Just For Today

Change And Growth

 “When someone points out a shortcoming, our first reaction may be defensive. There will always be room for growth.”

Basic Text, p. 35

Recovery is a process that brings about change in our lives. We need that change if we are to continue our growth toward freedom. It’s important that we remain open-minded when others point out our shortcomings, for they are bringing to light opportunities for us to change and grow. Reacting defensively limits our ability to receive the help they are offering us; letting go of our defenses opens the door to change, growth, and new freedom.

Each day in the recovery process will bring an opportunity for further change and growth. The more we learn to greet change with an open mind and heart, the more we will grow and the more comfortable we will become with our recovery.

Just for today: I will greet each opportunity for growth with an open mind. 

Keep It Simple - May 28 2026

Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.

—Johann Fredrich von Schiller

As we grow in recovery, we’ll need to change our behaviors, values, and beliefs to stay sane. This take courage. Courage is doing what is needed in spite of fear.
Courage means facing what we can’t change. We can’t change the fact that we have hurt people. We can’t change the fact we have an illness. And we can’t change the fact that we need help from others.
Courage also means facing those things we can change. We need courage to be honest, to have faith, and to be humble. And we need courage to let people know how important they are.

Prayer for the Day: Courage is more than being tough. Courage means being human. Higher Power, grant me the courage to stay sober and live a spiritual life.


Action for the Day: Today, I’ll have an attitude of courage. I’ll talk in my meeting. I’ll offer help where it is needed. I’ll have the courage to say no when needed.

Keep It Simple May 21 2026

Be not afraid of growing slowing, be afraid only of standing still. 

—Chinese proverb

All of us are a little afraid of growth. We wonder how growth will change our lives. Who will we be? Will our friend still love us? Can’t we grow up and get in over with? Why does it take so long?


All of us have a need to keep growing. There is no age when we’re “all grown up” and all done learning. But we don’t need to rush our growth. Like a child on a too-big bicycle, at times we’ll find ourselves out of control. We’ll tip over. We can grow at our own pace, but we must grow. We must make changes. Or else, like an athlete on a too-small bicycle, we won’t get far. We’ll tip over too!

Today’s Gift May 20 2026

For nothing can be sole or whole that has not been rent.

—W. B. Yeats

The maple out front is young and healthy, but it grows in the shape of a Y. Neighborhood tree experts have warned that as it grows, it will split in half as the weight of the two main branches pull down against each other. One of these two beautiful branches, already lush with new leaves, must be cut. But once pruned, the remaining branch will straighten as it reaches for the sun. It will grow faster, and the whole tree will live many years longer – all by cutting it back today.

Sometimes we are like this tree. We go in too many directions, and can’t seem to do any one thing well. When this happens, we need to give something up, to choose which direction we want and stick with it. The results will be well worth the price.

What is holding me back from growth?

Walk in Dry Places - May 16 2026

Trees Don’t grow to the sky
Progress

Release from a compulsion can be a dramatic experience. It may also mean immediate release from vexing problems caused by the compulsion. This time can bring such a sense of well-being that it’s sometimes called the HONEYMOON or CLOUD NINE period.

In any growth process, however, we must remember that a law of diminishing returns sets in. This is expressed in the saying that trees don’t grow to the sky. At some point, we will discover that our joyous feeling of pleasure has cooled down to an ordinary state of feeling well, that we are not becoming increasingly joyous by the day.

There’s nothing wrong with such a mental plateau. If we’re practicing the Twelve Step program, we’re still moving forward, onward, and upward. Diminishing returns must still be counted as returns.

I’ll accept today’s progress with gratitude and humility. I won’t expect more than a reasonable feeling of well-being and contentment, but that is considerable.

Today’s Gift - May 13 2026

Talent–I don’t know what that is. It’s will. You dream a dream and then you build it.

—Philippe Petit

Even the most accomplished pianists begin at some point by playing simple scales and exercises. With daily practice, their hands learn to find the correct notes and become limber enough to play well. They learn each new piece of music very slowly at first, until, with study and practice, they can play almost without effort.

In the beginning, the pianist only dreams of being an accomplished musician. This dream helps the artist through many hours of practice and study.

Talent is really the combination of a dream and the time spent building it. We develop our ability by devoting time to the skills that interest us. Like the musician, we become talented through daily practice – the daily building of a dream. By developing our talents, we develop who we are.

Who am I becoming today?

Walk in Dry Places - May 11 2026

Unfair People
Relations

Now and then, we encounter people who are almost blatant in their unfairness to others. We may make a 200-mile drive to a customer who is completely unprepared to see us, despite having had advanced notice. Or we may have a friend who is openly critical of our shortcomings while completely overlooking his or her own.
Unfair though these people may be, they give us the opportunity to exercise spiritual muscles. We can improve ourselves and the world by refusing to retaliate when such unfairness occurs.
The long-term benefit is that many of these unfair people change or fade out of our lives. As we handle such things spiritually, we recall times when we too were unfair, and we realize that such faults are part of the human condition. We are lucky people because we’re being given the opportunity to raise the human condition to a higher level. We also hear that “life’s isn’t fair”, it’s just there” Not understanding life completely , we’re not sure about its fairness. What we are sure about is that we value fairness and can show more of it now that we’re sober.


I will not seek out unfair treatment today, but neither will I be upset if it occurs. If it does, I’ll deal with it as another lesson in my spiritual growth.

Today's Gift - May 5 2026

Growing

We all perform on two stages: one public, one private. The Public stage is what we do and say. The Private stage is what we think and what we rehearse in our minds to do on the Public stage. Even though we may never perform it, what we rehearse in our minds helps mold our character and guide our actions.

Are we rehearsing anger, fights, and what we’re going to tell that SOB next time? Are we rehearsing drug use, the old ways of living? If so, we are risking the recovery we have achieved.

To keep growing and to keep building character, we need to rehearse kindness, patience, and love. We need to practice awareness of our Higher Power in our lives.

Am I growing?

May I practice kindness, patience, and love in all my affairs today.

From the book:



Day by Day – Second Edition by Anonymous

Walk in Dry Places - May 3 2026

Knowing a new freedom
Spiritual growth

Most of us place a high value on freedom without always knowing what it really is, or ought to be. “Freedom” in the drinking world is often merely license to indulge ourselves without concern about consequences. This false freedom usually forces us into dependency or the need to rely on others to get us out of trouble.
The “new freedom” that comes out of the 12 Steps is a higher order. It means that by following principles in living we find choices and experiences that were never possible in the old life. We are free from the destructive behavior that always ended in pain and defeat.
This freedom is more of the spirit than of worldly things. It is knowing the truth about ourselves and life. As the Bible says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” In this new freedom, we no longer pursue activities that are ruinous and wasteful. We no longer deceive ourselves with painful illusions and false hopes, because we’ve learned to live and think on higher levels. Knowing the truth, we’re free from alcohol and from the bad thinking that poisoned our lives and relationships.


Today I’ll be grateful for the new freedom I have found in the program. I am free from the compulsions that caused me to hurt myself and others. I am free to choose new opportunities for service and self-expression.

Walk in Dry Places - May 1 2026

Accepting Equal Treatment
Growing Spiritually

One of our AA friends was a district judge in a northern community. On his way to speak at our meeting, he was given a speeding ticket by a state policeman.
“Didn’t you tell him you are a judge?” we wanted to know. Smiling sheepishly, he shook his head. It occurred to us, then, that acceptance of the speeding ticket without argument was also an exercise in principles for him. First, he was accepting the same laws he administered to others. Additionally, accepting the ticket was a working of the Tenth Step—“. . . and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” Finally, he realized that the ticket may have been a disguised blessing to help him correct a tendency to speed.
As recovering alcoholic, we always function better when we accept such principles in our own lives. Every person is special, yet as part of the human race in general, we must accept the same treatment that is given to others. We can grow spiritually when we accept such equality without resentment or demands for special treatment.


As a human being, I know that today I’m subject to all the things that can happen to human beings. I will not demand or expect privileges that are not available on an equal basis to others.

A Day At A Time - April 29 2026

Reflection For The Day

As I grow in The Program — sharing, caring, and becoming more and more active — I find that it’s becoming easier to live in the Now. Even my vocabulary is changing. No longer is every other sentence salted with such well-used phrases as “could’ve,” “should’ve,” “would’ve,” “might’ve.” What’s done is done and what will be will be The only time that really matters is Now. Am I gaining real pleasure and serenity and peace in The Program?

Today I Pray

That I may collect all my scattered memories from the past and high-flown schemes and overblown fears for future and compact them into the neater confines of Today. Only by living in the Now may I keep my balance, without bending backwards to the past or tipping forward into the future. May I stop trying to get my arms around my whole unwieldy lifetime and carry it around in a gunny sack with me wherever I go.

Today I Will Remember

Make room for today.

AS BILL SEES IT - - April 25 2026

~ Page 115 ~

Essence of Growth

Let us never fear needed change. Certainly we have to discriminate between changes for worse and changes for better. But once a need becomes clearly apparent in an individual, in a group, or in A.A. as a whole, it has long since been found out that we cannot stand still and look the other way.

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.

~ GRAPEVINE, JULY 1965 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

KEEP IT SIMPLE - - April 25 2026

You’re never too old to grow up.
~ Shirley Conran ~
Some of us have spent many years trying not to grow up. As children, we watched the adults around us. They may not have seemed happy. “Is life all hard work for grown-ups?” we wondered.

No, it’s not all hard work. There are lots of good things about growing up. We can take charge of our life. We can learn to take care of ourselves. We can learn to share our feelings with good friends. We can make our world safe enough for us to express feelings again. We can learn how to love others. We do have choices.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me grow Growthup into a happy, grateful adult.

Action for the Day

There are happy grown-ups. I’ll find one to be my sponsor.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

As Bill Sees It - April 24 2026

Essence of Growth, p. 115

Let us never fear needed change. Certainly we have to discriminate
between changes for better. But once a need becomes clearly apparent
in an individual, in a group, or in A.A. as a whole, it has long since been
found out that we cannot stand still and look the other way.

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and
then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this
entails.

Grapevine, July 1965

A WOMAN’S SPIRIT - April 21 2026

We grow in darkness and in light.

~ Marilyn Mason ~

Every experience is a learning opportunity. The abuse we suffered, whether physical or emotional, taught us survival and resilience. Even though we felt defeated, we are here now, and we’ve learned to recognize relationships that aren’t good for us. That’s evidence of growth.

Sponsors tell us we are always growing. Even when it feels like we are going backward, we are growing. Recognizing our slower pace signals our awareness, and that is growth too.

Gone are the days when we doubted our ability to grow, to change. One of the first lessons we learn In recovery is that change is possible. Every meeting surrounds us with examples. And much of the growth has come through the dark periods of our lives. The darkness and the light have much to teach us. Every moment is to be revered for its message.

I am ready to grow today. Regardless of the kind of experience I’m having, I’ll realize its worth to me.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation 

WALK IN DRY PLACES - April 18 2026

MISTAKES ARE FOR LEARNING

Personal growth

One sign of an alcoholic’s immaturity is revealed in responses to personal mistakes. We take each simple mistake as further proof of our inadequacy. As one person observed, “I can handle a general catastrophe, but running my nylons can ruin my day.”

Some of us may feel we’re victims of past conditioning – a parent, for example, who berated us when the slightest thing went wrong. But we’re at fault if we continue to let ourselves be victimized by such experience. We should give no person – past, present, or future – the right to set the level of our self-esteem.

Properly viewed, all mistakes are for learning purposes. We often have to make a few mistakes before we can learn anything. Sometimes a mistake can occur simply to teach us one basic lesson – that we are human and cannot be perfect in everything we do.

Above, all, we should never condemn ourselves for the countless mistakes that occurred while we were drinking. Our alcoholism, a terrible mistake in the sight of many, led to the deep learning we find in AA. Nothing that brings us this far can really be a mistake in the sight of God.

In sobriety, I’m learning tolerate the shortcomings and mistakes of others. I will extend the same grace to myself today if I make a simple mistake.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

FR. LEO'S - April 16 2026

LAUGHTER

“You grow up the day you have the first real laugh—at yourself.”

~ Ethel Barrymore ~
Today I can laugh at myself. I do not take myself too seriously. I am beginning to grow. I used to be too serious—having the “poor me” syndrome and sitting on my pity pot demanding attention. Not only was I terribly unhappy; I was the cause of my unhappiness.

One day, a friend listened to my complaints, then began to laugh a real belly laugh. Soon, I began to laugh, too! My attitude was so stupid, selfish, and futile that it demanded laughter to shake me out of it. At that point, I began to grow.

Now I laugh at my funny little ways, my ridiculous pretensions, and my grandiose behavior. With laughter comes humility.

God, let me experience the miracle of laughter. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

DAILY REFLECTIONS - April 10 2026

GROWING UP

The essence of all growth is a willingness to change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails.

~ AS BILL SEES IT, p. 115 ~

Sometimes when I’ve become willing to do what I should have been doing all along, I want praise and recognition. I don’t realize that the more I’m willing to act differently, the more exciting my life is. The more I am willing to help others, the more rewards I receive. That’s what practicing the principles means to me. Fun and benefits for me are in the willingness to do the actions, not to get immediate results. Being a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving makes my life better— day by day.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc 

A DAY AT A TIME - April 10 2026

Reflection for the Day

Change is the characteristic of all growth. From drinking to sobriety, from dishonesty to honesty, from conflict to serenity, from childish dependence to adult responsibility—all this and infinitely more represent change for the better. Only God is unchanging; only He has all the truth there is. Do I accept the belief that lack of power was my dilemma? Have I found a power by which I can live—a Power greater than myself?

Today I Pray

I pray that the Program will be, for me, an outline for change—for changing me. These days of transition from active addiction to sobriety, from powerlessness to power through God, may be rocky, as change can be. May my restlessness be stilled by the unchanging nature of God, in whom I place my trust. Only God is whole and perfect and predictable.

Today I Will Remember

I can count on my Higher Power.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation 

A DAY AT A TIME - April 7 2026

Reflection for the Day

Our spiritual and emotional growth in the Program doesn’t depend so deeply upon success as it does upon our failures and setbacks. If we bear this in mind, a relapse can have the effect of kicking us upstairs, instead of down. We in the Program have had no better teacher than Old Man Adversity, except in those cases where we refuse to let him teach us. Do I try to remain always teachable?

Today I Pray

May I respect the total Program, with its unending possibilities for spiritual and emotional growth, so that I can view a relapse as a learning experience, not “the end of the world.” May relapse for any one of our fellowship serve to teach not only the person who has slipped, but all of us. May it strengthen our shared resolve.

Today I Will Remember

If you slip, get up.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation