type (I’ll host a retreat in my back yard), those goals will probably end in failure and then we feel defeated. Defeat, however, isn’t forever. We learn to reevaluate and bring our goals in line with our reality and our principles. Our newfound, Higher-Powered intuition can tell us what to do, what not to do, when to proceed, and what goals fit the principles by which we now live. We don’t give up: we reevaluate.
Have I changed my goals to meet my principles
or my principles to meet my goals?
I am pleased, and feel honored, to humbly but enthusiastically endorse and recommend the goals of Chemically Dependent Anonymous, and the means that fellowship recommends to achieve those goals.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 29
February 24
Seeing ourselves in the aura of Grace, we will not be deceived by pride, but will ever humbly expect and get all things from the hands of an all loving God. ∼Father John Doe
Of course, pride in and of itself is not bad. We ought to be proud of the good we do, our accomplishments, and the joy we bring into the lives of others. We even ought to be proud of our recovery. It is false pride, however, that is the deceiver. False pride tells us that we are better than others, that our solutions are the best, and that our opinions are “right.” False pride tells us we know why others slip, and that we know what the group conscience should be. The old saying “Pride goeth before a fall” is true. When false pride deceives us, we will fall. But through prayer and meditation, we also know that we can find God’s grace again. Prayer and meditation is the direct line that keeps pride from running our lives.
There but for the grace of God,
goes my false pride.
We must always remain a group of equals helping equals to attain sobriety through the grace of their Higher Power.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 94
February 25
Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but he was there. He was as much a fact as we were, we found the Great Reality deep down within us. ∼Alcoholics Anonymous P 55
In recovery, we begin the search for our own Great Reality, even if we don’t believe in organized religion or doctrine. Sometimes we do believe, but it is rather fuzzy and ill-defined. Sometimes our beliefs are not mainstream but more metaphysical or Zen in nature. Some of us are atheists and prefer to look in areas of science rather than the esoteric. No one can tell us what we believe or should believe. We instinctively know there is a Power greater than us, and our job is to define it for ourselves. Defining our Great Reality is a sacred task that is innately private and protected. Our search will sometimes go quickly, most times slowly, but eventually we must define our personal, private, and plentiful Great Reality.
I don't need to find my Great Reality; He isn't lost. My job is to define this Reality so
It works in my life.
We have accepted the Higher Power concept, and have begun to depend on this God to give us more love and the ability to continue to grow in open-mindedness.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 107
February 26
Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all along, my soul is being blown by great winds across the sky. ~Ojibway Saying
“Self-pity” is an all too familiar trap for many of us. It was exploited liberally in our using days. Yet, now we see self-pity in an altogether different light. Is it really so horrible that we are chemically dependent and have found this great new way of life? Is it so horrible that we lost our job, but now have another, more terrific job as a result? Often, what we thought was the worst turn of events actually had a sliver lining that brought us something wonderful. Self-pity is just another way of saying that we aren’t getting our own way; it is throwing a temper tantrum with God. Since we can’t see the larger picture, we need to have faith that God has our best interest in mind, even if we aren’t immediately aware that our “soul is being blown by great winds across the sky.”
There’s my plan and there’s God’s plan.
When I trust God’s plan, the unfulfilled details
of my plan don’t lead to self-pity.
Am I consumed with self-pity when life is not as I wish?
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 53
February 27
God speaks in the language you know best — not through your ears but through your circumstances. ~Oswald Chambers
Do you think your recovery is an accident? That is like saying the fact that you are on earth is an accident. Sobriety is never an accident and once sober, we learn to live life on purpose, not by accident. We know that we are here for a reason, just as we know that each of you is reading this page, at this time, for a reason. Our disease, our recovery, and our present circumstances have a purpose, and they become our Higher Power’s way of presenting His will to us. Our job is to meet these circumstances by practicing the principles we learn in the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions. That is God’s will. Our circumstances may be outside of our control, but the way we respond to them is not.
The circumstances of my life are my
Higher Power’s way of talking to me.
My responses show Him how well I listen.
Even though I could not have recognized it for what it was, at the time, I know, now, that his adopting me was one of the circumstances that led to my being in Chemically Dependent Anonymous today.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 342
February 28
Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all our activities. ∼Alcoholics Anonymous P 85
The “20/20 vision plan:” There is a simple vision plan we tell newcomers about when they are having a difficult time “seeing” what our program is all about. If they wonder why we have another 12-step program, why they need Steps, or why they need to share, we can suggest the 20/20 plan. We tell them, “Come to the meetings twenty minutes before they start, and stay twenty minutes after they are over to SEE what happens.” In fact, this plan is also useful for old-timers who are having difficulty “seeing” why they need to keep going to meetings. This 20/20 vision plan is so simple, and yet, it never fails to give us a brand new perspective on our program, as well as our role within the Fellowship.
Situations don’t change so much
as my perception of them.
Not until I attended my first C.D.A. meeting did I realize just how much I needed that program. I needed to be somewhere around people I could sit down with and talk about how it felt to do drugs.
∼Chemically Dependent Anonymous P 163
February 29
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ∼Melody Beattie
Getting clean and sober is no picnic. Initially, there doesn’t appear to be much to appreciate. Everything we do is laborious and very, very challenging. We soon realize, however, that challenges are opportunities in disguise. And for that we feel grateful. We are able to show our gratitude for such challenges:
•Each new twenty-four hours
•Each of our successes or failures
•Adversity through which we garner strength