Recovery Meditations:
March 7th
Perseverance
To keep a lamp burning we have to
keep putting oil on it.
Mother Teresa
As a child I can still remember being
terribly stubborn, and would even have a temper tantrum if I didn't want to do
something. As I grew up, the trait of stubbornness remained, and it would be
hard to get me to budge if I had decided I didn't want to do something. After
coming into the program, I realised that stubbornness is actually a character
defect of mine, and whilst I am praying to be relieved of it in its negative
form, I also know that that same character defect in its positive form has
helped me tremendously in the program, especially seeing my journey has been
one which has been characterised with many slips along the way. But one of the
things that I've never stopped doing is coming back, and I know that it is this
very character defect of stubbornness, turned into perseverance, that has made
me keep working at the program, even when it would be easier to just give up.
So I have kept coming to meetings, and working the steps and the tools even
when I was struggling, because I know that it is only when I do that, I have a
chance of recovery.
It has been said that this is a
program of action, and so I repeat on a daily basis the actions that have
brought recovery to thousands. Some days it is harder than others, especially
when the willingness is not there, and on those days my old pattern of wanting
to block out the feelings with food resurfaces. But I also know that when I use
the tools and work the steps, I can deal with the feelings without resorting to
food, because my Higher Power will help me to get through the daily struggles
when I turn them over to Him. So what I need to do on a daily basis is to ask
for help from my Higher Power with my unmanageable life, instead of turning to
food, and even on days where I'm struggling, I just need to keep putting one
foot in front of the other and persevering with working the program.
One Day at a Time . . .
I will persevere with working the
program, so that I can recover from this disease of compulsive overeating and
be restored to sanity on a daily basis.
~ Sharon ~
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Each Day a New Beginning
Parents can only give good advice or
put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's
character lies in their own hands.
—Anne Frank
We must take responsibility for ourselves, for who we become, for how we live each day. The temptation to blame others may be ever present. And much of our past adds up to wasted days or years, perhaps, because we did blame someone else for the unhappiness in our lives.
We may have blamed our own parents for not loving us enough. We may have labeled our husbands the villains. Other people did affect us. That's true. However, we chose, you and I, to let them control us, overwhelm us, shame us. We always had other options, but we didn't choose them.
Today is a new day. Recovery has opened up our options. We are learning who we are and how we want to live our lives. How exhilarating to know that you and I can take today and put our own special flavor in it. We can meet our personal needs. We can, with anticipation, chart our course. The days of passivity are over, if we choose to move ahead with this day.
I will look to this day. Every day is a new beginning.
—Anne Frank
We must take responsibility for ourselves, for who we become, for how we live each day. The temptation to blame others may be ever present. And much of our past adds up to wasted days or years, perhaps, because we did blame someone else for the unhappiness in our lives.
We may have blamed our own parents for not loving us enough. We may have labeled our husbands the villains. Other people did affect us. That's true. However, we chose, you and I, to let them control us, overwhelm us, shame us. We always had other options, but we didn't choose them.
Today is a new day. Recovery has opened up our options. We are learning who we are and how we want to live our lives. How exhilarating to know that you and I can take today and put our own special flavor in it. We can meet our personal needs. We can, with anticipation, chart our course. The days of passivity are over, if we choose to move ahead with this day.
I will look to this day. Every day is a new beginning.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey
© 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
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Food for Thought
Accepting Abstinence
Abstinence is not so much something we achieve as it is a gift from our Higher Power. It is given to us constantly, from the time we wake up in the morning through every minute of the day.
If we think of abstinence as something we have to acquire through great effort, we will be afraid that we will fail. We will think of weeks and months and years stretching ahead of us and say, "I'll never make it."
Abstinence is given to us now, each day, and all we need to do is accept it. It is not something we do only in order to lose a certain number of pounds. By abstaining, we will lose the pounds, but when we are at our desired weight we continue to maintain abstinence. Abstinence is our freedom from compulsive overeating and the gift of new life.
Thank you, Lord, for abstinence.
Abstinence is not so much something we achieve as it is a gift from our Higher Power. It is given to us constantly, from the time we wake up in the morning through every minute of the day.
If we think of abstinence as something we have to acquire through great effort, we will be afraid that we will fail. We will think of weeks and months and years stretching ahead of us and say, "I'll never make it."
Abstinence is given to us now, each day, and all we need to do is accept it. It is not something we do only in order to lose a certain number of pounds. By abstaining, we will lose the pounds, but when we are at our desired weight we continue to maintain abstinence. Abstinence is our freedom from compulsive overeating and the gift of new life.
Thank you, Lord, for abstinence.
From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L.
©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.
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The Language of Letting Go
Fulfillment
Everything I need shall be provided today. Everything. Say it, until you believe it. Say it at the beginning of the day. Say it throughout the day.
Sometimes, it helps to know what we want and need. But if we don't, we can trust that God does.
When we ask, trust, and believe that our needs will be met, our needs will be met. Sometimes God cares about the silliest little things, if we do.
Today, I will affirm that my needs will be met. I will affirm that God cares and is the Source of my supply. Then I will let go and see that what I have risked to believe is the truth.
Everything I need shall be provided today. Everything. Say it, until you believe it. Say it at the beginning of the day. Say it throughout the day.
Sometimes, it helps to know what we want and need. But if we don't, we can trust that God does.
When we ask, trust, and believe that our needs will be met, our needs will be met. Sometimes God cares about the silliest little things, if we do.
Today, I will affirm that my needs will be met. I will affirm that God cares and is the Source of my supply. Then I will let go and see that what I have risked to believe is the truth.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
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Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Every new moment that arises in your life can now be a point of choice. . .in which you can choose to treat yourself and others with Compassion rather than Judgment.
--David Harp
Newcomer
I wince every time I hear the words "God as we understood Him" and "Higher Power." When meetings close with the Lord's Prayer, I feel like I'm being railroaded. I don't fit into the same religious slot that other people seem to take for granted.
Sponsor
All of us qualify to be here, but not because of any religious identification or belief. Most of us are tolerant of differences, but, being human, some of us forget that not everyone shares the same religious context. Whatever an individual member has to say about the role of his or her Higher Power, the only requirement for membership [in the Program] is the desire to stop using the addictive substance that got us here.
Once I heard a member say, "This meeting is my church." I'm glad that notion works for her. By the same token, I've always been grateful that this program is not a church otherwise I might have to rebel against it! We're not required to subscribe to a particular set of religious beliefs or rituals. In recovery, each of us is free to explore what we believe.
Today, I respect others' rights to their beliefs, just as I respect my own. I bring my love of openness, inclusiveness, and harmony with me wherever I go.
Every new moment that arises in your life can now be a point of choice. . .in which you can choose to treat yourself and others with Compassion rather than Judgment.
--David Harp
Newcomer
I wince every time I hear the words "God as we understood Him" and "Higher Power." When meetings close with the Lord's Prayer, I feel like I'm being railroaded. I don't fit into the same religious slot that other people seem to take for granted.
Sponsor
All of us qualify to be here, but not because of any religious identification or belief. Most of us are tolerant of differences, but, being human, some of us forget that not everyone shares the same religious context. Whatever an individual member has to say about the role of his or her Higher Power, the only requirement for membership [in the Program] is the desire to stop using the addictive substance that got us here.
Once I heard a member say, "This meeting is my church." I'm glad that notion works for her. By the same token, I've always been grateful that this program is not a church otherwise I might have to rebel against it! We're not required to subscribe to a particular set of religious beliefs or rituals. In recovery, each of us is free to explore what we believe.
Today, I respect others' rights to their beliefs, just as I respect my own. I bring my love of openness, inclusiveness, and harmony with me wherever I go.
You are reading from the book:
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