Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
--Carl Jung

In our worst time, we have been irritable and difficult to live with.  And when we feel most irritable, we are least likely to look at ourselves. Now in recovery, when someone irritates us, it is very useful to ask ourselves why we are so annoyed. We often find that the very thing that irritates us about someone else is the very quality in ourselves that we don't want to face.

When someone's whining bugs us, maybe it is our own capacity for whining that we reject. When someone's self-absorption gets under our skin, maybe we are sensitive about our own self-centeredness. Sometimes we find it easier to complain about a quality in others than to admit we are like that
too.

Today I will use my feelings of irritation to guide me inward and know myself better.
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 Wisdom to Know by
Anonymous

I am still amazed, after years of recovering, at how easily I can begin to talk myself out of attending meetings. I am also still amazed at how good I feel when I go.
--Anonymous

We don't have to stay stuck in our misery and discomfort. An immediate option is available that will help us feel better: go to a meeting, a Twelve Step support group.

Why resist what can help us feel better? Why sit in our obsession or depression when attending a meeting - even if that means an extra meeting - would help us feel better?

Too busy?

There are 168 hours in each week. Taking 1 or 2 hours a week for a meeting can maximize the potential of the remaining 166 hours. If we get into our "codependent stuff," we can easily spend a majority of our waking hours obsessing, sitting and doing nothing, lying in bed and feeling depressed, or chasing after other people's needs. Not taking those 2 hours for a meeting can cause us to waste the remaining hours.

Too tired?

There is nothing as invigorating as getting back on track. Going to a meeting can accomplish that.

Today, I will remember that going to meetings helps.

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The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

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 one lose touch with his strength, his wisdom, and 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 us when
we lose touch. It doesn't have to mean that we are "bad" 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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Touchstones by
Anonymous

Sometimes it's painful or almost impossible to admit that we've been wrong. This means we'll probably go on making the same mistakes until we're finally forced to face the truth. Why does this happen?

The problem lies with what we call the ego in our Twelve Step discussions. We commit ourselves to defending this ego at all times, especially around people who seem to put us down. Far from being a minor correction, any admission of wrong feels like total defeat, at least in our warped way of looking at things.

We can release ourselves from this bondage simply by coming to see that admitting and facing our wrongs is essential to growth. A store manager who overstocks a certain item "admits" the mistake by putting the goods on a clearance sale and getting rid of them. We can cut any loss in the same way by admitting a mistake and going on to a better course of action.

I'll not plan to make any mistakes today. But I'll hold myself in readiness to admit them if they occur. This is no threat to my ego. I am much more than my mistakes.
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Walk in Dry Places by Mel B.

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace during a storm.
--Anonymous

We learn in our recovery that life has a way of recreating itself. This discovery is one we are taught not to fight. We remember how badly we hurt when things would pass away from us, whether it was a lost doll, a lost dog, or a lost dad. We closed ourselves off from the possibility that anything of value could come from the loss. Yet the doll was replaced, a cat came into our lives, and a father figure emerged.

The key to staying on our Program is to remember that life does recreate itself. There will be many moments when we find ourselves squarely in the middle of a passing away. We will be hurt and wonder how we can go on.

Not to worry, this too shall pass. This cold winter of a moment will break soon into a sunny spring of a future.

There can be no comings if there are no goings. Life can't be recreated if there is no passing away. I need to remember that sometimes it is darkest before daybreak.

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Easy Does It by Anonymous

Today will be what we make it.  Regardless of the weather, the kinds of work to be done, the personalities crossing our paths, we'll feel joy and peace if that is our choice.

Agonizing over circumstances that aren't to our liking or dwelling on our failure to control other people, whether friends or foes, has robbed us of the happiness that is always ours to experience.  Depression, anger, fear, and frustration shadowed our steps because we didn't take control of the only thing that's ever been in our control absolutely - attitude.

It's so easy to blame others for every wrinkle in our lives. But as we grow accustomed to the idea of taking full responsibility for how we think and feel, we'll be empowered. No longer will our sense of self feel diminished. And, as Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying, we will be just as happy as we make up our minds to be.

Nobody can mess with my attitude but me! 

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A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

In Micronesian, there's a word, kukaro, which has no corresponding word in English. When people say they are going to kukaro, they mean they are going to relax, sit around, and hang out. They are being, not doing.
--Eli and Beth Halpern

As children, our best times are often trips to an amusement park, fishing at the lake, camping, or just sitting idly under a tree. These make the best memories, and times sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows or having a root beer after a family outing seem to bring out the love we share.

We don't seem to be accomplishing anything at these times. No chores are getting done around the house, no schoolwork, no repairs, and no moneymaking.

But these times of peace, relaxation, and a sense of endless time of being, not doing, may be essential to our ability to get other things done later. Certainly we are most receptive to our feelings, new ideas, and unplanned adventures at these moments. Maybe we should add kukaro to our vocabulary.

What timeless thing can I do today?

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Today's Gift by Anonymous