Today's Thought - June

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June 1

Control

Many of us have been trying to keep the whole world in orbit with sheer and forceful application of mental energy.

What happens if we let go, if we stop trying to keep the world orbiting and just let it whirl? It’ll keep right on whirling. It’ll stay right on track with no help from us. And we’ll be free and relaxed enough to enjoy our place on it.

Control is an illusion, especially the kind of control we’ve been trying to exert. In fact, controlling gives other people, events, and diseases, such as alcoholism, control over us. Whatever we try to control does have control over us and our life.

I have given this control to many things and people in my life. I have never gotten the results I wanted from controlling or trying to control people. What I received for my efforts is an unmanageable life, whether that unmanageability was inside me or in external events.

In recovery, we make a trade-off. We trade a life that we have tried to control, and we receive in return something better—a life that is manageable.

Today, I will exchange a controlled life for one that is manageable.

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

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June 2

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.

~W. T. Grenfell

Joy, like happiness and freedom, is a major prize of recovery. And like these other two conditions, joy eludes those who seek it directly. It is a result of, and dependent on, something else.

Joy is a secondary effect of a primary action. When we create an environment that supports and encourages someone else, we find joy in the doing. There may be no more valuable human enterprise than lightening someone else’s load, leading someone who’s lost to the safe road, or extending a hand to someone who has fallen.

Such opportunities present themselves daily to recovering people. At every meeting, we’re in touch with people who greatly need the counsel, wisdom, and example of those who have made a decision about the past, have left behind what was, and are creating sweet new days as they walk the path of recovery.

If we hope to know joy, we must share what we have.

Today, I will pass along the kindness that has been shown me.

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

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June 3

Conceit spoils the greatest genius…and the great charm of power is modesty.

~Louisa May Alcott

Addiction does bad things to our egos. We see ourselves as very different from others. Either we think we are better, with puffed-up egos, or we think we are worse than others, feeling sorry for ourselves. Either way, the rules don’t apply to us, of course, because we are special. The Big Book says that the early members of AA realized that they were pretty self?centered, and that was a big part of the problem for them. It’s a big part of the problem for most of us in recovery today, too. It seems to go with addiction.

We must get real about who we are and what we have to offer others. We need to accept that life doesn’t revolve around us. Rather we are here to work with others, with our talents, and with love to make life better and more meaningful for all of us. That is how we make a real difference in this world.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, please help me learn more about my talents, my strengths, and my purpose for being here. What part of your work would you like me to do today?
Today's Action

Today I will learn about my gifts. I will ask four people who know me in different parts of my life this question: “What positive thing do I bring when I join a group of people?”

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

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June 4

If they try to rush me, I always say, “I’ve only got one other speed—and it’s slower.”

~Glenn Ford

We tend to feel ourselves under pressure to perform, to produce, to excel. But pressure makes us feel rushed, and we become careless with ourselves and with others. We miss seeing and enjoying the small, simple things in life. We get things and people out of focus.

Pressure can come from inside, too—from our shame and sense of unworthiness. Then we find it difficult to look the world in the eye because of our secretive lives. We may feel we have to keep moving in order to prevent ourselves from assessing the true nature of our addiction and the harm it did to ourselves and others.

But now we know we can slow down and take each day, each hour, and minute as it comes. By slowing down, we learn to see the world more clearly and enjoy the company of others. We do have time to get to know ourselves and reach out to others. The reward is a deeper, quieter, lovelier life.

Time is not an enemy to be conquered, but part of the rhythm of life. Each day I try to slow down and live.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart, Daily Meditations for Men and Women Recovering from Sex Addiction

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June 5

Listening

Before engaging your mouth, put your mind in gear.

~Anonymous

Our world is full of speechmakers who would serve better if they learned the importance of listening. The ability to hear is stressed within our group. It is true that we owe it to fellow members to tell the valuable lessons we learn while dealing with reality. But by listening, we can find truth from outside ourselves, too. Old-timers remind us to “take the cotton out of our ears and put it in our mouth.”

An old proverb says, “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.” Another tells us, “Find a teacher and you find a friend.” When we learn to be attentive, we continue to be students long after our school years are over. Even when we read, we can listen well to truths.

One gift of being a good listener is to hear unexpectedly some truth I may have been told but was not ready to hear.

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

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June 6

True denial is a powerful protective device.

~A Course in Miracles

Denial has gotten a bad reputation in recovery circles. One of the greatest obstacles to recovery from addiction is denial. Who would seek help for an illness that doesn’t exist? Many of us resisted help, suffered needlessly, and caused others to suffer while we went on denying that anything was wrong.

But sometimes denial can be a good thing, especially when it comes to fear. When we are afraid of anything, we are saying it has the power to hurt us. We give fear power by believing in it. But if God is for us, who can truly hurt us? Our fears are of our own making. When we deny the ability of any ungodly thought to bring us down, we are using denial properly.

My fears can hurt me only with my permission.

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

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June 7

One receives only that which is given. The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words, return to us sooner or later, with astounding accuracy.

~Florence Scovel Shin

Each of us can attest to the truth or this passage. During the difficult times, however, it is not uppermost in our minds that "what goes around, comes around." It feels all too easy to be justifiably resentful or to gossip or to ignore another's presence. And the repercussions are seldom immediate. They will come, though.

Goodness is likewise repaid. Giving love, attention, and respect to the individuals who share our lives and to the people who cross our paths by chance will smooth our own passage day by day. The effects of our goodness will often be felt quickly. A smile elicits a smile. Kind thoughts bless us as well as the receiver. Life events do come full circle.

With a bit of effort, I can smile at someone today, even though I'm frowning inside. Both will be better for it.

Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning, Daily meditations for Women

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June 8

Discipline is remembering what you want.

~David Campbell

Not everyone chooses recovery easily. We were attached to our addictions and codependency, even if we didn’t want their consequences. They were not only our masters; we were also loyal to them. They gave us comfort, pleasure, and a high that nothing else could match. So where did we find motivation to change?

Somewhere within our souls we longed for something of greater quality. We didn’t want to sacrifice our future for the fleeting pleasures or false escapes. We saw that our actions were ruining our own lives and the lives of our loved ones. We always thought we would change someday, and even while our lives were careening out of control, we promised ourselves to change tomorrow or sometime in the future. It was our greater vision, our longing for a better life, that led us to try the Twelve Step recovery program. Out of wanting something better we found the motivation to enter recovery.

Today, I know that deep in my soul lies a desire to be a good man.

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

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June 9

AA Thought for the Day

It’s been proved that we alcoholics can’t get sober by our willpower. We’ve failed again and again. Therefore, I believe there must be a Higher Power which helps me. I think of that power as the grace of God. And I pray to God every morning for the strength to stay sober today. I know that power is there because it never fails to help me. Do I believe that AA works through the grace of God?
Meditation for the Day

Once I am “born of the spirit,” that is my life’s breath. Within me is the life of life, so that I can never perish. The life that down the ages has kept God’s children through peril, adversity, and sorrow. I must try never to doubt or worry, but follow where the life of the spirit leads. How often, when little I know it, God goes before me to prepare the way, to soften a heart, or to overrule a resentment. As the life of the spirit grows, natural wants become less important.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that my life may become centered in God more than in self. I pray that my will may be directed toward doing His will.

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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June 10

My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue,
An everlasting vision of the everchanging view,
A wondrous woven magic in bits of blue and gold,
A tapestry to feel and see, impossible to hold.

~Carole King

Our lives are patchwork quilts of mismatched fabrics, all stitched together by an invisible seamstress. The tattered, blood-red scraps of quarrels, the beige of pastry crust baked on Saturdays in a grandmother's kitchen that always smelled sweet, the brilliant colors of our happy moments-picnics and sunsets and laughter-all these are necessary pieces of the tapestry of our lives, even our cold, white doubts and emptiness.

All the colors of life sewn together with the green thread of growth. We are a mixture of feelings and experiences. Often, we want to cut away a square of painful memory. But without it, our quilt would lose its beauty, for contrast would disappear. If a piece is removed, the rest is weakened and incomplete.

How well can I accept any pain I feel today as a part of my own beauty?

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

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JUne 11

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.

~John Wooden

Everyone makes mistakes. We all know that. So why is it so hard to admit our own? We seem to think we have to be perfect. We have a hard time looking at our mistakes. But our mistakes can be very good teachers.

Our Twelve Step program helps us learn and grow from our mistakes. In Step Four, half of our work is to think of our mistakes. In Step Five, we admit our mistakes to our Higher Power, ourselves, and another person. We learn, we grow, and we become whole. All by coming to know our mistakes. The gift of recovery is not being free of mistakes. Instead, we do the Steps to claim our mistakes and talk about them. We find the gift of recovery when we learn from our mistakes.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me to see my mistakes as chances to get to know myself better.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll talk to a friend about what my mistakes taught me. Today I’ll feel less shame.

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

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June 12

If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.

~Rollo May

Those of us who go around trying to be right and do everything right are likely to betray ourselves. We stifle our impulses and control our intuition because we can’t be certain that we are correct. As a spiritual exercise, we could stop now and listen to our inner selves and state our own ideas. What comes out may break the illusion of perfection and free us to proceed with life.

We all have original ideas if we just notice them. What images come to mind while we listen to music? What do our dreams tell us? New insights sometimes come during physical activity. A conversation with a friend can help lead us to our wisdom. Our growing strength as recovering men requires that we listen to our own messages and then take some risks to express them.

Today, I will take risks by stating my ideas. I will stand up for myself by listening to my intuition.

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

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June 13

Acknowledging addiction’s power

We talk about mood-altering substances as cunning, baffling, and powerful. And it’s true—there are many subtle, sly ways in which we set ourselves up to use again. For example, if we preferred one drug, we might try to convince ourselves that it was okay to use a different one. Or we might say, “Well, I just didn’t know it was so dangerous.” Some of us just keep hanging around our using “friends.”

We may use much tricky, deceitful reasoning with ourselves to go back to using, even though we know these behaviors are dangerous. Even though we know that by setting ourselves up time and again, we will only succeed in destroying our program.

Have I stopped setting myself up?

Higher Power, look out for me when I’m not capable of doing so.

Today I will remind myself of addiction’s power by…

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

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June 14

Reflection for the Day

Many of us in recovery share the memory that we originally drank or used other substances to “belong,” to “fit in,” or to “be a part of the crowd.” Others of us fueled our addictions to “get in”—to feel, at least for a short time, that we fitted in with the rest of the human race.

Sometimes, the substances had the desired effect, temporarily assuaging our feelings of apartness. But when the effects of the substances wore off, we were left feeling more alone, more left out, more “different” than ever. Do I still sometimes feel that “my case is different”?
Today I Pray

Higher Power, may I get over my feeling of being “different” or in some way unique, of not belonging. Perhaps it was this feeling that led me to my substance use in the first place. It also kept me from seeing the seriousness of my addiction, since I thought “I am different. I can handle it.” May I now be aware that I do belong, to a vast fellowship of people like me. With every shared experience, my “uniqueness” is disappearing.
Today I Will Remember

I am not unique.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time, Daily Reflections for Recovering People

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June 15

Thinking clearly, sanely, is one of the rewards from working these Twelve Steps.

Reflecting on how we behaved during our most trying times with the alcoholic in our lives helps us see how much we have grown. We frequently acted vengefully and even more often resentfully. And we felt justified. After all, we had told the alcoholic to stop!

How much we have learned since then. We have come to accept alcoholism as a disease, and we realize that we are affected by the other person’s illness too. Using these Twelve Steps has made it possible for us to behave more lovingly, certainly more sanely, than before. We can check out our thinking and our plans for action with others before doing anything, often saving ourselves from unnecessary conflict.

We can be fairly certain that the excessive turmoil of earlier periods is over. Working our own program, letting the others in our lives work theirs, assures us of that. What a wonderful gift clear thinking is.

I will share my gratitude for my sanity with someone else today. Perhaps my sharing will inspire that person to seek a better life too.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own, Meditations on Hope and Acceptance

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June 16

Some of us became lost in the labyrinth of substances, thinking they might provide the answers to our dilemmas. We often found despair and disappointment instead. The Eighth Step—“Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all”—became a road map for taking responsibility for those times when we were truly missing in action.

The inner pathfinder often summons us more with questions than answers, reminding us of the false summits and mirages that inevitably appear on any journey. Denial and escape are replaced by the more useful compass found in really listening to our heart. Experiencing a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life comes from asking ourselves some important questions about needs, desires, purpose, and happiness. And, with right timing, an adventure or pilgrimage can add its own truth to the garden of living a good life.

We are always—every one of us—coming together and falling apart at the same time. Searching and seeking always lead to victories and defeats, illumination, and further confusion. One day at a time, with each conscious step a liberating moment, we make progress.

I am learning that an apparently easy path can become a long and suffering way, and a roadblock to an opening into liberation.

Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery

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June 17

Resisting Negativity

Some people are carriers of negativity. They are storehouses of pent-up anger and volatile emotions. Some remain trapped in the victim role and act in ways that further their victimization. And others are still caught in the cycle of addictive or compulsive patterns.

Negative energy can have a powerful pull on us, especially if we’re struggling to maintain positive energy and balance. It may seem that others who exude negative energy would like to pull us into the darkness with them. We do not have to go. Without judgment, we can decide it’s okay to walk away, okay to protect ourselves.

We cannot change other people. It does not help others for us to get off balance. We do not lead others into the Light by stepping into the darkness with them.

Today, God, help me to know that I don’t have to allow myself to be pulled into negativity, even around those I love. Help me set boundaries. Help me know it’s okay to take care of myself.

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

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June 18

Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

~John Donne

One benefit that can emerge from suffering is a deepening compassion. To the extent we have felt hurt and terror, we are more able to reach out to someone else in pain.

Adult children have suffered. We have walked the roads of loneliness and abandonment. To that extent, we are empowered beyond others to aid in the healing of others.

We are part of mankind. We know there are countless others born and raised in dysfunctional homes. More people than we can imagine are around us seeking understanding, help, and wisdom. We are part of the universal whole. If we so choose, we can take that which has caused pain and suffering and turn it into an enormously powerful balm to heal.

Today, I will reach out to anyone who needs it. I will count it my privilege to help heal the kind of hurt I know so well.

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

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June 19

WILLPOWER = Our WILL-ingness to use a HIGHER POWER

~Anonymous

One of the greatest decisions any of us ever made concerned our Third Step. This decision seemed to go against everything we wanted to do. We all know so well that every time we tried to manage our own lives, we produced misery and heartache. Human beings seem created to fight the decision to give up control. Yet this decision in Step Three, very hard for us to make, was one of the greatest decisions we ever made.

When we did our Third Step, we merely embraced the truth. When we decided to let God be God, we were able to participate in the plan. Whenever we “Let go and let God,” we become a player on a team that will always win.

When what I knew in the past was mostly failure, the decision to let God’s will become mine continues to make sense.

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

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June 20

Fatherhood is less about biology than about showing up, since we may parent the children of another man because of our love for their mother, or we may partner with another man and adopt. However we get there, the journey of healthy fatherhood begins with the awareness that parenthood is a life-changing process. We don’t have to have all the answers, but we need to be a willing pupil. We will have to learn a whole new set of communication skills as our offspring pass from infant to teenager and beyond.

In addition to the rewards and challenges inherent in each developmental stage, fatherhood will call forth illuminating qualities from deep within us that we did not imagine we possessed. Making our children a priority by being fully present with them and gifting them our time is a great bounty beyond what we might provide materially for their betterment. Our presence is the best present! We honor them as our teachers because they test our kindness and patience in innumerable, unimaginable ways. They’ll make us laugh as never before, reminding us of the playfulness we may have lost along the way.

Remaining clean and sober is the best gift I can give my children.

Today's reading is from the book Cornerstones, Daily Meditations for the Journey into Manhood and Recovery

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June 21

Each small task of everyday life is part of the total harmony of the universe.

~Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

When we stop to think about it, it becomes clear that we are a tiny part of our Higher Power’s creation. Consider the growing seasons of plants, the daily rising and setting of the sun, the miracles of birth and death. The cycles go on, creating a rhythm, an order in nature.

We can choose to be part of nature’s order. We can eat healthy, exercise, and sleep enough to care for our health. We can keep our living space clean and neat. We can join in the work of life and be part of the human community. We can make it easy by developing good habits.

In order to go with nature’s flow, we need to pay attention. That’s what we do in our daily prayer and meditation. We work on conscious contact with our Higher Power and practice being part of the harmony of nature.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, please help me calm down and go with your flow. Help me contribute well to your world.
Today's Action

Today I will think about my basic living tasks. Do I do them well, making a good base for my life?

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

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June 22

We see things not as they are, but as we are.

~H. M. Tomlinson

Many days we wake up filled with confidence, enthusiasm, and gratitude for the blessings that have come to us through our recovery. We are even able to see that some of our earlier troubling moments were really blessings in disguise.

Our more positive attitude today changes our understanding of earlier experiences. And that’s the key to how the future will look. If we rely on God’s help, we’ll come to understand all our experiences as opportunities for growth and fulfillment. We can trust them, live through them, and be grateful for their contribution to our spiritual development.

The attitude we harbor is powerful. We can develop a peaceful attitude and keep it for all time if we so desire. God is always available to help us accept the circumstances of our life.

With God’s help I will believe my circumstances are as they should be today.

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

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June 23

There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are interesting monologues, that is all.

~Rebecca West

How often we want to be heard, to be truly listened to by our spouse, our children, friends and co-workers. And we deserve to be fully attended to. So do the other persons in our lives who come to us to be heard. We let our minds wander in the midst of important messages. And we may miss the very phrase that we need to hear—the answer to a problem, perhaps. Our minds wander, randomly, looking for a place to light, unconsciously searching for peace, the serenity promised by the Twelve Steps.

Living fully in the present, soaking up all the responses of the life we are immersed in for the moment, is the closest we can get to our higher power, our God. Being there fully—is conversation with God. How can we know all that God intends for us to know if we don't take advantage of God's many messages? Every moment of every day offers us information, divine information. Each time we turn our minds to self?centered thoughts, we're refusing the chance to grow.

As I come together with friends and family today, l will remember to listen for God's message. l will hear what I need to hear if I will but listen.

Today's reading is from the book Each Day a New Beginning, Daily meditations for Women

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June 24

It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.

~William James

We all know men who seem to be empty bodies, walking through life. These are the guys who never talk about anything personal and never let anyone get to know them. Many of them love to complain about their job, their spouse or partner, their boss, the government, or anything outside themselves. These guys will talk about sports or the weather but never about real events or personal experiences.

Many of us have been these men. When we wake up to a real life, we become present; we are alive to our experiences, our sensations, and our feelings. This requires that we drop the shield of deadness and become personal. It involves risk and makes life incredibly interesting.

Today, I will take the risk to be present to my life in every minute, every hour.

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

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June 25

AA Thought for the Day

One of the finest things about AA is the sharing. Sharing is a wonderful thing because the more you share the more you have. In our old drinking days, we didn’t do much sharing. We used to keep things to ourselves, partly because we were ashamed, but mostly because we were selfish. And we were very lonely because we didn’t share. When we came into AA, the first thing we found was sharing. We heard other alcoholics frankly sharing their experiences with hospitals, jails, and all the usual mess that goes with drinking. Am I sharing?
Meditation for the Day

Character is developed by the daily discipline of duties done. Be obedient to the heavenly vision and take the straight way. Do not fall into the error of calling “Lord, Lord,” and not doing the things that should be done. You need a life of prayer and meditation, but you must still do your work in the busy ways of life. The busy person is wise to rest and wait patiently for God’s guidance. If you are obedient to the heavenly vision, you can be at peace.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be obedient to the heavenly vision. I pray if I fall, I will pick myself up and go on.

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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June 26

The prayer of the chicken hawk does not get him the chicken.

~Swahili proverb

Imagine flying high over the grassy plains searching with piercing eyes for dinner down below. The sun is warm on our backs as we catch the heated updrafts and rest, always watching, always praying, that dinner will be provided for the little ones back in the nest.

Dinner will be provided, of that the hawk is sure. It has faith. But the faith and the prayer will not put the chicken in its talons. It is going to have to keep looking, and, when it spots the prey, its wings will fold back, and its sleek body will plummet out of the sky. It will brake quickly with broad wings and clasp the unsuspecting supper on the fly.

Like the hawk, once we have prayed, we must get to work. Our goal isn't going to be done for us. We can pray for the strength and wisdom we will need to get it done, and that prayer will be answered. But, as the hawk knows, it's up to us to do the work.

What is my goal today, and my first step toward it?

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

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June 27

For me, the healing process starts with graciousness and forgiveness.

~India Arie

We need to forgive so we can heal. Forgiveness means not wanting to get even. Forgiveness means letting go of self-will. Anger and hate are forms of self-will that take up room in our heart. Yet a still, small voice inside of us wants to forgive. Just as others have forgiven us, we need to forgive them. When we forgive, we give our will to our Higher Power. When we forgive, we make room in our heart for our Higher Power. By giving up our anger and our hate, we let that still, small voice come through a little louder. This is how we heal. This is why forgiving is so powerful for us.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me let go of self-will. Help me forgive people. Take the anger I am harboring and replace it with understanding.
Action for the Day

I will list any anger or hate I have. I will think about how this gets in my way and what actions I can practice to break down my hatreds.

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

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June 28

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

~Steve Jobs

As we develop a deeper and more reliable friendship with ourselves, we have little hunches or inner blips of feeling that tell us private truths. Ancient scriptures called it “a still, small voice.” We usually sense this inner message somewhere in our body. Some men say it’s in the heart, others say in the gut, or ears, or on their shoulders. When we are too focused on what others think and feel and what the world says is truth, we don’t notice our inner voice; it doesn’t get much chance to develop. It never hits us over the head; it requires silence and respect to be heard.

As we follow the Steps, we learn to regularly visit our intuitive center and seek its wisdom. The more we listen and the more we respect the truths we receive in our quietness, the more wisdom we are given.

I will listen to the personal wisdom whispered by that still, small voice within.

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

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June 29

Handling stress

Sometimes we feel stress—anxious, irritable, achy. We can’t think straight. We worry and wonder what’s wrong. Think of the earth’s geology: before the mountains arose, there was stress in the earth, internal pressure; something had to change.

So, too, with us. Before change happens in us, we feel stress. But if we continue to work the Steps, work with others, and attend meetings, one day we will find that we have changed for the better.

Am I learning to handle stress?

Higher Power, help me keep in mind what I want to become; help me stay faithful during times of stress.

I will change the way I handle stress today by…

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

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June 30

Reflection for the Day

If I live just one day at a time, I won’t so quickly entertain fears of what might happen tomorrow. As long as I’m concentrating on today’s activities, there won’t be room in my mind for worrying. I’ll try to fill every minute of this day with something good—seen, heard, accomplished. Then, when the day is ended, I’ll be able to look back on it with satisfaction, serenity, and gratitude. Do I sometimes cherish bad feelings so that I can feel sorry for myself?
Today I Pray

That I will get out of the self-pity act and live for today. May I notice the good things from dawn to nightfall, learn to talk about them and thank my Higher Power for them. May I catch myself if I seem to be relishing my moans and complaints more often than appreciating the goodness of my life.
Today I Will Remember

Today is good.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time, Daily Reflections for Recovering People