Essentials Of Recovery

Daily Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:16:00 +0000

RECOVERY BY PROXY?

They [the Promises] will always materialize if we work for them.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS p. 84

Sometimes I think: “Making these amends is going too far! No one should have to humble himself like that!” However, it is this very humbling of myself that brings me that much closer to the sunlight of the spirit. A.A. is the only hope I have if I am to continue healing and gain a life of happiness, friendship and harmony.

Daily Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:15:00 +0000

MAKING AMENDS

Above all, we should try to be absolutely sure that we are not delaying because we are afraid.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 87

To have courage, to be unafraid, are gifts of my recovery. They empower me to ask for help and to go forth in making my amends with a sense of dignity and humility. Making amends may require a certain amount of honesty that I feel I lack, yet with the help of God and the wisdom of others, I can reach within and find the strength to act. My amends may be accepted, or they may not, but after they are completed I can walk with a sense of freedom and know that, for today, I am responsible.

Just For Today

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:14:00 +0000

More Powerful Than Words

“We learn that a simple, loving hug can make all the difference in the world.”

Basic Text p.88

Perhaps there have been times in our recovery when we were close to someone who was in great pain. We struggled with the question, “What can I do to make them feel better?” We felt anxious and inadequate to relieve their suffering. We wished we had more experience to share. We didn’t know what to say.

But sometimes life deals wounds that can’t be eased by even the most heartfelt words. Words can never express all we mean when our deepest feelings of compassion are involved. Language is inadequate to reach a wounded soul, as only the touch of a loving Higher Power can heal an injury to the spirit.

When those we love are grieving, simply being present is perhaps the most compassionate contribution we can offer. We can rest assured that a loving Higher Power is working hard at healing the spirit; our only responsibility is to be there. Our presence, a loving hug, and a sympathetic ear will surely express the depth of our feelings, and do more to reach the heart of a human being in pain than mere words ever could.

Just for today: I will offer my presence, a hug, and a sympathetic ear to someone I love.

As Bill Sees It

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:14:00 +0000

Alone No More, p.252

Alcoholism was a lonely business, even though we were surrounded by people who loved us. But when our self-will had driven everybody away and our isolation became complete, we commenced to play the big shot in cheap barrooms. Failing even in this, we had to fare forth alone on the street to depend upon the charity of passers-by.

We were trying to find emotional security either by dominating or by being dependent upon others. Even when our fortunes had not totally ebbed, we nevertheless found ourselves alone in the world. We still vainly tried to be secure by some unhealthy sort of domination or dependence.

For those of us who were like that, A.A. has a very special meaning. In this Fellowship we begin to learn right relations with people who understand us; we don’t have to be alone any more.

12 & 12, pp. 116-117

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:11:00 +0000

A.A. Thought For The Day

Here are answers to the question of how a person can live without liquor and be happy: “The things we put in place of drinking are more than substitutes for it. One is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this company, you find release from care, boredom, and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Among other A.A.s you will make lifelong friends. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties.” Does life mean something to me now?

Meditation For The Day

Do you want the full and complete satisfaction that you find in serving God and all the satisfactions of the world also? It is not easy to serve both God and the world. It is difficult to claim the rewards of both. If you work for God, you will still have great rewards in the world. But you must be prepared to sometimes stand apart from the world. You cannot always turn to the world and expect all the rewards that life has to offer. If you are trying sincerely to serve God, you will have other and greater rewards than the world has to offer.
Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not expect too much from the world. I pray that I may also be content with the rewards that come from serving God.

As Bill Sees It

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:10:00 +0000

Walk In Dry Places

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:09:00 +0000

Watch those feelings
Feelings.

In AA’s early years, there was very little talk about “feelings’ or “emotions.” The phrase “getting in touch with your feelings” had not been popularized, yet the AA pioneers knew that bitter and resentful feelings were destructive, while warm and optimistic feelings enhanced sobriety.

Now we know that feelings are extremely are extremely important for groups as well as individuals. We know that some AA groups can give off feelings that make them more attractive than others. Some groups are considered “cold,” while others are “warm.” Such differences are rooted in the feelings of each member of the group.

How can we be sure that our feelings will make our groups warm and inviting to others? We can “tune” our feelings by looking at our attitudes. If we are truly dedicated to our principles and want to share them with others, the feelings we project will be welcoming. Whatever we really feel will be expressed in our daily affairs and in our group activities.
I’ll check my attitude today for good feelings as I go about my work and activities. These feelings will, in turn, send out signals that everyone can understand and appreciate.

Keep It Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:08:00 +0000

If you want a thing done “right,” you have to do it yourself.

—Anonymous

We addicts can be very picky. We think there’s only one way to do things. It’s our way,

But we call it the right way. When we think like this, three things happen. First, we put down other people. Second, we end up doing all the work. Third, everyone feels bad. The other person feels hurt that we don’t respect him or her. And we feel angry because we “had” to do all the work.

We need to know that there are many ways to do things. It’s okay when others don’t do things our way. Their way probably works just fine for them. If they want your advice they’ll ask for it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me accept other people and their ways.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll watch how other people do things. Maybe I’ll learn a better way to do some things.

Father Leo’s

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:07:00 +0000

NEIGHBORS

“The good neighbour looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a drunk I said cruel things about other people. My prejudices hid my fears and insecurities. I condemned in others what I saw in myself. I deflected attention from me by the name-calling others: sick manipulations. “Neighbour” was only a word that I could spell and interpret, useful for religious homilies or pretentious innuendoes but not something I really experienced.

Today I am able to be the “good neighbour” to many people, known and unknown. My recovery has brought people into my life. Relationships mean something; friends are important; the world is one. Black, Asian, Hispanic — all add a variety to my life that enable me to get in touch with buried feelings of my “difference”. In the stranger I discover something of myself; the foreigner has become both friend and neighbour.

God, I never cease to be amazed at the mystery and variety that is “me”.

A Day at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:07:00 +0000

Reflection for the Day

Years ago, Dr. Alfred Adler prescribed this remedy for depression to a patient: “You can be healed if every day you begin the first thing in the morning to consider how you can bring a real joy to someone else. If you can stick to this for two weeks, you will no longer need therapy.” Adler’s “prescription,” of course, is not much different than the suggestion that we work more intensively The Program’s Twelve Steps to rid ourselves of depression.

When I am depressed, do I keep my feelings to myself? Or do I do what friends in The Program have suggested that I do?

Today I Pray

May I turn myself inside out, air out the depression which has been closeted inside me, replace it with the comfortable feeling that I am cared about by real friends, then pass along that comfort to others caught in the same despair.

Today I Will Remember

The only real despair is loneliness.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

One Day At A Time

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:06:00 +0000

FAITH

“Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.”

The Big Book, page 16

The Big Book states that if we are rigorously honest we will receive release from our addictive compulsions. Working the Steps is what keeps us honest. I didn’t believe this with my whole heart and I lived within my disease. My sponsor told me to just “do it” and see what happened; to “act as if it were true.”

What is faith? It is the belief that if we stay close to our Higher Power we will be where we need to be. It is the guarantee that we do not walk through this world or this disease alone. Faith requires commitment to a belief that is greater than what we can see, hear, taste or smell. It’s knowing that there is a God who loves us as we are, and Who will journey through this life with us. And faith requires that we act on that knowledge. That is faith.

I did the Steps and the compulsion was removed. A miracle? Absolutely! I had faith that the program would work. Putting the faith to work by diving into the Steps released me from the grips of the disease, one day at a time. The beauty of the program is faith in a Higher Power who will walk us through one hour, one day and one miracle at a time.

One day at a time…

I will act as if there is a God who loves me.

~ Sara H.

Elder’s Meditation

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:05:00 +0000

“One of the first things Seneca children learned was that they might create their own world, their own environment, by visualizing actions and desires in prayer. The Senecas believed that everything that made life important came from within. Prayer assisted in developing a guideline toward discipline and self control.”

–Twylah Nitcsh, SENECA

All permanent and lasting change starts first on the inside and works its way out. Having constant prayer and Creator directed visions helps us to live in harmony. This is the best way to grow strong and become a Warrior. No matter what is going on outside of ourselves, it is our projection that makes it so. It is our projections that even give it any meaning. Another way is each day to turn our life and our will over to the care of the Great Spirit. Then He will show us His desire for us. When we are in alignment to His desire, we become very joyful and very happy.

Oh Great Spirit, You take care of me today and tell me what I can do for You today. Give me the discipline to talk to You whenever I am in doubt or fear. Let me come to You if I get irritated. You are my solution.

Today's Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:04:00 +0000

The elevator is broken; use the Steps.

— Anonymous
Elevators are easy. We push a button and we go right to the top. The way is fast, quick, and silent. We don’t work up a sweat. We don’t get out of breath. We can’t trip and fall. There is not much time to communicate with anyone else along the way so we don’t have to use any effort or thought. We can daydream as we face the front of the car and stare at the numbers as they change from floor to floor.

Our addictions were our elevators out of living. The chemical highs we experienced were just like an elevator ride. Until we crashed.

I will sometimes sweat, stumble, get out of breath in my climb, but I’ll take the time to talk with and learn from others who are taking the Steps with me.

From the book:

Easy Does It by Anonymous

The Eye Opener

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:03:00 +0000

Charity would be absolute foolishness if this life was the beginning and ending of all things. If there were no closer relationship between men than between animals, then we would be animals.

We know, however, that a mystical bond does unite mankind, and it is best exemplified in the practice of charity. As it lifts man above the level of animals, it also lifts man closer to the angels.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:02:00 +0000

253 – Patience

This apple is like a jewel,
With every shade of red and green
And a perfect shape.
What a miraculous fruit.

The owner of an orchard came to visit me one day. He kindly remembers me every year with the best of his crop. As we shared a lunch, the talk turned to fishing. He told me that he had once had a great love of fishing, but that he now had little time for it. “I am an impatient man,” he told me.

I replied that I thought him very patient. After all, not everyone can plant trees and tend them until they bear good fruit. He insisted that there was something to do every moment and that his orchards needed constant attention. “This year’s apples are a bit smaller,” he apologized. “I could have made them bigger by thinning the trees. It takes a man an entire day to prune a tree properly, and with over 500 trees, you can imagine the difficulty and expense of the task. So I let the trees grow as they wanted, and was still able to send my crop to market.” The apples were sweet, of course, and not nearly as small as he said they were.

Those who follow Tao say that all things happen in their own time. What is lazy and what is hard work? Those who follow Tao say to follow nature. That requires patience. By knowing when to let the trees grow as they wanted, the orchard owner still had a good crop.

Daily Zen

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 23:01:00 +0000

Too many steps have been
Taken returning to the root
And the source.
Better to have been blind
And deaf from the beginning!
Dwelling in one’s true abode,
Unconcerned with that without-
The river flows tranquilly
On and the flowers are red.

- Kakuan (1100-1200)

Ernie Gerig - One Of The First 100

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:13:00 +0000

Elder’s Meditation

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:12:00 +0000

“…Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start truly living the life the Creator intended for you.”

–Lelia Fisher, HOH

There are many things that block us from wisdom such as; selfishness, secrets, hate, anger, jealousy and judgments. Another thing that can block us from wisdom is trying too hard or wishing something would happen.
Wishing implies doubt and trying implies control. We need to let go of these things. We need to abandon ourselves to the Creator. As soon as we surrender everything, the wisdom starts to flow. The Elders know how to help us with this. Just ask them.

My Great Spirit, today I surrender my life and my will to Your care.

Emmet Fox

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:12:00 +0000

Self-Destruction

Some thought should be given to the fate of those who commit suicide. The majority of those who take their own lives are so terrorized at the time that they are not entirely responsible for the act. Such people fare on the other side like anyone else. Conscious and intentional self-destruction is a refusal to meet the problems of life, and obviously it cannot be possible to do that successfully. These persons are apt to find themselves in a confused mental state. Of course, they can be greatly helped by prayer, as can all others. Ultimately they have to face all over again precisely the kind of problem they have run away from.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust (Psalm 103: 13-14).
….the goodness of God endureth…(Psalm 51:1).

Emmet Fox

Daily Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:11:00 +0000

OPENING NEW DOORS

They [the Promises] are being fulfilled among us – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 84

The Promises talked about in this passage are slowly coming to life for me. What has given me hope is putting Step Nine into action. The Step has allowed me to see and set goals for myself in recovery. Old habits and behaviors die hard. Working Step Nine enables me to close the door on the drunk I was, and to open new avenues for myself as a sober alcoholic. Making direct amends is crucial for me. As I repair relationships and behavior of the past, I am better able to live a sober life! Although I have some years of sobriety, there are times when the “old stuff” from the past needs to be taken care of, and Step Nine always works, when I work it.

Just For Today #essentialsofrecovery

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:09:00 +0000

Feet Of Clay

“One of the biggest stumbling blocks to recovery seems to be placing unrealistic expectations on… others.”

Basic Text p.78

Many of us come into Narcotics Anonymous feeling pretty poorly about ourselves. By comparison, the recovering addicts we meet at meetings may seem almost superhumanly serene. These wise, loving people have many months, even years of living in accordance with spiritual principles, giving of themselves to others without expecting anything back. We trust them, allowing them to love us until we can love ourselves. We expect them to make everything alright again.

Then the glow of early recovery begins to fade, and we start to see the human side of our NA friends and sponsor. Perhaps a fellow member of our home group stands us up for a coffee date, or we see two old-timers bickering at a committee meeting, or we realize our sponsor has a defect of character or two. We’re crushed, disillusioned-these recovering addicts aren’t perfect after all! How can we possibly trust them anymore?

Somewhere between “the heroes of recovery” and “the lousy NA bums” lies the truth: Our fellow addicts are neither completely bad nor completely good. After all, if they were perfect, they wouldn’t need this program. Our friends and sponsor are ordinary recovering addicts, just like we are. We can relate to their ordinary recovery experience and use it in our own program.

Just for today: My friends and my sponsor are human, just like me-and I trust their experience all the more for that.

As Bill Sees It

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:08:00 +0000

Face the Music, p.251

“Don’t be too discouraged about that slip. Practically always, we drunks learn the hard way.

“Your idea of moving on to somewhere else may be good, or it may not. Perhaps you have got into an emotional or economic jam that can’t be well handled where you are. But maybe you are doing just what all of us have done, at one time or another: Maybe you are running away. Why don’t you try to think that through again carefully?

“Are you really placing recovery first, or are you making it contingent upon other people, places, or circumstances? You may find it ever so much better to face the music right where you are now, and, with the help of the A.A. program, win through. Before you make a decision, weigh it in these terms.”

Letter, 1949

Father Leo’s

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:07:00 +0000

RELIGION

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
– Albert Einstein

In the field of addiction we need to work together and listen to the professionalism we all bring: the answer will be in “the many”.

So often we divide ourselves up into “ghettos” of learning and miss what “the others” are saying — and the disease wins! This is reminiscent of the old days in the church when science was seen as the enemy, the world was flat and the earth was the center of the universe. Pride and ego kept people sick, isolated and afraid — and thousands suffered and died. However, people began to listen to each other and the world benefited from the shared wisdom.

As addictionologists and recovering people we need to listen to each other.
Help me to see You in the honest experience of every man.

Keep It Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:07:00 +0000

One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears—by listening to them.

—Dean Rusk

We hate being told what to think. We like to make up our own minds. It helps to talk things out with another person who, listens to us. Someone who care what we think.

We can give this respect to others. We can listen their point of view. We can try to understand them and care about what they think.

When we do this, others start to care what we think too. We share ideas. The ideas get a little more clear. They change a little. We get a little closer to agreement. We both feel good.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know when to listen and when to talk today. Work for me and though me. Thanks.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll look for chances to listen to others when I really want to talk. I’ll say, “Tell me more about that.” And I’ll listen.

One Day At A Time

noreply@blogger.com (Essentialsofrecovery) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:06:00 +0000

CONNECTION

We all have God's phone number
but the only number we tend to use is 911.
We only call in an emergency
instead of calling just for daily connection with God.

Mary Manin Morrissey

When I first came into the program, my goal was to lose weight. It’s still my goal, but now it’s not the main focus of my program of recovery.

I’ve learned that my spiritual and emotional fitness are every bit as important as my physical fitness. In fact, I’m finding that for me the spiritual aspect is the most important. If my relationship to the God of my understanding is in order, then everything else seems to fall into place. If I leave my Higher Power out of my life, then everything falls apart.

There’s an old program saying, “If you feel apart from God, then who moved?” Whenever I feel like God is a million miles away, I know it’s because I moved away from Him, not the other way around. When I am feeling separated from God, I see my disease of compulsion start to take over. That’s why it’s very important to me to maintain a conscious contact with my Higher Power. If I let things get too far out of hand and I start to move away from Him, then I need to pray. But my intention is to keep in constant touch with God so that a spiritual emergency isn’t the only reason I check in with Him.

One day at a time...
I will do all I can on a daily basis to connect with my Higher Power.

~ Jeff