"Lack of daily maintenance can show up in many ways"
Basic Text, p. 95
Ever had a perfect stranger remark about how great the weather was, only to reply "It stinks"? When this happens, we are probably suffering from a lack of daily maintenance in our program.
In recovery, life can get pretty hectic. Maybe those added responsibilities at work have got you hopping. Maybe you haven't been to a meeting for awhile. Perhaps you've been too busy to meditate, or haven't been eating regularly or sleeping well. Whatever the reason, your serenity is slipping.
When this happens, it is crucial that we take action. We can't afford to let one "bad day;' complete with a bad attitude, slip into two days, four days, or a week. Our recovery depends on our daily maintenance program. No matter what is happening in our lives, we can't afford to neglect the principles that have saved our lives.
There are many ways to recover our serenity. We can go to a meeting, phone our sponsor, meet another recovering addict for lunch, or try to carry the message to a newcomer. We can pray. We can take a moment to ask ourselves what simple things we haven't been doing. When our attitudes head downhill, we can avert a crash with simple solutions.
Just for Today: I will examine the maintenance of my daily program of recovery
Reading this now helped me a lot, have been having a low-energy, down-and-out day today from the morning... have been getting these brief moments twice or thrice today where everything just seems so meaningless and unreal... have not been really using the power of prayer in the last 2-3 days as much as I usually would... felt I need a meeting, but decided not to go. Grateful to the members who called me and to my wife who went out to get some good food for me as I did not have the motivation or energy to go out at all... Also, I think I overate a bit, trying to feel good through food... So thank you for posting this. Reading it prompted me to do a serenity check, right here right now
Grateful to have all of you in my life today, especially at times like these it does make a huge difference to my state of being to just log in here and read a few posts... taking the effort to connect rather than isolate is one blessing that has saved me from many a week moments in my recovery...
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.
