Daily Motivations 3-23-11

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Today's Gift

If anything is sacred, the human body is sacred. —Walt Whitman

A renewed relationship with our bodies is part of our spiritual renewal. Perhaps we have not known our bodies as part of our spiritual selves. We may have treated ourselves and others as objects. Too often genitals were "tools" to be used, objects of our egos, or a way of taking care of someone else. Maybe we have used sex compulsively as an escape from other emotions. Men in recovery commonly encounter problems with sexuality. Those problems often come from knowing deep within that we must change, but not knowing how.

It helps to create new images in our minds. We can imagine a totally relaxed playfulness with our partners, with no goal in mind and no judgment. We can imagine our Higher Power being with us. We can imagine talking in detail with someone - our partner or a friend - about our feelings, anxieties, or frustrations with sex. We can imagine ourselves as a whole body; alone, not with a partner, and okay Bringing sexuality into the whole of our lives is a spiritual thing to do.

May I find ways to include sexuality in my spiritual awakening.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men ©

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

Failure is impossible.
--Susan B. Anthony

Failure is an attitude. Having an attitude of failure can't help us. It can only hurt us. If we're not careful, it can grow into a way of life. So, when we feel like failures, we'd better look at our attitudes.

An attitude of failure often comes from making mistakes. But we can learn to see our mistakes as lessons. This turns mistakes into gains, not failures. Sometimes, we try to do things that just can't be done. When we act like we can control others, we're going to fail. When we act like we know everything, we're going to fail. If we try to act like God, we're going to fail.

We can't control others. We can't know everything. We're not God. We're human. If we act human, we've already won.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me to learn from my attitudes. Whatever the outcome, help me learn.

Action for the Day: Facing our past "failures" is the first step to learning from them. I'll talk to my sponsor about a past failure and the good that came from it.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Sponsorship
Sponsorship is the "we" of the program to me.
"We" are walking a path and doing the very best we can today.
My sponsor asked me not to put her on a pedestal
because she said she had clay feet.
I had no clue what that meant at the time, but I do today.
There have been times when I felt like the women I was sponsoring
were actually sponsoring me.
- The AA Grapevine, March 2011, p. 14

Thought to Ponder . . .
Don't look for a sponsor, listen for one.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S P O N S O R =
Sober, Practical, Optimistic, Noble, Spiritual, Open-minded, Respectful.

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Daily Motivation

 

Coming to life

In this moment, a new world is being created. It may look similar to the world of a few hours ago, or even a few days ago, and yet in at least one important way it is different.

 

The new world that's coming to life right now is a world you can make into anything you choose. By the way you choose to think, to feel, to perceive and to act, you shape the world that is now arriving in your experience.

 

There is always hope, for there is always something positive you can do with the moment you're helping to bring to life. Nothing is a foregone conclusion because every assumption is based on a past that is quickly receding.

 

Breathe in the fresh, empowering air of opportunity. Know that wherever you may have come from, your direction right now is completely up to you.

 

There are beautiful dreams and heartfelt desires that have been living patiently and hopefully within you.

 

This day is the best opportunity you've known so far, to bring them more fully to life.

 

Feel the possibilities in the new world that is being born in front of your eyes right now. And lovingly, carefully fill it with your own special goodness.

 

-- Ralph Marston