Wisdom For Today - January

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January 26

Wisdom for Today
There is an old Rolling Stone's song, "I can't get no – satisfaction." I used to feel this way all the time when I was using. I never could get enough. Even in early recovery, when people would ask me what my drug of choice was, I would respond by saying, "MORE!" The truth was that nothing seemed to bring me satisfaction. My drinking and drug use stopped bringing me pleasure long before I stopped using. Even being clean and sober didn't seem like it was enough. Something was definitely missing.
I came to discover, like many people who have stayed clean and sober, that abstinence is not enough. There is a whole lot more to recovery than simply stopping the use. The Twelve Step program teaches us a new way of living. We begin with developing skills to stay out of harm's way. We then find that we need to grow spiritually. We take a good look at ourselves and make changes that are needed in how we perceive the world and how we behave in it. We rebuild our lives and fix what is broken, particularly our relationship with others. We continue to do regular checks on our functioning. We seek to know God, and we carry the message. We become new people. Am I finding satisfaction in my life now?
Meditations for the Heart
The heart is a crazy, mixed up part of who we are. Our emotions, our desires and our will all reside deep within our heart. In addiction the wiring of the heart gets short-circuited and continues to give us grief. The reality is that we cannot go back and rewire our will, our emotions and desires. This is the part of who we are that can get us in the most trouble. In the program there is a slogan that says, "Think, Think, Think." But the question is what are we supposed to think. Only the mind is capable of grasping wisdom. Our mind must seek out wisdom when our hearts are troubling us. A question I have learned to ask myself, "Is it wise?" The words of the Serenity Prayer talk about the wisdom to know the difference. It is wise for me to seek out my Higher Power's will for me. It is wise to do those things that are physically, mentally and spiritually healthy for me. Do I seek out wisdom in all that I do?
Petitions to my Higher Power
God,
It is You that ultimately brings me any satisfaction that I have in my life. Teach me to be wise in all that I do. Let me seek out that which is healthy for me. Help me to recognize when my heart gets out of control and seek to do Your will and not mine. Guide me on this pathway of recovery, and lead me to the place of true satisfaction in my life.
Amen.