A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People (Hazelden Meditations)

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Let me carry only the weight of twenty-four hours at one time, without the extra bulk of yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s anxieties. Let me breathe the blessings of each new day for itself, by itself, and keep my human burdens contained in daily perspective. May I feel the balance of a soul that continues growing more connected to its Higher Power. Today I Will Remember Humility is a puzzling concept. We know a lot about humiliation, but humility is a new idea. It sounds suspiciously like groveling, bowing, and scraping. But that's not what humility is at all. True humility is, simply, acceptance of who we are. May goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. May I never cease to wonder at the greatest miracle in my life—that I am alive, here, on this green earth, and growing healthier with the life-preserving tools I have been given. Since my Higher Power has chosen to give me life and to preserve my life, even through the dangers of addiction, may I always continue to listen for the greater plan for me. May I always believe in miracles. Today I Will Remember Since I came to recovery, I’ve become increasingly aware of the Serenity Prayer. I see it in recovery literature, on the walls of meeting rooms, and in the homes of newfound friends. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Do I understand the Serenity Prayer? Do I believe in its power and repeat it often? Is it becoming easier for me to accept the things I cannot change? Today I Pray

May peace fill the place within me that once harbored my despair. May an appreciation for living—even for life’s trials—cancel out my former negative attitudes. During heart-heavy moments, help me remember that my heart was once much heavier still. Today I Will Remember I pray that I may not be caught up again in the downward, destructive spiral that removed me from myself and from the realities of the world around me. I pray that I may adjust to people and situations as they are instead of always trying, unsuccessfully and with endless frustration, to bend them to my own desires. Today I Will Remember In the beginning, the press could not understand ourrefusal of all personal publicity. They were genuinelybaffled by our insistence upon anonymity. Then they gotthe point. Here was something rare in the world — asociety which said it wished to publicize its principlesand its work, but not its individual members. The presswas delighted with this attitude. Ever since, thesefriends have reported A.A. with an enthusiasm which themost ardent members would find hard to match. I must never forget who and what I am and where I come from. I have to remember the nature of my illness and what it was like before I came to recovery. I’ll try to keep the memory green, yet not spend my time dwelling morbidly on the past. I won’t be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe that as I give to others, so others will give to me. Can I ever afford to forget what it used to be like, even for one minute? Today I Pray As a result, I lived a fantasy life in which happiness was all but nonexistent. No wonder I rarely smiled and hardly ever laughed aloud. Do I still think in terms of forever? Today I PrayTo truly desire to do God’s will, therein lies happiness fora human being. We start out wanting our own way. We want ourwills to be satisfied. We take and we do not give. Graduallywe find that we are not happy when we are selfish, so we beginto make allowances for other peoples’ wills. But this againdoes not give us full happiness, and we begin to see that theonly way to be truly happy is to try to do God’s will. In thesetimes of meditation, we seek to get guidance so that we canfind God’s will for us. BOOKMARK your favorite meditations (press the star in the upper right-hand corner) and easily return to them (press the star in the bottom toolbar).

The program and my friends in the fellowship have provided me with a whole new set of tools for living. Even the slogans that once seemed so trite and corny are now becoming an important part of my daily life: Easy does it; First things first; This too will pass. If I use all of my tools regularly and well, they’ll also help rid me of such negative feelings as guilt, anxiety, rebellion, and pride. When I’m feeling depressed, do I use the tools that have been proven effective? Or do I grit my teeth and suffer in painful silence? Today I Pray

Recovery Resources

Each daily reading lesson includes a study guide, video, script, assessment and answer key as well as a virtual library of supplemental resources. I used to see everything in terms of forever. Endless hours were spent rehashing old mistakes. I tried to take comfort in the forlorn hope that tomorrow would be different. If we are determined to stop drinking, using, or giving in to our compulsions, there must be no reservations whatsoever, nor any lurking notion that our addiction will someday reverse itself. Our regeneration comes through the splendid paradox of the Twelve Steps: strength arises from complete defeat, and the loss of one’s old life is a condition for finding a new one. Am I convinced that in powerlessness, power comes? Am I certain that by releasing my life and will I am released? Today I Pray Whether you are new to recovery or searching out a deeper meaning of the Twelve Steps, Twenty-Four Hours a Day will help you discover the power of prayer and begin the creation of a solid, spiritual foundation.

Since 1954, the words of Twenty-Four Hours a Day have become a stable force in the recovery of many individuals throughout the world. With more than 6.5 million copies of the text in print, Twenty-Four Hours a Day offers guidance for those living without alcohol or other drugs. Millions rely on these words as a spiritual resource that has practical applications to fit the daily life of those in recovery. May the words of the Serenity Prayer never become mechanical for me or lose their meaning in the lulling rhythms of repetition. I pray that these words will continue to take on new depths of significance as I fit life’s realities to them. I trust that I may find the solutions I need in this prayer, which, in its simplicity, encompasses all of life’s situations. Today I Will Remember Hazelden's classic daily meditations book has guided millions of recovering people toward a deeper and more intimate connection with a Higher Power of their understanding. May I really believe that the complete surrender of my whole being to a Higher Power is the way to serenity. My Higher Power alone has the power to make me be and feel whole, so I can only be whole through my Higher Power. May I do away with any feelings of wanting to hold out and never admit defeat. May I unlearn the old adage that tells me I must never give up and realize that such pridefulness could keep me from recovery. Today I Will Remember May I share my love, my joy, my happiness, my time, my hospitality, my knowledge of things on earth, and my faith in a Higher Power. Even though I may not see the results of my acts of sharing, may I take joy in the acts themselves. May sharing and connecting with others become as natural to me as speaking or breathing. Today I Will RememberJust for Today: I will allow knowledge of my true nature to guide my actions. Today, I will face the world as myself. That I may receive strength in the knowledge that life never gives us more than we can bear, that I can always, somehow, endure present pain, whereas the trials of a lifetime, condensed into one disastrous moment, would surely overcome me. May I feel gratitude for the tribulations that are always in proportion to my strength, rather than sent to demonstrate my frailty. May I remember that fortitude grows out of suffering. Today I Will Remember Deacon Fournier holds his Bachelors Degree (BA) in Theology and Philosophy from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He holds his Juris Doctor in Law (JD) from the University of Pittsburgh Law School. He holds His Masters Degree in Sacred Theology (MTS) from the John Paul II Institute of the Lateran University. He holds His Masters in Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Moral Theology from the Catholic University of America. He is currently working toward completion of a Doctorate in Moral Theology by completing his dissertation.