Reflections for Every Day - September

[yukonm]

September 1

Today's Thought:

I was able to accept the fact that I had done all that I could do to make amends and that I was not responsible for her accepting it or not. I have walked through the guilt and fears. Now life is better than I ever could have imagined.

Submitted By:

Bill T.

[yukonm]

September 2

Today's Thought:

Alcohol is no longer part of my personal life, but its history of destruction and damage is still in my mind. Strangely my grown children still think of me as a derelict - I am hoping that will change.

With all their variations, faults and failing AA meetings are still about members helping members. They do a great job.

Submitted By:

Larry

[yukonm]

September 3

Today's Thought:

Were I to attempt to "sell" - or even explain - my beliefs to others, I know that I would come up short. I would not be able to find words to accurately express these spiritual understandings that serve me so well. I would like to better able to explain but simply accept that I cannot.

I feel an incredible and truly precious closeness and intimacy with several recovering friends whose personal spiritual beliefs are radically different from mine. We easily find our common ground and base our relationships on that.

Submitted By:

Harry K.

[yukonm]

September 4

Today's Thought:

I had not been honest about anything for a long, long time. I realized if I was to be successful with the steps I had to be honest. I had to do more than say them. It had to come from the heart.

Submitted By:

Rover

[yukonm]

September 5

Today's Thought:

I had to come to a place where I was comfortable with myself first. Then, the people I was attracted to and who were attracted to me were healthier and happier. I am married now, but I had reached a point prior to meeting my spouse where I knew I didn't need to be with anyone else in order to be happy. That left me in a place where I could be open to a healthy relationship where we could grow together, rather than feed off each other.

Submitted By:

Lorin

[yukonm]

September 6

Today's Thought:

It was false pride which kept me from getting help or making contact with people whenever I needed it. I just didn't want to admit to myself that I cannot do every darn thing on my own.

Then, one night, I called a program pal. I was in real distress, kind of an anxiety attack. Anyhow, first thing she said was something like, "Thank you for calling me! I never knew you needed help because you always seem so independent!"

Submitted By:

Rose R.

[yukonm]

September 7

Today's Thought:

One of the methods said to not include those things you did when you were drunk that you know you would not do now that you are sober. Well, that simplified it for me because there was a hell of a lot of things I did drunk that I darn sure knew I would not do sober. It was nearly more than two years in the fellowship before I did a Fourth Step and I pretty well knew the sober me by then.

Submitted By:

Rover

[yukonm]

September 8

Today's Thought:

When I went to my first meetings I too had a hard time accepting that I wouldn't be able to drink for the rest of my life. That sounded like such along time. I was 23 at the time and I had my whole life still to live, how could I ever say I would never drink again?

I was told to take it in small amounts of time. The slogan One Day At A Time, is for those of us who can not swallow the concept of forever. I could accept that I would not drink one day at a time, I also could accept that I would not drink just for today.

Submitted By:

Deidre

[yukonm]

September 9

Today's Thought:

We all wish we could go back and change the past, especially when we are having difficulty dealing with the present. Let the past go and deal effectively with today. Every day we are given the gift of a brand new day in which to do things differently. Focus on now and see what you can do about that.

Submitted By:

Heather

[yukonm]

September 10

Today's Thought:

I could accept the idea that I was an alcoholic, but I could not accept the idea that anything else in my life needed changing, besides my drinking. Since I returned to AA, after a relapse that left me in a state of utter desperation, my mind opened up and I realized that the people who were living the steps were living a whole lot better and happier than I was.

It's suggested that a newcomer attend 90 meetings in 90 days. For me, that was necessary because it took at least three months before I could comprehend anything.

Submitted By:

Brenda

[yukonm]

September 11

Today's Thought:

I really believe that a healthy relationship is best achieved by leaving the women in the fellowship alone until a person has put together some really solid sobriety, keeping in mind that 13-stepping is not limited to men as the aggressor. They tell you not have a relationship for at least a year. I don't consider dating different women outside the fellowship a relationship

Submitted By:

Rover

[yukonm]

September 12

Today's Thought:

As someone who relapsed after several years of sobriety, and am now a year into my new sobriety, I can tell you what was told to me: you have to find a new experience of the program -- the old one isn't sufficient anymore. You can do that by taking the steps again from the beginning.

There is something terribly self-centered about the alcoholic/addict (myself very much included) that causes us to believe, that when we are in pain, our pain is special and is bigger and more important than anybody else's pain.

Submitted By:

Kurt

[yukonm]

September 13

Today's Thought:

I must love myself very much to want to continue in sobriety, I must respect myself enough to know that even if I relapse I can get right back up, and begin all over again. And believe me it is difficult to relapse and not continue to drink. But it is doable. And it is very doable when I can seek the support and the unconditional love of an entire group.

Submitted By:

Moonlight

[yukonm]

September 14

Today's Thought:

I was blessed to have a man stand me on my feet and walk me through the steps as they are outlined in the Big Book. I have since done the same with many others. They needed a sponsor, not a friend.

Submitted By:

Henry S.

[yukonm]

September 15

Today's Thought:

I prayed hard for God to help. Then, as I read step 2, I saw the insanity clause. That was it. I was insane. Nothing would ever change while I stayed insane.

All of a sudden, my life was filled with people who were in the same boat. They understood. I discovered if I didn't pick up the first drink, I didn't have to worry about the rest. This happened over a period of time. It did not happen in a day, but one day at a time.


Submitted By:

Jean R.

[yukonm]

September 16

Today's Thought:

The most important thing for me is that I work my program and let him work his. I dont keep track of his attendance at meetings or anything, and if he needs to go to a meeting and I need to watch our child, then I get on the the online meetings or do some reading.

Submitted By:

Mel

[yukonm]

September 17

Today's Thought:

I really didn't have any personal values to build any life on, much less a sober one. When I was told that I could condense my life down to a single day of being sober or even an hour if necessary, I could embrace that.

I had taken all my cues for living up till then from others around me. I still did that through the steps until I realized I had to begin building my own values and setting my own limits.

Submitted By:

Neal

[yukonm]

September 18

Today's Thought:

I made a list of everything I wanted from life at that moment. Once I could see them on paper, I knew which ones I could work on right now. Others had to be curtailed until I had more money, more time, more...

I didn't realize until later that I was setting goals for myself, but once this list was complete, I had to dream up new goals - and they do have a way of getting done.

Submitted By:

Neal

[yukonm]

September 19

Today's Thought:

I have to put my higher power, whom I choose to call God, in the driver's seat. It is his will, not my will. I am frequently reminded by my sponsor that it is attraction, not promotion. The only thing I can do for my husband and daughter is to be an example of how the 12 steps can help me live a more happy and joyous life.

Submitted By:

Clock41

[yukonm]

September 20

Today's Thought:

My alcoholism is the best thing that ever happened to me, by far I've met the finest people I know. It doesn't matter where you are, who you are, there are people out there who know you and can relate to you, and have been there themselves.

Submitted By:

Ruby E.

[yukonm]

September 21

Today's Thought:

I'd say that the program consists of thought and action, one following the other in an endless cycle of realization, action, and growth. If I allow the cycle to fail, or don't allow it to take hold in the first place, then I'm just killing time until I drink again.

Submitted By:

Bryan

[yukonm]

September 22

Today's Thought:

It doesn't matter if the other person is in the program or not as long as they are moving in a healthy direction and feel comfortable with who they are. If your looking to be saved from loneliness through a relationship then check your motives for entering into the relationship.

Submitted By:

Preparing

[yukonm]

September 23

Today's Thought:

I really don't enjoy being judgemental anymore. I don't enjoy self-righteous nor controlling attitudes anymore either. Somehow, they're just not as much fun as they once were. The feeling I get way down deep inside is not pleasant. At one time, it was a lifestyle choice of mine to put people 'in their place' as often as possible. Today I choose not to do that.

Submitted By:

Rose R.

[yukonm]

September 24

Today's Thought:

My "action" of going to Al-Anon sent up red flags to my spouse, that I believed he had a drinking problem, even if he didn't believe it. That I was not going to let my life slip away in misery. He soon got the message. I was no longer the doormat that I used to be.

Submitted By:

Sharon

[yukonm]

September 25

Today's Thought:

At this point, my sponsor is more of a sounding board than a guide for me. He knows me very well, and is familiar with my thinking patterns. Sometimes he can see a fallacy in my thinking that I am not seeing. Of course, I have a much more extended support system now than I did in the beginning.

Submitted By:

Lorin

[yukonm]

September 26

Today's Thought:

My experience was that my 5th Step helped to free me from a lot of guilt and shame. What was dramatic was that, over the next few months following my 5th Step, I realized that I was no longer haunted by painful memories of the past. They had lost their power over me.

Submitted By:

Larry

[yukonm]

September 27

Today's Thought:

Then Al-Anon members shared their stories with me and I realized I'm not a bad wife for leaving him to his own devices. He always managed somehow to get home -- sometimes with new stitches on his body, sometimes in perfect, albeit hungover, shape.

Submitted By:

Rose R.

[yukonm]

September 28

Today's Thought:

My life was truly unmanageable. I had no control over when or how much I drank. I walked into the rooms of AA, scared confused and miserable. It took about 23 years for this to happen. Twenty-three crappy years.

Today I live a happy, joyous and free life. Sometimes the world doesn't cooperate with me, but I don't get drunk over it anymore. Through AA I've learned to cope with this in a sane, rational manner

Submitted By:

Libby

[yukonm]

September 29

Today's Thought:

It held me back for a while and finally my old cranky sponsor just told me, "Hell, just do it! What have you got to lose? It is not like you are going in for cancer surgery and may not live through it!"

I have 23 years of sobriety now.

Submitted By:

Joyce

[yukonm]

September 30

Today's Thought:

Working the steps is hard enough without having to contend with uncomfortable meetings and sponsor situations. I changed both my sponsor and meetings this year, which was very uncomfortable even after some time in the program, but I have settled into the new meetings quite nicely and have again found a comfort level.

Submitted By:

Bryan