Today's Thought - September

[bluidkiti]

September 1

People just want to know that they matter.

~Oprah Winfrey

In recovery, we do service work. Service work should not just be seen as helping the still-suffering addict, though we are responsible whenever asked. Service work should include our families and our communities. We need to give back to them. Why? First, we have a debt to repay. But more importantly, it is in doing for others that we discover that our lives hold meaning. By stepping outside of the self-centered core of our addiction, we find value again.

During our using years, both our grandiosity and our self-pity were symptoms of how little we valued ourselves, how little we felt our lives counted. We were bent on destroying ourselves.

Remember, we have a basic human need to feel that our lives have meaning, that our lives make a difference to others. Service work is our shortest way to knowing we count. So we should get out there and make a difference. The world needs us.
Prayer for the Day

If self-pity or grandiose behavior start to develop in me, Higher Power, please give me service work to do. Help me see the needs of others and give me the power to satisfy those needs.
Today's Action

Today I will look to be of service to others, whether these others are in recovery or not. I will work on developing an attitude and lifestyle of service.

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

[bluidkiti]

September 2

To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization.

~Arnold Toynbee

Some of us have a lot of time to devote to things other than work. If we allow our addiction to fill up this time - as it so easily can - then we become tired and wretched. There is nothing more time-consuming or more exhausting than an obsession.

As we recover we find that we have more time at our disposal for leisure and play. We can take time to visit friends and loved ones, to go outdoors, to develop hobbies, to play sports, and to look at and listen to all the fine and exciting things that surround us.

Time off is necessary, and it becomes invigorating if we bring to it new energy and purpose. We are changing, and we feel grateful to our Higher Power for a new sense of serenity and purpose. We can now play openly and joyfully in harmony with the wonders of living.

My time away from obsession is time to live and love as a free person.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

[bluidkiti]

September 3

The First Hour

Every recovery from addiction begins with one clean and sober hour.

~Anonymous

It is amazing to watch a television program and see how the most complicated life situations are resolved in less than thirty minutes. Those of us who have made a heavy diet of television probably wonder deep down why our problems are not solved quickly in recovery. When we were drinking and drugging, thirty minutes was plenty of time to dissolve a problem into oblivion.

Recovery isn’t like TV. We can't change the channel if we don't like the program.

There are two facts we can't escape in our program and recovery: treatment begins with one clean and sober hour, and the cure will take a lifetime.

The good news is that the focus of recovery is on the treatment, not the cure. And while there might not always be something good on TV, there's always something good on the program.

I will remember that recovery is a process, not an event.

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

[bluidkiti]

September 4

It is not true that life is one **** thing after another - it is one **** thing over and over.

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

If there's one thing you can say for addicted people, it's that we're hardheaded. It takes us a long time to be convinced that something is bad for us, particularly if it feels good momentarily. It's also hard to convince us that something is good for us, even when we desperately want to stop feeling bad. As a result, we've spent much of our life doing things over and over - spinning our wheels.

Luckily, there's a cure for this. It's called turning it over. We quit trying to figure out what is good or bad for us, or even what is in our best interest. We know that, on our own, there’s no sure way we can tell. Instead, we ask a higher authority to handle it for us. That authority is God.

Instead of continually trying to control my life, I'll continually turn it over to the care of God.

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

[willbe275]

Recovery is the Greatest Show
On Earth for this alcoholic and addict.
Thank you Jesus. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

September 5

We are giving birth to ourselves. Let's be midwives to one another through this difficult, yet exhilarating, process.

~Dudley Martineau

Helping each other survive the traumas of our lives strengthens us. We can't be overwhelmed by any experience if we rely on each other for support as we walk through it. What lucky women we are.

Having the courage to take advantage of opportunities transforms us. Where do we want to take our lives? Who do we want to become? The decisions are many and exciting. The counsel of our friends can guide us, but which doors we open is up to us.

Most of us experienced the pain of our lives alone. Revealing to someone else what our lives were like was far too scary. How could they possibly like us or accept us if they knew who we really were? Now those days are gone forever. Our decision to get help, and thus give help, is giving every one of us the new life we deserve.

My rebirth gives me opportunities to share my good fortune with others. I will be attentive to everyone today.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

[bluidkiti]

September 6

Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side.

~The Talmud

We are impatient for results. Upon entering a program of recovery, going without a drink or giving up other addictive behaviors for more than a day or a week seems like a huge challenge. When we see friends in recovery with several years of sobriety, we can't imagine achieving that. Future time can seem like a mountain. Our attitude shifts when we see time not as a challenge that we must overcome, but as our friend, working for us. Time is more like a lake that we swim in. It holds us up and carries us along.

One day at a time, we live only in this present moment. We live more fully when we are present to this moment, yielding to what time will do, letting go of frets and worries about the future.

On this day, I will be alive and aware of my experience.

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

[bluidkiti]

September 7

AA Thought for the Day

On a dark night, the bright lights of the corner tavern look mighty inviting. Inside, there seems to be warmth and good cheer. But we don’t stop to think that if we go in there we’ll probably end up drunk, with our money spent and an awful hangover. A long mahogany bar in the tropical moonlight looks like a very exciting place. But you should see the place the next morning. The chairs are piled on the tables and the place stinks of stale beer and cigarette stubs. And often we are there, too, trying to cure the shakes by gulping down straight whiskey. Can I look straight through the night before and see the morning after?
Meditation for the Day

God finds, amid the crowd, a few people who follow Him, just to be near Him, just to dwell in His presence. A longing in the Eternal Heart may be satisfied by these few people. I will let God know that I seek just to dwell in His presence, to be near Him, not so much for teaching or a message, as just for Him. It may be that the longing of the human heart to be loved for itself is something caught from the Great Divine Heart.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have a listening ear, so that God may speak to me. I pray that I may have a waiting heart, so that God may come to me.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

[bluidkiti]

September 8

When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.

~Winston Churchill

A rolled-up ball of yarn does not take up much space - it sits, ready to be used when needed. It gets unrolled a little bit at a time - just as much as is needed and no more. But a ball of yarn that gets unraveled can be strewn across an entire room. It becomes a jumbled mess, entangled and confusing.

When we live our lives a day at a time, we are like that rolled-up ball of yarn. Our thoughts, feelings, and skills are ready to be used as they are needed. But when we worry, our spirit becomes a jumbled mass of yarn. We get ahead of and behind ourselves - our thoughts are scattered and often our feelings are confused. Worry adds clutter and confusion to life.

What is most helpful is to put the worry away - to roll up the ball of yarn and bring ourselves into the present moment. ln this way, we stand ready for each new stitch - and we will never be given more than we are able to handle.

Do I have worries that are cluttering my life today?

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

[bluidkiti]

September 9

Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?

~William Shakespeare

We're now part of a fellowship we call the program. Let's also remember that we're part of a larger fellowship called the human race. We all hurt the same. We all love the same. We all bleed the same. We all need understanding and care.

Yet in other ways, we are not all the same. Let's remember to understand and find value in the differences among people. If not, we'll be afraid of anyone who's not like us. And that behavior isn't acting in line with what the Steps encourage.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me to love all people. Help me be open to others who are different from me. Help me love my neighbor.
Action for the Day

Do I think I'm better than others? If that's true, I'll pray that my Higher Power will remove this shortcoming of mine.

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

[bluidkiti]

September 10

Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later win a little more.

~Louis L'Amour

How much fuller each day feels when we can be patient and accept the inches we have progressed. Still, we are aware of large problems that require miles of progress. We may want others in our lives to change quickly, we may be impatient with a work situation, or we may feel angry about an addiction.

Perhaps the spiritual message for us is that we need to surrender to time. We are on the road moving in the direction of recovery. The forces of progress are at work. Our growth now may come in learning patience and trusting this process. Looking back, we might see a mile of progress. It was made an inch at a time.

Today, I will accept my progress. There are many rewards already.

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

[bluidkiti]

September 11

Owning Your Recovery Patchwork

It's essential, as individuals, that we truly believe that our chosen recovery pathway and patchwork is the very best one for us. If we don't, we’ll find it hard to stay engaged with and invest in our recovery approach.

We should be able to speak confidently about the modalities that we follow on our healing journey, which is easier to do when we have to put together our own recovery road map. We shouldn't allow anybody to dissuade us or make us think less of our choices, and we shouldn't try to convince anyone else that our way should be theirs.

Our patchwork, as different as it might be, can never threaten anyone else's recovery. As Charlotte Kasl, author of Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps, wrote, "Neither I nor anyone else can take away someone's program by speaking of other ways. When someone thinks I can, it is because they have not internalized their own belief system and are giving their power to another person." I hope that you have internalized your belief in your own recovery.

May your confidence in how you do recovery sustain and empower you.

Today's reading is from the book She Recovers Every Day: Meditations for Women*

[bluidkiti]

September 12

Holding on and letting go

We had a great deal of tenacity, except that we were holding on to destructive behaviors and attitudes: resentments and self-pity, drugs and other bad habits.

We must reassign this tenacity to what is realistic and what sustains us in life, then hold on carefully (like holding a newborn kitten).

Am I holding on to more of the good things?

Higher Power, help me let go of the fear that keeps me from letting go of my defects.

The good things I will hold on to today are...

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

[bluidkiti]

September 13

Crystal Ball

I make suggestions to my sponsees on a regular basis. If somebody's struggling, I ask them if they've made it to a meeting yet. If they haven't, I recommend they find a meeting. There's no excuse not to get to a meeting. As I understand it, there are Zoom meetings twenty-four hours a day. There’s no excuse. I mean, we can make excuses, but that don't make them so.

Whenever sponsees start viewing the future negatively, I ask them to give me back their crystal ball, because it's obviously broken. Then I give them a new one that tells them good things. If your ball is just showing you negative stuff, you've got to give it back, because life gets beautiful.

I find that when my crystal ball gets a little out of alignment, it's because I may have said or done something I feel guilty about. I try to figure out what I've said and done, and correct it. I also try to take it easy on myself. You can't kick me any harder than I can kick me.

As I travel the road of recovery, I will take the necessary steps to ensure I am walking a path of positivity.

~Stephanie C., U.S. Navy, 1978–1983

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

[bluidkiti]

September 14

Reflection for the Day

I can attain real dignity, importance, and individuality only by a dependence on a Power that is great and good, beyond anything I can imagine or understand. I will try my utmost to use this power in making all my decisions. Even though my human mind cannot forecast what the outcome will be, I will try to be confident that whatever comes will be for my ultimate good. Just for today, will I try to live this day only, and not tackle my whole life problem at once?
Today I Pray

May I make no decision, engineer no change in the course of my lifestream, without calling upon my Higher Power. May I have faith that there is a plan for me that is better than any scheme I could devise for myself.
Today I Will Remember

My Higher Power is the architect. I am the builder.

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