Friday, February 18, 2011
Today's Gift
Recovery is not about being right; it's about allowing ourselves to be who we are and accepting others as they are.
That concept can be difficult for many of us if we have lived in systems that functioned on the "right/wrong" justice scale. The person who was right was okay; the person who was wrong was shamed. All value and worth may have depended on being right; to be wrong meant annihilation of self and self-esteem.
In recovery, we are learning how to strive for love in our relationships, not superiority. Yes, we may need to make decisions about people's behavior from time to time. If someone is hurting us, we need to stand up for ourselves. We have a responsibility to set boundaries and take care of ourselves. But we do not need to justify taking care of ourselves by condemning someone else. We can avoid the trap of focusing on others instead of ourselves.
In recovery, we are learning that what we do needs to be right only for us. What others do is their business and needs to be right only for them. It's tempting to rest in the superiority of being right and in analyzing other people's motives and actions, but it's more rewarding to look deeper.
Today, I will remember that I don't have to hide behind being right. I don't have to justify what I want and need with saying something is "right" or "wrong." I can let myself be who I am.
From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©
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Twenty-Four Hours A Day
Keep It Simple
Changing brings questions, and questions bring change. ---Anonymous
What am I becoming? How do I know if what I'm doing is right? Is it best for me? We are full of questions. Often, times of question a are times of change. We are becoming something new, and there is always a little fear of change. Luckily, we don't need to know what we are becoming to find peace. What we need to know is what we believe in. And we'll become what we believe in. If we believe in sobriety, we'll be sober. If we believe in honestly, we'll struggle to be more honest. We must give ourselves the freedom of becoming. Becoming means we're on a trip, a journey. Over time, becoming takes on a comfort of its own.
What am I becoming? How do I know if what I'm doing is right? Is it best for me? We are full of questions. Often, times of question a are times of change. We are becoming something new, and there is always a little fear of change. Luckily, we don't need to know what we are becoming to find peace. What we need to know is what we believe in. And we'll become what we believe in. If we believe in sobriety, we'll be sober. If we believe in honestly, we'll struggle to be more honest. We must give ourselves the freedom of becoming. Becoming means we're on a trip, a journey. Over time, becoming takes on a comfort of its own.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, what am I becoming? I give up having to know the answer. All I need to believe is that You love me and will do what is best for me.
Action for the Day: I'll ask lots of questions. Often, the question is more important than the answer.
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One Day At A Time
Juggernaut
The philosophy of self-sufficiency is not paying off.
Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut whose final achievement is ruin. . .
Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will,
and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look
for something better.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 37-38
Thought to Ponder . . .
When I change the way I look at things, the things I look at change.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
The philosophy of self-sufficiency is not paying off.
Plainly enough, it is a bone-crushing juggernaut whose final achievement is ruin. . .
Each of us has had his own near-fatal encounter with the juggernaut of self-will,
and has suffered enough under its weight to be willing to look
for something better.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 37-38
Thought to Ponder . . .
When I change the way I look at things, the things I look at change.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H O W = Honesty, Open-mindedness, Willingness.
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Daily Motivation
Daily Motivation
Power in peace
To be peaceful, be thankful for all that is. Peace comes when there is no fighting, and being thankful eliminates what you would fight against.
In a state of peace, you can focus all of your energy on being effective and creative. When you are at peace, you have great power to put toward the service of your highest purpose.
Peace enables you to fully accept and make use of the limitless abundance that surrounds you. Peace saves you from all the wasted time and effort of resentment, judgment, worry and doubt.
What has arrived in your world is already here, and you are here to fully experience it. See if you can be genuinely and unreservedly thankful, for that thankfulness draws you into the powerful state of peacefulness.
Yes, some of what comes your way is uncomfortable, inconvenient and even painful. Be thankful nonetheless, and ease the burden of your burdens.
Be thankful, and truly at peace, with what is. And you put yourself in control of what can be.
-- Ralph Marston
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