Recovery, LGBT and in the news

Casey Kasem, longtime voice of pop radio, dies at 82

New York Times: June 15, 2014 - Casey Kasem, Wholesome Voice of Pop Radio, Dies at 82 - NYTimes.com.

The Good Men Project: My father, my self: It's complicated

The Good Men Project: June 15, 2014 - My Father, My Self: It's Complicated -.

Allstate Insurance debuts LGBT-themed ad for Pride Month

The New Civil Rights Movement: June 15, 2014 - See Allstate’s Pride Month Ad Campaign: Everyone Should Be Able To Be ‘Out Holding Hands’ | The New Civil Rights Movement.

Broader decision on Indiana same-sex marriage ban could be coming

Associated Press: June 15, 2014 - Broader decision on Indiana same-sex marriage ban could be coming – LGBTQ Nation.

Alabama appeals court rules state’s sodomy law unconstitutional

LGBTQ Nation: June 15, 2014 - Alabama appeals court rules state’s sodomy law unconstitutional – LGBTQ Nation.

June 15, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, June 15, 2014
 
Today, I begin a conscious and conscientious effort to become habitually honest in recovery and sobriety just as I was habitually dishonest as a drinking alcoholic. Sobriety and recovery begin with the essential element of honesty - honesty to "admit (I am) powerless," to confess the nature of my misconduct of my drinking days, and honesty and courage to take responsibility and consequences to the people I hurt during those days. Because recovery requires a turnaround in my words, actions and thoughts, I cannot claim any quality recovery if I carry from my drinking days the dishonesty and lies to others and myself into my days without alcohol; without a basic change in my emotional and spiritual characters, I am little more than a dry drunk if all I do is abstain from drinking. Today, just as lying became habitual in my drinking days, I focus earnestly on making truth a habit, a habit that I will hold onto and nurture. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

June 15, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, June 15, 2014
 
AA Thought for the Day
In AA, we have three things: fellowship, faith, and service. Fellowship is wonderful, but its wonder lasts just so long. Then some gossip, disillusionment and boredom may come in. Worry and fear come back at times and we find that fellowship is not the whole story. Then we need faith. When we're alone, with nobody to pat us on the back, we must turn to God for help.

Can I say: "Thy will be done" - and mean it?

Meditation for the Day
There is beauty in a God-guided life. There is wonder in the feeling of being led by God. Try to realize God's bounty and goodness more and more. God is planning for you. Wonderful are His ways - they are beyond your knowledge. But God's leading will enter your consciousness more and more and bring you ever more peace and joy. Your life is being planned and blessed by God. You may count all material things as loss if they prevent your winning your way to the consciousness of God's guidance.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may earn the rewards of God's power and peace. I pray that I may develop the feeling of being led by God.

Hazelden Foundation

June 15, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, June 15, 2014
 
Reflection for the Day
Learning how to live in peace, partnership and brotherhood - with all men and women - is a fascinating and often very moving adventure. But each of us in The Program has found that we're not able to make much headway in our new adventure of living until we first take the time to make an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage we've left in our wake.

Have I made a list of all persons I have harmed, as Step Eight suggests, and become willing to make amends to them all?

Today I Pray
May God give me the honesty I need, not only to look inside myself and discover what is really there, but to see the ways that my sick and irresponsible behavior has affected those around me. May I understand that my addiction is not - as I used to think - a loner's disease, that, no matter how alone I felt, my lies and fabrications spread out around me in widening circles of hurt.

Today I Will Remember
Lies spread to infinity.

Hazelden Foundation

June 15, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, June 15, 2014
 
Out in the world we brush elbows with men but, in solitude, we learn intimately about God and ourselves. Great truths are only born in solitary thought, never in crowded auditoriums.

God has some work to be done that only you can do. You have some problems that only He can solve. Why not sit down together sometime, just you two, and talk it over.

Hazelden Foundation

June 15, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Taking Care of Ourselves

It's healthy, wise, and loving to be considerate and responsive to the feelings and needs of others. That's different from caretaking. Caretaking is a self-defeating and, certainly, a relationship defeating behavior - a behavior that backfires and can cause us to feel resentful and victimized - because ultimately, what we feel, want, and need will come to the surface.

Some people seem to invite emotional caretaking. We can learn to refuse the invitation. We can be concerned; we can be loving, when possible; but we can place value on our own needs and feelings too. Part of recovery means learning to pay attention to, and place importance on, what we feel, want, and need, because we begin to see that there are clear, predictable, and usually undesirable consequences when we don't.

Be patient and gentle with yourself as you learn to do this. Be understanding with yourself when you slip back into the old behavior of emotional caretaking and self-neglect.

But stop the cycle today. We do not have to feel responsible for others. We do not have to feel guilty about not feeling responsible for others. We can even learn to let ourselves feel good about taking responsibility for our needs and feelings.

Today, I will evaluate whether I've slipped into my old behavior of taking responsibility for another's feelings and needs, while neglecting my own. I will own my power, right, and responsibility to place value on myself.

From the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

The Language of Letting Go © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation