Today's Thought - June
 

June 1

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
--Step Six of Alcoholics Anonymous

Readiness is the key to all-important passages in life. Until we're ready to know something, the mystery is not revealed. Until we're ready to do something, the power is not mobilized. Until we're ready to receive a gift, even if we trip over it, that gift will not be ours. It may not even be recognized as a gift.

The Sixth Step talks about our readiness to have the obstacles to our happiness removed. These obstacles are our character defects. Until we're ready to let them go - boxed up, on the porch, waiting for pickup, so to speak - they will be left with us. It's that simple.

The Sixth Step is also very specific about who will take them away. For all our intelligence and willpower, we're not the ones who do the removing. When we're ready to admit the power of God into our lives, and only then, we will be ready for freedom.

The experience of my fellows has empowered me to have faith in renewal.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

June 2

It is a cheap generosity which promises the future in compensation for the present.
--J. A. Spender

Living in this moment is all we really have. We are constantly bombarded with advice to live for the future, but it perpetually exists beyond our grasp like the carrot tempting the donkey. We are told to be mindful of our career paths, to save for the future, and to sacrifice now for later rewards. We put off spending time with our children, but later they are no longer the same children. We postpone seeing friends now and discover later we have lost our relationships.

Of course, we can't be foolish about our future. We need to make some plans and delay some immediate pleasures. But for now, we can only have a rapport with ourselves and others and experience life in this moment. The present is the only time when anything can happen, any change can occur. This moment is like a fresh, cool breeze. The rest exists only in our imaginations or memories.

May I feel the exhilaration of being alive in this moment and maintain a balance in my perspective today.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

June 3

Looking in the Mirror

When we look in the mirror, who is looking back? Is it someone we like or someone we have grown to dislike? Is it someone weak and defective because of illness? Or is it someone good and decent in spite of it?

Ideally we see ourselves for who we are – with strengths and shortcomings, with abilities and limitations. Ideally, we see someone who has grown to accept and love him- or herself [illness and all].

When I look in the mirror today, who do I see looking back?

Thought for the Day

Accepting my limitations is a sign of health.

You are reading from the book:

A Restful Mind by Mark Allen Zabawa

June 4

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace during a storm.
--Anonymous

We learn in our recovery that life has a way of recreating itself. This discovery is one we are taught not to fight. We remember how badly we hurt when things would pass away from us, whether it was a lost doll, a lost dog, or a lost dad. We closed ourselves off from the possibility that anything of value could come from the loss. Yet the doll was replaced, a cat came into our lives, and a father figure emerged.

The key to staying on our Program is to remember that life does recreate itself. There will be many moments when we find ourselves squarely in the middle of a passing away. We will be hurt and wonder how we can go on.

Not to worry, this too shall pass. This cold winter of a moment will break soon into a sunny spring of a future.

There can be no comings if there are no goings. Life can't be recreated if there is no passing away. I need to remember that sometimes it is darkest before daybreak.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

June 5

Day is short as ever; time's as long as it has been.
-- Geechee Proverb

Newcomer

A change in my work schedule means I can't go to my regular meeting anymore. By the time I'd be able to get there, only half an hour would be left. It's not worth it.

Sponsor

Once, when I was visiting another city, a friend and I drove all over in the rain looking for a meeting we'd heard about. We were in unfamiliar territory and finding the street address took us over an hour. We talked, meanwhile, about our lives and our recovery; it was good sharing. At last we parked and found the meeting place. We realized that we'd walked in at the end, just as everyone was joining hands. We looked at one another and laughed, joined the circle, and said the Serenity Prayer with a roomful of recovering strangers. They seemed happy to let us join in. We'd all stayed sober for another day.

Yes, it's important to go to whole meetings; whole meetings are essential to recovery. But if, under special circumstances, the only meeting we can get to is part of a meeting, we do it. Skipping meetings where we can connect with other recovering people, especially those who've begun to get to know us, can compound feelings of isolation. It spells danger for our recovery.

In this day of recovery, whatever I do, I do with all my attention.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

June 6

I walked across an open field at winter's break as the sun danced on the last few drifts. I imagined my fears would melt one by one as I learned to love myself.
--Laurel Lewis

Fear is as familiar as our image in a mirror. Although we have resolved many of the fears that bound us to old behavior, our original fears may have been replaced by new ones. Why are there so many things to be afraid of? New friends, old relationships, careers, family history, tomorrow...

Acknowledging our fear is the first step to getting free of its control. Naming the fear puts us in charge. Remembering that we have a loving Higher Power who won't abandon us, even in the midst of our deepest fear, can help us get through too.

But loving our small, scared selves will be the most nurturing of all. Mothering ourselves, in the way we may have longed for mothering in our youth, will carry us through the most difficult times.

Fears are part of living. They are neither bad nor good; instead, they can teach us. They can help us learn to love more of ourselves.

I will welcome my fears today. They are my blueprint for who I am. God and I will comfort me with love.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

June 7

Over and over, we begin again.
--Banana Yoshimoto

Newcomer

Yesterday was such a difficult day. But here it is, morning again somehow. I've gotten through another 24 hours, and without a drug. I wish I'd known yesterday that things wouldn't feel so bad this morning.

Sponsor

Yesterday, we did the best that we could. Yesterday is over. We have slept. We think we know some of what today will hold. We may boil water in the same kitchen, take the same route to work, see some of the faces we usually see. At the meeting we attend, we'll hear the familiar readings; take comfort from hearing the words we've heard before. Perhaps our shoulders, hunched with any tensions we're experiencing, will drop at the sound of those accustomed words, and we'll relax.

Along with the predictable, there may be a thousand unexpected experiences; a new color in the sky, a smile answering our own, a phrase of music, a sense of willingness rising within us to do something differently.

Let's take some deep, slow breaths and begin the day with faith that whatever it brings, we'll be present for it.

This day is a gift that recovery has given to me.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

June 8

One step at a time may seem too slow some days.
--Kay Marie Porterfield

Impatience is certainly not a virtue. However, we frequently display it as though it were; if we don't get some task done right now, we will have failed for all time. How many backfired circumstances must we have before we get the message?

When we came into this recovery program, we may have heard that there would always be enough time to accomplish what God intends us to do. Those of us who looked back at failed attempts doubted the truth of this wisdom. But we are coming to believe it now. In time, all the simple messages seem to come true.

The slogans are excellent examples of this. "One day at a time, one step at a time." Will never fail us. We will handle whatever comes to us if we follow that advice.

I will accomplish what I need to today, on time, if I let my Higher Power be in charge.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

June 9

Humility is our acceptance of ourselves.
--Anonymous

It is strange how we can go to school and learn a lot of facts, but never learn much along the way about ourselves. We can take up nursing, teaching, counseling, and giving ourselves to the needs of others, while never having our own needs met.

Why does it seem as if it is easier to solve the problems of the world than to solve our own problems? We simply don't know ourselves very well. When we look into a mirror and attempt to understand ourselves, our conclusions about what we see are usually very different from what a friend sees. When we finally take the time and make ourselves a priority, we make a startling discovery. There exists within us at all times a Higher Power that is the builder of all successes and our comforter during times of trial.

I understand myself only in relation to my Higher Power. The image I see and the identity I have is then one of humility before that Power. Humility is my acceptance of myself.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

June 10

I'd like to get away from earth awhile. And then come back to it and begin again.
-- Robert Frost

Do we think it's weak to need a break? Do we ignore the need to recharge our batteries? Responsibility for our own lives requires us to recognize the need to restore our energy. Maybe our former escape from the world was by using food, or drugs, or spending money, or being preoccupied with another person.

Now, since we are developing the ability to be with ourselves, we can take a break from the world and come back restored. This meditation time generates more energy for our lives. Recreation with friends, a walk, a movie, or a concert does the same. Taking responsibility to get away is a good cure for self-pity and exhaustion.

Today, I will be aware of my need to restore my energy.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

June 11

Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit – and man is his own gardener.
--John Leonard

Evil thoughts and destructive attitudes are not forced on us by fate. They are choices we make as we act and react to events in our lives.

Before the Program, when negative things happened, our first reaction was to choose to react negatively: "Life's not fair." "Why did that have to happen to me?" "I hate them for doing that." "I'm going to get even if it's the last thing I do." It is easy to react positively when good things happen. But we have often chosen to react negatively to even good events.

Good can be found in even the worst situations if we look for it. Bankruptcy can provide a fresh start. Defeat can allow rebuilding in a new and better way. Evil teaches us what is good. Death brings new life. Admitting our powerlessness finally gave us the freedom to make choices.

By choosing good thoughts and attitudes, the garden of my soul will thrive. By choosing bad ones, it will shrivel and die.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

June 12

When I take another’s needs into consideration and bend, I spiritually stretch.
--Helene Lerner-Robbins

We have been told that this is a selfish program. Perhaps that has given us license to be inconsiderate. However, that isn’t what the founders meant by a selfish program. While it’s true that we must protect our sobriety always, it is never wrong to be kind and considerate toward others. Our kindness to someone else won’t ever make us drink! That’s what we must keep uppermost in our mind.

Along with helping us maintain abstinence, the program helps us develop a spiritual relationship that can change every aspect of our lives. Coming to believe in a Higher Power and turning to that Power for guidance and comfort allow us to experience hope in every situation. We can enhance our spiritual growth by treating others as we want God to treat us.

My spiritual growth can get a boost today if I get my ego out of the way and help someone else feel better.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

June 13

Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, lest you drive away your good luck.
--Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 8:19

We've had problems in our lives with limits. We have done some things to excess and others we have endlessly postponed. Sometimes we haven't had good judgment about what we ought to tell someone or whom we ought to tell. We may have kept secrets that made us lonely and sick. Other times we exposed too much in inappropriate situations and hurt someone else or ourselves. Developing these internal limits is a quiet change that comes with recovery. Gradually, we gain a stronger feeling of self-respect and become more intuitive about when to express something and when not to.

Secrets are links in our chains of bondage to isolation, addiction, and codependency. Yet, when we are compelled to tell everything, we lack the feeling of self-containment that comes from maturity. We need a sense of privacy which is the freedom to choose what and when to confide in a friend. What does our intuition tell us today about our privacy and our openness?

Today, I will listen to my inner messages about what I need to discuss with others and when I need to withhold.

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

June 14

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and adventure to discover our own special light.
-- Mary Dunbar

All of us are gifted. Every person has a gift that can bring great joy and light to those who encounter it. Our task is to stand in the sun and create a climate that will develop and nurture our gift.

Sometimes we are afraid to let ourselves believe we have anything special to offer or contribute to the world. We think of ourselves as plain and untalented, with no gifts or special potential. But if we believe we are limited, we act in a limited way. We take few risks and follow few paths that might develop our special talents and gifts.

In recovery we are learning to love ourselves and trust ourselves in a whole new way. Now anything is possible. To fully believe in our talents, we need only step from the darkness into the sun. We will take this first step, trust enough, and start believing that, yes, we do have special gifts.

Today let me be aware of my deep and unfilled desires, dreams, and wishes, which is the first step on the way to accepting my gifts.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

June 15

Reflection for the Day

Little by little, I'm getting over my tendency to procrastinate. I always used to put things off until tomorrow, and, of course, they never got done. Instead of "Do it now," my motto was "Tomorrow's another day." I've learned in the Program that it's far better to make a mistake once in a while than to never do anything at all. Am I learning to do it now?

Today I Pray

May God help me cure my habitual tardiness and "get me to the church on time." May I free myself of the self- imposed chaos of life-long procrastination: library books overdue, appointments missed, assignments turned in late, schedules unmet, meals half-cooked. May God give me the serenity I need to restore order and organization to my daily living.

Today I Will Remember

I will not be put off by my tendency to put off.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous