Recovery
Meditations: June 14th
PEACE
"If you do not
find peace in yourself,
you will never find it
anywhere else."
Paula A. Bendry
No outside reality can bring me peace. In the past, I tried
to find it in many things, including relationships, ownership, and my vocation.
But none of these externals brought me real peace. I had the opportunity of
having all of them stripped away by a crisis in my life. I had surgery and got
an infection that required a long period of recovery and resulted in
disability. Many of my relationships ended, my income was reduced drastically,
my capacity for ownership was decreased greatly, and I could no longer work.
Although it was a painful lesson, it has been good for my spiritual condition.
I have been forced to look inside myself and realize that
true peace and joy are found within. It is not about externals. Once I realized
that, I found a relationship with my Higher Power that was deeper and more
intimate than before, and the peace in my life settled inside of me in even
greater measure.
One day at a time...
I will look inwardly
for the peace that I long for.
~ Carolyn H.
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Each Day a New Beginning
All of us have unique talents and
gifts. No obstacle, be it physical, mental or emotional, has the power
to destroy our innate creative energies.
—Liane Cordes
Believing this fully is difficult at times; for some of us, most of the time. But it is true. What each of us can contribute to the world is unlike every other contribution. Each talent is slightly different from every other talent. And they are all needed. We are all needed.
Creativity - any kind - writing, photography, cooking, childcare, weaving, managing, woodworking - nourishes the self that feels isolated and worthless. And as the self is nourished, it grows; it recovers.
Recovery means changing our lifestyle. It means reaching out to others and being there for one another. It means rejoining the human race by giving of ourselves. Our talents are the gifts the human race awaits, needs, in fact. Do we know our talents?
I will search out my secret dreams today. In them lie my talents. I will develop them. Help awaits me.
—Liane Cordes
Believing this fully is difficult at times; for some of us, most of the time. But it is true. What each of us can contribute to the world is unlike every other contribution. Each talent is slightly different from every other talent. And they are all needed. We are all needed.
Creativity - any kind - writing, photography, cooking, childcare, weaving, managing, woodworking - nourishes the self that feels isolated and worthless. And as the self is nourished, it grows; it recovers.
Recovery means changing our lifestyle. It means reaching out to others and being there for one another. It means rejoining the human race by giving of ourselves. Our talents are the gifts the human race awaits, needs, in fact. Do we know our talents?
I will search out my secret dreams today. In them lie my talents. I will develop them. Help awaits me.
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
Positive Addiction
Since we seem to have addictive types of personalities, we can make this characteristic work for us, rather than against us. We can develop life-enhancing habits - positive addictions.
The OA program is an example of positive addiction. We become habituated to writing down a food plan, attending meetings, making phone calls, and working the program. We replace the negative addiction to compulsive overeating with a positive commitment to abstinence.
Other activities, which we perform regularly take on the character of positive habits. Exercise is a healthy routine. Hobbies and creative self-expression can be habitual parts of our daily schedule. Whenever we choose a life-enhancing activity and perform it regularly until it becomes an ingrained habit, we are using our addictive tendency to build ourselves up rather than tear ourselves down.
Thank You, Lord, for positive addictions.
Since we seem to have addictive types of personalities, we can make this characteristic work for us, rather than against us. We can develop life-enhancing habits - positive addictions.
The OA program is an example of positive addiction. We become habituated to writing down a food plan, attending meetings, making phone calls, and working the program. We replace the negative addiction to compulsive overeating with a positive commitment to abstinence.
Other activities, which we perform regularly take on the character of positive habits. Exercise is a healthy routine. Hobbies and creative self-expression can be habitual parts of our daily schedule. Whenever we choose a life-enhancing activity and perform it regularly until it becomes an ingrained habit, we are using our addictive tendency to build ourselves up rather than tear ourselves down.
Thank You, Lord, for positive addictions.
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
Letting Go of Timing
"When the time is right, child." When the time is right. How often have we heard those words - from a friend, a sponsor, our Higher Power?
We want things so badly - that job, that check, a relationship, a possession. We want our life to change.
So we wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes anxiously, wondering all the while: When will the future bring me what I long for? Will I be happy then?
We try to predict, circling dates on the calendar, asking questions. We forget that we don't hold the answers. The answers come from God. If we listen closely, we'll hear them. When the time is right, child. When the time is right.
Be happy now.
Today, I will relax. I am being prepared. I can let go of timing. I can stop manipulating outcomes. Good things will happen when the time is right, and they will happen naturally.
"When the time is right, child." When the time is right. How often have we heard those words - from a friend, a sponsor, our Higher Power?
We want things so badly - that job, that check, a relationship, a possession. We want our life to change.
So we wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes anxiously, wondering all the while: When will the future bring me what I long for? Will I be happy then?
We try to predict, circling dates on the calendar, asking questions. We forget that we don't hold the answers. The answers come from God. If we listen closely, we'll hear them. When the time is right, child. When the time is right.
Be happy now.
Today, I will relax. I am being prepared. I can let go of timing. I can stop manipulating outcomes. Good things will happen when the time is right, and they will happen naturally.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie
©1990, Hazelden Foundation
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Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:
Duty is what one expects from others - it is not what one does oneself.
--Oscar Wilde
Newcomer
I do intend to make amends to everyone I've harmed, but I still feel scared to think about it.
Sponsor
The prospect of facing someone to whom we owe amends may bring up unnecessary fear if we cling to our old notion that we do everything alone.
We can plan to telephone a sponsor or program friend both before and after making the amend. We can ask for help from our Higher Power, praying for the willingness to make the amend, for the ability to speak our truth simply and clearly, and for the serenity that comes from understanding that another person's response is not in the realm of things we can control. Tools work, when we're willing to use them. As always, faith is the antidote to fear. If we feel that our faith is insufficient, we can listen to others in recovery sharing about their experience of the loving presence of a Higher Power - we can borrow from others' reserves of faith, when our own are low.
Today, I'm not alone, I allow myself to ask for and accept the support I need and deserve.
Duty is what one expects from others - it is not what one does oneself.
--Oscar Wilde
Newcomer
I do intend to make amends to everyone I've harmed, but I still feel scared to think about it.
Sponsor
The prospect of facing someone to whom we owe amends may bring up unnecessary fear if we cling to our old notion that we do everything alone.
We can plan to telephone a sponsor or program friend both before and after making the amend. We can ask for help from our Higher Power, praying for the willingness to make the amend, for the ability to speak our truth simply and clearly, and for the serenity that comes from understanding that another person's response is not in the realm of things we can control. Tools work, when we're willing to use them. As always, faith is the antidote to fear. If we feel that our faith is insufficient, we can listen to others in recovery sharing about their experience of the loving presence of a Higher Power - we can borrow from others' reserves of faith, when our own are low.
Today, I'm not alone, I allow myself to ask for and accept the support I need and deserve.
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