Today's Thought - November
 

November 1

There's always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible and wrong.

~H.L. Mencken

How can I recover from my addiction? What must I do to get well? These are the basic questions we ask ourselves as we struggle with our addiction.

The questions are obvious, once we have taken the time to really think about what is going on in our lives. And the answers are just as simple - stop acting out, keep working the program.

But it's not enough just to come to meetings and put in time. Easy solutions may seem plausible, but just mouthing the words isn't going to do the job. We have been sick people, very sick at times, and we are going to need to struggle sometimes to see things straight again, to get back on course. The route is charted by our program and we have good counselors and friends as guides. But when all is said and done, we have to make the choice to accept the answers and help that will bring us renewal and health.

I know the way forward to health isn't easy, but I have confidence in myself and in the program. I will come through.

Today's reading is from the book Answers in the Heart

November 2

Quiet Time

Each morning sees some task begun. Each evening sees it done. Something attempted, something done.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Every day for us is a period of spiritual growth. Restful sleep prepares us for fruitful days. As each day begins, a new adventure in growth lies ahead. We seek strength and an attitude of making our lives more meaningful and positive through prayer and meditation at the start of each new day during our quiet time. We prepare ourselves emotionally for the busy hours ahead.

With positive action planned ahead, we arise to a day dedicated to accomplishment. We know we have little time for standing and idly staring. We accept new challenges as we carry out each day's plans. We encourage those around us to join us in seeking to see the best in everything that makes up our daily lives.

Restful sleep, meditation, planning, and turning it over starts my day with a quiet time and keeps it manageable.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It: A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations*

November 3

Know all and you will pardon all.

~Thomas à Kempis

We are quick to forgive our own transgressions because we know ourselves. We know our weaknesses, motivations, and the combination of influences that go into the decisions we make.

But we don't know everything that prompts others' attitudes and behaviors. We have no way of knowing if they are in physical pain, or if they have just suffered some emotional blow. We criticize many people without knowing anything about their experiences. If we were to know more about them, we might be more tolerant. God does know - and forgives everything. We can be forgiving also.

I will remember today that everyone is deserving of my forgiveness.

Today's reading is from the book In God's Care: Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery*

November 4

Because thoughts come from the inside, and not from the outside, what we think determines what we see.

~Jane Nelsen

It's difficult to remember that we are in charge of our thoughts and thus what we experience. But it's also exciting to contemplate all the changes we can make by focusing on positive thoughts.

Perhaps we can try this together. Put this book aside for a moment and look closely at your surroundings. Think about how lucky you are to have a place to sit, a peaceful moment to contemplate your life. Think grateful thoughts about your friends and family. Notice how you feel when you have pleasant thoughts running through your mind.

Our lives are as fruitful, hopeful, and peaceful as we choose. The show that goes on in our minds and is acted out in our experiences has been produced and directed by us.

I am eager to experience my life today. Knowing that it will match my thoughts is exhilarating.

Today's reading is from the book A Woman's Spirit: More meditations for Women*

November 5

Loss is another word for change.

~M. Tating

We don't always realize how loss and grief are natural parts of life. Every change contains a loss within it. If we get a job promotion, we lose some elements of our work that are familiar and maybe enjoyable. If we get married, we lose the independence of the single life. If we choose recovery, we lose the friends we had in our addiction and codependency. And, of course, when we lose a loved one, the changes that follow are never chosen, but they may actually lead us toward new possibilities.

Surprisingly, every loss, every grief, has embedded within it the gift of a new beginning. In the midst of our losses, we can seldom see the gift. We don't want to lose what we love. And grief is a necessary part of letting go. Grief is the wail of pain that comes when we know we must let go. And then life goes on. There is life after loss! It is a changed life. Perhaps nothing will ever be the same as it was. But it can become a new stage of our life, deeper and richer, even though we never could have imagined it.

Today, I embrace change, even knowing it means some loss.

Today's reading is from the book Stepping Stones: More Daily Meditations for Men*

November 6

Best Efforts

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.

~Emily Dickinson

Success can’t be measured by the number of those who have heard a message of hope for a better life. We constantly remind ourselves of this whenever a single cry for help arises. One success in a Twelve Step group more than makes up for any number of failures.

Success can’t be measured by the number of those who have heard a message of hope for a better life. We constantly remind ourselves of this whenever a single cry for help arises. One success in a Twelve Step group more than makes up for any number of failures.

When success comes we are reminded not to let pride carry us away. We have learned in recovery to keep our winnings in proper perspective.

I am not in the results business. My main task is to make my best effort. Results are added benefits.

Today's reading is from the book Easy Does It, A Book of Daily Twelve Step Meditations

November 7

"The horror of that moment," the King went on, "l shall never forget."
"You will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of it."

~Lewis Carroll

Crises come in many forms. When we are in the middle of any kind of crisis, we may feel like we have fallen into a deep hole. We may see no way out, and begin to feel hopeless and overwhelmed by the size and darkness of the hole.

Yet we are not alone. An animal caught in a hole would cry out until someone came along and helped it out. We, too, can call out for help - to our Higher Power and to the important people in our lives. We can learn to trust that, with the help of our friends and our Higher Power, we will be able to crawl out of our holes.

With trust, we will climb out of our crises and be healed with the passage of time. Such holes are a part of our landscape, yet every time we will be able to climb out and walk, leaving the darkness behind us.

What help can I ask for today?

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

November 8

Made a list of all persons we had harmed…

~First half of Step Eight

By the time we get to Step Eight, we’re ready to work on our relationships. We start by making a list of all the persons we've harmed. We look at where we have been at fault. We own our behavior.

Now we're healing, and we must help others heal too. Our list must be as complete as we can make it. As our recovery goes on, we’ll remember others we have hurt. We add them to our list. By doing this, we heal even more. Remember, this Step is for us. It is to help us stay sober.
Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me make a complete list. Help me to keep it open-ended. Allow me and those I've harmed to be healed.
Action for the Day

Even if I've made a list before, I'll make another one today. I will list all those I have harmed.

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

November 9

The first springs of great events, like those of great rivers, are often mean and little.

~Jonathan Swift

Our lives are like streams that flow through time. Looking at the flow of our whole lives, we see the interconnections of many days that seemed minor. Each day contributes to the stream of goals and faith and relationships. As we look at the flow of a whole river, we see at its beginning a little trickle of water here, joining another trickle there, slowly gathering together a stream that develops force and direction.

We may look for intensity in our lives and ignore the quiet. Much of our lives may have been lived on a roller coaster of major crises. As terrible as it seemed, it was not dull. Today may seem rather boring. But in recovery we learn to appreciate the subtler trickle that a good day can be. Simply continuing with the flow - of our program, of faithfulness to our values, of being emotionally present in our relationships - adds up to a rich life.

May I see the continuity of my life in the simple moments of this day.

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

November 10

I See You

Hey, friend. I know that you have a hard time sharing the pain that was your past, but I want you to know that I know it still exists for you. I don't need to know the details around what wounded you so deeply to acknowledge that you were harmed. I respect that you let things out and invite people in cautiously, and that is how it should be.

We get to set the schedule for how our healing unfolds. Our timeline. Our parameters. I see your strength and sometimes wish that you could embrace the opposite of strength, only so that you could feel the support of those of us who love you and who are here to hold you through the leaning into pain. I honor the work that you do - the journaling, the creating, the handiwork - that allows you to drop feelings and hopes and dreams down on paper as art.

You are a person who shows up for everyone else in your life, always, even when we are messy and emotional and bleeding feelings all over the place. I know you will bleed, too, when you are ready. We'll be here with all the emotional first aid you might need.

Friends accept that friends will feel out loud when they are ready.

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

November 11

Military Sacrifice

Civilians are not aware of the sacrifices made by military members. I underestimated the stress I would be under while I was serving. For my fellow service members, it is extraordinary that you're all doing this - that you've all done this. Because once I joined, I felt there was a huge disconnect between civilian life and military life.

When my son turned one year old, I was in officer training and I missed it. That's just one example of how military life is different from civilian life. I hadn’t understood that before the Air Force. For example, I'd work all day in the hospital taking care of patients, and then in the middle of the night I'd get a call for a drill: fake deployment. I'd have to put on my uniform and get my deployment bag and go through the stages and be up all night. Then I would work the next day all day in the hospital again without any sleep. It's just a never?ending commitment.

I used alcohol to cope with those sacrifices. But now I realize I need different tools to handle what is expected of me.

Today I will seek out healthy coping mechanisms when I encounter stress.

~Anonymous, U.S. Air Force, 1997?2000

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

November 12

Praying by acting

There is more to prayer than just kneeling at night and folding our hands. Thoughts of love can be prayers. Feelings of gratitude can be prayers. Prayers can be seen in a smile, a gesture, and even an action not done.

Joy surging through our bodies is a prayer. Caring for a child is a form of prayer. Many times, no matter what the position of our bodies, our soul is on its knees.

Do I express prayer in all that I do?

Higher Power, help me pray throughout the day, knowing that your goodness abounds in me.

Today I will make prayers of my actions by…

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

November 13

Reflection for the Day

The longer I'm in recovery, the more clearly I see why it's important for me to understand why I do what I do and say what I say. In the process, I'm coming to realize what kind of person I really am. I see now, for example, that it's far easier to be honest with other people than with myself. I'm learning, also, that we're all hampered by our need to justify our actions and words. The more I work my program, the more I understand the value of the program. Have I taken an inventory of myself as suggested in the Twelve Steps? Have I admitted my faults to myself, to my Higher Power, and to another human being?
Today I Pray

May I not be stalled in my recovery process by the enormity of the program's Fourth Step - taking a moral inventory of myself - or by admitting these shortcomings to myself, to my Higher Power, and to another human being. May I know that honesty to myself about myself is all?important.
Today I Will Remember

I cannot mend if I bend the truth.

Today's reading is from the book A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People*

November 14

Sobriety is not the antidote to all problems.

Many of us assumed problems would no longer plague us once the addict got clean and sober. We're discovering that's not the case. But with a slight change in perspective, we can perceive problems as opportunities.

Fear immobilized us in the old days. Because we weren't used to looking to a Higher Power for guidance, and because we never expected good to come from most situations, we gave up trying to make our lives better. We were resigned to tolerating life as merely a string of painful problems that we had to shoulder alone.

Very little about our lives has been the same since coming into the program. Some of us still have a drinking loved one in our lives. We may drive the same broken car or work for people who still don't appreciate us. But our lives feel different. We have hope where we used to have doubt. We feel love where we used to feel fear. We feel God's presence where we used to feel abandonment.

I am in good hands. No matter what is going on around me, I can feel safe and loved.

Today's reading is from the book A Life of My Own: Meditations on Hope and Acceptance*

November 15

Beauty is the love that we devote to an object.

~Paul Sérusier

What we find beautiful is not a trivial matter in our lives. Beauty, wherever we experience it, can be nourishment, relaxation, stimulation, healing, appetite, variety, individual choice, aliveness, or awe. Color, rhythm, scent, and texture are elements of everything we encounter, from food to music to books to sexual expression. The beauty of spareness speaks to some, the beauty of abundance to others.

The beauty we find in nature, whether we're seeing dramatic ocean waves or single drops of water, awakens and restores us. The beauty we create in our home and work environments expresses deep needs of our soul at any given time in our development. The unique beauty of each of our bodies, faces, rhythms of moving and speaking, visions and dreams, and journeys of growth and unfolding can be as beautiful as anything else in this world.

Our spirits are fulfilled and satisfied by the many forms of beauty that reverberate through our lives.

Today, I delight in my gift for experiencing beauty.

Today's reading is from the book Glad Day