Today's Thought - May

[bluidkiti]

May 16

Avoiding blame

It is not uncommon to hear in group, "Why do these things always happen to me?" If these things are always happening to us, the obvious answer is that we somehow bring them on ourselves. We are largely unconscious of what we're doing (wrong) until, slowly, eventually, we manage to dig ourselves out from the results. (It seems incredible that we actually seek to be hurt, but in a way many of us do so, with regularity.)

But blaming others for our problems and indulging in self-pity don’t move us along in our program.

Am I still blaming others?

Higher Power, help me take responsibility for myself and my actions, because blaming others will only keep me stuck.

I will take greater responsibility for myself today by...

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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May 17

Reflection for the Day

Can I be wholeheartedly grateful for today? If so, I'm opening doors to more and more abundant good. What if I can't be thankful for the "rain" that has fallen in my life - for the so-called bad times? What then? I can begin by giving thanks for all the sunshine I can remember, and for every blessing that has come my way. Perhaps then I'll be able to look back over the rainy periods of my life with new vision, seeing them as necessary; perhaps then, hidden blessings I've overlooked will come to my attention. Am I grateful for all of life - both the sunshine and the rain?
Today I Pray

May I be grateful for all that has happened to me, good and bad. Bad helps to define good. Sorrow intensifies joy. Humility brings spirituality. Disease turns health into a paradise. Loneliness makes love, both human and Divine, the greatest gift of all. I am grateful for all of the contrasts that have helped me connect more deeply with my Higher Power.
Today I Will Remember

I am grateful for the whole of life.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

[bluidkiti]

May 18

Impulsive reactions never benefit us.

Immediate responses to every situation aren't necessary. But sometimes we make snap decisions because we fear looking inadequate or stupid. Unfortunately, because we don't pause long enough to think through a response or to ask God for guidance, we often do look ignorant - just what we had hoped to avoid.

Our recovery program gives us permission to slow down, to wait for guidance from our Higher Power. It also helps us assess our strengths along with our weaknesses. Understanding that each of us is a worthwhile human being with a unique purpose is a gift of this program.

My contribution to every experience today can be according to God’s will, if I ask for knowledge of it.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

[bluidkiti]

May 19

The hard rain and wind are ways the cloud has to take care of us.

~Rumi

It's the nature of human life to keep changing. Sometimes, instead of joy, life seems to bring only problems. At times we may feel overwhelmed with frustration and disappointment. As a problem is resolved, it explodes with myriad seeds of new ones. The more we embrace life, the more we risk.

We can no longer withdraw into isolation or retreat from involvement with other people and life for more than a brief time. That option is no longer open to us. Whether through coming out or entering recovery - both, for many of us - we’ve taken an irrevocable step into a life touched by the lives of others. We are blessed to experience both joy and sadness as part of this life. Our griefs, instead of diminishing us, can expand our hearts with compassion for others.

Today, grief teaches me to be more compassionate and loving.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day

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May 20

Send me the right thought, word, or action. Show me what my next step should be. In times of doubt and indecision, please send Your inspiration and guidance.

~Alcoholics Anonymous

The good news of surrendering ourselves and our life to a Power greater than ourselves is that we come into harmony with a Grand Plan, one greater than we can imagine.

We are promised Divine Guidance if we ask for it, if we work the Twelve Steps. What greater gift could we receive than knowing our thoughts, words, and actions are being directed?

We aren't a mistake. And we don't have to control or repress ourselves or others for life to work out. Even the strange, the unplanned, the painful, and those things we call errors can evolve into harmony.

We will be guided into understanding what we need to do to take care of ourselves. We will begin to trust our instincts, our feelings, our thoughts. We will know when to go, to stop, to wait. We will learn a great truth: the plan will happen in spite of us, not because of us.

I pray today and each day that my thoughts, words, and actions may be Divinely led. I pray that I can move forward in confidence, knowing my steps are guided.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency*

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May 21

The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.

~Mortimer Adler

In some areas of our lives, we are right on target. Our level of maturity is exactly as it should be, and we are going through the stages that people of our age ought to be going through. In other areas, this is not so. We are complex people, irregular, uneven. In all of us, there are areas fixated in some emotional ice age, areas that have not felt the freeing warmth of the sun.

We cannot expect ourselves to move forward all at once. Not only is it okay to move slowly - it's often the only way it can be. Confusion, conflict, or pain may have caused us to let our memories or feelings be frozen safely away. This has been a long process, and we can allow ourselves more time to heal. The task now is not to deny or hide from these changes, but to have confidence that the healing warmth of the program will reflect on all areas of our lives and help make us whole.

I am thankful I am given both time and patience in which to continue my growth.

Today's reading is from the book Days of Healing, Days of Joy: Daily Meditations for Adult Children*

[bluidkiti]

May 22

The bluebird carries the day on his back.

~Henry David Thoreau

What a happy thought. Imagine a bluebird building its home in a nest box, chattering away to tell the world, "I'm here, and I'm busy!"

The bluebird does not think about yesterday or tomorrow but only about doing the next right thing to make the present day a good one. The bluebird listens for an inner voice - the voice that tells it when to start building a nest or when to begin its flight south for the coming winter.

We can learn from the bluebird. When we do our activities of the day, one at a time, we put together a good day - a day that is just what it is supposed to be.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me be true to myself today and to live my life just the way it is supposed to be. Help me feel the joy of it!
Today's Action

Today I will talk with my sponsor or a friend in recovery about how my days need to be at this time in my life. I will be happy that I know how to live well today.

Today's reading is from the book God Grant Me: More Daily Meditations from the Authors of Keep It Simple*

[bluidkiti]

May 23

Grief may be joy misunderstood; Only the Good discerns the good.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

It may seem strange to grieve for the loss of our addiction, but there is indeed mourning that needs to take place as we recover. There is so much to let go of as we discover and admit the toll addiction has taken on our life. Letting go includes feeling this loss.

The challenge is to grieve without judging ourselves or our feelings. Maybe our addiction helped us cope with life when we didn't have healthy coping skills. Maybe it helped cover up feelings or events that were too painful to face. Maybe living as a practicing addict was truly the best we could do with our life at the time.

The tragedy was that as we sank deeper into addiction, it began to control us. That's why it's important to grieve not only for the loss of the addiction, no matter how unhealthy it was, but for the loss of ourselves and the things we missed out on in life because of our addiction. Grief, honestly felt and expressed, is a healing experience.

If I am grieving today, I give myself permission to do so. I need not be accountable to anyone else for how I feel, but I'll simply take care of myself with gentleness and compassion.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

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May 24

Give with Humility

The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good act in secret and have it found out by accident.

~Anonymous

There is one bit of advice that is given in many ways to those of us in recovery. That advice is that we should give to others without looking for any credit for our generosity. To give something for the sheer joy of giving is the strongest step we can take in achieving the humility that is so vital to us. Humility is essential to our spiritual progress, and our spiritual progress is a necessary part of our recovery.

The encouragement to serve without seeking praise comes to us in many forms and from many places. Ancient wisdom advises us not to let our right hand know what our left hand is doing, and not to "sound a trumpet" to announce a good deed.

Let me learn to give without seeking credit. This is a humble act. It will result in the uplifting reward of humility, which is vital to my spiritual growth.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

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May 25

Fearful as reality is, it is less fearful than evasions of reality.

~Caitlin Thomas

We've become much less fearful of reality since we've come to know the principles of this program. Just about anything could have made us fearful in past years. No doubt practicing our addictions gave us a false courage for a while. But then we could no longer keep the fears away. How do we keep fear at bay now that we're free of our addictions?

Most of us have begun to rely on our Higher Power for courage, understanding, and acceptance. The challenges that we're offered are opportunities from God for our advantage. When we're in God's care these challenges are manageable, and we need no longer fear them.

We can conquer our fears as we take advantage of the help, guidance, and courage that come from God.

I know that God will be there for me through every challenge today.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

[bluidkiti]

May 26

The expression of praise as thanksgiving, gratitude, and joy is among the most powerful forms of affirmation.

~Catherine Ponder

Praise inevitably has multiple effects. It positively acknowledges another human being, enhancing his or her well-being, while making us feel good. This offering of love, which is the substance of praise, heals all who share in its circle.

We can see the effects of affirmation in the women we admire. We can discern its absence, too, particularly among those who struggle. How difficult is it to give small acknowledgments to those we care about? Making a habit of this heals our own inner wounds too.

Affirming a friend or ourselves connects us to the spirit residing within. That bond fills in our empty spaces, making us whole and healed. Our security as women grows as we praise one another.

I will freely offer my love in the form of praise to the wonderful friends on my path today.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

[bluidkiti]

May 27

A Fellowship of Suffering

One of the things I like about AA is that they are people who have been marginalized. I get that.

It's a fellowship of suffering. I get that. If you hang in together, you have a chance to get through this thing.

Soldiers fight not for the hatred of the enemy in front of them, but for the love of the men behind them. Medals awarded almost always include caring for others while at peril for their own safety.

It's the same thing with recovery.

I will fight just as hard for myself as for the suffering person beside me. I will leave no one behind.

~Don E., U.S. Army, 1967–1970

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

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May 28

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

~George Washington Burnap

A wise old man who had survived years of abuse and hard labor in a Nazi concentration camp and lost several loved ones to the gas chambers was asked how he could live without getting depressed. He answered that it was because he had a purpose in his life.

We are rebuilding our lives after the devastation of codependency and addiction. The promises of this recovery program tell us that we will experience the restoration of meaning and purpose, and we will feel like full-fledged human beings again. Now we are finding those promises coming true every day. There is always plenty to be depressed about. However, we have something to do, we have the love of others, and we have hope for our future.

Today, my gratitude and purpose carry me along with plenty to be happy about.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

[bluidkiti]

May 29

AA Thought for the Day

The prodigal son "took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living." That's what we alcoholics do. We waste our substance with riotous living. "When he came to himself, he said: 'I will arise and go to my father.'" That’s what you do in AA. You come to yourself. Your alcoholic self is not your real self. Your sane, sober, respectable self is your real self. That's why we alcoholics are so happy in AA. Have I come to myself?
Meditation for the Day

Simplicity is the keynote of a good life. Choose the simple things always. Life can become complicated if you let it be so. You can be swamped by difficulties if you let them take up too much of your time. Every difficulty can be either solved or ignored and something better substituted for it. Love the humble things of life. Revere the simple things. Your standard must never be the world's standard of wealth and power.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may love the simple things of life. I pray that I may keep my life uncomplicated and free.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

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May 30

A bird does not sing because he has an answer. He sings because he has a song.

~Joan Walsh Anglund

Each of us has a song to sing, just as birds do. Part of knowing who we are is appreciating our own songs. Are our songs gentle like the robin's, or are we brilliant leaders like the blue jay? Are we easy to be around like the sparrow, or do we radiate joy and laughter like the loon?

Each of these birds has something special to offer. So do we, with our own unique personalities and talents. What a waste it would be if the loon never dashed across the lake because he wanted to be a robin instead. It is important to learn who we are and to believe we are special in our own way. We give joy to the world around us when we sing our own songs.

Have I listened to my own song lately?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*