Daily Reprieve

From Courage to Change of April 14;

Many of us develop a heightened awareness of our thoughts as we recover in Al-Anon. After a while we are able to notice the change when our thinking becomes distorted. But if we wish to put a stop to negative thoughts, awareness is just the beginning.

When “stinking thinking” takes hold of me, I must do more than just dismiss the negative thoughts. I must replace them with something positive or I am likely to slide right back into my negative thinking.

Our group ordered a collection of Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature (CAL.) on audiocassettes when they were available. I have gotten into the habit of listening to them in my car when I’m driving around town. Even though I had read these CAL pamphlets many times before, hearing them spoken out loud is a different and very powerful experience. If my attitude is not good, adjusting it by listening to Al-Anon wisdom on a tape, at a meeting, or one-to-one can get me back on track.

Today’s Reminder

Today I’m going to pay close attention to what I tell myself. If necessary, I’ll stop in mid-thought, start over, and replace negative illusions with positive truths.

“What we teach ourselves with out thoughts and attitudes is up to us.” ~ . . . In All Our Affairs

 

END OF QUOTE—————————————

A slip in the 12 Step program is an event of deviation from the protection of recovery teachings. A slip in chemical dependency is the insanity of the first drink or hit of one’s drug of choice. A slip in co-dependency is the acting on the belief that I can control another person’s life.

Yet a slip of this sort is never an accident. Thoughts build upon thoughts breaking down sound judgement until the action appears in public as some ludicrous answer to a shadow dragon. Awareness of these thoughts and patterns provides me an early warning system. The sinister aspect of the disease is its ability to explore and use my own thoughts against me. I am in competition with my anti-self to know who and what I am on a daily basis. My success is demonstrated when the building of my thoughts makes me useful in the lives of my fellow human beings.

From Courage to Change of April 13;

If I don’t know how to respond to a situation today, why not try responding with kindness? Whether I accept or turn down a request, agree or disagree with someone’s point of view, I can still treat the other person with respect and courtesy. I can say, “No,” as gently and lovingly as I can say, “Yes.”

Today I can honor my decisions without being defensive because I respect my right to make the best decisions I can. Even when others are not happy with those decisions. I can behave in a way that feels good for me. Others have a right to disagree, to feel differently, to be disappointed. I can respect that right and still stick to my principles.

Relationships are complicated because people are complicated. We each have our own ideas, values, and hopes, and they can’t always coincide with the desires of those we love. Disagreements can be healthy and enlightening if we view them as a way to develop and deepen our relationships. Kindness and respect for everyone concerned will go a long way toward making this possible.

Today’s Reminder

Today I will try to view every conflict as an opportunity to heal. I will honor myself by responding with courtesy.

“The highest form of wisdom is kindness” ~ The Talmud

END OF QUOTE—————————————

Kindness says yes and no with equal energy. Kindness endures disapproval of personal decisions without the need to appease. Kindness given inward can be offered outward. Kindness navigates freely in the complexities of relationships without thrashing about. I asked for wisdom. I’m asked to try kindness. I will.

From Courage to Change of April 12;

It’s only natural to want a quick fix or an immediate solution to a difficult situation. As one member jokingly pus it: “Gran me patience, Lord — and hurry!” My sentiments exactly! Do I have some discomfort or a problem in my life? Let me fix it, or be rid of it now. Is it a situation I’ve lived with for twenty years? Fine, I’ll give it fifteen minutes. Perhaps I’ve lived with it all m life — well then, an hour, maybe even two. Is it connected with alcoholism? Do its roots run really deep in the ground of my being? In that case, I’ll make a few program calls and share at a meeting.

Is it still hanging on? Very well, I’ll launch a major campaign of self-criticism. What’s wrong with me? Why do I have all these feeling about something that isn’t important? I’m sure I caused all this myself; somehow I’m to blame.

Heaven forbid I should surrender, accept my discomfort, and pray for guidance.

Today’s Reminder

Willpower cannot eliminate in a day troubles that have taken root and flourished in my life for decades. Things take time.

“You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by force of arms release the spirit or the soul of man” ~ Confucius

 

END OF QUOTE—————————————

I don’t feel very wise or inspired today. I said something hurtful on social media and it hit hard on two people I love dearly. The self loathing is increased by the fact that I have done this before, or at least something similar. No apology or amends can retract my blind launch of words.

It is sunshining outside. The day is beautiful in spite of my actions. Somehow, even my clumsy connections are part of this natural flow. I breath deep and trust my Higher Power to convert knowledge into wisdom rather than rage.

From Courage to Change of April 11;

Why continue to come to Al-
Anon? Because without spiritual help, living or having lived with an alcoholic is too much for me. I often need help to maintain a rational perspective. I long for a closer relationship with my Higher Power. The people in my meetings are so warm and loving that I would feel deprived if they were not a regular part of my life. The Steps, Traditions, and Concepts all serve to put structure and goals in my life. Al-Anon is the light that helps me find my way in the dark.

As a longtime member, I am very familiar with Al-Anon, but I am no more of an authority than any other member. I try not to present myself as a paragon of Al-Anon wisdom, and I discourage newcomers from putting me on a pedestal from which II am bound to fall.

I retain the right to have problems, to cry, to make mistakes, to not know all the answers. I still have and use a Sponsor. I continue to give service to Al-Anon, but I don’t have to be in charge.

Today’s Reminder

The amount of time I’ve spent in Al-Anon is less important that what I am doing with that time today.

“I don’t resort to Al-Anon only to learn to live with the active drinking problems. It is my way of life, an increasingly rich and rewarding life, as I learn to use the program in depth.” ~ One Day at a Time in Al-Anon

END OF QUOTE—————————————

I have dealt with social anxiety all my life in one way or another. Staying part of a group has not been my forte. I learned to distrust “outsiders” from my family of origin. I feared too much self-revelation and how that could be turned against me.  Over time I found power in the group to resist the twisted indoctrination of my childhood. My group participation is a work in progress but one well worth the investment.

From Courage to Change of April 10;

Having lived with alcoholism, many of us have come to think of ourselves as innocent victims of other people’s abuse. It can be shocking to discover that we too have harmed others. Listing those we have harmed (Step Eight) becomes a discovery process in which a more realistic sense of responsibility can begin to develop.

In my case, however, the problem was not in recognizing the harm I’d done, but in letting go of my exaggerated sense of responsibility. I thought that everyone I ever knew belonged on my list, especially those who were disappointed in me. For example, my parents are unhappy with the partner I have chosen. My sister wants me to pay off her debts. My kids wish I’d let them stay out all night without calling. As I thought about this Step, I realized that I am not responsible for their unfulfilled desires. So when I revised my Eight Step list, I needed to take names off.

Today’s Reminder

Certainly I make choices that harm others and call for making amends. But sometimes a choice that is right for me may be uncomfortable or even unacceptable to others. Other people’s expectations are not my responsibility unless I have helped to create them. I can remind myself that conflict is part of life.

“With this Step we sort out our part, taking responsibility for our actions but also releasing ourselves . . . from the burden of falsely-held responsibilities.” ~ In All Our Affairs

END OF QUOTE—————————————

Guilt is supposed to be a useful emotion in helping me identify when I have harmed myself or others. Raised around someone who carried the trauma of a loved one destroyed by alcoholism, guilt gets redefined. Guilt lets me know when I need to become someone else’s painkiller. My effectiveness as someone else’s drug of choice becomes the guiding morality of my life. If my co-dependency is left untreated, I become powerless to resolve the festering guilt of impossible expectations. Shame will eat me from the inside out.

I want to live. This requires that I assume responsibility only for that which I am truly guilty. I identify warped, shame-enhancing morality so that I can extract it from my daily living. I want to know and be known for who I am and no longer recoil from that process of self-revelation. The 12 Step program has me moving in the direction of genuine relationships and life fulfillment. I am grateful.

From Courage to Change of April 09;

After years of denying my feelings in order to protect myself, detachment (emotionally separating myself from the disease of alcoholism) was fairly easy for me. But it was with indifference. Detachment with love was out of the question!

A major change of attitude began when my Sponsor repeated a line from a play that had helped me understand the need to detach with love: “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them.” I realized that by detaching with indifference, I might be taking the easy way out.

In Al-Anon I’ve come to feel safe enough to feel my feelings. I no longer need to shut out the love I feel for myself or for the alcoholic in my life. I can see myself as more than my feelings, and I can see the alcoholic as more than his or her disease.

Today’s Reminder

The unconditional love I receive in Al-Anon helps me to rediscover what love is. As I learn that I am consistently lovable regardless of my strengths or limitations, I begin to see something consistently loveable in others, eve those who suffer from an unlovable disease.

“With a change of attitude … past actions can be put into proper perspective; love and respect can become a part of family life.” ~ Youth and the Alcoholic Parent

END OF QUOTE—————————————

To know love in the rooms, I must actually be in the rooms as continuously as I can schedule. This is part of the magic of attending 90 meetings in the first 90 days of sobriety or group connection. Being there is the only way to nurture the possibility of experiencing the love of those who most definitely have in common some of my tragic realities.

When I first came into the rooms it was important for me to listen, but I could not let that be an excuse to go mute. I can quickly share a status update and then say that I need to listen. The point of such an exercise is not to allow myself to become invisible, to surrender to my tendency to distance myself.

I require love from others to learn to love myself. Love requires connection. Therefore I find it necessary to risk connection to give and receive the love that heals us all.