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December 3

Step by Step

“The explanation that alcoholism was a disease of a two-fold nature, an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind, cleared up a number of puzzling questions for me. …
“The obsession of the mind was a little harder to understand, and yet everyone has obsessions of various kinds. The alcoholic has them to an exaggerated degree. Over a period of time, he has built up self-pity, resentments toward anyone and everyone who dares to cross him, vanity and a critical attitude are character defects that gradually creep in and become a part of his life. Living with fear and tension inevitably results in wanting to ease that tension, which alcohol seems to do temporarily.”– Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Stopped in Time,” Ch 10 (“It Might Have Been Worse”), p 380.

Today: “The alcoholic has (obsessions) to an exaggerated degree.” If today I catch myself critical or resentful of something or someone, myself included, let me remember that I might be feeling an exaggerated emotion that is one of my spiritual defects that began long before my drinking. If resentment comes easily to me even in sobriety or if my expectations of myself are unrealistic, let me see that I may also expect too much of others and that I may resent them if they do not meet my standards. Today, grant me honesty and knowledge to determine if the disproportionate feelings I harbored in my drinking days have carried into my sobriety and, if so, to find my answers in my moral inventory. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

FELLOWSHIP

Our Program is not something you join; it is a way of life.

~ Anonymous ~

There is a rich, deep fellowship in our Program. We have discovered friendships beyond anything we ever experienced be-fore. The meetings we attend, the people we sponsor, the coffee we pour, the service we perform, all make up the experience. But the Fellowship is not an organization; the Fellowship is the coming together of a group of men and women who share a way of life. This way of life is based on certain Steps and Traditions.

We participate in the Fellowship to better work our Steps and live the Traditions. We recover as we live this new way of life. We add to the Fellowship when we bring this life to the meetings. We cannot expect anyone to live our lives for us. If we do not do our work, we will have nothing to share.

In sharing, I give back what I have so freely taken. The Fellowship teaches me that my recovery is found in the Steps and Traditions. When I put them all together, I have a new way of life.

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

Sometimes it is more important to discover what one cannot do than what one can do.

~ Lin Yutang ~

There was a time for each of us when we had not yet discovered important truths about what we could not do. Until we had uncovered this knowledge, we could not take the first Step. We were doomed to stay locked in a cycle that led nowhere but down. No matter how much we tried to improve our self-esteem, no matter how many awards or salary raises we got, we were going nowhere with our personal life. We first needed to learn that we could not control some things.

Once we read the unhappy news that we could not control our addictive behaviors, and we could not control others, we were ready to take the first Step. Then a whole world opened up to us. Only then were we ready to learn what we could do. Even now we use that experience as a model for our lives. When we accept what we cannot control, our understanding of the problem changes, we become calmer, and new possibilities come into view.

Today I am prepared to learn from discovering what I cannot control

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

If at first you don’t succeed, try again a different way.

~ Kay Lovatt ~

It’s been said that Edison had more than five thousand failures on his way to inventing the electric light bulb. Why then do we need to be right, the first time, every time?

Those of us in Twelve Step programs don’t have a monopoly on low self-esteem, but we have our share of it. Maybe our parents or teachers were too critical, or perhaps our siblings were smarter than us in school. But each of us, no matter who we are, had—and still has—equal worth in our Higher Power’s eyes.

When we know we matter in God’s plan, we accept our failings as part of the learning curve. Few of us will ever meet someone who hasn’t failed many times. And we admire the candor and the vulnerability of people who share their falls. Perfection isn’t required. Continuing the journey is.

My definition of success determines how I feel about myself. Today I can believe that trying is succeeding.

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

I am slowly accepting the process

When I first heard of using the Twelve Steps for my addiction, I presumed that after twelve meetings I'd be cured. And I thought that with medication (the first one prescribed), my psychiatric symptoms would vanish. I am finding out, however, that recovery doesn't work this way—and that I am impatient. I want to get better—and I want it now.

What I'm learning instead is that time is a healer and recovery a process. To stay in recovery and avoid relapse to addiction or emotional illness, I need regular counseling, carefully prescribed medication, and continuing attendance at Twelve Step meetings.

I will write out this affirmation (and carry it with me): "I am recovering one day at a time."

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

Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot he great.

~ Niccolo Machiavelli ~

Acceptance may be one of the most difficult things to learn, for it means we must give up the desire to control our life and its outcome. Once we have truly received this great gift we will learn that acceptance need not take away our strength — on the contrary, we will have an inner strength we never thought possible.

When we decided to meet the challenge of a sober life we took the first step toward acceptance — we accepted the fact that we have a disease, a chronic disease that will always be with us. By accepting this fact we will be able to cope with our lifelong struggle. This way we willingly accept the friendship of our group members and the wisdom they offer us. They have been where we are coming from, they have suffered as we suffer, and they have felt the hope we now feel.

We are being offered a way of life that, if we follow it, will bring us a peace of mind we may never have felt. By our surrender we are now willing to receive something that is being offered to us — the beginning of a new way of life.

Today let me accept my powerlessness and any help that’s offered to me.

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

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.

~ J.M. Barrie ~

A popular event in the winter is a flower show. When snow has covered the ground and howling winds are raging outside, it is sheer pleasure to see the beauty of colorful flowers in bloom and smell their fragrant scents. Attending such an event awakens your senses and gives you hope that spring will arrive.

Similarly, recovery is like an investment you make for your future—one that gives you hope and promise of good things to come. Even during times of darkness and despair, recovery offers many positives to overcome the negatives. When you are in recovery, you can feel:

• Forgiveness instead of resentment
• Healing instead of hurt
• Courage and love instead of fear
• Optimism instead of negativity
• Respect instead of contempt
• Acceptance instead of rejection
• Balance instead of obsession
• Serenity instead of tension
• Clarity instead of confusion

Recovery is an investment I make for a better future.

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

The [person] who is always having . . . feelings hurt is about as pleasant a companion as a pebble in a shoe.

~ Elbert Hubbard ~

Are we overly sensitive or afraid of personal criticism for fear our feelings will be hurt? Sometimes it may seem like no one can say anything to us without us feeling hurt, shameful, guilt-ridden, or rejected. We may find ourselves saying we're sorry so many times in one day that we end up believing we are, indeed, very sorry people.

Our friends and relatives care about us and want to see us healthier, happier people. Because of this, they may give us criticism. This criticism is meant to be helpful, not hurtful.

If we feel attacked by the criticisms of others or al-ways seem to have our feelings hurt, it's because we allow it. No one can make us feel any way unless we let it happen. Although we may have been brought up with criticism and been told we were no good, the only person today who can make us feel worthless is ourselves. We are as good as we'll allow ourselves to be.

I can accept personal criticism and not fear my feelings will be hurt. Tonight and every night, lama good person, no matter what another says or feels.

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

Finding the way

We are all meant to travel by the directions our Higher Power gives us. Many paths and modes of transportation lie before us. Many teachers are conveniently situated to help guide the way.

We need to remember that only our Higher Power can show us the whole way. If we open our hearts and minds to our Higher Power, it may work through us and our des-tined path will become obvious.

Am I on the way?

Higher Power, may I begin to know the way, and as I go along, may more be revealed to me.

I will seek to find the way today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

~ OPRAH WINFREY ~

Newcomer

I saw a newcomer, someone who's only been around for a few weeks, putting promotional fliers on the seats before a meeting to advertise a concert she was performing in. I told her that we don't advertise anything here. I was kind of shocked to realize how much I've come to depend on the fact that no one tries to sell me anything at meetings.

Sponsor

One of our most important traditions is that each of our groups is essentially spiritual in nature. We're here for only one purpose, to carry the message to people who are still suffering from our addictions. We're not here to advertise, affiliate with, or endorse anything.

It may seem harmless, at first, for a person in recovery to use a meeting as a place to advertise something he or she is trying to achieve. But think of what would happen if our traditions permitted advertising. Where would we draw the line? Would sober car salesmen, plumbers, insurance agents, and computer consultants all begin hawking their wares and services? Would we begin to treat the principles of the program as one more thing to buy or pass up?

We are certainly free to share the news of our lives with friends in recovery, but we don't use meeting rooms as a place to promote our careers, religions, or worthy causes.

Today, I'm grateful that meetings give me the opportunity to focus my attention on recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

I feel good today and I ought to. I slept like a baby last night, had a fine breakfast that I relished, the wife and kids kissed me as I left the house, I arrived at the office whistling and didn't give a **** whether the boss was in a good humor or not. The work, too, seemed so much easier to do and the gang in the office seemed so much friendlier. It's payday, too, and I drew a whole week's pay and I haven't borrowed a cent from a soul in the office. The whole envelope can go home unopened.
AA gave me all this. To me, an alcoholic, this IS Heaven.

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

Direct and Guide My Journey

O Lord, direct and guide my steps on my journey,
and let me travel in health, joy, and peace.
Keep me from traps and dangers,
and protect me from any enemies who
I might meet along the way.
Bless and protect my journey!
Let me win favor in Your eyes and in the
sight of those around me.
Blessed are You, O Lord,
Who hears and grants our prayers.

~ Adapted from a Jewish prayer, author unknown ~

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

LIGHT AND SALVATION

Read Psalm 27

The Twenty-seventh Psalm is one of the great meditations in the Bible. When trouble of any kind comes into our life it is because we have allowed our consciousness to fall to the level where fear and limitation can reach us. Any mental activity that enables us to raise the spiritual standard of the soul is a form of prayer, and the Bible abounds in such forms.

The history of solving a problem is often this: An individual is worried about something, or he feels ill. As soon as he realizes his state, he declines to accept the condition and proceeds to bring about the necessary raising of the thought. He reads this psalm carefully, interprets it spiritually, allows his mind to dwell upon the principles enunciated, appropriates them to himself, thus regaining his peace of mind.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

This one verse is one of the most complete texts in the whole Bible. It might well be written over the portals of every church and school in the land, for within it is contained in embryo the complete Jesus Christ message. It postulates not merely the existence of God but the living Presence of God in man. The Inner Light is no mere passive or static presence, but a dynamic power—light, salvation, and strength.

"The Lord is the strength of my life." Having promised us light, the psalm now goes on to promise strength or power. We are, in fact, to be "endued with power from on high" and need no longer trust to our own inadequate efforts.

This wonderful verse then sums up its great message in the word "salvation," and with the penetrating psychological skill, it obliges us to ask ourselves, point blank, what there is now to be afraid of.

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

The Man Who Wrote the Book

He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world.

~ Jesus Christ ~

As I was about to present a full-day seminar, I felt quite weary. I had been on a long lecture tour and did not know where I would get the energy to deliver this intensive program. As I entered the seminar room, a man approached me, took my hand, and tearfully told me, “Your book has touched and changed my life. I drove several hundred miles today to meet the man who wrote the book. ” I was deeply moved by the fellow’s sincere appreciation; immediately I felt a wave of energy surge through me, and my fatigue dissolved. Suddenly, the puny, tired person with whom I had identified myself seemed unreal, and the strong and illumined person the fellow referred to came forth. In that moment, I had a choice: I could either be the tired guy or the healer. Fueled by his vision, I chose to identify with my magnificence, and I went on to present a powerful program.

Every moment we are choosing who we will be. No matter how discouraged or lost you feel, within you is the man or woman who wrote the book, or sang the song, or cared for the child, or who embodied your highest potential. Choose in favor of your genius, and you will discover that it is your reality.

Let me remember who I really am, that I may be at peace with myself and my purpose.

Today I choose to be my highest self and live my magnificence.