Episode 220 -- May 23, 2022

Meditation Monday: A Little Help Won't Hurt

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 late May Meditation Monday come from two of Hazelden's popular recovery resources: A Day at a Time and If You Leave Me, Can I Come with You? Together, today's meditations invite us to accept the help of others, and meet each day with honesty and hope.

A Day at a Time

Reflection for the Day
I know today that I no longer have to proceed on my own. I've learned that it's safer, more sensible, and surer to move forward with friends who are going in the same direction as I am. None of us needs to feel shame at using help, since we all help each other. It's no more a sign of weakness to use help in recovering from my addiction than it is to use a crutch if I have a broken leg. To those who need it, and to those who see its usefulness, a crutch is a beautiful thing. Do I sometimes still refuse to accept easily obtained assistance?

Today I Pray
Higher Power, make me see that it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help, that the camaraderie of the group is what makes it work for each of us. Like a vaccine for diphtheria or polio, the program and the strength of the group have proved themselves as preventives for slips and backsliding. For the tools of recovery, I praise my Higher Power.

Today I Will Remember
Help is as near as my phone.

If You Leave Me, Can I Come With You?

Act As If
The unspoken motto in my home growing up was "Act as if nothing has happened, no matter what has happened." What? Mom, dad, drunk and fighting? Where? Clothes on the front lawn? Who? Sister climbing out the window at 3:00 a.m.? Huh?

My thinking was, no matter how crazy something looks, if I pretend it's not happening, it just might go away. That approach worked for a little while, but it's a pretty kooky way to go through life—ignoring, minimizing, denying. It catches up with you.

When I got into recovery, I had to tell the truth about the things that had happened and accept responsibility for my reactions to those situations, as well as my own unhealthy behaviors. And that's when I started to think, Hey, maybe "acting as if" nothing ever happened is an easier way to go through life.

In fact, some of the time I still prefer to pretend things are fine when they aren't.

Except now I have a recovery program that shows me how to face challenges, disappointments, and losses. Today I have friends to reach out to, and I don't have to pretend I don't feel the way I do, or that things aren't happening when they are. Unless things really aren't happening. Then, of course, there's no reason to pretend anything.

In Spite of Myself:
Things happen. With the help of God and my fellows in recovery, I can handle them.

About the Author:
A Day at a Time was written anonymously.
If You Leave Me, Can I Come with You? was written by Misti B.

A Day at a Time: Daily Reflections for Recovering People © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation
If You Leave Me, Can I Come with You? Daily Meditations for Codependents and Al-Anons (with a Sense of Humor) © 2015 by Misti B.
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