Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - February

[bluidkiti]

February 20

Step by Step

Today, in these 24 Hours put aside MY wants and hear the cry of someone whose need is greater, whose anguish cuts deeper and whose fears are more haunting than mine. My prayers and hopes will be for THAT person because HIS needs might, just might, be more important than mine. And in trying to put myself aside in favor of someone else this day, pray that I might experience a fundamental change, a change toward compassion, empathy and selflessness. But in achieving that, my motive hasn’t really been altogether selfless – I may have progressed to my first or another spiritual awakening by attaining humility in the knowledge that my own fears, insecurities and problems probably are not as heavy as someone else’s. Today, someone whose burdens are heavier than mine will have my prayers. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

THE FIFTH PROMISE

The feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear.

~ Big Book ~

When we were deep within the bewilderment and agony of our addiction, we often moaned, “What’s the use? Nobody cares.” We considered ourselves “lost people.” We thought we were incapable of ever doing anything worthwhile for anyone, including ourselves. Shame and guilt made us wallow in self-pity, but we never blamed ourselves. It was always those people, places, and things out there that made us victims.

We complained, “They did it to me. I’m not to blame. If it hadn’t been for bad luck…. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

In recovery, we often refer to self-pity as the PLOMs (“poor little old me”). We learn to recognize and avoid the PLOMs by working our Program and by focusing on positive things.

When I surrendered to my addiction, I was always sure I had been betrayed by others. I was sorry for myself. Now the promise has come true. I am useful and free of self-pity.

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

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

The wisdom of hope in the face of trouble is a fundamental principle of the spiritual path. We expect to have problems, and we have already come through many of them. Our hopes aren’t dashed by them. Our awakening in the spiritual life means that even in the darkest night, we can have an infinite expectation that dawn always comes. We have problems, we respond to them, and things get better.

Our spirituality shows us how to have serenity in the face of risk. We accept the darkness because it is inevitable, but we are not defeated by it. We rise above it with our trust in our Higher Power to lead us toward the inevitable light.

Today my awakening means I trust in a Higher Power to lead me to a better future.

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

A woman who maintains fitness in her life has earned a Ph.D. in self-esteem.

~ Anne Marie Nelson ~

The word fitness covers a lot of ground. It’s related not only to how we take care of our bodies, but also to how we eat, think, behave, plan for the day ahead, and pray. Every avenue of our lives is either fit or it isn’t.

Our Twelve Step program can serve as our manual for fitness. For some of us, the decision to exercise and eat right is an easy one. Decisions about how we think and how we behave, however, may be more difficult and require more discipline. Fortunately, the Fourth and Tenth Steps keep us in touch with our individual characteristics. We can make conscious choices about which ones to exercise in every situation.

My fitness today is within my grasp. The Steps will anchor me.

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

I continue to benefit from treatment

I couldn’t stop worrying. I couldn’t relax. I could hardly get out of the house at times. I was stuck in a pattern, feeling anxious and fearful, and using alcohol to feel better (although it was not much help).

But what did help me to get unstuck and feel better was going through treatment. Once I learned about my emotional and substance abuse problems, my anxiety diminished and I was able to stop using alcohol. These days I am starting to do things differently and to do different things. I even take a (healthy) risk now and then. The freedom of choice is a great relief.

I will meditate on the changes in my life and the expanding options that have come about through treatment.

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

The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.

~ Charles Darwin ~

What rules us? Possessions? Passions? Mistakes? Early in recovery, we may have been surprised to discover just how much these things rule us.

Maybe we criticize ourselves mercilessly, unable to forgive ourselves for the smallest error. Maybe we’re people pleasers or slaves to perfection, and feel worthless when we fall short of another’s expectations or fail to work the perfect program of recovery. Some of us, now financially stable, have become slaves to things, wanting and acquiring until we find ourselves again on debt’s doorstep, or maybe we’ve become rigid with self-discipline, unable to loosen up and enjoy life.

The demons of self-doubt, self-criticism, fear, and rigidity all show their faces early in recovery. Struggling with them is part of the process of change. The struggle doesn’t mean we’re not making progress or that we’re slipping back into old ways, but that we’re facing our problems and taking responsibility for our lives.

We can learn from these struggles. Asking ourselves, “Who owns me today?” can give us the best answer of all: “Just me.”

Today help me learn to find and keep my freedom. Help me be my own self.

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

People are like stained-glass windows. They glow and sparkle when the sun is shining on them. But, if the sun goes down, their true beauty is revealed only if they have a light from within.

~ Anonymous ~

A Native American ceremony used for spiritual renewal in the winter months, when darkness comes early, encouraged the return of the sun through connection with the Great Spirit.

At night, to the steady beat of drums, the tribe would gather in a circle around a fire. One at a time, members would sing, chat, or speak of a wish for the future, a desire for the present, or a memory from the past. Each member would toss into the fire an object created for the ceremony.

The voices of the tribe would join in as the object burned and the speaker prayed, asking what needed to be done to make a dream come true, what new strengths could be developed to let go of a past memory, and what could be done in the present to reach a desire. When all members had taken a turn in the ceremony, the tribe would unite in a dance to the beat of the drums.

I trust that there is a light within me. Today I will pray to my Higher Power to release the darkness and replenish this light.

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

The strength you’ve insisted on assigning to others is actually within yourself.

~ Lisa Alther ~

If we think right now about people we admire and respect, we’ll usually find that their enviable qualities involve a certain degree of strength. So we admire these people, wishing we, too, could be as strong as they are.

Yet each of us has inner strength. This strength defines us as we are and makes us different. We cannot share the same amount of strength in all areas of our life—mental, physical, and spiritual—because we are all different.

Let us think back over the events of today and find our inner strengths. We may work well with people; we may be a good employee or student. As we look around our homes, we may find further clues—handiwork, a tasty meal, flourishing plants, a set of weights, a shelf full of books, a completed crossword puzzle. If we spend less time envying another’s strengths and look instead to ourselves, we will have more time and energy to develop our own inner strengths.

What are my inner strengths? How can I make them even stronger?

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

Having realistic expectations

Sometimes we expect much too much of people and things. We will never be happy if we expect our doctor to work instant cures or if we blame our teacher for what we failed to learn. We need to examine what’s realistic to expect of others and what we are responsible for ourselves. It’s the same with the program: We cannot judge its effectiveness by whether we are happy all the time.

The program will be perfect only when we are perfect. We must let go of our childish all-or-nothing attitude and become more realistic. After all, when were we ever happy all the time?

Do I expect too much?

Higher Power, when I am unhappy with the program, help me be honest with myself about where the problem lies.

Today I will examine my expectations about

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

There are moments when everything goes well; don’t be frightened, it won’t last.

~ JULES RENARD ~

Newcomer

Yesterday, I had a pretty good day. I woke up feeling rested after a night’s sleep. The weather was just the way I like it. I enjoyed the food I ate. I finished the work I was supposed to do. I went to a meeting and was asked to share. It was a little bit like being in love—with recovery! Today, nothing is going my way. I woke up late. I feel rushed and pressured. This weather depresses me. A good friend misunderstood everything I said. I showed up at a meeting, and nobody even said hello.

Sponsor

When I was active in my addiction, dramatic highs and lows were the pattern of my life. I needed my drug of choice to manage my moods. Even without it, I may continue to experience mood swings. Recovery doesn’t happen in a day, a week, a period of months; it’s a gradual, ongoing process. Just as consistent rest and good nutrition restore my body to health and balance over time, consistent use of the tools of the program helps put me on an even keel mentally and spiritually. As I maintain new, sober habits, the off days have less power to throw me. Sometimes I even remember to laugh at myself or to reach out and help another human being. We choose not to take self-prescribed mood changers today; cultivating a sense of humor and helping out at meetings are among the “legal” mood changers that work, when we remember to use them.

Today, I don’t expect to have it made. I accept the unique challenges of this day as if they were gifts. I am consistent in using the tools of recovery I’ve been given, no matter what.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

So many times we hear people say, “Don’t preach to me about God. He has no time for the likes of me.” It is hard for us alcoholics to conceive of a God, whom we have gone out of our way to alienate, who has time for the likes of us—yet we know that he does have time for us and has demonstrated this fact in hundreds of cases, just as though He had nothing else in the world to do.

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

1) Every alcoholic’s favorite brand: More!

2) Forgiveness of others is a gift to yourself.

3) The more you have, the more you want.

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

Reliance on God

O Higher Power,
Never let me think
that I can stand by myself,
and not need You.

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

WITH ALL SAILS SET

God intended us to have dominion over our lives, to be the captains of our souls.

Of course, in the ship of life, you cannot make port unless all sails are set. You must pursue the spiritual life wholeheartedly. You cannot expect to reach port if you are faithful in prayer and meditations for a time, and then for a time you forget God.
You are the captain of your soul when you can say with Jesus,

I and my Father are one (John 10:30).

. . . the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10).

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

Homey Don’t Play That

It’s a funny thing about life; if you accept anything but the very best, you will get it.

~ W. Somerset Maugham ~

The hit television show In Living Color featured an endearing clown named Homey who refused to do anything that would make him look silly. When the kids in Homey’s audience asked him, “When will your baggy pants fall down?” Homey made a sour face and told them bluntly, “Homey don’t play that.” When the youngsters beseeched him, “Let’s see you slip on the banana peel, Homey!” he tartly declared, “I don’t think so.”

Homey unknowingly taught a supremely important metaphysical principle: We never need to demean ourselves to be socially acceptable; it is not necessary to give other people pleasure at our expense. When friends, co-workers, or authority figures ask us to violate our integrity or peace, we cannot afford to dishonor our spirit.

Every challenge is an opportunity to choose our identity If you do not know your worth, you will accept and stay in conditions that deny the light you are and the happiness you deserve. If you remember that you deserve only love, you will accept the good that comes to you and categorically reject all else. The next time you are asked to make yourself small, remember that “Homey Don’t Play That.”

Help me honor what You created me to be.

Established in peace, I live to my full potential.