Daily Motivation 9-28-10

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Today's Gift

 

Practice being spontaneous. Practice having fun.

The joy of recovery is that we finally get to experiment. We get to learn new behaviors, and we don't have to do them perfectly. We only need to find a way that works for us. We even have fun experimenting, learning what we like, and how to do what we like.

Many of us have gotten into a rut with rigidity, martyrdom, and deprivation. We may hold ourselves in check so tightly that we wouldn't allow ourselves to try something fun anyway.

We can let ourselves go a little now and then. We can loosen up a bit. We don't have to be so stiff and rigid, so frightened about being who we are. Take some risks. Then, take another risk. Pick out a movie and then call a friend and invite him or her to go along. If that person says no, try someone else, or try again another time.

Decide to try something, and then go through with it. Go once. Go twice. Practice having fun until fun becomes fun.

Today, I will do something just for fun. I will practice having fun until I actually enjoy it.

You are reading from the book:

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

 

********************************

Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Walk In Dry Places
 
Gratitude

 

When should I be Grateful?
One spiritual writer believed that our only reason for gratitude should be that we are part of God's universe. Others point out that gratitude helps us, not God or the other people to whom we are grateful.

 

Their point is that it's not very uplifting simply to tie our gratitude to certain gifts or benefits. Such gratitude is fairly shallow and is almost no more than good manners. As recovering alcoholics, we need more than that.

 

The best reason for gratitude is the outlook it creates as we cultivate it within ourselves. We will actually feel mentally and physically uplifted if we know true gratitude. This is the true spiritual outlook alcoholics seek in the bottle but can find only in the new way of life.

 

Action for the Day: I'll find ways to practice gratitude today without letting others know what I'm doing.

 

***********************

One Day At A Time

 

Sponsorship

Every sponsor is necessarily a leader. The stakes are huge.
A human life, and usually the happiness of a whole family, hangs in the balance.
What the sponsor does and how well he estimates the reactions of his prospects,
how well he times and makes his presentation, how well he handles criticism,
and how well he leads his prospect on by personal spiritual example --
well, these attributes of leadership can make all the difference,
often the difference between life and death.
- The Language of the Heart, p. 292

Thought to Ponder . . .
Don't look for a sponsor, listen for one.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S P O N S O R =
Sober, Practical, Optimistic, Noble, Spiritual, Open-minded, Respectful.

 

 

******************** 
Daily Motivation

 

 

Life is not easy

 

Often, life is not easy. But then, it doesn't really have to be easy to be great.

 

Meaningful achievement is never easy. And yet, as difficult as it is, that achievement will bring great satisfaction, value and inspiration to your life.

 

Relationships are not easy. However, those relationships can bring immense richness to every aspect of your existence.

 

It's not easy to stay disciplined or focused or physically fit. It's not easy to manage dozens of conflicting priorities.

 

Even so, when you choose to deal with life's challenges and difficulties as they come, you are able to transform them. You have the opportunity to transform those ups and downs, those frustrations, discomforts and inconveniences into genuine fulfillment.

 

Yes, many times life is not easy. And yet it is precisely because of the difficulties that you're able to make life great.

 

-- Ralph Marston