Daily Recovery Readings
April 4, 2018

Daily Reflection

CRYING FOR THE MOON

“This very real feeling of inferiority is magnified by his childish sensitivity and it is this state of affairs which generates in him that insatiable, abnormal craving for self-approval and success in the eyes of the world. Still a child, he cries for the moon. And the moon, it seems, won’t have him!”

— THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 102

While drinking I seemed to vacillate between feeling totally invisible and believing I was the center of the universe. Searching for that elusive balance between the two has become a major part of my recovery. The moon I constantly cried for is, in sobriety, rarely full; it shows me instead its many other phases, and there are lessons in them all. True learning has often followed an eclipse, a time of darkness, but with each cycle of my recovery, the light grows stronger and my vision is clearer.

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

Big Book Quote

“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 83~

Keep It Simple

Pray without resentment in your heart. —The Little Red Book

Resentment is anger that we don’t want to turn over to our Higher Power.

Sometimes we want to keep our anger. Maybe we want to “get even.” it’s hard to be spiritual and full of anger at the same time. When we hold on to anger, it turns into self-will. We get angry from time to time. This is normal. But we now have a program to help us let go of anger. We also know that stored-up anger can drive us back to alcohol and other drugs. Instead of trying to “get even,” let’s work at keeping anger out of our hearts.

Prayer for the Day:
I pray without anger in my heart. Higher Power, I give You my anger. Have me work for justice, instead of acting like a judge.

Action For the Day:
I’ll list any resentments I now have. I’ll talk about them at my next meeting. This is the best way to turn resentments over to my Higher Power.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You may resist the urge to push through your fears, but confrontation doesn’t need to be a negative experience. If someone gives you a headache now, you can either accept the pain or remove the source of it. However, it’s often not as simple as just walking away because the discomfort might follow you. Luckily, messenger Mercury gives you a friendly cosmic nudge today, and suddenly starting a difficult conversation is easier than you think. Meryl Streep said, “Put blinders on to those things that conspire to hold you back, especially the ones in your own head.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 3, 2018

Daily Reflection

ACCEPTING OUR HUMANNESS

We finally saw that the inventory should be ours, not the other man’s. So we admitted our wrongs honestly and became willing to set these matters straight.

AS BILL SEES IT, p. 222

Why is it that the alcoholic is so unwilling to accept responsibility? I used to drink because of the things that other people did to me. Once I came to A.A. I was told to look at where I had been wrong. What did I have to do with all these different matters? When I simply accepted that I had a part in them, I was able to put it on paper and see it for what it was – humanness. I am not expected to be perfect! I have made errors before and I will make them again. To be honest about them
allows me to accept them – and myself – and those with whom I had the differences; from there, recovery is just a short distance ahead.

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

Big Book Quote

“We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 75~

Keep It Simple

Rest is the guardian of health.—Melba Colgrave

Now that we are sober, we’re feeling better than we have in years. We’re busy too. We attend meetings and visit friends. We have work, school, families, and homes to keep up with.

It’s easy to forget to rest. We forgot that our bodies and minds need time off. We need plenty of sleep each night. And we need a lazy weekend now and than to let our bodies recover from to go,
go, go of daily life.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me listen to my body. Remind me to slow down and rest now and then.

Action for the Day:
How much have I rested lately? Have I gotten enough sleep each night? What can I do in the next two days to rest my body, mind, and spirit?

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Your confidence is a mixed blessing today, because it can easily lead you into trouble if you’re unclear about your intentions. However, it might feel as if reality is testing your resolve every step you take. At first, you’re eager to demonstrate your competence by overcoming each hurdle as it appears in your path. But after jumping over a few, you begin to wonder if there is an easier method. Nevertheless, you can’t change horses midstream. Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for now.

Daily Recovery Readings
April 2, 2018

Daily Reflection

CHARACTER BUILDING

Demands made upon other people for too much attention, protection, and love can only invite domination or revulsion. . . .

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 44

When I uncovered my need for approval in the Fourth Step, I didn’t think it should rank as a character defect. I wanted to think of it more as an asset (that is, the desire to please people). It was quickly pointed out to me that this “need” can be very crippling. Today I still enjoy getting the approval of others, but I am not willing to pay the price I used to pay to get it. I will not bend myself into a pretzel to get others to like me. If I get your approval, that’s fine; but if I don’t, I will survive without it. I am responsible for speaking what I perceive to be the truth, not what I think others may want to hear.

Similarly, my false pride always kept me overly concerned about my reputation. Since being enlightened in the A.A. program, my aim is to improve my character.

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

Big Book Quote

“We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, Page 46~

Keep It Simple

To know all things is not permitted.— Horace

In recovery, we give up trying to be perfect. We give up trying to know
everything. We work at coming to know and accept our short-comings. In
Step Four and Five, we look at our good points and our bad points. In Step
Six, we become ready to have our Higher Power remove our “defects of
character.” Then in Step Seven we ask our Higher Power to remove our
“shortcomings.”

Recovery is about coming to accept that we’re not prefect. We admit that
trying to be perfect got in the way of being useful to ourselves, our
Higher Power, and those around us. Pretending to be prefect doesn’t allow
us to be real. It’s also boring and no fun—you never get to mess up.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, You will let me know what I need to know. Allow me to claim my mistakes and shortcomings.

Action for the Day:
I will work at being okay today. Not prefect, just okay.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

A close friend or associate may be a thorn in your side today, openly blocking your progress. Although you might push harder, you could avoid confrontation by pulling back into your shell. But a logistical retreat isn’t effective in the long run because you will likely face the same resistance tomorrow and in the weeks ahead if you choose to circumvent the real problem. Christopher Parker wrote, “Procrastination is like a credit card: It’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 1, 2018

Daily Reflection

LOOKING WITHIN

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 42

Step Four is the vigorous and painstaking effort to discover what the liabilities in each of us have been, and are. I want to find exactly how, when, and where my natural desires have warped me. I wish to look squarely at the unhappiness this has caused others and myself. By discovering what my emotional deformities are, I can move toward their correction. Without a willing and persistent effort to do this, there can be little sobriety or contentment for me.

To resolve ambivalent feelings, I need to feel a strong and helpful sense of myself. Such an awareness doesn’t happen overnight, and no one’s selfawareness is permanent. Everyone has the capacity for growth, and for self-awareness, through an honest encounter with reality. When I don’t avoid issues but meet them directly, always trying to re-solve them, they become fewer and fewer.

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

Big Book Quote

“How dark it is before the dawn! In reality that was the beginning of my last debauch. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence. I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time passes.”

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

Keep It Simple

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.  — Step Four of Alcoholics Anonymous.

We avoid the Fourth Step. We put it off. We’re scared of what we will find inside of us. We may find out we’re mean, angry, selfish, afraid. We might see how badly we’ve acted to others, to ourselves. We have all these things inside us. We also have love, trust, faith, and hope. We love art, music, nature, or sports. We have power to heal, and we have used it too. The Fourth Step helps us to know our inner power. As we learn about our own power, we can use it carefully, on purpose, to do good.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me use my power to do Your will. Let your power work through me too.

Action for the Day:
Today Ill watch my own actions and words. I’ll see how my power affects others. I’ll talk about this with my sponsor.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Although rest and relaxation with loved ones may be high on your list of priorities today, your mind is preoccupied with larger issues. Instead of remaining in the present moment, your thoughts are on your future as you reconsider your current career path. There’s no need to finalize any decisions now. Explore every option you can possibly visualize in the safety of your imagination. Give yourself a couple of weeks to deepen this process of reevaluation before putting a new plan into motion. Doe Zantamata wrote, “Your intuition is the most honest friend you will ever have.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 31, 2018

Daily Reflection

NO ONE DENIED ME LOVE

On the A.A. calendar it was Year Two. . . . A newcomer appeared at one of these groups. . . . He soon proved that his was a desperate case, and that above all he wanted to get well. . . . [He said], “Since I am the victim of another addiction even worse stigmatized than alcoholism, you may not want me among you.”

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 141-42

I came to you—a wife, mother, woman who had walked out on her husband, children, family. I was a drunk, a pill-head, a nothing. Yet no one denied me love, caring, a sense of belonging. Today, by God’s grace and the love of a good sponsor and a home group, I can say that—through you in Alcoholics Anonymous—I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a woman. Sober. Free of pills. Responsible.

Without a Higher Power I found in the Fellowship, my life would be meaningless. I am full of gratitude to be a member of good standing in Alcoholics Anonymous.

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

Big Book Quote

“Faith without works is dead.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 76~

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

Although you might want to attend a gathering of friends today, the desire to cocoon grows stronger throughout the day. You’re inclined to stay at home and soak in the familiar vibes while the Libra Full Moon brightens your 4th House of Emotional Security. But you can’t make up your mind because you can see the pros and cons of each choice. Nevertheless, you will be stuck exactly where you are, unless you loosen the binds that tie your branches to your history. Novelist Zadie Smith wrote, “The past is always tense, the future perfect.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 30, 2018

Daily Reflection

OUR GROUP CONSCIENCE

“. . . sometimes the good is the enemy of the best.”

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE, p. 101

I think these words apply to every area of A.A.’s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity and Service! I want them etched in my mind and life as I “trudge the Road of Happy Destiny” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 164). These words, often spoken by cofounder Bill W., were appropriately said to him as the result of the group’s conscience. It brought home to Bill W. the essence of our Second Tradition: “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”

Just as Bill W. was originally urged to remember, I think that in our group discussions we should never settle for the “good,” but always strive to attain the “best.” These common strivings are yet another example of a loving God, as we understand Him, expressing Himself through the group conscience. Experiences such as these help me to stay on the proper path of recovery. I learn to combine initiative with humility, responsibility with thankfulness, and thus relish the joys of living my twenty-four hour program.

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

Big Book Quote

“We represent no particular faith or denomination. We are dealing only with general principles common to most denominations.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, Page 93~

Keep It Simple

Spirituality is…the awareness that survival is a savage fight between you and yourself.

—Lisa S.

As recovering people, we’re getting stronger each day. We go to meetings to learn how to be better people. But we also go to remind ourselves of the beast inside us—our addiction. This beast is waiting for us to slip—to go back to our addiction—so it can regain control.

Thus ,it’s wise to learn all we can about our disease. That’s why it’s important to do a good job on our Fourth Step. When we work Step Four, we learn how our addiction acts, thinks, and feels. With the help of our program, we can quiet the beast. One Day at a Time.,

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, I’m fighting for my life. Thanks to You, I’m winning today and my life is free.

Action for the Day:
I’ll talk to a friend about my addiction, the beast inside me. I’ll do this so it will have less power over me.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You could certainly use a day of rest at home today, but you don’t want to waste your time being lazy. You anticipate keeping busy with all the fun projects around the house, hoping they will bring you hours of enjoyment and satisfaction. Fortunately, your day is full of blessings if you can find a way to seamlessly blend relaxation with accomplishment. Humorist Evan Esar wrote, “Play: work that you enjoy doing for nothing.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 29, 2018

Daily Reflection

TRUSTED SERVANTS

They are servants. Theirs is the sometimes thankless privilege of doing the group’s chores.

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 134

In Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis describes an encounter between his principal character and an old man busily at work planting a tree. “What is it you are doing?” Zorba asks. The old man replies: “You can see very well what I’m doing, my son, I’m planting a tree.” “But why plant a tree,” Zorba asks, “if you won’t be able to see it bear fruit?” And the old man answers: “I, my son, live as though I were never going to die.” The response brings a faint smile to Zorba’s lips and, as he walks away, he exclaims with a note of irony: “How strange—I live as though I were going to die tomorrow!”

As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I have found that the Third Legacy is a fertile soil in which to plant the tree of my sobriety. The fruits I harvest are wonderful: peace, security, understanding and twenty-four hours of eternal fulfillment; and with the soundness of mind to listen to the voice of my conscience when, in silence, it gently speaks to me, saying: You must let go in service. There are others who must plant and harvest.

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

Big Book Quote

“To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, We Agnostics, Page 44~

Keep It Simple

Whatever is in the heart will come up to the tongue.—Persian proverb

During our illness, we wouldn’t let people get close to us. We spoke of what was in our heart. And much of what filled our heart was sadness, anger, and hopelessness. Those who want to be close to us heard what was in our heart. In short, we had become our illness. Recovery is about changing what’s in our heart. We open our hearts up to our Higher Power. The first three Steps are about honesty and needing others. They’re about turning our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.

If you’re wondering where you are with these Steps, listen to the words you speak.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, keep my heart open to the first three Steps.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll work at really listening to what I have to say.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

As tempting as it is to stay home and cozy in with your loved ones, you ultimately have more to offer your family by remaining fully engaged with the world today. Of course, you’re unhappy when you encounter unreasonable resistance because it increases the difficulty of your current decision. Put all the known facts out on the table now. Although the hidden world has a particularly strong grip on your life, an emotion can only be properly handled once it has been revealed. Author Kristin Kimble wrote, “Transparency wins hearts.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 28, 2018

Daily Reflection

EQUALITY

Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 563

Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn’t “fit in” with the people around me. Usually “they” had more/ less money than I did, and my points of view didn’t jibe with “theirs.” The amount of prejudice I had experienced in society only proved to me just how phony some self-righteous people were. After joining A.A., I found the way of life I had been searching for. In A.A. no member is better than any other member; we’re just alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism.

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

Big Book Quote

“…I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill’s Story, Page 13~

Keep It Simple

God is not a cosmic bellboy.—Harry Emerson Fosdick

We have to laugh when we look back at the times we treated God like our servant. Who did we think we were, ordering God to do something for us? But we got away with it. God even did some of the things we asked. Now we know that our Higher Power is not a servant. As we work the Steps, we know we don’t give orders to our Higher Power. We don’t expect God to work miracles every time we’d like one. we’re asking our Higher Power to lead us. After all, who knows what is best for us—our Higher Power or us? Our Higher Power has many wonderful gifts for us. Our Higher Power will show us goals, help us live in love and joy, and give us strength.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, show me ways to help others as You’ve helped me. I’m grateful that You love me and help me.

Action for the Day:
Today ,I’ll make a list of times my Higher Power has helped me out of trouble.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You are wondering what happened to your long-awaited raise or any sort of acknowledgment for the work you do. But don’t throw in the towel while resourceful Venus casts her spell on unpredictable Uranus in your 10th House of Professional Status. Recognition for your contributions, whether monetary or not, could occur when you least expect it. In the meantime, continue to diligently plug away while assuming good news will follow. Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 27, 2018

Daily Reflection

A.A.’s FREEDOMS

We trust that we already know what our several freedoms truly are; that no future generation of AAs will ever feel compelled to limit them. Our AA freedoms create the soil in which genuine love can grow. . . .

— THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART, p. 303

I craved freedom. First, freedom to drink; later, freedom from drink. The A.A. program of recovery rests on a foundation of free choice. There are no mandates, laws or commandments. A.A.’s spiritual program, as outlined in the Twelve Steps, and by which I am offered even greater freedoms, is only suggested. I can take it or leave it. Sponsorship is offered, not forced, and I come and go as I will. It is these and other freedoms that allow me to recapture the dignity that was crushed by the burden of drink, and which is so dearly needed to support an enduring sobriety.

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

Big Book Quote

“…we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet.”

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

Keep It Simple

The secret success is constancy of purpose. — Benjamin Disraeli

In Twelve Step meetings, we don’t talk about counseling, treatment centers, or non-program reading. Many of us have been helped in these ways, but we shouldn’t confuse them with Twelve Step programs. We must keep our Twelve Step programs pure, no matter what is in style among counselors or at treatment centers, or what the latest books say. Certainly, we should use these sources if they help us, but not in our program meetings. There, we must stick to the basics that have helped addicts recover all over the world for many years. Steps, traditions, meetings, sponsorship—these things work, no matter what is in style.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, let me be there to help an addict in need, by sharing my Twelve Step program.

Action for the Day:
I will help out today be being a sponsor or by calling a new member, just to say hello.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You can feel the near-constant pressure from a good friend who believes you should be doing your job differently. In fact, your fellow coworkers may also be trying to motivate you to participate in a significant project at work. However, much to their chagrin, you’re so emotionally tired now that your answer will probably be no. Keep in mind your involvement in a professional collaboration could nudge you out of your funk and back into the real world. Author Eve Sawyer wrote, “Never underestimate the power of passion.”

Daily Recovery Readings
March 26, 2018

Daily Reflection

THE TEACHING IS NEVER OVER

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you—until then.

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164

These words put a lump in my throat each time I read them. In the beginning it was because I felt, “Oh no! The teaching is over. Now I’m on my own. It will never be this new again.” Today I feel deep affection for our A.A. pioneers when I read this passage, realizing that it sums up all of what I believe in, and strive for, and that—with God’s blessing—the teaching is never over, I’m never on my own, and every day is brand new.

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

Big Book Quote

“For a brief moment, I had needed and wanted God. There had been a humble willingness to have Him with me — and He came.

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Bill’s Story, Page 12~

Keep It Simple

We are here to add what we can to, not to get what we can get from, Life.
~Sir William Osler

Service is a word we hear in our recovery program. Service means work we do for others. It’s the backbone of our program. The reason is simple. Service to our Higher Power and to others breaks down our wanting to be self-centered. Service brings us back into the world. We really are part of the group when we pitch in to make coffee, set up chairs, or talk in meetings. We really feel like part of the family when we run errands and help with meals and housework. We really connect with our Higher Power when we pray, “Use me today to help others.” Service breaks down the feeling of being alone that being self -centered brings.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, help me to be of service to You and others. Show me what is needed.

Action for the Day:
Today will be a service day. I’ll see how valued I am. I’ll give to others, knowing that I, too, will receive.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

Dynamics at work are finally changing, allowing you to accelerate your progress. If you have your heart set on a specific goal, it may appear to be within reach now. However, you could make the mistake of falling victim to your own idealist narrative, only to face disappointment before you know it. Your road to success is not a superhighway, but it will get you there if you work with determination and patience. Salma Hayek said, “I don’t have stamina in exercise — but I have it in life.”