May 8

”Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” Henry Vandyke

I am often overwhelmed by the number of resources and tools that are available to me in recovery. It can be daunting wondering trying to determine which are the best, which will work the fastest, require the least effort or will produce the most desired result. One thing that I used to overlook are those that match my own abilities and potential. Just like my talents help me in my day-to-day life, so too will they help in finding the tools that fit best into my recovery. The 12 Steps are general and remain that way as they are open, not so much to interpretation as they are designed to give freedom in how we individually incorporate them into our lives. Our strengths help us normally and it would be foolish to ignore them when working our program. The other side is not to be overly concerned that the path we choose or the tools we use are not the same as those used by others in our fellowship. Whatever works for us is fine, we are unique and have the right to do things differently. What we share and offer may be useful to someone else who has been struggling to find a tool that matches their own personality. This is one of the greatest strengths our program has to offer.

Affirmation My recovery is my own and by corollary so are the tools that will work best. I can be confident that as long as I am working my program I will continue to make progress.