Daily Motivation 1-4-10

Tuesday, January 4, 2010

Today's Gift

There is no method or discipline or system of any kind that can ever command the spirit to be present. —Tom Sampon

A man in the process of growth and recovery asks the question, "How shall I develop a relationship with my Higher Power?" The first answer is usually, "You can decide to be open to the spiritual messages that come your way." Some experiences in life can be mastered and directed, as in performing a task or going on a trip. We can have other experiences only by being receptive. They come our way, as in the growing of a friendship or the unpredictable events on a trip.

To be receptive, we must not be so busy with what we can control that we fail to notice all the experiences, which are there for us. Our senses need to be open to see what is around us and hear what is in the air. We must breathe in the beauty and pain of life. When there is a message in our experiences, let us read it and not demand it fit our narrow, logical minds.

Today, I pray that I will be open to receive the spirit on its own terms.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©

 

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.--Chinese proverb.
Life holds so many choices now that we are sober. We'd like to go so many places. We'd like to see so many things. We have so much to do. We are slowly learning how to trust our dreams and reach for them. Our program teaches us that we live One Day at a Time. We make progress by doing First Things First. Easy Does It. Our dreams may seem very big and far away. We wonder if we'll ever get there. But our faith tells us to go for it. And we know how: one step at a time.

PRAYER: Higher Power, help me know this gentle truth: my life matters. Help me set goals that I can grow toward, one step at a time.

ACTION: Today, I'll think about one of my goals. I will list ten little steps that will help me get there.

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One Day At A Time

 

A Spiritual Life
AA is a spiritual program and a spiritual way of life.
Even the first half of the First Step,
"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol," is a spiritual experience.
An AA member needs more than physical capabilities;
he needs the use of his full faculties as a human being to hear the message,
to think about it, to review the effects of the past to realize, to admit, and to accept.
These processes are activities of the mind, which is part of the spirit.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 3

Thought to Ponder . . .
Refresh your spirit with everyday miracles.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
K I S S = Keeping It Simple, Spiritually.

 

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Daily Motivation

 

The truth of who you are

 

The challenge of successful living is not in gaining access to life's abundance, for there is always plenty of it. The challenge is in recognizing that abundance and making it into things that are meaningful and fulfilling.

 

Just as a tiny seed has within it all the information necessary to grow a massive tree, so do you have within you the kernel of your own fulfillment. That fulfillment comes about when you are most authentically you.

 

You cannot deny your purpose in the name of success. For if there is no purpose behind the result, there is no success.

 

Feel the truth of who you are. Put that truth into action in each moment of your life.

 

You are highly skilled and experienced at taking action and making things happen. So choose to make those things happen that create and support what you value most.

 

Pay great and loving attention to who you are. Continually give your own unique treasure to life, and you'll experience life at its absolute best.

 

-- Ralph Marston