ABCs for the Holidays

[majestyjo]

A is for Abundance.  Put it out to the Universe and see what you get back.  You will be surprised. Recovery has many gifts.  Just staying clean and sober is the greatest one, but there is more when you work the 12 Steps and Traditions into your life.

[majestyjo]

B is for Before. Before I found recovery, I felt like I had to justify my very existence. I can't always say, "Well I am only human," and continue on in my old ways of living. The old ways lead to drinking and more and the insanity of my disease would take over my life.

[majestyjo]

C is for Control. The only life you can control is your own. You don't have the power to control other people. It is an illusion. If you feel the need to control, know that if you have to control it, it is already out of control.

The only control I want in my life, is that Good Orderly Direction from my God.

[majestyjo]

D is for Do It! The slogan says,"Easy Does It....but do it." I have found if something comes to mind and I let it slip by, without acknowledging it, acting on it, or filing it away for later, it doesn't get done. My laundry needs to get done, so I am telling myself, "Just do it!"

[majestyjo]

E is for Easy Does It...but do it! I have done more work in the last 3 hours than I have in the last 3 days. It is a good thing my son helps me out.

Going to start this day again, have a rest and get mobile shortly. A little at a time, and eventually the job gets done. Really have to have patience with myself. I just can't do what I use to do the way I use to do it.

[caressa222]

F is for Forgiveness. At the meeting I went to today, we discussed Step Eight. Making an amend isn't about saying "I am sorry." It is about changing our ways, and not wanting to do the same thing over again. Asking for forgiveness from someone else as well as from my God.

[majestyjo]

G is for Growth. I need to continue working my program. It doesn't stop at Step 12 and I am finished and done with the Steps. I have to start again. As I go through the steps, I get a new perspective and as I detox, I am able to see things more clearly. Some things were buried so deeply, it took several years to come to the surface. I can't sit on my laurels, but cause what I did yesterday, doesn't keep me sober in today. This is a one day at a time program.

[majestyjo]

H is for H.A.L.T. This slogan needs to be applied to all parts of our disease, the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. When we feel a void or pain, we need to ask ourselves, am I hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?

[caressa222]

I is for Identify, don't compare. Identify with the emotions, the lack of motivation to do anything to the exclusion of anything beyond our drug of choice.

[majestyjo]

J is for Joy. Put the joy into your day. Feed your Christmas Spirit. You are only as happy and joyful as you make up your mind to be.

[majestyjo]

K is Know. Get to know your God. Get to be on speaking terms with Him/Her/It. Know that you are loved. Know that your God has a plan for you.

When you wake up each morning, do a meditation and put your day in God's Care. It can be short or long, as long as you take time to talk to your God. If you need to, pray and ask for the willingness to be willing. Awaken to the gifts of recovery.

[majestyjo]

L is for Loyalty. Be loyal to the program. Be loyal to yourself. Be loyal to friends.

For me, loyalty means unconditional love.

[majestyjo]

M is for Meetings. Without meetings, how am I going to hear myself. Have you become complacent. Have you stopped going to meetings. Have you stopped talking to your sponsor. Have you quit working the Steps. When you get to Step 12, you start all over again, because you have a new understanding as a result of working the Steps, so you will see your life anew, and you will have a new perspective on things. Recovery is a living thing, a program works if you continue to work for it. Meeting makers make it.

[majestyjo]

N is for Notice. Notice who are walking their talk. Notice who is staying sober, and who is in and out of the program.

Notice what the winners are doing to stay sober. Perhaps what works for them will work for you.

[majestyjo]

O is for Open. Open your heart. Be open to the Fellowship of the Spirit that is to be found in the rooms of recovery.

[caressa222]

P is for Pardon. Pardon the other party instead of holding a resentment. Sometimes it is easier to say than do. Finding a reason to be grateful helps.

[majestyjo]

Q is for the Quiet. The quiet we can find within ourselves. All I need to do is quiet my mind, go within and get the good orderly direction I need, or just go for some peace and quiet to calm myself, or as the saying says, "Calm the savage breast."

english.stackexchange.com/questions/252189/why-soothe-a-savage-breast

[majestyjo]

R is for Rest. Don't rest on your laurels. Rest within the arms of your Higher Power. The holidays are a down period for many, they are not working, and thoughts of party time invades their sobriety, and they become just sober and hanging on by their fingernails. Your spiritual defense needs topping up, so you can connect to your God, and with His/Her Help, you can make it through the holiday clean and sober. Talk to your sponsor, go to a meeting, work on the Step you need in today, change your attitude, put out a helping hand to someone else.

[majestyjo]

S is for Sobriety. My drug of choice was more. In today, I try to think more recovery. When I apply my program on a daily bases, I have a good day. It is one day at a time, no less or no more. It is a 24 hour program, not a 2-4 hour program. It isn't about putting the plug in the jug and not picking up that drug, it is working the Steps and having gratitude for the gifts of being clean and sober.

[caressa222]

T is for True. I must stay true to myself. I walk in my own truth. What worked for me, may get someone else drunk. You need to find your own truth.