Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 19th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Honesty


If you tell the truth, you don’t have to
remember anything. Mark Twain.


We are victims of our own dishonesty. The tangled web we weave when we tell lies, leaves us floundering and trapped. The stress of dishonesty is enormous, that’s why lie detectors work so well. It’s also why honesty, openness and willingness to change are the three components of successful therapy; unless you are honest, you cannot be yourself and then therapy becomes pointless. Some people get into the habit of telling lies because they learn at an early age that it keeps them out of trouble. Do I understand the harm that I do to myself through my dishonesty?


Lack of self-honesty is at the root of all our emotional upheavals and troubles. If I can’t give myself the honest respect that I deserve, then I probably don’t trust myself enough to make the right judgments and choices. The danger of this is that I may adopt the standards and ideas of others instead – which may not be good. Much better to be sure of my own integrity and to choose according to my own ideals. I ask God today for the self-respect to value my principles.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 18th Read by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually


Integrity


In normal life we hardly realise how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote these words while in prison awaiting execution by the Nazis, was unusual in returning from America to Germany in 1939, at a time when others were fleeing. He saw his duty to oppose Hitler and later died as a result. A brave man who listened to his conscience and stood up for his beliefs. True integrity is surely to do just that. Am I ready to follow my conscience and stand up for my beliefs?


I can live a perfectly normal life once I accept that my life is never going to be perfectly normal. Ceasing my previous insane behaviour is a start. When I was regularly repeating the self-destructive cycle of addiction, there was no normality at all. I now attempt to make the right choices on the basis of sensible criteria, even if I don’t always get things right. I will not dwell on the past. Today I ask that I may give as much as I am able, because it is in giving that we receive.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May17th Read by Chris B

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Mindfulness – review expectations

Doing right

We never know the full effect of our actions and we each can contribute in ways that we never imagined. There is a story that the official acclamation for the building of the cathedral of Remember Santa Sophia in Constantinople was given not to the emperor Constantine, who commissioned it, but to a poor widow named Euphrasia, who took a wisp of straw from her mattress to give to the oxen who pulled the blocks of marble to the site. The butterfly effect can change history, and we are each a part of the world’s living history. Am I ready to play my part in doing what I think right, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time?  

In all things, God works for the good of those

who love him.   St Paul, Romans.


The smallest thing that I do, the smallest act of kindness can have unimagined effects. I must never think that I am insignificant or allow myself to not act, because I think it unimportant. Today I will strive to do my best in everything because, with God’s help, my actions may serve to help others in ways of which I am not aware.

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Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 16th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment


Positive, affirmative action


Christ has no body now but yours. No
hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are
the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. St Teresa of Avila.


The great Christian mystic is telling us that appreciation of someone’s good works (in this case Christ’s) , is not enough. Actions, not words are required if our life is to have meaning. The same is true in addiction recovery. We must take positive affirmative action and become a part of an ongoing movement rather than just being a spectator. Am I ready to ‘walk the walk?’


The grace of God is the power that enables a human being to change from a disconnected, hopeless individual to a connected, hopeful, and grateful person. God also manifests as love for other people and serenity of character. We can have plenty of power, love, and serenity in our lives if we ask God for these things. Today, I do ask.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 15th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts


Serenity Prayer


Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero was a drunk, known to his mocking soldiers as Biberius Caldius Mero (bibulous drinker of unwatered wine). He never changed. His near contemporary, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus was meanwhile teaching his students a lesson in acceptance: Make the best of
what is in our power and take the rest as it naturally
happens. Its message is similar to the serenity prayer, written two thousand years later, by Reinhold Niebuhr: God, grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Emperors come and go, but addiction is always with us. Am I ready to change the things I can?


The serenity prayer has great power to calm the troubled mind. The simple words lead us to trust that our Higher Power has things under control, even if we do not. Learning to say the prayer whenever we have to make a choice that worries us, is a great habit to acquire. Today I ask that I may make a habit of reciting the serenity prayer daily.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 14th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Three Legacies


The three parts of the AA programme – Recovery, Unity and Service are represented by the symbol of the triangle within the circle (the circle represents the world). These are known as the Three Legacies which counteract the three parts of the disease of addiction – Physical, Mental and Spiritual. Of course, AA is not based on mathematical formulas but there is a pleasing symmetry about this trinity and also the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts. Am I grateful to the insight of the founders?


The priests and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off spirits of evil, and AA’s circle
and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service
has certainly meant all of that to us and
much more. Bill W.
A triangle is only strong if all three sides are in place. Thus, I must be responsible for doing my part in each of the three. Today I thank God that I can work recovery, unity and service.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 13th by Chris B

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MAY 13

Remember Mindfulness – review expectations
Sharing problems


Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil
the law of Christ. St Paul, Galatians.
Getting into recovery does not mean that we
won’t have challenges ahead. The message is
that a problem shared is a problem halved.
Connection and sharing are the answer to so
many of life’s problems. Letting go of the
burdens of the past will help us too. Am I
ready to let go of the past and shar today’s
problems, because that is the sensible and
human thing to do?


I used to think that I should be able to handle my
problems myself and that asking for help was a sign
of weakness. But self-reliance isolates us, and
society does not work well like that. Helping others
should be a pleasure and if we avoid help, we may
be denying others the chance of self-improvement
and the self-respect that comes from giving. Today
I will ask for help when I need it, because realism is
honesty and asking for help is connecting.
……………………………………………………….

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 12th by Chris B

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MAY 12

On this day in 1935, Bill W first met Dr Bob
Fellowship
The first meeting of Stockbroker Bill Wilson and Dr
Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio gave little indication at
the time of what was to come. Bill was five months
sober and verging on relapse while Bob was still
drinking (he stopped altogether a few weeks later).
But their discovery that talking together could help
them become and stay sober was a turning point in
their lives. The real breakthrough however was in
demonstrating that alcoholism needed no longer to
be a solitary nightmare; soon millions of people
were reaching out to each other. The power of
connection is the power to recover – Higher Power.
Am I grateful to the founders of AA for demonstrating
the power of recovery through connection?


Perhaps at first, we are sorry that we can no longer
drink or use, but soon we become glad. We just need
to make sure that cravings are managed, because
addiction will always try to return. How much more
difficult it would be, to struggle alone. We are
fortunate to have the means to overcome our illness.
Today I give thanks to the founders of AA and every
fellowship member, who ensure that I am not alone.
……………………………………………………….

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 11th by Chris B

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Giving

Life is mostly froth and bubble,

Two things stand alone –

Kindness in another’s trouble,

Courage in one’s own.

Adam Lindsay Gordon.

The poet is right in highlighting these two great qualities. And no doubt, the more kindness we show to others, the more courage we shall have in times of need because we will have built up our resilience and sense of purpose and self-esteem. Kindness, like anything given away, will come back to help us. Do I appreciate the power of giving?

I should remember that kindness is always within my power, even when love is not. The world would be a happier place and I would feel happier too, if I showed more kindness. There are far too many people whose lives are so hard that they depend on the kindness of strangers. Today I ask God to make me a channel of kindness to people in my daily life, whatever I am doing.

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Daily Reading from Recovery days May 10th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually

Awareness

People often strive for success without really knowing what it is. They measure success through wealth or fame or social position, but these only give short-term pleasure. Everyone is equally valuable in life, and everyone is equal in death. ‘There are no pockets in a shroud.’ We should celebrate our uniqueness and understand that we are all part of a joined-up universe where we both support and depend on others. Can I celebrate my place in creation?

The brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues.

St Thérèse of Lisieux.

All flowers are exquisitely beautiful, just like humans. Desire for success is only found in humans and it causes pain and joy equally. Better to wish to be a person of integrity. Today I ask God to grant me integrity rather than success.

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