Oh, that one could learn to learn in time! —Enrique Solari
A mark of genuine change, after the pleasure of newfound growth, may be the regret a man feels that he didn't learn sooner. When we learn something new, we see how it could have made our life better at an earlier time. We regret being stubborn, immature, or impulsive. Now we see our mistakes in a new light and it hurts. This is one of the pains of change. Some people turn away from growth because they refuse to tolerate the pain of honest hindsight.
We need to face these regrets, but not indulge in them. We take a bow to the past and move on to live in the only place we can - the present. We can acknowledge our guilt and remorse and then turn them over to the care of our Higher Power. We can't change the past, but we can learn from it. Healthy recovery means an ever lighter load of regrets. Getting stuck in guilt over past deeds only repeats our mistakes by failing to use our learning today.
May I acknowledge and let go of my grief's and regrets so I can attend to life here and now.
From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©
Keep It Simple
Skill to do comes of doing.---Ralph Waldo Emerson
Often, we just want to sit and do nothing. And why not. We go to meetings, work the Twelve Steps, read, make new friends. All this takes energy and means taking risk. Haven't we earned the right to just sit and take it a break from it all? No! In the past, we avoided life. Now we're becoming people of action. We take risk. We're becoming people who get involved in life. We practice caring about people and caring about ourselves. At times, we may complain, but we do what is needed to stay sober. We gain skills by doing. why? We do it to save our lives. How? By trusting. We now trust that our Higher Power and friends will be there for us. They will help us push past our fears. As we practice daily how to stay sober, our skills grow.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, Yours is a spirit of action. Allow me to become skilled at being active.
Action for the Day: Today, I'll work at being active and alive. Maybe I'll start a new friendship or try a new meeting.
Fear
At heart we had all been abnormally fearful.
It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life
drinking ourselves into forgetfulness
or had plunged recklessly and willfully beyond our depth and ability.
The result was the same -- all of us had nearly perished in a sea of alcohol.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pp. 123-24
Thought to Ponder . . .
Situations I fear are rarely as bad as the fear itself.
AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E A R = False Events Appearing Real.
Nothing to need
You cannot enjoy what you need while you still need it, so let go of the need and allow the enjoyment. Instead of putting limitations and conditions on your fulfillment, put more limitless possibilities into your awareness.
If there's something you need to do, let go of the needing and just allow the doing. If there's something you need to have, let go of the need and experience how that thing begins to be tangibly expressed through your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Life is overflowing with every flavor of abundance. Yet when you feel need, that very feeling is pushing the abundance away.
There is really nothing you could possibly need. In one way or another, all that exists is connected to you.
Inspired, fulfilled, joyful living is a matter of making the journey through those pathways that connect you with what you seek. When you are free from thoughts of need, the journey proceeds quickly and with minimal hindrance.
See need as a mistaken impression existing only in your mind. Gently let it go, and immerse yourself fully in the powerful, creative flow of life.
-- Ralph Marston
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