“God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.”
I heard the above statement years ago in the rooms of recovery, and it comes to mind today as I nurse a head cold.
I’ve been pushing, pushing, pushing work projects and not taking sufficient time for me. Apparently God thought it was time for me to relax - getting ill will do it!
It feels wonderful to slow down - to sleep later, to spend more than 10 minutes reading at night, to eat breakfast with Rog. It doesn’t mean I’ve not worked at all these past few days, but I surely have taken the focus off of work and placed it more on my well-being. It feels equally wonderful to ease up on financial concerns, ‘getting it’ that God is my Source. I can’t fully be of service to God if my head is in a fog, my ears are clogged up, and my physical body is crying out for attention.
Next week I’ve already built in a bit of fun time with friends visiting from out-of-town. I’ve gotten the message and have the willingness to follow Spirit’s guidance to slow down. Thank You, Spirit!
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
An Attitude of Gratitude
“...we can shape our attitude moment by moment. Accepting responsibility for this is a major step in our recovery.
“I will be aware of the thoughts and feelings that shape my words and actions today, and strive to promote joy and gratitude.” – In God’s Care, February 28, 2010
I find it so powerful focusing on that which I am grateful for. It easily and quickly connects me consciously with Source and opens my heart to self and others. It places me in a state of grace, receiving all the good gifts I can enjoy freely in life (of which there are so many), with life itself as the fundamental gift.
It seems that grace and gratitude work in concert with one another: as I feel gratitude, more grace comes to me. And once again in that grace, I feel so connected to Spirit, with much gratitude in my heart.
Thank You, God, for an attitude of gratitude and Your unending grace.
“I will be aware of the thoughts and feelings that shape my words and actions today, and strive to promote joy and gratitude.” – In God’s Care, February 28, 2010
I find it so powerful focusing on that which I am grateful for. It easily and quickly connects me consciously with Source and opens my heart to self and others. It places me in a state of grace, receiving all the good gifts I can enjoy freely in life (of which there are so many), with life itself as the fundamental gift.
It seems that grace and gratitude work in concert with one another: as I feel gratitude, more grace comes to me. And once again in that grace, I feel so connected to Spirit, with much gratitude in my heart.
Thank You, God, for an attitude of gratitude and Your unending grace.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Perspective
A line from yesterday’s In God’s Care stated “We need our connection to God to maintain our perspective on life.” How true that rings for me this morning!
Early in my days of 12 Step recovery as “I came to believe” and formulate an entirely new philosophy of life, I realized that everything in this life is just a “spit in the bucket” (of eternity). The little things and the big things work themselves out eventually and hence I can be peaceful regardless of circumstances.
Circumstances are ever-changing and, in this world, usually crazy and illusionary; I often just have to laugh at it all. But Spirit is permanent, never-changing, and what is truly real.
With God “all things are possible,” I am in God’s care at all times, and, in the grand scheme of things, all that matters is God.
As I strengthen my connection to Spirit with each positive thought held and each prayer prayed, I maintain my perspective on this roller coaster of life by keeping my eye staid on Thee.
Early in my days of 12 Step recovery as “I came to believe” and formulate an entirely new philosophy of life, I realized that everything in this life is just a “spit in the bucket” (of eternity). The little things and the big things work themselves out eventually and hence I can be peaceful regardless of circumstances.
Circumstances are ever-changing and, in this world, usually crazy and illusionary; I often just have to laugh at it all. But Spirit is permanent, never-changing, and what is truly real.
With God “all things are possible,” I am in God’s care at all times, and, in the grand scheme of things, all that matters is God.
As I strengthen my connection to Spirit with each positive thought held and each prayer prayed, I maintain my perspective on this roller coaster of life by keeping my eye staid on Thee.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Always Available
I entered the 12 Step program in March 1990 as a devout atheist. I soon discovered that people read daily meditation books related to their specific addiction, which helped them start their day off with some inspiration and contemplation. The words “God” or “Higher Power” could be found among the passages and it took some getting used to. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the readings and found them helpful with my addiction of choice.
Within about six months, I was solidly believing in a Power greater than myself. Lo and behold, in February 1991 a publisher of recovery material came out with a new meditation book entitled In God’s Care (As We Understand God), Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery. I embraced this little book because I wanted to be more focused on spirituality than on my addiction.
I gave my first copy, filled with lots of yellow highlights and black underscores, to a dear friend who was in AA, when he became seriously ill (I mentioned Jay in one of my first blogs). He made his transition some time later and I never got it back. I’m on my second copy now, 15+ years old.
My path has taken me beyond the 12 Steps, but I never tire of this book and still find joy and inspiration from reading of it. I can even read it online when the hard copy is not nearby. So, here’s part of today’s message:
“We see things not as they are, but as we are.” – H. M. Tomlinson
...Our more positive attitude today changes our understanding of earlier experiences... If we rely on God’s help, we’ll come to understand all our experiences as opportunities for growth and fulfillment. We can trust them, live through them, and be grateful for their contribution to our spiritual development.
The attitude we harbor is powerful...God is always available to help us accept the circumstances of our life.
In the midst of our latest adventures of bankruptcy, foreclosure, building our businesses, and looking for a place to hang our hats, both Rog and I are doing our spiritual work, staying connected to HP, and keeping a positive, joyful attitude. God is always available - to guide us, help us, uplift us.
Within about six months, I was solidly believing in a Power greater than myself. Lo and behold, in February 1991 a publisher of recovery material came out with a new meditation book entitled In God’s Care (As We Understand God), Daily Meditations on Spirituality in Recovery. I embraced this little book because I wanted to be more focused on spirituality than on my addiction.
I gave my first copy, filled with lots of yellow highlights and black underscores, to a dear friend who was in AA, when he became seriously ill (I mentioned Jay in one of my first blogs). He made his transition some time later and I never got it back. I’m on my second copy now, 15+ years old.
My path has taken me beyond the 12 Steps, but I never tire of this book and still find joy and inspiration from reading of it. I can even read it online when the hard copy is not nearby. So, here’s part of today’s message:
“We see things not as they are, but as we are.” – H. M. Tomlinson
...Our more positive attitude today changes our understanding of earlier experiences... If we rely on God’s help, we’ll come to understand all our experiences as opportunities for growth and fulfillment. We can trust them, live through them, and be grateful for their contribution to our spiritual development.
The attitude we harbor is powerful...God is always available to help us accept the circumstances of our life.
In the midst of our latest adventures of bankruptcy, foreclosure, building our businesses, and looking for a place to hang our hats, both Rog and I are doing our spiritual work, staying connected to HP, and keeping a positive, joyful attitude. God is always available - to guide us, help us, uplift us.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Reaching Bottom
In the 12 Step program one hears about “reaching bottom,” the idea that an individual has to get so far down, be in so much pain, before they will start on the road to recovery. Concerned members often pray that their fellows reach a bottom low enough to effect a change. However, although the founders and early members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) had very low bottoms before they started their recovery, it was believed that those who followed wouldn’t have to reach such depths, that their bottoms could be ‘higher.’
The solution the 12 Step program offers focuses on a person finding a Power greater than themselves to help them with their problem (alcohol, food, sex, gambling, etc.) and this occurs through having a spiritual experience or spiritual awakening. The book Alcoholics Anonymous quotes Dr. Carl Jung as saying that such experiences “...appear to be in the nature of the huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them.” (page 27).
I believe that reaching bottom applies to not only people but to companies, organizations, and even nations. The United States of America, and numerous other countries for that matter, has been on a downward spiraling path to the bottom for a while in politics, finances, health care, environment – the list goes on and on. Values and behaviors have deteriorated to a disgraceful degree. It’s leading to a huge wake up call – and that is a blessing.
But what if we – as a nation, a planet - didn’t have to reach a low, low bottom to get the message and make a change? I’d been thinking that the bottom is going to be terrifically low and painful before people start waking up as to what’s really important in life (and it ain’t money and material things I assure you). But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps our bottom as a people, as a planet, is a high bottom and sufficient enough now for a transformation.
The words spoken yesterday throughout the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ceremony - the oaths, address, and prayers -, and the response of the people makes me dare to hope that we have reached a sufficient bottom collectively.
I’m going to stop praying for the world and its people to reach their lowest bottom so that recovery can commence. Instead, I’m going to pray that the world be ready now to have that spiritual experience and awakening, that now people walk the walk of love, peace, and joy. That we are ready now to be what we truly are.
May God bless not just America, but all of us!
The solution the 12 Step program offers focuses on a person finding a Power greater than themselves to help them with their problem (alcohol, food, sex, gambling, etc.) and this occurs through having a spiritual experience or spiritual awakening. The book Alcoholics Anonymous quotes Dr. Carl Jung as saying that such experiences “...appear to be in the nature of the huge emotional displacements and rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces of the lives of these men are cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them.” (page 27).
I believe that reaching bottom applies to not only people but to companies, organizations, and even nations. The United States of America, and numerous other countries for that matter, has been on a downward spiraling path to the bottom for a while in politics, finances, health care, environment – the list goes on and on. Values and behaviors have deteriorated to a disgraceful degree. It’s leading to a huge wake up call – and that is a blessing.
But what if we – as a nation, a planet - didn’t have to reach a low, low bottom to get the message and make a change? I’d been thinking that the bottom is going to be terrifically low and painful before people start waking up as to what’s really important in life (and it ain’t money and material things I assure you). But perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps our bottom as a people, as a planet, is a high bottom and sufficient enough now for a transformation.
The words spoken yesterday throughout the U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ceremony - the oaths, address, and prayers -, and the response of the people makes me dare to hope that we have reached a sufficient bottom collectively.
I’m going to stop praying for the world and its people to reach their lowest bottom so that recovery can commence. Instead, I’m going to pray that the world be ready now to have that spiritual experience and awakening, that now people walk the walk of love, peace, and joy. That we are ready now to be what we truly are.
May God bless not just America, but all of us!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
My Story Continues...
[Continued from Yesterday’s Blog]
The day I departed for my first trip to Europe with six weeks of sobriety and 12 Step recovery under my belt, I had planned to work a good portion of the day and then leave directly for the airport from my office. I was delayed (ya know, just one more thing...), and rushed out of the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan hoping I would not miss my flight; I did not.
The plane was boarded, an older gentleman sat down next to me, and then he started making a fuss about the luggage under our seats. Nonetheless we settled in, the plane took flight, and before I knew it, my fellow traveler was placing a copy of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous into the pouch in front of him! Excited and feeling an instant connection with him, I turned to him and told him I had a copy of the Big Book with me too. Thus a dreaded 7-hour flight to Rome sped by as we talked in the same language about the Program, our feelings, and our experiences.
This was synchronicity at work for numerous reasons and I chuckled that:
. In this plane with 300 or so passenger seats, a member of a 12 Step Fellowship was assigned to a seat next to me
. His unmistakable membership in this anonymous association was revealed to me (and early in the trip)
. Peter was an American (like me) from the northeastern United States (like me) in a planeload mostly full of Italian-speaking Romans
. Last, but certainly not least, Peter was a Christian missionary stationed in Rome!
The significance here for me was strong. I was not left alone, new in my sobriety and new in my traveling to Europe. I got to enjoy the company of a ‘man of the cloth’ whereas up until this time, I had looked askance at ‘such people.’ Also, this came at a time when I was actively searching for a higher power. I walked off that plane onto another continent with a new attitude, my perspective shifted.
Upon hearing this story, my dear friend Jay (a member of the AA Fellowship) said to me “Even you, Joyce, have to admit this had to be more than a coincidence...” Indeed, even I. I chuckled, knowing (and glad) that my evolving conception of a higher power had a sense of humor.
The day I departed for my first trip to Europe with six weeks of sobriety and 12 Step recovery under my belt, I had planned to work a good portion of the day and then leave directly for the airport from my office. I was delayed (ya know, just one more thing...), and rushed out of the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan hoping I would not miss my flight; I did not.
The plane was boarded, an older gentleman sat down next to me, and then he started making a fuss about the luggage under our seats. Nonetheless we settled in, the plane took flight, and before I knew it, my fellow traveler was placing a copy of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous into the pouch in front of him! Excited and feeling an instant connection with him, I turned to him and told him I had a copy of the Big Book with me too. Thus a dreaded 7-hour flight to Rome sped by as we talked in the same language about the Program, our feelings, and our experiences.
This was synchronicity at work for numerous reasons and I chuckled that:
. In this plane with 300 or so passenger seats, a member of a 12 Step Fellowship was assigned to a seat next to me
. His unmistakable membership in this anonymous association was revealed to me (and early in the trip)
. Peter was an American (like me) from the northeastern United States (like me) in a planeload mostly full of Italian-speaking Romans
. Last, but certainly not least, Peter was a Christian missionary stationed in Rome!
The significance here for me was strong. I was not left alone, new in my sobriety and new in my traveling to Europe. I got to enjoy the company of a ‘man of the cloth’ whereas up until this time, I had looked askance at ‘such people.’ Also, this came at a time when I was actively searching for a higher power. I walked off that plane onto another continent with a new attitude, my perspective shifted.
Upon hearing this story, my dear friend Jay (a member of the AA Fellowship) said to me “Even you, Joyce, have to admit this had to be more than a coincidence...” Indeed, even I. I chuckled, knowing (and glad) that my evolving conception of a higher power had a sense of humor.
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