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Old 07-28-2015, 06:39 AM   #31
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July 27

Quote of the Week

"Anxiety is the difference between now and then."

Before recovery, I had a hard time staying in the present. Without permission my mind would race into the future where it was quickly mired in anxiety and the dread of "What's going to happen then?" What I didn't realize was that I was using drugs and alcohol because they brought me back to the now, and in the present everything was (and always is) OK.

But then they stopped working and what a dark time in my life that was. Without the immediate ability to be present, my mind galloped into the future like a pack of wild horses. At times it was all I could do to hang on, but over time I learned new ways to get present and, as one speaker said, to "Be where your feet are."

What I've learned over the years is that my serenity today is directly related to how much time I spend in the now. Oh sure I have to plan ahead, but I've learned that after I do, it’s important to put the tool of my mind down and return to the present. And once I'm back here, right now, I'm once again safe and free from worry.

I now understand that anxiety is the difference between now and then.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 08-04-2015, 06:36 AM   #32
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August 3

Quote of the Week

"It all works out in the end...if it hasn't worked out yet, it's not the end."

This is one of the truest quotes I've heard yet. I can't tell you how many times I've stressed and worried about something I was sure wasn't going to work out, only to eventually realize that in the end it all worked out just fine. Sometimes it took months, other times years, but of all the things I've obsessed about, nearly all of them worked out in the end. The key is waiting for the end.

Before recovery, I was more focused on the middle than the end. I was addicted to drama and was sure that all the negative things in my life would only get worse. I secretly liked being a victim and when something started to work out, I quickly pointed to other awful things that were, or could be, happening. As you might imagine, my life never got any better.

When I entered the program, I was sure that it, too, wouldn't work out. I spent many months trying to convince anyone who would listen why my life would end in disaster. Their answer was always the same - keep coming back. What I eventually learned was that with the right thought and actions, and with a faith in a Higher Power, things did work out in the end.

And I learned that if it hasn't worked out yet, then it's not the end.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 08-11-2015, 07:32 AM   #33
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August 10

Quote of the Week

"God, help me to go from where I am, to where I need to be, for who I am."

This is a beautiful 11th step prayer. Although compact and seemingly simple, it is one of the purest ways of working this step. In the first part, "God, help me to go from where I am," I am strengthening my conscious contact as I partner with my Higher Power and invite Him to guide me on my spiritual journey.

The second part, "to where I need to be," reveals the wisdom of this prayer as it shows that I have truly turned the result of my journey over to God. Like all great spiritual treatments, the power here comes from me getting out of the way - thus removing my limited thinking and self will - and allowing God's limitless power and infinite resources to do for me what I can't do for myself.

The last part, "for who I am" reinforces the power of faith. Trusting that God's ultimate knowledge and will for me will reveal my true purpose gives me the greatest gift of all - a real chance at the fulfillment, peace, and happiness I seek.
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 08-18-2015, 07:39 AM   #34
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August 17

Quote of the Week

"I don't have a rewind button in my life, but I do have a pause..."

I can't tell you how many times - usually when I'm really mad or hurt - I've said or done things that I've later regretted. But in the heat of the moment when I felt I needed to defend, attack, or justify myself, I have acted in ways that have hurt not only others but myself as well.

When I entered recovery, my sponsor told me that just because I was now sober it didn't mean that I would never be hurt or get angry again. He told me there would still be plenty of times I would want to strike out, but in order to recover I had to become responsible for my actions. "You don't have a rewind button, but you do have a pause" he told me. And then he taught me how to use it.

Practicing restrain of pen and tongue has been one of the most practical things I have learned in recovery. I was taught not to react when upset, but rather to call someone and run my reactions by them first. I can still write that email, text or letter, but I have to show it to my sponsor before I send it. Pausing and praying to my Higher Power always restores my power of choice and allows me to check in with others before I react.

Today I pause, and that often saves me from later wishing I had a rewind button...
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"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 08-25-2015, 07:26 AM   #35
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August 24

Quote of the Week

"Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake."

Lately, things haven't been going my way. Both small things as well as big, scary health related issues have come up that are definitely not what I wanted and can't be good for me. As I climbed up on my pity pot and started collecting even more evidence why and how the world had it in for me, I heard today's quote and things began to shift.

In the past, poor me, poor me soon led to pour me another drink. In recovery, however, I'm able to shift my perception to what God's will is for me, and that almost always leads me to ask how what I'm going through can benefit or help another. No matter how far I've fallen or how rough my road has been, each experience I've had enables me to help another.

As I looked at my current set of challenges through the lens of service, I suddenly felt lighter. I realized I wasn't alone, and that by involving others I could benefit from their experience, strength and hope. I also realized that together we would grow from this experience and we would learn new ways to help others through common difficulties. As I reframed what was going on in my life as opportunities for growth, I realized the wisdom in the saying,

“Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake.”
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 09-02-2015, 06:51 AM   #36
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August 31

Quote of the Week

"Live life today as though you knew you were dying."


We've all heard sayings like this before, and for many years my reaction was, "Yeah but it's not my last day and the rent is due at the end of the month, and my relationship isn't getting better, and blah, blah, blah." As the many worries of the future consumed me, the precious days and years passed by without me, and now, at 13 years of sobriety, I wonder where the time went.

I remember when I got 30 days an old timer with 24 years shook my hand and congratulated me. I said, "Gee, I wish I had 24 years," and I'll never forget what he said. "I'll trade you my 24 years, right now, for your 30 days!" It took me many years to see the wisdom in this - it's about the journey, not the destination.

These days, I'm very aware of the gift of another day alive and sober. I've seen a lot of people go out or even die, and today I live from a place of supreme gratitude. Life is precious, beautiful and filled with opportunities to help people and make a real difference. I appreciate my life today, and I'm grateful that I'm present enough to enjoy it.

Today I live life as though I was dying, and I'm fully alive because of it.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 09-10-2015, 07:46 AM   #37
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September 7

Quote of the Week

"My recovery changed when I forever gave up the hope of having a different past."

I have spent a lot of time thinking about my past. Alternately feeling sorry for myself or being outraged at the wrongs - real or imagined - that were done to me, a constant theme in my thinking is how much different, better, happier I would be if only I hadn't had these parents, or stepparents, or those siblings, or on and on.

But it will never be different. My past will be my past always and, good or bad, it is uniquely mine. When I got to the program, I was taught that in recovery we stop fighting everybody and everything; in other words we surrender. One definition of surrender is to lay down our arms and join the winning side. By surrendering my old feelings about my past, I start to see it in a new light, and a new miracle has begun.

By working my program, I am able to make peace with my past, to look at my part and see the lessons and gifts it has to offer. In time, I come to see how valuable my experiences are, and how I can use them to help another. "One's deepest wounds, integrated, become our greatest power." Once I have healed my past, I begin to see how it can help heal another.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 09-14-2015, 11:32 AM   #38
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September 14

Quote of the Week

"People who try to figure it out, go back out."

I like to think of myself as a pretty smart guy, and when I was new to the program, I kept trying to figure out how the program worked and why my sponsor wanted me to do certain things. For example, when he told me to put the chairs away after a meeting or pick up cigarette butts, I was offended. "What's that got to do with me getting sober?" I'd ask. "Are you willing to do what we do around here?" He'd ask. I was, and so I took his suggestions.

There are a lot of other pretty smart people who come into the program and when given the same direction, they baulk and need to first figure out how it all works. They constantly ask questions and when I give them the simple answers as to why it has worked for me and countless others, they just keep asking. Their resistance to follow direction and unwillingness to do the work just hides an ego that hasn't surrendered yet. Unfortunately, this insistence on figuring it out often leads them to go back out.

Fortunately for me, I had hit a bottom that allowed me to be completely willing and open to suggestions. I surrendered to the Group Of Drunks (G.O.D.) because they could do something I couldn't - stay sober and improve their lives. As my sponsor told me, "Your best thinking got you into the rooms, so stop trying to figure it out and just follow direction."

I did and my life got better, and over ten years later, I haven't found it necessary to go back out.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 09-22-2015, 06:55 AM   #39
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September 21

Quote of the Week

"I'm in the action business, and God is in the results business."

I was at my local Starbucks last week, and I ran into a friend who is in the program. He asked me how I was doing and I told him how overwhelmed and scared I felt, and that's when he reminded me that there are some things I can control, and some things I can't. As soon as he said this, I felt a great relief because I realized at once that I had been trying to control everything again.

Before recovery that's how I lived my life. I planned everything, took massive action, and then I tried to control the results. It was exhausting living that way, but without a Higher Power in my life, I didn't dare let go of anything. What a gift (and relief!) it was to learn that my real role in life is to suit up and show up and then turn the results over to God.

As we kept talking, he told me that all I had to do was take the next indicated action and then turn it over. When I looked at it this way, I was comforted because I knew I could control setting the next appointment or taking the next test, and as I released the results I released the tension and worry as well.

Today, I remind myself that I am in the action business, and God is in the results business.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 09-29-2015, 07:54 AM   #40
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September 28

Quote of the Week

"I may not know how to make it better, but I sure know how to make it worse."

I remember how bad things were before recovery, and how easy it was for me to make them worse. If my job wasn't going well, I'd cop an attitude, show up late, or start slacking off (more than I already was!). If my relationship wasn't going the way I thought it should, I'd shut down and withhold - all with the justified thought, "I'll show her." No matter what was going wrong, I always found a way to make it worse.

When I entered recovery, my sponsor taught me that what happened in my life was my responsibility. He showed me how I had a part in everything that happened to me and how my solutions often became worse than the original problem. It took many years for me to accept this and many more to learn how to make better choices. Thank God I had the twelve steps to teach me how.

I once heard someone say that the program was the life manual they always wished they had when growing up. I completely relate to this because now I, too, know how to handle situations that used to baffle me. Best of all, though, by staying focused on my part I know how to make things better.

Today I have a choice between making the situations in my life better or worse, and most of the time I make the right choice.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 10-06-2015, 07:09 AM   #41
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October 5

Quote of the Week

"How do you know when you've hit bottom? When you stop digging."

For years I was driven by an obsession to drink. In the beginning I tried to control it, but after a while it had complete control of me. Alcoholism took me to a deep emotional, spiritual and physical bottom, and only when I surrendered to this program did I begin to recover.

In sobriety I've found that the obsessive thinking of this disease is still with me, and there have been other areas in which I've hit a bottom. In early recovery the obsessive thinking often took me down, and when I finally did let go there were usually deep claw marks in whatever it was that I was releasing.

One of the gifts of my recovery is that I've learned that I have the choice of when to stop digging. When my obsessive thinking starts, I now have tools I can use to be restored to sanity. By turning my thinking over to my Higher Power, sharing my thoughts in meetings, with my sponsor or others, I avoid the old bottoms and can live a much freer life. How do I know when I've hit bottom today? When I choose to stop digging!
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 10-13-2015, 06:40 AM   #42
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October 12

Quote of the Week

"Quit with the thinking and start with the doing."


It took me a long time to learn that I can't think myself into feeling better. If I'm sitting at home depressed and I wait until I feel like going to a meeting or feel like calling someone, it means I'm going to be at home depressed a long time. Early on I learned about contrary action, and when I take it and get out of my head, I always feel better.

My sponsor showed me that in the Big Book there is a chapter called "Into Action" not one called "Into Thinking." He taught me that feelings always follow actions and that every time I take a positive action, I get positive results. The opposite is also true - if I stay in my head, I almost always feel bad or grow more depressed.

One of the best actions I've learned to take in the program is to work with or help another. The power of this action is that while helping another, I'm immediately out of thinking about myself and into being of service. And the magic of service is that while I'm helping another, I'm also helping myself as well.

Today it’s much easier for me to get out of thinking and get into doing.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 10-21-2015, 08:39 AM   #43
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October 19

Quote of the Week

"7 days without God makes one weak."


I don't know how or why God seems to disappear from my life, but He does. Monday morning I'll be running late and not have time to pray, and the next thing I know it's Wednesday. I'll go to my meeting that night, but Thursday and Friday rush by and before I can catch my breath, suddenly it's Sunday afternoon and I find myself alone and not feeling very good. And that's when I make the connection.

Early on in recovery I was taught that the first three steps could be summarized as, "I can't; He can; Let Him." The problem is that I quickly forget the "I can't" part and once I'm under the illusion that I can control things, I'm off and running. The good news is that it takes less time these days for me to feel the effects of this self-will.

The even better news is that it's easy for me to get re-connected to my Higher Power, and the positive effects I feel are immediate. Once I practice the "He can" and the "Let Him" part, I'm restored to sanity and to my proper role in life. My job isn't to rush around like a crazy person trying to accomplish and control everything; rather, my role is to seek God's will and to be of service.

And when I stay connected to this and to God, I'm as strong as can be.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 10-27-2015, 06:53 AM   #44
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October 26

Quote of the Week

"Honesty got me sober; tolerance keeps me sober."

I didn't realize how dishonest I was before I entered recovery. I had half truths and misleading by omission down to a fine art, and by the end of my drinking and using I was even good at deceiving myself. I didn't know it then, but the practice of being rigorously honest was the cornerstone of my recovery, and without it I never would have gotten sober.

Another thing I didn't realize before recovery was how intolerant I was of other people, places and things. Once I began looking at myself, I found that my first reactions were to judge, reject and condemn others. What I discovered was that my intolerance was a defense mechanism covering my deep feelings of inferiority and shame, and it wasn't until I discarded these that I began to live comfortably in my own skin.

What I've learned over the years is that if I want to remain comfortable and sober, I've got to continue to practice tolerance. Now when I feel like judging or condemning others, I quickly look within and ask if I'm scared or if I'm feeling less than. Once I'm honest with myself, I'm able to deal with these feelings, and this always restores me to tolerance of myself and others.

Today I realize that honesty got me sober, but that tolerance keeps me that way.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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Old 11-02-2015, 11:55 PM   #45
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November 2

Quote of the Week

"Feelings are not facts."

When I was new in the program, my sponsor would constantly tell me that my feelings were not facts. They were just feelings. "But it's a fact that I'm having these feelings," I'd argue. I paid a steep price for my stubbornness as my feelings would often hit me like a freight train and drag me far down their tracks.

After I got a little recovery, I began to understand that my feelings only became facts when I acted on them. I found that if I felt depressed, that was OK, but if I then stayed in bed all day, then that feeling would definitely be a fact in my life. This taught me that I could have feelings and not act on them, or, even better, I could take contrary action, and this revealed my feelings as just the thoughts that they were.

Now with a little bit of time and experience, when I see the freight train of feelings approaching, I just step aside. Today I sit and watch as the train passes by, and sometimes I can actually feel the wind of it as it whizzes by. Today I know my feelings are not facts, they are just feelings, and, if I pause long enough, they will always pass by.
__________________
"No matter what you have done up to this moment, you get 24 brand-new hours to spend every single day." --Brian Tracy
AA gives us an opportunity to recreate ourselves, with God's help, one day at a time. --Rufus K.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. --Franklin D. Roosevelt
We stay sober and clean together - one day at a time!
God says that each of us is worth loving.
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