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14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

I like that quote Samantha. It reminds me of "One Day at a Time." It's a rallying cry.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 157
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,396
Amount Saved: $1,703.45
Life Gained:
Days: 17 Hrs: 5 Mins: 3 Seconds: 6

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2606

Thanks Brenda! We love and appreciate your inspirational thread!

Today I will add an inspirational quote:

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Chinese proverb

One foot in front of the other, continue taking those steps!

Samantha, Health Educator

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Take what you like and leave the rest. This slogan is especially fitting, given the last post. Whether it is a general 12 Step slogan, or just an Al-Anon and AA one I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that toward the end of each meeting it is used to remind us that we are not there to bicker. No one is under any obligation to buy everything that anyone believes or shares at anytime. Nor should anyone ever feel obligated to comment. However, we are asked to respect peoples' rights to share what they need to and to believe what they may as long as what they share is germane to the purpose of recovery and does not lead us into arguing about religious tenets, politics, etc. Basically, we are not to lose focus. No one needs to be religious to carry out staying on task.

For instance, I do not regard myself as religious, (although I do regard myself as spiritual). It used to be that when I attend meetings that incorporated "The Lord's Prayer", I felt betrayed because I thought it was obviously a Christian prayer. But I had to decide how much energy to expend fighting about it when I needed that energy for recovery. I could have decided not to go to those meetings anymore. The same as I can decide not to respond to a particular thread. I also realized that given my personality I could easily use "The Lord's Prayer" issue as a distraction, an excuse to quit recovery, or a new vessel for all of the anger I was already carrying and needed to off-load. Over the years I've come to regard "The Lord's Prayer" as a general prayer that strengthens fellowship, and because I am more interested in the fellowship that keeps me sane than in arguing about what type of prayer "The Lord's Prayer" is I never use it as a source of division. I realize that my not being able to relate to it doesn't mean that no one can, that it isn't helping someone in their recovery.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 157
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,396
Amount Saved: $1,703.45
Life Gained:
Days: 17 Hrs: 3 Mins: 21 Seconds: 44

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Hi Folks! For you newcomers, initially this thread was to be a prayer thread. Well, I don't always have a prayer to post, but sometimes I find inspirational poems, slogans, or spiritual words from any twelve step program, quote of the day, or religion that seems apropos to our efforts to quit smoking. This thread is for everyone who care to partake. Also, anyone can add a post to this thread at any time. Just take what you like from this thread and leave the rest.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 157
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,396
Amount Saved: $1,703.45
Life Gained:
Days: 17 Hrs: 3 Mins: 18 Seconds: 20

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Awareness, Acceptance, and Action are the three A(s) of 12 Step Recovery. The three As, like the 12 Steps, are a problem solving guide, map, or paradigm. The 'action stage' suggest that we take time to work on the first two As, awareness and acceptance, instead of diving into taking action. So the purpose of the initial stage, awareness, is to increase our understanding of how the problem arose and its characteristics, which guide us in becoming conscious of the consequences that the problem has had in our lives. After an appropriate amount of awareness work (when we honestly feel ready), we are then able to successfully move to the acceptance stage, which involves taking responsibility for the consequences of our problem and often grieving the losses (a loss can be addiction) that have accrued and reaching a point of serenity. Serenity usually comes from surrendering to the truth; in this case, that we are addicts, can't have just one.... Acceptance is emotional and it is often difficult work that many people need a support group and/or a health professional to work through successfully. Only when we have worked through these initial two stages, can we be effective in planning and carrying out action (the answer to the problem).

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 153
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,284
Amount Saved: $1,660.05
Life Gained:
Days: 16 Hrs: 16 Mins: 52 Seconds: 1

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 823

Brenda,

Thank you for posting this beautiful unity prayer. It is what we do best here............so lets reach out to each other as we battle the negative forces!

Keep the prayers/poems coming folks!

Faryal, Health Educator

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Unity Prayer

(Al-Anon Prayer, Source Unknown)

I put my hand in yours

And together we can do what we could never do alone.

No longer is there a sense of hopelessness.

No longer must we each depend upon our own unsteady will power.

We're all together now,

Reaching out our hands for a power and strength

greater than our own,

And as we hold hands,

we find love and understanding beyond our wildest dreams.

Keep coming back! It works!

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 151
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,228
Amount Saved: $1,638.35
Life Gained:
Days: 16 Hrs: 11 Mins: 24 Seconds: 55

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Coping with Character Defects

(Narcotics Anonymous, Basic Text, p.37)

What we dislike in our fellows are often those things we dislike most in ourselves. How easy it is to point out the faults of others! There's a reason for this: The defects we identify most easily in others are often the defects we are most familiar with in our own characters. We may notice our best friend's tendency to spend too much money, but if we examine our own spending habits we'll probably find the same compulsiveness.We can turn this observation to our spiritual advantage. When we are stricken with the impulse to judge someone else, we can redirect the impulse in such a way as to recognize our own defects more clearly. What we see will guide our actions toward recovery and help us become emotionally healthy and happy individuals.

Just for Today: I will take a deep breath and then look beyond the character defects of others and recognize my own.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 148
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,144
Amount Saved: $1,605.80
Life Gained:
Days: 16 Hrs: 5 Mins: 53 Seconds: 3

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

A growing concept of Higher Power

(Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, p.278)

In a lifelong process of coming to believe, our understanding of Higher Power will change. The understanding we might have when we begin our recovery may be that of a mean, grumpy, old man or spirit, who sits on a throne and constantly passes judgment as we wander through our lives. Some people's Higher Power may be Patsy Cline; others, Bob Marley. To many, the sky, trees, and/or water may be it. "The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring, and greater than ourselves. We don't have to be religious to accept this idea. The point is that we open our minds to believe." (pg. 24)

It may not occur to us that HP's reach can limited to what is just and good, and that HP realizes that many of us need time to get to know him/her. Sometimes only with years of recovery do we develop an understanding of a loving Higher Power who travels with us and, in a sense, becomes our drug.

Our initial understanding of a Power greater than ourselves will most likely be limited. That Power will keep us clean but, we may think, nothing more. We may hesitate to pray because we have placed conditions on what we will ask our Higher Power to do for us. "Oh, this stuff is so awful, even Higher Power couldn't do anything," we might say, or "Higher Power's got a lot of people to take care of. There's no time for me!'

But, as we grow in recovery, so will our understanding. We'll begin to see that the only limits to Higher Power's love and grace are those we impose by refusing to step out of the way. The loving Higher Power we come to believe in has an infinite capacity for love, care, and compassion, and the power and love we find in our belief is shared by nearly every recovering addict around the world and, therefore, it's a source of fellowship.

Just for Today: The Higher Power I am coming to understand has a limitless capacity for love and care. I will trust that my HP is bigger than any problem I may have.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 146
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,088
Amount Saved: $1,584.10
Life Gained:
Days: 16 Hrs: 0 Mins: 36 Seconds: 3

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Keeping the gift

"Life takes on a new meaning when we open ourselves to this gift."

(Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, p.102)

Neglecting our recovery is like neglecting any other gift we've been given. Suppose someone gave you a new car. Would you let it sit in the driveway until the tires rotted? Would you just drive it, ignoring routine maintenance, until it expired on the road? Of course not! You would go to great lengths to maintain the condition of such a valuable gift.

Recovery is also a gift, and we have to care for it if we want to keep it. While our recovery doesn't come with an extended warranty, there is a routine maintenance schedule. This maintenance includes regular meeting attendance and various forms of service.

The gift of recovery is one that grows with the giving. Unless we give it away, we can't keep it. But in sharing our recovery with others, we come to value it all the more.

Just for Today: My recovery is a gift, and I want to keep it. I'll do the required maintenance, and I'll share my recovery with others.
My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 145
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 4,060
Amount Saved: $1,573.25
Life Gained:
Days: 15 Hrs: 19 Mins: 47 Seconds: 12

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