Today's Thought - August

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August 16

Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.

~William Shakespeare

Many sayings and proverbs advise us to take our time. This popular wisdom, often coming from people far from hectic cities, speaks of life’s natural rhythm and tempo. It reminds us that we are better off if we stay in touch with the measured turning of the world reflected in the passing of the seasons.

Many of us may have forgotten to take time to look at the stars or watch a bird in flight. It’s as if we have our eyes always on success and our noses to the grindstone. And from there, how easy it is to move back into actively practicing our addiction and to end up blotting out the real world altogether.

Time is given to us all, to measure and lend form to our roles as participants in creation. Let’s take time to enjoy it. We can find more than mere relaxation in time; we may even discover wisdom.

I can slow down to experience the rhythm of time in the here and now.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

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August 17

Reading

Reading makes a complete person.

~Anonymous

When humans first found a way to turn spoken words into symbols, knowledge became available to untold numbers.

Through carvings on stone and scribblings on parchment, a method of communication became available to all who truly cared to learn. The simplest of words were used in the first efforts to teach humans.

Simplicity is still the recommended way of working a recovery program. We both read and hear that the program is “simple—though not always easy.”

Reading, study, and meditation can give us the basis of wisdom. The knowledge we gain from reading helps us understand ourselves and our world better. The wisdom we gather from books helps us on our journey of recovery.

The fogginess and lack of concentration I had when I first started recovery has faded away. Reading has become an important part of my program.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

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August 18

The first step toward inner peace is to decide to give love, not receive it.

~Bernie S. Siegel

“This is a selfish program.” How many times have we heard this? It is true, of course. Whenever we make a Twelfth Step call we are doing it essentially for ourselves. We always benefit. God has given us this direct access to happiness. It is a lovely paradox that when we give, we also receive. We are always helped by trying to help another.

Our decision to give love, then, can be a calculated one—we already know the results. This shouldn’t be our motive though. Wondering what we are getting out of giving to others can be a hindrance to our peace of mind because we’re missing God’s point. If we concentrate on the giving, the receiving will take care of itself.

Today I will try to give unselfishly.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

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August 19

It is as blessed to receive as it is to give and a lot harder.

~Ruth Humlecker

We think we are unworthy. Compliments on our appearance, praise for our work, strokes for our efforts to help others often go unappreciated by us. Why can’t we hear them? Why don’t we take them in? No doubt it’s because of our shame for not being perfect. None of us are perfect, but all of us think that perfection is possible and we have failed the test. How futile the thought. How harmful the result.

We are adept at many things; we are perfect at none. That’s a fact of human life. But we are good enough, providing we do our best and rely on God for direction. Coming to believe this is perhaps our most important lesson in life.

If someone blesses me with a compliment today, I will quietly listen and believe it is true.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

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August 20

The name of this infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of all being is God. That depth is what the word God means. And if that word has not much meaning for you, translate it, and speak to the depths of your life, of the source of your being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without any reservation.

~Paul Tillich

In the words of the Twelve Steps, we are guided toward God, as we understand God. Many of us are at first turned off by the word God. Some of us received early spiritual guidance through childhood religious training, but others had none at all—and some of us had negative experiences with organized religion.

Now we are guided to grow into an adult form of spirituality. The words of today’s quotation come from a great theologian who understood the same wisdom that the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous did. We don’t have to limit our understanding of God by confining, dogmatic definitions. Our spiritual life is grounded in a sense of awe and rises from the deepest part of our being.

Today, my recovery is restored by God, who surpasses all understanding.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

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August 21

AA Thought for the Day

“Outline the program of action to new prospects, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past, and why you are now endeavoring to help them. It is important for them to realize that your attempt to pass this on to them plays a vital part in your own recovery. The more hopeless they feel, the better. They will be more likely to follow your suggestions. Tell them about the fellowship of AA, and if they show interest, lend them a copy of the Big Book.” Can I tell the AA story to another alcoholic?
Meditation for the Day

You should try to stand aside and let God work through you. You should try not to block Him off by your own efforts or prevent His spirit working through you. God desires your obedient service and your loyalty to the ideals of the new life you are seeking. If you are loyal to God, He will give you protection against mistakes. His spirit will plan for you and secure for you a sufficiency of all spiritual help. You will have true victory and real success, if you will put yourself in the background and let God work through you.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not interfere with the working of God’s spirit in me and through me. I pray that I may give it full rein.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

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August 22

A tree grown in a cave does not bear fruit.

~Kahlil Gibran

A tree planted in a cave would soon be stopped short in its growth. There would be no room for it to grow tall or blossom. It would only grow so far and then would grow no bigger.

Fear can be like a cave. We sometimes become fearful for the same reason we might enter a cave, looking for protection. But fear protects us from the new ideas and behavior we need in order to grow. Fear can keep us huddling inside it, watching life's opportunities pass by. When fear threatens to enclose us, we can take a deep breath and begin to do what we are afraid of doing. The cave will fade away as we step out into the sun, fresh air, and storms that are a part of growing.

What fear can l overcome today?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

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August 23


To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

~Oscar Wilde

There’s a big difference between being self-centered and having self-love. We’re self-centered when we think we don’t need people. We might think, “I’m more important than others.” Being self-centered ends up hurting us. It makes us lonely. It keeps us from our Higher Power. Addiction is about being self-centered.

Recovery and the Twelve Steps are about self-love. If we love ourselves, we’d say, “We’re all equal and in need of each other.” Self-love includes having good relationships. It includes trusting that we’ll do what is best, with the help of our Higher Power. We must believe in ourselves to trust others.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me love myself as You love me. Help me take good care of myself.
Action for the Day

Today I’ll list three things I like about myself. I’ll talk with a friend and share these things. I’ll ask my friend what he or she likes about me.

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

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August 24

If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the universe.

~Carl Sagan

Everything is given to us. Our lives came forth with no plan on our part. We have no lease on life and no control, ultimately, over any possession. In the addictive and codependent families most of us came from, we learned something else. We learned a lonely arrogance that said, “I should be self?sufficient. I have earned everything that ever came to me.” Deep down we probably knew how untrue that was, and we felt great self-doubt.

The cure we learn in this program for our lonely arrogance is a miracle and a blessing. We accept that we are part of a larger whole. Now it dawns on us—all of our friends and relatives share this basic powerlessness. We are all pilgrims. We are all guests. We are all stewards of creation. We can be close, and we must help one another because everyone is equally vulnerable.

I am grateful to my Higher Power today for the life that has been given me. I pray for greater understanding of my responsibilities.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

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August 25

Working the Twelve Steps

The Twelve Steps are numbered because they are meant to be taken in order. For instance, we must admit we are powerless over our addiction before the other Steps can help us. Likewise, Step Four would be too painful if we had not turned our wills and our lives over in Step Three. And how can we make amends before we realize whom we have hurt? We take Step Twelve only after we have completed all the other Steps.

The hop-skip-jump method of working the Steps is not reliable and might hop-skip-jump us back to addiction.

Do I work all Twelve Steps of the program in order?

Higher Power, give me the strength to take each Step in order.

Today I will review my progress on each of the Steps and re-enter the order with…

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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August 26

Having Each Other’s Backs

If someone in my recovery family is struggling, we immediately connect to form a circle of support. For example, when a friend—also a veteran—was suicidal, her therapist contacted all of us, asking if we would come in to be her support system. Our friend was able to see how much we loved and cared about her. We assured her we weren’t there to “fix” her; we wanted her to know we had her back. It was truly deep.

We learn and grow together. We’re doing a book study on nonviolent communication. Three of us veterans went on a retreat called “horse sense.” We also walk by the river where I live and have campfires. During COVID, I started a women’s meeting by the river. There’s solid sobriety in the group. I have thirty-one years; some have even more. There’s always someone to talk to about feelings—always someone to have my back.

We have traditions like carving pumpkins and making Christmas wreaths. We can be real with each other without having to fix each other. We can just be together and share how we’re doing, and it’s enough. It’s everything.

Today I am secure in the knowledge that no matter what happens, my sisters in recovery will have my back.

~Deb L., U.S. Army, 1981–1996

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*

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August 27

Reflection for the Day

The program’s Fourth Step suggests that we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. For some of us, no challenge seems more formidable; there’s nothing more difficult than facing ourselves as we really are. We flee from one wrongdoing after another as they catch up with us, forever making excuses, pleading always that our virtues in other areas far outweigh our flaws. Yet once we become willing to look squarely and self-searchingly at ourselves, we’re then able to illuminate the dark and negative side of our natures with new vision, action, and grace. Am I willing to open my eyes and step out into the sunlight?
Today I Pray

May my Higher Power stop me in my tracks if I am running away from myself. For I will never overcome my misdeeds, or the flaws in my character that brought them about, by letting them chase me. May I slow down and turn to face them with the most trusty weapon I know—truth.
Today I Will Remember

I will not be a fugitive from myself.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

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August 28

We can accept unconditional love.

Believing that we can be loved regardless of our defects is not easy. Most of us didn’t experience that kind of love as children. What’s more, the God we grew up with may have been shaming. Now that we are adults, the criticism we’ve received from employers, friends, spouses, and other people reinforces our doubt. When our new program friends tell us that our Higher Power loves us unconditionally, we think they are being unrealistic. We can’t even love ourselves!

Let’s give ourselves time to change what we believe and who we believe. Our program will help us. If relied on, the slogans and the Steps will give us a new perspective on every experience. Coming to believe that a Higher Power can wholly love us is a gift of recovery. Then we can begin loving ourselves a little too. Next we’ll even begin to love others.

I will believe in unconditional love if I let this program work in my life today.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

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August 29

Know that your brother’s life was not what you imagined.

~Michael Lassell

It may be tempting, once we’ve committed ourselves to a profound change in our lives, to think that we know what others, too, ought to do to heal or grow. We want our friends and loved ones to experience the same relief and joy, the same freedom, that we’re experiencing. We forget that we ourselves have often resisted advice. No one could have told us who we were, what to do, or when to do it. Enormous changes such as coming out or entering recovery are deeply personal choices, and the timing of a decision is individual and delicate.

What’s exactly right for us at this particular moment in time may not be at all right for someone else. Instead of judging another’s needs and choices, we can cultivate sensitivity to the ways that his or her path or rate of unfolding may differ from our own. The more secure we are in our own identities, the easier it is to allow others to be who they are.

Today, I live and lovingly let live.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day

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August 30

Friends

Don’t overlook the value of friendship. Don’t neglect friends. Friends are a joy. Adult friendships can be a good place for us to learn to have fun and to appreciate how much fun we can have with a friend.

Friends can be a comfort. Who knows us better, or is more able to give us support, than a good friend? A friendship is a comfortable place to be ourselves. Often, our choice of friends will reflect the issues we’re working on. Giving and receiving support will help both people grow.

Some friendships wax and wane, going through cycles throughout the years. Some trail off when one person outgrows the other. Certainly, we will have trials and tests in friendships and, at times, be called on to practice our recovery behaviors.

But some friendships will last a lifetime. There are special love relationships, and there are friendships. Sometimes, our friendships—especially recovery friendships—can be special love relationships too.

Today, I will reach out to a friend. I will let myself enjoy the comfort, joys, and enduring quality of my friendships.

Today's reading is from the book The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency*