Friday, April 30, 2010
Today's Gift
w/bonus
Balance
The goal is balance.
We need balance between work and play. We need balance between giving and receiving. We need balance in thought and feelings. We need balance in caring for our physical self and our spiritual self.
A balanced life has harmony between a professional life and a personal life. There may be times when we need to climb mountains at work. There may be times when we put extra energy into our relationships. But the overall picture needs to balance.
Just as a balanced nutritional diet takes into account the realm of our nutritional needs to stay healthy, a balanced life takes into account all our needs: our need for friends, work, love, family, play, private time, recovery time, and spiritual time - time with our Higher Power. If we get out of balance, our inner voice will tell us. We need to listen.
Today, I will examine my life to see if the scales have swung too far in any area or not far enough in some. I will work toward achieving balance.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.
~Bonus~
A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for a life of action not reaction --Rita Mae Brown
All men in recovery confront their reactive habits in relationships. Whether we came to recovery as a codependent or as an addict, we soon must face how much other people's behavior has been a cue for our own reactions. There is always a three-part process in any reaction first, the other person's behavior; second, a moment of choosing a response; and third, our reaction. But in our spiritual slavery, we don't notice the choice stage. It feels automatic. It may feel as though "the other person made me do it."
No amount of changing on someone else's part can change us. We are becoming more responsible for our own lives and for our own behavior regardless of others around us. There is liberation in noticing the choice stage. It is tough to follow through on our choices, but when we do, it is truly a sign of a grown man. Then a remarkable thing happens - our self-esteem rises.
Today, I will pause to notice the choices I have in the moment between someone's action and my reaction.
All men in recovery confront their reactive habits in relationships. Whether we came to recovery as a codependent or as an addict, we soon must face how much other people's behavior has been a cue for our own reactions. There is always a three-part process in any reaction first, the other person's behavior; second, a moment of choosing a response; and third, our reaction. But in our spiritual slavery, we don't notice the choice stage. It feels automatic. It may feel as though "the other person made me do it."
No amount of changing on someone else's part can change us. We are becoming more responsible for our own lives and for our own behavior regardless of others around us. There is liberation in noticing the choice stage. It is tough to follow through on our choices, but when we do, it is truly a sign of a grown man. Then a remarkable thing happens - our self-esteem rises.
Today, I will pause to notice the choices I have in the moment between someone's action and my reaction.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
w/bonus
Walk in Dry Places
Personal Relations
Personal Relations
Addicted to Crisis
It's sometimes a surprise to learn that we mismanage our affairs even in sobriety. We may even find that we seem to be addicted to problem situations. It takes a crisis, it seems, to give us the energy and purpose we need to get things done.
It's sometimes a surprise to learn that we mismanage our affairs even in sobriety. We may even find that we seem to be addicted to problem situations. It takes a crisis, it seems, to give us the energy and purpose we need to get things done.
One common form of this strange addiction is procrastination. Some of us have a tendency to put off important tasks until the very last moment, and then work overtime to get the job done.
Is this laziness? Maybe it is, to some extent. Maybe, however, we need an impending emergency to get motivated and energized to do what needs to be done. Maybe we're addicted to crisis.
Is this laziness? Maybe it is, to some extent. Maybe, however, we need an impending emergency to get motivated and energized to do what needs to be done. Maybe we're addicted to crisis.
If so, this may be another disease that can be arrested but not cured. We arrest it by slowly adopting better work habits and paying closer attention to schedules and deadlines. Working with greater efficiency, we'll have more time and energy for the things that really matter.
Action for the Day: Today I don't need a crisis to take charge of my life and do what needs to be done. I'll tackle at least one thing I've been putting off, and either complete the task or get a good start on it.
~Bonus~
Keep It Simple
When you want to be something, it means you really love it.---Andy Warhol
At times, we turned to chemicals because we couldn't love ourselves. Our addiction gave a promise of relief, but it gave us self-hate. We wanted to love, but couldn't. What is it we really love ? Where should we put out energy ? In raising children ? In creating art ? In helping addicts who still suffer ? There's much in this world that needs our love. We can be many things in our lives. Let's be people we believe in. Let's be people we can love.
When you want to be something, it means you really love it.---Andy Warhol
At times, we turned to chemicals because we couldn't love ourselves. Our addiction gave a promise of relief, but it gave us self-hate. We wanted to love, but couldn't. What is it we really love ? Where should we put out energy ? In raising children ? In creating art ? In helping addicts who still suffer ? There's much in this world that needs our love. We can be many things in our lives. Let's be people we believe in. Let's be people we can love.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know myself through my inventories. My skills, talents, values, and my loves must be clear to me so I can use them to do Your will.
Action for the Day: Today I'll think about what I'd really love to do through my work.
****************
One Day At A Time
Bill W Talks With His Sponsor
"Well," said Ebby, "You know, you got to be honest with yourself;
you make a self-survey; you talk it out with the other guy; you quit living alone
and begin to get straight with the world around by making restitution;
you try the kind of giving that demands no reward either in approval, prestige,
or money; and you ask whatever higher power there is, even if it is an experiment,
to help you find the grace to be released from alcoholism."
As Ebby put it, it was quite simple, quite matter-of-fact, and said with a smile.
But this was it.
- The Language of the Heart, pp. 283-284
Thought to ponder . . .
It works -- it really does.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S O B E R = Simply Observe Bill's Enduring Recovery.
"Well," said Ebby, "You know, you got to be honest with yourself;
you make a self-survey; you talk it out with the other guy; you quit living alone
and begin to get straight with the world around by making restitution;
you try the kind of giving that demands no reward either in approval, prestige,
or money; and you ask whatever higher power there is, even if it is an experiment,
to help you find the grace to be released from alcoholism."
As Ebby put it, it was quite simple, quite matter-of-fact, and said with a smile.
But this was it.
- The Language of the Heart, pp. 283-284
Thought to ponder . . .
It works -- it really does.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S O B E R = Simply Observe Bill's Enduring Recovery.
*************************
Daily Motivation
Limitations fall away
Today you will do as much as you think you can do. What if you thought you could do more?
Right now you are doing what you are inspired by this moment to do. What if you were inspired to do more?
Your thoughts and feelings on their own cannot even lift a feather. Yet they can push you powerfully forward or stop you in your tracks.
Every good and valuable thing you've ever done started as a thought. Imagine what your thoughts can start right now.
Feel the power of your purpose, upon which sits every desire. Think of the possibilities for expressing that purpose today, in your world, in new, unique and beautiful ways.
Think your most inspired thoughts, and feel your most treasured feelings. Then watch as the limitations quickly fall away.
-- Ralph Marston
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