Thought for today:

The Twelve Steps are really a process of letting of our addiction to debt, under earn and/or overspend.  That process involves three basic layers to this “surrender”:

• The first surrender is Step One, “We admitted we were powerless over debt—that our lives had become unmanageable.”  We need to let go of the idea that we are able to handle our addiction without help.  The insane idea of self-sufficiency while resisting changing ourselves has to be smashed.
• Step Three, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him,” is the second surrender.  Here we surrender to the idea of a Higher Power who is inspiration.  We express a willingness to change our attitude – changing “our will”  and “our lives” (i.e., our thoughts and our actions) as our Higher Power inspires.  We try to appreciate the connections we have to a Higher Power but don’t recognize.  We seek opportunity to grow along spiritual lines.  We seek an understanding.
• The third surrender is Step Seven, “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”  This is perhaps the biggest surrender, because we are about to walk in faith of the unknown future.  We turn over our character defects over to a Higher Power we have begun to appreciate as a source of inspiration.

A member shares:

“Like most decisions, my decision to surrender was best made in the earlier part of my day.  In morning meditation, I think about how insane this disease is.  I think about how my attitude needs adjusting.  I think about how much I still need to learn, and how my thinking has benefited from the fellowship of DA.

“When I start the day with surrender, gratitude soon follows, and I feel free.”

Ask:

Have I surrendered my disease, so that I can get better?

Meditation for today:

A hiker travelled across the countryside, carrying only the clothes on their back, and a backpack.  There was no point in carrying anything that was not needed on the journey.

When we allow ourselves to let go of pieces of life that no longer make sense, we can become our best, free-est selves, able to enjoy the journey.

Affirmation for today:

“I am letting go of disease, and surrendering to recovery.” 

Recommended Reading:

On letting go: http://www.thebridgemaker.com/letting-go-true-stories/

Also:

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