Daily Motivations 5-19-2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Today's Gift

. . . if we are suffering illness, poverty, or misfortune, we think we shall be satisfied on the day it ceases. But there too, we know it is false, so soon as one has got used to not suffering, one wants something else. —Simone Weil

Perhaps it's the human condition never to be satisfied and yet always to think, "If only . . ." However, the more we look within for wholeness, the greater will be our acceptance of all things, at all times.

So frequently we hear that happiness is within. But what does that mean when we may have just lost the job that supported us and our children? Or when the car won't start and funds are low? Or when we are feeling really scared and don't know whom to talk to or where to go? "Happiness is within" is such a grand platitude at those times.

Nevertheless, our security in any situation is within, if we but know how to tap it. It is within because that is where the strength we are blessed with resides, the strength given us from the power greater than ourselves. "Going within" takes, first, a decision. Next, it takes stillness, and then, patience. But peace will come.

We will quit wanting when we have learned how to turn to our inner strength. We will find serenity rather than suffering.

I will go within whenever I feel the rumblings of dissatisfaction today. I will look there for my joy and sense of well-being and know that divine order is in charge.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

Keep It Simple

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.---Marcus Aurelius
The struggles of life teach us a lot. They challenge our beliefs. As we struggle, we come to believe that our friends, family, and Higher Power will be there for us in hard times. But we must do our part. We need to call and honestly let people know how we are doing. We need to pray and ask our Higher Power for help. If we do these things, we'll come to respect and learn from hard times.

Prayer for the Day: I pray for the wisdom to see that struggles are part of live. Higher Power, I pray for Your help in not taking struggles too personally.

Action for the Day: I'll list four times I've struggled and what I learned from each stuggle. I'll share this with a friend.

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One Day At A Time

Asking For Help

I am responsible.
When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help,
I want the hand of AA always to be there.
And for that: I am responsible.
- Alcoholics Anonymous Pledge

Thought to Ponder . . .
Simply asking for help seems to be a help in itself.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H E L P = Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience.

A MEMBER SHARES:
Hi all, I'm Melissa, alcoholic. I had to sell my house and that didn't feel great. I have a new place that is full of love and potential. That didn't lessen the stress exactly, though. I lost my home. I had to find a place to live. I had to pack, move and store, and make those decisions on my personal affects in rapid time. The mental and emotional weight of those things for the first time sober was tough to say the least. For the record, I did think of drinking. I was just saying how much that rotted... Ha! With every closet packed... every decision made on what to take, store, or throw away, I was stressed. It seemed like 40 decisions an hour, and it did catch up with me. I'm glad drinking didn't take place for me in this move. I will say that in sobriety in the midst of many life changes for me, I had to ASK for help this time and I'm happy for having done so. I asked my sponsor to keep in close contact with me, as I knew it would be hard. I asked my partner to be patient and supportive of me in the midst of stress. I asked my friends to understand that I was moving and I'd be out of touch. I'd rather let them know, than have hurt feelings and hurt relationships. I needed time alone and I simply asked for it. I was communicative and took what I needed. In the past, I would have just taken it and drank and not been respectful. The program has taught me better. In all of that for THIS alcoholic in the past week, I asked for help. I asked for what I needed. I have a place to live today because of this program and asking at a meeting. I have sobriety because of my AA friends and loved ones around me are willing to hear me when I ask for help. I feel good today because I planned to be sober, and asked for help along the way. Thanks all for hearing me and allowing me to serve.

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Daily Motivation

Keep coming back

How can you remain curious about your world, while not letting yourself become distracted by it? How can you be observant of what's going on around you, without being obsessed with it?

Make the firm and solid commitment to a meaningful purpose. And keep coming back to that purpose.

It's great to be open to new experiences, information and ideas. Yet at some point, you must stop merely collecting the data and start making use of it.

Curiosity involves exploration without a well-defined objective, and with it you can make some amazing discoveries. If those discoveries are to have any useful value, you must keep coming back to your purpose.

Without a guiding purpose, you'll wander aimlessly through a world filled with fascinating but meaningless distractions. With a purpose, though, you can transform all that random noise into real and meaningful value.

Go out and explore the world in all its richness, while being ever mindful of your purpose. Use all that curiosity and exploration to take you exactly where you want to be.

-- Ralph Marston