Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrecovery

POTENTIAL

“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”

–Eric Fromm

My life was powerless when I was drinking. The drug alcohol stopped me from reaching my full potential – I was depressed, tired, angry, lonely and confused. Incredible as it may sound, I was the enemy to my life. By drinking alcohol, I fed the disease and made my life unmanageable.

Then I had a “moment” when I saw what I was doing to my life. The pain caused by drinking outweighed any advantages. I had hit my bottom. I began to change my life by refusing the first drink, and I began to experience a new vitality and potential. A new and creative life dawned. Friendships and relationships were possible again. God became understandable in His world. My power as a human being was unleashed in my sobriety.

Master, may I discover my potential in the loving decisions I undertake. 

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FR. LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrecovery

POTENTIAL

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

My program of recovery from alcoholism helps me have a relationship with myself. It helps me relate to and understand others. The more I understand my strengths and weaknesses, the more I am able to understand others.

Any understanding of spirituality involves other people. If spirituality helps me become what God intends, this is also true for others. Today I choose to treat myself and other people as children of God, remembering we were created to reach for the stars!

Loving Spirit, my potential forever rests in You. 

© 2008 Leo Booth 

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #FrLeo

POTENTIAL

“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”
–Eric Fromm

My life was powerless when I was drinking. The drug alcohol stopped me from reaching my full potential – I was depressed, tired, angry, lonely and confused. Incredible as it may sound, I was the enemy to my life. By drinking alcohol, I fed the disease and made my life unmanageable.

Then I had a “moment” when I saw what I was doing to my life. The pain caused by drinking outweighed any advantages. I had hit my bottom. I began to change my life by refusing the first drink, and I began to experience a new vitality and potential. A new and creative life dawned. Friendships and relationships were possible again. God became understandable in His world. My power as a human being was unleashed in my sobriety.

Master, may I discover my potential in the loving decisions I undertake. 

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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrec

FR.LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Potential

POTENTIAL

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~

My program of recovery from alcoholism helps me have a relationship with myself. It helps me relate to and understand others. The more I understand my strengths and weaknesses, the more I am able to understand others.

Any understanding of spirituality involves other people. If spirituality helps me become what God intends, this is also true for others. Today I choose to treat myself and other people as children of God, remembering we were created to reach for the stars!

Loving Spirit, my potential forever rests in You. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

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Just For Today #essentialsofrec #NA #Addiction

14
August

Letting Go Of Our Limitations

“We don’t have to settle for the limitations of the past. We can examine and reexamine our old ideas.” 

Basic Text, p.11

Most of us come to the program with a multitude of self-imposed limitations that prevent us from realizing our full potential, limitations that impede our attempts to find the values that lie at the core of our being. We place limitations on our ability to be true to ourselves, limitations on our ability to function at work, limitations on the risks we’re willing to take-the list seems endless. If our parents or teachers told us we would never succeed, and we believed them, chances are we didn’t achieve much. If our socialization taught us not to stand up for ourselves, we didn’t, even if everything inside us was screaming to do so.

In Narcotics Anonymous, we are given a process by which we can recognize these false limitations for what they are. Through our Fourth Step, we’ll discover that we don’t want to keep all the rules we’ve been taught. We don’t have to be the life-long victims of past experiences. We are free to discard the ideas that inhibit our growth. We are capable of stretching our boundaries to encompass new ideas and new experiences. We are free to laugh, to cry, and, above all, to enjoy our recovery.

Just for today: I will let go of my self-imposed limitations and open my mind to new ideas.

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Potential #FrLeo

 4
August
POTENTIAL

“Education is helping the child realize his potentialities.”

– Eric Fromm

When I was drinking, I behaved like a child. I behaved not just like a child but “childish”. I was so dependent upon my alcohol, so addicted, that I never realized my potential in life. I never realized the gift of life!

Today I have a spiritual program that offers me the world; it sets no limits on my horizons; it encourages me to discover my potential and live it. Today I am learning new languages, visiting different countries and enjoying alternative cultures, making new friendships and, most importantly, discovering the “bigness” of God in His world. The education I have gained in my sobriety seems unending and unstoppable. Each day produces a new opportunity and a different experience. Everyday is a time to receive.

Teach me to journey through the words into the experience.

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Life #Potential

12
June 

POTENTIAL

“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.”

–Eric Fromm

My life was powerless when I was drinking. The drug alcohol stopped me from reaching my full potential – I was depressed, tired, angry, lonely and confused. Incredible as it may sound, I was the enemy to my life. By drinking alcohol, I fed the disease and made my life unmanageable.

Then I had a “moment” when I saw what I was doing to my life. The pain caused by drinking outweighed any advantages. I had hit my bottom. I began to change my life by refusing the first drink, and I began to experience a new vitality and potential. A new and creative life dawned. Friendships and relationships were possible again. God became understandable in His world. My power as a human being was unleashed in my sobriety.

Master, may I discover my potential in the loving decisions I undertake.

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One Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #Recovery #AA

24
March 

Positive Thinking


“It takes but one positive when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower and entire army of negative thoughts.”

–Robert H. Schuller

A positive attitude is crucial for a successful recovery. This summer, I wasn laid up with two torn tendons in my left ankle. This happened right at the start of my summer vacation. When it first happened, I was VERY dejected. This had to happen NOW!!! Just when my holidays are starting? (not that ANY time is a good time to receive an injury!). However, upon reflection it WAS good timing. I didn’t have get myself to and from work. My daughter was finished school for the summer and was able to be home to assist me with day to day stuff. Plus I had just taken on some new OA service responsibilities and being home allowed me the time to really focus and internalize my new roles. Instead of looking at this as a negative – I think HP gave me an opportunity here to rest up and do some service at the same time. My daughter and I did some wonderful bonding as well. It would have been very easy just to turn negative and feel sorry for myself . But I simply would have made myself (and everyone around me) miserable during the my six weeks of recovery. Instead, it’s turned out to be a wonderful learning experience (not to mention it provided a good idea for this meditation topic!). Life’s too short for cheap wHine, n’est past?

One Day at a Time . . .

I will look at life from a positive point of view.

~ Rob R.

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Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #recovery #Brotherhood

21
March 

BROTHERHOOD


“I love my country better than my family; but I love humanity better than my country.”— Francois Fenelon

We need to think “big”. We need to escape from those little concepts that keep us small. Life is more than we can ever perceive. We need to see it in its totality. The nuclear family can be restrictive if taken as the center of our loyalty. Even our national citizenship needs to be placed in the context of the world. Our freedom rests in our universal humanity.

Spirituality is about thinking “big”. It is finding God in the richness of His creation. Our insistence on our shared humanity is the path to world peace and serenity. Divisions should not exist for the humanitarian who seeks acceptance for all men simply because they are men.

May I seek to find the One in the many—and the many in the One.

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Just For Today #essentialsofrec #NA #Addiction #Potential

12
March

 
Getting Out Of The Rut


“Many times in our recovery, the old bugaboos will haunt us. Life may again become meaningless, monotonous, and boring.”
—Basic Text, p. 75

Sometimes it seems as though nothing changes. We get up and go to the same job every day. We eat dinner at the same time every night. We attend the same meetings each week. This morning’s rituals were identical to the ones we performed yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. After the hell of our addiction and the roller coaster craziness of early recovery, the stable life may have some appeal—for a while. But, eventually, we realize we want something more. Sooner or later, we become turned off to the creeping monotony and boredom in our lives.

There are sure to be times when we feel vaguely dissatisfied with our recovery. We feel as though we’re missing something for some reason, but we don’t know what or why. We draw up our gratitude lists and find literally hundreds of things to be grateful for. All our needs are being met; our lives are fuller than we had ever hoped they’d be. So what’s up?

Maybe it’s time to stretch our potential to its fullest. Our possibilities are only limited by what we can dream. We can learn something new, set a new goal, help another newcomer, or make a new friend. We’re sure to find something challenging if we look hard enough, and life will again become meaningful, varied, and fulfilling.

Just for today: I’ll take a break from the routine and stretch my potential to its fullest.

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