Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March

[bluidkiti]

March 23

Step by Step

Today, nothing negative to influence my words, thoughts and behavior. Instead, I set out on this day grateful that I am sober to be able to do what I have to do, even if it’s something I don’t want to do. I will be grateful that I am now able to function, unlike all those days that started with a hangover, shakes and the physical and cognitive inability to do even the basics. I will not complain if I have too much to do and too little time to do it, but instead will approach each task, each person, each amend, each moral checkup with a positive attitude – because today I am sober. With that, I have no reason to be negative. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

MODERATION

Stay RIGHT SIZE!

~ Anonymous ~

Today, our target for a proper living pace is moderation. We know how easy it is to magnify, exaggerate, accent, and overindulge. The dependency and compulsion from which we are steadily recovering puts us among the world’s excessive people. Every day we need to tell ourselves that “more is not necessarily better.”

We also need to guard against unrestraint, greed and envy. But we can adapt even dangerous instincts like fear and anger into self-improving assets if we can maintain moderation.

In our desire for perfection, however, we also need to practice moderation. We can’t want more than we are capable of achieving. We could destroy ourselves by trying to be perfect. In this, above all else, we need to practice moderation, for we will never be perfect.

When I create impossible dreams, they backfire and blow up and leave me with negative feelings. I want to practice moderation in all things, even the good things in life.

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~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of good luck.

~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr. ~

Managing desires is one of the most crucial elements of being an adult. Children want many things that aren’t good for them, and their impulses can often get them into trouble. They need loving, caring adults to protect them from the harm that can come from getting what they want. As adults, our spiritual development includes learning how to regard our desires and how to manage them. On the one hand, it isn’t healthy to become so controlled and repressed that we never let ourselves have fun, and on the other hand, we know that indulging every desire will kill us.

Sometimes we want something very badly and when we don’t get it, we feel desperate or very disappointed. However, life continuously points us in directions we hadn’t expected. Disappointment can serve to reset our lives. Not getting our desires, if we keep our eyes open, points us in directions that can be better than what we had imagined for ourselves.

Today I will be open to the new directions that life points me toward.

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~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Friends should be chosen carefully, because loving them will change our hearts and souls.

~ Jane Nakken ~

We may not have picked our friends carefully in our youth. Many of us felt pressured to hang out with a crowd that didn’t share our values. We frequently lived up to their expectations of us rather than our own. The internal conflict was painful, and we may still suffer from it. The blessing for us now is that we have the Twelve Steps to rely on for clarification and support of our values.

Having friends we can trust, friends who share our values, is one of the many gifts of this recovery program. We no longer have to feel different, isolated, or self-conscious because of our values or our secrets. We can dare to let others know who we really are, and we are learning they won’t go away. Discovering the joy of friendships that nurture us helps us continue our careful selection of friends. Our youthful experiences with friends need never be repeated.

My choice of friends today reflects the health of my recovery.

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~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I am willing to change

Before recovery, the way I was living caused me many problems. Step Six asks me if I’m ready to start changing my life. Can I let go of old ways? Can I learn new coping skills? What am I really willing to do to allow change to happen?

Having done Step Five and dealt with some of the past, there is less to hide, less to be ashamed of, little to hold me back. I feel more open to learning new ways to handle my problems and meet my needs. I feel more open to letting myself be changed. I believe I am now ready to start this process of gradual transformation.

I will say the Serenity Prayer and I will complete my regular activities on today’s recovery plan.

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~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it

~ Dale Carnegie ~

Nobody wins an argument when our energy is directed toward making someone else wrong. Our feeling of defensiveness is a red flag that can warn us when tempers are getting out of hand. We will meet many people in life who will not see things our way. Believing we are right and trying to prove it to someone else is usually a one-way ticket to hurt and resentment.

There are some people who seem determined to argue. They seem never to have learned the art of listening and negotiation. Deep insecurity and spiritual pain may cause them to become master fighters. Inside, though, they feel so little power that their egos become involved in being right and proving others wrong. If we’re like that, we need to work extra hard to restore our self-esteem. If we know people like that, we need to try to be patient. We need to try to understand their pain and tolerate their fears.

Power-based arguments are usually attacking and hurtful. Learning to back down and choose peace is the mark of a solid spiritual recovery program.

Today let me take a deep breath and choose peace when I feel my red flag of defensiveness flying.

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~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

In general, any form of exercise, if pursued continuously, will help to train us in perseverance.

~ Mao Tse-Tung ~

One of New Zealand’s greatest runners, Murray Halberg, once won an alarm clock in a race. The problem was, the prize was for second place. Every day thereafter, Halberg never had a problem waking up and training. The clock symbolized his not-fast-enough performance and gave him the incentive to push himself harder in his training.

As much as you understand the value of daily exercise, you may find it hard to keep up your motivation and commitment. One day without exercise turns into three, then into a week, until months go by without engaging in any physical activity. But when you think about exercise as something as valuable to you as your recovery, you can figure out ways to stay committed to daily workouts. A workout buddy or group exercises can provide fellow-ship of like-minded individuals.

If you prefer to exercise alone, you may find it helpful to keep a daily log of what you do. Think of this as your exercise “inventory.” Or you can sign up for the services of a personal trainer at a local gym or YMCA, who can function as your physical health and well-being “sponsor.”

Today I will consider ways that will help to develop my motivation and dedication to exercise each day.

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~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

There are parts of a ship which, taken by themselves, would sink. . . . But when the parts of a ship are built together, they float. So with the events in my life. Some have been tragic. Some have been happy. But when they are built together, they form a craft that floats and is going someplace. And I am comforted.

~ Ralph W. Sockman ~

If we only remembered the unhappy times we’ve had, we’d sink into depression. Likewise, if we saw only happiness, we’d have a limited vision of our lives. When we take the good along with the bad, we see reality. When we strive for a balance of opposites, we move closer to maturity. When we accept that for every bad day there will be a good one, we accept life as it is.

There is a saying, a ship in harbor is safe, but ships weren’t built to stay in harbors. We captain our own ships. When we sail, we are taking risks. There will be calm sailing, but there will also be ferocious storms. We can weather anything with a supportive crew and a determined belief to guide us.

I am not afraid to be captain of my ship. Tonight I can bless all the things in my life that help keep me afloat.

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~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Getting-well

It is important to remember we have been gravely ill, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. To get well, we must work on all three areas. Getting sober and clean is only a first step, because addiction is only a symptom of the real illness.

Once clean and sober, we must learn how to live. And then we must learn to be aware of God’s presence. Let us work on these changes, day by day, and the light of God’s presence will shine forth in our lives.

Am I recovering emotionally, physically, and spiritually?

Higher Power, help me remember that my addiction is just a symptom of my emotional, physical, and spiritual illness.

I will work on my spiritual health today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

My giant goes with me wherever I go.

~ RALPH WALDO EMERSON ~

Newcomer

This town is full of memories I’d like to get away from. I haven’t had a change of scenery for a long time, and I’m thinking about a move. The job situation is supposed to be a lot better on the other side of the country, and I think I’d like the climate better there, too.

Sponsor

Understandably, some of us yearn to make dramatic changes in our outer lives, now that we’ve made such a big inner change. We’re living without substances we depended on for so long, and we may suddenly feel freer—we may want to change everything as fast as possible. In my early recovery, it scared me to think of facing problems my addiction had caused at work and home, especially in relationships with people. I dreamed of starting a new, problem-free life somewhere else—a “geographic cure.” Luckily, I accepted the suggestion that we not make major changes during the first year of recovery.

There can be freedom in not making a change. Without the stress of an unnecessary move, or a major work or relationship change, I could jump into recovery with both feet. It helped me to get to know myself better, to get clear about my motives and readiness for change.

We can live rich, fulfilling lives; no one’s stopping us. Giving ourselves time at first to concentrate on the basics of recovery provides us with a solid basis for moving on in our lives.

Recovery is a bridge back to life; today, I work on making the foundations strong.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To us alcoholics who were prone to give meanings to words that were not intended by the speaker, words are a particularly lethal weapon.

In our drinking days we invariably put the wrong interpretations on the best-intended words of our friends. We then sounded off with a flow of words that we did not mean and knew full well that we did not mean them. The thoughtless sentence or the fancied slight was forever coming between us and those we loved.

The world’s attitude toward us, either friendly or hostile, is largely determined by our own words.

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~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~

1) Ya gotta wanna.

2) Replace guilt with gratitude.

3) “Opened by mistake” applies to the mouth more often than it does to mail.

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~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Prayer to Know

Grant it to me, Higher Power: To know that which is worth knowing, To love that which is worth loving, To praise that which pleases You most, To work for that which helps others. Grant it to me:

To distinguish with true judgment things that differ, and above all to search out, and to do what is most pleasing to You.

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~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

THE POOR IN SPIRIT

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).

To be poor in spirit does not in the least mean the thing we call “poor spirited.” To be poor in spirit means to have emptied yourself of all desire to exercise personal self-will, and, what is just as important, to have renounced all preconceived opinions in the whole-hearted search for God. It means to be willing to set aside you present habits of thought, you present views and prejudices, your present way of life if necessary; to jettison, in fact, anything and everything that can stand in the way of your finding God.

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~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

Joy Is My Compass

Joy is the most ineffable sign of the presence of God.

~ Leon Bloy ~

Pick out a treat,” I offered four-year-old Kate at the candy display. Quickly she grabbed a packet of M&M’s with one hand and a Milky Way bar with the other.

“You can only have one,” I told her.

“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe,” she counted, finally landing on the M&M’s.

“Okay, we get the M&M’s,” I confirmed.

Immediately, Kate threw the M&M’s back in the bin and clutched the Milky Way bar. “I want this one.”

Within our hearts, each of us knows what we really want. While our minds and emotions may go through all manner of drama and machinations, when we are confronted with the reality of choice, our heart will speak. Sometimes it is only when we receive what we do not want that we recognize what we do want.

When confronted with a difficult decision, flip a coin and imagine that you will be committed to the alternative the spin lands on. Then notice your gut reaction to the result. If you feel delighted, that is your path. If you are disappointed, go with the other alternative. Joy is the best compass.

Help me to be in touch with my heart’s desires. I trust you to know for me and through me.

Divine guidance moves me in the direction of my highest good.