Today's Thought - May

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May 1

Most of all, let love guide your life . . .
--Colossians 3:14

Envy of another's good fortune puts distance between us. We forget fortune visits us all, though it's frequently disguised in experiences we dread. Resentments over forgotten appointments or misplaced mementos also result in distances that discourage the growth we deserve.

How different the days will unfold when we greet each person, every experience with a warm heart, the gesture of friendship, and a calm spirit.

With feelings of love guiding our thoughts and grooming our actions, we're certain of finding pleasure in all the tiny crevices of life.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

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May 2


The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have.
--Leonard Nimoy

Look around you at the happiest people you know. They are also the most generous and giving people. A generous spirit creates its own environment. In recovery we talk a lot about gratitude - and we have a lot to be grateful for. This feeling of gratitude inspires us to be generous toward others in many different ways. Most sharing is not of material things but a sharing of our spirit, our forgiveness, and our respect for others.

We can cultivate a generous spirit by reminding ourselves that we have enough. We have enough to live well, we are surrounded by love, we have been forgiven for many wrongs that we committed, and life is filled with interesting adventure. When we share from this sense of abundance, our feeling of well-being only grows.

Today I will be generous and sharing toward the other people I come into contact with.

You are reading from the book:

Wisdom to Know by Anonymous

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May 3

Returning to Basics

Now and then, an AA discussion focuses on the theme of "returning to the basics." This is a good time to shake out the excessive concerns that might be cluttering up our lives.

No matter how long we've been living in sobriety, we can never afford to dismiss the basic reasons we came to AA in the first place. We had made a mess of our lives, and no human power could relieve our alcoholism. By accepting and admitting this, we were able to find a new way of life.

This was also our admission ticket to the larger society, where people are concerned about many things. We sometimes become too caught up in all these concerns, even to the extent of forgetting our own needs. It's good, occasionally, to focus a meeting on AA basics. They are as essential today as they were when we first knew that we needed them.

I'll remind myself today that the basics give me a firm foundation on which to stand.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

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May 4

A.A. Thought for the Day

Strength comes from the fellowship we find when we come into AA. Just being with people who have found the way out gives us a feeling of security. We listen to the speakers and we absorb the atmosphere of confidence and hope that we find in the place. Am I receiving strength from the fellowship with other AA members?

Meditation for the Day

God is with me, to bless and help me. His spirit is all around me. All power is God's. I say that to myself often and steadily. I say that until my heart sings with joy for the safety and personal power that it means to me.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that with strength from God I may lead an abundant life.

You are reading from the book:

Twenty-four Hours a Day for Teens by Anonymous

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May 5

To be alive is power,
Existing in itself,
Without a further function,
Omnipotence enough.
--Emily Dickinson

Being a person in this world is an amazing gift. A spiritual awakening promised by this program is open to us. But today, not all of us feel powerful and alive. We may feel weak, inadequate to our task, perplexed, or stymied. Is this a day in which we are filled with exuberance for the gift of life? Or is this a day when we're feeling subdued by life's burdens?

Perhaps we need to evaluate our perspective. Are we trying to control something or someone? Are we acting as if the world should be as we want rather than as it is? Have our individual wills exceeded their natural bounds and spoiled the simple joy of being "without a further function"?

May I find the pleasure and exuberance today that come with being alive. The simple power to be a person is "omnipotence enough."

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

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May 6

Always think of what you have to do as easy and it will become so.
--Emile Corie

How we think about the activities before us is very important. If we think cleaning the garage is hard, dirty, and no chance for fun, that's just how it will feel. We'll be tired before we even begin. However, if we approach it like a treasure hunt, expecting to rediscover some long-forgotten treasures, we'll enjoy the task. In fact, it will feel like a game.

The thoughts we carry in our minds determine whether our tasks are fun or not. What good fortune it is that we can control those thoughts. If we approach an assignment for school or a job believing that we're able to do it, that it's not too hard for us, we'll finish with ease. Our thoughts determine our successes. In this way, our lives are in our own hands.

How much better can I make my life today?

You are reading from the book:

Today's Gift by Anonymous

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May 7

He who knows himself, knows others.
--Charles C. Colton

There are many gifts that can come from disappointments if we are open to them.

One such gift is the ability to help others. Having felt anger, guilt, and sorrow, we are better able to identify the same feelings in others. We can be more tolerant of others and have compassion for those with similar hurts. And, if we overcome the pain of our own disappointments, we can share the attitudes and actions that helped us grow from those hurts.

Another gift is forgiveness. When we do not deny our pain - and make a concerted effort to work through our feelings of anger, rejection, and guilt - we gain a better perspective of ourselves and a better understanding of others. We become aware of our deepest desires and needs, our deepest insecurities and fears, our weaknesses and our strengths. When we can accept and understand our imperfect natures, we can accept the imperfections and growing pains of others.

Today I will use my disappointments as gifts to better understand myself as well as others. I will try to help others overcome their hurts by sharing my struggles and victories with them.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

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May 8

There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right word.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Perhaps it was only yesterday or the day before that we doubted our value to society, or to our family or friends. We often lose our direction. That's normal and consistent with the human condition. However, the length of time we spend floundering, uncertain of ourselves, is proportionate to the time it takes us to acknowledge the guide within. We need not be lost or full of doubt for long.

Going within ourselves may not be a spontaneous reaction for many of us, but we can learn to respond in this way. And when we're open to the inner urging and willing to follow it, we'll discover the benefits. All that's asked of us is the decision to listen.

I can quiet my thoughts today, long enough to sense the necessary direction to take. I can be certain the guidance is right.

You are reading from the book:
The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

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May 9

Ordinary moments

Saving a time for quiet appreciation...

An aesthetic life, in the broad sense, is a spiritual life. Couples can strengthen their partnership and enrich their lives by making aesthetic experiences daily events. Saving time for quiet appreciation of the good things in our lives - communicating with each other and with friends, playing and relaxing, reading to children, cooking and eating tasty, nourishing food - these are some ways to bring beauty into each day. We can also put attractive pictures and interesting things in our home to make it a place that comforts and pleases us; we can read interesting books, notice a striped caterpillar on a milkweed or the splash of stars in the night sky, relish the sensuous pleasure of a warm soapy bath, see a good movie, listen to music, grow plants.

We live spiritually when we make a place for beauty and when we slow down to enjoy the beauty that already surrounds us. We may wonder what good that may do us. The answer is that these spiritual gestures add meaning to all the other parts of our lives.

Take a few minutes now to appreciate something beautiful. Make a plan to bring some beauty into this day.

You are reading from the book:

The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

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May 10

Go with the flow

Let go of fear and your need to control. Relinquish anxiety. Let it slip away, as you dive into the river of the present moment, the river of your life, your place in the universe.

Stop trying to force the direction. Try not to swim against the current, unless it is necessary for your survival. If you've been clinging to a branch at the riverside, let go.

Let yourself move forward. Let yourself be moved forward.

Avoid the rapids when possible. If you can't, stay relaxed. Staying relaxed can take you safely through fierce currents. If you go under for a moment, allow yourself to surface naturally. You will.

Appreciate the beauty of the scenery as it is. See things with freshness, with newness. You shall never pass by today's scenery again!

Don't think too hard about things. The flow is meant to be experienced. Within it, care for yourself. You are part of the flow, an important part. Work with the flow. Work within the flow. Thrashing about isn't necessary. Let the flow help you care for yourself. Let it help you set boundaries, make decisions, and get you where you need to be when it is time. You can trust the flow, and your part in it.

Today, I will go with the flow.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

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May 11

I took the portion that was given to me and gave it to him.
--The Babylonian Talmud

Newcomer

Are there any rules about how to find a sponsor?

Sponsor

Some meetings have interim sponsorship programs. An interim sponsor works with a newcomer temporarily - a few weeks to a few months - while he or she looks for a regular tong-term sponsor. Sometimes, an interim sponsor becomes the newcomer's regular sponsor, if they both agree to it.

Long-term sponsorship is a relationship of trust, one that's likely to have a significant impact on the process of recovery. It's not a good idea to choose impulsively. When we attend meetings, we listen closely as people qualify or share. We'll hear people who have the serenity and sober experience we ourselves want. If we hear someone we think we'd like to ask to be our sponsor, we try phoning or going out for coffee with him or her first. We soon know whether or not we have the willingness to share and to listen. We sense whether this is someone whose guidance we can trust.

Sponsors should have a minimum of one year of recovery. It's suggested that a sponsor's gender not be that of his or her sponsee's sexual preference, for example, a heterosexual woman generally shouldn't choose a heterosexual male sponsor. It's a suggestion, not a rule, meant to keep the way clear, so that the sponsors and sponsees don't get distracted from their goal. The goal is continued, quality recovery - for both the sponsor and the sponsee.

Today, I welcome a sponsor-sponsee relationship that encourages and supports my recovery.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

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May 12

The goal isn't to do a successful inventory. The goal is to dig to the deepest levels of self-honesty.
--Anonymous

The Fourth Step is the hardest one for many newcomers in the Program. It is so difficult, in fact, that some of us still waiting to do it are no longer newcomers.

It's so hard to be honest with ourselves, that some of us never accomplish it. The consequence of this is low self-esteem, which draws us toward failure.

Help is available, though. God, who knows all about us, is willing to help us get honest with ourselves. We only need to ask. Until we become honest with ourselves, we can't grow spiritually.

Today I pledge to be honest.

You are reading from the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey

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May 13

When the well threatens to run dry, it's time to rest and refill.

We can't always be doing and giving and producing. There comes a time when we run out of steam, and that's when we need to know how to replenish our supply of energy and enthusiasm.

Some of us get recharged by being with other people. Some of us need to be quiet and alone. All of us can profit from an inspirational uplift, whether it comes from music, something we read, a conversation with a friend, savoring the beauty of nature, or a period of meditation.

Vacations can be wonderful, but we're not always able to take them when we need them. What we can do is learn how to create for ourselves islands of recreation -- re-creation -- which may be inserted into our busy, everyday schedule. We can learn to stop and refill the well before it runs dry, so we do not drive ourselves into the kind of exhaustion that threatens recovery.

I will build an island of re-creation into today's schedule.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

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May 14

Some people grumble because the roses have thorns instead of being grateful that the thorns have roses.

*****

We must learn from the mistakes of others because we won't live long enough to make them all ourselves.

*****

Don't look down on another person unless you are leaning over to help them up.

*****

What a different world this would be if people would magnify their blessings the way they do their troubles.

*****

The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.

*****

Winners - people who tell you what they did and not people who tell you what they think you ought to do.

You are reading from the book:

Keep Coming Back Gift Book by Meiji Stewart

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May 15

Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
--Lawrence J. Peter

When we used alcohol or other drugs, most of us were hotheads. We thought we were right. If we were proven wrong, we may have made life hell for everyone. People knew enough to stay away from us.

In recovery, things will still go badly at times. We'll get hurt. And we'll get angry. But now, our anger no longer controls us. We also turn over our anger to our Higher Power. In our groups, we talk about what makes us angry. Then we leave the anger behind when the meeting is over. We find that being at peace is now more important than getting even.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, when I'm angry, help me slow down. Help me remember it's okay to be angry, but it's not okay to abuse people.

Action for the Day

I will remember a time when I turned anger into rage and hurt someone. I will also remember a time I was angry in a respectful way.

You are reading from the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous