Essentials Of Recovery

BILL F. - A.A.

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Adam T. - Recovery Share! - April 19 2026

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DAILY REFLECTIONS - April 19 2026

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BROTHERS IN OUR DEFECTS

We recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects, and in our common strivings to overcome them

~ AS BILL SEES IT, p. 167 ~

The identification that one alcoholic has with another is mysterious, spiritual—almost incomprehensible. But it is there. I “feel” it. Today I feel that I can help people and that they can help me.

It is a new and exciting feeling for me to care for someone; to care what they are feeling, hoping for, praying for; to know their sadness, joy, horror, sorrow, grief; to want to share those feelings so that someone can have relief. I never knew how to do this—or how to try. I never even cared. The Fellowship of A.A., and God, are teaching me how to care about others.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY - April 19 2026

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A.A. Thought for the Day

Since I’ve been putting sobriety into my life, I’ve been taking out a lot of good things. I can describe it best as a kind of quiet satisfaction. I feel good. I feel right with the world, on the right side of the fence. As long as I put sobriety into my life, almost everything I take out is good. The satisfaction you get out of living a sober life is made up of a lot of little things. You have the ambition to do things you didn’t feel like doing when you were drinking. Am I getting satisfaction out of living a sober life?

Meditation for the Day

It is a glorious way—the upward way. There are wonderful discoveries in the realm of the spirit. There are tender intimacies in the quiet times of communion with God. There is an amazing, almost incomprehensible understanding of the other person. On the up-ward way, you can have all the strength you need from that Higher Power. You cannot make too many demands on Him for strength. He gives you all the power you need, as long as you are moving along the upward way.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may see the beautiful horizons ahead on the upward way. I pray that I may keep going forward to the more abundant life.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT - April 19 2026

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Page 109

Freedom Through Acceptance

We admitted we couldn’t lick alcohol with our own remaining resources, and so we accepted the further fact that dependence upon a Higher Power (if only our A.A. group) could do this hitherto impossible job. The moment we were able to accept these facts fully, our release from the alcohol compulsion had begun.

For most of us, this pair of acceptances had required a lot of exertion to achieve. Our whole treasured philosophy of self- sufficiency had to be cast aside. This had not been done with sheer will power; it came instead as the result of developing the willingness to accept these new facts of living.

We neither ran nor fought. But accept we did. And then we began to be free.

~ GRAPEVINE, MARCH 1962 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

EASY DOES IT - April 19 2026

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H.A.L.T.H.A.L.T. = Don’t get too hungry, or too angry, or too lonely, or too tired.

~ Anonymous ~

The Fellowship has seen many men and women recover from very low and terrible bottoms. When the Steps are carefully worked, miracles can be expected. The lessons aren’t hard to understand. The signposts to a relapse are well marked. We can learn a lot from people who have fallen away from the Program.

Don’t get too hungry. When we are weak physically, it affects our spiritual life. When hungry, eat. We need to stay away from anger altogether. Anger is the breeder of resentments. We have been eaten alive by our grudges. Cool off. Loneliness makes us an easy mark for the many voices that tempt us away from the Program. When we feel loneliness coming on, we go to a meeting or use the phone. When we become tired, it is easy for us to remember the chemical pick-me-ups we relied on. When we’re tired, we need to rest.

Let me remember to eat the right foods, stay calm, use the Fellowship, and rest.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.

WALK IN DRY PLACES - April 19 2026

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WHO PUSHES MY BUTTONS?

Personal Relations

AA old-timers would be mystified today to hear program members talk about people “pushing their buttons.” (They can’t get your goat if they don’t know where it is tied) This expression wasn’t around when the early AA members pulled themselves out of the swamp and began their long journey to sobriety.

But they had their buttons pushed aplenty. Dr. Bob, treating alcoholics at St. Thomas Hospital; heard snide comments from other physicians who resented giving bed space to drunks. Bill W. struggling to launch a worldwide movement, took most every alcoholic, then and now, gets some heavy kidding from the world of drinkers.

What is the real problem in these instances? Are others pushing our buttons, or do we set ourselves up for this by being sensitive and vulnerable? Nobody could push our buttons if we didn’t have buttons to push.

We no longer have to worry about button-pushers if we accept them as they are, realizing that we don’t need their approval and can’t really be hurt by anything they do or say. Our serenity in the face of such problems may actually serve to attract people to AA.

Nobody can push my buttons unless I let them. Today I’ll be serene and clam no matter what others say and do. Thanks to the program, I’ll not worry about certain individuals who try to get under my skin.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

KEEP IT SIMPLE - April 19 2026

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We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.

~ Sacred ritual chant ~

Good things keep happening to us. We are sober. We can think clearly. We can see progress on how we handle our problems. We have friends. We have love. We have hope.

We are starting to love ourselves. We are starting to feel joy. Our fears are getting smaller. We are starting to trust our new way of life. Our new life brings good things to us. It brings blessings every day. We are beginning to expect them. But we’re still surprised at how good life can be. What a difference from the days before we entered our program!

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, thank-you for the blessings You keep on giving me. And thanks for whatever today will bring.

Action for the Day

One way to give thanks for my blessings is to share them with others. How can I share my recovery today?

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

FR.LEO'S - April 19 2026

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FREEDOM

“Without the possibility of choice and the exercise of choice one is not a person but a member, an instrument, a thing.”

~ Archibald MacLeish

Spirituality involves the freedom to change. Growth requires a variety of choices. My past addiction was a life of slavery because it removed my creative choice and left me obsessing about drugs and alcohol. My life, conversation, and thoughts revolved around the bottle, and I was oblivious to the true meaning of life.

My freedom to experience the spiritual power of God’s creativity was lost in the mindless craving for drugs. In this sense, drug addiction is slavery.

Today I am free to see God’s world in people, places, and things. Now I make the choice to live, love, and laugh.

I am growing in my awareness of Your multifaceted love for me.

© 2008 Leo Booth

A DAY AT A TIME - April 19 2026

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Reflection for the Day

As we continue to make these vital choices and so move toward these high aspirations, our sanity returns and the compulsion of our former addictions vanishes. We learn, in the words of Plutarch, that, “A pleasant and happy life does not come from external things. Man draws from within himself, as from a spring, pleasure and joy.” Am I learning to “travel first class” inside?

Today I Pray

The grace of God has showed me how to be happy again. May the wisdom of God teach me that the source of that happiness is within me, in my new values, my new sense of self-worth, my new and open communication with my Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember

Happiness comes from within.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

One Day At A Time - April 19 2026

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~ DENIAL ~

The ability to delude yourself
may be an important survival tool.

Jane Wagner

I had many delusions when I entered the Twelve Step program. One by one they have shattered, but only when I was able to handle the truth.

Still, I have looked back at the things I was in denial about during my sickness, and I blamed myself for not seeing the truth sooner, for not seeking recovery sooner. On the good days, which are becoming more and more common for me, I see that my denial was indeed a survival tool.

I spent 33 years with eating disorders without ever consciously knowing about them. Subconsciously, I was very interested in books and movies about anorexia and bulimia, and was fascinated to learn about compulsive overeating. I can only believe I was unknowingly preparing myself for the day when I would be able to face my addiction and still survive.

One day at a time…

I will remind myself that many things are in our lives for a reason, even denial.

~ Rhonda H. ~

ONE DAY AT A TIME - April 19 2026

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HAPPINESS

The greatest happiness you can have
is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.

~ William Saroyan ~

How many times during my life have I said that all I want is “just to be happy.” We are told early on that our legacy is “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Did you notice that our forefathers used the word “pursuit?” How very wise they were.

Happiness is not automatic. Life is difficult and it’s supposed to be that way. If we expect happiness and we expect life to be easy, at some point in time we are going to be very disappointed. I thought eating food made me happy and it did … for a short time. There were other temporary compulsions in my life that made me think I was happy ~ but again for only a short time.

As I began to work the Steps, I began to desire something other than happiness. I found myself yearning for serenity … and I found it. The way I found it was by not expecting the world and everyone in it to make me happy. I learned that life was more of an adventure than a bowl of cherries. I learned that the more I expected from people, places and things, the more disappointed I was … and the more disappointed I became, the less happy I was.

One Day at a Time . . .

I will not require happiness. But when I least expect it …. happiness will find me

~ Mari ~

ELDER'S - April 19 2026

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“We all come from the same root, but the leaves are all different.”

~ John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA ~

We all come from one Great Spirit but we are all different and unique. Nothing in the Great Creation has a twin that is identical. Even children that are twins are different. Every single person is extremely special and unique. Each person has a purpose and reason why they are on the Earth. Just like every leaf on a tree is different, each one is needed to make the tree look like it does. No leaf is better or worse than the other; all leaves are of equal worth and belong on the tree. It is the same with human beings. We each belong here and do things that will affect the great whole.

Great Spirit, today, let me see myself as a valuable contributor to the whole.

A WOMAN’S SPIRIT - April 19 2026

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I’m not very different from others. We all have dark days of fear and doubt, but it’s okay.

~ JoAnn Reed
The beauty of living a Twelve Step program is that we don’t have to dwell in the darkness ever again. We can be free of doubt over the smallest or gravest situations if we make the decision to turn our lives and will over to the care of a loving Higher Power. To receive this gift, all we need to do is ask for the help our Higher Power has promised.

We begin to feel grateful when we develop trust in the promises of this program. We knew fear and heartache all too well. Feeling, maybe for the first lime, real joy and freedom from incessant worry is no exhilarating, energizing, gratifying.

We are given only the knowledge and information we need for these twenty-four hours. But we can feel certain that the day will unfold according to the plan of our Higher Power. We have nothing to fear. This day will not be dark if we walk with our friends in this program and let God lead the way.

My day will be dark only if I shut out the light of my Higher Power. Through my faith and my friends I can know peace.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

THE EYE OPENER - April 19 2026

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All things in life are relative. Without night there would be no day; without evil there would be no good; without sorrow there would be no joy.

Drunk or sober, clouds will occasionally appear on the horizon but most of them will blow away. Storm will sometimes break upon us but if we are prepared we can ride it out and the rainbow will follow giving promise of better things ahead.

Yesterday’s rain enhances our pleasure in today’s sunshine.

Published by Hazelden

Daily Tao / 109 – Fundamentals - April 19 2026

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After completion
Come new beginnings.
To gain strength,
Renew the root.

In music, the fundamental tone is the lowest, or root, tone of a chord. Without its presence, no true character is established. Our actions in life are as similarly varied and complex as music. Without a thorough grounding, there is no harmony.

Followers of Tao emphasize cycles. This must include a sound understanding of what to do whenever a cycle comes to an end. New ones will begin : Some of them will be engendered by the old one, others may simply be in the background and will now come forward. If we are to properly shape these new movements and if we are to prevent unwanted cycles from beginning, we must take stock and renew our basis in the fundamentals.

Everyone wants to be daring, creative, and original. Everyone wants to do things in new ways. But unless we return over and over again to the basics, we will have no chance to truly soar. Do not forget the root. Without it, we can never issue forth true power.

Emmet Fox - April 19 2026

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THE SHINING LIGHT
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

The state of your soul is always expressed in your outer conditions and in the intangible influence that you radiate at large. There is a cosmic law that nothing can permanently deny its own nature. Emerson said: "What you are shouts so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." The soul that is built upon prayer cannot be hidden, it shines out brightly through the life that it lives. It speaks for itself, but in utter silence, and does much of its best work unconsciously. Its mere presence heals and blesses all around it.

Dail;y Zen - April 19 2026

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Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

Bhikkhu Bodhi

DAILY REFLECTIONS - April 18 2026

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SELF-HONESTY

The deception of others is nearly always rooted in the deception of ourselves. . . . When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God.

~ AS BILL SEES IT, p. 17 ~

When I was drinking, I deceived myself about reality, rewriting it to what I wanted it to be. Deceiving others is a character defect—even if it is just stretching the truth a bit or cleaning up my motives so others would think well of me. My Higher Power can remove this character defect, but first I have to help myself become willing to receive that help by not practicing deception. I need to remember each day that deceiving myself about myself is setting myself up for failure or disappointment in life and in Alcoholics Anonymous. A close, honest relationship with a Higher Power is the only solid foundation I’ve found for honesty with self and with others.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

JUST FOR TODAY - April 18 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 23:28:00 +0000

“I Understand”

“We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”

~ Step Seven ~

Once we are entirely ready to have our character defects removed, many of us are entirely ready! Ironically, that’s when the trouble really starts. The more we struggle to rid ourselves of a particular defect, the stronger that shortcoming seems to become. It is truly humbling to realize that not only are we powerless over our addiction, but even over our own defects of character.

Finally, it clicks. The Seventh Step doesn’t suggest that we rid ourselves of our shortcomings, but that we ask our Higher Power to rid us of them. The focus of our daily prayers begins to shift. Admitting our inability to perfect ourselves, we plead with our Higher Power to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And we wait.humility

For many days, our program may stay on Step Seven. We may experience no sudden, total relief from defects – but we often do experience a subtle shift in our perceptions of ourselves and others. Through the eyes of the Seventh Step, we begin to see those around us in a less critical way. We know that, just like us, many of them are struggling with shortcomings they would dearly love to be rid of. We know that, just like us, they are powerless over their own defects. We wonder if they, too, humbly pray to have their defects removed.

We begin evaluating others as we have learned to evaluate ourselves, with an empathy born of humility. As we watch others, and as we keep watch on ourselves, we can finally say, “I understand.”

Just for today: God, help me see through the eyes of Step Seven. Help me understand.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY - April 18 2026

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A. A. Thought for the Day As I look back over my drinking career, have I learned that you take out of life what you put into it? When I put drinking into my life, did I take out a lot of bad things? Hospitals with the D.T.’s? Jails for drunken driving? Loss of job? Loss of home and family? When I put drinking into my life, was almost everything I took out bad?

Meditation for the Day

I should strive for a friendliness and helpfulness that will affect all who come near to me. I should try to see something to love in them. I should welcome them, bestow little courtesies and understandings on them, and help them if they ask for help. I must send no one away without a word of cheer, a feeling that I really care about them. God may have put the impulse in some despairing one’s mind to come to me. I must not fail God by repulsing that person. They may not want to communicate with me unless they are sure of a warm welcome.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may warmly welcome all who come to me for help. I pray that I may make them feel that I really

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT - April 18 2026

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Page 108 ~

Learn in Quiet

In 1941, a news clipping was called to our attention by a New York member. In an obituary notice from a local paper, there appeared these words: “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Never had we seen so much A.A. in so few words. With amazing speed the Serenity Prayer came into general use.

<< << << >> >> >>

In meditation, debate has no place. We rest quietly with the thoughts or prayers of spiritually centered people who understand, so that we may experience and learn. This is the state of being that so often discovers and deepens a conscious contact with God.

~ 1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 196 ~
~ 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, PP. 100-101 ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

EASY DOES IT - April 18 2026

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SECOND LIVES

We are here to add what we can to, not get what we can from, life.

~ Sir William Osler

Many of us used to moan, “I wish I were dead.” Our addictions and obsessions made us hate ourselves. Other people scorned and pitied us. We wanted to die. We hoped that a lie after death would give us rest from our constant battle with compulsions. But today we can find a better answer.

There is life before death. Those of us who once cried out, “nobody cares,” have found loving, caring friends who share our problems and help us find the answers. They guide us daily through wonderful adventures in living. We all receive great truths in recovery.

I have been given the chance to live two lives. The cruel one has gone. The second one is rich with blessings. Nothing must tempt me to return to the old.

©1990 by Anonymous. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden.

WALK IN DRY PLACES - April 18 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 23:22:00 +0000

MISTAKES ARE FOR LEARNING

Personal growth

One sign of an alcoholic’s immaturity is revealed in responses to personal mistakes. We take each simple mistake as further proof of our inadequacy. As one person observed, “I can handle a general catastrophe, but running my nylons can ruin my day.”

Some of us may feel we’re victims of past conditioning – a parent, for example, who berated us when the slightest thing went wrong. But we’re at fault if we continue to let ourselves be victimized by such experience. We should give no person – past, present, or future – the right to set the level of our self-esteem.

Properly viewed, all mistakes are for learning purposes. We often have to make a few mistakes before we can learn anything. Sometimes a mistake can occur simply to teach us one basic lesson – that we are human and cannot be perfect in everything we do.

Above, all, we should never condemn ourselves for the countless mistakes that occurred while we were drinking. Our alcoholism, a terrible mistake in the sight of many, led to the deep learning we find in AA. Nothing that brings us this far can really be a mistake in the sight of God.

In sobriety, I’m learning tolerate the shortcomings and mistakes of others. I will extend the same grace to myself today if I make a simple mistake.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved.

Daily Tao / 108 – Numbers - April 18 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 23:04:00 +0000

One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three,
Three gives birth to the ten thousand.
One hundred and eight counts make one cycle,
Constant turning creates all things.

Today is the one hundred and eighth day. Why are numbers so important to those who follow Tao? Even today, when numbers are more commonly yoked to the service of finance and engineering, there are those who revere numbers with the cheap version of mysticism — superstition. Numbers form a closed world with mysteries to explore and exploit if our understanding is deep enough.

Followers of Tao emphasize certain numbers : One is the unity of Tao. Two is duality. Three is the unevenness that will generate movement. Four is the seasons. Five elements generate the world. Six parts of the body are the arms, legs, head, and trunk. Seven is the day of the waxing moon by the lunar calendar. Eight is the number of divination. Nine is the number of life. Ten is heaven’s cycles.

There are twenty-four periods in a year, each with its own characteristics. Thirty-six is six squared. One hundred and eight is three cycles of thirty-six and represents a greater cycle, although there are even more esoteric connotations attached to it.

Numbers are only symbols, a way for human beings to project order upon the universe. They are a language more precise than words. But does Tao talk? Numbers are important to master, but take care to look beyond language and numbers to the true reality that they foreshadow.