[bluidkiti]

March 8

Step by Step

Today, if I doubt or fear what lies ahead on the road toward sobriety, I will remember that I am walking Robert Frost’s “Road Less Traveled,” less traveled, at least, by me. If I become shaky or uncertain about what bends I might encounter on this unfamiliar road, let me look back at the road I hope to leave behind, a road that is well-traveled and littered with broken whiskey bottles, broken dreams and promises, losses of people and places and things. If on the road I walk now the uncertainty is strong enough to tempt me to turn around and get back on the other road I know too well, let me not forget the reasons I left that one for the road less traveled because, unlike the less walked road, I know all too well the twists and turns of the other one. And with the stinging memories of that road I’ve left behind, the program has given me the map of the road less traveled. And, today, our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M

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

OPEN MINDS

Minds are like parachutes. They won’t work unless they are open.

~ Anonymous ~

Unless we maintain open minds, e cannot hope to make attitude changes for the better. Open-mindedness will prevent selfishness and reduce the possibility of painful resentments by not allowing intolerance and prejudice.

It is fortunate that we are individuals with personal opinions and that we can express different views without causing problems. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Besides, variety in viewpoints keeps recovery from being dull or boring.

In our Program, open minds remind us that common welfare comes before personal wishes.

When I lock the doors of my mind, I am keeping more of value out of my heart than can ever be harboured in a tightly closed mind.

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

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

~ Bertrand Russell ~

We learn, as we make peace with ourselves, that we have enough. Our old mind became anxious if we thought we needed something we could not have. We feared we would not be safe or comfortable, and we sought security in the comfort of things. Like the rush to the food market before a storm, the prospect of scarcity haunted us and we got anxious.

On the spiritual path we learn to say, “I have enough. I will not have more to deal with than I can handle. All will be well. I am in the care of my Higher Power.” We can’t say it once and have it settled. Just as we practice safe driving or healthy eating habits, this is called spiritual practice because we continue doing it. We often forget the reassurance and we need to keep returning to it. Something changes inside when we accept that we can be at peace, and we can be happy, even when we don’t have everything we want.

Today I live with satisfaction that I have enough.

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

Change comes about when we stop trying to shape up the other person and begin to observe patterns and find new options for our own behavior.

~ Harriet Lemer ~

Accepting that we can’t change someone else affects every detail of our lives. Many of us have spent years frustrated, even frantic at times, trying to control the actions and the opinions of others.

At last we have been helped to look at our own behavior. What a relief to be rid of the burden of being responsible for others’ actions! Focusing only on ourselves is empowering. Every day feels more adventurous when we take full responsibility for our thoughts and words, leaving to others what belongs to them.

Being personally responsible for learning new patterns of behavior is like teaching a small child how to skip. Effort pays off in time.

I will have many chances today to mold my behavior to match my self-perception.


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

I want to feel useful and productive

For a while I hardly knew who I was or where I was. But slowly, with medication and a good therapy group, I got reoriented and back on my feet. Now I’m abstinent and stable and I feel much stronger.

I don’t want to just hang around anymore. I want to use my talents to make something, or make something work. I want to help. I want to be with other people these days. In fact, I’m ready to go back to work. I believe I can handle it now. I want to earn my keep again.

I will talk with professionals who can help me with getting a part-time job and vocational training.


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

What a piece of work is a man.
How noble in reason.

~ William Shakespeare ~

As we grow in recovery, we look increasingly to our Higher Power for help and guidance. When we get around to asking our God to remove our shortcomings, we have reached a healthy place in recovery by admitting we actually have some.

But there’s a difference between asking to be saint-like and having our shortcomings removed. We’re asking for help in changing the things we do that hurt ourselves and others. We are not asking to be made perfect.

When we first come to this challenge, we may discover we’re secretly fond of these shortcomings. The thought of living without them fills us with anxiety. They are links to the past, to our family of origin, and it may feel like betrayal to live without them. All the more reason to ask for help in removing them; they are danger points that can prevent sober spiritual growth. But what joy we find when we ask for help in removing them. Suddenly we feel we can change, are changing, every day. We no longer need to flounder out of control, hurting ourselves or others. Now we can begin to put our lives in order.

Today help me ask for help and guidance. Help me let go of my unhealthy links to the past.


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

The difference between transformation by accident and transformation by a system is like the difference between lightning and a lamp. Both give illumination, but one is dangerous and unreliable, while the other is relatively safe, directed, available.

~ Marilyn Ferguson ~

In the past, the idea of recovery may have frightened you or intrigued you. With no awareness of the components of recovery, you could only make assumptions. But now that you are in the program, you know that the doing of recovery requires conscious decisions to change. Very few people wake up in the morning thinking, “I want to do something so different and foreign to me that it will require every ounce of my focus, energy, and strength.” Doing requires the four Ps: preparation, patience, planning, and perseverance. Through dedicated attention to each of these things, progress can be made. Unlike lightning-bolt changes—those things that happen so suddenly that there is no time for preparation—changes brought about from your actions can provide you with the greatest sense of pride and accomplishment.

Doing the changes you are making today will light the path ahead of you so you can take each step of the journey with the confidence you need to take action.

Today I dedicate myself to making slow, gradual progress. I will be patient but dedicated in all of my actions.


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

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.

~ Marie Curie ~

Most of us have heard older relatives tell of the fears we had in childhood. Many were natural childhood fears; the first day of school, big dogs, even the dark. As we grew older, we understood the fears and grew out of them. Now when we hear reminiscences of those fears, we can laugh.

But what happens when we confront today’s fears: meeting new people, attending a social event, giving up an obsession, spending time with our parents? Instead of understanding the cause of our fear, we may let the fear overrun us.

We can put things in perspective by questioning, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Maybe what we fear isn’t always negative. Maybe we fear we’ll get that promotion or we won’t have an argument with our parents. Whatever our fears may be, we need to see them as lessons to study. Once we understand each new lesson, we’ll become masters of our lives. We will run our actions instead of our fears.

I can study at least one of my fears to understand it better.

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

Going to any lengths

Before we sought help, we became very ill— physically, mentally, and spiritually. We couldn’t stand to look at ourselves in a mirror. We had to hit bottom before we could help ourselves. But when we did, we became ready to try anything, to go to any lengths.

We must never forget where we came from and in what condition we arrived. We must not forget that we are pill heads, drunks, and junkies. If we do forget, our willingness to “go to any lengths” will fade away.

Am I still willing to go to any lengths?

Higher Power, I pray that I may always remember where I came from and in what condition I arrived at this program.

The lengths I will go to today are

God help me to stay clean and sober today!


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

Chance everywhere has power.

~ OVID ~

Newcomer

I heard someone say the other day that “coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Am I really supposed to believe that God is involved in every insignificant piece of luck I have? It’s a bit much for me to believe that my Higher Power is interested in whether or not I get a good parking space. And what about the days when everything isn’t going my way?

Sponsor

Some people experience coincidence as evidence that our lives are in the hands of a loving God, and some see good or bad luck simply as part of the randomness of events. Maintaining good recovery doesn’t require that we take a stand on this subject!

There’s another way of thinking about seemingly chance happenings: Wherever they come from, whatever else they are, coincidences are sober opportunities. When I bump into someone I’ve been thinking about making amends to, I have an opportunity to do it on the spot, and I don’t pass it up.

When I’ve been avoiding taking one particular Step and find myself at a meeting where that very Step is being discussed, I have a chance to let go of my resistance then and there.

What we call coincidence involves a meeting of events with our own awakened spirit. In recovery; we often see openings for taking action and for feeling gratitude—opportunities that we would have missed if we were still active in our addictions.

Today, I am awake and alive to opportunities for sober action.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

So you have dried up – you’re off the stuff. That’s fine, but many of us have to face the ridicule of our former drinking pals and unfortunately some of us couldn’t take it.

Who is the ringleader of that jeering section? The chances are he was the guy who needed the program as badly as you did. He didn’t want you sober because you were frequently worth the price of a bottle. He had no logical argument to use so he resorted to ridicule.

Remember that he who laughs at you tonight, tomorrow morning you can kid Hell out of.

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

1) Don’t assume evil motives for what stupidity can explain.

2) Keep It simple and remember to thank yourself.

3) You get what you need and inevitably find out it was what you wanted all the time.

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

Please, Lord
Please, Lord, teach us to laugh again; but God, don’t ever let us forget that we cried.

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

HOW TO FAIL IN EVERYTHING

Knock everything systematically. No matter what you hear of, deprecate it and predict the worst.

Mind everyone else’s business. This will insure you neglecting your own.

Never perform today what you can possibly postpone unto tomorrow.

Leave the important things to someone else instead of seeing to them personally.

Have no organized arrangements. Trust to luck for everything.

Be a sanctimonious humbug, and when you bungle things say it is “the Lord’s will” or that the trouble is that you are too good for your surroundings.

Sit down and wait for something to turn up.

Finally, conduct your life in all respects as if there were not God.

Deliver me from all my transgression: make me not the reproach of the foolish (Psalm 39:8).

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

The Right of Consciousness

Circumstances do not make the man—they reveal him.

~ James Allen ~

When I complimented my friend on her car, she reported, “My husband wants the car as part of our divorce. But because I brought the car into the marriage, I argued with him. Then I realized that it was my consciousness that drew the car to me. My husband can take the car, but not my consciousness. I told him he could have the car. I still have my consciousness, and with that I can attract a dozen more cars if I want to.”

What we have is not a result of luck or circumstance, but thought and attitude. Some people succeed at everything they do, and others fail consistently. The life we live is not cast upon us like a net; it is magnetized by our attitude. No one can take from you anything you deserve by right of your consciousness, and you cannot keep something you have not earned by virtue of your thoughts.

The most powerful way to improve your circumstances is by upgrading your consciousness. If you try to change your situation without changing your mind, sooner or later you will revert to your former position. When you change your mind, life has no choice but to re-cluster itself according to the new level of vibration at which you are operating.

Help me keep You in my thoughts, that my world may reflect divinity everywhere I look.

My consciousness of good magnetizes ever-increasing blessings to me.