Keep It Simple #essentialsofrecovery

Al didn’t smile for forty years. You’ve got to admire a man like that.

–From the TV show, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”

Remember how we used to live? We were always trying to cover up some lie or mistake.

We were all like Al. Our energy was going into our illness, not into living.

Gratitude is the key word in the program. Gratitude is being thankful for the getting to know our Higher Power. Remember what it was like to not smile for all those years?

Recovery has given us back our smiles. What a relief! We can relax and enjoy our new life.

Prayer for the Day: I pray that I’ll always remember what is was like when I was using. I pray that I’ll not take my recovery for granted. I prayer for gratitude.

Action For the Day: I will list all the things the program and recovery have given me. I will smile about them today. 

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

 23
November

MEMORIES

“History is the seedbed of the future.”
~ Leo Booth 

I talk about my drinking history because there is no gain without pain. To enjoy sobriety, I must share the reality of my disease. My pain is rooted in my history. I must live with my disease on a daily basis and be aware of the disease process in my life. This awareness requires a rigorously honest inventory of my past attitudes and behaviors. Ignorance is bliss for the disease of addiction!

Awareness and acceptance of my past are my treatment for today. My life has a history, and my spiritual program demands I understand it. While I do not wallow in the past, I recognize its influence on my present and how it informs my future.

Teach me to face my past so lean realistically live in today. 

© 2008 Leo Booth

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

   2
September 

MEMORY


“Every man’s memory is his private literature.”

– Aldous Huxley

What it was like. What happened. What it is like today. Memory. If I am to stay sober, I need to remember. I need to remember on a daily basis. I must never forget.

My life is reflected in my memory. The “writing on the wall” is really in my head, but am I prepared to see it and acknowledge it? For years I chose not to remember. I lived in a world of make-believe. People were exaggerating the facts! With denial at the center of my life I was able to forget the pain and drink again, only to awake to yesterday’s pain again.

My memory is the key to my recovery. Spirituality is about “seeing” — seeing my life as it is, rather than how I imagined or hoped it would be. My pain belongs in my life because it is mine! Alcohol always works; but does it work for me or against me? My remembering helps me answer that question today and hopefully tomorrow.

Thank You, God, for allowing my yesterdays to forge my tomorrows.

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