Daily Motivation 3-1-11

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Today's Gift

What a strange pattern the shuttle of life can weave. —Frances Marion

Each experience we have plays its part in the total picture of our lives. The steps we have taken, the path we travel today, and our direction tomorrow are not by chance. There is a pattern. We each have a destiny. We may have veered off the path in the past, and we may veer off it again. But we'll be guided back, and our paths intersect. None of us is traveling alone. We have each other and the creative force that is at the helm.

When we look around us and reflect on how our lives are influenced by the persons close to us, we become aware that our presence affects their lives as well. Most of us could never have predicted the events that have influenced us. Nor can we anticipate what the future may hold. We can be certain, however, that we are safe; a power greater than ourselves is orchestrating our affairs.

There were times we feared we'd never survive an experience. Perhaps we still struggle with fears about new experiences. But every experience adds a necessary thread to the pattern our life is weaving. We have the gift of reflection. We can understand, today, the importance of particular events of the past. Next month, next year, we'll understand today.

I shall enjoy the richness of today. My life is weaving an intricate, necessary pattern that is uniquely mine.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey ©

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Walk in Dry Places
 
Courage

 

Do we need some Fear?
It's easy to get into an argument about the role of fear in our lives. Some say that we need some fear…. It helps us get out of the path of an oncoming truck. Is that really true?  If it is, it's still not like the fear that was present with alcoholism. This fear was more likely to make us freeze and lose all power of action in the face of a threat. It was the sort of fear that paralyzes us, making us unable to move out of the way when the truck is bearing down on us.

 

Fear is even more destructive when it keeps us from doing the simple things we need to function in our lives.  Fear certainly can't be helpful when it makes us unable to face a new customer or ride in an airplane for necessary business travel.  Some people even put off medical exams simply because they fear bad news… and thus delay treatment, so that their condition becomes worse.

We might not need to get rid of all fear, but we do need to dispose of the unhealthy kind that keeps us from necessary actions on our own behalf.

 

Action for the Day: A really strong sense of the program can help me deal with fear today. One good idea for coping with fear is to remember that if God is for us, nobody can really be against us.  Keeping that thought in mind can help stabilize our feelings in the face of threatening situations.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Willingness
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions tells us that
"willingness is the key to understanding."
It doesn't say God is the key; it says willingness.
In my experience, the people who embrace this spiritual principle
are demonstrably more open-minded, more emotionally resilient,
and more contagiously hopeful than those who cling to a strict belief system,
rational or otherwise.
- Thank You For Sharing, pp. 30-31

Thought to Ponder . . .
Patience, tolerance, understanding and love are the watchwords.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
W H O = Willingness, Honesty, Open-mindedness.

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Daily Motivation

Living presence

 

Be you, fully and richly, when and where you are. Don't wait for your lunch break or for the weekend or for conditions to be just right.

 

You don't have to be sitting on a tropical beach to experience bliss. You don't have to have a six-bedroom house full of the most stylish possessions to feel satisfied with your life.

 

Your living presence is far more valuable than any place you could go or any object you could own. Your choice of attitude is what will make the biggest difference in the way you experience this day.

 

The joy you feel does not come from what you extract out of life. The joy you feel is the joy you choose to give to life.

 

Right now is your opportunity to be filled with richness and meaning. Whatever you are doing can serve as a pathway to fulfillment if you so choose.

 

There is no need to put conditions on your happiness. This is the day, this is the place, and this is the moment to live it.

 

-- Ralph Marston