Today’s Gift - May 28 2026

The only people who never fail are those who never try.

—Ilka Chase

A boy once asked his grandfather how he had become so happy and successful in his life. “Right decisions,” replied his grandfather. The boy thought for a while and then asked a second question, “But how do you learn to make right decisions?” The grandfather answered quickly with a twinkle in his eye, “Wrong decisions!”

We, too, will learn from our “wrong decisions,” our mistakes. Whenever we try anything, there is always the possibility of failure. We must learn to not let this keep us from trying. When we are willing to try, we have already conquered our fear. We can grow no matter what the outcome is.

What failure have I turned into success?

Emmet Fox - May 19 2026

YOUR GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Your present problem is your great opportunity. Your own mind - the Secret Place, as Jesus called it - is the council chamber where the arrangements and decisions for your whole life are made; it is also the drafting room where the plans for your destiny are formed. Your life is your laboratory. The world is your workshop.

The reason that you are here is that you may develop spiritually; and the way to do that is to meet the challenge of practical life. You do not develop spiritually by running away from life into some sheltered retreat. Nor do you grow in spiritual stature by gaining your point through will power.

It is the law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, must be exactly what you need most at the moment to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.



I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil (John 17:15).

Step by Step - May 4 2026

“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

 –Step Three

Today, I revisit the Third Step and ask if I have surrendered in whole my will and life to my Higher Power, if I have done more than “made a decision …” As the Big Book warns (“Alcoholics Anonymous,” Third Edition, 1976, p 62), “Selfishness – self-centeredness! That …is the root of our troubles.” Selfishness, easily and understandably identified in our Fourth as a character defect, gives way to humility – the total surrender of self to the will of our Higher Power. The Third Step lays the foundation for the spiritual change that we work toward in subsequent Steps, and that change can be little or nothing if we do not first experience the humility of absolute surrender. And the predictable outcome if we hold onto our complex of playing God of our own lives will be the mythical slip or, at worst, full relapse. How do I “take” my Third? “… (I)t is better to meet God alone than with one” other person, according to the Big Book (p 63), because of the intensely personal and private relationship we have with the God of our understanding. Today, I do not take for granted the immense importance of Step Three and ask if I have humbled myself completely to seek my Higher Power’s will instead of mine. And our common journey continues. 

Step by step. – Chris M., 2014

Keep It Simple - April 23 2026

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn.

~ David Russell

Making big decisions is like crossing bridges. Sometimes, these decisions change our lives. We find that turning back will be very hard. This is why we have to be very careful when we decide to burn bridges. When we decide to make changes, we act carefully. We don’t want to make decisions out of anger or envy. Instead , we can think about what we want and how our program can help us make wise decisions.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me cross those bridges that are on my path.


Action for the Day: What do I really want in life? What decisions do I need to make to get there?

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

~ Step Three from Alcoholics Anonymous ~


Care. This is what we turn our will and lives over to the care of our Higher Power. What peace follows! We see our God as caring, as loving. We turn everything over to this Higher Power, who can take better care of us than we can by ourselves.

Care can guide us. If we want to do something, we can ask ourselves, “Would my Higher Power see this as an act of care?” If the answer is yes, then we go ahead. If the answer is no, we don’t do it. If we can’t be sure, we wait and talk it over with our friends and sponsor. We wait until we know whether it would be an act of care or not. What wonderful guidance!

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I give to You my will. I give to You my life. I gladly jump into Your loving arms.

Action for the Day

Today, I’ll care about others. I’ll find as many ways as I can to care for others.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrec

The Hour of Decision, p. 202

“Not all large decisions can be well made by simply listing the pros and cons of a given situation, helpful and necessary as this process is. We cannot always depend on what seems to us to be logical. When there is doubt about our logic, we wait upon God and listen for the voice of intuition. If, in meditation, that voice is persistent enough, we may well gain sufficient confidence to act upon that, rather than upon logic.

“If, after an exercise of these two disciplines, we are still uncertain, then we should ask for further guidance, and, when possible, defer important decisions for a time. By then, with more knowledge of our situation, logic and intuition may well agree upon a right course.

“But if the decision must be now, let us not evade it through fear.  Right or wrong, we can always profit from the experience.”

Letter, 1966 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #BillW #Decisions

 Page 78 ~

Clearing a Channel

During the day, we can pause where situations must be met and decisions made, and renew the simple request “Thy will, not mine, be done.”

If at these points our emotional disturbance happens to be great, we will more surely keep our balance provided we remember, and repeat to ourselves, a particular prayer or phrase that has appealed to us in our reading or meditation. Just saying it over and over will often enable us to clear a channel choked up with anger, fear, frustration, or misunderstanding, and permit us to return to the surest help of all—our search for God’s will, not our own, in the moment of stress.

~ TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 102-103 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Choice #Hurt

TODAY, IT’S MY CHOICE

. . . we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt.
~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62 ~

With the realization and acceptance that I had played a part in the way my life had turned out came a dramatic change in my outlook. It was at this point that the A.A. program began to work for me. In the past I had always blamed others, either God or other people, for my circumstances. I never felt that I had a choice in altering my life. My decisions had been based on fear, pride, or ego. As a result, those decisions led me down a path of self-destruction. Today I try to allow my God to guide me on the road to sanity. I am responsible for my action—or inaction— whatever the consequences may be.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #Choice #Decisions #Recovery

WE ALWAYS HAVE CHOICES

Decision Making

Self-pity is often rooted in the strong feeling that we have been victimized by people or conditions. “I never had a chance” and “You deceived me!” are common complaints that reveal self-pity.

It is astonishing and humbling to learn that we always have choices, even when other people or bad conditions are grinding us down. One of the great discoveries of the Twelve Step movement is that alcoholics could begin to recover no matter how helpless they had become, no matter how far they had slid into defeat and despair. Once a decision was made to seek sobriety as a primary goal, other choices and decisions became possible.

We choose our attitudes and responses. We have neither the power nor the right to control others, but we can choose to soften our attitudes toward them, and we can forgive and release people we don’t like.

We can always choose how we want to think and feel. It may take effort to break the habit of feeling victimized and sorry for ourselves, but our Higher Power will show us the way if we decide that is what we really want.

Nobody can ruffle my feathers today or make me feel oppressed and victimized. I can always make choices that will enhance my sobriety and place me on a better footing for the days ahead.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

Walk in Dry Places #essentialsofrecovery

 Deciding outcomes
Guidance

No matter how limited our opportunities may be, we always have choices and decisions to make. With any choice or decision, it’s only good sense to make the one that seems likely to have the best outcome.

If we’re following our program, however, we should not be dismayed when outcomes turn out to be unfavorable or take turns that disappoint us. We can see only dimly into the future, and we have no way of knowing what will eventually come about as a result of our choices.

We do know that the meeting of the first two AA members actually came about as a result of a business disappointment. We can always find other examples of disappointing outcomes that proved to be good breaks as time passed.

This is not an attempt to rationalize bad situations, if God is in charge of our lives, we need not fear what each outcome might be.

Though I will choose and decide as sensibly as possible, I’ll not be excessively concerned about outcomes. My long-term good is assured as I follow God’s plan in my life. “For those who love God, all things work together for good.”

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

Not to decide is to decide.

—Harvey Cox

We are winners, because everyday we decide to stay sober. Every day we decide to listen to our Higher Power. We win by making active choices. We’ve stopped acting as if we have no choice. Our old way was to us by accident. Not true. We pretend we had no power. Also not true. We lost our power over alcohol and other drugs, but we still had the power to ask for help. Each time we used chemicals was a decision, just as to stay sober each day is a decision.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, thanks for giving me choices. I will not run from them. Help me make good choices. Help me decide every day to listen to you.

Action for the Day: Not for one minute will I pretend I am a victim. I’ll face my choices squarely and decide.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Daily Reflections essentialsofrecovery

I ASK GOD TO DECIDE

“I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows.” 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 76

Having admitted my powerlessness and made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him, I don’t decide which defects get removed, or the order in which defects get removed, or the time frame in which they get removed. I ask God to decide which defects stand in the way of my usefulness to Him and to others, and then I humbly ask Him to remove them.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

The Hour of Decision, p. 202

“Not all large decisions can be well made by simply listing the pros and cons of a given situation, helpful and necessary as this process is. We cannot always depend on what seems to us to be logical. When there is doubt about our logic, we wait upon God and listen for the voice of intuition. If, in meditation, that voice is persistent enough, we may well gain sufficient confidence to act upon that, rather than upon logic.

“If, after an exercise of these two disciplines, we are still uncertain, then we should ask for further guidance, and, when possible, defer important decisions for a time. By then, with more knowledge of our situation, logic and intuition may well agree upon a right course.

“But if the decision must be now, let us not evade it through fear. Right or wrong, we can always profit from the experience.”

Letter, 1966

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

DECISION


“When you see a snake, never mind where he came from.”

– W. G. Benham

So many alcoholics have died looking for “the problem” that made them drink. The wife, family, neighborhood or unemployment was why they thought they got drunk. They died seeking a reason. Alcoholics Anonymous clearly states that alcohol is the problem for alcoholics.

Alcohol is the problem! A statement that is so simple yet so profound in its healing. Today thousands upon thousands are choosing not to die by not taking the first drink. To see the problem clearly and honestly is the beginning of wisdom. O.A., ACoA, N.A., G.A., Al-Anon and others have used these simple principles with profound results. Do I see the snake?

Teach me to avoid those things that cause me pain and destruction.

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

DECISIONS

We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing . . .
but even that is a decision.

~ Gary Collins, PhD. ~
(Clinical psychologist and well-known author in the field of counseling)

I can’t recall if I ever learned that I had choices. I think it’s something a person learns as they grow up, but in my home, it was pretty much Mom’s way or the highway, and she had us all so scared of the highway that even THAT wasn’t much of a choice!

Imagine my utter shock when I came into the Twelve Step rooms and heard I had choices! I was a married woman by that time, one who had gone along with what everyone else said about anything and everything, and the only choice I seemed to make was how much I’d binge that day, if I’d purge, or if I’d be anorexic. Even that choice wasn’t in my hands, but in the hands of my disease.

In these recovery rooms I slowly learned about making choices and the responsibility that went with them. It’s been a freedom. It’s also allowed me to feel like an adult. As a young child I was put in the position of doing things only adults should be doing. So on one hand, I knew I had done things way before “my time.” Yet I still felt immature and naive. Learning to make my own choices and decisions has helped me to feel more mature and confident.

One Day at a Time . . .

I will not fear making difficult decisions. I will remember I can use the principles of the program to help me make the proper choice.

~ Rhonda  

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrecovery

DECISION

G.O.D. = Good Orderly Direction.

~ Anonymous 

When we decided to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we under-stood Him, we made a declaration of independence. We declared our freedom from the chains of our self-centered ego and the unrelenting demands of our self-will. When we decided that God was God and we were not, we began to receive the wonderful future that had been planned for us.

That decision was our claim to a new life. The prison that was our home has been destroyed. We decide to let go and let God on a daily basis. Our wills are always free to decide. We must decide to keep ourselves conscious at all times and listen to the voices that speak to us. We must decide to guard against our ego once again begging to run the show.

My will power will only be helpful tome when it is acting in accordance with my decision to let my Higher Power instruct me in the way to go.

©1990 by Anonymous, Published by Hazelden 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

INTUITION AND INSPIRATION

. . we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. We relax and take it easy. We don’t struggle.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86 

I invest my time in what I truly love. Step Eleven is a discipline that allows me and my Higher Power to be together, reminding me that, with God’s help, intuition and inspiration are possible. Practice of the Step brings on self-love. In a consistent attempt to improve my conscious contact with a Higher Power, I am subtly reminded of my unhealthy past, with its patterns of grandiose thinking and false feelings of omnipotence. When I ask for the power to carry out God’s will for me, I am made aware of my powerlessness. Humility and a healthy self-love are compatible, a direct result of working Step Eleven.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Not to decide is to decide.

~ Harvey Cox 

We are winners, because every day we decide to stay sober. Every day we decide to listen to our Higher Power. We win by making active choices. We’ve stopped acting as if we have no choice. Our old way was to us by accident. Not true. We pretend we had no power. Also not true. We lost our power over alcohol and other drugs, but we still had the power to ask for help. Each time we used chemicals was a decision, just as to stay sober each day is a decision.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, thanks for giving me choices. I will not run from them. Help me make good choices. Help me decide every day to listen to you.

Action for the Day

Not for one minute will I pretend I am a victim. I’ll face my choices squarely and decide.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

Walk In Dry Places #essentialsofrecovery

Making tough decisions
Decision Making

An AA member in a supervisor’s position was faced with the need to terminate an unsatisfactory employee. Procrastinating about this unpleasant matter, she found herself wishing that the employee would suddenly find another job, thus making the termination ordeal unnecessary.

But further reflection showed that the procrastination was related to the same problems that had dogged her in her drinking years. She was a people=pleaser; she felt guilty about inflicting pain on others.

She was finally able to make the tough decision and call the employee in for termination. In the process, she discovered that a brief prayer time for preparation and a gentle manner removed some of the pain for her and the employee being terminated. She learned that the principles of the program could help her become more decisive without being brutal.

I’ll look over any tough decisions I;ve been putting off and determination why I’m behaving that way. Am I prolonging tough decisions just as I did when drinking? 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery

As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrecovery

“Look Before You Leap”?, p.253

“Wise men and women rightly give a top rating to the virtue of prudence. They know that without this all important attribute little wisdom is to be had.

“Mere ‘looking before we leap’ is not enough. If our looking is charged with fear, suspicion, or anger, we had better not have looked or acted at all.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“We lose the fear of making decisions, great and small, as we realize that should our choice prove wrong we can, if we will, learn from the experience. Should our decision be the right one, we can thank God for giving us the courage and the grace that caused us so to act.”

Letters, 1966 

Why not sign up to get emails with all daily posts included?
Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery