Thursday, September 16, 2010
Today's Gift
Sit loosely in the saddle of life. —Robert Louis Stevenson
Sitting loosely in the saddle is an image of detachment for us. Detachment doesn't mean we stop caring. It means we have an inner wisdom telling us what we can control and what we cannot. When we go to meetings and hear fellow members struggling with temptations to return to old behaviors, we need to detach. When family members or friends are engaged in an addiction, we need to sit loosely in the saddle by caring, but not protecting them from the results of their behavior. Sometimes close friends will be "off base" in the way they talk to us. We practice detachment by not being reactive to the person but being responsive to the inner message of what kind of men we wish to be.
We can't control another person's behavior toward us. Our inner security will never come from how someone else behaves. The most helpful thing we can do for someone is to listen and care; then we need to be ready to let go of the outcome.
I will accept the limits of my control over others. I will care and let go.
Sitting loosely in the saddle is an image of detachment for us. Detachment doesn't mean we stop caring. It means we have an inner wisdom telling us what we can control and what we cannot. When we go to meetings and hear fellow members struggling with temptations to return to old behaviors, we need to detach. When family members or friends are engaged in an addiction, we need to sit loosely in the saddle by caring, but not protecting them from the results of their behavior. Sometimes close friends will be "off base" in the way they talk to us. We practice detachment by not being reactive to the person but being responsive to the inner message of what kind of men we wish to be.
We can't control another person's behavior toward us. Our inner security will never come from how someone else behaves. The most helpful thing we can do for someone is to listen and care; then we need to be ready to let go of the outcome.
I will accept the limits of my control over others. I will care and let go.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
*******************************
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Keep It Simple
Here’s my Golden Rule: Be fair with others but then keep after them until they’re fair with you.---Alan Alda
Here’s my Golden Rule: Be fair with others but then keep after them until they’re fair with you.---Alan Alda
Often in our illness we were ashamed, so we let people take advantage of us. We acted as if we had no rights. In recovery, we work hard to be fair with others. And we deserve to be treated with fairness too. If people are mean to us, we talk with them about it. If people cheat us, we ask them to set it right. In recovery, we live by our human rights.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to stand for fairness. Help me respect myself and others.
Action for the Day: Today, I’ll list people who have wronged me. I will make plans to talk to those with whom I feel will listen. I will let love, not shame or fear, control my actions.
***********************
One Day At A Time
No Options
Angry doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I had to admit I was an alcoholic.
Even though I was grateful not be nuts, as I'd first supposed, I felt cheated.
All the people I saw sitting around the tables of AA
had been granted many more years than I. It just wasn't fair!
Someone pointed out to me that life was rarely fair. I wasn't amused,
but extending my drinking career simply wasn't an option anymore.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 314
Thought to Ponder . . .
Alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful!
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome.
Angry doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I had to admit I was an alcoholic.
Even though I was grateful not be nuts, as I'd first supposed, I felt cheated.
All the people I saw sitting around the tables of AA
had been granted many more years than I. It just wasn't fair!
Someone pointed out to me that life was rarely fair. I wasn't amused,
but extending my drinking career simply wasn't an option anymore.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 314
Thought to Ponder . . .
Alcohol -- cunning, baffling, powerful!
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
A A = Always Awesome.
********************
Daily Motivation
What you get is what you see
Is it really a problem, or is it your perspective that makes it look like a problem? What if you looked at it differently?
Is your life stuck because of some outside influence, or are you the biggest factor holding yourself back? What would happen if you took a few steps outside your comfort zone?
Everything that comes to you, first comes through your perceptions. The reality upon which you base your decisions and actions is the version of reality that you choose to perceive.
You cannot change what has already happened. However, you can easily change the way you see it.
Your circumstances are what they are. And in those circumstances, whatever they may be, you can choose to find empowerment and positive possibilities.
What you get is what you see. Choose to see each day, each moment, each situation as an opportunity to move forward, and that's exactly what you'll get.
-- Ralph Marston
No comments:
Post a Comment