Feb. 1, 2014 – Today’s Gift from Hazelden

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014

Today’s thoughts from Hazelden are:

Bring the body, and the mind will follow.
— Saying heard in meetings

Newcomer
What do people in recovery mean when they say they have "smart feet"?

Sponsor
In recovery, we develop daily habits that we don’t question: the habit of attending meetings, the habit of picking up the telephone to call a sponsor or to share with another recovering person, the habit of starting and ending the day with our preferred combination of prayer, literature, and meditation. We do these things whether we feel like doing them or not, and in time they become second nature to us, automatic as our addictive behavior was in the past. If we don’t have to discuss these habits with ourselves, argue about whether or not they’ll make us feel better, or question whether we’ve outgrown them, our burden is lighter.

Once we’re at a meeting or sharing with another recovering person or with our Higher Power, the unexpected happens. We’re lifted out of the tyranny of addictive thinking. "Smart feet" are feet that carry us to a place we need to be, whether we know it ahead of time or not.

Today, I’m grateful for simple habits that open my heart and mind to recovery.

From the book:

If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin