June 25

“Keep it simple, stupid.” ¬When I was fifteen and sat in the rooms of A.A., I heard people say a lot of shit. One of the sayings was, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” I liked it! It said everything I needed to know about how I always approached things. If something was simple, I looked for a way to complicate it. Because nothing that really works could be simple. Right? As far as I was concerned, everything could be overcome with knowledge and elbow grease. For whatever reason, I had always made things much harder than they needed to be, no matter what it was. When I returned to the rooms, someone softened the language to “Keep It Simple, Silly.” WTF? It seems that we alcoholics and addicts could not stand being called “stupid,” and someone got offended over the last thirty years. Do me a favor and bring back the word “stupid” in the K.I.S.S. acronym in recovery. Don’t get too fucking woke.

Reflections

Do you complicate things? Why do you think you do that?

Daily Challenge

Look up “A.A. sayings” on Google.

June 24

If you can’t do the little things, how in the fuck do you expect to do the big things? This is hard for us alcoholics and addicts to understand in sobriety. We think we know what we need to do. We are sure to have the answers. We want to rush headlong into solving what we think the problem is. You will hear things like, “Make your bed.” or “Take out the trash after you do the dishes.” And that stuff simply does not align with what we think we should do. The problem is that we are still thinking and not listening to what others have done who have successfully solved the problem. They made their beds, took out the trash, got jobs, worked the 12 Steps, went to therapy, and didn’t drink/drug one day at a time. They didn’t get sober and were suddenly struck wonderful by their fairy godsponsor. They did little things each day that amounted to big changes in the long haul.

Reflections

Are you still trying to eat elephants whole? Or one bite at a time?

Daily Challenge

What are two little things you need to do right now?

June 23

Maybe, God is watching you right now. Maybe, he sees your efforts (or lack thereof) and is giving you back exactly what you are putting in. Perhaps, the “law of attraction” does exist, and all you do is create more of the same. What you focus on, you create. Maybe you are making your reality every day, and what you hope for, wish, and will into existence is all coming true. Just possibly, all your positivity is aligning and generating outcomes that you alone are conjuring and manifesting. All you have to do is keep believing God is on your side and helping you along the way. Maybe that’s what all this is about. Maybe it’s all an illusion, and what it really needs is your undying faith and participation. Maybe the Universe cares about you and your place in it. And just maybe, it’s not so indifferent to your actions or desire.

Or maybe you’re just too cynical to consider any of it.

Reflections

Have your core beliefs changed since getting sober? Are they still changing? Are you willing to allow others to have their own beliefs without comment?

Daily Challenge

Try not to judge or comment on other people’s beliefs today. If it comes up, just shut up. Deal?

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June 21

Is your mind your enemy? Often, in recovery, people talk about their brain as though it is out to kill them. It’s as if their brain is separate from their self and lying in wait to attack at any given moment. It may sometimes feel that way, and I can certainly relate to the experience. But you still have control over your mind. You have choice and agency over your feelings, actions, choices, thoughts, and opinions. Instead of thinking of your mind as the “enemy,” why not approach your mind more like a child? Invite it to be playful. Guide it to new locations and encourage it to participate differently. Engage your inner self to seek new challenges and understanding. Push the limits of your mind’s comfort. Disrupt your internal narrative. Rock the boat a little. But stop fighting your mind. It’s not out to kill you. It’s just trying to survive with as little pain as possible, just like the rest of us.

Reflections

What is your inner dialogue? What is the ongoing conversation in your mind? What does it say most often? What would you do to someone else who talked to you the same way?

Daily Challenge

Stand in front of the mirror and say, “I love you,” to yourself. And mean it. Look yourself in the eyes. Awkward! But it does work.

June 20

リカバリ

In Japanese, the word “Rikabari” means “recovery” (primarily used to get something back or recover what was once lost). This definition is probably better suited to our needs than the English definition. The English version of “recovery” is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “the process of combating a disorder (such as alcoholism) or a real or perceived problem.” The former is what we are really looking for. When we came into this world, we were imprinted with all sorts of human conditions, problems, obstacles, and obscurities. Having survived adolescence and grown accustomed to the maladapted and misaligned behaviors of those around us, some of us became distorted and dysfunctional to the point of what felt like disrepair. We no longer needed to “combat a disorder.” We did that for far too long. We required rikabari! We needed to get back to the state where we could recover what was once lost. We needed the process of rikabari to learn to become who we already are.

Reflections

Are you still “combating a disorder,” or are you ready for rikabari?

Daily Challenge

Look up other cultures' words for “recovery” – it’s interesting.  

June 19

Some of us used alcohol and drugs to regulate our emotions and push down all the things we could not live with daily. Some of us found life too painful to bear. Alcohol and drugs worked to suppress negative emotions; for some, we thought we had found the magical cure to all life’s issues. It worked! But what we didn’t know is that it suppressed the good stuff too! As it took away the pain, it also took away the joy. Utterly unaware of our chosen medication's side effects, we continued on into oblivion. Then, when we got sober, this tsunami of emotion that was held back by drugs and alcohol for so long came roaring and crashing back to the shores of our consciousness. Ill-prepared, we begin to seek help the best we can. For some, this pain is too much to withstand, and we fold under the weight of these “new” emotions.

Reflections

Do you have emotional intelligence? Were/are you prepared to understand your emotions? Do you need additional help?

Daily Challenge

Visit: https://www.soberpod.com/glasscaseofemotion to download an eBook.

June 18

We all worship something. The difference is what we choose to worship. For a long time, I worshiped the rat race and all the trappings of the American Dream. It started with money and using my talents to acquire more and more. When I wasn’t using drugs, you could say that my drug was “more.” I got married, had kids (‘hostages’ is what we affectionately call them in the rooms), a house, cars, a better job, more skills, more money, an even better job, etc. It went on and on like this for decades. I also drank the entire time. I worshiped all these things and held these things up as my measure of success. Devotion, love, adoration, and reverence are synonyms for worship. One word that my thesaurus didn’t include was obedience. In the end, obedience is exactly what I felt about my forms of worship.

Reflections

What do you really worship? Don’t kid yourself. What do you think about, adore, and revere?

Daily Challenge

What can you worship that will never fail you? Pick that.

June 17

We didn’t get sober just to get sober. We also didn’t get sober just to help other addicts/alcoholics get sober. Though it can be fulfilling to help another person on the road to recovery, it must also be considered that we have things we would like to do in our hearts and personal aspirations. Some of us prefer nothing more than to help others, and that’s wonderful, but stepping back into society and feeling useful and whole again can take many forms. Some of us take on a new skill or hobby, join a religious body, or get a Master’s degree in a chosen field (like Chelsea on the Sober Pod Recovery Podcast, becoming a Registered Nurse). There are many paths to personal fulfillment in recovery that can also lead to service. Through these new adventures, we genuinely demonstrate our recovery outside of the rooms of recovery.

Reflections

What are you doing with your newfound life?

Daily Challenge

Looking for your people? Your tribe?

Try: https://www.meetup.com

June 16

You don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. Just say, “No.” No more overtime or doing things you don’t want to do for others. You have the right to say “no” at any time, and you don’t have to feel guilty about it. You get one time around on this ride, and that’s it. You don’t need to be wasting your fucking time trying to please others. Don’t forget, though, that you must participate. You must find your place and be satisfied with that position. What is it that you are supposed to do? Find that thing and do that with all your heart. It’s never too late to begin that journey. We have seen it done a thousand times. No matter how old you are, there is room for you, too.

Reflections

What are you here to do?

Daily Challenge

Practice it today. Say “no” to someone.