Daily Recovery Readings
June 6, 2017

Daily Reflection

ALL WE DO IS TRY

Can He now take them all — every one? — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

In doing Step Six it helped me a lot to remember that I am striving for “spiritual progress.” Some of my character defects may be with me for the rest of my life, but most have been toned down or eliminated. All that Step Six asks of me is to become willing to name my defects, claim them as my own, and be willing to discard the ones I can, just for today. As I grow in the program, many of my defects become more objectionable to me than previously and, therefore, I need to repeat Step Six so that I can become happier with myself and maintain my serenity.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that
we were alcoholics.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 30~

Keep It Simple

Fortunate are the people whose roots are deep.—Agnes Meyer

A tree’s roots seek water and minerals. Though the roots can’t be seen easily seen, they are there.

The life of the tree depends on them. The stronger a tree’s roots, the higher a tree can grow.

We need to set deep roots into the soil of recovery. The soil of recovery is made up of the Twelve Steps, fellowship, and service to others. We’ll have to get through storms and high winds in our return to health. In so doing, we’ll become beautiful, strong, and spiritual. We’ll be able to live with both the gentle breezes and the heavy winds of life.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me believe in what I can’t see. Just as I believe that the roots of a tree are there because I can see the leaves. I believe in a Higher Power because I can see the results.

Action for the Day:
I will ask myself, “Which Step do I need to work on the most right now?” I will volunteer to give a meeting on that Step.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You can’t avoid your current obligations, but you might attempt to lessen your workload today. Your long-term career goals are shifting now that you’re participating in more social activities. Sweet Venus moves into your 11th House of Groups, drawing you closer to your circle of friends. Thankfully, you’re more prone to accept help with your chores, which gives you a chance to bask in a lovely sense of camaraderie. Activist Dorothy Day said, “We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community.”

Daily Recovery Readings
June 5, 2017

Daily Reflection

ENTIRELY READY?

“This is the Step that separates the men from the boys.”. . . the difference between “the boys and the men” is the difference between striving for a self-determined objective and for the perfect objective which is of God. . . . It is suggested that we ought to become entirely willing to aim toward perfection. . . . The moment we say, “No, never!” our minds close against the grace of God. . . . This is the exact point at which we abandon limited objectives, and move toward God’s will for us.

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 63, 68, 69

Am I entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character? Do I know at long last that I cannot save myself? I have come to believe that I cannot. If I am unable, if my best intentions go wrong, if my desires are selfishly motivated and if my knowledge and will are limited — then I am ready to embrace God’s will for my life.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill’s Story, pg. 8~

Keep It Simple

Life is only this place, this time, and these people right here and now.—Vincent Collins

Staying in the present can be hard. This busy world pulls our focus from the present. We often wonder if the future will bring good times or bad times.

Life is right before us. Look around. Life is happening—now! The more we live in the moment, the better we feel. Why? Because we can do something about the present. We can’t do anything about the future. We have choices in the present, and we can do something with our lives. Addiction ran our lives before. Now with the help of others and our Higher Power, we run our lives again. This gives us peace of mind.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, thank-you for giving back my life. Teach me how to run my life. Have me seek others when I need help. It’s okay to ask for it.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll list five things I do well. Then I’ll list three things I don’t do well. I’ll think of people who can help me, and I’ll call them.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

If you would like someone to be more forthcoming with their feelings, there’s no reason to wait for the right moment to initiate action. Impetuous Mars in your sign is harmonizing with the magnetic Scorpio Moon in your 5th House of Self-Expression, prompting you to ask for what you want. However, this is not a golden ticket that gains you entry to everyone’s heart, so use your cosmic assistance with care. He or she who does not venture has no luck.

Daily Recovery Readings
June 4, 2017

Daily Reflection

LETTING GO OF OUR OLD SELVES

Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last. . . .Are we now ready to let God remove from us all the things which we have admitted are objectionable?

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, pp. 75, 76

The Sixth Step is the last “preparation” Step. Although I have already used prayer extensively, I have made no formal request of my Higher Power in the first Six Steps. I have identified my problem, come to believe that there is a solution, made a decision to seek this solution, and have “cleaned house.” I now ask: Am I willing to live a life of sobriety, of change, to let go of my old self? I must determine if I am truly ready to change. I review what I have done and become willing for God to remove all my defects of character; for in the next Step, I will tell my Creator I am willing and will ask for help. If I have been thorough in the preparation of my foundation and feel that I am willing to change, I am then ready to continue with the next Step. “If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 76)

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self- confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Doctor’s Opinion, pg. xxviii~

Keep It Simple

We cannot solve life’s problems except by solving them. —M. Scott Peck

Before getting into the program, we ran from problems at all costs. As time went on, we had more problems. As our problems grew, we became afraid of life.

The program—the Twelve Steps—teaches us how to face and solve our problem. We stop running and stand up to problems. That way, life’s problems scare us less and less over time.

In fact, life’s problems help us better know our Higher Power and ourselves. We now know our Higher Power is with us every step of the way.

Prayer for the Day:
I pray for the courage to stand and face life’s problems. I pray for the wisdom to ask my Higher Power for help.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll list all problems I now have. I will talk about them with friends and with my Higher Power. I will make plans to solve them (sometimes solving problems means accepting them).

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Your emotional reactions can be so overwhelming that you resist sharing your desires, scared that your intensity will alienate those you love. Unfortunately, your inaction only leads to a different set of problems as warrior Mars enters your sign today, intensifying your feelings. But the truth is there’s no need to pretend that all is well. Try letting a trusted friend know what’s been troubling you. Nevertheless, be careful not to blame anyone else for your current worries. First Lady Rosalynn Carter said, “Once you accept the fact that you’re not perfect, then you develop some confidence.”

Daily Recovery Readings
June 3, 2017

Daily Reflection

ON A WING AND A PRAYER

. . . we then look at Step Six. We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable.

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Steps Four and Five were difficult but worthwhile. Now I was stuck on Step Six and, in despair, I picked up the Big Book and read this passage. I was outside, praying for willingness when I raised my eyes and saw a huge bird rising in the sky. I watched it suddenly give itself up to the powerful air currents of the mountains. Swept along, swooping and soaring, the bird did things seemingly impossible for mortal birds to do. It was an inspiring example of a fellow creature “letting go” to a power greater than itself. I realized that if the bird “took back his will” and tried to fly with less trust, on its power alone, it would spoil its apparent free flight. That insight granted me the willingness to pray the Seventh Step prayer.

It’s not easy to know God’s will in each circumstance. I must search out and be ready for the currents, and that’s where prayer and meditation help! Because I am, of myself, nothing, I ask God to grant me the knowledge of His will and the power and courage to carry it out today.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“There is a solution. Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others…”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~

Keep It Simple

When I have listened to my mistakes, I have grown.—Hugh Prather

Everyone makes mistakes. We all know that. So why is it so hard to admit out own? We seem to think we have to be perfect. We have a hard time looking at our mistakes. But our mistakes can be very good teachers. Our Twelve Step program helps us learn and grow from our mistakes. In Step Four, half of our work is to think of our mistakes. In Step Five, we admit our mistakes to God, ourselves, and another person. We learn, we grow and become whole. All by coming to know our mistakes The gift of recovery is not being free from mistakes. Instead, we do the Steps to claim our mistakes and talk about them. We find the gift of recovery when we learn from our mistakes.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me to see my mistakes as changes to get to know myself better.

Action for the Day:
Today I’ll talk to a friend about what my mistakes taught me. Today I’ll feel less shame.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Wearing a smile is your secret weapon today, especially if you are obsessed with your current worries. Nevertheless, displaying your joyful personality does not give you free license to ignore the most pressing issues of the day. Staying consciously aware of a currently irresolvable dilemma is a necessity. You are playing parts in two different scripts now so don’t try to fit everything you say and do into one tidy package. The stress will eventually settle down, enabling your temporary happy face to turn into a permanent grin. Sometimes faking it actually leads to making it.

Daily Recovery Readings
June 2, 2017

Daily Reflection

THE UPWARD PATH

Here are the steps we took. . . . — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 59

These are the words that lead into the Twelve Steps. In their direct simplicity, they sweep aside all psychological and philosophical considerations about the rightness of the Steps. They describe what I did: I took the Steps and sobriety was the result. These words do not imply that I should walk the well-trodden path of those who went before, but rather that there is a way for me to become sober and that it is a way I shall have to find. It is a new path, one that leads to infinite light at the top of the mountain. The Steps advise me about the footholds that are safe and about chasms to avoid. They provide me with the tools I need during the many parts of the solitary journey of my soul. When I speak of this journey, I share my experience, strength and hope with others.

Big Book Quote

“We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. ‘Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?’ As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, pg. 47

Keep It Simple

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.—Eleanor Roosevelt

Most of us want to be happy. We just don’t know how. We aren’t sure what happiness is. We’ve learned the hard way that some things we wanted didn’t make us happy. We’re learning that happiness comes when we live the way our Higher Power wants us to live. That’s when we’re honest. When we do our best work. When we are a true friend. We make happiness; we don’t find it. Sometimes we don’t even know we’re happy. We’re too busy with our work, our recovery program, our friends, and family. We need to slow down and know that when we do what we need to, happiness comes.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me know that I’m most happy when I listen to You and do Your will. You know better than I do what makes me happy.

Action for the Day:
What parts of my program am I most happy about? Today I’ll think of these and enjoy myself.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You can think of plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t take any chances today. However, upon further analysis, your arguments break down one at a time, especially when you consider all the facts. It turns out that remembering a painful experience is warping your current logic. If you start out in a fearful place, you are likely to wind up with a negative outcome. Fortunately, you have an opportunity to overcome a self-imposed limitation by acknowledging when your worries are not based on the current situation. Jim Rohn wrote, “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

Daily Recovery Readings
June 1, 2017

Daily Reflection

A CHANGED OUTLOOK

Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

When I was drinking, my attitude was totally selfish, totally self-centered; my pleasure and my comfort came first. Now that I am sober, self-seeking has started to slip away. My whole attitude toward life and other people is changing. For me, the first “A” in our name stands for attitude. My attitude is changed by the second “A” in our name, which stands for action. By working the Steps, attending meetings, and carrying the message, I can be restored to sanity. Action is the magic word! With a positive, helpful attitude and regular A.A. action, I can stay sober and help others to achieve sobriety. My attitude now is that I am willing to go to any length to stay sober!

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“We never apologize to anyone for depending upon our Creator. We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage. They trust their God. We never apologize for God. Instead, we let Him demonstrate, through us, what He can do. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be. At once, we commence to out grow fear.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 68~

Keep It Simple

We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.—Step Six

Character defects include being stubborn, feeling self-pity, and wanting to always be in control. We must be ready to give up these defects, or they will hurt us. Being ready is our part of Step

Six. Our Higher Power will remove these defects. We don’t need to know how. We just need to be ready to give them up when God asks for them. We don’t need to know when. We just have to be ready.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, take away my self-pity, fears, anger, and anything else that hurts my recovery. Help me make room for peace.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll get ready to have my character defects removed. I will list them and ask myself, “What do I get from keeping them?”

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You’re so hopeful that your hard work and dedication will be rewarded with a promotion or a raise that you go the extra mile in all that you do today. Although the ambitious Venus-Saturn trine grounds your 6th House of Efficiency and your 10th House of Career, this practical aspect influences more than your current work habits. Whatever you seek in life is worth your time now. But don’t get discouraged if success seems far off. When you master patience, you master everything else, too.

Daily Recovery Readings
May 31, 2017

Daily Reflection

READINESS TO SERVE OTHERS

. . . our Society has concluded that it has but one high mission – to carry the A.A. message to those who don’t know there’s a way out.

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 151

The “Light” to freedom shines bright on my fellow alcoholics as each one of us challenges the other to grow. The “Steps” to self-improvement have small beginnings, but each Step builds the “ladder” out of the pit of despair to new hope. Honesty becomes my “tool” to unfurl the “chains” which bound me. A sponsor, who is a caring listener, can help me to truly hear the message guiding me to freedom.
I ask God for the courage to live in such a way that the Fellowship may be a testimony to His favor. This mission frees me to share my gifts of wellness through a spirit of readiness to serve others.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resentment, jealousy, envy, frustration, and fear.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, To Employers, pg. 145~

Keep It Simple

You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.—Ethel Barrymore

There was a time when we wouldn’t let anyone laugh at us—even ourselves. We had to much shame. We had to much pain. We took the world too seriously. If we laughed it was at others—not at ourselves. Over time , real honest laughter returns to us. Laughter is a way of accepting ourselves as human. To be human means we can make mistakes. It means we can lighten up. It also means growing up. And growing up means being happy with all of who we are—even parts of us that may seem odd or funny. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we shut ourselves off from the world. We shut ourselves off from the parts of us we need to accept. Am I willing to accept the fact that I’m human.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, You made laughter. Help me us it to make my life easier. Help me accept all of me a funny mistake I’ve made.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll share with someone close to me a funny mistake I’ve made.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Your current confidence opens doors to conversations that have been difficult to unlock until now. You don’t even need to think about a strategy; just trust your intuition and speak your truth. It’s not necessary to write out a script before you deliver your message. In fact, your spontaneity charges your words with a strength of conviction that others can’t ignore. Your creative approach will be heralded by people who applaud your point of view. Ken Blanchard teaches, “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”

Daily Recovery Readings
May 30, 2017

Daily Reflection

OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE

The more A.A. sticks to its primary purpose, the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere.

— A.A. COMES OF AGE, p. 109

It is with gratitude that I reflect on the early days of our Fellowship and those wise and loving “foresteppers” who proclaimed that we should not be diverted from our primary purpose, that of carrying the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

I desire to impart respect to those who labor in the field of alcoholism, being ever mindful that A.A. endorses no causes other than its own. I must remember that A.A. has no monopoly on miracle making and I remain humbly grateful to a loving God who made A.A. possible.

From the book Daily Reflections
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Big Book Quote

“Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your
existence lie ahead.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 152

Keep It Simple

One Day at a Time —AA program slogan

One Day at a Time reminds us to live in a sane, natural way. It reminds us we can’t control the past. It reminds us we can’t control the future. We can live only in the present. We have only the moment. We have only today.

Before recovery, our worries about the past and the future put stress in our lives We need to live in a way that doesn’t put us in danger. We need to live in a way that lets us enjoy things. We need to live in a way that lets us stay close to others, ourselves, and our Higher Power.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, teach me to really live One Day at a Time.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll keep reminding myself that I have the moment. No more, no less. Am I using my moments the way my Higher Power wants me to?

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

A recent decision of yours may be challenged today by people who don’t really understand your motivation. They aren’t aware that you’re not limited by tradition and are willing to step outside of the norm in order to give everyone another option. But you don’t expect anyone to just blindly follow you. You simply want your ideas to be heard. In fact, you’ll consider your efforts worthwhile once you are given a fair hearing. Tony Robbins claims, “The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.”