Recovery, LGBT and in the news

June 20, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Friday, June 20, 2014
 
Centuries ago a man learned to ignite wood artificially. No one in the world today knows his name, but all modern inventions are directly or indirectly traceable to his act. What his name is doesn't matter, but every skyscraper in the world is his monument. His name perished as all names are apt to do, but his almost juvenile act of starting fire by friction will live as long as civilization does.

A single word you utter might kindle a fire that would burn through the ages.

Hazelden Foundation

June 20, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Friday, June 20. 2014

Today's thoughts from Hazelden are:

 

First we work the program because we have to. Then we work the program because we are willing to. Finally we work the program because we want to.

*****

When you do all the talking you only learn what you already know.

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Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.

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If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.

*****

Sponsors: have one, use one, be one. 

From the book:

Keep Coming Back Gift Book by Meiji Stewart

Keep Coming Back © 1995 by Meiji Stewart

June 19, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Thursday, June 19, 2014
 
" ...(O)ur troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kills us!" - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 5 ("How It Works"), p 62.

Today, I ask myself if I can truly believe and accept that my troubles are of my own creation and that selfishness is the binding tie, as the Program's co-founders theorize. Before and during my drinking days, I ran my life on my terms, my rules, my wants, needs, expectations and desires. And always, the results were disastrous and, if I am to be thoroughly honest, turned progressively worse. To whom or what, then, do I entrust my life if I can't run it? Herein is the introduction to the concept of a Higher Power, an entity that is stronger than I, or God as we understand Him. And even if I do not or cannot yet believe in a Higher Power or God, my willingness to at least be open to the possibility is a beginning - toward humility. Today, I will at least be open to the possibility that something higher and wiser than I can run my life better than me. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

June 19, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thursday, June 19, 2014
 
AA Thought for the Day
We have this choice every day of our lives. We can take the path that leads to insanity and death. And remember, our next drunk could be our last one. Or we can take the path that leads to a reasonably happy and useful life. The choice is ours each day of our lives. God grant that we take the right path.

Have I made my choice today?

Meditation for the Day
Your real work in life is to grow spiritually. To do this you must follow the path of diligently seeking good. The hidden spiritual wonders are revealed to those who diligently seek this treasure. From one point to the next, you have to follow the way of obedience to God's will until finally you reach greater and greater spiritual heights. Work on the material plane should be secondary to your real life's work. The material things which you need most are those which help you to attain the spiritual.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may keep growing spiritually. I pray that I may make this my real life's work.

Hazelden Foundation

June 19, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Thursday, June 19, 2014
 
Reflection for the Day
The Program teaches us that only one consideration should qualify our desire to completely disclose the damage we've done. And that's where a full revelation would seriously harm the one to whom we're making amends. Or, just as important, other people. We can hardly unload a detailed account of extramarital misadventures, for example, on the shoulders of an unsuspecting wife or husband. When we recklessly make the burdens of others heavier, such actions surely can't lighten our own burden. Sometimes, in that sense, "telling all" may be almost a self-indulgence for us. So in making amends, we should be tactful, sensible, considerate, and humble - without being servile.

As a child of God, do I stand on my feet and not crawl before anyone?

Today I Pray
May God show me that self-hatred has no role in making amends to others. Neither has the play-acting of self-indulgence. I ask most humbly for His guidance as I strive to maintain a mature balance in interpersonal relations, even in the most casual or fragile ones.

Today I Will Remember
Making amends is mending.

Hazelden Foundation

June 19, 2014 - The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Thursday, June 19, 2014
 
If you were asked to give a definition of the AA Program, you could probably come no closer than to say it is a Thinking Program.

Underlying the whole philosophy is a studied effort to change the mental fumbling of the alcoholic to real, profound, constructive thinking.

It was this type of thinking that inspired our movement and because of the profound thought behind it, it developed the simplicity that makes it understandable to the befogged alcoholic and yet so profound as to confound the wise.

Hazelden Foundation

June 19, 2014 - Today's Gift from Hazelden

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Grief may be a pathway to our deepest connections

People often say, "I don't want to burden you with my troubles, you have enough to worry about." Yet sharing our troubles with our partner or close friends lightens our burden and restores our balance. Telling someone our experiences and how we feel about them helps us find and create the meaning that lurks behind them, even though they at first seem only crazy and random. Sharing with others pulls us out of isolation and brings our friends and mate into the circle of our lives.

We may be surprised to feel the knots in our stomachs loosen when we tell our stories and recount our worries or grief. Grief may make us feel more alone than anything. But it may also be a pathway for our deepest connection with each other. When we reach out and talk with our friends or mate, we break down the wall of isolation and build bridges that connect us.

Tell your partner about any grief you carry today.

From the book:

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

The More We Find in Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum. © 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

June 18, 2014 - Step by Step

Step by Step
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
 
" ...I am deeply convinced that so long as I continue to strive, in my bumbling way, toward the principles I first encountered in the earlier chapters of this book, this remarkable power will continue to flow through me. What is this power? With my AA friends, all I can say is that it's a power greater than myself. If pressed further, all I can do is follow the psalmist who said it long, long before me: 'Be still, and know that I am God.'" - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 16 ("Me an Alcoholic?"), p 437.

Today, if I am skeptical about a power stronger than myself, grant me the courage to let go of what I know to be stronger than me - alcohol - and go on blind faith that striving for the principles of the Program will lead me to that greater power for good. It is the course followed by agnostics and those who rejected the label "alcoholic" in their stories in the Big Book. In their private journeys, they found the strength and courage to strive toward the Program's principles before their skepticism was displaced by belief in that power of good which is stronger than any of us. Today, despite any reluctance to surrender to that stronger power, I will move on with the faith that one day, I, too, will find and embrace my Higher Power. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2014

June 18, 2014 - Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
 
AA Thought for the Day
The AA way of living is not an easy one. But it's an adventure in living that is really worthwhile. And it's so much better than our old drunken way of living that there's no comparison. Our lives without AA would be worth nothing. With AA, we have a chance to live reasonably good lives. It's worth the battle, no matter how tough the going is from day to day.

Isn't it worth the battle?

Meditation for the Day
The spiritual life has two parts. One is the life apart, the life of prayer and quiet communion with God. You spend this part of your life apart with God. Every day your mind can be set in the right direction so that your thoughts will be of the right kind. The other is the life impart - imparting to others what you have learned from your own meditative experience. The victories you have won over yourself through the help of God can be shared with others. You can help them by imparting to them some of the victory and security which you have gained in your life apart.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may grow strong from my times apart with God. I pray that I may pass on some of this strength to others.

Hazelden Foundation

June 18, 2014 - A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
 
Reflection for the Day
I believe today that I have a right to make spiritual progress. I have a right to be emotionally mature. I have a right to take pleasure in my own company, and that makes me more pleasant to be with. I also have a right to become willing - deeply willing, entirely willing - to make amends to all those I've harmed. Because I can now accept myself the way I am, I can accept other people the way they are - not entirely, but to a much greater degree than in the past.

Have I begun to make friends with God, and thus with myself?

Today I Pray
May God show me that it's okay to like myself, even while trying to repair old wrongs and rebuild from splinters. May I keep telling myself that I am different now, I have changed, I am a better and wiser and healthier person, I have made some good choices. As this "new person," may I find it easier to make atonements for what happened long ago and in another spiritual place. May those I have wronged also find it easier to accept my amends.

Today I Will Remember
It's okay to like myself.

Hazelden Foundation