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A mistake made more than once is a choice.

Saying I am sorry requires changed behavior.

We teach people how to treat us by what we demonstrate and what we allow - you deserve your best life.

We all carry it within us; supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted and cannot be destroyed. But it is hidden deep, which is what makes life a problem.

~Huston Smith

How does a man lose touch with his strength, his wisdom, his joy? Perhaps it is in the nature of humanity. Our most profound qualities are hidden deep. They never go away, but we cannot always find them. There may be nothing wrong with ourselves as men when we lose touch. It doesn’t have to mean that we are “bad guys” for getting depressed or for feeling inadequate. Who doesn’t have that problem? It is the nature of life that we sometimes feel this way. This program helps us unearth the resources hidden within us.

When we cannot find those reassuring feelings of strength and wisdom and joy, we may think they are gone forever. We even doubt we ever had them or could have them again. But they are still there. They cannot be destroyed. And when we regain contact we know they have been with us all along.

I will have faith that the innermost places in me can never be destroyed.

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Today's Gift Book
Today's reading is from the book Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men*
*Meditations can be specific, but themes are universal: apply as needed on your personal journey.
Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men

Eleventh Step Prayer

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace--that where there is hatred, I may bring love--that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness--that where there is discord, I may bring harmony--that where there is error, I may bring truth--that where there is doubt, I may bring faith--that where there is despair, I may bring hope--that where there are shadows, I may bring light--that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted--to understand, than to be understood--to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

…except when to do so would injure them or others.

~Second half of Step Nine

We have to be careful when we make amends. We must think about people’s well-being. Can we help them heal by being direct with them? Or would this hurt them again?

At times, this means not making direct amends. Sometimes, it’s better to make some other kind of amends. If you’re not sure how to make amends to someone, ask for advice from your sponsor and your group. And pray. Over time, you’ll know if making direct amends is the right thing to do. Remember, Step Nine means we’re responsible for our actions. In recovery, our actions can be healing. Healing takes place when we love ourselves and others. And love is what heals us.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I’ve hurt people in the past. Please use me now to help those people heal. Give me good judgment, courage, and good timing.

Action for the Day

I will never be able to make direct amends to some people. I will think of other kinds of amends I can make to them. I can pray daily for their healing.

Download recovery support apps for your Apple or Android device today.
Today's Gift Book
Today's reading is from the book Keep it Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve Step Beginnings and Renewal*

I’ve trust enough in all that’s happened in my life, the unexpected love and gentleness that rushes in to fill the arid spaces in my heart.

~Tim Dlugos

We sometimes think that it’s up to us to solve whatever problems we encounter and to find immediate solutions. We forget the humility of trust: trust that we’re not in charge of everything, trust in others’ capacity for healing in their own time and in their own way, trust in our own capacity to receive the love and sustenance in which our world abounds.

Our spirits thrive, not because we’ve found a reason for everything or because we’ve gotten our own way at last, but because at least for this moment we’ve surrendered. Our Higher Power’s guidance will take us on the next step of the journey. This day will sustain and surprise us.

Trust that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Today, I trust the process of my life.
Hazelden Betty Ford