Daily Recovery Readings - April

[bluidkiti]

April 4

Daily Reflections

CRYING FOR THE MOON

"This very real feeling of inferiority is magnified by his childish
sensitivity and it is this state of affairs which generates in him that
insatiable, abnormal craving for self-approval and success in the eyes
of the world. Still a child, he cries for the moon. And the moon, it
seems, won't have him!"
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 102

While drinking I seemed to vacillate between feeling totally invisible
and believing I was the center of the universe. Searching for that
elusive balance between the two has become a major part of my
recovery. The moon I constantly cried for is, in sobriety, rarely full; it
shows me instead its many other phases, and there are lessons in them
all. True learning has often followed an eclipse, a time of darkness,
but with each cycle of my recovery, the light grows stronger and my
vision is clearer.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

When I came into A.A., I found men and women who had been through
the same things I had been through. But now they were thinking more
about how they could help others than they were about themselves.
They were a lot more unselfish than I ever was. By coming to meetings
and associating with them, I began to think a little less about myself
and a little more about other people. I also learned that I didn't have
to depend on myself alone to get out of the mess I was in. I could get a
greater strength than my own. Am I now depending less on myself and
more on God?

Meditation For The Day

You cannot help others unless you understand the person you are
trying to help. To understand the problems and temptations of others,
you must have been through them yourself. You must do all you can to
understand others. You must study their backgrounds, their likes and
dislikes, their reactions and their prejudices. When you see their
weaknesses, do not confront the person with them. Share your own
weaknesses, sins, and temptations and let other people find their own
convictions.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may serve as a channel for God's power to come into the
lives of others. I pray that I may try to understand them.

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As Bill Sees It

". . .In All Our Affairs, p. 94

"The chief purpose of A.A. is sobriety. We all realize that without
sobriety we have nothing.

"However, it is possible to expand this simple aim into a great deal of
nonsense, so far as the individual member is concerned. Sometimes
we hear him say, in effect, "Sobriety is my sole responsibility. After
all, I'm a pretty fine chap, except for my drinking. Give me sobriety,
and I've got it made!'

"As long as our friend clings to this comfortable alibi, he will make so
little progress with his real life problems and responsibilities that he
stands in a fair way to get drunk again. This is why A.A.'s Twelfth
Steps urges that 'we practice these principles in all our affairs.' We
are not living just to be sober; we are living to learn, to serve, and to
love.

Letter, 1966

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Walk in Dry Places

You are not alone
Fellowship
If you feel isolated and lonely, tape the letters ~~ YANA~~ to the dash in your car. "You Are Never Alone" can help bring a surge of confidence when you most need it.
We are not alone because we have thousands of friends who have shared our experience and who understand our feelings. We also are not alone because we have a Higher Power who presides over the affairs of all humankind. We can never be separated from this Power except in our own minds.
We must remember that we will always need other people. Virtually everything that benefits us is supplied by the skills and knowledge of others.We can believe that we are completely independent, but the truth is that no person survives completely alone.
The typical problem for many of us is in failing to seek help from others. If extreme loneliness is closing in on us, the best prescription is a meeting and the company of other members.
I'll not be too proud to ask for help today or to explain to others that I need them and appreciate them. I should also freely admit that help from others led me to sobriety---and helps maintain it today.

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Keep It Simple

Pray without resentment in your heart. ---The Little Red Book
Resentment is anger that we don't want to turn over to our Higher Power.
Sometimes we want to keep our anger. Maybe we want to "get even." it's hard to be spiritual and full of anger at the same time. When we hold on to anger, it turns into self-will. We get angry from time to time. This is normal. But we now have a program to help us let go of anger. We also know that stored-up anger can drive us back to alcohol and other drugs. Instead of trying to "get even," let's work at keeping anger out of our hearts.
Prayer for the Day: I pray without anger in my heart. Higher Power, I give You my anger. Have me work for justice, instead of acting like a judge.
Action For the Day: I'll list any resentments I now have. I'll talk about them at my next meeting. This is the best way to turn resentments over to my Higher Power.

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Each Day a New Beginning

All we are asked to bear we can bear. That is a law of the spiritual life. The only hindrance to the working of this law, as of all benign laws, is fear. --Elizabeth Goudge
There is no problem too difficult to handle with all the help available to us. Let's not be overwhelmed. The program tells us to "Let go and let God," to turn it over. And that's where the solution lies.
Our challenges, the stumbling blocks in our way, beckon us toward the spiritual working-out of the problem which moves us closer toward being the women we are meant to be. Our fear comes from not trusting in the power greater than ourselves to provide the direction we need, to make known the solution.
Every day we will have challenges. We have lessons to learn which mean growing pains. If we could but remember that our challenges are gifts to grow on and that within every problem lies the solution.
I will not be given more than I and my higher power can handle today, or any day.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 8 - TO WIVES

It is probably true that you and your husband have been living too much alone, for drinking many times isolates the wife of an alcoholic. Therefore, you probably need fresh interests and a great cause to live for as much as your husband. If you cooperate, rather than complain, you will find that his excess enthusiasm will tone down. Both of you will awaken to a new sense of responsibility for others. You, as well as your husband, ought to think of what you can put into life instead of how much you can take out. Inevitably your lives will be fuller for doing so. You will lose the old life to find one much better.

pp. 119-120

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step One - "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable."

No other kind of bankruptcy is like this one. Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all self-sufficiency and all will to resist its demands. Once this stark fact is accepted, our bankruptcy as going human concerns is complete.

p. 21

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"In forgiving ourselves, we make the journey from guilt for what we
have done (or not done) to celebration of what we have become."
--Joan Borysenko

Pitying yourself will get you nowhere. Things aren't always going to
go the way you want them to, but still you must set the rules regarding
how you respond to them.

There is incredible beauty, in the gentle and quiet spirit, precious in
God's direction.
--SweetyZee

"He who cannot rest, cannot work; He who cannot let go, cannot hold
on; He who cannot find footing, cannot go forward."
--Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far
more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment."
--Benjamin Franklin

If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first
examine it and see whether it is not something that could be better
changed in ourselves.
--Carl Jung

Voices we prefer to ignore may speak words we need to hear.
--Don Deal

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

BEAUTY

"Beauty is not caused. It is."
--Emily Dickinson

So many people think that beauty is what you do to yourself; what you
wear, makeup, clothes, hairstyles or expensive jewelry. Again it is so
easy to get caught up in "things". Reality is not about what we wear
but who we are.

The beauty that God has created comes from within. The twinkle in
the eyes that says "hello". The hug that says "I love you". The gentle
embrace and smile that says "I forgive you". The tear that cries "I
understand".

When God said to the world, "It is good", Beauty was born. Drugs and
crazy relationships only get in the way of us being what we were
intended to be: beautiful for God.

Today I seek to put God's beauty in my actions, words and attitudes.

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"Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the
Lord."
Psalm 31:24

For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from
being snared.
Proverbs 3:26

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Daily Inspiration

Today is an opportunity to love, to work and to play. Lord, may I recognize the opportunities that come today and participate in them as much as I can.

In life it is those that persevere that will succeed. Lord, every day is a fresh beginning. With You, I will come closer to my goals each day if only I don't give up and quit.