Daily Recovery Readings - April 8

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God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and Wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will, not mine, be done.

April 8

Daily Reflections

AN INSIDE LOOK

We want to find exactly how, when, and where our natural
desires have warped us. We wish to look squarely at the
unhappiness this has caused others and ourselves. By
discovering what our emotional deformities are, we can
move toward their correction
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p.43

Today I am no longer a slave to alcohol, yet in so many
ways enslavement still threatens--my self, my desires,
even my dreams. Yet without dreams I cannot exist; without
dreams there is nothing to keep me moving forward.
I must look inside myself, to free myself. I must call
upon God's power to face the person I've feared the most,
the true me, the person God created me to be. Unless I can
or until I do, I will always be running, and never be truly
free. I ask God daily to show me such a freedom!

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater
than themselves. They admit that they're helpless by
themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help.
They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him.
They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it
there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can
help them. Have I recovered my faith?

Meditation For The Day

You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are
considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be
willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith.
You must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and
customs of the world go by, when God's purposes are thereby
forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish a believer
in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness, love,
gratitude, and humility.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God
before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by
the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.

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As Bill Sees It

Anger--Personal and Group Enemy, p. 98

"As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the
Number One offender.' It is a primary cause of relapses into
drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is
eventually to go mad or die.'

"Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough
anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more 'righteous'
indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is
why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments
for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic
can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.

"Punishment never heals. Only love can heal."

Letter, 1966

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Walk in Dry Places

Keep it Simple, BUT not simple-minded
Working the Steps.
Dr. Bob Smith left little in the way of written material for AA's future. His phrase "Keep it Simple," however, is now a guiding slogan in the program. What did he really have in mind with this final piece of advice?
We can take it as certain that Dr. Bob…. A highly intelligent man… was not saying that we shouldn't use our heads for real thinking and study. One of the blessings of sobriety, in fact, should be the ability to think clearly and effectively. It would be a mistake to believe that one must renounce a brainpower and education in order to stay sober.
The real aim of "keeping it simple" should be to stay mindful of the principles and essentials that are key to everybody else. Even the most difficult subject can usually be mattered by processes of simplification. The deepest book, for example, is still composed of only twenty-six letters.
We can "Keep it Simple" by building or lives around the principles of the Twelve Step program. When we discover new ideas, they'll reinforce and expand what we've already learned. In this way, we should always be learning and growing… which is beautiful simple, but certainly not simple-minded.
I'll be grateful today for the ability to think and to understand complicated subjects. With a strong foundation in the bedrock principles of AA, I can use my mind in constructive and progressive ways.

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Keep It Simple

It's a simple formula: Do your best and somebody might like it.---Dorothy Baker
Our program is a selfish program. It tells us to let go of what others
think. We're staying sober for ourselves, not for anyone else. Our body
and our spirit are at stack. And we know what we need to do to stay sober.
If we fell shaky about going to a party, we don't go---no matter who gets upset.
If our job makes it hard to stay sober, we get a different one---no mater
who it upsets. It's simple we must take good care of ourselves before we can be good to others. In doing this, we learn how to be a friend, a good parent, a good spouse. we have to care for ourselves to have good relationships. Do I believe it okay to be selfish when it comes to my program?
Prayer for the Day : Higher Power, help me do what is best for my recovery, no matter what others think.
Action for the Day: I will remind myself that staying sober is simple. I don't use chemicals.
And I work the program.

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Each Day a New Beginning

Life is patchwork--here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you can count on unexpected experiences. You can count on moments of laughter. And you can count on twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we expect, but we can trust that we will survive the rough times. They will, in fact, soften our edges. Pleasure and pain share equally in the context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth comes through the challenges we label "problems." We do have the tools at hand to reap the benefits inherent in the problems that may face us today. Let us move gently forward, take the program with us, and watch the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step won't help us with. Maybe we'll need to "turn over" a dilemma today. Accepting powerlessness over our children, or spouse, or co-worker may free us of a burden today. Or perhaps amends will open the communication we seek with someone in our lives. The program will weave the events of our day together. It will give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for both the pleasure and the pain of tomorrow.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM

What sort of thinking dominates an alcoholic who repeats time after time
the desperate experiment of the first drink? Friends who have reasoned
with him after a spree which has brought him to the point of divorce or
bankruptcy are mystified when he walks directly into a saloon. Why does
he? Of what is he thinking?

p. 35

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

WINNER TAKES ALL - Legally blind but no longer alone, she found a way to stay sober, raise a family, and turn her life over to the care of God.

God only knows how we got on the subject, but she was a member of A.A. and later would become my new sponsor. She picked me up and took me to meetings. At one of the meetings, I met a guy who for the next year picked me up and drove me to work. I paid him a dollar each morning. I am sure that did not cover his gas, but it helped me to feel I was paying my way. For the first time in my life, I was now supporting myself.
p. 380

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

Compatibility, of course, can be so impossibly damaged that a separation may be necessary. But those cases are the unusual ones. The alcoholic, realizing what his wife has endured, and now fully understanding how much he himself did to damage her and his children, nearly always takes up his marriage responsibilities with a willingness to repair what he can and to accept what he can't. He persistently tries all of A.A.'s Twelve Steps in his home, often with fine results. At this point he firmly but lovingly commences to behave like a partner instead of like a bad boy. And above all he is finally convinced that reckless romancing is not a way of life for him.

p. 119

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I came to this program to save my butt and found out it was attached
to my soul.
--Anonymous

Just beyond the night, another day is breaking, bringing hope to all.
--D. Hockaday

Newness opens eyes
Be in love, at peace with all
Travel to know joy
--Tara

"Change is simply a combination of growing up and gaining
knowledge."
--Jill Thomas

God, help me stay alert to the lessons of today.
-Melody Beattie

"If you're not feeling God's Presence, who moved?" God exists
everywhere. Whenever we feel abandoned by God, remember, it is we
who have moved. God is always fully present to us when we
remember to open our hearts to that Presence.
--Mary Manin Morrissey

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

LIES

"It takes a wise man to handle a
lie; a fool had better remain
honest."
--Norman Douglas

As a drinking alcoholic I was telling so many lies to cover the lies I had
previously told that I got lost in a maze of untruth! Most of the lies
were stupid, irrelevant and harmless - but they were all aimed at
building up my ego. Making me look good. Telling people I had more.
My memory could not keep up with my tongue and I became guilty,
ashamed and embarrassed.

Today I need to remember that there is nothing any lie can give me
that I need; there is nothing in the world of fabrication that I need; I
have what I need.

Today I have a relationship with a God and Friend that I can
understand and be vulnerable with; I don't need to be perfect to be
loved.

Help me to seek the good life in those things that are good.

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"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
1 John 4:4

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice.
Ephesians 4:31

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Daily Inspiration

There is no good enough reason to ever feel we are a failure. No matter how hard we fall, God is there to restore our spirit and forgive our past. Lord, help me to understand that it is this moment that counts, not the last one and with each new moment, I have a new beginning.

They are wise who depend on God. Lord, Your perfect law revives my soul. Keeping Your law makes me rich.

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NA Just For Today

Happiness

"We come to know happiness, joy and freedom."
Basic Text p. 88

If someone stopped you on the street today and asked if you were happy, what would you say? "Well, gee, let's see... I have a place to live, food in the refrigerator, a job, my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I'm happy" you might respond. These are outward examples of things that many of us have traditionally associated with happiness. We often forget, however, that happiness is a choice; no one can make us happy.

Happiness is what we find in our involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The happiness we derive from a life focused on service to the addict who still suffers is great indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own desires, we find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we live a more contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we find our own needs more than fulfilled.

Happiness. What is it, really? We can think of happiness as contentment and satisfaction. Both of these states of mind seem to come to us when we least strive for them. As we live just for today, carrying the message to the addict who still suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply meaningful life.

Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being of service to others.

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You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Any time you sense you are getting overrun by outside influences and losing your feelings, put your attention inside your body. Relax. . ., let your breath sink low. . ., breathe in your abdomen. . . . --Anne Kent Rush
When we are feeling as though all our energy is scattered throughout our bodies, we need to practice centering, or focusing this energy into one place. Our center may change from day to day, and each of us feels it differently.
When we're walking, we may feel power coming from our hips and spreading through the body, heart, and mind. When we're in a meditative mood, we may feel warm energy at the back of the head. At other times, we might feel a real centering place in the middle of the chest, right where our heart and arms and breathing come together. There is no one way to be at peace. Centering is a way for each of us to find and picture to ourselves our focused energy. When we can do this, we increase our power to bring about those things we want from life, those things we really do deserve.
Where is my energy right now?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
I'm not into isms and asms. There isn't a Catholic moon and a Baptist sun. I know the universal God is universal.... I feel that the same God force that is the mother and father of the pope is also the mother and father of the loneliest wino on the planet.
--Dick Gregory
In this program we seek conscious contact with God as we understand God. Some people understand God in very specific ways as a Jewish God, or a Christian God, or Moslem Allah. Others understand God in very general and unspecific ways. To some, God is the spirit of group relationships, the deeper consciousness of each man, or the whole of creation. When the word God is used in this program, it respects the different knowing of each person.
Whatever understanding a man has, this program includes his perspective. It dictates none. This is a spiritual program, not a religious one. We often see our Higher Power was with us as a helpful force, long before we knew about it.
Today, I am grateful for God's care. May I learn to increase in trust and. knowledge of God.


You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Life is patchwork--here and there, scraps of pleasure and despair. Joined together, hit or miss. --Anne Bronaugh
As you look ahead, to this day, you can count on unexpected experiences. You can count on moments of laughter. And you can count on twinges of fear. Life is seldom what we expect, but we can trust that we will survive the rough times. They will, in fact, soften our edges. Pleasure and pain share equally in the context of our lives.
We so easily forget that our growth comes through the challenges we label "problems." We do have the tools at hand to reap the benefits inherent in the problems that may face us today. Let us move gently forward, take the program with us, and watch the barriers disappear.
There is no situation that a Step won't help us with. Maybe we'll need to "turn over" a dilemma today. Accepting powerlessness over our children, or spouse, or co-worker may free us of a burden today. Or perhaps amends will open the communication we seek with someone in our lives. The program will weave the events of our day together. It will give them meaning.
Today, well lived, will prepare me for both the pleasure and the pain of tomorrow.


You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Self Care
I don't precisely know what you need to do to take care of yourself. But I know you can figure it out.
--Beyond Codependency
Rest when you're tired.
Take a drink of cold water when you're thirsty.
Call a friend when you're lonely.
Ask God to help when you feel overwhelmed.
Many of us have learned how to deprive and neglect ourselves. Many of us have learned to push ourselves hard, when the problem is that were already pushed too hard.
Many of us are afraid the work wont get done if we rest when were tired. The work will get done; it will be done better than work that emerges from tiredness of soul and spirit. Nurtured, nourished people, who love themselves and care for themselves, are the delight of the Universe.
They are well timed, efficient, and Divinely led.
Today, I will practice loving self-care.


Today I can make peace within myself without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love and respect people who do not always share my view of the world. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart
April 8, 2013
Enjoy the Adventure

It was a cold night in Sedona, Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.

Great, I thought. I get to spend my last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a phone booth, and called a friend to complain.

“Change your perspective,” he said. “Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the adventure.”

At first I balked, then I decided to try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.

When I awoke in the morning, the heat was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling. Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical and simple.

Change your perspective and enjoy the adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.

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Journey To The Heart

Enjoy the Adventure

It was a cold night in Sedona, Arizona. An unexpected snowstorm had passed through the usually warm city, dumping several inches of snow in a short time. The electricity was off. The cabin I was staying in was freezing.

Great, I thought. I get to spend my last evening in Sedona fighting off hypothermia alone in the dark. I put on a heavy sweater, then wrapped myself in a blanket, trudged to a phone booth, and called a friend to complain.

“Change your perspective,” he said. “Pretend you’re four years old. Get your flashlight. Then make a tent in your bed out of all the pillows and blankets you can find. Enjoy the adventure.”

At first I balked, then I decided to try this idea. I made the tent. Bundled up. My complaints quickly turned to memories of what it was like to be a child, to play with life, to play with all the experiences life brings. Soon I fell asleep.

When I awoke in the morning, the heat was back on. The lights had returned. The snow had stopped falling. Capped in a frosty layer of white, the breathtaking city of rust-iron mesas looked like a wonderland. I had learned another lesson, practical and simple.

Change your perspective and enjoy the adventure. Let the child in you come out to play.

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More Language Of Letting Go

Stop trapping yourself

“I found myself staying at home on weekends, not wandering far from home,” a woman said. “I was expecting myself to be there for my daughter whenever she wanted me, just like when she was a child. The problem was, she was in her mid-twenties and didn’t even live in the same city anymore.”

It’s easy to paint ourselves into a corner with what we’ve grown accustomed to expecting from ourselves. Sometimes we can work so hard to build that career, get that relationship, or become a certain way that we start living up to an image of ourselves that has become outdated.

Stop trapping yourself.

Those goals might have been what we wanted then, but they don’t work anymore. And just because we achieved them doesn’t mean we can’t go on and do something else. What do you expect from yourself? Have you taken a look? Do your expectations reflect the genuine desires of your heart, or do they reflect something else?

Are you grumbling and complaining about some aspect of your life– something you’re expected to do but resent? Maybe the only person expecting you to do that is yourself. Expectations can be subtle little things. Take them out and examine them. If some of them are outdated or useless, maybe it’s time to throw them away.

Can you feel the rush? Listen quietly. It’s there. It’s the sound of a life and spirit being set free.

God, help me aet myself free from ridiculous and unnecssary expectations.

Activity: If this were the last ten years of your life, what would you be doing? Where would you be living? What would you be doing for fun. work, friendship, and love? If the answer is different from where you currently are, maybe you should be someplace else.

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Short Getaways
Taking A Day Trip

When vacations are not possible, consider a daytrip as an alternative for renewal and feeding your soul.


We tend to think of a vacation as something that requires an enormous amount of preparation, but small daylong excursions can be just as refreshing and fulfilling as their lengthier counterparts. A short drive can be the channel that transports you into a world of novel experiences and blissful relaxation. Solo day trips can be a wonderful way to unwind from the stresses of routine existence while simultaneously feeding the soul. And when you choose to share your day trip with someone you care about, a leisurely drive becomes a chance to talk about childhood, recall favorite songs, or simply spend time enjoying one another's presence.

You may be surprised to see how many day-trip possibilities exist within a mere hour's time from your home. Forests, beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers, and deserts can serve as the perfect spot for a minivacation. The physical and mental rejuvenation you experience in an unfamiliar and engaging setting are enhanced by meditation, journaling, deep breathing, or just being still with nature. Though the cost of gasoline can make taking a day trip seem frivolous, and our commitment to environmental well-being may cause us to hesitate before utilizing our cars in this manner, there are numerous ways we can effectively offset our carbon signature while still seeing to the needs of ourselves on a soul level.

Since day trips tend to require much smaller investments of time and money than traditional outings, you can enjoy a diverse range of experiences day by day. On one weekend, you may be motivated by a need to connect with your natural heritage to explore a vast state park or nature preserve. On another, your curiosity can inspire you to visit a historical site that has long piqued your interest. In the end, where you go will often be less important than your willingness to broaden your horizons by removing yourself from the environment already so familiar to you. Each minigetaway you take will imbue your existence with a sensation of renewal that prepares you for whatever lies ahead. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

Time after time, we learn in The Program, newcomers try to keep to themselves “shoddy facts” about their lives. Trying to avoid the humbling experience of the Fifth Step, they turn to a seemingly easier and softer way. Almost invariably, they slip. Having persevered with the rest of The Program, they then wonder why they fell. The probable reasons is they they completed their housecleaning. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in stock. Have I admitted to God, to myself, and to another human being the exact nature of my wrongs?

Today I Pray

That I may include all of the sleaziness of my past, my cruelties and my dishonesty, in a complete moral inventory of myself. May I hold back nothing out of shame or pride, for the “exact nature” of my wrongs means just that — a thorough and exact recounting of past mistakes and character flaws. We have been provided with an appropriate “dumping-ground.” May I use it as it was intended. May all my throw-sways, the trash and outgrown costumes of the past, be foundation “fill” on which to build a new life.

Today I Will Remember

Trash can be a foundation for treasures.

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One More Day

Believe me, every man has his secret sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man col when he is only sad.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Let a person seem aloof or display a need to be apart from others, and we automatically assume we are getting a old shoulder. yet none of us has any ideas of all the components of another person’s life and feelings. We’re usually ignorant of others people’s personal characteristics. Sadness, shyness, and fear are just a few traits which can be misinterpreted.

Little disappointments, large failures, loss of a dream or a loved one — these are all problems which any one of us can have, but few can share. We can choose to overlook the real and imagined wrongs of others by reminding ourselves of how little we really know of each other.

My understanding of other people’s problems has been enhanced by my own illness, and I will not be so quick to judge.

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Food For Thought

The Enemy Within

Why do we self-destruct? The problem of evil has been with us ever since the serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple. We often feel at war internally, one self-fighting another self.

There are forces that would have us abandon our program, and usually we find the temptation coming from within. We become careless, bored, lackadaisical in our efforts. Instead of disciplining ourselves to further spiritual growth, we rest on our oars and then wonder why we are drifting downstream!

There is nothing wrong with our bodily appetites, except when we allow them to take control. Then they will destroy us. Sane, healthy living requires that we acknowledge our spiritual needs. When our Higher Power is in control, we work for emotional and spiritual growth as well as physical satisfaction. Instead of being divided internally, we are integrated. The enemy within is subdued in the only way possible - by God's power.

Defeat the enemy within me. Lord.

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One Day At A Time

~ Willingness ~

I cannot change what I am unwilling to face.
James Baldwin

Before I found this program I was locked in a battle with myself. I knew I was eating too much, and I couldn't help myself. I tried to control my eating, and for a while, I was able to keep the upper hand. Then something would happen in my life, and I'd lose that control.

I couldn't face the fact that I was a compulsive eater. I couldn't bear to think that I had a disease that kept me in bondage to food. So during the time I was in denial about my eating, I continued sinking deeper into my disease of compulsion. I sought comfort in food, and did some serious damage to my body, to my self-esteem, and to my relationships.

It was only after I hit bottom that I realized that I had to face the facts. I had a disease that had me in a death grip, and there wasn't one thing I could do about it. When I found this program, I found hope. I discovered a Higher Power who could help me do what I'd never been able to do before. I slowly began to see the changes I'd tried all my life to effect on my own. But it didn't happen until I became willing to face the truth, until I became willing to ask God for help.

One Day at a Time . . .
I am willing to face my disease
and let my Higher Power help me overcome it.
~ Jeff ~

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AA 'Big Book' - Quote

If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol. - Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Many times non-program people will go off on tangents of what religious, spiritual, or philosophical paths we now take. We do not engage with this type of conversation. We simply know that we will not drink or use drugs this hour and we will hang around other people who are doing the same thing.

I don't need to figure anything out right now. It is alright to not engage in any confrontation and simply be in recovery.

Learning from Life

There are no 'buts' today. I am what I am, others are what they are, life is what it is. I will not parenthesize my growth with a 'but,' or hold back my forward-moving spirit with second-guesses. For today, I am living with things as they are. As I give this gift to myself I feel relieved. I am exactly where I am meant to be, learning what I need to learn. All I need do is move through situations with willingness to learn and openness to feel. When feelings are brought up, I can accept them as what is happening within me-no need to resist and analyze them. I can witness, allow, observe, share and process rather than shut down and hide. I can tolerate the intensity of my own inner world. I trust that my life is unfolding in such a way that what I need to learn will be before me. I am willing to learn.

I see the 'table prepared.'

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

People will tell you to 'work' the steps and that may lead you to believe that the steps are our work in recovery. Working the steps is not doing our work, they are the foundation for doing our work. Our work is getting into the trenches and helping others.

When my life is not working the way I want it to, I find I may not be doing my real work.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

It gets worse, so you have to get better.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I can make peace within myself without needing the approval and agreement of others. Today I can love and respect people who do not always share my view of the world.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

We're blessed with a disease where we're forced to love people. - Terry

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AA Thought for the Day

April 8

Reprieve
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels.
We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe.
We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve,
contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.
Every day we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 85

Thought to Ponder . . .
AA is spiritual, is the eye of the hurricane, is my refuge and my comfort.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keeping It Simple, Spiritually.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Change
"Let us never fear needed change.
Certainly we have to discriminate between
changes for worse and changes for better.
But once a need becomes clearly apparent in an individual,
in a group, or in AA as a whole,
it has long since been found out
that we cannot stand still and look the other way."
Bill W., Box 1980: The AA Grapevine, July 1965
As Bill Sees It, p. 115

Thought to Consider . . .
We're responsible for the effort - not the outcome.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
C H A N G E
Choosing Honesty Allows New Growth Everyday.

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Objectivity
Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
"They comfort the melancholy one by first showing him that his case is not strange or different, that his character
defects are probably not more numerous or worse than those of anyone else in A.A. This the sponsor promptly proves
by talking freely and easily, and without exhibitionism, about his own defects, past and present. This calm, yet realistic,
stocktaking is immensely reassuring. The sponsor probably points out that the newcomer has some assets which can
be noted along with his liabilities. This tends to clear away morbidity and encourage balance. As soon as he begins to
be more objective, the newcomer can fearlessly, rather than fearfully, look at his own defects."
1952, AAWS, Inc.; Printed 2005; Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pg. 46

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"Awareness is the most accessible doorway to spirituality."
Emotional Sobriety II
Ames, Iowa, July 2010
"Binge Thinker,"
Emotional Sobriety II: The Next Frontier

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will
be immune to alcohol.
Pg. 33 - More About Alcoholism

"We know what you are thinking. You are saying to yourself: "I'm
jittery and alone. I couldn't do that." But you can. You forget that
you have just now tapped a source of power much greater than yourself.
To duplicate, with such backing, what we have accomplished is only a
matter of willingness, patience and labor."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 163~

Whenever our pencil falters, we can fortify and cheer ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this Step has meant to others.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p. 82

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

Anger--Personal and Group Enemy
'As the book 'Alcoholics Anonymous' puts it, 'Resentment is the Number One offender,' It is a primary cause of relapses
into drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us 'To drink is eventually to go mad or die.'
'Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still
more 'righteous' indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is why we avoid controversy. This is
why we prescribe no punishments for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic can be deprived of
his membership for any reason whatever.
'Punishment never heals. Only love can heal.' LETTER, 1966

Prayer For The Day: Dear Father, thank you for this day. Help me better myself and those around me.

Ask and you shall receive,
Seek and ye shall find,
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Matthew 7:7