Daily Recovery Readings - April

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April 13

Daily Reflections

THE FALSE COMFORT OF SELF-PITY

Self-pity is one of the most unhappy and consuming defects
that we know. It is a bar to all spiritual progress and
can cut off all effective communication with our fellows
because of its inordinate demands for attention and sympathy.
It is a maudlin form of martyrdom, which we can ill afford.
AS BILL SEES IT, p. 238

The false comfort of self-pity screens me from reality
only momentarily and then demands, like a drug, that I
take an ever bigger dose. If I succumb to this it could
lead to a relapse into drinking. What can I do? One certain
antidote is to turn my attention, however slightly at first,
toward others who are genuinely less fortunate than I,
preferably other alcoholics. In the same degree that I
actively demonstrate my empathy with them, I will lessen
my own exaggerated suffering.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

Having found my way into this new world by the grace of God
and the help of A.A., am I going to take that first drink,
when I know that just one drink will change my whole world?
Am I deliberately going back to the suffering of that
alcoholic world? Or am I going to hang onto the happiness
of this sober world? Is there any doubt about the answer?
With God's help, am I going to hang onto AA. with both hands?

Meditation For The Day

I will try to make the world better and happier by my
presence in it. I will try to help other people find the
way God wants them to live. I will try to be on the side
of good, in the stream of righteousness, where all things
work for good. I will do my duty persistently and faithfully,
not sparing myself. I will be gentle with all people. I will
try to see other people's difficulty and help them to correct
it. I will always pray to God to act as interpreter between
me and the other person.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may live in the spirit of prayer. I pray that
I may depend on God for the strength I need to help me to do
my part in making the world a better place.

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As Bill Sees It

Principle Before Expediency, p. 103

Most of us thought good character was desirable. Obviously, good
character was something one needed to get on with the business of
being self-satisfied. With a proper display of honesty and morality,
we'd stand a better chance of getting what we really wanted. But
whenever we had to choose between character and comfort,
character-building was lost in the dust of our chase after what we
thought was happiness.

Seldom did we look at character-building as something desirable in
itself. We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of
man and God the daily basis of living.

<< << << >> >> >>

How to translate a right mental conviction into a right emotional result,
and so into easy, happy and good living, is the problem of life itself.

1. 12 & 12, pp. 71-72
2. Grapevine, January 1958

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Walk in Dry Places

No Conditional Sobriety
Admission of Powerlessness
Sobriety in AA is unconditional. This means that there’s never been a reason for drinking, no matter how bad our circumstances may become. As the AA pioneers were fond of saying, “THERE’S NOTHING THAT DRINKING WON'T MAKE WORSE.”
How do we know if we've been setting conditions on sobriety? It’s revealed to us in our own thinking. If we believe, for example, that a certain setback such as the ending of a relationship is just cause for drinking, we have made our sobriety conditional.
In such cases, what we need to do is clear up our own thinking on the subject. Maybe further inventory is needed, or perhaps we should let ourselves learn from the experience of others. Self-honesty is also important in getting priorities in order.
The decision to choose unconditional sobriety brings additional benefits in helping us to organize our lives. Once we completely understand that sobriety is all-important, it becomes easier to make other decisions that bear on keeping sober. We find ourselves choosing the ideas and activities that enhance sobriety, while rejecting other things that could threaten it.
I’ll never waver in a moment from my relief that I must continue to seek sobriety…… unconditionally. There is nothing that could ever justify my taking a drink.

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Keep It Simple

No labor, however humble, is dishonoring.---The Talmud
Work is good for the heart. Work is good for our minds. It can give us something to focus on besides ourselves. Labor doesn't just mean having a job. It may mean planting a garden or helping a friend. It certainly means working our program. Hopefully, it's a labor of love. We can get into trouble if we have to much time on our hands. We can turn it into mischief or self-pity. We can get bored. Being bored is a matter of choice. We'll never be bored if we ask ourselves, "How can I make this world a better place?" We can turn our answers into action.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to use my time wisely. Help me be well-balanced between labor and fun. I need both.
Action for the Day: I'll list five ways that labor and fun can help me get closer to my Higher Power. And I'll look for people and things to fill my time in positive ways.

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Each Day a New Beginning

The world is a wheel always turning. Those who are high go down low, and those who've been low go up higher. --Anzia Yezierska
Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. And letting go of the way things are, anticipating instead what they might become, frees us to live each moment more fully.
Time marches on, and our destiny marches with it. There is purpose in how our lives unfold, the ups and downs serve our growth. We must neither resent the doldrums nor savor too long the elation. Giving too much attention to either state interferes with our awareness of the present. And the present has come to teach us.
We must move with time. We must focus our attention on the moment and accept whatever feelings each experience elicits. Emotional maturity is accepting our feelings and letting them go and facing instead the next moment with fresh receptivity. Our lessons are many, and they accompany the lows as well as the highs. We can be grateful for both.
The program has taught us freedom from lingering lows. It has given us the tools to move confidently forward, trusting that all is well. Nothing lasts forever, and within each struggle is the opportunity for real growth.
The highs will pass away, just as will the lows. They visit us purposefully. I will give them their freedom and find mine as well.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

Chapter 9 - The Family Afterwards

Father knows he is to blame; it may take him many seasons of hard work to be restored financially, but he shouldn’t be reproached. Perhaps he will never have much money again. But the wise family will admire him for what he is trying to be, rather than for what he is trying to get.

p. 123

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

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

Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to A.A., and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.

p. 24

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According to my experience, the principal characteristic of genuine
happiness is peace, inner peace.
--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

God, help me remember to be peaceful first, no matter what situation I
face.
--Melody Beattie

"When human beings stand by one another, testify to their faith, and
witness each other's pain, miracles happen. If we are loved enough,
we are emotionally healed and spiritually made whole."
--Marianne Williamson

God, teach me to let go of worry about money.
--Melody Beattie

"Don't go through life, GROW through life."
--Eric Butterworth

Let those whom you care about know how much you appreciate them,
right now!

Look for opportunities to speak words that help and heal.
--Roy Shaver

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

REALITY

"I tend to be suspicious of people
whose love of animals is
exaggerated; they are often
frustrated in their relationship
with humans."
--Yila (Camilla Koffler)

Anything can be used to avoid dealing with reality. People can use
alcohol, food, drugs, people, sex, gambling - and yes, even animals - to
avoid dealing with their loneliness and feelings of isolation.

The key to addiction is to be found in the obsessive and compulsive
behavior patterns that stop us from reaching our full potential as human
beings. We cannot relax with who we are because of our exaggerated
and painful lifestyles. We cannot truly love ourselves because of our
obsession with the "it" that seems to be controlling us. At some point we
need to see the obsession and begin to talk about it.

In order for me to be a spiritual person I must free myself from
compulsive attitudes.

God, I meditate on the "comfortableness" of freedom.

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"From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."
John 1:16

"When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them."
Psalm 91:15

"Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will
be forgiven."
Luke 6:37

I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

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Daily Inspiration

Grow and learn from every situation no matter how insignificant because to stand still is really going backwards. Lord, may my spirit always remain young and vibrant and my enthusiasm for each new day remain alive.

It is the optimist that opens new doors and takes advantage of even the smallest of life's opportunities. Lord, may my spirit shine and my eyes be open so that I may discover all that life offers.