Today's Thought - April

[bluidkiti]

April 1

AA Thought for the Day

In the story of the Good Samaritan, the wayfarer fell among robbers and was left lying in the gutter, half dead. And a priest and a Levite both passed by on the other side of the road. But the Good Samaritan was moved with compassion and came to him and bound up his wounds and brought him to an inn and took care of him. Do I treat another alcoholic like the priest and the Levite or like the Good Samaritan?
Meditation for the Day

Never weary in prayer. When one day you see how unexpectedly your prayer has been answered, then you will deeply regret that you have prayed so little. Prayer changes things for you. Practice praying until your trust in God has become strong. And then pray on, because it has become so much a habit that you need it daily. Keep praying until prayer seems to become communion with God. That is the note on which true times of prayer should end.
Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may form the habit of daily prayer. I pray that I may find the strength I need as a result of this communion.

Today's reading is from the book Twenty-Four Hours a Day: A Spiritual Resource with Practical Applications for Daily Life*

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April 2

I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume, you shall assume.

~Walt Whitman

Some of us may think Walt Whitman must have been terribly conceited to have written words like that. But he wasn't. He knew himself well, and accepted himself, even his darker side. He could laugh at himself and celebrate his humanness.

And because he loved and accepted himself just as he was, others could do the same. That's difficult to understand sometimes, but it's true: no one else is going to love and accept us until we come to love and accept ourselves.

We teach others how to treat us by the way we treat ourselves, so perhaps it makes sense to apply a variation of the Golden Rule: "Do unto ourselves as we would have others do unto us."

Can I allow my kindness to myself overflow to another person today?

Today's reading is from the book Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families*

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April 3

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

~Ernest Hemingway

It's hard to listen in a complete way. Often we listen, but we're still thinking about ourselves. We wonder, "How do their words relate to me? Do I have anything to add?" Often, fear is behind these questions. We fear saying the wrong thing. We fear looking stupid.

Good listeners know how to let go. They let go of their fears. To listen completely, we step outside ourselves, and we're totally there for someone else. Sometimes we listen for only a few moments. Sometimes we don't even agree with the people we're listening to. But we let them know that they count. What a gift we give when we listen in a complete way!
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, teach me to listen in a complete way. Teach me to step outside myself and be there for others.
Action for the Day

Today I'll listen to what the person says.

Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

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April 4

I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

~Psalms 139:14

Some days we feel bad about ourselves. Perhaps there is no real reason except that a mood has come over us. Moodiness is a remnant of our past. Or perhaps we feel guilty or ashamed or hurt. We feel blue. We feel grouchy toward ourselves, toward others around us, toward the world.

This is a time to turn it over to our Higher Power. We are children of the universe. We are loved. Our Creator has endowed us with marvelous strengths and potentials. Today may be a day we allow ourselves to be carried along by the love of our Higher Power. If we reach out, we will feel the presence of the spirit in our contact with other people. We need not try so hard. We only need to pray for openness within ourselves to feel the love of God.

I pray for help today to renew the feeling within that God loves me and never abandons me.

Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*

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April 5

Recovering Out Loud

I don't know about you, but my recovery started when I spoke the truth aloud. Speaking it aloud to somebody else gave it flight, lifted it up and away. Recovering out loud might mean you tell just one person that you are in recovery from suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, or substance use.

It doesn't mean you have to start an international movement. It doesn't mean that you reveal your recovery on social media or the front page of the local newspaper. It might just mean that when somebody around you is talking about a personal struggle or something a family member is going through, you turn to them and say, "I have some personal experience with that. Do you mind if I share?" When you do share in this way, you will be helping one another and also helping to eliminate stigma.

Here's the thing: our voices matter. As we grow prouder in our recovery, we grow louder in it too. The reason I recover out loud is to lead other women into recovery, to reach those suffering in silence. I want to help them so their words can take flight too.

Words matter. Especially when we speak them out loud.

Today's reading is from the book She Recovers Every Day: Meditations for Women*

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April 6

Having realistic expectations

Sometimes we expect much too much of people and things. We will never be happy if we expect our doctor to work instant cures or if we blame our teacher for what we failed to learn. We need to examine what's realistic to expect of others and what we are responsible for ourselves. It's the same with the program: we cannot judge its effectiveness by whether we are happy all the time.

The program will be perfect only when we are perfect. We must let go of our childish all-or-nothing attitude and become more realistic. After all, when were we ever happy all the time?

Do I expect too much?

Higher Power, when I am unhappy with the program, help me be honest with myself about where the problem lies.

Today I will examine my expectations about...

Today's reading is from the book Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts*

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April 7

It Takes What It Takes

In 1986, I was suffering the fallout of multiple affairs that my now-ex-wife was having. I was not handling this situation very well.

Long story short, I accidentally fired a gun into the couch of the living room. Not on purpose. I was drinking at the time. Because everybody cleans their guns while they're drinking scotch on the rocks, right? You know, that's at least what I thought.

But this incident did scare me. It made me think about my drinking, and I decided to go to AA. I liked it! I wasn't drinking, I was feeling good, and I was healthy. For six weeks. Then I figured, Okay, I've got this! I can do this on my own.

I didn't get sober then. But it did kick off the beginning of my journey, and I ended up where I am today. Now I sponsor people and I am sober myself.

Today I will recognize that it takes what it takes to get sober. I won't regret the journey it has taken me to get here.

~Ed C., U.S. Army, 1975–1979

Today's reading is from the book Leave No One Behind: Daily meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery*