Daily Recovery Readings
August 18, 2021
Daily Reflection
GETTING WELL
Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness.
— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 79-80
Only through positive action can I remove the remains of guilt and shame brought on by alcohol. Throughout my misadventures when I drank, my friends would say, “Why are you doing this? You’re only hurting yourself.” Little did I know how true were those words. Although I harmed others, some of my behavior caused grave wounds to my soul. Step Eight provides me with a way of forgiving myself. I alleviate much of the hidden damage when I make my list of those I have hurt. In making amends, I free myself of burdens, thus contributing to my healing.
From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Big Book Quote
“Our liquor was but a symptom.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 64~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
“We of agnostic temperament have found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which we call God. As soon as you can say that you do believe or are willing to believe, you are on your way. Upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built.” Am I willing to depend on a Power that I cannot fully define or comprehend?
Meditation for the Day
We seek God’s presence and “they who seek shall find.” It is not a question of searching so much as an inner consciousness of the Divine spirit in your heart. To realize God’s presence you must surrender to His will in the small as well as in the big things of life. This makes God’s guidance possible. Some things separate you from God – a false word, a fear-inspired failure, a harsh criticism, a stubborn resentment. These are the things that put a distance between your mind and God. A word of love, a selfless reconciliation, and a kind act of helpfulness – these bring God closer.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may think and say and do the things that bring God closer to me. I pray that I may find Him in a sincere prayer, a kind word, or an unselfish deed.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Valuing this Moment
Detachment involves present moment living – living in the here and now. We allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it. We relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. We make the most of each day.
—Codependent No More
This moment, we are right where we need to be, right where we are meant to be.
How often we waste our time and energy wishing we were someone else, were doing something else, or were someplace else. We may wish our present circumstances were different.
We needlessly confuse ourselves and divert our energy by thinking that our present moment is a mistake. But we are right where we need to be for now. Our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, challenges, and tasks – all of it is on schedule.
We spoil the beauty of the present moment by wishing for something else.
Come back home to yourself. Come back home to the present moment. We will not change things by escaping or leaving the moment. We will change things by surrendering to and accepting the moment.
Some moments are easier to accept than others.
To trust the process, to trust all of it, without hanging on to the past or peering too far into the future, requires a great deal of faith. Surrender to the moment. If you’re feeling angry, get mad. If you’re setting a boundary, dive into that. If you’re grieving, grieve. Get into it. Step where instinct leads. If you’re waiting, wait. If you have a task, throw yourself into the work. Get into the moment; the moment is right.
We are where we are, and it is okay. It is right where we’re meant to be to get where we’re going tomorrow. And that place will be good.
It has been planned in love for us.
God, help me let go of my need to be someone other than who I am today. Help me dive fully into the present moment. I will accept and surrender to my present moments – the difficult ones and the easy ones, trusting the whole process. I will stop trying to control the process; instead, I will relax and let myself experience it.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
The years forever fashion new dreams when old ones go. God pity the one dream man.
—Robert Goddard
A painful loss can seem like the end of hope for us. It is true that the place a loved one had in our lives will never be filled. The loss of a job may dash a dream that will not come true – at least not as we thought it would. The aging of our body ends physical strength, and we lose options that will not come around a second time. Yet, change is a basic fact of life. We must empty a glass before we can fill it with something else. Our spiritual task is to become less rigid in our attachments and more accepting of the flow of life.
When we look straight at our losses and allow ourselves to cry and grieve over them, we are saying good-bye and letting go. Grief cleanses the soul and frees us to move on to new dreams. The loss of a job may put us in a position to discover undreamed of possibilities. In time, the loss of a love heals, and it deepens our relationship with our Higher Power and with our other friends. The other side of grief is freedom, and we are learning to have many new dreams in our lives.
I pray for the freedom that comes with having dreams in my life.
Elder’s Meditation
“You have to have confidence in your own ability to be able to go it alone, to go against what the rest of the culture is doing.”
–Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D., PENOBSCOT
God, this is hard. Today, allow me to be a Warrior. Let me be strong. Let Your voice be clear to me. Let me hear Your guidance. My goal today is to serve You, to develop myself to be the kind of Indian person that You would have me be. To Walk the Red Road must sometimes be walked alone.
Great Spirit, let me walk the Red Road today with the confidence that You are with me. If I fall, I will quickly ask You to help me know what I should do next.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
Your words and your mind may be moving faster than your body at the moment. This is one of those days when you might not be able to write or type as fast as your brain comes up with words to say or you may be speaking a mile a minute. Others might not be able to keep up with such a speedy flow of information! Make it a point to put the brakes on when you explain things so that you’re not misunderstood.
The Wandering Enigma 