GOOD TH0UGHTS FOR THE DAY

[majestyjo]

November 14

...we live several lives in one lifetime.

Waking up from a terrifying dream, we first sigh with deep relief, "Thank God it was just a dream." After we have made a big mistake in real life we long for the chance to undo it. We do not get to undo those moments, but life is still full of second chances . . . and third and fourth chances. The big question is. Do we learn from our experiences?

In some ways, we live several lives in one lifetime and we have several phases in one relationship. Today is a new day, and it presents all the possibilities of a new beginning. We have learned from the past. As painful and difficult as our experiences were, we can feel stronger today because we have learned from them. Injustice and fateful accidents can befall anyone. Yet many difficult times never need to be repeated. Today we can be grateful for another day with all the new opportunities it brings.

Name one way you are different today because of what you have learned from your experience.

You are reading from the book:

The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum

[majestyjo]

November 15

Seeking strength from others prevents us from finding our own strength.
--Georgette Vickstrom

The principles of this program, the friends we have made here, sponsors, and the contact we have with an ever-available Higher Power afford us valuable strength. However, it's important that we develop our own strength to complement what we look for in others.

Using the tools acquired in this program is a good beginning for cultivating personal strength. It's like growing a garden. We need to tend it daily, nurturing it, discarding the unproductive behaviors like weeds. When we do, we'll discover that the seedlings we're planting at every meeting are taking root and developing blossoms that signal positive growth.

I will be painstaking in nurturing my growth today. My strength will be there when I need it.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

[majestyjo]

November 16

Attitudes and Limitations

"My greatest limitations," a member said, "are in my mind. Until I came to this group, I wasn't even aware that many of the negative circumstances in my life were the direct result of my distorted attitudes.

"I brought myself a lot of unnecessary misery by thinking it was my responsibility to manage and direct other people's lives. I believed it was solely up to me to make everyone else happy and secure. So I continually placed everyone else's needs first until I didn't know who I was or what I needed for my own happiness and comfort. It's exhausting and insane to try to second-guess everyone. Not only that, it doesn't give me or anyone else credit for being able to think, feel, or act for himself."

Today I will not manage or direct other people's lives, nor will I expect any other human being to fill my inner emptiness. I have the dignity, resources, and responsibility to fulfill my own life just as others have theirs. I will find my own sources of comfort, joy, and peace no matter what others do with their lives and free choices.

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

[majestyjo]

November 17

All human failures are the result of a lack of love.
--Alfred Adler

How much easier it is to continue working toward a challenging goal when we're bolstered by the loving support of a favorite person, a spouse, or parent. We'll not succeed at every job or game we attempt - nor should we expect to. For all of us our talents are many, but not total. However, our failures will be fewer and far less devastating when they occur within the context of a life rich with loving human contact.

Those who don't know the comfort of love find their steps and thoughts are haunted by the fear that they don't count - that there is no purpose to their lives. Only by knowing the reality of love can we glimpse the richly textured tapestry of human life, and only then can we feel secure that all is well.

One purpose for our lives is to assure others of their importance to the life pattern that captures us all. And when each of us is committed to that purpose, both the fear and the reality of human failure will be erased.

You are reading from the book:

Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

[majestyjo]

November 18

No man is born into the world whose work is not born with him.
--James Russell Lowell

Our Wise Creator has provided each of us, at birth, with the necessary talents and gifts to make a worthwhile contribution to the world. What we make of those gifts and talents is entirely up to us. We can choose to ignore, and thereby destroy, our innate interests and abilities - or we can choose to pursue them, despite our doubts and fears, and enjoy life to the fullest.

If we wish to use our talents and gifts, we must become aware of those activities and interests we enjoy. Then we must make the effort to explore the opportunities and alternatives available to us. If we do not find a place for our interests and abilities in the world around us, we needn't be discouraged. We can create one. Dedication and perseverance have opened many seemingly closed doors.

TODAY - Am I doing the best with what I've been given? Am I using my capabilities well? If I am not, am I willing to take the necessary action to achieve inner satisfaction?

You are reading from the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

[majestyjo]

November 19

Acceptance frees us.

Conflict can result from trying to change a person or situation that we don't like. And conflict causes stress and agitation, both of which limit our lives. They steal our ability to be open to opportunities for growth and change.

Why is it so hard to accept situations we don't like? Twelve Step programs tell us it's because of our ego. We feel diminished when others don't agree with our plan or our opinion. Our self-worth is tied to other people's reactions.

But we can change. We can let the success stories we hear in this program inspire us to let others be. We will discover how much better we feel when we're not on the battlefield with our friends and loved ones.

I don't have to have conflict with other people today. I can let others be themselves and do what feels right to them. I'll feel more at ease too.

You are reading from the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

[majestyjo]

November 20

Recovery is about more than walking away. Sometimes it means learning to stay and deal. It's about building and maintaining relationships that work.
--Beyond Codependency

Problems and conflicts are parts of life and relationships - with friends, family, loved ones, and at work. Problem solving and conflict negotiation are skills we can acquire and improve with time.

Not being willing to tackle and solve problems in relationships leads to unresolved feelings of anger and victimization, terminated relationships, unresolved problems, and power plays that intensify the problem and waste time and energy.

Not being willing to face and solve problems means we may run into that problem again.

Some problems with people cannot be worked out in mutually satisfactory ways. Sometimes the problem is a boundary issue we have, and there is not room to negotiate. In that case, we need to clearly understand what we want and need and what our bottom line is.

Some problems with people, though, can be worked out, worked through, and satisfactorily negotiated. To negotiate problems, we must be willing to identify the problem, let go of blame and shame, and focus on possible creative solutions. To successfully negotiate and solve problems in relationships, we must have a sense of our bottom line and our boundary issues, so we don't waste time trying to negotiate non-negotiable issues.

We need to learn to identify what both people really want and need and the different possibilities for working that out. We can learn to be flexible without being too flexible.

Today, I will be open to negotiating conflicts I have with people. I will strive for balance without being too submissive or too demanding. I will strive for appropriate flexibility in my problem solving efforts.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

[majestyjo]

December 15

I love being able to say, "I was wrong," or "I made a mistake," and not feel like it's the end of the world.
--Carol C.

Before recovery, we felt so guilt-ridden we couldn't bear to admit we were less than perfect. Since our insides seemed so awful, we clung to an outside appearance of perfection. That way, we hoped people wouldn't find out what we were really like. But we fooled no one, not even ourselves, for very long.

In recovery, we have a chance to change that pattern. Now, we can learn to admit our limitations, our mistakes, and our imperfections. What a wonderful relief, not to have to be perfect. We can be just who we are - very human beings who are groping toward the light. Sometimes we find it, sometimes we lose our way, but still we strive onward. And, in the process, we find ourselves, and serenity.

Today help me keep working toward perfection, but forgive my mistakes along the way.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

[majestyjo]

December 16

Stop expecting too much from yourself.
--Anonymous

When there is too wide a gap between standards we set for ourselves and our actual achievement, unhappiness follows. If we can't improve the performance, we should lower the demands. When we are true to ourselves, we come to expect only that which we are capable of doing. As we grow each day in recovery, we are able to do more.

What we expect from ourselves can change the next day. It is very important that through our meetings and conversations with fellow members, we keep close tabs on our development. We find out that life is for living, and it is better lived when we do our assignments every day.

We are really never given more than we can do. As long as we have realistic goals, we will be given what we need to succeed.

Today I'll remember that when my expectations are too high, I get stuck and down on myself.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

[caressa222]

December 17

When all else fails, read the instructions.
--Agnes Alien

The instructions for recovery are in our Twelve Step program. Yet, there are times when we feel our program isn't working. At these times, we need to read the instructions.

Have you followed the "instructions," the wise words found in The Big Book, The Twelve and Twelve, and other recovery literature? When we do, we recover.

It's hard at times and easy at others. Our problems go deeper than just staying sober. No matter what our problems, our program can help us start fixing them if we follow the instructions. Don't use alcohol or other drugs. Go to meetings. Talk often with sponsors and program friends. Work the Steps. Think. Easy Does It. First Things First. Listen. Let Go and Let God. One Day at a Time.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, tell me which instructions to read today. If I'm headed for trouble, help me out.

Today's Action

I'll read the instructions today.

You are reading from the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

[majestyjo]

December 23

Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet.
--Roger Miller

Gifts are usually surprises. We don't generally know what the ribbons, bows, and wrapping conceal.

Life's greatest misfortunes are, in retrospect, often referred to as gifts. While a debt can feel like a curse, when we finally get to the bottom of what's happened to us, we're surprised to find something good - a gift or blessing of sorts. Through our misfortune, we may have developed some true and lasting relationships, learned we had some admirable qualities we didn't know we had, or discovered the meaning of courage.

Today, if I am struggling. I will anticipate the wondrous surprise to come.

You are reading from the book:

Letting Go of Debt by Karen Casanova

[caressa222]

December 24

Gifts of the Spirit

Through the program, we come to desire spiritual gifts as well as material necessities. Experience shows us that serenity is priceless and something to be desired. Courage, wisdom, faith, hope, love, humility - these are all spiritual gifts which come to us from our Higher Power as we abstain and work our program.

As we receive these gifts of the spirit, we are able to share them with others. Giving them away to our families and friends ensures that we will receive them more abundantly ourselves. We come to realize that a small gift of time and attention can mean more than an expensive material present.

God's gifts are available to us whenever we are open to receive them. By abstaining, we make our spirits ready to accept their rightful gifts.

I pray that I may be ready to accept Your spiritual gifts.

You are reading from the book:

Food for Thought by Elisabeth L.

[caressa222]

December 25

A single grateful thought toward heaven is the most complete prayer.
--Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Thank you is one of the most important things we can say to anyone. Thank you packs a lot of meaning into two little words. Thank you says, "I see you. I see what you have done for me. You have been kind to me. I know it takes work to be kind. I feel special that you did the work of being kind to me. I am grateful."

Sometimes it is hard for us to say thank you because we are too busy feeling shame or sadness or anger. So what? No excuses. Those feelings are our own problems, and we know what to do about them now that we have a recovery program. No matter what is going on with us, we can always find help. And we can always be kind to others. Saying thank you is an easy way to start.

Prayer for the Day

Thank You, Higher Power. Thank You for the gift of life, for a world of natural beauty and power to live in, and for the people around me who love me and accept my love. Thank You for caring about me and helping me every day in my recovery, and please help me ask for the gift of Your help each day.

Today's Action

Today I will practice thinking "Thank You, Higher Power" every time I receive a little help or a lucky break.

You are reading from the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

[majestyjo]

December 26

Quiet My Mind

Dear Lord,

Teach me to quiet my mind.

Stop my thoughts from racing from one thing to another.

Stop me from the obsessive thinking about the lives of others.

Help me rest and quiet my mind.

Help me let go of trying to control the lives of others.

Free my mind to be at rest.

This I pray.

You are reading from the book:

The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D.

[majestyjo]

December 27

Relax enough to face reality when life twists and turns.

Sometimes in life, no matter how deeply we intend to make the best decisions possible for ourselves, things happen. Marriages end, jobs turn sour, friends wane. For reasons outside our control or understanding, the situation twists and turns into something other than what we bargained for.

Have you been waiting for a situation to revert to what it originally was - or what you hoped it would be when you got in? Are you telling yourself that there's something wrong with you, when the reality is, the situation has changed into something other than what you thought it was? Things often don't go as smoothly as we planned. Sometimes, we need to endure and get through the rough spots. But I'm talking about those grindingly difficult moments when life suddenly twists on us.

These are the times we need to quit torturing ourselves. Let go of what you thought would happen. If life has twisted on you, don't turn on yourself. Don't try to make things be the way they were. Come up to speed. Return to now. Let yourself accept the new situation at hand.

The road isn't always a straight course. Sometimes, even a path with heart unexpectedly twists and turns.

God, help me relax and trust my self enough to deal with reality, not my fantasy of what I hoped it would be.

You are reading from the book:

More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

[caressa222]

December 28

To be alive is power,
Existing in itself,
Without a further function,
Omnipotence enough.
--Emily Dickinson

Being a person in this world is an amazing gift. A spiritual awakening promised by this program is open to us. But today, not all of us feel powerful and alive. We may feel weak, inadequate to our task, perplexed, or stymied. Is this a day in which we are filled with exuberance for the gift of life? Or is this a day when we're feeling subdued by life's burdens?

Perhaps we need to evaluate our perspective. Are we trying to control something or someone? Are we acting as if the world should be as we want rather than as it is? Have our individual wills exceeded their natural bounds and spoiled the simple joy of being "without a further function"?

May I find the pleasure and exuberance today that come with being alive. The simple power to be a person is "omnipotence enough."

You are reading from the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

[majestyjo]

DEcember 29

I can't handle it, God. You take over.
--Anonymous

The life we lived in the dark world of our disease was a terrifying one. It was as if we were perched on a tiny ledge thousands of feet up the side of a mountain. The drop was straight down. We never dared to look up or down because we so desperately feared falling. All we could do was feed our disease and tremble in fear. We were stuck. There was no room on our ledge for anyone else. We were all alone. Every day, little bits and pieces of our perch would fall off. All we could do was wait.

Finally, out of desperation, we looked up and saw thousands of people urging us to climb. They reached down and created a human chain for us to climb. All we had to do was let go of our perch and take the hands extended to us. We stood, looked up, let go, and took the hands. We were safe.

I'm not stuck any more. I've let go of my fear and accept help when I need it.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

[majestyjo]

December 30

Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.
--Francis Bacon

Each day we hope for accomplishment and satisfaction and we'll achieve these when we scale our hopes to our real capacities. There's no more satisfying feeling than finishing a project we've set up ourselves, tailored to our abilities, and worked at with patience and care. Our lives can be filled with such successes.

Learning to live means learning to keep ourselves in the present. This day is all we really have to work with. 0f course today will be influenced by what has already happened; and its influence will extend to tomorrow, next week, and beyond. But all we can make or do lies here, within this window of space and time.

May my supper be contentment. I'll breakfast on hope again.

You are reading from the book:

The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg

[majestyjo]

AA Thought for the Day

December 31

Fellowship of the Spirit

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, "A Vision For You" p. 164

Thought to Ponder
Trust God. Clean House. Help Others.

AA-related 'Alconym'
A A = Amazing Adventure.

~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~

Guidance
Walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress.
If you persist, remarkable things will happen.
When we look back, we realize the things which came to us
when we put ourselves in God's hands,
were better than anything we could have planned.
Follow the dictates of a Higher Power
and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world,
no matter what your present circumstances!
1976, 2001AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 100

Thought to Consider . . .
Look for the Good.

*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*
A A = Adventurers Anonymous

*~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~*

Diagnosis
>From "More About Alcoholism":
"We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition."
2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pgs. 31-32

*~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~*

"It's only when I stop thinking about it, stop trying to run the show, that my life may become as God intends."
Tucson, Ariz., March 1988
"The Work at Hand,"
Emotional Sobriety

~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~*

"Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a
seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we
laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, The Family Afterward, pg. 132~

"We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality
safe and protected. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem
has been removed. It does not exist for us. We are neither thingyy nor
are we afraid. That is our experience. That is how we react so long
as we keep in fit spiritual condition."
~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, Page 85~

It mattered little whether our resentments were justified or not.
-Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.90

Misc. AA Literature - Quote

When we reached A.A., and for the first time in our lives stood among people who seemed to understand, the sense of belonging was tremendously exciting. We thought the isolation problem had been solved.
But we soon discovered that, while we weren't alone any more in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn't belong.
Step Five was the answer. It was the beginning of true kinship with man and God.

Prayer for the Day: Kindness Prayer -
Keep us, O God, from closed mindedness, let us Be large in thought, in work, in deed.
Let us be done with faultfinding, and Leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face, without Self pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in our judgement And be always generous and helpful.
Teach us to put into action our better Impulses, straightforward and unafraid.
Let us take time for the right things. Make us Grow calm, serene, and gentle.
Grant that we may realize it is the Little things that create difference, That in the big things in life we are one.
And may we strive to touch and know The great common heart of us all, and O God, let us not forget to be kind.

[majestyjo]

January 1

Has it been a year of growth?

As any year draws to a close, we should reflect on how we have grown in sobriety. We should also identify changes during the year that enabled us to overcome bad habits and to move closer to better patterns of living.

Though we never are guaranteed favorable outcomes, we should always remember that sobriety is its own best reward. We want a full life, of course, but it must begin with a decision to seek and to maintain sobriety at all costs.

We find that with sobriety, lots of other problems seem to solve themselves. Even if they don't, we have the tools to move forward and to achieve goals that always eluded us while we were drinking. Every year in sobriety is a year of growth.

I'll be conscious today of recent improvements I've made in my life and all my affairs. With sobriety, these improvements will go on for a lifetime.

You are reading from the book:

Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.