EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrecovery

WORST ENEMY

Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.

~ Robert Graham ~

We refuse to keep putting ourselves down. Sometimes that seems like a virtue, but it isn’t. It’s a defect. The honest approach is to know our strengths and our weaknesses. The Program provides us the tools to work on both.

In recovery, each of us chooses to become our own best friend. Liking ourselves will assure us that we can become the best person we can be. Who have we hurt more than we have hurt ourselves? Would we let anyone do to us what we have done to ourselves?

We are learning to think about our assets rather than focusing on our liabilities. Our self-talk no longer always puts us down.

I can strike a solid blow at “me, my worst enemy,” by concentrating on the small triumphs of each today rather than on yesterday’s disasters.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden®. 

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FR. LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrecovery

ENEMIES

“The “Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.”

~ G. K. Chesterton 

My spiritual program makes me look to where I am, rather than where I want to be. I live in the now, rather than the never-never land of tomorrow.

To love my world, I seek to understand the people who live in it. This entails acceptance of those who are different from me. I must build bridges rather than barriers. It is easy for me to talk about loving and being concerned for the starving millions while forgetting to love and relate to my coworker or neighbor.

I have experience with people who are difficult because I lived with my addicted self for many years. I am the key to my enemies.

Teach me to accept in love those, for today, I do not like. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

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As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrec #Anger #Enemy

Anger–Personal and Group Enemy

 p. 98

“As the book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ puts it, ‘Resentment is the Number One offender.’ It is a primary cause of relapses into drinking. How well we of A.A. know that for us ‘To drink is eventually to go mad or die.’

“Much the same penalty overhangs every A.A. group. Given enough anger, both unity and purpose are lost. Given still more ‘righteous’ indignation, the group can disintegrate; it can actually die. This is why we avoid controversy. This is why we prescribe no punishments for any misbehavior, no matter how grievous. Indeed, no alcoholic can be deprived of his membership for any reason whatever.

“Punishment never heals. Only love can heal.”

Letter, 1966

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrec #Enemy #Self

WORST ENEMY

Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.
~ Robert Graham ~
We refuse to keep putting ourselves down. Sometimes that seems like a virtue, but it isn’t. It’s a defect. The honest approach is to know our strengths and our weaknesses. The Program provides us the tools to work on both.

In recovery, each of us chooses to become our own best friend. Liking ourselves will assure us that we can become the best person we can be. Who have we hurt more than we have hurt ourselves? Would we let anyone do to us what we have done to ourselves?

We are learning to think about our assets rather than focusing on our liabilities. Our self-talk no longer always puts us down.

I can strike a solid blow at “me, my worst enemy,” by concentrating on the small triumphs of each today rather than on yesterday’s disasters.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden®.

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Love #enemies

Love your enemy—it will drive him nuts.

~ Eleanor Doan ~

Love your enemy. It’s a lot easier on you! Hating someone takes so much time and energy.

Loving your enemy means, instead of trying to get even, you let your Higher Power handle that person. Of course, loving your enemy is also hard. It means giving up control. It means giving up self-will. We addicts naturally want to control things and people.

This is where we turn to our program for help. We learn to love our enemies, not for some grand reason. We simply do it because hate can cause us to use alcohol or other drugs again.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, watch over my family, friends, and my enemies. Take from me my desire to control. Take from me all reasons to get high.

Action for the Day

Today, I’ll list all of my enemies. I’ll say each of their names, and then I’ll read the Third Step out loud.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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FR. LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrec #love #enemies

ENEMIES

“The “Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people.”
~ G. K. Chesterton 

My spiritual program makes me look to where I am, rather than where I want to be. I live in the now, rather than the never-never land of tomorrow.

To love my world, I seek to understand the people who live in it. This entails acceptance of those who are different from me. I must build bridges rather than barriers. It is easy for me to talk about loving and being concerned for the starving millions while forgetting to love and relate to my coworker or neighbor.

I have experience with people who are difficult because I lived with my addicted self for many years. I am the key to my enemies.

Teach me to accept in love those, for today, I do not like. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrecovery

Our greatest enemy was alcohol and we have learned how to protect ourselves against it, but we are in constant danger from some of our well meaning friends. They constantly tell us how wonderful we are in that we have cut out our drinking and, unfortunately, we sometimes believe them to the point where our heads begin to swell.

At that very moment, that very necessary ingredient of sobriety, HUMILITY, goes out the window and sobriety frequently accompanies it.

Published by Hazelden

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

ENEMIES


“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.”

— G. K. Chesterton

The spiritual program that I embrace makes me look to where I am, rather than where I want to be. I must live in the now, rather than the never-never-land of tomorrow.

To love my world I need to seek to understand those people who live in my world. To love my world involves an acceptance of those who are different from me. I must seek to build bridges, rather than barriers. It is so easy for me to talk about loving and being concerned for the starving millions and forgetting to love and relate to the typist in my office or the neighbor down the street.

I have some experience of people who can be difficult because I lived with the addicted me for many years; I am the key to my enemies.

Teach me to accept in love those who, for today, I do not like.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought For The Day
In A.A. we have to learn that drink is our greatest enemy. Although we used to think that liquor was our friend, the time came when it turned against us and became our enemy. We don’t know just when this happened, but we know that it did because we began to get into trouble – jails and hospitals. We realize now that liquor is our enemy. Is it still my main business to keep sober?

Meditation For The Day

It is not your circumstances that need altering so much as yourself. After you have changed, conditions will naturally change. Spare no effort to become all that God would have you become. Follow every good leading of your conscience. Take each day with no backward look. Face the day’s problems with God, and seek God’s help and guidance as to what you should do in every situation that may arise. Never look back. Never leave until tomorrow the thing that you are guided to do today.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that God will help me to become all that He would have me be. I pray that I may face today’s problem as with good grace.

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrecovery

Our greatest enemy was alcohol and we have learned how to protect ourselves against it, but we are in constant danger from some of our well meaning friends. They constantly tell us how wonderful we are in that we have cut out our drinking and, unfortunately, we sometimes believe them to the point where our heads begin to swell.

At that very moment, that very necessary ingredient of sobriety, HUMILITY, goes out the window and sobriety frequently accompanies it.

Published by Hazelden

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy.

~ Frankfort Moore 

A.A. is a fellowship united against the same enemy—alcoholism. Our bonds give us strength to recover. We may not even know each other’s last name, but we’ll do anything to help each other stay sober.

Our illness has taken much. But it has also given us much. We have millions of new friends. Almost anywhere in the world, we can find a member of our fellowship. Our new way of life depends on the strength of the fellowship. We should do nothing to weaken it.

When you don’t feel like going to a meeting—go, not only for yourself but for the sake of the fellowship. It truly needs you.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, You have given me A. A. Now help me to keep it going. A.A. needs me, just as I need A.A. Help me give even when I don’t want to.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll give back to the program. I’ll call a new member, volunteer to put on a meeting, or make the coffee.”

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation 

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AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX #essentialsofrecovery

ABIDING IN HIS PRESENCE

Read Psalm 27.

“When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.”

“The wicked” and “mine enemies” stand for our own thoughts for our fears and doubts of every kind; and truly indeed do they sometimes come upon us as though “to eat up our flesh.”

“Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”

The Psalmist reiterates his confidence and makes us, his readers, reiterate that our hearts, too, shall not fear. When you can say quietly and truthfully at any hour of the day or night “my heart shall not fear,” the world has no more power over you. You are free. War of various kinds may rise up against you, but you will be confident, and therefore you will be victorious.

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek afterl that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.:
“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.”

These two verses constitute a remarkable expression of what is often called the second birth. When you have reached that stage you do not allow any external happening really to grieve you, or frighten you, or hurt you, because you know that external things are but passing shadows of no permanent importance. This steadfast determination to dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold His beauty and to learn His secrets, means that you are set upon a rock and there you house of life is secure.

© 1931 by Emmet Fox 

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrecovery

FEAR

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~

Fear was our enemy. It prevented us from living fully. It kept us standing still. It made us close our ears and minds to new ideas and ways of living. Fear of the un-known kept us locked up in our addiction. It told us to stay where it was safe and with what we knew. It refused to let us discover a way to deal with reality.

In recovery, we are learning to cope with fear. We are shown ways to take positive action to get past fear and continue our spiritual progress. Often we find that simply sharing our fears with other members of the Program relieves us of them. We have come to realize fear was the sparkplug that started our character defects in motion.

I now see how fear kept me a prisoner of my addiction and character defects. I will share my fears with others in the Program, and work to get past them. Fear need not always be harmful. It can teach me which direction to go.

©1990 by Anonymous, Published by Hazelden 

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EASY DOES IT #essentialsofrecovery

OWN WORST ENEMY

We have met the enemy and he is us.

~ Pogo ~

We can quit being our own worst enemy by developing the willingness to be good to ourselves. When we feel uptight, we all tend to treat ourselves unkindly. We can begin to like ourselves if we keep thinking about how far we’ve come in our recovery. We have figuratively gone all the way to hell and made a U-turn.

We can’t forgive others their mistakes and not forgive ourselves as well. If we consider ourselves our own worst enemy, we aren’t listening to our friends in the Program or our Higher Power. They tell us to be kind, to ourselves and others.

Acceptance is knowing we are good and whole despite our limitations and defects. As long as we strive to improve, we are free to take joy in who we are now.

When I feel like my own worst enemy, I’m in danger of hating myself. Perfection isn’t possible, but progress is.

©1990 by Anonymous, Published by Hazelden 

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec

Reflection For The Day

We’ve been our own worst enemies most of our lives, and we’ve often injured ourselves seriously as a result of a “justified” resentment over a slight wrong. Doubtless there are many causes for resentment in the world, all of them providing “justification.” But we can never begin to settle all the world’s grievances or even arrange things so as to please everybody. If we’ve been treated unjustly by others or simply by life itself, we can avoid compounding the difficulty by completely forgiving the persons involved and abandoning the destructive habit of reviewing our hurts and humiliations. Can i believe that yesterday’s hurt is today’s understanding, rewoven into tomorrow’s love?

Today I Pray

Whether I am unjustly treated or just think I am, may I try not to be a resentful person, stewing over past injuries. Once I have identified the root emotion behind my resentment, may I be big enough to forgive the person involved and wise enough to forget the whole thing.

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THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Humility

 14
December

Our greatest enemy was alcohol and we have learned how to protect ourselves against it, but we are in constant danger from some of our well meaning friends. They constantly tell us how wonderful we are in that we have cut out our drinking and, unfortunately, we sometimes believe them to the point where our heads begin to swell.

At that very moment, that very necessary ingredient of sobriety, HUMILITY, goes out the window and sobriety frequently accompanies it.

Published by Hazelden

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KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Friendship

  9
December
 
There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy.
~ Frankfort Moore 

A.A. is a fellowship united against the same enemy—alcoholism. Our bonds give us strength to recover. We may not even know each other’s last name, but we’ll do anything to help each other stay sober.

Our illness has taken much. But it has also given us much. We have millions of new friends. Almost anywhere in the world, we can find a member of our fellowship. Our new way of life depends on the strength of the fellowship. We should do nothing to weaken it.

When you don’t feel like going to a meeting—go, not only for yourself but for the sake of the fellowship. It truly needs you.

Prayer for the Day:

Higher Power, You have given me A. A. Now help me to keep it going. A.A. needs me, just as I need A.A. Help me give even when I don’t want to.

Action for the Day:

Today, I’ll give back to the program. I’ll call a new member, volunteer to put on a meeting, or make the coffee.”

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

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Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Secrets

 13
August


If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Most of us make trouble for ourselves by over-reacting to what others say or do. We have conditioned ourselves to see everyone else as “the enemy” rather than look within ourselves for the real cause of our distress.

If we can pause long enough to uncover our own hidden discomfort and distorted attitudes before we react with harsh criticism or vindictive silence, we can change our destructive first impulses into a loving interchange between individuals.

Today let me not be quick to criticize or condemn another. I will look at others as friends, not as foes, on my journey toward self-discovery.

From the book:

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes

The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes. © 1981 by Hazelden Foundation

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A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Enemies

10
August

Reflection For The Day

We’ve been our own worst enemies most of our lives, and we’ve often injured ourselves seriously as a result of a “justified” resentment over a slight wrong. Doubtless there are many causes for resentment in the world, all of them providing “justification.” But we can never begin to settle all the world’s grievances or even arrange things so as to please everybody. If we’ve been treated unjustly by others or simply by life itself, we can avoid compounding the difficulty by completely forgiving the persons involved and abandoning the destructive habit of reviewing our hurts and humiliations. Can i believe that yesterday’s hurt is today’s understanding, rewoven into tomorrow’s love?

Today I Pray

Whether I am unjustly treated or just think I am, may I try not to be a resentful person, stewing over past injuries. Once I have identified the root emotion behind my resentment, may I be big enough to forgive the person involved and wise enough to forget the whole thing.

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Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Forgivness

  3
July

Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.

–Oscar Wilde

According to a Japanese legend, two monks were walking down the road when they saw a finely dressed young woman standing before a large mud puddle. She explained that she had no way of crossing the water without ruining her clothes. Without saying a word, the first monk picked her up in his arms and lifted her safely across the obstacle.

A few hours later the second monk said in an accusatory tone, “How could you have picked up that lady? Don’t you know that the rules strictly forbid us to touch a member of the opposite sex?” His friend smiled and then replied, “I put the woman down back at the puddle. Are you still carrying her?”

Like the second monk, many of us are still carrying old hurts, resentments, and lost opportunities that we picked up many mud puddles ago. As long as we remain stuck in the past, we cannot fully hear the inner voice, which speaks to us in the present. Thus, in order to tap our intuition, we need to release and heal our unfinished business.

By following the example of the first monk, we can put the past down and walk on. See your past experiences as teachings that have guided you to this present moment. An endless array of opportunities and possibilities lie before you. Immerse yourself in this good, and the old hurts will have no place left to make their home.

From the book:

Listening to Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch

Listening to Your Inner Voice © 1991, by Douglas Bloch

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