Daily Motivations 7-30-2010

Friday, July 30, 2010

Today's Gift

Many could forego heavy meals, a full wardrobe, a fine house, et cetera; it is the ego they cannot forego. —Mohandas Gandhi

We inevitably confront our ego in this program. We face our macho self, our powerful self, or our always-right self. We have developed many trappings, which give us an identity: our car, our stereo system, our job, our popularity, or our place to sit in church. The more attached we are to these trappings, the tougher it is for us to make progress on this spiritual path.

In stepping across a stream we must leave the side we are on in order to get to the other side. The repeated challenge in our spiritual life is to leave the secure trappings we know and take comfort in the still unknown new self. That is the leap of faith. We take the risk and trust something will be there for us. We have faith that letting go of our immediate attachments will bring us to a better place, that God will be there for us.

I will let go of external images and use my faith to take the leap forward.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

Walk In Dry Places

Sound thinking

Founders with clay feet
With any organization or society, the time comes when people find fault with the founders. The faults of these pioneering leaders are examined and perhaps even used to discredit them. Founders are only human beings, and they are likely to exhibit the human shortcomings all of us have. If these founders turn out to have clay feet, perhaps the fault is ours for idolizing them in the first place.

The real role of a founder is to lay the foundation for further building. Unless the society grows, improving over what the founder had in mind, it is not likely to survive. Its real work should be to surpass the fonder so as to be of greater service to others.

Action for the Day: I'll be careful not to put anyone on a pedestal and then complain about his or her clay feet.

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One Day At A Time

Gratitude
I can now understand how some things,
which once seemed like major disasters, turned out to be blessings.
Certainly my alcoholism fits that category I am a truly grateful alcoholic today.
I do not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.
Those events that once made me feel ashamed and disgraced now allow me
to share with others how to become a useful member of the human race.
~ Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 492

Thought to ponder . . .
There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome

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Daily Motivation

Who you know you must be

Are you having trouble getting motivated to move toward your dream? Then make your dream bigger, more meaningful and more compelling.

Go ahead and make your dream so beautifully imposing that you cannot avoid being pushed forward by it. Reach deep within yourself, connect with your authentic essence, and dare to dream what you truly wish to dream.

Dreams are not just for the young and ambitious. The more of life you have experienced, the more deeply you know how you wish to feel and how you wish to be.

If your dream seems impossible to your reasoning mind, that's great. Such a dream, when it's meaningful enough, will open you to a whole new world of possibilities.

There is a purpose that is yours to fulfill. Feel it deeply, consider it often, translate it into specific goals and then live your way toward the best you can imagine.

The challenges and setbacks, the disappointments and frustrations are all decidedly secondary concerns. Follow your dream, and be who you know you must be.

-- Ralph Marston