Tag Archives: daily reflections

Daily Readings from Recovery Days August 14th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably


Power of example


Richmond Walker wrote the Twenty-four Hours a
Day AA meditation book, published in 1954. It has
sold over ten million copies. Richmond was a
member of the first AA group in Boston, USA and
died in 1965 after twenty-two years of sobriety. An
artist and a poet as well as a dedicated family man,
he is a great example of service freely given. The
Little Black Book, as it is known, was officially
published by the Hazelden Foundation in an
amicable arrangement with Alcoholics Anonymous.
Richmond did not profit financially, and his name
did not appear as author. Am I ready to do service
unselfishly?

The writer of the Little Black Book continues the
tone set in the AA Big Book, first published some
fifteen years earlier: This is what I found, this is
what I did, do you wish to do the same, with God’s
help? The book does not advocate any specific
religion. If I wish to grow spiritually, then there
could hardly be a better method.. Today I give
thanks for the power of example in my recovery.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days August 13th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly


A day at a time

‘A Day at a Time’ is the best-known slogan in the
Twelve Step movement. It goes right back to the
beginnings of AA when Bill W and Dr Bob visited a
hospitalised alcoholic in 1935, soon after Dr Bob
himself sobered up. The ‘third man’ was called
Bill D. Talking together, they agreed that anyone
could quit for twenty-four hours. That’s what we’re
talking about, just a day at a time, said the two
founders. Bill D would reminisce about the
moment years later, in happy sobriety. He never
drank again after that first meeting. The slogan
refers not just to staying sober ‘a day at a time’ but to
living one’s life on that basis. Am I living my life
‘a day at a time’?

If I take things a day at a time, I can do away with all
the remorse and resentment of the past and I can
avoid anxiety about tomorrow. Today is
manageable because I know that I will get
through it, whatever happens, with guidance
from my Higher Power. Today I give thanks for
the wisdom and example of so many brave men
and women who showed me the way, a day at a time.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days August 12th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually


Love

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For
only the hand of life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together. For the
pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and
the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Kahlil Gibran.
Love, says Gibran, is about nurturing one another
without being codependent. As we grow spiritually, we
also grow in self-reliance. The selflessness of real love is
at odds with the obsessive desire that romantic love
produces. Love is a strong emotion and the newly sober
are encouraged to attend to other aspects of their
recovery first. There is of course another form of love –
that of one’s fellow human beings who deserve all the
love we can give in their struggle in sobriety. Can I
extend the hand of love to my fellow humans who are
addicted?

When you love you should not say, ‘God is in my heart’
but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God.’
Kahlil Gibran.
If I am in love, I know I am alive. Today I give
thanks that I can experience love.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days August 8th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly

Knowing reality

When we question things – advice, instructions or
just the behaviour of another person, we are
reacting in a human way. Other animals do not
normally question situations, although young
animals show curiosity in their early years. Human
ability to doubt and question may have helped our
survival as a species (why is the long grass moving?
Because there’s a lion hiding there). Strangely,
humans are also unique in having dreams and
fantasies that can influence their attitudes and
actions. So, on the one hand we can fantasise
ourselves into unreality and on the other, we check
ourselves by questioning. It is important to
recognise these two influences on our behaviour.
Am I aware of my capacity to distort reality?

Balance is everything. By daily meditation, I can
learn the habit of self-awareness. If I have internal
conflict, it is usually because I want something, or I
resist something that my conscience is telling me to
do. If I learn to see things honestly, I can take action
to restore balance. Today I thank God that I can
dream and also question my dreams.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days August 7th by Chris B

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Awareness

Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful in
your life. Mark Twain.
We are what we think – every day, the thoughts that
arise in our minds become our awareness. Thus, it
makes sense to spend some time at the start of each
day in composing ourselves into a peaceful frame of
mind, where we recognise the gratitude for our lives
and review our expectations for the day ahead. Will
I make time each day to compose my thoughts and
review my attitudes and expectations?

Self-awareness leads to self-knowledge. I watch
how I react to other people. If I become angry, I ask
myself: why? If I am anxious, I explore the reasons.
Gradually, I start to identify feelings that have been
distorted by my thinking.
A farmer once put the egg of an eagle into a chicken coop
and the bird grew up thinking that it was a chicken.
One day, another eagle flew high overhead and the
eagle-chicken thought to itself:
I wish I could do that, but I’m just an ordinary chicken.
It never learnt to fly. Anon.
We are not chickens. Today I will use the powers of
understanding that have been given to me, so that I
will recognise reality in my life.

Daily Reading from recovery days August 5th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – feel your body from top to toes


Service


Once you have done a man a service, what
more reward would you have? Is it not
enough to have obeyed the laws of your
own nature, without expecting to be paid
for it? Marcus Aurelius.
We should not expect payment or thanks for doing
service. It is part of our spiritual growth and our
commitment to working the Twelve Steps. Giving of
ourselves in this way adds to our sense of purpose
and self-esteem. We feel that we are part of a
community of like-minded people, that we belong.
Am I offering myself for service in the fellowships?

Prayer is often described as: The lifting up of the
heart and mind to God. Perhaps it is also the
offering of myself in service. When I do that service,
I also do God’s will. It is prayer-in-action. There are
many ways of connecting with a Power greater than
ourselves and this kind of action is satisfying as it
differs from so many of my prayers that seem to be
of the ‘please’ and ‘thankyou’ kind. I ask God today
for unselfishness so that I may help others as I have
been helped, without expecting praise or reward.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days August 2nd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly

Reaching out

Mr Toad, in Kenneth Grahame’s book The Wind in
the Willows is a children’s favourite and a
therapist’s dream. An emotional ragbag of childish
rebel and arrogant fantasist, he epitomises the ‘King
Baby’ type so often found in addiction counselling.
Mr Toad’s enormous ego leads him into all kinds of
trouble including prison, for what sounds like
automobile theft and drink-driving. His salvation
comes through his innate honesty and the
unwavering love and support of his friends. One
could draw a parallel with many real addiction
stories. Addiction isolates people. Along our path
to recovery, there is nearly always somebody who at
some crucial moment was there to extend the hand
of unconditional love and friendship. Am I grateful
for the acts of kindness that I have received?

A brand new, bright red motor car might seem the
most desirable gift. But a smile of thanks when we
perform an unsolicited act of kindness does more
good at far less cost. It takes little to bring
happiness– I just need to reach out and ‘astonish a
mean world with my random acts of kindness’ as
American writer Maya Angelou might have said. I
ask God today for the motivation to reach out to
others.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 31st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – feel your body from top to toes


Higher Power

Making sense of a Power greater than ourselves
causes some people difficulty. That is
understandable. It is sometimes explained like this:

  • Addiction is powerful, more powerful than us
  • We were unable to beat it until we asked for help
  • With help, we succeeded – that took some power
    to achieve
  • The power was in other people – fellowships and
    elsewhere
  • Perhaps that power came to them from elsewherea
  • What sort of power? It doesn’t matter. It’s there.
    Can I accept the existence of a Power greater than
    myself even if I can’t put a label on it?
  • There are many atheists and agnostics in the Twelve
    Step fellowships. But, we share more similarities
    than differences. Our primary purpose is not to
    promote any religious belief but to stay sober and
    help others achieve sobriety. In our differences lies
    our strength, because we can appeal to all people
    and exclude none. Not all organisations can say the
    same. I give thanks for the recovery fellowships to
    which I belong.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 29th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly


Mindfulness

It is difficult to describe how mindfulness works.
Being aware of our surroundings and of our place
in the world and thus our place in the universe is
part of it. Opening ourselves to something we
cannot see or quantify, seems to bring us a feeling
of peace. Perhaps it is because our past lives have
been such a chaotic mess that we welcome these
precious moments. American poet William Stafford,
was a conscientious objector during World War Two:
Been on probation most of my life. And
The rest of my life been condemned.
So, these moments
Count for a lot – peace, you know.
William Stafford.
Am I exploring the benefits of mindfulness?


Prayer should be a dialogue, not a list of requests. It
is quite a turning point when our communication
turns from: Please give me this to: Thy will be done.
It is spiritual progress, not a sign that we have
reached our destination. We will not arrive there until
we breathe our last. Today, I give thanks for the new
relationship that I enjoy with my Higher Power.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 27th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Tolerance

The wider our experience, the deeper our tolerance.
At fellowship meetings we sometimes hear stories
that would make great newspaper headlines if we
were not bound to silence and anonymity. Yet, we
listen with understanding and our response: ‘There
but for the grace of God go I’, is heartfelt and
entirely genuine. Tolerance should not be taken as a
sign of minimising but as one of empathy and
compassion. We have all done things we regret and
talking about them openly is the best form of
therapy. Am I ready to listen when another shares
their experiences, with tolerance rather than
judgement?

I used to judge people negatively because it made
me feel better about myself. My self-esteem was low
and I was envious of ordinary people and couldn’t
see how I could ever be like them. But now I have a
sense of purpose and am trying to do things right. I
find that I think more positively about myself and
have no need to try to bring others down to my level.
I no longer need to judge others and make
unfavourable comparisons, for the sake of my low
self-esteem and I give thanks for that today.