Today's Thought - January

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January 1

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
--Albert Einstein

It's easy to live as though our problems will just go away. We say tomorrow, next month, or next year will be better. We keep some kernel of hope that things will change, even though we haven't done anything to change things. Herein lies a paradox. We need to be positive, to let go, and to live one day at a time, but we also need to be sensitive to points in our lives that require us to take action.

Before we can begin to get out of a rut, to make positive change, we need to acknowledge that a problem exists in the first place and that we are responsible for doing something about it. When we can pinpoint the problem, we create a new awareness. We're suddenly open to receiving information we previously blocked out. We reach a higher level of thinking regarding our situation.

Today on this New Year's Day I will actively seek information about how to help myself or others and will be open to different philosophies.

You are reading from the book:

Letting Go of Debt by Karen Casanova

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January 2

Reflection for the Day

I've heard it said that when God closes a door, a window opens. Since I started working the Twelve Steps, much of the fear and pain that haunted my life is gone. Some of my defects have been lifted from me, though I'm still wrestling with others. I believe that if I continue to work the Twelve Steps over and over again, my life will continue to improve physically, mentally, and spiritually. Am I more willing and better able to help others by working the Steps myself?

Today I Pray

I give thanks to God for showing me that the Twelve Steps are a stairway to a saner life. As I re-work them conscientiously, my life does get better, healthier, and nearer to my Higher Power. As I continue to live them, may I feel the same gratitude and exaltation of spirit as those who are just now discovering them.

Today I Will Remember

Step by Step, day by day.

You are reading from the book:

A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous

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January 3

No decision has to bind us forever.

Most of us are no longer sure what we want to be doing a year or even a month from now. When we are called upon to make decisions, any decision that commits us to a certain path in the future, we shudder. Will we be allowed to change our minds?

What a change this is from earlier years. Many of us led very controlled lives. We felt safest when we knew exactly what we were going to do. We liked it best when we were able to control others' lives too, even though we failed at that much of the time.

Although we may have responsibilities at work and at home, we are so much freer now. And we can decide, moment-by-moment, what we need to do for ourselves. At first it feels irresponsible, not being responsible for everyone, changing our minds when we need to. However, we will grow into this new way of living. And we'll love it!

My decisions today will be for this day only. I can change my mind tomorrow.

You are reading from the book:

A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

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January 4

To stop behaving in a certain way is to risk the unfamiliar.
--Jan Lloyd

Old patterns grip us so tightly! Even when the behavior pinches us painfully, we are loathe to give it up. Its familiarity makes it tolerable, knowable, somewhat manageable, and far less scary than trying something new. However, we are truly the luckiest people alive because now we have a training ground where it is safe to try new behaviors. We can discard old, self-defeating patterns in the safe environment of these Twelve Steps.

We are on this recovery path because each of us wants a new life. We have grown sick and tired of the old ways that no longer work. And we have come to believe that change is possible if we look for it in the right place. This is the right place! At any meeting we can see others who, like us, are trying on new behaviors and meeting with success. We are role models for one another, and every time one of us tries a new response to an old situation, we are all heartened and stretched a bit. We know that what another can do, we can do too.

I am in the right place today to let go of the old and try the new. My support is all around me. I will not fear.

You are reading from the book:

A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

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January 5

God does not ask your ability
Or your inability.
He asks only your availability.
--Mary Kay Ash

Reasons for gratitude are easy to find. If we're breathing, we can think of people hooked up to oxygen tanks. If our skin is smooth, we can remember people suffering in burn units. If we ran into a store for a minute to buy a gallon of milk today, we can remember the long lines people in other cultures endure for the same errand.

And we exist! That alone is miraculous. We have survived a chronic, often fatal disease. For many of us, life is better than before addiction, because we've found a new appreciation for life, a new depth and peace, a new calmness. And we can continue to grow in recovery each beautiful day that is given to us. Today, babies across the world are being born, bringing millions of hopeful and exciting possibilities into our world.

Now, we're ready to take our place in the sun as one of the world's new hopeful possibilities. We live and breathe and feel and think, and we are watched over by a Higher Power who loves us and has a plan for our lives.

Today let me look for the good in my world and be thankful.

You are reading from the book:

Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous

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January 6

Others treat us the way we invite them to treat us.
--Barb H.

Coping with stress is a lot more difficult than preventing it in the first place. If we think prevention, we can avoid a surprising number of stressful situations by thinking ahead and sidestepping. We don’t have to have lunch with difficult or complaining co-workers, for example. We can take a walk at lunchtime or catch up on some reading.

We can limit our availability to other family members by telling them we’re off duty after 8:00 P.M. If we stick to it, the others will learn not to ask for late night help with homework or for a shirt to be ironed. We deserve quiet time to build up our reserves and to fend off stress. Giving all our time away is foolish, not virtuous. We can only expect others to respect our limitations if we are clear about our boundaries.

To stay healthy, we need to avoid, or at least limit, involvement in all unnecessary aggravations.

I will demand the time I need each day for myself.

You are reading from the book:

Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

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January 7

Don't quit five minutes before the miracle happens.
--Anonymous

When we came into the Program, most of us had very little to show for our lives. We believed in nothing. We had experienced great disappointments. The greedy creditor that was our addiction had stripped away everything of meaning to us. We were left with nothing but pain and misery.

Now we hear incredible stories of recovery. People tell how, by following certain simple instructions and honestly working a Program, they were freed from the grasp of their addiction.

Every once in awhile we hear a story that sounds remarkably like our own. We are told that through work and the help of a Higher Power, we too can receive a miracle.

The most important miracle I can expect and count on each day is the freedom from my addiction. I can trust that if I stay close to the Program, the miracle will be repeated, one day at a time.

You are reading from the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

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January 8

Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.
--Anonymous

We addicts need to be very careful when we feel worried because it can lead to relapse. So how can we stop worrying? We can take some clear steps.

First, we need to determine the root of our worry. If necessary, it may help to write down our problem. Second, we should answer these questions: How likely is it that this problem will actually happen? How serious is the problem? How much control do we have over it? Third, we need to make a plan. What could we do about the problem? What would this action solve? Sometimes the best thing we can do is let go. Fourth, we should talk it all over with our sponsor, someone who has faced worry and stays sober.

When we take these steps, we usually learn one of two things; there is a smarter way to handle the problem, or there is nothing we can do about it.

Prayer for the Day

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Today's Action

If I have a worry, I will follow the steps above. If I am not worried today, I will call my sponsor and talk about how the Serenity Prayer helps me avoid worry.



You are reading from the book:

God Grant Me... by Anonymous

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January 9

In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.
--Anne Frank

Newcomer

I get upset and discouraged about what's in the news. So much of it is about violence and tragedy, lying and competition. What's going on our there is so different from what I see at meetings. I wish that everyone had what we have.

Sponsor

Sometimes it does seem as if the world "out there" is on a binge of some kind. And addictions themselves, of all kinds, are still widespread and causing considerable damage. But what about the healing, the taking of responsibility, the turning around of lives? News of recovery, changes in consciousness, spiritual growth, and service is not what sells papers, but it is a real and vital part of what's happening in the world. Twelve Step recovery has been around for less than a century, but its healing principles have entered the awareness and lives of millions of people around the world.

When we think about what our individual lives were like before recovery and what fundamental changes we've been able to make in a short time, it gives us hope and a sense of what's possible.

Today, I'm blessed with hope. I let change begin with me.

You are reading from the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin

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January 10

We're not given more than we can handle.

Sometimes I take on more than I can comfortably manage - that’s one of the ways in which my life becomes unmanageable. It happens when I'm operating according to self-will rather than the will of a Higher Power.

I believe that God does not expect more of me than I can produce, that along with the challenges and difficulties I encounter comes the strength I need to cope with them and learn from them. When chaos threatens, I'm either taking on more than I should, or I'm not using the resources available to me.

With recovery, we learn to arrange our priorities so that we do not get worn out with compulsive activity and busy-ness. Everything becomes more manageable when we're not trying to run the show by ourselves. Solid experience teaches us that support is always at hand, that our Higher Power comes through for us when we ask for help.

I will face today's tasks confident that I will be given the ability to accomplish my Higher Power's will for me.

You are reading from the book:

Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

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January 11

Formula for failure: trying to please everyone.

*****

The elevator is broken; use the steps.

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You are the problem, but you are also the solution.

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Reason to be grateful #863: you learn to wake up instead of coming to.

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Improve your memory -- tell the truth.

*****

Numb is dumb; feel to heal.

You are reading from the book:

Keep Coming Back Gift Book by Meiji Stewart

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January 12

I don't think you're suddenly going to begin to look at the world with new eyes when you're 80 if you haven't been doing it when you're 30.
--Janice Clark

We are creatures of habit as evidenced by our getting stuck in old viewpoints long after they have quit serving us. However, that fact doesn't restrict us for all time. Anytime we want to cultivate a new idea, an alternative approach to a situation, we are free to do so. Janice may be right regarding some people she has known, but we are capable of freshening our perspective at any age.

We have all known some elderly men and women who have the spirit and enthusiasm of the very young. Unfortunately, we have also known the reverse. How sad to observe the 40 or 50 year old person who has quit living. Their whining belies their age. Who will we be? The choice is always available to us. And we can remake it as often as we wish.

What a relief to know that if we're old and resentful today, we still have the opportunity to be young and full of laughter tomorrow. Maybe we can't do everything we used to do, but this decision is still in our power.

I will open my eyes to whatever I choose to see today. Yesterday's experiences have only the power I give them.

You are reading from the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

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January 13

Fill up your life.

One of the good things about the blues is their power to make me feel better. No matter how bad it gets in my little world, I can be pretty sure that B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, or Stevie Ray Vaughn has seen worse. Sometimes, it just feels good to vocalize all those bad feelings.

Bad things happen in life. Sometimes they are small annoyances; sometimes they are the major grief mongers. What matters is not what happens to us, but how we react to it. He left you. That is a fact. Now after you get done with the quart of rocky road that you are drowning your sorrows in, what are you going to do about it? You can sit around and complain to your friends about how unfair life is, or you can get up, put the empty bowl in the dishwasher, and go fill up your life.

Feelings are one of the blessings of being human. All of them. Sometimes we feel good; sometimes we feel bad. Take some time. Take some energy and be upset. Be aware of the feeling of being upset. But then get up, go out, and make positive use of your life.

God, help me put to positive use all of the feelings in my life.

You are reading from the book:

More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

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January 14

The Fox without a Tail

One day a fox became caught in a trap. In his struggle to free himself, he left his tail behind. On his way home, he devised a way to head off being made the butt of jokes. He trotted back into the forest and called together all the foxes.

"Foxes are much more attractive when they do not have a tail," he said as he wiggled his stump. "Observe how sleek my appearance is. No longer will I have to pull burrs out of my tail. I am free – and you can all be free, too! It is time for all foxes to cut off their tails."

"Nonsense!" an elder fox yelled out. "If you had not lost your own tail, my friend, you would not be urging us to lose ours as well. You must deal with your loss on your own."

The Moral of the story: Do not trust all of the advice given by others.

Many in the program offer helpful support based on their experience. There are also those who give advice. Sometimes this advice is well-meaning and useful; other times it may seem suspect. Listen to the support, guidance, and advice you are given. But never let such information have a negative impact on your recovery.

I will listen to the advice I am given, but will make decisions that are right for me.

You are reading from the book:

Morning Light by Amy E. Dean

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January 15

There is a need to discover that we are capable of solitary joy and having experienced it, know that we have touched the core of self.
--Barbara Lazear Ascher

To be alone with ourselves, undistracted by a friend's voice or TV or a good book, is not all that easy. We discover the joy of being and not always doing, when we make a commitment to go within and seek the support of our Higher Power.

We are nurtured in times of quiet solitude as, little by little, we come to know and love ourselves more. We find lasting joy deep within ourselves rather than in outward success, other people's approval, or mood altering drugs.

Deciding to leave our distractions for even a few moments will take courage; we may fear the unknown, certain that if we really get to know ourselves, we'll discover we're unlovable. Fear of the unknown is natural, but it lessens as we mature in our spiritual life. We are meant to know and love ourselves as we're known and loved by God.

Today I will quietly go within and I will seek the self-assurance and joy that come from God.

You are reading from the book:

In God's Care by Karen Casey