A Sober Life

Alcoholism And Drug Addiction Is Not A Disease But A Choice! This Workbook Is For Those Who Struggle With ‘recovery’ And Just Cant Find The Answers They Seek In Aa, Na Or Current Treatment Programs. Practical & Empowering Self-help Recovery Information.
Alcoholism & Drug Addiction Recovery Workbook.

Every year the holidays come & we start worrying…Family, friends, work, even what girts to give & where are we gonna get the money…I found a great quote this morning from an unknown author about how to address the gift giving season or anytime for that matter

The best gifts to give:
To your friend – loyalty;
To your enemy – forgiveness;
To your boss – service;
To a child – a good example;
To your parents – gratitude and devotion;
To your mate – love and faithfulness;
To all men and women – love;
To God – your life.
–unknown

We never think on this level…At least I didn’t…My addictions left me financially destitute & not able to do much recovery…I have my blogs with the ad’s on them…(Which you can click if you like)…Back to what I was saying…This type of thinking will take us out of the Christmas hu-bub & rush & put us in the frame of mind that the season is truly about…The gift of yourself to your fellow man(or woman) & most importantly…God…Look forward to this time of year because this is when great milestones can be made…till next time…Kenney

Those adolescent urges that so many of us have for complete approval,
utter security, and perfect romance–urges quite appropriate to age
seventeen–prove to be an impossible way of life at forty-seven or
fifty-seven.

Since A.A. began, I’ve taken huge wallops in all these areas because of
my failure to grow up, emotionally and spiritually.

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As we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward instinctual
drives need to undergo drastic revisions. Our demands for emotional
security and wealth, for personal prestige and power all have to be
tempered and redirected.

We learn that the full satisfaction of these demands cannot be the sole
end and aim of our lives. We cannot place the cart before the horse, or
we shall be pulled backward into disillusionment. But when we are
willing to place spiritual growth first–then and only then do we have a
real chance to grow in healthy awareness and mature love.

1. Grapevine, January 1958
2. 12 & 12, p. 114

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My life in my disease was all about accomplishments…I needed all the

fame & riches that life had to offer…And if I didn’t get them I would be a total

failure…Needless to say these THINGS eluded me for all my years & I tried to

drown my shame with a bottle…Today things are way different…I still do not

have all the riches & fame but today I am content with my life & surroundings

AA has taught me serenity…Today I love myself & no longer need to validate

myself with THINGS…My Higher Power has taught me to be at peace in the world

& for that I am eternally grateful…

I am reflecting back on today…Good friends…Good food…It’s great to be alive…

Love is the reward of love.—Johann von Schiller
When we used alcohol and other drugs, we shared little as possible. There was little love in our hearts. We had become selfish. This caused us to be lonely.
Then something happened to change all of that. Remember the first time you walked into a meeting? You were met by people who shared. Maybe they shared a smile, their story, or just a cup of coffee with you. The sharing that goes on in a Twelve Step program is great. We learn that the more we give, the more we get. We get well by giving to others. Helping others is a great way to hold on to sobriety. Love is the reward of love.
Prayer for the Day:  I pray that I will be there when others need me. I pray that service will become a big part of my program.
Action for the Day:  Today, I’ll think of friends who could use my help. I’ll talk to them and offer to be there for them.

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The first AA meeting I ever went to…I didn’t want to go at all but my Shrink made me…I was greeted by a funny little man with a cane…He asked me if I was new & I told him I was…He showed me around & got me some coffee…It ended up that he chaired the meeting that night…People introduced themselves as alcoholics but they didn’t look like alcoholics they looked just like me…I was looking for the guy with the bug bulbous nose & dirty clothes…I didn’t know at that time who WE were…Then the little man…I’ll call him Alan looked me straight in the eye & said that the newcomer was the most important person in the room…I felt like I belonged & shortly after I found out who & what I was…

Today is Thanksgiving…It’s been 4 years now & this will be the fourth holiday season I have been in AA…I’m going to the noon meeting & then there is a big potluck dinner with all the trimmings I will only be there awhile because I now have so many friends in AA I have been invited to have dinner with some of them…

May your day be Blessed & may you get your fill…Love Kenney

You are reading from the book Today’s Gift.
All music is what awakes from you when you are reminded by the instruments. –Walt Whitman
A small group of friends sat in a room around a record player. It was a heavy old thing, with parts that had to be operated by hand and only one speaker–nothing like a modern stereo at all, but more like an antique phonograph. The record–a recording of their favorite music–was old, too, and scratched, its grooves worn smooth as a stone in some places. The tone arm skipped and scratched, and the sound was tinny, hard on the ears.
Most of the friends squirmed in their seats as they listened, and several grumbled that it was impossible to hear the music with such inferior equipment.
But one of the group sat listening, her eyes closed, swaying to the music and humming softly to herself.
“How can you enjoy this?” the others asked.
“Ah,” she said with a mysterious smile. “I am listening beyond the recording to the music I know is there!”
Can I find the music that’s playing for me today?

You are reading from the book Touchstones.
It’s the awareness, the full experience… of how you are stuck, that makes you recover. –Frederick S. Perls
When we become aware of how far off our path we have strayed, when we see how cold and hard we were to someone we love, when we are no longer blind to our blindness – then we are touched by painful feelings. We feel guilty about the harm we caused. We grieve the lost moments and lost opportunities. We may feel angry with ourselves for our stubbornness. But even with our pain, we are worlds away from that blindness.
This new awareness is a spiritual place. It brings us back into contact with our Higher Power and makes us available to the words of wisdom and concern of others. It reminds us that no man can walk this path on his own power. We all must remain open and in contact with the healing relationships around us.
I pray for awareness today as my doorway to spiritual healing.

You are reading from the book Each Day a New Beginning.
Change occurs when one becomes what she is, not when she tries to become what she is not. –Ruth P. Freedman
Learning self-acceptance, and then loving the selves we are, present perhaps our two biggest hurdles to the attainment of emotional and spiritual health. Fortunately, they are not insurmountable hurdles. The program offers ready assistance.
Women everywhere are making great strides in self-love and self-acceptance. We are learning self-love. And we are changing. The support we can give our sisters, and the support we receive, multiplies many times the healthy energy created–healthy energy that touches us all.
Emotional and spiritual health are gifts promised by the program, when we work it. We must move beyond our perfectionism and relish our humanness. And the Steps are the way. We must learn humility and develop faith, and the Steps are the way. Learning to love all our parts, the qualities we like and the traits that discouragingly hang on, offers a new freedom. A freedom that invites change. A freedom that safeguards the emotional and spiritual well-being that we strive for.
Confidence will come with my healthy self-acceptance.

You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Awareness
When we first become aware of a problem, a situation, or a feeling, we may react with anxiety or fear. There is no need to fear awareness. No need.
Awareness is the first step toward positive change and growth. It’s the first step toward solving the problem, or getting the need met, the first step toward the future. It’s how we focus on the next lesson.
Awareness is how life, the Universe, and our Higher Power get our attention and prepare us for change. The process of becoming changed begins with awareness. Awareness, acceptance, and change – that’s the cycle. We can accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because that’s how we’re moved to a better place. We can accept the temporary discomfort because we can trust God, and ourselves.
Today, I will be grateful for any awareness I encounter. I will display gratitude, peace, and dignity when life gets my attention. I will remember that it’s okay to accept the temporary discomfort from awareness because I can trust that it’s my Higher Power moving me forward.

Today I celebrate all of me exactly as I am. –Ruth Fishel

God help me to stay sober and clean today!

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The other day I was asked to share at a meeting about gratefulness…I am so very grateful for all of the many blessings in my life…I shared about being sober & clean…About knowing my higher power who I call God…I was grateful for my friends & family…Grateful for oh so many things…Then a man got up and share that he was grateful for his eyes…and the ability to see…His nose & to smell…His legs & to be able to walk…He continued for quite awhile…After I was thinking & I realized that I indeed was very thankful for all the THINGS in my life but what about the GIFTS that we so easily overlook…I realized then that I needed to spend some time with my gratitude list & really get down to the nitty gritty of things…Soon after I shared about this subject in an AA meeting & I focused on the GIFTS as well as the things…I gave a much fuller view of my gratefulness but to GOD this time & not things…I hope you got something out of this…If so please leave me a comment…KenneyTechnorati Tags: gifts, recovery, gratitude, God