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November 24

Step by Step

Today, little significance on how many 24 Hours of sobriety I have, whether it be a single 24 Hours or five years’ worth. All of us who practice AA have only a day-to-day reprieve from where we once were, and those with years of sobriety are no further from a slip or relapse than those whose last drink was yesterday. This is not to say there is no benefit to being sober in terms of months or years. The major benefit is that we may need that long simply to emerge from the alcoholic fog, from the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual damage that we self-inflicted. And this is no overnight journey. But once we emerge from the haze, we may be better equipped to grasp the vision of the program and put it to work. Yet even when we move from being dry to sober and embark on the journey to recovery, we are not insulated from surrendering in one foolish and potentially deadly second to temptation or craving, or to some emotion we don’t want to feel. Today, I am sincerely grateful for how many 24 Hours since my last drink. But I cannot risk the folly that it is promised tomorrow. That is why, today, we take everything one thing at a time, one day at a time, one step at a time. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

COURAGE

The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

~ Robert Green Ingersoll ~

One word often heard in group discussions is "will." Yet, the will to do something cannot exist without the action required to do it, and that takes courage. It is courage that turns possibilities into realities and assures us that little in life is truly impossible. Experience teaches us that courage keeps our active emotions under control.

When courage guides our efforts, we can be sure that we will not only be capable of accomplishing success, but we will be worthy of it. We learn that courage is not recklessness; it is common sense, when we know that a goal is worth going for, courage has judgment and carefulness as allies, even though we may be moving against the tide of popular opinion or belief.

I am overcoming my fears about setting and working toward goals. It helps me to remember "courage is fear that has said its prayers."

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

What is to give light must endure burning.

~ Viktor Frankl ~

We all are born into a life that inevitably includes some amount of challenge, pain, and distress mixed with the joy and learning. Our strength and our wisdom grow by dealing with trouble. The wisest people we know— the ones we admire most—have life stories that brought them through dark days of despair and striking difficulties. Their trial by fire sharpened their clarity about what really counts in life and raised their motivation to live by their values.

Life has become better for us in recovery. But no one ever becomes immune to life’s problems. We get stronger and wiser in dealing with them. We get better at maintaining our balance when everything seems to push us off balance. As we grow more skilled in dealing with life, our light shines on the path for others seeking their way.

Today I accept that difficulty is part of life, and I will learn what it has to teach me.

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

Situations can look very bad one day and more manageable the next. The only thing that has changed is my perspective.

~ Sandra Lamberson ~

Attitude influences perception and outcome; it’s awesomely powerful. No problem is overwhelming when we tackle it with high spirits. Everything is difficult if our moods are low.

Old-timers say AA stands for “Attitude Adjustment.” Quite possibly, the longer we stay clean and sober, the more obvious it becomes that attitude is the culprit if our struggles have continued. It’s fortuitous that the one aspect of our lives fully in our control is attitude.

We can have as smooth a day, on the job, or at home, as we want. Our relationships can be fun and rewarding if our minds are playful and open. The people around us can handle their own circumstances adequately if we let them. What we discover about today and every day is what we seek to discover, nothing less, nothing more.

I anticipate a wonderful day today. How it turns out is in my control.

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

I can get support when I am afraid

With my emotional illness, at times I think about abandonment, further losses, losing control, and never getting well. These thoughts scare me, and the fear can be crippling.

But I am grateful for a powerful phrase that often comes to my rescue: No one ever died of fear. It's miserable, debilitating, but not life threatening. The more I believe this, the more I can just say I'm afraid, the safer I'll be. The more I can tell someone I'm afraid, the less fear I'll feel, the less alone I'll feel, and the more help I'll be able to get.

I will work Step Two and come up with one way I can help myself feel secure.

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

Our generation passeth away, and another generation cometh...

~ Ecclesiastes 1:2-5 ~

After we’ve been in recovery for a while, we begin to see that addiction is not confined to our family alone but is intergenerational, sprinkled throughout our family tree. It may have skipped certain generations, but it almost always reappeared. Tragically, it was often accompanied by divorce, suicide, and lifetimes of extreme stress and pain.

We can break this cycle. Although we have lived in much of the same pain and suffering that preceded us, we have a program of recovery our elders did not have. Part of our legacy to our children will be the gift of change. Those who come after us will see something new on our family tree: recovery.

We are grateful to have found our recovery program and equally grateful that we can pass it on. Now, at last, there is a way out. Now we have tools to deal with the pain of addiction. Perhaps one day the pain will be gone for good, worked through by generations of recovering people who passed on a legacy of healing and new life.

Today help me be grateful to be recovering and to be breaking a cycle that probably began long before me

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

...for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand.

~ William Brewster ~

Those brave souls who journeyed to America centuries ago had to deal with hardships that few of us today could ever imagine. First they had to survive a torturous ocean crossing. Then they had to find a place in which to settle and carve out the very basics of necessity to ensure their safety and sustenance.

During their first long winter at Plymouth Colony, seven times as many graves were dug for those who had died as homes were built for those who were living. A ship that was supposed to bring much-needed supplies instead delivered more people and more mouths to feed. One of the settlers, William Brewster, reminded the colonists to thank God “for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand.”

Even though the Pilgrims had little, they possessed a depth of gratitude for their escape from oppression and the opportunity to experience freedom and a new way of life. One of their customs was to put five kernels of corn on an empty plate before eating a meal. Each person would then pick up a kernel at a time and express thanks for something.

Today I will think of five things for which I am thankful. I will express my gratitude for these things to my Higher Power.

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

A great obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.

~ Fontenelle ~

How happy is happy? When we're laughing and joking, are we happy? Or is happiness doing an activity we really enjoy? Perhaps happiness is a feeling we get when we see a beautiful sight or a happy child.

Who knows what happiness really is? Like love, happiness can't really be defined, for what is true for one person isn't for another. Happiness really comes from within. If we feel a sense of contentment, peace, or joy, then we can bet we're feeling some form of happiness.

As long as we're satisfied with that happy feeling, then we'll feel happiness. It's when we expect happiness to feel differently that we'll lose our happy feelings. To be happy, we need to feel the happiness that exists, even if it isn't the way we've fantasized it to be.

Have I felt happiness today? Help me reflect on the feelings of that happiness and to allow myself to feel similar feelings.

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

Looking for substitutes

Therapy is no substitute for the program. Religious doctrine is no substitute for the program. Words are no substitute for the program. Intelligence is no substitute for the program. Heroic acts are no substitute for the program. “Easy does it” is no substitute for the program. Education is no substitute for the program.

Sex is no substitute for the program. A warm heart is no substitute for the program. A job is no substitute for the program. Only action—only the Steps—are going to get it for us. There are no substitutes.

Do I realize there’s no quick and easy route?

Higher Power, may I stop playing games, may I stop using excuses, and may I do what I can in my program today.

I will work the program extra hard today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Become as resourceful in inspiring yourself to enter your own peace as you are at being neurotic and competitive in the world.

~ SOGYAL RINPOCHE ~

Newcomer

Meditation continues to be difficult for me to understand, to do, and to keep doing consistently.

Sponsor

With repeated practice, meditation can be the most intimate and rewarding way to be with ourselves. The key, as with all our practices, is to meditate each day.

Just as with prayer, there isn't just one right way to meditate. We can be artists at daily meditation, finding creative ways to inspire ourselves to enter peace. A city friend whose home is one small room has created an altar on a windowsill with a bowl of water, some lemon leaves, and a candle. Something simple—one stick of incense or a tape of sacred music—may be all we need to bring us back home to our real selves, reacquaint us with the peace at the center of our being.

Or we can go to nature to meditate, letting the sky, a stream, rain, wind, or sunlight enter our minds. We relax and let our minds expand and be filled with and become what we are looking at: we become the infinite space of sky, the movement of water, the energy of wind, the warmth of sunlight. When we've taken time to greet our spirits in meditation, our minds feel cleansed.

Today, I meet my true self in meditation.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Every practicing alcoholic is firmly convinced that the Devil has all the good tunes. It was the music we had wanted and the tunes to which we had attuned our ears. His music was louder, more catchy and, to our thinking, was prettier. We suspected, however, that it did not have the soul-satisfying qualities that make good music.

We must learn all over again to train our senses to appreciate those things which are really good and not cheap imitations.

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

Grant Me Your Light

Just for today,
What does it matter, O Lord, if the future is dark?
To pray now for tomorrow—I am not able.
Keep my heart only for today,
Give me Your protection today,
Grant me your light—
Just for today.

~ by St. Therese of Lisieux ~

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

LOOK WHERE YOU GO

Look where you are going because you will inevitably go where you are looking. Where your attention is, there is your destiny. Attention is the key to life. Whatever you really give your attention to, you become. Whatever you really concentrate upon will come into your life. The Bible says, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). It does not say simply as a man thinketh, but as he thinketh in his heart, and this means thinking with interest or feeling.

This law is often illustrated most amusingly in practical life. The "horsy" man with his equine looks, is known to us all. Kipling speaks of a Newfoundland fisherman who appeared for all the world like a great codfish himself; and Dickens speaks of a pedantic old lawyer who looked just like an animated roll of parchment. Keep your eyes open for these amusing dramatizations, and be sure to take to heart the tremendous lesson that they teach.

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

Talk to Mrs. Jones

If you want to gather honey, don’t knock over the beehive.

~ Dale Carnegie ~

“Many of you speak more rudely to your mate than you would to a person on the street,” my teacher Hilda noted. “But you should extend more, not less, courtesy to someone you are building a life with. The next time you are tempted to mouth off to your partner, stop for a moment and ask yourself, How would I speak to Mrs. Jones at the bank? Then give your mate the same respect. ”

Somewhere in our cultural programming, many of us picked up the idea that we have license to speak rudely to our partner, family, or those close to us. Even a little examination will show how self-defeating and destructive such a belief is. Our relationships are our primary means of emotional support; we join and bond to empower each other to be strong, powerful, and great. Our primary relationship is the place where we need to give and receive the most nourishment and respect. To insult or tear each other down in the family is to undermine the foundation upon which we are cultivating our dreams.

Of course, in an intimate relationship, we must be honest, direct and, when necessary, confrontational. It is possible to communicate anything, including our upsets, without attacking our partner. Report your experience objectively with the intention to heal: “These are the things that I am feeling, and I would like your support in returning to peace.” If you harbor any other intention, the communication will fail because it belittles the other person and yourself rather than honoring both of you.

Make your primary relationship a refuge where you can come to be healed and nourished. Use words that invite your partner to join with you, and not separate. When you build your partner up, she or he will do the same for you, and you will live not in a state of fear, but blessing.

Show me how to make a temple of my relationships. Give me the strength to support my beloved ones with kindness, and help me to receive the same.

I delight in supporting my loved ones, and they delight in supporting me.