Reflections for Every Day - October

[yukonm]

October 1

Today's Thought:

I was not a daily drinker. There were times when I could actually stop for a drink and actually have one. There were, however, those other times when I stopped for one and had five, six, ten, or more. The problem was I couldn't predict what it was going to be once I had that one.

Submitted By:

Timothy

[yukonm]

October 2

Today's Thought:

I have been a alcoholic ever since I was born. I really never had a chance to become a social drinker. I drank too much right from the start.

Submitted By:

S.A.E.

[yukonm]

October 3

Today's Thought:

If we arrive at adulthood with severe problems because of the way we were raised and the people around us - shame on them. But if we continue through adulthood with the same ideas and thoughts - shame on us. Their influence can be changed and redirected in our lives.

Submitted By:

Neal

[yukonm]

October 4

Today's Thought:

Recovery is just that, getting over our old lifestyle, moving on and participating in life. I am not going to continue letting my Alcohol past rule over the rest of my life. The desire to drink and smoke pot is gone. I'm who I've always wanted be, and incorporating common sense and balance in my life, has helped my recovery much more than emphasizing my alcoholism.

Submitted By:

Terri

[yukonm]

October 5

Today's Thought:

There is an escape route from relapsing. Since my last relapse (7 years ago), I not only greet the newcomer but also the ones I've seen go back out and try to come back in. Most have heard my story, so they know I've been there and done that.

Submitted By:

Jean

[yukonm]

October 6

Today's Thought:

I remember asking my sponsor one day, am I going to have to try everything I can think of to get what I want before I finally accept this step? Am I going to have to get on the ground, kick and scream, and yell I can't do this anymore? He smiled, a bit sarcastically I thought, and replied, "Maybe, but would you rather get hit over the head with a hammer or a feather?"

Submitted By:

Feel It

[yukonm]

October 7

Today's Thought:

I don't believe we set out and choose to become addicted. I know I did choose to self-medicate which in no time at all turned into an addiction. But quite honestly I didn't come to believe I was really addicted until many many years later.

Submitted By:

Terri

[yukonm]

October 8

Today's Thought:

Spirituality does not require the belief in a God, gods, or a higher power. While most religious practice is spiritual, there is much spirituality that is not religious.

Submitted By:

Larry

[yukonm]

October 9

Today's Thought:

It took me a long time to understand the alcoholic's constant denial, lies and blame. I found it difficult and almost impossible to cope with her emotional dumping. Slowly, day by day I gained and found the necessary courage to cope with all of this. I know that I didn't cause the alcoholism, I can't control it and I can't change it.

Submitted By:

Dinga

[yukonm]

October 10

Today's Thought:

Unless shame-based issues are addressed there is no recovery. Shame-based behavior is learned behavior, it's not natural. Infants do not know shame.

Submitted By:

Iconoclast

[MajestyJo]

So true, parents can't teach what they have never been taught. We can't learn what we have never been taught. We can't take on the same of not knowing. We can take on the shame of not trying, if we choose to do some. I prefer to try, even if I try and fail. There is no shame in that. mj

[frshncln]

Hi I have been living in shame and fear far too long I just want to break the chains but I'm scared.
Thank you so very much for a different perspective

[yukonm]

October 11

Today's Thought:

I also get involved in service, that's been a lifesaver for me, as there have been times when my resolve to continue with AA has tended to wane, but because I committed myself to service I kept on plodding along.

Submitted By:

Graeme

[yukonm]

October 12

Today's Thought:

Going to Al-Anon was my lifesaver. It showed me how to live my own life and know that I can be a good person. It showed me how to detach from other people's 'stuff' and concentrate on my own.

Submitted By:

Rose

[yukonm]

October 13

Today's Thought:

In my opinion, maintenance and growth of a spiritual condition is the best method yet devised for keeping drunks sober, useful, and reasonably happy. It has worked for me even when I thought I was beyond hope. I am not perfect, but I am MUCH better than I was before.

Submitted By:

Jack P.

[yukonm]

October 14

Today's Thought:

We can learn coping skills to help us understand addiction and how not to get caught up in it. We learn how to love someone in a healthier way; not shielding them from the consequences of their actions.
We learn to set boundaries surrounding what is and is not acceptable behaviours of others. Mostly, we learn to feel okay about who we are. No one can force anyone to do anything. People have to want to get better.

Submitted By:

Rose R.

[yukonm]

October 15

Today's Thought:

Here I am almost a year later and I'm not sure where I'm headed. I do know that I have to quit using alcohol. I have many a good years of partying under my belt and now it's time to grow up.

Submitted By:

Geezo

[yukonm]

October 16

Today's Thought:

I still get hit with memories and moments that bring sadness, too. When they come, I have to remind myself that they will pass and soon I will feel better again. I do my best to turn it over to my higher power and go about my day. Sometimes that isn't so easy to do, but I keep trying.

Submitted By:

Kitten

[yukonm]

October 17

Today's Thought:

I won't avoid my friends who do drink because I have a problem with alcohol. I have steered clear of events that were primary centered on drinking - what would be the point of going - but I won't give up good times with good people. I need all the friends I can get.

Submitted By:

Bonny

[MajestyJo]

I found that I couldn't stand to be around the noise and all the craziness after a certain hour of party time. Fun was good, the insanity of the disease, wasn't so much fun. As I got older, couldn't handle the loud, and with Fibromyalgia, I got very sensitive to sounds and smells. It wasn't about them, it was about me. mj

[yukonm]

October 18

Today's Thought:

I find it necessary to go out and hit meetings and deal with people. We found the time to get to the liquor store or the corner market for our beer didn't we? We can find the time necessary to attend a meeting.

Submitted By:

Steve

[yukonm]

October 19

Today's Thought:

What it took for me to finally accept help from outside myself was repeated beatings administered by alcohol. After many years of this torment, I finally waved my little white hankey and surrendered.

Submitted By:

Jack P.

[yukonm]

October 20

Today's Thought:

It is when things are going OK and I'm feeling pretty good that I go back to the illusion of having some control. I have heard that "ism" stands for incredibly short memory. I am stubborn. I am arrogant. I need to be reminded. That is why I go to meetings regularly.

Submitted By:

Feel It

[MajestyJo]

Never heard this before, it is so me. Only heard, "I, self, me! I am so into me! When my son was born, my father said that he had too much contrariness to have just come from just me, he had to have had some of his dad in him too. His father said, our son looked like him and acted like me. :) mj

[yukonm]

October 21

Today's Thought:

In the sixth step it says we're entirely ready to have God remove our shortcomings. The word entirely had me stuck for awhile until one day I realized I don't have to do anything. All I have to do is become willing and accept that there is a power greater than myself who loves me exactly as I am.

Submitted By:

Feel It

[yukonm]

October 22

Today's Thought:

We both learned that how we both acted when I got sober was absolutely typically stereotypically normal. Ah ha! Al-Anon to the rescue! Since we've been going together to both Al-Anon, AA and private counselors we both understand it a "us" problem. Now it's time to talk about "our" recovery instead of just mine.

Submitted By:

Michele

[yukonm]

October 23

Today's Thought:

For me the bottom line is that I need to be reminded often about what I was really like when I was drinking. I also need to be reminded that there is a solution, what that solution is, and that there are living examples of the miracles that solution has wrought. I get that from studying the Big Book and going to meetings.

Submitted By:

Jack P.

[yukonm]

October 24

Today's Thought:

I abhor the word "work" because it becomes judgemental. Am I working the program hard enough? Am I working the program as hard as Mary or Joe or whoever. If I slip is that because I did not work the program hard enough? As far as put downs go in recovery the word "work" is the worst.

Submitted By:

Rover

[yukonm]

October 25

Today's Thought:

I just think that too many people go to these rehab centers to get a quick fix. Learning to live sober is a lifelong process. I truly believe that anyone that is willling to give AA a chance, they have a chance to live a really decent life.

Submitted By:

CourageGirl

[yukonm]

October 26

Today's Thought:

I tried for a long time to love unconditionally. What I finally found was that I was drawing my "love" out of a dry well. In order for me to love the way I wanted to love I had to be willing to receive unconditional love from a source that was able to give it. Only then could I pass it on.

Submitted By:

Greg

[yukonm]

October 27

Today's Thought:

I discuss everything with my sponsor, I talk with the people in the rooms, and especially the individuals in my home group. I also discuss and gain advice from people outside AA -- other people whom I admire -- and I talk with my counselor about what's good or bad for me. I am lucky to have a well-rounded base to gain knowledge, advice, and support.

Submitted By:

A.E.W.

[yukonm]

October 28

Today's Thought:

There have been times that I felt like using and drinking. Although the compulsion has been lifted years ago, the thought would still come from time to time. But, I had kept going to meetings long enough, that when times got tough, I just kept going, until the pain of living had passed.

Submitted By:

Cindy S.

[yukonm]

October 29

Today's Thought:

I found meetings helpful in the sense that I needed someplace to be other than in bars and some of the other more seedy places I hung out. I had no socialization skills, so for me it was a good place to start.

Submitted By:

Bette

[yukonm]

October 30

Today's Thought:

I know my husband is hitting rock bottom. I believe it's because I left him to his own behaviour. Because I'm not pecking at him anymore for drinking, he's left with the guilt of it all. When I do peck at him, he always has a good reason to drink. Al-Anon is the only reason I am still with him.

Submitted By:

Cee

[yukonm]

October 31

Today's Thought:

I cannot make changes on the basis of my willpower. If I could, I would have already done it. Or as I heard an old timer say the other day, I cannot think my way into good living, I must live my way into good thinking. This step reminds me today to stop trying so hard, to stay open to the learning that is available.

Submitted By:

Feel It

[MajestyJo]

If there is one truth to remember in recovery, this is it! It was my thinking that got me to the doors of recovery, not the substance that I picked up. It is why I picked it up in the first place. mj