Contents
First published in 2001 as Timeless Wisdom by
Hazelden Foundation
First published in 2011 as Peace a Day at a Time by
Conari Press, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, llc, with offices at:
650 Third Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94107
Copyright © 2011 by Karen Casey
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, llc. Reviewers may quote brief passages.
ISBN: 978-1-57324-267-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data available on request
Cover design by Jim Warner
Text Design by Jonathan Friedman
Printed in Canada
TCP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dear Readers,
I was thrilled when my publisher asked me to select meditations from six of my books to create this anthology. My journey as a recovering woman has run parallel to my journey as a writer, and Hazelden has served as the midwife to this journey. I am ever grateful for this long-standing opportunity to serve other recovering people through my writing.
When I started writing my first book, Each Day a New Beginning, I didn't know where the process would take me. To my relief and delight, I discovered that writing provided me with a release for my worries and a sure way to connect to a Higher Power.
Since then I have written fourteen more books, all of which called me “to the table” to listen to my Higher Power and challenged me to reach out to others. Through the Twelve Step fellowship, I have learned that the messenger within wants to speak to each of us. Becoming a writer has been as simple, and as necessary, as that for me. I believe each of us is blessed with an inner messenger. Whether or not we choose to listen makes the difference between having a life of serenity or a life of turmoil.
As you might imagine, my life has not remained in a state of total serenity. Even though I have celebrated twenty-five years of continuous recovery, I have weathered many storms. In many cases, these storms have given rise to new books. Over and over I have discovered that the message of my Higher Power calms me as long as I am willing to listen and share the insights.
I hope, dear friends, that this anthology of meditations offers you peace and hope as you walk through the next year of your life. It is my sincere wish that you will choose to carry some of your own peace and hope to others in your daily journey. I also hope you will turn within for direct communication with the God of your understanding. The journey is softened for all of us each time even one of us chooses to listen and be moved by what we hear. May Peace be with you.
—Karen Casey
JANUARY 1
Helping Others
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.
—George Eliot
Always seeing our struggles as the fault of others is a good indication that we need an attitude adjustment. There is no better place to get one than in this program of recovery. The women around us and the Steps that guide us can help us discover the joy of cultivating a new attitude.
Trying to determine the grand purpose of our lives can be overwhelming and anxiety-provoking. As alcoholics, we gravitate toward complicating the simple. That's why one of our slogans is “Keep it simple.” We can apply this to all our relationships. Asking ourselves what we can do to help someone else, at every opportunity, defines our purpose in life quite clearly. Moment by moment, we'll never doubt what to do next.
My purpose is to help someone else today. If I think someone is causing me a problem, perhaps I should address my attitude.
—from A Woman's Spirit
JANUARY 2
Being a Student
. . . that is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.
—Doris Lessing
As we are changed by our experiences, that which we know also changes. Our experiences foster growth and enlightenment, and all awarenesses give way to new understandings. We are forever students of life blessed with particular issues designed only for us. There is joy in knowing that learning has no end and that each day offers us a chance to move closer to becoming the persons we are meant to be.
To understand something more deeply requires that we be open to the ideas of others, willing to part with our present opinions. The program offers us many opportunities to trade in the understandings we've outgrown. Throughout our recovery we have discovered new interpretations of old ideas. And we will continue to expand our understanding.
Every situation, every person, every feeling, every idea has a slightly different hue each time we encounter it. The wonder of this is that life is forever enriched, forever fresh.
Each moment offers me a chance to know better who I am and to understand more fully the real contribution that is mine to make in this life. I will let the anticipation of my changing ideas excite me.
—from Each Day a New Beginning