“Letting go of the past and not worrying about the future seems a small price to pay for all the happiness to be found in the present.”
“The richest man, whatever his lot, is he who is content with what he has got.” -Dutch Proverb
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” -Booker T. Washington
Walk In Dry Places
Releasing the Past_____ Living in the Present.
Some of us waste time brooding over past failures and lost opportunities. Since the past is beyond our reach, we can’t change anything that happened. We do, however, have the power to change the way we view the present. We can begin by realizing that our past troubles really may have been valuable lessons.
We can also get a better perspective by releasing the idea that anything from the past controls our future. The real meaning of the saying “with God, all things are possible” is that our Higher Power can transform anything that happened in our past. AA has had its share of miraculous changes that came to people who seemingly had lost all hope. These changes have included miraculous restorations in health, finances, and relationships.
A new saying is that something or some person who bothered us in the past is history, as far as we’re concerned. Let’s put history where it belongs__ on the shelves and away from our daily thinking and activities.
I can be a new person today and every day. The past cannot control or limit me, but I do benefit from its lessons.
“Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, help to make earth happy like the heaven above.” ~Julia A. Fletcher Carney
“If you keep falling in the same hole, go down a different road.” ~Unknown
Keep It Simple
Easy Does It.—Twelve Steps slogan
We are people who push ourselves to hard. We try to be perfect. Well, we need to lighten up. Easy Does It.
We need to slow down our pace. Why? Because our program teaches us to give up trying to be perfect.
We begin to love ourselves for who we are. We are enough. Over and over we hear this as we live the Steps. It’s the message of God’s love. Our Higher Power want us to live at a pace that’s not fast and hard, so we always know we’re loved. Remember, we’ve turned our life over to the care of God. And our life is a wonderful gift. As recovering people, we may know better than others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me to live at Your pace, not mine. Help me keep in mind that life isn’t a race. It’s a spiritual journey. Walk with me.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll take two hours just to relax and do loving things for myself. I’ll take time to count my blessings.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” ~Helen Keller
Each Day a New Beginning
Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities. --Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Our dreams beckon us to new heights. All that we may need is the courage to move toward them, taking the necessary steps to realize those dreams. Trusting that we will be shown the steps, one at a time, patiently waiting for the right step and right time is all we need to do, today.
Our dreams, when they are for the good of ourselves and others, are invitations from God to spread our wings, to attempt new heights. Those dreams are part of the destiny designed for us. They are not happenstance. Our gifts are unique. Our contributions are ours alone. Our dreams reflect the contributions we are called on to make in this life.
Our opportunities for fulfillment are varied and not always recognized as for our good. Again and again we need to turn to God, be patient, and trust that we are being called to offer something very special to those around us. No one of us has escaped a special plan. And everyone of us is inspired in particular ways, with particular talents. Our recovery is clearing the way for us to burst forth with our talents.
I will be grateful for all that I am, for all that I have. And I will remember, what I give today to friends around me is mine only to give.
“Take time for solitude. How else can you contemplate the blessings of recovery.” ~Abby Warman
Walk In Dry Places
Be Careful What you Pray for____Choosing the right goals.
“Be careful what you pray for,” the Old-Timers said, for you are likely to get it. While this sounds exciting, it’s really an important warning. Prayers are currents of thought directed toward a goal. The goal must be something few want to live with once it is achieved. What often happens, unfortunately, is that we seek things that turn out to be shallow and even harmful after we get them. Such disillusionment has been the stuff of countless morality tales.
Our bitter experiences with alcohol can also furnish lessons about the kinds of goals we should strive for in sobriety. Let’s take an inventory if we find ourselves thinking that our happiness depends on certain people, places, or things. Our true happiness comes from our Higher Power and the right combination of love and service. With the right attitude, we can actually be happy under many kinds of conditions and with all sorts of people.
What, then, should we pray for? “Knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out,” is a prayer that puts things in proper order. Seek to do God’s will, and you might be utterly amazed at the results. After all, it is God’s pleasure to give you good things.
I’ll pray for knowledge of God’s will today, while exercising prudence in all my affairs.
Keep It Simple
. . . no one who learns to know himself remains just what he was before—Thomas Mann
Deep inside, we all know that we’re changing. It started when we took Step One. We learned and accepted something new about ourselves. That changed us, just a little. We no longer wanted to live as addicts. That meant we had to change and to learn to live sober. It’s been nonstop ever since: learn about ourselves, change a little, learn about ourselves, change a little more, and so on. All we know is that each step of learning and changing makes life better. How long can it keep getting better? As long as we keep learning to know ourselves.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, teach me about myself today. Teach me gently.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll think about what I’ve learned about myself by working the program. I’ll list five things.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~e. e. cummings
The alcoholic is in no greater peril than when he takes sobriety for granted.
Keep It Simple
Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.~Spanish proverb
Gossip can kill the trust in a Twelve Step program. We all need to feel safe when we share our personal lives with others. We need to know our private business won’t spread around.
We can do two things to help keep the trust in our groups, and in the rest of our lives too. First, don’t gossip. Second, don’t listen to gossip about others.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me mind my own business today. Help me honor the trust of my friends by not gossiping.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll think of two ways to stop someone from telling me gossip. Then, I’ll put those ways to use.
“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.” --Anonymous
“When we practice loving kindness towards others, we run out of willingness and generosity quickly if we think it all has to come from us. When we understand that love comes through us, there is an endless Source.” --Mary Manin Morrissey
“Don’t worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you.” --Robert Fulghum, 20th-century American author
“When we walk in God’s light, we are transformed.” --Eleanor Park Kammer
“As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Walk In Dry Places
Sticking with the winners____Prudence
“Stick with the winners,” newcomers are told at Twelve Step meetings. The real message of this statement is to share the attitudes and actions of people who are successful in living sober.
No recovering person can have a successful day while dwelling on ideas that can be harmful.
We’ll meet people in the course of the day whose attitudes may appall us. We may work with people who are critical, gossipy, or resentful. It’s not our duty to correct them or argue with them. We’re wise, however, not to accept what we recognize as wrong thinking.
Winners, in AA terms, are people who seek sobriety first and live up to the principles of the program. Seem them out for help in doing likewise.
I’ll try to associate with people who exemplify the highest and best in good attitudes.
“It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business.” ~Gertrude Stein
(HINT: Most everything is not my business)
“We need to let the old go, so the new can emerge” ~Peggy Bassett
“The more I force things, the tougher my life gets.” ~Helen Neujahr
