Episode 200 -- March 14, 2022

Meditation Monday: First Things First

Welcome to Meditation Monday. We're pausing each Monday for a few minutes of reflection and inspiration from the authors of the Hazelden Meditation series of books.

Meditations are daily reflections, prayers, slogans and phrases intended to offer inspiration and comfort, and—above all—hope to those of us in recovery.

The selections for this mid-March Meditation Monday come from two of Hazelden's best-loved recovery resources: A Day at a Time and Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Teens. Together, today's meditations invite us to prioritize our recovery and take each day as it comes.

A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
The longer I'm in recovery, the more important becomes the slogan "First things first." I used to believe that my family came first, that my home life came first, that my job came first. But I know today, in the depths of my heart, that if I can't stay sober, I'll have nothing. "First things first," to me, means that everything in my life depends on my sobriety. Am I grateful to be sober today?

Today I Pray
May my first priority, the topmost item on my list of concerns, be my sobriety—maintaining it, learning to live comfortably with it, sharing the tools by which I maintain it. When other things crowd into my life and I am caught up in the busyness of living, may I still preserve that first-of-all goal—remaining physically and emotionally sober.

Today I Will Remember
First things first.

Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Teens

AA Thought for the Day
When we face the fact that we must spend the rest of our lives without alcohol, it often seems like an impossibility. So AA tells us to forget about the future and take it one day at a time. All we really have is now. As the saying goes, "Yesterday is gone, forget it; tomorrow never comes, don't worry; today is here, get busy." When tomorrow gets here, it will be today. Am I living one day at a time?

Meditation for the Day
Persistence is necessary if I am to advance in spiritual things. By persistent prayer and persistent, firm, and simple trust, I achieve the treasures of the spirit.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may persistently carry out my spiritual exercises every day.

About the Author:

A Day at a Time was written anonymously.
Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Teens was written anonymously.

A Day at a Time © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation
Twenty-Four Hours a Day for Teens © 2004 by Hazelden Foundation
All rights reserved