Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:I was 35 years old the first time I spoke up to my mother and refused to buy into her games and manipulation. . .I didn't have to start an argument. But I could say what I wanted and needed to say to take care of myself. I learned I could love and honor myself, and still care about my mother - the way I wanted to - the way she wanted me to.--AnonymousWho knows better how to push our buttons than family members? Who, besides family members, do we give such power? No matter how long we or our family members have been recovering, relationships with family members can be provocative. One telephone conversation can put us in an emotional and psychological tailspin that lasts for hours or days. The process of detaching in love from family members can take years. So can the process of learning how to react in a more effective way. We cannot control what they do or try to do, but we can gain some sense of control over how we choose to react. Stop trying to make them act or treat us any differently. Unhook from their system by refusing to try to change or influence them. Their patterns, particularly their patterns with us, are their issues. How we react, or allow these patterns to influence us, is our issue. How we take care of ourselves is our issue. We can take care of ourselves with family members without feeling guilty. We can learn to be assertive with family members without being aggressive. We can set the boundaries we need and want to set with family members without being disloyal to the family. We can learn to love our family without forfeiting love and respect for ourselves.Today, help me start practicing self-care with family members. Help me know that I do not have to allow their issues to control my life, my day, or my feelings. Help me know its okay to have all my feelings about family members, without guilt or shame. You are reading from the book: The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie The Language of Letting Go © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221 Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.
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Tuesday, March 14, 2017
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Procrastination ^*^*^ March 15
~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Procrastination "After a preliminary trial at making amends, we may enjoy such a sense of relief that we conclude our task is finished. We will want to rest on our laurels. The temptation to skip the more humiliating and dreaded meetings that still remain may be great. We may just procrastinate, telling ourselves the time is not yet, when in reality we have already passed up many a fine chance to right a serious wrong. Let's not talk prudence while practicing evasion."Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 85 Thought to Consider . . .Procrastination is really sloth in five syllables.Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 67*~*AACRONYMS*~*ISM = I Sponsor Myself*~*^Just For Today!^*~* Generosity From "Thousands of Founders:" "A.A. was not invented! Its basics were brought to us through the experience and wisdom of many great friends. We simply borrowed and adapted their ideas. Thankfully, we have accepted the devoted services of many nonalcoholics. We owe our very lives to the men and women of medicine and religion. And, speaking or Dr. Bob and myself, I gratefully declare that had it not been for our wives, Anne and Lois, neither of us could have lived to see A.A.'s beginning." c. 1967, As Bill Sees It, page 67 *^Daily Reflections^* THE GOD IDEA When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God. Our ideas did not work But the God idea did. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 52 Like a blind man gradually being restored to sight, I slowly groped my way to the Third Step. Having realized that only a Power greater than myself could rescue me from the hopeless abyss I was in, I knew that this was a Power that I had to grasp, and that it would be my anchor in the midst of a sea of woes. Even though my faith at that time was minuscule, it was big enough to make me see that it was time for me to discard my reliance on my prideful ego and replace it with the steadying strength that could only come from a Power far greater than myself. Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Breach the Walls of EgoPeople who are driven by pride of self unconsciously blind themselves to their liabilities. Newcomers of this sort scarcely need comforting. The problem is to help them discover a chink in the walls their ego has built, through which the light of reason can shine.<<< >>>The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.'s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven't much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.TWELVE AND TWELVE - 1. p. 46 - 2. p. 70Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*"Although financial recovery is on the way for many of us, we found we could not place money first. For us, material well-being always followed spiritual progress; it never preceded."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionThe Family Afterward, pg. 127*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayWe alcoholics were on a merry-go-round, going round and round, and we couldn't get off. That merry-go-round is a kind of hell on earth. In A.A., I got off that merry-go-round by learning to stay sober. I pray to my Higher Power every morning to help me to keep sober. And I get the strength from that Power to do what I could never do with my own strength. I do not doubt the existence of that Power. We're not speaking into a vacuum when we pray. That Power is there, if we will use it. Am I off the merry-go-round of drinking for good? Meditation for the DayI must remember that in spiritual matters I am only an instrument. It is not mine to decide how or when I am to act. God plans all spiritual matters. It is up to me to make myself fit to do God's work. All that hinders my spiritual activity must be eliminated. I can depend on God for all the strength I need to overcome those faults that are blocks. I must keep myself fit, so that God can use me as a channel for His spirit. Prayer for the DayI pray that my selfishness may not hinder my progress in spiritual matters. I pray that I may be a good instrument for God to work with.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily. IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. Make sure your notifications are turned so you will be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook! -- To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b For more Information about this distribution go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. The members of this group are anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 48 hours for entry. Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 3/14/2017
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Communicating…when I finally gave up on my partner. He believed that the love of his life, if he ever found the Right One, would fill all the gaps of his own personality. She dreamed that her perfect match would always respond gently, never willfully. After the honeymoon phase they naturally began to find imperfections and disappointments. Both wondered if they had chosen the Wrong One. But in a sense, there is no Right One for anyone. In another sense, there may be millions of Right Ones. The closeness of a partnership will always reveal weaknesses and disappointments that were not obvious at first. No partner will match all the inventions of our own mind or so completely fit our needs that we have no remaining emptiness inside. One person said, “It felt like a terrible day when I finally gave up on my partner. But it became the first day of reality for me. Only after that did I discard the images I had invented for her and begin to get acquainted with who she really was.”For today, put all your ideas and desires for who your mate should become on the shelf and go only with who your mate is. You are reading from the book: The More We Find In Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum The More We Find in Each Other by Merle Fossum and Mavis Fossum. © 1992 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221 Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.
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Monday, March 13, 2017
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Humility ^*^*^ March 14
~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~^*^*^*^*^(\ ~~~ /)( \(AA)/ )(_ /AA\ _)/AA\^*^*^*^*^Humility "The attainment of greater humility is the foundation principle of each of AA's Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all."Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 70Thought to Consider . . . As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing.Bill W., Box 1980The AA Grapevine, June 1961As Bill Sees It, p. 106*~*AACRONYMS*~*FEAR False Expectations Appearing Real*~*^Just For Today!^*~* Spirituality From "In His Own Individual Right": "When people look at you and wonder what's with you, the look in your eyes will answer them: 'Because I can cut it!' "The singular thing that is spirituality cannot be given to a fellowman by word of mouth. If every man is to have it, then every man must earn it, in his own way, by his own hand, stamped by the seal of himself, in his own individual right.--New York, New York, USA"1973 AAWS, Inc.Came to Believe, 30th printing 2004, pg. 6 *^Daily Reflections^*THE KEYSTONE He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 62 A keystone is the wedge-shaped piece at the highest part of an arch that locks the other pieces in place. The "other pieces" are Steps One, Two, and Four through Twelve. In one sense this sounds like Step Three is the most important Step, that the other eleven depend on the third for support. In reality however, Step Three is just one of twelve. It is the keystone, but without eleven other stones to build the base and arms, keystone or not, there will be no arch. Through daily working of all Twelve Steps, I find that triumphant arch waiting for me to pass through to another day of freedom.Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Two-Way Tolerance"Your point of view was once mine. Fortunately, A.A. is constructed so that we need not debate the existence of God; but for best results, most of us must depend upon a Higher Power. You say the group is your Higher Power, and no right-minded A.A. would challenge your privilege to believe precisely that way. We should all be glad that good recoveries can be made even on this limited basis. "But turnabout is fair play. If you would expect tolerance for your point of view, I am sure you would be willing to reciprocate. I try to remember that, down through the centuries, lots of brighter people than 1 have been found on both sides of this debate about belief. For myself, of late years, I am finding it much easier to believe that God made man, than that man made God."LETTER, 1950Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*"We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to outgrow that serious handicap."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionThe Family Afterward, pg. 125*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayCan I get well? If I mean, "Can I ever drink normally again?" the answer is no. But if I mean, "Can I stay sober?" the answer is definitely yes. I can get well by turning my drink problem over to a Power greater than myself, that Divine Principle in the universe which we call God, and by asking that Power each morning to give me the strength to stay sober for the next twenty-four hours. I know from the experience of thousands of people that if I honestly want to get well, I can get well. Am I faithfully following the AA program? Meditation for the DayPersevere in all that God's guidance moves you to do. The persistent carrying out of what seems right and good will bring you to that place where you would be. If you look back over God's guidance, you will see that His leading has been very gradual and that only as you have carried out His wishes, as far as you can understand them, has God been able to give you more clear and definite leading. You are led by God's touch on a quickened, responsive mind. Prayer for the DayI pray that I may persevere in doing what seems right. I pray that I may carry out all of God's leading, as far as I can understand it.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily. IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. Make sure your notifications are turned so you will be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook! -- To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b For more Information about this distribution go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. The members of this group are anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 48 hours for entry. Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 3/13/2017
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:The past has flown away. The coming month and year do not exist; ours only is the present's tiny point.--ShabistariWe are tempted to look back and to look ahead. But what we most need to do is be present in this moment, with ourselves, with our loved ones and friends, and with our experience right here and right now. When we were lost and asleep in our using days and codependency, we could not be emotionally present. Our thoughts were taken up with how we would get our next drink, our next big gambling win, or with how to handle the latest crisis. To be emotionally present and live in the moment; this takes time, and it's a frame of mind that develops as we grow in recovery.One way we become more present in the moment is to practice gratitude. We can always name a few things we feel grateful for - small and big things, funny and serious things. Looking through the lens of gratitude brings us into the immediate moment.Today I will look at my day through the lens of gratitude. You are reading from the book: Wisdom to Know by Anonymous Wisdom to Know © 2005 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221 Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.
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Sunday, March 12, 2017
New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Spiritual Growth ^*^*^ March 13
~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~ ^*^*^*^*^ (\ ~~ /) ( \(AA)/ ) (_ /AA\ _) / AA \ ^*^*^*^*^ Spiritual Growth "When we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. Do not let any prejudice you may have against spiritual terms deter you from honestly asking yourself what they mean to you. At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him. If we wished to grow we had to begin somewhere. So we used our own conception, however limited it was." Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 47 Thought to Consider . . . Spirituality is the ability to get our minds off ourselves.*~*AACRONYMS*~*WISDOM When Into Self, Discover Our Motives*~*^Just For Today!^*~* Traditions From "The Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous": "Please don't talk any more about those damned Traditions." [in the late 1940s] "Time has changed all that. Several years later it was recognized that the Twelve Traditions were going to be just as necessary to the life of our society as the Twelve Steps were to the life of each member. We saw that the A.A. Traditions were the key to the unity, the functioning, and even the survival of Alcoholics Anonymous." 2001 AAWS, Inc. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, pg. 204 *^Daily Reflections^*A WORLD OF THE SPIRIT We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 84 The word "entered" . . .and the phrase "entered into the world of the Spirit" are very significant. They imply action, a beginning, getting into, a prerequisite to maintaining my spiritual growth, the "Spirit" being the immaterial part of me. Barriers to my spiritual growth are self-centeredness and a materialistic focus on worldly things. Spirituality means devotion to spiritual instead of worldly things, it means obedience to God's will for me. I understand spiritual things to be: unconditional love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control and humility. Any time I allow selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear to be a part of me, I block out spiritual things. As I maintain my sobriety, growing spiritually becomes a lifelong process. My goal is spiritual growth, accepting that I'll never have spiritual perfection.Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Dependence - Unhealthy or Healthy"Nothing can be more demoralizing than a clinging and abject dependence upon another human being. This often amounts to the demand for a degree of protection and love that no one could possibly satisfy. So our hoped-for protectors finally flee, and once more we are left alone - either to grow up or to disintegrate."<<< >>>We discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows, nor would we feel the urge to rely wholly on human protection and care.1. LETTER, 1966 - 2. TWELVE AND TWELVE, p. 116Copyright 1967 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.*~*^Big Book Quote^*~*"...the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self knowledge. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re-emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionMore About Alcoholism, pg. 39*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayWe've gotten rid of our false, drinking selves and found our real, sober selves. And we turn to God, our Father, for help, just as the Prodigal Son arose and went to his father. At the end of the story, the father of the Prodigal Son says: "He was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found." We alcoholics who have found sobriety in A.A. were certainly dead and are alive again. We were lost and are found. Am I alive again? Meditation for the DayGently breathe in God's spirit, that spirit which, if not barred out by selfishness, will enable you to do good works. This means rather that God will be enabled to do good works through you. You can become a channel for God's spirit to flow through you and into the lives of others. The works that you can do will only be limited by your spiritual development. Let your spirit be in harmony with God's spirit and there is no limit to what you can do in the realm of human relationships. Prayer for the DayI pray that I may become a channel for God's spirit. I pray that God's spirit may flow through me into the lives of others.Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1. Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily. IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2. Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. Make sure your notifications are turned so you will be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook! -- To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b For more Information about this distribution go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt. The members of this group are anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 48 hours for entry. Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery! You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!
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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 3/12/2017
Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Many of us, in trying to run away from our essential aloneness, have abused alcohol, work, drugs, food, money, and entertainment. In spite of our frantic activity, we have continued to feel "alone in a crowd," "alone in our dreams," and "lonely in our marriages." These experiences should prove we cannot successfully avoid coming to terms with our aloneness. The sooner we accept responsibility for our lives, the sooner we will stop inflicting unnecessary pain on ourselves. In accepting our aloneness, we accept that no one can protect us from ourselves - and that no one can live our lives for us. "Aloneness" simply means that we cannot depend on others for our joy or sorrow. We are the authors of our actions, attitudes, and experiences and not the "victims" of fate or circumstance.Today I will not be afraid of my aloneness. I will accept total responsibility for my attitudes, actions, or neglects. I will not seek unnecessary pain by relying on what others say or do to make me happy. You are reading from the book: The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes. © 1981 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirationsRead a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org. Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221 Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org? Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address. Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleasant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.
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