctively turn to the man who has complete control of all his faculties. Few indeed are the difficulties that we can fight our way out of, yet few indeed are the difficulties that we cannot think our way out of.

Confusion is unknown in the mind that is cool, calm and collected.

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

Let Nothing Disturb Me

Let nothing disturb me,
Nothing frighten me.
All things are passing;
Patient endurance
Attains all things,
Whoever has God lacks nothing
If I only have God,
I have more than enough.

~ Adapted from "St. Teresa's Bookmark" by St. Teresa of Avila ~

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

BEARING FRUIT

Read Matthew 7:15-20

If man really were left without a simple practical test of religious truth, he would assuredly be in a sad plight; but happily this is not the case. Jesus, the most profound, and at the same time the most simple and practical teacher the world has ever known, has provided for this need, and has given us a universally applicable test for truth. It is as simple and direct as the acid test for gold. It is the simple question—Does the truth work in our lives? This test is so staggeringly simple that most clever people have passed it over. Truth heals the body, purifies the soul, reforms the sinner, solves difficulties, pacifies strife. There is no such thing as undemonstrated understanding. If you wish to know how you really stand spiritually, look about you at your environment, beginning with the body. There can be nothing in the soul that is not demonstrated sooner or later in the outer, and there can be nothing in the outer that does not find some correspondence in the inner. By their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:20).

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

Todays the Day

The only time you fail is the last time you try.

~ Anonymous ~

My friend Judith worked as scuba diver for Mel Fisher, the indefatigable explorer who searched for a sunken Spanish galleon off the Florida keys. For 16 years, Fisher and his crew probed relentlessly for the fabled Atocha, going through many investors' capital to find a treasure that was speculative at best. The crew adopted the motto, "Today's the Day!" and wore T-shirts proclaiming this affirmation in huge letters. Day after day, year after year, the crew went out, motivated only by the hope that one day today would be the day.

Then, at 1:O5 P.M. on July 20, 1985, Fisher's marine radio in Key West, Florida, carried the voice of Fisher's son Kane calling from the vessel Dauntless: "Put away the charts. We've got the Mother Lode!" Thus, history was made as Fisher's crew unearthed over $4OO million worth of gold, jewelry, and buried treasure.

If you have labored long and hard for a project you believe in, don't give up. At any moment, you could have a breakthrough that will make all the difference in your life and your world. Richard Attenborough struggled for 18 years to get his film Gandhi produced, and he went on to win numerous Academy Awards. Thomas Edison went through 50,000 experiments before he perfected the first alkaline battery. All of these productions made the world a better place for many, and perhaps your project will do the same.

I pray to hold firmly with my vision. I am open to a major breakthrough.

I will do my part and trust God to take care of the details.