says that, I’ll say this …” and “Next time, I’ll say this to her ….” When the mind attacks our peace, a good way to defuse the energy is to focus on our hearts where love abides. Practicing this on a regular basis makes it easier to find peace when stress and conflict creep into our minds. The more often we practice the easier it becomes. Staying in negative thoughts creates unpleasant emotions. Moving into our hearts creates peace and, yes, we do deserve to feel peaceful!
When stress attacks, I become aware of my self-talk and move my focus to my heart instead.
After practicing meditation for some time, I came to the realization that my mind had begun to calm down.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 76
January 16
When many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the presence of God today is the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith. ∼Twenty-Four Hours a Day
As we go through the day, there are always little things reminding us of God’s presence: a bird landing on a nearby branch to sing; the contented ‘ribbit’ of a happy frog; the smile of a stranger; a delicate flower drawing our attention in an otherwise busy landscape; the smell of a grove of pine trees; the clouds against a bright blue sky drawing us away from the cares of the moment. The details we notice are an exclamation point to the wonders of God’s world. When noticing them, we acknowledge how important a divine presence is for us and we establish a conscious contact. What might we miss had we not discovered sobriety and the importance of spirituality in all that we see and do?
I establish contact with God by appreciating
the divine details of sober living.
I'm beginning to notice things that I'd never paid attention to before. I see flowers blooming, notice the change in seasons, realize that there's snow on the ground-all the things I've ignored all these years.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 211-212
January 17
Many people are walking around wounded, caught up in the past and unable to make the changes that are needed to move forward. ~Rosemarie Rosetti
Many of us could be described as the walking wounded. Our pasts hold some mighty harsh realities that can appear to be deal breakers for a happy future. Some of us have killed others accidentally or by design; we have broken the hearts of our mothers; some of us abandoned our children or abused them. We have been the curse and cause of much pain in our families, and we have used and abused those closest to us. Yet, in the Program, we hear that “we will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.” How can this be? We are also told that to hide our past and lock it away is “self-centered and in direct conflict with our new way of living.” When we work with others, we share our story with all the harsh realities that once made us the walking wounded. We are the walking warriors, using our past to save others. Let’s not regret a past that can save lives!
I do not regret my past, and thus,
I’m free to claim my future.
Some of us look on Step Four with dread, believing it to be that fateful time when we reveal all the ugliness in our past to someone else.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 49
January 18
Life says yes to me now. ∼Iyanla Vanzant
Eventually life says “yes” to all who dedicate themselves to our way of life in Chemically Dependent Anonymous. When we began this program as newcomers, the old-timers had many wise anecdotes and bits of advice for us. One of the things they told us was to imagine how good our life could ever get. “Get clean and sober,” they told us, “and your life will get even better than what you just imagined.” That might have been good enough for us, but they continued, “Stay clean and sober and it will get a hundred times better than that! But, on the other hand,” the old-timer’s warned, “Imagine the very worst your life could be. Start drinking and drugging again and it will get worse than that and, before long, it will get even worse than that!” Whether life says “yes” to us now or “no” to us now is entirely based on our commitment to recovery.
My actions today define the increase
above anything I can imagine.
People who have more time in C.D.A. than I do say, "Keep coming back; it keeps getting better," but I can't imagine that my life will be any better than it is now.
~Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 212
January 19
Happiness is getting what we want, but success is wanting what we get. ~Ron R.
The challenge in our new way of life can be to remember that we were saved from our addictions by God and other people, not by intellect, muscle, or self-will. We are called to “give back” to our fellowship—not “race” to acquire creature comforts, status, and prestige. We must keep in mind that a symptom of our disease is one of imbalance, and that our newfound acquisitions can affect our priority system. Without the proper priorities we cannot be the successful people we have come to expect in recovery. Acquiring creature comforts and status must never take priority over our responsibilities to give back to the Fellowship. The good news is that we have a sponsor and home group that expect some accountability from us. They help keep our priorities in balance. This way, when we do get the things we want, we will not only be happy, we will be successful as well!
My recovery is God’s gift to me and
what I do with it is my gift to God.
For instance, when a relationship or a job takes top priority, we can lose focus on what we've learned about, say, honesty or humility. When that happens, we tend to slide into old behaviors.
~Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 80
January 20
Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting. ~Anonymous
When practicing our addictions, we went day after day acting as if we were fine and the world around us was crazy. Even though many of us worked each day, had families, and may have appeared as if we were pillars of our community, we still abused our drug of choice with abandon. We never realized we were only fooling ourselves by denying our shame and dependence and acting "as if" all was well. Once we discovered recovery, we realized that our take on “normal" behavior was utterly abnormal. The masquerade we called “living” was actually a disease. The Second Step sets us free with its words, "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Working this Step each morning keeps us free from the bondage of addiction masquerading as our life.
Today I believe that a Power greater
than me is my link to living in a
sane and rational world.
A Power greater than we are, is keeping us from doing something
