Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - December

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December 10

Step by Step

Today, understand that gratitude and humility are not the same thing and why understanding the difference is important to our recovery. We may tend to believe humility is being sincerely thankful for the good we have experienced in sobriety. But this is not humility; being thankful is gratitude. Humility is the surrender of our own will to the higher power of our individual understanding. And why is humility vital to our recovery? In genuinely seeking the will of our individual higher power and the ability to carry out His will, we are abandoning the failed strategy of yesterday’s drunks – doing it our way. Most of us have been there and done that and, for most of us, it didn’t work. Today, we cannot express sincere gratitude and claim we are humble if we have not asked our higher power what He wants us to do and how to do it. With that expression, we loosen our grip on self-will run riot, and we have taken a step forward toward recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.,

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~ A YEAR OF MIRACLES ~ (Meditations Written by Members of Nicotine Anonymous) ~

Life is a dance. Am I dancing?

~ UNKNOWN ~

Am I enjoying life? Am I trying to enjoy life? Am I giving myself a break and practicing, “easy does it” on myself and other people?

I believe God wants me to be “happy, joyous and free.” I believe God wants me to live free of addiction and at times dance to the music I feel inside. I believe God wants me to help others dance to the sounds of their own music.

And if I am not careful I am inclined to be too busy to dance and enjoy life as I was when I was feeding my nicotine addiction.

Today, I thank God for helping me enjoy this precious gift of life.

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

GLAMORIZING

I’m slipping when I begin to remember more of the good times than the bad.

~ Anonymous ~

We must keep our memories of the years before the Program in proper perspective. By the grace of God the compulsion was released from us. However, the addiction was not; it is always waiting for us to lower our guard. A danger sign we watch for is the voice that rewrites our past history.

The scenes we remember are parties, new partners, romance, laughter, music, sex, ballgames, intimate conversations, poolside play, Sunday brunch, getting ready to go out and “party hearty.” Seldom do we remember the bleary-eyed mornings, the waking up with horrible strangers, the embarrassments, the lost jobs, wrecked cars, wet beds, the toilet-hugging, the divorce that broke our hearts.

When my addiction talks to me about the good times, I need to remember “the rest of the story.”

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

What comes from the heart goes to the heart.

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge ~

Most of what we say and do is laden with implication and feeling. We can say the same words with many different inflections and convey very different meanings. When we have something very important to say, we may worry whether we will be understood. We can rely on the truth that when we speak from our heart to a trusted friend, and when we have his attention, our message will strike a chord.

A man was worried about speaking at a meeting. His friend told him, “Say it from the heart, man! Say it from the heart!” Communication at that level is instantly clear. We all have things in our hearts that we may be afraid to say. We can say them if we remind our-selves that a message from the heart will be heard by the heart. As we grow in our strength and recovery, we become more comfortable and we speak more and more from that level.

Today I will keep my heart open and speak to others from that level.

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

As I learn self-acceptance, I have less need to rely on others to feel tall.

~ Kathy Kendall ~

How do we develop self-acceptance? What does it feel like? During the initial stages of our recovery, self-acceptance probably didn’t sound all that difficult to attain. But now we know the truth: practicing self-acceptance is rarely easy. Judging ourselves as failures and putting ourselves down for our mistakes has become habitual and “easy” to do; practicing self-acceptance, by contrast, is at first much more difficult.

While struggling to like ourselves, we perhaps fall easily into the trap of building ourselves up by judging others. As our recovery strengthens, however, we feel increasingly uncomfortable, even shameful, about judging others. And shame makes us feel even less acceptable.

Coming to believe that we have been chosen for this journey, that we have a caring Higher Power who loves us, is the best route to self-acceptance. When we’re finally comfortable with the idea that we each have a gift that’s unique, we’ll no longer struggle to accept ourselves.

I really am as good as I need to be today. Being here, now, means I have a unique gift to give.

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

I know now that I find no relief when I drink

I tried to handle my deep sadness and anxiety by using alcohol. When I drank, I paid less attention to my feelings. (In fact, I seemed to have fewer feelings.) But when the drug’s effects wore off, there were the deep sadness and anxiety again.
There too were guilt and shame and a headache. All this pain—and still I wanted to drink again.

Now in recovery when I have painful feelings, with the help of my higher power, I don’t drink—it would only increase the pain. I don’t try to erase the feelings. As best I can, I let them be and apply the tools of the program. Slowly, eventually, the pain lessens. Slowly, I heal. When I abstain, I can find relief.

Because urges tend to pass in four or five minutes, I will try counting slowly to 300.

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

Music drives the devil away.

~ Martin Luther ~

How many times have we seen a movie and liked the music so much we went out and bought the sound track album? It may have been classical music in the background, or country and western, or jazz, or even rock music. Perhaps the music was soothing, or fun and spirited. It made us want to sing or dance. It was so good to listen to it made us feel good all over!

Music of many kinds can enrich the spirit, drive away our worries, and soothe tension. It’s a gift we all can have as long as we can hear. And many who are hearing-impaired may still benefit from the rhythmic vibrations of music that are felt more than heard, but which can still be soothing.

When we take some time each day to stop and listen to music, we contribute to our physical wellbeing and our spiritual health. And we appreciate it when those who have the gift of making music share that gift with others. We may even find a music-making gift in ourselves that we can share and enjoy.

Today help me take time from the hectic part of my day and allow music to heal and refresh me.

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

Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.

~ Jennie Jerome Churchill ~

Long ago, a ship was wrecked during a storm at sea. Two crew members swam to a small island and decided to pray for their survival. They fashioned a challenge to find out whose prayers were more powerful and they agreed to stay on opposite sides of the island as they prayed.

The first man prayed for food. The next morning he had a fruit-bearing tree on his side. The other man’s land was barren.

The first man prayed for companionship. It so happened that another ship was wrecked, and he welcomed a woman. The other man had no tree and no woman.

Finally, the first man prayed for rescue. The next day he saw a ship anchored close to his side of the island. He boarded the ship and decided to leave his friend behind. As the ship was about to depart, a voice from the heavens called out, “Why are you leaving your friend?” The man answered, “My blessings are mine because of the power of my prayers. His prayers went unanswered. So, he is not deserving.”

The voice replied, “Your friend had only one prayer, which I answered. He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”

I will treat my friends with kindness and wish them to receive everything they need.

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

Actually, these are among the most important times in one’s life, when one is alone. Certain springs are tapped only when we are alone. The artist knows he must be alone to create; the writer, to work out his thoughts; the musician, to compose; the saint, to pray.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

Most of us are alone for some time at night, whether we’re commuting home or sitting down for a few minutes of meditation. Time alone—with ourselves and our Higher Power—is a valuable part of our day. In this stillness, we can listen to ourselves and feel our feelings without the constant distractions of the day.

Being still with ourselves means not running away from the silence around us. It means feeling our feelings, whether they’re good or bad. It’s a time of reflection and prayer.

For every moment we can be at peace with our-selves, we are that much closer to being a part of life. For as there is peace in nature, so it is in our nature to feel peace.

Am I at peace with myself now? Have I prayed to my Higher Power to help me at this time?

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

Being loving people

Many of us considered ourselves to be loving people. When we learned that we weren’t as loving as we’d made ourselves out to be, we became reproachful. We knew we couldn’t truly love other people and presumed it was our fault. But our only fault was in not realizing that to give love we need to receive it. To give love, we need first to be open to receiving it from our Higher Power.

We didn’t know that to find love we only needed to ask for it. When we feel love for our enemies, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Higher Power is with us. We know in such situations that we could not produce this kind of love by ourselves.

Do I have the gift of love?

Higher Power, help me be willing to love any person you set in my path.

Today I will ask my Higher Power for love in my relationship with

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

When you take the alcohol out of alcoholism, you still have to deal with the ism.

~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~
Newcomer

I’ve had a falling out with someone I’d been spending time with recently. She’s been in recovery a couple of years longer than I have, and I assumed that she’d be normal by now or, at the least, more stable than I am. But she is needy and difficult, and I just can’t do and be what she wants.

Sponsor

Recovery doesn’t give anyone instant maturity, insight, or a gift for stable relationships. Even after we’ve let go of addictive substances and behaviors, we still have work to do. This work isn’t identical for all of us and doesn’t follow a prescribed timetable. We’ve entered recovery at different times in our lives, having had different experiences, and we may face a variety of challenges in addition to our common problem of addiction. Once in recovery, we have the opportunity to address underlying issues; that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll resolve them quickly, or that all of us are maturing at the same pace.

We can’t assume that someone’s length of time in recovery guarantees that he or she won’t have unreasonable expectations of us. Good relationships develop over time, if we have the willingness and ability to take responsibility for our own needs, to communicate with love and patience through periods of conflict as well as harmony.

Today, I have realistic expectations of myself and others.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

It is hard for us at times to understand the misfortunes that befall us when we are doing the very best we know how, to live right by both God and man.

It is only in times that try men’s souls that the soul develops and grows stronger. Like a muscle, it develops with hard work.

If you would produce an exceptional rose, you must prune the brush of every budding branch so that all the strength goes into the single bloom. It’s not what the bush would want, but it develops the perfection in the rose you desire.

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

1) Al-Anon: I’m a Friend of Lois W.

2) Drink(ing,): Each day, you are either a step farther from your last drink or a step closer to your next.

3) Heal(ing): Feel, Deal and Heal (Feel it, Deal with it and then Heal from it)

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

Father of Light

O my Father, Father of Light,
Who watches over us all,
I have no words to thank You.
But with Your great wisdom
I am sure that You can see
My willingness to change
And how I value Your glorious gifts.

O my Father, when I look upon Your greatness,
I am confounded with awe.
O Supreme Being,
Ruler of all things earthly and heavenly,
I am your warrior,
Ready to act in accordance with Your will.

~ Adapted from a Kenyan prayer ~

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

THE KING OF GLORY ENTERS HERE

Read Psalm 24.

He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face….

To many it may seem that the purification of the heart will be a long and wearisome task, but we have to remember that when we pray it is God who works and not we. If you will use the power of the Word, old habits of thinking will fall away and new ones come in; and this is because you will receive your righteousness, or right thinking, from God. You have sought His face, and you must begin to express something of His nature, for we always grow unto that which we contemplate.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Gates and doors symbolize understanding and it is only by the attainment of a higher degree of understanding that the King of glory—the vivid realization of God which we are seeking—can come to our souls. We are then told to ask ourselves who the King of glory is, and for what He stands. He is nothing less than the Lord; strong and mighty in battle, and the battle he fights, of course, is our battle.

The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.

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

Just Sit There

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure toward success.

~ Dorothea Brande ~

Rev. Diane Winter has established a unique prison ministry in which she spends most of her time teaching spiritual classes, counseling, and assisting inmates before and after their release. When I asked Diane how she got started, she told me, “It wasn’t easy. I went to the administrator’s office and told him that I wanted to teach a class on spiritual growth. He told me I had to go to another city two hours away and get permission from his three supervisors. Then he told me, ‘I will think about it.’ I knew he was just trying to put me off, and I made an appointment to meet with him again. Then he forgot about me and never showed up. But I wasn’t about to quit. His secretary refused to make an–other appointment for me, so I decided I would just go to his office and sit there until I could see him. If I had to sit there every day, all day, I would. But I didn’t have to; that day he saw me and gave me permission. I later learned that he and the other administrators made bets on how long I would last; the longest estimate was three months. That was five years ago. These have been the five most rewarding years of my life. ”

Sometimes we need such depth of determination to accomplish our dream. We have to be willing to sit there every day, all day, until we get results. Our will to succeed must be stronger than someone else’s will to put us off.

In light of the success, service, and joy that Diane has achieved, her initial efforts seem minor in comparison. If you feel discouraged or put off, remember the bigger picture, and paint it as you choose.

I pray to be sufficiently dedicated to my goals that I fulfill my dreams.

I can do anything I set my mind and heart to do.