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RECIPE FOR HAVING A WONDERFUL DAY
Take each day and:
Clean it thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy.
Make it just as fresh and clean as possible.
Prepare each day out of these ingredients: mix well into each day one part of faith, one part of patience, one part of courage, and one part of work.
Add to each day one part of hope, faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer, one part meditation, and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits, a sprinkle of fun, a pinch. of play, and a cupful of good humor.
Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy, garnish with a smile, and serve with quietness, unselfishness, and cheerfulness.
----------------------------------------------------------RULES FOR A GREAT DAY
Just for today...
I will try to live and delight in the reality of being alive. My past is forever gone, my future an uncertainty, so I will be happy and thankful for each moment.
I will not allow negative input into my mind...happiness is a choice and I choose to be happy.
I will be thankful to God for my health, my loved ones, my business, and my country. I will also be thankful for any pain in crisis that helps me grow because God has said, be thankful in all things.
I will take care of my body, realizing the importance of the words moderation and balance, knowing that as I bring my flesh under control, how much easier it will be to control my will and my actions.
I will treat everyone I meet today the way I would like to be treated. I will strive to have them like themselves better when they're with me.
I will avoid gossip, jealousy, and negative thinking. Most people don't think about what they think about. Today, I will make a conscious effort to hold loving and beautiful thoughts in my mind.
These are twelve attributes of personal character that continued practice of the Twelve Steps and our continued Spiritual Fitness will bring to us, the "Recovered" Alcoholic or Addict. - Faith instead of despair.
- Courage instead of fear.
- Hope instead of desperation.
- Peace of mind instead of confusion.
- Real friendships instead of loneliness.
- Self-respect instead of self-contempt.
- Self-confidence instead of helplessness.
- A clean conscience instead of a sense of guilt.
- The respect of others instead of their pity and contempt.
- A clean pattern of living instead of a hopeless existence.
- The love and understanding of our families instead of their doubts and fears.
- The freedom of a happy life instead of the bondage of an alcoholic or addictive obsession.
One of the tools I was taught in recovery was to write down things I heard in meetings. It's amazing how listening for quotes and useful statements shared by my friends in the meetings and then putting those thoughts into written word enhances my listening ability - I get better tuned into the message this way. I started utilizing this tool again and here is some of what I've heard lately:
* You are what you think. Dress for success.
* Hold urself accountable 4 ur decisions. Take pride in choosing to do the next right thing.
* Our experiences can provide strength and hope for our peers.
* God works thru people.. communicate with as many people each day as possible.
* Miracles happen around us every day. Pause and recognize some of them- Be Grateful :)
* Move a muscle.. change a thought.
* When someone is relentless and u cant change them.. just accept them.
* This too shall pass.
* Perception is reality... but be careful not to manipulate!
* Have faith in your Higher Power 24 hrs a day.. He *always* has faith in you.
* In order to help yourself.. help someone else.
* God doesnt help us pass the test.. he gives us the courage and wisdom to study and to be prepared to pass.
* God's will is communicated thru people.. We are His channel to peace.
* To conquer the never-ending to-do list.. work on one thing at a time.
* Do whats in front of u now.. dont project into the future.
* If I dont lie I dont need to remember what I said and to whom.
* If at first the door doesnt open.. try another key instead of getting angry.
* Walk the walk.. dont just talk the talk.
* Until i work on improving my own life I don't have anything to offer anybody else.
* Foggy in NJ today.. I'll let God show me the direction when I cannot see.
* In order to be successsful sometimes my ego needs to be deflated and I need to be reminded I am no better than anyone else.
* To be of maximum service dont brag about it.. just do it!
* U dont have to be the best.. just do ur best!
* Young is defined as a person who still has growing to do regardless of age.
Due to the downturn in the economy, Alcoholics Anonymous will NO LONGER be dues and membership "free" as has been the case for almost 75 years. Like many businesses, AA will now be charging for some things that used to be free, such as: 1--Being Rocketed into the 4th Dimension---$49.99 per trip, fuel surcharge applies, extra baggage NOT included. 5th dimension trips optional. See your sponsor for details. 2--Sponsorship - was free, NOW $9.99 per month, with 4 visits/15 phone calls per month free, after that, $2.00 each. 3--Membership Dues now $29.99/month, 10% discount for a 1-year plan. 4--Seating charges - Each seat now $1.00 per meeting, with a 20% discount for the 90-in-90 plan. 5--The "Pink Cloud" was free, NOW $14.99 per cloud, with a $5.00 per event environmental cleanup fee. These are the NEW ozone-free Pink Clouds that do NOT add to global warming. 6--Coffee to be $1.50 per cup, with a 10% discount for 5 or more cups. 7--Hugs now will be $2.50 each. 8--Conscious contact with GOD now $9.99/month, with the first 450 minutes free, then 0.10 cents/minute fee over. New "double your minutes for life" plan is a low $49.99 one time charge - holidays and weekends extra. See the current rate schedule, as GOD is VERY busy. 9--Accidental "cell phone going off during meeting charge" now set at $25.00 per ring (not per call). 10--"I've Been Thinking" fees to now be $3.00 each, with a relapse re-entry fee of only $99.99 each, if you're lucky enough to make it back into the rooms. 11-Publication of A.A. Birthdays in "The Messenger" fees will be $5.00 per 5 years of sobriety. $5.00 for 1 - 5 years, $10 for 5 -10 years, etc. 12- An extra $10.00 will be levied for any and every time someone, after a 15 minute dissertation says "But I don't know". If you don't know then don't preach for 15 minutes like you know. 13- An extra triple dip fee will be levied to DennisS for repeated turns to share. 14- A nonrefundable $20 fee for any extended length "burning desires" that are neither burning nor desirous. To cut back on people using important closing time to just rant at the end of the meeting for no real reason other than wanting to have the last word. 15- A $3 cross talking charge will be leveled at every infraction. 16- And the fee that would fracture AA as we know it...a $5 per cigarette charge or soon to be called the $200 fine for smoking in a public place. 17- And last but not least in our desperate push to make money we will be starting a No Cursing rule too. $1 for ever curse word or 12 for $10 if you Know you're "In a Mood". Reminder: Cursing While smoking will not be commingled but treated as separate infractions. Please, void where prohibited by law, AA reserves the right to change none, all,or some of these rates at anytime, with no notice to you. If you need a notice of change of rates, a written request may be sent to AA World Service headquarters in NewYork, of course, a $10.00 fee applies
Health:
> >1. Drink plenty of water.
> >2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
> >3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
> >4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
> >5. Make time to pray.
> >6. Play more games
> >7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
> >8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
> >9. Sleep for 7 hours.
> >10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
> >
> >Personality:
> >11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
> >12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
> >13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
> >14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
> >15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
> >16. Dream more while you are awake
> >17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
> >18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
> >19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
> >20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
> >21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
> >22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
> >23. Smile and laugh more.
> >24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
> >
> >Society:
> >25. Call your family often.
> >26. Each day give something good to others.
> >27. Forgive everyone for everything..
> >28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
> >29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
> >30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
> >31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
> >
> >Life:
> >32. Do the right thing!
> >33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
> >34. GOD heals everything.
> >35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
> >36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
> >37. The best is yet to come..
> >38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
> >39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
> >
> >Last but not the least:
> >40. Go to as many meetings and possible and share your gift of sobriety with others
> >
Last night I had a dream, that is was Christmas morning and I was sitting admiring and at the same time fascinated by the beauty of the Christmas tree. It was early in the morning and no one was about. The house was quiet and there was a calm and comforting kind of peace, almost the kind we experience when we have a moment of silence before our meetings. When I happened to glance beneath the tree, and it was there that I saw some imaginary packages. This doesn’t make sense because imaginary things don’t exist, but there they were, all sorts of packages. So I reached to look over; and I was bewildered at first at the contents, but soon I understood. The first package was labeled “Kit of Tools composed of 12 Steps” with the instructions to use them unselfishly, diligently and as faithfully as I was capable of doing. Then there was a box, not a large one, its contents “Sobriety”, what a wonderful gift, just what I needed, the instructions, share it with others or it will disappear. Quickly I picked up another package that was beautifully wrapped with a glistening kind of ribbon. Inside I found “Self-respect”, a card read self-confidence is necessary to insure the dignity that is your birthright. Like an eager child I opened the next gift and this time the small but mighty cargo inside was “Faith, and the only explanation with this package was Faith is the bright candle of hope that illuminates our way from gloom to God. A small, I should say tiny, package almost got lost among the others. After opening and looking at it, I was sure this was for the wrong person, for inside this tiny box I found “Humility”. This is something I don’t know a thing about. But now I felt that I had hit the jackpot. I opened two more packages in a hurry, one had “Peace of Mind”, the other “A Felling of Security”, boy, what a combination. I looked at the last box and it was labeled “Friendship”, it was then that I remembered your kind words, your phone calls, your trust in me, your smile and glad handshake. Then I looked again, and do you know what? These packages were not addressed to me. THEY WERE ADDRESSED TO ALL PEOPLE IN RECOVERY EVERYWHERE, MADE POSSIBLE BY THERE 12 STEP PROGRAM “THROUGH THE COURTESY OF THE GOD OF THERE UNDERSTNDING.”
Have a Clean and SOBER and a merry Christmas and a healthy new year a day at a time.
Lets not forget the reason for the season.
12 TIPS FOR SOBER HOLIDAYS
1. Line up extra activities (help on the phones, speak, empty the ashtrays).
2. Be host to friends, especially newcomers, at home or at a coffee shop.
3. Keep your A.A. telephone list with you at all times.
4. Find out about holiday meetings or celebrations in your local groups.
5. Skip any drinking occasions you're nervous about
6. If there's one you can't skip, take an A.A. friend--or keep candy handy.
7. Don't think you have to stay late (plan an "important date" in advance).
8. Go to church. Any church. And don't forget about extra meetings.
9. Don't sit around brooding; catch up on reading, museums, walks, letters.
10. Don't project about holiday temptations: remember "One day at a time."
11. Even if you cannot give material gifts, enjoy the beauty of holiday love.
12. Carry the message: Give the joy away, and it will be yours to keep.
THE 12 STEPS OF CHRISTMAS
1. Admit you are powerless over Christmas, and that you life has become unmanageable.
2. Believe that a power greater than consumer credit can restore you to sanity.
3. Decide to turn your will and life over to Santa as you understand him.
4. Make a searching and fearless inventory of your material desires.
5. Admit to Santa, to yourself, and to another human being the exact nature of your size, color preferences, and taste in furniture.
6. Allow Santa to remedy all defects of your bank account.
7. Humbly ask Santa to pay off your mortgage.
8. Make a list of everything you want, and be willing to read the instruction manual.
The Holiday Bill of Rights for Those Who are Grieving
1. You have the right to say TIME OUT, anytime you need to. Time out to
let up, blow a little steam, step away from the holidays, have a
"huddle" time and start over.
2. You have a right to TELL IT LIKE IT IS when people ask, How are you?
You have a right to tell them how you REALLY feel, not just what they
want to hear.* You need to take care of yourself. Be attuned to your
feelings. (*P.S. You also have the right to smile and say you're fine,
because telling them how you really feel, isn't worth your time - some
people will never understand anyway)
3. You have the right to SOME "BAH HUMBUG" DAYS. You don't have to be
"Jolly Old St. Nicholas" all the time. You are not a bad person just
because you don't feel like singing Christmas carols all day.
4. You have the right to DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. There is no law that
says you must always do Chanukkah and Christmas the same way. You can
send 10 cards instead of 100 -- or no cards at all. You can open
presents at somebody else's house. You can do without a tree. You can
have a pizza instead of turkey! - the list is endless.
5. You have the right to BE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. Be at home, or at
the relatives or with friends. Be in any city, any state you choose!
NOBODY SAID YOU HAVE TO HAVE SNOW TO HAVE CHRISTMAS. There's no law that
says you must stay home!
6. You have the right to have SOME FUN. Don't be afraid of what someone
will say if they see you laughing and having a good time. Laughter is
every bit as therapeutic as tears. If you are doing something that your
loved one would have also enjoyed, think of their laughter and feel
their laughter inside of you.
7. You have the right to CHANGE DIRECTION IN MID-STREAM. Grief is
unpredictable. You may be all ready to go somewhere or do something and
be suddenly overwhelmed, immobilized. When that happens it's okay to
change your mind.
8. You have the right to DO THINGS AT DIFFERENT TIMES. Go to church or
synagogue at a different time. Open presents at a different time. Serve
your meal at a different time. Give up and go to bed at a different
time. Don't be a slave to the holiday clock.
9. You have a right to REST, PEACE, and SOLITUDE. You don't need to be
busy all the time. Take a nap whenever you need one. Take time to pray
and meditate to recharge your spirit, it can do you much more good than
eating another huge meal.
10. You have the right TO DO IT ALL DIFFERENT AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
Just because you change things one year: try on something different,
does not mean you have written it in stone. Next year, you can always
change it back or do it, in yet, another new way.
A relapse is a "planned, pre-meditated event" - not something that happens as a result of one weak moment. Constant, daily vigilance is important in order to stay on a good spiritual and mental path. Unfortunately, often times when someone comes back into the rooms after a drinking "episode", I am not that surprised. It is often the same basic steps and principles that are missing from their life - lack of contact with a sponsor, a higher power, and a drop-off in meeting attendance. There is usually no step-work being done and certainly not being utilized in everyday life to overcome challenges. Of course, these statements are generalizations and not absolutes - just my opinion based on observation
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