Daily Recovery Readings
April 7, 2018

Daily Reflection

A WIDE ARC OF GRATITUDE

And, speaking for Dr. Bob and myself, I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.’s beginning.

— THE A.A. WAY OF LIFE, p. 67

Am I capable of such generous tribute and gratitude to my wife, parents and friends, without whose support I might never have survived to reach A.A.’s doors? I will work on this and try to see the plan my Higher Power is showing me which links our lives together.

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

Big Book Quote

“Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 75

Keep It Simple

To make the world a friendly place One must show it a friendly face.-–James Whitcomb Riley

We are beginning to learn that we get what we expect. Why? If we believe that people are out to get us, we’ll not treat them well. We will think it’s okay to “get them” before they “get us.” Then, they’ll be angry and want to get even. And on it goes. It’s great when we can meet the world with a balance. We are honest people. We can expect others to be fair with us. We get the faith, strength, and courage to do this because of our trust in our Higher Power.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, I put my life in Your care. Use me to spread Your love to others.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll spread friendliness. I will greet people with a smile.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You are tenacious in love and loyal in every variety of relationship. If you give your word, you will follow through and keep your promise. Ironically, the tables are turned today while you are the object of someone else’s allegiance. Don’t waste time questioning the motives of others; just accept their sincerity at face value and lean on them for support as needed. Sometimes it really does take a village. Walt Disney said, “Whatever we accomplish belongs to our entire group, a tribute to our combined effort.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 6, 2018

Daily Reflection

A LIFETIME PROCESS

We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to other people. . . .

— ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 52

These words remind me that I have more problems than alcohol, that alcohol is only a symptom of a more pervasive disease. When I stopped drinking I began a lifetime process of recovery from unruly emotions, painful relationships, and unmanageable situations. This process is too much for most of us without help from a Higher Power and our friends in the Fellowship. When I began working the Steps of the A.A. program, many of these tangled threads unraveled but, little by little, the most broken places of my life straightened out. One day at a time, almost imperceptibly, I healed. Like a thermostat being turned down, my fears diminished. I began to experience moments of contentment. My emotions became less volatile. I am now once again a part of the human family.

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

Big Book Quote

“…with us, to drink is to die.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~

Keep It Simple

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back. —Chinese proverb

We’re going down a new-road—in our recovery and in our lives. We don’t know the road. We only know we’re on the right one, because our Higher Power led us here. We ask for help from those who already know the road. We ask our sponsor, “How far is it until I get done feeling guilty?”

“How far to self-love?” “How bumpy is the road when I’m at Step Four?” We need people who have been in the program. They tell us where to slow down because this part of the trip is beautiful.

Someday, maybe today, we too will be called on to guide others.

Prayer for the Day:
Higher Power, You’ve put me on this road. You’ve also put others on this road. Let them be my guide. Let my guides become my friends.

Action for the Day:
Today, I’ll find someone who has been in the program two or more years longer than me. I’ll ask that person what the road ahead is like.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You could misread someone’s energy by thinking they are encouraging you to take a risk today. However, you eventually realize that the opposite is true. You’re the one that wants to break free of your regular routine, and innocently assume that everyone will support you in your endeavor. Recognizing the truth may be a rude awakening that forces you to reconsider your earlier plans. Ralph Nader wrote, “Your best teacher is your last mistake.”

Daily Recovery Readings
April 5, 2018

Daily Reflection

TRUE BROTHERHOOD

We have not once sought to be one in a family, to be a friend among friends, to be a worker among workers, to be a useful member of society. Always we tried to struggle to the top of the heap, or to hide underneath it. This self-centered behavior blocked a partnership relation with any one of those about us. Of true brotherhood we had small comprehension.

— TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 53

This message contained in Step Four was the first one I heard loud and clear; I hadn’t seen myself in print before! Prior to my coming into A.A., I knew of no place that could teach me how to become a person among persons. From my very first meeting, I saw people doing just that and I wanted what they had. One of the reasons that I’m a happy, sober alcoholic today is that I’m learning this most important lesson.

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

Big Book Quote

“When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, Page 64~

Keep It Simple

Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God.—Anne Frank

Many of us look at the joy and beauty of the program with caution. It was different from our addictive joy. Was it to be trusted? When we started working the Steps, we found inner joy and beauty. As we let go and gave in to the program, we found more happiness. We found joy in ourselves, our friends, our Higher Power, and those around us. Our self-pity changed to self-respect. We were truly out in the sunshine. We were no longer lost in misery. We know how to walk through misery to find joy.

Prayer for the Day: May I become better friends with myself. Higher Power, let me see the world through Your innocent, yet wise and loving eyes

Action for the Day: Today I’ll work to make my life and the lives of others more joyful. I’ll greet myself and others with much joy.

Daily Horoscope – Cancer

You might have to explain your behavior to someone who appears to be resisting your efforts today. Unfortunately, they seem unable to comprehend your intentions no matter how many times you cover the same material. Your observations and conclusions are so straightforward that you may think others are just playing dumb because they don’t want to understand your position. Although people can use words to maintain a state of denial, the result of your actions cannot be dismissed as easily. Claim your power and stand your ground.

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.”