Thursday, November 18, 2010
Today's Gift
Birds sing after a storm. Why shouldn't we? --Rose Kennedy
Some of us have been through an awful lot. We have endured pain and hopelessness. Now we have some choices to make. We can allow our pasts to make us feel bad about ourselves or we can sing after the storm. We can feel proud that we are not giving up, we are not willing to be destroyed.
The past won't change, and the bad things won't magically go away. But we can learn to move forward.
We can put the past where it belongs, close enough so we'll never forget, and far enough away so we don't give it all of our attention. The sun doesn't just make rainbows for other people; they're for us too.
Today let me tell myself that it's okay to feel good about myself.
Some of us have been through an awful lot. We have endured pain and hopelessness. Now we have some choices to make. We can allow our pasts to make us feel bad about ourselves or we can sing after the storm. We can feel proud that we are not giving up, we are not willing to be destroyed.
The past won't change, and the bad things won't magically go away. But we can learn to move forward.
We can put the past where it belongs, close enough so we'll never forget, and far enough away so we don't give it all of our attention. The sun doesn't just make rainbows for other people; they're for us too.
Today let me tell myself that it's okay to feel good about myself.
You are reading from the book:
Our Best Days by Nancy Hull-Mast
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Walk In Dry Places
Personal relations.
Personal relations.
The old friends who dropped us.
As our drinking progressed, most of us lost old friends. Sometimes it was our behavior that drove them away; at other times, it was because they didn't want to associate with "losers."
As our drinking progressed, most of us lost old friends. Sometimes it was our behavior that drove them away; at other times, it was because they didn't want to associate with "losers."
In sobriety, some of our old friendships have been restored. These are real friendships based on trust and true affection. But sobriety can also give us a deeper and finer understanding of friendships. We may acquire a new set of values on this subject. We may find that some of those whom we considered friends were only fair-weather drinking acquaintances. Drinking acquaintances will probably ease away from us if we really means business in staying sober. This need not bother us if we're thinking rightly.
The great news in all of this is that in the fellowship, we'll be making some of the best friends we can ever have. We'll also learn how to be great friends with ourselves.
Action for the Day: In my thinking about friendship today, I'll seek people I trust and like, not people I can use.
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One Day At A Time
A Choice
At my first meeting, I heard "You don't have to drink again."
This was a total revelation to me.
For a long time I had believed that alcohol
was one of the few positive things left in my life. . .
I had to drink to survive, let alone to have any comfort.
Yet here, people who had been in the same boat
were telling me that I didn't have to drink. I don't think I believed them that night,
but it gave me enough hope to avoid drinking the rest of the day.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 364-365
Thought to Ponder . . .
Just for today, I choose not to drink.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.
At my first meeting, I heard "You don't have to drink again."
This was a total revelation to me.
For a long time I had believed that alcohol
was one of the few positive things left in my life. . .
I had to drink to survive, let alone to have any comfort.
Yet here, people who had been in the same boat
were telling me that I didn't have to drink. I don't think I believed them that night,
but it gave me enough hope to avoid drinking the rest of the day.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, pp. 364-365
Thought to Ponder . . .
Just for today, I choose not to drink.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
O D A A T = One Day At A Time.
************************
Daily Motivation
Touch the purpose
In this moment, life is unfolding in a new and beautiful way. Can you see it?
In this moment, there is a special goodness. Can you feel it?
On this day, your dream is speaking to you. Can you hear it?
Right now, you have something more precious than anything you can imagine. Right now, you have life and you have the opportunity to live it in your own special way.
Let go of the needs you've surrounded yourself with. And let life's richness fill your awareness.
Taste the beauty, feel the possibilities and touch the purpose that lives within. Find new ways to experience sweet fulfillment simply by being you.
-- Ralph Marston
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