Recovery A B C's

[MajestyJo]

A is for Action. Action follows thought. That is why we need to turn our thinking over to our Higher Power. I often have to take action to change my attitude; or change my attitude so I can take action.

The action here is take time to smell the flowers.

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[MajestyJo]

B is for Blessings. They are too numerous to count. The fact that I woke up in the morning and better able to see more sunshine, will aid in my healing.

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[MajestyJo]

C is for Clarity. I will pray and ask for clarity as my disease is one of perception. I will pray and ask for God's Will for me is in today.

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[MajestyJo]

D is for Divine Orderly Good. I like to think of the fact that this is a program of reflection. It doesn't matter if your belief of God is different from what others believe their God to be. It is your God. God/Dog - Good Orderly Direction from a bunch of alcoholics and drug addicts who share with us the Divine Orderly Good and not so good in their lives.

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[MajestyJo]

E is for Easy Does It. So often we forget that the slogan is followed by"...but do it!" Just because we are taking it easy, doesn't mean we don't do. It is not giving us permission to procrastinate. I need to remember this when it comes to my laundry. I have too many clothes and even though they are not in style, they are clean, and get worn because I haven't wash my today clothes or I bring out the lady and wear a dress or a long skirt. It can still get awkward when the lady comes out, I can still trip up with my tongue and deny the fact that I am a lady and I am trying to change old habits.

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[MajestyJo]

F is for Fast. Don't be in a big hurry. Don't rush threw the Steps. This is not a race to be run. Don't go to fast. It takes us 11 months to detox. We can't honestly work the Steps until our mind is clear and we can get honest with ourselves.

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[MajestyJo]

G is for Growth. We need to grow in the program and not allow ourselves to be complacent and when we run into difficult times, it is good to go back to basics. Go to a meeting, call your sponsor, go on to the next step or go back and do another one again if you don't have the clarity and faith to go on.

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[MajestyJo]

H is for Hesitate and Meditate. Stop and think before you speak or take action. Not an easy slogan to live by, but in today, I do try, although some may think I don't. Just imagine what would come out of my mouth, if I didn't hesitate and take time to turn my speech, my thoughts and my actions over to my Higher Power every day.

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[dwmoeller]

I is for Integrity

Learn to walk your talk !

[MajestyJo]

J is for Just for Today. The last letter of each word spells out T R Y! That is all we are asked to do is try. The failure is in the not trying. Failure is not about us meeting our expectations. Those we need to lower so they are reachable.

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[dwmoeller]

K is for Know

Know that no matter what your problems, someone's had them before. Don't be afraid to share, as a problem shared is one half solved.

[MajestyJo]

L is for Love. Something to be shared, but also given to oneself. Spread it around. Pass it forward.

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[MajestyJo]

M is for Make the most of things. When we stay in the positive, we are sure to have a good day. Living in the moment, brings us much closer to our HP.

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[MajestyJo]

N is for New. When we look at each day as a new beginning, we can try to learn from our mistakes of the past, and practice applying the principles to our life. I would like to think, what I do in today, makes for a better tomorrow. If I approach each day as a newcomer, I am more open to learning, getting honest, and willing to share with others.

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[MajestyJo]

O is for Outside. For most of my life, I felt like I was outside looking in. As my disease progressed, I stayed inside and didn't go out. Isolation is part of my disease. I need to go out into the community and to my meetings in order to maintain my sobriety.

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[dwmoeller]

P is for Practice

Practice rigorous honesty with yourself and with others. It is one of the keys to sobriety.

[MajestyJo]

Q is for Quit. Quit beating yourself up. Feed yourself affirmations until you believe them. Remember, God doesn't make junk. He forgives you, forgive yourself.

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[MajestyJo]

R is for Relationships. We need to be complete and whole within ourselves and not look to others to supply our needs. We need to love ourselves. We need to affirm our worth and validate ourselves, and not look to others to fulfill us.

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[MajestyJo]

S is for Serenity. For me it was a foreign entity in my life before recovery. Thanks to this program, I got faith that the program would work for me, obtained faith in the God of my understanding, and through Him, I learned to have faith in myself.

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[MajestyJo]

T is for Truth. I must find my own truth and walk it. Saying one thing and doing another leads others to not trust me. Trust is something that has to be earned. I had to give people time to trust me after I had broken so many promises.

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[MajestyJo]

U is for Understanding. When we come to an understand of who God is to us, we learn to understand ourselves better. We learn to understand where others are coming from.

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[MajestyJo]

V is for Vision. Have a vision for what you want to accomplish in recovery. Do you want to go back to school? Do you want to change jobs? Do you need to take a holiday? Do you need to change sponsors? What do you need to grow in your recovery, think big, don't limit your God by having narrow vision and a closed mind.

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[dwmoeller]

W is for Wisdom.

There is wisdom in the rooms of AA meetings. Listen and learn. Share from your experience and hope and strength.

[MajestyJo]

X is for X-Ray. X-Ray our heart, What would we find there. Would we find love and tolerance. Compassion and empathy toward others. It has to begin with me.

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[MajestyJo]

Y is for Yellow. Yellow is a sign of caution. Be watchful for complacency, hidden secrets that can take you back out, fear of Step 4. If you fear Step 4, go back and do Step 3 again. How can we know what to change if we don't know what is there.
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[MajestyJo]

Z is for Zip. When I was using, I had zip in my life, mainly because I was mindful of zip and didn't care about zip, unless it was for my Higher Good.

When our score cards read zero, then we found recovery. We didn't know we were running on empty and needed recovery long before we found it.

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[MajestyJo]

A is for Action. Reach out and connect with others. A smile, a simple hello, and/or a hug if they are open to it. I like to say, "Do you do hugs?""

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[MajestyJo]

B is for Blessing. Many blessing are available as we stay clean and sober and work a program of recovery. Each time I sense one, I try to say thank you and not take them for granted. Blessing come in all shapes and sizes. Open your eyes and your heart to receive them.

As it says in Step 9, we will be amazed before we are half way through the Step. We will see the promises coming true in our lives. All we need is they key of willingness to change old habits and patterns.

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[MajestyJo]

C is for Caring. Caring for yourself. Caring for others. Caring for Mother Earth's many blessings.

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[dwmoeller]

D is for Daily Meditation.

Keep yourself grounded by reading a daily meditation such as Daily Reflections.

[MajestyJo]

E is for Each day is a new beginning. It gives me a chance to right any wrongs I might have made, but most of all, be grateful for friends and family and appreciate each one.

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[MajestyJo]

F is Forgive. We forgive the person, we can't always forgive the act. We can ask for forgiveness, but if it is not given, all we can do is accept the fact and perhaps we can ask later. Not everyone has a program. Not everyone who has program is forgiven.

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[MajestyJo]

G is for God. We asked to come to an understanding of God. Who God is to you and build a working relationship with your God. You don't have to call your Higher Power God. It can be anything as long as it is not you.

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[MajestyJo]

H is for Higher Power. So grateful for my Higher Power. Thanksgiving should be all year round.

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[MajestyJo]

I is for Inspiration. Be an inspiration to others. When they look at you, do they see recovery? Do they want what you have? Isolation is part of our disease, it is not a recovery tool. Who inspires you? What inspires you? For me, anyone who is staying clean and sober in today.

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[dwmoeller]

J is for Just

Just for today I choose life by choosing recovery!

[MajestyJo]

K is for Know. Get to know your Higher Power. What does He/She/It mean to you? Know that you are loved, cared for, and the guidance, strength, and what ever else you need, will be there. As the song says, "To know HIm, is to Love Him."

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[MajestyJo]

K is for Keep Coming Back. I prefer to say, "Keep coming, so you don't have to come back." Not going out to use and coming back to recovery, because you just may not make it back. Keep coming to this site and read the daily posts and keep coming to meetings. Keep calling your sponsor and working the Steps. Recovery works if you keep working for it.

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[MajestyJo]

L is for Love. Keep the Love alive in your life. Do that my sharing your Love with others. Watch it multiply. What we give, we get back.

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[MajestyJo]

M is for Memory. Mine is kind of short, but I know that it is important for me to remember when. I can't forget where I came from. I can't forget what got me to where I am in today. Memory can be failing, but my God never fails and has a way of getting my attention when I start to get off track and go back into that self-will run riot.

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[MajestyJo]

N is for Now. Stay in the now. That is where you will find your Higher Power. You can't connect with Him/Her if you are absorbed by the past and/or projecting into the future. Now is where life is happening.

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[dwmoeller]

P is for Progress

Progress is made One Day At A Time, not 10 years in one day.

[MajestyJo]

Q is for Quiet. In the quiet, connect with your Higher Power. Empty the thoughts in your head. You may mistake your internal chatter for Good Orderly Direction. Quit playing God with your life and that of others.

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[MajestyJo]

R is for Respect. Respect yourself and others will respect you. Respect the program, share it with others, not as you would have it be, but how it is written. The Traditions are great guidelines as to how to live on our recovery road.

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[MajestyJo]

S is for Serenity. Peace of mind. Had a strange day early in recovery, it seemed very odd. I phoned my NA sponsor/spiritual advisor and explained how I felt. He said, "Do you think you just might have found some serenity?" I didn't know. Hadn't knowingly felt that way before. If you haven't got a sponsor, get one.

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[MajestyJo]

T is for Truth. All I can do is speak my own truth. Through a connection to my Higher Power, I have learned to trust myself through His Love and Guidance. It may not be what others believe, but that is okay.

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[MajestyJo]

U is for Use. Don't use people places and things to escape your reality. Utilize people, places and things to show you a better way of life. Just for today I choose not to use.

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[MajestyJo]

V is for Valor. Put up a good fight. You only get out of recovery what you put into it. We don't have to have bad days any more. We can pick up the tools of recovery and only have bad moments in a day.

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[MajestyJo]

W is for Wait. Wait for your Higher Power's Direction. If He bring you to it, He will see you through it. Wait for your feeling to pass. Just because you have a feeling, doesn't mean you have to act on it.

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[MajestyJo]

X is for X-Ray. Look within and see what is still lurking in the shadows. What are we holding onto that we need to let go of. Be eXtra mindful of what is new, sometimes grows old and no longer serves us. Be eXtra mindful of things that you have let go of and need to nurture and install back into your routine in today.

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[MajestyJo]

Y is for Yellow. Yellow means caution. Remember this is a one day at a time program. We continue to work the Steps and apply them to our life. Complacency can lead to relapse.

People say, "WhY does this happen to me?" WhY not you. Life is for living, life happens. We have the tools of recovery to use when 'stuff' hits the fan.

http://angelwinks.ca/images/nostalgicpod/nostalgicpod24.jpg

[MajestyJo]

Z is for Zip. Put a zip into your Step. You have a second chance at life. Travel along life's recovery road and look for the blessings along the way.

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[MajestyJo]

A is for Action. It is important for me to follow up a thought with action, whether it is to do or not to do, I have to come to a decision. We are not asked to do anything in Step 3, but make a decision as to whether we are going to turn our day over to the care of our Higher Power. Then we can following it with the Third Step prayer and offer ourselves to our God, to make us a vessel according to His Will, then we can leave our actions in His Hands. Not sure that makes sense, just typed it as it the words came to me.

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[MajestyJo]

B is for the Bountiful gifts of recovery. When we work the Steps great things come our way, like the 12 Promises that come as a result of working Step 9. They are the difference between sober and sobriety. Like these two darling, to cute to pass up. It is my morning.

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[MajestyJo]

C is for Cling. Cling to the program. It worked for me, it will work for you. Go to meetings, get a home group and a sponsor, work the steps and apply them to your life. When you get too comfortable, go back to basics.

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[MajestyJo]

D is for One Day at a Time. Each day is a new beginning, so make the best of it. All we are asked to do is try to be the best person we can be in today. Progress not perfection. Perfectionism is part of my disease, it is not a recovery tool.

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[MajestyJo]

E is for Each. Each of us is unique in the fact that no one else has walked in our shoes. If you keep coming to meetings, you will hear your story. Identify, don't compare. Each must walk his path and find a program that works for them.

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[MajestyJo]

F is for Fix. The program of recovery is not a quick fix program. We don't fix each other, we support each other as we work on ourselves.

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[MajestyJo]

G is for Gratitude. Grateful for friends and family, in and outside of the rooms of recovery.

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[MajestyJo]

H is for H.O.W. How the program works, honesty, open-mindedness and willingness.

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[MajestyJo]

I is for Identify. Identify, don't compare. We are on the same recovery road. We didn't all take the same road to get here, but we used for the same reasons.

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[MajestyJo]

J is for Just for Today. Just for today, all I am asked to do is try. Try to be the best person I can be in today. Sometimes I fall short of my expectation that I put on myself, try not to live up to the expectations of others, have enough problems with keeping up with my own. I know that my God's Love is unconditional, even when my actions and thoughts fall short of who He would have me be.

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[MajestyJo]

K is for Kindness. I wish you love and kindness.

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[MajestyJo]

L is for Leave. Leave your worries in the past, forget them or turn them over to your HP. Leave things up to your God. We can take them there and forget them. They are in Good Hands.

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[dwmoeller]

P is for PACE

P ositive
A ttitudes
C hange
E verything

[dwmoeller]

Q is for Quiet time.

Give yourself some quiet time each day to reflect, meditate, pray, read daily readings or the Big Book or the Bible. We need to take time in our busy life to unwind, relax, refocus.

[dwmoeller]

R is for Read the Big Book. It tell you How it Works!

[dwmoeller]

S is for Seek

Seek knowledgeable help when troubled and/or otherwise. It doesn't mean you are weak if you seek help...it is a sign of courage!

[MajestyJo]

T is for Thought. I believe a thought is a prayer. What you put out you get back.
I have a thinking disease. I am I in my dis-ease, or am I thinking recovery.

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[MajestyJo]

U is for Up. Pick up the phone. Call your sponsor. Get phone numbers of members in your group. You help them as much as they help you.

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[MajestyJo]

V is for Very. I am very, very happy to have you as a part of my recovery. I am very grateful that my God put you in my path.

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[MajestyJo]

W is for Willing. Many times it is about praying for the willingness to be willing to change.

The butterfly means transformation. The hummingbirds mean joy. When we change the old, to make room for the new, we experience new joy in our life.

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[MajestyJo]

X is for Xenophobia. Fear of strangers and aliens. We alcoholics and addicts suffer from great paranoia. Often fearful of our own shadows and our magic magnifying mind can make mountains out of molehills.

Isolation is part of our disease. We need to turn our fears over to our Higher Power and ask that they be removed. When we put our faith in Him, we no longer have to act out in our dis-ease.

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[MajestyJo]

Y is for You. Without you, there is no me. We can all learn from each other. It is a one day at a time program. If you woke up before 10 am this morning, you have more recovery than I have.

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[MajestyJo]

Z is for Zest. We put everything into our recovery. We enjoy what we do, we hope you do too.

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