January 1

”Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down.” Jimmy Durante

As I step into a new year I am reminded of my successes and failures of the past year. I am thankful for having overcome the challenges of the past year and I feel that much more prepared to face all those that lie ahead. I am still cognizant that my foundation is not as solid as it could be and that my recovery is still fragile. I need to be continually aware of what I do and don’t do, what I say and how I think. My world can come crashing in if I stop putting First Things First. I owe it first to myself and second to everyone else around me to continue working my program of recovery and gaining knowledge through my 12 Step work. It is only through positive action that I will continue to change and grow, and keep following the will of my Higher Power. It is all the small things that have accumulated into my new habits and behaviours that will keep me moving in a better direction. Prayer and meditation, reaching out, attending meetings, writing, reading literature – all these tools and more will help me deal with the pressures of living. I will continue to give thanks, forgive myself and others, and remain in service. Every small act will propel me further into this grand new frontier that is recovery.

Affirmation Recovery requires persistence and diligence. It is a daily act of prevention and maintenance, not first aid for when I have fallen too far off the path.

July 4

”A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Confucius

Stop. Breathe. Listen. Look. Feel. Some days I need to break down tasks into very simple, basic steps. I am not able to do more than that. This is part of my way to block and filter out all the distractions of the outside world, all the directions that I seem to be pulled in. It’s a protective wall to help keep me focused on the present so I can maintain a shred of sanity. I am thankful there are not too many days where I feel this overwhelmed and need to micro-manage every tiny act. In the larger scheme of things, I am learning to live by taking small incremental steps. In reducing my focus into tasks that I can view easily, comprehend fully and know that I can accomplish I am better able to links several actions together to do something more complex. I know if I tried to tackle the entire problem all at once I would likely have gone nowhere at all. For me it’s another form of one of the well-known slogans, First Things First. Putting on my jacket before my shirt is not going to be overly productive. The program reminds me often that the real goal is progress and not perfection. I need to keep breaking problems into manageable and achievable steps so that I continue moving in a positive direction. I am more interested in the journey than the destination.

Affirmation I will practice breaking task down into steps that I can manage. I still walk forward a single step at a time.