April 8
Today I can make peace within myself
without needing the approval and agreement of others.
Today I can love and respect people
who do not always share my view of the world.
written by ~ Ruth Fishel
"Time for Joy" www.spirithaven.com
PLEASE visit and check out Ruth's collection of
light, nourishing and nurturing Books and Tapes
& some touching and embracing Greeting Cards
<http://www.spirithaven.com/>
for inspirational messages email
spirithaven@...
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Our Last Chance

As the past is dealt with it's damage and toll,
By working the steps, an awakened Spiritual goal

Nothing to fear as we move forward, ahead,
Our addiction in check, lays down it's ugly head

God guided us here to find solace at last,
Knowing no other way for us to change, finally escaping our past

The future awaits as we take our last chance,
12 steps on the floor of recovery's delivery dance

It doesn't matter from hence you came,
The question is now, will you change or remain the same?

If you want to live more than merely survive,
Why not check us out and give it a try

You have nothing to lose except a slow lonely death,
Step up as you catch your first new found breath

Getting better each day as we search, reveal and delve,
Coming to learn that we can truly love ourselves

We help each other on our paths with hope,
Sharing our experiences no longer living with dope

If its working for me, maybe you too my friend,
"When at the end of your road" can choose your life to amend.

God and N.A. Grateful ~ AJ aj4how@...

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If anyone has any original recovery poetry that they
would like to share with us please copy and paste it into the body
of an email and send it to me, Thanks for your support and contributions.
What I can't do alone, We do together.
In loving service, Scott ~ Scott.Hammer@...
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Sayings I have heard in Meetings
<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Einsure/>
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Just For Today
April 8 Happiness

"We come to know happiness, joy and freedom." Basic Text p. 88

If someone stopped you on the street today and asked if you were happy,
what would you say? "Well, gee, let's see... I have a place to live, food
in the refrigerator, a job, my car is running... Well, yes, I guess I'm
happy;' you might respond. These are outward examples of things that many
of us have traditionally associated with happiness. We often forget,
however, that happiness is a choice; no one can make us happy.

Happiness is what we find in our involvement with Narcotics Anonymous. The
happiness we derive from a life focused on service to the addict who still
suffers is great indeed. When we place service to others ahead of our own
desires, we find that we take the focus off ourselves. As a result, we
live a more contented, harmonious life. In being of service to others, we
find our own needs more than fulfilled.

Happiness. What is it, really? We can think of happiness as contentment
and satisfaction. Both of these states of mind seem to come to us when we
least strive for them. As we live just for today, carrying the message to
the addict who still suffers, we find contentment, happiness, and a deeply
meaningful life.

Just for today: I am going to be happy. I will find my happiness by being
of service to others.

Just For Today Daily Meditation is the property of Narcotics Anonymous ©
1991 by World Service Office Inc.

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If you are enjoying this daily recovery email,
Please pass on 12 Step Soul Food For The Spirit to your online friends,
"We can only keep what we have by giving it away."
If you have received this as a forward
and would like to subscribe please email
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Thanks, In loving service, Scott :)
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The weekly meeting topic is:
"Does no relationships in the first year,
mean no sex for the first year? "
PLEASE note the NEW URL
Yahoo! Clubs Twelve Step Soul Food 4 the Spirit
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twelvestepsoulfood4thespirit/>
A Safe Place to Share , Discover and Recover.
This a message bulletin board meeting, where people post on the
weekly topic. It takes only 1 minute to enter a password and
username. Please go this page on the upper right hand corner and click
the join club link, sign in and go to the left hand side and click
messages to read what others have shared and click on the post link,
now you can share on the topic of the week or whatever you would like.
There is a lot of good experience, strength and hope in here as well
as newcomers who need our support and love, PLEASE stop by.
Thanks for your participation and support :)
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Meditation of the Day
<http://www.hazelden.org/thought_for_the_day.dbm>
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EQUALITY

Our membership ought to include all who suffer from
alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A.
membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three
alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A.
group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 565

Prior to A.A., I often felt that I didn't "fit in" with the people around
me. Usually "they" had more/less money than I did, and my points of view
didn't jibe with "theirs." The amount of prejudice I had experienced in
society only proved to me just how phony some self-righteous people
were. After joining A.A., I found the way of life I had been searching
for. In A.A. no member is better than any other member; we're just
alcoholics trying to recover from alcoholism.
Copyright 1990 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day by Hazelden/ April 8th

A.A. Thought for the Day

Second, alcoholics recover their faith in a Power greater
than themselves. They admit that they're helpless by
themselves and they call on that Higher Power for help.
They surrender their lives to God, as they understand Him.
They put their drink problem in God's hands and leave it
there. They recover their faith in a Higher Power that can
help them. Have I recovered my faith?

Meditation for the Day

You must make a stand for God. Believers in God are
considered by some as peculiar people. You must even be
willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of your faith. You
must be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and
customs of the world go by, when God's purposes are
thereby forwarded. Be known by the marks that distinguish
a believer in God. These are honesty, purity, unselfishness,
love, gratitude, and humility.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God
before others. I pray that I may not be turned aside by
the skepticism and cynicism of unbelievers.



"Twenty-Four Hours A Day" is a © Copyrighted book of
Hazelden Foundation. No portion of this publication may
be reproduced in any manner without the written
permission of Hazelden.

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Acceptance

Surrender to the moment. Ride it out and through, for all it's worth.
Throw yourself into it.
Stop resisting.

So much of our anguish is created when we are in resistance.
So much relief, release, and change are possible
when we accept, simply accept.

We waste our time, expend our energy,
and make things harder by resisting, repressing and denying.
Repressing a thought already formed will not make us a better person.
Think it.
Let it come into reality. Then release it.
A thought is not forever.
If we don't like it, we can think
another one or change it.
But to do that, we must accept
and release the first thought.

Resistance and repression will not change a thing.
They will put us at war with our thoughts.

We make life harder by resisting and repressing our feelings.
No matter how hard, how uncomfortable, how unjustified,
how surprising, how "inappropriate" we might deem our feelings,
resisting and repressing them will not free us from them.
Doing that will make them worse.
They will swirl inside us, torment us, make us sick,
make our body ache, compel us to do compulsive things,
keep us awake, or put us to sleep.

In the final analysis, all that we're really called on to do is
accept our feelings by feeling them, and saying, "Yes this is what I feel."

Feelings are for the present moment.
The more quickly we can accept a feeling,
the more quickly we will move on to the next.

Resisting or repressing thoughts and feelings does not change us
or turn us into the person we want to be or think we should be.
It puts us in resistance to reality.
It makes us repressed.
Eventually, it makes us depressed.

Resisting events or circumstances in our life does not change things,
no matter how undesirable the events or circumstances may be.

Acceptance turns us into the person we are and want to be.
Acceptance empowers the events and circumstances
to turn around for the better.

What do we do if we're in resistance,
in a tug-of-war with some reality in our life?
Accepting our resistance can help us get through that too.

Acceptance does not mean we're giving our approval.
It does not mean surrendering to the will
and plans of another.
It does not mean commitment.
It is not forever.
It is for present moment.
Acceptance does not make things harder;
it makes things easier.
Acceptance does not mean we accept abuse or mistreatment;
it doesn't mean we forego ourselves our boundaries,
hopes, dreams, desires, or wants.
It mean we accept what is, so we know what to do to take care of ourselves
and what boundaries we need to set.
It means we accept what is and who we are at the moment,
so we are free to change and grow.

Acceptance and surrender --
two concepts that hurt the most before we grow.

Today, I will practice accepting myself and my present circumstances.
I will begin to watch and trust the magic that acceptance
can bring into my life and recovery.

Melody Beattie ~ Language of Letting Go

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N.A. Basic Web Page Links
<http://na.basicwebpage.org/links.html>
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I came to this program to save my ass and found out it was
attached to my soul.--Anonymous

God gets our attention in a lot of different ways. For
a great many of us, it was through accident or illness, coming close to
death. All of us come to this program frightened for our life or our
sanity or both. God has our attention.
And now we are learning about the spiritual aspect of
our life, the one we had so long neglected. Now we are partaking of
God's love---soul food---and discovering that the spiritual life is
fuller and more rewarding than anything we thought possible. Nothing
we do to please our body can compare to the joy of unconditional love.
When we elnd a lvoing hand to anyone, we realize once again that the
pain we suffered was worth it to bring us to this awareness.

Today I will look for ways to help others----and bless my soul!

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A FAREWELL LETTER

If for an instant God were to forget that I am rag doll and gifted me
with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn't say all that I think, but
rather I would think of all that I say. I would value things, not for
their worth but for what they mean. I would sleep little, dream more,
understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty
seconds of light.

I would walk when others hold back. I would wake when others sleep. I
would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate
ice cream! If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply,
throw myself face first into the sun, baring not only my body but also
my soul. My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and
wait for the sun to show. Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh
dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I'd
offer to the moon. With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain
of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals.

My God, if I had a piece of life...I wouldn't let a single day pass
without telling the people I love that I love them. I would convince
each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in
love with love. I would show men how very wrong they are to think that
they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow
old when they cease to love! To a child I shall give wings, but I shall
let him learn to fly on this own. I would teach the old that death does
not come with old age, but with forgetting. So much have I learned from
you, oh men...

I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain,
without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled. I have
learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his
tiny fist his father's finger, he has him trapped forever. I have
learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he
has to help the other get to his feet. From you I have learned so many
things, but in truth they won't be of much use, for when I keep them
within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.

-- GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ

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GETTING RID OF DISAPPOINTMENT

A great many people are disappointed because of unrealistic
expectations.

Walking up to a department store's fabric counter, an attractive
young woman said, "I want to buy this material for a new dress.
How much does it cost?"
"Only one kiss per yard," replied the smirking male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the harassment, the woman said, "That's
fine! I'll take ten yards."

With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the
clerk hurriedly measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it
out teasingly, leaning forward to receive his "payment."

The woman snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man
standing beside her. "Grandpa will pay the bill," she smiled.

He was no doubt disappointed. But in the course of living, many
people are disappointed when others do not live up (or down, in
this case!) to their expectations. In order to be happy, some
expectations must be dropped. These unrealistic and unhealthy
expectations are three of the main culprits.

1. Do not EXPECT appreciation. When others say, "Thank you," or
in any way show their gratitude, be happy. It is a gift!

2. Do not EXPECT others to make you happy. They simply cannot do
that. Make yourself happy and share your joy with others.

3. Do not expect NOT to be let down. At times, people will simply
not come through for you in the way you need. Forgive them and
move on.
Get rid of these three expectations and you will be getting rid
of daily disappointment!
~Steve Goodier

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I Looked For Years

I looked for years
But could not see
That all my mistakes
Were caused by me
I looked for years
But could not see
All the love that surrounded me
Traveled so many different ways
Trying to justify those evil days
I looked for years
But could not see
I was an addict
Drowning in me
I used everything I could find
I was way out of my mind
I looked for years
But could not see
Farther than my nose
I was near sighted
and
God knows
Self centered
and
Selfish
As can be
Just another addict
Who was not free
Chains bound my spirit
Back in those days
Held prisoner
By
Lust
Greed
Alcohol
Drugs
Held tight
Did not know
To get free
I had to let go
Looked for years
But could not see
My biggest problem was me
Altered reality kept me blind
I look for years but could not find
Any peace or serenity
Guilt and shame
Was all I could see
Sick and tired
Of
Being sick and tired
I turned to the fellowship
The place where love abides
No one there needs to hide
Honest
Open
Willing
I started to see
Opened my eyes
To reality
No longer bound
I was now free
I thank my God
For helping me to see
Peace
Serenity
Humility
Now dwells
Inside of me
Thanks to my
Sponsor
And God
I can now see

Daniel M Corkery
12/18/2000
DMCDREAMER@...
PAPACORK@...
DMCDREAMER's Page of Poetry
<http://www.geocities.com/dmcdreamer/>
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In the game called life, everybody's on the playing field.
If we don't understand the rules, life can feel happenstance,
leaving us uncertain of the direction we're headed.
By knowing the "rules," practicing these principles,
and making conscious choices to interact lovingly with other players,
our lives become filled with meaning and purpose.
--Mary Manin Morrissey
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Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
-- Raymond Lindquist
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People who truly love themselves do not become
destructively self-centered.
They do not abuse others.
They do not stop growing and changing.
People who love themselves well, learn to love others well too.
They continually grow into healthier people,
learning that their love was appropriately placed.
Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go
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"Baruch Bashan" is a statement that means "the blessings already are" --
that blessings are present,
and all we have to do is to partake of them,
enjoy them, and appreciate them.

That is what a genuine relationship with God and Spirit is really all about:
The blessings of God are present and available.
- John Morton
From: The Blessings Already Are
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"Having a resentment is like drinking poison
and waiting for someone else to die."
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"Had the eyes no tears,
the soul would have no rainbow."
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"God will heal your broken heart,
if you will give Him all the pieces."
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"Seven days without a meeting makes one weak."
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By the grace of God and through your efforts of passing on this
email, we are reaching many recovering people in different areas of
the world. If you are receiving this, from a country outside of the
USA please send me an email and tell me where you are receiving this.
So far we reaching over 6000 recovering people in 64 countries
including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium,
Bermuda, Brazil, Canada , Columbia, Costa Rica, China , Cyprus, Denmark,
Egypt, England, Finland, France, Guatemala, Germany, Greece, Honduras,
Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast,
Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Mali West Africa, Mozambique,
Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru,
Puerto Rico, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia , Saudi Arabia,
Scotland, Singapore, South Africa , Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of
America, Venezuela, Wales and West Indies, Zimbabwe.
Even if your country is listed
please email me and let me know where you are from.
Thank you, Have a nice day , Keep Stepping ~ Scott
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-owner@yahoogroups.com
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12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit does not endorse any of the advertisements
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Putting together these Daily Recovery Emails has been such a blessing
for me, Thanks for your support and contributions, "What I can't do
alone we can do together." If you have any original poetry or
submissions that you would like to send to me you can email me at
12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit-owner@yahoogroups.com
"12 Step Soul Food for the Spirit" is intended to give readers , inspiring
and thoughtful messages. To help fulfill our primary purpose which is to
carry the message to the alcoholic/addict who still suffers. A spiritual
adventure, a journey inwards this has a vision of opening and touching,
each and everyone, with the Loving Power and Presence of the Spirit within."
We invite you to share the writings by forwarding today's message to
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Stay in the light,
In loving service,
Scott H. from N.Y. ~ cleandate 10/27/88
(\o/\o/) we are each of us angels with only one wing (\o/\o/)
/_\/_\ and can only fly by embracing each other /_\/_\

Scott.Hammer@...
please visit me at:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/12StepSoulFoodForTheSpirit/>




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