ABCs of Recovery
 

A is for Acceptance. I had to accept that I was an alcoholic. I had to accept that I needed help. I had to accept that the program would work for me. I had to accept that there was a power greater than me. I had to accept that it was a spiritual program, not a religious one. It was a program that included ALL religious beliefs. Leave no one outside the circle, everyone deserve recovery. It is the God of YOUR understanding. My God may not work for you or I would loan Him to you.

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B is for Be

Be Active - Don't just sit around. Idle time will kill you.

Be good to yourself. You deserve it. Don't be so hard on yourself

C is for Courage. When I can't find it within myself, I go to my Higher Power and ask for His Help. He doesn't come down and kick me in the but and say, get going, but it can feel like it. It can be a mental and emotional change or He may send someone or something else to deliver His message.

I can't, my God can, Just for Today, I choose to let Him.

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D is for Don't Rush!

Progress is made One Day at a Time...not 10 years in a day!

E is for Everything. What do you need to change? My sponsor told me everything! He also told me to the exact opposite of what I have been doing, and I just may make it right. ;)

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F is for Fear

Face
Everything
And
Recover

G is for Good. Look for the good in someone. Every thing or one are not all bad. Don't judge. Give them a chance. God is good. Good is God. Let your Goodness show.

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H is for Handle. God and I can handle anything that comes our way. My God is bigger than any situation that I may experience in life's journey. There are lesson to learn, experience to live through, but through it all I have hope, because I know my God is with me as I work my way to the other side.

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I is for "I"

This is not an "I" program. It is a "we" program. You are never alone. If you feel that you are on your own, pick up the phone and call a fellow alcoholic or better yet, go to a meeting. There is fellowship in these rooms.

J is for Joy. We are promised joy, happiness, and freedom. How can we not enjoy this second chance at life. The day is what we make it. It is what we choose it to be. If we choose to let go and let God, we can have a day of freedom for worry and the burden of our past. We will be happy to have the burden lifted. Express your joy to the Creator, who made all things beautiful.

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K is for Key. The key to recovery is willingness. We must be willing to go to any length to maintain our sobriety. The key for me was a willingness to go to meetings. I had to shut up and listen, and through the people in the rooms, I was shown how to work my program and how not to work my program. The key person in my life was my sponsor. As one of them said, "I don't care who your Higher Power is as long as it is not you."

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L is for Laughter. What surprised me the most when I walked into the rooms of recovery, was the laughter. I didn't think I was an alcoholic, but I heard that laughter and I wanted what they had. I would go to meetings and say, "I have a desire not to drink today." I truly didn't because I didn't want to go back to where I came from and I knew that alcohol was a part of it. I looked at it more from the standpoint of the people around me. Last laugh on me, I qualified and then some. I just had to learn to identify, not compare.

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M is for Motion. If you are not in motion, working your steps and working with others in some form or other doing service, then there is a good chance of you becoming complacent and that is a major sign of slipping back into old ways, hopefully not to where you came from. Our drug of choice was more, we need to change that into doing more work on my recovery.

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N is for Newbie. We are so glad you are here. Without you, we would not be here. We need you as much as you may need us. I try to go to each meeting with a newbie's state of mind, open to learning and willing to do what ever it takes to maintain my recovery in today.

Thank you for doing my research for me. You carry a great message. It isn't any better out there, and now I don't have to go and do some research for myself.

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O is for Open Mind. It is so easy to keep an open mind when everyone agrees with us. We have to learn to listen and take what we need and leave the rest on the shelf.

We each have our own way of doing things, but many times we have to agree to disagree.

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P is for Pleasure. Do you enjoy your day. What do you do for pleasure? Do you take time out for pleasure or are you caught up in busy. We can isolate in our home alone or we can get lost in a crowd.

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Q is for Quit. Quit using mind altering substance that take you out of yourself, into a life that is marking time, instead of living life to the fullest. People, places, and things are quite harmful to me, if they take me from the kind of life my Higher Power wants me to live.

Remember if you have to control it, it is already out of control. Quit pulling the blanket of denial on and wearing those rose colored glasses, that don't give you a true perspective of life.

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R is for Rest

Get plenty of Rest. Last night it was so hot in my bedroom that I couldn't get to sleep. I think I only got 3 hours of sleep. I am going to be tired by the end of this day. I hope I get a good night sleep tonight.

S is for Safe. Make your place safe. Set boundaries. Make your own special place in your house, with a good light or a place to light a candle, either to read or meditate. It is your chair, off limit to others.

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T is for Take

Take down the bricks from the wall around you. You'll be able to see the daylight better. Let people know who you are. In order for me to heal and begin to recover, I had to take the the brick from the wall I build around me. As I started to take down the brick, I saw the light of hope shining in and I continued to take more bricks down! I am grateful for those who helped me in the process of demolishing the wall.

U is for Understanding. This is a spiritual program. It is God, as you understand Him to be. If you have no understanding of God, keep going to the meetings and hear others share. If you are like me, you will be so mixed up, you are not sure what you believe. It is my understanding that there is a God big enough to cover all religions or all color, race, and creed. I had to make my God personal and build a relationship with Him, or if you wish, She/It/Creator/Higher Power/The Source/The Universe/Buddha or if you believer there is no God at all. Just keep coming and let God find you.

V is for Vision. Please read "A Vision for you" in the Big Book, it ending on page 169 is totally awesome. When we get clean and sober, we can envision a new life for ourselves. It take a while, and sometimes we think we can't function, but in truth for me, I did things better.

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W is for Want. Some times we try to become "Wanna Bees" like on Romper Room. We focus on others instead of ourselves. We want what someone else has, but not willing to work on ourselves and do the work. I think some think that recovery is a gift that is just handed out to the few. The program works if we work for the program. Don't look at what you don't have, look at what you do have and find a sponsor who will help lead you in the way you would like to go.

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X is for eXtra

Get extra sleep. It is important for your health to get plenty of rest.

Y is for Yuck! Don't discount those 'yuck' feelings. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. When the time is right you will know if you put your daily life into the care of your Higher Power. Remember he answers prayer three ways, "Yes, No, and not yet!"

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Z is for Zero. As it says in the book, "When your score card read zero," you came to AA. Until we hit our personal bottom, we will not be able to find the willingness to quit drinking and drugging. It doesn't matter what drug I chose, alcohol is a drug, we have to be willing to go to any length to stop. Stop means zip, nadda, no mind altering substance, or they will take us back to our drug of choice.

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A is for Attend

Attend AA meetings regularly and get involved and ready to help the alcoholic that still suffers.

B is for Be:

Be active - don't just sit around.
Be willing to help whenever needed.
Be good to yourself - you deserve it!

C is for the 3 Cs.

I didn't cause it.
I can't cure it.
I can't control it.

This is an Al-Anon slogan. It also applies to the disease of alcoholism. If I have to control it, it is already out of control.

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D is for Deep Breathing

Deep Breathing, meditation, and other relaxation techniques can help you in your recovery. Set aside some time each day for this. It'll improve your mental and physical health.

E is for Easy Does It...But do it! We don't have to rush around and get frantic and overwhelmed when doing something. I found it is best to pray first and ask for what you need to accomplish what must be done. That way we get out of our way and our God can work through us. We take it easy and we get it done much faster than rushing about and trying to do everything all at once.

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F is for Forgiveness. We need to forgive ourselves. I never even thought of it until a counselor asked me at 6 years sober, "Why haven't you forgiven yourself?" I had never thought to ask. We are worthy of forgiveness. Our God is loving and willing to Forgive us any transgression we may have done inn our past, real or imagined. He is loving and caring and doesn't measure us by the # of 'sins' we have piled up. I took at it as being needy and looking outside of myself for things to make me feel better, not knowing and remembering that all I had to do was go to the God of my understanding. If you get to a stage in your life, you have a misunderstanding of God or you don't understand Him at all, it is okay. Surrender your day over to Him and you will see how He works in your life. There are times we have to readjust our thoughts, and like me, go on a spiritual quest and building a working relationship with your God to see who He is to you. Make Him personal, not a supreme being who has a blanket denominator for all. It says we are to become as little children, then we are ready to learn.

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G is for Get

Get a home group and attend meetings regularly.

H is for Honest. Be honest with yourself and others.

Self-honesty doesn't come easy.

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I is for Identify

Identify your triggers. Use your tools of recovery to combat the triggers.

J is for Just for Today. Just for today, I choose not to use people, places and things. Just for today, I will have a program, and work it to the best of my ability.

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K is for Keep it Simple. Don't complicate things. Don't pick up, no matter what. I am powerless over people, places, and things.

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L is for Learn

Learn to take spot check inventories.

M is for Money. Don't let it define you. If you don't have money to put in the Seventh Tradition, offer your time and service to the group, the community, and when you get two years of sobriety, you can go into jails, detox, treatment centers, become General Service Rep, Inter-Group Rep, Literature chair, Hospitals & Institutions, and the list goes on and on. My favorite position is being a greeter at the door.

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N is for Nothing

Nothing changes if nothing changes.