Are we having fun yet? “ln time, we can relax and enjoy the atmosphere of recovery.” – Basic Text, p. 56. Imagine what would happen if a newcomer walked into one of our meetings and was met by a group of grim-faced people gripping the arms of their chairs with white knuckles.Priorities “The good times can also be a trap; the danger is that we may forget that our first priority is to stay clean.” – Basic Text, p. 434 days ago · Balancing the scales. “A lot of our chief concerns and major difficulties come from our inexperience with living without drugs. Often when we ask an oldtimer what to do, we are amazed at the simplicity of the answer.”. – Basic Text, p. 43. Finding balance in recovery is quite a bit like sitting down with a set of scales and a pile of sand. Courage to Change: How often have I had a dream I longed to pursue, but quit before I started because it seemed too enormous a task to attempt? Going back to school, moving, taking a trip, changing jobs, all these and many other goals can seem overwhelming at first. Al-Anon reminds me to “Keep It Simple.”. Instead of approaching …When a doctor sends a biopsy sample to “the lab,” they’re referring to a pathology lab, where technicians and pathologists prepare and analyze the tissue for cancer or other diseas...It’s the small things, the constant day-to-day challenges of living life without the use of drugs, that seem to affect most addicts most strongly in recovery. When the little things get to us, the Serenity Prayer can help us regain our perspective. We can all remember that “turning over” these small matters to the care of our Higher Power ...Meditation for the Day: Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first be still and know that He is …The Anatomy of a Kiss - Check out these links to learn more about kissing's origins and traditions. Advertisement Most people think about what to do when kissing another person, bu...Turning turmoil into peace “With the world in such a turmoil, l feel l have been blessed to be where l am.” – Basic Text, p. I45. Some days it doesn’t pay to turn on the news, we hear so many stories about violence and mayhem. Meditation for the Day: There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. “Easy does it.” We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to have them, before we have earned the right to receive them. Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease. Many members speak of being on a “pink cloud” their first months in the program. We’ve stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great.This is a link to subscribe to the "daily ponderables" it brings the big book, just for today, keep it simple, and native America and buddhist quotes together each day in your email. I find it very helpful to read it when I start my day. I am hoping someone out there will enjoy it too.On his desk, Dr. Bob had a plaque defining humility: “Perpetual quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised,Daily Ponderables. 3 subscribers. Subscribed. 0. No views 1 minute ago. Father Martin was a Catholic priest, a recovered alcoholic, and a renowned speaker/educator on the issues of alcoholism...A sense of humor “We find that when we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free.” – Basic Text, p.Even when I feel ashamed, someone in the fellowship can help me see my situation in a different light. With their help, if I’m willing to permit it, the truth will set me free. “You get to the point where your demons, which are terrifying, get smaller and smaller and you get bigger and bigger.”. – August Wilson. From the book “Courage ...A sense of humor “We find that when we lose self-obsession, we are able to understand what it means to be happy, joyous, and free.” – Basic Text, p.AA Thought for the Day: The way of AA is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation.The Daily Ponderables guy, Stephen Todd shares his story of recovery and hope. Stephen is a regular meeting attender that carries the message everywhere he goes. This Tennessee attorney tells it like it is, yet has a beautiful humility that shines through. To subscribe to the Daily Ponderables click here! (https://bit.ly/3TfrZLg)In time, as the founders promised, it came to me: I have always had the choice between goodness and evil, between unselfishness and selfishness, between serenity and fear. That Power greater than myself is an original gift that I did not recognize until I achieved daily sobriety through living A.A.'s Twelve Steps. From the book Daily ...True courage. “Those who make it through these times show a courage not their own.”. – Basic Text, p. 86. Before coming to NA, many of us thought we were brave simply because we had never experienced fear. We had drugged all our feelings, fear among them, until we had convinced ourselves that we were tough, courageous people …God’s gifts. “We do the footwork and accept what’s being given to us freely on a daily basis.”. Our relationship with our Higher Power is a two-way street. In prayer, we speak and God listens. When we meditate, we do our best to listen for the will of our Higher Power. We know that we are responsible for our part of the relationship.Dec 7, 2023 · Meditation for the Day: It is in the union of a soul with God that strength, new life, and spiritual power come. Bread sustains the body, but we cannot live by bread alone. Courage to Change: What happens when I physically hold on tightly to something? I turn my head away. I squeeze my eyes shut. My knuckles ache as my fists clench.Meditation for the Day: These meditations can teach us how to relax. We can be of service to other people in a small way, at least. And we can be happy while doing it.It’s the small things, the constant day-to-day challenges of living life without the use of drugs, that seem to affect most addicts most strongly in recovery. When the little things get to us, the Serenity Prayer can help us regain our perspective. We can all remember that “turning over” these small matters to the care of our Higher Power ...Today’s Reminder: As I look back over this year, I will consider calmly my actions and attitudes, just as though I were evaluating the progress of someone else. I will not make it an occasion for guilt and regret. I will blame no one else for anything that happened, for I have learned in Al-Anon that I am not a judge of others. This day, and ...A good chuckle or an engrossing activity can lift my spirits and cleanse my mind. I will refresh myself by adding some lightness to this day. “Now I look for humor in every situation, and my Higher Power is a laughing God who reminds me not to take myself too seriously.”. – As We Understood…. From the book “Courage to Change”.AA Thought for the Day: We can depend on those members of any AA group who have gone all out for the program. They come to meetings. They work with other alcoholics. We don’t have to worry about their slipping. They’re loyal members of the group. I’m trying to be a loyal member of the group. When I’m tempted to take a drink, I tell ...A good chuckle or an engrossing activity can lift my spirits and cleanse my mind. I will refresh myself by adding some lightness to this day. “Now I look for humor in every situation, and my Higher Power is a laughing God who reminds me not to take myself too seriously.”. – As We Understood…. From the book “Courage to Change”.AA Thought for the Day: Have I got over most of my sensitiveness, my feelings that are too easily hurt, and my just plain laziness and self-satisfaction? Am I …Courage to Change: I like people, and at one time I wanted everyone to be my friend. With the best of intentions, I tried to encourage friendships with certain individuals, although my attempts were repeatedly, discreetly rebuffed. I was comforted by the words I heard at the close of each Al-Anon meeting: “…though you may not like all of us ...Learning about the disease of alcoholism can help me become more realistic about a loved one’s illness—and thus to make better choices for myself. “I have learned techniques for dealing with the alcoholic, so that I can develop a relationship with the person behind the disease.”. – Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism. From the book “Courage to ...InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Source: mundissima / Shutterstock Right now, many people are pondering one ques... InvestorPlace - Stock Market N... One Day at a Time in Al-Anon: Perhaps the first thing we expect to learn in Al-Anon is how to get the alcoholic to stop drinking. This is a difficult idea to pry ourselves loose from, but our “making it” in Al-Anon depends entirely on realizing that our spouse’s sobriety is not our business, however much it may seem to affect our lives ... Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease. Many members speak of being on a “pink cloud” their first months in the program. We’ve stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great.May 11 – NA Just for Today. 00:00. Balancing the scales. “A lot of our chief concerns and major difficulties come from our inexperience with living without drugs. Often when we ask an oldtimer what to do, we are amazed at the simplicity of the answer.” – Basic Text, p. 43.Just for Today. “When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably.”. – Basic Text, p. 99. “Just for today” — it’s a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for recovery.Life just happens, and sometimes it hurts. Many of us have lost love through no fault of our own. Some of us have lost all of our material wealth. A few of us have even grieved the loss of our own children. Life can be terribly painful at times, but the pain is not inflicted on us by our Higher Power. Rather, that Power is constantly by our ...One Day at a Time in Al-Anon: When an Al-Anon wife describes her grievances at a meeting, and explains “what she did because of what he did,” it is very possible that we can see through her motivations more clearly than she can. We see the bitterness, the self-pity and self-deception that have built a wall between her and reality. The ...God’s will, not ours “We know that if we pray for God’s will we will receive what is best for us, regardless of what we think.” – Basic Text, p. 46Fri 8am - 4:45pm. Sat 9am - 12pm. Sun 9am - 5pm. AboutContact. (703) 772-4332 • 21040 Sycolin Road, Ashburn VA, 20147. 112 South St SE Ste Y. Leesburg, VA 20175. … The Al-Anon program works when I keep the focus on myself, attend lots of Al-Anon meetings, and make recovery my top priority. As I become more fully myself, I am better able to treat others with love and respect. “We are best able to help others when we ourselves have learned the way to achieve serenity.”. From the book “Courage to ... Courage to Change: When I was a beginner in Al-Anon, it was suggested that I learn about the disease of alcoholism, and I became a voracious reader on the subject.I also learned about myself by listening in meetings—when I identified with others, I gained insight into my own thoughts and feelings. Today I know that I am a passionate, generous, opinionated, moody, honest, tactful, stubborn person. I know how I feel and what I think on an assortment of topics, and I am aware when these thoughts and ...Ever ponder how long that email should be? He's a guide to help you decide the best word count bang for your buck! Written by Alex Sobal @asobal_weidert Whenever your teacher assig...There we sat with our Fourth Step in front of us, thinking and thinking, finally deciding that we just didn’t have any resentments. Perhaps we talked ourselves into believing that we weren’t so sick after all. Such unwitting denial of our resentments stems from the conditioning of our addiction. Most of our feelings were buried, and buried ...Still, it is important to remember that the past is over. We are powerless over what has gone before. Although we can take steps to make amends, we cannot change the fact that we have harmed others. And we cannot change the fact that others have harmed us. We have only the power to change this present day. The best use we can make of the past ...Meditation for the Day: Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first be still and know that He is …Gift-giving occasions often leave us pondering over the perfect present. While some may argue that giving money lacks creativity, there are countless ways to make it more exciting ...The love found in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous helps us recover from addiction. But once we have gotten clean, we must remember to give to others what was so freely given to us. We need to reach out to the addict who still suffers. After all, “the newcomer is the most important person at any meeting.”.Today’s Reminder: It is hard to stop acting as I have in the past. But with Al-Anon’s support, I can be the one to break the pattern. I can choose to do what I think is right—for me. “You have to count on living every single day in a way you believe will make you feel good about your life…”. From the book “Courage to Change ...The adults who spend their time discussing the pros and cons of hobbits vs. elves and the ones who ponder if they’d succeed better as a part of House Lannister or House Martell are...Oct 18, 2023 · Meditation for the Day: Not until you have failed can you learn true humility. Humility arises from a deep sense of gratitude to God for giving you the strength to rise above past failures. Humility is not inconsistent with self-respect. The true person has self-respect and the respect of others and yet is humble. Al-Anon is wonderful for those of us who want to know ourselves, who are brave enough to acknowledge our faults. It helps us to examine, with courage and honesty, our good and bad qualities. Al-Anon works for those who want to build on the good and whittle away at the bad, until, one by one, we get rid of the self-deceptions that have kept …Courage to Change: I suspect that if I reclaimed all the minutes, hours, and days I’ve sacrificed to worry and fear, I’d add years to my life. When I succumb to worry, I open a Pandora’s box of terrifying pictures, paranoid voices, and relentless self-criticism. The more attention I pay to this mental static, the more I lose my foothold ...AA Thought for the Day: Have I got over most of my sensitiveness, my feelings that are too easily hurt, and my just plain laziness and self-satisfaction? Am I willing to go all out for AA at no matter what cost to my precious self? Is my own comfort more important to me than doing the things that need to be done?One Day at a Time in Al-Anon: Sometimes I find myself relapsing into the old patterns that used to dominate my thinking and feeling before I knew Al-Anon. I was crushed and defeated by the daily battering of living with an alcoholic. I was afraid of everything and everybody. Then, by attending meetings, and reading Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism, my ...Nov 21, 2023 · Meditation for the Day: You were meant to be at home and comfortable in the world. Yet some people live a life of quiet desperation. This is the opposite of being at home and at peace in the world. When we raised our hand as a newcomer, we opened the door for other members to approach us and welcome us. Sometimes the difference between those addicts who walk back out the door of their first meeting, never to return to NA, and the addicts who stay to seek recovery is the simple hug of an NA member. When we have been clean awhile, it’s ... Naturally it can be helpful to look at past experiences for information about ourselves and our relationships. There is much to be learned from inventories, memories, and reasoning things out with others. But waiting for insight can become an excuse to avoid action. For example, some of us fall into the trap of trying to analyze alcoholism.AA Thought for the Day: As we became alcoholics, the bad effects of drinking came more and more to outweigh the good effects. But the strange part of it is that, no matter what drinking did to us — loss of our health, our jobs, our money, and our homes — we still stuck to it and depended on it.Meditation for the Day: Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first be still and know that He is …9. 5 views 1 minute ago. Father Martin was a Catholic priest, a recovered alcoholic, and a renowned speaker/educator on the issues of alcoholism and drug addiction. For daily …Sep 20, 2023 · Courage to Change. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things l cannot change, the courage to change the things l can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”. – Serenity Prayer. Recovery involves change, and change means doing things differently. The problem is, many of us resist doing things differently; what we’re doing may not ... Are we having fun yet? “ln time, we can relax and enjoy the atmosphere of recovery.” – Basic Text, p. 56. Imagine what would happen if a newcomer walked into one of our meetings and was met by a group of grim-faced people gripping the arms of their chairs with white knuckles.Even when I feel ashamed, someone in the fellowship can help me see my situation in a different light. With their help, if I’m willing to permit it, the truth will set me free. “You get to the point where your demons, which are terrifying, get smaller and smaller and you get bigger and bigger.”. – August Wilson. From the book “Courage ... Still, it is important to remember that the past is over. We are powerless over what has gone before. Although we can take steps to make amends, we cannot change the fact that we have harmed others. And we cannot change the fact that others have harmed us. We have only the power to change this present day. The best use we can make of the past ... A closed mind “A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind…. Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives.”May 11 – NA Just for Today. 00:00. Balancing the scales. “A lot of our chief concerns and major difficulties come from our inexperience with living without drugs. Often when we ask an oldtimer what to do, we are amazed at the simplicity of the answer.” – Basic Text, p. 43.Just for Today. “When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably.”. – Basic Text, p. 99. “Just for today” — it’s a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for recovery.All of us have heard and shared in discussions, at Al-Anon meetings, as to whether this should be interpreted as “alcohol” or the “alcoholic.”. We have no power over either one. No one can control the insidious effect of alcohol, or its power to destroy the graces and decencies of life. No one can control the alcoholic’s compulsion to ...As you start to plan your family, it’s natural to ponder what that might look like. Whether you hope to have one child or six, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to siz...Today’s Reminder: I am only a small cog in the machinery of the universe; my trying to run things my own way is doomed to failure. A bright and serene success is at hand once I learn to let go. Then I’ll have time to count my blessings, work on my own shortcomings, and enjoy each minute of every day. “What hurt could it do thee if thou ...Today’s Reminder: As I look back over this year, I will consider calmly my actions and attitudes, just as though I were evaluating the progress of someone else. I will not make it an occasion for guilt and regret. I will blame no one else for anything that happened, for I have learned in Al-Anon that I am not a judge of others. This day, and ...Longtime Loudoun music lovers are sure to know the name Chris Timbers. Now, Los Angeles, CA, may get to know him better, too. The “alternative soul” singer/songwriter is …Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease. Many members speak of being on a “pink cloud” their first months in the program. We’ve stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great.Live Chat agents available Monday-Friday 7am-7pm, excluding holidays. FROM. Reverse. TO. MORE OPTIONS.Daily Ponderables is your source for encouragement & inspiration 365 days a year. Subscribe!For centuries, Zen masters have used stories and koans, or paradoxical riddles, to help students realize their true nature. These stories are often puzzling and may seem nonsensica...The Al-Anon program works when I keep the focus on myself, attend lots of Al-Anon meetings, and make recovery my top priority. As I become more fully myself, I am better able to treat others with love and respect. “We are best able to help others when we ourselves have learned the way to achieve serenity.”. From the book “Courage to ...“Daily practice of our Twelve Step program enables us to change from what we were to people guided by a Higher Power.” – Basic Text, p. 86. Who have we been, and who have we become? There are a couple of ways to answer this question. One is very simple: We came to Narcotics Anonymous as addicts, our addiction killing us.Sep 29, 2023 · Just for Today. “When we stop living in the here and now, our problems become magnified unreasonably.”. – Basic Text, p. 99. “Just for today” — it’s a comforting thought. If we try to live in the past, we may find ourselves torn by painful, disquieting memories. The lessons of our using are not the teachers we seek for recovery. AA Thought for the Day: The way of AA is the way of sobriety, fellowship, service, and faith. Let us take up each one of these things and see if our feet are truly on the way. The first and greatest to us is sobriety. The others are built on sobriety as a foundation.One Day at a Time in Al-Anon: It seems strange, when I think of it, that God is most vivid to my consciousness when I am in the depths of despair, and all I can say to Him is: “God help me!”. And He does help us when we turn to Him in our great need, for “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”. An equally imperative reason for ...Courage to Change: It is not necessary for me to map out a master plan for my recovery — my Higher Power has already done that. It is only necessary to humbly ask for God’s guidance and for the willingness to follow that guidance today. I know that I am not alone: I will receive all the help I need along the way.Going Beyond Step Five “We may think that we have done enough by writing about our past. We cannot afford this mistake.” – Basic Text, p. 32Courage to Change: Before I discovered Al-Anon I often used other people’s problems as an excuse to avoid my obligations. I loved the drama of another’s crisis and talked about it at every opportunity. My own life seemed increasingly trivial, and my problems felt silly. It was therefore very difficult for me to focus on myself when I came ...2 days ago · The restoration of self-esteem is one of Al-Anon’s prime functions. It doesn’t encourage a big-ego view of ourselves, but in helping us to see ourselves as we really are, we learn to sort out our good qualities, and on that foundation to build stronger, better personalities. “I am grateful for what Al-Anon is doing for me.
After the hell of our addiction and the roller-coaster craziness of early recovery, the stable life may have some appeal — for a while. But, eventually, we realize we want something more. Sooner or later, we become turned off to the creeping monotony and boredom in our lives. There are sure to be times when we feel vaguely dissatisfied with .... Nybarexam
Are we having fun yet? “ln time, we can relax and enjoy the atmosphere of recovery.” – Basic Text, p. 56. Imagine what would happen if a newcomer walked into one of our meetings and was met by a group of grim-faced people gripping the arms of their chairs with white knuckles.Paying someone a compliment that comes from the heart, or thanking them sincerely for their kindness, may be the nicest thing I can do for myself today. “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.”. – Abraham Lincoln. From the book “Courage to Change”.Something valuable to share. “A simple, honest message of recovery from addiction rings true.”. – Basic Text, p. 5I. You’re in a meeting. The sharing has been going on for some time. One or two members have described their spiritual experiences in an especially meaningful way. Another has had us all rolling in the aisles with ...Courage to Change: I learned in Al-Anon that I’m bound to fail to make someone else stop drinking because I am powerless over alcoholism. Others in the fellowship had failed as well, yet they seemed almost happy to admit it. In time I understood: By letting go of this battle we were sure to lose, we became free.Courage to Change: It is not necessary for me to map out a master plan for my recovery — my Higher Power has already done that. It is only necessary to humbly ask for God’s guidance and for the willingness to follow that guidance today. I know that I am not alone: I will receive all the help I need along the way.Living with spiritual experiences. “For meditation to be of value, the results must show in our daily lives.”. – Basic Text, p. 47. In working our program, we are given many indirect indications of a Higher Power’s presence in our lives: the clean feeling that comes to so many of us in taking our Fifth Step; the sense that we are ...Courage to Change: There are many times when I doubt the existence of anything that cares about what goes on in this world, let alone in my life. Being agnostic, doubt comes easily to me; belief is difficult. But then I think of how someone guided me to Al-Anon when my life was at its darkest. I reflect on times when the words and music of ...“Daily practice of our Twelve Step program enables us to change from what we were to people guided by a Higher Power.” – Basic Text, p. 86. Who have we been, and who have we become? There are a couple of ways to answer this question. One is very simple: We came to Narcotics Anonymous as addicts, our addiction killing us.Honesty and spirituality. “The right to a God of your understanding is total and without any catches. Because we have this right, it is necessary to be honest about our belief if we are to grow spiritually.”. – Basic Text, pp. 25–26. In meetings, over refreshments, in talks with our sponsor, we hear our NA friends talking about the way ...Al-Anon is helping me to clear my mind of my burdens so that I am able to enjoy the wonder of the moment. I am beginning to enjoy a childlike awe about the splendor of nature, to see the beauty all around me, to let my face break into a smile spontaneously, to laugh, to love, to live again. Today I can say, “Good morning, God,” instead of ...21 hours ago · Fear of the Fourth Step. “As we approach this step, most of us are afraid that there is a monster inside of us that, if released, will destroy us.”. – Basic Text, p. 27. Most of us are terrified to look at ourselves, to probe our insides. We’re afraid that if we examine our actions and motives, we’ll find a bottomless black pit of ... Daily Ponderables is your source for encouragement & inspiration 365 days a year. Subscribe!.