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Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 21st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your body

Fellowship


The Twelve Steps begin with the word ‘we’.
Fellowship is all about that. It is actually quite hard
to attend a fellowship meeting and not interact with
anyone, because so much of our principles and
traditions are concerned with the concept of ‘we’ –
that is, togetherness. The hand of friendship is
always extended. The group is more powerful than
the individual. Yet no member can compel, punish,
or expel anyone. Many times, we hear outsiders
exclaim I wish I belonged to that group of yours. Am
I grateful to belong to one of the Twelve Step
fellowships?

adversity creates the strongest of bonds, as
anyone who has been in the army, or a boarding
school will confirm. Being part of a football team is
totally different from being a spectator. The
intensity of the team spirit produces results, and the
same happens in recovery. We are truly blessed to
have not just our sobriety, but a worldwide support
system that is freely ours for the taking. All we have
to do is turn up. Today I pray for the sobriety, wellbeing
and happiness of the band of brothers and
sisters with whom I am proud to belong.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 20th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably


Spiritual principles

Wear the world like a loose garment,
which touches us in a few places and there
lightly. St Francis of Assisi.
When I truly belong in the world, I can move
through it with confidence, knowing that my
thoughts and emotions will not be ravaged by life’s
stresses and strains. If I can be ‘in the world but not
of it’ then I can live by spiritual principles that I
know to be right rather than subjecting myself to all
the ways of the world with its many negative
influences. Am I ready to live by principles that I
know to be right?

To be in the world but not of it, is to be like a boat
that floats on the water without sinking, even when
there are storms. But this can be hard at times and
even harder when we try to do it alone. One of our
most powerful resources is a role model, a person
who we see struggling with problems similar to ours
and overcoming them. If they can do it, so can I.
Today I pray that I may seek the company of others
and learn from them to trust and share.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 19th by Chris B

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This day in 1960 the first meeting of Overeaters Anonymous held

Eating disorders

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a community of
people who support each other in order to recover
from compulsive eating and food behaviours.
Everyone who feels they have a problem with food is
welcome. The first meeting was held in Los Angeles.
Today, over six thousand groups meet weekly
throughout the world. It is believed that around
sixty thousand members are finding help to start
new lives in recovery. Am I grateful that the
message of the Twelve Steps is being brought to
people with addictions of all kinds?

The idea of a fellowship for people with eating
disorders was conceived at a meeting of Gamblers
Anonymous. This illustrates the variety of addictions
there are, and their commonality. Eating disorders
seem to be a fairly recent problem in terms of
numbers afflicted though the problem itself may go
back hundreds of years. Addiction does not confine
itself to one particular behaviour and I must always
be aware of the dangers of cross-addiction. I ask
today for the grace to extend the hand of friendship
to all Twelve Step fellowships.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 18th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations

Leap of faith


A newly sober person is like a prisoner, released after
a long solitary confinement. The idea of freedom is
exciting, but he is still fearful to come out of his cell
because he’s forgotten what the world is like. He
doesn’t know how people will view him – perhaps
they will reject him. He knows how that feels. Very
carefully, he takes a few steps outside. Will he be
himself and face reality or will he slink in the
shadows, afraid of the consequences? It is a crucial
moment. Am I ready to leave the shadows and be
where I belong?

Taking a leap of faith is always a challenge. Perhaps
that is the reason why the ‘Promises’, in the AA Big
Book, are so well known. There is no mention of
addiction in these promises because our new life has
no need for it. Any person, addicted or not, could
hardly fail to find them an inspiring and highly
desirable set of goals. Yet they are very achievable
for anyone prepared to work the Twelve Steps with
honesty, openness, and willingness to change. Today
I ask for the confidence of doing what is right, so
that I may live a life of belonging described in the
promises.

Daily Reading from Recovery days January 17th by Chris B

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On this day in 1919 Prohibition became law in U SA


Comfort zones

I wouldn’t want to join a club that would have me as a
member is more than just a funny quip from Groucho
Marx. It also sounds like the sad cry of a
person stuck in self-pity and self-dislike. That’s
probably why it resonates with many who
struggle with addiction. Recovery is about
coming out of our comfort zones, something
many desperate people are reluctant to do,
because their familiar unhappiness is less
challenging than the idea of change. Even if we
have problems with our self-image, we should dig
deep to risk doing something new. Am I ready to
come out of my comfort zone?


Today I reflect on the difference between being a fully
established member of a team or club, and being an
outsider, a mere spectator. To feel myself part of a team
is inspiring. I recognise the example we give. We will
not let each other down. To the spectator, our band
of brothers is enviable. When I was a spectator, I
knew I was missing something, but I didn’t know
how to get it. I should have asked, but my denial
held me back. Today, I know better. Today I
give thanks for a fellowship that welcomes me as
a member.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 16th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe calmly

Belonging

Belonging may seem like a very comfortable state, but it should not be just a passive thing. Belonging starts with self-acceptance, the feeling that at base, you are a good person whatever your faults. Without this, you will not have the motivation to reveal your true self to others and that is something you must do, if you are to grow in recovery. To truly belong, you must give of yourself if you are to receive the affirmation that all humans need. Am I ready to show myself openly and honestly to other people, knowing that in return, I will receive a sense of belonging?

I celebrate myself and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me
As good belongs to you. (Walt Whitman).
How fine it would be to feel so much a part of mankind as American poet Walt Whitman. Yet when we share in recovery our experience, strength, and hope with others, that is exactly how it is. We are among a group of people who perfectly understand the troubles we have endured and share the joy of recovery. A new life is indeed to be celebrated, and shared. Today I ask for the courage to share my character defects openly and honestly so that I allow others to identify with me.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 15th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your body

Belonging

One of the major requirements for a contented life is
said to be a sense of belonging. The desire to belong
is a human need that goes back to the earliest tribes
in history. The opposite state – isolation – is for
many people almost unbearable. Yet, being
surrounded by other human beings doesn’t
guarantee a sense of belonging. For that, we need
identification and interaction too. So, if you attend
an AA meeting, but you secretly think you are
somehow different, you are unlikely to identify with
people there and will feel an outsider, however
crowded the room. Am I ready to look for
similarities in others, rather than differences?

How very much alike all of us
alcoholics are, when we admit that
the chips are finally down. Bill W.
All of us in recovery are travelling the same road. No
wonder we feel a strong sense of kinship and
understanding. But to experience this to the full, we
must share our experiences with complete candour.
Steps Four and Five help us. Today I ask for the
courage to share my character defects openly and
honestly so that I allow others to identify with me.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 14th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positivity


Positive action


Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers, once
said that there is a remarkable power in the simple
act of asking for help but that most people miss out,
because they never ask. How sad it would be for
anyone to not achieve their potential in life, simply
because they could not persuade themselves to
communicate their needs to another human being.
Am I prepared to make the act of asking for help a
central part of my plan for taking positive action to
grow my recovery?

Accepting our powerlessness and asking for help are
our starting point in recovery. They are the essence
of the first three Steps. The feeling of relief that
results from completing these Steps can best be
summed up in the words of mediaeval saint Julian of
Norwich: All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner
of things shall be well (St Julian)
Today I ask that I will not be too proud, too
fearful or too uninterested to take the positive
action of asking for help when I need to do so.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 13th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – observe new thoughts

Connection


Perhaps fear of rejection, fear of losing control or
feeling that you’re just not worth the effort have
stopped you reaching out in the past. Are there
times when you wish you had asked for help, but
didn’t? Fear is just one example of the negative
powers that we have to challenge in recovery. Fear is
not easy to overcome on your own but with help it
will seem easier. Connection is such an obvious
response to make, once we engage in the process of
change, that we will wonder why we didn’t start
earlier. Am I ready to reach out and make
connections?


The whole point of recovery is that life is going to
get better. As I grow in the programme, the quality
of my life increases. My perspectives become
certainties, my understanding becomes truth and
my goals become achievements. Soon I am
experiencing a comfortable relationship with my
Higher Power that may be beyond my capacity to
quantify, yet it will be sufficient simply to exist. The
idea of becoming ‘better than well’ starts to make
sense. Today I ask God for the courage to help me
reach out for help without delay.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days January 12th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations

First three Steps

So much of recovery is about leaving our comfort zone
of negativity and taking positive action. At first this
may seem a daunting prospect but, once we have
tried it, we will start to feel good about ourselves. And
once we start asking for help, we will begin to feel
the power for good that exists in the world. After the
reality of the First Step, Steps Two and Three bring us
hope and comfort and we can feel that we are part of a
benign process. Do I feel the benefit of asking for
help?


Today let us contemplate the Third Step Prayer, and
leave aside our egos to simply seek help:
God, I offer myself to you, to build with me and to
do with me as you will. Relieve me of the bondage
of self, that I may better do your will. Take away
my difficulties, that victory over them may bear
witness to those I would help, of your Power, your
love and your way of life. May I do your will
always. AA Big Book.
Today I ask God for the courage to let go of my ego
and ask for help.