Thought for today:

Sometimes life deals us things that we don’t like, and we want to react emotionally.  When this happens, we need to deal with the feelings first, sharing them with our sponsor and friends in fellowship.  We don’t want to make rash decisions while we are upset.

A member shares:

“When I first came to DA, I had a lot going on.  One day when I got out of an appointment, I noticed there was a boot on my car.  The ticket on the windshield said I owed hundreds in back parking tickets.

“I knew I should have done something about those tickets.  I should have explained my situation to the judge months earlier, but I didn’t, and late fees piled on the debt.  Worse, I didn’t have the money to get my car back, and the ticket said they were going to tow my car in two days.

“I called my sponsor and dealt with the emotions in a series of bookend phone calls.  We brainstormed about the situation.  It helped that he understood where I was at, and didn’t judge me.  He knew this disease first hand.

“I put my DA program into high gear and started thinking about how I could raise cash.  I recalled how I had another car someone wanted to buy, so I called them and negotiated a quick sale.  Relieved, I paid the parking debt and got my car back.

“This was just one example of the insanity going on in my life back then.  I was losing a business I had started, and had recently been robbed too.  I felt like nothing was going my way.

“I started working the Twelve Steps from that point on.  I knew without a doubt that I was powerless over debt, and my life was unmanageable.  I turned to my group for help, and took a personal inventory.  I found ways to live sanely, cut my risks down to size, and began to make sound business decisions again.

“The Tools and Steps made life manageable again.  They gave me the space to get my life back.  After years of neglecting myself, I’m grateful that DA was there to help me pick up the pieces and help me make lemonade out of lemons.”

Dealing with feelings

It’s important to feel the feelings of betrayal and suffering that can come up at times, to talk them out with ourselves and our Higher Power.  Taking a long walk to mull things over helps.

Sometimes our feelings in recovery aren’t pleasant, but that’s part of recovery, as much as any other feelings of happiness and comfort.  We get better by dealing with new awareness instead of resorting to old self-destructive behaviors.  We are living a new way, starting today.  We aren’t perfect, and that’s ok.

Feelings will pass.  Our recovery doesn’t have to, if we deal with life on life’s terms.

Ask:

It’s easy to work the program when things are going our way.  Am I willing to work the Twelve Steps even during the toughest of times?

Meditation for today:

The sun shines even on “bad days”.  Sometimes it rains on “good days”.  We perceive good or bad, but there is always more to the story.

Coincidences can equally seem like conspiracies or miracles.  A series of “bad luck” may seem like a curse.  A series of “good luck” can seem like a blessing.  Life gives us many lessons to learn.

True blessing is when we are able to find peace in the midst of a storm.  True misery is when we remove ourselves from our Higher Power.

We can find peace when we surrender all anger and fear, and seek living in this moment – meditating, moving a muscle, changing a thought.  We can try for an attitude of gratitude for the blessing of recovery from compulsive debting.  The small peaceful moments will come together again.

Courage to Change: One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II, Hardcover

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