Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - December

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December 24

Step by Step

Today, Christmas Eve, I have no need, desire or excuse to take part of the holiday’s liquid cheer because I am here despite or in spite of it all, and my choice today is to retain or begin my sobriety. If I still have family and friends to be with this holiday season, I will not sabotage it by drinking even one gulp. If I am alone, it is because I have allowed it and shut out the support of meeting houses, others in recovery or those who need help getting there. Today is not a day for selfishness, and I will not empower it with self-pity, anger, mourning and regret if they are what my drinking spawned. Instead, I will be grateful that I simply am and have the potential to sober up, grow in it and, in some way, regain what I might have lost and keep what I haven’t. Today, I haven’t got time for the bittersweet of the season, only the promise of the sweet. 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) ~

We must so live that, when it comes time to die, even the undertaker is sorry.

~ MARK TWAIN ~

When I first came to Nicotine Anonymous, a Promise was read to me that I will realize I haven’t given up anything at all.

I did not believe this as I knew I was giving up something huge. I was quitting because I knew if I kept doing the crime that eventually I was going to have to do the time. 1 did not want to do time with cancer, heart disease, emphysema, so it was worth giving up my little friends.

In fact they were not my friends. I have gained so much by getting freedom from addiction and I now know the Promises are true. I was slowing dying. Now I am living.

Today, I will pause and give thanks for the realization of the Promises in my life.

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

HOLIDAYS

Keep your recovery First to make it Last.

~ Anonymous ~

We all encounter places, people, and times of the year which trigger memories of our old lifestyle, pleasant or painful events. Holidays and family gatherings may be especially stressful times for us.

There have always been a lot of expectations associated with holidays. Many of us may feel pressured to fulfill those expectations. We need to remember that it is a naturally stressful time and we may feel more nervous than usual. We can avoid forcing moods or events on ourselves or those around us.

In recovery, we are given tips that have helped many members during the holidays. We plan extra Program activities and keep our phone list handy. We skip any slippery occasions that make us uneasy. We attend special Program events. We take a fellow member with us to a possibly slippery party if we feel uncomfortable going alone.

When I keep my recovery Number One in my mind, the holidays, with the help of my friends, will be enjoyable and less stressful

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

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

~ Winston Churchill ~

As we grow spiritually, we naturally become more generous. It’s a quality of a well-developed person. Rather than being anxious over whether we will have enough— and rather than hungrily seeking more and more—we become more openhearted. We feel more abundant within ourselves and find that our spirit of generosity even adds to our own abundant feelings. Where we see a need, we help out.

A generous person doesn’t need to shower others with material gifts. The most precious gifts are things such as paying attention to others, respecting them for who they are, and giving our time. Often a material gift is a symbol of the good feelings in a relationship. In our generosity, we also learn to receive others’ gifts to us with humility and respect.

Today I take pleasure in my spirit of generosity.

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

God’s gifts are slowly revealed.

~ Michele Fedderly ~

We are so certain about what we need and when we need it that we become anxious and agitated. Patience is a virtue, we know, but we’re not moved to practice it when an outcome in our lives is at stake.

How fortunate that we have the gift of hindsight. The impatience we feel now is not unlike what we’ve felt thousands of times, yet God has never let us down. We may not have gotten exactly what matched our will, but we see now that God had many gifts in store for us. In every case they were right for us, even though we may have resisted them at first.

When we are in pain we think God has forgotten us. On the contrary, our pain is often caused by not acknowledging the direction God is trying to give us. At the right time, in the right place, the right gift or direction will always be offered. Let’s remember that and be grateful.

God’s gifts are revealed when the time is right. Today I do not travel this path alone.

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

I miss my family

Before I got clean and sober and stable, I avoided my family—parents, brothers, and sisters. I was afraid of what they would say to me about my drug use or about my mental health issues. I was in denial. I was protecting myself and I know I hurt them (and hurt myself as well).

These days, I realize how much I miss them. Of course, I want them to see how much better I am. But most of all, I want to ask them for their forgiveness—as well as their support. I need my family back.

I will ask my therapist to help me reconnect with my family.

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

He loseth nothing that loseth not God.

~ George Herbert ~

When we let God’s will guide our lives we gain a profound ally in recovery. We realize that statements like, “I have to,” “I should,” or “You must,” are a setup for anger, resentment, or disappointment.

Although all the “shoulds” in our lives have made us unhappy, true belief in God doesn’t happen overnight. We have all heard someone say, “I go to meetings and read the Steps, but God still doesn’t do what I want.” We want to turn over our will, but not if it means turning over our lives, not if it means we can’t determine the outcome, as if we ever could.

In time, however, we learn in our bones that we can’t enter belief until we remove the guard from the gate, until we relinquish control. Then God takes over. And then our trust frees us from the need to control. Trust opens our hearts to new feelings of love. And gives us peace of mind.

Today help me turn it over. Help me let go and let God.

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

When a man meets an obstacle he can’t destroy, he destroys himself.

~ Ryszard Kapuscinski ~

Stress can have damaging effects on your health, your relationships, and your outlook on life. Knowing how to identify and handle stress can alleviate its effects and help you better manage it. External stress happens around you and can be difficult to avoid because it is often out of your control. You cannot make your work environment less busy, escape a traffic jam or crowded mall, or avoid those in your life who are emotional time bombs.

The other kind of stress happens inside you in how you respond to your work environment, traffic jams, crowds, or difficult people. You can also create stress whenever you obsess about memories of the past, focus on your fears, are overly worried and anxious, or try to control things that are out of your control.

Whenever you are feeling stressed, first take a moment and just breathe. Then think about what you can do to alleviate the stress you are feeling. You can walk away from the situation, shift your focus onto something else, or accept that what is happening is temporary and will pass.

I will change the way I respond to stress so I can approach things in a more relaxed frame of mind.

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

If time be of all things most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality, since lost time is never found again.

~ Benjamin Franklin ~

At the beginning of a day we may feel we have so much time ahead of us. But now as we look back on the day, we may feel we never had enough time to do all the things we wanted. Here we are now, ready to say good night to the day, and not satisfied that we did all we wanted to or could do.

Perhaps the day didn’t go as we had planned. Per-haps the list of things we wanted to accomplish barely got touched. Perhaps we feel we wasted a great deal of time watching television, shopping, or talking on the telephone.

If we believe now we wasted time today, then we’ll view that time as useless. But if we view all of the moments of today as precious and necessary, then we won’t feel so critical of how we spent our time. We did what we wanted to do today, in the time we were given. Tonight we can rest—assured—that none of our time was wasted.

I’m satisfied all of my time today was valuable and useful, even if I didn’t accomplish everything I set out to do.

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

Accepting help

We sometimes find it difficult to accept any-thing from other people. We don’t want to be obligated to them for love, money, or support. We don’t want to feel we owe them something in return. We need to remember that all help comes from our Higher Power and that our Higher Power sometimes reaches us through other people. Knowing this empowers us to accept help graciously.

As long as we remain true to our spiritual-ity, all things are right. It’s only when we deviate from our true purpose that we make mistakes in accepting things. God loves us and will provide all things if we remain true to God’s purpose.

Have I learned to accept help from others?

Higher Power, I want to accept all gifts sent to me through you, be they mental, emotional, or material.

Today I will help

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

You have to sniff out joy, keep your nose to the joy-trail.

~ BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE ~

Newcomer

I heard an old-timer say, “You can be right, or you can be happy.” What does that mean? When something is wrong, am I supposed to deny what I can see with my own eyes?

Sponsor

This program saying is not meant to encourage stupidity or moral laziness. It’s an affectionate way of suggesting that when we obsess about our own point of view or insist on having our own way, we may have our priorities mixed up. It suggests that we be open-minded and tolerant of people with whom we may disagree. It reminds us that self-will is not the path to serenity.

It also suggests that we have a choice about where to focus our mental energies. There is nothing wrong with having our own particular point of view and confidently and persuasively expressing it—that’s part of our self- esteem. But we don’t have to win arguments and attempt to force people and situations to conform to our own ideas. We can detach from argument, instead of reacting. We can experience the peace that comes from letting go, as we cultivate mental relaxation and serenity as tools of our recovery.

Today, I don’t have to be right. I’m happy, as I live and let live.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Did you ever think upon forgiveness as a Christmas Gift? In addition to its sacred application, the giving of gifts at Christmas is to bring happiness to someone and nothing can bring more happiness than forgiveness. It gives joy both to the giver and the receiver and must also bring a smile to the face of Him who said “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” It depletes your purse not one penny but adds materially to spiritual wealth.

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

1) Al-Anon: Letting go is not caring for, but caring about.

2) Drink(ing,): Getting drunk interferes with our drinking.

3) Heal(ing): When the pain is of no more value, the healing is instantaneous.

by Shelly Marshall

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

Be Patient with Everyone

Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself . . . do not be disappointed by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage. How are you to be patient in dealing with your neighbor’s faults if you are impatient in dealing with your own? They who are worried by their own shortcomings will not correct them. All positive progress comes from a calm and peaceful mind.

~ From writings by St. Francis de Sales ~

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

VITAL FAITH

Read Psalm 46.

Among all the beautiful and heart-searching prayers of the Bible there is none that surpasses the wonderful poem that we call the Forty-sixth Psalm.

It begins, as do nearly all the Bible prayers, with an expression of faith in God. This is extremely important in practice. You need to affirm constantly that you do believe in God, not merely as a vague abstract concept, but as a real, vivid, actual power in life, always available to be contacted in thought; never-changing and never-failing. The Psalm closes with a command and an affirmation.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. This is really the whole Bible in a nutshell. Be still, and know that I am God. This is the very last thing that we want to do when we are worried or anxious. The current of human thought is always hurrying us along to its own ends, and it seems much easier to swim with it by accepting difficulties, than to draw resolutely away from these things, and contemplate God, which is the one way out of trouble. Even in your prayers there is a time to cease active work and, “having done all, to stand”—to be still, and know that I am God. 

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

Let Your Dreams Come Through

Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little more time for dreaming.

~ J.P. McEvoy ~

In our society, we place a high value on getting things done, but we often overlook where the ideas for things come from. For every great invention, piece of drama, music, art, medical break–through, or social innovation, there was a person who dreamed a dream. Descartes, considered the father of modern science, came upon the scientific method in a vision he had under a high fever. President Kennedy envisioned a Peace Corps and established the country’s goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. The great Egyptian statesman Anwar Sadat declared, “You’re not a realist unless you believe in miracles.”

Visioning is as important as doing, perhaps more so. Sitting quietly for 20 minutes a day and letting your mind play with possibilities will net you far greater results than 8 hours of work without a vision behind it. While it is fruitless to fantasize without also working to put your dreams into action, the process of fantasizing gives space and breadth for your mind to explore realms that you would not touch if you simply followed the rational thought process. Then when you act, you will be inspired and guided by ideas that proceed from the divine wisdom within you.

Psychologist Patricia Sun suggests that “children should not be punished for daydreaming in school; to the contrary, they would be happier and far more effective students if a period of time was set aside each day specifically for daydreaming.”

Give yourself permission to surf on the sea of imagination. Visualize and record your most inspiring and outrageous thoughts. Choose the most exciting ones, and then set about the business of letting your dreams come through.

Show me the value of my dreams. I pray to follow my visions until they are a reality.

I trust my dreams enough to bring them to life.