Daily Recovery Readings
January 13, 2023
Daily Reflection
IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT
We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85
The most common alcoholic fantasy seems to be: “If I just don’t drink, everything will be all right.” Once the fog cleared for me, I saw—for the first time—the mess my life had become. I had family, work, financial and legal problems; I was hung up on old religious ideas; there were sides of my character to which I was inclined to stay blind because they easily could have convinced me that I was hopeless and pushed me toward escape again. The Big Book guided me in resolving all of my problems. But it didn’t happen overnight—and certainly not automatically—with no effort on my part. I need always to recognize God’s mercy and blessings that shine through any problem I have to face.
Big Book Quote
“…with us, to drink is to die.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
When we were drinking, we were living an unnatural life physically and mentally. We were punishing our bodies by loading them with alcohol. We didn’t eat enough and we ate the wrong things. We didn’t get enough sleep or the right kind of rest. We were ruining ourselves physically. We had an alcoholic obsession and we couldn’t imagine life without alcohol. We kept imagining all kinds of crazy things about ourselves and about other people. We were ruining ourselves mentally. Since I came into A.A., am I getting better physically and mentally?
Meditation for the Day
I believe that my life is being refined like gold in a crucible. Gold does not stay in the crucible, only until it is refined. I will never despair or be despondent. I now have friends who long for me to conquer. If I should err or fail, it would cause pain and disappointment to them. I will keep trying to live a better life.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may always call on God’s strength, while the gold of my life is being refined. I pray that I may see it through, with God’s help.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Good Feelings
When we talk about feelings in recovery, we often focus on the troublesome trio – pain, fear, and anger. But there are other feelings available in the emotional realm – happiness, joy, peace, contentment, love, closeness, and excitement.
It’s okay to let ourselves feel pleasurable feelings too.
We don’t have to worry when we experience good feelings; we don’t have to scare ourselves out of them; we don’t have to sabotage our happiness. We do that, sometimes, to get to the more familiar, less joyous terrain.
It’s okay to feel good. We don’t have to analyze, judge, or justify. We don’t have to bring ourselves down, or let others bring us down, by injecting negativity.
We can let ourselves feel good.
Today, I will remind myself that it is my right to feel as good as I can. I can have many moments of feeling good; I can find a balanced place of feeling content, peaceful, and good.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
The perfection of innocence, indeed, is madness.
—Arthur Miller
We’ve all said, “I didn’t do anything. Don’t blame me; I didn’t mean any harm.” Overdevelopment of innocence contradicts our spiritual growth. The painful truth is, we do have an impact on other people. Many times we have cultivated innocence as a style, and it has stood in our way of being accountable.
We cannot be in a relationship without sometimes hurting the ones we love. Spiritual growth requires us to take action and to take responsibility for what we do. It is painful to acknowledge we made a mistake and hurt someone. But giving up our innocent style is constructive pain. It opens the possibility to correct our ways, make repairs, and be forgiven. Then we are in the mainstream of a hearty spiritual life.
May I nave the grace to let go of my innocence by taking action and admitting my mistakes.
Elder’s Meditation
“When you remove love and try to replace it with monetary things, you’ve got nothing … get him to understand that he has to love himself before he can love anything else.”
–John Peters (Slow Turtle), WAMPANOAG
It is said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” That’s the trouble, most of us do.
Great Spirit, You are love; You are spirit. Spirit and love are interconnected. I am spiritual. Let me realize what I am really made of.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
Family secrets could be about to come to light. The true way that certain family members feel about you, or vice versa, might be blurted out without warning. Learning something that you would have never expected about someone that you’ve known for so long can be jarring, but it should make sense as more information is revealed. Let empathy guide you through this emotional connection and show you how to internalize the new information. Just don’t try to change the other person!
The Wandering Enigma 