Tag Archives: connection

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 24th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations


Better than well

What is recovery, in everyday terms? It is building a
meaningful life, it is finding a personal identity, it is
connecting with others, it is physical wellness, it is
moral rectitude, it is spiritual awakening, it is faith,
hope and love, it is helping others. Any form of
recovery has these elements. People who lack them
are often so locked in their own desperation that
they just cannot understand. They see happy
laughing people and they are envious, but they sadly
cannot make a connection.
And those that were seen dancing were thought insane by
those who could not hear the music.
Friedrich Nietzsche.
Do I fully appreciate the miracle of my recovery?

The guidance and strength of my Higher Power has
enabled me to rebuild my life into something much
better than the original model. As I work the Twelve
Steps, my example may help others. I must never
forget that recovery puts responsibility on me to act
in a way that helps others who see me. Today I ask
God that I always remember that recovery brings
responsibility as well as blessings.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 23rd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment


A second chance at life

A second chance at life deserves a second look.
Some people suggest that the word ‘recovery’
would be better put as ‘discovery’ or ‘re-creation’
because happy sobriety is about more than just
getting well – it is about getting ‘better than well’. The
joy of recovery lies in knowing we are doing things
right at last, that we feel good about ourselves,
we are physically well and that we belong in the
human family. Isn’t that better than the life of
desperation that I had before? No wonder that
fellowship meetings are full of happiness and
laughter. Am I ready to grasp the opportunity of
recovery and to make it a re-creation of my life?

The scourge of addiction is a desperate time, but
recovery should mean happiness. I must not take
myself too seriously.
There is a time to break down and a time to
build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn and a time to dance. There
is nothing better, than that a man should
rejoice in his own works. Ecclesiastes.
Today I thank God for giving me a second chance
at life and I commit to doing my best.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 21st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe deeply

Truth

To thine own self be true.
W. Shakespeare, Hamlet.
Shakespeare’s famous words can sound like an easy
ride to some but an impossibility to others. And how
many addicted people can look at themselves in the
mirror after a heavy binge and think that they have
followed that advice? Self-deception, dangerous
living and over-indulgence are not what the Bard
had in mind. In the sober light of recovery, the
words of a different play spring to mind:
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
the way to dusty death.
W. Shakespeare, Macbeth.
Can I make the reality of my addicted past a
deterrent to ever repeating it?

The past cannot be changed and dwelling on the
past can have a negative effect on our wellbeing.
Nevertheless, former misdeeds recalled in sobriety,
can be a weapon against relapse. Today I will make
the best use of whatever resources I have within me.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 20th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably

Willingness to change

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the
better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder
whatever responsibility this entails.
Bill W.
Personal change always has two parts – the
willingness and the action. But in between comes a
third part – commitment. Commitment turns theory
into practice. When we are motivated to do
something, it is not always because we have a sense
of commitment. Motivation can have a short life, but
commitment lasts until the job is done. A bad
hangover can motivate you to give up booze – until
cravings appear. Am I fully committed to change?

Just as surrender has to be total and not just a
ceasefire, so commitment has to be total and not just
a dalliance. In recovery, surrender can be seen as
letting others help us and commitment can be seen
as letting us help ourselves. Neither will work unless
done wholeheartedly. I ask God today for the honesty
to commit myself fully to the process of change
because half measures will not help me.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 19th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations

Responsibility for change

Newcomers to Twelve Step fellowships are often
advised to stop focusing on why they are addicted
and instead think on what they can do about it.
Discovering a reason for your addiction might seem
like a way of resolving a problem easily, but in truth
there may be no reason, except that you’re an
addicted person. Seeking a reason may well be a
device to avoid the pain of having to make some
life-changing decisions. Far better to focus on
positive action and take responsibility for change.
Am I prepared to face the reality of my addiction
and take responsibility for change?

When we embark upon a searching and fearless
personal inventory at Step Four, it may help us to
reflect that a life of total dedication to the truth is a
reasonable aspiration for anyone. It is likely to
result in true peace of mind, but it will not be easy.
It does require continuous self-appraisal as
recommended in Step Ten. Yet the feeling of relief
when we have completed Steps Four and Five will
be enormous. Today I ask for the strength to be fearless and thorough in taking personal inventory.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 18th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts

Response to challenge


Life is not easy. For a lot of people, it is just one
challenge after another. Yet many seem to expect it
to be smooth going and complain when it is not.
Others try to avoid the challenges and seek the
softer easier way, but life usually finds them out in
the end. Some become addicted. We have all seen
people who seem to stroll through life without
difficulty as if possessed with magic powers. In fact,
they are people who have a clear vision of the world
and what they need to do about living in it with
peace of mind. They have taken the necessary
action. The concept is simple, but hard to achieve
without rigorous honesty, determination and high
principles. Can I reject the softer, easier way?

People who truly live life well are always respected.
They trigger in us a desire to be like them because
we have a longing to live a good life and to do what
is right. We may forget words, but we remember
how people make us feel. That is why the power of
example matters. Today I ask God that I may live
my life in the very best way that I can.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes


Facing reality


Reality is truth. Facing reality is critically important
to living a life that is meaningful, principled and
worthwhile. If we cannot face reality, then any
decisions we make or courses of action we decide in
life are unsound because the factors we considered
may have been unreal. Reality is the road map we
follow through our life. If the map is incorrect, we
will probably get lost and the pain of doing so will be
considerable. Much better to have faced up to reality
before we started life’s journey. Am I ready to face
reality in all my affairs?


It is never too late to change:
I once was lost but now I’m found,
Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton.
Newton’s famous hymn Amazing Grace says it all.
He was in his fifties when he gave up slave trading
to become a cleric and abolitionist. Most addicted
people who sober up face the painful reality that
their lives are unmanageable. Without doing so,
they will struggle to stay sober. Today I ask to
understand the realities of addiction and sobriety.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 16th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe deeply

Power of example

When other people in recovery share their
experience, strength and hope, then we can identify
with their struggles and be inspired to succeed in
the same way. The power of their example
empowers us, but we should never make
comparisons or judgements about what we hear.
People recovering from addiction share their
innermost pain in the sure knowledge that they will
not be criticised and that their anonymity is secure.
Absolute honesty from those who share is
fundamental to the process of recovery, but integrity
on the part of the listener is essential too. Am I ready
to experience the power of example without being
judgemental or critical?

Today, I live. Today, I have self-worth. Today, I am
happy and healthy. My mental health is good. I
have changed physically, spiritually and mentally. I
am right to feel happy, but I cannot be complacent.
It may seem as if I no longer need to do very much
for my recovery in terms of action, but I must
conserve the right attitudes of honesty, gratitude,
humility and helping others and to do this, I go to
meetings. Today I ask God for the will to practice
recovery principles in my daily life.


Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 15th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – listen to the silence

Fellowship meetings

If we surrender our lives to a Higher Power, that
does not make us prisoners. We should not attend
Twelve Step meetings as unwilling hostages,
somehow compelled to be there through fear and
the thought of disaster, because we have not paid
our proper dues to the system. Instead, we should
attend because this new way sober life fulfils our
need for meaning and belonging. With gratitude in
our hearts and an eagerness to improve, we go to
meetings to learn from the words and example of
other recovering people. Am I glad to learn and to
share the same way of life that I find there?


When I feel the power of example and the serenity that
is present in the fellowship meetings, any thought
that my attendance is a ransom that I pay for my
sobriety vanishes. I no longer have the desire to
drink and use because I am happy and healthy –
physically, mentally and spiritually. I no longer
struggle with desire for my old addictive behaviour
and for that I am grateful. Today I give thanks for
my recovery as a blessing not a restriction.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days March 14th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts

Potential for good


The skills you need to dig a hole for yourself are
quite different from the skills you need to get out of
it. NA and AA offer us an exciting chance to
explore new talents and new interests with which we
can eventually discover ourselves as unique and
effective individuals, able to cope and love and live
life to the full. These things do not come overnight.
They come gradually as the mists clear, and we
listen and talk and meditate and seek. Am I ready to
explore my potential through embracing the
fellowships of NA and AA?

If I think of myself as part of creation which has
been conceived by a Higher Power, then viewing
myself negatively seems like a criticism of creation
itself. What right have I to do that? I should accept
myself with my shortcomings, as part of a great
universal plan. The same goes for criticising other
people. It is far better to accept and to try to
understand. I give thanks today for all of creation
and commit myself to playing my rightful part
therein.