Daily Recovery Readings
March 22, 2023
Daily Reflection
NO MORE STRUGGLE. . .
“And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone—even alcohol.”
— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84
When A.A. found me, I thought I was in for a struggle, and that A.A. might provide the strength I needed to beat alcohol. Victorious in that fight, who knows what other battles I could win. I would need to be strong, though. All my previous experience with life proved that. Today I do not have to struggle or exert my will. If I take those Twelve Steps and let my Higher Power do the real work, my alcohol problem disappears all by itself. My living problems also cease to be struggles. I just have to ask whether acceptance—or change—is required. It is not my will, but His, that needs doing.
From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Big Book Quote
“If a repetition is to be prevented, place the problem, along with everything else, in God’s hands.”
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, To Wives, Page 120~
24 Hours a Day – The Little Black Book
Thought for the Day
We’re all looking for the power to overcome drinking. When we alcoholics come into A.A., our first question is: “How do I get the strength to quit?” At first it seems to us that we will never get the necessary strength. We see older members who have found the power we are looking for, but we don’t know the process by which they got it. This necessary strength comes in many ways. Have I found all the strength I need?
Meditation for the Day
You cannot have a spiritual need that God cannot supply. Your fundamental need is a spiritual need, the need of power to live the good life. The best spiritual supply is received by you when you want it to pass on to other people. You get it largely by giving it away. God gives you strength as you pass it on to another person. That strength means increased health; increased health means more good work, and more good work means more people helped. And so it goes on, a constant supply to meet all spiritual needs.
Prayer for the Day
I pray that my every spiritual need will be supplied by God. I pray that I may use the power I receive to help others.
The Language of Letting Go – Codependency
Letting Go of Being a Victim
It’s okay to have a good day. Really.
It’s okay to be doing okay and to feel like our life is manageable and on track.
Many of us have learned, as part of our survival behaviors, that the way to get the attention and approval we want is to be victims. If life is awful, too difficult, unmanageable, too hard, unfair, then others will accept, like, and approve of us, we think.
We may have learned this from living and associating with people who also learned to survive by being a victim.
We are not victims. We do not need to be victimized. We do not need to be helpless and out of control to get the attention and love we desire. In fact, the kind of love we are seeking cannot be obtained that way.
We can get the love we really want and need by only owning our power. We learn that we can stand on our own two feet, even though it sometimes feels good to lean a little. We learn that the people we are leaning on are not holding us up. They are standing next to us.
We all have bad days — days when things are not going the way we’d like, days when we have feelings of sadness and fear. But we can deal with our bad days and darker feelings in ways that reflect self-responsibility rather than victimization.
It’s okay to have a good day too. We might not have as much to talk about, but we’ll have more to enjoy.
God, help me let go of my need to be a victim. Help me let go of my belief that to be loved and get attention I need to be a victim. Surround me with people who love me when I own my power. Help me start having good days and enjoying them.
Touchstone – Men’s Meditation
“Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other.”
—M. C. Richards
Recovering men know this path is not always easy. We usually talk about the benefits of recovery and the many promises of the program. Today, in our fellowship, we talk of the challenges we must face in order to recover. Honesty may be the greatest challenge. It is frightening to be honest with ourselves about things we have never really admitted or faced before.
Sometimes we have new and confusing feelings and think something must be wrong with us. But we may be just experiencing the logical outcome of our earlier commitment to be honest. No one recovers by thinking about it. We must actively take each Step and meet the challenges presented. We are not alone with our difficulties. We are part of a large movement of men committed to recovery, and this quiet moment is one way in which we are simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Today, I pray for the courage to remain faithful when the fears and pains of my transformation are overwhelming.
Elder’s Meditation
“Everything’s so simple, and we make everything so complicated. That’s why we’re confused.”
–Vickie Downey, TEWA/Tesuque Pueblo
The Creator designed a very simple set of Laws for us to follow. If we follow these simple things, we’ll be happy. If we don’t follow these simple things, our lives become complicated. For example:
- Respect Mother Earth
- Love one another
- Be truthful
- Give to your brother and sisters
- Be gentle with each other
- Be happy
Following these simple Laws will have great rewards.
Great Spirit, let me lead a simple life.
Daily Horoscope – Cancer
Your goals could feel larger than life in a wonderful way at the moment. The Moon and expansive Jupiter are coming together in your career sector to set off some major sparks, and in the process, they’re opening a door or two that have been previously closed. Be prepared to show off your best side and talk up your experience, because the chance to make some major strides is on offer. Don’t rest on your laurels and let this pass you by!
The Wandering Enigma 